Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-07-19

MEMORIAL OF FOUR GOVERNORS.
To the Senate ana House Of Representatives.
in Congress assembled:
The undersigned Governors of their re.
spective States, beg leave, respectfully, to
invite the attention OF Congress to the
fact that the States of the Coufederacy
have great need of many artc es for State
use, which can only be obtained by impor-
tation. And the Legislatures of several
of the States have made appropriations for
the purpose of exporting cotton and other
productions, ana importing necessary ar
ticles for the use OF the States, including
clothing, shoes, blankets, and other arti
Giles indispensably necessary to the com
fort of the troops in the Confederate ser
vice, who frequently suffer from the want
of necessary articles, which it is not at the
| time, in the power of the Confederacy to
furnish. These expectations and importa-
tions are to be made by the Governors of
the States, under the au thority of the Leg.
islatures, at the risk and expense of the
States, upon vessels purchased or charter
ed for that purpose.
The Governors of several of the States,
in the execution of the acts of their State
| Legislatures, have purchased or chartered
steamers, preparatory to the expectation of
cotton which they now have on hand as
the property of the States, to place funds
abroad with which to purchase supplies, to
be returned upon the vessels to Confeder.
| ate ports for State use. AT this point they
regret TO say that they are met by an Or
der. from the Secretary of the Treasury,
under the authority of the President, which
prohibits the Custom house officer from
granting clearances to vessels owned or
chartered by the States with State cargoes,
1 ako
will consent to allow the Confederate Gov
eminent to use one half the storage room
of their vessels upon terms which would
cause actual loss to the States. Surround
| ed Ly all the embaTrassments with which
they have 20 contend, they cannot consent
to this; and believing as they do, that the
order has grown out of an erroneons con-
struction of the late act of Congress,
which, as they understood it, exempts the
States from all the restrictions thrown
around expectations, and importatious
made by private Individuals or companies;
and feeling assured that those who repre-
cent the sovereign States and people would
| fail to carry out the views or wishes of the
people or the Governments of their respec-
tive States, if they should by any law or
regulation to prohibit the States from the
expectation of their own productions upon
their own vessels, or such as they may
charter for that purpose, and the importa.
ton of such supplies as they need, the un-
dersigned appeal with confidence to Con-
gress 10 remove said restriction, and enact
such laws as shall secure to all vessels in
the service of the States speedy clearances
upon application to the Custom house of.
ficers at the ports from which the vessels
are expected to go to sea.
While the undersigned are aware of the
importance of expectations aud importa-
tations by the Confederate government,
and would gladly facilitate its operations
in every proper way, they are of the opin.
loan il is better that each government
should conduct its own business and af-
fairs for itself.
But independently of the view of the
case, they cannot yield their assent to tie
doctrine that the Confederate government
has any right to impose any such restric.
tons upon the States, or compel them to
submit to any such terms. When in their
power to assist the Confederate government
with State vessels, they will do SO with
great pleasure, but they will not consent to
do this under compulsiou.
They deny that the provision in the con-
stitution which authorizes Congress to reg.
ulste commerce "among the several
states" confers the power to destroy the
commerce of states, or to detain stote yes-
sells till they consent to relinouish half