CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



269 



when Senators present themselves from those 

 States here, or if the Senator denies to Congress 

 - a right to participate in the question of their 

 reorganization as States? I desire the infor- 

 mation, because it is important." 



Mr. Doolittle : " My opinion is very clear that 

 we act upon the question when it is presented 

 to us, and the Senators appear here and ask ad- 

 mission, first, .whether there is a State to repre- 

 sent; secondly, whether a Legislature has been 

 chosen which can send representatives ; and, 

 thirdly, whether the men who appear here have 

 the constitutional qualifications ; and on this 

 subject our decision is final. The President has 

 nothing to do with it ; the House of Represent- 

 atives has nothing to do with it ; we are the sole 

 and conclusive jurisdiction. 



" The question raised by the Senator is not 

 one that I have discussed in this argument. It 

 is a very distinct and different question from 

 the one I am now discussing, and I do not in- 

 tend to go into a discussion of it now. Possibly 

 on some other occasion it may come up, and I 

 may discuss that question ; but I understand it 

 is a very different one from that I am now ar- 

 guing." 



Mr. Conness: "I so understand it; and I un- 

 derstand, the Senator ; but I understood him to 

 say that upon the question of the admission of 

 Senators from those States only could our right 

 to act on the question occur or come up ; and 

 therefore I asked the Senator if he held the 

 opinion that Congress has no right and no 

 power to act upon the question of whether 

 those States should be reorganized or not, be- 

 cause, althougL the Senator may not believe 

 that the latter question is involved in the prop- 

 osition now before the Senate, I differ with 

 him, and believe that it is involved in it. 

 Therefore I asked the Senator the question." 



Mr. Doolittle : " I did not intend to go into 

 the discussion of that question, which leads 

 into a much broader field of inquiry, and there 

 are certain other provisions of the Constitution 

 that would have to be discussed that I do not 

 intend to take up now. I prefer to go on with 

 my train of argument, and finish what I have to 

 say on the point directly under consideration. 



" I was saying, Mr. President, that our de- 

 cision on that question of the admission of Sen- 

 ators is without any appeal, and whatever law 

 might be passed by Congress would not in any 

 way whatever abridge our supreme jurisd : otion 

 over the question of the admission or rejection 

 of Senators in this body. The House and the 

 Senate act entirely independent of each other 

 on that question. Take the case of Virginia. 

 We have Virginia represented on this floor. 

 The House of Representatives refused Virginia 

 any representation in that body. "We act upon 

 our own responsibility, each for itself. We de- 

 termine whether men shall come in here and 

 sit as the Representatives of States. The House 

 determine whether they shall go into that body 

 as the Representatives of the districta of the 

 severa. States. 



" There is another question, it seems to me, 

 that may be involved in this decision. If we 

 assume to say, as is contended for by the Sena- 

 tor from Michigan (Mr. Howard), I believe, 

 that these several States which have been de- 

 clared to be in insurrection have ceased to be 

 States of the United States, and are to be re- 

 garded as mere subjugated provinces or territo- 

 ries, as if acquired from some foreign power ; 

 if that doctrine is to prevail a doctrine which 

 finds support in some circles and places this 

 other consequence will follow." 



Mr. Howard, of Michigan, replied : " What I 

 stated, or intended to state, was this : that 

 the power of the United States over a conquered 

 State which has been in rebellion is the or- 

 dinary power of the conqueror over conquered 

 territory ; but that in this particular case there 

 is superadded to the rights and duties of the 

 conqueror a trust, growing out of the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States, which is to be per- 

 formed by the United States in its discretion 

 and in due time, in the shape of a restoration 

 of the conquered State to the Union. Congress 

 may take its own time to bring about this res- 

 toration. There are no limitations in the Con- 

 stitution in regard to the mode or time in which 

 it is to be done. The Territory, however, hav- 

 ing been once a State, must be restored to its 

 condition of a State by the action of Congress 

 at some time, and according to the discretion 

 of Congress, carrying out honestly and fairly 

 the obligation of the Constitution ; but in the 

 mean time, understand me, I hold that while in 

 this conquered state it is subject to be governed 

 by military authority, by a provisional govern- 

 ment, or by any other means which Congress 

 may see fit to adopt ; and I hold it to be the 

 duty of Congress at an early day, as early as is 

 reasonable and practicable, to pass an act which 

 shall apply to all such cases, and not to leave it 

 to the unlimited discretion of the Commander- 

 in-chief of the armies of the United States." 



Mr. Doolittle : " The point that I understood 

 the Senator to make the other day, and I am 

 not quite clear now whether I understand him 

 to controvert it, was, that these States once de- 

 clared in insurrection cease to be States of the 

 Union. If I was mistaken in that I am glad to 

 be corrected." 



Mr. Howard : " If they are States in insurrec- 

 tion, as they have been pronounced to be by the 

 constituted authorities of the United States, then 

 as States, as political communities, they are ene- 

 mies of the United States. Can a community 

 which is an enemy of the United States be treated 

 as one of the United States ? It is only necessary 

 to ask the question, to answer it. De facto 

 these States are out of the Union, and all the 

 gentleman's argument and all he may imagine 

 cannot, de facto, constitute them States until 

 our arms have triumphed." 



Mr. Doolittle: " De facto out of the Union; 

 they are no longer States of the Union. I do 

 not wish to charge upon that Senator doctrines 

 that he does not entertain. I know that it has 



