be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of James Hooten, and that the same be referred to the Committee of Claims. All the committees having been called, The Speaker next proceeded to call the States and Territories for resolutions When Mr. Fenton submitted the following preamble and resolution; which were read, considered, and, under the operation of the previous question, agreed to: Whereas the number of sick and wounded soldiers in the several hospitals have increased to an alarming extent, there being now somewhat over sixty thousand sufferers in them, many of whom will never again be able for active service, and many others would regain their health much sooner at their homes; and whereas the present slow method of furlough and discharge seems entirely inadequate to meet the exigencies of the case: Therefore Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be requested to inquire whether some method or regulation may not be adopted, with the approval of the Secretary of War and the surgeon general, whereby those cases worthy of discharge or furlough may be more speedily and promptly attended to. Mr. Sheffield submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the Committee of Ways and Means be, and it is hereby, instructed to inquire into the expediency of deducting the taxes paid, under the provisions of the internal revenue act, upon materials entering into manufactures from the taxes assessed upon manufactured articles, to the end that the materials may not be twice taxed, with liberty to report by bill or otherwise. Mr. Justin S. Morrill submitted the following resolution, viz: Resolved, That at no time since the commencement of the existing rebellion have the forces and materials in the hands of the executive department of the government been so ample and abundant for the speedy and triumphant termination of the war as at the present moment; and it is the duty of all loyal American citizens, regardless of minor differences of opinion, and especially the duty of every officer and soldier in the field, as well as the duty of every department of the government, the legislative branch included, as a unit, to cordially and unitedly strike down the assassins, at once and forever, who have conspired to destroy our Constitution, our nationality, and that prosperity and freedom of which we are justly proud, at home and abroad, and which we stand pledged to perpetuate forever. The same having been read, Mr. Morrill moved the previous question; which was seconded, and the main question ordered and put, viz: Will the House agree thereto? And it was decided in the affirmative, {Xegs. .... 105 1 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Cyrus Aldrich Fernando C. Beaman Reuben E. Fenton Samuel C. Fessenden Thomas A. D. Fessenden Mr. George P. Fisher Richard Franchot Mr. Nehemiah Perry Mr. William J. Allen voted in the negative. So the resolution was agreed to. Rob't B. Van Valkenburgh Mr. Hickman submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to employ a clerk during the present session of Congress, at the usual rate of compensation for the time actually employed. Mr. Train introduced a bill (H. R. 585) relating to the validity of deeds of public squares or lots in the city of Washington; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. Mr. Maynard submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be directed to inquire into the causes of the recent outbreak among the Indian tribes of the northwest; whether any emissaries have interfered to produce dissatisfaction, and ill feeling among them, either from any part of our own country or from abroad; whether the government or any of its agents has violated or failed to observe any treaty stipulations with them; and whether any encroachments have been made upon their lands, or their property has been despoiled, or any of their people murdered by the settlers or other white persons; with power to send for persons and papers, as well Indians as citizens, and leave to report at any time. Mr. Colfax submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the President be requested, if not incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to this House any letters of the Mexican minister at Washington, or other correspondence or information in possession of the government, relative to the present condition of affairs in Mexico. The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House the annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the state of the finances; which was referred to the Committee of Ways and Means, and ordered to be printed. Mr. William H. Wallace introduced a bill (H. R. 586) granting bounty lands for service in the wars against the Indian tribes of Oregon and Washington in the years 1855-'56; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Notices were given, under the rule of motions, for leave to introduce bills, as follows, viz: By Mr. Stevens: A bill to indemnify the President and others for having suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, and also for all acts done by virtue of such suspension, and for other purposes. By Mr. Hickman: A bill for the suppression of rebellion, treason, and insurrection, and for other purposes. Mr. Holman submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the Commissioner of Agriculture be directed to inform this House how many clerks and other employés have been employed by him in his department since his appointment; for what length of time employed; how employed; the salary paid to each, and the appropriation out of which such payment has been made. Also, in what manner the sixty thousand dollars last appropriated for the purchase of seeds, cuttings, &c., have been expended. Mr. Noble submitted the following preamble and resolution; which were read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Whereas many soldiers of the volunteer forces of the government are now, and have been for many months, confined in Camp Convalescent unable for duty, and are entirely without money or means to procure such necessaries as would add to their comfort, they not having been paid their monthly dues from the government in many instances for a period of from three to nine months: Therefore Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be, and they are hereby, requested to inquire what legislation, if any, is necessary to enable such soldiers, so confined and separated from their respective regiments, to receive and be paid their regular monthly dues, and to report by bill or otherwise. Mr. Cox submitted the following resolution, viz: Resolved, That the word "assassins," used in the resolution passed this day, offered by the member from Vermont, (Mr. Morrill,) is intended by this House to include all men, whether from the north or south, who have been instrumental in producing the present war, and especially those in and out of Congress who have been guilty of flagrant breaches of the Constitution, and who are not in favor of the Union as it was and the Constitution as it is. Mr. Hutchins moved that the resolution be laid on the table. Yeas. It was decided in the affirmative, {Nays 85 41 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Cyrus Aldrich Isaac N. Arnold Reuben E. Fenton Mr. Samuel C. Fessenden George P. Fisher Richard Franchot Mr. John F. Potter John H. Rice John W. Wallace Mr. Warren P. Noble AL William A. Richardson George K. Shiel 1. Resolved, That the Union as it was must be restored and maintained one and indivisible forever under the Constitution as it is, the fifth article, providing for amendments, included. 2. Resolved, That if any person in the civil or military service of the United States shall propose terms of peace, or accept or advise the acceptance of any such terms, on any other basis than the integrity and entirety of the federal Union, and of the several States composing the same, and the Territories of the Union, as at the beginning of the present civil war, he will be guilty of a high crime. 3. Resolved, That this government can never permit the intervention of any foreign nation in regard to the present civil war. 4. Resolved, That the unhappy civil war in which we are engaged was waged in the beginning professedly not "in any spirit of oppression, or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired," and was so understood and accepted by the people, and especially by the army and navy of the United States; and that, therefore, whoever shall pervert, or attempt to pervert, the same to a war of conquest or subjugation, or for the overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of any of the States, and to abolish slavery therein, or for the purpose of destroying or impairing the dignity, equality, or rights of any of the States, will be guilty of a flagrant breach of public faith and of a high crime against the Constitution and the Union. 5. Resolved, That whoever shall propose, by federal authority, to extinguish any of the States of this Union, or to declare any of them extinguished, and to establish territorial governments within the same, will be guilty of a high crime against the Constitution and the Union. 6. Resolved, That whoever shall affirm that it is competent for this House, or any other authority, to establish a dictatorship in the United States, thereby superseding or suspending the constitutional authorities of the Union, and shall proceed to make any move toward the declaring of a dictator, will be guilty of a high crime against the Constitution and the Union and public liberty. The same having been read, Mr. Vallandigham moved that their further consideration be postponed until Tuesday, the 16th instant, and that they be printed, and also moved the previous question. Pending which, Mr. Lovejoy moved that the said resolutions be laid on the table; |