pretend to claim that "even a third part
of the people of Virginia have ever had any thing to do with
rendering their assent to the making of this new State within the
territorial limits of that ancient Commonwealth." He declared this
to be "a dangerous precedent which overthrows the Constitution and
may be fraught with direful consequences." "Out of the one hundred
and sixty counties that compose the State of Virginia," he continued,
"less than one-fourth have assumed to act for the entire State;
and even within the boundaries of the new State more than half the
voters have declined to take part in the elections."

Mr. Willey argued that the Legislature represented the almost
unanimous will of all the loyal people of West Virginia. He said
that "besides the 19,000 votes cast, there were 10,100 men absent
in the Union army, and that, the conclusion being foregone, the
people had not been careful to come out to vote, knowing that the
constitution would be overwhelmingly adopted." On the 14th of
July, three days before Congress adjourned, the bill passed the
Senate by a vote of 23 to 17. Mr. Rice of Minnesota was the only
Democrat who favored the admission of the new State. The other
Democratic senators voted against it. Mr. Chandler and Mr. Howard
of Michigan voted in the negative because the State had voluntarily
done nothing towards providing for the emancipation of slaves; Mr.
Sumner and Mr. Wilson, because the State had rejected the anti-
slavery amendment; Mr. Trumbull and Mr. Cowan, because of the
irregularity of the whole proceeding.

ADMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA TO THE UNION.

The bill was not considered in the House until the next session.
It was taken up on the 9th of December and was vigorously attacked
by Mr. Conway of Kansas. He questioned the validity of the Pierpont
Government and asked whether the law which gave him his warrant of
authority had come from "a mob or from a mass-meeting." He said
he had "serious reason to believe that it is the intention of the
President to encourage the formation of State organizations in all
the seceded States, and that a few individuals are to assume State
powers wherever a military encampment can be effected in any of
the rebellious districts." Mr. Conway denounced this scheme as
"utterly and flagrantly unconstitutional, as radically revolutionary
in character and deserving the reprobation of every loyal citizen."
It aimed,