Duke University Libraries Response of the Conf Pam #388 DTTDESflDa+ •Sf/ RUT.] [C. S. Senate. RESPONSE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY To the ResolutioT^ of the Senate of the 5th December 1864, respecting Operations under the Act to impose Regulations upon the Foreign Commerce of the Confederate States. ^ TREASURY DEPARTMENT, C. S. A. Richmond, Dec. 12, 1S64. To the President : Sir: I have the honor to s\ibmit the following reply to the enquiries contained in the resolutions of the Senate of the 5th in- stant, in relation to the foreign trade : 1. " Whether any and what restrictions have been imposed upon the exercise of the right of the Confederate States, or any of them, to export, on their own account, any of the articles enumerated in the act entitled 'an act to impose regulations upon the foreign com- merce of the Confederate States, to provide for the public defence,' approved Gth February 1864?" No restrictions whatever have been imposed upon the exercise of this right by the States. The 1 0th article of the Regulations, adopted in pursuance of the act of Gth February, provides, " that nothing in the Regulations shall be construed to conflict with the proviso in the oth section; 'that nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit the Confederate States, or any of them, from exporting any of the articles herein enumerated, on their own account.'" By the 1st and 2d articles of the Regulations, it is provided, that vessels belonging to private parties shall carry one-half the cargo both outward and inward, on account of the Confederate States. It has sometimes been supposed that this provision operates as a restriction upon the freedom of action of the States. That if a State acquire, by purchase or charter, the use of one-fourth of a steamer, the Confederate States should relinquish an equol proportion of the moiety claimed under the Regulations, and reduce the share reserved for its use, to one-fourth. This Dopnitment does not%)ncur in that opinion. It is held, that a vessel engaging in this trade, charters one moiety to the governnTOTit, nnrl hn«! v.o -povror wIiIIp she continues therein, by a sale or another charter, to deprive the govemnient of the use of that moiety. The exercise of such a power would be in- compatible with the design of the act of February Gth, and in direct violation of tiie ri*'gn]ation.s, made in pursuance thereof. It would be impossible for the government to secure the use of any portion of a vessel, if the owner was pt-rmitted thus to cilieiuirf it at will. Nor would it be consistent with tlie equality to be observed among the States, in matters of common interest, that .this should be con- ccdtd. The moiety reserved by the Cou'bdL'nite States, is for llu'. use aixl benefit of all the States, without distinction ; the cotton ex- ported is common property ; when sold, the product'is nearly all clear gain; the supplies brought back in return add little or nothing to the expenditures of the government, and are equally distributed among the troops of all the States indiscriminately. But when any part of this moiety is transferred to one State, it operates as a relinquish- ment of the share of each of the others, for the benefit of that one. The part thus acquired, is then used to supply the troops of that State onl}^ ; and as these supplies are nevertheless paid for by the Confederate States, it follows that, besides making this valuable con- cession, those from whom it is obtained, are drawn thereby into an unnecessary expenditure. In other words, in the one case, the troops of all the States participate in the benefit, and without cost to any ; in the other, the benefits are confined to the troops of one State, and all the others contribute to the cost, and without any reduction being made for the profits on the or.tward cargo. 2. "Whether the Regulations made under the first section of said act have caused any diminution in the number of vessels engaged in foreign commerce?" The Regulations were adopted on the 7th of March, and the largest number of arrivals occurred in the months of May and June ensuing; during which period forty-three steamers entered the ports of Wil- mington and Charleston. The prevalence of the yellow fever, both in th.e Islands and in our own portf;, caused a serious interruption to the trade during the summer months ; but the abatement of the epi- demic has been followed by the immediate return of activity; and from the 1st of November to the (Ith of December, there have been foriy-three arrivals at the p.tits abuve named. It would appear, therefore, that no discouragement has been given to the trade by the Regulations. This conclusion is supported by other evidence ; the freight of 5d. per pound in gold, paid by the government, is nearly equal to $ 3 per pound ; so that the freight paid for carrying out 500 bales of cotton for the government, will purchase for the vessel J, 000 bales, at tlje market price ; and the great profit realized on these terms is exhibited in the enormous price commanded in the market, by shares in all the blockade stocks. 3. "Whether the said Act of Congress, and the Regulations made under its authority, have been beneficial or otherwise, in their effect on the success of our arms, and the supply of means necessary for the public defence ; also whether experience has suggested the ne- cessity of the repeal of said act of 6th February, or any modification . or amendnieat of its provisions?" My impressions arc that they have been in the highest degree beneficial. ^ Bt'fore the passage of the act, vessels were required to devote one- third of their tonnage to the use of the government, by authority of the War Department. The principle was the same as that of the Regulations, and the statistics of the two periods have not been kept separate. Tlie following .summary, embracing a period of about twelve months, from the 1st of November 1S03 to the 2-3th of Oc- tober 1864, exhibits the results attained under both. These details are derived from the report of Col. T. L. Bjayne, Chief of the Bureau of Foreign Supplies of the War Dopartmrnt. The leading articles imported are as follows : Lead, - - l,4f)0,000 pounds. Saltpetre, - 1,850,000 " Meat, - - 6,200,000 " Coffee, - - 408,000 " Bools and shoes, - 420,000 pairs. Blankets, - 292,000 pairs. Arms, - - 136,832 muskets, rifles and carbines. Since the date above mentioned, viz : the 25th of October, up to the Gth of December, further supplies of importance have been brought in, of which a detailed account is appendcf^ marked A. When tlie Regulations were first adopted, each Department was charged with the duty of managing its own exports and iniports; but experience indicated the propriety of consolidating these opera- tions, and placing the whole under the control of the Trejisury De- partment. This was accordingly done on the 1st of July, and from that date to the let of December, the quantity of cotton exported was 11,706 bale'*. Of this ouantitv 1;272 bales were lost, and 10,524 bales have arrived safe at foreign ports. At a moderate com- putation the value in gold is ^320,000 sterling, or $ 1,500,000— a sum capable of purchasing supplies, of the value in currency of $45,000,000. The results attained appear to establish the beneficial character and efFei-t of the act oi February 0th, aiid the Regulations pdopt<'d in pursuance thereof; and I am strongly of the opinion that neither *' the repeal of the act, nor any modification or amendment of its provisions," have been suggested by experience to be necessary. G. A. TRENHOLM, Seaetary of Treasury, FA.] Cargoes received from abroad, on Government Account, from 25s.iry. Private acc't. Blenheim, Nassau (1st trip). No government freight. -24 Litile Ilat-.io, Nassau . l.'^ barrels hardware, 10 cases " 7 bundles vices. IS bellows, 13 anvils, 42 barrels alcohol, 50 boxes tin plate, Q. .M. JleJicfll. 8 cases stationery, :? casks copper, •1 barrels tallow, 1 box tools, 1 luinijohn vaniish, B. Conserip. Navy. ai Old Dominion, Halifax, 210 barrels pork, Commissary. 29 Emma Henry, Bermuda, 130 sacks saltpetre, 50 cases shoes. 58 packages, 18 N. and M. Navy. Gen. AVhitiii!- ArmHtroug. Ben.iuda, l.'iTO cases preserved meat, 10 bales gunny cloth, 200 bundles irou ties. 5 cases crockery. Commissary. Selxas. S. Imps C... 30 Vulture, Beriuiidn, 15 cases rifles, 15 " carbines. Ordnauce. Dec. 1 Ella, Nasi-aii. 1 case bismuth. Mcdie.nl. (beached.) 117 barrels ptrk, 40 tierces beef, 30 pcks. horse .shoe uails, I life boat, 225 sacks coftee. 1 case spool cotton, 2.3 cases Enfield rifles. Nav.v. N. and M. Navy. Ordnance. Owl, Bermuda, via NasBau, 220 cases shoes, 31 bal-sclotli, (lO ■• shui.s 161 " blankets, 21 " flannel, 2 " hosiery, Q.M. Virginia, Beruuula. via NasBau, 275 boxes meat, 7{; casks bacon, 500 bundles iron ties. 30 bales bagging. Conimissarv. o WUd Rover, Beriiuida. via Nassau, 5 cases thread, 1 cask buckles, 9 cases buttons, 150 packages lead, 2 puncheons. 1 hogshead shoes. 117 fuses bai-on, 150 barrels pork, 7 casks bridles, 5 cases electro stalls. Ordnance. N. and M. Cou^ll)i.s.^aly. Ordnance. 4 Stag, England, via Bermuda 9 eases, 5 drums, 24 cases, 17 " 75 " boots, 7 " woollens, M) " rides, 130 sacks saltpetre, 5 tons pig iron, 10 bales blankets, • 27 cases. Navy. Q. M. Ordnaucf. N. nnd M. Navy. Cargoes rcceiocd Jrotn abroad, un GovtiunienL Ai.cou.ul — Cuuliuued. r»-<'. 4 Huu^B, KnglHud, via Bermuda, Curolino. 52 bali-s blnnkpls. a " cloth, 26 " flannel, (

'ry. ;) baleK paper, 2 canes bciotg, 7 •• silk. ?R " ainwuiiHioi) paper. '.I bales - caseg merchanUiso, 5 bundleH sheet iron, l'^ caBkg I, foppcr. •I biindlf.- c'>ppfi- 'jolts, i^ ciiRks \j tin, 7 " pig lead. I* " saltpetre, 7 caHeH Kiao, I' rasks metal, 10 rolls lead, 10 bales blaiiketH, UK) bundles iron tics. Q. M. Medical. Ordnance. Kavy. Jno. SeixMi. Very refipocifull v ^ THOS. L. BAYNE, Lt. Col. Cargoes received from abroad, on Government Acrcunt, from '2oth Ocl&ber 1864 t.u clate~7ih Drccinher. — Port of Charleston. ^ 1364. Nov. 1 Fox, Nassau, Be;vtricp, (Bestr.ivfd hv th!" Syr-^n. Laurel, Druid, 1 cask rasps, • 3i) kegs horHo shoes', 10 " bortic shoe uai S casks gpadeg, 75 cases shoes, ]00 tierces beef, a bales bagging, 2 bales shirts. 25 " blaiikoi.--, 11 '■ cloths, 2 .'■ caps, 1 case thread, 4(1 cases shoes, 1 box books, 2 packages aaiiiplos, i cp.Bo adhesive plaaier, 1 package sample p;'.per. 71 ber. Q.M. Navy. Seixns. Q. M. N.1VV. John Sfixas- Medical. Kngineer. N. and S! Medical. >iuvy. P.. Con?cTip P6RmaliP6« pH8.5