1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 299 

SENATE. 

FRIDAY, December 18, 1885. 

Prayer by Rev. BYRON SID.J)ERLA.h""D, D:D., of the city of Washington. 

The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and approv~d. 

I ask the unanimous consent of the Senate to proceed to the immediate 

consideration of the bilL 

l!Ir. INGALLS. Let the bill be first read at length. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be r-ead at length. 

The Chief Clerk read the bill, as follows: 

Be 1t enacted &c. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, directed to pla~ the'name of Julia D. Grant, widow o~ the lat~ Uly ses S. Grm:;tt, deceased, on the pension-roll, and t-o pay her a penSJ.on durmg her natural life EXECUTIVE COID.nn-.~CATIOXS. at the rate of $5,000 a year, from and after the 23d day of July, A. D. 1885. 

The PRESIDENT p1·o temporela.id before the Senate a communication The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the present confrom the Secretary of War, transmitting a report from Bvt. CoL G. L. sideration of the bill? If not, the bill is before the Senate as in ComGillespie, Corps of Engineers, concerning the damage_done by thestor~ mittee of the Whole and open to amendme\}t. 

of November 23 and 24,1885, to the north and west s1ues of Governors Mr. HARRIS. I do not desire to object and shall not object, but I 

Island, New York Harbor. ask the chairman of the Committee on Pensions if an act passed a year 

The PJiESIDEJ.TI pro tempore. The Chair is in doubt whether the or two ago does not extend pensions to the widows of all deceased Presicommunication should be referred to the Committee on Appropriations dents? 

or to the Committee on Commerce. M:r. l!flTCHELL, of Pennsylvania. No, sir; I have no knowledge Mr. CONGER. This document relates to Governor's Island, as I un- of any such act. 

derstand in the harbor of New York, which is controlled by the mili- Mr. HARRIS. There was an act, the Senator knows, passed a year 

tary. I 

1

judo-e that the communication should be referred in the first or two ago under which certain widows of deceased Presidents were in tance to the Committee on Military Affairs for consideration, and tb~t pensioned. 

if an appropriation be neces-ary they should report it back and have It Mr. MITCHELL, of Pennsylvania. Yes, sir. 

re1erred to the Commitiee on Appropriations. Ur. IIARRIS. M:y impresSion was that it was a general act and ex- The PRESrDENT pro tempore. The communication wi~ be printed, tended to aU widows of deceased Presidents. 

an<'l if no objection is made, will be referred to the Committee on Ap- Mr. :MITCHELL, of Pennsylvania. No, sir; it only applied to those 

pro~riations, which the Chair is informed is the usual committee to then widows, the cases of Mrs. Garfield, Urs. Tyler, aud Mrs. _Polk. 

con ider such matters. . That was in conformity with what had been done by Congress m the 

The PRESIDENT 1Jro tempore laid before the Senate a commumca- case of Mrs. Lincoln. This bill follows the others in every respect extion from the Secre~'l.ry of War, transmitting,~ compliance with sec- I cept that Mrs. Tylerhadf?rm~rlybeen pensioned hyCongr~atalower tion 3663 of the ReV1 ed tatutes, a plan and estrmate of the cost of :pro- rate and the rate of pensiOn m tho e cases was fixed to begm from the 

tecting the roads and public buildings at Fo:t Canby, Wash., ~gamst deathofP.residentGarfield. It is proposed to pension Mrs. Grant from 

the waters of Baker's Bay; which, together With the accompanyrng p:t- the date of the death of her husband. 

pers, was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to 

be printed. be engrossed for a thud reading, read the third time, and passed. 

NORTH, CENTRAL, AND SOUTH A~IERICAN EXPOSITION. R.EPORTS ON IRON, STEEL, ETC. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempdre. The Chair has received a letter, ad- :Mr. HAWLEY, from the Committee on Printing, reported the foldressed to him as President of the Senate, which was evidently _intend- lowing concurrentresolntion, which was read: · 

cd for the Senate, and the Chair will ask that it be read. Resolved bu the &nate (the House of ·Repre:senlfllives ~ncun-i;ng), That the re- The communication was read and ordered to lie on the table and to ports of tests of iron and steel and ot~er matena.ls for mdustr~al purposes made · ' at the Watert-own arsenal and transnutted to the Senate by the Secretary of War be pnnted, as follows: 011 the "3d of December, 1884, and 11th of ~ecernber, 1~, he printed1 a.nd that THE KORTH CE!>--r&AL AND SOUTH AMERICAN EXPOSITION, 3 500 additional copies of each report be prmted; of Which 1,000 copies of each ' - ' New Orleans, December 15, 1885. r~port shall be for the use of the Senate, 2,000 copies for the us.e of the House, DEAR sm: 'fhe board of management of the Korth, Central, an?- So~,th Am.eri- and 500 copies for the use of the War Departm.ent.. . . can Expo ition have de igna.ted Tuesday, Dece~~r 29, as Amencan Congres- l!fr. HAWLEY. The report for 1884, It will be seen, lS proVIded for sionu~ Day," a.nd all Senators are respectfully mvtted to be pre ent upon that in the resolution. The Senate passed the usual resolution on the subOC'TI~~~~~ding object of the exposition is to ?-evelop more intima.t~ commer~i~l ject a year ago, bu~ it failed in the _ot"J;ler House. Therefore the com- and social relations between the >a rio us nations of the _three Americas, and ttls mittee now reports m favor of the pnnting of the reports for both years. earnestly hoped that f?e~ator may favor us w!'th tbetr. p~-esence, and th_ereby These are valuable reports valuable to the scientific and industrial lend the weight of their mtluence to the promotion of thts rmportant work. . 1 

Very respectfully, · world. 

Hon. JoHN SHERMAN, 

Pres-ident of the Senate. 

s. B. 1\IcCO~"'NICO. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The qv.estion is on the adoption of 

PETITIONS AND 1\IEMORIALS. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore presented a petition of residents of 

Jackson County, Indiana, praying that all soldiers of the late war be 

allowed pensions and that the limitation as to arrears of pension be 

remo'\'ed · which was referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

Mr. PAufER presented thepetitionofMerrittLewis, late a private 

in Company K, Seventh Michigan Cavalry, praying ~o be allowed a pension : which was referred to the Committee on Pens10ns. 

J.Jr. GRAY presented the petition of Anthony lleybold, a_cit~en_of 

Delaware, praying to be reimbursed for money expended by J;am m raiSing a sunken ve...<;Sel for the benefit of the Government; which was referred to the Committee on Claims. 

Mr. CALL presented the petition of Oliver Chamberlain, late surgeon 

of the Eighth Regiment Kansas ~olunteers, praying the passage of a 

special act authorizing the Pension Office ~o place his name o~ the p~nsion-roll at the rate of $72 per month, his present lower rating bemg 

caused by the imperfection of the act of June 16, 1880; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Pensions. · 

fr. FRYE presented a memorial of 105 citizens of Booth Bay, Me., 

protesting against any arrangement with Great Britain to ad.mit Canadian fish free of duty; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 

Mr. COCKRELL. Some days ago I introduced a bill (S. 298) for 

the relief of captains, pilots, engineers, and mates of steam-vessels, 

and it was referred to the Committee on Commerce. I now present to 

the Senate a brief prepared in that case explail}ing its provisions, and 

ask that that brief be received and referred to the Committee on Commerce to be considered in connection with the bill. 

the concurrent resolution. 

The resolution was agreed to. 

BILLS INTRODUCED. 

Mr. FRYE. I introduce a bill relating to the bureaus of th-e Navy 

Department. It is a very important bill, making radical changes.. It 

is intended to prevent abuses in that Department, and I commend It to 

the consideration of the Naval Committee, to which I ask that it may 

be referred after being twice read. 

The bill ( S. 672) relating to the bureaus of the Navy Department 

was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Naval 

Affairs. 

Mr. FRYE. I also introduce a bill in relation to the departments of 

the Army of the United States, and I commend it, as a bill of great 

importance, to the consideration of the Committee on Military Affairs, 

to which I ask that it may be referred after being twice read. 

The bill (S. 673) in relation to the departments of the Army of the 

United States was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee ·on 1\filitary Affairs. 

lli. CAMERON introduced a bill (S. 674) granting an increase of 

pension to Mrs. Ellen M. Mitchell; which was read twice by its title, 

and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

l!Ir. VE.ST introduced a bill (S. 675) for the relief of E. B. McPherson, jr.; which was read t~ce bJ:" its title, a~d, with the accompanyino- papers, referred to the CoillDllttee on Claims. 

~Ir. P A.L111ER introduced a bi1l (S. 676) for the relief of Mrs. Catherine E. Whitall; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the 

Committee on Claims. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The paper will be 

ferred to the Committee on Commerce. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 677) for the relief of Seth Colvin; which 

was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

receiYed and re- He also introduced a bill (S. 678) for the relief of Iary Howard Far-

.JULIA D. GRANT. 

Mr. 1\UTCHELL, of Pennsylvania. I am instructed by the Committee on Pen ions, to whom was referred the bill (S. 5 0) granting a 

pension to Julia D. Grant, to report it favorably, without amendment. 

quhar; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 679) to provide for the establishment of 

evenino- schools in the District of Columbia; which was read twice by 

its titl~ and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 
-

300 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-. SENATE. DECEMBER 18, 

He also introduced a bill (S. 680) for the relief of the heirs of the late 

William A. Burt, inventor of the solar compass adopted and used by 

the United StatesGovernmentfor :fiftyyears in makingtheoriginalsnr- ~ey of the public domain; which was read twice by its title, andreferred to the Committee on Claims. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 681) for the relief of Eunice Tripier, 

widow of Charles S. Tripier, late a surgeon in the United States Army; 

which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs .. He also introduced a bill (S. 682) granting a pension to James S. Donahue; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee 

on Pensions. 

Mr. BLAIR introduced a bill (S. 683) granting a pension to Henry 

0. Hill; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 684) granting a pension to Amelia J. 

Gill; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 685) granting a pension to Mary Marsh; 

which was read twice by its title, and reterred to the Committee on 

Pensions. 

. He also introduced a bill (S. 686) granting a pension to Charles N. 

Sebastian; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 687) granting a pension to Erik Peterson; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee 

on Pensions. 

:rtlr. CULLOM (by request) introduced a bill (S. 688) to authorize the 

reinstatement and retirement of Capt. T. J. Spencer as a captain of 

the United States Cavalry; which was read twice by its ti~le, andreferred to the Committee on Military Affairs. ~Ir. HOAR introduced a bill (S. 689) concerning the Capitol building and grounds; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the 

Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. 

Mr. CALL (by request) introduced a bill (S. 690) for the relief of 

Francis Denmead; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the 

Committee on the District of Columbia. · Mr. HAMPTON introduced a bill (S. 691) to make it unlawful for 

Senators or Representatives to recommend or solicit appointments to 

office; which was read the first time by its title. 

Mr. CONGER. I ask that the bill be read at lenp;th. 

The bill was rend the second time at len_gth, as follows: 

Whereas additional legislation is necessary to carry out the intention of the 

tenth section of the act of Congress of the 16th January, 1883, entitled ''A.n act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States;" and 

Whereas the recommending or soliciting appointments to office by Senators 

and Representatives is not only contrary to the spirit of the said tenth section, 

hut also interferes seriously with the performance of their legislative duties: 

Now, therefore, Be it enacted b-rJ the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of 

.America in Congress assembled, That it shall be a. misdemeanOJ: for any Senator or Representative of the Congress of the United States to recommend or solicit 

directly or indirectly the appointment of any person to an office under the Gov- ernment of the United States, and that any such Senator or Representative who 

shall be convlcted of making such recommendation or solicitation shall be pun- ished by a fine of not more than $1,000 and not less than $>00, one-hal! of which 

shaH go to the person or persons upon whose testimony such conviction shall 

have beeu obta"ined, and t.he other half to the United Stat-es. 

SEc. 2. That whenever the appointing power shall call on a Senator or Representative for information touching an applicant for office he shall do so in 

writing, and such information as may be given shall be furnished in writing 

under the signature of such Senator or Representative, and shall be filed in the 

Department or bureau of the office at whose request it was furnished. 

SEC. 3. Nothing in this act shall be construed so as to forbid any Senator or Representative of the Congress of the United States from forwarding to the ap- pointing power any application for office that he may receive, but any indorse- ment be may make thereon shall relate only to the facts of the case or the char- acter of the n.pplicant. 

Mr. INGALLS. Who introduced that bill? 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from South Carolina 

[Mr. HAMPTON]. 

Mr. HAWLEY. I believe it is not retroactive, is it? 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is not for the Chair to state. The 

bill will be referred to the Committee on Ci:vil Service and Retrenchment. 

Mr. MILLER, of New York, introduced a bill (S. 692) for the relief 

of the sufferers by the wreck of the United States steamer Ashuelot; 

which was read twice by its title, ~nd referred to the Committee on 

Naval Affairs. 

He also (by request) introduced a bill (S. 693) for the relief of H. J. 

Simonson and others; which was read twice by its title, and referred 

to the Committee on Finance. 

Mr. HARRIS introduced a bill (S. 694) forthereliefofLucindaMcGnire, of Memphis, Tenn. ; which was read twice by its title. 

Mr. HARRIS. With the bill I present the petition of Mrs. Lucinda 

McGuire, asking compensation for the use and occupation of certain 

houses in Memphis, Tenn., from 1863 to 1865 by the United States 

Army. I move that the bill and petition be referred to the Committee on Claims. · The motion was agreed to. · Mr. INGALLS (by request) introduced a bill (S. 695) to incorporate 

the Washington Central Railroad C-ompany; which was read twice by 

its title, and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 696) to regulate licenses in the District 

of Columbia, and for other purposes; which was read twice by its title, 

and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 697) to extend time of payment of special assessments, and for other purposes; which was read twice by its 

title, and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 698) to prevent the unlawful inclosure 

of public lands; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the 

Committee on Public Lands. 

Mr. ALLISON introduced a. bill (S. 699) to authorize the Secretary 

of the Interior to issue to George K. Otis duplicates of certain landwarrants lost while in the possession of the officers of the Government; 

which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Public Lands. 

Mr. SHERMAN introduced a. bill (S. 700) for the relief of 1\Iadeleine 

Vinton Dahlgren, widow of the late Rear-Admiral John A. Dahlgren, of 

the United States Navy, and administratrix of his estate; which was read 

twice by its title, and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the 

Committee on Naval Affairs. 

1.1r. MITCHELL, of Pennsylvania, introduced a bill (S. 701) for the 

relief of the legal representatives of Peter Lyle, deceased; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

Mr. HALE introduced a bill (S. 702) for the relief of the sufferers by 

the wreck of the United States steamer Tallapoosa; which was rea'<i 

twice by its title, and referred to the Committ-ee on Naval Affairs. 

Mr. ALDRICH introduced a bill (S. 703) for the relief of William 

G. Budlong; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committ.ee on Patents. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 704) defining sea-service; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee onNaval.Affairs. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 705) to extend letters patent granted 

to Charles H. Field; which was read twice by its title, and referred to 

the Committee on Patents. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 706) granting a. pension to Robert Sheridan; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

He also introduced a bill (S. 707) donating condemned cannon to 

Tower Post No. 17, Grand Army ofthe Republic,tJfPawtucket, R.I.; 

which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. 

He aJ.so introduced a bill (S. 708) for the relief of Stephen N. Smith; 

which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Patents. 

Mr. GIBSON introduced a bill (S. 709) for the relief of the Citizens' 

Bank of Louisiana; which was read twice by its title, and ref-erred to 

the Committee on Claims. 

He alsointrodnced a bill (S. 710) for the reliefofthe State National 

Bank of Louisiana; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the 

Committee on Claims. 

?llr. PLATT introduced a bill (S. 711) to establish the meaning of 

the word "month" in the statutes of the United States; which was read twice by its title, and, with the accompanying papers, referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Mr. COLQUITT introduced a bill (S. 712) for the erection of a public building at Augusta, Ga.; which was read twice by its title, andreferred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. 

Mr. COCKRELL introduced a bill (S. 713) to authorize the construe~ 

tion of a bridge across the Missouri River at or near the city of Saint 

Joseph, in the State of Missouri, and to establish it as a post-road; 

which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce. · Mr. BECK (by request) introduced a joint resolution (S. R. 16) for 

the relief of UIS. Lizzie M. Phelps, widow of Hon. S. L. Phelps, late 

minist-er of the United States to Peru; which was read twice by its 

title, and, With the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 

P .APERS WITHDR.A WN .AND REFERRED. 

On motion of Mr. HARRIS, it was 

Ordered, That the papers pertaining to the claim of C. B. Bryan &: Co., of 

1\Iemphis, Tenn., be taken from the files and referred to the Comm1ttee on Claims, subject to the condition imposed by the rule. 

On motion. of Mr. VOORHEES, it was Ordered, That the petitions and papers of Nicholas J. Bigley be taken from 

the files and referred to the Committee on Claims. 

Ordered, That the papers in the claim of Sewell Coul on, and Porter, Harrison 

& Fishback, be taken from the files and referred to the Committee on Claims. 

On motion of Mr. HARRISON, it was Ordered, That the papers in the case of F. Courtney Cochnower be taken from 

the files and referred to the Committ-ee on Claims. 

Ordered, That the papers in the case of Dr. Delany Wiley be taken from the 

files and referred to the Committee on Pensions. 

On motion of 1\Ir. MITCHELL, of Pennsylvania, it was 

Ordered, That the pa~rs in the case of Pet-er Lyle, deceased, be referred to the Committee on Pensions, no adverse report having be_en made. 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-. SENATE. 301 

On motion of :M:r. COCKRELL, it was Orckred, Tllat the papers in the case of l\faria E. Warfield be taken from the files of the Senate and sent to the Committee on Claims. 01·dered, That the papers in the claim of"\Villiam R. 'l'esterman be t.a.ken from the files an<l referred to the Committee on Claims. 

On motion of Mr. CAMERON, it was 

Ordered, That the papers on the files of the Senr.te in the case of Jabez Bur- chard be taken therefrom and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs. 

COIN DUTIES O:N IMPORTED GOODS. 

'1\Ir. BECK submitted the following preamble and resolution; which 

were read: 'Vbereas the laws of the United States require that all duties on imported goods shall be paid in coin; and Whereas it is provided by section 3694 of the Revised Statutes that •: The coin paid for duties on imported goods shall be set apart as a special fund, and shall be applied as follows: First, to the payment, in coin, of the interest on the bonds and notes of the United States; second, to the purchase or payment of1 percent. of the entire debt of the United States. to be made within each tisca.l year, which is to be set apart OS a sinking fund, and the interest of which shall in like man- ner be applied to the purcha-se or payment of the public debt-, as the Secretary of the 'l'reasury shall, from time to time, c;lirect; third, the residue to be paid into the Treasury:" Resolved, That the Committ-ee on Finance be instructed to inquire whether the laws above stated now are, or have heretofore been, obeyed; and if they have not, to report by bill, or otherwise, such measures as will secure their enforce-:. 

ment. 

Mr. BECK. I desire the preamble and resolution to lie on the table, 

and I sh..'\11 call them up perhaps on Monday, if it should be the pleas~ 

nre of the Senate then to permit me to muke some remarks in regard 

thereto. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempo1'e. If there be no objection, the resolution will lie on the table and be printed. 

ROOMS FOR COMl\IIITEES. 

Mr. ALLI&PN submitted the following resolution; which was con- sidered by unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be, a.nd he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay the rent of the building leased by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate and the Architect of the Capitol Extension, under the resolution of the Senate of July 5,1884, from the 1st day of April to the 15th day of November, 

1885, inclusive, at the rate agreed upon in the contract, and upon vouchers prop-_ el'ly approved by the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Fund of 

the Senate. 

UNP .AID CLAIMS FOR MOIETIES. 

1\Ir. COCKRELL. I am requested by a reputable attorney to offer 

this resolution, which he says is necessary in the consideration of cer- tain claims be1ore Congress: 

Resolved, That the Secretary of the '!'1-easury be directed to inform the Senate what unpaid claims are on file in the Department for moieties or shares of pen- alties under the internal-revenue laws, claimed to have accrued under section 179 of the act of June 30, 1864· (l3Statutes at Large, 305), as amended by the act of July 13, 1866 (14 Statutes at Large, 145), which was repealed by section 39 of the act of June 6, 1872 (L~ Stat~tes. at ~arge1 256); stating ~he _amounts recovered in each case, the collection distr1ct m wh1ch the penalties accrued, the causes of non-payment of said claims, and the amount required to be appropriat-ed in case said claims should be deemed just and valid. 

The resolution wa.s considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to. 

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY. 

M.r. WILSON, of Iowa. I give notice that on Monday next I shall 

ask the Senate to take from the table the resolution introduced by me on the 9th instant, directing the Secretary of the Interior to communicate to the Senate a copy of each report made by the Government directors of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, on which occasion it is 

my purpose to submit some remarks to the Senate upon the subject. 

ORDER OF BL"-3INESS. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there be no further'' concurrent or other resolutions" the Calendar is now in order. 

1\.Ir. BUTLER. I ask the unanimous consent of the Senate to take 

up the resolution in reference to the Territory of Dakota with a view 

of disposing of it. I see that it has been placed on the Calendar. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from South Carolina 

asks the unanimous consent of the Senate to take up the resolution in 

respect to the Territory of Dakota. Is there objection? The Chair 

hears none. 1\lr. BUTLER. If in order to do so, I will yield to the Senator from 

Kansas [Mr. INGALLS], wh~ has a matter be wishes to dispose of.· Mr. INGALLS. Iwas abouttoobservethatunlesstheSenatorfrom 

South Carolina is speciaJiy and personally anxious to proceed with that 

debate tliis morning I should like very much to ask the Senate to con- sider the bill (S. 335) to provide for protecting the interests of the 

United States in the Potomac River Flats, in the District of Columbia.. 

I am quite sure that it will take but -very little longer than will be 

necessary for the reading of the bill and it will readily be concluded 

before the close of the morning hour. 

Mr. BUTLER. I yield to the Senator from Kansas for that purpose. 

POTO.llAC RIVER FLATS. 

Ur. INGALLS. I then ask unanimous consent that the Senate at 

this time consider Senate bill335. 

There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, 

proceeded to consider the bill (S. 335) to provide for protecting th~ interests of the United States in the Potomac River Flats, in the District 

of Columbia. 

Mr. INGALLS. I move to amend the sixth section, in line G, by inserting after the word '' than '' the words: 

Upon property in respect of which there is no claim adverse to the title of the 

United States, orSo as to read: That until the final decision of the matters hereinbefore in this act mentioned shall have been bad, no moneys appropriated for the improvement of the Po- tomac River, the establishment of harbor lines in the District of Columbia, and the raising of the fiats therein shall be expended otherwise than upon property in respect of which there is no claim adverse to the title of the United States, or for the improvement o(navigation in the said river. 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Secretary calls the attention of 

the Chair to the sixth line of section 3; where the word "promises" as printed should be "premises." It is a typographica1 error. 1Ylr. INGALLS. Let the change be made to correspond with the 

sense. The PRESIDENT pro tempo're. The correction will be made. 

Mr. SAULSBURY. I should like toasktheSenatorwhohas charge 

of the bill if there is any right of app~ reserved, or whether the decision of the supreme court of the District is to be final and conc~usive? 

Mr. RANSOM. By the fifth section of the bill the right of appeal to 

the Supreme Court of the United States is secured. 

The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and the amendments were concurred in. 

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the 

third time, and passed. DAKOTA TERRITORY. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution submitted on a for- mer day by the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. BUTLER] will now be read. 

The Chief Cle~k read the resolution of Mr. BuTLER, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Committee on Territories be, and they are hereby, instruct-ed to inquire and report to the Senat-e under and by what authority a so-called State Legislature has been organized in the Territory of Dakota., if such a body has been organized as alleged, and by what warrantor authority said organization has proceeded to elect Senators to this body. And that said committee inquire further and report whether said organization is not calculated to bring about a conflict o( authority prejudicial to the good order of said Territory, and demoral- izing to the Territorial government legally organized and administered under ihe authority of the National Government, and that said committee have leave to report any special matter relating to the affairs of said Territory requiring or demanding the attention of Congress. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the 

resolution. 

Mr. VEST. Mr. President, I am glad that the Senator from South 

Carolina has introduced this resolution. It brings to my attention a matter which entirely escaped it the other day in the proceedings of the 

Senate, and which I am satisfied is one deserving the immediate and 

earnest consideration of every member of this body. The Senate, ac- cording to its record, now stands committed to the fact that there is a State in this Union, or at least in existence as a political body, known as the Sta.te of Dakota. Speaking for myself, I hadnevercontemplated 

any such' assertion or admission; and when the Senator from Indiana 

[Mr. HARRISON] the other day presented a memorial coming from cer- tain persons in that TerritOry, in the hurried reading of the Secretary 

it escaped me that it came from the official representatives of a State of 

which I had never heard except in the daily press. 

The constitution, so called, of this State of Dakota, a copy of which 

I have in my hand, appointed a certain body to act for the State and to 

represent it. The pcovisions of the constitution, which will be found on page 43 of this printed copy, provide thatWithin ten days after such election the several boards of 9<)unty canvassers provided by law for the canvassing of the results of elections, and the several county boards provided for by this schedule and ordinance, of their several counties, shall either or both mo.ke and certify under oath, to the president of the State executive committee a true and honest return of the total number of vot-es cast for the constitution and against the constitution, of the number of votes cast for and against" prohibition," &c. 

* * * * * • * The president of the State executive committee shall receive all returns of the election transmitted to ·him as above provided, and shall preserve the same. 'Vi thin twenty days after said election the president of said Sta.t-e ex- ecutive committee, together with such members of said committee as may as- semble with him, and with the secretary of the Territory, the' chief-justice of the Territory, if they will so act, and with such other officers of the Territory as he may associate with him who shall• consent to act, shall canvass and com· pile the certificates and returns of such elections. 

1\Ir. HARRISON. Will the Senator from Missouri name t.he section 

and article to which he is referring? · Mr. VEST. I am referring to sections 19 and 20, page 43, of the so- C..'tlled constitution of the State of Dakota. 

:hlr. HARRIS. Will the Senator from Missouri please inform me what executive committee is there referred to? A committee of what? 

Mr. VEST. Ofthe State of Dakota, so called. 

Mr. HARRIS. How created? ·· Mr. VEST. Created by the convention which formed this so-called 

constitution, a body of gentlemen who have no official existence unless 

they get it from this convention, who C..'\me to the Senate as the representatives of a State, the State of Dakota, and who so style themselves 
302 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. DECEMBER 18, 

in a memorial which we received and referred to the Committee on 

Territories, and thereby gave sanction to their claim, indirectly, if not 

dir ctly. For one, I enter my protest. against any such assumption. 

The chairman of this committee is a gentleman not unknown to fame, 

Mr. Hogh J. Campbell, rtcently United States district attorney or Territorial attorney for the Territory of Dakota., a gentleman who in recent 

events in the State of Louisiana distinguished himself as a p!trtisan of 

the Hayes administration, and who was rewarded by appointment as United Stat attorney for the Territory of Dakota for his zealous and 

not ov rscrnpnlons efforts in behalf of Mr. Hayes. This gentleman~ 

carrying hi revolutionary principles to the Territory of Dakota, now 

:figur as the chairman of this committee. He has published an addres3 5,000 copies of which have been distributed over that Territory, 

erting the monstrous and revolutionary doctrine that the State of 

Dakota exist~ by virtue of the vote of the people of that Territory without reference to Congress. 

Gentlemen up~m the other side of this Chamber are fond of t:Uking 

about rebellion, they are fond of talking of treason, they are fond of 

talking of ~c rting an authority within the domain of the United 

States ag;:tinst the National Government. I want to see now whether 

they fa.vor thi attempt ag. · Congress, against the Administration 

which the people have chosen, to set np a State government, and at 

the head of th' moTement is a man who distinctly and emphatically 

declares in his address to the people that this government exists without 

regard to Congress and by virtue of the votes that were taken without 

the s:1nction of Congress. 

Mr. President, if it is not the truth, it ought to be discarded. If it 

is the truth, then Sena,tors, without reg::trd to party, should say whether 

this thiJ1g can be done in open day and in defiance of the Constitution 

and laws of the United States. 

Here is the memorial, which escaped my attention: 

YAl'.""KTON, DAre, December 7, 1885. 

To the horwrabl.e President of the Senate 

oftlte Congress of the Unit~d Stata, Wa.shi.ngt011 , D. C. : 

Sn~: We, the State executive committee of the State of Dakota., in this behalf 

appointed by n. constitutional convention oftha.t pru:t of the Territory of Dakota soulh of' the fvt•ty-sixth parallel of latitude, have the honor to herewith trans- rot to you a certified copy of the con titntion of the State of Dakota. and of a memol'ial from the eonstitutional convention to the President and Congress of 

the Urlited State . We baveal o· forwarded tllrougb. the hands of Hon. BENJA- unr HARnlSO',-, United t tes Senator, an engrossed and certified copy of the 

cotJ.S i ution for present.'l>tion totheSenatethrougbthePre identthereof. lam 

in trncted on behalf of the constitutional convention of Dakota. to request you to ha>e the sa.id m~morial and constitutiC>n duly presented to the Senate of the 

United States for their consideration, and that the same he referred to the 

proper committee and acted upon as the application of said convention, for 

and in behalf of the people of 3.id State, for the admV: ion of the State into the 

Union. 

Yours, r pectfully, 

but he appears here as the chairman of this executive committee; in 

an address he receives an ovation for having obtained this recognition; 

a~d if these are not public events about which I, as a Senator of the 

United States, have a rigM to speak and npon which I can comment, 

then I had better leave this floor to my distinguished friend from 

Kansas. I propose to discu~ Ir. Campbell so far as he comes here as the representati\"e of this revolutionary movement, not persm=!ally, for 

I know nothing about him person:Uly. He may be the purest man in 

all the domestic and personal relations that there is on this continent. 

I have nothing to do 'vith that. I am discussina public events aml 

public results, and I shall continue to do so notwithstanding the criticism that has been made. 

This ovation is very significantfrom thefact that Mr. Campbell, representing this movement, and at the head and front of it, has distinctly 

avowedhisrevolutionaryopinionsin theaddresstowhichlhaveallnded. 

I say '

1 revolutionary," because they are oppo ed to the Constitution 

and laws of the United States, becau e they set up a government that 

can not exist except by the will of Congress, and if there is a Senator 

on this floor who holds the opposite opinion I want to hear from him. 

I want to know if thm·e is any Senator here representing a sovereign 

State who will undertake to say now tha,t this State government can 

exist except by the voice and will of Congress, and whether the doctrine 

is now to be asserted here directly or indirectly, incidentally or otherwi c, that any set of gent.lemen, however respectable in their personal 

relations, can assemble anywhere within our public domain and create 

a government and put it into operation and usurp the functions of sovereignity and come here and say they are not in open and direct violation of the Constitution and laws of this Government. No talk about 

past events can deter me from making a legitimate argument a.s a lawyer 

and a member of this body. 

I do not propose to discu._c;s now what has happened in the past, and 

I shall not be induced to do it. I am now nnder my dtdy as a Senator 

discussing passing events of the most pressing importance, and I thank 

the Senator from South Carolina for this resolution, because I believe 

that the deliberate and calm and earnest attention and action of this 

body will now prevent trouble. I have no doubt from the papers before me, as I shall attempt to show the Senate, tlk'l.t the intent of these 

men in Dakota is, if Congress shall adjourn without admitting this 

State, that they will go on in defiance of the will of Congress to operate a State government. I asser~ here as a lawyer that the organization of any State government without the consent of Congress directly 

given is revolutionary. The Supreme Court of the United States and 

this body have oTer and over again declared that to be so. 

Now let us see wh.a.t is the opinion of Ur. Campbell at the head of 

his committee-not his individual opinion but his official <lecla.ration 

HUGH J. CAMPBELL, as chairman of this State exe£utive committee of the so-called State of President Sta~ Executive Comm,itl~. Dakota . .JOSEPH R. HANSON, 

E. P. m!;EBE, Mr. HARRISON. Will the Senator be good euongh to announce to 

-J-0fiJIJ!j,!{{:'s. the Senate the document from which he reads and the page of i~ so that 

JA. IES A. wARE, we may follow him? STEP.HE.."i G. UPDYKE, Mr. VEST. I read an extract from an addr issued by Mr. Camp- Commit~«. bell over his own signature to the people of Dakota. 

These gentlemen are here in the official character of the State execu- Mr. ALLISON. Is that the document? 

tive committee of the State of akota~ and they are here in no other. ~Ir. VEST. This is an argument by Judge P. C. Shannon. 

They do not come here as. private citizens; they come here asking 1\Ir. HARRISON. I have it in my hand. If the Senator will refer 

recognition. I see by this mo.ming~s paper that an ovation has been to the pages I shall be able to follow him. 

extended to Mr. Hngh J. Campbell by the LCoiYislature, so called, of the Mr. VEST. The fourth page. 

State of Dn.kota, for his success in obtaining recognition of Statehood The doctrine oC the pamphlet is, that the people south of thl.\t lineall the hands of the United States Senate, and that we are now by our Th-1 forty-sixth degree of latitudeaction in referring these papers to the Committee on Territories estopped 

from ever after denym' 2 that any such State exists. by virtue of their population, their territory. their constitutional rights, and ~ the inviolable guam.nteesof treaties. and tho 'vill of the people, are a S~ate.,. and 

Mr. PLUMB. Will the Senator permit me to interrupt him for a ought, without further delay, to form a State constituLion and a. State governmoment? ment. 

Mr. VEST. Of course. But if it be said that that is not an authoritative and official declaraMr. PLUMB. I do not happen to know Mr. Campbell, and the Sen- tion of the purpose of these parties, I go now to an official address issued 

ator is giving him a great deal of gratuitous advertising; but, if he will by this State executive committee to the people of Ihkota. under the 

permit me to say so, the ovation which he spe.1.ks of which has been sanction and by direction of the so-calledconstitntionalconvention, an 

given :Mr. Campbell may serve, I think, to show that the people who address signed by Mr. Campbell, the chairman, and to which I <:..'lll the 

gave it know Mr. Campbell better than the Senator himself does. attention of the Senate to show that every syllable of what I have 

Mr. VEST. I care nothing for Mr. Campbell, speaking with duere- charged is the absolute truth. Mr. Campbell says in this addres issued 

spect to him and hiS friends on this floor. Mr. Campbell is nothing to under the sanction and direction of tbe constitutional conTention: 

me; I never saw him; I never heard of him except in connection with We speak :l.dvisedly when we S.'\y to you that in aJl directions the sentiment 

the Louisiana matter, and when he appears again qn the plains of Da- in favor of the nd.mis ion of this part of Dakotakob. I speak of his indorsement by the constitutionaleonvention, so The Senator from Indiana will find this ou the third page of the 

c..'\lled, and his official character here before the Senate, and I have a address to the people of Dakot.a, with the constitution of the State 

right to do that without being subjected to the criticism of my .friend. of Dakota adopted by the constitutional convention1\lr. PLUMB. The Senator will permit me to say that I think he We speak advisedly when we say to- you that in all directions the sentiment 

brought in the name of J\ir. Campbell to cast odium npon him in that in favor of the admission of this part of Dukota a.s a State into the Union has 

he h"d baon c,>,ntrn!!ed in this movement to get into the Union. In view grown stronger each year, until the demand from the people of the United "" v'U.U ~ ~ States that this act of justice shall be done is now almost universal. 

of that remark I imputed to it wha_t I think every other person who Almost. all the great newspapers of the land., East as well as West, and even 

h d 't · t d t 't in California, are demanding that Oongres shall admit Dakota.. ear 1 1mpu e 0 1 • We do not believe that the party now in power can afford to antagonize the l\Ir. VEST. I am not responsible fort he apprehensions or the deduc- sentiment of justice on the part of the American people which is thu voiced by tions o£ the Senator from Kansas, nor am I particular about. what concln.- the press. We dC> not believe that the present national Admini tration will 

sionhedraws. Ispokeofl\Ir.CampbellbecanseUr.Campbellappearsin rt~th~~ositionu~~ • h d ed dfil'tyth d 1 fD kot b 

coruieeti~ :Wi~ ~ese pa~rs. As to g~atui~ous ~vertising, he is .w~l-1' a. fulle v~te :t fu~u~~'ns thfs c~~in~ Jove:ber, adop~~ c~~Rt~hlon !nd :ic!t come to- 1t 1 [ 1t will do hrm any good m his bnsmess, whatever 1t IS, such men as will represent theil· wishes, and if the people of the new Sl.:l.te, after 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 303 

electing them, with the temper and firmness of Americ:~.n citizens, stand upon their rights under the Constitution of the United States and support their State governmentMark that language-

" stand upon their rights unuer the Constitution of the United Stales and sup- port their State government," the people of the United States will respect their attitude and will join with them in demanding their immediate admission. And one of two results will surely follow: ejther the immediate admission of the State of Dakota by the next Congref<s at its first session or the hurling from power of the Congress that thus abuses its powe r and defies the public sentiment of the country. It i5l time that Congress ceases to trifle with the rights and interests (Jf two hundred nncl fifty thousand citizens of the United Stales. We believe that yout· admission into the Union is a matter to be determined by you by your votes at this election. If a full vote is polled and your constitu- tion is adopted and your State government is elected, no Congress and no ad- ministration will dare to so far defy public opinion as to deny your admission, 

But to remove any doubt about the me..1.ning of this committee, let 

us read further : 

The ordinance of 1787 and the treaty with France, by which Louisiana was ceded to the United States, contained irrevocable guarantees to the people of this Territory of the right to form a State Government for themselves and be admitted into the Union as soon as their population andre ources are sufficient for self-goven1ment. 'l'he ordinance of 1787 has been extended by Congres- sionn.l enaelment o,·er Dakotn. by four successi\·e statutes. The right guaran- teed by that ordinonce are matters of compact, which compact is tipulated in the on.linanee to be forever irrevocable without the consent of the people of the Territory. The ablest lawyers and jurists of the country Ln.>e united in declar- ing thn.t the people of U1is '.rerritory are parties ro tho~e e01npacts, and of right entitled to n.ct upon them and deul&nd their fulfillment. In addition to these compact , the Constitution of the United States, as judiciall,i. inter.preted by the Suprt:me Court, which interpretation has ne>et· been reversed by any subse- quent court, h s guaranteed to the people of lhis Territ,ory, as of aU T erri- tories, the absolute ri~ht of self-government and Stalehood whenever their condition, their population, their area, and their resources m·e sufficient to en- able them to govern themselves. These are oonstitutionnl and legn.l rights which Congress has no lawful power to set aside, and can only disregard, as Senator HA.RRlSON stated upon the floor of the Senate last winter, by "brute force." 

Did the Senator from Indiana ever expreEs upon this floor that these 

people or the people of any other Territory had the right to admis.::,-·ion 

without the action and consent of Congress? Does the s~natorsay now or intimate th:lt the language of this pamphlet is true that these people 

have that right, without regard to the action of either House of Congress or both collectively? I assert that the Senator from Indiana will 

not stand upon this floor and say that any State c..m so exist inside or 

outside this Union--

Mr. HARRISON. The Senator docs not need to state anything on 

that subject on his own authority, if he heard my words yesterday; and 

I say to him now that I hold, and have always held, to the doctrine 

that a State c..m neither break into nor breaJ~ out of this Union. 

Mr. VEST. Very good. We are not taUdng about breaking out. 

That question is res adjudicata, and nobody is asking now to reopen 

it. I am talking now about the transaction that is immediately pressing on the Senate. This que3tion is one not of breaking into or breaking out of the Union, but breaking into Statehood without the r.onsent 

of Congre....c:s. That is the proposition. I say that the Senate of the 

United States and the Supreme Court of the United St:ldes ha'"e declared in unmistakable tones o>er and over again .that thi'3 can not be 

done. I know, as the Senator &'\id yesterday, that there are precedents 

of States being admitted without enabling acts. Wben Tennessee wa.s 

admitted she came to the Senate with two Senators elected and 'nth a constitution creating a complete State government, but it was done 

under peculiar circnms~mces, because Tennessee claimed that by virtue 

of the cession of her tenitory made by North Carolina to the Union 

she was entitled--

Mr. IIARRISO~. But, Mr. President, she did not pass immediately from the jurisdiction of the State the Senator has referred to. 

She passed into n. Territorial condition under United States law before 

she became a State. 

:Mr. VEST. That does not touch the point I was making on that 

subject. 

Mr. HARRISON. Then there could have been no point in it. 

Mr. VEST. Well, I am not leaving that to the Senator. Heaven 

help me if be is to decide this argument. I n,m now appea.ling to this 

body and to the Senators here who have taken no such part in this debate or in this question as to be prejudiced one way or the other. It 

matters not whether it was a Territory immediately or not. The point 

I make is that Tennessee claimed the right to organize a State government because under the terms of the original cession of the Territory 

of Tennessee by North Carolina to the Federal Union the provision was placed in that cession that it should be immediately organized into a State. That was the claim, that was the condition, and upon that 

Tennessee claimed the right of Statehood. 

California was also admitted into the Union without an enabling act, 

and Michigan was admitted; but the history of the l\1ichigan case, which 

has been appeaJed to time and again as a precedent for the actions of 

this so-called constitutional convention in Dakota, shows that Michigan was :finally admitted upon the compromise of a question of boundary which almost resulted in civil war in 1836 between Ohio and Michigan. The pi'Oceeclings of the Senate of the United States at that time 

develop the fact that the very question which is now pending in the 

resolution of the Senator from South Carolina before this body came up 

in 1·egard to Michigan. 

A young gentleman of revolutionary proclivities, of considerable talent, a daring-! will not sa.y an adventurer, but a daring statesman was appointed when twenty years old to be Secretary of the Territory 

of Michigan, a Ur. Mason, descended from the Virginia Masons. He 

originated the idea in his young and boyish ambition of organizing a 

State government and pressing that government upon the Congress of 

the United States. He became the acting governor of the Territory in 

Jackson's administration, r.nd be issued the celebrated proclamation 

that if Ohio undertook to drive one solitary stake into ihe soil of Michigan be would call out the militia of the Territory and make war upon 

her. We all recollect, who ha.v~ given any attention to the IIL.'ltter, tbat 

General Jackson appointed two commissioners to visit the scene of hostilities, Ur. Rush and Mr. Howard, and these commissioners succeeded 

in allaying the intense excitement for a time. Michigan npplied for 

admission under a State constitution, and with th.is Mr. Mason elected 

as governor; and the debates of the Senate showtbatthe memorial presented was exactly like this·memorial, and purported to come from the 

State of Michigan. Mr. William Hendricksof Indiana, the uncle of the 

late Vice-President, moved in the Senate a resolution which declared 

"in receiving this memorial"-- · Mr. HARRISON. Will the Senator give me the page again? 

Mr. VEST. If the Senator wishes the exact language I will turn to 

it with pleasure. It is on page 26 of the pamphlet I have refened to. 

Thnt this paper shall be considered in no other light than as a memorial com- ing from indh·idual citizens of Michigan. 

It was pre.Sented, as this memorial here was presented, coming or purporting to come from a State; and the Senate of the United States 

after debate in which Mr. Webster, Mr. Calhoun, ~1r. Clay, Mr. Benton, 

Mr. Buchanan, the greatest stat.esmen of that era, participated for d:iys, 

and finally on a deliberate vote adopted the motion of Mr. Hendricks, 

and declared tbn.t this Sta.te of :Michigan, so called, could have no legal or constitutional existence except by the will of Congressj and to-day 

that question is presented here. 

This memorial bas been received and referred to a committee coming 

from a so-c..'llled "State executive committee" when no such S~'l>te exists 

under the Constitution or laws of the United States. Why, Mr. President, ifit be a State, ifwbattheybavedone is justified bylaw and the 

Constitution, w by do they ask for admission into the Union? The Constitution of the United States provides that the highest act of sover- e1gnty·on the part of a State shall be the election of two Senators, and 

yet these gentlemen meet upon the plains of Dakota at Sioux Falls or 

Huron, elect two gentlemen as Senators, two gentlemen from the State 

of Indiana-Mr. Moody, whose celebrated opinion declaring the- Yank- ton bonds to be unconstitutional and illegal, we ba.>e beard, and lli. 

Edgerton, who, I believe, held a seat in this body since I ba>e been a member from the State of Minnesota, but both originally from the 

State of Indiana,. These gentlemen are the elected Senators and are . 

coming to this body claiming to represent the sovereignty of a State, 

and this "State executive committee," representing the same sover- eignty, puts this memorial before us! 

.Mr. President, I say the Supreme Court of the United States have 

dec1ded emphatically and distinctly tha-t these prbceedings are illegal, 

revolutionary, and void. I quote from the decision of the Supreme 

Court of the United St.1.tes found on page 37 oftbe pamphlet to which 

I ha>e alluded for con>enience, although the printed reports of the 

Supreme Court cont'lin the same. Mr. Justice .McLean said in a case that went up from Michigan testing the constitutionality of what was known as the Mason State constitution: 

Now the conflict. of power, iu the case under consideration, is clear and dis- tinct. 

That was a case in which the so-called State Legislature under the 

so-called constitution bad incorporated or given a charter to wh:lt was 

known as the Young Men's Society in the State of Michlgan, and the 

question was as to the legality of that act. The supreme court of the 

so-called State of Michigan, appointed by the so-called governor, Mr. 

Mason, decided the act to be constitutional, because if they had decided 

it unconstitutional they would have judicially cut their owu throats, as that supreme court simply bad its existence and being by virtue of 

the sn,me authority which created this society; and no court composed 

of mortal men has ever yet been found that was capable of committing 

political or judicial suicide. Therefore they decided that this act w::JS 

entirely constitutional, and tha.t the State go>ernment had a legal ex- istence. The casecametotheSupremeCourt of the UnitedS~1.tes, and 

I read now a.n extract from their opinion. Justice McLean said: 

Now the conflict of power in the case under consideration is cle..•u and dis- tinct. The two so~·ereigntie of the State and the Territorial government can not exist at the same time within the same limits. The Territorial go,·ernruent 

exi.,sts in full vigor until it is abolished by the admission of the State. There was, then, a direet and irreconcilable repugnance in the exercise of the sov- ereign power by the State so long as the Federal authority was exercised in the Territory. 

Now, sir, we have the anomaly preseu ted by the Senator from Indin.na 

of a Delegate in the other branch of Congress representing the Territory of Dakota and two Senators representing the sovereignty of the 

State of Dakota knocking for admission at our doors. It is impossible, 

say the Supreme Court, that these two forms of government should ex- ist on the sa. me soil; one must give phce to the other; and I could sta.Jld 
304 CONGRESSIONAL REOORIJ--SENATB. DEOEMBER 18~ 

here until my strength was exhausted and produce to the Senate a pile 

of decisions from courts from the State of Ohio, from the State of Minnesota, from the highest judicial authority in the State of Michigan, 

Judge Cooley, who in the fourth edition of his work on Constitutional 

Limitations declares that an enabling act is the only safe and constitutional method in order to enable a Territory to come into the Union as a State; and I declare he:re that no matter what may have been done 

in the case of other States under political pressure or excitement or necessity, the Congress of the United States can alone give Statehood, 

and the proper way in which it is given is through an enabling act, 

and the Senate so determined during its last session. 

Mr. President, look at the condition or this matter. The S~nator 

from Indiana, the chairman of the Committee on Territories, prepared a bill entitled "An act to enable the people of that part of the Territory of Dakota south of the forty-sixth parallel of north latitude to 

form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of the 

State -into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, 

and for other purposes "-a carefully-prepared piece of legislation, distinct and emphatic, and passed by this body by a large majority. I was a. member of the Committee on Territories when this bill was prepared. It was then thought necessary by the Senator from Indiana 

that this enabling act should go into effect in order to enable this Territory to become a State and to be admitted as a member of the Union. 

This bill passed the Senate and we~t to the Honse of Representatives, 

but the House failed to act upon it, and then these gentlemen in Dakota, not willing to await the action of Congress, come together for the 

second time-because this is the second time they have attempted to 

org~ze a State-meet together at Sioux Falls in a so-called convention, 

adopt a constitution with powers in the Legislature equal to those of any 

other State Legislature in this Union, elect a gov-ernor and lieutenantgovernor, all the officers of State, members of the House of Representatives, two Senators, and proclaim to the world that the State of Dakota has come into existence notwithstanding the failure on the part of 

Congress to pass an enabling ~t to enable it to do so. Mr. President, in these assertions of sovereignty against the United 

States, what can be more flagrant, what can be· more outrageous? We are told here it makes no difference whether you pass an enabling act 

or not, if the people say in so many words," We have a constitution, we have a State government under the will of the people, and all that 

is necessary is the presence of 250,000 freemen of Dakota to as5ert in 

thunder tones that they have made a State to enforce that mandate 

upon Congress.'' 

A serious question has been presented here. For years there has been 

great conflict of opinion in that Territory as to the division of the Territory. A large portion of the people have urged that the Territory 

should be divided from east to west, and others from north to south. -This convention took that question out of the hands of Congress and 

settled it themselves. They do not consult the people of Northern 

Dakota. For all practical purposes they disfranchise them; they ignore 

the action of the last Congress, in which it was proposed to pass an enabling act for Southex:n Dakota under the name of the State of Dakota, 

and to organize a Territorial government in the northern part of it to 

be called the Territory of Lincoln; they take the whole thing into their own hands and pass upon tlie question of dividing the Territory, and 

then say to the world, ''We defy the action of Congress, because we have spoken and our voice is supreme." 

Mr. President, if this can be done, what becomes of many adjudications of the Supreme Court of the United States, one made as late as the last term in the Murphy case, that the Congress of the United States 

has absolute authority over the Terr~tories to do with them as it pleases; 

that it can legislate directly for the Territories; that it can annul any 

act of a Territorial ~oislatnre; that under the constitutional provision 

that Congress shall make all needful rnles and regulations concerning 

tl. ... territory and other property of the United States they have the absolute, unquestioned, and sole right, if they choose to exercise it, of making any law they please, and that no State can exist there except by the 

will and by the enactment of Congress? If this can be done we have a state of anarchy and are outside of all constitutional limitations. I 

say that it is a very grove question and involving consequences of the 

most-serious kind in the subsequent history of this country. If this can be done, if this be the law, then the Constitution of the country 

which declares that no authority except that of a State can send Senators to this body amounts to nothing; the decisions of the Supreme Court, 

which declare that we are to decide when a State shall come into existence, are simply waste paper, nonsense, simply sound and fury, signifying nothing. I shall offer to the Senate the following resolution--

The PRESIDENT pro te:mp01·e. Does the Senator from Missouri offer 

an additional resolution? 

Mr. HARRISON. Let it be read for information. I suppose it is 

offered only for that purpose, as there is another resolution before the 

Senate. 

Mr. VEST. I understand--

'J;'hePRESIDENT pro tempore. The proposed resolution will be read. 

l The Secretary read as follows : 

'P.esolred, That the memorial from certain persons calling themselves the State 

eJ.ecutivc committee of the State of Dakota, and referred to the Committee on 

Territories, shall be considered in n9 other light than as a memorial coming from individual citizens of the Territory of Dakota. 

Mr. HARRISON. Let the resolution be printed and go over. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is it introduced as an independent 

resolution ? 

Mr. VEST. Yes, sir; independent entirely. 

The PRESIDENT pro tentpore. It will be 1·eceived and printed and 

laid over. 

Mr. VEST. Mr. President, when :Michjgan elected two- Senators in 

the very same way that Dakota has done here, and sent them to this 

body, and sent Representatives to the Honse of Representatives, they were not admitted into either body. Neither body undertook to say, 

although party spirit then ran as high as it does to-day and even higher, 

that they were entitled to seats on either floor in their official capacity. 

The proceedings of the Senate, which I have examined, show that these 

two gentlemen were admitted as spectators upon the floor of the Senate, 

and the gentlemen elected as Representatives were admitted by the 

House of Representatives to the floor of the House, but not one lawyer 

could be found who asserted the right on the part of the Territory of 

Michigan to organize that State government and give it the power of a State propria 'l;igore. If it can be done in one instance it can be done 

in any, and the debates which were then had in J:ega~d to Michigan, 

extracts of which I have before me, show by an unbroken current of 

declaration that both parties on this floo:r united in the position which 

I maintain. For that reason I offer this ·resolution. 

Mr. LOGAN. Will the Senator allow me to make an inquiry of him 

at this point.? 

:Mr. VEST. Certainly. 

:Mr. LOGAN. I do not know of any one who claims that these men have a rig~t to seats as Senators on this floor; I have never heard any 

such proposition; but I desire to ask the Senator in reference to the 

State of Colorado. Does he not remember that two men were elected 

by a Legislature purporting to be the Legislature of Colorado, and who were admitted here on the floor as spectators you may call them, and were here for two years, and that a bill passed Congress twice admitting 

that State into the Union, these Senators presenting themselves to be 

sworn in if the State was admitted, but the bill was vetoed by President Johnson? The State was afterward admitted under a law of Congress, because the President at that time persisted in vetoing the bill.-

Does he not know that no Senator on either side pretended that that was a revolutionary proceeding merely because they claimed that they 

ought to be admitted? I did not hear any one talk about it as a revo- lutionary proceeding. 

Mr. VEST. Ifthe so-called StateofColoradohaddoneas tbesemen 

have done in Dakota, organized a State government, elected their officers, proclaimed it a State, issued an address to the people declaring it 

to be a State without reference to the action of Congress, I do not care what was done in the case of Colorado it wasrevolutionaryifthesefacts 

existed. What is revolution'! It is subverting the constitutional government of a ountry; it is asserting a jurisdiction and authority in any 

portion of the public-domain antagonistic to the constitutional authority. What is the constitutional authority in regard to the Territories? 

The people of the United States by a written Constitution have given 

the right and the sole right to Congress to organize a State-I assert 

that proposition-to organize a State. If these gentlemen see proper to 

hold a barbecue or a picnic and pass resolutions that they are a State, 

that amounts to nothing. · 

Mr. LOGAN. I do not wish to enter into this discussion, for I am not on the committee, but I should like the proposition fairly stated. 

Does any one in the Senate clairi:t that Dakota is now a State? Do that 

people claim so themselves? By virtue of the very constitution they 

present to the Senate they do not claim that they are a State until it is 

agreed to by Congress. Because they use the term ''State,'' does that 

make them revolutionists against the Government, when they come to 

Congress and ask to be admitted as any other State has been heretofore? 

Is that a revolutionary proceeding? Is it not the right of the citizens 

of this country to petition Congress? Congress need not admit them, 

but certainly it is not a revolution against this Government merely for 

them to come as citizens and present their claim to the country asking 

that Congress shall pass upon their rights when they provide in the 

very constitution they submit that they are not a State until theirSt.atehood is acknowledged by this Government. I do nottlrinkit is fair to 

treat them in that way, nor to try and arouse the country to the belief 

that there is a rebellion going on against this Government when there 

is no such intention. · Mr. BUTLER. The Senator from Missouri will allow me a moment. 

J.s I offered the resolution I think it perhaps proper to say that I have 

not claimed or insisted that this action has gone itself to the ex tent of 

revolution. I maintain and I thinlc my friend from Missouri maintains that the tendency is toward revolutionary proceedings, that it 

threatens to bring about a conflict between the constitutional authority 

and an organization which has no legal existence. That is the point I 

make, and that was the object in offering the resolution. "The Senator 

from Illinois is familiar with the history of the application of Michigan 

for admission into the Union,· and he must recall that similar action in 

that Territory, as my friend from Missouri suggested, came very near 
1885~ -CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 305 

bringing on a bloody conflict with the people of Ohio and also of Indiana; and that is exactly what I desire to prevent here by anticipation. 

Mr. LOGAN. In response to the Senator from South Carolina. I desire to say that I am not in any way suggesting what idea the resolution may anticipate in the future or what the results maybe; but until 

the people of this Territory set themselves up as a State organization 

and undertake to act as a State exercising the functions of a State government you can not charge them with revolution, no matter what they 

may call themselves. Terms are easily used. The fact that I may call 

myself by one name or another does not make it true. The fact that 

they in their petition call it a State doesnotniake ita State, and until 

they undertake to exercise the powers of Statehood they are in nowise 

in violation of the Constitution or revolutionists against it. 

Mr. BUTLER. May I interrupt the Senator for a moment with the 

consent of my friend from Missouri? 

Mr. VEST. I would rather go on. Mr. BUTLER. I simply want to put one question, and that is 

whether any other organization, than that of a State can elect United 

States Senators? Is not that exercising the functions of Statehood? 

Is not the provision for the collection of taxes, and is not the provision 

tor courts, exercising the functions of Statehood? If not, then I have 

misapprehended what constitutes a commonwealth. 

Mr. LOGAN. I will answer the Senator's question. The election 

of Senators from a Territory does not make them Senators. 

Mr. BUTLER. Precisely; They· must come from a State. 

Mr. LOGAN. They make a proposition to Congress. If Congtess 

accepts it, then they become Senators, but not until th~n. Territory 

after Territory has elected Senators and sent them here in advance of 

admi ion as a State, for what purpose? For the purpose of presenting the claims of the people before the Congress of the United States, 

that their claims may be passed upon, and for no other purpose. If 

the Senate then says they are not!Senators, they are not. They must 

be admitted; it must be a State before they can be admitted, as has 

been done heretofore in divers and sundry instances. 

Mr. BUTLER. There is but one instance that I remember. 

Mr. LOGAN. I do not wish to correct the Senator's recollection 'of • history; but it has heen done, and at the time it was done no one here or elsewhere thought that there was an act of revolution against this 

Government, but the notion was that they were acting as persons appearing on the part of the Teuitory, presenting as petitioners their 

claim to the Government of the United States. 

Mr. VEST. Now, Mr. President, I prefer to let these people speak 

for themselves. Though I listen with much pleasure always· to the 

Senator from Illinois, yet I take it that their written words and their 

official acts are worth more in this argument than his declarations as to what they mean; and permit m:e to say to the Senator, speaking as to historical events, there never was but one case parallel with that of 

Dakota, and that was the case of the Territory of Michigan. · Mr. McMILLAN. If the Senator from Missouri will allow me to 

correct him, I think the case of Minnesota is somewhat parallel to the 

present application of Dakota for admission. 

Mr. VEST. I dislike exceedingly to correct a Senator as to the history of his own State, but I have recently read it. Minnesota had an 

enabling act. 

Mr. INGALLS. Kansas had not. . 

Mr. VEST. I do not know how Kansas came into the Union. She 

got in, broke in, somehow or gther. 

Ur. McMILLAN. The Senator from ?tlissouri will permit me to 

correct him. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DoLPH in the chair). Does the 

Senator from Missouri yield to the Senator from Minnesota? 

Mr. VEST. Yes, sir. 

Mr. McMILLAN. The State of Minnesota it is true had an ena- bling act to form a State government, and under it a constitutional con- vention was called. That body divided, and in fact there were two 

conventions held, and throughout the entire session they remained 

apart until at the close of the action of the conventions they came together and adopted a constitution. Under that constitution, before 

action by Congress, in the fall before Congress met, a State ticket was elected from the governor down to the lowest State officer, and of those 

officers-I happened to he one of the district judges elected-Governor 

Sibley was elected governor of the State; a whole State ticket was elected and remained so, while the Territorial organization was still 

in existence, Go>ernor Medary, of Ohio, bein6 the Territorial governor. 

The State officers continued in office after being elected. The State 

was not admitted until the next spring, in May. Hon. Henry M. Rice 

and Genernl Jame Shields were elected United St.ates Senators for the 

tate during the winter, and they were admitted in May when the 

State was admitted. 

Mr. LOG .AN. They were elected before the State was admitted. 

1\Ir. McMILLAN. Yes, sir; and if the Senator from Missouri will 

refer to the debates in the Congress of the United States he will find 

the position taken by Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, expressed in the strongest terms favoring the admission of the Senators elected prior to the 

t.ldmission of the Sta.te. The State was admitted under all those cirXVII-20 

cumstances and the members of Congress elected in advance received 

in the House. We had elected three members of Congress, believing we were entitled to three. One of those was rejected on account of 

there not being sufficient population, and two were admitted to their 

seats, and the Senators were admitted at the same time to the Senate 

of the United States. · Mr: PLUMB. If the Senator from Missouri will permit me, I should 

like to call his attention to another case. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from ~ouriyield 

to the Senator from Kansas? 

?t'Ir. VEST. Yes, sir. 

Mr. PLUMB. The Senator from Missouri thinks there is no case except that of ?tlichigan which is on a parallel with this case of Dakota. 

I want to call his attention to the case oftbe admission of the State of 

Kansas. He professed some lack of knowledge of how Kansas got in. 

A few vacancies occurred about that time and we wanted a State or two to make up the quOl'um in the general list of States, and so Kansas 

got in. It was admitted on the 29th day of January, 1861. On the 

very next day, the 30th of January, as the debate in the Globe before me discloses, the following occurred in the llouse of Representatives: 

Mr. GRow. The member !rom the State of Kansas is present and ready to be sworn in. Martin F. Conway, Representative !rom the State of Kansas, then appeared and took the usual oath to support the Constitution of the United States. 

Mr. Conway had been here waiting on the proceedings of 'Congress 

for the admission of the State under the Wyandotte constitution for 

several months, and he served out the remainder of the term for which 

he had been elected; that is, the residue of the two years' term. He 

had been elected at the time of holding the regular election for mem- bers of Congress in the States of the Union. The question was discussed i-n this body also, and among the persons who discussed it very 

fully was one of the Senator's predecessors in this body, Mr. Green, of 

the State of Missouri, and as a general thing the Missourians about 

that time knew pretty well what was going on in K3I1S¥. and if there was any chance to find a joint in the Kansas harness they found it. 

Mr. Green was a man who was quick of wit, I have been told, and I 

think the State of Missouri regards him now as one of the ablest men that ever held a seat on this floor from that State. 

Mr. HARRISON. There has been a succession in that line. 

Mr. VEST. What is that? 

Mr. HARRISON. The Senator from Kansas said that Senator Green 

of Missouri was distinguished for his wit. I say that succession has 

been kept up. 

Mr. PLUMB. TheSenatorfromMissouri spoke of the fact that part 

of the Territory of Dakota had been carved out, and the Senator from 

South Carolina commented on that fact as an evidence of the revolutionary character of these proceedings. When the constitutional con- vention of the State of Kansas came to fix the boundaries of that State, 

the new free State of Kansas, they took about two-thirds of the Territory of Kansas. Instead of taking the entire Territory extending as it 

did from the Missouri River to the crest of the Rocky Mountain , they 

took the first four hundred miles of the east portion of thatTerritoryand 

named that part in the constitution as the State of Kansas in case it 

should be admitted .. 

Mr. Green, one of the Senators from 1\Iissouri, proposed to. amend by 

making the larger boundary, and he made reference to what the Senator quoted from H. J. Campbell as to the Louisiana treaty and the 

right to demand admission on account of the terms of that treaty. Mr. 

Green said: 

Mr. GREEN. I have but one word to say in reply. It is true, under the Louisi- ana treaty there was a. stipulation that they should be admitted as St.ates-,and I pressed this upon the attention of Congress two years ago-but the time was never named. The circumstances under which they were to be admitted depend upon the sound discretion of Congress. It is also true that the Senator from Tili- nois takes an improper position when he ays the people of Kansas are ~tisfied 

with these boundaries, and that he is willing to put in a portion of Nebraska if the people of Nebraska are so. Why, sir, when these Territories were organized there was a specilll provision put into the Territorial bi!l1·eserviog the right to change the boundaries as we pleased. 

I speak of that to show that the question of the boundaries of the 

proposed State of Kansas were different from those of the Territory of 

Kansas, and that fact was specially referred to in the Senate; and yet 

that State was received in that turbulent time, when there was revo- lution cropping up around us; so he need .not go far away off for a parallel case. No one then suggested that the people of Kansas bad 

adopted a revolutionary proceeding by reason of the fact that they had 

changed their boundaries, but it was freely conceded that they had a 

right to do it, and no one suggested that because they had (as they did 

at the time they adopted the constitution) elected a governor, lieutenant-governor, and every State officer, including district judge and su- preme court judges, as Minnesota had done, they put themsel ves in a position of revolution to the General Government, nor that that followe~ 

because they had elected a member of Congress who was here waiting, 

cooling his heels in the anteroom of the House of Representatives, waiting for Congress to admit that State into the Union and ready to take 

his se.:1.t, as he did the very next day. Neither was that suggested as an evidence of the fact that the people of Kansas were in a state of rev-
306 CONGRESSIONAL RECDRD-SENATE. DEOEl\ffiER 18, 

olution; and it presents, as I think, a perfectly parallel case to that of 

the citizens of Dakota who are now asking admission here as a State 

by reason of the fact that they ha>e agreed on certain bounda,ries and 

adopted a constitutioN to go>ern that particular territory. 

Mr. VEST. Well, 1\Ir. President, I confes<> frankly that I really did 

not know how Kansas was admitted into the Union. I made an examination as to the respective States that have been admitted from a 

Territorial condition, and I did not :find any ad of Congress for the 

admission of the St.'l.te of Kansas. I ay this with due deference to 

the statement of my friend from Kansas that the l\Iissourians were and 

are nry cognizant of the affairs of the State of Kansas. That is very 

natnrnl. A large portion of onr personal property found its way into 

that tate and needed looking after from time to time; but let that be 

as it may, we have hnd no undue solicitude in regard to the affairs of 

Kansas, but only a friendly interest in her welfare. 

Now the Senator from Illinois says that revolution has never been 

charged as to the admission ofthese other Sta~whichhave organized 

a State government and come here with elected Senators. No Territory in this Union ever before came to Congress with suchadeclaration 

as we find from the State executive committee of the Territory of Dakota. 

Mr. HARRISON. Why, Mr. President, has the Senator in mind 

the declaration of the State of Tennessee which I read yesterday? 

Mr. VEST. The people of Tennessee, I undertake to say, never 

openly declared that they could exist as a Sta.te without any action on 

the part of Congress. 

Mr. HARRI ON. I read yesterday from Hough's American Constitutions them age sent to the Senate and House of Representatives 

by tbe State orO'::mization that had been formed there, and it contained 

a notification that on a particular day named the Territorial government would cease and the State government would assume its powers. 

Mr. VEST. I understand that they did, but at the same time it 

m13 tnted in the debates in Congress and by the representatives ofthe 

State of Tenn ee that they made profert and offer of that constitution 

for the action f Congress. 

Mr. HARRISON. Is not that done here? 

1r. VEST. They thought they would be ·admitted as a State be., 

fore n. certain day, arid they undertook to hurry up the action of Congress. 

Mr. HARRISON. I ask the Senatorifthat profertis not made here 

in the constitution of the proposed State of Dakota, accompanied by a 

re. pectful memorial, and whether the last clause of the constitution 

adopted there does not expressly stay the hands of her State officers 

until Congress acts. . · 

Mr. VEST. Yes, lli. President, the Senator has anticipated my 

argument. Here is the declaration with which these persons come to 

Congress; I have read it before, and I will read it now in answerto the 

Senator from illinois particularly. They do not come here and make 

a respectful profert of a. constitution. They do not come and say, 

''Here is our constitution; we ask you to recognize us as a State.'' The 

whole issue in this ~e is, Does the power to make a State rest in Congress, or does it rest in a collection of individuals in a Territory? That 

is the whole of it, and we are bound to take one side or the other. I 

a ert that this address declares that the State exists by virtue of their 

action and irrespective of any action had by Congress in the matter at 

all; either that or the English language has lost all significance. 

Mr. HARRISON. Will the Senator allow me to con-ect him? He 

i not reading from the memorial addres<>ed to Congress at all; he is 

reading from an address issued by this State executive committee to 

the people of Dakota. 

Mr. VEST. Yes, sir. 

Mr. HARRISON. Not from the memorial. I have the memorial 

if he wants to hear it. 

Mr. VEST. I am reading an authoritative and official declaration, 

if such terms can be used in connection with this proceeding, from the 

recognized and organized State executive committee created by the convention that made this constitution. 

Mr. HARRISON. That may be true, but_ the Senator said he was talki11g of the attitude in which they addressed them elves to Congress. 

Their memOiial to Congress is not what he is reading. 

Mr. VEST. With all due deference to the Senator that is an evasion 

of the whole argument. These men have put before the world their 

status in this case. They have set forth and crystallized in the form of 

an address to their own people their rights and their claims, and what 

are they? This is a public document, it is an official document. Is 

it necessary to thrust it on the desk of the Secretary of the Senate in 

order that we may take cognizance of it? It comes from that convention, it comes from the only authprity they r·ecognize so far as Statehood is concerned. 

Mr. HARRISON. The Senator need not attempt to put me in the 

position of evading anything; I ha>e not that habit in debate. I simply corrected the Senator as to his description of the document, but he 

is entirelywelcomet.o allhe can get out of that as an official document. 

Mr. VEST. I shall use it without any permission. What is the language of this address put before the people of Dakota, and which they 

accept; as the voice of that convention and which is their platform, so to 

speak, in all this matter? They claim that they have the right to admission into the Union whenever in their judgment they have sufficient population and resources to entitle them to become a State. These 

are con titutional and legal rights, they say, growing out of the ordi- nance of 1787. I do not care hat Mr. Green said about it or about 

the Loui iana purcha e; I say the Supreme Court of the United States 

decided that, irrespective of the ordinance of 17 7 or the purchase from 

Napoleon of the Louisiana territory, unger the Constitution of the United 

States Congress and Congress alone can create a State or admit it into 

the Union. Congress can repeal any treaty; Congress can tear up any 

stipulation or condition in any cession of territory, and the very dny 

that it becomes our territory the impr and stamp of the Constitution 

of the United States is put upon it and it is subject to such rules and 

regulations as Cong:res<> may make. Yet these men assert here and 

proclaim it officiallyThe e are constitutional and legal rights which Congress has no legal power to set aside and can only disregard. as Senator HARRI.SOs stated upon the floo r of the Senate last winter, by brute force. 

That is, outside of the law, outside of the Constitution, like a set of 

ruffians and brigand"' we can take them by the throat, but if we do it, we do an illegal,· an unconstitutional, and disgraceful act. I deny it. 

The power exists in Congress and Congress alone, and I say this proceeding is revolutionary. It can be nothing else, for it is outside of 

the decisions of the Supreme Court and the decisions of the Senate. 

But I come now to the provision alluded to yesterday by the Senator· from Indiana and to-day by the Senator from Illinois which they 

say is the salve of this whole matter. This is St. Jacob's Oil, that takes 

away all prun. Look at it. 

After they had organized a State government, elected their officers, 

provided for taxation, provided for schools, provided to restrict corporations, done everything that is done under the State constitution , as 

they say, of Pennsylvania and of Illinois, now here is the only solitary 

thing that looks toward any limitation of the powers of that State 

Legislature: 

SEc. :f.!. Nothing in this constitution or schedule contained hall be con trued to authorize the Legislatm·e to ex-ercise any powers except such as are nece - sary t.o it organization to elect United States Senators, to provide and p!l.SS mean and measure neces ary preliminary and incident to admi ion to tbe · Union and to assemble and reassemble and adjourn from time to time; neither to authorize any officer of the executive or administrative departments to exer- cise any powers of his office except such a.s may be preliminary and incident to admi ion to the Union; nor to authorize nny officer of the judiciary depart- ment to exercise any of the duties of hi office until the State of Dakota. hall have been regularly admitted into the Union, except uch as may be authorized by the Congress of the United States. 

What is this but a declaration of sovereignty, with a limitation on 

the powers of the Legislature? Here they exercise and provide for exercising the highest attribute of sovereignty known to the Constitution 

of the United States, and that is the election of two Senators to represent a State. But more than that, they provide that means may be 

provided by the Legislature to secure the admission of the State. What 

means? I take it money appropriated to pay the expenses of the State 

executive committee, with Campbell at his head, to come here and secure this Statehood for the people of Dakota. The judges are not to 

act, but they are still-judges. The governor is not to act as governor, 

but still he sanctions certain mea ures that are necessary to ecure admission into the Union. It is a State outside tbe Union. Can such a 

thing exist under our Constitution? What Senator here, even umler 

the plea of the mad necessity of party, can a ert such a principle as 

that? Why is it a State? -

The Senator from Illinois says it is a proposition. Is this a propo ition? That Legislature is now in session. It adjourns from day to 

day. Its receives its minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to the Congress of the United States as if he came from Austria 

or Germany. Mr. Campbell is received with plaudits from the galleries, loaded with bouquets, and receives the thanks of the Legislature 

of the State of Dakota. for his extraordinary success in obtaining recognition at the hands of the Senate of this State executive committee of 

a State that exists only in the imagination of these gentlemen at Sioux 

Falls. 

I suppose, as a matter of course, what I may say avails noLhing so far as actual re.:."'Ults are concerned. I do not accuse my friends on the 

other side with wanting three more electoral votes. Oh, no; I do not 

ascribe to them any partisan feeling in this matter, although I have 

been placarded and blackguarded through all the press of that interesting and growing community called Dakota for hanng exercised my 

constitutional privilege in objecting to their Statehootl, because I made 

objection to the adtnission of two States out of that Territory into the 

Union. The Rocky :Mountain Banner of Freedom, the Prairie Courier, 

and the Yankton Almanac have lived almost for the last two years by 

attacking me, but I still survive and am able to make a ''few feeble 

remarks" in the same direction which tempted my first effort. 

Mr. PLUMB. Will the Senator permit me to ask him a question? 

Mr. VEST. Certainly. . Mr. PLillf.B. He has said a great deal about thi'> State being out of 

the Union. That I can understand; that I have heard something about 

before; but wl\en he talks about our getting three eleetoral votes by reason of it I do not understand him. How are we going to get three 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 307 

electoral votes in the electoral college of the United States .from a State 

outside of the Union? 

.Mr. VEST. I haYe seen many strange things. I do not know 

~bet her these people will undertake to give electoral \Otes in the next 

election or not. If they do, it will be about on a par with what they 

have done. They would have as much right to go to the electoral college and cast three Yotes as they have had to organize a State government. I want them to pass through the ordeal other States h:::n·e, the 

discriminatin~ judgment of Congress. 

:Mr. LOGAN. They ha\e done that, and you have Yoted it down 

twice. :Mr. VEST. I do not blame my friend from lllinois for his zeal in 

this matter. If I were dispo ed to be ill-natured I might say that he 

and the Senator from Indiana anticipated that these votes might become 

very e sential in the future. 

Now, the Senator says we voted down the proposition. We have 

'lever voted it down. 

Mr. LOGAN. I know what has been done. 

Mr. VEST. The e people have never come here and propo ed to 

bring in a State of Dakota composed of the whole Territory. They 

divided the Territory themselves without our consent, and when we 

undertake to show that it ought not be divided and that the population is not sufficient for any such scheme as this, then those of us who 

oppose it are told that we are partisans actuated by a desire to deprive 

these people of their equal and constitutional rights in the Union! 

Mr. LOGAN. If the Senator refers to me in what he says about partisans I think he makes a mistake. He was the Senator who insinuated 

that persons might desire to get States in for the purpo e of getting 

electoral votes. He ought not to insinuate that and then try to c!lSt an 

aspersion on others that they were acting from partisan motives. I said 

nothing about partisan motives, except that I referred back to the language that he had u ed, and said perhaps the same reason would apply 

for keeping out votes as would apply for getting them in. That wa all 

I said, and I said that in a low tone of voice. 

Mr. VEST. I make no a ~ault on the Senator from illinois. He is 

like myself. I make no pretensions to be an esthetic statesman. I 

suppose I am a politician. I fight for my party, and hope always to 

do so. I am perfectly satisfied with my party. · It represents, I believe, the sound constitutional theories of this Government. I neYer 

rose to that esthetic ped tal where I could not tell a friend from n. foe. 

The Senator from illinois has never been accused of that, nor have I. 

Therefore I meant nothing personal. I simply meant to saythat if the 

members of this body, in new of the record which these people have 

made, now can undertake to say in view of their declarations that there 

is no ground here to belieYe that they are acting without regard to the 

will of the Congress of the United States, then I must conclude that 

some partisan feeling has entered into a discussion which should admit of only the most impartial consideration and action. 

Mr. HARRISON. :Mr. President, I desire simply to take the floor. 

As the hour of 2 o'clock has arrived and there is other business, I 

will give way. · 

MESS.A.GE FRO:ll THE llOUSE. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. CLARK, it 

Clerk, announced that the House had passed the joint resolution (S. R. 

1) filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 

Institution. 

.JOINT RGLES FOR TilE TWO HOUSES. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is the duty of the Chair to lay before the Senate the unfinished business, which is the concurrent resolution concerning the joint rules for the Senate and Honse of Representatives. The pending amendment, moved by the Senator from Kansas [ fr. INGALLS], will be read. . 

The CHIEF CLERK. In Rule IX, paragraph 2, line 8, after the word 

"agreed," strike out "unless it becomes necessary to change the text 

in order to perfect the bill after amendment." 

Mr. FRYE. I do not think that amendment helps the rule at all; 

neither does it hurt it at all, and if the Senator who proposed it desire i4 I have no objection. 

lt1r. HOAR. Let it be read. 

Mr. INGALLS. I think upon reflection, after hearing the observations made by the enator from Iowa [Mr. ALLISON], perhaps the 

amendment should be modified so as to provide that conference com- mittees shall only make such changes in the text as are necessary to 

harmonize the bill with the amendments in language. That was the 

object I had in view, and I understand that all thosa who have spoken 

agree that that ought to be done, that the liberty of a confe1·ence committee ought to extend no further than that. Therefore I will submit 

such a modification of my amendment as will bring about that result, 

changing the clause so that it shall read: . 

Unless it becomes necessary to change tile text in order t~ harmonize the text with the amendment. 

Mr. FRYE. I see no objection to that, and I think that will accomplish all that the Senator desire . The PRESIDENT pro tempol'e. The precise language of the amenrl.-

ment will be written by the ecretary and reported. 

Mr. FRYE. In the last line, clause 2, strike out the word "perfect" 

and insert the word '' harmonize.'' 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment as modified will be 

read. 

M:r. FRYE. Strike out the word "bill," in the same line, and inert tl)e word ''text,'' and strike out ''after '' and insert ' 'with'' and 

also the word "the." . The PRESIDENT p1·o tempo1·e. It will be read as modified. 

The CHIEF CLERK. In line 9, after the word ''to," it is moved 

to strike out the words '' perf~c t the bill after'' and insert the words 

"harmonize the text with the;" so as to read: 

Unle it becomes neces ary to change the text in order to harmonize the text with the amendment. 

Mr. HOAR. Let the whole part of the rule containing that subject 

be read as it will read if amended. 

The PRESIDE T pro tempore. It will be read. 

The Chief CleTk read as follows : • 

It shall not be in order for n. conference committee to con iuer or include 

in their report matter on n. subject uot in d ispute between their r pective 

Houses; nor shall the committee change the text of a bill, joint or concurrent resolution, to which~otb Uou es hn.,·e agreed, unl it becomes nece ·ary to change the te:xt in orde1· to harmonize the text with the amendment. 

Mr. HOAR. Ir. President, that rule as now proposed makes a very 

erious change, as I understand it, in the p:uliamentary law in rt>ganl to 

confeTencecommittee , and one which in orne important emergenciesone, particularly, where a measure W:l.S under ihe charge of my bonorable friend from Uaine, him elf and others-which may ari t", would 

hav-e been found very inconwnient and will be so found hereafter. 

That is, it prohibits a conference except upon matter' where a dispute 

hns already arisen between the two Hou es. . 

In the hi tory of legislative bodies it is often found exceedingly conYenient to accompany an original proposition with a request for a conference committee, without waiting for a dispute, in order that ad i pute 

may not arise. Suppose, with these joint rules in for~e, we were approaching the end of a Congre instead of being at its beginning; uppose we were approaching some occasion when the exi tence of these 

joint rules should be found very important, we hould send down an 

original proposition to the other House with a request for a conference. 

That is perfectly in order. It is just what the enator from Maine did 

with one bill-I have forgotten now what it wa , but omething relating to theshippingproposition I think. We made a new amendment, 

and the question was discussed of his right to mo,·e a conference, but 

we sent down, on his motion, the proposition with an original request 

for a conference. 

It seems to me thi rule should be so modified as to limit the prohibition to dealing with matters hot in dispute between the two Hou e , 

only to measures where matters in diJ pute between the two Hou es 

have been committed to committees of conference, that they ball uot 

thenJgo beyond the borders of their jurisdiction and undertake to agree 

upon something out of their own head which has not been submitted 

to either ofthe two Houses. 

Mr. INGALLS. Mr. President, the case to which the Senator from 

Un.ssachusetts refer d-oe not bear the interpretation he places upon it, 

and hi torically it doe not sustain his position. The fact W:l.S tll!lt we 

passed a bill in this body and when it was sent over to the House of 

Representa.tives we accomp:mied it with a request for n. committee of 

conference. That is the only way. We can not ask a committee of conference on something that never has occurred. 

Ur. HOAR. The enator will pardon me. Allow me to recall the 

hi tory. The Ron e entnpa billonsomesubjectconnected with commerce. The Senator from l\laine desired to annex to that bill a proposition originating here in regard to, if I recollec~ aright the removal 

of certain taxes and burdens upon America.n shipping-pilot dues and 

other things. He de ired to lo e no time, in the fir t place, by having 

the House disagree and then the message come asking for a, conference 

committee, and he desired in thenextplacetohavethen.dmntage which 

tlle right to report at any time of a conference committee in the House 

would give his measure there. So he mov-ed his amendment, which was 

an original proposition here. It was adopted, and then the SeJJate asked 

for a. committee of conference. 

Mr. INGALLS. That amendment was first adopted in the Senate 

to the bill. 

Mr. HOAR. Certainly; but before the House had disagreed to it. 

Mr. INGALLS. Verytrue. 

Mr. HOAR. There was no controversy, therefore, between the two 

branches. In that debate it was clearly shown by precedents which 

were looked up and cited that you might within the parliamentary 

law ask for a conference committee when you sent down an original 

proposition. 

Mr. INGALLS. Certainly; but that does not change the aspect of 

theca c that we are now considering. The motion for a committee of 

conference was sent down with the amendment in advance for the purpose simply, as the Senator says, of obtaining a parliamentary advantage in point of time. It does not change at all the question that is 

involved in my amendment. It was merely the effort on the part of 

the Senate to get a parliamentary adv-antage. It can not be considered 
308 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- SENATE. DECEMBER· 18, 

in anyway whatever as bearing upon the question whether or not con- ference committees ought to be limited to amendments that have been 

considered by either Honse, or whether they shall be a.t liberty to play 

whatever tricks they please with the text of bills that are submitted 

to them for consideration. 

Mr. HOAR. My remark was not addressed at all to the Senator's 

amendment, which I agree to. It has nothing to do withit. The Senator misconceived it. I asked for the reading of the whole rule and 

then pointed out to the Senate the fact tha.t the rnle as drawn would 

change the parliamentary law so that the House never conld ask for a committee of conference unless a dispute first bad arisen. Th.i~ is the 

language: 

It shall not be in order for a conference committee to consider or include in 

their report matter or subjects not in dispute between their respective Houses. 

Yon may have a conference in advance of disagreement. That is ~o part of the Senator's amendment; the amendment does not affect that; 

that is in the original rule. It seems to me, therefore, thfl.t this rule 

should be so limited, not the part the Senator has moved to amend but 

the other part, as to prohibit them when a matter in dispute has been 

committed to them from going beyond it. • 

1\1r. INGALLS. Now take the C.:'tse to which the Senator has just 

called my a.ttention; had not a dispute arisen? 

Mr. HOAR. No. 

Mr. INGALLS. Why? Whenever the Senate adopted an amendment to the Honse bill a dispute had arisen, and the only question was whether we should bring it to the attention of the House of Representatives by asking a conference committee before or a.fter they had acted 

on the Senate amendment. 

Mr. HOAR. The dispute had not arisen parliamentarily until that 

amendffient had gone down to the Honse and they had non-concurred 

in the amendment. But still, whether that be true or not in that ca.se, 

it is very well sett.led, and will be very often found convenient, that we may do wha.t was then done. We might pass an original bill on 

the last day of the session, and, knowing that if there were a da.y's delay the bill would be lost, we might desire to communicate to the Honse 

formally and officially the reasons that had governed us in the passage 

of the bill or resolution before the House acted upon it at all. That is, 

the object of the conference might be to prevent a dispute ever arising; 

and although that · is a rare occasion in our American parliamentary 

history, it is something which may arise in very important cases. There 

is no earthly reason for tying np the parliamentary powers of the two 

bodies by J>robibiting that. . Mr. FRYE. I think the Senator is slightly mistaken. The bill to 

which be refers was a bill which came from the Honse, was referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, and by the committee amendments to it 

were reported, and when I reported it to the Senate and action was had I moved all of the recommendations of the Senate committee as 

amendments to the Honse bill. Then I moved a committee of confer- ence. A discussion arose on the point as to whe~her or not I could move a committee of conference, there being no dispute. The authorities which I cited satisfied the presiding officer that I wa.s right, because under parliamentary rule a dispute ba.s arisen the very moment an amendment has been made by one Honse to the other's proposition. 

That is a parliamentary construction, and itwas the construction given 

then. 

Now, if the Senator will observe, I have provided in this rule for 

exactly that case, which never before was provided for in a rule of the 

Senate, in the first clause; 

When a. bill, joint or concurNnt resolution, has pas ed one House and been amended in the other, it-shall be in order to move a committee of conference. 

The whole struggle oyer that proposition of mine was on the question. 

whether or not in parliamentary view I bad a right to move a conference, there having been an amendment only and no non-concurrence and no insistence, and the Chair decided according to parliamentary la.w, 

which is, that the moment an amendment is adopted by one House to a bill of the other, that moment a dispute commences between the two 

Houses, and concurrence or refusal to concur and insistence are not at all 

necessary ·to establish that position where a conference may be asked. 

Now under this rule I have so far amended the previous practice as to 

make provision for exactly that casewbereoneHouseproposes an amendment. 

I desired to go one stel> further and to putintotberulethatyou might 

ask a conference on a bill sent originally· from one Honse to the other 

House. I examined the a.uthorities with a. good deal of care, and could 

find in aJl only two occasions where it had eYer been attempted in Congress, and I found on examining the authorities on parliamentary law 

that they were all against it, and I gave it up. I have made one advance in this rnle from anything that was ever done in a rule, that upon 

an amendment being offered you might call for a committee of conference; and that was the case which I bad exactly. · Mr. HOAR. But the thing was put by the Senate, if I am not very 

much mistaken; of course I shall defer to the recollection of my friend 

from Maine who had charge of that matter, but I feel quite confident 

t,bat the Senate went on the ground that it was not necessary that a 

dispute should have arisen, and that yon might ask !or a conference in 

advance of a dispute. I move this amendment to the rule--

The PRESIDENT pro terapore. There is one amendment pending to a part of the rule. 

Mr. HOAR. Let-that be agreed to. 

Mr. FRYE. Let the amendment be read again. I think it requires, 

for good la.nguage, another amendment. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. . The amendment will be read. 

The CHIEF CLERK. In line 9, paragraph 2 of Rule IX, strike out 

the word "perfect" and insert "harmonize the text with; " so as to 

read: 

It shall not be in order for a. conference committee to consider or include in 

their report matter or subjects not in dispute between their respective Hou es, no• shall the committee change the te:rt of a bill, joint or concurrent resolution, to which both Houses have agreed, unless it becomes necessary to change the text in order to harmonize the text with the amendment. 

Mr. FRYE. I ask that the first two words, "the text," be stricken 

out and "it" substituted. 

Mr. INGALLS. I am not entirely satisfied with the langua.ge that 

bas been suggested even yet. One of the great masters of human phraseology has suggested to me language that I think will be a "great deal 

better, and that is to insert the words ''to conform the text to the. '' 

"Har""lonize" is a vague word, with many significations, and I suggest 

that. the amendment be ''to· conform the text to the.'' 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's amendment as modified will be read. 

The CHIEF CLERK. The proposed amendment is to strike out the 

words ''perfect the bill after '' and insert the words '' conform the 

text to the;" so as to read: 

Unless it becomes necessary t.o ch:mge the text in order to conform the text to the amendment. 

The amendment was agreed to. 

Mr. HOAR. Now, I move at the beginning to amend the second 

cla.nse of article 9, after the word " Houses," in the fourth line, by 

inserting these words: . 

Whenever a matter in dispute between the two Houses is committed to a con- ference committeeThen, in line 5, strike out the words "a conference" and insert the 

word " said; " so as to read: 

Wnenever a matter in dispute between tke two Houses is committed to a con- ference committee it shall not be in order for aid committee to consider or include in their report matter or subjects not in dispute between·their respective H~~ . 

That will prevent the rule from making, as it now does, an absolute 

prohibition of ever asking a conference committee on a matter which 

is not in dispute. 

Mr. FRYE. Let the amendment be read. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The a.mendment will be read. 

The CHIEF CLERK. In line 4, after the word "Houses," in ert: 

Whenever a matter in dispute between the two Houses is committed to a. conference committee. 

So as to read: 

Whenever a. matter in dispute between the two Houses is committed to a con- ference committee, it shall not be in order for said committee to con ·ider or include in their report matter or subjects not in dispute between their respective Hou es. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is the amendment of 

the Senator from Massachusetts. 

Mr. FRYE. Let the Chief Clerk read the whole clause as it will be 

after the amendment. I do not know that I got it exactly. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It will be read. · The CHIEF CLERK. In Rule IX, paragraph 2, li&e 4, after the word 

"Houses," insert: 

Whenever a. matter in dispute between the two Houses is committed to a con· ference committeeSo as to read: 

2. All committees of conference shall meet at the call of their chairman, and 

shall state verbally or in writing, as they may choo e, the reasons for the actions 

of their respective Houses t.ouchlng the amendment or amendments in di pule 

between the two Houses. Whenever a. matter in dispute between the two Houses is committed to a conference committee, it shall not be in order for said 

committee to consider or include in their report matter or subjects not in di pute between their 1·espective Houses, nor shall the committee change the text of a. bill, joint or concurrent resolution, t.o which both Houses have agreed, unle 

it becomes necessary to change the text in order to conform the text to the 

amendment. 

1\1r. FRYE. 

there. 

I do not like the repetition of the words "the text" . . Mr. HOAR. That does not come into my amendment. That does 

not affect this matter at all. 

Mr. FRYE. That is true. I do not see how the Senator's amendment effects the purpose which he was seeking. 

Mr. HOAR. As the rule is now drawn it declares henceforth as a 

principle of parliamentary law for this Congress that it shall not be in 

order in either branch of Congress to ask for a conference committee 

unless a dispute has already arisen. In my judgment it is now within 

the parliamentary law to make that request. Certainly it can do no harm, and I desire to preserve that authority. The rule does not in 

the least affect in the case provided for by the Senator from Kansas 
1885. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 309 

the original rule. It simply changes the phraseology, the sentence 

meaning exactly what it does now, so as not to include that case. That 

is all. 

Mr. FRYE. I have no objection to that. I f.'lil to see how it does 

the slightest harm, even under my view of the rule. 

Mr. HOAR. It does not, of course, do any harm. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there is no objection the amendment of the Senator from Massachusetts will be considered as agreed to. 

Mr. FRYE. Now if the President will have the Chief Clerk read the 

last three lines of clause 2, I want to change them. There are three 

repetitions of the words "the text," which seem to me offensive. 

The Chief Clerk read as follow.s: 

Nor shall the committee chn.nge the text of a bill, joint or concurrent resolution, to which both Houses have agreeCl -.··· less it becomes necessary to change 

the text. -

Mr. FRYE. Now put in "it" instead of "the text;" so as to read 

''becomes necessary to change it.'' 

The CHIEF CLERK. In the last line strike out "the text" and insert "it;" so as to read: 

Unless it becomes necessary to change it in order to conform the text to the 

amendment. 

Mr. FRYE. "In order to conform it." 

Mr. INGALLS. The words "change_ the text" might as well all be 

stricken out. Those words are not necessary to the sense. Mr. FRYE. Those four words may as well come out. "Unless it 

becomes necessary in order to conform the text to the amendment '' 

would be better. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore, The Senator from Maine proposes 

to strike out the words ''change the text.'' 

The amendment was agreed. to. 

The PRESID~T 'pro tempore. The question now recurs on the 

adoption of the proposed nirith joint rule as amended. 

The rule was adopted. ·' · 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there further amendments? 

Mr. FRYE. The· Senate as in Committee of the Whole has gone 

through with all the clauses of these joint rules. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question now is on the adoption of the resolution. 

Mr. HARRIS: Has it been l'eported to the Senate? 

Mr. FRYE. It has not been reported to the Senate. It is necessary now to report it to the Senate with amendments. 

The PRESIDENT pro tenJ-pore. If there be no further amendments 

proposed the resolution will be reported to the Senate. 

The concnrrent resolution was reported to the Senate as amended. 

:Mr. FRYE. I ask that the vote on the amendments may be taken 

in gross. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the adoption of 

the amendments made as in Committee of the Whole. The Chair will 

put the question on the amendments in gross unless a separation be 

called for. 

The amendments were concurred in. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the adoption of 

the concurrent resolution providing for joint mles. - The resolution was agreed to. • 

CHANGE OF NAMES OF BANKS. 

Mr. HARRIS. I ask the Senate to consider at this time Sen:lte bill 

No. 382, order of business 3, being a bill to authorize the Merchants' 

National Bank of. Little Rock, Ark., to change its name to the First 

National Bank of Little Rock. · Mr. HOAR. I should like, with the leave of iny friend from Tennessee, to have the unfinished business, which is the district court bill, 

laid before the Senate. I will then consent that it be laid aside informally for any other business. I do not desire any action on it today. 

:Mr. HARRIS. I have no objection. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The next bill in order is the bill 

(S. 6) :fixing the salaries of the several judges of the United States district courtsat $5,000per annnm, and forotherpurposes, pending which 

the Senator from Massachusetts yields to the Senator from Tennessee. 

Mr. HOAR. No, it is to be laid aside informally. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is proposed that the pending bill 

be laid aside informally with a view to consider the next bill on the 

Calendar. Is there objection? The Chair hears none. The bill (S. 382) to auth9rize the Merchants' National Bank of Little Rock, Ark., -to change its name to the First National Bank of Little 

Rock was considered as in Committee of the Whole. _ The bill was reported to the Senate, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed. 

Mr. McMILLAN. I ask the Senator from Massachusetts to yield 

to me to have the next bill on the Calendar pa..~ed. It is a bill of the 

same character precisely as that just acted on, simply to change a bank's name. 

·The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota asks 

unanimous consent to lay aside the pending bill with a view to con- sider Senate bill No. 126. 

There being no objection, the bill (S. 126) to changethenameofthe 

National Bank of Winona was considered as in Committee of the Whole. 

The bill wa.s reported to the Senate, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed. 

COID\IITTEE SERVICE. 

Mr. CAM:ERON. I ask to be relieved from service upon the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of 

the Senator from Pennsy 1 vania? 

The request was acceded to. 

?llr. McMILLAN. I ask the Senate to excuse me from further serv- ice upon the Committee on :Mines and Mining. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota asks to 

be relieved from further service upon the Committee on Mines and 

1\fining. That will be considered as agreed to ·unless objection be 

made. 

Mr. CHACE. I ask to be excused from further ·service upon the 

Committee on Claims. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island asks 

to be excused from further service upon the Committee on Claims. 

That request will be considered as agreed to if there be no objection. 

How shall the vacancies be filled? 

Several SENATORS. By the Chair. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It will be so ordered if there be no objection; and the Chair appoints the Senator from Oregon [Mr. MITCHELL] to :fill .the vacancies upon the Committee on Claims, the Committee on Mines and Mining, the Committee on Railroads, and the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard. · 

COMl\I.ITTEES. 

The committees as now arranged are as follows: 

STA},"'DING CXHDIITI'EES. 

On AgricuLture and Forestry-Messrs. 1\Iill~r of New York (chairman), Blair, 

Plumb, VanWyck, Sawyer, George, Fair, Gib on, and Jones of Arkansas. 

On .Appropriations-Messrs. Allison (chairman), Dawes, Plumb, Hale, Mahone, 

Beck, Cockrell, Call, Gorman, and Logan. To Audit and Cont1·ot the Contingent .E.l:penses oftheSenaUr--Messrs. Jones ofNe-

"\"ada (chairman), Chace, and Vance. On Civil Serrice and Reb·enchm.ent-Messl'i!, Hawley (chairman), Dawes, Mitchell ofPennsylvania, JUiller of California, Pike, Voorhees, Walthall, Wilson of 

Maryland , and Berry. On Claims-Messrs. Pike (chairman), Hoar, Dolph, Spooner, Jackson, Fair, Jones of Arkansas, Gray, and Mitchell of Oregon. On Coast Defenses-Messrs. Dolph {chairman), Cameron, Sewell, Hawley, "Maxey, McPherson, and Fair. On Cornm.!Tce-1\Iessrs. McMillan (chairman), Jones of Nevada, Conger, Frye, 

Miller of New York, Dolph, Cameron, Ransom, Coke, Vest, Gorman, Jones of 

Florida, and Kenna. On the .IJ:istrict of C~lum.?>W-Me:ssrs. Ingalls (chairman), Riddleb~rger, Pike, 

Palmer,l\Iiller of Cahforrua, Harr1s, Vance, Brown, and Blackburn. 

On Education and Labor-Messrs. Blair (chairman), Mahone,l\Iiller of New York, Bowen, Palmer, Call, Pugh, Payne, and W altha1J. On Engrossed BiUs-l\Iessrs. Saulsbury {chairman}, Call, azul-Allison. On EnroUed B ills-Messrs. Bowen (chairman), a. ;J. • :~Colquitt. 

On Epidemic Diseases-Messrs. Harris {chai.rman), Ens · Sewell, 

Spooner, Stanford, and Berry. To Examine the Seve1·at B ranches of the Oivu &n::ice-Messm.Sabin {chairman), Cullom, A!Uson, Hampton, and Gray. On Erpcnditures of Public Money-Messrs. Cullom.(chairman),·Harrison, Plumb, 

Pl:l.tt, Beck, Kenna, and Gibson. On Pinance-1\lessrs.Morrill (chairman), Sherman, Jones of NeYada, Allison, 

.Aldrich,l\liller of New York, Voorhees,Beck,McPherson, Harris,and Vance. On Pisheries-Messr . Palmer (chairman), Sewell, Dawes, Stanford,Mo.rgan, Harris, and Gray. On F01·eign Relations-Messrs. Miller of California (chairman), Sherman, Ed 

munds, Frye, Evarts, Morgan, Brown, Saulsbury, and Payne. · On the Impm,;erne-nt of the MisS1:Ssippi R iver-Messrs. Van Wyck (chairman), 

Mitchell of Pennsylvana, C'ullom, Pike, Cockrell, George. and Eustis. On IndianAffairs-1\le srs . Dawes (chairman), Ingalls, Harrison, Bowen, Sabin, 

Maxey, 1\Iorgan,Hampton, and Jones of Arkansas. On the Judidary-~Iessrs. Edmunds (chairman), Ingalls, 1\lcl\Iillan, Hoar, Wil- son of Iowa, Evarts, Pugh, Coke, Vest, and Jackson. On the Library-Messr . Sewell (chairman), Hoar, and Voorhees. On Manufactures-Messrs. Riddle berger (chairman), Sabin, 1\Iitehell of Penn- sylvania, Stanford, Colquitt, Butler, and Walthall. · On MililanJ .Affctirs-1\Iessrl'!. Logan (chairman), Sewell, Oameron, Harrison, 

Hawley, 1\fanderson, Cockrell, Hampton, Camden, and Walthall. On Mines and Mining-Messrs. Teller {chairman), Jones of Nevada, VanWyck, 

Hampton, Fair, Camden, and Mitchell of Oregon. · On Naval .A.tfairs-1\Iessrs. Cameron (chairman), Hale, Dawes, Riddleberger, Stanford, IcPherson, Jones-of Florida, Butler, and Blackburn. On Pcttents-Messrs. Platt (chairman), Mitchell of Pennsylvanin., Chace, Teller, Camden, Jones of Arkansas, and Gray. 011 P ensions-Messrs. Mitchell of Pennsylvania (chairman), Blair, VanWyck, Aldrich, Sewell, Jackson, Camden, Colquitt, and Payne. On Post-Offices and Post-Roads-Messrs. Cono-er (chairman), Sawyer, Wilson, 

of Iowa, Mahone, Chace, Maxey, Saulsbury, &lquitt, and Wilson of Maryland. On Printing-Messrs. Manderson (chairman), Hawley, and Gorman. On Private Land Claims-Messrs. Ransom (chairman), Colquitt, Eustis, Edmunds, and Evarts. On Privileges and Electi~rns-l\Iessrs. Hoar (chair:ma.n), Frye, Teller, Evarts, 

Saulsbury, Vance, Pugh, George, and Logan. 

On Public Builclings and Grounds-Messrs. Mahone (chairman), Morrill, Stanford, Spooner, Jones of Florida, Vest, and Camden. 

On Public Lands-Messrs. Plumb (chairman), Blair, VanWyck, Dolph, Teller, 

Morgan, Cockrell, Walthall, and Berry. On Rauroads-Messrs. Sawyer {chairman), Hawley, Sewell, Sabin, Cullom, 

Brown, Kenna, George Bla.ckburn, Eu tis, and Mitchell of Oregon. On the R evision of the ~ws of the United Stales-Messrs. Wilson of Iowa (chairman), Platt, Hale, Ke1ma, and Wilson of 1\Iaryland. . On Revolutionary Claims-Messrs. Jones of Florida (chairman), Coke, Pugh, Mcl\lillan, and Chace. On Ru.!es-1\Iessrs. Frye (chairman), Sherman, Ingalls, Harris, and Blackburn. 
310 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. D EOEl\IBER 18, 

On Territories-Messrs. Harrison) chairman), Platt, Conger, Cull ~ 1\Iander- son, B~tler, Jones of Florida, George, and Payne. 

On Transpo1·tation. Rottfes to theSeaboa1·d-Messrs. Aldrich (chairman), Mander- son, Pa.liner, Cullom, Gtbson, Vest, Call, Butler, and :Mitchell of Oregon. 

SELECT COlllMlTTEES. 

To Investigate Condition of Powmac Rive1· Pront of Washington-Messrs. Mc- Pherson (chair~an), Rans?m, Gorman, Conger, Sabin,l\Ianderson, and Spooner. To 11 alee Prov-U~wn for t~ktng the Tenth Cens= and ascertaining the Results thereof- Messrs. Hale (chairman), Morrill, Sawyer, Wilson of Iowa, Coke, Jackson, and 

Berry. 

To Inquire into an Claims of Oili.zens of the United States against the Governnumt of 

Nicm·agua-Messrs. Maxey (chairman), Beck, Hoar, Harrison, and Wilson of 

:Maryland. On Woman S1tffrage-Messrs. Cockrell (chairman), Fair, Brown, Blair, Palmer, 

Chace, and Bowen. On Addilio11al Accommodations fol' the Library of Congress-Messrs. Voorhees 

(chairman), Butler, Gibson, Morrill, and Miller of California. 

To Inquire a.s to the Oapacity of Steelrproducing Works in the United Stales-Messi·s. 

Hawley (chairman), Aldrich, Iorgan,Butler,and Sewell. . 011 Transportation lnJ Railroad between the severaL States-Messrs. Cullom (chair- man), Platt, l\Iiller of New York, Gorman, and Harris. To Consid_er the Su_bject of Reduction of E"!lployes and Committees of Senale1\Ies rs. Allison (chalrman),Platt,Plumb,l\Iiller of New York, Cocki•ell, Harris, 

and Payne. 

ADJOURNMENT TO MO!\""DAY. 

J'.\1r. MORRILL. I move that when the Senate adjourn to-day it 

adjourn to meet on Monday next. 

The motion was agreed to. 

PATENT OFFICE ROO liS. 

Mr. PLATT, i ask that the joint resolution of the House which 

was lnid on the table yesterday be taken up at this time. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut 

moves th:l.t the joint resolution received yesterday from the House of 

Representatives· be now taken up for consideration. The motion was agreed to; and the joint resolution (H. Res. 1) 

authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to use a portion of the contingent fund to fit up rooms for the Commissioner of Patents was read 

twice and considered as in Committee of the Whole. 

U.r. PLATT. A single word of explanation, Mr. President. The 

Commissioner of Patents has been assjgned to different rooms in the 

building of the Interior Department, and it becomes necessary to fit them 

up and repair them. The Secretary of the Interi{)r and also the Commissioner of Patents think that the power exists now to take from the 

contingent fund the sum necessary for that purpose, but the Comptroller of the Treasury has.donbts about it, and so they request that 

this resolution ma.y be passed. I think there is no necessity for referl·ing it to a committee. I will ask, however, that a single amendment 

may be made; that is, after :the word "nece...~ary," in line 7, to insert 

the words "fit up.and;" so as to r ead: 

A may be necessary to fit up and-put in proper repair the rooms in the Inte- rior Department. building, &c. 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The joint resolution was reported to the Senate as amended, and the 

amendment was concurred in. The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the joint resolution 

to be 1·ead the third tiri:le. 

The joint resolution was read the third time, and passed. 

JUDICIAL SALARIES. 

'The PRESIDENT pro te1111Jore. The regular order is the bill (S. 6) 

fixing the salaries of the seveml judges of the United States district 

court at :S5,000 per annum, and tor other purposes, the pending question being on the amendment pr'oposed by the Senator from Alabama 

[Mr. MORGAN}. 

J'llr. ALLISON. I move that the Senate do now adjourn. 

· TJ1e motion was agi"eed to; and (at 2 o'clock and 39 minutes p. m.) 

the Senate adjourned. .. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

FRIDA.Y, Decembm· 18, ?-885. 

The House met at 12 o'clock m. Pra.yer by the Chaplain, Rev. W. H . 

MILBURN, D.. D. 

The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and appreved. 

REGENTS OF THE Sl!ITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

1\fr. WILSON, of West Virginia. I ask unanimous consent to take 

from the Speaker's table for present consideration Senate joint resolution No. 1, filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of the 

Smithsoillan Institution. · 

The SPEAKER. The joint resolution will be read, after which the 

the Chair will ask for objection . The joint resolution was read, as follows: 

Resoh·ed, &c. Thattbeexi tingvncancie in the Board of Regents of the Smithsoniau In titution .of the class •· other than members of Congress " shall be filled 

by the reappointment of John 1\Iu.clean of New Jersey, As Gray of l\Iassachu- seLt , llenry Coppee of P e unsylvanja, and the appointment of Montgomery C. 

Meigs, of the city of Washington, vice William T. Sherman whose term has ex- pired and who is no longer a citizen of 'Vashington. 

The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the rese ~ consideration of 

the resolution? 

There was no objection. 

The joint resolution was read three times, and passed. 

Mr. WILSON, of West Virginia, moved to reconsider the vote by 

which the jointresolntion was passed; and also moved that the motion 

to reconsider be laid on the table. 

The latter motion was agreed to. 

GOVERNOR'S ISL.Al.""D, NEW YORK. 

The SPEAKER, by unanimous consent, laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of\Yar, transmitting a report of the damage by 

storm to Governor's Island, New York Harbor, and asking an appropriation for continuing the sea-wall around the island; which was laid 

on the table, and ordered to be printed. 

FORT CANBY W ASHINGTOX TERRITORY. 

The SPEAKER also laid before the House a letter from the Secretary 

of ·war transmitting detailed estimates of the cost of protecting roads 

and public buildings at Fort Canby, Washington Territory, against the 

waters of Baker s Bay; which was laid on the table, and ordered to be 

prin~ed. 

TIIE RCLES. 

Mr. J'!IORRISO~. I call up a~ a privileged question the unfinished 

business. · 

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Illinois calls up the report 

of the Committee on Rules. Tbe question is upon an amendment proposed by the gentleman from Dlinois [Mr. SPRINGER] which the Clerk 

will report. · 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Strike out, from line 62 to line 77, the following: " On Expenditure in the State Department, to consist of seven members· 

"On Expenditures in the Trea m-y Department, to consist of seven member 

"On Expenditures in the War Department, to consist of seven members· 

"Os Expenditures in the Navy Deparlment, to consist of seven member' · "On Expenditures in the Post·Office Department, to consist of seven memb~r · "On Expenditures in the Interior Department, to consist of seven members.' 

"On Expenditures in the Department of Justice, to consi t of seven memberS· "~n Expenditures on Public B~dings, to consist of seven members," ' and InSert as follows: 

"On Public Expenditures, to con ist of fifteen members." 

M.r. SPRINGER. I have moved to strike out these various committees and create one committee consisting of fifteen members. My object is not to destroy any imaginary good that these committees might 

produce if allowed to exist, but it is to bring the responsibility of making these investigations within such a number of members as will insure some work being done by the committees. 

I also have in view the saving of the public funds. I have been a. member of Congress for ten years, and my observation with regard to 

these committees is that in nearly all cases, after their appointment, 

organization, and the election of a clerk, the committees practically 

cease to exist, and nothing further is done. We have been paying 

about $25,000 a year for clerks to these committees, which would 

amount to 250,000 in the last ten years for clerkships to committees 

that have done no work, except in a few cases to w;hich I shall refer. 

I old in my hand indices showing the reports of these committees 

during the last two Congresses, which may be taken as a sample of the 

work generally done by these committees on Departmental expenditures. With one or two exceptions these indices show simply the ap· 

pointment of the committee and the authorization of a clerk to it; and 

there the record stop . The exception is in the case Qf the Committee 

on Expendituresin the Department of Justice, ofwhichduringthelast 

Congress I had the honor to be the chairman. That committee made 

several reports, and was engaged very industriously, as all gentlemen 

who were members of the committee will testify, in the work assigned 

to it. But with this exception none of these committees dnrinrr the 

last Congress or the preceding Congress, or for any number of years 

within my recollection except during the Forty-fourth Congress, made 

any reports whatever. 

:Mr. ADAMS, of Illinois. Will my colleague allow me a question? 

• l\1r. SPRINGER. Certainly. 

Mr. ADAl\1S, of illinois. Is it not the purpose in forming these 

committee that they shall stand ready for the occurrence of such a nece ity for investigati{)u as did arise in the last Congress in the case of 

tbe p:trticularcommiltee of which my colleague was chairman? 

lHr. SPRINGER. Tbn.t was the intention, I have no doubt; and I 

propo e that we create one committee which will be a good one and 

will stand ready to do this work, a committee consisting of fifteen members, which can be divided into ubcommittees, and can no doubt perform any work that may be required by any emergency in the future. 

But if there should ari ·e hereafter orne extraordinary occasion for inve tigation: I haYe no doubt the House would promptly respond by cre- ating a special committee for that purpose. 

Mr. PETERS. The gentleman says he would like to have "one good 

committee. ' I hope he does not mean to intimate that the e other 

committees ha\e been bad. 

Mr. SPRINGER. Oh, no; J mean nothing of the kind. The gentleman may, if he choo es, indulge in reflections of that kind, but I