182 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



That it shall be lawful for the President of the 

 United States to employ such part of the land or 

 naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, 

 as shall be deemed necessary to prevent the viola- 

 tion and enforce the due execution of this act. 



The amendment to the amendment was 

 agreed to. 



Mr. Morton : "I desire to submit the follow- 

 ing amendment, to come in as the fifth section 

 of the Senate bill : " 



And be it further enacted, That if any person shall 

 prevent, hinder, control, or intimidate, or shall at- 

 tempt to prevent, hinder, control, or intimidate, any_ 

 person from exercising or in exercising the right of 

 suffrage to whom the right of suffrage is secured or 

 guaranteed by the fifteenth amendment to the Con- 

 stitution of the United States, by means of bribery, 

 threats, or threats of depriving such person of em- 

 ployment, or occupation, or of ejecting such person 

 from rented house, lands, or other property, or by 

 threats of refusing to renew leases or contracts for 

 labor, or by threats of violence to himself or family, 

 such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a 

 misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be 

 fined not less than $500 and be imprisoned not less 

 than one month and not more than one year. 



The Presiding Officer: " The question is on 

 the amendment offered by the Senator from 

 Indiana." 



The yeas and nays were ordered ; and being 

 taken, resulted as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Abbott, Anthony, Carpenter, Chan- 

 dler, Cole, Corbett, Cragin, Flanagan. Ilamlin, Har- 

 lan, Harris, Howell, McDonald, Merrill of Maine.Mor- 

 ton, Nye, Osborn, Patterson, Pomeroy, Pool, Pratt, 

 Eamsey, Eevels, Bice, Ross, Sawyer.8cott, Spencer, 

 Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, "Warner, Willey, 

 Williams, and Yates 36. 



NAVS Messrs. Casserly, Davis, Fowler, Hamilton 

 of Maryland, Johnston, McCreery, Stockton, Thur- 

 man, and Vickers 9. 



ABSENT Messrs. Ames, Bayard, Boreman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Cameron, Cattell, Conkling, Drake, 

 Edmunds, Fenton, Ferry, Gilbert, Hamilton of Texas, 

 Howard, Howe, ICellogg, Lewis, Morrill of Vermont, 

 Norton, Eobertson, Saulsbury, Schurz, Sherman, 

 Tipton, Trumbull, and Wilson 27. 



The amendment to the amendment was 

 agreed to. 



Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, said : " I think that 

 the white tenantry should have a special pro- 

 tection against the undue influence and op- 

 pression of the landlords and landowners. I 

 therefore move to amend the amendment just 

 adopted." 



The Presiding Officer : " The Secretary will 

 report the amendment now offered by the Sen- 

 ator from Kentucky to the amendment of the 

 Senator from Nevada." 



The Secretary read the amendment to the 

 amendment, which was to insert as an addi- 

 tional section the following : 



And be it further enacted, That no person shall 

 enter into, holdj or attempt to exercise the powers or 

 perform the duties of any office or public trust, which 

 the Constitution or laws require to be filled by vote 

 of the people, unless he shall have received at the 

 election therefor a greater number of the votes of the 

 electors entitled to vote at such election than any 

 other candidate ; and all persons entering into, hold- 

 ing, or attempting to exercise the powers, or perform 

 the duties of such office or public trust, shall thereby 

 commit a high misdemeanor, for which they shall be 



subject to indictment and punishment of imprison- 

 ment for not less than one nor more than five years, 

 and fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $5,000, 

 one-half thereof to go to the informer ; and all Treas- 

 ury officers settling, passing, or paying any claim or 

 account for pay or compensation of any kind, of any 

 person entering into or holding, or attempting to ex- 

 ercise the powers or perform the duties of any office 

 or public trust, against the provisions of this section, 

 shall be guily of a misdemeanor, thereby forfeit and 

 be disqualified to hold his place, and be subject to 

 indictment and punishment of imprisonment for not 

 less than twelve months, and fine of $1,000, one-half 

 to the informer. All persons entering into, holding, 

 or attempting to exercise the powers or perform the 

 duties of any office or public trust, against the pro- 

 visions of this section, shall also be subject to the 

 civil suit of any person injured thereby. 



Mr. Davis : " I will say a single word on 

 that amendment. It proceeds upon the idea 

 that no man shall claim to exercise the duties 

 and to assume the rights of an office unless he 

 shall have received a plurality of the votes of 

 the people who are entitled to vote in the elec- 

 tion ; and it makes it a high misdemeanor if 

 he does enter upon and assume the duties and 

 responsibilities of any office that is so to be 

 filled without having received the sanction of a 

 larger number of votes than any other com- 

 petitor. _ 



"I fra'nkly admit that my object in offering 

 this amendment is to correct a modern abuse 

 of the House of Eepresentatives in these evil 

 times. The people frequently have given a 

 large majority to a particular candidate ; the 

 opposing candidate, who received a small mi- 

 nority of the vote, claimed the seat and con- 

 tested the election ; and it has been the custom 

 of the House of Representatives, with a view 

 to increase its majority, to displace the suc- 

 cessful candidate, whom the people by their 

 votes had placed in the seat, and to appoint in 

 his stead the candidate who has received but a 

 small minority of the vote." 



The amendment to the amendment was re- 

 jected. 



Mr. Pool, of North Carolina, said : " I desire 

 to offer an amendment, consisting of two sec- 

 tions. I understand that the amendment which 

 has been adopted on the motion of the Senator 

 from Indiana has been inserted as section five. 

 If so, I desire these to be inserted as sections 

 six and seven : 



And be it further enacted, That if two or more per- 

 sons shall band or conspire together, or go in disguise 

 upon the public highway, or upon the premises of 

 another, with intent to violate any provision of this 

 act, or to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any 

 citizen with' intent to prevent or hinder his free exer- 

 cise and enjoyment of any right or privilege granted 

 or secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the 

 United States, or because of his having exercised the 

 same, such person shall be held guilty of felony, and, 

 on conviction thereof, shall be fined and imprisoned ; 

 the fine not to exceed $5,000, and the imprisonment 

 not to exceed ten years ; and shall, moreover, be there- 

 after ineligible to, and disabled from, holding any 

 office or place of honor, profit, or trust, created by the 

 Constitution or laws of the United States. 



And be it further enacted, That if in the act of vio- 

 lating any provision in either of the two preceding 

 sections, any other felony, crinfe, or misdemeanor 



