This, while it may inconvenience, cannot ruin the creditor, his judgment can remain a lien upon the property of the debtor, and when peace is restored he can receive his debt with interest. There is a still weightier reason which impels me to ask the passage of this law. The safety of the State, the existence of our free institutions, demand that all the available means of the whole people should be brought to the aid of the State in the fierce and protracted conflict on which she has now entered.

Another subject which I have deemed of sufficient importance to claim the attention of an extra session of the Legislature, is the raising of a revenue sufficient to meet the extraordinary demands on the State treasury for the next several years. Some increase in the present rate of taxes will be necessary to keep the revenue up to the present amount. I, therefore, recommend that the present assessment of lands be continued during the war, and the revenue law be so amended as to impose an ad valorem tax of one-fourth of one per cent. on lands and slaves.

As a means of retaliation on a people who are raising large armies for our subjugation, and of strengthening our defences against them, and at the same time relieving the people from much of the burden imposed by this war, I submit it to legislation would it not be expedient and just to confiscate all the property of alien enemies within the limits of the State?

In regard to arms and military stores, I have to report that about sixteen thousand stand of arms for infantry and cavalry have been brought to the State during my administration. This number has not, by thousands, supplied the demands of volunteers willing and anxious to receive them; and all the efforts heretofore made by the Military Board and myself have failed to procure a sufficient number; and to supply the deficiency we are now collecting the rifles and double-barrelled shot-guns throughout the State, to be used until better can be procured. Ten companies of cavalry and ten of artillery have been organized, and will soon be arined and equipped ready for the field.

The sea coast being considered the most assailable portion of the territory of this State, and most likely to be annoyed by the enemy, an agreement has been entered into with the

volunteers to the coast, to act in conjunction with the Confederate troops commanded by Gen. Twiggs.

The message closes with the following allusion to the success of Southern arms thus far in the contest:

Victory has so far crowned the efforts of our armies. The God who loves justice and defends the right seems to have inspired the Confederate generals with wisdom and our troops with valor. But, while rejoicing over our victories, we are called to shed tears over the fallen brave who have watered the tree of liberty with their patriot blood. Mississippi will remember and honor their names. May the God of Justice give success to our arms and safety to our sons. JOHN J. PETTUS.

Doc. 126.

MISSISSIPPI RESOLUTIONS

ON THE BATTLE OF MANASSAS, ADOPTED
JULY 26, 1861.

Resolved, 1st. That the Senate of Mississippi most heartily participates in the universal rejoicing of the people of the State of Mississippi and of the Confederate States, over the late brilliant victories achieved by the Confederate

arms.

2d. That we tender to the gallant surviving sons of Mississippi, who participated in the heroic achievements of the 18th and 21st inst., the assurance of our liveliest gratitude, and that while they crowned themselves with unfading laurels they have added another chaplet to the crown won for our State on the bloody fields of Mexico.

3d. That a triumphant death having removed some of the brave and noble sons of Mississippi beyond the reach of words, it is ours to enshrine their names and deeds in the hearts and memories of a grateful people. To their bereaved kindred and friends we offer profound condolence, and share with them the consolation of knowing they fell in the arms of victory beneath the consecrated flag of their country.

4th. That we extend to the brave Mississippians on other and less active fields, our admiration for the patient endurance of all the duties and hardships of camp without sharing the brilliant victories that crowned our arms, and that we have full confidence in their will and ability to maintain the high position of Mississippi soldiers whenever an opportunity offers.

5th. That we recognize in the success of the Confederate arms the hand of the Divine Arbi

BISHOP OTEY'S PASTORAL LETTER. TO THE CLERGY OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE OF TENNESSEE.

Dearly Beloved Brethren: The Congress of the Confederate States having, by resolution, unanimously "invited the people to offer up their united thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, for the glorious victory and mighty deliverance," Vouchsafed to our army at Manassas, on the 21st inst., the following form of thanksgiving is set forth, to be used in all the congregations of this diocese, at morning prayer, and immediately before the general thanksgiving, on Sunday, the 28th of this month, and in those congregations to the ministers of which this letter shall not come in time, on Sunday, the 4th of August:

THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY.-O, Almighty God! the sovereign commander of all the world, in whose hand is power, and might, which none is able to withstand, we bless and magnify thy great and glorious name for the happy victory which thou hast been pleased to grant to our arms, the whole glory whereof we do ascribe to thee, who art the only giver of victory. And we beseech thee give us grace to improve this great mercy to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the promotion of a speedy and permanent peace, the honor of our country, and as much as in us lieth, to the good of all mankind. And we pray thee, O Lord, | to give us such a sense of this great goodness as may engage us to a true thankfulness, such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, as for all thy mercies, so in particular for this victory and deliverance, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen!

I appoint for the first lesson at morning prayer Nahum i. 2 to the end; 2d lesson, St. Luke xxi. 25 to the end. The psalter for 27th July and 4th August, are so appropriate to the occasion as to require no substitution of other psalms.

gled the wailings of many for the fall of those near and dear to their hearts. In every part of the land this terrible conflict has made widows and orphans-bereaved parents of their sons, and severed other and tender ties of the domestic and social circles. Let us remember such in our prayers. No better forms to express our sympathy for them and for the wounded and sick can be found, than those which the care and love of the church have furnished for use in the following among her occasional prayers:

I. FOR PERSONS IN AFFLICTION.-O, merciful God and Heavenly Father! who hast taught us in thy holy word that thou dost willingly afflict or grieve the children of men, look with pity, we beseech, upon the sorrows of thy servants, for whom our prayers are now offered. In thy wisdom thou hast seen fit to visit them with trouble and to bring distress upon them. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy; sanctify thy fatherly correction to them-endue their souls with patience under their affliction, and with resignation to thy blessed will; comfort them with a sense of thy goodness, lift up thy countenance upon them, and give them peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

II. FOR THE WOUNDED, THE SICK, AND DYING.-O, most gracious Father! we fly unto thee for mercy in behalf of those, thy poor servants, lying under the sudden visitation of thy hand, suffering from wounds and sickness threatening death. If it be thy will, preserve them that there may be place for repentance, but if thou last otherwise appointed, let thy mercy supply to them the want of the usual opportunity for the trimming of their lamps. Stir up in them such sorrow for sin, and such fervent love to thee, as may in a short time do the work of many days, that among the praises which thy saints and holy angels shall sing to the honor of thy mercy through eternal ages, it may be to thy unspeakable glory that thou hast redeemed the souls of thy servants from eternal death, and made them partakers of the everlasting life which is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

I desire that these prayers be used on the occasion above referred to, and so long as shall seem proper and expedient to you, and in that part of the service which the rubric and canons direct.

If I have been correctly informed, the ordinance of secession passed by the legislature has been ratified and confirmed by the vote of the people. Hence, I suggest to my reverend brethren of the clergy-for I have no authority to order or direct the change-that in the prayer for the President of the United States, etc., and in the prayer for Congress, also, the words "United States" be omitted, and the words "Confederate States " substituted in both places.

the Savannah, and if driven to the terrible necessity of retaliation by your execution of any of the officers or the crew of the Savannah, that retaliation will be extended so far as shall be requisite to secure the abandonment of a practice unknown to the warfare of civilized man; and so barbarous as to disgrace the nation which shall be guilty of inaugurating it.

With this view, and because it may not have reached you, I now renew the proposition made to the commander of the blockading squadron, to exchange for the prisoners taken on the Savannah, an equal number of those now held by us, according to rank. I am yours, &c.,

JEFFERSON DAVIS,

President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States.

Doc. 129.

SPEECH OF ANDREW JOHNSON, DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED

STATES, JULY 27, 1861.

THE Senate having under consideration the joint resolution to approve and confirm certain acts of the President of the United States for suppressing insurrection and rebellion, Mr. Johnson, of Tennessee, said:

Mr. PRESIDENT: When I came from my home to the seat of Government, in compliance with the proclamation of the President of the United States calling us together in extra session, it was not my intention to engage in any of the discussions that might transpire in this body; but since the session began, in consequence of the course which things have taken, I feel unwilling to allow the Senate to adjourn without saying a few words in response to many things that have been submitted to the Senate since its session commenced. What little I shall say to-day will be without much method or order. I shall present the suggestions that occur to my mind, and shall endeavor to speak of the condition of the country as it is.

On returning here, we find ourselves, as we were when we adjourned last spring, in the midst of a civil war. That war is now progressing, without much hope or prospect of a speedy termination. It seeins to me, Mr. President, that our Government has reached one of three periods through which all Governments must pass. A nation, or a people, have first to pass through a fierce ordeal in obtaining their independence or separation from the Government to which they were attached. In some instances this is a severe ordeal. We passed through such a one in the Revolution; we were seven years in effecting the separation, and in taking our position among the nations of the earth as a separate and distinct power. Then, after having succeeded in establishing its independence, and taken its position among the nations of the earth, a nation must show its ability to maintain that position, that separate

and distinct independence, against other powers, against foreign foes. In 1812, in the history of our Government, this ordeal commenced, and terminated in 1815.

There is still another trial through which a nation must pass. It has to contend against internal foes, against enemies at home; against those who have no confidence in its integrity, or in the institutions established under its organic law. We are in the midst of this third ordeal, and the problem now being solved before the nations of the earth, and before the people of the United States, is whether we can succeed in maintaining ourselves against the internal foes of the Government; whether we can succeed in putting down traitors and treason, and in establishing the great fact that we have a Government with sufficient strength to maintain its existence against whatever combination may be presented in opposition to it.

This brings me to a proposition laid down by the Executive in his recent message to the Congress of the United States. In that message the President said:

"This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of government, whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to partial and temporary departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the Government for whose existence we contend."

I think the question is fairly and properly. stated by the President, that it is a struggle whether the people shall rule; whether the people shall have a Government based upon their intelligence, upon their integrity, upon their purity of character, sufficient to govern themselves. I think this is the true issue; and the time has now arrived when the energies of the nation must be put forth, when there must be union and concert on the part of all those who agree in man's capability of self-government, without regard to their former divisions or party prejudices, in order to demonstrate that great proposition.

Since this discussion commenced, it has been urged and argued, by Senators on one side, that there was a disposition to change the nature and character of the Government, and that, if we proceed as we are going, it would result in establishing a dictatorship. It has been said that the whole frame-work, nature, genius, and character of the Government would be entirely changed; and great apprehensions have been thrown out that it would result in a consolidation of the Government, or a dictatorship. We find, in the speech delivered by the distinguished Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Breckinridge) the other day, the following paragraph, alluding to what will be the effect of the pas

"Here in Washington, in Kentucky, in Missouri, every where where the authority of the President extends, in his discretion he will feel himself warranted, by the action of Congress upon this resolution, to subordinate the civil to the military power; to imprison citizens without warrant of law; to suspend the writ of habeas corpus; to establish martial law; to make seizures and searches without warrant; to suppress the press; to do all those acts which rest in the will and in the authority of a military commander. In my judgment, sir, if we pass it, we are upon the eve of putting, so far as we can, in the hands of the President of the United States the power of a dictator."

Then, in reply to the Senator from Oregon, (Mr. Baker,) he seems to have great apprehension of a radical change in our form of government. The Senator goes on to say:

"The pregnant question, Mr. President, for us to decide is, whether the Constitution is to be respected in this struggle; whether we are to be called upon to follow the flag over the ruins of the Constitution? Without questioning the motives of any, I believe that the whole tendency of the present proceedings is to establish a government without limitation of powers, and to change radically our frame and character of government."

Sir, I most fully concur with the Senator that there is a great effort being made to change the nature and character of our Government. I think that effort is being demonstrated and manifested most clearly every day; but we differ as to the parties making this great effort. The Senator alludes, in his speech, to a conversation he had with some very intelligent gentleman who formerly represented our country abroad. It appears from that conversation that foreigners were accustomed to say to Americans, "I thought your Government existed by consent; now how is it to exist?" and the reply was, "We intend to change it; we intend to adapt it to our condition; these old colonial geographical divisions and States will ultimately be rubbed out, and we shall have a Governinent strong and powerful enough." The Senator seemed to have great apprehensions based on those conversations. He read a paragraph from a paper indicating that State lines were to be rubbed out. In addition to all this he goes on to state that the writ of habeas corpus has been violated, and he says that since the Government commenced, there has not been a case equal to the one which has recently transpired in Maryland. I shall take up some of his points in their order, and speak of them as I think they deserve to be spoken of. The Senator says:

"The civil authorities of the country are paralyzed, and a practical martial law is being established all over the land. The like never happened in this country before, and would not be tolerated in any country in Europe which

gulated liberty. George Washington carried the thirteen colonies through the war of the Revolution without martial law. The President of the United States cannot conduct the Government three months without resorting to it."

The Senator puts great stress on the point, and speaks of it in very emphatic language, that General Washington carried the country through the seven years of the Revolution without resorting to martial law during all that period of time. Now, how does the matter stand? When we come to examine the history of the country, it would seem that the Senator had not hunted up all the cases. We can find some, and one in particular, not very different from the case which has recently occurred, and to which he alluded. In 1777, the second year of the war of the Revolution, members of the society of Friends in Philadelphia were arrested on suspicion of being disaffected to the cause of American freedom. A publication now before me says:

*

"The persons arrested, to the number of twenty," * * * 66 were taken into custody by military force, at their homes or usual places of business; many of them could not obtain any knowledge of the cause of their arrest, or of any one to whom they were amenable, and they could only hope to avail themselves of the intervention of some civil authority.

"The Executive Council [of the State of Pennsylvania] being formed of residents of the city and county of Philadelphia, had a better knowledge of the society of Friends and of their individual characters than the members of Congress assembled from the various parts of the country, and ought to have protected them. But instead of this, they caused these arrests of their fellow-citizens to be made with unrelenting severity, and from the 1st to the 4th day of September, 1777, the party was taken into confinement in the Mason's Lodge in Philadelphia.

"On the minutes of Congress of 3d September, 1777, it appears that a letter was received by them from George Bryan, Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council, dated 2d September, stating that arrests had been made of persons inimical to the American States, and desiring the advice of Congress particularly whether Augusta and Winchester, in Virginia, would not be proper places at which to secure prisoners."

* ** *

"Congress must have been aware that it was “ becoming a case of very unjust suffering, for they passed their resolution of 6th September, 1777, as follows:

"That it be recommended to the Supreme Executive Conncil of the State of Pennsylvania to hear what the said remonstrants can allege to remove the suspicions of their being disaffected or dangerous to the United States.'

"But the Supreme Executive Council, on the same day, referring to the above,