JOINT RESOLUTION declaring certain States not entitled to representation in the electoral college.

Whereas the inhabitants and local authorities of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee rebelled against the government of the United States, and were in such condition on the eighth day of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, that no valid election for electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, according to the Constitution and laws thereof, was held therein on said day: Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the States mentioned in the preamble to this joint resolution are not entitled to representation in the electoral college for the choice of President and Vice-President of the United States for the term of office commencing on the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-five; and no electoral votes shall be received or counted from said States concerning the choice of President and Vice-President for said term of office.

Approved February 8, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION to terminate the treaty of eighteen hundred and seventeen, regulating the naval force on the lakes.

was

Whereas the United States of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland of the other part, by a treaty bearing date April, eighteen hundred and seventeen, have regulated the naval force upon the lakes, and it further provided that "if either party should hereafter be desirous of annulling this stipulation, and should give notice to that effect to the other party, it shall cease to be binding after the expiration of six months from the date of such notice;" and whereas the peace of our frontier is now endangered by hostile expeditions against the commerce of the lakes, and by other acts of lawless persons, which the naval force of the two countries, allowed by the existing treaty, may be insufficient to prevent; and whereas, further, the President of the United States has proceeded to give the notice required for the termination of the treaty by a communication which took effect on the twenty-third November, eighteen hundred and sixty-four: Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the notice given by the President of the United States to the government of Great Britain and Ireland to terminate the treaty of eighteen hundred and seventeen, regulating the naval force upon the lakes, is hereby adopted and ratified as if the same had been authorized by Congress.

Approved February 9, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION tendering the thanks of Congress to Major General Philip H. Sheridan, and the officers and men under his command.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress are hereby tendered to Major General Philip H. Sheridan, and to the officers and men under his command, for the gallantry, military skill, and courage displayed in the brilliant series of victories achieved by them in the valley of the Shenandoah,

and especially for their services at Cedar Run, on the nineteenth day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, which retrieved the fortunes of the day and thus averted a great disaster.

SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, requested to communicate this resolution to Major General Sheridan, and through him to the officers and soldiers under his command. Approved February 9, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION providing for the compilation of a Congressional Directory at each

session.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congressional Directory be compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Public Printing, and published by the Superintendent of Public Printing, the first edition for each session to be ready for distribution within one week after the commencement thereof. Approved February 14, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION appointing General Richard Delafield to be a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Richard Delafield, resident of Washington city, be, and he hereby is, appointed a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in the place of Joseph G. Totten, deceased.

Approved February 14, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION to extend the time for the reversion to the United States of the lands granted by Congress to aid in the construction of a railroad from Pere Marquette to Flint, and for the completion of said road.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time specified in the fourth section of the act of Congress approved June three, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, entitled "An act making a grant of alternate sections of the public lands to the State of Michigan, to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State, and for other purposes," for the reversion to the United States of the lands granted by said act to aid in the construction of a railroad from Pere Marquette to Flint, and for the completion of said road, be, and the same is hereby, extended for the term of five years.

Approved February 17, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to obtain the title to certain property in Carson City and State of Nevada for the purposes of a branch mint located in said place.

Whereas the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in order to carry into effect an act entitled "An act to establish a branch mint of the United States in the Territory of Nevada," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, has purchased of Moses Job, and Margaret, his wife, and James L. Riddle, the pre-emptors and occupants thereof, certain city or town lots in

said Carson City, together with all the valuable improvements thereon; and whereas it is highly important for the interest of the government to obtain, at an early day, the use and possession of said property, to establish and open said branch mint: Therefore,

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to receive and accept from said Moses Job, and Margaret, his wife, and James L. Riddle, such relinquishments and conveyances of their right and claim to said lots and property as he, the said Secretary, shall deem sufficient for the extinguishment of any claim, right, or title which the said Moses Job, and Margaret, his wife, and James L. Riddle may or can have thereto; and said lots and property shall thereafter be reserved from public sale, pre-emption, or homestead settlement, and shall remain the property of the United States.

Approved February 23, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION to facilitate the adjustment of certain accounts of the American Colonization Society for the support of recaptured Africans in Liberia.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, authorized and directed to adjust and settle the accounts of the American Colonization Society for the support of recaptured Africans in Liberia, under contracts made for that purpose under the authority of the act of Congress approved June sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty, on the principles of equity.

Approved February 23, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue American registers to British schooners "Minnie Williams" and "E. M. Baxter."

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary.of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to issue American registers to the British-built schooners "Minnie Williams " and "E. M. Baxter," said vessels being now owned by a citizen of Buffalo, New York.

Approved February 25, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION in relation to the distribution of books and documents.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the undistributed portions of the books and documents heretofore printed or purchased for its use by order of either house of Congress, previous to the thirty-seventh Congress, and now deposited in the Interior Department and elsewhere, be distributed to members of the present Congress, under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing. And said committee is hereby directed to divide the books in question into parcels equal in number to the whole number of senators, representatives, and delegates from Territories, and as nearly equal in value and importance as possible, and to distribute them to the senators, representatives, and delegates by such method as may be found most feasible and proper.

Approved February 28, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION to provide for the publication of a full army register.

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to cause to be printed and published a full roster or roll of all general, field, line, and staff officers of volunteers who have been in the army of the United States at any time since the beginning of the present rebellion, including all informal organizations which have been recognized or accepted and paid by the United States, showing whether they are yet in the service, or have been discharged therefrom, and giving casualties and other explanations proper for such register. And, to defray in whole or in part the expenses of this publication, an edition of twenty-five thousand copies of such enlarged register shall be published and may be sold to officers, soldiers, or citizens, at a price which shall not more than cover the actual cost of paper, printing, and binding, and shall not in any case exceed one dollar per volume. Approved March 2, 1865.

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing a contract with William H. Powell for a picture for the Capitol.

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Joint Committee on the Library be, and they are hereby, directed to enter into a contract with William H. Powell, of the State of Ohio, to paint a picture for the United States, to be placed at the head of one of the grand staircases in the Capitol, illustrative of some naval victory; the particular subject of the painting to be agreed on by the committee and the artist: Provided, That the entire expense of said picture shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, and two thousand dollars shall be paid to said William H. Powell in advance, to enable him to prepare for the work, the remainder of said instalments at intervals of not less than one year, the last instalment to be retained until the picture is completed and put up. Approved March 2, 1865.

A RESOLUTION to encourage the employment of disabled and discharged soldiers. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That persons honorably discharged from the military or naval service by reason of disability resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty should be preferred for appointments to civil offices, provided they shall be found to possess the business capacity necessary for the proper discharge of the duties of such offices.

SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That, in grateful recognition of the services, sacrifices, and sufferings of persons honorably discharged from the military and naval service of the country, by reason of wounds, disease, or the expiration of terms of enlistment, it is respectfully recommended to bankers, merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, farmers, and persons engaged in industrial pursuits, to give them the preference for appointments to remunerative situations and employments.

Approved March 3, 1863.

JOINT RESOLUTION of thanks to Major General George H. Thomas, and the army under his command.

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress are due, and are hereby tendered, to Major General George H. Thomas, and the officers and soldiers under his command, for their skill and dauntless courage, by which the rebel army under General Hood was signally defeated and driven from the State of Tennessee.

Approved March 3, 1865.

A RESOLUTION to encourage enlistments and to promote the efficiency of the military forces of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, for the purpose of encouraging enlistments and promoting the efficiency of the military and naval forces of the United States, it is hereby enacted that the wife and children, if any he have, of any person that has been, or may be, mustered into the military or naval service of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be forever free, any law, usage, or custom whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding; and in determining who is or was the wife and who are the children of the enlisted person herein mentioned, evidence that he and the woman claimed to be his wife have cohabited together, or associated as husband and wife, and so continued to cohabit or associate at the time of the enlistment, or evidence that a form or ceremony of marriage, whether such marriage was or was not authorized or recognized by law, has been entered into or celebrated by them, and that the parties thereto thereafter lived together, or associated or cohabited as husband and wife, and so continued to live, cohabit, or associate at the time of the enlistment, shall be deemed sufficient proof of marriage for the purposes of this act, and the children born of any such marriage shall be deemed and taken to be the children embraced within the provisions of this act, whether such marriage shall or shall not have been dissolved at the time of such enlistment. Approved March 3, 1865.

A RESOLUTION to authorize and direct an inventory of articles in the quartermaster's depots of the United States, and in the possession of the naval storekeepers of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and is hereby, directed to cause a strict inspection to be made of the quartermaster's department, as soon as practicable after the passage of this resolution, and a comparison to be made between the reports of the officers in charge of the quartermaster's depots at New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, and Louisville, and the articles on hand.

SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy, in like manner, be directed to cause an inventory to be made of all the property of the United States in possession of the several naval storekeepers of the United States.

Approved March 3, 1865.