The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-01-07
ByTelegraph


, WASHINGTON. Jan. 5.-The following i
the message sent to Congress to-day b,
the President
By Joint Resolution Of yonr Honorable
/ Bodies approved December 90, 1868, tn
paying of bounties to veteran volunteers
as now practiced by tho War Department i
to the extent of $500 in each case prohib
tied after the 9Th day of ,hepresent mont h
| transmit for your consideration a com
munication from the Secretary of War &C
companied by one hom the Provost Marsha
to him. both relating to the subject abov,
mentioned. earnestly recommend that tn,
4 law be so, modified as to allow bountes t,
be paid as they now are, at least until the
ensuing 1st day of February, am not with
out anxiety least I appear to be importunat,
in thus recalling your attention to a subiec
upon which you have so recently acted, and
nothing but a deep conviction that the pub
lie interest demands it could induce me t.
incur the hazard of being misunderstood or
this point. The Executive approval was
| given by me to the Resolution mentioned
and it is now by closer attention and full.
Ter knowledge offacts that feel constrained
to recommend reconsideration of the sub.
ject ...,..-- ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Washington, Jan. 5. 1864. as-.a .as.
The Secretary of War in letter accom-
panving the Message, says nc, one seems to
doubt the necessity of increasing the mill.
tary for speedily terminating the rebellion,
and although much difference of opinion
exists IN respect to the system Of raising
troops by volunteering and payment Of
bounties, and the system of raising an AIDE.
quate force by draft, YET two things are
certain: ,....-- .s...r.4..r-.
LIST. That whatever may be the weight of
| argument or the influence of individual
opinion, large portion Of the people in
every State prefer the method Of contrib.
uting their proportion Of the military forces
by bounty to volunteers rather than draft,
I'd. That veteran soldiers who have become
Injured t. service. even when paid bounty.
cor stitutes cheaper force than raw recruits
or drafted men without bounty. The infor-
nation received BY the War Department
from the armies in the field prior to the pas.
sage of the resolution of December last indi
Gated that very large proportion of the
forces now in the service would have cheer.
fully re.enlisted for three years, under terms
authorized by order of this Department, and
such enlistments have been checked and
will in great measure he put to an end by
the restriction imposed by action of Con-
sress. Believed any limitation should be
imposed upon payment of bounties to en-.
courage ealisttnents Of veteran forces now
in the field, it ought not to BIO sooner than
the 1st of February. r..- ..
The =. NJ. General, in communication
says: After great labor the volunteer re
cruiting service. under the Presidents call
of October 18th, is fairly in progress. Let
tiers all dated between the Goth and oath
Of December, from the superintcndents of
the recruiting service in sixteen States. are
in the main very encouraging. as to the
prospect of getting large number of re-
crults by volunteer enlistments. Several
Of the States were in fair way to raise the
quotas assigned to them. The act. approx.
ed December Odd, 1863, forbidding after
January 9Th, the payment to volunteers OF
all bounties, except the hundred dollars au-
thorized by act of 1861, was not known al
the time these favorable reports were made
to me. | have no doubt that the effect Of
that act will be to check lift does not STOP
enlistments. OF the one hundred dollars
bounty provided by the act of 1861, bu,
twenty five dollars can be paid in advance
The seventy.five dollars being DE only at.
ter two years Of service. 1t took some time
after October 18th to get the people reused
to the subject of volunteering. They are
now most earnestly engaged in it. and I
have reports for October and November and
part of December. showing that 42,52G
men have been enlisted, and the daily av
erage Of enlistments is increasing Unde,
/ these circumstances [ respectfully suggest
. the propriety of a reconsideration of the
act forbidding bountics after January 9th
These communications were referred TO the
Committee on Military Affairs. $50
Senator Wilson's new Enrolment bill,
introduced to-day, exempts those who arc
physically disabled, and also makes the fol
lowing exemptions: The vi President
the Judges of the Courts, the heads of Elk
ecutive Departments and Governors o
States. 1t receives as substitutes only
those who are not liable to draft, and pen
atty Of 500 to $1,000 fine, and from 81
days to G months imprisonment is provided
in the punishment of enrolling officers, wht
are engaged directly or indirectly in procur
ing substitutes
WASHINGTON, JAN4--The Navy Depart
ment has received official information il
relation to the attack upon the gunboa
Marblehead in Stone Inlet. on Christina:
morning, by which Robt Brown, Lorenzo
D. Shaw and Joseph Phillips were killed
and Chas. Moep, Alexander Henderson
John Hackett, and Chas. Semmes, wcr,
wounded # a
Commander Batch, Of the Pawnee, says
! at 9.25 on Monday the 25th of u cemher