224 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



or elsewhere, and submit such arguments as the 

 gentleman has just drawn from the late Dred 

 Scott decision. 



" Now, sir, the gentleman wants to know the 

 purpose of this act. I can tell him. To-day, in 

 the forefront of your army, are hundreds and 

 thousands of colored men risking every thing 

 for the salvation of this Kepuhlic. Upon the 

 fields once cursed hy slavery, resounding with 

 the clank of the slave's chains and the crack of 

 the overseer's whip, now tread the colored sol- 

 diers of the Republic, under the ensign of the 

 nation, striking sturdy blows for freedom and 

 free government. 



"And, sir, this Republic cannot afford to dis- 

 grace itself in the eyes of the civilized world 

 by sending these men out to fight its battles, and 

 chaining at home their wives and children in 

 that bondage which is worse than death. It 

 would be a disgrace never to be wiped from the 

 face of this nation if we should permit this 

 wrong to continue beyond the present time, 

 when to us is afforded an opportunity to stop it 

 at once and forever. It is a duty which we 

 owe not only to these men who are fighting our 

 battles, but it is a duty we owe, under the 

 powers which we possess, to the great and 

 eternal principles of God's justice, to see that a 

 full meed of equity and right is meted out to 

 these men who are risking all for our sakes and 

 for the sake of this nation. It is no time to 

 talk about this 'property tenure,' which, I in- 

 sist, has not been recognized by the Congress 

 of the United States and cannot be recognized 

 by the people of the United States. States have 

 acted on this property basis in regard to these 

 people, but we, acting for the nation, must treat 

 them as persons ; they are a part of our popula- 

 tion. We are in time of war, with supreme 

 power to deal with the people of this nation in 

 such manner as to render our population most 

 effective in the service of the nation in passing 

 through this great trial of the rebellion. 



"If, sir, we can strengthen, the hearts and 

 arms of these soldiers of the Republic by causing 

 to be conveyed to them the joyous intelligence 

 that their wives and little ones at home are free, 

 and no longer subject to the cruelty of unfeeling 

 masters, we shall not only be doing our duty to 

 them and to our God, but exercising the power 

 resting with us as the Representatives of the 

 people in determining measures to render our 

 population most effective in carrying us success- 

 fully through the present trial by battle. "We 

 are not bound up by any 'property tenure.' 

 We do not deal with these people upon any 

 such basis. We deal with them as part of the 

 people of the United States. We have a right 

 to determine, in providing for the general wel- 

 fare, whether these people, as a free people, shall 

 aid us in maintaining the sovereignty of the 

 Government or not; and it is upon this broad 

 basis that I place the right and power of Con- 

 gress to declare that the wives and children of 

 these brave men who are fighting the battles of 

 those who have so long oppressed them, shall 



be free. On this very day many colored sol- 

 diers may be yielding up their lives amid the 

 din and smoke of battle to restore the authority 

 of this nation throughout all its borders. Let 

 us not determine by a refusal to pass this bill 

 that the wives and children shall survive them 

 as slaves." 



The previous question was seconded, and the 

 main question ordered. 



The question was taken ; and it was decided 

 in the affirmative, as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnold, 

 Ashley, Baily, John D. Baldwin, Baxter, Beaman, 

 Elaine, Blow, Boutwell, Boyd, Bromall, Ambrose 

 W. Clark, Cobb, Cole, Davves, Dixon, Donnelly, 

 Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eliot, Garfield, Goocn, 

 Grinnell, Higby, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, John 

 H. Hubbard, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Kasson, 

 Kelley, Orlando Kellogg, Knox, Littlejohn, Loan, 

 Longyear, Margin, McClurg, Samuel F. Miller, Moor- 

 head, Morrill, Daniel Morris, Amos Myers, Leonard 

 Myers, Norton, Charles O'Neill, Orth, Perham, Pike, 

 Pomeroy, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Kice, 

 Edward H. Rollins, Schenck, ScofieldT Shannon, 

 Sloan, Stevens, Thayer, Tracy, Upson, Van Valken- 

 burgh, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, 

 Williams, Wilder, Wilson, and Worthington 74. 



NATS Messrs. James C. Allen, Ancona, Augustus 

 C. Baldwin, Bliss, Brooks, Chanler, Clay, Cofl'roth, 

 Cox, Cravens, Henry Winter Davis, Dawson, Deni- 

 son, Eden, Edgerton, Eldridge, Finck, Ganson, Gri- 

 der, Griswold, Hale, Hall, Harding, Harrington, 

 Charles M. Harris, Herrick, Kalbfleisch, Kernan, 

 Knapp, Law, Le Blond, Long, Mallory, McBride, 

 McKinney, William H. Miller, James R. Morris, Mor- 

 rison, Nelson, Noble, Odell, Pendleton, Perry, Pruyn, 

 Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William II. Randall, 

 Ross, Smith, Smithers, John B. Steele, William G. 

 Steele, Stiles, Strouse, Stuart, Sweat, Townsend, 

 Voorhees, Wadsworth, Whaley, Winfield, Benjamin 

 Wood, Fernando Wood, and Yeaman 63. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. William J. Allen, Alley, Blair, 

 Brandegee, James S. Brown, William G. Brown, 

 Freeman Clark, Creswell, Thomas T. Davis, Deming, 

 English, Farnsworth, Frank, Benjamin G. Harris, 

 Holman, Hotcnkiss, Hutchins, Philip Johnson, Will- 

 iam Johnson, Julian, Francis W. Kellogg, King, 

 Lazear, Marcy, McAllister, McDowall, Mclndoe, Mia- 

 dleton, John O'Neill, Patterson, Robinson, Rogers, 

 James S. Rollins, Scott, Spalding, Starr, Thomas, 

 Ward, Webster, Wheeler, Cnilton A. White, Joseph 

 W. White, Windom, and Woodbridge i5. 



So the resolution was passed. 



In the House, on December 20th, the follow- 

 ing resolution was offered by Mr. Rollins, of 

 New Hampshire, and adopted : 



Whereas, the Government of the United States has 

 treated rebel prisoners of war with the utmost care, 

 retaining them in suitable and healthy places of con- 

 finement, supplying them with ample rations of the 

 best and most nutritious quality, attending them with 

 skilful medical treatment and care in cases of sick- 

 ness and wounds, and affording them every proper 

 facility for improving their condition and alleviating 

 their imprisonment : and whereas the rebel authori- 

 ties have confined^Union prisoners in unhealthy and 

 loathsome prisons, and in pestilential camps without 

 shelter; have furnished rations scanty and unwhole- 

 some ; have neglected to furnish suitable medical at- 

 tendance : have withheld from them clothing, provi- 

 sions, and money sent to them from their friends at 

 home, so that thousands have died from starvation, 

 and contagious and other diseases caused by such 

 barbarous neglect and maltreatment ; and this not- 

 withstanding the continuous and earnest efforts of th 



