234 



CONGKESS, U. S. 



osition ; there is no ambiguity about it ; it is 

 as clear as sunlight, as simple as any thing can 

 be, to the comprehension of the Senator from 

 "Wisconsin, or any other Senator. I shall vote 

 against the reference ; but if the Senate chooses 

 to recommit it, very well; they can take the 

 responsibility." 



Mr. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, said: "The 

 only gratification that I derive from the motion 

 of the Senator from Wisconsin is, the confirma- 

 tion it affords to what I had the honor to re- 

 mark a short time ago, that the Senate does not 

 intend to pass the resolution. I am glad it does 

 not ; but it does not seem disposed to vote di- 

 rectly, but will consign it to the dungeons of a 

 committee-room." 



The question of reference was then taken and 

 lost. Ayes, 17; noes, 23. 



Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, thus expressed his 

 views of the acts of the President : " The first 

 three acts enumerated in the preamble of this 

 resolution, I would vote heartily to approve. I 

 believe they were right and proper strictly 

 legal, and strictly constitutional. I believe that 

 the President had the right, and that it was his 

 duty, to issue the proclamation of April last. I 

 believe he had a right it was a part of the 

 power of suppressing an insurrection to block- 

 ade the ports of the United States, or any of 

 them. I do not believe the President of the 

 United States has the power to suspend the 

 writ of habeas corpus, because that power is 

 expressly given to Congress, and to Congress 

 alone. I do not believe the President of the 

 United States has the power to increase the 

 regular army, because that power is expressly 

 given by the Constitution to Congress alone ; 

 and therefore I cannot vote for either of the last 

 three propositions the fourth, the fifth, or the 

 sixth. Still I approve of the action of the Pres- 

 ident. I believe the President did right. He 

 d'id precisely what I would have done if I had 

 been in his place no more, no less ; but I can- 

 not here, in my place, as a Senator, under oath, 

 declare that what he did do was legal. I may 

 say it was proper, and was justified by the 

 necessity of the case ; but I cannot here in my 

 place, under oath, declare that it was strictly 

 legal, and in consonance with the provisions of 

 the Constitution. I shall therefore be com- 

 pelled to vote against the resolution." 



The bill was further debated, and finally, on 

 the 6th of August, taken up for consideration 

 and laid aside for Executive business. The ob- 

 ject of the resolution was secured by making it 

 a clause in one of the other bills passed at this 

 session. 



On the llth of July Mr. Clark, of New Hamp- 

 shire, oifered the following resolution : 



Whereas a conspiracy has been formed against the 

 peace, union, and liberties of the people and Govern- 

 ment of the United States ; and in furtherance of such 

 conspiracy a portion of the people of the States of 

 Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 

 Arkansas, and Texas, have attempted to withdraw 

 those States from the Union, and are now in arms 

 against the Government ; and whereas James M. Ma- 



son and Robert M. T. Hunter, Senators from Virginia; 

 Thomas L. Clingman and Thomas Bragg, Senators 

 from North Carolina ; James Chesnut, jr., a Senator 

 from South Carolina ; A. 0. P. Nicholson, a Senator 

 from Tennessee; William K. Sebastian and Charles 

 B. Mitchell, Senators from Arkansas ; and John Hemp- 

 hill and Louis T. Wigfall, Senators from Texas, have 

 failed to appear in their seats in the Senate and to aid 

 the Government in this important crisis ; and it is ap- 

 parent to the Senate that said Senators are engaged in 

 said conspiracy for the destruction of the Union and 

 Government, or, with full knowledge of such con- 

 spiracy, have failed to advise the Government of its 

 progress or aid in its suppression : Therefore, 



Resolved, That the said Mason, Hunter, Clingman, 

 Bragg, Chesnut, Nicholson, Sebastian, Mitchel, Hemp- 

 hill, and Wigfall be, and they hereby are, each and 

 all of them, expelled from the Senate of the United 

 States. 



Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, opposed the resolu- 

 tion, saying: "I can see no reason why we 

 should depart from the determination of the 

 Senate at the last session, in declaring the seats 

 vacant, and adopt now the rule of expulsion. 

 I know of no conspiracy on the part of the Sena- 

 tors named in the resolution. I cannot say that 

 it has not existed, but I know the general fact, 

 that, claiming the right of secession for their 

 States (though I differed from them in that) as 

 a right under the Constitution, they have acted 

 openly with their States. Their States have 

 chosen to leave this Union. Whether they have 

 the authority or not, is questioned. They con- 

 sider it a legitimate exercise of reserved rights 

 under the Constitution. I consider the act as 

 revolutionary. There is the difference. Shall 

 I exercise the power of expulsion against a Sen- 

 ator on the ground of conspiracy, because he 

 may be erroneous in point of law as to the 

 effect of the action of his State ? Am I to con- 

 demn him individually for the action of his 

 State ? " 



Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, in reply declar- 

 ed : "I dare say the Senator would be glad that 

 these seats should be declared vacant, and that 

 the question should be left in abeyance whether 

 they have the right to go out ; but I want to 

 deny here, on the floor of the Senate, the right 

 of any State to secede ; and when a Senator 

 accedes to that action of his State, or the peo- 

 ple of the State, I want to declare that he puts 

 himself in a hostile attitude to this Govern- 

 ment, and deserves expulsion from the councils 

 of the nation. I hope that no such tame meas- 

 ure as declaring these seats vacant will be 

 adopted by the Senate. I want the Senate to 

 proclaim to the nation that we will not have 

 these men in our councils, and that they shall 

 go out. We let certain Senators withdraw at 

 the last session no, sir, we did not let them 

 withdraw ; they withdrew themselves, and left 

 their seats vacant, and we declared them va- 

 cant by that act of virtual resignation. But 

 now, sir, this revolution has gone on ; it has 

 made rapid progress ; they have taken up arms 

 against the Government ; they have not only 

 seized your arms, but they have assaulted your 

 fortifications ; their guns are now within sound 

 of your capital ; and shall we sit here in the 



