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

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[75] act, in the opinion of the House, contravened the first clause of the seventh section of the first article of the Constitution of the United States, and was an infringement on the privileges of the House, and that the bill, with the amendments, be respectfully returned to the Senate, with a message communicating the resolution and the motion was agreed to. The Senate returned the bill to the House, with the section objected to left out. The House proceeded to consider the bill, and after debate, in which Mr. Dawes, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Schenck, and Mr. Harding participated, Mr. Le Blond, of Ohio, moved that no levy of troops should be made under the provisions of the act, except by volunteering, till such time as the President of the United States should have made a request for an armistice, and should have made such efforts as were consistent with honor to restore harmony among the States by the appointment of commissioners, empowered to negotiate for peace upon terms of the restoration of the Union under the Constitution, and until such efforts should have been rejected by the so-called confederate government. Mr. Cox moved to lay the whole subject on the table; lost — yeas, forty-three; nays, fifty-seven. The vote was then taken on Mr. Le Blond's amendment, and it was rejected — yeas, eleven; nays, eighty-nine.

On the first of July, the House, on motion of Mr. Schenck, resumed the consideration of the bill. Amendments were offered by Mr. Davis, of Maryland, Mr. Morrill, Mr. Orth, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Garfield. The amendments of Mr. Thomas and Mr. Davis were rejected, and those of Mr. Morrell, Mr. Orth, and Mr. Garfield agreed to. The amendment of the Senate, as amended, was then disagreed to, and, on motion of Mr. Schenck, the House asked a committee of conference, and the Speaker appointed Mr. Garfield, Mr. Smithers, and Mr. Kernan managers on the part of the House.

The Senate, on motion of Mr. Wilson, insisted upon its amendments, agreed to the committee of conference, and appointed Mr. Wilson, Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Lane, of Indiana, managers. On the twenty-second, Mr. Wilson, from the conference committee, reported “that the Senate recede from its amendments to the House bill, and agree to it with several amendments.” After debate, the vote was taken on concurring in the report, and it was non-concurred in — yeas, sixteen; nays, eighteen. On motion of Mr. Sherman, the Senate insisted on its amendments to the bill, and asked a further conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses-yeas, twenty-eight; nays, eight. Mr. Foster moved a reconsideration of the vote, and it was reconsidered — yeas, twenty; nays, seventeen. Mr. Sherman then withdrew his motion. On motion of Mr. Conness, the Senate reconsidered its vote nonconcurring in the report of the committee of conference--yeas, eighteen; nays, seventeen. The vote was then taken on concurring in the conference committee's report; and it was agreed to — yeas, eighteen; nays, seventeen. In the House, Mr. Garfield made the report from the committee of conference, and it was agreed to — yeas, sixty-six; nays, fifty-five. The bill was approved by the President on the fourth of July, 1864.

No. Lxxiii.--The Joint Resolution expressive of the Thanks of Congress to the Veteran Soldiers who have reenlisted in the Army.

In the House, on the seventeenth of February, 1864, Mr. Farnsworth, of Illinois, introduced a joint resolution expressive of the thanks of Congress to the veteran soldiers who have reenlisted in the army. It declared that the thanks of Congress are given to those noble and brave men who, having so gallantly endured the hardships and perils of war for more than two years, in support of their country's flag, present the sublime spectacle of again voluntarily enrolling themselves in the army of the Union for another three years campaign, or so long as the war shall continue; and that the Secretary of War cause the resolution to be read to each of the veteran regiments who had reenlisted, or should reenlist. The joint resolution was passed without a division.

In the Senate, on the first of March, Mr. Wilson, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to which it had been referred, reported it back without amendment. The resolution was unanimously passed, and it was approved by the President on the twenty-second day of March, 1864.

No. Lxxiv.--The Bill to increase the Number of Cadets in, and to raise the Standard of Admission to, the Military Academy.

In the Senate, on the twentieth of December, 1864, Mr. Wilson introduced a bill to increase the number of cadets in, and to raise the standard of admission to, the Military Academy, which was read twice and referred to the Military Committee. The bill provides: “That the President of the United States may appoint, in addition to the number of cadets heretofore authorized by law, two cadets for each State represented in Congress, who shall be actual residents of the State for which they may be appointed, and fifty cadets to be appointed from the military forces of the United States, regular and volunteer, who shall have served for a period of not less than one year. That no person shall hereafter be admitted as a cadet at the Military Academy who shall be less than seventeen or more than twenty years of age on the first day of July in the year of his admission. That on and after the first day of July, 1866, no person shall be admitted as a cadet at the Military Academy until he shall have passed a full and satisfactory examination in the following-named branches of education: First. Spelling, reading, writing, and the grammatical construction of the English language. Second. An outline of the physical and political geography and of the history of the United States. Third. Arithmetic, to include the decimal numeration, the four ground rules, the tables of the standard weights and measures, and the coins of ”