152 



CONGKE9S, UNITED STATES. 



resentatives from the other third of the States, 

 and then proposing amendments to the Con- 

 stitution, and passing those amendments by a 

 majority of two-thirds of a mutilated Congress? 

 Is that complying with the requisition of the 

 Constitution ? Not at all, sir." 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, said: ""Mr. 

 President, I have but one word to say, and it 

 is one of gratitude to the Senator from Indiana 

 for the complete adhesion which he now makes 

 to a principle of constitutional law "which I 

 have no doubt is unassailable. The Congress 

 of the United States will have forevermore 

 the power to protect reconstruction. No one 

 of these States by any thing that it may do 

 hereafter can escape from that far-reaching 

 power. I call it far-reaching it will reach 

 just as far as the endeavor to counteract it; it 

 is coextensive with the Constitution itself. I 

 have no doubt of it, and I am delighted that 

 the distinguished Senator from Indiana has 

 given to it the support of his authority." 



The Vice-President: "The Senator from 

 Missouri modifies his amendment, and the Sec- 

 retary will report it as modified." 



The Secretary : " The amendment, as modi- 

 fied, now reads : 



Provided, That, should the Legislature of said State 

 at any time hereafter pass any act or resolution pur- 

 porting to rescind, annul,or retract, its ratification of 

 the fifteenth article of amendment of the Constitution 

 of the United States, the passage of such act or reso- 

 lution shall operate to exclude said State from repre- 

 sentation in Congress, and to remand said State to 

 its condition immediately prior to the passage of this 

 resolution." 



The Yice-President : "Upon this amend- 

 ment the yeas and nays have been ordered." 



The question being taken, resulted as fol- 

 lows : 



YEAS Messrs. Brownlow, Cameron, Drake, Howe, 

 Morton, Osborn, Pomeroy, Pratt, Spencer, Sumner, 

 and Thayer 11. 



NATS Messrs. Abbott, Anthony, Bayard, Bore- 

 man, Buckinghanij Carpenter, Casserly, Cole, Conk- 

 ling, Corbett, Davis, Edmunds, Ferry, Fowler. Ham- 

 ilton, Harlan, Harris, Howard, Kellogg, McCreery, 

 McDonald, Morrill of Maine, Merrill of Vermont, 

 Norton, Nye, Patterson, Eobertson, Boss, Saulsbury, 

 Sawyer, Schurz, Scott, Sherman, Stewart, Stockton, 

 Thurman, Tipton, Trumbull v Vickers, "Warner, Wil- 

 ley, Williams, Wilson, and "iates 44. 



ABSENT Messrs. Cattell, Chandler, Cragin, Fen- 

 ton, Gilbert, Hamlin, Pool, Eamsey, Kice, and 

 Sprague 10. 



So the amendment was rejected. 



Mr. Edmunds: "I now move to amend the 

 bill by adding the amendment that I gave no- 

 tice of yesterday." 



The Secretary read the amendment, as fol- 

 lows: 



Provided, That, before this resolution shall take 

 effect, each member of the Legislature of said State 

 and each officer thereof shall take and subscribe, and 

 file in the office of the Secretary of State of Virginia, 

 for permanent preservation, an oath in the form fol- 

 lowing : " I, , do solemnly swear that I have 



never taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as 

 an officer of the United States, or as a member of any 

 State Legislature, or as au executive or judicial 



officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the 

 United States, and afterward engaged in insurrection 

 or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort 

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

 person shall in like manner take, subscribe, and file 



the following oath : " I, ^ do solemnly swear 



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;" which oaths 

 shall be taken before and certified by any officer law- 

 fully authorized to administer oaths. And any per- 

 son who shall knowingly swear falsely in taking 

 either of such oaths shall be deemed, guilty of perjury, 

 and shall be punished therefor by imprisonment not 

 less than one year and not more than ten years, and 

 shall 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, 

 with proof of the signature of the party accused, shall 

 be taken and held as conclusive evidence that such 

 oath was regularly and lawfully administered by 

 competent authority : And provided further, That 

 every person, who shall neglect, for the period of 

 thirty days next after the passage of this resolution, 

 to take, subscribe, and file such oath as aforesaid, 

 shall be deemed and taken, to all intents and pur- 

 poses, to have vacated his office. 



Mr. Willey : " Mr. President, I propose to 

 offer an amendment to this amendment, if it is 

 now in order." 



The Vice-President : "It is." 



Mr. Willey: "I propose to strike out after 

 the word ' before,' in the first line, the words 

 in the modified amendment, including the 

 words 'hereinafter stated,' down to the word 

 ' shall,' and to insert : 



Any member of the Legislature of said State shall 

 take his seatj or anv officer thereof shall enter upon 

 the duties of his office, he. 



" So that, if amended, it will read : 

 Provided, That before any member of the Legis- 

 lature of said State shall take his seat, or any officer 

 thereof shall enter upon the duties of his office, he- 

 shall take and subscribe, and file in the office of the 

 Secretary of State of Virginia, for permanent preser- 

 vation, an oath in the form following, etc." 



Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, said : " The sub- 

 stantial effect of the amendment of my friend 

 from West Virginia is to admit Senators and 

 Eepresentatives from the State of Virginia at 

 once under this resolution, and to require the 

 members of its Legislature and the officers of 

 its government to take the test-oath, in con- 

 formity to the fourteenth amendment of the 

 Constitution, afterward. Now, it seems to me 

 upon principle, and a principle that ought to 

 prevail in our action when we are dealing with 

 one of these States, that whatever we think it 

 fit should be done (as we all agree, I believe, 

 that it is fit we should know whether that Le- 

 gislature is composed of persons obnoxious to 

 that amendment or not) should be done before 

 the final act of restoration is completed. It is 

 one thing to require that these people shall as- 

 certain what their composition is under the 

 Constitution of the United States after they are 

 completely restored, and another thing to re- 

 quire them to ascertain what that composition 

 is under the Constitution before you receive 

 their Senators into this Chamber and their 



