CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



167 



frame of government for their ratification, shall have 

 power and authority to appoint all civil officers here- 

 tofore provided by the laws of said States ; such 

 officers to have all the powers and shall perform all 

 the duties appertaining by law to such offices re- 

 spectively. It shall be the duty of the several dis- 

 trict commanders to confirm the appointment of such 

 officers by the convention ; to install each officer in 

 his office ; to cause to be put into the possession and 

 control of each officer the records and archives and 

 other property of the State pertaining to his office, 

 and to do all other acts which may be necessary to 

 enable such State officers, respectively, to perform 

 the functions of their offices. Each or said officers 

 may be removed for cause, to be stated in the order 

 of removal, by said district commanders respec- 

 tively ; and in case of vacancy by death or otherwise, 

 the same may be filled by the appointment of the 

 district commanders respectively. Such State gov- 

 ernments so organized shall continue in force and 

 authority until each State, respectively, shall be 

 represented in the Congress of the United States and 

 other State officers shall have been elected and quali- 

 fied under the constitution thereof. 



Mr. Butler said: "Mr. Speaker, I do not 

 propose to trouble the patience of the House 

 further than to state that the only difference 

 between this amendment and the proposition 

 contained in the bill reported by the committee 

 is that the amendment proposes the appoint- 

 ment of the State officers by the several con- 

 stitutional conventions, after they shall have 

 submitted the respective constitutions to the 

 people, instead of permitting those officers to 

 be appointed by the district commanders. I 

 have offered the amendment in response to a 

 universal demand to this effect coming from 

 every Southern State." 



Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, said : " Mr. 

 Speaker, I have no desire to debate this ques- 

 tion ; but, in view of my position as chairman 

 of the committee, and of the fact that I have 

 not joined in the report, it may be proper that 

 I should give my reasons for dissenting from 

 the conclusions of my colleagues. 



" In the first place, I do not perceive that the 

 present bill will add any efficiency to our pres- 

 ent legislation. As chairman of the commit- 

 tee, I have, very naturally, been addressed 

 upon subjects of this kind by the several con- 

 ventions, they not knowing the slight part I 

 take in these matters now. From all the con- 

 ventions now in session, I believe, with the 

 exception of three, or at most four, there have 

 come to me requests to introduce and advo- 

 cate a measure similar to the proposition which 

 has been offered by the gentleman from Massa- 

 chusetts (Mr. Butler). I will state the reasons 

 on which these applications have been based. 



" It is thought that, after the military power 

 has so far protected those populations as to 

 enable the conventions to go on quietly in 

 framing constitutions and submitting them to 

 the people, the designation of the officers to 

 carry those constitutions into effect will be 

 much better made by the civil than by the 

 military power. There is naturally some ob- 

 jection down there, as there is everywhere, to 

 the unnecessary prolongation of military rule 

 in this country. 



"In addition to this, the men composing the 

 conventions are, as a matter of course, much 

 better acquainted with the proper agents to 

 carry their work into effect than the military 

 authorities can possibly be. It is believed, 

 also, that there will be a much better chance 

 for the success of these constitutions before the 

 people if the conventions have the appointment 

 of the agents than if the appointments be made 

 by the district commanders. I need not say 

 that the former system is also more consonant 

 with our form of Government. 



"I believe the loyal people there are nearly 

 unanimous on this subject. Having received 

 the draft of a bill very similar in substance to 

 the amendment of the gentleman from Massa- 

 chusetts, I have come to the conclusion that 

 the system of appointment thus proposed is 

 vastly more proper and more likely to be effect- 

 ual in getting these States speedily back again 

 than the system contemplated by the bill now 

 before us. For these reasons I advocate the 

 proposition. I have no desire, of course, to 

 make any factious opposition upon a question 

 of this kind. I support the amendment of the 

 gentleman from Massachusetts because it is in 

 accordance with what I know to be the wishes 

 of the great majority of those who are to be 

 affected by it." 



The amendment of Mr. Butler was rejected 

 by the following vote: 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Arnell, Delos 

 E. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Banks, Broomall, But- 

 ler, Cake, Cary, Churchill, Eeader W. Clarke, Sidney 

 Clarke, Cpbb, Coburn, Donnelly. Driggs, Eckley, Ela, 

 Ferry, Fields, Gravely, Harding, Higby, Hunter, 

 Judd, Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, Kitchen, William 

 Lawrence, Logan, Loughridge, Maynard, McClurg, 

 Mercur, Mullins, Newcomb, Nunn, Perham, Kaum, 

 Schenck, Shanks, Thaddeus Stevens. Taylor,Thomas. 

 John Trimble, Eobert T. Van Horn. Van Wyck,Ward, 

 William Williams, Stephen F. Wilson, and Win- 

 dom 53. 



NAYS Messrs. Archer, Axtell, Bailey, Baker, 

 Baldwin, Barnes, Barnum, Beaman,Beck, Benjamin, 

 Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Boyer, 

 Bromwell, Brooks^ Buckland, Burr, Chanler, Cook, 

 Cullom, Dawes, Dixon, Dodge, Eggleston, Eldridge, 

 Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss. Fox, Garfieki, Getz. Gloss- 

 brenner, Golladay, Griswold, Grover, Haight, Halsey, 

 Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. 

 Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Eichard D. Hubbard, 

 Hulburd, Humphrey, IngersolL Jenckes, Johnson, 

 Jones, Kerr, Ketcham, Knott, Koontz, Lincoln, Mar- 

 shallj Marvin, McCarthy, Miller, Moore, Moorhead, 

 Mornssey, Mungen, Myers, Niblack, Nicholson, 

 O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Peters, Phelps, Pike, Pile, 

 Plants, Poland, Polsey, Pomeroy, Price, Pruyn, 

 Eobertson, Eoss, Sawyer, Scofield, Sitgreaves, Smith, 

 Spalding, Starkweather, Aaron F. Stevens, Stewart, 

 Stone, Taber, Lawrence S. Trimble, Trowbridge, 

 Twichell, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Auken, Burt 

 Van Horn, Van Trump, Cadwalader C. Washburn, 

 Elihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, Welker, 

 Thomas Williams, James F. Wilson, John T. Wil- 

 son, Wood, Woodbridge, and Woodward 112. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Adams, Ames, Cornell, 

 Covode, Finney, Hawkins, Hill, Laflin, George V. 

 Lawrence, Loan, Lynch, Mallory, McCprmick, Mc- 

 Cullough, Morgan, Morrell, EandalL Eobinson, Selye, 

 Shellabarger, Stokes, Taffe, and William B. Wash- 

 burn 23. 



So the amendment was rejected. 



