1864, March 18—The House passed, without a division, a bill in the usual form, to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Montana.
March 31—The Senate considered it, when Mr. Wilkinson moved to strike from the second line of the fifth section, (defining the qualifications of voters,) the words “white male inhabitant” and insert the words: “male citizen of the United States, and those who have declared their intention to become such;” which was agreed to—yeas 22, nays 17, as follows:
Yeas—Messrs. Brown, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Conness, Dixon, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morrill, Pomeroy, Sumner, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson—22.
Nays—Messrs. Buckalew, Carlile, Cowan, Davis, Harding, Henderson, Johnson, Lane of Indiana, Nesmith, Powell, Riddle, Saulsbury, Sherman, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey—17.
The bill was then passed—yeas 29, nays 8, (Messrs. Buckalew, Davis, Johnson, Powell, Riddle, Saulsbury, Van Winkle, Willey.)
April 15—The Senate adopted the report of the Committee of Conference on the Montana bill, which recommended the Senate to recede from their second amendment, and the House to agree to the first and third amendments of the Senate, (including the above.)
April 15—Mr. Beaman presented the report of the Committee of Conference on the Montana bill, a feature of which was that the House should recede from its disagreement to the Senate amendment striking out the word “white” in the description of those authorized to vote.
Mr. Holman moved that the report be tabled; which was lost by the casting vote of the Speaker—yeas 66, nays 66.
Upon agreeing to the report the yeas were 54, nays 85.
On motion to adhere to its amendments, and ask another Committee of Conference, Mr. Webster moved instructions: