[House Bill, No. 239. J 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Novembor 29, 18G4.— 
 Read first and second times, and made special order after Currency 
 and Tax bills, and from day to day, and ordered to be printed. 
 
 [By Mr. Chilton, from Committee on Judiciary] 
 
 A. BILL 
 
 To be entitled An Act to organize the Supreme Court. 
 
 1 Sf.ction I. T/ie To/jr^/Y^.^ of fhc Confederalr. States of Ainerka do 
 
 2 cnad. That the Supreme Court of the Confederate States, shall 
 
 3 consist of the Chief Justice and four associate justices. 
 
 1 Sec. 2, The Chief Justice shall preside over the court, atjd. 
 
 2 after him, the associate justices shall have precedence in the 
 S order of the dates of their commissions, and. when tho dates are 
 
 4 the same, in the order of their ages. Three of the justices shftU 
 
 5 constitute a quorum. 
 
 1 Stc. 3. The Chief Justice shall have a salary of eight thou- 
 
 2 sand dollars, and each of the associate justices a salary of seven 
 
 3 thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly out of the 
 
 4 treasury. 
 
 1 Stc. 4. Before entering on the duties of their offices, each of 
 
 2 said justices shall take an oath or aflSrmation to support the Con- 
 
 3 Btitution, to administer justice without respect to persons, to do 
 
4 equal right to the poor and to the rich, and faithfully and im- 
 
 5 partially to perform and discharge all the duties of his oflSco 
 
 6 agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the Confederate States, 
 
 7 according to the best of his ability. 
 
 1 Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall hold two sessions annually at 
 
 2 the seat of government, one session commencing on the first 
 
 3 Monday of January, and another commencing on the first Mon- 
 
 4 day of June, and to continue until the business is disposed of. If 
 
 5 less than a quorum attend at the time appointed, any one of the 
 
 6 justices being present may adjourn the court from day to day 
 
 7 until a quorum be convened, or, (after ten days,) he may adjourn 
 
 8 it until the next term, and he may make any order touching pro- 
 9* cess returned or returnable to the court, or a cause pending 
 
 10 therein, preparatory to the hearing thereof, subject to revision 
 
 11 and reversal by the court. The Chief Justice may, at any time, 
 
 12 call a special session of the court, causing notice thereof to be 
 
 13 given by a weekly publication, for three weeks, in a newspaper 
 
 14 publishe d at the seat of government. 
 
 1 Sec. 6. The laws, applicable to the Supreme Court established 
 
 2 under the Pr(fvisional Government, shall be applicable to the 
 
 3 court hereby organized, so far as the same are consistent with 
 
 4 the Constitution and this act, and all appeals and writs of error 
 
 5 which were returnable to the former court shall be returnable to 
 
 6 the court hereby organized. 
 
s 
 
 1 Sec. 7. From judgments and decrees rendered before the 
 
 2 secession of any State, in any court held therein, appeals and 
 
 3 writs of error shall lie to the court hereby organized in such 
 
 4 cases and in like manner as the same lay to the Supreme Court 
 3 of the United States before the secession, notwithstanding an 
 
 6 appeal or writ of error has been taken to the latter court and not 
 
 7 dismissed unless the cause had been decided by that court before 
 
 8 such secession. The time during which any such cause may have 
 
 9 been pending in that court shall not be included in computing the 
 10 time limited for taking such appeal or writ of error. 
 
 1 Sec. 8. In all cases in which the time limited for taking an 
 
 2 appeal or writ of error to the Supreme Court of the United States 
 
 3 or the Confederate States has expired since the secession of the 
 
 4 State in which the cause was determined or shall expire within 
 
 5 two years from this date, further time for taking the same shall 
 
 6 be allowed until the expiration of two years after the passage of 
 
 7 this act. 
 
 1 Sec. 9 Except in cases in which a mandate has been received 
 
 2 by a district court, as comtemplated in the forty-ninth section of 
 
 3 the act " to establish the judicial courts of the Confederate States 
 
 4 of America," approved March 16th, 1861, all decrees and judg- 
 
 5 ments of the Supreme Court of the United States, rendered before 
 
 6 the secession of a State, in causes orijrinally determined in such 
 
 7 State, and which now remain in force and not executed, may be 
 
4 
 
 8 carried into execution as if they were judgments of the court 
 
 9 hereby organized, under the order, direction and process of the 
 
 10 Supreme Court, and for that purpose, if necessary, the court may 
 
 1 1 cause the tenor, substance or effect of such judgment and decrees 
 
 12 to be proved, under such rules as it may establish, as in case of a 
 
 13 record lost or destroyed, and upon such proof, if sufficient, may 
 
 14 cause any such judgment or decree to be carried into execution^ 
 
 15 as aforesaid