CONGRESS, U. S. 



371 



route they hoped to achieve that end. On the 

 other hand, the bill reported by the Special 

 Committee of the Senate, contemplated the con- 

 viction and punishment of the traitor by due 

 process of law, and authorized the President, 

 whenever he deemed it expedient, to issue a 

 prospective proclamation of emancipation. The 

 confiscation of the property of principal offend- 

 ers was the chief idea of the bill. 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, now moved to 

 amend, by striking out the substitute reported 

 by the Senate's committee, and to insert a bill 

 from the House, authorizing emancipation. 

 His remarks express his views on the position 

 of the question, as follows : " Now, it is very 

 manifest that the twenty-one Senators who 

 voted a few minutes ago for a substitute to the 

 House bill will never pass any confiscation bill. 

 If it depends upon their votes, no confiscation 

 bill will be passed, although they are quite will- 

 ing to strike out a confiscation bill. The Sen- 

 ate has it in its power to make a law. The 

 House has passed two bills. The Senate has the 

 power to pass the bills of the House, and they 

 are laws. The Senate also has it in its power 

 to disagree with the House, and probably de- 

 feat any confiscation whatever. If some of the 

 friends of confiscation think proper to unite 

 with the enemies of all confiscation and dis- 

 agree with the House and defeat any measure, 

 that cannot be helped. Every Senator votes in 

 view of his own*responsibility, and if he thinks 

 that the best course, he will, of course, pursue 

 it. It is not my province to say anything 

 about that for any other Senator than myself. 

 I think that the wise policy would be, now 

 that the House has passed measures, even if 

 they were not quite satisfactory, to take them 

 and enact them at once into laws. I think now 

 it would be better to take up the other branch 

 of the subject relating to emancipation, and 

 substitute it, if the Senate would do so, in lieu 

 of the amendment that the Senate proposes to 

 adopt here ; because then we shall adopt a 

 measure that the House has agreed upon ; that 

 will be a law. But who supposes that the 

 House will agree to the amendment that has 

 been adopted here by the enemies of all confis- 

 cation aiding a few of its friends ? Probably 

 many persons do not want them to adopt it. 

 That is the very thing they desire, to defeat 

 any action. But I am for some action. I want 

 something practical; and hence I want to agree 

 to one of the House bills, if I cannot agree to 

 the other ; I would agree to both if I could, 

 although they are not just such bills as I would 

 prefer, particularly the confiscation bill." 



A debate ensued which indicated much feel- 

 ing on the part of the republican Senators, 

 who had been defeated in their bill, which was 

 thus described by Mr. Wade, of Ohio : ' Mr. 

 President, I nave witnessed, with a great deal 

 of pain, the scenes that have been presented 

 before ns to-day in the Senate. I feel that the 

 eye of the civilized world is upon us, and that 

 on the Republican party of this continent now 



rests the question of free government through- 

 out the world. It seems so to me ; and I say 

 I am pained the more, because it seems to me 

 that here is a radical division that has elicited 

 a manifestation of some degree of feeling which 

 may tend, not only on this important question, 

 but on others, to divide that party on whom the 

 hopes of the whole world must rest. We have 

 stood together, shoulder to shoulder, upon the 

 great questions which have come before us 

 during this session, and never, iu any legislative 

 assembly, has so much been accomplished for 

 the welfare of mankind, for the hope of the 

 world, as has been accomplished thus far by 

 the action of the Republican party in this Con- 

 gress. Sir, posterity will be amazed at the 

 great work we have performed thus far." 



A vote was finally reached upon the bill, 

 which passed, as follows : 



YEAS. Messrs. Anthony, Clark, Collamer, Cowan, 

 Dison, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, 

 Hale, Harlan, Harris, Howe, King, Lane of Indiana, 

 Lane of Kansas, Morrill, Pomeroy, Sherman, Sim- 

 mons, Suruner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkin- 

 son, Wilier, and Wilmot -2^. 



NATS. Messrs. Bayard, Browning, Carlile, Chand- 

 ler, Davis, Henderson, Howard, Nesmith, Pierce, 

 Powell, Stark, Wilson of Missouri, and Wright 13. 



In the House, the amendment of the Senate 

 was disagreed to yeas 8, nays 124. 



A committee of conference on the part of 

 each House was appointed, and the Senate bill, 

 with amendments, was reported and concurred 

 in by the Senate and House. 



Subsequently, a joint resolution explanatory 

 of this act was passed in the House and sent to 

 the Senate. It provided that the bill should 

 be so construed " as not to apply to any acts 

 done prior to its passage ; nor to include any 

 member of a State legislature, or judge of any 

 State court who has not, in accepting or enter- 

 ing upon his office, taken an oath to support 

 the constitution of the so-called Confederate 

 States of America." 



Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, also offered 

 the following, to be added to the resolution : 



Xor shall any punishment or proceedings under 

 said act be so construed as to work a forfeiture of 

 the real estate of the offender beyond his natural life. 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, objected, saying : 

 " I cannot consent to that amendment. The 

 Senate will observe that it is a very important 

 amendment. It provides that you shall confis- 

 cate the real estate only for life. What will 

 that amount to ? What is a life estate worth 

 in lands in the West, where these traitors 

 chiefly hold their real estate ? It is not worth 

 anything ; it amounts tb nothing." 



Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, replied : " I 

 trust the amendment will be agreed to. It 

 may be sometimes desirable to secure as much 

 as we can, if we cannot get all we wish. I 

 would desire to get the real estate in fee ; but 

 if we cannot do that, it may be worth while for 

 us to consider whether we will not take the 

 personal property of the individual and the real 

 estate for life, if we cannot get the estate in fee." 



