Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-01-18
THE NEGRO SUFFRAGE BILL.
SENATE.

MI sumner presented petitions from soldiers who
enlisted in the army in the fall of 1862 asking FIR the
Affairs.
| PETITION FROM METHoD1srs AND ODD FELLOWS.
| Also petitions from the American Methodist Church
OF Pennsylvania and Past Grand Master of Odd Eel
lows, stating that no republican form of government
! exists IN many of the States, and pray a remedy
Referred to Joint Committe of l5.
| RFnoNSTRANCE AG NNsT EQCIPPiNG THE MILITIA.
Also, a petition from fifty colored men of Mont
gomery, Alabama demonstrating against the request
Of the Governor of that State for arms to eqi the
militia and setting forth the dangers that would re-
suit TO the ecoIoredzpo0ulaOn Of that state if such
| request was granted. Mr.. Sumner said he desired
| also to enter his protest against this demand. Re-
| IGrred to Joint Committee on Reconstruction. Mr..
| Irumbu from the Committee on the Judiciary re-
ported back the petition of the colored citizens of
| colorado demonstrating against the word white
N the Constitution of that State, asking to be dis
charged from the further consideration of the sub
| lect and that It be referred to the Committee on
! Territories. which was granted
I n . FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
The President laid before the Senate sealed COM
munlcatOns from the Secretary of War. IN response
| to resolutions Of the Senate inquirng number of
men in regular army. officers holding commissions,
volunteer forces. The Secretary elcoses TIE reports
OF the Adjutant General, which are quite volurni-
| nous. 1t appears that II major generals and Isl
brigadier generals still in the service. Three of
the MAJOR generals are IN command Of districts, sew
enteen OF departments, five are on special duty, one
on leave, and twcnty-one to be mustered out of the
! service. Twentythree brgadier generals are COM
| mandng districts and departments six are court
martials. six attached to the Freedmens Bureau ten
on special duty. four leave, and one hundred and
! two are to be mustered out This leaves now in the
| service % major and 20 brgaiicr generals The
| names OF those mustered out were published few
days since.
The general officers Of the Eesgar army are fol-
erals, Il. W. Halleck. W. I. sherman, g. G. Meade,
P. Il. Sheridan, and Geo Il. Thomas: Brgadier Ger.
SFaS, g. lrEin yin = Mcdowell, Wm. S. R3seerans, Philip
Scott Hancock, John NJ Schofied, o, o. Howard A.
H. Terry and j. A. Rawlirs, The entire force of the
regular army, omcer5 ana men, is set down 49l9.
I ADVERSE TO PENSIONERS
I Mr.. Lane from the Committee on Military Affairs,
to which was referred the bill relating to PENSIONS
made an adverse report.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Mr. Wiley obtained unanimous consent to intro
uce bill, cedlng to the State Of West Virginia the
lands tenements, &C. belonging to the United States
n nth. the COUNTY, Of Jefferson and lying at Harpers
tefry, with all the rights ana privileges pertaining
Affairs.
AFFAtRs OF SOUTHEASTERN FRONTIER.
MT. Chandler offered a resolution which was agreed
TO- requesting the President, if not incompatible with
the public interest, to communicate to the Senate
any letters in his possession from Major Cen She,i-
dan, or any of the Other officers of his department
regarding affairs on the southeastern frontier Of the
United States; and any alleged breaches of ncutrali
ty in that quarter.
Mr. Wilson moved to take up the bill to increase
Ihe military and peace establishments Of the United
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENTS.
On motion OF Mr.. Doolittie, the resolution of the
hoqse to provide PROVISIONAL governments for the
\ lately lns&TrectIonary States, was taken up.
SPEECH OF SENATOR DooLITTLE,
Mr.. Doottle said he would ask how many States
compose this great Republic which the world calls
the United States Of America? The President and
those who think with him say thirty-six The Sena-
tor IRON Massachusetts and his colleague [Mr Howe
2Rf those who think think With them say twenty
Union? Those States are larger by many thousand
square miles than the whole of Europe. Where are
they and what are they? That they once consti-
tuted an integral portion OF this confederation is
certain Do they now? President Lincoln that
great and good man, said they do. President John
son says they do The Senator from Massachusetts,
and my colleague and the honorable member from
the other House Mr.; Stey ens, say they do not. Two
radical IDEAS radical false, brought on this civil
war; which has cost the nation half million OLIVES.
First, that the States had right to secede; and
been surrendered by the South and we have now the
oaSls OF permanent peace Is it OF no consequence
whether these eleven States, with twelve millions of
people, shall rule themselves under republican
form of government. subject only TO the laws and
Constitution Of the United States, whether they
shall be held Tor an indefinite period as vassaS, and
be governed by the sword2 Is it of no consequence
whether the flag that bears its folds thirty-six
nations iasehood? These and many other questions
are to be answered. Its asubject Of the first magn-
tude, and must be met,
We must stand On one side supporting the Lincoln
ana johns )n policy or we must take our stand With
the Senator from Massachusetts on the other Mr..
Lncons policy received the unqualified apprvba-
ton OF every member of his cabinet and every day
up to his assassination he firmly convinced
Of ITS right and justice. MIR. Doolite continued to
argue most ably in support of the Presidents policy,
and contend against anS power resting in Congress to
destroy state. lie that the return OF
the army should be withdraw, the sword should be
returned to its seahbard. OF all governments on the
face Of the globe, the military government was the
worst. 1t the concentrated OF despotiSm
Mr.. d. paid glowing tribute to the memory of
President Lincoln and the heroic efforts of Grant
and Sherman III the field, and said that neither the
martyred statesman nor the great soldiers contem
plated or favored the policy now proposed All that
the President had done done by authority of the
laws of Congress and not in derogation of them. 1t
has been said that this Congress could annul laws
passed by its predecessor and technically speaking
might he rjv nd aptiO in
good faith after the seeding States had submitted to
the laws already in force. VIC rebeed against Eng
land for taxation without representation and the
Senator from Massachusetts wishes TO subject the
same condition upon the South. Up to this time the
South has had no cause for complaint were right
in all our war measures, and right in rendering to
the e rebels magnanlm3us % l term terms OF peace.
terms of pacifca0n he has offered, and which have
been accepted if we carry out the spirit of this
luton, We shall be in the wrong, shall falsy
pledges OF devotion to the Union. What in effect
does this resolution propose? To govern these States
territories. 1T has been decided that we have the
same absolute power over the territories that we
have over the District of Columbia and thus it is
proposed to with unlimited power nearly
third of all the States and all the people of the United
States, without representation. The people of the
South have been so humbled and Frustrated by this
war, that they will bear almost thing before again
appealing to arms but in his judgment, if anything
could INDUCE them so to do, this would, 1t would
turn the North into community of shareholders,
with the Southern people as their slaves.
To hold them thus would require the presence of
large standing army, which would undermine ourro-
publican institutions and pave the way for
pre-. 1t would subject US to lncalcuable expense,
and affect our national credit most disastrousy at
home and abroad: Peace, we have; it is essen
the mines but the cotton fields of the South worked
by tree labor and free capital this season. would pro-
duce all that our necessities called for He said let
no man misunderstood my position. With the guilty
leaders OF the rebellion he could have sympathy.
Since the angels rebellion in heaven, there has been
no such crime against God and The of blood
which they caused to run was great enough for jeff
| DAVIS and his entire cabinet to have swan in it.
har papft.n - At,sla H. l-4l,-
places no punishment be too great. lie could
never forget, while his heart beat that his eldest
son. the pride and JOY of his life had been sacrificed
IN this war; but he could not blind his eyes to the fact
that the great mass of the people Of the South had
been msied by the teachings of Calhoun and
ms followers, and further still! he could not bliud
them to the fact, that the great of them had
surrendered those ideas when they laid down their
arms; Under the old Confederation, separation of
the States was made impossible, it was made per-
petual, and the Constitution was framed to make it
more so. To acknowledge the right of a State to
secede the right of Congress to expel it, would ad
nit an idea fatal to the perpetuity of our Government
Whatever may be said of the crime of this rebel
lion history will record that was there more
sef-sacrifcing effort that other people on earth
could so long have resisted, and other people or
Every law we passed, every blow we struck every
shot fired, every drop of blood shed. was not
to put them out of the Union, but to keep them in
| forever: His colleague claimed to represent the
voice of the people of Wisconsin, but he was confident
timens Of his constituents, that such was not the
| fact Mr.. Doottle concluded with most brilliant
peroration, andsat down amid great applause the
| floor and in the galleries.
Lit Gen. Grant sat in the ladies' gallery during the
| delivery of Mr.. DOolittle's speech, and most
| attentive listener.l
| A motion to adjourn was made but withdrawn at
/ the request of
Mr.. Creswel, who expressed his regret at not being
present yesterday to record his vote upon the motion
of his colleague (Mr. Johnson to lay upon the table
l the resolution Of Mr.. Chandler. He would have
voted in the affirmative, and wished to express his
entire confidence in the foreign policy of the PreS
dent and his total disapprobaton OF such resolutions
which he regarded as mischievous.
The Senate at four o'clock adjourned.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE
| Mr.. Trowbridge, of Michigan, offered resolution
calling the Secretary of the Treasury for any ntor
nation as TO what States have made deposits of public
money in the Treasury under the 1886, together
with the dates and amounts, and it it still
deposited, to States is it credited. Agreed to-
John n. Goodwin, delegate from Arizona ap-
peared and took the oath.
| Mr. Ashley of Ohio, presented the papers OF Mr. j
| D. Pouston, contestant OF the seat. Referred.
Mr.. Schenck, of Ohio from the Committee on Mill
tary affairs, reported resolution, directing the Sec
retary ofWar to suspend the sale of the public build
| ings at Point Lookout. Maryland, which was passed
THE HOMESTEAD BILL TABLED.
/ The National Protective Homestead bill came up
/ as regular order during the morning hour.
Mr. Baker, of Illinois, briefly opposed the bill
claiming that it gave enlarged powers to small and
| exclusive corporation. lie made his objections to
the bill section by section. 1t proposed to centralze
powers in the General Government for exercising
q 1f hnr IN tln Ntntn sol "A