CONGRESS, U. S. 



277 



Crittenden, George E. Pugh, and Richard W. Thomp- 

 son be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners 

 on the part of Congress, to confer with a like number 

 of commissioners, to be appointed by the States afore- 

 said, for the preservation of the Union and the main- 

 tenance of the Constitution, and that they report the 

 result of their said conference to Congress for approval 

 or rejection. 



Resolved, That upon the appointment of commis- 

 sioners, as hereby invited, by said States, and upon the 

 meeting of the joint commission for the purpose of con- 

 ference as aforesaid, active hostilities shall cease, and 

 be suspended, and shall not be renewed unless said 

 commission shall be unable to agree, or in case of an 

 agreement by them, said agreement shall be rejected 

 either by Congress or by the aforesaid States. 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, objected to 

 its reception. It was, however, received, and 

 laid on the table. 



Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, gave notice of 

 his intention to ask leave to introduce a bill 

 " to punish officers and soldiers of the Army 

 of the United States for arresting, detaining, 

 or delivering persons claimed as fugitives to 

 any person." 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, offered the 

 following resolution : 



Resohed, That the Secretary of War be requested to 

 furnish to the Senate copies of any general orders in 

 the military department of Missouri relating to fugi- 

 tive slaves. 



He said : " Mr. President, my attention has 

 been called, by letters from St. Louis, to cer- 

 tain general orders purporting to come from 

 Maj.-Gen. Halleck, in command of the depart- 

 ment of Missouri, relating to fugitive slaves, 

 wherein it is directed that such persons shall 

 not be received within his camps, or within the 

 lines of his force when on march : and that any 

 such persons now within such lines shall be 

 thrust out ; and the reason strangely assigned 

 for this order is, that such fugitive slaves will 

 carry information to the rebels. 



" Xow, it is difficult to speak of an order like 

 that and to keep within bounds. Besides being 

 irrational and inhuman on its face, it practi- 

 cally authorizes the surrender of fugitive slaves 

 beyond any constitutional obligation. Such an 

 order must naturally be disheartening to our 

 soldiers, and it gives a bad name to our country, 

 both at home and abroad. 



" Gen. Halleck is reputed to be a good tac- 

 tician ; but an act like this, with which he 

 chooses to inaugurate his command, does not 

 give to us assurance of any great success here- 

 after. He may be expert in all the details of 

 military science ; but something more than that 

 is now needed. Common sympathy, common 

 humanity, and common sense are needed in the 

 conduct of this war. I take the liberty here of 

 saying and I wish that my words may reach 

 him that every fugitive slave that he surren- 

 ders will rise in judgment against him hereafter 

 with a shame which no victory that he can win 

 can remove." 



The consideration of the resolution was post- 

 poned until the next day, when it was agreed 

 to. 



On the same day, the following resolution 

 was adopted unanimously in the Senate : 



Whereat, John C. Breckinridge, a member of this 

 body from the State of Kentucky, has joined the ene- 

 mies of his country, and is now in arms against the 

 Government he has sworn to support : therefore, 



Resolved, That the said John C. Breckinridge, the 

 traitor, be, and is hereby, expelled from the Senate. 



Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, offered the fol- 

 lowing resolution, which was referred to the 

 Committee on the District of Columbia : 



Resolved, That all laws now in force within the 

 District of Columbia relating to the arrest of persons 

 as fugitives from service or labor, together with all 

 other laws concerning persons of color within the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia, be referred to the Committee on 

 the District of Columbia ; and that the committee be 

 further instructed to consider the expediency of abol- 

 ishing slavery in the District, with compensation to 

 the loyal hold'ers of slaves. 



In the House, on the same day, Mr. Holman, 

 of Indiana, offered the following resolution : 



Whereof, this House, on the 22d day of July last, by 

 an almost unanimous vote, adopted the following reso- 

 lution, submitted to the House by Hon. J. J. Critten- 

 den, of Kentucky : 



" Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the 

 Congress of the United States, That the present deplor- 

 able civil war has been forced upon the country by the 

 disunionists of the Southern fctates now in revolt 

 against the constitutional Government, and in arms 

 around the capital ; that in this national emergency 

 Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion or 

 resentment, will recollect onlylts duty to the whole 

 country ; that this war is not waged, upon our part, 

 in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of 

 conquest or subjugation, nor for the purpose of over- 

 throwing or interfering with the rights or established 

 institutions of the States ; but to defend and maintain 

 the supremacy of the Constitution and to preserve the 

 Union with its dignities, equality, and the rights of 

 the several States unimpaired, and that, as soon as 

 these objects are accomplished, the war ought to 

 cease : " 



And whereas, since that time, no event has occurred 

 to change the policv of the Government : therefore, 



Resolted, That the principles above expressed are 

 solemnly reaffirmed by this House. 



This was laid on the table : yes, 71 ; noes, 65. 

 Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, also offered the follow- 

 ing resolution : 



Resohed, That the Committee on Foreign Affairs be 

 instructed to inquire into and report whether it is 

 practicable and expedient to obtain the rights and 

 privileges of settlement and of citizenship in any part 

 of this continent, or in the adjacent islands south of 

 the United States, for the benefit of such free persons 

 of African descent as may choose to emigrate thereto 

 from the United States, or where such emigrants may 

 form themselves into independent colonies, under 

 such protection as may secure them from foreign mol- 

 estation. 



On the 5th of December, in the Senate, Mr. 

 Trumbull, of Illinois, introduced his bill, ac- 

 cording to previous notice, " for the confiscation 

 of the property of rebels, and giving freedom 

 to the persons they held in slavery. It provid- 

 ed for the absolute and complete forfeiture for- 

 ever to the United States of every species of 

 property, real and personal, and wheresoever 

 situated within the United States, belonging to 

 persons beyond the jurisdiction of the United 

 States, or beyond the reach of civil process in 



