[Forty-second Congress-First and second sessions.] THOMAS M. NORWOOD vs. FOSTER BLODGETT, January 20, 1871, the credentials of Mr. Blodgett, elected for the term beginning March 4, 1871, were presented. March 2, a memorial of members of the last general assembly of Georgia, remonstrating against his admission to a seat in the Senate, was presented. March 13, the credentials and memorial were referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. March 20, the committee reported that there would not be time at that session of Congress fully to consider the grounds upon which his right to a seat was contested, and reported a resolution that he be permitted to take his seat and that the committee proceed thereafter to consider the grounds of the remonstrance and report to the Senate thereon. This report and resolution included the case of George Goldthwaite, of Alabama. After debate it was ordered that the resolution lie on the table. December 4, 1871, in the next session of Congress, the credentials of Mr. Norwood, elected for the same term, were presented. December 11, they were referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. December 18, the committee reported in favor of Mr. Norwood. It appears that the legislature electing Mr. Blodgett was elected in April, 1868. By the laws of Georgia then in force it was provided that another legislature should be elected in November, 1870, and should meet and organize in January, 1871. The legislature electing Mr. Blodgett, subsequently to his election, provided by law that the legislature which was to be elected in November, 1870, and organized in January, 1871, should not be elected until December, 1870, and should not meet and organize until November, 1871. This second legislature was the one electing Mr. Norwood. The question to be decided was, which was the legislature "chosen next preceding the expiration of the time for which any Senator was elected to represent said State in Congress?" (Act of July 25, 1866.) It was claimed by Mr. Blodgett that chosen and elected mean different things; that the legislators are elected by the people, but that the legislature is not chosen until the members elected assemble and organize as a legislature; that the legislature electing Mr. Norwood did not assemble until after March 4, 1871, and so could not be the one "chosen next preceding the expiration," &c. The committee reported that the meaning of the act referred to was that "the legislature whose members should be elected next preceding the expiration of the Senatorial term should elect the successor"; that the words chosenand elected were synonymous. They reported a resolution that Mr. Norwood was entitled to the seat, which was agreed to December 19, and Mr. Norwood took the oath of office. Mr. Blodgett was allowed compensation and mileage. The history of the case here given consists of a transcript of the proceedings of the Senate relating to it from Senate Journals, 3d sess. 41st Cong., and 1st and 2d sess. 42d Cong., and the reports of the committee from Senate Reports, 42d Cong., 1st sess., No. 3, and 42d Cong., 2d sess., vol. 1, No. 10. Special references to the debates of each day are inserted below. [Third session of the Forty-first Congress.] FRIDAY, January 20, 1871. Mr. Morton presented the credentials of Mr. Foster Blodgett, elected a Senator from the State of Georgia for the term of six years commencing on the 4th day of March, 1871. The credentials were read. Ordered, That they lie on the table. THURSDAY, March 2, 1871. Mr. Hill presented a memorial of members of the last general assembly of the State of Georgia, remonstrating against the admission of Foster Blodgett to a seat in the Senate of the United States. Ordered, That it lie on the table. [First session of the Forty-second Congress.] SATURDAY, March 4, 1871. On motion by Mr. Morton, Ordered, That the credentials of Mr. Foster Blodgett, as Senator-elect from the State of Georgia, and the protest of members of the general assembly of the State of Georgia against his election, on the files of the last Congress, be taken from the files and laid on the table. [The debate is found on pages 4, 5 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong-] MONDAY, March 13, 1871. On motion by Mr. Anthony, Ordered, That the credentials of Foster Blodgett and the memorial of members of the general assembly of the State of Georgia against the admission of said Blodgett to a seat 79908-S. Doc. 1036, 62-3—27 in the Senate of the United States as a Senator from that State be referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. MONDAY, March 20, 1871. Mr. Stewart, from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, to whom were referred the credentials of Foster Blodgett, with the memorial of members of the legislature of the State of Georgia, protesting against the admission of said Blodgett to a seat in the Senate of the United States as a Senator from that State, and the credentials of George Goldthwaite, with the protest of sundry members of the legislature of the State of Alabama against the election of said Goldthwaite, submitted a report (No. 3) thereon, accompanied by the following resolution: "Resolved, That George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett be permitted to take seats in this body upon taking the proper oath; and that the Committee on Privileges and Elections proceed hereafter to consider the grounds on which their rights to seats, respectively, are contested, and hereafter make reports to the Senate thereon." Mr. Hill presented a brief* of the memorial of members of the legislature of the State of Georgia, protesting against the admission of Foster Blodgett to a seat in the Senate of the United States as a Senator from that State. Ordered, That it lie on the table and be printed. REPORT OF COMMITTEE. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. MARCH 20, 1871.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. Stewart, from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, submitted the following report: The Committee on Privileges and Elections, to whom were referred the credentials of George Goldthwaite, claiming a seat in this body as a Senator from the State of Alabama, and the credentials of Foster Blodgett, claiming a seat in this body as a Senator from the State of Georgia, report: That said credentials are in due form, and prima facie entitle said Goldthwaite and Blodgett to their seats upon taking the oath prescribed by the Constitution and laws, neither of them being under any disability. The grounds on which their rights to seats are contested have not been fully considered by the committee for want of time, nor will there be sufficient time at this session to consider them. In the opinion of your committee it would be unjust to those States and gentlemen to keep the latter out of their seats until such investigation can be had. The committee therefore report the following resolution: Resolved, That George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett be permitted to take seats in this body upon taking the proper oath; and that the Committee on Privileges and Elections proceed hereafter to consider the grounds on which their rights to seats, respectively, are contested, and hereafter make reports to the Senate thereon. WM. M. STEWART. We concur in the foregoing as to Goldthwaite, but not as to Blodgett. JOSHUA HILL. TUESDAY, March 21, 1871. Mr. Hill presented the memorial† of John E. Bryant, of Georgia, remonstrating against the admission of Foster Blodgett to a seat in the Senate as a Senator from the State of Georgia. Ordered, That it lie on the table and be printed. WEDNESDAY, March 22, 1871. On motion by Mr. Stewart, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to admit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to seats in the Senate of the United States as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; when Found in Senate Miscellaneous, 1st sess. 42d Cong., No. 24. + Found in Senate Miscellaneous, 1st sess. 42d Cong., No. 80. Mr. Thurman called for a division of the question, so that it shall be taken first upon the admission of George Goldthwaite to his seat in the Senate as a Senator from the State of Alabama. Pending debate, Ordered, That the further consideration of the said resolution be postponed to to-mor row. [The debate is found on pages 218, 219 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong.] SATURDAY, March 25, 1871. On motion by Mr. Stewart, the Senate resumed, &c. [The debate is found on pages 271-274 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong.] THURSDAY, April 6, 1871. On motion by Mr. Stewart, the Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution re ported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; and A division of the question having heretofore been called for by Mr. Thurman, so that a separate vote be taken on the admission of each person named in the resolution, The Vice-President decided that the question on the resolution was not susceptible of a division, as desired by Mr. Thurman, but that the end desired by him could be attained by amendment. On motion by Mr. Hill to amend the resolution by striking out the words “and Foster Blodgett," After debate, Ordered, That the further consideration of the resolution be postponed to to-morrow. [The debate is found on pages 494-498 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong ] * * * * * On motion by Mr. Stewart, the Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia. On motion by Mr. Edmunds, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of executive business. [The debate is found on pages 506, 507 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong.] FRIDAY, April 7, 1871. The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; and The question being on the amendment proposed by Mr. Hill, On motion by Mr. Anthony, and by unanimous consent, the further consideration was informally passed over. The Senate then again resumed the consideration of the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; and The question being on the amendment proposed by Mr. Hill to the resolution to strike out the words "and Foster Blodgett," On motion by Mr. Edmunds, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of executive business. [No debate took place.] MONDAY, April 10, 1871. The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; and The question being on the amendment proposed by Mr. Hill to the resolution to strike out the words "and Foster Blodgett," After debate, On motion by Mr. Edmunds that the resolution lie on the table, it was determined in the negative-yeas 25, nays 26. On motion by Mr. Stewart, the yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Messrs. Ames, Anthony, Boreman, Buckingham, Carpenter, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett, Edmunds, Ferry of Michigan, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Hill, Hitchcock, Howe, Morrill of Vermont, Patterson, Pratt, Sawyer, Scott, Sherman, Tipton, Trumbull, and Windom. Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Bayard, Brownlow, Cameron, Casserly, Clayton, Cooper, Cragin, Davis, Gilbert, Hamlin, Johnston, Kelly, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Ramsey, Saulsbury, Schurz, Spencer, Stevenson, Stewart, Stockton, Sumner, Thurman, West, and Wright. So the motion to lay the resolution on the table was not agreed to; and Mr. Thurman raised a question of order, viz: That in discussing the question before the Senate debate upon the question whether Foster Blodgett or Joshua Hill had or had not committed perjury was not in order. The Vice-President sustained the point of order raised by Mr. Thurman, and ruled the debate on that question out of order; and After further debate, On motion by Mr. Trumbull (at 5 o'clock p. m.), the Senate adjourned. [The debate, which was wholly on the credentials of Mr. Blodgett, is found on pages 540-558 of the Congressional Globe, part 1, 1st sess. 42d Cong.] TUESDAY, April 11, 1871. The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution reported by the Committee on Privileges and Elections, to permit George Goldthwaite and Foster Blodgett to take seats in the Senate of the United States, upon taking the proper oaths, as Senators, respectively, from the States of Alabama and Georgia; and The question being on the amendment proposed by Mr. Hill to the resolution to strike out the words "and Foster Blodgett,' On motion by Mr. Edmunds that the resolution lie on the table, it was determined ir the affirmative-yeas 19, nays 17. On motion by Mr. Robertson, the yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Messrs. Ames, Anthony, Boreman, Carpenter, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Davis of West Virginia, Edmunds, Harlan, Hill, Kelly, Morrill of Maine, Pratt, Scott, Sherman, Tipton, Wilson, and Wright. Those who voted in the negative are Messrs. Bayard, Blair, Casserly, Cooper, Davis of Kentucky, Gilbert, Hamilton of Maryland, Hamlin, Johnston, Morton, Rice, Robertson, Saulsbury, Schurz, Stevenson, Stockton, and Vickers. So the resolution was ordered to lie on the table. [No debate took place.] [Second session of the Forty-second Congress.] MONDAY, December 4, 1871. Mr. Thurman presented the credentials of Thomas M. Norwood, elected a Senator by the general assembly of the State of Georgia for the term of six years commencing March 4, 1871; which were read. Ordered, That they lie on the table. On motion by Mr. Thurman, MONDAY, December 11, 1871. Ordered, That the credentials of Thomas M. Norwood, claiming a seat in the Senate as a Senator from the State of Georgia, be referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. MONDAY, December 18, 1871. Mr. Carpenter, from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, to whom were referred the credentials of Thomas M. Norwood, claiming a seat in the Senate as a Senator from the State of Georgia, submitted a report (No. 10) thereon, accompanied by the following resolution. (Resolution found at end of report.) REPORT OF COMMITTEE. [The committee consisted of Messrs. Morton (chairman), Rice, Carpenter, Logan, Hill, Thurman, and Anthony.] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. DECEMBER 18, 1871.—Ordered to be printed. Mr. Carpenter, from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, submitted the fol lowing report: The Committee on Privileges and Elections, to whom were referred the credentials of Foster Blodgett and Thomas M. Norwood, each claiming a seat as Senator from the State of Georgia for the term which commenced March 4, 1871, respectfully submit the following report: The Senate being a branch of the Government of the United States, the right to elect a Senator is conferred and its exercise regulated by the Constitution of the United States, and no law or regulation of a State touching such election has any validity beyond the authority conferred upon the State by the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution, Article I, section 3, provides that Senators shall be chosen by the legislatures of the respective States. Section 4 of the same article provides: The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators." The first clause of this section commits to the legislatures of the States primarily the whole subject of electing Senators and Representatives, and authorizes them to make such regulations upon the subject as they may deem proper. The phrase "the times, places, and manner of holding such elections for Senators and Representatives" embraces the whole subject of election of Senator except that the election must be made by the legislature of the State, as provided in the third section. The legislature may therefore provide that a Senator shall be elected by the legislature to be chosen next before the expiration of a term or next after its commencement. The second clause, quoted from the fourth section, confers upon Congress the same power and absolute control over the subject, to be exercised in the discretion of Congress, except that Congress cannot fix a place for holding the election different from that fixed by the State legislature. In the exercise of this undoubted constitutional power Congress passed an act regulating the election of Senators, approved July 25, 1866 (14 Stat. at Large, page 243), which provides: The legislature of each State which shall be chosen next preceding the expiration of the time for which any Senator was elected to represent said State in Congress shall, on the second Tuesday after the meeting and organization thereof, proceed to: elect a Senator in Congress in place of such Senator so going out of office." Foster Blodgett claims to have been elected on the 15th day of February, A. D. 1870, by the legislature then existing and in session. He received the requisite number of votes, and his credentials are in due form. The question, therefore, is whether it was competent for that legislature to elect a Senator to serve during the term before mentioned. If this question can be answered in the affirmative, Mr. Blodgett is entitled to the seat; if not, his pretended election was an absolute nullity. The answer to this question depends upon the true construction of the act of Congress before quoted. It is claimed by Mr. Blodgett that chosen and elected mean different things; that legislators are elected by the people, but that legislators are not the legislature, and that the legislature is not chosen until the members elected assemble as provided by law and organize as a legislature by determining what persons elected or claiming to be elected are entitled to seats. That is, the people elect the legislators, and the legislators after their election choose the legislature, and hence the legislature which was in fact organized next preceding the expiration of the term of office is the one authorized to elect a successor without regard to the time when the members of such legislature were elected by the people. This refinement of reasoning does not meet the approbation of your committee. The question is, what was the intention of Congress in passing this act? The legislature designated by the act is the one "which shall be chosen next preceding the expiration of the time," &c. There is no such thing as choosing a legislature except by choosing its members. The Constitution declares that Senators shall be elected by the legislature of each State. Hence the act of Congress employs the same phrase. But your committee cannot doubt that it was the intention of Congress to provide that the legislature whose members should be elected next preceding the expiration of the Senatorial term should * |