174 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



I maintain that that charge of fraud against 

 those officers does raise a question of the high- 

 est privilege which may he investigated by this 

 House for great public reasons. It is just to 

 the country and it would be right to those 

 gentlemen that such a charge having been made 

 should be investigated." 



Mr. Potter: "The various points of order 

 raised to the reception of this resolution hav- 

 ing been disposed of, I desire to make only 

 one remark, and that because of something 

 personal said by the gentleman from Michigan 

 (Mr. Conger), before I shall ask the House 

 whether it desires to close discussion on this 

 resolution or not by the previous question. 

 The gentleman from Michigan intimated that it 

 was an impertinence on my part to introduce 

 this resolution. Mr. Speaker, very few gentle- 

 men of the House, I think, would assume the 

 responsibility of introducing a resolution of the 

 character and magnitude of the resolution I 

 have offered without being requested to do so. 

 I introduced it upon the request of my political 

 associates in this House made to me this morn- 

 ing, gentlemen whose request I did not feel at 

 liberty to refuse. I think few gentlemen on this 

 side of the House ' when so requested would 

 have felt themselves at liberty to refuse to pro- 

 pose the resolution in question. 



" I want to add also, in view of something 

 that was said by the gentleman from Texas 

 (Mr. Mills), and by gentlemen on the other 

 side, that the resolution contemplates nothing 

 but an inquiry into the facts connected with 

 the electoral vote of the States of Florida and 

 Louisiana, and into the participation of officers 

 of the Government in connection with the al- 

 leged frauds there. What can be done after the 

 inquiry is completed, what ought to be done, 

 should be determined only after the inquiry 

 has been concluded. For myself, I have no 

 purpose in this respect, and I know of none 

 on the part of my political associates. 



" I desire to add further that I have no wish 

 to disturb the peace and quiet of the country 

 and that prosperity which I hope is now begin- 

 ning to revive, and that I have no fear that the 

 investigation proposed can result in disturbing 

 it. The Government of this country was made 

 by the people, and they are competent to pre- 

 serve it without violence and to right peaceably 

 the wrongs that should be righted, or, if need 

 be, to submit for a season to wrong if the public 

 interests demand that they should submit to it. 

 But I repeat what I said before, that to refuse 

 to inquire into successful frauds is to invite 

 their repetition, and is in the end to jeopard, 

 not to secure, the public safety. 



"And now as the subject matter of this res- 

 olution is familiar to all the members of the 

 House, I will call the previous question upon 

 it, and let the House determine whether it shall 

 be further debated." 



After many days of delay through want ot 

 a quorum, the main question was ordered on 

 May 17th yeas 147, nay 1, not voting 143. 



The Speaker : " So the main question is or. 

 dered ; and the question recurs on the adop- 

 tion of the preamble and resolution of the 

 gentleman from New York (Mr. Potter)." 



The question was taken on the adoption of 

 the preamble and resolution, as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Acklen, Aiken, Atkins, Banning, 

 Beebe, Bell, Benedict, Bicknell, Blackburn, Bland, 

 Bliss, Blount, Boone, Bouck, Bragg, Bridges, Bright, 

 Buckner, Cabell, John W. Caldwell W. P. Cald- 

 well, Candler, Chalmers, Alvah A. Clark, Clark of 

 Missouri, Clymer, Cobb, Collins, Cook, Samuel S. 

 Cox, Cravens, Crittenderi, Culberson, Cutler, David- 

 son, Joseph J. Davis, Dean, Dibrell, Dickey, Doug- 

 lass, Durham, Eden, Eickhoff, Elam, Ellis, John H. 

 Evins, Ewing, Felton, Finley, Forney, Franklin. 

 Fuller, Garth, Gause, Gibson, Giddings, Glover, 

 Goode, Gunter, Hamilton, Hardenbergh, Henry K. 

 Harris, John T. Harris, Harrison, Hart, Hartridge, 

 Hartzell, Hatcher, Henkle, Henry, Herbert, Abram 

 S. Hewitt, G. W. Hewitt, Hooker, House, Hunton, 

 Frank Jones, James T. Jones, Kenna, Kimmell, 

 Knapp, Ligon, Lockwood, Luttrell, Lynde, Mackey, 

 Maish, Manning, Martin, Mayham, McKenzie, Mc- 

 Mahon, Money, Morgan, Morrison, Muldrow, Mul- 

 ler, T. M. Patterson, JPhelps, Potter, Pridemore, 

 Eea, Eeagan, Eeilly, Americus V. Eice, Eiddle, Eob- 

 bins, Eoberts, Eobertson, Eoss, Sayler, Scales, 

 Schleicher, Shelley, Singleton, Sleinons, William E. 

 Smith, Southard, Sparks, Springer, Steele, Stenger, 

 Swanu, Throckmorton, E. W. Townshend, Tucker, 

 Turner, Turney, Vance, Veeder, Waddell, Walker, 

 Walsh, Warner, Whitthorne, Wigginton, A. S. Wil- 

 liams, James Williams, Jere. N. Williams, Albert S. 

 Willis, Benj. A. Willis, Wilson, Wood, Wright, 

 Yeates, and Young 146. 



NAYS Messrs. Mills and Morse 2. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Aldrich, Bacon, Bagley, 

 John H. Baker, William H. Baker, Ballou, Banks, 

 Bayne, Bisbee, Blair, Boyd, Brentano, Brewer, 

 Briggs, Brogden, Browne, Bundy, Burchard, Bur- 

 dick, Butler, Cain, Calkins, Camp, Campbell, Can- 

 non, Carlisle, Caswell, Chittenden, Claflin, Eush 

 Clark, Clarke of Kentucky, Cole, Conger, Covert, 

 Jacob D. Cox, Crapo, Cummings, Danford, Horace 

 Davis, Deeriug, Denison, Dunnell, Dwight, Fames, 

 Ellsworth, Efrett, I. Newton Evans, James L. 

 Evans, Fort, Foster, Freeman, Frye, Gardner, Gar- 

 field, Hale, Hanna, Harmer, Benj. W. Harris, Has- 

 kell, Hayes, Hazelton, Hendee, Henderson, Hiscock, 

 Hubbell, Humphrey, Hungerford, Hunter, Ittner, 

 James, John S. Jones, Jorgensen, Joyce, Keifer, 

 Keightley, Kelley, Ketcham, Killinger, Knott, Lan- 

 ders, Lapham, Lathrop, Lindsey, Loring, Marsh, 

 McCook, McGowan, McKinley, Metcalfe, Mitchell, 

 Monroe, Neal, Norcross, Oliver, O'Neill, Overton, 

 Page, G. W. Patterson, Peddie, Phillips, Pollard, 

 Pound, Powers, Price, Pugh, Quinn, Eainey, Ean- 

 dolph, Eeed, William W. Eice, G. D. Eobinson, M. 

 S. Eobinson, Eyan, Sampson, Sapp, Sexton, Shal' 

 lenberger, Sinnickson, Smalls, A. II err Smith, Star- 



in, Stephens, Stewart, John W. Stone, Joseph C. 

 Stone, Strait, Thompson, Thornburgh, Tipton, 



ard Williams, Willits, and Wren 143. 

 So the preamble and resolution were adopted. 



Mr. Wilson, of West Virginia, said : " I de- 

 sire to offer the resolution which I send to the 

 desk." 



The Clerk read as follows : 



Whereas, A select committee of this House has 

 heretofore been appointed to investigate alleged 

 frauds in connection with the electoral vote of the 

 States of Louisiana and Florida : now, therefore, 



