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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES—February 7, 1863— Read
first and second times, referred to Committee on Quartermaster's and
Commissary's Departments and Military Transportation, and ordered
to be printed.
[ By Mr.- Chilton.]
A. BILL
To be entitled " An Act to prevent fraud in the Quartermaster's and
Commissary's Departments, and the obtaining under false pretence,
transportation for private property."
1 Section 1. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do
2 enact, That it shall not be lawful for any quartermaster or
3 assistant quartermaster, commissary or assistant commissary, or
4 the clerks, agents or employees of said officers while in the
5 employ of the Confederate States, to buy, traffic, trade or specu-
6 late in, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of making
7 gain to themselves respectively, or any one or more of such
8 persons, by a re-sale, any article of food or clothing, or material
9 of which the same is made, or which enters into and constitutes
10 a part of the same or any article whatever, which is required to
11 be purchased for the use of the army or the prosecution of the
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12 war by either of these departments, whether specifically named
13 above or not, the object being entirely to prohibit these officers,
14 their clerks, agents and employees from buying for the sake of
15 gain by a re-sale, any article which enters into and constitutes
16 , usually a part of either the quartermaster or commissary, military
17 or medical stores of the Confederacy.
1 Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That no person shall knowingly
2 give or accept transportation of any commodity or property of
• 3 any kind under the false pretence that such commodity or pro-
4 perty belongs to the Government of the Confederate States, when
5 in truth it belongs to private persons, nor shall any one purchase
*6 property of any kind under the false pretence that he is pur-
7 chasing the same for the use of the Government of the Confede-
8 rate States, when in truth the purchase is made in whole, or in
9 part on another and different account, nor shall any one in the
10 service of the Government derive any profit to himself, or confer
11 profit by collusion upon another, by selling, exchanging, or dis-
12 posing of any property belonging to the Government.
1 ' Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That no one in the employment
'2 of the Government shall credit himself for any voluntary contri-
3 bution in work, labor, materials, or of any property, whatever,
4 that may be donated for the use of the Government or the soldiers
"5 in the army, whereby such person shall make any profit either
6 directly or indirectly to himself.
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Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of th©
Government officers aforesaid, and each and every person in their
employ to take a correct receipt for all money's paid out on
account of the Government, setting forth truly to whom paid, when
the amount paid, and on what account the same was paid; and if
subh payment was made on account of property purchased for
the Government, such receipt shall truly " set forth the name of
the person from whom the same was purchased, the price agreed
to be paid, and the subject matter of such purchase, and when
such payment was made, and in accounting for the disbursement
of public moneys, no officer shall credit himself with money8
paid out which were not in good faith actually paid out.
Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That any person in the employ-
ment or service of the Government as aforesaid, and all other
persons coming within the purview of this act, who shall violate
any of the provisions of the foregoing sections shall be liable to
indictment, and fined in a sum not less than one thousand dollars,
and imprisoned not less than one year, at the discretion of the
jury trying said case; Provided, The provisions of this act shall
in no wise interfere with or impair the civil remedy which the
Government may have against any of said officers or their1 secu-
riti-es or employees for frauds, peculations or'misapplication of
the moneys entrusted to them respectively, by the Confederate
States.