CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



220 



A sufficient time, a reasonable time having 



elapsed, I think, \\itliiu which tho Senator's 



colleague might have returned^ and after tho 



!:i|>^' df time since tho original arrange- 



:i:ule, and in view of tho changes that 



lave taken place in the Senate, I felt constrained 



upon tho whole to vote upon tho question." 



Mr. Nyo : "It is proper for me, being a new 



member hero, to inquire whether upon a ques- 



T this kind the person claiming tho seat 



is entitled to a vote according to tho rules of 



this body." 



i'rv-'ulent pro Umpore: "There is no 

 rule of tho Senate upon tho question, and the 

 Chair has not the prerogative of settling any 

 question of tho kind except to hold that the 

 name of every Senator on the list may be called, 

 and it is tho privilege of every person whoso 

 namo is on tho list to have his voto recorded." 



Tho result was announced yeas 22, nays 21 ; 

 so tho resolution was agreed to. 



On the next day Mr. Sumner, of Massachu- 

 setts, moved to amend the journal of the Senate 

 by striking out the vote of Mr. Stockton on the 

 question of his seat. 



Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, said : " I rise to 

 another question of order. The journal is cor- 

 rect, tho vote having been taken, and cannot bo 

 amended, I apprehend, by a resolution contrary 

 to the fact. The vote was given by Mr. Stock- 

 ton. The journal is correct. No one denies 

 that tho journal states the truth, and therefore 

 to undertake to correct it now in this way 

 would bo to make it speak that which is false. 

 Tho vote of Mr. Stockton was given. My point 

 of order is that this motion cannot be enter- 

 tained in the Senate, being out of order." 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, replied : 

 "There are two ways, I believe, if there are 

 not three, but there are certainly two ways of 

 meeting the question which is presented to us 

 by the vote of Mr. Stockton. One is by a mo- 

 tion to disallow the vote ; the other by a mo- 

 tion such as I havo now made to amend the 

 journal. Perhaps a third way, though not so 

 satisfactory to my mind, would be by a motion to 

 reconsider ; but I am not in a condition to make 

 this motion, as I did not vote with the apparent 

 majority. I call your attention, however, at the 

 outset, to two ways: one by disallowing the 

 vote, and tho other by amending the journal ; 

 but behind both those ways, or all three ways, 

 arises tho simple question, had Mr. Stockton a 

 right to vote ? To this I understand it is.replied 

 that his name was on the roll of the Senate, and 

 accordingly was called at the desk by our Secre- 

 tary. To which I reply, and to my mind the reply 

 cannot be answered, tho rule of the Senate is to 

 be construed always in subordination to the 

 principles of natural law and parliamentary law, 

 and therefore you are brought again to the 

 qiu-tiou with which I began, had Mr. Stockton 

 a right to vote ? " 



lie then proceeded to prove that by the 

 principles of natural law and parliamentary 

 law no man could be a judge in his owi: 



He said : " If tho interest of a Senator appeared 

 only by evidence aliunde^ by evidence outside, 

 as, for instance, that ho had some private inter- 

 est in the results of a pending measure by which 

 ho was necessarily disqualified, hia vote could 

 be disallowed only on motion ; but if the inca- 

 pacity of the Senator to vote on a particular 

 occasion appears on tho journal itself, I sub- 

 mit that the journal must be amended by strik- 

 ing out his vote. The case is patent." 



Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, replied : " "What 

 have those of us who voted in accordance with 

 the vote cast by the honorable member from 

 New Jersey done? We have sat still, heard 

 hia voto recorded, heard tho result announced, 

 and not an objection was made by any member 

 of the Senate, except by the honorable member 

 from Nevada (Mr. Nye) and the honorable mem- 

 ber from Massachusetts himself, who, in a mo- 

 ment of excitement, told us it was against the 

 law of nature, not of nations, as he is repre- 

 sented. Against the law of nature to do what ? 

 That a man should sit in judgment in his own 

 case. Is it his own case within the meaning of 

 the principle upon which the honorable mem- 

 ber from Massachusetts relies? It is the case 

 of tho State of New Jersey, and not of Mr. 

 Stockton. He stands here claiming to represent 

 her. lie in tho past has voted in that capa- 

 city, and in casting his voto tho other day he 

 represented, not himself individually, but the 

 State of New Jersey.. Whether he properly 

 represents New Jersey may be a question ; but 

 in the voto he cast, he cast it claiming to be 

 the representative of New Jersey, and his name 

 stands on your files as the representative of New 

 Jersey. How are you to get it off ? Every reso- 

 lution that has been before the body, whether 

 proposing an amendment to the Constitution or 

 otherwise ; every bill which has been submitted 

 to tho body and upon which the body voted, no 

 matter what the nature of the bill was, he has 

 been permitted to vote upon, his vote has been 

 recorded. "When has he ceased to be a member 

 of the body? Never." 



Mr. Trmnbull, of Illinois, said : " I believe, 

 as I said before, that tho Senator from New 

 Jersey is entitled to his seat, but I do not be- 

 lieve that he is entitled to hold his seat by his 

 own vote. He would havo held his seat with- 

 out his own vote. The vote upon tho resolution 

 was a tie without the vote of the Senator from 

 New Jersey ; and that would have left him in 

 his seat, he already having been sworn in as a 

 member. It is not necessary that the resolu- 

 tion should have passed. He is here as a Sen- 

 ator, and it would require an affirmative vote 

 to deprive him of his seat as a Senator." 



Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, said : " Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I am authorized to come to the conclusion 

 that this is not a lona fide examination of the 

 right of tho Senator from New Jersey to a seat 

 hero according to his voto and the law and the 

 Constitution. It is not intended to examine 

 into and ascertain, upon the principles of law 

 and the facts of the case, whether he is entitled 



