214 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



hill oaoM to be presented to the grand-jury titling 

 in and for aaid Dutrict t tbo next aeuion thereof; 

 that ho mar take auoh action la the premises as to 

 UwanJjuitioe thall appertain. 



The Speaker: "The gentleman from Ver- 

 mont being entitled to the floor, the Chair pre- 

 sumed he had yielded to the gentleman from 

 MiJMrhnnnttn Since he hag not done so, the 

 resolution of the gentleman from Massachusetts 

 U not before the House, and the Chair reserves 

 hi- ruling till it be before the House." 



Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts : " I propose, 

 whenever I can get the floor in the coarse of 

 the discussion, to offer in substance the reso- 

 lution which I have sent to the Chair. 1 ' 



The Speaker : " The gentleman from Ver- 

 mont (Mr. Poland) is entitled to the floor." 



Mr. 1 'nl ami : " In rising to support the reso- 

 lutions which have been reported by the spe- 

 cial committee of which I have the honor to 

 be the chairman, I do not design to go very 

 elaborately into a discussion of the facts that 

 have been reported by the committee to the 

 House, or into a very extensive exposition of 

 the law upon which the committee claim their 

 report to be supported. 



" I am aware that we are very near the end 

 of the session, and of this Congress, and that 

 there is a very great pressure of public busi- 

 ness that ought to be done. 



" Another reason that induces me not to go 

 so extensively into this matter as otherwise I 

 might do is, that the report of the committee 

 disc ruses the questions of fact and law involved 

 in this case to a considerable extent, and that 

 report has for several days been in the posses- 

 sion of the members of the House, and has 

 been discussed in the public press. 



" Another reason, sir. why I do not design 

 to discuss this matter at very great length is, 

 in consequence of the peculiar position of our 

 report, because wo do not, as yet, and in ad- 

 vance, precisely know all the questions that 

 we may be called upon to discuss. 



"And just here I may bo allowed to say a 

 word in explanation of this report which I 

 think will absolve it somewhat from some of 

 the criticisms that have been made upon it. 

 The resolution of the House under which tin- 

 committee was i ..ii-titut.'d. nd l.v which it 

 was directed in tho performance of its duties 

 directed the committee to inquire whether any 

 member* of this House had been bribed by 

 Mr. Uakes Ames or any other person or corpo- 

 ration. That was all in accordance with what 

 we understood to be our duty under that reso- 

 lution. We examined all the evidence that 

 was produced before us, and all thnt we ronM 

 tin I in relation to any dealings between Mr. 

 Amp* or any other person or corporation-, in 

 the language of the resolution, in r.-h.tion to 

 took in this company called the Credit Mobi- 

 lior of America. 



- hnvinit taken all tho testimony wo 

 could find in relation to any person then a 

 member of Congress, we reported that testi- 



mony at length, and upon that testimony the 

 committee came to the conclusion that Mr. 

 (Jakes Ames was guilty of tho crime of hribery, 

 and that Mr. James Brooks was guilty of re- 

 ceiving bribes, and we therefore find those 

 cases to come within the terms, and scope, 

 aud jurisdiction of that resolution, us we un- 

 .iiil it, and hence we report resolutions 

 with reference to those two gentlemen, pro- 

 posing to expel them from their .-eats in this 

 llouse. 



'In relation to tho other gentlemen con- 

 nected with this matter, those who are now 

 members of this House, tHi committee was 

 unable to find from any evidence produced In- 

 fore them, or that came within their r. 

 that any of the other persons named in the re- 

 port, who are now members of the House, had 

 been guilty of the offense- of brihery, either in 

 giving or receiving bribes, and therefore, as to 

 the otfense we were charged to inquire into in 

 reference to any member of this House, w 

 that we did not find it established as against any 

 of those gentlemen. 



" We consider, therefore, that under the n >- 

 lution we have fully performed our duty in re- 

 porting as to those gentlemen. But, the llouse 

 might differ from us; tbo llouse might say that, 

 as to those gentlemen, if they were not guilty 

 of this offense, they were guilty of something 

 else, and we oamo to this conclusion, to find a 

 special verdict with reference to every one of 

 these gentlemen, excepting those whom we 

 found within the terms ami language of the 

 resolution, and submit to the judgment of the 

 llouse whether, ujwn the facts reported, any 

 action is proper in reference to them. That is 

 the position of our report; that is whai 

 committee intended. \Ve did not understand 

 it to bo our duty to report upon any conduct 

 of any member of this House except in r. 

 of and in view of the resolution submitted t 



"The facts reported by the committee st:md 

 before the llouse, and if any member of tho 

 llouse desires to ask the judgment of the Honse 

 upon the special verdict we have returned as 

 to the other members named in the report, ho 

 will have opportunity to nsk such jud^neiit, 

 and therefore, at the proper time, the com- 

 mittee, so fnr as they have control of the mat- 

 ter, will yield for the offering of any resolu- 

 tion thnt nny jrcntlonian may choose to offer 

 on his own responsibility as a member, found - 

 ed on the facts contained in our report. 



"So much. Mr. Speaker, by way of prelimi- 

 nary. And now, sir, I de-ire flic attention of 

 the House for a few moments to the evid< nee 

 laid before them to sustain the action 01 

 cotMitiitt'-e in relation to the two members 

 against whom they have reported rcsolv 

 of expulsion. 



And, in the first place, in regard to Mr. 

 Ames; there is no question upon the 

 inony ; it is conceded by Mr. Ames himself, it 

 h.i- Men |-rov.-d b\ various other witncs-es, 



that in December, 1867, and in January, 



