Mr. Cowan: "I ask that the report of General Grant be read."

The President pro tempore: "If there be no objection, that report will be read." The Secretary read as follows:

HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, Į WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. SIR: In reply to your note of the 16th instant, requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of, coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of the United States in their resolution of the 12th instant, I have the honor to submit the following:

With your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War, I left Washington city on the 27th of last month for the purpose of making a tour of inspection through some of the Southern States, or States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary to be made in the disposition of the military forces of the country; how these forces could be reduced and expenses curtailed, etc., and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of those States toward the General Government.

The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington city, and information from this quarter therefore being readily obtained, I hastened through the . State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina, I spent one day; in Charleston, South Carolina, two days; Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both in travelling and while stopping, I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them. The following are the conclusions come to by me:

I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The questions which have heretofore divided the sentiments of the people of the two sections slavery and States rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union-they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal, arms, that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but that now, when the smoke of battle has cleared away and time has been given for reflection, this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in council.

Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time as labor returns to its proper channels, and civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the Government or citizens of the Southern States, who think it practicable to withdraw the military from the South at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the General Government.

There is such universal acquiescence in the authority of the General Government throughout the portions of country visited by me, that the mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the coun

try and economy require that the force kept in the interior where there are many freedmen (elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the seacoast no force is necessary) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious, without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor both by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies suf ficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking men who would use violence toward any class of troops sent among them by the General Government, but the ignorant in some cases might; and the late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should by right belong to him, or at least should have no protection from the colored soldier. There is danger of collisions being brought on by such causes.

My observations lead me to the conclusion that th citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as possible; that while reconstructing they want and require protection from the Government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the Government, not humiliating to them as citizens, and that if such a course was pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling at this time between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power.

I did not give the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations on the subject, however, with officers connected with the bureau lead me to think that in some of the States its affairs have not been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief widely spread among the freedmen of the Southern States, that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, be divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willing ness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen's Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing to the freedmen their rights and full protection. At present, however, it is independ ent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Every. where General Howard, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave; but the complaint in South Carolina was that when he left, things went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority, of the agents of the Freedmen's Bureau advise the freedmen that by their own industry they must expect to live. To this end they endeavor to secure employment for them, and to see that both contracting parties comply with their engagements. In some instances, I am sorry to say, the freedman's mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has the right to live without care or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in division of lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, towns, and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination or great reduction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for years can be changed in a day, and therefore the freedmen require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel and in whom they can rely.

The Freedmen's Bureau, being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing, or what

orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the Southern States as agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would secure uniformity of action throughout all the South; would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out, and would relieve from duty and pay a large number of employés of the Government.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.

His Excellency A. JOHNSON,

President of the United States.

Mr. Sumner: "I wish to know whether the report of Major-General Carl Schurz is annexed to the message of the President."

The President pro tempore: "The Chair understands that it is."

Mr. Sumner: "If it is there, I think it had

better be read."

Several Senators: "It is very long." Mr. Sumner: "It is a very important document. The Senate will remember that when the report was made on the condition of things in Kansas, every word of it was read at the desk. Now the question before the country is infinitely more important than that of Kansas. We have a message from the President which is like the whitewashing message of Franklin Pierce with regard to the enormities in Kansas. That is its parallel. I think that the Senate had better at least listen to the opening of Major-General Schurz's report."

Mr. Johnson: "I have no objection, if the Senate think they have time to listen to it; but I do not expect to hear any assault, direct or indirect, upon the President at this time."

Mr. Sumner: "No assault at all."
The motion was agreed to.

Mr. Johnson: "I have seen nothing in the message which would warrant a reflection that any improper purpose had actuated the President in sending it here. He does not mean, as I suppose, to whitewash anybody who has offended. His opinions upon the state of the country are fairly stated, clearly stated, with an absence of all passion, and I think commend themselves to the attention of the Senate. But I arose, Mr. President, for no such purpose as that of involving ourselves in a debate in relation to the Executive. I only suggest that perhaps it would be as well that this report should be printed, instead of being read now, as the Senate has a good deal of business before it; but I withdraw the objection if the Senate de

sire to hear it."

The Secretary proceeded to read the introductory paragraplis of General Schurz's report, in which he states through what portion of the South he travelled, the points at which he stopped, his facilities for obtaining information, and the order in which the results of his observation would be detailed.

Mr. Sherman: "I would much prefer to read this document in print; and I move to dispense

with its further reading, and that it be printed with the message and the other papers. I cannot very well hear the reading while conversation is going on in the chamber." The motion was adopted.

In the House, on December 11th, Mr. Niblack, of Indiana, moved a suspension of the rules, to allow him to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That pending the question as to the admission of persons claiming to have been elected Representatives to the present Congress from the States lately in rebellion against the United States Government, such persons shall be entitled to the

privileges of the floor of the House.

The motion was lost. Yeas 39, nays 110. Mr. Garfield, of Ohio, offered the following, which was agreed to:

Resolved, That the President be requested, if not

incompatible with the public service, to communicate to this House any information in the possession of any of the Executive Departments of the Government in reference to a so-called decree, by Maximilian, the French agent in Mexico, under date of in that republic, and also what action, if any, has September 5, 1865, reestablishing slavery or peonage been taken by the Government of the United States with reference thereto.

In the Senate, on December 12th, the House resolution, as follows, was considered:

Be it 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 on 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 said States shall be referred to the said committee without de

bate.

Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, said: “I move to amend the enacting clause of the resolution, which now reads as a joint resolution, so as to make it a concurrent resolution, inasmuch as a joint resolution goes to the President for his signature."

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. Anthony then moved to amend by striking out the following words after the word "otherwise."

And until such report shall have been made, and finally acted on by Congress, no member shall be received into either House from any of the said socalled Confederate States; and all papers relating to the representation of said States shall be referred to the said committee without debate.

Mr. Howard, of Michigan, opposed the amendment, saying: "Mr. President, I cannot vote for that amendment. I prefer the resolution as it came from the House of Representatives, because, whether the concurrent resolution has or has not the effect of law, it certainly contains within itself a pledge on the part

of the two Houses, given the one to the other, that until the report of this important committee shall have been presented, we will not readmit any of the rebel States either by the recognition of their Senators or of their Representatives. I think, sir, the country expects nothing less than this at our hands. I think that portion of the loyal people of the United States who have sacrificed so much of blood and treasure in the prosecution of the war, and who secured to us the signal victory which we have achieved over the rebellion, have a right to at least this assurance at our hands, that neither House of Congress will recognize as States any one of the rebel States until the event to which I have alluded.

"Sir, what is the present position and status of the rebel States? In my judgment they are simply conquered communities, subjugated by the arms of the United States-communities in which the right of self-government does not now exist. Why? Because they have been for the last four years hostile, to the most surprising unanimity hostile, to the authority of the United States, and have during that period been waging a bloody war against that authority. They are simply conquered communities; and we hold them, as we know well, as the world knows to-day, not by their own free will and consent as members of the Union, but solely by virtue of our superior military power, which is exerted to that effect throughout the length and breadth of the rebel States. There is in those States no rightful authority, according to my view, at this time but that of the United States, and every political act, every governmental act exercised within their limits, must necessarily be exercised and performed ander the sanction and by the will of the conqueror.

"In short, sir, they are not to-day loyal States; their population are not willing to-day, if we are rightly informed, to perform peaceably, quietly, and efficiently the duties which pertain to the population of a State in the Union and of the Union; and for one, I cannot consent to recognize them, even indirectly, as eutitled to be represented in either House of Congress at this time. The time has not yet come, in my judgment, to do this, and I object to the amendment for the reason that it leaves the implication-and the implication will be drawn and clearly understood by the public that one or the other House of Congress may, whenever it sees fit, readmit Senators or Representatives from a rebel State as it sees fit, without the concurrence of the other House, and I hold it to be utterly incompetent for the Senate, under the present condition of things, and for the House of Representatives, under the same condition, to admit Senators or Representatives into Congress without the consent of both Houses and the formal recognition of the fact that hostilities have ceased and that loyalty is restored in the rebel States."

Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, followed in

explanation: "Supposing that this amendment might not provoke any debate, I forbore to state the purpose with which I offered it. The Senator from Michigan in his remarks has not touched the reasons why I proposed the amendment. It is from no opposition to what I understand to be the purpose of the words stricken out. That purpose I understand to be that both Houses shall act in concert in any measures which they may take for the reconstruction of the States lately in rebellion. I think that that object is eminently desirable; and not only that the two Houses shall act in concert, but that Congress shall act in concert with the Executive; that all branches of the Government shall approach this great question in a spirit of comprehensive patriotism, with confidence in each other, with a conciliatory temper toward each other, and that each branch of the Government and all persons in each branch of the Government will be ready, if necessary, to concede something of their own views in order to meet the views of those who are equally charged with the responsibility of public affairs.

"Mr. President, the words proposed to be stricken out refer to the joint committee of the two Houses of Congress, matters which the Constitution confides to each House separately. Each House is made by the Constitution the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members. Under this resolution, I apprehend, it would be necessary to refer to this joint committee the credentials of persons claiming seats in this body, referring them not only to a committee composed in part of others than members of this body, but composed of a majority of others than members of this body. I know it may be argued that this contemplates the reference only of the question whether a State has a right to be represented, not the question whether a person claiming to represent it has a right to represent it, and perhaps that construction might obtain; but at least the resolution, as it reads, is open to a doubtful construction, and that the Senate should avoid.

"There is one other reason why I move this amendment, and that is that the resolution provides that papers shall be referred to this committee without debate. This is contrary to the practice of the Senate. The House of Representatives has found it necessary, for the orderly transaction of its business, to put limitations upon debate, hence the previous question and the hour rule; but the Senate has always re sisted every proposition of this kind, and has submitted to any inconvenience rather than check free discussion."

Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, objecting to the resolution, said: "In my own judgment, sir, all of these great questions, concerning reconstruction, pacification, and restoration of civil government in the Southern States, representation in this body, or any thing which concerns our Federal relations with the several States, ought

to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Such has been the practice of this Government from the beginning. Great questions of constitutional law, questions concerning the relations of the Union to the States and the States to the Union, and above all, and without any exception, all questions relating to representation in this body, to its membership, have always been referred to the Judiciary Committee.

"The Judiciary Committee is constituted for the very purpose of considering such questions, and for no other purpose. From its very organization, the Senate designs to make that committee its constitutional adviser-not that its opinions are to be conclusive or controlling on the vote of any member of this body, like the opinion of the bench of judges in the House of Lords; but its members are chosen in consideration of their high professional ability, their long experience, and well-known standing as jurists, in order that their report upon constitutional questions may be entitled to the highest consideration.

"Mr. President, there is nothing in the history of the Senate, there is nothing in the constitution of this committee, which would send these great constitutional questions for advisement and consideration to any other committee than the Committee on the Judiciary. To place their consideration in the hands of a committee which is beyond the control of the Senate, is to distrust ourselves; and to vote to send their consideration to any other committee is equivalent to a vote of want of confidence in the Judiciary Committee.

66

But, sir, I object to this resolution in the first place, because upon these great questions which are to go to the joint committee the Senate does not stand upon an equality with the House. This resolution provides that, of the joint committee of fifteen, nine shall be appointed by the House of Representatives, six only by the Senate, giving to the House portion of the committee a majority of three. We all know that in joint committees the members vote, not as the representatives of the two Houses, but per capita. The vote of a member of the committee from the House weighs precisely the same as the vote of a member of the committee from the Senate; so that to all intents and purposes, if we pass this concurrent resolution, which we cannot repeal but by the concurrence of the other House, we place the consideration of these grave questions in the hands of a committee which we cannot control, and in which we have no equal voice.

"Mr. President, another objection to the resolution as it came from the House, and a strong reason why I favor the amendment proposed by the Senator from Rhode Island, is that the resolution in its terms reaches even beyond the present Congress. Sir, have you carefully studied this language, which would seem almost to have been employed for the purpose rather of disguising its hidden meaning than of giving

full utterance to the truth? The resolution provides that, in case this committee shall for any reason make no report, or if for any reason Congress, which includes both Houses, shall not take final action thereon, the restrictive clause goes into effect as a law, and what is its provision? It provides by law that, in the happening of that contingency, that failure to act, no one of the eleven States of the United States shall send a Representative to either House of Congress. It would be binding on the Senate until repealed, beyond the present Congress; it would bind us in the next Congress and bind us in the Congress after that. It would be of perpetual binding obligation forever until repealed by act of Congress.

"Sir, what would have been thought of the joint resolution raising the Committee on the Conduct of the War if there had been contained in it a provision similar to this, which the Senator from Rhode Island moves to strike out, and which the Senator from Michigan insists shall be retained, and upon which he calls the yeas and nays of the Senate? Suppose that in that joint resolution there had been a provision declaring that until the joint Committee on the Conduct of the War should make their final report, and Congress should take final action thereon, neither House of Congress should take any action on the subject of carrying on the war, and that every paper relating to that subject should be referred to that committee without debate? Monstrous as such a proposition would have been, it might perhaps have been within the purview of the Constitution for us to adopt it; but on the subject of representation in this body, it is not within our constitutional power to delegate our power to any other body, or to any committee which we ourselves do not control.

"Mr. President, I believe that under the Constitution, upon all subjects of legislation but one, the two Houses are equal and coordinate branches of Congress. That one relates to their representation in the bodies, to their membership, that which constitutes their existence, which is essential to their life and their independence. That is confided to each House, and to each House alone, to act for itself. It judges for itself upon the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members. It judges, it admits, it punishes, it expels. It cannot share that responsibility with any other department of the Government. It can no more share it with the other House than it can share it with the Supreme Court or with the President. It is a matter over which its jurisdiction is exclusive of every other jurisdiction. It is a matter in which its decisions, right or wrong, are absolute and without appeal. Sir, in my opinion the Senate of the United States cannot give to a committee beyond its control this question of the representation in this body, without a loss of its self-respect, its dignity, its independence; without an abandonment of its constitutional duty and a surrender of its constitutional powers.

“Mr. President, there is another provision in this resolution as it stands. It not only takes from the Senate all power to act over this subject until this committee shall report and Congress shall take final action, but it declares that we shall refer every paper to the committee without debate. Yes, sir, the Senate of the United States is to be led like a lamb to the slaughter, bound hand and foot, shorn of its constitutional power, and gagged, dumb, like the sheep brought to the block! Is this the condition to which the Senator from Michigan proposes to reduce the Senate of the United States by insisting upon such a provision as that contained in the resolution as it comes from the House of Representatives?

"Mr. President, there is still a graver objection to this resolution as it stands. The provision that, 'until such report shall have been made and finally acted on by Congress, no member shall be received into either House from any of the so-called Confederate States,' is a provision which, by law, excludes those eleven States from their representation in the Union. Sir, pass that resolution as it stands, and let it receive the signature of the President, and you have accomplished what the rebellion could not accomplish, what the sacrifice of half a million men could not accomplish in warring against this Government-you have dissolved the Union by act of Congress. Sir, are we prepared to sanction that? I trust never.

"The Senator from Michigan talks about the status of these States. He may very properly raise the question whether they have any Legislatures that are capable of electing Senators to this body. That is a question of fact to be considered; but as to whether they are States, and States still within the Union, notwithstanding their civil form of government has been overturned by the rebellion and their Legislatures have been disorganized-that they are still States in this Union is the most sacred truth and the dearest truth to every American heart, and it will be maintained by the American people against all opposition, come from what quarter it may. Sir, the flag that now floats on the top of this Capitol bears thirty-six stars. Every star represents a State in this Union. I ask the Senator from Michigan, does that flag, as it floats there, speak the nation's truth to our people and to the world, or is it a hypocritical, flaunting lie? That flag has been borne at the head of our conquering legions through the whole South, planted at Vicksburg, planted at Columbia, Savannah, Charleston, Sumter; the same old flag which came down before the rebellion at Sumter was raised up again, and it still bore the same glorious stars; not a star obscured,' not one.

"These people have been disorganized in their civil governments in consequence of the war; the rebels overturned civil government in the first place, and we entered with our armies and captured the rebellion; but did that destroy the States? Not at all. We entered the

States to save them, not to destroy them. Our constitutional duty is to save them, and save every one of them, and not to destroy them. The guaranty in the Constitution is a guaranty to the States, and to every one of the States, and the obligation that rests upon us is to guarantee to South Carolina a republican form of government as a State in this Union, and not as a Territory. The doctrine of the territorial condition of these States, that they are mere conquered, subjugated territories, as if we had conquered Canada or Mexico, will not stand argument for a moment. It is utterly at war with the ground on which we stand and have stood from the beginning. The ground we occupied was this: that no State nor the people of any State had any power to withdraw from the Union. They could not do it peacefully; they undertook to do it by arms; we crushed the attempt; we trampled their armies under our feet; we captured the rebellion; the States are ours; and we entered them to save, and not to destroy."

Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, said: "I have said I was in favor of this resolution when I first read it, for the reason that it looked to a purpose which I approve-calm and deliberate consideration before action; but when I came to read it over more carefully and hear the opinions of others, I came to the conclusion, for the reasons that have been given by my honorable friend from Rhode Island, that the resolution perhaps went a little too far. It was important to have a committee by which this subject should be investigated, composed of members of the two Houses, for the reason, among others, that it is very important that the two Houses should act in harmony, that one House should not take action that would be at variance with the action of the other, and that, after investigation of the subject, it would result, as I believe, from the constitution of Congress, that the two Houses would act in harmony, on the same principles, and with the same views, and neither would act hastily. Therefore the committee was important, and a committee that should be carefully chosen, as I said before, and deliberate well and advise well; and I did not conceive that a little delay, that a few weeks' time, or even a few months' time, if necessary, given to that subject, would be misspent. We had better spend a little time now than take a step to be repented of in all our after-lives and in all the future life of the Republic.

The points to which attention has been called by the honorable mover of the amendment are precisely those to which I objected. While I approved the committee, I did not think, in the first place, that we should change the order of proceeding and the long-tried rules of the Senate, especially the one with regard to debate. It has always been open here on every subject. Every Senator was at liberty to speak as much and as long as he pleased within the rules of order upon every subject opened to de