At the next session of Congress Mr. Sumner returned to this question. December 17, 1863, he submitted a resolution proposing a new rule. “_Resolved_, That the following be added to the rules of the Senate:-- “The oath or affirmation prescribed by Act of Congress of July 2, 1862, to be taken and subscribed before entering upon the duties of office, shall be taken and subscribed by every Senator in open Senate before entering upon his duties. It shall also be taken and subscribed in the same way by the Secretary of the Senate; but the other officers of the Senate may take and subscribe it in the office of the Secretary.” December 18th, the resolution came up for consideration, when Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, moved as a substitute that the Judiciary Committee be directed to inquire whether Senators and Representatives are included within the provisions of the Act prescribing the oath, and whether the Act is constitutional. Subsequently, he moved that the whole subject, including the resolution and the substitute, be referred to the Judiciary Committee, which, after debate, was rejected,--Yeas 15, Nays 26. The debate was continued, in the course of which Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, and Mr. Collamer, of Vermont, spoke at length. January 25, 1864, Mr. Sumner spoke as follows. MR. PRESIDENT,--There is a time for all things; but there are times when certain things are out of place; and this principle is especially applicable to the present debate. The question is on the adoption of a rule of the Senate to carry out an existing statute. It is not on the passage of the statute, or on its proposed repeal, but it is simply on its recognition as an existing statute, and the enforcement of its plain requirement. Considering the simplicity of the question, well may we be astonished at much that has been intruded into this debate. The Senate is a branch of the legislative power, in conjunction with the House of Representatives and the President. Neither alone can make or unmake a law. The concurrence of all three is essential, whether in making or unmaking. So long as the law exists, there is no difference between the obligations of the Senate and the obligations of the humblest citizen, except, perhaps, that the Senate, which helped to make the law, is bound to set an example of obedience beyond any citizen.