Whatever may have been the merits of the construction of the Reorganization Act adopted by the War Department, it is certain that the proceedings taken under it greatly astonished those who had passed the act. On January 19 the House of Representatives adopted a resolution requesting the general of the army to inform it by what authority three United States soldiers were acting as a committee in the legislature of Georgia.[244] On February 4 the Senate asked for official information regarding the proceedings had under the Reorganization Act.[245] The facts disclosed in response to this request created such surprise that the Senate directed the judiciary committee to inquire and report whether the act had been complied with.[246] The answer of the committee, as we saw in the early part of the chapter, was that the act had been misconstrued and violated. The appointment of presiding officers by the governor, the acts of those officers, the revival of the military governorship, and in particular the interference of Terry in the organization of the legislature--these, said the committee, were wholly unlawful. But though unlawful they had resulted in no substantial injustice, since all the men debarred by Terry were undoubtedly ineligible. And in any case a general state election was approaching, so that if any injustice had been done it would soon be righted. For these reasons the committee recommended that Congress undertake no more legislation for Georgia, but admit her representatives to each house as soon as possible.[247] The committee believed that the Reorganization Act was to be construed as a law entitling Georgia to representation in Congress as soon as she had ratified the Fifteenth Amendment. This opinion was held by many Republicans, who had followed Trumbull's example and who appeared from this time on as opponents of further Congressional interference in the South. The radical Republicans, however, led by Butler--those Republicans characterized by a Republican paper of the time as "the screeching wing" of the party[248]--insisted that Georgia must be admitted, as the first Reconstruction Act had said, "by law," and that no law to that effect had been passed. The reason why this argument was urged was that the passage of a new act for restoring the state would give an opportunity to annex other provisions besides the declaration of restoration. The particular provisions designed to be annexed were for the purpose of prolonging the term of the present state government. On February 25 Butler introduced the bill to admit Georgia.[249] One of its sections was as follows: That the power granted by the constitution of Georgia to the general assembly to change the time of holding elections ... shall not be so exercised as to postpone the election for members of the next general assembly beyond the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the year 1872.