182 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



Odell, Oliver.O'Neill, Page, Phelps, John F. Philips, 

 "William A. Phillips, Plaisted. Platt, Powell, Pur- 

 man, Bandall, Roberts, Miles Ross, Sobieski Ross, 

 Sayler, Scales, Schleicher, Schumaker, Seelye, 

 Sheakley, Smalls, Southard, Sparks, Stowell, Swann, 

 Teese, Martin I. Townsend, Tucker, Waldror:, 

 Charles C. B. Walker. Gilbert 0. Walker, Alexander 

 S. Wallace. John W. Wallace, Walling, W alsh. Ward, 

 Warren, Erastus Wells, G. Wiley Wells, Wheeler, 

 Whitehouse, Wike, Andrew Williams, Charles G. 

 Williams, James D. Williams, Wilshire, Benjamin 

 Wilson, Alan Wood, Jr., Fernando Wood, Wood- 

 burn, Woodworth, and Young 119. 



So the preamble was adopted. 



In the House, on January 10th, Mr. Randall, 

 of Pennsylvania, moved to suspend the rules 

 and proceed to consider the bill on the Speak- 

 er's table known as the amnesty bill. 



The Speaker: "The Clerk will read the 

 bill." 



The bill, entitled "A bill to remove the dis- 

 abilities imposed by the third section of the 

 fourteenth article of the amendments of the 

 Constitution of the United States," was read. 

 It proposes (two-thirds of each House concur- 

 ring) in its first section to remove all the dis- 

 abilities imposed and remaining upon any per- 

 son by virtue of the third section of the 

 fourteenth article of the amendments of the 

 Constitution of the United States, and relieves 

 therefrom forever each and every person. 



It provides in its second section that when- 

 ever any person from whom disabilities are 

 removed by this act shall be elected or ap- 

 pointed to any post or office of honor or trust 

 under the Government of the United States, 

 he shall take the oath prescribed by section 

 1757 of title 19 of the Revised Statutes of the 

 United States, or such other official oath as 

 may be hereafter prescribed in such cases by 

 any future act of Congress. 



The Speaker : " The question is on the 

 motion of the gentleman from Pennsylvania 

 (Mr. Randall) that the rules be suspended, that 

 the House may proceed to the consideration of 

 the amnesty bill." 



The question being taken, the rules were sus- 

 pended (two-thirds voting in the affirmative). 



Mr. Randall : " I now demand the previous 

 question." 



The question being taken on seconding the 

 demand for the previous question, 



The House divided ; and the tellers reported 

 yeas 159, nays 95. So the previous question 

 was seconded. 



The Speaker: "The question before the 

 House is, ' Shall the main question be now 

 put?" 



The question was then taken upon ordering 

 the main question; and there were yeas 164, 

 nays 100, not voting 27. 



So the main question was ordered. 



The question was taken ; and it was decided 

 in the negative yeas 175, nays 97, not vot- 

 ing 18. 



The Speaker : " Two-thirds not having voted 

 in favor of the bill, it is rejected." 



Mr. Elaine, of Maine, said : " Mr. Speaker, 

 I rise to a privileged question. I move to re- 

 consider the vote which has just been declared. 

 I propose to debate that motion, and now give 

 notice that if the motion to reconsider is 

 agreed to it is my intention to offer the amend- 

 ment which has been read several times. I 

 will not delay the House to have it read again. 



"Every time the question of amnesty has 

 been brought before the House by a gentle- 

 man on that side for the last two Congresses, 

 it has been done with a certain flourish of 

 magnanimity which is an imputation on this 

 side of the House, as though the Republican 

 party which has been in charge of the Gov- 

 ernment for the last twelve or fourteen years 

 had been bigoted, narrow, and illiberal, and as 

 though certain very worthy and deserving 

 gentlemen in the Southern States were ground 

 down to-day under a great tyranny and op- 

 pression, from which the hard-heartedness of 

 this side of the House cannot possibly be pre- 

 vailed upon to relieve them. 



"If I may anticipate as much wisdom as 

 ought to characterize that side of the House, 

 this may be the last time that amnesty will be 

 discussed in the American Congress. I there- 

 fore desire, and under the rules of the House, 

 with no thanks to that side for the privilege, 

 to place on record just what the Republican 

 party has done in this matter. I wish to place 

 it there as an imperishable record of liberality, 

 and large-mindedness, and magnanimity, and 

 mercy, far beyond any that has ever been 

 shown before in the world's history by con- 

 queror to conquered. 



"With the gentleman from Pennsylvania 

 (Mr. Randall) I entered this Congress in the 

 midst of the hot flame of war, when the Union 

 was rocking to its foundations, and no man 

 knew whether we were to have a country or 

 not. I think the gentleman from Pennsylvania 

 would have been surprised when he and I were 

 novices in the Thirty-eighth Congress, if he 

 could have foreseen, before our joint service 

 ended, we should have seen sixty-one gentle- 

 men, then in arms against us, admitted to equal 

 privileges with ourselves, and all by the grace 

 and magnanimity of the Republican party. 

 "When the war ended, according to the univer- 

 sal usage of nations, the Government, then 

 under the exclusive control of -the Republican 

 party, had the right to determine what should 

 be the political status of the people who had 

 been defeated in war. Did we inaugurate any 

 measures of persecution ? Did we set forth on 

 a career of bloodshed and vengeance ? Did we 

 take property ? Did we prohibit any man all 

 his civil rights? Did we take from him the 

 right he enjoys to-day, to vote? 



" Not at all. But, instead of a general and 

 sweeping condemnation, the Republican party 

 placed in the fourteenth amendment to the 

 Constitution only this exclusion ; after con- 

 sidering the whole subject, it ended in simply 

 coining down to this : 



