Second Session, Thirty-Seventh Congress.
Colored Persons as Witnesses.
In Senate—Pending the confiscation bill, June 28, 1862.
Mr. Sumner moved these words as an addition to the 14th section:
And in all the proceedings under this act there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color.
Which was rejected—yeas 14, nays 25, as follows:
Yeas--Messrs. Chandler, Grimes, Harlan, Howard, King, Lane of Kansas, Morrill, Pomeroy, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilmot—14.
Nays—Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Carlile, Clark, Collamer, Cowan, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Harris, Henderson, Lane of Indiana, Nesmith, Pearce, Powell, Sherman, Simmons, Stark, Ten Eyck, Willey, Wilson of Missouri, Wright—25.
Pending the consideration of the supplement to the emancipation bill for the District of Columbia,
1862, July 7—Mr. Sumner moved a new section:
That in all the judicial proceedings in the District of Columbia there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color.
Which was adopted—yeas 25, nays 11.
The bill then passed—yeas 29, nays 6; (Messrs. Carlile, Davis, Kennedy, Powell, Wilson, of Missouri, Wright.)
July 9—The bill passed the House—yeas 69, nays 36. There was no separate vote on the above proposition.
Pending the consideration in the Senate of the House bill in relation to the competency of witnesses in trials of equity and admiralty,
1862, July 15—Mr. Sumner offered this proviso to the first section:
Provided, That there shall be no exclusion of any witness on account of color. Which was rejected—yeas 14, nays 23.