Mr. HOWE. Iwant to say a word about this subject. It is in the early part of the day, [ 5 minutes of 4 o’clock a.m., ] andI take it, the Senate would like to hear a few remarks. [Laughten] When this Government was set up the people declared in their Constitution several things, one of which was that “the Senate of the U.S shall be composed of 2 Senators from each State.” That was very positive. Another was that “no person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 30 years and been 9 years a citizen of the U.S., and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.” I always supposed those 2 dec larations conferred upon every State the right to have 2 Senators upon this floor, subject only to the conditions that they should send no man who was not 30 years of age, had not been 9 years a citizen of the U.S., and who was not a citizen of the State from which he was elected; that those were the only conditions attached to this right to have 2 Senators upon this floor. These were the only qualifications prescribed for Senators. Now, Mr. Presient, Congress did enact in 1862 the law which has been repeatedly referred to. It says: “That hereafter every person elected or appointed to any offioo of honor or profit under the Government of the U.S., either in the civil. military, or naval depts of the public service, excepting the POTUS shall, beforeen terin upon the duties of such other, and beforebein eutitled to any of the salary or emoluments thereo, take and subscribe the following oathor affirmation." That statute does impose additional qualifications upon Senators or it does not. If it does require new qualifications for Senators which the Constitution does not require, then we haye put ourselves in the category of demanding as a qualification that which your committee has reported will exclude an inno cent, guiltless, loyal man from this Chamber. Your committee have reported that this Mr. Patterson once held an officc in the State of Tennessee, while the government of that State was hostile to the Government of the U.S.; but they have reported that that was an innocent, gniltless act, not evidence of disloyalty, uot evidence of crime. This law requires him to swear that he never has held an office under such a government. Now, if that is to be understood as aqualification for the office, that he shall not have held an office under any State government, then you have disqualified one who your committee says is an innocent, guiltless man, from taking a seat in the Senate. I did not suppose you meantto add any qualifications to those which the Constitution requires. I believe it has been always understood that you could not add to them; but I did not suppose you intended to add to them. I supposed you meant simply to declare that you thought it exedient, before a man was admit ted to a sent here, that he should be required to take this oath. Well, sir, whenever you admit a man to take an oath on any subject whatever, you know he may swear falsely as well as truly, and you anticipated when you enacted this law that some men might swear falsely in taking this oath and you prescribed the penalty. l hat was it? That he should be guilty of perjury if he did swear falsely, and on conviction, in addition to the penalties now prescribed for that offense, “he shall be deprived of his office and rendered incapable forever after of holding any office or place under the U.S.” Now, is not that penalty enough? Senators argue this matter as if there was danger, if we 0 not stand upon the exact letter of that law, and not only stand upon the exact letter of it, but see beforehand that the man who offered to take the oath could take it truly, of letting down the bars so as to fill up this Senate Chamber with rebels, red handed men, murderers, criminals. There is not the slightest danger of it. Let Mr. JeffersonDavis, if he can be discharged from his present place of confinement, come here tomorrow under an election from Mississippi; let him come to vour bar if he has the other qualifications; let him take this oath if he dare to take it. Your Senate Chamber is not full; but you have got a bad man in it, and your remedy for it, if you believe in your law, is simply to go to a magis trate here and enter a complaint against Mr. Davis for perjury, and he is arrested, and in due course of time he is tried, and in due course of judicial procedure he is convicted, and when convicted the judgment of the court goes that he submit to the ordinary pains and penalties of perjury, and that he be deprived of the office of Senator and that he shall never hold any other offioe of any kind or description whatever.