CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



147 



which I trust the friends of the bill will agree 

 to, because it is perfectly germane, and is for 

 the purpose of perfecting the bill. I move to 

 amend the bill in section one, line twelve, by 

 striking out the word 'the' after the word 

 'of and before the word * Congress,' and in- 

 serting the word ' any, ' and, then, by insert- 

 ing after the word 'States,' in the same line, 

 the words 'after the thirty-fifth;' and by 

 striking out in the thirteenth line the words 

 ' withdrew therefrom ; ' so that the Clause of 

 exception will read : " 



First. Members of any Congress of the United 

 States after the Thirty-fifth, who aided the rebellion. 



" The Thirty-fifth Congress ended on the 3d 

 of March, 1859 ; so that the Thirty-sixth Con- 

 gress and those succeeding it were those in 

 which this conspiracy of rebellion was con- 

 cocted, and out of which some gentlemen with- 

 drew, feeling it a matter of honor, the moment 

 they had made up their mind to make war on 

 the country, to go away, which I can appreci- 

 ate. Others, being equally traitorous and equal- 

 ly base, or more so, stayed here, causing all the 

 trouble, and getting all the information they 

 could, and drawing their pay until their term 

 expired on the 4th. of March, 1861. 



"Now, I think it not unfair to ask the 

 friends of this measure to allow that class of 

 people, one and all, to stay out of this general 

 bill, and then, if, in respect to any one of them, 

 there is a special reason why he should be re- 

 lieved, we can pass a bill for his benefit. The 

 effect of my amendment simply is, therefore, 

 instead of using the words ' withdrew there- 

 from,' that are in the bill applied to those 

 Congresses, which would only apply to those 

 who actually vacated their seats before their 

 term expired, who were really the best class 

 of rebels, to include those who stayed here, act- 

 ing the part of spies and traitors together, and 

 taking the money of the United States to aid 

 the rebellion, until the 4th of March, 1861. I 

 hope, therefore, that this amendment will be 

 agreed to without opposition." 



The President pro tempore: "The question 

 is on the amendment of the Senator from Ver- 

 mont." 



The yeas and nays were ordered ; and, being 

 taken, resulted as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Ames, Anthony, Brownlow, Buck- 

 ingham, Caldwell, Carpenter, Clayton, Conkling, 

 Corbett, Edmunds, Ferry of Michigan, Flanagan, 

 Frelinghuysen, Hamlin, Howe, Mornll of Vermont, 

 Morton, Nye, Pomeroy, Pool, Pratt, Ramsey, Scott, 

 Spencer, Sumner, Wilson, and Windom 27. 



NAYS Messrs. Alcorn, Bayard, Blair, Casserly, 

 Cooper, Davis of Kentucky, Davis of West Virginia, 

 Fenton, Ferry of Connecticut,Hamilton of Maryland, 

 Hill, Hitchcock, Johnston, Kellogg, Kelly, Lewis, 

 Logan, Morrill of Maine, Norwood, Robertson, 

 Saulsbury, Sawyer, Schurz, Sherman, Stevenson, 

 Stewart, Thurman, Tipton, Trumbull, Vickers, and 

 West 31. 



ABSENT Messrs. Boreman, Cameron, Chandler, 

 Cole, Cragin, Gilbert, Hamilton of Texas, Harlan. 

 Osborn, Patterson, Rice, Sprague, Stockton, and 

 Wright 14. 



So the amendment was rejected. 

 Mr. Pratt, of Indiana, said: I offer the fol- 

 lowing amendment, to come in at the close of 

 the first section : " 



Provided, That the removal of such disabilities 

 shall not have the effect of giving the persons re- 

 lieved the status in court or elsewhere of loyal per- 

 sons, in asserting any claim against the United States 

 which they do not now possess, either for money 

 claimed to be due, or for appropriation of, or injury 

 to, property belonging to them. 



Mr. Trumbull : " Having one minute, I wish 

 to say that the fourteenth amendment to the 

 Constitution provides simply for imposing a 

 disqualification to hold office. This bill pro- 

 vides for removing the disability imposed by 

 the fourteenth amendment, which is simply to 

 hold office,, and every citizen remains just as 

 he stood before we passed this bill as to all his 

 other rights except the right to hold office. 

 This is not a pardon. The bill does not pro- 

 pose to pardon anybody. It merely proposes 

 to remove the disability imposed by the four- 

 teenth amendment, which is simply a disability 

 to hold office. That is all there is about it. It 

 has no effect whatever upon any claim that a 

 man has." 



Mr. Edmunds: "My friend says that this 

 bill removes political disabilities. So it does. 

 It also removes a legal disability which the 

 Constitution has imposed upon a certain class 

 of persons, and, under that Constitution, we 

 have framed pension-laws, and claims-laws, and 

 claims commission laws, based upon the theory 

 of this constitutional provision and in harmony 

 with it, in order to protect the Treasury, that 

 we may have something to pay loyal claim- 

 ants, and not be obliged to pay disloyal ones. 

 In the decision of the Supreme Court, made a 

 year or two ago, I think in the case of Padel- 

 ford, they held that an act of amnesty or par- 

 don put a man in such a position that, in point 

 of law, he never had been guilty of any of- 

 fence. Now, then, if we relieve from this con- 

 stitutional inhibition the legal as well as the 

 political disabilities of these parties, it will be 

 maintained, and in some quarters with a great 

 deal of force, so that the money will_ go, that 

 we have restored these people to all rights by 

 this last act of legislation. Therefore, as a mat- 

 ter of precaution, and safety, and absolute se- 

 curity, this amendment ought to go on the bill, 

 if we wish to protect the Treasury." 



The President pro tempore: "The question 

 is on the amendment of the Senator from In- 

 diana (Mr. Pratt)." 



The question, being taken by yeas and nays, 

 resulted yeas 25, nays 34. 



So the amendment was rejected. 

 Mr. Wilson: "Several amendments have 

 been offered, and every Senator seems disposed 

 to vote for precisely what he wishes, without 

 regard to the passage of the bill. I therefore 

 propose to amend the bill by striking out all 

 of the first section after the word ' classes ' in 

 the eleventh line, and inserting : " 

 First. All persons, who, being members of the 



