Year: 1866

iast, aiter the expiration of the mo,nino bo,r
Mr. fessenden asked the Senate to nostnone
consideration of the Constitutional 49,
ment, and to take up the concurrent resolu-
ton passed the day before by the House de-
claring that mo Senator or Representative
from any State lately in rebellion be received
until Congress shall have declared such State
to be entitled to representation" This reso
luton had received every Union vote in Joint
Committee on Reconstruction, and as a con-
current resolution, it will not have to receive
the signature of the President as a Joint reso-
luton or bill would.


Mr.. Cowan of Penn, thought it should 20
over, and said:


am not so certain but that is the most i'm
poIsaht resolution that has ever been offered
ln t'iis Dody l cannot conceive of ANYTHING
., more moment than that we should not de.
s,ue upon tAe spur OF the instant that eleven
sovereign States OF the Union shall he sbut
oit ~ rom tnls body without debate and without
CONSIDERATION. 1t may be that Senators have
!naue ~ up tner minds to do this it NAV be that
~ mas Deen predetermined; but, certainly. i
LILLE .nllh 10 man ~ VINO holds that this Union de-
pends en- tie common consent of ali ;ts narts
and that it depends further upon a vieIJin1,
by the remote parts of their particular desires
ana partialltes, to certain extent, in order To
maintain that Union, can contemplate the
proposition without apprehension


MIR. Fessenden replied as follows:


"One would imagine, Mr. President. that
the Importance of this question, and attach
ment to the Union, and the proper copsidera-
ton OF all matters relative thereto. were ex-
clusively confined to the breast of the Honor
able Senator from Pennsylvania, from the So
lemnity OF his tone, and the manner in which
ne addresses the Senate on that subject. One
would naturally presume that the great ma
Jority OF the Senate, comprising as it was sup
Posed DAY or two ago, something over two
thirds OF the body, had really a little attach
ment TO the Union of the United States, and
a little power of considering what was best
Tor the United States of America in the prem
ises, and, in a reasonable degree, of patriotism.
which should lead men to consider all these
questions with care, and with all that deliber-
alton which belongs TO them. Sir, we do not
need the warning of the Honorable Senator
rom Pennsylvania. / do not need it myself
and am not very much disposed to regard il.
The question which is submitted in the reso-
lutlon that comes from the House is a very
simple one. 1t is question whether Con-
sress has any power in relation to the great
questions OF reconstruction and the restora-
ton OF the Union to its former condition.
whether it has any power except simply to
Judge whether man who presents himself
here with credentials from any portion of the
country, comes in due form, or whether the
Congress OF the United Senators, elected by
the States and Representatives elected by the
people OF the States, have, or have not, some
thing to do with the reorganization of this
government into its former shape: whether
they are anything more than mere tools and
instruments to look at papers and decide
whether they are in due form or whether thew
have right to bring their deliberate iudg-
ment to the consideration of the great uues-
tions before the American people Now. sir.
all these questions should be considered de-
hberately, with conscientiousness and with all
the care that is necessary, in order to UNDER
stand them and to decide them well. / agree
perfectly with the gentleman that all the time
necessary for that purpose should be given.-
The rules OF this body are such that all that
time must necessarily be given. Every mem-
Der OF this body may speak Gd ibituna--in
season and out OF season-in breath and out
of breath--in ideas and out of ideas-as we
have sometimes witnessed speeches in this
body to be. The rules allow all that We
cannot control the rules, and it has never ham
pened in my day that q question of impor-
tance could pass, or did pass, from the consid-
Grafton OF the Senate, until it had been tho
roughly, and ably, and well discussed. No.
sir! that was(if the Honorable Senator will
allow me to say soO all pretense. He has no
fears OF this resolution being passed without
due consideration. The question is as to the
time OF bringing 1t before this body-the time
we shall proceed to its consideration.


That is all; and in my judgment ii speak on
ly for myself, and the Senate will overrule me
if it comes to different conclusion) there is
no time SO proper as now to take up precisely
that question, and ascertain before we 90 any
further in the consideration of these great
questions, whether or not we have any power
over the subject at all. We have done hardly
anything from the beginning of this session,
but to debate this very question one way or
another. Gentlemen of all shades of opinion
have debated it, some eontending that the
States that once called themselves the Copfed-
crate States were not States in the Union.
others contending that they were States for
some purposes, and not for others, and each
one having his own notion. We have had
acres Of discussion, (if may be allowed to
use that expression, though it is not very ap-
propriate.) upon those very questions, and it
is hardly to be supposed that there is gentle
man here who has not his opinions upon them.
have mine. have not taken occasion to ex-
press them. may. i'll should have strength to
do ii, i might. But, sir, what wish now, and
what insist upon is, that at the very earliest
moment the Senate proceed to the cOnSidera-
ton of this question which lies at the founda-
ton of all others. five have no right to con-
slider and discuss this question--if we have
the right to do nothing besides look at creden-
tials that come here to the Senate and to the
House of Representatives and to see whether
they are in due forrn-it is time that we should
abandon all pretense and proceed to be mere
noboGies ''when the great interests of this
country are concerned" That we might be
made-and that we shall be made-unless we
assert our own proper rights, and our own
proper dignity as the Congress of the nation,
to look at these great questions arising at this
time and pressing upon us as they are, as men
who have something to do with the preserva-
tion of the character and the institutions of
the conltry-that, sir, is the reason why am
unwilling to proceed with any question until
this is well considered. / do not know what
the rules of the Senate may be. If they re-
quire that the resolutions shall 20 over for one
day, let us take it up and then let it 90 over.
But l wish to know of this Senate whether
we are, or are not to settle this question that
lies at the foundation of all others which we
are now considering, and which is one of so
much Importance to the country, and whether
we are not to do it, and to ascertain what our
powers are by our own decision, before we pro-
ceed to the consideration of others. When
the proper time comes / may have something
to say upon the main snbject''