

CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



297 



John H. Hubbard, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Ju- 

 lian, Kasson, Kelley, Orlando Kelloeg, Knox, Little- 

 iohn, Loan, Longyear, Marvin, McBride, McClurg, 

 Mclndoe, Samuel F. Miller, Merrill, Amos Myers, 

 Leonard Myers, Norton, Charles O'Neill, Orth, Pat- 

 terson, Pike, Pomeroy, Alexander H. .Bice, John H. 

 Bice, Edward H. Bollins, Scofield, Sloan, Spalding, 

 Starr, Stevens, Thayer, IJpson, Van Valkenburgh, 

 William B. Washburn, Wilder, Wilson, Windom, 

 Woodbridge, and Wortbington 64. 



NAYS Messrs. James C. Allen, Ancona, Daily, Au- 

 gustus C. Baldwin, Brooks, William G. Brown, Chan- 

 ler, Clay, Coffroth, Cox, Cravens, Thomas T. Davis, 

 Dawson, Edgerton, Eldridge, English, Finck, Ganson, 

 Grider, Half; Harding, Benjamin G. Harris, Charles 

 M. Harris, Holman, Philip Johnson, Kalbfleisch, King, 

 Knapp, Le Blond, Long, Mallory, McAllister, McKin- 

 ney, Middleton, William H. Miller, James R. Morris, 

 Nelson, Noble, Odell, John O'Neill, Pendleton, Bad- 

 ford, William H. Randall, Rogers, Ross, Schenck, 

 Smithers, John B. Steele, William G. Steele, Stiles, 

 Strouse, Sweat, Townsend, Tracy, Wadsworth, Ward, 

 Elihu B. Washburne, Webster, Whaley, Wheeler, 

 Joseph W. White, and Winfield 62. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. William J. Allen, Alley, An- 

 derson, Blaine, Blair, Bliss, Blow, Brandegee, James 

 S. Brown, Freeman Clarke, Cresswell, Henry Winter 

 Davis, Denison, Dixon, Driggs, Dumont, Eden, Farns- 

 worth, Garfield, Gooch, Gnswold, Hale, Harrington, 

 Herrick, Higby, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, 

 Hutchins, William Johnson, Francis W. Kellogg, 



iKernan, Law, Lazear, Marcy, McDowell, Moorhead, 

 Daniel Morris, Morrison, Perham, Perry, Price.Pruyn, 

 Samuel J. Randall, Robinson, James S. Rollins, Scott, 

 Shannon, Smith, Stuart, Thomas, Voorhees, Chilton 

 A. White, Benjamin Wood, Fernando Wood, and Tea- 

 man 56. 



So the report was agreed to. 



The report of the Committee of Conference 

 was taken up in the Senate on February 21st. 



Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, said : " The first objec- 

 tion that I have to it is that it creates an inde- 

 pendent department, which was not contem- 

 plated by either branch of Congress that passed 

 the original bills that were sent to the Commit- 

 tee of Conference from whom this report comes. 



" Now, why not put it at once under the 

 secretary of War ? If we are to have this bu- 

 reau, why not allow it to be connected with 

 the War Department and make the officers im- 

 mediately responsible to the military authori- 

 ties? In what an anomalous position will these 

 officers be whom it is authorized to select from 

 the army who are to be commissioners and 

 supervising agents under this bill! Are they 

 to .be civil officers from the time they are thus 

 appointed, or are they to be military ? Is there 

 any greater degree of responsibility that is to 

 attach to them than would attach if they were 

 selected from civil life ? 



" Another objection that I have to this bill is 

 that it only applies to the rebel States. Is it 

 not known that there are at least twelve thou- 

 sand colored refugees in this city at this moment 

 who are in the utmost distress? Is it not just 

 as desirable that this Government should take 

 care of and protect those refugees as it is of 

 those that are within the rebel lines, or in the 

 States in hostility to us ? I want the Secretary 

 of War authorized to do by some act what I 

 know he is doing at this moment, furnishing 

 the proper provisions, and clothing, and fuel, 



for the protection of these people ; and I want 

 them to be placed upon the same footing as they 

 would be if they were across the river in tho 

 State of Virginia. 



" The fifth section of this bill gives to the 

 commissioners who are to be appointed under 

 the act the right to bestow all the lands within 

 the rebel States upon these colored refugees or 

 freedmen. Now I suppose it is known to all 

 the members of this body that we have in some 

 of those Southern States, as Mississippi, Alaba- 

 ma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, immense tracts 

 of public land. Under the provisions of this 

 fifth section all of these public lands will fall to 

 the colored men, and there is no provision for 

 that very destitute class of Union white men of 

 whom we have heard so much, and of whom I 

 am happy to believe there are many in each of 

 those Southern States, who are left, by this 

 war, in just as unfortunate and helpless a con- 

 dition as that in which the colored men are left. 

 I am not prepared to say by the passage of this 

 bill that all the lands and all the abandoned 

 plantations in that country are to be given, 

 under an act of Congress, simply to the colored 

 people, and that the white refugees and the 

 white people residing there, who are in exactly 

 as destitute a condition as these colored men, 

 shall not have any advantages. 



" But, Mr. President, the principal objection 

 I have to this bill is embraced in the ninth sec- 

 tion, which provides 



That whenever the commissioner cannot other- 

 wise employ any of the freedmen who may come un- 

 der his cafe, he shall, as far as practicable, make 

 provision for them with humane and suitable persona 

 at a just compensation for their services. 



" When the amendment out of which this 

 section has sprung was before the Senate, which 

 was proposed by the Senator from West Vir- 

 ginia (Mr. Willey), I voted for it. It then pro- 

 vided that these commissioners might provide 

 homes for these freedmen, and authorized the 

 commissioners- to open negotiations or corre- 

 spondence with the Governors and municipal 

 authorities of the other States in order to accom- 

 plish that purpose ; but that last clause which 

 authorized them to open correspondence with 

 other States has been stricken out ; the word 

 ' homes ' has been stricken out, and the word 

 ' provision ' has been inserted. What is meant 

 by the word 'provision'? The commissioner 

 is to make provision for these colored persons, 

 as far as practicable, ' with humane and suitable 

 persons.' Who are to determine whether these 

 men are humane and suitable persons? The 

 commissioner, nobody else. There is no appeal 

 from the commissioner. He shall made provi- 

 sion, for what? Evidently, for the labor of 

 these freedmen ; because the next clause says, 

 ' at a just compensation for their services.' " 



Mr. Grimes moved a postponement. 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, opposed the 

 motion, saying : " I am pained by this opposi- 

 tion. It is out of season. I am pained by it 

 especially from the Senator from Iowa. I do 



