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THE VOTE OF CENSURE.

IN consequence of the report of the Judiciary committee already alluded to, and a feeling on the part of many members that the evidence would not warrant the conviction, it was growing apparent that the report of the committee would not be sustained, and that the expulsion of these members would not follow. Mr. Sargent, of California, moved to substitute for the resolutions offered by the committee, the following:

Whereas, by the report of the special committee herein, it appears that the acts charged against members of this House in connection with the Credit Mobilier of America, occurred more than five years ago, and long before the election of such persons to this Congress, two elections by the people having intervened; and, whereas grave doubts exist as to the rightful exercise by this House of its power to expel a member for offenses committed by such member long before his election thereto, and not connected with such election: therefore,

Resolved, That the special committee be discharged from the further consideration of this subject.

Resolved, That the House absolutely condemns the conduct of OAKES AMES, a member of this House from

THE CREDIT MOBILIER.

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Massachusetts, in seeking to procure Congressional attention to the affairs of a corporation in which he was interested, and whose interest directly depended upon the legislation of Congress, by inducing members of Congress to invest in the stocks of said corporation.

Resolved, That this House absolutely condemns the conduct of JAMES BROOKS, a member of this House from New York, for the use of his position as government director of the Union Pacific Railroad, and a member of this House, to procure the assignment to himself or family, of stock in the Credit Mobilier of America, a corporation having a contract with the Union Pacific railroad, and whose interests depended directly upon the legislation of Congress.

On this motion to substitute, the yeas and nays were called, and with the following result. Yeas, 115; nays, 110; not voting, 15. So it was agreed to substitute these resolutions for those offered by the committee.

The question then came upon the resolution condemning the action of Oakes Ames, and it was agreed to by a vote of 182 yeas, 36 nays, 22 not voting.

Upon the resolution condemning the action of James Brooks, the vote stood: 174 yeas, 32 nays, 34 not voting.

And so the resolutions were each agreed to.

During these proceedings Mr. Ames occupied a seat on the floor of the House, immediately in front of the Speaker, in plain view of all. He realized the situation in which he was placed, and felt deeply, keenly, the disgrace that was being placed upon

him. He sat there silent, immovable, a deathly pallor on his countenance, calmly waiting for the awful decision. Mr. Brooks occupied his own seat, looking more like a corpse than a human being. Those were awful moments to these men, as name after name was called and recorded on the everlasting pages of history, where generations yet unborn might come, and, reading, point the finger of scorn at those names thus shrouded in eternal infamy. A whole life was centered in those few moments. All hope was lost, all honor gone. When the decision. had been announced and the awful sentence recorded, there "ensued upon the floor of Congress a scene without parallel. Men who had just joined in the vote of condemnation against Mr. Ames, gathered around him to ask his pardon for having done so. They said to him, we know that you are innocent; but we had to do it in order to satisfy our constituents.""

This scene is a fact, and the names of those who thus spoke can be given. What virtuous men to sit in judgment upon their fellow-men! How noble the hearts that could thus consign to infamy a fellow being! Years after, others have confessed their vote was given as it was solely on account of personal hopes. It presents a picture of depravity by the side of which all the acts charged against Oakes Ames stand out as honorable in the extreme.

Congress soon adjourned, and the terms of service of Oakes Ames and James Brooks were at an end. They returned to their respective homes only to die.

The people

In a few weeks they were no more. of the whole nation soon began to realize that in the death of Mr. Ames the country had lost a great benefactor-a man through whose instrumentality the greatest achievement of the present age had been successfully completed. There is no doubt but the disgrace thus placed upon him ended his life. Whatever opinion the world at large may have entertained of the man, however deep was the feeling against him in general, those who knew him, and who had been associated with him, could not be made to believe that dishonor or guilt had ever lurked within his heart. In all his private relations. his name was pure and spotless. In his business his honor and integrity were proverbial. Still he may not have been a man who would impress those who knew him not, with a sense of his greatness. That was reserved for those who could become intimate with him, and understand him. He was not given to niceties, or to small matters. He might not be able to discern fine-drawn distinctions, but his mind was comprehensive enough to grasp the most gigantic schemes, and understand them. To him the success of the Pacific road was beyond doubting. He believed it, and he was willing to risk his entire fortune-as, in fact, he did-in its construction. He beheld the vast benefit it would be to the country, and he saw the stream of commerce that was to roll on forever over its line. He saw the unity it would establish between all sections of the country, and comprehended the patriotic influence it

would ever exert. He became interested in the Pacific road at a critical hour of its fortunes, and he gave it his means, his energy, his life.

While we cannot say that he was insensible to gain, still those who knew him best can never be made to doubt that there was a large element of patriotism in the views which induced him to take the position he did in constructing this great highway from the river, through the wilderness, and over the mountains to the ocean. His work was finished in the same spirit in which he worked all through his connection with it; and at the time when he ought to have received his reward, when he should have been entitled to a life of honor and ease, he found himself assailed in the most most wanton manner, and his name and fame forever tarnished.

When he returned from Washington, at the close of his Congressional labors, he was met by the citizens of his home with a demonstration which showed their absolute confidence in his honor, and they gave expression of their love for him in a manner that was most impressive. Two months later they followed him to his grave and wept over his remains.

The flight of time has not failed to bring back to the memory of Oakes Ames the vindication that was denied him on the floor of Congress. Every position which he took regarding the Credit Mobilier or the Union Pacific road has been sustained whenever brought before our tribunals of justice. The