from Great Britain for the depredations
of the Alabama and other English cruisers. And as for the San
Domingo treaty, a large majority of Republican Senators had voted
for it--though I did not; and nearly all of us had voted for the
commission of inquiry of which Mr. Wade was the chief member.

When we met in March, it was known that both these important subjects
would necessarily be referred to the committee on foreign relations,
and that, aside from the hostile personal relations of Mr. Sumner
and the Secretary of State, he did not, and could not, and would
not, represent the views of a majority of his Republican colleagues
in the Senate, and that a majority of his committee agreed with
him. Committees are and ought to be organized to represent the
body, giving a majority of the members to the prevailing opinion,
but fairly representing the views of the minority. It has been
the custom in the Senate to allow each party to choose its own
representatives in each committee, and in proportion to its numbers.

In the Republican conference the first question that arose was as
to Mr. Sumner. He was the oldest Senator in consecutive service.
He was eminent not only as a faithful representative of Republican
principles, but as especially qualified to be chairman of our
foreign relations. He had long held that position, and it was not
usual in the Senate to change the committees, but to follow the
rule of seniority, placing Senators of the majority party in the
order of their coming into the Senate and those of the minority at
the foot of the list.

In deciding Mr. Sumner's case, in view of the facts I have stated,
two plans were urged;

First--To place him at the head of the new and important committee
of privileges and elections, leaving the rest of the committee on
foreign relations to stand in the precise order it had been, with
one vacancy to be filled in harmony with the majority.

Second--To leave Mr. Sumner to stand in his old place as chairman,
and to make a change in the body of the committee by transferring
one of its members to another committee, and fill the vacancy by a
Senator in harmony with the majority.

My own opinion was that the latter course was the most polite and
just; but the majority decided, after full consideration and debate,
upon the first alternative.

Simon Cameron was next to Mr. Sumner on the list of Republican
members of the committee, and, by uniform usage, became its
chairman