166 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



losses, terrible and afflicting. It has had its 

 gains also. First among these gains is that 

 interpretation of the Constitution which makes 

 us a nation, and places the equal rights of all 

 under the protection of the national power, 

 being nothing less than the fulfilment of the 

 early promises of the fathers. Too slowly has 

 this been accomplished ; but it is accomplished 

 at last, and it is our duty to see that these 

 promises are in no respect neglected, and that 

 the republic, one and indivisible, dedicated to 

 human rights, and an example to mankind, is 

 upheld in every part of our wide-spread coun- 

 try." 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, said : " Mr. Presi- 

 dent, human rights and the liberties of this peo- 

 ple are safer retained by the people themselves 

 and at home than they are conferred upon 

 any imperial central government. 



"Human rights, thank God! in this land do 

 not depend upon the Congress of the United 

 States ; and this is a modern and a false idea 

 of our Government, that the Congress of the 

 United States is the great centre of the liber- 

 ties of this people. The Congress of the United 

 States is composed of but the servants of the 

 sovereign people ; and the liberties of this peo- 

 ple, if preserved at all, are to be preserved by 

 the people themselves. This is a limited Gov- 

 ernment ; and the further you take from the 

 people the power that is in their own hands, 

 the more danger there is of overturning their 

 liberties. All government is an evil. It were 

 better that all power were retained by the peo- 

 ple themselves, if it were possible ; but in a 

 great country like this the people cannot all 

 assemble together to establish the necessary 

 rules for the protection of person and prop- 

 erty; and hence they have adopted a repre- 

 sentative form of government. That is what 

 republican government means a represent- 

 ative government; and the further the power 

 is taken from the people the greater the danger 

 is that their liberties will be encroached upon. 

 It is the system of local organizations, school- 

 district organizations, township organizations, 

 county organizations, State organizations, and 

 the division of powers among them, that is to 

 familiarize our people with the mode of doing 

 public business and with the character of their 

 Government, and to preserve its free institu- 

 tions ; and it is better that there should be re- 

 served as near the people as possible all powers, 

 so that they surrender up enough to preserve 

 the peace of society and protect the persons and 

 the property of the citizens. 



" This Federal Government is a Government 

 of limited powers. The people have conferred 

 upon it a few powers of a national character, 

 and they supposed that their local State gov- 

 ernments were the safest depositories for the 

 protection of the great mass of the rights of 

 the citizen. They have never surrendered them 

 to the Federal Government, but they have sur- 

 rendered to this Federal Government certain 

 powers necessary for national purposes ; and 



we are not to be told, because we deny the om- 

 nipotence of Congress, that therefore we are 

 opposed to human rights ! Why, sir, it would 

 be a surrender of human rights to imperial 

 centralized government if the people of this 

 country should ever consent to surrender up all 

 their rights of liberty to the central Govern- 

 ment here at Washington, the farthest removed 

 from them of any Government established in 

 this country." 



The Vice-President : " The question is on the 

 amendment offered by the Senator from West 

 Virginia." 



The question being taken, resulted as fol- 

 lows : 



YEAS Messrs. Bayard, Casserly, Conkling, Davis, 

 Ferry, Fowler, Hamilton. Johnston, Kellogg, Mc- 

 Creery, Nye, Boss, Saulsbury, Sawyer, bprague, 

 Stewart, Stockton, Thurman, Trumbull, Vickers, 

 Warner, Willey, and Williams 23. 



NATS Messrs. Abbott, Anthony, Borcman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Cameron, Chandler, Cole, Cragin, 

 Drake, Edmunds. Fenton, Gilbert, Hamlin. Harlan, 

 Harris, Howard, Howell. McDonald, Merrill of Ver- 

 mont, Morton, Osborn, Patterson, Pomeroy, Pool, 

 Pratt, Ramsey. Eice, Eobertsdn, Scott, Spencer, Sum- 

 ner, Thayer. Tipton, Wilson, and Yates 36. 



ABSENT Messrs. Carpenter, Cattcll, Corbett. 

 Howe, Lewis, Morrill of Maine, Norton, Schurz, and 

 Sherman 9. 



So the amendment was rejected. 



The Vice-President: "The question recurs 

 on the amendment reported by the Committee 

 on the Judiciary, to strike out all of the bill after 

 the words ' United States,' in line four, upon 

 which the yeas and nays have been ordered." 



The question being taken, resulted as fol- 

 lows : 



YEAS Messrs. Bayard, Casserly, Cole, Conkling, 

 Davis, Fenton, Ferry, Fowler, Hamilton, Johnston, 

 Kellogg, McCreery, Morrill of Maine, Eoss, Sauls- 

 bury, Sawyer, Scott, Sprague, Stewart, Stockton, 

 Thurman, *Tipton, Trumbull, Vickers, Warner, Wil- 

 ley, and Williams 27. 



NAYS Messrs. Abbott, Anthony. Boreman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Cameron, Chandler, Cragin, Drake, 

 Edmunds, Gilbert, Hamlin, Harlan, Harris, Howard, 

 Howell, McDonald. Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, 

 Osborn, Pomeroy, Pool, Pratt, Eamsey, Eice, Bobert- 

 son, Spencer, Sumner, Thayer, Wilson, and Yates 

 32. 



ABSENT Messrs. Carpenter, Cattell, Corbett, 

 Howe, Lewis, Norton, Patterson, Schurz, and Sher- 

 man 9. 



So the amendment was rejected. 



The bill was ordered to a third reading, and 

 was read the third time. 



The yeas and nays were ordered ; and being 

 taken, resulted as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Abbott,Anthony, Boreman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Cameron, Chandler, Cole, Conk- 

 ling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Fenton, 

 Gilbert, Hamlin, Harlan. HarriSj Howard, Howe, 

 Howell, Kellogg, McDonald, Morrill of Maine, Mor- 

 rill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osbprn, Patterson, 

 Pomeroy, Pool, Pratt, Eamsey, Eiee, Eobertson, 

 Eoss, Sawyer, Scott, Spencer, Sprague, Stewart, 

 Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Warner, Willey, 

 Williams, Wilson, and Yates 50. 



NAYS Messrs. Bayard, Casserly, Davis, Fowler, 

 Hamilton, Johnston, McCreery, Saulsbury, Stockton, 

 Thurman, and Vickers 11. 



