172 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



whom the memorial and the subject have 

 been referred, without discharging that com- 

 mittee, for any member to put his hand upon 

 that memorial and bring it in here, and make 

 it the foundation of action, while he has not, 

 neither has the House, the memorial in its pos- 

 session. 



" But, Mr. Speaker, I shall assume, from the 

 studv I have given to the rules and to the 

 question of privilege, that, if this be decided a 

 question of privilege, it will be so decided in- 

 dependent of the fact that the memorial comes 

 from a State. I shall assume that it is decided 

 to be a question of privilege because, as the 

 gentleman from New York claims, and I was 

 glad to hear him claim it, it relates to the elec- 

 tion and tenure of office of the President of 

 the United States, and to the tenure of the 

 office of the present incumbent. I admit free- 

 ly that, if it does embrace that question and 

 proposes to open the question of the election 

 and incumbency of the President, if that be 

 involved in this resolution logically and prop- 

 erly, and action by this House is to be taken in 

 reference to the election and to the occupancy 

 of the incumbent, it is a question of privilege. 

 Otherwise, and for the reasons given by the 

 gentleman from New York, I maintain that 

 such a decision would carry with it the right 

 of members continually to raise questions of 

 privilege upon every resolution sent here from 

 every sovereign State in the Union." 



Mr. Potter : " Mr. Speaker, the question of 

 privilege raised by the objection of the gentle- 

 man from Michigan (Mr. Conger) is a question 

 of privilege only as to the order of business in 

 this House. The privilege asked for is tlie 

 privilege of having now considered the pream- 

 ble and resolution sent to the Clerk's desk. 

 The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. G-arfield) says 

 that the memorial of a sovereign State never 

 rises in the order of business to the dignity 

 that was his phrase of anything beyond a 

 memorial to be referred to a committee. I 

 submit that depends upon what the subject of 

 the memorial is. The gentleman from Michi- 

 gan (Mr. Conger) insists that if this resolution 

 is received, then resolutions touching every 

 subject upon which States have ever memo- 

 rialized Congress shall for all time be consid- 

 ered as entitled to a preference in considera- 

 tion. No, Mr. Speaker ; question of privilege 

 depends upon the manner in which a question 

 is reported to or brought before the House 

 npon the subject matter involved, and upon 

 the person at whose instance it is set in mo- 

 tion. 



** The privilege which this resolution is en- 

 titled to arises, first, from the fact that it is set 

 in motion by the formal action of a sovereign 

 State; and, second, from the nature of the 

 subject matter to which it refers. The gentle- 

 man from Maine (Mr. Hale) and the gentleman 

 from New Hampshire (Mr. Blair) and the 

 gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conger) are 

 quick to declare that if I will say that the pur- 



pose of this resolution is to impeach and un- 

 seat the President of the United States, then 

 they will admit that it is in order. And the 

 gentleman from Michigan even said that he 

 was glad to understand from my colleague 

 (Mr. Cox) that that might possibly be its re- 

 sult. Mr. Speaker, I make no declaration of 

 the kind ; I absolutely and positively refuse to 

 declare any such purpose. My purpose is only 

 to inquire ; and if the construction which the 

 gentleman from Maine (Mr. Hale) gives to the 

 rule is right, that the privilege in respect to 

 the election of President is only to inquiry in. 

 regard to his election before he is seated, or 

 with a view of unseating him, then it is a con- 

 struction that prevents this House inquiring 

 into frauds which have been successfully com- 

 mitted and have come to light after their suc- 

 cessful accomplishment. Now, if there is any- 

 thing in the character of a fraud which should 

 deserve to be inquired into, it is when it has 

 been successfully accomplished, and when the 

 confession of people who took part in bringing 

 it about or other facts connected with it have 

 become known after its accomplishment. If 

 we refuse to inquire into a fraud which has 

 been successful, then we encourage the com- 

 mission of frauds hereafter; and so far from 

 securing we jeopard the peace and the security 

 of the country." 



The Speaker : " First, as to the question of 

 privilege; the other points of order of course 

 will be reserved until presented. 



"The issue involved is a new one in the 

 history of our country. An examination of 

 the basis upon which the preamble and resolu- 

 tion are introduced is proper. The Legislature 

 of the State of Maryland passed a joint resolu- 

 tion (see MARYLAND) touching the subject 

 treated of in the preamble and resolution just 

 read, a copy of which has been remitted to 

 this body, received and referred, and is within 

 the knowledge of the members of the House. 

 The following language is used : 



That due effect has not been given to the electoral 

 vote cast by this State on the 6th day of December, 

 1876, by reason of fraudulent returns made from 

 other States and allowed to be counted provisionally 

 by the Electoral Commission and subject to judicial 

 revision 



"And further- 

 alleging that the returns from Louisianaand Florida, 

 which were counted for the present occupant of the 

 executive chair, were fraudulent and void. 



" Here is the appeal of a State of this Union 

 to the Federal legislative power for the cor- 

 rection of a high grievance said to have been 

 committed in the States of Florida and Louisi- 

 ana against the rights of the State of Maryland, 

 in having by fraud, in said States of Florida 

 and Louisiana, produced a different result in 

 the election of a President and Vice-President 

 from that actually decreed by the people them- 

 selves at the polls. 



" Whether these allegations can be sustained 

 by proof is not for the Chair to consider. It 





