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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



posed to the preamble to this resolution. I 

 do not like it. In my judgment, it is not true. 

 I admit that the rebel States have been de- 

 clared to be in a state of insurrection, and 

 the first clause of the preamble is true; the 

 inhabitants and the local authorities of those 

 States have been in a state of insurrection ; but 

 are the local authorities in Louisiana and Ten- 

 nessee and Arkansas now in insurrection? I 

 deny it. Who are the local authorities of Loui- 

 siana ? I insist that they are those authorities 

 that have been put in power by the proceed- 

 ings under the Federal Government. I under- 

 stand that Michael Hahn is the Governor of 

 that State, and that they have a Legislature 

 elected by the loyal people of that State ; and 

 if that be so, then it is not true that on the 8th 

 of November last the local authorities of that 

 State were in a state of armed rebellion. 



" Since the discussion of this question in the 

 committee, I have been led to doubt exceed- 

 ingly whether it is competent for Congress to 

 legislate at all in reference to the counting of 

 the votes. The Constitution authorizes Con- 

 gress to fix the time for choosing electors. It 

 also empowers Congress to specify the time 

 when those electors shall perform the functions 

 of their office, when they shall vote ; and, so 

 far as I can find in perusing the Constitution, 

 that is the extent of the power of Congress 

 over the subject. It fixes the tune when the 

 votes shall be counted, and it declares that, in 

 the presence of both Houses of Congress, the 

 Vice-President shall open all the certificates re- 

 turned it is careful to specify that he shall 

 open them all and the votes shall be counted. 



" I cannot find in the provisions of the Con- 

 stitution any authority for Congress to pass a 

 law (for this amounts to that) excluding any 

 votes that shall have been returned to the Vice- 

 President. I do not see how it is possible. I 

 am not prepared to say that in case the rebel 

 States had sent votes here which would be con- 

 trolling in the election, that in such an extreme 

 emergency as that Congress would not be called 

 upon to do something what, I am not pre- 

 pared to say ; but in this case I am clearly of 

 opinion that even though Congress may possi- 

 bly have the power, it is inexpedient for us by 

 legislation to declare that these votes shall not 

 be counted. I doubt the power very much ; 

 but of the inexpediency of exercising any such 

 power, if it exists, I am very clear." * 



Mr. Hale, of New Hampshire, said: "Mr. 

 President, it is refreshing at the present time 

 to hear anybody urge any special measure in a 

 contrary direction to the provisions of the Fed- 

 eral Constitution. It seems to me that upon 

 this question, if upon no other a question upon 

 which depends the continuance of the Govern- 

 ment it is necessary to adhere to the Consti- 

 tution, and to look for it and see if we have 

 any guide or direction in that instrument. I 

 foresaw this evil, and I introduced at the last 

 session of Congress a joint resolution directing 

 in advance what should be done ; but, for some 



reason or other (owing to the press of othei 

 business, probably, certainly not more import- 

 ant business), that resolution was not acted 

 upon. It struck me at that time and I have 

 not lost any of the strength of that conviction 

 now that it was one of the most important 

 measures that could possibly be presented to 

 the consideration of Congress, and it was not 

 then without the range of possibility or proba- 

 bility that on that question might depend the 

 very continuance of this Government. No one 

 could have known to the contrary of that at 

 the last session ; for let me suppose that the re- 

 sult of the presidential election might have 

 been determined by the votes of these States 

 who have now proposed to offer them. I think 

 there are three of them, Tennessee, Louisiana, 

 and Arkansas ; let me suppose that, in Novem- 

 ber, the votes of these three States had decided 

 which way the majority was, would the party 

 against whom they have voted have submitted? 

 I tell you nay, sir. If the counting of these 

 votes had determined the result of the presiden- 

 tial election it would have deluged this land in 

 blood, and another civil war would have fol- 

 lowed, just as certain as that we have one now 

 on hand. My friend from Michigan (Mr. How- 

 ard) shakes his head. Why, sir, what caused the 

 present rebellion ? Nothing at all in compari- 

 son with this. 



"My friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Doolittle) 

 says that Congress has no power over this sub- 

 ject. It would be one of the strangest things 

 that ever occurred on earth if it had not the 

 power. The provision of the Federal Consti- 

 tution is that no member of Congress or any 

 person holding an office of profit or trust under 

 the Federal Government shall be an elector. 

 Suppose when the two Houses meet in conven- 

 tion to count the votes it is palpable to them 

 that the electoral votes of some States were 

 given by members of Congress, has Congress 

 no power to say that they shall not be counted ? 



"But, sir, the Constitution is not so silent 

 on this subject as my friend from Wisconsin 

 seems to imagine ; for the election of President 

 and the mode of counting the votes is one of the 

 means and measures by which the national life 

 is to be preserved. If this is not followed, car- 

 ried out, and executed, there is an end to the 

 Government ; there is no President elected, and 

 the whole fabric falls to chaos. Now, is it within 

 the range of possibility or probability that the 

 framers of the Constitution were so derelict, so 

 blind, as not to have provided that there should 

 be some mode of conducting, and conducting 

 legally, the machinery of this great measure 

 which is essential to the very life of the nation ? 

 No, sir. The Constitution would have been 

 one of the most imperfect things that was ever 

 created without some provision of this sort, and 

 accordingly I find that the framers of the Con- 

 stitution made the most ample provision for 

 exactly this case. I find in the Constitution a 

 clause declaring that Congress shall have power 

 ' to make all laws which shall be necessary and 



