CONGKESS, U. S. 



la the Senate, on the 8th of June, a new bill 

 was reported from the Military Committee, 

 and considered, the object of which was "to 

 prohibit the discharge of persons from liability 

 to military duty, by reason of the payment of 

 money." The following message was also sub- 

 mitted from the President: 



WASHINGTON, D. C., June 8, 1864. 

 To the Senate and House of Representatives : 



I have the honor to submit for the consideration 

 of Congress a letter and inclosure from the Secretary 

 of War, with my concurrence in the recommenda- 

 tion therein made ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



WAR DEPARTMENT, | 

 WASHINGTON CITY, June 7, 1S64. j 



SIR: I beg leave to submit to you a report made 

 to me by the Provost Marshal General, showing the 

 result of the draft now going on to fill the deficiency 

 in the quotas of certain States, and recommending 

 a repeal of the clause in the enrolment act com- 

 monly known as the $300 clause. The recommen- 

 dation of the Provost Marshal General is approved 

 by this Department, and I trust that it will be recom- 

 mended by you to Congress. 



The recent successes that have attended our arms 

 lead to the hope, that by maintaining our military 

 strength, and giving it such an increase as the ex- 

 tended field of operations may require, an early ter- 

 mination of the war may be attained. But to ac- 

 complish this it is absolutely necessary that efficient 

 means be taken, with vigor and promptness, to keep 

 the army up to its strength, and supply deficiencies 

 occasioned by the losses sustained by casualties in 

 the field. To that end resort must be had to a draft, 

 but ample experience has now shown that the pecu- 

 niary exemption from service frustrates the object 

 of the enrolment law by furnishing money instead of 

 men. 



An additional reason for repealing the $300 

 clause is, that it is contemplated to make the 

 draft for a comparatively short term. The bur- 

 den of military service vyill therefore be lightened, 

 but its certainty of furnishing troops is an absolute 

 essential to success. 



I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, 

 EDWIN M. STANTON, 



Secretary of War. 

 To the PRESIDENT. 



WAR DEPARTMENT, 

 PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL'S OFFICE, 



WASHINGTON, D. C., June 6, 1864. 

 SIR : In accordance with the amended enrolment 

 act, approved February 24th, 186-1, and your orders 

 on the subject, I am now conducting a draft in vari- 

 ous sub-districts for their respective deficiencies on 

 quotas of troops heretofore assigned. The results 

 of this draft, so far as shown by reports of this date, 

 are worthy of attention. They are, briefly, as fol- 

 lows: 



Number of drafted men examined, .... 14,741 

 Number exempted for physical disability, 4,374 

 Number exempted for all other causes, . 2,632 



Total exempted, 7,016 



Number paid commutation money, . . 5,050 

 Number who have furnished substitutes, 1,416 

 Number held for personal service, . . 1,259 



(This last includes some who may yet 

 pay commutation money.) 

 Total not exempted, 7,725 



These reports come from sub-districts in eight dif- 

 ferent States. I invite your attention to the small 

 proportion of soldiers being obtained under the ex- 

 isting law. I see no reason to believe that the army 



can be materially strengthened by draft so long as 

 the 300 clause is in force, nor do I think it safe to 

 assume that the commutation paid by a drafted man 

 will enable the Government to procure a volunteer 

 or substitute in his place. I do not think that large 

 bounties by the United States should be again re- 

 sorted to for raising troops. I recommend that the 

 $300 clause, as it is known, be repealed. 

 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



JAMES B. FRY, 

 Provost Marshal General. 

 Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 



A bill was subsequently introduced and 

 passed which abolished the payment of $300 

 as commutation, limited the service to one 

 year, and allowed no exemption except for 

 alienage, previous service of two years, and 

 physical disability. (See AEMY U. S.) 



It passed the Senate on June 30th, as fol- 

 lows : 



YEAS Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Conness, 

 Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Lane of Kansas, Mor- 



fan, Morrill, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sumner, Van Win- 

 le, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wilson 18. 

 NATS Messrs. Buckalew, Carlile, Davis, Doolittle, 

 Harlan, Harris, Henderson, Hendricks, Howe, Lane 

 of Indiana, McDougall, Powell, Riddle, Saulsbury, 

 Sherman, Trumbull, and Willey 17. 



ABSENT Messrs. Brown, Collamer, Cowan, Dixon, 

 Grimes, Harding, Hicks, Howard, Johnson, Nesmith, 

 Richardson, Sprague, Ten Eyck, and Wright 14. 



It passed the House by the adoption of a re- 

 port of a Conference Committee, July 2d, by 

 the following vote : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Ames, Arnold, Ashley, 

 John D. Baldwin, Baxter, Beaman, Blair, Boutwell, 

 Boyd, Cobb, Cole, Creswell, Henry Winter Davis, 

 Dawes, Deming, Dixon, Driggs, Eckley, Eliot, Farns- 

 worth, Fenton, Garfield, Gooch, High/, Hooper, 

 Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, 

 Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Littlejohn, Loan, 

 Longyear, McBride, McClurg, Samuel F. Miller, 

 Moorhead, Morrill, Daniel Morris, Amos Myers, Leon- 

 ard Myers, Norton, Charles O'Neill, Orth, William 

 H. Randall, John H. Rice, Schenck, Shannon, Sloan, 

 Smith, Smithers, Spalding, Tracy, Upson, Van Val- 

 kenburgh, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Wash- 

 burn, Williams, Wilder, Wilson, Windom, and Wood- 

 bridge 65. 



NATS Messrs. William J. Allen, Alley, Ancona, 

 Bailey, Elaine, Bliss, Chanler, Cofiroth, Cox, Dawson, 

 Dennison, Eden, Edgerton, Eldridge, English, Frank, 

 Ganson, Gris\vold, Benjamin G. Harris, Charles M. 

 Harris, Hutchins, Kernan, Knapp, Law, Le Blond, 

 Long, Mallory, Marcy, Middleton, William H. Miller, 

 James R. Morris, Noble, Odell, Patterson, Pendleton, 

 Perham, Pruyn, Samuel J. Randall, Alexander H. 

 Rice, Robinson, Edward H. Rollins, James S. Rol- 

 lins, Ross, Scofield, John B. Steele, William G. 

 Steele, Stevens, Stiles, Thomas, Wadsworth, Web- 

 ster, Wheeler, and Winfield 53. 



In the House, on December 14th, 1863, Mr. 

 Finck, of Ohio, offered the following resolution 

 relative to the object of the war: 



Whereas, in the opinion of this House, the Federal 

 Government is invested by the Constitution of the 

 United States with all necessary power and authority 

 to suppress any resistance to the due execution of 

 the laws thereof, and to employ the Army and Navy 

 in aid of the civil authority to disperse all armed 

 resistance to the rightful power and jurisdiction of 

 the United States; and whereas, in the judgment of 

 this House, the Army and Navy cannot be rightfully 

 used to subjugate and hold as conquered territory 

 any of the States of this Union; therefore, 



