Mr. FESSENDEI‘K Before the honorable Senfrom Wisconsin made the remark he has just made, I had made up my mind to vote against this reference as unnecessa; but I do not know but that what he has sai will compel me to vote for it. On the general subject I hold that rules as to the form and manner in which we shall admit an associate into this body coming from a State are properly settled by the majority either by a specific rule or by custom. It has been the custom of the senate from time immemorial, undoubtedly, when credentials are presented in due form, upon their presentation to have the member qualified and let him take his seat. The very remarkable and anomalous state of things growing out of the rebellion rendered it absolutely necessary to take a somewhat different course, and when the credentials were presented by the late Senfrom Oregon, Mr. Stark, certain papers were sent to me to be presented to the Senate. Those papers contained a great deal of proof, affidavits charging and going to show disoyalty on the part of the member presenting himself, disloyal sentiments and expressions. In the state in which the country then was, new as it was to our experience, I eemed that the Senate had a)erfect right, and it‘vas its duty before rocceding to make him a member of this be y, to inquire into a fact so material; and when his credentials were presented I rose and presented the paers and moved the reference of the credentin s and papers themselves, thus leaving the whole question to the ComJudiciarya to be investiated. It was a new case which was or e at length in the Senate, and it was finally ecided by the Senate that the course I proposed was a proper disposition of the subject. It thus forms a new precedent, and a precedent necessary, in my judgment, at the time, arising from the pe culiar state of affairs. I afterwards became satisfied that there was nothing in the case which should properly exclude Mr. Stark, and voted for his admission. Yesterday when the credentials of the honorable Senfrom Tennessee [Mr. Fowuan] were presented, it was my opinion that in the condition of things in which we found ourselves the advisable course was to submit all the cre dentials coming from the late confederate States, in the 1st instance, to the ComJudiciary. I knew that in his case that would be a mere form but I regarded it, as a precedent, as an advisable mode of proceeding, owing to the fact that we did not now under what state of facts other gentlemen claiming to be Senators might come here from the late confederate States, My opinion was expressed to some members of the Senate, but I was overruled by wiser men than myself and some who are now perhaps in favor of referring these credentials. They thought it was not worth while to refer the credentials; they said it was contrary to usage, and we must follow the ordinary usage, which was, when credentials were laid upon our table in due form from a State which we admitted to be a member of the Union, that the Senator should be sworn in; and that course was pursued in Mr. Fow Lnn’s case. This morning when the credentials of the other gentleman claiming to be a Senfrom Tennessee were presented, that precedent having been established, though against my opinion, I was not inclined to extend one rule to one man and another rule to another. The Senate must take the consequences of its own rule established in relation to that matter. Those who have these thin under consideration and who ordinarily decide them for the Senate having so determined, I did not choose to into ose any objection. Now, sir, how does this particular case stand? I was not disposed to attach to the mere statement made y the Senfrom Massachu way in which setts and the Senfrom Michigan (hat importance which would induce me to change. the opinion to which I had come with regard to the case, namely, that we should apply to this gentleman the saine rule that we yesterday aplied to his colleague; and why? because they presented no proof, they presented no papers, they made no specific charges as of their own knowledge; they did not state that the knew any fact of themselves, nor did anybody state so. On a mere rumor, on a mere outside statement, on a rumor that somebody told somebody else that such a fact existed, I would not vary from the ordinary rule of the Senate, but would regard it as a rumor not affording a sufficient foundation for proceeding. That was the conclusion to which I ad arrived i in my own mind; but here the Senfrom Wisconsin gets up and tells us what I did not suppose to be the fact, what had not been established, what nobod had asserted, that this gentleman actually too i an oath to support the confederacy.