respective States:-Mr. RUFFIN and Mr. MOREHEAD, of North Carolina; Mr. TOTTEN, of Tennessee; Mr. HACKLEMAN and Mr. ORTH, of Indiana; and Mr. CHASE and Mr. WOLCOTT, of Ohio.

Mr. CHASE:-The sections which have been adopted severally, as a whole may not be acceptable to a majority of the Conference. They have been adopted by different votes and different majorities. I think a vote should be taken upon them collectively, in order that we may know whether, as a single proposition, they meet the approbation of the Conference. I move that a vote be taken upon the several sections as a whole.

The PRESIDENT:-It is the opinion of the Chair that this motion is not in order. Each section, when once approved by a majority of votes, stands as the order of the Conference. These sections have been severally taken up, amended, and adopted, and no further vote is necessary or proper, except by way of reconsideration.

Mr. CHASE:-I think the motion an important one, and with all deference, appeal from the decision of the Chair to the Conference.

The PRESIDENT:-The question is, Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the order of the Conference?

Mr. CHASE:-As I have no wish except to secure a fair vote, and the opinion of the Chair may be technically correct, I will withdraw my appeal.

Mr. FRANKLIN :-Having adopted the report of the committee, I think now there should be an expression of the Conference upon the question of secession. I therefore move the adoption of the following resolution:

Resolved, As the sense of this Convention, that the highest political duty of every citizen of the United States is his allegiance to the Federal Government created by the Constitution of the United States, and that no State of this Union has any constitutional right to secede therefrom, or to absolve the citizens of such State from their allegiance to the Government of the United States.

Mr. BARRINGER:-I move to lay that resolution on the table. This is a Convention to propose amendments to the Constitution, not to make commentaries upon that instrument.

Mr. CLEVELAND:-I ask a vote by States.

The question was taken by States, and resulted as follows:

AYES.-Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia-9.

NOES.-Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kansas-12.

And the Convention refused to lay the resolution upon the table.

Mr. COALTER:-I offer the following amendment: strike out all after the word resolve, and insert as follows:

"The term of office of all Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the United States, hereafter elected, shall be six years; and any person once elected to either of said offices shall ever after be ineligible to the same office."

The amendment of Mr. COALTER was rejected by a viva voce vote.

Mr. SEDDON:-I now move to amend by striking out all after the word "resolved" in Mr. FRANKLIN's resolution, and insert a series of amendments hitherto proposed by myself, as follows:

To secure concert and promote harmony between the slaveholding and non-slaveholding sections of the Union, the assent of the majority of the Senators from the slaveholding States, and of the majority of the Senators from the non-slaveholding States, shall be requisite to the validity of all action of the Senate, on which the ayes and noes may be called by five Senators.

And on a written declaration, signed and presented for record on the Journal of the Senate by a majority of the Senators from either the nonslaveholding or slaveholding States, of their want of confidence in any officer or appointee of the Executive, exercising functions exclusively or continuously within the class of States, or any of them, which the signers represent, then such officer shall be removed by the Executive; and if not removed at the expiration of ten days from the presentation of such declaration, the office shall be deemed vacant, and open to new appointment.

The connection of every State with the Union is recognized as depending on the continuing assent of its people, and compulsion shall in no case, nor under any form, be attempted by the Government of the Union against a State acting in its collective or organic capacity. Any State, by the action of a convention of its people, assembled pursuant to a law of its legislature, is held entitled to dissolve its relation to the Federal Government, and withdraw from the Union; and, on due notice given of such withdrawal to the Executive of the Union, he shall appoint two commissioners, to meet two commissioners to be appointed by the Governor of the State, who, with the aid, if needed from the disagreement of the commissioners, of an umpire, to be selected by a majority of them, shall equitably adjudicate and determine finally a partition of the rights and obligations of the withdrawing State;

and such adjudication and partition being accomplished, the withdrawal of such State shall be recognized by the Executive, and announced by public proclamation to the world.

But such withdrawing State shall not afterwards be readmitted into the Union without the assent of two-thirds of the States constituting the Union at the time of the proposed readmission.

I desire to get these amendments on the Journal. It is my duty to offer them, and I wish the Journal to show that I have performed that duty.

Mr. FRANKLIN:-I then move to lay the amendment on the table, and to give the gentleman leave to have it inserted in the Journal. That will accomplish his purpose.

The question was taken on the motion to lay the amendment on the table, and resulted in an affirmative vote.

Mr. RUFFIN:-I regard the mission of this Convention as now performed, and I hope we shall take up no new questions, which can only distract and divide us. I therefore move to postpone the consideration of this resolution indefinitely.

The question was taken on Mr. RUFFIN's motion, with the following result:

AYES.-Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia-10.

NOES.-Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania-7.

The vote of New York was divided.

Messrs. DUNCAN and AMES dissented from the vote of Rhode Island.

Mr. GUTHRIE:-It will be necessary that this proposition be presented to Congress in an authentic form, and I suppose it will not be necessary for the Convention to continue its sessions until this presentation is made. I therefore offer the following preamble:

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

The Convention assembled upon the invitation of the State of Virginia to adjust the unhappy differences which now disturb the peace of the Union and threaten its continuance, make known to the Congress of the United States that their body convened in the city of Washington on the 4th instant, and continued in session until the 27th.

There were in the body, when action was taken upon that which is here submitted, one hundred and thirty-three commissioners, representing the following States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode

Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas.

They have approved what is herewith submitted, and respectfully request that your honorable body will submit it to conventions in the States as an article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. RANDOLPH:-I move the adoption of the preamble, and that the same, with the propositions already adopted, be authenticated by the present Secretary, and that all be presented by the President of this Convention to the Senate and House of Representatives, with a respectful request for their passage.

This motion was agreed to.

Mr. BARRINGER:-As the labors of the Convention are now closed, I presume there is no occasion for continuing the injunction of secrecy. As notes of the proceedings have been taken with a view, I presume, to publication, I now move that the injunction of secrecy against speaking of the action of the Convention, or the publication of its proceedings, be removed. The motion of Mr. BARRINGER was agreed to by a viva voce

vote.

Mr. JOHNSON:-I desire here to have printed in the Journal the following resolution.

Leave was granted to Mr. JOHNSON as requested, and his resolution was as follows:

Resolved, That while the adoption, by the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, of ordinances declaring the dissolution of their relation with the Union, is an event deeply to be deplored; and while abstaining from any judgment on their conduct, we would express the earnest hope that they may soon see cause to resume their honored places in this Confederacy of States; yet to the end that such return may be facilitated, and from the conviction that the Union being formed by the assent of the people of the respective States, and being compatible only with freedom, and the republican institutions guaranteed to each, cannot and ought not to be maintained by force, we deprecate any effort by the Federal Government to coerce in any form the said States to reunion or submission, as tending to irreparable breach, and leading to incalculable ills; and we earnestly invoke the abstinence from all counsels or measures of compulsion toward them.

Mr. POLLOCK:-The Committee on Finance have made an examination of the expenses which have been incurred for printing, stationery, &c., by the Conference. It has been already

stated that the expense of printing the Journal is met by the city of Washington. The additional expense incurred amounts to $735. If this is equally apportioned among the States represented it will amount to $35 each. It is for the Conference to decide in what manner the assessment shall be made.

Mr. BROWNE:-I offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the report of the committee be received and accepted; that the committee be continued, and requested to make the necessary disbursements; and that the States now pay over the sum assessed to the chair

man.

And the resolution was unanimously adopted.

Mr. LOOMIS :-I take great pleasure in presenting to the Conference the following letter, which has been addressed by the proprietors of the hall to the Secretary. I ask that the letter may be read, and I also offer the following resolution.

The letter was read, as follows:

CRAFTS J. WRIGHT, ESQ.,

Secretary Conference Convention:

SIR:-Please inform the Convention that we have tendered, free of charge, the use of our Hall and lights, which they have occupied. We hope the use may be sanctified by restoring peace to the Union.

February 23d, 1861.

We are, respectfully, &c.,

J. C. & H. A. WILLARD.

And the resolution, which was unanimously adopted, was as follows:

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are justly due, and are hereby given, to the Messrs. Willard, for the liberal and generous tender, free of charge, of the use of the Hall and the lights, for the purposes expressed in their letter to the Secretary; and that the Secretary be requested to communicate to them a copy of this resolution.

Mr. DODGE offered the following resolution, and that, too, was unanimously agreed to:

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are justly due and hereby given to the Mayor and Council of the city of Washington, for their kindness and liberality to the members of this Convention, in defraying so large an amount of their expenses for printing and stationery, and also for the officers to protect this hall and the members from intrusion whilst in session, and that the Secretary be requested to communicate the same to said parties.

On motion of Mr. RANDOLPH, the thanks of the Conference