Mr. WADE. Alnhat has happened from the time that bill was vetoed has on y deepened my conviction that something of the kind was exceedingly necessary to be one. I was very anxious that Congress should adopt some meas— ure by which the States in rebellion might know and be apprised at a very early period what conditions would be required of them as necessary to be adopted before they could be again admitted into Congress. Mr. Davis was exceedingly impressed with that idea, for every body could see at that period that the rebellion must soon be put dowu and that this most embarrassing question would be upon Congress. Mr. Davis framed a bill in the House and he hadinflncnceenoughtogetit through that body. I believed that it was a good measure. It naturally went to the committee of the Senate of which I was chairman. I approved of the bill at that time. I believed itwas called forby the circumstances of the country. I believed that it was the best thing Congress could then do to prevent the dissension and great embarrassmentthatwouldprobablyarise afterwards. congress believed so also. The bill was discussedin all its bearings, and it received the assent ofboth branches of Congress by very large majorities, ultimatel. Thereweresomefcaturesaboutthat bill that Idid not approve then, and which I do not approve now. The HoRep passed it through with the word“ white” in it, excluding the cOlored people. I had a strong desire in the Senate to strike that out. The committee, of which I was chairman, re ported it to this body with the word “white” stricken out, for the very purpose of saving the rights of the colored population there. became satisfied at that period that it could not receive the assent of congress in that form. That was most apparent when we came to try it, and rather than that a bill upon this great question should be lost, I waive my objections to the bill in the form in which it came from the House, caused it to be recommitted and the committee changed it, if I recollect aright, and put it back in the same way that it came from the HoRep, thereby sacrificing the ideas and principles which I held most essential in order at this great question might be settled. hat bill went to the President toward the latter part of the session, and the President exercised the power that he undoubtedly has under the Constitution of refusing to approve the bill. I regretted exceedingly that hisjudgment brought him to the cone usion that that was his duty; but neither myself nor Mr. Davis said one word against it. We knew that the President only exercised a power which he undoubtedly possessed under the Constitution, and he had just the same right to object to the bill that we had to go for it. Wc judged differently on the subject. There the thing ended, so far as we were concerned; but the President would not leave it there. Instead of sending the bill here with his objections to it, he put out what he called a proclamation, appealing from the Congress of the U.S. to the people of the U.S. in support of his reasons for objecting to the bill. When the POTUS appealed from Congress, stepped out of his constitutional rights, and was willing to go at large to the people with his argument, I did not feel that we who had taken an active part in getting that bill through should forbear to meet it with the arguments we entertained on the subject. If a POTUS puts forth arguments to the people against any position Itake here, I have never been able to see whyI should not go to the people and answer him there. It was for these reasons, believing that the Presi dent in his proclamation to the people had not treated our view of the subject quite as we understood it, and had not quite done us justice, that we concluded it would be perfectly legitimate for us to submit our arguments to the people also and we did so by what we called a protest against his proclamation. glow, if it is said that that protest did not meet the approbation of the peeple. I can only say that I have never learned that to be the fact. It may be that they did not like the time when it was put out against the Presidents idea of what was his duty on the subject. I did hear a great deal said on that point; that as politi cians we ought to have pocketed his view of it and let ours go. A great many said that when Mr. Lincoln was nominated by his party for the Presidency, although he had gone to the people with explanations of our course of proceed—ing that we did not hold to, and had made use of arguments that we thought were exceedingly weak on that subject, we should have let the thing pass; but we thought it best to meet him there. Politicians said to us, “ his a bad time to put forth your views. Your candidate is in the field and your argument against him will detract somewhat from the chances of his election so far as it has any effect at all." I knew that. We knew that if he waved to be in the wron such must be its tendency. As I have already said, I do not know that that protest was disapproved except as to the time when it was put forth. I have never heard mortalman attempt to gainsay the facts, the arguments, and the constitutional law that were brought forth in that protest in opposition to the arguments that were put forth in what he called his proclamation. No man, to my knowledge, ever took it up and attempted to controvert it, and I believe it is entirel incontrovertible. I did not believe then, nor O I believe now, that there was an argument put forth in that protest that was disrespectful to the President. I do not believe there was a single argument made use of that could be answered by the President. I accused him of nothing. Hejudged differently from us. But as he saw fit to go to the people with his views, I thought, in justification to our— selves, we had a perfect right to follow him there, and I would follow him or anybody else there, polities or no politics. If a man challenges me before the people of the U.S. for anything I do here, e be candidate or not, Iwill endeavor to answer him and make my side of the question good if I can and that was the course that Mr. Davis and myself took. If those who objected to it could show that there was anything invalid in our arguments or that the course we took was not for the best interest of the country, Iwas perfectly willing to hear them then and I am willing to hear them now. It is a document that has never been answered, and I do not believe it can be. I say this more in justification of the course taken by Mr. Davis, who was one of the most patriotic and best men I ever knew, than for anything that affects myself, for I care nothing about it. I never did care anything about it; but I know that Mr. Davis, in that protest that was drawn up. acted upon the most high and patriotic motives that ever moved a statesman to act. The very purest motives prompted him to lend himself to that protest. [think it will be an honor to him, so far as it shall go down to posterity. He is to be credited with draw—ing it upprincipally, although I was with him making suggestions with regard to it, and am certainly responsible for anything that is contained in it. So far from shrinking from it,I am proud of it and of my agency in it. I was exceedingly lad to hear, for it was candid in Mr. Lincoln iimself, and it was in accordance with the habits of that good man. that he did on reflection say that he regretted the course he had taken with regard to it. I was gratified to hear that Mr. Lincoln himself came to that conclusion. Sir, I think the history of the country has. shown that we were right in that, and that Mr. Lincoln was wrong. If he had approved that measure, I think it would have saved thatter rible controversy that has come upon us now. That bill did not contain all that I would require now. I am a little disposed, the longer this thing is put off and the longer the South stand out in opposition and defiance of us here, to enhance my demands upon them, although I never will ask anything that I do not believe to be entirely just and right. I do not know that. I had any right to sacrifice the views I entertained upon that bill by permitting the House bill to go without my opposition, for the reason, not that it would not settle the controversy so far as we were concerned, butit might have done infinite injustice perhaps to 4 million people there whose rights God knows I never will disregard. This is about all that I wish to say on this subject. As to the present condition of thine s between Congress and the President I certainIy have nothing to say. I am willin that that should go to the people of the U.S and let them judge. I hope the Senate of the U.S. will take no notice of what has been done. Iliope they will not. As an individual, I do not care. Let every man act on his own feelings; but I certainly shall not allude to it now and prolxibly never. I have deemed it proper to say this much in justification of Mr. Daviss course and my own in regard to that protest, and now I am willing to drop that sub jcet forever.