The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-03-22
The votes on the several articles of the
majority report as amended, by states
yrrara q c fo1louc

Sec. 6-YeaS, IL; Noes, 8
Sec. Yeas, -; Noes. z
The votes of Maine upon every article
were recorded in the negative. Rhode
Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Ohio voted with the Southern States, a
majority of their several delegations be-
ing Southern sympathizers. New York
and Kansas had delegations equally
divided, and lost their votes upon many
of the questions acted upon.
The doings of the convention were
transmitted to Congress, with the request
that the proposed amendments to the
Constitution be submitted to the several
States for their action.
The political status of majority of
this convention SO far as loyalty to the
general government is concerned, can be
easily inferred from the following votes.
On the 23d of February, 1861, Mr.. Van
dever of Iowa offered the following reso-
luton:
Resotued, That whatever may be the ultimate
termination upon the amendments OF the FEEDER
al Constitution-or other propositions for ADJUST
ment approved by this convention-we, the
members, do recommend our respective states
Union.
1t was moved to lay the resolution on
the table-Yeas, II, Nays, 9-and the
resolution was never afterwards called
up.
On the 9th of February Mr.. Franklin
of Pennsylvania offered the following
resolution.
ResolUed, AS sense of this convention that
the highest political duty of every citizen of the
United States is his allegiance to the Federal
government created by the Constitution Of the
United States, and that no State in this Union
has any constitutional right to secede there
from or to absolve the citizens Of such State
O 1nuiD RI "a rnyr nT,lnn
United States.
On the motion of Mr.. Ruffin of North
Carolina, the resolution was Indefinitely
postponed. Yeas-Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee
and Virginia-1O. Noes Connecticut,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massa-
chusetts, Pennsylvania. New York
equally divided.
The convention was in session from
the 4th to the 9th of February. During
this time there was, of course, great
deal of discussion. Under the rules
adopted by the convention reporters were
excluded-and there never has been any
report of the debates that took place in
the convention. The topics for discussion
were among the most exciting OF any
that ever claimed the attention of a rep
resentative body. Men of extreme OPP
posite views entered the forum of debate
and ''crossed swords at arms length"
One of the most eloquent appeals for the
union ever heard was made by Judge
Chase, afterwards Secretary of the Treas
ury under Mr.. Lincoln. His scathing az
raignment of secession was terrific. One
day near the close of the session Com
modore Stockton of New Jersey made an
unprov.ked, browbeating attack upon
Lot NJ. Morrill,, --intimating ''Pistols for
two and coffee for one" In reply Sena-
tor Morrill, pounced upon him like an
''eagle upon his prey and, as the West
ern boys say, finished him up After
that the Maine Senator was severely let
alone'' by the Southern chivalry.
James A. Seldom of Virginia, broth
Ell of jeff Davis's first Secretary of War,
was the most outspoken ''fire eater' in
the convention. In an excited speech
one day he declared if the Northern
States would sign clean sheet of white
paper agreeing to be forever bound by
what the South would write on it, by way
of compromise between the two sec
tions of country, he would not accept it.
There was a large class of men in the
convention who had been governors of
States, members of Congress, men who
had held many high official positions and
had grown old in the public service. To
use a common they were old fogies--
many of them of the James Buchanan
stripe, who did not believe in secession,
but could see no power in the general
government to put it down. Hence they
were ready to compromise every north
ern right to satisfy the secessionists.
1t logically followed that the proposed
amendments to the Constitution did not
meet the appreciation of Congress, and
this so called ''Peace'' convention in it's
results was stupendous failure.
TouN r PERRv