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

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“ [68] rank, pay, and allowances of a colonel of cavalry.” After the word “advocate,” in the seventh line of said seventh Senate amendment, insert the word “general;” and that the House of Representatives do agree to said Senate amendment as amended. That the House of Representatives do agree to the eighth Senate amendment, to wit, the insertion of section nine. That the House of Representatives do agree to the ninth Senate amendment, to wit, the insertion of section ten. That the House of Representatives agree to the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth of the Senate amendments. The report of the conference committee was accepted in both Houses, and the bill was approved by the President June twentieth, 1864.

No. Lxviii.--The Bill to provide for the Examination of certain Officers of the Army.

In the Senate, on the first of February, 1864, Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, introduced a bill to provide for the examination of certain officers of the army, which was read twice, and referred to the Military Committee.

On the third, Mr. Wilson reported it back with an amendment. The bill provided: That every quartermasterr and assistant quartermaster, every commissary and assistant commissary of subsistence, every paymaster and additional paymaster should appear for examination before a board, composed of three officers of the corps to which he belonged. And all members of such boards of examination shall swear that they will conduct all examinations with impartiality, and with a sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons to be examined. That boards of examination should be constituted, under the direction of the Secretary of War, by the Quartermaster-General, the Commissary-General of Subsistence, and the Paymaster-General, at convenient places. That after the board should be constituted, and after the general orders should have been published for a period of ninety days, none of the officers mentioned in the first section of the act should receive any pay, allowances, or emoluments, until they should have appeared before the board of examination. That if the board of examination should report that any officer does not possess the requisite qualifications, they should forward the record of the examination to the head of the bureau to which he might belong; and if the head of such bureau should approve the finding, the officer so failing in his examination should, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one month's pay; and if not yet commissioned, his appointment should be revoked; and if the board should report that any officer failed to pass a satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance or vicious habits, and if the head of the bureau should approve the finding and report of the board as to his lack of the requisite business qualifications, then such officer should be dismissed without pay, and should not be permitted to renter the service as an officer. That the boards of examination should forward all their records of examination to the heads of the bureaus to which they appertain, and such records should be filed in the proper bureaus.

On the ninth, on motion of Mr. Wilson, the bill was taken up, the amendments agreed to, and the bill passed without a division.

In the House, the bill was referred to the Military Committee on the tenth. On the twenty-first of June, Mr. Schenck reported it back with amendments. The amendments were agreed to, and the bill passed without a division.

On motion of Mr. Wilson, the amendments were referred to the Military Committee, and on the twenty-third; the Committee reported in favor of concurring in the amendments of the House. The Senate, on motion of Mr. Wilson, concurred in the amendments. So the bill was passed, and approved by the President on the twenty-fifth of June, 1864.

No. Lxix.--The Joint Resolution to provide for the Publication of a Fall Army Register.

In the House, on the twenty-first of June, 1864, Mr. Schenck reported from the Committee on Military Affairs a joint resolution to provide for the publication of a full army register. It authorized and required the Secretary of War, in connection with the army register for the year 1864, to cause to be printed and published a full roster or roll of all field, line, and staff-officers of volunteers who had been in the army since the beginning of the rebellion, showing whether they were yet in the service or had been discharged, and giving casualties and other explanations proper for such register. And to defray, in whole or in part, the expenses of this publication, an edition of fifty thousand copies of such enlarged register should be published, and might be sold to officers, soldiers, or citizens, at a price which should not more than cover the actual cost of paper, printing, and binding, and should not in any case exceed one dollar per volume. The resolution passed without a division. In the Senate, on the twenty-seventh, Mr, Anthony, of Rhode Island, from the Committee on Printing, to which it had been referred, reported it back without amendment. The joint resolution was passed, and approved by the President on the thirtieth of June, 1864.

No. Lxx.--The Bill to provide for the more speedy Punishment of Guerrilla Marauders, and for other purposes.

In the House, on the sixth of June, 1864, Mr. Garfield, of Ohio, from the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a bill for the more speedy punishment of guerrillas, and for other purposes. Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, moved that the bill be laid upon the table. Lost — yeas, thirty-five; nays, sixty-seven. It was then passed — yeas, seventy-two; nays, thirty-seven.

In the Senate, on the thirteenth of June, Mr. Wilson, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to which the bill of the House had been referred, reported it back with an amendment. The bill