EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 8, 1863_.
_Ordered by the President_:
Whereas on the 13th day of November, 1862, it was ordered that the
Attorney-General be charged with the superintendence and direction of
all proceedings to be had under the act of Congress of the 17th of July,
entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and
rebellion, and to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for
other purposes," in so far as may concern the seizure, prosecution,
and condemnation of the estate, property, and effects of rebels and
traitors, as mentioned and provided for in the fifth, sixth, and
seventh sections of the said act of Congress; and
Whereas since that time it has been ascertained that divers prosecutions
have been instituted in the courts of the United States for the
condemnation of property of rebels and traitors under the act of
Congress of August 6, 1861, entitled "An act to confiscate property used
for insurrectionary purposes," which equally require the superintending
care of the Government: Therefore
_It is now further ordered by the President_, That the Attorney-General
be charged with superintendence and direction of all proceedings to be
had under the said last-mentioned act (the act of 1861) as fully in all
respects as under the first-mentioned act (the act of 1862).