The great struggle now began in the Senate, where the Blaine amendment was moved by Mr. Johnson of Maryland, on February 15. There was an influential element which feared that its adoption would utterly nullify the object of the bill--to govern the States until they could be re-admitted with safety. Their objections were based on the same principles that had proved fatal to the amendment in the House. "I see," said Senator Howard, "in this amendment a fatal snare by which we shall be deceived in the end, by which we are to be deluded into a premature re-admission of the rebel States in such a manner as to make us ultimately repent of our folly and rashness. * * * It is a snare by which increased representation from the rebel States may come into Congress, * * while we have no security at all that the extended elective franchise will be continued in the rebel States to the black population. They can disfranchise them whenever they see fit after having secured increased representation."[160] The Senate, more conservative than the House, could not muster such a strong opposition to the amendment. It was rejected, but rejected in order to open the way for another amendment in the form of a substitute bill, which was moved by Senator Sherman.[161] The substitute had been agreed upon in a Republican caucus, and was accordingly carried. Its first four sections contained nearly all the features of the original bill; it substituted "President" for "General," in the second section, and, in place of the provision against writs of _habeas corpus_, the fourth section simply enacted that "all persons put under military arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delay, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted." The fifth section contained the features proposed in the Bingham and Blaine amendments, amplified in a manner satisfactory to the majority of the Senatorial caucus. The conditions of readmission were as follows: The adoption of a constitution in conformity with the Constitution of the United States, and the ratification of the 14th amendment. The constitution, which must be examined and approved by Congress, must be framed by a convention of delegates chosen by "the male citizens of said State twenty-one years of age and upwards, of whatever race, color, or previous condition, who have been resident in the State for one year previous to the day of such election, except such as may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion, or for felony at common law;" must give the elective franchise to all qualified as electors for the delegates; and must be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on ratification, and qualified as such electors. To this the proviso was added that no person disqualified by the 14th amendment from holding office should be chosen as a delegate to the convention or vote for members of it. One more amendment to the bill was made on motion of Senator Doolittle.