/JL mo #4, uuKe umveisiiy liuiohcb The currency, t Conf Pam 12mo #2 D c m3TbQM + THE w y ■ TAX AND MILITARY BILLS, AS PASSED BY THE i FIRST CONGRESS. AT IT8 CLOSING SESSION. FRIGE 50 GENTS. Lc STOCKTON & CO. STEAM POWER PRESS OF AUGUSTA CONSTITUTIONALIST. 1864. THE CURRENCY ACT. 'AN ACT TO BE ENTITLED 'AN ACT TO FUND, TAX, AND LIMIT THE CURRENCY. Section 1. The Congress of the Con feder- ate States of America do enact, That the hold- ers of all Treasury notes above the denomi- nation of five dollars, not bearing interest shall oe allowed until the first day of April. 1864, east of the Mississippi, and until the first day of July, 1864, west of the Mississippi river, to fund the same, and until the periods and at the places stated, the holders of all such Treasury notes shall be allowed to fund the same in registered bonds, payable twenty years after their date, bearing interest at the rate of four per cent, per annum, payable on the 1st of January and July of each year 8ection 2. Tre Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authored to i=sue the bonds re- quired for the funding provided lor id the pr^- c ing section, and until the bonds ca.n be ired he may issue certificates to answer •pose. Such bonds and certificat •» Bhall ivable without interest in payment of all i; n -nment dues payable in the year 1864, except exj ort and import duties. Section 3. That all Treasury notes of the denomination of one hundred dollars, not bear- ing interest, which shall not be presented for funding under the provisions of the first sec- tion of t< in act. shall, from and after the first day of April. 1864, east of the Miasis.-ippi river, and the first day of July, 1864. west of the Mississippi, cease to be receivable ment ol public dues, and said notes, if not so presented at that time, shall, in addition to the tax of ihirty three and one-third cents imposed in the fourth section of this act, be subjected to a tax of ten per cent, per month until so presented ; which taxes shall attach to said notes wherever circulated, and shall be deduc ted from the face of said notes whenever pre- sented for payment or for funding-, and said notes shall not be exchangeable for the new issue of Treasury notes provided for in this Section 4. That on all said Treasury notes not funded or used in payment of taxes at the dates and places prescribed iuthe first section of this act, there be levied at said dates a od places a tax of thirty three and one-third ce> us for every dollar promised on the face of a ml notes ; said tax shall attach to said n< »tes wherever circulated, and shall be collectec i by deducting the same at the treasury, its de pos itarii'S and by tax collectors, and by all Gov- ernment officers receiving the same wb.ex lever presented for payment or for funding, or in payment of Government dues, or for portage or in exchange for new notes, aa herei.aaltr provided, and said Treasury notes sh.ill be fundable in bonds as provided for in th-e first section of this act, until the first day of Jan- uary, 1865, at the rate ot sixty- six aa-d two third cents on the dollar, ?ind it shall b>e the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury a t any time between the first of April, aud th« ■ first of July, 1864, west of the Mississippi river, and the first of January, 1865, to substitute and exchange new Treasu-v notes for the same at ihe rate of sixty-six aud ';wo-thirds ceEita the dollar . Provided that notoa of.thu d< nom ination of oue hundred dollar* shall n-ot be entitled to the privilege, of said exchange : Provided further, That the right to tuu-d auy of said Treasury notes after the first day of January, 18/35, is hereby taken awa/ : And provided further, That upon all such Treasu ry notes which may remain outstanding on the first day of January, 1865, and which vmy not be exchanged for new Treasury notes, as lverein provided, a tax of one hundred per cent, is hereby imposed. Section 5. That after the first day of April next, all authority heretofore given to the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Treasury notes bhall be, and is hereby revoked : Provi- ded, the Secretary of the Treasury may, after that time, ipsue new Treasury notes in such form as he may prescribe, payable two years after the ratification of a treaty of peace with the United States, said new issues to be re- ceivable in payment of all public dues, except export and -import duties, to be issued in ex change for oid notes at the rate of two dollars TV.-R. CURRENCY ACT. of the new for three dollars of the old issues, j whether said old notes be surrendered for ex- change by the holders thereof, or be received into the Treasury under the provisions of this act ; and the holders of the new notes or of the old notes, except thoeo of the denomination of one hundred dollars, after they are reduced to sixty-six and two-thirds cents on the dollar by the tax aforesaid, may convert the same into call certificates bearing interest at the rate of four per cent, per annum, and payable two years afterta ratification of a treaty of peace with the United States, unless sooner convert- ed into new notes Section 6. That to pay the expenses of the -Government npt otherwise provided for, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorised to issue six per cent, bonds to an amount not exceeding five hundred millions of dollars, the principal and interest whereof shall be free from taxation, and for the payment of interest thereon the entire uett receipts of any export duty hereafter laid on the value of any eotton, tobacco, and naval stores, which shall be ex- ported from the Confederate States, and the itett proceeds of the import duties now laid, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay annually the interest, are hereby specially pledged : Provided .that ;the duties now laid on imports are hereby pledged and shall here- after be paid in specie, or in sterling exchange or in coupons of said bonds. Section 1. That the Secretary of the Treas- ury is hereby authorised, from time to time, as the wants of the Treasury may require it, to St 11 or hypothecate for Treasury notes said bonds, or any part thereof, upon the best terms he can, so as to meet appropriations by Con- gress, and at the same time reduce and restrict the amount of th6 circulation in Treasury notes within reasonable and safe limits. ^ Section 8. The bonds authorised by the sixth section of this act may be either registered or coupon bonds, as the parties taking them may elect ; and they may be exchanged for each other under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. They shall be for one hundred dollars, and^shall, together with the coupoas thereto attached, be in such form and of such authentication as the Secre- tary of the Treasury may prescribe ; the inte- j rest shall be payable half yearly, on the first | January and July in each year, the principal | s&all be payable not less than thirty years from date. Section 9. All call certificates shall be fund- able, and shall be taxed in all respects as is provided for the Treasury notes into which they are convertible. If oonverted before the time fixed for taxing the Treasury notes, such certificates shall from that time bear interest upon only sixty-six and two-thirds cents for every dollar promised upon their face, and shall be redeemable in new Treasury notes at that rate ; but after the passage of this act no call certificates shall be issued until after the first day of April, 1864. Section- 10. That if any bank of deposit* shall give its depositors the bonds authorised by the first seetion of this act, in exehange for their deposits, and specifying the same on the bonds by some distinctive mark or token, to be agreed upon with the Secretary of the Treasury, then the said depositors shall be en- titled to receive the amount of said bends in Treasury notes bearing no interest and out- standing at the passage of this act ; Provided, the said bonds are presented before the privi- lege of funding said notf s at par shall cease as herein prescribed. Section 11. That all Treasury notes here- tofore issued of the denomination of five dol- lars, shall continue to be receivable in pay- ment of public dues, as provided by law, and fundable at par under the provisions of this act, until the first of July, 1864, cast, and until the first of October, 1864, west of the Mississippi river, but after that time they shall be subject to a tax of thirty-three and one-third per cent, on every dollar promised on the face thereof, said tax to attach to said notes wherever circulated, and said notes to be fundable and exchangeable for new Trea- sury notes, as herein provided, subject to the deduction of said tax. Section 12. That any State holding Treasury notes received before the times herein fixed for taxing said notes,. shall be allowed till the first day of January, 1865, to fund the same in six per cent, bonds of the Confederate States, payable twenty years after date, and the interest payable semi-annually, lut all Treasury notes received by any State after the time fixed for making the same as afore- said, shall he held to have been received di- minished by the amount of said tax. The dis- crimination between, the notes j subject to the tax, and those not so subject shall be — Section'IS.- 1 That Treasury notes heretofore issued bearing interest at the rate of seven dollars and thirty cents on the hundred dol- lars, shall no longer be received in payment of public dues, hut shall be deemed and con* sldered bonds of the Confederate States, pay- able twa years after a ratification of a treaty of peace with the United States, bearing the 772 Z3o TAX LAW. rate of interest specified on their face, pay- able lit of January of each and every Section 14 Tftat the Secretary of the Trea- sury be, and he is hereby authorized, in oase the exigencies of the Government should re- quire it to pay the demand of any public creditor whose debt may be contracted after Ike pasaajfe of this ect, willing to receive the aame in a certificate of indebtedness, to be issued by said Secretary in suck form as he may deem proper, payable two years after a ratification 6f a treaty of peace with the United States, bearing iutereit at the rate of six per cent, per annum, payable semi-annual- ly, and transferable only by special endorse- ment, und»r regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and said certi- ficates' sh* U be exempt from taxation in prin- cipal and interest. Section 15. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorised to inerease the number of de- positories so as to meet the requirements of this act, and with that view to employ such of the banks of tke several States as he may deem expedient. Section 16. The Seoretary of the Treasury shall forthwith adverse this act in newspapers published in the several and by such other means as shall secure im mediate publicity, and the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy shall each cause it to be published in general orders for the information of the army and navy. Section 17. The forty-second section of the act for the assessment and collection of taxes, approved May 1st, 1863, is hereby repp Section 18. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized ana required upon the application of the holder of any call •ertifi- cate; wkiek, by the first section of this act, to provide for tbo funding ar.d further issue of Treasury notes, approved March 23d, 1863, was required to be thereafter deemed to be a bond, to issue to such holder, a bond therefor upon the terms provided by said act. THE TAX LAW. "AH ACT TO LAY ADDITIONAL TAXES FOE THE COMMON DEFENCE AND / SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT." Section 1. The Congress of the Confederate Skates of America do enact, That in addition to the taxes levied by the " Act to levy taxes for the common defence and to carry on the Government of the Confederate States," ap- proved 24th of April, 1863, there shall be levied from the passage of this act on the sub- jects of taxation hereafter mentioned, and oolleeted from every person, copartnership, association or corporation, liable therefor, taxes as follows, to-wit : I- Upon the value of property, real, per- sonal and mixed, of every kind and descrip- tion, not hereinafter exempted or taxed at a different rate, five per cent. Provided, That from this tax on the value of property, em- ployed in agriculture, shall be deducts* the value of tke tax in kind delivered ' therefrom as assessed under the law Imposing it, and delivered to the Government. Provided, That no credit shall be allowed beyond five per cent. II. On tke value of gold and silver wares and plate, jewels, jewelry and wa tabes, ten per cent. III. Tkt value of property taxed under thi section shall be assessed ©o v the .basis of mar- ket value of the same, or similar property in the neighborhood where asses*ed in the year 1860, except in cases where land, slaves, cot- ton or tobacco have been purchased since the 1st of January, 1862, in which case the said land, "slaves, cotton or tobacco so purchased shall be assessed at tke pric* actually paid for the same by the owner. Section 2. On the value of all shares or in- terest held in any bank, banking company or association, canal, navigation, importing, ex- porting, insurance, manufacturing, telegraph, express, railroad and dry dock companies and all other joint stock companies of every kipd whether incorporated or not, five per cent. The vaUe of property taxed under this sec- tion shall be assessed upon the basis of the mar- ket Value of suoh properly in the neighborhood where assessed, iu such currency as may be in general use there, in tke purchase and sale of suoh property, at the time of assessment. Section 3. Upon the amount of all gold and* silver coin, gold dust;, gold or silver bHllion, whether held 6y the backs or other corporations or individuals, five per TAX LAW. cent; and upon all 'monies held abroad, or upon the amount of all bills of exchange, drawn therefor on foreign countries, a tax ot fiye per cent ; such tax upon money abroad to be assessed and collected according # value thereof at the place where the tax is paid II. Upon the amount of all solvent credits. and of all bauk bills, and all other paper is- sued as currenov, exclusive of non interest bearing Confederate Treasury notes, and not employed in a registered business, the income derived frorn which is taxed, five per cent. Section 4 Upon profits made in trade and business as follows : I. On all profits made by buying and sell- ing spirituous liquors, flour and wheat, corn, rice, 8ui?ar, molasses or syrup, salt, bacoa, pork, hogs, beet and beef cattle, sheep, oats, hay, fodder, raw hides, leather, horses, mules, boots, shoes, cotton yarns, woul, wooden, cot- ton or mixed cloths' hats, wagons, harness, coal, iron, steel or nails, at any time between the first of 'January, 1863, and the first of January, 18G5, ten pe^r cent., in addition to the tax ou such profits as 'income under the ' f act to lay taxes for the common defence, and car- ry on the Government of the Confederate States," approved April 21, 1863. II. On all profits made by buying money, gold, silver, foreign exchange. Blocks, notes, debts, credits, obligations of any kh any merchandise, propeny or effects of any kind; not enumerated m the preceding para- graph, between the times named therein, ten per cent., in addition to the tax on such profits a* income, under the aforesaid acj;. III. On the amount of profits exceeding twenty-five per cent., made during either of the years 1863 and 1864, by any bank or bauking company, insurance, canal, naviga- tion, importing and exporting, telegraph, ex- > press, railroad, manufacturing, dry dock, or >ther joint stock companies of any descrip- tion, whether incorporate or uot, twenty five per cent on such excess. Section 5. The following exerapi'ons from taxation under thi» Vet shall be allowed, to- wit : I. Property of each head of a family to the value of five hundred dollars; and for each minor child of the family to the further value of one hundred dollars ; and for each son ac- tually engaged in the army or navy, or who has died or been killed in the military or naval service, and who was a member of the family when he entered the serviee, to the further value of five hundred dollars. II. Property of the widow of any officer, soldier, sailor or marine, who may have died or been killed in the military or naval service, or where there is no widow, then ol the fam ly being minor children, to the value of one thousand "dollars. III. Property of every officer, soldier, sailor or marine, actually engaged in the military or naval service, or of such as have l^en disabled in sueh 'service, to the value of one thousand dollars, provided that, the above exemptions shall not apply to any person, whose pr< exclusive of household furniture, shall be assessed of a value exceeding -one thousand dollars. IV. That where property has beta injured or destroyed by the euemy, or the owner there- of has been temporarily deprived of the use or occupancy thereof, or of the means of cultivat- ing the same, by reason of the presence or proximity of the enemy, the assessment on suoh property may be reduced, in proportion to the damage sustained by the owner, or the tax assessed thereon may be reduced in the same ratio by the district collector, en satisfac- tory evidence submitted to him by tne owner or assessor. Section 6. That the taxes 6n property laid for the year 1864 shall be assessed as on the day of the passage of that aet, and be due and collected on the first day of June next, or as goon after as practicable, allowing an exten- sion of ninety days west of the Mise river. The additional taxes on incomes or profits for the year 1863,Jevied by this act, shall be assessed and collected forthwith ; and the taxes on incomes or profits for the y^ar 1364 shall be assessed and collected io t e provisions of the tax and a 1863. section 1. So much of the tax act of the 24th day of April, 1868, as levies a tax on incomes derived from property or effects on the amount or value of which a tax ia levied by this act, and alsethe first section of said act," are sus- pended for the year 1864, and no estimate^ rent, hire, or interest on property herein taxed ad valorem, shall be assessed or tax^d as in- comes, under the tax act of 1863. Section 8. That the tax imposed by this act on bonds of the Confederate States Heretofore issued, shall in do case exceed the interest on the same, and such bonds when held by or tor minors or lunatics, shall be exempt from the tax in all cases where the interest on the same shell not exceed one thousand dollars. -p.72.Z3o THE MILITARY BILL. 'AN / : TO ORGANISE FOBCES To SERVE DURING THE \Y \R." 1. That from and after the passage of this act all white men. snsidents of the Confederate between theVges of 17 and 50, shall be in the service of the Confederate States during ar. 2. That all persona aforesaid, betwi :d 45, now in .«erviee, shall be re- tained during the present war with the United in the same regiments, battalions and ,ies to whi I elonged of this act, with th^ ■- i ization rly transferred or diacbai g be la^vs and regulations of i. Provided, That es from one State, organized against their consent, expressed at the time, with ts or battalion! from another State, shall have the privilege of beinsr transferred nizations of troops, in the same arm of ice, from the State in which said com- panies were raised ; and the soldiers from one in companies from another State, shall Aed, if they desire it, a transfer to or ganisatioDB from their own States, in the same arm of t; 3. Be it further enacted, That, at the expi- ration of six inoi t :h from the 1st day of April t > >ii. ly of one hundred dollars, in six which the St-cre tary of the Treasury in hereby authorised lo issue, lsd and private who shall then be in i death, previou o the perio , then to the person or p< rsons who won by law to receive the ■ ol his pay ; but no one shall be entitled to the bounty herein p'ovided, who shall at any time, during the period of six months next after ih tirat day of April, be absent from hi* comm ind without leave. 4. Beit further enacted, That, do pbrson shall be relieved from the operation of this act by reason of having been heretofore discharged from the army, where no di ability now exists nor shall those who have furnished subfcti- tu.es be any longer exempted by reason ihere- of: Provided, Tnat no person heretofore ex- empted on account of religious opinions, and who has paid the 'tax levied to relieve him from service shall be required to render mili- tary service under this aet. 5. Be it further enacted, That all white male residents of the Confederate States, betweeu the ages of seventeen and eightoen and forty- five and fifty years, shall enroll themselves at such tiroes and places, and under such regu- lations as the President may prescribe the time allowed not b 'ing less th-»n thirty days for those east and sixty days for those west of the Mississippi river, and any person who shall fail so to enrol himself, with- out a reejsonable excuse therefor, to be judged of by the President, shall be placed in service in the field for the war, in the same manner as though, they were between the Sf eighteen and forty-five : Provided, that the persons mentioned in this section shall con- stitute a reserve for State defense and detail duty, and shall not be required to perform ser- vice out of the Stale in which they reside. 6. That all persons required by the fifth see tiou of this aot to enrol themselves may, with- in thirty days' of the passage thereof, east of the Mississippi river, and within sixty days if west of said river, form themselves into vol- untary organizations of companies, battalions pr regimtntsaDd elect their own oflic* ra : said organization to conform to the exisiit - ■ ing so organized, to tender tb< ai volunteer* during the war to the President; and if such organizations proper muster rolls, as now orgs and deposits a copy thereof with the enrolling • I their district, which shall be ?• !• nt lo enrollment, they maybe accepted aa men for service in such State, but in no eveut to be taken out of it. Those who do not «so volunteer and organise, shall enrol !ves as before provided; and may, by the President, be required to assemble at con- venient place* of rendezvous, and be formed or organized into companies, battalions and regiments, under regulations to be pre by him, and shall have the right to elect their company and regimental officers; and all troops organised under this act for S f ate defence, shall be entitled, while in aetual service, to the same pay and allowance as troops now m the Held. 1. T'lat any person who shall fail to attend at the place of rendezvous, as required by the authority of the President, without a sufficient excuse, to be judged of by him, shall be liable MILITARY BILL. o be placed in service in the field for the war, a if he were between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years of age. 8. That hereafter the duties of provost and hospital guards and clerks, and of clerks, guards, agents, employees or laborers in the Commissary and Quartermaster's Department, id the ordnance bureau, and clerks and em- ployees of navy agents, and all similar duties snail be periormed by persons who are within the ages of eighteen and forty- five years, and who by the report of board of army turgeons shall be reported as unable to perform active service in the field, but capable of performing soino of trie above said duties, specifying which, and when those persoas shall have beeu assigned to those duties as iar as practicable the Presideut shall assign or detail to their performance such bodies of ireops, or individ- uals, required to ee enrolled under the fifth section of this act. as may be neaded for toe discharge of such duties ; Provided, that per- sons between ihe ages of seventeen and eighteen feimll be assigned to those duties ; •Provided, further, that nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to prevent the President, from detailing artisans, mechanics or persons of scientific skill, to perform indispen- sable du'ies in the department of bureaux herein mentioned. 9. Tnat any Quartermaster or Assistant Quartermaster, Commissary, or Assistant Com- missary (other than those serviDg with brigades or regiments in the field,) or officers in the Ord- nanee Bureau, or Navy Agents or Provost Marsha], or officer in the Conscript serviee, who fhall hereafter employ or retain in his employment any person in any of their said departments or bureaus, or in any cf the du- ties mentioned in the eighth section ef this act, in violation of the provisions hereof, shall on conviction thereof by a court martial, or military court be eashiered, and it shall be the duty Of any tfepartanent or district commander upon proof, by the oath ol any credible person that any such officer has violated this provi- sion, immediately to relieve such officer from duty, and said commander shall take prompt measures to have him tried for such offence ; and any commander failing as aforesaid to per- form the duties enjoined by this section shall, upon being duly convicted thereof, be dis- charged from service. 10. That all laws grantisg exemptions from military serviee be, and the same are hereby repealed, and hereafter none shall bo exempted except the following : I. All who shall be held unfit for military service under rules to be prescribed by the Scretary of War. 2. The Tice President Af the Confederate States; the members and officers of Congress, of the several State Legislatures, and sueh other Confederate and State officers as tho President or the Governors cf the respective States may certify to be necessary for the pro- per administration of the Confederate or State governments, as the case may be. 3. Every minister of religion authorized te> preaeh aecordiag to the rales of his church, and who, at the passage of this aet, shall be regu- larly employed in the discharge of his ministe- rial duties, superintendents aad physicians of asylums of the deaf, dumb, bliui and insane, one editor for each newspaper beiug published at the time of the passage of this act, ajod such employees as said editor may certify on oath to be indispensable to the publication of such newspaper, the public printer of the Confede- rate and State governments, and such journey- men printers as tho said public printer stall certify on ouih to be indispensable to perform the public printing, one skilled apothecary in each apothecary store, who wag doing business as such apothecary on the 10th day of October, 1862, and has continued said business without intermission since that period; all pbysiciass o?er the age of 30 years who are now, and have been, for the last seven years, in the practice ef tneir profession, but the term phy- sicians shall not include dentists, all presidents and teachers of colleges, theological seminaries, and sehools, who have been regularly engaged as sueh for U T o years next before the passage of this act: Provided, That the benefit of this exemption shall extend to those teachers only whose schools are composed of twenty stu- dents or more. All superintendents of public hospitals establisned by law before the passage of this act, and such employees as the said, superintendent shall certify on oath to be essen- tial to the management thereof. 4. There shall be exempt one person as owner or agriculturalist on ea^n farm or' plantation upon which there are now and were, on tho 1st day of January last, fifteen able bodied field hands between the ages of 16 and 50, upon the following conditions: 1. This exemption shall only be granted in cases in whioh there is no white male adult on the farm or plantation not liable to military duty, nor unless the person claiming the exemption was, on the 1st day of January, 1864, either the owner and maaagcr, . or overseer of said plantation, but in no case shall more than one person be exempted for one farm or plantation. 2. Such person shall first exeeute a bond, payable to the Confede- rate States of America, in such penalty as the Secretary of War may prescribe, conditioned thai he will deliver to the Soverament at some 8 MILITARY BILL. railroad depot, or sueh other place or plaees as may be designated by the Secretary of War, within, twelve months next ensuing, one hun- dred pounds of bacon, or at the election of the Government, its equivalent in pork, and oue hundred pounds of net beef, (said beef to be delivered on foot,) lor each able bodied slave on said farm or plantatiea within the above said ages, whether said slaves are in the field " er not, which said baeon or pork and beef shall be paid for by the Government at the price fixed by the Commissioners of the State under the impressment act : Provided, that when tbe person thus exempt- ed shall produce satisfactory evidenee that it has been impossible for him, by the exercise of proper diligence, to furnish the amount of meat thus contrasted for and leave an adequate sup- ply for the subsistence of those living on said. farm, the Secretary of War shall direct a com- mutation of the same to the extent of two thirds thereof in. griin or other provisions, to be de- livered by such person as aforesaid at equiva- lent rates., t . Such person shall furthermore bind him- self to sell tho marketable surplus of proviijion- and grain now op hand, and. which he may raise from year to year, while the exemption continues, to the Government or to the families of soldiers, at prices fixed by the Commissions ersofthe State under the impressmeut aet ; Provided, that ?>nj person, exempted as afore- said, shall be entitled to s. credit of 25 per cent, on any amount of m t which he may deliver within three months from the passage of this act ; Provided, further, that persons coming within the provision of this exemption shall not be deprived of the benefit thereof by rea- son of having been envolled since the 1st day of February, 1864. In addition to the foregoing exemptions, the Secretary of War, may, under the direction of the President, exempt or detail such other per- sons as he may be satisfied ought to be ex- empted on account of public necessity, and to insure the production of grain and other pro- visions for the army and for the families of sol- diers. He may also grant exemptions or details on such terms as he may prescribe, to such overseers, farmers or planters, as he may be satisfied will be more useful to the country in the pursuits of agriculture than in the military service ; Provided, That such exemption shall cease whenever the farmer, planter, or overseer shall fail diligently to employ in good faith his own skill, capital and labor exclusively in the production of grain and other provisions, to be sold to the Government and the families of soldiers at such prices not exceeding these fixed at the time for the articles by the com- missaries of tbi State under the impressment act. 5. The president, treasurer, auditor and su- perinte y railroad compaoy engaged in transportation for tbe Government, audsu.:li officers and employees thereof as the pre or superintendent shall certify on oath lo be indispensable to the efficient operation of such railroad: Provided, That the number of persons so exemptod by this act on any railroad shall- uot exceed oue person for each mile of such road in actual use for military transportation; and said exempts shall be reported by name and description, with the names of any who may have left the eopleyment of said company, or who may cease to be indispensable. 6 Nothing herein contained shall be con- strued as repealling the act approved April 14, 1883, exempting extractors for carrying the mails of the Confederate States, and the drivers of post coaches and hacks, from military ser- vice: Provided, That all the exemptions grant- ed under this aet shall only continue while the persons so exempted are actually engaged in their respective pursuits or occupations. Seo. 11. That the President be, and he ii hereby authorised to grant details, under rules and regulations to be issued from the War De- partment, either of persons between 45 and 50 years of age, or.from the army in the field, in all cases where, in his judgment, justice, equity and necessity require such details, and he may revoke sueh orders or details yhenever he thinks proper. Provided, That the power herein granted to the President to make details and exemptions shall not he construed to authorize the exemp- tion of detail of any character for furnishing supplies of any kind to the government, by reason of said contract, unless the head or sec- retary of the department making such eontraet shall certify that the personal serviees of sueh contractor are indispensable to the execution of tho contract: Provided, further, That when- ever such contractor shall fail diligently and faithfully to proceed with tho execution of such contract, his exemption or detail shall cease. See. 12. That in appointing local boards of surgeons for the examination of persons liable to military service, no member composing the same shall bo appointed from the county or enrolling district in which they are required . to make s»ea examination. Hollinger Corp. pH8.5