Mr. COWAN. Whether you put the prisoner into the jury box or not in trying the question of his guilt, it does so happen when the representative of a sovereign State here in the senate is put on trial, he is in the jury box and he sits in his own case, and he has a right to be heard upon it, and I think he hasa right to vote upon it, although that may be a disputed question; but he unquestionabl has in ever assembly of this kind the rightto be hear and a right to be heard here as a Senator. It just brings itself down to this precisely: can a majority of this Senate, at the threshold, as in this case. prevent the admission of a member from a State in this Union. If they can, then, as I said before, it just comes to this: whenever a majority take possession of the body, if they are disposed to override the law and to trample the Constitution under foot, they may keep themselves in power just so long as they are derelict in their dautyto the Constitution. Now take this case; primafacie, the honorable Senfrom Tennessee is entitled to his seat here; he takes his seat; but it is alleged after he has taken his seat that he has sworn falsely, for instance, in taking the oath that we have imposed here, the test oath. Upon that inquiry, he has a right to resolve the Senate into a judicial tribunal for the purpose of trying the fact; and nobody else can try it, and it requires 2/3rds of the Senate to expel him. I trust Senators will see that this is a most important difference; one that is vital to the very constitution of the body; and the honorable Senfrom Iowa well said we are making a precedent here which may meet us at some future timeu on presenting ourselves to the body. Whereist ic necessity forthis‘! Where, is the necessity for violating the rule? It has been said that the House adopted another rule. I was informed immediately after by the chair man of the House ComElections that they did the very reverse: they adopted the rule that the credentials were primafacie; and the credentials are primafacie in the House then the case is referred to the ComElections, and the parties are heard, and the person having the prime facic credentials is the sitting member until the House determines the contra. Then Irho, air, that this member from Tennessee will be sworn and admitted to his seat here. If he has done anything which, under the law, would justify 2/3rds of the Senate in expelling him, let 2/3rds, then, expel him; but let us preserve intact the institution itself; do not let us put a mine under it to blow it up. perhaps about our own cars, with the whole fabric along with it. Nothing can be clearer to me than that if the majority are allowed to keep out men who they think ought not to come in, there is an end of liberty, there is a usurpation of the whole on the part of that majority; and it is no better (and only differs in the means used) than when Colonel Pride, with a troop of dragoons, went into the Baglish Parliament and drove out all hostile to the majority. This is done by another means; that was done by actual force; but both tend to the me end, and that is, to keep the existing majority always in possession of the body. If you can meetthe Senfrom Tennessee upon the threshold here, as he is met, why can you not meet the Senfrom Iowa or any other Senator in the same way“! It behooves us to considerthe fluctuations of fortune here. Those in the majority now may not be in the majority the next year or the year after, or 2 or 3 years from now. There may no trouble come from the usurpation of this power for ten years or for 20 years, but as we have received, the law and the Constitution, and as we are the guardians of the institutions of the country, we ought to preserve them for those who come after us. We ought not to lay violent hands upon them in this way.