The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 11
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CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
it
was one of those oases which must be decided by
the House.
The SPEAKER overruled the point of order
raised by the gentleman from Virginia, [Mr. Drom-
goole,] and decided that it was competent for the
gentleman from New York to bring his proposition
before the House, in order that it might be disposed
of according to the pleasure of the majority.
Mr. BARNARD then called for the yeas and nays
on his resolution, which, he observed, he would first
ask leave to modify, so as to read as follows:
Resolved, That the journal of yesterday be amended so as
to state that Mr. Barnard offered in his place to read a paper,
signed by himself and forty-nine other members of the
House; that objection was made; when a motion was submit-
ted that Mr. Barnard have leave to read the paper; that ques-
tion was put by the Clerk to the House, which, on a divis-
ion, decided against granting the leave. And that the journal
be further amended by inserting the following paper as that
offered to be read, to wit:
[Here follows the protest, as given in Mr. Bar-
nard's first motion.]
Mr. GILMER observed that the gentleman hav-
ing modified his resolution, he would, accordingly,
modify his amendment; and he therefore moved to
amend the resolution by striking out that part of it
which proposed to spread upon the journal the pa-
per offered to the House by the gentleman from New
York yesterday, and now appended to his motion.
The case now presented to the House was, whether
there was an error in the journal, or not, in its not
having this paper spread upon it. That was the
only question presented. Then how could that pa-
per have got upon the journal ? The House never
was in possession of it; it was not read, and they had
no means of knowing what it was, except from see-
ing it in the newspapers of the morning. The gentle-
man from New York did not pretend that thei-e was
any proposition yesterday to spread this paper on the
journal. There was no means by which it could get
there; and therefore it would be exceedingly irregular
to do that to-day, which could not have been done yas-
terday. The'gentleman from New York had asked
why this paper should not go upon the journal; but
it would have been a more pertinent inquiry for him
to make, why it should go upon the journal. The
Suestion presented in this resolution, m reference to
le right to their seats of certain gentlemen claiming
to be members of this House, was to be met; but
it must be met in the ordinary course of legislation;
and it would seem to him, that the proper course to
be pursued would be by reference to the appropriate
committee; and that that committee should, after a
fair and deliberate consideration of the subject, re-
port all the facts belonging to it to the House, with
such reasons as might appear to a majority of the
committee to be pertinent. The House would then
be in the possession of evidence that would enable
it to dispose of the case with justice and impartiali-
ty. But he would ask if the House was now in the
possession of any evidence which would justify it
m deciding on this question. They were in posses-
sion of none, except mere newspaper rumors, which
were not entitled to any authority whatever. There
was .another reason why this paper should not go
upon the journal. Did it contain any arguments
that might not be made in the form tff a report by a
committee of this House? Was there any peculiar
force in the argument being made in this form,
which rendered the gentleman so solicitous of hav-
ing it recorded in the journal? The circumstance
of its being signed by a number of the members of
the House did not add any additional force to the
paper, because a report from a committee of the
House would, in that particular, have equal claims
to respect. He was, therefore, under all the cir-
cumstances, wholly at a loss to perceive why the
gentleman should wish this argument to be spread
upon the journal in this form. There was no rea-
son for its being spread there, because there was no
error alleged to be in it.
Mr. HARALSON did not rise for the purpose of
detaining the House, by enteiing into any argument
on the main question presented; but, under the cir-
cumstances in which he was placed, lie could not, in
justice to himself, and those similarly situated with
him, withhold the expression of the feelings pro-
duced in his mind by the course attempted 10 be
pursued by the adoption of the resolution of the
gentleman from New York. We were told (s.ud he)
yesterday, that the paper which was then offered by
the gentleman from New York, and to which the
resolution under consideration had direct allusion,
was a protest on flic pun of himself, and perhaps of
some fifty others, members of the House, against the
admission and qualification of the gentlemen from
New Hampshire, Georgia, Mississippi,' and Mis-
souri, holding their seats as me-mbers of this House;
and, sir, we are (said he) by this trick of legislation—
for I know not in what other terms to speak of it—
to have a paper spread upon the journals, giving
reasons why we are not entitled to our seats, which
we are not permitted to answer. We are told that
this protest contains the opinions of the gentlemen
who have subscribed it; and it may cover the whole
p-ound of the debate. Shall members, then, who
hold their seats here, by the same right that all
the other members hold theirs, be condemned in ad-
vance, by a paper spread upon the journals, when
they are not to bo heard in reply to it' The mem-
bers from the States thus excepted to, did not as-
sume the humiliating attitude of beggars before that
House. They asked nothing from its courtesy, but
came before it standing upon their rights, with their
commissions in their pockets, under the broad seal
of their respective States. They were not disposed
to dodge this question, but were prepared to discuss it
in the freest and amplest manner, whenever it should
properly come before the House. If it "should be
determined by the voice of the House that they had
no right to their seats here, he, for one, would be
willing to return home to those who sent him; but
he must solemnly protest against this entering ar-
gument, when he, and those similarly situated, were
not to be heard in rsply. He would ask if there
was not the ordinary mode of reaching this ques-
tion? Was there not a standing Committee of Elec-
tions, instituted to consider this subject' Let the
gentleman from New York institute his inquiry,
after that committee should be appointed, into the
legality and constitutionality of the elections he
now questions; and' let him from his seat offer
any arguments he thinks proper in support of
his opinions. But was it fair, he would ask,
by this trick of legislation, to prejudge the
case by arguments which could not be re-
plied to? He knew nothing of the rules of
the House, or of parliamentary forms, and this
was the first time that he ever had a seat in that
body; but he had common sense enough to be
aware of the injustice of prejudging a case by an
argument m advance, when those most interested
were not to be heard in answer to it. Let the in-
quiry be instituted, and he could say for himself, as
he thought he could say for other gentlemen claim-
ing their seats in a similar manner with himself,
that they were ready to meet it fairly and openly.
Of the paper referred to in the resolution, they
knew nothing. It was not in the possession of the
House; and they had no information in regard to it,
except what they got from the morning papers.
He should vote against the resolution of the gen-
tleman from New York, because he looked upon it
as an unfair mode of treating the question. When
it came up according to the usual forms of legisla-
tion, he would be fully prepared to meet it as it de-
served. He spoke for himself, and he thought he
could speak for other gentlemen similarly situated,
when he said, let them be sent back if it should be
ascertained that they were not entitled to their seats
here, according to the Constitution and laws of the
country. They asked 110 favors from the House,
but simply demanded their rights.
Mr. HALE, of New Hampshire, observed that it
would have been more agreeable to him to have had
this question piesented in a foim which could be met
by a fair and open discussion. When it docs come
up,(said he,) in the ordinary course of legislation, we
shall be fully prepared to sustain our rights to the
seats to which we have been elected. We come
here (said he) under the guaranty of the Constitution,
and under the sanction of laws equally binding up-
on every member of that body. He expressed his
hearty concurrence m the views just presented by
the gentleman from Georgia, and, with him, avowed
that they asked nothing from the favor or the cour-
tesy of the House; but, coming here on the broad
grounds of the Constitution, they asked only for
their rights. If (said he) we have no rights here, we
will be willing to turn our backs on the House, and
go home to our constituents. Hut let the case be
presented in the usual form; let it be brought before
the House in the report of its appropriate
committee and they were fully prepared to sus-
tain themselves. He and Ins colleagues had
come here in virtue of the laws of New Hamp-
shire—laws which have been in force ever since
her Government was established; and he had
never been able to find any law of that State to di-
vide it into districts for the election of members of
Congress. To be sure, she had seen, in the legisla-
tion of Congress, an act commanding 'bur Legisla-
ture to divide the State into districts; but New
Hampshire has not been in the habit of looking to
Congress, or any other body under God's heaven,
to ascertain what her legislation should be. Stand-
ing here, then, under the guaranty of the Constitu-
tion, and bringing with them the same evident of
their right to their seats as was brought- by.other
members, all that they asked was, that the House
would not take the extraordinary course of enter-
taining an argument against him, which he was not
allowed to reply to; that it would not, even by
implication, prejudge this question, but would
leave it open for fair and manly discussion. All
that they asked was their rights, and that, until the
question was settled, they should be received, in the
ordinary mode in which other members were re-
ceived.
Mr. KENNEDY of Indiana remarked, that the
27th Congress, of which he was a member, attempt-
ed a law directing the States how they should elect
their members of Congress and send them here.
He said "attempted," because there "never was
any such law that had any binding effect. The
Congress of the United States had no power to pass
any such law. It was a nullity; and he declared,
when it was passed, that he should so treat it. He
had occasion in the last Congress to give his vote
on this law, and he then said that he hoped he
should live long enough to spurn it and trample it
under foot. He came from a State that elected her
members of Congress by districts—and this was very
proper, because it was her pleasure to do so; but,
if she had elected her members by the general-ticket
system, and had, in obedience to that command of
Congress, adopted the district system, he would
have scorned to hold a seat here. There was one
view of this question which was of no little impor-
tance. The people throughout the country had looked
at that mandamus act, andhad put theseal of condem-
nation upon it; and nowhere, he believed, waa it
more odious than in his State. Of the members
then in Congress from Indiana, solitary and alone
he voted against that law; and solitary and alone of
that number he came back to this Congress. Those
from his State who had voted for it, had been left at
home in oblivion. Much as he had cause of rejoicing
for the success of his party and his principles, he
could truly say that it gave him more joy of heart
than anything else, that he had the privilege of see-
ing that law set aside. So far as the Constitution
was concerned, there was no doubt in his mind that
the members from New Hampshire, Georgia, &C.,
had a stronger claim to their seats than those mem-
bers who were elected under the district system;
and he would tell gentlemen that they had better not
examine this question too closely, as those
States whose members were now excepted to,
might be found to be the only States correctly
represented. These gentlemen might then turn
the majority out of doors; and, as he came
from a State that elected by districts, he might
lose his seat. What right had Congress to dictate
to the States from what sections its members of the
House should be elected? Could Congress say that
the States should have a dividing line drawn through
them, and that they should elect one Senator from
one side, and another from the other? And yet, if
gentlemen would look at the Constitution, they
would find the same language used in reference to
members of the House as to- Senators. The best
course for Congress, in his opinion, would be to
get 011 in the good old way, leaving each State to
decide whether her members shall be elected
by the district or the general-ticket system.
For his part, he would not throw a doubt on
the impropriety of this law. He would scorn to
consider it at all. He deemed it too contemptible
a question for the action of that House. He would
neither refer it to a committee, nor entertain any
question in regard to it. An effort, it seemed, was
now made to steal a march on the House, and get
the start of members, by entering this paper which
was called a protest—and such a protest! That pa-
per, which gentlemen asked to have spread upon the
journals, predicated its whole complaint, not on the
action the House was going to take, but on what
they feared tire House was going to do. It was a
curious way to make a protest, at all events; and
were he in the place cf the signers of it, if he could
not put it on the journals in a fair and honorable
way, he would scorn to offer it.
Mr. RAYNER observed that the rjuestion now
before the House was simply this: Did the gentle-
man from Pennsylvania, yesterday, move that the
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2367/m1/35/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.