MR. DAVIS. The Senator knows well, that, assuming his premises to be true, whenever the Senator from Kansas consummated his election by taking his seat and taking the oath of office, his term dated back to the date of his election. MR. SUMNER. The Senator must pardon me, if I cannot assent to his conclusion. He may have been a Senator to a certain extent, but not so as to create incompatibility with another office under the Constitution. January 15, Mr. Sumner cited two precedents,--the case of Hammond _v._ Herrick,[123] and that of Elias Earle of South Carolina.[124] The marginal note of the latter says:-- “Continuing to execute the duties of an office under the United States, after one is elected to Congress, but before he takes his seat, is not a disqualification, such office being resigned prior to the taking of the seat.” January 16, the seat of Mr. Lane was affirmed, contrary to the report of the Committee, by the vote of the Senate,--24 yeas to 16 nays. EXPULSION OF JESSE D. BRIGHT, OF INDIANA. SPEECHES IN THE SENATE, JANUARY 21 AND FEBRUARY 4, 1862. December 16, 1861, Mr. Wilkinson, of Minnesota, submitted to the Senate a resolution for the expulsion of Hon. Jesse D. Bright, a Senator from Indiana, on account of a letter to Jefferson Davis, which was pronounced “evidence of disloyalty to the United States, and calculated to give aid and comfort to the public enemies.” The resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which reported upon it adversely; but, on consideration and debate, it was adopted, so that Mr. Bright was expelled. January 21, 1862, Mr. Sumner spoke as follows. MR. PRESIDENT,--The expulsion of a Senator is one of the most solemn acts which this body can be called to perform. The sentence of a court in a capital case is hardly more solemn; for, though your judgment cannot take away life, it may take away all that gives value to life. Justice herself might well hesitate to lift the scales in which such a destiny is weighed. But duties in this world cannot be avoided. When cast upon us, they must be performed, at any cost of individual pain or individual regret,--especially in the present case, where the Senate, whose good name is in question, and the country, whose welfare is at stake, forbid us to hesitate. * * * * *