CONGRESS. U S. 



351 



morning voted down the Crittenden resolution, 

 which less than three years ago was passed 

 with only two dissenting votes. 



" The gentleman from Maryland paid a splen- 

 did tribute to the power of public opinion. 

 He compared it to the sea, whose tidal waves 

 obey the fickle bidding of the moon, and roll 

 and swell and sway with restless and resistless 

 force, and yet constitute the level from which 

 all height is measured. 'But, like the ocean,' 

 said he, ' it has depths whose eternal stillness 

 is the condition of its stability. Those depths 

 of opinion are not free.' Did he forget what 



" Woo'd the slimy bottom of the deep 



And mocked the dead bones which lay scattered by ? " 

 ******* 



" What sights of ugly death within mine eyes ! 

 Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks ! " 

 ******* 



"All scattered in the bottom of the sea '. " 



"Sir, if there be depths of public opinion 

 where eternal stillness reigns, there gather, 

 even as festering death lies in those ocean 

 depths, the decaying forms of truth, and right, 

 and freedom. Eternal motion is the condition 

 of their purity. Did he think this resolution 

 would for one instant retard its progress ? Did 

 he not know that the surging waves would 

 wash away every trace of its existence ? Did 

 he suppose this puny effort would avail him ? 

 The rocks of the eternal hills alone can stay 

 the waves of the ever-rolling sea. jSTothmg 

 but the principles of truth and right can. stay 

 the onward progress of public opinion in this 

 our country, as it swells and sways and surges 

 in this mad tempest of passion and seeks to 

 find a secure resting place. 



" The gentleman exhorted his friends to ac- 

 cept the issue, absolute victory or absolute 

 ruin ; and then he painted the absolute ruin 

 of this Government. Even he could conceive 

 it possible. He described this home of liberty 

 deserted ; this temple reared by our fathers de- 

 stroyed ; its grace and symmetry and beauty 

 gone ; its pillars fallen ; its walls thrown down ; 

 and amid ' this chaos of ruin ' those who ac- 

 cept this issue, brave, determined, tearful, sor- 

 rowing, overwhelmed with it in a common 

 fate. He exhorted his friends in this House 

 and in the country he expressly excluded you, 

 my fellow Democrats, and your constituents 

 to accept this alternative. Do it, he exclaimed, 

 and let the world know that this age has pro- 

 duced heroic children upon whom Heaven has 

 visited the sins of their fathers. 



"Sir, I trust in God the catastrophe may 

 never come. I trust that the ages, as they roll 

 on, will not thus be called to pass judgment 

 on the men of these days. But if it must be 

 so, my imagination pictures another scene. 

 AYhen your work shall be accomplished, when 

 your mission shall be executed, when our 

 Constitution is dead, when our liberties are 

 gone, when our Government is destroyed, when 

 these States no longer held secure in their 

 proper position by the power of our matchless 

 Constitution so that they emulate in accordant 



action the stars, as by the divine decree they 

 encircle in their mysterious courses the foot- 

 stool of the eternal throne, and extract from 

 the harmony of conflicting elements the true 

 music of the spheres shall have given place 

 to ' States discordant, dissevered, belligerent, to 

 a land rent with civil feuds and drenched in 

 fraternal blood,' history will hold its dread in- 

 quest, and in the presence of appalled humanity 

 will render judgment that base and degenerate 

 children, deserting the teachings of their fathers, 

 deserting the teachings of the past, departing 

 from the ways of pleasantness and peace, re- 

 belling against the wisdom and beneficence of 

 the Almighty, with hearts filled with pride 

 and souls stained with fanaticism and pas- 

 sion, struck the matricidal blow, and at the 

 same moment indignant and outraged Heaven 

 wreaked upon them the just retribution of their 

 terrible and nameless crime." 



The resolutions of Speaker Colfax were sub- 

 sequently modified. The first resolution was 

 made as follows : 



.Resolved, That said Alexander Long, a Represent- 

 ative from the second district of Ohio, be, and he is 

 hereby, declared to be an unworthy member of the 

 House of Representatives. 



It was adopted by the following vote : 

 TEAS Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, 

 Arnold, Ashley, Bailey, John D. Baldwin, Baxter, 

 Beaman, Blaine, Boutwell, Boyd, Broomall, Ambrose 

 W. Clark, Cobb, Cole, Creswell, Dawes, Deming, 

 Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Farnsworth, Frank, Gar- 

 field, Gooch, Grinnell, Higbv, Hooper, Hotchkiss, 

 John H. Hubbard, Jenckes, Julian, Casson, Kelley, 

 Francis W. Kellogg, Orlando Kellogg, Loan, Long- 

 year, Marvin, McBride, McClurg, Mclndoe, Samuel 

 P. Miller, Morrill, Daniel Morris, Amos Myers, Leon- 

 ard Myers, Norton, Charles O'Neill, Orth, Patterson, 

 Perham, Pike, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, 

 Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Edward H. Rol- 

 lins, Schenck, Shannon, Sloan, Smith, Smithers, 

 Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Thomas, Upson, Van Yal- 

 kenburgh, Elihu B. 'Washburne, "William B. 'Wash- 

 burn, Webster, Whaley, Wilder, Wilson, Windom, 

 and Woodbridge 80. 



XATS Messrs. James C. Allen, William J. Allen, 

 Ancona, Augustus C. Baldwin, Francis P. Blair, Bliss, 

 James S. Brown, William G. Brown, Chanler, Clay, 

 Coffroth, Cox, Cravens, Dawson, Dennison, Eden, 

 Eldridge, Finck, Ganson, Grider, Hall, Harding, Har- 

 rington, Benjamin G. Harris, Herrick, Holman, 

 Hutchins, William Johnson, Kalbfleisch, Kernan, 

 King, Knapp, Law, Lazear, Mallory, Marcy, McDow- 

 ell, McKinuey, William H. Miller, James R. Morris, 

 Morrison, Nelson, Noble, Odell, John O'Neill, Pen- 

 dleton, Perry, Pruyn, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, 

 Robinson, Rogers, James S. Rollins, Ross, Scott, 

 Stebbins, John B. Steele, William G. Steele, Strouse, 

 Stuart, Sweat, Voorhees, Ward, Wheeler, Chilton A. 

 White, Joseph W. White, Winfield, Fernando Wood, 

 and Yeaman 69. 



The second resolution was laid on the table 

 yeas, 71 ; nays, 69. The preamble was adopted 

 yeas, 78; nays, 63. 



The session of Congress closed on the 4th of 

 July. Acts were passed relating to the enrol- 

 ment and draft (see AEMY U. S.) ; the internal 

 revenue (see FINANCES) ; reviving the grade of 

 Lieutenant-General in the army ; establishing a 

 uniform system of ambulances in the army ; en 



