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tution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.

No. 122.

Act for Calling out the Militia

July 29, 1861

A BILL "to provide for the suppression of rebellion," etc., was introduced in the House, July 10, by John A. Bingham of Ohio, and on the 16th passed without a division. The bill passed the Senate on the 26th, and on the 29th the act was approved. REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 281, 282. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals and the Cong. Globe. The changes made by the act are set forth in the House proceedings of July 16; compare President Buchanan's remarks on the employment of the militia under the acts of 1795 and 1807, in his annual message of December 3, 1860.

An Act to provide for the Suppression of Rebellion against and Resistance to the Laws of the United States, and to amend the Act entitled "An Act to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union," &c., passed . . . [February 28, 1795].

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Be it enacted... That whenever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons, or rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United States, to enforce, by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States within any State or Territory of the United States, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of any or all the States of the Union, and to employ such parts of the land and naval forces of the United States as he may deem necessary to enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the United States, or to suppress such rebellion in whatever State or Territory thereof the laws of the United States may be forcibly opposed, or the execution thereof forcibly obstructed. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever, in the judgment of the President, it may be necessary to use the mili

tary force hereby directed to be employed and called forth by him, the President shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within a limited time.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the militia so called into the service of the United States shall be subject to the same rules and articles of war as the troops of the United States, and be continued in the service of the United States until discharged by proclamation of the President: Provided, That such continuance in service shall not extend beyond sixty days after the commencement of the next regular session of Congress, unless Congress shall expressly provide by law therefor: . .

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SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the marshals of the several districts of the United States, and their deputies, shall have the same powers in executing the laws of the United States as sheriffs and their deputies in the several States, have by law, in executing the laws of the respective States.

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No. 123. Act to Define and Punish certain

Conspiracies

July 31, 1861

A BILL "to define and punish certain conspiracies" was presented in the House, July 15, by John Hickman of Pennsylvania, and passed by a vote of 123 to 7. In the Senate the printing of a minority report submitted by Bayard of Delaware and Powell of Kentucky was refused by a vote of 10 to 29, and on the 26th the bill in amended form passed the Senate. Nine Senators entered a protest against the bill. The amendment of the Senate was concurred in by the House on the 30th, and the next day the act was approved. REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 284. The important proceedings are those of the Senate for July 24 and 26 (Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., 1st Sess.).

An Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies.

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Be it enacted. That if two or more persons within any State or Territory, of the United States shall conspire together

to overthrow, or to put down, or to destroy by force, the Government of the United States, or to levy war against the United States, or to oppose by force the authority of the Government of the United States; or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States; or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States against the will or contrary to the authority of the United States; or by force, or intimidation, or threat to prevent any person from accepting or holding any office, or trust, or place of confidence, under the United States; each and every person so offending shall be guilty of a high crime, and upon conviction thereof in any district or circuit court of the United States, having jurisdiction thereof, or district or supreme court of any Territory of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars; or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, as the court shall determine, for a period not less than six months nor greater than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

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A BILL "to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes" was introduced in the Senate, July 15, by Lyman Trumbull of Illinois. When the bill was reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, on the 25th, Trumbull proposed an additional section, embodying in a shorter form the provisions of section four of the act. The amended bill passed the Senate July 22. The proposed forfeiture of the claims of owners to such of their slaves as had been compelled to work in aid of the rebellion aroused strong opposition in the House, but an amendment in the form of a substitute for the final section of the Senate bill, being section four of the act as passed, was agreed to, August 3, by a vote of 60 to 48. By a vote of 24 to 11 the Senate concurred in the amendment of the House, and on the 6th the act was approved. The Confiscation Act was the first legislative step towards emancipation.

REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 319. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., and the Cong. Globe. For the retaliatory act of the Confederate Congress, August 30, see Confederate Statutes at Large, 201. On Butler's course see Butler's Book, 256 seq., and War Records, Series I., Vol. I., 53.

An Act to confiscate Property used for Insurrectionary Purposes.

Be it enacted. That if, during the present or any future insurrection against the Government of the United States, after the President of the United States shall have declared, by proclamation, that the laws of the United States are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the power vested in the marshals by law, any person or persons, his, her, or their agent, attorney, or employé, shall purchase or acquire, sell or give, any property of whatsoever kind or description, with intent to use or employ the same, or suffer the same to be used or employed, in aiding, abetting, or promoting such insurrection or resistance to the laws, or any person or persons engaged therein; or if any person or persons, being the owner or owners of any such property, shall knowingly use or employ, or consent to the use or employment of the same as aforesaid, all '' such property is hereby declared to be lawful subject of prize || and capture wherever found; and it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to cause the same to be seized, confiscated, and condemned.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That such prizes and capture shall be condemned in the district or circuit court of the United States having jurisdiction of the amount, or in admiralty in any district in which the same may be seized, or into which they may be taken and proceedings first instituted.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Attorney-General, or any district attorney of the United States in which said property may at the time be, may institute the proceedings of condemnation, and in such case they shall be wholly for the benefit of the United States; or any person may file an information with such attorney, in which case the proceedings shall be for the use of such informer and the United States in equal parts.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever hereafter, during the present insurrection against the Government of the United States, any person claimed to be held to labor or service under the law of any State, shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or by

the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms against the United States, or shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or his lawful agent, to work or to be employed in or upon any fort, navy yard, dock, armory, ship, entrenchment, or in any military or naval service whatsoever, against the Government and lawful authority of the United States, then, and in every such case, the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due shall forfeit his claim to such labor, any law of the State or of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. And whenever thereafter the person claiming such labor or service shall seek to enforce his claim, it shall be a full and sufficient answer to such claim that the person whose service or labor is claimed had been employed in hostile service against the Government of the United States, contrary to the provisions of this act.

No. 125. Act authorizing the Seizure of Railroad and Telegraph Lines

January 31, 1862

IN his report of July 1, 1861, the Secretary of War, Cameron, stated that the resistance to the passage of troops through Baltimore, the destruction of bridges on certain railroads, and the refusal of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to transport government forces and supplies, had made it necessary "to take possession of so much of the railway lines as was required to form a connection with the States from which troops and supplies were expected;" and an appropriation for the construction and operation, when necessary, of railroad and telegraph lines was recommended. Further specific recommendations for construction were made in the annual report of December 1. A bill in accordance with the earlier recommendation was reported to the Senate, January 22, by Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio, from the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, and passed with amendments on the 28th by a vote of 23 to 12. The next day, by a vote of 113 to 28, the bill passed the House, and on the 31st the act was approved. An order taking military possession of all railroads was issued May 25.

REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 334, 335. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. Globe. The debate in the Senate is of most importance. Cameron's report of 1861 is in the Globe, Appendix.

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