CONGRESS, U. S. 



331 



disloyal and treasonable expressions, used the follow- 

 ing: 



" Dissolution is now a fact; not only a fact acccom- 

 plished but thrice repeated. Everything here looks 

 like inevitable and final dissolution. Will Missouri 

 hesitate a moment to go with her southern sisters? I 

 hope not. Please let me hear from you. I would be 



lad to keep posted as to the condition of things in 

 outhwest Missouri. I like Governor Jackson's posi- 

 tion. It looks like adherence to the ' Jackson resolu- 

 tions.' " 



That a copy of this letter was published in full in 

 the Congressional Globe of the 19th of December last, 

 the day after the resolution of expulsion, in this case, 

 was introduced in the Senate, and has, also, both be- 

 fore and since that time, been published and referred 

 to in several other newspapers in Missouri and else- 

 where, and widely circulated throughout the country, 

 which publication could hardly have failed to come to 

 the notice of Senator Polk ; and yet neither he, nor any 

 other person in his behalf, has appeared before the 

 committee to deny the authenticity of the letter referred 

 to, or attempted in any other way to deny or explain 

 it, so far as the committee are aware a course of con- 

 duct deemed to be wholly incompatible with the idea 

 of his innocence, since an innocent man, in his position, 

 according to the first impulses of a true and loyal heart, 

 would not have suffered a moment to elapse without 

 flying to his place to deny, if false, so grave and foul 

 a charge. 



That besides this, he has taot only failed to appear in 

 his seat during the whole time of the continuance of 

 the present session, now a period of six weeks, to per- 

 form his duty to his State and to the Union, on an oc- 

 casion of the greatest possible urgency, when the votes 

 as well as counsel of every true and loyal Senator were 

 eminently needed in providing for the public welfare 

 and putting down a fierce rebellion, threatening the 

 very existence of the Union, but on the contrary, as 

 the committee are fully satisfied on information derived 

 from reliable official and other sources in Missouri, has 

 left his home in St. Louis and gone clandestinely within 

 the lines of the enemy now in open, armed rebellion 

 against the United States, whose Constitution he, as 

 Senator, has solemnly sworn to support. 



The committee, under this state of facts, are of opin- 

 ion that justice to- the Senate, to rid its roll of his name, 

 as well as the chamber of his presence; justice to the 

 State of Missouri, whose high commission he has dis- 

 honored ; and justice to the Union, which hehas sought 

 to betray, all require that he should no longer con- 

 tinue a member of this body. 



They therefore respectfully report the resolution for 

 the expulsion of Trusten Polk, a Senator from Missouri, 

 back to the Senate, with the unanimous recommenda- 

 tion that the same do pass. 



It was then unanimously passed. 



The Committee of the Judiciary, to whom 

 was referred a resolution to expel Jesse D. 

 Bright, Senator from Indiana, reported on the 

 13th of January, as follows: 



The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was refer- 

 red a resolution to expel Hon. Jesse D. Bright from his 

 seat in the United States Senate, respectfully report : 



That they are of opinion that the facts charg'ed against 

 Mr. Bright are not sufficient to warrant his expulsion 

 from the Senate ; and they therefore recommend that 

 the resolution do not pass. 



The further consideration of the suhject was 

 postponed. 



On the 20th the subject was again taken up. 



The resolution which was introduced by Mr. 

 Wilkinson, of Minnesota, upon which the com- 

 mittee reported, was as follows: 



Whereas Hon. Jesse D. Bright heretofore, on the 1st 

 day of March, 1861, wrote a letter, of which the follow- 

 ing is a copy : 



"WASHINGTON, Jfarchl, 1861. 



MY DEAB SIR : Allow me to introduce to your ac- 

 quaintance my friend Thomas B. Lincoln, of Texas. 

 He visits your capital mainly to dispose o r what he re- 



fards a great improvement in firearms. I recommend 

 im to your favorable consideration as a gentleman of 

 the first respectability, and reliable in every respect. 

 Very truly, yours, JESSE D. BRIGHT. 



To His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS, 



President of the Confederation of States. 



And whereas we believe the said letter is evidence 

 of disloyalty to the United States, and is calculated to 

 give aid and comfort to the public enemies : therefore, 



Be it resolved, That the said Jesse D. Bright is expel- 

 led from his seat in the Senate of the United States. 



Mr. "Wilkinson took the floor to support the 

 resolution, and against the report of the com- 

 mittee. He said : " This is an hour, Mr. Pres- 

 ident, when men must stand up straight if they 

 would serve their country; it is no time for 

 faltering, for hesitation, or for doubt. And it 

 is my deliberate opinion that, surrounded as 

 we are with treason and with corruption in the 

 high places of this Government, if the Senate 

 fails to discharge its whole duty without any 

 regard to fear or to favor, or without being 

 moved from the right line of duty by personal 

 considerations, this country will be lost. I be- 

 lieve that the firm, steady, and heroic action 

 of Congress must save this nation, if it is saved 

 at all ; and I further believe that every other 

 department of the Government has utterly 

 failed to meet with sufficient heroism and vir- 

 tue the demands which the crisis of the coun- 

 try has made upon them. I am overwhelmed 

 with the revelations which are hourly made 

 of the treason and corruption which surround 

 and enter into every department of this Gov- 

 ernment ; and strange as it may appear, start- 

 ling as may be the announcement, there is 

 scarcely a single act of treason or of fraud 

 which surrounds, or is in any wise connected 

 with this Government, but that finds an eager 

 and ready apologist in Congress. If this course 

 is not checked at once, then indeed may we 

 bid farewell to all hope of saving the country 

 and the institutions of freedom which our Con- 

 stitution has guaranteed to the people." 



He then considered the points of the case : 

 that the Senator from Indiana did not deny 

 that he wrote the letter, the manner of its 

 address, the state of the country at the time 

 when it was written, the object of the letter, 

 the position of the writer, &c., and concluded 

 thus: "Mr. President, whilst I regard the 

 letter of the 1st of March last, recommending 

 an inventor of improved firearms to the espe- 

 cial notice of the leader of this wicked war, as 

 giving the clearest and most perfect evidence 

 of disloyalty in him who wrote it, still I think 

 that the letter of the 7th of September last is 

 still more objectionable than the other. At 

 this last date, the war in defence of the Gov- 

 ernment had assumed the most gigantic pro- 

 portions; five hundred thousand loyal men 

 were then in the field in defence of our Gov- 

 ernment, to save it from being destroyed by 

 the attacks of the most ruthless enemy that 



