Although on March 2 a motion adverse to assumption in committee of the whole was defeated by a vote of 28 to 22, it was then known that a majority could not be procured for enactment, and on April 12 the assumption bill was defeated outright in the House, 31 to 29.

Maclay, who went over to the House from the Senate to witness the event, gloated over the defeat in his diary: "Sedgwick, from Boston, pronounced a funeral oration over it.

He was called to order; some confusion ensued; he took his hat and went out.

When he returned, his visage bore the visible marks of weeping.

Fitzsimmons reddened like scarlet; his eyes were brimful.