224 



CONGRESS, IT. S. 



and upon the Government to enforce its au- 

 thority, we would have a very different state 

 of things in this country to-day from what now 

 exists. 



" This, in my judgment, is the way to pre- 

 serve the Union ; and I do not expect civil war 

 to follow from it. You have only to put the 

 Government in a position to make itself re- 

 spected, and it will command respect. 1 ' 



The debate was continued by Mr. Wade, of 

 Ohio, Mr. Baker, of Oregon, Mr. Mason, of Vir- 

 ginia, Mr. Pugh, of Ohio, who made an inter- 

 esting declaration in his remarks, thus : " The 

 Crittenden proposition has been indorsed by 

 the almost unanimous vote of the Legislature 

 of Kentucky. It has been indorsed by the 

 Legislature of the noble old Commonwealth 

 of Virginia. It has been petitioned for by a 

 larger number of electors of the United States 

 than any proposition that was ever before Con- 

 gress. I believe in my heart, to-day, that it 

 would carry an overwhelming majority of the 

 people of my State ; ay, sir, and of nearly every 

 other State in the Union. Before the Senators 

 from the State of Mississippi left this chamber, 

 I heard one of them who now assumes, at least, 

 to be president of the Southern Confederacy, 

 propose to accept it and to maintain the Union 

 if that proposition could receive the vote it 

 ought to receive from the other side of this 

 chamber. Therefore, of all your propositions, 

 of all your amendments, knowing as I do, and 

 knowing that the historian will write it down, 

 at any time before the 1st of January, a two- 

 thirds vote for the Crittenden resolutions 'in 

 this chamber would have saved every State in 

 the Union but South Carolina. Georgia would 

 be here by her representatives, and Louisiana 

 also those two great States, which, at least, 

 would have broken the whole column of seces- 

 sion. Yet, sir, it has been staved off staved 

 off for your futile railroad bill ; and where 

 is it to-night ? Staved off by your tariff bill ; 

 staved off by your pension bill." 



Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, observed in relation 

 to this statement of Mr. Pugh, that it was true. 

 He thus expressed himself : " The Senator has 

 said that if the Crittenden proposition could 

 have been passed early in the session, it would 

 have saved all the States, except South Caro- 

 lina. I firmly believe it would. While the 

 Crittenden proposition was not in accordance 

 with my cherished views, I avowed my readi- 

 ness and eagerness to accept it, in order to save 

 the Union, if we could unite upon it. No man 

 has labored harder than I have to get it passed. 

 I can confirm the Senator's declaration, that 

 Senator Davis himself, when on the Committee 

 of Thirteen, was ready, at all times, to com- 

 promise on the Crittenden proposition. I will 

 go further, and say that Mr. Toombs was also." 



The motion to substitute the Crittenden reso- 

 lutions in the House joint resolution was re- 

 jected. Ayes, 14 ; noes, 25. 



The next amendment was offered by Mr. 

 Bingham, of Michigan, as follows : 



Eesolved, That the provisions of the Constitution are 

 ample for the preservation of the Union, and the protec- 

 tion of all the material interests of the country ; that it 

 needs to be obeyed rather than amended ; and that an 

 extrication from our present danger is to be looked for 

 in strenuous efforts to preserve the peace, protect the 

 public property, and enforce the laws, rather than in 

 new guarantees for particular interests, compromises 

 for particular difficulties, or concessions to unreason- 

 able demands. 



Resolved, That all attempts to dissolve the present 

 Union, or overthrow or abandon the present Consti- 

 tution, with the hope or expectation of constructing a 

 new one, are dangerous, illusory, and destructive ; 

 that in the opinion of the Senate of the United States 

 no such reconstruction is practicable ; and therefore, 

 to the maintenance of the existing Union and Consti- 

 tution should be directed all the energies of all the 

 departments of the Government, and the efforts of all 

 good citizens. 



This was also rejected. Ayes, 13 ; noes, 25. 



Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, now moved the report 

 of the minority of the Sen-ate Committee, which 

 was embraced in the following resolution : 



"Whereas the Legislatures of the States of Kentucky, 

 New Jersey, and Illinois have applied to Congress to 

 call a convention for proposing amendments to the 

 Constitution of the United States : Therefore, 



Be it resolved by the Senate and ffouse_ of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States of America in Congress 

 assembled, That the Legislatures of the other States be 

 invited to take the subject of such a convention into 

 consideration, and to express their will on that subject 

 to Congress, in pursuance of the fifth article of the 

 Constitution. 



This was rejected. Ayes, 14 ; noes, 25. 



The propositions submitted by the Peace Con- 

 ference were then offered as an amendment by 

 Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas, and rejected. Ayes, 

 3 ; noes, 34. 



The question was then taken on the reso- 

 lution from the House ayes 24, noes 12 which 

 the presiding officer decided to be a two-thirds 

 vote. 



After a vote on several motions for amend- 

 ment, the question was finally taken on the 

 joint resolutions of Mr. Crittenden, which were 

 rejected. Ayes, 19 ; noes, 20. 



At a very late hour the Senate took a recess 

 until 10 o'clock A. M., March 4th. 



The regular session of Congress was closed at 

 the usual hour by the adjournment of both 

 Houses. Of all the acts and resolutions passed 

 during the session, only two very brief ones 

 appear to have arisen out of, or to refer to, the 

 existing or threatening difficulties of the coun- 

 try. One provides for the suspension of the 

 postal service, and is in these words : 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States of America in Congress 

 assembled, That whenever, in the opinion of the Post- 

 master-General, the postal service cannot be safely 

 continued, or the Post-office revenues collected, or 

 the postal laws maintained, on any post route, by 

 reason of any cause whatsoever, the Postmaster- | 

 General is hereby authorized to discontinue the post- 

 al service on such route, or any part thereof, and 

 any post-offices thereon, till the same can be safely 

 restored, and shall report.his action to Congress. 



APPROVED, February 28, 1861. 



The other was a joint resolution for an 

 amendment of the Constitution. (See pp. 157.) 



