At the same time the protest was presented by Mr.Cowan of Pennsylvania and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

That committee was composed of five Republicans and two Democrats, and was therefore politically biased, if at all, against Mr.Stockton.

On the 30th of January, after a patient examination of nearly two months, the committee, greatly to the surprise of the Republican side of the chamber, reported that "Mr.
Stockton was duly elected and entitled to his seat." The report was said to have been approved by every member of the committee except Mr.Clark of New Hampshire.

The validity or invalidity of the election hinged upon the ability of the joint convention of the two branches to declare a plurality sufficient to elect.

The committee decided that the convention possessed that power, and the report, drawn by Mr.
Trumbull, argued the point with considerable ingenuity.
The subject came up for consideration in the Senate on the 22d of March (1866), Mr.Clark, the dissenting member of the committee, leading off in debate.