Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 10.
Frank Moore, Ed.

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“ [58] naval service of the United States not physically disqualified, who has so served more than one year, and whose term of unexpired service shall not, at the time of substitution, exceed six months, may be employed as a substitute to serve in the troops of the State in which he enlisted; and if any drafted person shall hereafter pay money for the procuration of a substitute, under the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, such payment of money shall operate only to relieve such person from draft on that call, and his name shall be retained on the roll, and he shall be subject to draft on future calls, and the maximum of commutation under said act shall hereafter be five hundred dollars instead of three hundred dollars.” Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, moved to amend the amendment by adding as a proviso: “That no person who has been drafted and furnished a substitute or paid commutation as herein provided, shall again be liable to draft until the present enrolment shall be exhausted.” The amendment to the amendment was rejected. On motion of Mr. Harris, Mr. Sherman's amendment was amended so as to make the maximum commutation four hundred dollars instead of five hundred dollars. Mr. Howard, of Michigan, moved to amend Mr. Sherman's amendment by striking out the last clause, “and the maximum of commutation shall be four hundred dollars instead of three hundred dollars;” and it was agreed to — yeas, twenty-three; nays, fourteen. Mr. Sherman's amendment as amended was agreed to.

Mr. Howe moved to amend by adding a new section providing that the money received as commutation should be a fund to be equally distributed among men drafted and mustered into the service; but the amendment was rejected. Mr. Dixon moved to amend by adding as a new section: “That all persons recognized as clergymen or ministers of religion by the ecclesiastical authority of the denomination or communion to which they belong, when called into the military service under this act, shall be regarded as non-combatants, and employed as chaplains or in hospitals.” Mr. Wilson moved to amend by striking out the amendment and inserting: “That ministers of the Gospel, or members of religious denominations conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice of said religious denomination, shall, when drafted into the military service, be considered non-combatants, and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to the care of freedmen, or shall pay the sum of three hundred dollars to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers; and such drafted persons shall then be exempt from the draft during the time for which they shall have been drafted.” Mr. Dixon accepted the amendment. Mr. Grimes moved to amend the amendment by striking out the words, “ministers of the Gospel or;” and the amendment was agreed to — yeas, twenty-eight; nays, ten. Mr. Doolittle moved to amend by requiring members of religious denominations to make oath that they are conscientiously opposed to bearing arms; and the amendment was agreed to. The amendment as amended was agreed to — yeas, twenty-eight; nays, twelve.

On the fifteenth, the Senate resumed the consideration of the bill. It was reported to the Senate, and the amendments made as in Committee of the Whole agreed to. Mr. Nesmith renewed the motion to repeal the three hundred dollar commutation clause of the enrolment act; but the motion was lost — yeas, fifteen; nays, twenty-four. Mr. Sumner renewed his motion to require drafted persons to pay commutation in proportion to their incomes; but it was lost — yeas, sixteen; nays, twenty-eight. Mr. Doolittle desired to amend the bill so as to make persons who had resided one year in the country and voted, liable to enrolment and draft, and Mr. Trumbull moved to amend by adding: “That no person of foreign birth shall, on account of alienage, be exempted from enrolment or draft, who has at any time assumed the rights of a citizen by voting at any election, or who has held any office; but the fact that any such person of foreign birth has voted or held, or shall vote or hold office, shall be taken as conclusive evidence that he is not entitled to exemption from military service on account of alienage.” The amendment was agreed to.

The consideration of the bill was resumed on the sixteenth; debated and amended. On the eighteenth, the bill was further considered, debated, amended, and passed.

In the House, on the fifteenth of January, Mr. Schenck, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom the bill had been referred, reported it back with an amendment. On the first of February, the House, on motion of Mr. Schenck, referred it to the Committee of the Whole, and made it the special order until disposed of. The Military Committee reported an amendment to strike out all of the Senate bill after the first section, and insert twenty-five new sections as a substitute. On motion of Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, the original bill was amended so as to provide that persons paying three hundred dollars should be exempted during the time for which they were drafted, unless the enrolment should be exhausted. Mr. Holman, of Indiana, moved to amend so as to repeal the commutation provision. On the second, the debate was renewed by Mr. Schenck, Mr. Chandler, and Mr. Davis, of New-York, Mr. Anderson, of Kentucky, and Mr. W. J. Allen, of Illinois. The House, on the third, resumed the consideration of the bill, and Mr. Myers, and Mr. Williams, of Pennsylvania, addressed the House in its favor, and Mr. Stiles of that State opposed it. Mr. Holman's amendment to strike out of the original bill the commutation clause was rejected — yeas, twenty-six; nays, seventy-three. Mr. Baldwin, of Michigan, moved to amend the bill by striking out the maximum of four hundred dollars