April 4, 1864

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the joint resolution (S. No. 16) proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. HOWE addressed the Senate in support of the joint resolution. [His speech will be published in the Appendix.]

Mr. FESSENDEN. I move that this joint resolution and all prior orders be postponed, and that the Senate proceed to the consideration of House bill No. 151, which is the naval appropriation bill. I do not mean to £,o on with it this evening, but I want to give it the preference foe to-morrow.

Mr. TRUMBULL. Had we not better leave that matter to be decided to-morrow?

Mr. FESSENDEN. Somebodyelse may get the floor for to-morrow, and then 1 cannot get in my motion.

Mr. POWELL. If the Senator from Maine will allow me to do so, I desire to ask permission to take up the resolution which I offered the other

Mr. FESSENDEN. I desire to have the naval appropriation bill taken up, and then it can go over until to-morrow.

Mr. POWELL. I have no objection to taking up the bill.

Mr. LANE, of Indiana. Before the pending question is disposed of, I desire to ask the Senator from Delaware one question. He said to the Senator from Wisconsin that he had strong intimations that General Wallace proposed to have something to do with the coming Maryland election. 1 wish to know what order or act of that officer it was to which the Senator referred.

Mr. SAULSBURY. I will answer the honorable Senator with pleasure. I referred to no order whatever; but General Wallace made a speech in the city of Baltimore the other evening in which he congratulated the people who were present upon the efforts made to bring about emancipation in the State of Maryland, and assured them of such aid as he could give. I observed also a correspondence between him and one of the candidates in one of the counties, in which General Wallace put questions to that candidate as to his political views and his political acts in the past) and as to whether if he should be elected1 he would take a certain oath prescribed by the laws of Maryland. It was from those nets, iiot from any order which General Wallace had given, butfrom the declaration that he would give these men whatever aid he could, and from his propounding questions as a military officer to candidates, he himself not being a citizen of the State and only there simply as a military commander, that I drew the inference I stated.

Mr. LANE, Of Indiana. General Wallace did put certain interrogatories to Mr. Kilbourn first whether he was a member of tine Legislature which attempted to pass an ordinance of secession, to which he responded in the affirmative; and then he asked certain other questions, and* finally asked that man if he could swear that he had given no aid and comfort to the rebellion, to which he said that he could not, and he voluntarily declined to run for the Maryland convention at the approaching election. General Wallace only said that so far as he was concerned, without designating any policy which should govern him, he would say that he did not believe a rebel and a traitor had any political rights, and 1 say here the same thing, and every patriot m the land says the same thing, that a rebel and a traitor in Maryland or any where else has no political rights; and he would be recreant to his duty if he did not exclude all such from the polls and all such from candidacy in the State of Maryland.

Mr. SAULSBURY. 1 rise to make simply one remark, and not to occupy the time of the Senate. I think the Senator from Indiana manifests too much sensitiveness in reference to General Wallace. Nobody has made any attack upon General Wallace. I referred simply to what saw in the papers, and the point of my remark was that he, being a military officer, not a citizen of Maryland, clothed by no law with authority to propound any interrogatories or do any other thing in reference to the elections in Maryland, I regarded it as an intimation that when an election should take place he would undertake to have some supervision over that election.

JS lr JOHNSON. I think the honorable member from Indiana perhaps tines not understand the position which General Wallace has taken, with which I find no fault. lie put the inten oratories to tin; former member of the Legislature of Maryland, referred to by the honorable Senator from Indiana, and the answers which were given he has stated very correctly. There his interference, so far at any rate, has terminated. But there is an election to be held m Maryland during the present week, and General Wallace very properly wrote a letter to the Governor of the State asking what the law was in a certain particular. He wanted to know whethera clause in the law under which the convention election is about to be held authorized thejudges of election to put any inquiries that they might think proper in order to ascertain whether the party ottering to vote was or was not entitled to vote, and whether his light or title tu vote under that law would be affected by its turning out, either by his own answers or by proof aliunde, tlu t lie had aided and comforted the rebellion dm ing the struggle. To the letter containing these inquiries, he received what he admitted to be a very satisfactory answer from our Governor. The Governor cited the sections of the particular statute under which this election is to be held, and one or two sections ot the general laws applicable to the same subject, and told him, and I have no doubt correctly told him, that under those laws it was not only the right but the duty of the judges of election to make the inquiry, and he add d what General Wallace I am very sure will admit to be perfectly sound, that the whole depended upon the laws of Maryland, that they were abundantly able to keep the ballot box from the pollution of rebellious or tirutorious votes, and that the judges are liable to an indictment if they do not faithfully discharge their duty. General Wallace in his letter did not suggest that it was his purpose to interfere by using the military in any way whatever, and I understand that in point of fact it is not his purpose in any contingency to resort to the military unless it shall become necessary to repress some tumultuous violence which the civil authorities of the city or the State may be unable to quell.

Mr. FESSENDEN. 1 renew my motion to take up the naval appropriation bill.

Mr. TRUMBULL. I hope that will not be done. Let us go on and vote upon the proposition before the Senate, if nobody .is disposed to speak on it.

Mr. FESSENDEN. There are others who mean to speak on it.

Mr. TRUMBULL. Let us see. There is nobody proposing to speak upon it now, and there is an amendment pending.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question it* on the amendmentproposed by the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Davis] to the amendment reported by the Committee on the Judiciary. The Senator from Maine, however, moves to postpone the present order and all prior orders for the purpose of proceeding to the consideration of the bill indicated by him.

Mr. TRUMBULL. I hope that will not be done. I said all that I can say about it when the matter was called up this morning. There are no new suggestions, that I know of to make. I stated to the Senator from Maine then that 1 thought we should get through the appropriation bills and everything more speedily by finishing one thing when we have it up. This debate will come to a close before very long, 1 think, if we continue to hold on to the joint resolution. Suppose we sit here an hour or two longer to night and if persons desire to speak upon it we shall get through with the speaking in the course of n. day or two by holding longer sessions; and at any rate if every body speaks we can get through in the course of two or three days more by keeping the subject before the Senate constantly. But if we take up another measure and hear a single speech a day, I do not know when we shall get through with this if it be laid aside for other business.

1 think the Senator from Maine will accomplish the purpose which we all have, to facilitate the business of the session and close the session sooner, by allowing this measure to be continued till it is finished. I am willing to sit here at later hours. 1 hope the Senate will not postpone, this for any other subject until we get a vote upon it. If the Senate does postpone it, of course i have no more to say in regard to it. 1 have made the statement to the Senate, and do not wish to take uptime in repeating. 1 think it is an economy of time to hold on to this joint resolution until it is finished. I hope the Senate will so think.

Mi. FESSENDEN. 1 can only say it is a matter of entire indifference to me. 1 have no interest in the matter any more than any other Senator present. My judgment is that in the state of the business which is now before and will soon be before the Committee on Finance, it is advisable to get one or two of the appropriation bills out of the way, and 1 have several reasons. I should like to dispose of the naval bill and another appropriation bill, the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill, if 1 can. 1 will not place any very great 1 chance on my own judgment, but I think it is advisable, and with my notion and views of the business of the Senate, I advise it to be done. If the Senate shall decide otherwise, I shall be quite content.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. If I may be allowed to say a single word on this question, it seems to me that if the measure which is now pending before the Senate could be before the Senate to monow which is Tuesday, and on Wednesday, with an understanding that we shall close the matter on Wednesday night, all the gentlemen who desire to speak can speak by that time, and it will be out of the way, and I shall be willing then to go with the honorable chairman of the Committee on Finance, to take up his financial bills and stand by him and keep everything out of the way until he disposes of them, But this matter, it seems to me, is exceedingly important. The discussion, I suppose, is nearly through; I understand the honorable Senator from Maryland [Mr. Johnson] is to address the Senate, and 1 do not know that there is any other gentleman who wishes to address the Senate, but there may be; atall events to-morrow and the next day we can close this matter and allow it to go to the House of Representatives. I make that suggestion and shall govern my vote accordingly. I feel anxiety to go on in finishing these financial measures. I agree, they are the measures which must be attended to; but just in the present situation of affairs I hope the Senate will allow this resolution lo go on to-morrow and the next day, with the understanding that we come to a vote and close it on Wednesday.

Mr. FESSENDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.

The yeas and nays were ordered; and being taken, resulted—yeas 30, nays 14; as follows:

YEAS—Messta. Anthony, Brown, Buckaltnv, Carlile, Claik, Collamer, Conness, Davis, Fessenden, Foot, Harding, Howard, Johnson, Morrill, Powell, Itam ey Saulsbury Van Winkle, Willey, ami Wilson—

NAYS—Messrs. Chandler, Doohttle, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Lane of Indiana, Lane ot* Kansas, Morgan, Pomeroy, Sprague, Sumner, Ten Uyck, Trumbull, and Wade—14.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The vote shows the want of ft quorum.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I move that the Senate adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned.