252 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



Cook, Henry P. H. Bromwcll, Shelby M. Cullom, 

 Jehu Baker, Green B. Baum, and John A. Logan. 



Missouri William A. Pile, Carman A. Newcomb, 

 Joseph J. Gravely, Joseph W. McClurg, Robert T. 

 Van Horn, Benjamin F. Loan, John F. Benjamin, 

 and George W. Anderson. 



Michigan Fernando C. Beaman, Charles Upson, 

 Thomas W. Ferry, Piowland E. Trowbridge, and 

 John F. Driggs. 



Iowa J.ames F. Wilson, Hiram Price, William B. 

 Allison, and William T. Loughridge. 



Wisconsin Halbert E. Paine, Benjamin F. Hop- 

 kins, Amasa Cobb, Charles A. Eldridge, Philetus 

 Sawyer, and Cadwalader C. Washburn. 



Minnesota William Windom and Ignatius Don- 

 nelly. 



Oregon Bufus Mallory. 



Kansas Sidney Clarke. 



'West Virginia Chester D. Hubbard, Bethuel M. 

 Kitchen, and Daniel Polsley. 



Nebraska Tohn Taffe. 



Rhode Island Thomas A. Jenckes, and Nathan F. 

 Dixon. 



Connecticut Julius Hotchkiss, and Henry H. 

 Starkweather. 



The credentials of the following members- 

 elect from Kentucky were presented : 



L. S. Trimble, John Young Brown, J. Proctor 

 Knott, A. P. Grover, Thomas L. Jones, James B. 

 Beck, George M. Adams, and John D. Young. 



Mr. Logan, of Illinois, offered the following 

 preamble : 



Whereas, there is good reason to believe that, in 

 the election recently held in the State of Kentucky 

 for Representatives to the Fortieth Congress, the legal 

 and loyal voters in the several districts in said State 

 ' have been overawed and prevented from a true ex- 

 pression of their will and choice at the polls by those 

 who have sympathized with, or actually participated 

 in, the late rebellion, and that such elections were 

 carried by the votes of such disloyal and returned 

 rebels : and whereas it is alleged that several of the 

 Representatives-elect from that State are disloyal 



with a resolution that the credentials of all ex- 

 cept Adams be referred to the Committee on 

 Elections, which was adopted. 



In the House, on July 3d, Mr. Stevens, of 

 Pennsylvania, offered the following : 



Resolved, That a committee of nine be appointed to 

 inquire what further legislation, if any, is required 

 respecting the acts of March 2 and March 23, 1$67, 

 or other legislation on reconstruction, and to report 

 by bill or otherwise. 



The resolution was adopted. 



The Speaker announced the following com- 

 mittee : 



Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania ; George 

 S. Boutwell, of Massachusetts; John A. Bing- 

 ham, of Ohio; John F. Farnsworth, of Illinois; 

 Calvin T. Hulburd, of New York; Fernando C. 

 B*eaman, of Michigan ; Halbert E. Paine, of Wis- 

 consin ; Frederick A. Pike, of Maine ; and James 

 Brooks, of New York. 



In the Senate, on July 5th, Mr. Anthony, of 

 Ehode Island, offered the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the business of this session should 

 be confined to removing the obstructions which have 

 been, or are likely to be, placed in the way of the fair 

 execution of the acts of reconstruction* heretofore 

 adopted by Congress, and to giving to said acts the 

 scope intended by Congress when the same were 

 passed ; and that further" legislation at this session, 



on the subject of reconstruction or on any other sub- 

 jects, is not expedient. 



After an extended debate, the resolution was 

 adopted, by the following vote : 



YEAS Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Conk- 

 ling, Cragin, Edmunds, Ferry, Fessenden, Freling- 

 huysen, Grimes, Henderson, Howard, Morgan, Mor- 

 rill of Maine, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, 

 Ramsey, Sprague, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey, 

 Wilson, and Y'ates 23. 



NAYS Messrs. Buckalew, Drake, Fowler, Howe, 

 Ross, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, and Wade 9. 



ABSENT Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Conness, Cole, 

 Corbett, Davis, Dixon, Doplittle, Guthrie, Harlan, 

 Hendricks, Johnson, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, 

 Norton, Nye,. Patterson of Tennessee, Saulsbury, 

 Sherman, Stewart, and Williams 21. 



In the House, on July 8th, Mr. Stevens, of 

 Pennsylvania, introduced the following, which 

 was read twice : 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the United States of America in Congress 

 assembled, That it is hereby declared to have been 

 the true intent and meaning of the act of the 2d day 

 of March, 18G7, entitled "An act to provide for the 

 more efficient government of the rebel States," and 

 of the act supplementary thereto, passed on the 23d 

 day of March, in the year 1867, that the governments 

 then existing in the rebel States of Virginia, North 

 Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Ala 

 bama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas were 

 illegal and void ; and that thereafter said govern 

 ments, if continued, were to be continued subject in 

 all respects to the military commanders of the re- 

 spective districts and to the authority of Congress. 



SEC. 2. 'And be it further enacted, That the said acts 

 to which this is a supplement shall be construed to 

 authorize the officer assigned to the command of any 

 military district under said acts, whenever he shall 

 deem it necessary to the due performance of his 

 duties under said acts, to remove or suspend from 

 office any municipal or State officer or person exer- 

 cising authority under or by virtue of any so-called 

 State government existing in his district, and the 

 said officer so assigned to command as aforesaid is 

 hereby empowered to appoint another person in the 

 stead of the officer or person so removed if he shall 

 deem proper so to do, and whenever he may deem it 

 necessary, as aforesaid, to prohibit, suspend, or set 

 aside any act or proceeding of any such State or mu- 

 nicipal government, or any act or thing done under 

 or by virtue of its authority ; and all acts heretofore 

 done by.any such officer in accordance herewith shall 

 be deemed valid". 



SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the boards 

 of registration of the several military districts, estab- 

 lished by the acts to which this is supplementary, 

 shall admit to registration only such persons as they 

 deem entitled to be registered by the acts aforesaid. 

 They shall not regard the taking of the oath pre- 

 scribed in the act of March 23, 18G7, conclusive evi- 

 dence of the right of the person taking it to be re- 

 gistered, but prima facie only, and may receive such 

 evidence under oath relating thereto as they may 

 deem proper, either from the person applying to be 

 registered or others, and either of the members of 

 said boards is hereby authorized to administer oaths 

 or affirmations and examine witnesses touching the 

 right of any person to be registered. Said boards of 

 registration may strike from the list of voters the 

 name of any one already registered who in their 

 judgment improperly took the oath prescribed in 

 the acts to which this is supplementary, or was not 

 entitled by said acts to be registered. Record evi- 

 dence shall not be required by said boards to prove 

 participation in the rebellion, but parole evidence 

 shall be sufficient to establish the fact of such par- 

 ticipation ; and said boards of registration shall not 



