CONGRESS, U. S. 



239 



Julian, Ke. lev, Francis W. Kellogg, Orlando Kellogg, 

 Loan. Longyear, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, Samuel 

 F. Miller, "ilorrill, Daniel Morns, Leonard Myers, 

 Norton, Charles O'Xeill, Orth, Patterson, Perham, 

 Pike, Pomeroy, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. 

 Rice, Edward" H. Rollins, Schenck, Shannon, Sloan, 

 Stevens, Thayer, Upson, Van Valkenburgh, Elihu 

 B. Washburne, William B. Washburne, Williams, 

 Wilder, Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge 67. 



Whereupon the Senate declined to agree to 

 a committee of conference in the manner asked 

 for by the House. 



In the Senate, a motion was made by Mr. 

 Wilkinson, of Minnesota, that the Senate insist 

 on their amendments and agree to a further 

 conference. 



Mr. Doolittle. of Wisconsin, said : " So far as 

 this amendment applies to white or colored men 

 in the Territory, it is the merest abstraction in 

 the world. There is not a negro in the Terri- 

 tory, and probably will not be for years. It has 

 no practical bearing or effect." 



Mr. Hale, of New Hampshire, replied : " It 

 is not so. It is one of the most practical ques- 

 tions that was ever presented to the American 

 Senate, as it is involved in the proposition of 

 the Senator from Minnesota. Here is an im- 

 mense territory that we are about to organize 

 into a territorial government. The question is, 

 whether at its start, when there are no inhab- 

 itants there, we shall by its fundamental law 

 educate the people to this absurd and barbarous 

 prejudice. What a spectacle we present of our- 

 selves to the world to-day ! We are calling on 

 this colored race to fight for us, and they are 

 responding. They are taking their arms and 

 going out and exposing their lives in battle ; 

 and we see how gallantly they stood at the fort 

 that has recently been taken, and they were 

 massacred at their arms. And at a time when 

 they are responding to this call and going out, 

 their lives in their hands, and laying down their 

 lives in defence of the country and for its sal- 

 vation, we proceed to declare that in this vast 

 territory, which is now unoccupied, and which 

 waits for the march of civilization and improve- 

 ment, they shall be forever debarred from living 

 with the privileges of freemen." 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, said : "I think the 

 Senator from New Hampshire is entirely mis- 

 taken when he says that the amendment in dis- 

 pute between the two Houses is not an abstrac- 

 tion, a mere temporary matter. This bill does not 

 propose to fix fundamentally and forever the 

 right of suffrage in this Territory. It is to have 

 no operation except at the first election. When 

 the Territorial Legislature meets it is to fix the 

 right of suffrage. We have been informed here 

 that there is not a single colored person in the 

 proposed Territory. The amendment of the 

 Senate will have no practical effect. It is the 

 merest abstraction, precisely what the Senator 

 from Wisconsin has stated ; and I can see no 

 good to arise from it." 



Considerable discussion ensued on different 

 days. Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, said : " For 

 myself, so far as this Territory of Montana is 



concerned, I care but very litt.e .n which form 

 the bill shall pass, whether in the form pro- 

 posed by the Senator from Minnesota or in the 

 form proposed by the Committee on Territories 

 of the House, sanctioned by that House and 

 sanctioned by the committee of this body ; but, 

 sir, that against which I enter my most earnest 

 protest is the raising of this new issue, in form 

 or in substance, out of this controversy between 

 the two Houses; against throwing that issue, at 

 this time and in the present state of the country, 

 as a new element to inflame and imbitterthe great 

 controversy to come off in the ensuing presiden- 

 tial election ; I mean the issue of negro suffrage. 

 Although perhaps in the form of the words em- 

 ployed this issue is not necessarily involved, yet 

 it is so generally understood throughout the 

 country by the press and by the people." 



The motion of Senator Wilkinson was 

 adopted. 



In the Senate, on the 19th of May, the Com- 

 mittee of Conference made another report. 



Mr. Morrill, of Maine, said : " I will state in a 

 word that the effect of the amendment of the 

 Committee of Conference is to authorize the 

 temporary organization of the Government of 

 Montana by that class of persons that were au- 

 thorized to organize the Territory of Idaho." 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, asked: "What 

 class of persons was that ? " 



Mr. Morrill replied : " They were, as I recol- 

 lect the qualification, white citizens of the 

 United States, and such others as had declared 

 their intention to become citizens. As it now 

 stands, the qualification in Montana will be that 

 the voters at the first election will be citizens 

 of the United States, and such as have declared 

 their intention to be citizens of the United 

 States, and such as are qualified by the fifth 

 section of the act organizing the Territory of 

 Idaho." 



Mr. Sumner: "That is, free white persons, I 

 understand." , 



Mr. Morrill : " That is what it comes to." 



Mr. Sumner: "I understand that the point 

 of difference between the two Houses was sun- 

 ply as to the word ' white' or ' black.' " 



Mr. Morrill : " That was the principal ques- 

 tion, and on that point I desire to say precisely 

 how the committee found the question. It will 

 be seen that the whole provision for the quali- 

 fication relates to the temporary organization 

 of the Territory. When it is temporarily or- 

 ganized, which is to be at once, in the contem- 

 plation of the bill, as the necessities of the 

 times demand it, the whole question of suffrage 

 is left to the Territory ; so that the question of 

 suffrage as presented to us applies entirely to 

 the temporary organization of the Territory ; 

 and the committee became satisfied that the 

 question presented was this practical question, 

 whether it was advisable to organize the Terri- 

 tory at the present time. If it were necessary 

 to organize it, we became satisfied that this dif- 

 ference between the two Houses must be over- 

 come in some such way as this ; and the com- 



