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 Communication f 
 Conf Pam #299 
 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Jan. 17, iS(i--,._L:,ia on 
 the table and orclered to be i.»riiite(l. 
 
 [By the Ciiaik.] 
 
 MESSAOE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 RinrMOND, V\., Jan. 1 J, ISGS. 
 To the House of Rcprcsaifafivcs : 
 
 In response to your resoliirion of the 8th November 
 1S64, I herewith transmit, lor your inlbrmatiou, a communiealion 
 from Hou. Howell Cobb, who was President of the Provisional ( (»n- 
 gress, relative to the preparation of copies of the Journals of that 
 body, and of the Piooeedings of the Convention which frame<l the 
 Provisional and Perman»"nt Constitutions of the Coniederate States. 
 And I invite your attention to the suggi'Stions he makes in refeienc*' 
 to funds to be expended in tiie further prosecution oi" the work. 
 
 JEFFERSON DAVIS. 
 
 COMMUNICATION FROM HON. HOWELL COJ'.li. 
 
 Hi). Qrs. Ga. Re.-^ekves, and Mit.. Dist. of Ga. 
 Macau, Go., Decend>er 17, I^G4. 
 
 Hon. Jefferson Davis, Presidcni, ^-c, Ric/mo?id, Va.: 
 
 Sir : 
 
 In response to a resolution of the House of Represen- 
 tatives of Congress of the Sth Novembei' last, asking for information 
 in reference to the Journals, ttc. of the K'rovisional Congress, kc, I 
 beg leave respectfully to report : 
 
 In comi)liauce with that resolution, I employed Mr. J. J. Hooper, 
 Clerk of the Provisional Congress, to do tlie work. Tile panc«^-s 
 were already in his possession; and I regarded him, under tlw eiiv 
 cu instances, as the most suitable person to undertake it. lu a, short 
 time he died, leaving the work almost untouched, and {he papers, 
 scattered, and ditticult of access. I then employ«'d ^lajor John C\ 
 Whitner of West Point, Alabama, a most faithfu'.}'. and competent" 
 person, whoinnnediately entered upon the discifarge of the dw^v, and; 
 who has devoted his time earnestly to the business from that period 
 to the present time. I herewith enclose his report, which is so full 
 and satisfactory, that it is unnecessary for me to add ^nv thins by 
 
way of explaiiatioii of the causes which have led to the delay in 
 coMipk'tiiig tlie work. 
 
 I would respectfully Cill the attention of Congress to the *^tt, 
 that IMujor Wliitner has, up lo this time, received no conjpensation 
 for his services, and has in fact advanced money from his own funds 
 for necessary expenditures. 1 wouhl rcconinicnd that the amount, 
 which he rcturnt-d to the Treasury of the old issue, be at once placed 
 in his hands, and that an additional appropriation of twenty thousand 
 dolli.rs be made to coniplete the work. This sum is indicated, with- 
 out consultation with I\Iaj. Whitui')-; and it may not be sufficient, in 
 view of the present high })ric«.'s ; but at ju'esent I will not ask for a 
 larger sum. 1 would aUo I'ecommend that the other requests of 
 Maj. Whitner should be complied with by Congress, as they are both 
 reasonable and proper. 
 
 It is but simple justice to myself to state, that before and since 
 the adjoununeiit of the Provisional Congress, I have been in the 
 constant military service of the country, and therefore had no time 
 to give the busim.-ss my personal attention. It is at the same time 
 due to Major Whitner to say that he has spared no effort or pains to 
 do the work as I'apidly as circumstances beyond his control would 
 aduiit. I am suie that I could not have procured the services of a 
 more faithful or competent officer. 
 
 I am, veiy rt^spcctfully, yours, &c. 
 
 HOWELL COBB, 
 
 President, of the Provisional Conaiess. 
 
 l.'Kl'OJvr OF MAJOR WHITNER. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., November IS, 18(34. 
 
 GliNEKAL : 
 
 Tn compliance with the resolution adopted by the 
 House of Kepreseiitatives on the 8th instant, which you have referred 
 to me, asking the President to "inform Congress whetlier the Hon. 
 Howi'll Cobb, President of the Provisional Congress, has complied 
 with the act of 17th February 1802, by which he was instructed to 
 have prei)ared two copies of the Journals of Congress, and the Pro- 
 ceedings of the Convention which framed the Provisional and Perma- 
 nent Constitutions of th(! Conlrderate States, one copy of which was 
 to be deposited in the office of the Department of Justice ; and if 
 not, to comnninicate to Congress any information he may have as to 
 the present state of the work ; also whether the originals of the 
 Journals have been sealed and deposited for preservation with the 
 Secretary of State, in accordance with law," — I have the honor to 
 make the following statement : 
 
 As soon ;.s I received the boxes containing the papers belonging 
 to the Provisional Congress, I entered upon the work of complying 
 
3 
 
 with the law above referred to. Much matter, as I have before in- 
 formed you, was missing — all, or nearly all the Journals of the Con- 
 vention, and many important papers forming a pair of the Journals, 
 as well as some of the Join-nals themselves oi" the Congress. It was 
 some time before any of these could be found ; and for securing them 
 at all, I am indebted to the cordial assistance rendered by Messrs. 
 Robert E. Dixon and A. R. Lamar, both at one time connected with 
 the Piovisional Congress as assistant cleiks. Mr. Dixon informed me 
 that he himself, a.s clerk, had c()pie<l the Proceedings of the Conven- 
 tion in a bound book, which,' however, could not be found. Fortu- 
 nately, he had preserved in his possession the originals from which 
 this copy was nuide, only a few being missing. These missing Jour- 
 nals he was doubtless prevented from sending to me by his sudden 
 death ; and it has been but comparatively recently that I have gotten 
 possession of them. 
 
 Many papers, such as messages, reports, resolutions, treaties, me- 
 morials, communications, petitions, &c., referred to and forming ;i 
 part of the regular proceedings of Congress, and which had probably 
 been slightly attach.ed or only placed within the leaves of the original 
 Jcun'nals, could not be found amongst the papers in the boxes sent 
 me. Through the courtesy and labor of the gentlemen above men- 
 tioned and others. I hope the most if not all have been gathered up. 
 Only in one case so far, and that not important, have I failed to get 
 the original jiaper referred to. or an authentic copy. Many of these 
 papers also were gathered u}» by jMr. Dixon, and were in his posses- 
 sion at the time of his deatli, and have since been secured through 
 the courtesy of his family and friends. 
 
 The cause of the confused and scattered condition of these papers, 
 I cannot explain. The lamented death of Hon. J. J. Hooper, to 
 whom the work was first coimnitted, together with the general con- 
 fusion then existing in Richmond, in consequence of the near ap- 
 proach of the enemy, and the sending off to other points important 
 government papers, had doubtless much to do with it. Mr. llooper 
 had but barely entered upon this work — possibly not long enough to 
 gather up what was nece.-^sary for its accin-ate completion. 
 
 These matters have delayed me very much — far more than would 
 at first appear. For instance, whilst writing any day's proceedings, I 
 find an imjiortant document referred to missing. A thorough search 
 through all the mass in my possession shows it is not on hand. Not 
 knowing its length, it is impossible for me to leave room for it. I 
 must therefore necessarily delay further copying until that paper is 
 found, wdiich nuiy be at Richmond or elsewhere. This occurring 
 frequently and involving in some cases months of search, I have been 
 delayed in a most annoying manner. 1 endeavored to procure as- 
 sistance at first; but unable to furnish exemption, no one would re- 
 main with me. And but for the voluntar}' aid of Messrs. Dixon and 
 Lamar and other gentlemen, I don't see how I could have gotten on. 
 
 Another cause of delay has been the recent movements of the 
 enemy. As you directed me to take good care of these papers, I 
 left Atlanta about a month before its fall, and went to West Point. 
 
Hearing of a threatened raid upon tliat place, I went further down 
 into Ahibama, and was surrounded and cut oil" by Rosseaii's raid. 
 Fortunately, ev»My thing escaped, and I have all in safety here. 
 
 You placed ininy liands 8 ^OOO. Of this I e.\pcnd<'d $:37() for 
 materials. The reniaind(!r, S1,():30, T (lepo.sired with J. W. Duncan, 
 Depositary in Athinta, about the last of ]\Iarch, in order to have it 
 exclianged fur new curi'ency, and sent the certificate on to the Seci'e- 
 tary of the Treasury, but never received any order on the Depositary 
 for the amount in new issue. I would respectfully ask your atten- 
 tion to this, as I have had to use my own means in paying expenses. 
 
 I have written up a portion of the Proceedings of the Convention, 
 and two-thii'ds of the Joui'uals of Congress, both oi)en and secret. 
 If not interrupted, I will soon complete one copy ; which will enable 
 me to de])osit the originals, as recpiired by law, and then rapidly 
 work up the other copy. I trust all nn'ssing papers have been se- 
 cured n(;cessar\' to the accuracy of the work. 
 
 I would respectfully call your attention to the fact, that I have 
 been working on this business over a 3-ear, and have received no 
 compensation, nor do I know what I am to receive. I would re(piest 
 a fixed pa}-, and a return of amounts already expended. 
 
 As you ai'e aware, I have frequently been interrupted by the mili- 
 tar}^ though through your influence have generally been relieved. 
 Once, hovk'ever, I had to submit to examination and discharge for 
 physical disability by a board of conscript surgeons. I beg you 
 would secure for me from congress special exemption whilst engaged 
 on this work, with privilege of going to ])laces of safety from those 
 threatened by the enem3\ The importance of this must be appa- 
 rent, I)oth foi- the security of the work and its early completion. If 
 possible, 1 would like to have the appointment of an assistant, and 
 would I'ecommend Clinton I. Brown, P]sq., who has alrt-ady given me 
 volnnlary aid ; has been pi'onounced unfit foi" field service, and would 
 add no e.\j)ense whatever to the governnjent. This would enable me 
 to proceed more rapidly, and at the same time have the originals ar- 
 ranged preparatory to early turning them over to the government. 
 
 It is impossible to express my dtiep concern to have this work 
 finished, and thus be relieved of so cumbrous, and at the same time 
 important responsibility. You have re[)eattHll3^ urged upon me the 
 importance of its early completion ; yet I have not hesitated to take 
 time for gathering all important materials, believing that a full and 
 accurate record of its proceedings was the first object aimed at by 
 the Provisional Congress. To secure this, delays have been unavoid- 
 able ; but I think they will not occur again. 
 
 I have the honor to be 
 
 Your ob't servant, 
 
 JNO. C. WHITNER. 
 Gen. Howell Cobb, Macon, Ga. 
 
P6RmAlip^« 
 
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