Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-07-17
@aiIygntelligeuttr
SENATORS CARL1LE and WILEY

Debate in the q. s. Senate on the Pre-
senIatiOn of their Credentials by
Senator johnson, of Tenn.---The
Traitors Vote Against their Admis-
siOn--Thelr Triumphant Success.
Mr.. johnson, of Tennessee, said it afford
ed him great pleasure to present the GER
tificate of the newly elected Senators from
the State Of Virginia, to fill vacancies now
existing. He asked that the certificate
might be read and the members sworn in.
| MIR. Bayard said the question of acknow
| lodging these gentlemen under the certifi-
cate presented by them, involved great
questions of vital constitutional import
ance, and that should they be allowed to
be sworn in at the present time, it would
be direct violation of the constitution
! He asked that the matter be referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, before the
! gentlemen are sworn in.
! Mr.. Salisbury said he would call the at
tention OF the Senate to the single fact that
the gentlemen presented themselves on the
strength of credentials issued to them by
the Governor of IL portion of the State of
| Virginia; that those credentials bore upOn
the face of them the fact that the election
took place on the 9th of July, whereas ut
the same time there existed no vacancy in
the Senate from the State of Virginia. The
credentials state that the gentlemen were
appointed owing to the withdrawal of
Messrs. Hunter and Mason, hut this House
had yesterday decided that there was no
vacancy, but that Messrs. Hunter and Ma
son held the seats, aud the Senate, in ac-
cordance with the power vested in it by the
Constitution, had expelled these members.
II they were not Senators at that time, how
was it possible to expel them! Yesterday,
said Mr.. Salisbury, you treated them as
| Senators. The Senate is the judge of its
own members-how then can you allow
Governor to declare vacancy in the Uni
ted States Senate And how can you de-
clare that the seats were vacant on the 9th
of July when only yesterday you expelled
them?
Mr.. johnson, of Tennessee, said there
was priHG fGcie evidence of an election
the certificates were regularly certified by
the Governor; that there was no proof of
any irregularity OF election; the election
was effected according to the laws of Nir-
ginia, and WAS subject both to the GOnsti
tuition of the State and that of the United
States. There is no contest for the seats
no evidence that the Senators are not regu-
lurly elected but, on the contrary, there is
proof now before the Senate that they were
legally elected.
Mr.. salisbury replied by reiterating his
argument, and said that he hoped the Sen
ate would act in accordance with the Con-
stitution and preserve their consistency.
Mr.. Trumbull presumed that the Senator
from Delaware, (Mr. Saulsbury,) was elect
ed before his predecessor had vacated the
seat. That, in fact, twas true of most of
the Senators on the floer, and especially so
| in the case of the Senators from Minneso-
ia, who were elected even before the State
was declared part of the Union. Let
me- said MIR. TrGmbull, suppose Il case.-
! IT, during the war with Mexico, q Senator
| from the State Of Delaware had taken up
arms against the United States, would not
another Senator have been elected to fill
the vacancy? And yet the case of Messrs.
Hunter and Mason is infinitely more ag
gravatcd than that which have supposed.
They have melted the South to rebellion,
and taken up arms against their country.
] see, lie sasd. no necessity for referring
the case of the gentlemen IRON Virginia to
any committee.
Mr. Bayard said that the remarks refer
ring to the State of Delaware were not at
all likely. That Delaware would do moth
ing except by law. That in this case they
would require judicial evidence. That it
was never known in the history of the
country that the Governor of any State
appointed Il Senator for a broken term.
Mr.. Hale said that it made no difference
whether the gentlemen were elected to-
day, or whether they were elected three
days ago, the vacancy existed, and they
bore the credentials that entitled them to
seats. Were these gentlemen to be sent
home to be elected over again? He, Mt
least hoped not. This is not a day 70"
comp, omises, neither is it Il day for forms.
This is the time for action. Now was the
day, the hour, the experiment. We are
here to eudeavOr to crush out the rebellion
which RACES broadcast over the land. We
have long submitted to indignjlies, but
that time is past, and the present is the
triumph of the constitution, of the Repub
lican party. We had heretofore readily
compromised all questions, but now and
hereafter am only for the constitution,
/ that shall be my sole compromise. am
for collecting all the money and all the
men at the North, and TINS stake the
issue. We will attack them with our en-
tire energy, and if we are beaten we can
but submit. He (Mr. Haley said that some
of his remarks were not pertinent to the
the question, but to return: the Union low
ing men of Virginia yet recognized the
| United States government, and asked to
! be represented on this floor, and they are,
said be, entitled to such representation.
Mr.. Latham said lie considered the doc-
trine of secession one of the most damna-
BILE hereses that had ever been instituted.
The government of Virginia that sent
these Senators here has the same
constitution and the same laws that the
State always had that there was vacan-
cy, and that the gentlemen from Virginia
bore certificates that entitled them to seats
and he hoped they would be allowed to
take them.
Mr.. johnson, of Tennessee, said he
would answer the Senator from Delaware
(Mr. Salisbury a question by asking one.
Did he not yesterday admit that the seats
were vacant?
| -Ar Snnlshnrr rnnlied thnt he Lad nd-