The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the sum of thirteen thousand five hundred dollars be and the same are hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the Choctaw nation of Indians the interest due July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, by the State of Virginia, upon four hundred and fifty thousand dollars invested in the Choctaw General Fund, which interest has been placed by the said State in the Treasury of the Confederate States, in trust for said Indians.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint seventy officers of artillery in the Provisional Army, for the performance of ordnance duties, in addition to those authorized by the Act entitled “An Act to authorize the appointment of officers of artillery in the Provisional Army,” approved April twenty-first eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and that from the whole number of artillery officers appointed to discharge ordnance duties, there shall be one with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel for each command composed of more than one army corps, one with the rank of Major for each army corps composed of more than one division, and the residue with the rank of Captain and of First and Second Lieutenant in such proportion as the President shall prescribe.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the sixth section of the Act to provide for the public defence, approved on the sixth of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, be amended by adding after the words “brigades into divisions,” the words “and divisions into army corps,” and each army corps shall be commanded by a Lieutenant-General, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall receive the pay of a Brigadier-General.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Secretary of the Treasury be and he is hereby authorized to issue, in addition to the amounts heretofore authorized to be issued, three millions five hundred thousand dollars of Confederate States bonds, under the provisions and conditions of the Act entitled “An Act to authorize the issue of Treasury notes, and to provide a war tax for their redemption,” approved August nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and by the further supplemental Act to the above cited Act, approved December nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, to meet a contract made by the Secretary of the Navy for six iron-clad vessels of war and six steam engines and boilers complete, to be constructed abroad, and said bonds, when issued, shall be delivered to the persons entitled to them under the above recited contract.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to transfer any private or non-commissioned officer who may be in a regiment from a State of this Confederacy other than his own, to a regiment from his own State, whenever such private or non-commissioned officer may apply for such transfer, and whenever such transfer can be made without injury to the public service; and the Secretary of War shall make regulations to facilitate such transfer: Provided, that this act shall not apply to any one who has enlisted as a substitute.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That all officers and soldiers belonging to the Confederate States service who were enrolled into said service under the command of Major General Sterling Price, in the State of Missouri, shall be allowed by the quartermasters of the respective corps in the Confederate Army to which such officers and soldiers may belong, compensation according to the laws of the Confederate States for that period of their service between the time of such troops having been actually enrolled in the Confederate service and the time of their regular acceptance by the proper authorities as Confederate troops.

SEC. 2. All officers and soldiers of the Missouri State Guard, called into the service of the Confederate States by the order of any commanding officer of the Confederate Army, and rendering service to the Confederate States under any agreement made between the authorities of the State of Missouri and those of the Confederate States, shall receive the same pay for the time during which such officers and soldiers may have been in such service as they would have been entitled to receive if belonging to the Confederate Army; Provided, however, That all staff officers belonging to said Missouri State Guard shall only receive for their services the same compensation with staff officers discharging like duties in the Confederate Army.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the officers of the Engineer corps of the Provisional Army may have rank conferred on them during the war, equal to that authorized by law for the Engineer corps of the Confederate States Army: Provided, That the number of officers in each grade be limited to one colonel, three lieutenant colonels, six majors, forty captains, thirty first lieutenants and twenty second lieutenants.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That from and after the passage of this act there shall be allowed to the Marine corps, in addition to the number of non-commissioned officers and musicians allowed by the first section of the act of Congress approved May twentieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, twenty sergeants, twenty corporals, twenty drummers, twenty fifers and two principal musicians, each principal musician to receive the pay and allowance of a sergeant major.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Congress of the Confederate States of America, for its next regular session, shall assemble on the second Monday in January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and not on the first Monday in December, eighteen hundred and sixty-two.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the clause of the second section of the above recited act, which requires the appointment of a chief clerk of the Patent Office, shall not be held obligatory if the current business of said office shall not require the services of such an officer; and that the Commissioner of Patents may, in his discretion, with the approval of the Attorney General, dispense with a chief clerk for such cause, or whenever the revenue of the Patent Office is insufficient to enable it to be self-sustaining.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the annual pay of the Engineer-in-chief of the navy, and passed assistant Surgeons shall be as follows: Engineer-in-chief three thousand dollars; passed assistant Surgeons, for service afloat, seventeen hundred dollars; for shore or other duty, fifteen hundred dollars; when on leave or waiting orders, twelve hundred dollars.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint one major, ten first and ten second lieutenants, in the Signal corps, and that the Secretary of War may appoint twenty additional sergeants in the said corps.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be and he is hereby authorized to call out and place in the military service of the Confederate States for three years, unless the war should have been sooner ended all white men, who are residents of the Confederate States, between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five years, at the time the call or calls may be made, and who are not, at such time or times, legally exempted from military service, or such part thereof as, in his judgment, may be necessary to the public defence, such call or calls to be made under the provisions and according to the terms of the act to which this is an amendment; and such authority shall exist in the President during the present war, as to all persons who now are or may hereafter become eighteen years of age, and when once enrolled, all persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five shall serve their full time: Provided, That if the President, in calling out troops into the service of the Confederate States, shall first call for only a part of the persons between the ages hereinbefore stated, he shall call for those between the ages of thirty-five and any other age less than forty-five: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be understood as repealing or modifying any part of the act to which this is amendatory, except as herein expressly stated: And Provided, further, That those called out under this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, shall be first and immediately ordered to fill to their maximum number the companies, battalions, squadrons and regiments from the respective States at the time the act to further provide for the public defence, approved sixteenth April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, was passed, and the surplus, if any, shall be assigned to organizations formed from each State since the passage of that act, or placed in new organizations to be officered by the State having such residue, according to the laws thereof, or disposed of as now provided by law: Provided, That the President is authorized to suspend the execution of this act, or the act to which this is an amendment, in any locality where he may find it impracticable to execute the same, and that in such locality, and during said suspension, the President is authorized to receive troops into the Confederate service, under any of the acts passed by the Confederate Congress prior to the passage of the act to provide further for the public defence, approved sixteenth April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Postmaster-General of the Confederate States do proceed to pay to the several persons, or their lawfully authorized agents or representatives, the sums respectively found due and owing to them for postal service rendered in any of the States of this Confederacy, under contracts or appointments made by the United States Government, before the Confederate States Government took charge of such service, as the said sums have been audited and ascertained by him under the provisions of an Act entitled “An Act to collect for distribution the moneys remaining in the several post-offices of the Confederate States at the time the postal service was taken in charge by said Government,” approved the thirtieth August, eighteen hundred and sixty-one; but the sums authorized by this Act to be paid are only the balances found due after all proper deductions shall have been made on account of previous payments made by the United States, or any of the States, or of available provisions made in whole or in part for such payment by said Government, or of any of the States, and after making all proper deductions for failures or partial failures to perform the service according to their several contracts or appointments during the time for which they claim pay: Provided, That the provisions of this Act shall only extend to loyal citizens of the Confederate States.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the commutation value of rations of sick and disabled soldiers, in the hospitals of the Confederate States, is hereby fixed at one dollar, instead of the commutation now allowed by law, which shall constitute the hospital fund, and be held by the commissary, and be paid over by him, from time to time, to the Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon in charge of the hospital of which the soldier, whose ration was commuted, is an inmate, upon the said Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon's requisition, made in writing, when necessary to purchase supplies for said hospital: Provided, however, when said fund for any one hospital shall increase over and above the monthly expenditures of the same to an amount exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars, the said commissary shall be required to deposit the said excess over and above the said five thousand dollars, in the Treasury of the Confederate States, or such other place of deposit where Government moneys are ordered to be kept; which said deposits, when so made, shall be passed to the credit of the said Confederate States, and be liable to draft as other public moneys are; and all such funds shall be accounted for by the said commissary in his monthly report and abstract as now required by law: And provided further, That all such Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons who shall receive from the said commissary any part of said hospital fund, to be expended for the use of hospitals, shall be held liable for a faithful application of it, and in a weekly account and abstract, to be made out and forwarded to the office of the Surgeon-General, to be verified in every instance by vouchers, shall show what disposition has been made of it, which account, abstract, and accompanying vouchers, shall be placed on file.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to make a contract with the several railroad companies and lines of boats, for the speediest practicable transportation of all supplies purchased for the use of hospitals by agents accredited by the Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon in charge for that purpose, or donations by individuals, societies, or States; and it shall be lawful for the Quartermaster-General to furnish general transportation tickets to such agents upon all railroad trains and canal boats, when engaged in the actual service of said hospitals upon the request of the said Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon.

SEC. 3. That there shall be allowed to each hospital of the Confederate States, suits of clothing, consisting of shirts, pantaloons and drawers, equal to the number of beds in the same, for the use of the sick while in the hospitals, when so ordered by the Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon in charge, which said clothing shall be drawn upon the written requisition of said Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon, and shall be receipted for and kept as hospital clothing, and be accounted for by him as other public property.

SEC. 4. That there be allowed to each hospital, with rations and suitable places of lodging, the following matrons and female nurses and attendants, viz: Two matrons, to be known and designated as hospital matrons in chief, at a salary not to exceed forty dollars per month each, whose general duties shall be to exercise a superintendence over the entire domestic economy of the hospital, to take charge of such delicacies as may be provided for the sick, to apportion them out as required, to see that the food or diet is properly prepared, and all such other duties as may be necessary. Two matrons, to be known and designated as assistant matrons, whose general duties shall be to superintend the laundry, to take charge of the clothing of the sick, the bedding of the hospital, to see that they are kept clean and neat, and perform such other duties as may be necessary, at a salary not to exceed thirty-five dollars per month each. Two matrons for each ward, at a salary not to exceed thirty dollars per month each, to be known and designated as ward-matrons, whose general duties shall be to prepare the beds and bedding of their respective wards, to see that they are kept clean and in order, that the food or diet for the sick is carefully prepared and furnished to them, the medicine administered, and that all patients requiring careful nursing are attended to, and all such other duties as may be necessary. And all Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons in charge of a hospital are hereby authorized to employ such other nurses, either male or female, as may be necessary to the proper care and attention of the sick, at a salary each not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month, and also the necessary cooks, at a salary not to exceed twenty-five dollars each per month, and one ward-master for each ward, at a salary not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month each, giving preference in all cases to females where their services may best subserve the purpose; and in the event a sufficient number of such nurses and ward-masters cannot be employed, not liable to military service, and it shall become necessary to assign to this duty soldiers in the service, then, upon the requisition of such Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon in charge of such hospital, the soldier or soldiers so assigned, who are skillful and competent, shall be permanently detailed to this duty, and shall only be removable for neglect or inattention by the Surgeon or Assistant Surgeon in charge: Provided, In all cases, that all other attendants and servants, not herein provided for, necessary to the service of said hospital, shall be allowed, as now provided by law.

SEC. 5. That the hospitals of the Confederate States shall hereafter be known and numbered as hospitals of a particular State; and in all cases where the same can be done without injury to the patients or great inconvenience to the government, all sick or wounded soldiers, being citizens or residents of such particular State, shall be sent to such hospital as may represent the same, and to such private or State hospitals representing the same, which may be willing to receive them.

SEC. 6. That all persons authorized to be employed by section fourth of this act, who are not engaged in the military service, and whose pay is not now provided for by law, shall be paid monthly by any quartermaster or other person authorized to pay troops in the military service, upon a muster or pay roll, to be made out and certified to by the surgeon or assistant having in charge the hospital or hospitals in which said persons have been employed.

SEC. 7. That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized, in such way and manner as he may deem best, and under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to enter into and perfect some suitable arrangement with the railroad companies, their officers or authorized agents, whereby seats in one or more cars of each railroad train, as the necessities of the case may be, shall be reserved for the use of the sick and wounded soldiers who may desire transportation on any such railroad, and that no person not sick or wounded, and not an attendant upon the sick and wounded, shall be permitted to enter any such car or cars so reserved until the said sick and wounded and their attendants shall first have obtained seats; and, also, shall perfect some arrangement with the said railroad companies, their officers or agents, whereby all conductors having in charge any such trains shall be required to provide, for the use of the sick and wounded in the cars so reserved, a sufcient quantity of pure water.

SEC. 8. That all surgeons and assistant surgeons in charge of a hospital, having in his or their charge any sick or wounded soldier, desiring transportation as aforesaid, shall, in all cases, detail some competent person, acting under his or their authority, whose duty it shall be to accompany all such sick and wounded to the depot of any such railroad, to see that all such are properly cared for, and that they obtain seats on the said car or cars so reserved.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the counties of Matagorda, Wharton, Colorado, Washington and Burleson are hereby attached to the Eastern District of Texas, and all suits hereafter instituted against persons residing in any of said counties shall be instituted in the court of said district held at Galveston, until otherwise ordered by the judge of said district: Provided, however, That all suits and other proceedings instituted against persons or property in any of said counties shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution under the laws now in force.

SEC. 2. That there shall be appointed a Marshal for the District of Eastern Texas, for the court held at Galveston, and the Marshal for the District of Eastern Texas shall be the Marshal for the court held at Tyler.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That whenever the Secretary of the Treasury may have found it necessary to extend the time for making the assessments and returns provided for by said acts, he shall have authority, at his discretion, to make an extension of the time fixed by said acts, for the payment of the tax, or for the sale in default of said payment, and otherwise to provide as may be necessary to render efficient the execution of the said acts, notwithstanding such extension.

The Congress of the Confederate States of Ameaica do enact, That the provisions of said Act shall be extended so as to apply to independent battalions, and that on the recommendation of the commander of any such battalion, an Adjutant of the grade of subaltern may be appointed by the President for said battalion, who is not attached as subaltern to said battalion, and that said Adjutant, when so appointed, shall have the same rank, pay and allowance as are provided by law for Adjutants of regiments.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That whenever the Secretary of War shall grant transfers agreeable to the above Act to any soldier now in the service, he shall furnish transportation also.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That from and after the passage of this Act, any person subject to enrollment for military service under the Acts of Congress providing for the public defence, shall be permitted to enlist in the Marine corps at any time prior to being mustered into the Army of the Confederate States: Provided, That the number of men so enlisted does not increase the Marine corps beyond the strength authorized by law.

SEC. 2. That if any person who has been or is about to be enrolled for service in the Army shall, at any time before being assigned to any company, declare to the enrolling or commanding officer that he prefers being enrolled for service in the Navy or the Marine corps, it shall be the duty of the said officer to enroll such person for the service which he may prefer, and to transmit to the Secretary of the Navy a list of the persons so enrolled.

SEC. 3. That from and after the passage of this act, the pay of sailors and marines shall be increased four dollars per month.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That claims due to deceased non-commissioned officers and privates for pay, allowances and bounty, may be audited and paid without the necessity of the parties entitled producing a pay roll from the captain or commanding officer, when there is other official evidence of the amount due satisfactory to the second auditor, under such regulations as he has or may prescribe, with the approval of the Secretary of War.

SEC. 2. The claims of deceased commissioned officers shall be paid to their heirs or representatives in the same manner as similar claims of non-commissioned officers and privates are now or may be directed by law to be paid; and to assist the second auditor in more effectually carrying out the provisions of this act and other pressing business of his office, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to appoint an experienced accountant who, with the chief clerk, shall have authority to sign and attest such official business as said auditor shall approve and direct.

SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to employ in the office of the second auditor as many additional temporary clerks as he may think necessary, to assist said auditor in the settlement of the claims of deceased officers and soldiers, the compensation of said clerks to be four dollars per day, and without any addition whatever, for every day they shall be so actually engaged, except one, whose annual compensation shall be fifteen hundred dollars, the others to be paid weekly at the Treasury, upon a certificate of service of said auditor.

SEC. 4 This act shall take effect from its passage, and the third section shall continue in force for twelve months and no longer.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the sixth section of an Act to provide for the public defence, approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, be so amended as to authorize the President to organize divisions of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States into army corps, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint officers to the command thereof.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That where the place of holding any district court of the Confederate States is established by law, and such place shall be in the occupation of, or in danger of attack by the enemy, or when any contagious or epidemic disease may prevail at such place, the judge of the district may change the place for holding the court to some other convenient point in the district, by causing the marshal to give public notice for twenty days of such change.

SEC. 2. The order making the change of place for holding court shall be revoked whenever the cause therefor shall cease.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect from its passage.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Postmaster General be and he is hereby authorized to employ such special agents as he may deem necessary to superintend and secure the speedy and certain transportation of the mails across the Mississippi river, in the Confederate States, at such points as may be found practicable for that purpose.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That such agents shall receive the same pay and allowance for their services as is paid and allowed to special agents of the Post Office Department, and that this act shall continue in force during the existence of the present war between the United States and the Confederate States.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That so much of the existing law as provides commutation for clothing to the soldiers in the service of the Confederacy, be and the same is hereby repealed; and hereafter the Secretary of War shall provide in kind to the soldiers, respectively, the uniform clothing prescribed by the regulations of the army of the Confederate States; and should any balance of clothing be due to any soldier at the end of the year, the money value of such balance shall be paid to such soldier, according to the value of such clothing fixed and announced by order from the War Department.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President is hereby authorized to import, duty free cards or card cloth, or any machinery or materials necessary for increasing the manufacture of clothing for the army, or any articles necessary for supplying the deficiency of clothing or shoes, or materials for shoes for the army.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That any machinery, or parts of machinery or materials imported as aforesaid, may be worked on government account, or leased or sold, at the discretion of the President.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the President may extend the privileges of this Act to companies or individuals, subject to such regulations as he may prescribe.

SEC. 4. That the clothing required to be furnished to the troops of the Provisional Army under any existing law may be of such kind, as to color and quality, as it may be practicable to obtain, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the sum of seventy thousand dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid to the state of Louisiana, the same being the estimated excess of the war tax overpaid by her; the said payment to be made to the governor of the state of Louisiana or his authorized agent, subject to a final adjustment whenever the assessments and returns of the war tax for said state shall be completed.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the sum of one hundred and eleven thousand one hundred and seventy-four dollars and sixty-nine cents, be paid to the state of North Carolina, out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the same being the excess over her quota paid by her into the treasury of the Confederate States on account of the war tax.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That all persons subject to enrollment for military service may be enrolled under instructions from the War Department, and reported by the enrolling officer wherever found, whether within the state or county of their residence or not; and when so enrolled, shall be subject to the provisions of law as fully as if enrolled within the county and state of which they may be residents: Provided, That this act shall not extend to any member of a military organization under any state law while he remains in actual service within the limits of his state: And provided, further, That the President is authorized to suspend the execution of this act as regards the residents of any locality where he may find it impracticable to execute the act entitled “An Act to further provide for the public defence,” approved April sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the act to amend the last mentioned act, approved September twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the first section of the act entitled “An Act for the organization of the Staff Departments of the Army of the Confederate States of America,” approved March fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, be amended by adding to the Adjutant and Inspector General's Department one Assistant Adjutant General with the rank of colonel.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be and he is hereby authorized, on the requisition of the Quartermaster General, to detail from the army persons skilled in the manufacture of shoes not to exceed two thousand in number; and it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster General to place them, without delay, at suitable points in shops under proper regulations prescribed by him, and employ them diligently in the manufacture of shoes for the army.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That soldiers detailed under the provisions of this act shall be entitled to receive pay for extra duty, and also thirty-five cents per pair for shoes manufactured by them severally, in addition to regular pay and rations.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the following sums be and the same are hereby appropriated for the objects hereafter expressed for the year ending the thirty-first of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-two:—

Executive.—For compensation of the President of the Confederate States, six hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be and he is hereby authorized and empowered, whenever in his opinion the public good would be promoted thereby, to receive into the service regiments or battalions which have been organized in good faith prior to the first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, under authority or by direction of the Secretary of War, or any general officer of the Government, although said regiments or battalions may be composed in part of persons between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years: Provided, That this authority shall not extend to regiments or battalions organized after the said first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, except in those States and locations where the conscript law may be suspended.

SEC. 2. That the President be and he is hereby authorized and empowered, whenever in his opinion it would promote the public good, to receive into service regiments or battalions which have been heretofore organized of conscripts by a general officer in any of the States lying west of the Mississippi river.

SEC. 3. That all companies, battalions and regiments of infantry raised or organized before the first day of December next within the limits of middle and west Tennessee, to be composed of residents of said districts, may be accepted by the President, when, in his opinion, the public interest will be promoted thereby, and said troops shall be allowed to elect their own officers for the first election, after which all vacancies shall be filled by the President, under the act, and the acts amendatory of the same, providing for the public defence, passed sixteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and also such counties in North Carolina lying east of the line of the Wilmington and Weldon railroad as are beyond the lines of the army and exposed to the incursions of the enemy.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the delegates from the several Indian Nations authorized to have delegates under their respective treaties, shall be paid the same salary and mileage that is paid to members of the House of Representatives under the law now in force.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That there shall be established in each county, parish or district, and in any city in a county, parish or district in the several States, a place of rendezvous for the persons in said county, district, parish or city, enrolled for military duty in the field, who shall be there examined by one or more Surgeons, to be employed by the Government, to be assigned to that duty by the President on a day of which ten days notice shall be given by said Surgeon, and from day to day next, thereafter, until all who shall be in attendance for the purpose of examination shall have been examined; and the decision of said Surgeons, under regulations to be established by the Secretary of War, as to the physical and mental capacity of any such person for military duty in the field, shall be final; and those only thus ascertained to be fit for military duty in the field shall be required to assemble at camps of instruction.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby authorized to pay the sum of four hundred dollars to the several district collectors of the war tax, authorized by the act entitled “An Act to authorize the issue of Treasury notes and to provide a war tax for their redemption,” approved August nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, in those States which have assumed the payment of said tax: Provided, The Secretary of the Treasury shall be satisfied that all the duties which fairly devolved on said collectors by the law under which they were appointed, have been faithfully performed by them: And provided further, That if said collectors have received compensation under the act to which this is supplemental, the sum so received shall be deducted from the amount specified in this act.

SEC. 2. The chief collectors shall receive a proportional amount of the salary fixed by law, for each quarter in which they shall be actually and in good faith engaged in the discharge of the duties of their office.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the first and second sections of the act to which this is an amendment, are hereby declared to have full force and effect in those States and districts in which the President may, under the law, suspend the provisions of the acts providing for the enrollment of persons for military service, or when said acts cannot be enforced by reason of the occupation of the enemy: Provided, That the toops received under the sections of said act shall be received for three years or for the war.

SEC. 2. That the President may, in cases when in his opinion the public interest requires that he should do so, appoint major and brigadier generals with their appropriate staff, and also the field, company and staff officers to regiments, battalions, companies or squadrons, before the same are organized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and if said regiments, battalions, companies or squadrons are not reported as complete within a reasonable time, the President may, in his discretion, vacate the commissions of said officers, who shall be entitled to the pay of their respective grades from the date of their respective appointments until their commissions are vacated; and that companies of infantry shall consist of at least one hundred and twenty-five rank and file, companies of artillery of at least one hundred and fifty rank and file, and companies of cavalry of at least eighty rank and file.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the above recited act be so amended as to secure to all soldiers and non-commissioned officers who shall have entered the armies of the Confederate States for three years or during the war the bounty of fifty dollars, as therein provided, although such soldier or non-commissioned officer may have been killed in battle, died, or been honorably discharged before the expiration of the first year's service of his term, to be paid as other arrearages.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That all persons who shall be held unfit for military service in the field, by reason of bodily or mental incapacity or imbecility, under rules to be prescribed by the Secretary of War; the Vice President of the Confederate States; the officers, judicial and executive, of the Confederate and State Governments, including postmasters appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and such clerks in their offices as are allowed by the Postmaster General, and now employed, and excluding all other postmasters, their assistants and clerks; and except such State officers as the several States may have declared, or may hereafter declare by law to be liable to militia duty; the members of both Houses of the Congress of the Confederate States, and of the Legislatures of the several States, and their respective officers; all clerks now in the offices of the Confederate and State Governments authorized by law, receiving salaries or fees; all volunteer troops, heretofore raised by any State since the passage of the act entitled “An act further to provide for the public defence,” approved April the sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, while such troops shall be in active service under State authority: Provided, That this exemption shall not apply to any person who was liable to be called into service by virtue of said act of April the sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two; all pilots and persons engaged in the merchant marine service; the president, superintendents, conductors, treasurer, chief clerk, engineers, managers, station agents, section masters, two expert track hands to each section of eight miles, and mechanics in the active service and employment of railroad companies, not to embrace laborers, porters and messengers; the president, general superintendent and operators of telegraph companies, the local superintendent and operators of said companies, not to exceed four in number at any locality, but that of the seat of Government of the Confederate States; the president, superintendents, captains, engineers chief clerk and mechanics in the active service and employment of all companies engaged in river and canal navigation, and all captains of boats and engineers therein employed; one editor of each newspaper now being published, and such employees as the editor or proprietor may certify, upon oath, to be indispensable for conducting the publication; the public printer, and those employed to perform the public printing for the Confederate and State Governments; every minister of religion authorized to preach according to the rules of his sect and in the regular discharge of ministerial duties, and all persons who have been and now are members of the society of Friends and the association of Dunkards, Nazarenes and Mennonists, in regular membership in their respective denominations: Provided, Members of the society of Friends, Nazarenes, Mennonists and Dunkards shall furnish substitutes or pay a tax of five hundred dollars each into the public treasury; all physicians who now are, and for the last five years have been, in the actual practice of their profession; all shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths, wagon-makers, millers and their engineers, millwrights, skilled and actually employed as their regular vocation in the said trades, habitually engaged in working for the public, and whilst so actually employed: Provided, Said persons shall make oath in writing that they are so skilled and actually employed at the time as their regular vocation in one of the above trades, which affidavit shall only be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated: Provided, further, That the exemptions herein granted to persons by reason of their peculiar mechanical or other occupation or employment, not connected with the public service, shall be subject to the condition that the products of the labor of such exempts, or of the companies and establishments with which they are connected, shall be sold and disposed of by the proprietors at prices not exceeding seventy-five per centum upon the cost of production, or within a maximum to be fixed by the Secretary of War, under such regulations as he may prescribe: And it is further provided, That if the proprietors of any such manufacturing establishments shall be shown, upon evidence, to be submitted to, and judged of, by the Secretary of War, to have violated, or in any manner evaded the true intent and spirit of the foregoing proviso, the exemptions therein granted shall no longer be extended to them, their superintendents or operatives in said establishments, but they and each and every of them shall be forthwith enrolled under the provisions of this act, and ordered into the Confederate army, and shall, in no event, be again exempted therefrom by reason of said manufacturing establishments or employment therein; all superintendents of public hospitals, lunatic asylums, and the regular physicians, nurses and attendants therein, and the teachers employed in the institutions for the deaf, dumb and blind; in each apothecary store, now established and doing business, one apothecary in good standing, who is a practical apothecary; superintendents and operators in wool and cotton factories, paper mills, and superintendents and managers of wool carding machines, who may be exempted by the Secretary of War: Provided, The profits of such establishments shall not exceed seventy-five per centum upon the cost of production, to be determined upon oath of the parties, subject to the same penalties for violation of the provisions herein contained as are herein before provided in case of other manufactories and mechanical employments; all presidents and teachers of colleges, academies, schools and theological seminaries, who have been regularly engaged as such for two years previous to the passage of this act; all artizans, mechanics, and employees, in the establishments of the Government for the manufacture of arms, ordnance, ordnance stores and other munitions of war, saddles, harness and army supplies, who may be certified by the officer in charge thereof, as necessary for such establishments; also, all artizans, mechanics and employees in the establishments of such persons as are or may be engaged under contracts with the Government in furnishing arms, ordnance, ordnance stores, and other munitions of war: Provided, That the chief of the ordnance bureau, or some ordnance officer authorized by him for the purpose, shall approve of the number of the operatives required in such establishments, all persons employed in the manufacture of arms or ordnance of any kind by the several States, or by contractors to furnish the same to the several State Governments, whom the Governor or Secretary of State thereof may certify to be necessary to the same; all persons engaged in the construction of ships, gunboats, engines, sails, or other articles necessary to the public defence, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy; all superintendents, managers, mechanics and miners employed in the production and manufacture of salt to the extent of twenty bushels per day, and of lead and iron and all persons engaged in burning coke for smelting and manufacture of iron, regular miners in coal mines, and all colliers engaged in making charcoal, for making pig and bar iron, not to embrace laborers, messengers, wagoners and servants, unless employed at works conducted under the authority and by the officers or agents of a State, or in works employed in the production of iron for the Confederate States; one male citizen for every five hundred head of cattle, for every two hundred and fifty head of horses or mules, and one shepherd for every five hundred head of sheep, of such persons as are engaged exclusively in raising stock; Provided, There is no white male adult not liable to do military duty engaged with such person in raising said stock; to secure the proper police of the country, one person, either as agent, owner or overseer on each plantation on which one white person is required to be kept by the laws or ordinances of any State, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to do military service, and in States having no such law, one person as agent, owner or overseer, on each plantation of twenty negroes, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to military service: And furthermore, For additional police for every twenty negroes on two or more plantations, within five miles of each other, and each having less than twenty negroes, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to military duty, one person, being the oldest of the owners or overseers on such plantations; and such other persons as the President shall be satisfied, on account of justice, equity or necessity, ought to be exempted, are hereby exempted from military service in the armies of the Confederate States; and also a regiment raised under and by authority of the State of Texas, for frontier defence, now in the service of said State, while in such service: Provided, further, That the exemptions hereinabove enumerated and granted hereby. shall only continue whilst the persons exempted are actually engaged in their respective pursuits or occupations.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That the act entitled “An act to exempt certain persons from enrollment for service in the armies of the Confederate States,” approved the twenty-first of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, is hereby repealed.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That on the salaries or compensation of all officers and employees of the several Executive and Legislative Departments, appointed under any law of Congress and employed in the city of Richmond, whose salaries or compensation shall not now exceed one thousand dollars, there shall be added, for the period of one year, fifty per cent., and for the period of one year the salaries or compensation of all such officers and employees now receiving not less than one thousand dollars and under fifteen hundred dollars, shall be fixed at fifteen hundred dollars, and all now receiving fifteen hundred dollars shall receive seventeen hundred and fifty dollars.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be, and he is hereby authorized to appoint three naval store-keepers, whose duties shall be performed under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy. The compensation of such officers shall not exceed seventeen hundred dollars per annum, and before entering upon the duties of their offices, each of them shall give a bond, in such form and penalty as the President may prescribe.

WHEREAS, Manifestly with the knowledge and connivance of the Federal Government, and for the purpose of destroying the credit and circulation of the Treasury notes of this government, immense amounts of spurious or counterfeit notes, purporting to be such Treasury notes, have been fabricated and advertised for sale in the enemy's country, and have been brought into these States and put in circulation by persons in the service of the enemy:

The Congress of the Confederate States [of America] do enact, [That] every person in the service of, or adhering to, the enemy, who shall pass or offer to pass any such spurious or counterfeit note or notes, as aforesaid, or shall sell or attempt to sell the same, or shall bring any such note or notes into the Confederate States, or shall have any such note or notes in his possession, with intent to pass or sell the same, shall, if captured, be put to death by hanging; and every commissioned officer of the enemy who shall permit any offence mentioned in this section to be committed by any person under his authority, shall be put to death by hanging. Every person charged with an offence punishable under this act shall be tried by a military court in such manner, and under such regulations as the President shall prescribe; and, after conviction, the President may commute the punishment to imprisonment in such manner, and for such time, as he may deem proper, and may pardon the offender on such conditions as he may deem proper, or unconditionally.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That there be appropriated and paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following sums of money and for the following purposes, viz:

For expenses of the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, in the War Department.—For compensation of the Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of War, Chief of Bureau, Clerks, Messengers, etc., twelve thousand dollars.

For incidental and contingent expenses, seven thousand dollars.

Ordnance Bureau.—For ordnance service in all its branches, two million five hundred thousand dollars.

For the engineer service, five hundred thousand dollars,

For the purchase of iron and advances on contracts for same, five hundred thousand dollars.

For the purchase and manufacture of nitre, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Quartermaster's Department.—For the pay of the army, eighteen million six hundred and sixty thousand one hundred and eighty-nine dollars.

For the transportation of troops and their baggage, of quartermaster's stores, subsistence, ordnance and ordnance stores from place of purchase to troops in the field, the purchase of horses, mules, wagons and harness, the purchase of lumber, nails, iron and steel, for erecting store houses, quarters for troops and other repairs, hire of teamsters, laborers, etc., seven million four hundred and sixty-four thousand and seventy-five dollars.

For pay for horses of non-commissioned officers and privates killed, in battle, under act number forty-eight, section seven, and for which provision is to be made, twenty-five thousand dollars.

For pay for property pressed into service of the Confederate States under appraisement, said property having been either lost or applied to the public service, thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars.

For the subsistence of prisoners of war, under act number one hundred and eighty-one, section first, and the hire of the necessary prisons, guard houses, etc., for the safe keeping of the same, or so much thereof as may be necessary, two hundred thousand dollars.

For the bounty of fifty dollars to each non-commissioned officer, musician and private now in service for three years or for the war, to be paid at the expiration of the first year's service, on the basis that sixty thousand will have to be paid, three million dollars.

For the pay of officers on duty in the offices of the Adjutant and Inspector General's Department, the Quartermaster General's, Medical, Engineer, Ordnance and Subsistence Departments, sixty-four thousand six hundred and seventy dollars.

Medical Department.—For pay of private physicians employed by contract, from the first to the thirty-first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirty thousand dollars.

For pay of nurses and cooks, not enlisted or volunteer, from the first to the thirty-first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, forty-eight thousand dollars.

For pay of hospital stewards, from the first to the thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, twelve thousand dollars.

For pay of hospital laundresses, from the first to the thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, ten thousand dollars.

For medical and hospital supplies of the army, from the first to the thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, four hundred thousand dollars.

For the establishment and support of military hospitals, from the first to the thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars.

Department of State.—For the compensation of Secretary of State, clerks, messenger and laborer, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen dollars and thirty-four cents.

For purchase of diplomatic books, one thousand five hundred dollars.

Post-Office Department.—To pay deficit in the Post-Office Department, under the provisions of “An Act to provide for the payment of sums ascertained to be due for postal service to citizens of the Confederate States by the Postmaster General,” approved September twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, eight hundred thousand dollars.

For deficiencies in the Quartermaster's Department for nine months to January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirty-nine million dollars.

For foreign intercourse, i. e., salaries of commissioners and secretaries for three months from January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, twelve thousand dollars.

For medical and hospital supplies, to supply deficit in appropriation for the period extending from April first to December first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, one million five hundred thousand dollars.

For pay of private physicians employed in conjunction with the medical staff of the army, to supply deficit in the appropriation for the period extending from April first to December first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, fifty thousand dollars.

To pay interest on five hundred thousand dollars borrowed by General Hindman from Branch Bank of Tennessee on the twenty-eighth May, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and returned July seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, four thousand one hundred and nine dollars.

Navy Department—For compensation of the Secretary of the Navy, Clerks and Messenger, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven dollars and seventy-seven cents.

For incidental and contingent expenses of the Navy Department for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand dollars.

Executive Department.—For compensation of the President, Vice-President, Private Secretary and Messenger, for three months from January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, seven thousand nine hundred and twenty dollars.

For contingent and telegraphic expenses of the Executive office for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, five hundred dollars.

For compensation of the Secretary of the Treasury, Assistant Secretary, Comptroller, Auditors, Treasurer and Register, Clerks and Messengers of the Treasury Department, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirty thousand dollars.

For incidental and contingent expenses of the Treasury Department for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, five thousand dollars.

For compensation of three Commissioners, appointed under the Sequestration Act, and for clerk hire and contingent expenses for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand four hundred dollars.

For engraving and printing Treasury notes, bonds and certificates of stock, and for paper for the same, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one hundred thousand dollars.

Rent of Executive buildings and of the President's house for three months from January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, six thousand four hundred and thirty-eight dollars and forty-five cents.

For interest on the public debt for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, two million five hundred thousand dollars.

For the Choctaw general fund, being amount of interest due on account of said fund, and paid into the Treasury by the State of Virginia, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirteen thousand five hundred dollars.

For pay of members and officers of the Senate, and for the contingent fund, from the twenty-first December, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, to first February, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, eleven thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars.

Attorney General's Department.—For compensation of Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Clerks and Messenger, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one dollars and sixty-seven cents.

For compensation of Superintendent of Public Printing, Clerk and Messenger for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, three hundred and sixty-two dollars and twenty-three cents.

For compensation of Governor and Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Secretary, Judges, Attorney and Marshal of Arizona Territory, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, eight hundred and eight dollars and seventy-one cents.

For contingent expenses of Arizona Territory, to be expended by the Governor, for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, forty-three dollars.

Commissary General's Department.—For the purchase of subsistence for the army for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, six million five hundred and seventy-one thousand six hundred and seventy-two dollars and ninety-one cents.

Post-Office Department.—For compensation of Postmaster General, Chiefs of Bureaus, Clerks, Messengers, &c., for January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, seven thousand four hundred and forty-two dollars and fifty-one cents.

For incidental and contingent expenses of the Post-Office Department for January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand dollars.

To supply deficiencies in the revenue of the Post-Office Department for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and seven dollars and thirty-nine cents.

For alterations made in building occupied by the Post-Office Department, two thousand five hundred dollars.

For compensation of two Special Agents of Post-Office Department from tenth October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, to first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, one thousand and fifty-three dollars and seventy-four cents.

For pay of members and officers of the House of Representatives for the month of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, thirty-five thousand six hundred and ninety dollars.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That during the present invasion of the Confederate States, the President shall have power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in any city, town, or military district, whenever in his judgment the public safety may require it; but such suspension shall apply only to arrests made by the authorities of the Confederate Government, or for offences against the same.

SEC. 2. The President shall cause proper officers to investigate the cases of all persons so arrested; in order that they may be discharged, if improperly detained, unless they can be speedily tried in due course of law.

SEC. 3. This Act shall continue in force for thirty days after the next meeting of Congress, and no longer.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That commutation in lieu of quarters, be, and the same is hereby allowed to the Superintendent of the “Army Intelligence Office,” and his clerks, at the discretion of the Secretary of War, and under such regulations as may be prescribed by him, and that the extra pay allowed said clerks, shall be, and is hereby increased from twenty-five to fifty cents per day.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the pay of Cadets in the service of the Confederate States shall be the same as Second Lieutenants of the arm of service to which they are attached.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the salary of the Assistant Attorney General shall be the same as that of other Assistant Secretaries and the Chiefs of the several Bureaus.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That from and after the passage of this act, and during the continuance of his term of service, the Vice President of the Confederate States shall be authorized to employ and appoint a Secretary, at an annual salary of a thousand dollars, to be paid quarterly. But the said Secretary shall hold his place at the pleasure of the Vice-President.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That whenever in the judgment of the general commanding a department, the good of the service and the efficiency of his command, require it, he is authorized, and it is hereby made his duty, to appoint an Examining Board, to be composed of officers of a rank at least as high as that of the officers whose qualifications it is proposed to inquire into, which board shall immediately proceed to examine into the cases of such officers as may be brought to their attention for the purpose of determining their qualifications for the discharge of the duties properly appertaining to their several positions.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That whenever such examining board shall determine that any officer is clearly unfit to perform his legitimate and proper duties, or careless and inattentive in their discharge, then the said board shall communicate their decision, together with the full report of their proceedings in the case, to the general commanding the Department in which the examination shall have been held, who shall; if he approve the finding of the board, be authorized to suspend the officer who has been pronounced unfit for his position, and shall immediately transmit to the Secretary of War, the decision and proceedings of the Examining Board with its own action and opinion endorsed thereon: Provided, That such officer shall be entitled to be heard and to call witnesses in his defence.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War, if he approve the finding of the board and the action of the general commanding the department, shall lay the same before the President, who is authorized to retire honorably, without pay or allowances, or to drop from the army, as the circumstances of the case may warrant, and the good of the service require, the officer who has been found unfit for his position.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That in order to secure reliable information of the efficiency and competence of officers, it is hereby made the duty of each officer commanding a regiment, separate battalion, company, battery or squadron, to make to his immediate commanding officer, who shall transmit the same to the brigadier-general commanding, a monthly report in tabular form, a copy whereof shall be retained by the reporting officer, subject to the inspection of all officers interested therein, containing a list of all commissioned officers of such regiment, separate battalion, company, battery or squadron, in which shall be stated the number of days each officer has been absent from his command, with or without, or on sick leave; the number of times each officer has been observed to have been absent from his command when on march or in action: when and where each officer has been observed to have performed signal acts of service; when and where negligent in the performance of duty and inattentive to the security and economy of public property; printed blank forms of which said reports shall be furnished by the Secretary of War for the use of the officers whose duty it is made to make such reports.

SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That whenever any officer of a company, battalion, squadron or regiment shall have been dropped or honorably retired, in accordance with the provisions of this act, then the officer next in rank shall be promoted to the vacancy, if competent, such competency to be ascertained as provided in the first and second sections of this act, and if not competent, then the next officer in rank shall be promoted, and so on until all the commissioned officers of the company, battalion, squadron or regiment shall have been gone through with; and if there be no officer of the company, battalion, squadron or regiment competent to fill the vacancy, then the President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, fill the same by appointment: Provided, That the officer appointed shall be from the same State as that to which the company, battalion, squadron or regiment belongs: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as limiting the power heretofore conferred upon the President by existing laws to fill any vacancy by the promotion of officers or the appointment of privates “distinguished in the service by the exhibition of extraordinary valor and skill:” And provided further, That vacancies arising under the operation of this act, in regiments or battalions which were organized under the laws of a State for the war, or for a period not yet expired, shall be filled as in case of death or resignation.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That all Treasury notes issued after the first day of December next shall be made fundable only in bonds bearing interest at the rate of seven per centum per annum, but in all other respects similar to the bonds bearing eight per cent. interest.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Treasury shall have authority, by public notice duly advertised, to require the holders of Treasury notes to come in and fund the same in eight per cent. bonds, or stocks, within six months after the date of such notice; and all notes which shall not be presented for funding within the said time shall thereafter be entitled to be funded only in the bonds or stock which shall thereafter be issued under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent. per annum, payable semiannually: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to revoke the authority heretofore given to issue six per cent. reconvertible bonds.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the ninth section of the above-recited act be so amended as to authorize the Postmaster General to contract for the printing of post bills and blanks for the Post-Office Department, at rates of compensation not exceeding those which are authorized to be paid for printing for the other Executive departments of the Confederate Government.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the following post routes be and the same are hereby established:

From Centre, in the State of Alabama, by Hannegan and Rio Grande, to Cave Spring, in the State of Georgia.

From Cave Spring, in the State of Georgia, by Kirk's Grove, Howell's Cross Roads and Osceola, to Center, in the State of Alabama.

From Hampton, in the State of Arkansas, by Little Bay, Fremont, to Eldorado in said State.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That every person connected with the army or navy of the Confederate States arresting or coming into possession of any slave, by capture from the enemy or otherwise than by lawful authority, shall immediately report the same to the commanding officer of the post, or brigade or station to which he may be attached. The said commanding officer shall, with as little delay as practicable, send the slaves so reported to the nearest depot described in the next section, with a register of the place and date of their arrest: Provided, however, That the said slaves or any of them, may at once be delivered to their respective owners, if claim is made and established on satisfactory evidence.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of War shall establish depots for recaptured slaves at convenient places, not more than five in number, in each State and all slaves captured in such State shall be kept in such depots. Public notice shall be given of the places so selected.

SEC. 3. Lists of the slaves in each of such depots showing the name and color of such slaves, the place and time of their arrest, and the names of their owners, as given by themselves, or otherwise ascertained, shall be regularly advertised in each State, in one or more newspapers of general circulation.

SEC. 4. While such slaves are in depot, they may be employed, under proper guard, on public works; but no slave shall be removed from the depot to which they are first carried for at least one month after the first advertisement of his being there, nor them, unless an exact register is made of the removal and due advertisement made in the newspapers as aforesaid.

SEC. 5. Free access shall be permitted to all persons desiring to inspect the said slaves for the purpose of identifying them and establishing ownership, and upon due proof, they shall be immediately restored to the persons claiming them.

SEC. 6. It shall further be the duty of the Secretary of War to require the names of all slaves in the employment of an officer or soldier of the Confederate Army or Navy, with the names and residence of their owners, and of the person by whom hired out, and of the officer or soldier hiring, to be reported to his Department, and a full register thereof to be kept for public inspection.

SEC. 7. The President shall prescribe regulations for carrying this act into effect, and provide for the subsistence of said slaves while in such depots.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That for the purpose of local defence in any portion of the Confederate States, any number of persons not less than twenty, who are over the age of forty-five years, or otherwise not liable to military duty, may associate themselves as a military company, elect their own officers and establish rules and regulations for their own government, and shall be considered as belonging to the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, serving without pay or allowances, and entitled, when captured by the enemy, to all the privileges of prisoners of war: Provided, That such company shall, as soon as practicable, transmit their muster roll, or a list of the names of the officers and privates thereof, to the Governor of the State, the commanding general of the department, or any brigadier general in the State or Confederate service, to be forwarded to the Secretary of War; but the President or the commander of the military district may, at any time, disband such companies: Provided, That in the States and districts in which the act entitled “An act to further provide for the public defence,” approved April the sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the acts amendatory thereof, have been suspended, persons of any age, resident within such States or districts, may volunteer and form part of such companies so long as such suspension may continue: Provided, That no person shall become a member of said company until he shall have first taken the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America in writing, a copy of which shall be filed with the muster roll of said company as above prescribed.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be and he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint twenty general officers in the Provisional Army, and to assign them to such appropriate duties as he may deem expedient.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the above recited act be amended so as to insert after the word “horse,” wherever it occurs in said act, the words “and cavalry equipments.”

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to audit the account of John Hunter, Collector of Customs, at the Port of Natchez, Mississippi, for money expended by him subsequent to the thirtieth of April, eighteeh hundred and sixty one, on account of the Marine Hospital at that place, and allow so much thereof as may be shown to have been expended to meet the usual and proper charges of said hospital.