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CONGRESS, U. S. 



to constitute it a government, without which 

 the legislature of a State can have no legal ex- 

 istence ; secondly, that in the absence of any 

 legal government in Virginia, a convention of 

 the whole people of Virginia was called, which 

 convention framed a government for the State, 

 and that the legislative branch of the govern- 

 ment thus established consented to this admis- 

 sion of Western Virginia as a State. If these 

 premises are true, they certainly show the 

 consent of Virginia, by her constituted author- 

 ities as created by that convention in the ab- 

 sence of any State government legally and con- 

 stitutionally organized. 



" But it is said that the whole State was not 

 represented in the convention. To this it may 

 be answered, it is enough if the whole people 

 of the State were properly warned to be pres- 

 ent. Notice, it is understood, was given to all. 

 If all did not choose to be present and act, then 

 the action of those who did assemble and act 

 is just as legal and constitutional as if all had 

 assembled and acted. If any notified were 

 prevented from being present, it is not alleged 

 that they were prevented by those who ask the 

 creation of the new State and are to be com- 

 prised within its limits." 



Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, in opposition to 

 the bill, said : " I affirm that nobody has given 

 his consent to the division of the State of Vir- 

 ginia and the erection of a new State, who does 

 not reside in the new State itself. When it 

 must be admitted that there is nobody in Vir- 

 ginia, in that part which is left, that has con- 

 sented, I submit that this question assumes a 

 different form from that which gentlemen give 

 it. It seems to me that this bill does not com- 

 ply with the spirit of the Constitution. If the 

 remaining portions of Virginia are under du- 

 ress, and while under duress this claim of con- 

 sent is made, it seems to me that it is a mere 

 mockery of the Constitution." 



Mr. Brown, of Virginia, replied : " I do not 

 understand the gentleman from Massachusetts. 

 Do I understand him to say that nobody repre- 

 senting counties outside of the new State gave 

 consent to the formation of the new State? 

 Is that what the gentleman means to assert ? " 



Mr. Dawes answered : " There is no use mis- 

 understanding ourselves in this matter. It is 

 true that a representative was picked up I say 

 it with all respect in Fairfax, and that two or 

 three gentlemen in other parts of the State 

 were procured ; but they protested that they 

 did not pretend to represent the counties from 

 which they hailed. So far as I know, I do not 

 believe there is a single person representing 

 any portion of that part of Virginia which is 

 left, who ever consented to the erection and 

 admission of this new State. Not one." 



Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, followed, say- 

 ing : " Sir, it is but mockery, in my judgment, 

 to tell me that the Legislature of Virginia has 

 ever consented to this division. There are two 

 hundred thousand, out of a million and a quar- 

 ter of people, who have participated in this 



proceeding. They have held a convention, and 

 they have elected a legislature in pursuance of 

 a decree of that convention. Before all this 

 was done the State had a regular organization, 

 a constitution under which that corporation 

 acted. By a convention of a large majority of 

 the people of that State, they changed their 

 constitution and changed their relations to the 

 Federal Government from that of one of its 

 members to that of secession from it. Now, 

 I need not be told that that is treason. I know 

 it. And it is treason in all the individuals who 

 participated in it. But so far as the State mu- 

 nicipality or corporation was concerned, it was 

 a valid act, and governed the State. Our Gov- 

 ernment does not act upon the State. The 

 State, as a separate and distinct body, was the 

 State of a majority of the people of Virginia, 

 whether rebel or loyal, whether convicts or 

 freemen. The majority of the people of Vir- 

 ginia was the State of Virginia, although indi- 

 viduals had committed treason. 



"Now, to say that the legislature which call- 

 ed this seceding convention was not the legis- 

 lature of Virginia, is asserting that the legis- 

 lature chosen by avast majority of the people 

 of a State is not the legislature of that State. 

 That is a doctrine which I can never assent to. 

 I admit that the legislature were disloyal, but 

 they were still the disloyal and traitorous Legis- 

 lature of the State of Virginia ; and the State, 

 as a mere State, was bound by their acts. Not 

 so individuals. They are responsible to the 

 General Government, and are responsible 

 whether the State decrees treason or not. 

 That being the Legislature of Virginia, Gover- 

 nor Letcher, elected by a majority of the votes 

 of the people, is the Governor of Virginia a 

 traitor in rebellion, but a traitorous Governor 

 of a traitorous State. Now, then, how has 

 that State ever given its consent to this di- 

 vision ? A highly respectable but very small 

 number of the citizens of Virginia the people 

 of West Virginia assembled together, disap- 

 proved of the acts of the State of Virginia, 

 and with the utmost self-complacency called 

 themselves Virginia. Now, is it not ridicu- 

 lous? Is not the very statement of the facts 

 a ludicrous thing to look upon although a 

 very respectable gentleman, Governor Pier- 

 pont, was elected by them Governor of Vir- 

 ginia ? He is almost excellent man, and I wish 

 he were the Governor elected by the whole peo- 

 ple of Virginia. 



" The State of Virginia, therefore, has never 

 given its consent to this separation of the Stat<3. 

 I desire to see it, and according to my princi- 

 ples operating at the present time, I can vote 

 for its admission without any compunction rf 

 conscience, but with some doubt about the 

 policy of it. My principles are these: we 

 know the fact that this and other States have 

 declared that they are no longer members of 

 this Union, and have made, not a mere insur- 

 rection, but have raised and organized an army 

 and a power, which the governments of Europe 



