[Senate, No. 211.]
SENATE, February 28, 1865.—Head first time and or-
dered to be printed.
[Mr. Oldiiam, by leave.
A. BILL
To Confiine the outstanding circuiationot Treasury notes
within a fixed and limited amount.
1 The Congress of the Confederate States of America do
2 enact, That the Secretary of the Treasury be and he is
3 hereby authorized, to issue, from time to time, Trea-
4 sury notes, as the public service may require, until the
5 same shall amount to the sum of two hundred and fifty
6 millions of dollars, without reference to the amount now
7 outstanding—and shall designate the notes so issued by
8 some mark or memorandum endorsed thereon, that they
9 may be known from the notes now outstanding And
10 there shall not be issued and allowed to be outstanding
11 at any one time, treasury notes so authorized to be is-
12 sued, a larger amount than two hundred and fifty mil-
13 lions of dollars.
1 Sec. 2. That in order to enable the Secretary of the
2 Treasury to confine the issue of treasury notes within
3 the limit aforesaid, and at the same time enable him to
4 pay the expenses of the Government, it is hereby made
2
5 his duty, in anticipation of disbursements from the Trea-
6 sury, under appropriations made by Congress, when such
7 disbursements will cause the outstanding circulation to
8 exceed the limit aforesaid, from time to time to cause a
9 sufficient amount of the notes outstanding to be funded
10 in bonds of the same character as those prescribed for
11 the " five hundred million loan," in the following man-
12 ner to wit: He shall from the books of the Register of
13 the Treasury, designate by issue, letter, date, and extreme
14 number, beginning with the first notes issued under the
15 authority of this act, a sufficient amount of outstanding
16 treasury notes to create a vacuum in the volume of the
17 same to be filled by the disbursements to be made as
18 aforesaid, without causing the amount outstanding after
19- such disbursements to exceed said sum of two hundred
20 and fifty millions And he shall cause a notice to be
21 published to all holders of such designated notes, which
22 notice shall not be less than sixty days, east of the Miss-
23 issippi river, nor ninety days, west of that river, requi-
24 ring them to deposit said notes for funding in the bonds
25 aforesaid with some depositary of the Confederate States,
26 on or before the day to be specified by him in said notice
27 and said notes so deposited shall, on the day designated,
28 be funded in and exchanged for said bonds, at their mar-
29 ket value in specie on said day, at the place where de-
3
30 posited for exchange,
1 Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of each depositary
2 on the day to be designated as aforesaid, to select three
3 discreet persons, who shall first take and subscribe an
4 oath, before some officer authorized to administer the
5 same, for the faithful performance of their duties under
6 this act, and who shall thereupon proceed to ascertain
7 and declare the market specie value of treasury notes,
8 on said day and at said place, and shall make out and
9 sign two copies of said declaration, one of which shall
10 be deposited with the depositary where made, and the
11 other transmitted by some safe and sure conveyance, to
12 the Secretary of the Treasury, if east of the Mississippi
13 river, or to the Agent of the Treasury, if west of that
14 river. And said depositary shall immediately, or as soon
15 thereafter as he shall be furnished with the same, deliver
16 bonds to said depositors, in exchange for said notes, to
17 the amount of the specie market value of said bonds, dol-
18 lar for dollar.
1 Sec. 4. That all notes so designated for funding
2 which shall not be deposited within the time prescribed
3 for funding the same, shall not thereafter be receivable
4 in payment of taxes or other public dues, but may at
5 any time when desired by the holder, be funded in bonds
4
6 bearing four per cent interest, but in all other respects,
7 similar to tho bonds of the five hundred million loan, but
8 when so funded, it shall be done at their market value
9 in specie, ascertained and declared as aforesaid
1, ' Sec. 5. That all soldiers and salaried officers shall
2 be allowed to fund the notes, to the amount of their pay,
3 or salaries, at par, except in cases where salaries have
4 been increased, when the amount deposited for funding
5 shall be reduced to the specie value, taking the original
6 salary of such officer as the specie standard, as compared
7 with the increased salary.