,Qrz^K [House of Rkprkskmatives, No. 306.] HOUSE OTJ' REPRESENTATIVES Fohninrv 10. 1804.— Road first and second times, laid on the table and ordered to be printed. [By Mr. Chambbps. A BILL To be ontitb^d "An Act to provide means to cnrry on the •rnvornnirnt. 1 The Cou'rrcs'! of the Con federate Sfafs of .America do enact, 2 That one-half of all tdc cotton ai:d tobacco in the Confederacy 3 shall be {wuchapcd, borrowed or pressed for the .i^ovcmraent in 4 the manner provided by law for the impressment of other proper- 5 ty, on the followino- terms : fo 1)0 renirned in kind of equal 6 quantity and (innlih ^t the same place within five years after 7 the end of the present war, the owner boini^ furnished with an 8 assignable certificate to that effect, or at the oi)tion of the owner, to be paid for at its specie value in bonds of the government, 10 at par; which bonds may be issued by the Secretary of the 1 1 Treasury, and shall be redeemable ?i\c years after the end of the 12 preeent war, and shall bear interest at the rate of six per cent 13 per annum, payable semi-annually in specie. And the same rate 14 of interest, payable in like manner, shall be allowed on the val- 15 ue of cotton or tobacco borrowed as above provided, (which 16 value shall be ascertained as in cases of impressment,) and shall IT bo paid to the holder of the assignable certificate hereinbefore 2 18 authorized, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of ID the Treasury may prescribe. 1 Sec. 2. That the authority horei 'I granted to purchase, bor- 2 row or impress cotion or toliacco, shall be exercised in the fol- • 3 lowing manner, to-wit : one half only of the cotton or tobacco 4 of any owner shall be taken, and when the same owner, whether 5 an individual, company, corporation or association of persons, 6 shall own more than one lot of cotton and tobacco, the lots being 7 in different places, one half of each lot shall be taken : and the 8 hall taken in any case shall be an undivided half interest in the 9 whole number of pounds of the lot, the owner reserving an 10 equal interest in the aggregate. All risks, losses, damages and 1 1 expenses thereafter incurred or suffered upon said cotton or to- 1'2 bacco, until the same shall have been sold and the proceeds di- 13 vided as hereinafter i)rovided, shall be borne equally by the 14 (government and the owner of the otlicr half interest. 1 Skc. 3. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized 2 to sell the whole of said cotton or tobacco, or any one lot or any 3 j»!irt of any one lot thereof, for foreign cxcliange, gold, silver, 4 Treasury notes of the Confederate States, or bonds of the five f) hundred million loan, authorized by tlic Act approved February G 17, 1805 ; and onc-iialf of the nett proceeds of such sale, after 7 deducting such an amount as maybe chargeable against the said 8 cotton or tobacco for preserving and transjiorting the same, or 9 otherwise, shall be paid to tiir owner of the reserved haif-inter- 10 est, or to the assignee or legal representative of said owner, in 11 the funds received by the Government for the same. 1 Sec. 4. The half-interest in cotton f r tobacco reserved to the 2 owner, under the provisions of this Act, shall l)C and is hereby 3 declared perpetually exempted from liability to impressment 4 under the authority of this Government, nor shall cotton or to- 5 bacco, sold under this Act by the Government, be afterwards 6 impressed by authority thereof. 1 Sec 5. The Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction 2 of the President, may appoint a principal agent in each State, 3 and such other agents, not liable to military service in the field, 4 as he shall deem necessary to carry the provisions of this Act 5 into effect, under his instructions. They shall give such bonds fi as he shall require, and shall be compensated by such commis- 7 sions or allowances as he shall prescribe, in proportion to the 8 amounts of cotton or tobacco obtained and reduced into the 9 possession of the government through their agency rcspec- 10 tively.