CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



204 



nothing else, who would oppose it if the recital 

 be not amended. Now, what is a practical 

 man under those circumstance* to do? I* he 

 to stand on the outer wall of his own peculiar 

 views and imperil the end he would attain, or 

 akall he yield i !u-*e views, so far as he may do 

 so without violating principle, to harmonize 

 with other gentlemen whose opinions are en- 

 titled to his profoundcM re-;pect. and when 

 he finds those of his friends differing from 

 him on a particular question, he is fairly justi- 

 fied in thinking he must be wrong, and they 

 must be right on that question ? 



' It H. practically, a question simply of this 

 kind: whether the people of Louisiana shall 

 b_- under the government of Mr. Kellogg, if 

 you choose to put it in that form, four weeks 

 or four years ; that is all. The President of 

 the United States has told Congress that if we 

 adjourn without passing any law on the sub- 

 ject he will recognize Mr. Kellogg's govern- 

 ment, and it will stand there supported by 

 Federal authority for tour years. I think that 

 is all wrong. For the purpose of getting rid 

 of that, for the purpose of remitting the ques- 

 tion to the people again, for the purpose of 

 having an election there conducted with per- 

 fect honesty to all parties. I am willing to 

 throw over my views on this recital, and in- 

 stead of reciting the fact which is plain enough 

 from the enactment which follows, that that 

 election is void, I am willing to recite another 

 fact not at all inconsistent with it, from that 

 election, which was held on the 4th of Novem- 

 ber, resulted in two organizations. That is 

 true ; the other was true. The ono does not 

 iimieach the other.'' 



The Presiding Officer : " The question is on 

 the passage of the bill, and the yeas and nays 

 have been ordered; " and, on being token, re- 

 sulted as follows : 



Ytis Messrs. Anthony, Carpenter, Corbett, Gra- 

 ffiti, Ferry of Michigan. FreUnifhuyjicn, Gilbert, 

 Haiiilin. Howe, Logan, Machen, Osborn, Bam try, 

 Sawyer, Sherman, Spmgue.Stewart, and Wilson 18. 



NATS Messrs. Bayard. Boreman, Cauertr, Clay- 

 ton, CnnkliiiK. Cooper. Davis, Flanagan, Hamilton 

 of Maryland. Harlan, Johnston, Kelly, Lewis, Mor- 

 ton, Sorwood.Saulsbury, Stockton, Tburman, 

 Trumbull, and West 



ABSKVT Messrs. Alcorn. Amos, Blair. Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Caldwell, Cameron, 'handler, 

 Col*, Edmund*, Fenton. Ferry of Connecticut, Gold- 

 thwaite. Hamilton <>f Texas, Hill, Hitchcock, Mer- 

 rill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Nyc, IV 

 Pomeroy, Pool. Pratt, Ransom, Rioe, Robertson, 

 Schun, Scott, Spencer, Stevenson, Sumncr,Ti['lon. 

 Vickera, Windo.n, and Wright-34. 



So the bill was rejected. 



A motion was subsequently made, on March 

 1st, to reconsider the vote by which the bill 

 was rejected. ThU motion was laid on the 

 table by the following rote : 



Vi Messrs. Ames, Antlnny, Boreman. Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Chandler. Clayton, Cole, t'.mk- 

 lin/, I'orHctt, Klanamn, rrellnghaVMI), (filbert, 

 llaiian. Hitchcock, Howe, Morrill of Mainr. M >r- 

 ton, Nyc, Pool. Pratt, Ramsey, Rawvcr, Spencer, 

 Suwart, Wwt, Wilson, Windom, and Wright 29. 



NATS Messrs. Alcorn, Bayard. Blair, Car[ 

 Canserlv, Cooper, Cragin, I)avi. Edmund*, Fenton, 

 Ferry of Michigan, Goldthwoitr, Hamilton of Mary- 

 land, Hamilton of Texas, Hill, K. -lly, Lupin, Mor- 

 rill of Vermont, Norwood, Ransom. Kiev. !.. 

 son, Saukburv, Schurx, Sherman, Stevenson, Trum- 

 bull, and Vickers-S8. 



ABSENT Messrs. Caldwell, Cameron, Ferry of 

 Connecticut, Hauilin, Johnston, Lewis, il;i 

 Osborn, Patterson, Pomeroy. Bcott, Spraguc, > 

 ton, SumniT, Thuruiau, and fipton 18. 



In the Senate on February 7th, the bill was 

 < .insidered to create a commission to adjust 

 ompensation of the several claimants lor 

 damages and lor depredations by cruisers, in 

 be discharged out of the indeinnit y fund 

 awarded by the tribunal of arbitration :it Ge- 

 neva, to be paid by Great Britain to the United 

 States. 



Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, said : " Mr. I'r.-si- 

 deiit. I suppose it will be expected that acting 

 for the cdinmittee I shall make a brief state- 

 ment of the grounds upon which this bill rests. 



- Hut still, Mr. President, this bill presents 

 questions of very considerable importance, and 

 t[iir>tions about which men who are equally 

 patriotic and equally desirous of maintaining 

 the honor and performing the duties of tho 

 United States, differ widely ; so that I shall In- 

 excused perhaps in a very few moments, not. 

 in making a speech, but in stating to such Sen- 

 ators as are kind enough to listen to me pre- 

 cisely the grounds upon which this bill n--N. 

 And to begin, it is necessary that we .-honld 

 understand preciselythe state of circnmM 

 out of which the bill grows ; that is to sa.* 

 should know the history, condensed, or the 

 critical points of the history which gave rise 

 to these claims. 



" In the first place we are to remember that 

 the destruction of American commerce, for 

 which wo have received this sum of money, 

 was a belligerent destruction. As the Supreme 

 Court of the United States had decided, and 

 as I think rightly, a state of war exi-icd be- 

 tween the so-called Confederates and the I'ni- 

 ted States. Of course, that did not ncce-sarily 

 imply that as to persons there may not also 

 have been a state of treason which might sub- 

 ject individuals to punishment tinder the muni- 

 cipal laws of the I'nited States; but that has 

 no bearing on this question. As in aggregate 

 question, if I may use such a term, a Mali' of 

 war existed. Thodestruction of the American 

 commerce, therefore, followed from that Main 

 of war as a belligerent destruction occurring 

 between belligerents, and hence, upon tin- 

 principles of international law, a lawful de- 

 struction. That is to nay, if the Confederates 

 had been sncce^fnl as they were OMOOOMtAll, 

 no citizen of the United States, no citizen or 

 subject of any other country whose property 

 was in an attitude where belligerent rights 

 might arise against it would have any r.mse to 

 complain that his ship was destroyed, his 

 cargo sent to the bottom, his whole voyage 



