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adopt no such principle-a principle which, in the words used the other day on this floor, would emasculate my district.

Mr. TEFFT. Gentlemen seem to mistake entirely the ground upon which this resolution is based. It is the duty of the Select Committee to apportion the number of representatives. This special committee is to apportion the districts, and say how many representatives each district is to be entitled to. This certainly will clash with the duties of the Committee already existing, because it is the business of that Committee to state the number of members that shall be sent to the Legislature; to fix the size and general organization of the legislative depart. ment of the Government. That seems to me a sufficient reason why this resolution should not be acted upon now. Until the report of the general Committee on that subject is made, it would be folly to appoint a special Committee to work entirely in the dark. As to the fling made at the committee by the gentleman who last spoke, I consider his remarks entirely unwarranted, and unworthy of notice. I would call his attention to the following quotation from Junius: "There are men who never aspire to hatred-who never rise above contempt."

Mr. JONES. I call npon the gentleman to put that down in writing. I think, Mr. President, that any gentleman who is the subject of offensive remarks in a parliamentary body, has a right, with or without the permission of the House, to claim that those remarks shall be put down in writing, that the House may take such notice of them as they think proper. Such, I believe, is the rule of all par liamentary bodies. I wish them placed upon the journal.

The CHAIR. There certainly is a rule prohibiting personal remarks from being made by any of the members. It was hoped by the Chair that all such remarks would have been avoided; but where offensive remarks are made, they may, at the request of the gentleman, be placed upon the journal, by permission of the House. The Chair is unwilling, himself, to have these remarks entered upon the journal of the House.

Mr. JONES. I am merely referring, Mr. President, to that general rule which protects members of a parliamentary body from gross and insulting remarks from any member. I rise to claim the protection of the House from such remarks, and, I believe, the first thing to be done is to require the Secretary to put those remarks down. I call upon the Secretary to put them down.

Mr. GWIN. I believe the general practice is to declare the remarks out of order. The gentleman using the offensive remarks is called to order, and the House decides whether he has exceeded the parliamentary limits.

Mr. LIPPETT. With the permission of the House, I will read, from Cushing's Manual, a passage applicable to this case. (Mr. Lippett then read the usage as laid down by Cushing) The above is the course of proceeding established by writers of the greatest authority, and ought uniformly to be pursued. It might, however, be improved by the member objecting to the remarks, requiring that the words shall be written down at once, and have them entered upon the minutes. The PRESIDENT. The Chair will adopt the latter suggestion.

Mr. TEFFT. I do not intend to retract or apologise for anything I said. I had no idea a simple quotation would have raised such commotion in the House. The gentleman had taken occasion to do what he had no right to do, to question the motives of every member of the Committee. I have been laboring under sickness for some days, and did not wish to enter into any long argument on the matter. Mr. HASTINGS. Is the House to pause until this matter is disposed of, or are we to proceed?

The CHAIR is of opinion that this difficulty must be disposed of before the House can proceed to business.

Mr. JONES. I will read the remarks, as I have written them down. I read them for correction: "The gentleman from San Luis Obispo says that the remarks of the gentleman from San Joaquin do not deserve to be noticed, and that he would call his attention to the following passage from Junius- there are men who neve rise to hatred, or reach beyond contempt." "

Mr. TEFFT. If the gentleman was better acquainted with the works of Junius, he would not make that as a quotation.

Mr. JONES. I am better acquainted with the duties of a gentleman than with the language of Junius. Let the gentleman state the words himself.

Mr. JONES. I will state the words if the House desire it, but not at the instance of the gentleman.

Mr. NORIEGO desired that those who did not understand the English language might be excused from giving any vote on this subject. The question appeared to be respecting certain English words, which they did not understand, and they desired to be excused from voting.

On motion, the Spanish delegation were accordingly excused from voting.

Mr. TEFFT. I want the words written precisely as I said them. I referred to the gentleman's reflections on the course taken, and which probably would be taken, by the Select Committee on the Constitution, and I stated that his remarks were worthy of the following passage from Junius: "There are men who never aspire to hatred-who never rise above contempt."

Mr. Borts offered a resolution prohibiting members from indulging in personalities, and requiring them in such cases to apologize to the House. He thought gentlemen had gone entirely too far in impugning the motives of members. In the present case, both the gentleman who made the imputation, and the gentleman who threw it back, ought to apologize to the House. He had been opposed to this Committee himself from the beginning; he had fought it tooth and nail; he had called it the great Committee and the mammoth Committee; but if he had cast any personal reflection upon the motives of members who composed it, he hoped the House would pardon him. He was not aware of having done so. He was ready to set the good example, if he had expressed himself improperly, of asking pardon of the House, which he now did in advance.

Mr. SHANNON suggested that the resolution be offered as an addition to the rules of the House.

The CHAIR was of opinion, that the rules of the House already existing were sufficient to sustain the object of the resolution. Where two members are out of order, an apology from both is due to the House. If in the opinion of the House, the gentleman who impugned the motives of the Committee, and the gentleman who threw back the imputation, were both out of order, it was their duty upon being called upon, to make an appropriate apology to the House.

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Mr. GWIN concurred in the remarks of the gentlemen from Monterey (Mr. Botts) on this subject. He (Mr. Gwin) had seen the bitterest hatred and most ferocious controversy spring from a smaller matter than this. Every gentleman here should bear in mind that this body is assembled for a great national object; and should be cautious not to wound the feelings of a fellow-member. He hoped it would be a settled principle that no matter how much excitement-how much difference of opinion might exist, (for it was impossible to form a Constitution without severe collisions, in the heat of debate,) all personalities would be avoided. If there are collisions, let them be mental and not personal collisions. He was sure the gentleman who had made use of the words deemed offensive, would not hesitate to say, that if he had misconstrued the remarks of the member from San Joaquin (Mr. Jones,) he would withdraw them. It is usual in cases of this kind, when one member takes exceptions to the remarks of another, for that member to demand an explanation from the gentleman who makes those remarks. If the gentleman from San Luis Obispo had applied to the gentleman from San Joaquin to know whether he intended a personal reflection upon this Committee, and that gentleman had replied that he did, then the offensive words might probably be applicable. That gentleman, however, took it for granted, without demanding any explanation, that the gentleman from San Joaquin was impugning the motives of the Committee.

Mr. TEFFT doubted very much whether there was any gentleman on this floor more anxious than he was to maintain good order and friendly relations between the members. He insisted upon it that he had not now transgressed that princi. ple. He had borne many reflections upon his native State; but he had always kept his seat, in deference to those who were older and more experienced, and whose views he desired to hear in preference to giving his own. In calling the attention of the House to the remarks of the member from San Joaquin, he did not conceive that he had gone beyond the legitimate bounds of debate. If it was the opinion of the House that he had done so, he would cheerfully apologize to the House, but not to the gentleman, who, he conceived had impugned the motives of the Committee. If it was not the intention of that gentleman to impugn the motives of the Committee, then, of course, the offensive quotation was not applicable to him.

Mr. JONES asked if it was possible that he, as a member from San Joaquin, in opposing the principle of allowing smaller districts an equal vote with his own in the formation of this Constitution, should be considered as impugning the motives of any person, or insulting any committee? Was it possible that the right of speech was so far prohibited on this floor, that he could not advocate the principle incorporated in the bill of rights without having it said that he was impugning the motives of the members of this House who did not happen to represent so large a population as he did? It was upon the broad principle that the represen tation here should be according to population, that he had based his remarks; and he had said what he believed to be true, and what he must believe to be true until convinced to the contrary. It had been said upon the floor of this House, and out of the House, that members of this Committee had been called upon to sustain by their votes the reports of the Committee. If such was the case, and he believed it to be true, were the people of San Joaquin to be told that they had no right to protest against such a principle as this? He considered it to be one of their first rights, that they should not be cheated out of their representation in the Convention. He would not say that it was intended by the appointment of this Committee to do this, but he maintained that no course should be adopted in the House which would have that effect. He conceived that he had not done injustice to the Committee, because, if fault there was, the whole tenor of his remarks was to attribute the fault to the Convention. He did not consider that he had injured the feelings of any gentleman on that Committee. If there was any member who, perhaps, had a right to feel himself aggrieved, it was the gentleman from Sacramento, (Mr. Shannon,) but he (Mr. S.) was too much of a gentleman to rise in bis place and

Mr. Borrs here called the gentleman from San Joaquin to order.

The PRESIDENT stated that he had seen with deep regret the effect of some very trivial disorders. He had heard the Committee on the Constitution spoken of in various ways. Sometimes it had been called the mammoth committee, which was by no means a respectful term; sometimes, the almighty committee, an equally disrespectful term; and various other epithets of opprobrium had been applied to it. Under the impression that the members of this body had too a high a respect for themselves to cast such reflections upon the Committee as would give offence, the Chair was disposed to allow the fullest liberty of speech, not incompatible with the dignity of the House. He regarded these remarks as made in a spirit of pleasantry, and with no intention of giving offence. But it was now evident that too much liberty had been taken with the Committee, and he hoped that both the gentlemen (Messrs. Jones and Tefft) would follow the example of the gentleman from Monterey, and apologize to the House.

Mr. Borrs objected to this view of the matter. He had never apologized to the House for having called this a mammoth committee; but if the House said that there was anything personal in calling it a mammoth committee, he would amply apologize now.

The CHAIR did not think it was personal.

Mr. SHERWOOD said that, in regard to the difficulty before the House, it seemed to him it could be adjusted in the simplest way imaginable. If the gentleman from San Joaquin did not intend to impugn the motives of the Committee, he has liberty to make that statement to the House. The gentleman from San Luis Obispo would undoubtedly meet it by the withdrawal of the offensive remarks.

Mr. GWIN. The gentleman from San Joaquin, as he conceives, has been grossly insulted by the gentleman from San Luis Obispo. Is he to get up here and make an apology before that insult is withdrawn? It is the duty of the House to make these members settle the difficulty here. There should be no after settlement out of doors-no bloodshed resulting from what has transpired. The majesty and the power of the House should be brought to bear upon this case, and it should be settled before these gentlemen are permitted to leave their seats.

The CHAIR was of opinion that the gentleman from San Louis Opispo had apologized to the House.

Mr. GWIN said an apology to the House was not an apology to the gentleman who conceived himself insulted.

Mr. LIPPETT concurred with his friend from Sacramento (Mr. Sherwood.). He did not see any difficulty in regard to this matter. The member from San Luis Opispo has already stated to the House that the occasion of his making the offensive remarks was his understanding that the Committee to which he belonged had been attacked, and the motives of the members impugned by what fell from the gentleman from San Joaquin. The object, therefore, of the offensive remarks, was to throw back this imputation. Now, it certainly does not appear that there was any intention on the part of the gentleman from San Joaquin to cast any reflection upon the motives of that Committee. It would be a very simple matter then, for the gentleman from San Luis Obispo to state distinctly and formally to the House, that if the gentleman from San Joaquin did not intend, by anything he said, to impugn the motives of the Committee, he would withdraw his remarks. The gentleman from San Joaquin makes that statement; the gentleman withdraws his remarks, and the whole difficulty is settled.

Mr. WOZENCRAFT remarked, that the gentleman from San Joaquin had already denied having intended any personal remarks to the Committee. It was not ne. cessary to call upon him again.

Mr. MOORE hoped his friend (Mr. Jones) would not require any apology here. If there was any misunderstanding let it be settled out of doors. He (Mr. Moore) would not trouble the House, if insulted, by asking any apology here.

Mr. GWIN said it was for that very reason he wanted it settled here. In all deliberative bodies, when a difficulty occurred, it was usual to close the doors. Having had some little experience in legislative bodies, he knew the importance of settling questions of this kind before they were permitted to go beyond the House. Another thing he wished to protest against, and that was, the sacredness of committees. He desired that there should be unlimited debate on all questions. This mammoth Committee was able to defend itself. But personalities should be avoided.

Mr. SHERWOOD thought this matter might easily be settled in the mode indica. ted. He desired that it should not be permitted to go out of the House. He trusted that withont further words the gentleman from San Joaquin would state exactly what he intended by his remarks.

The CHAIR said the gentleman had already made that statement.

Mr. GWIN then moved that the gentleman from San Luis Obispo be required to withdraw the offensive words.

Mr. TEFFT said it was strange that he should be called upon to apologize to the gentleman, after having explained the motive which actuated him in using those words. If the gentleman from San Joaquin did not impugn the motives of the Committee, then the quotation had no bearing upon him. It was only applied to him on that ground.

Mr. LIPPETT moved that the House receive this statement as satisfactory. Mr. PRICE wished to know before this vote was taken, whether this reconcilia tion was entirely satisfactory to these gentlemen-whether there was anything left upon their minds for an out-door settlement. He had not yet heard distinctly the perfect withdrawal of the offensive words, and the perfect acceptance of such withdrawal by the other gentleman.

Mr. JONES said the gentleman had apologized to the House, but not to him. He did not take that as an apology.

Mr. HALLECK remarked, that when the words were read as originally stated, the gentleman from San Luis Obispo had disclaimed applying them to the gentleman from San Joaquin, if that gentleman did not impugn the motives of the Committee. As he (Mr. Jones) disclaimed having made this imputation, then the offensive words were clearly withdrawn, and the difficulty was settled.

Mr. GWIN wished to know if the withdrawal of the remarks was satisfactory to the gentleman from San Joaquin. [Mr. Jones said it was.] He wished to know also, if the statement of the gentleman from San Joaquin, that he intended no personal imputation on the motives of the Committee, was satisfactory to the gentleman from San Luis Obispo? [Mr. Tefft replied that it was.] He (Mr. Gwin) then moved that the reconciliation be accepted by the House, which motion was adopted, and the difficulty was thus amicably adjusted.

The question then recurring on the resolution of Mr. McCarver

Mr. Borrs said he would vote against it. The apportionment was, to his mind, one of the most important features of the Constitution. It was well known that he was opposed to the original formation of the Committee of twenty. (He hoped there was nothing personal in that.) But since it had been the pleasure of the House to form that Committee, he did not see how any portion of its work could, with propriety, be taken out of its hands. He voted for the provision a few days since, that representation should be according to population. He conceived that in doing so, he was giving instructions to this very Committee, to ap. portion the representation of this State upon that principle. It had been well objected here, that it is utterly impossible that this single portion of the forming of the Constitution can be taken out of the whole and submitted to the action of a separate committee, whilst so much depending upon it is in the hands of another. This is a portion that most requires concert and co-operation. He hoped it would not be the pleasure of the House to adopt the resulution.

The question was then taken, and the resolution was rejected.

Mr. NORTON, from a majority of the Committee on the Constitution, made a report, which was received and referred to the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. GWIN made a minority report from the same committee, which was receiv. ed and referred to the same committee.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.

The House then resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, Mr. LIPPETT in the Chair, on so much of the report of the Committee on the Constitution as relates to the right of suffrage.

The first section of the report of the Committee being under consideration, as follows:

SEC. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State six months next preceding the election, and the county, in which he claims his vote twenty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now, or hereafter may be, authorized by law.

Mr. GILBERT moved to amend as follows:

After the words "United States," and before the word "of," insert, "and every male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a citizen of the United States, under the treaty of peace, exchanged and ratified at Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848."

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