ending the 30th of June, 1862, and appropriations of arrearages for the year ending the 30th of June, 1861; H. R. 69. An act to indemnify the States for expenses incurred by them in defence of the United States; and H. R. 76. An act to provide for the payment of the police organized by the United States for the city of Baltimore, and to enable the mint to furnish small gold coins, and to provide for the manufacture or purchase of field signals. On motion of Mr. Stevens, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union; and after some time spent therein, the Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Colfax reported that the committee having, according to order, had the state of the Union generally under consideration, and particularly the bill of the House (H. R. 71) to provide additional revenues for defraying the expenses of government and maintaining the public credit by the assessment and collection of a direct tax and internal duties, had found itself without a quorum, and that he had caused the roll to be called, when it appeared that the following named members were absent, viz: Cyrus Aldrich, Sydenham E. Ancona, William Appleton, Goldsmith F. Bailey, Stephen Baker, Alfred A. Burnham, John S. Carlile, Thomas B. Cooper, John Covode, William P. Cutler, William Morris Davis, Isaac C. Delaplaine, Thomas M. Edwards, Alfred Ely, Reuben E. Fenton, George P. Fisher, John N. Goodwin, John A. Gurley, James T. Hale, John Hickman, John Hutchins, Philip Johnson, Francis W. Kellogg, James E. Kerrigan, John W. Killinger, Jesse Lazear, Dwight Loomis, Robert McKnight, Gilman Marston, Henry May, William Mitchell, James K. Moorhead, James R. Morris, John T. Nixon, Warren P. Noble, John W. Noell, John Patton, Nehemiah Perry, James S. Rollins, John P. C. Shanks, George K. Shiel, A. Scott Sloan, John B. Steele, Benjamin F. Thomas, Francis Thomas, Charles R. Train, Carey A. Trimble, John P. Verree, Elijah Ward, Chilton A. White, Benjamin Wood. A quorum having appeared, The House again resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union; and after some time spent therein, the Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Colfax reported that the committee having, according to order, had the state of the Union generally under consideration, and particularly the bill of the House (H. R. 71) to provide additional revenues for defraying the expenses of government and maintaining the public credit by the assessment and collection of a direct tax and internal duties, had directed him to report the same, with a recommendation that the enacting words be stricken out. Pending the question on agreeing to the said report, Resolved, That the bill be recommitted to the Committee on Ways and Means, with the instruction to report on or before the tenth day of the next session a bill remodelling the present tariff of duties on imports, with a view to the production of revenue; and if, in the opinion of the committee, such modification will not produce a sum equal to the demands of the government, then that they so modify this bill as to impose a direct tax according to the Constitution, and a system of excise and revenue tax on the property of the country, embracing money, stocks, and mortgages in the list of taxation. Pending which, After debate, Mr. McClernand moved to amend the same by striking out all after the word "resolved," and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "that the House bill No. 71 be recommitted to the Committee of Ways and Means, with instructions to report forthwith a substitute therefor, as follows: "1st. Reducing the amount of direct taxes to twenty millions of dollars; "2d. Extending the list of personal property upon which internal duties are laid so as to make up, as near as may be, said deficit." Pending which, Mr. Stevens moved the previous question, which was seconded, and the main question ordered and put, viz: Will the House agree to the said amendment? And it was decided in the affirmative, Yeas. 78 33 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Isaac N. Arnold Elijah Babbitt Fernando C. Beaman Frederick A. Conkling Mr. Thomas D. Eliot Mr. John F. Potter Alexander H. Rice Ellihu B. Washburne Mr. John Law Robert Mallory Under the further operation of the previous question the resolution as amended was agreed to. Mr. Francis P. Blair, jr., from the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on the bill of the Senate (S. 3) providing for the better organization of the military establishment, made the following report, viz: "The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on the bill (S. 3) providing for the better organization of the military establishment having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend, and do recommend, to their respective houses as follows: "That the House recede from its amendments to the Senate bill, and agree to the bill with the following amendments: "On page 1, section 2, line 7, after the word 'cavalry,' strike out as follows: eight assistant adjutants general, six commissaries of subsistence, four quartermasters, and twenty assistant quartermasters.' "On page 1, section 2, line 13, after the word 'establishment,' strike out as follows: 'and to hold their offices for three years unless sooner discharged,' and in lieu thereof add all after the enacting clause of the second section of the amendments of the House to the Senate bill. "On page 1, section 3, line 3, after the word 'engineers,' strike out as follows: 'and to the ordnance department.' "On page 3, section 3, at the end of the section, add all after the enacting clauses of sections 3 and 4 of the amendments of the House to the Senate bill. "On page 4, section 8, at the end of the section, add the second proviso of section 11 of the amendments of the House to the Senate bill. "On page 6, section 16, at the end of the section, add 'and regiments in the field.' "On page 7, section 17, line 8, after the word 'pay,' insert and emoluments." "On page 10, section 20, line 5, after the word 'Register,' insert the words 'Navy Register, as the case may be.' "Strike out sections 11, 22, 24, and 25 of said bill. "Strike out all after the enacting clause of section 14 of said bill, and in lieu thereof insert as follows: That the Commissary General of Subsistence be, and he is hereby, authorized, under such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe, to vary the articles of subsistence whenever circumstances may render it advisable: Provided, That the cost of the ration shall not be increased by such substitution,' "Strike out all of section 18 of said bill, and insert in lieu thereof section 19 of the amendments of the House to the Senate bill, with the following amendments to the said amendment of the House, namely: in line 2 of said amendment of the House, after the word 'army,' insert 'or of the marine corps;' and in line 14 of same amendment of section 19, after the word 'shall,' strike out 'as provided in the third section of this act.' "Strike out all of section 19 of said bill, and in lieu thereof insert all of section 20 of the amendment of the House to said bill, with the following amendment to said amendment, viz: in line 3 of said amendment, after the word 'war,' insert 'or Secretary of the Navy, as the case may be;' and in line 5 of said amendment of the House, after the word 'board,' strike out of the medical staff,' and in lieu thereof insert, of not more than nine, nor less than five commissioned officers, two-fifths of whom shall be of the medical staff; the board, except those taken from the medical staff, to be composed, as far as may be, of his seniors in rank.' เ "Strike out all of sections 26, 27, 28, and 29 of said bill, and insert in lieu thereof as follows: "SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That any officer of the navy who has been forty years in the service of the United States may, upon his own application to the President of the United States, be placed upon the list of retired officers of the navy, and shall receive the leave of absence pay he was entitled to at the time of such retirement. "SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That if any officer shall have become, or shall hereafter become, incapable of performing the duties of his office, he shall be placed upon the retired list, and withdrawn from active service and command, and from the line of promotion, and the next officer in rank shall be promoted to the place of the retired officer, according to the established rules of the service. And the same rule of promotion shall be applied successively to the vacancies consequent upon the retirement of an officer: Provided, That if the disability be proved to result from wounds received in action, such retired officer shall receive the sea pay of his grade. "SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That whenever any officer of the navy, on being ordered to perform the duties appropriate to his commission, shall report himself unable to comply with such order, or whenever, in the judgment of the President of the United States, an officer of the navy shall be in any way incapacitated from performing the duties of his office, the President, at his discretion, shall direct the Secretary of the Navy to refer the case of such officer to a board of not more than nine, nor less than five, commissioned officers, two-fifths of whom shall be of the medical bureau of the navy; the board, except those taken from the medical bureau, to be composed, as far as may be, of his seniors in rank. The determination of the board in such case shall, with a record of its proceedings, be transmitted to the Secretary of the Navy to be laid before the President for his approval or disapproval and orders in the case. The board, whenever it finds an officer incapacitated for active ser vice, will report whether, in its judgment, the incapacity result from long and faithful service, from wounds or injuries received in the line of duty, from sickness or exposure therein, or from any other incident of service. If so, and the President approve of such judgment, the disabled officer shall thereupon be placed upon the list of retired officers, according to the provisions of this act, with leave of absence pay. But if such disability or incompetency proceeded from other causes, and the President concur in opinion with the board, the officer may be retired upon furlough pay, or he shall be wholly retired from the service with one year's pay, at the discretion of the President; and in this last case his name shall be wholly omitted from the Navy Register. The members of the board shall in every case be sworn to an honest and impartial discharge of their duties; and no officer of the navy shall be retired, either partially or wholly, from the service. without having had a fair and full hearing before the board, if he shall demand it. 66 SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That the retired officers shall be entitled to wear the uniform of their respective grades; shall continue to be borne upon the Navy Register; shall be subject to the rules and articles governing the navy, and to trial by general courtmartial. "That the Senate do concur with the foregoing amendments to the bill. "Managers on the part of the House "FRANCIS P. BLAIR, JP. "Managers on the part of the Senate Pending which, After debate, "HENRY WILSON. Mr. Francis P. Blair, jr., moved the previous question. Mr. Allen moved that it be laid on the table; which motion was disagreed to. The question then recurring on the demand for the previous question, it was seconded and the main question ordered, and under the operation thereof the said report was agreed to. Mr. Blair moved that the vote last taken be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Ordered, That the Clerk acquaint the Senate with the concurrence of the House in the said report. Mr. Alexander H. Rice, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill (H. R. 80) authorizing the construction of twelve small side-wheel steamers; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs. |