Mr. Brooks further said: "But they voted for Speaker of the House, and were permitted here, as the record shows, to vote for Speaker, though the point was first made by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Stevens), and then withdrawn.

"I do not choose longer to occupy the attention of the House, but before I sit down I propose to move, as an amendment, that the honorable gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Maynard) be allowed to present the credentials of the members from Tennessee, and that their names be put upon the roll."

Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, said: "I make the point of order that that amendment is not in order, not being germane to the original motion."

The Clerk: "The Clerk considers that a good point of order, and rules out the amendment."

Mr. Stevens: "I now call the previous question."

The demand for the previous question was then seconded, and the main question ordered and agreed to.

The House then proceeded to vote viva voce for Speaker, with the following result: Whole number of votes cast, 175; necessary to a choice, 88; of which Mr. Colfax received 139; Mr. Brooks, 36

The Clerk announced that Schuyler Colfax, one of the Representatives from the State of Indiana, having received a majority of all the votes given, was duly elected Speaker; whereupon Mr. Morrill and Mr. Brooks conducted Mr. Colfax to the chair, when he addressed the House as follows:

"Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The reassembling of Congress, marking, as it does, the procession of our national history, is always regarded with interest by the people for whom it is to legislate. But it is not unsafe to say that millions more than ever before, North, South, East, and West, are looking to the Congress which opens its session to-day, with an earnestness and solicitude unequalled on similar occasions in the past. The Thirty-eighth Congress closed its constitutional existence with the storm-cloud of war still lowering over us; and, after a nine months' absence, Congress resumes its legislative authority in these council halls, rejoicing that from shore to shore in our land there is peace.

"Its duties are as obvious as the sun's pathway in the heavens. Representing, in its two branches, the States and the people, its first and highest obligation is to guarantee to every State a republican form of government. The rebellion having overthrown constitutional State governments in many States, it is yours to mature and enact legislation which, with the concurrence of the Executive, shall establish them anew on such a basis of enduring justice as will guarantee all necessary safeguards to the people, and afford, what our Magna Charta, the Decla ration of Independence, proclaims is the chief

object of government-protection to all men in their inalienable rights. The world should witness, in this great work, the most inflexible fidelity, the most earnest devotion to the principles of liberty and humanity, the truest patriotism, and the wisest statesmanship.

"Heroic men, by hundreds of thousands, have died that the Republic might live. The emblems of mourning have darkened White House and cabin alike. But the fires of civil war have melted every fetter in the land, and proved the funeral-pyre of slavery. It is for you, Representatives, to do your work as faithfully and as well as did the fearless saviors of the Union on their more dangerous arena of duty. Then we may hope to see the vacant and once abandoned seats around us gradually filling up, until this hall shall contain Representatives from every State and district; their hearts devoted to the Union for which they are to legislate, jealous of its honor, proud of its glory, watchful of its rights, and hostile to its enemies. And the stars on our banner, that paled when the States they represented arrayed themselves in arms against the nation, will shine with a more brilliant light of loyalty than ever before.

"Invoking the guidance of Him who holds the destiny of nations in the hollow of His hand, I enter again upon the duties of this trying position, with a heart filled with gratitude to you for the unusually flattering manner in which it has been bestowed, and cheered by the hope that it betokens your cordial support and assistance in all its grave responsibilities. I am now ready to take the oath of office prescribed by law."

Mr. Washburne, of Illinois, having served longest as a member of the House, was designated by the Clerk to administer to the Speaker-elect the oath prescribed by law; which was done in the following form:

I, Schuyler Colfax, do solemnly swear that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, tility thereto; that I have neither sought nor acceptor encouragement to persons engaged in armed hosed nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiwithout any mental reservation or purpose of evaance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, sion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Mr. Wilson, of Iowa, offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That the following-named persons are hereby declared to be officers of the House of Representatives for and during the Thirty-ninth Congress, and until their successors are duly qualified: Ed.

ward McPherson, of the State of Pennsylvania, Clerk; N. G. Ordway, of the State of New Hampshire, Sergeant-at-Arms; Ira Goodenow, of the State of New York, Doorkeeper; and Josiah Given, of the State of Ohio, Postmaster.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 138, nays 35, not voting 9.

So the resolution was adopted.

Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, offered the following resolution, and called the previous ques

tion:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That a joint committee of fifteen members shall be appointed, nine of whom shall be members of the House and six members of the Senate, who shall inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and report whether they or any of them are entitled to be represented in either House of Congress, with leave to report at any time by bill or otherwise; and until such report shall have been made and finally acted upon by Congress, no member shall be received into either House from any of the said so-called Confederate States; and all papers relating to the representation of the said States shall be referred to the said committee without debate.

The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered; which was upon agreeing to the concurrent resolution, and it was decided in the affirmative.

YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Brandagee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clark, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketchum, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Schofield, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Elihu B. Washburne, Welker, Went worth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge-133.

NAYS-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Kerr, Le Blond, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Tabor, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Winfield, and Wright-36.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Blaine, Farquhar, Harris, Edwin N. Hubbell, Jones, Marshall, Plants, Rousseau, Sloan, Francis Thomas, Voorhees, and William B. Washburn-13.

In the Senate, on December 5th, the concurrent resolution from the House on the condi

tion of the Southern States was read, and, as objection was made to its further consideration, laid aside under the rules.

Mr. Cowan, of Pennsylvania, presented the credentials of William L. Sharkey and James Alcorn, elected Senators by the Legislature of Mississippi, which were ordered to lie on the

table.

Mr. Foot, of Vermont, presented the following resolutions adopted by the Legislature of that State:

Joint resolutions in relation to the reconstruction of the States recently in rebellion against the United States. Resolved, That it is the sense of the General Assembly of this State, that in the reconstruction of the governments of the States lately in rebellion against the Government and authority of the United States, the moral power and legal authority vested in the Federal Government should be executed, to secure equal rights, without respect to color, to all citizens residing in those States, including herein the right of elective franchise.

Resolved, That the Secretary of State is hereby instructed to transmit a copy of these resolutions to the President of the United States, to the Governors of the several States, and also a copy to each one of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, who are hereby requested to present the same to both Houses of Congress. JOHN W. STEWART, Speaker of the House of Representatives. A. B. GARDNER,

President of the Senate.

In the House, on the 5th, Mr. Grinnell, of Iowa, moved to proceed to the election of Chaplain, which was agreed to.

Mr. Griswold, of New York, said: "I desire to present, for the position of Chaplain of this House, the name of Rev. C. B. Boynton, a gentleman whose qualifications and claims, were they known to this House, would, I am sure, meet with ready recognition. Mr. Boynton has recently removed to this city from Ohio. He is a Congregational clergyman, and a gentleman of splendid abilities. He is now engaged in writing a history of the American navy during the war just closed. He is in all respects a man eminently worthy to occupy the position of Chaplain of this House. With pen and voice, in the pulpit and out of the pulpit, he has, during the war, rendered the country signal and unremitting service. He has given three sons to the army, one of whom served with great distinction as colonel of an Ohio regiment. I desire to assure gentlemen of this House who may not be acquainted with Mr. Boynton that he will, if elected, make a most acceptable Chaplain. I take pleasure in presenting his name as a candidate."

inate Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, of PhiladelMr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania, said: "I nomphia. It is needless for me to say any thing in commendation of this gentleman. He was formerly the Chaplain of this House, and as such distinguished himself by his faithfulness, eloquence, and piety. He is well known throughout the country as one of its most eminent divines. He is one of the leading minis

I

ters of the Methodist Protestant Church. need not say that he is a thoroughly loyal gentleman. I hope that the House will elect him as its Chaplain."

Mr. Smith, of Kentucky, followed, saying: "I desire to place in nomination Rev. Charles B. Parsons, of Lexington, Kentucky. Following the course of gentlemen who have preceded me, I will say that Mr. Parsons is a true, devoted, loyal man, a gentleman and a Christian, and the most eloquent divine to whom I ever listened. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has rendered good service for the last twenty-five or thirty years, and during the last four years has signalized himself by his efforts on behalf of the Government of the United States.

"I hope that the House will have the liberality to give us at least one man south of Mason and Dixon's line, because north of that line there cannot be found a better, a truer, an abler, or a more eloquent man than Mr. Parsons. I may here remark that the most beautiful, most appropriate, most eloquent address delivered upon the death of President Lincoln was delivered by Mr. Parsons. If this House will but hear him preach, listen to his exhortations to do right, and follow them, the legislation of this body will redound to the interest and honor of the Republic."

Mr. Farnsworth, of Illinois, said: "I desire to nominate Rev. L. C. Matlock, of Illinois. He is a very worthy clergyman, a gentleman of most excellent character, and an eloquent speaker. He was at one time the president of a university in our State. After the breaking out of the rebellion he was chosen chaplain of a regiment, and served in that capacity for about one year, when, believing that he could serve the country, and serve, too, the soldiers with whom he was associated as well, if not better, in another capacity, he raised a company, which he took into another regiment, of which he was elected major, and commissioned as such by the Governor of Illinois. For the last two years he has been fighting the rebels, giving them hard blows in the field. He is both a praying and a fighting patriot. He has shown his loyalty where it cost a man something to be loyal-in the battle's front; and, as a soldier, he has in no instance been charged with sullying the cloth of his ministerial profession. He has not thrown aside his dignity or his manhood, but comes out of the war, at its termination, pure as he went in. This loyal and eloquent minister of the gospel and soldier of the Republic I nominate for the position of Chaplain of this House."

Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, said: "Mr. Speaker, I rise, with the indulgence of the House, for the purpose of seconding the nomination of Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, so eloquenty presented by my colleague, Mr. O'Neill.

"Mr. Stockton will be remembered by many of the members of the present House as the Chaplain of the Thirty-seventh Congress; and VOL. VI.-9

A

all such will remember him as one whose life, in its simplicity and purity, illustrated the religion he preached. He is a man as remarkable for his learning and eloquence as for his piety. It has been my privilege to know him for many years; and I may point, as an illustration of his power, to the prayer delivered by him at the consecration of the field at Gettysburg."

Mr. Moorhead, of Pennsylvania, said: "I rise for the purpose of nominating Rev. James Presley, of the United Presbyterian Church, for the office of Chaplain of the Thirty-ninth Congress. Mr. Presley preached in this hall last winter, and I have no doubt the old members heard him, for I know members of Congress generally attend church, and as generally attend at the Capitol. I have no doubt, then, that many of the gentlemen present well recollect the eloquent Dr. Presley who delivered an address in this hall. For loyalty, patriotism, and eloquence he is not exceeded by any man in the Union."

Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, followed, saying: "I nominate Rev. James G. Butler, of the Lutheran Church. I learn he has done more good than any other man. And I will say for the Rev. Mr. Stockton, in addition to what others have already said, that he is the most eloquent man in the United States since the fall of Henry Ward Beecher."

Mr. Delano, of Ohio, said: "M Speaker, let me add to the long list of nominations already before the House, by suggesting the name of Rev. J. H. C. Bonté, of Georgetown, District of Columbia, and, in pursuance of the custom in reference to these nominations, I will say that Mr. Bonté entered the service as chaplain of the Forty-second Ohio regiment, and faithfully discharged the duties of that position until his health failed. Since then he has been, in pursuance of his profession, in Iowa and at Georgetown, and I will say in one word, that if the House will come to know him as well as I do, they will find him a man of marked ability, of decided piety, and unwavering loyalty."

Mr. Price, of Iowa, said: "I nominate, as candidate for Chaplain of the House of Representatives, Rev. B. H. Nadal, of this city, and should have done so without saying a word, if the precedent had not been established of saying something as a reason why a nomination should be made and an election should take place.

"On the platform, in the pulpit, with his pen, before the commencement of the war and during its continuance, he has not failed or faltered to be the foremost on the right side, and in the right cause."

Mr. Miller, of Pennsylvania, said: “I desire, Mr. Speaker, to nominate Rev. John Walker Jackson, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for Chaplain of this House. Mr. Jackson is an earnest divine of the Methodist persuasion, a loyal man, and patriot. During the four years of the war he did good service, both in and out of the pulpit, in behalf of his country. He worked in

1

cessantly to encourage young men to enlist, in order to replenish our army and crush out the rebellion. He is just such a man as will reflect credit on the Thirty-ninth Congress by his election as Chaplain of this House."

Mr. Johnson, of Pennsylvania, said: "I have a nomination to make. If I were going to vote for a fighting man, I would nominate General Grant; but I do not intend to vote for a fighting man, and therefore I nominate Rev. John Chambers, of Philadelphia."

Whole number of votes cast was 168; necessary to a choice, 85; of which C. B. Boynton received 89; Thomas H. Stockton, 22; John Chambers, 15; B. H. Nadal, 14; J. G. Butler, 9; James Presley, 6; Charles B. Parsons, 5; J. H. C. Bonté, 3; L. C. Matlock, 2; John Walker Jackson, 2; Henry Slicer, 1.

Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, submitted the following resolution:

Resolved (as the sense of this House), That the public debt created during the late rebellion was ontracted upon the faith and honor of the nation; at it is sacred and inviolate, and must and ought to be paid, principal and interest; and that any attempt to repudiate, or in any manner to impair or scale the said debt, should be universally discountenanced by the people, and promptly rejected by Congress if proposed.

The question was then taken upon agreeing to the resolution; and it was decided in the affirmative, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Ancona, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Berger, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandagee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Chanler, Reader W. Clark, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Dawson, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Hogan, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketchum, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McCullough, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, Rogers, Rollins, Ross, Sawyer, Schenck, Schofield, Shanklin, Shella barger, Sitgreaves, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Strouse, Tabor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield, and Wright-162.

NAY-Mr. Trimble-1.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, Brooks, Eldridge, Grider, Aaron Harding, Harris, Jones, Le Blond, Lynch, Marshall, John H. Rice, Ritter, RousBeau, Taylor, Van Aernam, Robert T. Van Horn, Voorhees, Stephen F. Wilson, and Woodbridge-19.

Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, introduced the following joint resolution; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, That the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be proposed, and when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the States shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution of the United States:

Neither the United States nor any State in the Union shall ever assume or pay any part of the debt of the so-called Confederate States of America, or of any State, contracted to carry on war with the United States.

Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, also introduced the following joint resolution; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be proposed, and when ratified by the Legislatures of threefourths of the States shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution of the United States:

Amend the ninth section of the first article by expunging so much thereof as says, "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State."

Mr. Stevens also introduced the following second time, and ordered to be referred to the joint resolution; which was read a first and Committee on the Judiciary:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be proposed to the several States, and when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the States shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution of the United States:

Representatives shall be apportioned among the States which may be within the Union according to their respective legal voters; and for this purpose none shall be named as legal voters who are not either natural-born citizens or naturalized foreigners. Congress shall provide for ascertaining the number of said voters. A true census of the legal voters shall be taken at the same time with the regular

census.

Mr. Stevens also introduced the following joint resolution; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That the following amendment

to the Constitution of the United States shall be

Proposed, and when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the States shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution of the United States:

ARTICLE XIII. All national and State laws shall crimination shall be made on account of race and be equally applicable to every citizen, and no dis

color.

Mr. Broomall, of Pennsylvania, introduced a joint resolution to alter the Constitution of the United States, so as to base the representation in Congress upon the number of electors, instead of the population, of the several States; which was read a first and second time, and re ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

In the House, on December 6th, Mr. Bingham, of Ohio, introduced a joint resolution providing for an amendment of the Constitution of the United States by repealing the clause forbidding the laying of taxes or duties on articles exported from any State; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Also a joint resolution providing for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States forbidding the payment or assumption by the United States or by any State of any debt which has been or may hereafter be contracted in aid of any rebellion against the United States; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Also a joint resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States so as to empower Congress to pass all necessary and proper laws to secure to all persons in every State of the Union equal protection in their rights, life, liberty, and property; which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Farnsworth, of Illinois, offered the following resolutions, which were laid over:

Resolved (as the sense of this House), That, as all just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed, that cannot be regarded as a just Government which denies to a large portion of its citizens, who share both its pecuniary and military burdens, the right to express either their consent or dissent to the laws which subject them to taxation and to military duty, and which refuses them full protection in the enjoyment of their inalienable rights.

Resolved, That in imposing taxes upon the people

of the United States, none are excepted therefrom on account of color; so, too, in the laws enacted by Congress for enrolling and drafting into the military service of the Government those liable to military duty, no exemption because of color has been allowed; and while we have rewarded the foreigner, who is ignorant of our language and institutions, and who has but just landed upon our shores, with the right of citizenship for a brief service in the armies of the United States, good faith, as well as impartial justice, demand of this Government that it secure to the colored soldiers of the Union their equal rights and privileges as citizens of the United States.

Resolved, That we agree with the President of the United States that "mercy without justice is a crime;" and the admitting of rebels and traitors, upon whose hands the blood of slain patriots has scarcely dried, and upon whose hearts is the damning crime of starving to death loyal men taken as prisoners in battle, to the rights of citizenship and of suffrage, while we deny those rights to the loyal black man, who fought for the Union, and who fed and protected our starving soldiers, is a fit illustration of that

truism.

In the Senate, on December 11th, Mr. Cowan, of Pennsylvania, offered the following resolution, which was laid over:

Resolved, That the President of the Uniied States be, and is hereby, requested to furnish to the Senate information of the state of that portion of the Union lately in rebellion; whether the rebellion has been suppressed and the United States put again in possession of the States in which it existed; whether the United States courts are restored, post-offices reestablished, and the revenues collected; and also whether the people of those States have reorganized

their State governments, and whether they are yield. ing obedience to the laws and Government of the United States.

The resolution was adopted on the next day, and the President made the following answer: WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. To the Senate of the United States: the 12th instant, I have the honor to state that the In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on rebellion waged by a portion of the people against the properly-constituted authorities of the Government of the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as could be done, the courts of the United States have been restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country.

Executive, with the view of inducing a resumption As the result of the measures instituted by the of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi ana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States," with more willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to the Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States, with the excep tion of Mississippi, from which no official information has yet been received; and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted or are now pending, to confer upon freedmen rights and privileges which are essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical relations to the Federal Government.

In that portion of the Union lately in rebellion," the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew their allegiance to war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pur the Government, and to repair the devastations of actions will conform to their professions, and that, in suits. An abiding faith is entertained that their and the laws of the United States, their loyalty will acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution leniency they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose be unreservedly given to the Government, whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity.

It is true that in some of the States the demoralizing effects of war are to be seen in occasional disor ders; but these are local in character, not frequent in occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the Perplexing questions were naturally to be expected authority of civil law is extended and sustained. from the great and sudden change in the relations between the two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves under which the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled, and by means of his labor make himself a useful and independent member of the community in which he has his home. From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly-adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the national Union.

The report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted