At the conclusion of Mr. Wilson's speech, Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, moved to lay the whole subject on the table. This motion was rejected—yeas, 32; nays, 118.
The House then rejected Mr. Bingham's proposed amendment, and recommitted the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary.
On the 13th of March the bill was reported back from the committee with some amendments, one of which was to strike out in section one the following words:
"Without distinction of color, and there shall be no discrimination in civil rights, or immunities among citizens of the United States in any State or Territory of the United States on account of race, color, or previous condition of slavery."
The words were omitted to satisfy some who feared that it might be held by the courts that the right of suffrage was conferred thereby.
Another amendment proposed was the addition of a section to the bill, to-wit:
"And be it further enacted, That upon all questions of law arising in any case under the provisions of this act, a final appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States."
Other amendments proposed and adopted were chiefly of a verbal character.
The main question was finally taken, and the bill passed by the following vote:
YEAS—Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M.
Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell,
Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy,
Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis,
Dawes, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont,
Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell,
Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper,
Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John
H. Hubbard, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes,
Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George
V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch,
Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead,
Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth,
Paine, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice,
Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding,
Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas,
Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner,
Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth,
Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson,
Windom, and Woodbridge—111.