offer the other half as Government freight. I presume a somewhat similar principle will obtain in the regulations for overland exportation, and that persons will be permitted to take out cotton on terms of bringing back a certain per cent. of the proceeds in supplies for sale to the Government. No law of Congress provides any additional means or facilities, so far as I understand, for the Government to acquire cotton. On compliance with the regulations, parties will claim an exception from any obligation to sell or furnish cotton to the Government, and a right to export it out of the country at their pleasure. The question arises, can your necessities be supplied under these laws and regulations? Will they secure the introduction of the supplies indispensable to your army? How are the Confederate States to get the cotton to freight vessels by sea or pay for supplies introduced? If you cannot get along on that basis, how is your condition to be remedied?

No law has been passed providing for the redemption of the certificates issued by this office. If this had been done, at a rate to put them at or above par with Government bonds, the office could have continued and strengthened in its operations.

The want of facilities for communicating with Richmond have no doubt prevented the proper legislation on this subject. In the present condition, I consider the present certificates of the office almost discredited, and to be unavailable for future use. I trust such recommendations will be at once made by you and the Treasury agent as will secure the proper legislation by the next Congress to provide for these certificates, say by funding them in specie bonds bearing 6 per cent. interest, payable semi-annually, with authority to the cotton office to sell cotton for specie to pay the interest. Cannot the Treasury agent take the authority to make them receivable for taxes or public dues under the present laws? They are certificates of a specie debt by the Government. If they could be made available to pay the specie dues for exports, imports, and taxes, under subsisting laws, at a reduced rate, say from 33 to 50 per cent., it will at once give them a value, and communicate a new and most vigorous impulse to the operation of the office. Its certificates would be far more available than the Governor's bonds, and the office could reach all the cotton which he does not withdraw from the State. If not made available for the specie dues, but for Confederate money dues, say at the rate of four or five for one, the same good effects would result.

I beg leave to entreat the most earnest considerations to this subject, and hope that responsibility will be assumed if a commensurate amount of benefit should be clearly apparent to the authorities. Another suggestion on this subject is that Confederate money be furnished to the office for further purchases of cotton. If you are without the means of purchasing cotton, will you undertake to impress the cotton you require? I am aware that the cotton office is based upon the assertion of your power to impress cotton, and that its efficiency has been derived from a compliance with its requirements to avoid impressment. At the same time I must say that I have not considered or intended practically that impressment would be resorted to. The power to impress cotton in order to raise money for the purchase of supplies or to exchange for supplies is very much questioned, and an adverse decision upon it by the courts is much to be apprehended. It is a power involving personal liability, such difficulty of expenditure, and so much odium that I should extremely regret to see it adopted.