132 



CONGEESS, UNITED STATES. 



send, Twichell, Tyner, Upson,Van Horn, Cadwalader 

 C. Washburn, Welker. Wheeler, Whittemore,Wilkin- 

 son, Williams, John T. Wilson, and Winans 121. 



NATS Messrs. Adams, Archer, Axtell, Beck, 

 Biggs, Bingham. Bird, Calkin, Cox, Crebs, Dickin- 

 son, Dox, Eldridge, Farnsworth, Getz, Greene, Gris- 

 wold, Haldeman, Hambleton, Hamill, Hawkins, 

 Holman, Johnson, Thomas L. Jones, Kerr, Knott, 

 Marshall, Mayham, McCormick, McNeely, Morgan, 

 Mungen, Niblack, Potter, Eandall, Beeves, Bice, 

 Rogers, Joseph 8. Smith, Stone, Strader, Swann, 

 Sweeney, Trimble, Van Trump, Voorhees, Wells, 

 Eugene M. Wilson, Winchester, Witcher, and Wood- 

 ward 51. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Ames, Banks, Barnum, 

 Blair, James Brooks, Burr, Cake, Churchill, Clarke, 

 Cleveland, Clinton L. Cobb, Cowles, Davis, Dockery, 

 Dyer, Fox, Gilfillan, Golladay, Haight, Hays, Heflin, 

 Hoag_, Hopkins, Julian, Ketcham, Laflin, Lynch, 

 Morrissey, Beading, Schumaker. Sherrod. Slocum, 

 Stiles, Tillman, Van Auken. Ward, William B. 

 Washburn, Willard, and Wood 39. 



In the House, on March 4th, a bill to admit 

 the State of Georgia to representation in Con- 

 gress was considered : 



The hill recited in the preamble that the 

 people of Georgia had framed and adopted a 

 constitution of State government which was 

 republican ; that the Legislature of Georgia 

 elected under said constitution had ratified the 

 fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the 

 Constitution of the United States, and that the 

 performance of these several acts in good faith 

 was a condition precedent to the representation 

 of the State in Congress. 



The bill therefore declared that the State of 

 Georgia was entitled to representation in the 

 Congress of the United States, provided that, 

 before any member of the Legislature of said 

 State should take or resume his seat, or any 

 officer of said State should enter npon the du- 

 ties of his office, he should take and subscribe, 

 and file in the office of the Secretary of State of 

 Georgia, for permanent preservation, an oath or 



affirmation in the following form : " I, 



, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 



have never taken an oath as a member of Con- 

 gress, or as an officer of the United States, or 

 as a member of any State Legislature, or as 

 an executive or judicial officer of any State, to 

 support the Constitution of the United States, 

 and afterward engaged in insurrection or rebel- 

 lion against the same, or given aid or comfort 

 to the enemies thereof; so help me God " (or 

 under the pains and penalties of perjury, as 

 the case may be) ; or such persons should in 

 like manner take, subscribe, and file the follow- 

 ing oath or affirmation: "I , do 



solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have, by act 

 of Congress of the United States, been relieved 

 from the disabilities imposed upon me by the 

 fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of 

 the United States; so help me God " (or under 

 the pains and penalties of perjury, as the case 

 may be) ; which oaths or affirmations should be 

 taken before and certified by any officer law- 

 fully authorized to administer oaths. And any 

 person who should knowingly swear or affirm 

 falsely in taking either of such oaths or affirma- 



tions should be deemed guilty of perjury, and 

 should be punished therefor by imprisonment 

 not less than one year, and not more than ten 

 years, and should be fined not less than $1,000, 

 and not more than $10,000. And in all trials 

 for any violation of this act the certificate of 

 the taking of either of said oaths or affirma- 

 tions, with proof of the signature of the party 

 accused, should be taken and held as conclusive 

 evidence that such oath or affirmation was regu- 

 larly and lawfully administered by competent 

 authority. Every such person who should 

 neglect for the period of thirty days next after 

 the passage of this act to take, subscribe, and 

 file such oath or affirmation as aforesaid, was to 

 be deemed and taken, to all intents and pur- 

 poses, to have vacated his office. 



It was further declared that the State of 

 Georgia was admitted to representation in Con- 

 gress as one of the States of the Union upon 

 the following fundamental conditions : First, 

 that the constitution of Georgia should never 

 be so amended or changed as to deprive any 

 citizen or class of citizens of the United States 

 of the right to vote who were entitled to vote 

 by the constitution herein recognized, except 

 as a punishment for such crimes as were now 

 felonies at common law, whereof they should 

 have been duly convicted under laws equally 

 applicable to all the inhabitants of said State ; 

 provided, that any alteration of said constitu- 

 tion, prospective in its effects, might be made 

 in regard to the time and place of residence of 

 voters. Second, that it should never be lawful 

 for the said State to deprive any citizen of the 

 United States, on account of his race, color, or 

 previous condition of servitude, of the right to 

 hold office under the constitution and laws of 

 said State, or upon any such ground to require 

 of him any other qualifications for office than 

 such as were required of all other citizens. 

 Third, that the constitution of Georgia should 

 never be so amended or changed as to deprive 

 any citizen or class of citizens of the United 

 States of the school rights and privileges se- 

 cured by the constitution of said State. 



Mr. Farnsworth, of Illinois, said: "Mr. 

 Speaker, in March, 1868, the constitution of 

 Georgia was framed, submitted to a vote of 

 the people, and ratified by a very large ma- 

 jority. At the same time it was provided by 

 the constitution that an election should be held 

 for representatives to the Legislature and for 

 State officers. The Legislature was elected, 

 and State officers also. The present Governor, 

 Governor Bullock, was elected at that time. 



" I think the election was held in April. In 

 the following June Congress passed an act to 

 admit the States of North Carolina, _ South 

 Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, to 

 representation in Congress. By the preamble 

 of this act we declared just what is proposed 

 to be declared again in the bill of the gentle- 

 man from Massachusetts (Mr. Butler), that the 

 State of Georgia had adopted a constitution 

 republican in form by a large majority of its 



