and until their successors are elected and qualified. But any director removing from the State, or ceasing to be the owner of the requisite amount of stock, shall thereby vacate his place. Any vacancy in the board shall be filled by appointment by the remaining directors. The director so appointed shall hold his place until the next annual election; and if, from any cause, an election of directors shall not be made at the time appointed, the association shall not for that cause be dissolved, but an election may be held on any subsequent day, thirty days' notice thereof having been given in a newspaper printed, or of general circulation, in the city, town, or county in which the association is located, and if no newspaper is published in such city, town, or county, such notice shall be published in a newspaper in the county adjoining. SEC. 41. And be it further enacted, That every such association shall at all times have on hand, in lawful money of the United States, an amount equal to at least twenty-five per centum of the aggregate amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits, and whenever the amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits shall exceed the above-named proportion for the space of twelve days, or whenever such lawful money of the United States shall at any time fall below the amount of twenty-five per centum of its circulation and deposits, such association shall not increase its liabilities by making any new loans or discounts otherwise than by discounting or purchasing bills of exchange, payable at sight, nor make any dividend of its profits, until the required proportion be tween the aggregate amount of its outstanding notes of circulation and its deposits and lawful money of the United States shall be restored: Provided, however, That clearing-house certificates, representing specie or lawful money specially deposited for the purpose of any clearing-house association, shall be deemed to be law ful money in the possession of any association belonging to such clearing house holding and owning such certificates, and considered to be a part of the lawful money which such association is required to have, under the foregoing provisions of this section: Provided further, That any balance due to any association organized under this act in other places from any association in the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, in good credit, subject to be drawn for at sight, and available to redeem their circulating notes and deposits, may be deemed to be a part of the lawful money which such association in other places than the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, are required to have by the foregoing provisions of this section, to the extent of three-fifths of the said amount of twenty-five per centum required. And it shall be competent for the Comptroller of the Currency to notify any such association whose lawful money reserve as aforesaid, shall fall below said proportion of twenty-five per centum, to make good such reserve; and if such association shall fail for thirty days thereafter so to make good its reserve of lawful money of the United States, the Comptroller may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, appoint a receiver to wind up the business of such association, as provided in this act. SEC. 42. And be it further enacted, That no association shall at any time be indebted, or in any way liable, to an amount exceeding the amount of its capital stock at such time actually paid in, and remaining undimin ished by losses or otherwise, except on the following accounts, that is to say: First. On account of its notes of circulation. Second. On account of moneys deposited with, or collected by, such association. Third. On account of bills of exchange or drafts drawn against money actually on deposit to the credit of such association, or due thereto. Fourth. On account of liabilities to its stockholders, for money paid in on capital stock, and dividends thereon, and reserved profits. Sec. 43. And be it further enacted, That no association shall, either directly or indirectly, pledge or hypothecate any of its notes of circulation for the purpose of procuring money to be paid in on its capital stock, or to be used in its banking operations or other wise. SEC. 44. And be it further enacted, That no associashall continue its banking operations, withdraw, or tion, or any member thereof, shall, during the time it permit to be withdrawn, either in form of dividends, loans to stockholders for a longer time than six months, if losses shall at any time have been sustained by any or in any other manner, any portion of its capital; and such association equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on hand, no dividend shall be made; and no dividend shall ever be made by any association, while it shall continue its banking operations, to an amount greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its losses and bad debts; and all due and unpaid for a period of six months, unless the debts due to any association, on which interest is past same shall be well secured, and shall be in process of collection, shall be considered bad debts within the meaning of this act. tors of every association shall semi-annually in the SEC. 45. And be it further enacted, That the direc months of May and November, declare a dividend of so much of the profits of such association as they shall judge expedient; and on each dividend day the cashier shall make, and verify by his oath, a full, clear, and accurate statement of the condition of the association as it shall be on that day after declaring the dividend; which statement shall contain in and then remaining as the capital stock of such asFirst. The amount of the capital stock annually paid sociation. such association then in circulation. time since the making of the last previous statement, Fifthly. The amount due to depositors. Sixthly. The total amount of debts and liabilities of making of the last previous statement, specifying the every description, and the greatest amount since the time when the same accrued. Seventhly. The total amount of dividend declared on the day of making the statement. States belonging to the association and in its possesEighthly. The amount of lawful money of the United sion at the time of making the statement. lawful money of the United States then remaining on Ninthly. The amount subject to be drawn at sight in deposit with any associations, banks, or bankers, spécifying the amounts so on deposit in the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans. notes issued by other banks and banking associations. Tenthly. The amount then on hand of bills or banks, bankers, and banking associations, excluding Eleventhly. The amount of balances due from other deposits subject to be drawn at sight as aforesaid, stocks, notes, and other evidences of debts, discounted Twelfthly. The amount on hand of bills, bonds, or purchased by the association, specifying particularly bad, the amount considered doubtful, and the amount the amount of suspended debt, the amount considered in suit or judgment. property held for the convenience of the association, Thirteenthly. The value of the real and personal specifying the amount of each. payment of debts due to the association. Fourteenthly. The amount of real estate taken in Fifteenthly. The amount of the undivided profits of the association. Sixteenthly. The total amount of the liability to the cifying the gross amount of such liabilities as princi association by the directors thereof collectively, spe ま 4 pal debtors, and the gross amount of indorsers or sureties. The statement thus made shall forthwith be transmitted to the Comptroller of the Currency. SEC. 46. And be it futher enacted, That every association may take, reserve, receive, and charge on any loan or discount made, or upon any note, bill of exchange, or other evidence of debt, such rate of interest or discount as is for the time the established rate of interest for delay in the payment of money in the absence of contract between the parties, by the laws of the several States in which the associations are respectively located, and no more: Provided, however, That interest may be reserved or taken in advance at the time of making the loan or discount, according to the usual rules of banking; and the knowingly taking, reserving, or charging of a rate of interest greater than that allowed by this section shall be held and adjudged a forfeiture of the debt or demand on which the same is taken, reserved, or charged; but the purchase, discount, or sale of a bill of exchange drawn on actually existing values, and payable at another place than the place of such purchase, discount, or sale, at the current discount or premium, shall not be considered as taking, reserving, or charging interest. SEC. 47. And be it further enacted, That the total liabilities of any person, or of any company or firm (including in the fiabilities of a company or firm the liabilities of the several members thereof), to any association, including liabilities as acceptor of bona fide bills of exchange, payable out of the State where the association is located, shall at no time exceed one third; exclusive of liabilities as acceptor, one fifth; and exclusive of liabilities on such bills of exchange, one tenth part of the amount of the capital stock of such association actually paid in. Sec. 48. And be it further enacted, That no association shall, at any time, pay out on loans or discounts, or in purchasing drafts or bills of exchange, or in payment of deposits, nor shall it in any other mode put in circulation the notes of any bank or banking association, which notes shall not at any such time be receiv able, at par, on deposit, and in payment of debts by the association so paying out or circulating such notes; nor shall it knowingly pay out or put in circulation any notes issued by any bank or banking association which at the time of such paying out or putting in circulation is not redeeming its circulating notes in lawful money of the United States. Sec. 49. And be it further enacted, That all transfer of the notes, bonds, bills of exchange, and other evidences of debt owing to any association, or of deposits to its credit; all assignments of mortgages, sureties on real estate, or of judgments or decrees in its favor; all deposits of money, bullion, or other valuable thing for its use, or for the use of any of its shareholders or creditors; and all payments of money to either, made after the commission of an act of insolvency, or in contemplation thereof, with a view to preTent the application of its assets in the manner prescribed by this act, or with a view to the preference of one creditor to another, except in payment of its circulating notes, shall be utterly null and void. SEC. 50. And be it further enacted, That if the directors of any association shall knowingly violate, or knowingly permit any of the officers, agents, or servants of the association to violate, any of the provisions of this act, all the rights, privileges, and franchises of the association derived from this act shall be thereby forfeited; such violation shall, however, be determined and adjudged by a proper circuit, district, or territorial court of the United States, before the association shall be declared dissolved; and in case of such violation, every director who participated in or assented to the same shall be held liable in his personal and individual capacity for all damages which the association, its shareholders, or any other person shall have sustained consequence of such violation. in SEC. 51. And be it further enacted, That the Comptroller of the Currency, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, as often as it shall be deem ed necessary or proper, shall appoint a suitable person or persons to make an examination of the affairs of every banking association, which person shall not be a director or other officer in any association whose affairs he shall be appointed to examine, and who shall have power to make a thorough examination into all the affairs of the association, and, in doing so, to examine any of the officers and agents thereof on oath, and shall make a full and detailed report of the condition of the association to the Comptroller; and the association shall not be subject to any other visitorial powers than such as are anthorized by this act, except such as are vested in the several courts of law and chancery. And every person appointed to make such examina tion shall receive for his services at the rate of five dollars for each day by him employed in such examination, and two dollars for every twenty-five miles he shall necessarily travel in the performance of his duty, which shall be paid by the association by him examined. SEC. 52. And be it further enacted, That every president, director, cashier, teller, clerk, or agent of any association, who shall embezzle, abstract, or wilfully misapply any of the moneys, funds, or credits of the association, or shall, without authority from the direc tors, issue or put in circulation any of the notes of the association, or shall, without such authority, issue or put forth any certificate of deposit, draw any order or bill of exchange, make any acceptance, assign any note, bond, draft, bill of exchange, mortgage, judg ment, or decree, or shall make any false entry in any book, report, or statement of the association, with intent, in either case, to injure or defraud any other company, body politic or corporate, or any individual person, or to deceive any officer or agent appointed to examine the affairs of any such association, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment not less than five nor more than ten years. SEC. 53. And be it further enacted, That the presi dent and cashier of every such association shall cause to be kept at all times a full and correct list of the names and residences of all the shareholders in the association in the office where its business is transacted; and such list shall be subject to the inspection of all the shareholders and creditors of the association during business hours of each day in which business may be legally transacted; and a copy of such list, verified by the oath of such president or cashier, shall, at the beginning of every year, be transmitted to the Comptroller of the Currency, commencing on the first day of the first quarter after the organization of the association. SEC. 54. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, whenever, in his judgment, the public interest will be promot ed thereby, to employ any of such associations doing business under this act as depositories of the public moneys, except receipts from customs. SEC. 55. And be it further enacted, That all suits and proceedings arising out of the provisions of this act, in which the United States or its officers or agents shall be parties, shall be conducted by the district attorneys of the several districts, under the direction and supervision of the Solicitor of the Treasury. SEC. 56. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall mutilate, cut, deface, disfigure, or perforate with holes, or shall unite or cement together, or do any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any such association, or shall cause or procure the same to be done, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt, unfit to be reissued by said association, shall upon conviction, forfeit fifty dollars to the association who shall be injured thereby, to be recovered by action in any court having jurisdiction. SEC. 57. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting any note in imitation of, or purporting to be in imitation of, the circulating notes issued under the provisions of this act, or shall pass, utter, or pubfish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish any false, forged, or counterfeited note, purporting to be issued by any association doing a banking business under the provisions of this act, knowing the same to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or shall falsely alter, or cause or procure to be falsely altered, or willingly aid or assist in falsely altering any such circulating notes issued as aforesaid, or shall pass, utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish as true, any falsely altered or spurious circulating note, issued or purporting to have been issued as aforesaid, knowing the same to be falsely altered or spurious, every such person shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of felony, and being thereof convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to be imprisoned and kept at hard labor for a period not less than five years nor more than fifteen years, and to be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars. SEC. 58. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall make or engrave, or cause or procure to be made or engraved, or shall have in his custody or possession any engraved plate or block after the similitude of any plate from which any circulating notes issued as aforesaid shall have been printed, with intent to use such plate or block, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes issued as aforesaid, or shall have in his custody or possession any blank note or notes engraved and printed after the similitude of any notes issued as aforesaid, with the intent to use such blanks, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes issued as aforesaid, or shall have in his custody or possession any paper adapted to the making of such notes, and similar to the paper upon which any such notes shall have been issued, with intent to use such paper, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes issued as aforesaid, every such person, being thereof convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for a term not less than five nor more than fifteen years, and fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars. SEC. 59. And be it further enacted, That suits, actions, and proceedings by and against any association under this act may be had in any circuit, district, or territorial court of the United States held within the district in which such association may be established. SEC. 60. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the Currency to report annually to Congress, at the commencement of its session First. A summary of the state and condition of every association from whom reports have been received the preceding year, at the several dates to which such reports refer, with an abstract of the whole amount of banking capital returned by them, of the whole amount of their debts and liabilities, the amount of circulating notes outstanding, and the total amount of means and resources, specifying the amount of specie held by them at the times of their several returns, and such other information in relation to said associations as, in his judgment, may be useful. Second. A statement of the associations whose business has been closed during the year, with the amount of their circulation redeemed, and the amount outstanding. Third. To suggest any amendment to the laws relative to banking by which the system may be improved, and the security of the billholders and depositors may be increased. Fourth. To report the names and compensation of the clerks employed by him, and the whole amount of the expenses of the banking department during the year; and such report shall be made by or before the first day of December in each year, and the usual number of copies for the use of the Senate and House, and one thousand copies for the use of the Department, shall be printed by the public printer, and in readiness for distribution on the first meeting of Congress. SEC. 61. And be it further enacted, That any banking association or corporation lawfully in existence as a bank of circulation on the first day of January, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-three, organized in any State, either under a special act of incorporation or a general banking law, may, at any time withinyears after the passage of this act, become an associa tion under the provisions of this act; that in such case the certificate of association provided for by this act shall be signed by the directors of such banking association or corporation, and in addition to the specifications required by this act, shall specify that such direc tors are authorized by the owners of two thirds of the capital stock of such banking association or corpora tion to make such certificate of association; and such certificate of association shall thereafter have the same effect, and the same proceedings shall be had thereon, as is provided for as to other associations organized under this act. And such association or corporation thereafter shall have the same powers and privileges, and shall be subject to the same duties, responsibilities, and rules, in all respects, as is [are] prescribed in this act for other associations organized under it, and shall be held and regarded as an association under this act. SEC. 62. And be it further enacted, That any bank or banking association, authorized by any State law to engage in the business of banking, and duly organized under such State law at the time of the passage of this act, and which shall be the holder and owner of United States bonds to the amount of fifty per centum of its capital stock, may transfer and deliver to the Treasurer of the United States such bonds, or any part thereof, in the manner provided by this act; and upon making such transfer and delivery, such bank or banking association shall be entitled to receive from the Comptroller of the Currency, circulating notes, as herein provided, equal in amount to eighty per centum of the amount of the bonds so transferred and delivered. SEC. 63. And be it further enacted, That upon the failure of any such State bank or banking association to redeem any of its circulating notes issued under the provisions of the preceding section, the Comptroller of the Currency shall, when satisfied that such default has been made, and within thirty days after notice of such default, proceed to declare the bonds transferred and delivered to the Treasurer forfeited to the United States, and the same shall thereupon be forfeited accordingly. And thereupon the circulating notes which have been issued by such bank or banking association shall be redeemed and paid at the Treasury of the United States, in the same manner as other circulating notes issued under the provisions of this act are redeemed and paid. SEC. 64. And be it further enacted, That the bonds forfeited, as provided in the last preceding section, may be cancelled to an amount equal to the circulating notes redeemed and paid, or such bonds may be sold, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, and after retaining out of the proceeds a sum sufficient to pay the whole amount of circulating notes, for the redemption of which such bonds are held, the surplus, if any remains, shall be paid to the bank or banking association from which such bonds were received. SEC. 65. And be it further enacted, That Congress reserves the right, at any time, to amend, alter, or repeal this act. APPROVED, February 25, 1863. In the House, on the 9th of December, a bill to admit the State of West Virginia was considered. Mr. Conway, of Kansas, opposed the bill as unconstitutional. His reasons were thus briefly stated: "This bill is not so much for the admission of a new State as it is for the division of an old one. Nevertheless, I would have no objection to that, were it presented under proper conditions. But the Constitution of the United States requires that no State shall be divided unless the assent of its Legislature be first obtained. "I do not regard this proposed division of Virginia as having received that assent from the Legislature of the State which the Constitution requires. Here, however, is a question; and the question turns on whether the State of Virginia of which a Mr. Pierpont is Governor, is the lawful State or not. I do not believe that it is. "This Pierpont State is an institution of very recent origin. It started into existence about two years ago, and is a spontaneous production of the soil. A number of individuals met at Wheeling, and, without any legal authority whatever, arranged a plan for a government. Several persons have since been holding themselves out as officials of this organization, including Pierpont, the Governor; but to what extent it executes the actual functions of a government does not satisfactorily appear. Mr. Brown, of West Virginia, followed, for the purpose of showing the legitimacy of the Wheeling government: "Let us see how the fact was in Virginia, and we shall see how, upon the soundest principles of political philosophy, the government at Wheeling can be vindicated. The government at Richmond, and all the officers under the old government of Virginia, transferred themselves and attempted to transfer their people to a foreign organization. I need hardly detail the particulars of that act, as they must be fresh in the memory of every gentleman. They know that the functionaries at Richmond, immediately after they passed the ordinance of secession, which they were bound to submit to the people, did not wait for the people to act upon their so-called ordinance, but immediately entered into a treaty with the government at Montgomery, and the whole military and civil powers of the State were transferred, so far as they could transfer them, to that government. "The loyal people of Virginia immediately, finding that their rulers, those to whom the legislative and executive powers had been intrusted, had betrayed them, and had ceased to be capable of exercising their prerogative, called, in all the loyal counties where they had permission to do so, mass meetings, which sent to Wheeling five hundred of as loyal and good men as live in any portion of the United States, not for immediate action, but for the purpose of consulting upon the emergency of the times. "That convention merely organized and proposed a plan by which regular elections were to be held to fill the vacancies caused by the withdrawal of all disloyal representatives. A day was fixed and elections held, not within the boundaries of the proposed new State, but held throughout Virginia wherever loyal men chose to hold them, from one end of the commonwealth to the other, and the body thus elected assumed the legislative functions of the people." "It is true, the President of the United States has recognized this as the actual State of Virginia; and acting upon his sanction, the Senate has admitted its senators into that body. But this is of no binding force upon us. On the contrary, if the President and Senate are wrong in so grave a matter, it is the more important that the House of Representatives should be right. The argument in favor of the validity of the Wheeling government is that the original State of Virginia fell into treason and became null and void, and caused a vacuum which could only be filled in this way. Now this is entirely unsatisfactory to me; for, in the first place, I do not see how a State can fall into treason; and secondly, if it should, what right Mr. Pierpont would have to assume the office of Governor over any other individmal who might wish it. Where did the law come from which gave him his warrant? From a mob or a mass meeting? Neither mobs nor mass meetings make laws under our system. It seems to me that this presents a question of the utmost magnitude, as touching other matters than the one immediately under consideration. Eleven States have placed themselves in the same situation as Virginia; and in order to proceed toward them justly and properly, it is necessary to adopt correct legal principles at the outset. I have serious reason to believe that it is the intention of the President to encourage the formation of State organizations in all the seceded States. A policy seems about to be inaugurated, looking to an assumption of State powers by a few individ uals, wherever a military or other encampment can be effected in any of the rebellious districts. The utter and flagrant unconstitutionality of 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the this scheme-I may say, its radically revolu- consent of the Legislature of Virginia be, and the same tionary character-ought to expose it to the is hereby given to the formation and erection of the reprobation of every loyal citizen and every State, to include the counties of Hancock, Brooke, State of West Virginia within the jurisdiction of this member of this House. It aims at an utter Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, subversion of our constitutional system." Taylor, Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harri VOL. III.-20 A Mr. Brown then proceeded to state that, in addition to the counties composing West Virginia, those of Fairfax and Alexandria were represented in this Legislature, so elected, but more than one half the counties of the original Virginia, were not at all represented, saying: "It is sufficient for me to say that they were invited to coöperate, and if they stayed away, it was their fault, not ours. They were invited to act, and, if they were loyal men, they ought to have acted with us. If they were disloyal, they should have no voice in the Legislature of Virginia, or in this body." He then read the following act adopted by this Legislature: son, Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, Randolph, Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Cabell, Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, McDowell, Webster, Pocahontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan, according to the boundaries and under the provisions set forth in the constitution for the said State of West Virginia and the schedule thereto annexed, proposed by the convention which assembled at Wheeling on the 26th day of November, 1861. 2. Be it further enacted, That the consent of the Legislature of Virginia be, and the same is hereby given that the counties of Berkeley, Jefferson, and Frederick shall be included in and form part of the State of West Virginia, whenever the voters of said counties shall ratify and assent to said constitution, at an election held for the purpose at such time and under such regulations as the commissioners named in the said schedule may prescribe. 3. Be it further enacted, That this act shall be transmitted by the executive to the senators and representatives of this commonwealth in Congress, together with a certified original of the said constitution and schedule, and the said senators and representatives are hereby requested to use their endeavors to obtain the consent of Congress to the admission of the State of West Virginia into the Union. 4. This act shall be in force from and after its passage. Mr. Colfax, of Indiana, urged that West Virginia was entitled to admission as a State, for the following reasons: "Two things are required by the Constitution of the United States for the admission of this new State: first, the assent of the Legislature of the State out of which it is to be formed; and secondly, the assent of Congress. The decision then turns to a great extent upon the question whether the Governor now acting as the Governor of Virginia, and residing at Wheeling, and the Legislature to which he communicates his messages, are really the Governor and Legislature of the loyal people of Virginia. I think they are, and that the history of events in Virginia will prove that fact. "When, in February, 1861, the traitorous authorities of Virginia attempted to take that State out of the Union, the people of Western Virginia nobly resisted that conspiracy; and instead of joining with their fellow citizens in other parts of the State, they called together a convention elected by the loyalists of that region, and some other counties not included within the boundaries of the new State, and determined to stand, at every hazard and through every persecution, by the Union as it was. That convention, speaking the voice of all loyal Virginians, called all the members elect of the Legislature--chosen as they were on the day prescribed by their State constitution-who would take the oath of fealty to the Union, to meet at Wheeling; and thus a loyal Legislature, chosen in accordance with the constitution and laws of Virginia, assembled and was organized. This machinery of the State government had been abandoned by Governor Letcher and by the Legislature which participated with him in his treason. It having thus lapsed, the loyal people of Western Virginia took possession of this machinery, in order that all the State might not be driven into this wicked rebellion. "The next question is, has this loyal Legisla ture been recognized? There are facts enough in the action of the various branches of this Government to prove to us that they have, one and all, fully, and in various ways, recognized this as the only true and rightful government of Virginia." Mr. Yeaman, of Kentucky, said: "Mr. Speaker, I do not desire to debate the question, but prefer to avail myself of the kindness of the gentleman from Indiana to ask him a question. I understand the theory on which Virginia is now represented in this House and in the other wing of the Capitol to be this: that the ordinance of secession was null and void, and did not take the State out of the Union; that the government at Wheeling is not merely the de facto government, but is the legal government of the people of the State of Virginia, as she heretofore existed in the Union, and that if not choose to avail themselves of that governthose disloyal people east of the mountains do ment, it is their own fault. Now, the question is, if Virginia is already in the Union, and is represented on this floor, and in the other end of the capitol, what need is there for another act to let her in again? If it is intended to divide the State, what fact takes her case out of the constitutional prohibition that no State shall be divided, and no new State shall be erected in the jurisdiction of another State, without the consent of the Legislature of that State?" Mr. Colfax replied: "I will answer the gentleman from Kentucky with great pleasure. This is not Virginia that is being admitted into the Union. It is West Virginia, a different State. It does not embrace the whole territorial limits of Virginia, and I am glad to say that it does not even embrace all the loyal people of Virginia. It embraces only fortyeight counties. But there are people left in the old State of Virginia, in the Accomac district, along the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and fronting Washington City, that are loyal. The loyal people thus remaining are not many, to be sure, as far as we know now; but I trust that in time they will be enough, with the power of the Government aiding them, to leaven the whole mass. These people, loyal as they are, are left with old Virginia; but what we propose to admit by this bill is a different State. It is West Virginia." Mr. Crittenden, of Kentucky, opposed the measure, saying: "Sir, can any argument make stronger the case than the mere statement of the question? The Constitution says you shall make no new State within the jurisdiction of another State without its consent. You are asked to make Western Virginia into a State. The Constitution requires that the State of which the new State has formed a part shall give her consent. Where is there room for doubt? If the Constitution |