The Portland daily press., 1864-03-11


service before the law of 1862 was passed, and
having performed the service, are manifestly
without any law, entitled to be paid the same as
other soldiers. lie has no need of any amend
nent IN regard to them, if the time of their en-
listment was, as understand it to have been,
before the passage of the law of which have
been speaking.
Mr. Lane of Kansas. will ask the Senator
irom Maine what remedy these men have except
by an appeal to Congress. The War Depart
ment has decided not to pay them.
Mr.. Fessenden. | am not speaking of what
the War Department has decided. They, of
course, cannot go and put their hands into the
Treasury; but say they are entitled to be paid,
in my judgment.
Mr. Lane, of Kansas. Then hope the Sena-
tor will not be afraid to say so.
MIR. Fessenden. If the Senator will hear, me
through, he will find probably what do intend
to say about it, There are the two Massachu-
setts regiments, the two South Carolina regi-
ments, and the Kansas regiment entitled TO
claim the thirteen dollars for the whole time of
their service, and there may be one or two
others In the same position. Take them alto
gether, however, they are very small number
compared with the great mass of colored men
who have been enlisted.
But now what is the remedy of my hoaora-
Ole friend from Massachusetts, Mr.. Wilson,
and 1t Is this to which wish to call his atten-
ton. lie brought in a bill here providing in the
hrst part of it that the colored soldiers hereafter
enlisted into the service of the United States
should be put upon the same ground in all par
tcnlars with the white soldiers. To that ex-
pressed my immediate assent 1t carried out
my original idea. To be sure they made con-
tract, and notwithstanding they had made
contract was perfectly willing, and SO expressed
myself, that they should be placed upon the
same level with the white troops, because the
original reason held good, and that was that |
feared the effect upon them that might be pro-
duced II We made distinction between them and
our other troops. What objected to was the
other clause, which was, my friend will remem-
Der, in general terms, and embrace6 not only
the two Massachusetts, regiments and the South
Carolina regiments, but embraced all the colored
troops, the whole sixty Thousand, whether they
wanted the increase or not, whether there was
any mistake about it in regard to them or not.
inquired at that time whether it was SO or not,
and the honorable chairman of the Military
Committee said yes, it was. | called his atten-
tion and the attention of the Senate to it. felt
bound to do so,not only from my general duty
as Senator, but from the position that has been
assigned me here to keep careful watch on
bills making appropriations of the public money,
because am understood to look little at the
matter of money
My friends remedy was a bad one He did
not choose to take up the case of his two Massa-
chusetts regiments and the two South Carolina
regiments and put them in a bill by themselves,
and include with them any others who might be
in the same category; but he brought in sweep
ing clause to put all the colored men, the slaves
on the Mississippi river, and all that large num-
Der who had been enlisted anywhere, and to go
back to the date of their original enlistment and
TO pay them all from the beginning thirteen dol
lars month. That showed itself TO the Senate
to be manifestly improper. The honorable Sena-
tors colleague Mr.. Sumnerl expressed at the
time Of that debate his willingness to assent to
tha Hictip 4x.L Lo, ,..I. H.. ~.
and he said he did not claim, that all should be
paid on that category; but he was willing that
It should be confined to those who were placed
IN those peculiar circumstances under q contract
to receive a larger amount. Everybody else as
sented to the propriety of the suggestion. The
honorable Senator himself assented to it,.
The objection that ! made then and that I
make now is to general clause covering such
immense ground, and introduced merely with
view TO provide for the few regiments that stood
before us in the peculiar attitude occupied by
those which have named. Is il not sn sra
Is not that what was IN the honorable Senator's
mind and in the mind of his colleague, They
wished to provide for individual cases They
were told in the Senate Chamber by gentlemen
around me in ordinary conversation, bring in
your bill to provide for your special cases and
we will consider and pass it, but we cannot put
clause upon this bill which will cover million
or million and half or two million dollars,
men who perfectly understood at the time OF
their enlistment what they were TO receive, and
who have never complained Of it and never
asked for any more That is substantially the
position in which it stood and the objection that
| made, and TO the correctness and propriety of
which they acceded at the time.
Again the question comes up. have received
some letters, very proper letters, from officers
of the Sonth Carolina regiments explaining the
position in which they stood. If that enlistment
was such as is claimed under the authority
given which have read, (although there was
no power to give it if it was after our law was
passed,) the contract ought to be kept 1t is
like other cases of Misrepresentation, and if they
enlisted under those circumstances they should
receive the thirteen dollars month If the
regiments which were enlisted in Massachusetts,
have been received into the service and mus
tered in, as they undoubtedly have been, and
rendered most gallant and noble service too,
although there was no original authority to
promise them the thirteen dollars, it was mis-
apprehension in my judgment; yet having been
received they should be paid according to their
contract. do not dispute that; but we have
properly established the principle here that in
these general bills intended to cover general
grounds and provide for masses, we will not
have, If it is possible to prevent it, amendments
providing for individual cases. Why Because
III making those amendments we are apt to
carry them great deal further than we inten-
ded. Now let me ask the Senator from Massa-
chusetts what would have been the effect if the
Senate had acted on his bill without attention
being called to it? Did he intend to pay the
forty or fifty thousand men on the Mississippi,
If there are as many as that who enlisted under
standingly for ten dollars month"; Yet that
would have been the effect of it.
When the Senate had pretty much come to a
conclusion on the subject, my honorable friend
from vermont comes up with another case. The
case is a strong one. told him at the time that
considered it SO, that ii ought to be provided
for; but suggested to him that even he proba-
bly, did not understand how far his own amend
ment would extend, and this morning he comes
IN admitting the fact that it extended the Lord
knows where, over all the States except the slave
States and included freemen and slaves and all
others who came within the description in his
amendment, and upon that there have been one
from Kansas has still another. 1t shows the i'm
propriety of such legislation, and that is what
object to. We never shall know where we are,
we never can tell in what condition the Treasu-
ry Is unless we have each of these cases exaui-
ined by itself and placed upon its footing, and
not stuck on to these general bills and passed in
hurry on the explanations given by individual
members, who think they have very clear
idea OF 1t, but cannot have ideas for other
people.
Now, sir, what ask is, that this bill which
provides for placing all our troops on an equality
shall be passed by itself; and am even content
10 go back to the LIST day of January, and place
the colorcd troops on the same level in all par
tculars, if you will, as the white troops from
that time, except in regard to bounty; and even
as to that am willing to pay the bounty if it is
thought best by the Senate, for do not like TO
have any distinctions made; and / shall not be
ms rtt laro ont paQ tha md