That no law should be valid which did not have the assent of both Presidents, or in the event of a veto by one of them, the assent of a majority of the Senators of the section from which he came.

That no person should be appointed to a local office in the section from which the second President was elected, unless the appointment had the assent of that President, or, in the event of his veto, the assent of a majority of the Senators from the section from which he came.

He proposed to change the mode of electing these Presidents as follows:

He thought the Southern people were first President, the second should be Presi bound to withdraw from the Government dent of the Senate, with a casting vote in unless they can get constitutional_guaran- case of a tie; and that no treaty should be tees, which shall provide: first, that Con- valid which did not have the signatures of gress shall have no power to abolish slavery both Presidents, and the assent of twoin the States, in the District of Columbia, thirds of the Senate. in the dock-yards, forts, and arsenals of the United States; second, that it shall not abolish, tax, or obstruct the slave trade between the States; third, that it shall be the duty of each of the States to suppress combinations within their jurisdiction for armed invasions of another; fourth, that States shall be admitted with or without slavery, according to the election of the people; fifth, that it shall be the duty of the States to restore fugitive slaves when within their borders, or to pay the value of the same; sixth, that fugitives from justice shall be deemed all those who have offended against the laws of a State within its jurisdiction, I would provide that each State should be and who have escaped therefrom; seventh, divided into Presidential electoral districts; that Congress shall recognize and protect as that each district should elect one man, and property whatever is held to be such by the that these representatives from the whole laws or prescriptions of any State within United States should meet in one chamber, the Territories, dock-yards, forts, and arse- and that the two men who, after a certain nals within the United States, and wherever number of ballots, received the highest the United States has exclusive jurisdiction; number of votes, should be submitted as the with the following exceptions: First, it may candidates to the people, and he should be leave the subject of slavery or involuntary declared as President who received a majorservitude to the people of the Territories ity of the districts-the districts each votwhen a law shall be passed to that effecting singly. I would do this to destroy the with the usual sanction, and also with the assent of a majority of the Senators from the slaveholding States, and a majority of the Senators from the non-slaveholding States. That exception is designed to provide for the case where we might annex a territory almost fully peopled, and whose people ought to have the right of self-government, and yet might not be ready to be admitted as a State into the Union.

The next exception is that "Congress may divide the territories to the effect that slavery or involuntary servitude shall be prohibited in one portion of the territory, and recognized and protected in another; provided the law has the sanction of a majority from each of the sections as aforesaid," and that exception is designed to provide for the case where an unpeopled territory is annexed, and it is a fair subject of division between the two sections.

In addition to these "guarantees of principles," there should be "guarantees of power," without which he did not think permanent peace could be secured. He indicated these as the best: First, the dual Executive, not in the form proposed by Mr. Calhoun, but in one less fairly open to objections. He would provide:

That each section shall elect a President, to be called the first and second President: the first to serve for four years as President, the next to succeed him at the end of four years, and to govern for four other years, and afterwards to be re-eligible.

That during the term of service of the

opportunities which are given under our present system of nomination to the formation of corrupt combinations for purposes of plunder and of patronage. I would substitute this instead of the National Conventions, which have already done so much harm in our system.

Further:

I would also diminish the temptation to such corrupt combinations for spoils and patronage by the fact that the President, after the first election, would be elected four years before he commenced his service as President, and in the meantime he would be training as a second President at the head of the Senate, and exercising the veto power. The fact that he was elected four years beforehand would do much to prevent such combinations; but, further than this, the effect of such a division of the Executive power would be to destroy, to a great extent, the miserable system of rotation in office which exists at present, and to make merit the test of the fitness for office, and a guarantee for his permanence in place; for, as the second President would probably keep those in office during his term of President whom he had protected by his veto power before, if they were worthy of the place, the effect would be, at least if this system were introduced, that the rotation principle would be applied, if at all, not once in four years, but once in eight years.

But this plan would have another good effect. It would save us from most of those agitations attending a Presidential election

PROCEEDINGS OF THE GOVERNMENT.

which now disturb the country, which unset-
tle public affairs, and which are doing so
much to demoralize and corrupt the people.
The election would take place in one section
at a time; it would take place in each sec-
tion but once in eight years, and in this way
we would escape those disturbances which
are now dividing and destroying us.

Further, "to secure the proper enforce-
ment of rights which are now without reme-
dies," he proposed "that the Supreme Court
should also be adjusted. It should consist
of ten judges-five from each section-the
Chief Justice to be one of the five. I would
allow one State to cite another State before
this tribunal to charge it with having failed
to perform its constitutional obligations;
and if the court decided a State thus cited
to be in default, then I would provide, if it
did not repair the wrong it had done, that
any State might deny to its citizens within
its jurisdiction the privileges of citizens in
all the States; that it might tax its com-
merce and the property of its people until it
ceased to be in default. Thus I would pro-
vide a remedy without bringing the General
Government into collision with the States,
and without bringing the Supreme Court
into collision with them. Whenever inter-
national stipulations in regard to the duties
imposed on the States, as laid down in the
Constitution, are violated, I would remedy
the wrong by international remedies. I
would give a State the right, in such cases,
after the adjudication of the court, to deny
to the offending State the performance of
the mutual obligations which had been
created for its benefit. In this way I believe
that these wrongs might be remedied with-
out producing collision in the system. A
self-executing process would thus provide a
remedy for the wrong, without a jar to the
machinery of Government. In order to
make this check efficient, it should be pro-
vided that the Judges of the Supreme Court
in each section shall be appointed by the
President from that section, and this is the
only original appointing power which I
would give to the second President."

of those who are bound to the complaining State by identical and homogeneous interests, would prevent it from prosecuting the claim any further. I believe that the system thus adjusted would give us a permanent Union, an efficient, a useful, and just Government. I think our Government would human institutions. It is my honest opinion then rank among the most permanent of that, with a Government thus balanced, and with such capacities for empire as our people possess, we should build up a political system whose power and stability and beneficial influences would be unparalleled in all the history of the past."

best basis of settlement which has yet been He believed "this scheme afforded the devised. There are other schemes upon which I would settle. I would settle upon something which would give only a truce, provided it promised to be a long truce, and then trust to public opinion and the progress of truth to remedy future evils when they might arise. But I would prefer, when we do settle, after all this turmoil and confusion, that we should do so upon some principle which promises us a permanent adjustment, a constant and continuing peace, a safe, an efficient, and a stable Government." significant colloquy took place: At the close of Mr. Hunter's speech, this

from Virginia, if he will allow me, and conMr. BAKER. I desire to ask the gentleman sider it respectful, one question.

Mr. HUNTER. What is the question?

this branch of Congress-the constitutional Mr. BAKER. It is this: If a majority of majority, and a majority of the other branch, also the constitutional majority-shall pass constitutional amendments, to be submitted according to the forms of the Constitution for the consent and approbation of the people, in that event, if they be such as substantially meet the views of the gentlemen on the other side, will the Senator from Virginia, so far as he can, throw the weight of Virginia, and especially the weight of his own individual character, to maintain the is, the laws as they now are, with the power Constitution as it is, the Government as it of the Government, until the people of the States shall have decided upon those amendments?

In consideration of these changes, he ex-
pressed his willingness "to regulate the right
of Secession, which I hold to be a right not
given in the Constitution, but resulting from
the nature of the compact. I would provide
that, before a State seceded, it should sum-
mon a Convention of the States in the sec-
tion to which it belonged, and submit to
them a statement of its grievances and
wrongs. Should a majority of the States in
such Convention decide the complaint to be
well founded, then the State ought to be per-
mitted to secede in peace. For, whenever a
majority of States in an entire section shall
declare that good cause for secession exists,
then who can dispute that it ought to take
place? Should they say, however, that no
good cause existed, then the moral force of
such a decision, on the part of confederates | not inake myself understood by the gentle-
Mr. BAKER. That is not quite it: I do

some questions which I cannot answer.
Mr. HUNTER. The Senator has asked me
cannot answer for Virginia; I am not au-
thorized to do so. I can only say this: that
I
I will vote for the propositions of the Sen-
ator from Kentucky which were presented
in committee; and other gentlemen declared
that they believed they would be satisfac
tory; but whether the people, who are now
seceding and getting in line together for
purposes of common defence, would wait to
ascertain whether the State would adopt
them, I am not authorized to say.

RECOGNITION OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDER-laws of the United States as is vested in the

Circuit and District Courts of the United States; and the said Supreme and District Courts of the said Territory, and the respective judges thereof, shall and may grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases in which the same are grantable by the judges of the Whereas, the States of South Carolina, United States in the District of Columbia." Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and The provisions of these bills were, as was Louisiana have seceded from the Confed-announced in debate, agreed upon by Mr. eracy of the United States, and have estab- GREEN of Missouri, Chairman of the Senate lished a Government under the name of Committee on Territories, and Mr. GROW

of Pennsylvania, Chairman of the House Committee on Territories, Mr. Wade and others in consultation, and the bills passed Resolved, That the existing condition of without material opposition in either House. the Territories of the United States does The Colorado bill passed the Senate Feb-not, and in our opinion never will, require, ruary 4th, without a division, and the House, etc. February 18th, by a vote of 90 yeas to 44 nays as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Clark, Clingman, Dixon, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, Latham, Pugh, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wilson NAYS-Messrs. Benjamin, Bragg, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Mr. THOMAS L. CLINGMAN of North Caro-Hunter, Iverson, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennes Clay, Davis, Fitzpatrick, Green, Hammond, Hemphill, lina, May 24th, offered an amendment to add see, Kennedy, Lane, Mallory, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce, to the fourth resolution the following: Polk, Powell, Rice, Saulsbury, Sebastian, Slidell, Thomson, Toombs, Wigfall, Yulee-31.

substitute for the fifth resolution, as follows: Mr. BROWN of Mississippi, then offered a

"That experience having already shown that the Constitution and the common law, afford adequate and sufficient protection to unaided by statutory enactment, do not slave property-some of the Territories having failed, others having refused to pass such enactments-it has become the duty of Conafford to slave property in the Territories gress to interpose and pass such laws as will that protection which is given to other kinds of property."

Which was rejected-yeas 3, nays 42, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Brown, Johnson of Arkansas, Mallory 3. NAYS-Messrs. Benjamin, Bigler, Bragg, Bright, Chesnut, Clark, Clay, Clingman, Crittenden, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Fitzpatrick, Foot, Foster, Green, Grimes, Gwin, Hamlin, Harlan, Hemphill, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson of Tennessee. Lane, Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce, Polk, Powell, Pugh, Rice, Sebastian, Slidell, Ten Eyck, Thomson, Toombs, Trumbull, Wigfall, Wilson, Yulee 42.

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES,

AND OF THE

"CONFEDERATE" STATES.

WITH AN INDEX TO BOTH.