UNITED STATES. 



789 



Concurred in unanimously. 



f any State, prior to the rebellion, are 

 J,M t (.. disqualification. 



All \,.ti-.i yea except the Secretary of War, who 

 nay, 



I'inli-ipal oillccri, thnt Is to *ay, officer* of ! 



.MIS. iiiul villages, such as raayori, aldcrm. n, 

 . 'inril, police, and oilier city or town officers, are not 

 !.. disqualification. 



Concurred in umuiimoiisly. 



II. I'ersons who have, prior to tho rebellion, been in.-in- 



of ill.- 1'nitcd Miiii-^. or iiii-iiiiicrs of a 

 lire, arc snlijei-t to disqualification; bul 

 who have been niNn-s ot conventions framlne or amend- 

 but the coiiMitnllon of a State, prior to tho rebellion, arc not 



snl.ject to tlisc|ii:ili!ication. 



Concurred in unanimously. 

 1.'. All the executive or judicial officers of any 8ta' 

 took an oath to support tho Constitution of the 



iiv subject to disqualification, Including county otM- 

 eers. They are subject to disqualification It' th. y 

 quired to take, as ft part of their olliclul oath, the oath to 

 support the Constitution of the United States. 

 Concurred in unanimously. 

 I.!. Persons who exercised mere employments um! 

 authority are not disqualified; such as eommlsatoni rs to lay 

 uiiHMoiiers of public works, visitors of State 

 institutions, directors of State institutions, examiner* of 

 notaries public, and commissioners to take acknowl- 

 ;iU of deeds. 



Concurred in unanimously ; but the Secretary of 



ry of tho Treasury, and tho Secre- 



tury of War expressed the opinion that lawyers are 



such officers as are disqualified if they participated in 



tho rebellion. 



Two things must exist as to any person to disqualify him 

 from voting : first, the office held prior to tho rebellion, and 

 afterward participation In the rebellion. 



14 An act to fix upon a person the offence of engaging in 

 rebellion under this law, must bo an overt and voluntary 

 act, done with the intent of aiding or furthering the common 

 unlawful purpose. A person forced into the rebel service by 

 ('inscription, or under a paramount authority which he 

 could not safely disobey, and who would not have entered 

 such service if left to tne free exerciso of his own will, can- 

 not be held to be disqualified from voting. 



All voted yea except the Secretary of War, who 

 voted nay as the proposition is stated. 



15. Mere acts of charity, where the intent Is to relieve the 

 wants of the object of such charity, and not done in aid of 

 the cause in which ho may have been engaged, do not <lis- 

 qualify. Hut orzani/ed contributions of food and clothing 

 lor tlil' ircin-ral relief of persons engaged in the rebellion, and 

 not of a merely sanitary character, but contributed to enable 



. perform their unlawful object, may bo classed with 

 objects which do disqualify. Forced contributions to the 



. use. in th.- form of taxes or military assessments, 

 which a person was compelled to pay or contribute, do not 

 disqualify. P.ut voluntary contributions to tl; 

 even siicn Indirect contributions as arise from the voluntary 

 loan of money to rebel authorities, or purchase of bonds oV 

 securities created to afford the means of carrying on the re- 

 bellion, will work disqualification. 



Concurred in unanimously. 



16. All those who, in legislative or other official capacity, 

 were cn.-aLvil iii the furtherance of the common unlawful 

 purpose, where tile duties of the olliee necessarily had rela- 

 tion to the support of the rebellion, .-uch as members of the 

 rebel conventions, congresses, and legislatures, diplomatic 

 agents of the rebel Confederacy, and other officials whose 

 offices were created for the purpose of more effectually car- 

 rying on hostilities, or whoso duties appertained to the sup- 

 port of tho rebel cause, must be held to be disqualified. 



But officers who, during the rebellion, discharged official 

 duties not incident to war, but only such duties as IK -long 

 even to a state of peace, and wen- necessary to the pi 

 tiun of order and thii administration of I-iw, are not to be 

 considered - IS thereby engaging in rebellion or as dlsquali- 

 li'-d. Disloyal sentiments, opinions, or sympathies, would 

 not disqualify ; but where a person has by speech or by 

 writing incited others to engage in rebellion, he must come 

 under the disqualification. 



All voted yea except the Secretary of War, who dis- 

 sented to the second paragraph, with the exception 

 of the words, " where a person has l>y speech or by 



writing incited others to engage In rebellion, be must 

 come uii-ler the diSfWdttOMO 



17. /'/,, ,///,- ../ n., /////./ 



l-t of 



i- which It U con-' 

 .- thai the i 

 found upon t ind if such proves to 



- the- diitv of the Kom-d to recclv* hlit vote, If then 



qualified by r- celve the vote of any 



Mn! list, though be may be 



Uh, and although be may 



Nitisry tin in that he wa* unable to have hit name registered 



ni tli.'- proper time. In consequence of absence, sickness, or 



oilier cau>. . The I. liter into any Inquiry M U> 



iliflcatlonB of any person whose name Is not on the 



ion list, or as to tbo qualifications of any person 



whoso name Is on the list. 



Concurred in unanimously. 



18. The mode of voting Is provided In the act to be by 



The Hoard will keep a n cord -ind poll-book of the 

 iveeiii .n, showing the votes, list of voters, and tin 



i i.y a plurality of the votes cast at *hc election, and 

 make returns of these to the commanding general of tbo 



clMrict. 



Concurred in unanimously. 



19. The Board appointed for registration and for supcrin- 



| the elections must take the oath prescribed by the 

 Act oi (''.Him--, approved July 2, 1862. entitled "An Act to 

 prescribe an oath of office." 

 Concurred in unanimously. 



IN CABINET, JUNE 20, 1867. 



Present The same Cabinet officers as on tho 

 18th, except the Acting Secretary of the Interior. 



The President announced to the Cabinet that, 

 after full deliberation, ho concurred with the 

 majority upon the sections of the summary upon 

 which the Secretarytf War expressed Ins dis- 

 si-nt, and that ho concurred with the Cabinet 

 upon those sections approved by unanimous 

 vote ; that, as it appeared the military com- 

 manders entertained doubts upon the points 

 covered by the summary, and as their action 

 hitherto had not been uniform, ho deemed it 

 proper, without further delay, to communicate, 

 in a general order, to the respective command- 

 ers the points set forth in the summary. 



The following order was issued from the 

 War Department on the same day : 



WAK DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OPTICS, I 

 WASHINGTON, June 20, 1867. 



Whereas, several commanders of the military dis- 

 trieis created by the Acts of Congress, known as tho 

 Reconstruction Acts, have expressed doubts as to the 

 proper construction thereof, and in respect to some 

 of t heir powers and duties under said Acts^ aud have 

 applied to the Executive for information m relation 

 thereto : 



And, whereas, tho said Acts of Congress have been 

 referred to the Attorney-General for his opinion there- 

 on, and the said Acts and the opinion of the Attorney- 

 General have been fully and carefully considered by 

 tin- I'tvsiili-ut in eont'eretice with the heads of the re- 

 spective Departments, the President accepts the fol- 

 lowing as a practical interpretation of tho al' 

 Acts of Congress on tho points therein presented. :md 

 ta the same to be transmitted to the respective 

 military commanders for their information, in order 

 that there may be uniformity in the execution of said 

 acts : 



[The propositions of the Attorney-General are here 

 set forth t'n extenso. These instructions are signed 

 as follows:] 



By order of the PRESIDENT. 

 E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. 



The first session of the Fortieth Congress 

 commenced on March 4th, and adjourned on 



