248 



CONGKESS, UNITED STATES. 



titled to representation, and Senators and Kep- 

 resentatives are to be admitted therefrom as 

 therein provided. 



In section six, it is provided that all elections 

 in the States mentioned in the act to provide 

 for the more efficient government of the rebel 

 States, shall, during the operation of said act, 

 be by ballot ; and all officers making the said 

 registration of voters and conducting said elec- 

 tions are, before entering upon the discharge of 

 their duties, to take and subscribe the oath pre- 

 scribed by the act approved July 2, 1862, en- 

 titled " An act to prescribe an oath of office." 



The seventh section provided that all ex- 

 penses incurred by the several commanding 

 generals, or by virtue of any orders issued or 

 appointments made by them, under or by virtue 

 of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in 

 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 



The eighth section proposed to enact that 

 the convention for each State shall prescribe 

 the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to 

 all delegates and other officers and agents here- 

 in authorized and necessary to carry into effect 

 the purposes of this act not herein otherwise 

 provided for, and shall provide for the levy 

 and collection of such taxes on the property in 

 such States as may be necessary to pay the same. 



On the same day, the bill was passed, by the 

 following vote : 



YEAS Messrs. Ames, Anderson, Delos R.. Ashley, 

 James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Beaman, 

 Benjamin, Bingham, Elaine, Blair, Boutwell, Brom- 

 well, Bucklancl, Butler, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, 

 Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Cullom, 

 Dawes, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Farns- 

 worth, Ferris, Ferry, Fields, Finney, Garfield, Grave- 

 ly, Griswold, Halsey, Hamilton, Harding, Hayes, Hill, 

 Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. 

 Hubbard, Hulburd, Hunter, Ingersoll, Judd, Julian, 

 Kelley, Kelsey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Laflin, 

 George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, 

 Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Marvin, McCarthy, Mc- 

 Clurg, Miller, Moore, Moorhead, Morril^ Myers, 

 Newcomb, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Peters, 

 Phelps, Pile, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Pomeroy, 

 Price, Raum, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, 

 Shanks, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Stevens, 

 Stewart, Tafi'e, Taylor, Thomas, Trowbridge, Twit- 

 chell, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert 

 T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. 

 Washburn, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Wash- 

 burn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, 

 James F.Wilson, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, 

 Windom, and Woodbridge 117. 



NAYS Messrs. Archer, Barnes, Boyer, Burr, Chan- 

 ler, Denison, Eldridge, Getz, Glossbrenner, Haight, 

 Holman, Humphrey, Kerr, Marshall, Morgan, Mor- 

 rissey, Mungeu, Niblack, Noell, Pruyn, Randall, 

 Robinson, Ross, Taber, Van Auken, Van Tromp, 

 and Wood 27. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Allison, Brooks, Broomall, 

 Cake, Covode, Eggleston, Eliot, Fox, Lynch, McCul- 

 lough, Mercur, Nicholson, Pike, Selye', Sitgreaves, 

 and Stone 16. 



In the Senate, the House bill was taken up 

 on March 14th, when Mr. Trumbnll, of Illinois, 

 from the Judiciary Committe<p, reported a sub- 

 stitute for the entire bill. This substitute was 

 considered as in Committee of the Whole, and 

 amended and concurred in, as follows : 



That before the 1st day of September, 18C7, the 

 commanding general in each district defined by an 

 act entitled, " An act to provide for the more effi- 

 cient government of the rebel States," approved 

 March 2, 1867, shall cause a registration to be made 

 of the male citizens of the United States, twenty-one 

 years of age and upward, resident in each county or 

 parish in the State or States included in his dis- 

 trict, which registration shall include only those per- 

 sons who are qualified to vote for delegates by the 

 act aforesaid, and who shall have taken and sub- 

 scribed the following oath or affirmation : " I, 



, do solemnly swear (or affirm) in the presence 



of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of 



; that I have resided in said State for 



months next preceding this day, and now reside in 



the county of , or the parish of , in said 



State (as the case may be) ; that I am twenty-one 

 years old ; that I have not been disfranchised for 

 participation in any rebellion or civil war against the 

 United States, nor for felony committed against the 

 laws of any State or of the l/nited States ; that I have 

 never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the 

 United States, or as an officer of the United States, 

 or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an 

 executive or judicial officer of any State, to support 

 the Constitution of the United States, and afterward 

 engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Uni- 

 ted States, or giving aid or comfort to the enemies 

 thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitu- 

 tion and obey the laws of the United States, and 

 will to the best of my ability encourage others so to 

 do, so help me God ;" which oath or affirmation may 

 be administered by any registering officer. 



SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That after the 

 completion of the registration hereby provided for in 

 any State, in such time and places therein as the 

 commanding general shall appoint and direct, of 

 which at least thirty days' public notice shall be 

 given, an election shall beheld of delegates to a con- 

 vention for the purpose of establishing a constitu- 

 tion and civil government of such State loyal to the 

 Union, said convention in each State, ex-cept Vir- 

 ginia, to consist of the same number of members a,s 

 the most numerous branch of the State Legislature 

 of such State in the year 1860, to be apportioned 

 among the several districts, counties, or parishes of 

 such State by the commanding general, giving to 

 each representation in the ratio of voters registered 

 as aforesaid, as nearly as may be. The convention 

 in Virginia shall consist of the same number of mem- 

 bers as represented the territory now constituting 

 Virginia in the most numerous branch of the Legis- 

 lature of said State in the year 1860, to be appor- 

 tioned as aforesaid. 



SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That at said 

 election the registered voters of_each State shall vote 

 for or against a convention to 'form a constitution 

 therefor under this act. Those voting in favor of 

 such a convention shall have written or printed on 

 the ballots by which they vote for delegates, as 

 aforesaid, the words " For a convention," and those 

 voting against such a convention shall have written 

 or printed on such ballots the words, ' Against a con- 

 vention.' The persons appointed to superintend said 

 election, and to make return of the votes given 

 thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make 

 return of the votes given for and against a conven- 

 tion ; and the commanding general to whom the 

 same shall hare been returned shall ascertain and 

 declare the total vote in each State for and against 

 a convention. If a majority of the votes given on 

 that questioh shall be for a convention, then such 

 convention shall be held as hereinafter provided ; 

 but if a majority of said votes shall be against a con- 

 vention, then "no such convention shall be held 

 under this act : Provided, That such convention 

 shall not be held, unless a majority of such registered 

 voters shall have voted on the question of holding 

 such convention. 



