The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-01-14
CONGRESSIONAL.
xXXVIIth Congressional Session.
WASHINGTON, Jan. II.

! WASHINGTON, Jan. r.
HOUsE.-White, of Indiana, offered :
resolution instructing the Committee OF
Military Affairs to inquire into the expe
diency Of providing for the payment O
company and regimental officers from th,
date of their commissions. Agreed to.
| sColfax offerad- d-~----a<ztfvu rfIar The
Committee of Ways and Means be dis
charged from the further consideration
of the House bill reducing the duties or
imported paper from thirty-fve to ter
cents, and that the same be considered
in the House now. Laid on the table.
On motion of Dunn, the Secretary Of
the Treasury was requested to inform the
House of the amount expended since the
rebellion in the employment and susie.
nance of slaves in disloyal States, and to
what extent the same has been repaid by
service
On motion of F. A. Conkling, it was
resolved, as the sense of this House, that
no creditors of the Government are so
meritorious as the soldiers of the Union.
aid that no more money should be paid
to any civil officer of the Government
until every arrearage due to any regi-
ment in the service shall have been paid.
Stevens introduced bill setting forth
that, as the terms of the enlistments of
the soldiers will soon expire, and as it is
expedient to have soldiers whose consti-
tutions peculiarly fit them for Southern
campaigns; therefore be it enacted that
the President be authorized and required
to raise, equip, and organize 100000 per-
sons of color, of African descent, to serve
five years, as artillery, infantry, and cav
airy, to receive S. per month, the nom
commissioned officers SO, with rations.
&C., one-half to be set aside for the use
of their families, and in case of no fami-
lies the money to be retained for them
until the expiration of their service; the
commissioned officers to have the same
pay as those in the regular army. Com
pany officers may be either white or
black; and recruiting stations may be
established either in the North or South,
Cox, of Ohio, moved to lay the bill on
the table Negatived-Yeas SO, nays S3.
On motion of Stevens, the further con-
sideration was postponed until Wednes-
daV wnak- 'S-Ver-V1r0 IOro"-
ing preamble and resolution:
WHEREAS, Slaves -oeoaping from the
State of Maryland into the District of
Columbia, being remanded to Jail to
await reclamation by their owners, have
been taken from the custody of the Mar
shall by the military authorities, in de-
struction of their rights of property, and
in violation of the solemnly guaranteed
rights of the people of Maryland; there
fore
ResoIred, That the Committee on the
Judiciary be instructed to ascertain the
facts and the law concerning the same,
and to report the result of their investi-
CATION at an early day, with such legisla-
ton as will put an end to such unlawful
and unconstitutional proceedings.
Resolred, That copy of this pream-
bic and resolution be transmitted to the
President in order that he may see that
the constitution and laws are executed
in this district, which is under his per-
sonal observation and authority.
Fessenden moved to lay on the table.
| Carried against IL
On motion of Thomas, of Maryland,
the select committee on emancipation
was directed to enquire into the expedi-
ency of making an appropriation to aid
MARYLAND in system of emancipa-
ton and colonization of persons Of color
now in the State.
On motion of Brown, of Virginia, the
same committee was similarly instructed
in reference to the bill to aid Western
Virginia in the emancipation of hel
| slaves.
The House then went into Committed
of the Whole on the bill to provide way:
and means for the spport of the govern
ment
Stevens offered his substitute for the
bill of the Committee of Ways anC
Means, heretofore published.
mSS$Rs SRaptE1iRf3hes ptEaf the government We now required
| 800 100000 before the bill could b.
passed into law, and the notes, which
| it authorizes, engraved; $50,OOO,000 ad
ditional will be required within the mex
twenty days
The whole amount of gold and silve
in all the banks of the loyal States dit
not on the lst of January, exceed $S7
100000. Even if the Secretary of tn
Treasury could procure every dollar Q
This it would not pay so cents on the do
lar of the liabilities of the government
1t was therefore perfectly plain that eve
this comparatively small sum of $50
OO0, 900 cannot be paid in coin. 1t wa
no fault of either the Secretary or Coz
oress. The coin cannot be obtained;
' Is simply an impossibility. There va
. no nlan to get it. According to the ol
maxim, ''if we can't do as we would, v
> must do as we car"
The Secretary has paid ont $3.50, ,0OC
}, 600 legal tender notes. Although Il t
Secretary has authority to sell S50O,00(
600 of + per cent bonds, he has on
/, sold S25 900, 900, leaving the remand
}. to be disposed of at the market pric
The reason why the bonds had not be-
te sold was because there was no redun
ing of currency.
Our soldiers in the field must be pal
10 They can't be expected to perform the
Ir+;oS ohaerfnlly while thew know til,