CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



155 



Davis, Fenton, Ferry, Flanagan, Harris, Hill, Kel- 

 logg, Lewis, Morrill of Maine, Morton, Patterson, 

 Bice, Saulsbury, Schurz, Sprague, Stockton, Sumner, 

 Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Willey, and Yates 25. 



So the bill was passed. 



In the Senate, on December 20th, Mr. Mor- 

 ton, of Indiana, moved to take up his resolu- 

 tion above mentioned (see page 133) relative to 

 San Domingo. The reading of the following 

 resolution, submitted by Mr. Sumner, of Mas- 

 sachusetts, on December 9th, was also called 

 for: 



Resolved, That the President of the United States 

 be requested to communicate to the Senate, if, in his 

 opinion, not incompatible with the public interests, 

 copies of all papers and correspondence relating to 

 the proposed annexation of the Dominican portion 

 of the island of San Domingo, or the purchase of any 

 part thereof, including the original and all subse- 

 quent instructions to any agent or consul of the 

 United States, with the correspondence of such agent 

 or consul ; also, any protocol or convention signed by 

 such agent or consul ; also an account of the debt and 

 liabilities of the Dominican Government, especially 

 its obligations to the neighboring republic of Hayti ; 

 also, the provisions of the existing constitution of 

 Dominica, so far as the same relate to the sale or 

 transfer of the national domain ; also, any treaty with 

 Hayti or France by which Dominica is bound or af- 

 fected ; also, any communication from the neighbor- 

 ing republic of Hayti, or from our minister there, 

 relating to the proposed annexation; also, instruc- 

 tions to the commander of our naval squadron in the 

 waters of the island since the commencement of the 

 late negotiations, with the reports and correspond- 

 ence of such commander ; also, any information 

 tending to show^what^ European power, if any, pro- 

 poses to acquire jurisdiction of any part of the island, 

 and, if so, of what part ; also, any information with 

 regard to the position of President Baez, under whom 

 the treaty of annexation was negotiated, and the ex- 

 tent to which he has been maintained in power by 

 the presence of United States vessels-pf-war ; also, 

 any information with regard to the sentiments of the 

 people in Dominica, and the reported pendency there 

 of civil war ; also, any information with regard to 

 any claim of jurisdiction by the republic of Hayti 

 over the territory of Dominica. 



Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, said : "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I simply rise to say that I do not see any 

 ground myself for opposing either of these reso- 

 lutions or for not taking them up and acting 

 upon them. I now speak of their substance ; 

 I have not stated the exact phraseology of either 

 of them ; but I mean the main idea. They are 

 not in the least incompatible, I would suggest 

 to my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. Sumner) ; 

 both of them are calling for information, and 

 each for information of a different kind. One is 

 for diplomatic correspondence, the political in- 

 tercourse between States respecting this island ; 

 the other is for the information of Congress and 

 of the Senate respecting the actual condition 

 physical, moral, and social of the island 

 itself. Certainly both of them are subjects 

 of interest to the American people, what- 

 ever their opinions may now be, or whatever 

 they may hereafter be, touching what is wise 

 or desirable respecting the acquisition of that 

 territory." 



Mr. Howard, of Michigan said: "As was 



very justly observed by the Senator from Ver- 

 mont, these two reselutions contemplate a dif- 

 ferent description of inquiry. The resolution 

 presented by the honorable Senator i'rom In- 

 diana contemplates the appointment of a com- 

 mission, who, I suppose, if it shall be created, 

 will repair to the island of San Domingo for 

 the purpose of making a thorough inquiry into 

 the condition of that island, its population 

 and commercial advantages, and, in short, into 

 the necessity and propriety of its final annexa- 

 tion to the United States, as has been sug- 

 gested by the President of the United States 

 in his message at the opening of the present 



"This inquiry is a much broader and more 

 satisfactory one in its nature, as it seems to me, 

 than that which is suggested by the resolution 

 of the honorable Senator from Massachusetts. 

 The latter resolution simply calls for executive 

 documents and information documentary in its 

 nature and in the possession of the Executive 

 of the United States. 



" Now, I wish to inquire of the honorable 

 Senator from Massachusetts, who asks that 

 the resolution of the Senator from Indiana 

 may be postponed until his is answered, what 

 he expects to obtain that is not already pre- 

 sented in the report of that special committee, 

 as found in committee report No. 234 of the 

 last session of Congress ? " 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, said : " My 

 friend, the other day, called my attention to the 

 point which he now makes, and at his sugges- 

 tion I referred to the report which is before 

 him. I examined it to see to what extent it 

 contained a reply to the inquiries in my reso- 

 lution, and I found very, very little indeed. 

 One or two things in my resolution of inquiry 

 will be found in that report, but the main body 

 of inquiries in my resolution is unanswered in 

 that report. At the proper time I will go into 

 an explanation." 



Mr. Sumner subsequently further explained 

 the object of his resolution, until the ques- 

 tion was taken on the motion of Mr. Morton 

 to take from the table the resolution of the 

 latter. On this motion the yeas and nays 

 were as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Abbott, Ames, Boreman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Carpenter, Chandler, Cole, Conk- 

 ling, Corbett, Edmunds, Flanagan, Gilbert, Hamlin, 

 Harlan, Howard, Howe, Howell, Lewis, Morton, Nye, 

 Osborn, Pomeroy, Pool, Eamsey, Kevels, Kice, Saw- 

 yer, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Thayer, Warner, 

 Willey, Williams, and Windom 38. 



NAYS Messrs. Bayard, Casserly, Davis, Fowler, 

 Hamilton of Maryland, Harris, McCreery, Morrill of 

 Vermont, Patterson, Kobertson, Schurz, Scott, Stock- 

 ton, Sumner, Thurman. Tipton, and Vickers 17. 



ABSENT Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, 

 Cragin, Fenton, Ferry, Hamilton of Texas, John- 

 ston, Kellogg, McDonald, Morrill of Maine, Pratt. 

 Eoss, Saulsbury, Spencer, Trumbull, Wilson, and 

 Yates 18. 



Mr. Buckingham, of Connecticut, then moved 

 to refer the resolution to the Committee ou 

 Foreign Affairs. 



