Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, June 12, 1879, Image 2
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YORKVILLE, S. C. :
THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 12, 1879.
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PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS.
In the Senate on the 2nd, Mr. Edmunds
called attention to what he alleged was the
unfair way in which ex parte charges were
printed for public information by the Wallace
committee, so as to be mistaken for established
facts. Mr. Wallace defended the course
of the committee, and debate ensued, participated
in by Messrs. Edmunds, Dawes, Thurman
and Blaine. Mr. Thurman said onesided
statements were also made public as
evidence by the Ku Klux committee in the
South. The portions of the testimony bearing
against the Democrats found their way
into print, and not the rest. He favored
making all the testimony public, and letting
the people judge for themselves. The morning
hour expired, and Mr. McDonald's resolution
went over.
In the House, among the bills introduced
and referred, was one by Mr. Springer of
Illinois, prohibiting any soldiers stationed
within two miles of any place where special
or general election of Representatives
in Congress is being held, from leaving his
barracks for any purpose except that of relieving
guard or casting his vote on the day
of election.
In the Senate on the 3rd, the unfinished
business, being the House bill to establish
post-routes, was considered. The amendments
to the bill, made in committee of the whole,
were agreed to, and the bill passed. The
Senate then took up the bill to amend an act
creating the Northern Judicial District of
Texas, and pending the consideration thereof,
went into executive session and then adjourned.
In the House, the bill amending the stat
utes relative to the removal of causes from
the State to the Federal Courts was resumed
and discussed. Mr. Cox made a speech in
favor of the repeal of the test oath laws, after
which the House adjourned.
In the Senate on the 4th, Mr. Bayard,
from the judiciary committee, reported with
amendments, the Senate bill repealing sections
301, 820 and 821 of the revised statutes,
(which prescribe the jurors' test oath,
etc.), and said he would probably ask leave
to call it up the next day for consideration.
Ordered to be printed and placed on the calendar.
The bill amending the act creating
the Northern Judicial district of Texas was
considered and passed.
In the House, several bills were introduced
and referred. A resolution for a thorough
investigation of the National banking system
was adopted.
In the Senate on the 5th, by a vote of 28
yeas to 19 nays, the bill reported on the preceding
day by Mr. Bayard, relating to juries
and the repeal of sections 801, 820 and 821
r\P fko PnTrion/1 Qfofnfno too a fftlron 11 n TVflV
V/l tuu X?W T lOV/U tjvuiuyvo) 1IMW ?? - Hampton,
of South Carolina, after briefly
supporting the bill, proceeded to speak upon
the general political issues of the session. [A
full report of his speech is printed in another
column.] Mr. Bayard followed Mr. Hampton,
speaking at length in support of the bill.
After Mr. Bayard concluded his speech, Mr.
Edmunds, of Vermont, then moved to amend
the pending bill by the addition of a clause
prohibiting the exclusion from jury service in
any State or Federal Court of any duly qualified
person on account of race, color or previous
condition of servitude. This led to a
half humorous colloquy between Mr. Hill, of
Georgia, and Mr. Conk ling, of New York.
Mr. Thurman, of Ohio, remarked that the
gentleman (Conkling) had, perhaps read of
the celebrated English statesman who said he
acquired eloquence by speaking every day
and on every subject for the first year of his
career and was imitating the latter's example.
After debate the amendment was relented.
Several ntfmr amendments were Dro
posed and discussed in a desultory manner
and the Senate adjourned without action on
the bill.
In the House, the bill to prevent the
spread of contagious diseases among domestic
animals was taken up and discussed, but no
action reached up to the hour of adjournment.
In the Seoate on the 6th, the bill to repeal
sections 801, 820 and 821 of the Revised
Statues, relative to jurors in the United
States Courts, was taken up, and after lengthy
discussion, was passed by a strict party vote?
yeas, 28 ; nays, 16. The Senate then adjourned
to Monday.
The proceedings of the House were generally
unimportant.
On the 7th, the House was engaged, in
committee of the whole, on the bill making
additional appropriations for the service of
the post-office department. The bill was read
by sections and Keifer offered as a substitute
for the bill an amendment appropriating in
addition to the amount heretofore appropriated,
$453,000, for the payment of letters carried
for the fiscal year ending, June, 1880,
and $70,000 for the payment of increased salaries
of letter carriers for the fiscal year ending
June, 1879. Cox moved to increase the
appropriation from $353,000 to $415,000. A
Anenfl/1 oft-rat* \t?\y i nh Pay 'a mnflATl
UldUUddlUli) tuouvu anvi nmvu \/va w
was agreed to. After further discussion the
committee arose and the bill was reported to
the House. Keifer's substitute, as amended
by Cox's amendment, was adopted. The
bill was then passed and the House adjourned.
In the Senate on the 9th, a resolution to
discharge the finance committee from the further
consideration of the Warner silver bill
and to declare it before the Senate for action,
was postponed. On motion of Harris, of
Massachusetts, McDonald's bill authorizing
the employment of the militia and land and
naval forces of the United States in certain
cases, was taken up. Harris began at 12:40
to read a speech in support of the bill. Mr.
Harris deprecated the line of argument pursued
by the other side, which inevitably must
revive sectional bitterness and tend to obscure
the real issue. He argued that the con
stitution gives the States exclusive authority
over the qualification of voters, leaving Congress
only the power to cause elections to be
held, should the State refuse to do so, this
being intended as a means of self-preservation
and not to be used in ordinary cases.
There is no constitutional authority for the
appointment of supervisors and marshals of
elections, who, though nominally acting to
prevent fraud, really engage in it in the interest
of party, their devotion to which is
the chief ground for their selection. It is useless,
he addedr for States to prescribe qualifications
for voters as its duty, if these officers
can over-ride State laws and dictate according
to their pleasure who may or may not
vote. No State is so corrupt as not to be
trnatpd xcith tho p/vndiiof nf ita nwn plpftmns.
After quoting from testimony showing the
corrupt practices which have grown up under
these laws, Mr. Harris closed by earnestly
expressing a desire for a return to simpler
and safer constitutional methods. At the
conclusion of Mr. Harris' remarks, the Senate
adjourned.
The House "was engaged in the reference of
bills introduced under the call of States.
In the Senate on the 10th, the legislative,
executive and judicial appropriation bill was
received from the House and referred to the
committee on appropriations. A concurrent
resolution providing for adjournment on the
17th was also received and referred. On
motion of Hill, of Georgia, McDonald's bill
authorizing the use of the army and navy in
certain cases, and repealing the election law,
was taken up and postponed until to morrow,
when Hill will speak thereon. On motion of
Voorhees, the House joint resolution providing
for the erection of a monument to. raark
the birth-place of Washington was taken up
and passed without a dissenting voice.
In the House, a bill from the appropriation
committee was reported making appropriations
for certain judicial expenses, and after a
general debate was passed by a strict party
vote?102 to 85. The House then adjourned.
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
? The Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad
has been completed to Hendersonville.
? The State Dental Convention will meet
in Charleston, on Monday, the 7th of July.
? More than one-fourth of the whole of the
State and county taxes due by Newberry
county, was paid.last month.
? A. L. Tobias, Esq., a well known insurance
agent of Charleston, died in that city
on Saturday last, aged nearly fifty-four years.
? Secretary of State Sims, who has been in
ill health for some time, left Columbia for
the Hot Springs in Virginia, on Monday
last.
? A farmer of Anderson county claims
that he has a field of wheat, embracing six
acres, which will yield one hundred and eighty
bushels.
? The indications are good for a fair peach
crop in the vicinity of Columbia, the damage
by the heavy frost in April not being as
great as was^upposed.
? The Review says the cotton in the lower
part of Lancaster county is being severely injured
by small worms which feed upon the
roots of the young plants.
? The Greenville News mentions that the
Piedmont Factory at that place, has recent
ly received an order for forty bales of shirting,
to be shipped to China.
? The Ledger claims that Mr. Amos Cook,
of Flat Creek, Lancaster county, is luxuriating
on ripe peaches. Whether of this or
last year's growth is not stated.
? Governor Simpson has re appointed Julius
Mills treasurer, and J-. M. Brawley auditor
of Chester county. Also, W. B. Dunlap,
treasurer, and T. F. Clyburn, auditor of
Lancaster county.
? Mr. W. H. Westbrook, of the Rossville
section of Chester county, has one hundred
and twenty acres of corn which is knee-high,
and one hundred and twenty watermelon vines j
with creepers three feet long.
? Major D. J. Devane, of Wilmington, N. j
C., has been appointed by the United States j
Circuit 'Court, now in session at Raleigh, a
commissioner to sell the Wilmington, Columbia
and Augusta Railroad, under a decree of
foreclosure.
? The sales of commercial fertilizers in Anderson
county aggregate 2,171 tons, against
1,786 tODs for last year. The Intelligencer
suggests that it would probably be better not
to hold any indignation convention next
winter.
? On the plantation of Dr. Clayton, in
Anderson county, rabbits have been so destructive
to his wheat crop, that he recently
commenced a war of extermination against
them, which resulted in the killing of five
hundred in one week.
The trial of D. F. Fleming and William
Gregg, under indictment in Aiken county,
for conspiracy to defraud that county out of
a large sum of money in connection with the
purchase of a building for a court house, has
been removed to Orangeburg, where the case
will be tried.
? In Lancaster county, one day last week,
Spinier Crawford, while at work in a field, cut
a large black snake in twain with a hoe. He
took in his hand that part of the snake where
was the head. No sooner had he touched it
than he received a smart sting on his arm,
and in fifteen minutes was in convulsions.
He had about twelve during the day; but is
recovering under medical treatment.
? The Washington correspondent of the
Charleston News and Courier says: "It is
confidently predicted that the Greenbackers
will organize a strong party in South Carolina
before the next general election, and it is
said with equal confidence that the woods in
that State are full of idle and anxious politicians
who will willingly volunteer to become
candidates for State and National offices upon
a Greenback platform. The colored people
will go en-masse after these leaders, both
: from their natural desire for plenty of money
| and of their slumbering opposition to the
Democratic party."
MERE-MENTION.
The death of Geu^James Shields, a hero of
! the Mexican war, is announced as having oc!
curred at Ottumwa, Iud., on Sunday night of
' last week. He was a native of Ireland, and
i? i a 1 oat
i wus uurii iuuy \j9 iuvi, uuc nuuuicu
' and eighty-three cotton factories have been
, started iu the South since the war. Mrs.
Benner complains that her pension, (8o40 per
annum,) is too small, and Representative
Springer is going to try to have it increased
to $1,000 a year. Prominent Republicans
all admit the Democratic ticket in Ohio
to be a strong one. Jefferson Davis has
declined a large offer to make the tour of the
North and lecture. The Legislature of
Texas has passed a Moffet liquor law, similar
to that of Virginia. President Hayes, it
is said, will spend August and September at
his home in Fremont, Ohio. The deatli
of Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild will
perhaps create more commotion in the financial
world than the decease of a crowned
i monarch. The great firm will proceed iu its
career of money making, however, as active-1
ly as ever. It is reported that R. B.
Elliott is preparing to change his residence to
Nassau. There are about one hundred and
twenty Confederate soldiers buried at Anderson
ville, Ga. The South Carolina Representatives
and Senators in Congress have
been interviewed a second time on the political
situation. They are all in accord on the
subject of passing the appropriation bills,
which they contend ought to be done, and
then the next most sensible thing would be
for Congress to adjourn. A printing office
now occupies the room where Crockett and
other heroes of the Alamo fell in defense
of Texan independence. It is an old
saying, with farmers, that a dry May presages
a good crop year. If it be true, then
there is a prospect for a good crop year in
1879. A thoughtful invalid took a coffin
along when he went from Boston to Flori'
- .... . . I T.
da, and his body was returneci in it. n
is rumored that three cases of yellow fever
have already been discovered in Vicksburg.
The colored missionary Baptist Association,
in session at Atlanta last week, decided
to have nothing to do with the negro exodus
movement from the South, and declared that
they were willing to live and die in Georgia.
Forty six thousand two hundred
and eighty-six persons emigrated last year
from Germany, very nearly 5,000 more than
iu the preceding year. The number in the
past ten yjars is estimated at 845,244. A
funeral procession in a Massachusetts town
was halted on its way to the cemetery while
the body was taken into a photographer's
gallery and photographed. A despatch
from Paris, France, announces that two hundred
and eighty eight Communists were pardoned
on Thursday last. A case has
been made up lor decision m tne supreme
Court of the United States, to test the validity
of the re-issue of United States legal teuder
notes in time of peace. The question
specially involved is whether these notes
are a legal tender for all debts. The case
goes up to the Supreme Court from New
York, on appeal from a decision of Judge
Blatchford sustaining the re-issue of the
notes. Dr. John T. Darby, formerly
professor of. anatomy and surgery in the University
of South Carolina, died in New York
011 Monday afternoon last.
EDITORIAL INKLINGS.
Cotten Crop in the State.
Under date of last Monday, the report
of the Charleston Exchange gives seventytwo
replies from thirty counties in South
Carolina, with the following information as to
the coudition of the crop for May: Acreage
increase five per cent. Weather less favorable
from fifty replies, more favorable from
eighteen and the same as last year from four.
The stands are reported as good by forty and
bad by twenty-five replies. Five replies report
the appearance of worms and three that
replanting is necessary. Four replies report
the crop three weeks later than last year,
twenty-one as two weeks, thirteen as ten days,
twelve as one day later; eleven the same as
last year, and ten as one week earlier. Thir
ty report the condition of the crop as good,
thirty as bad and small, fourteen as very
grassy. Labor is good in sixteen cases and
scarce in sixteen. Forty-three replies report
an increase in the use of fertilizers and twentynine
a decrease of the same as last year.
Negro Kiot in Georgia.
A Savannah dispatch of Monday says
that a terrible riot took place on that afternoon
at Mcintosh, Liberty county, a station
on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, between
a party of negro excursionists from Bryan
county and those belonging to the place. It
began in a fight between two negroes, whereupon
John Randall, the captain of a negro
militia company from Bryan county, which
company made a part of the excursionists,
ordered his company to charge, which they
did, bayoneting everybody within reach. The
captain himself killed one jnan by running
him through with his sword. There was intense
excitement at this outrage, and ihe
T.ihorfw enntifv nptrrnes rallied and drove the
"J ? J "~b
military company into the cars, and opened
fire on them killing four and wounding many
more and only stopped shooting when the
train got out of the way, which they tried to
prevent by tearing up the track. All the
parties engaged were negroes.
Veterans of the Mexican War.
The Committee of the House of Representatives,
on Invalid Pensions, have agreed
to report a bill granting pensions to all the
surviving soldiers of this war, and their wid
ows?without distinction as to political principles.
The bill directs the Secretary of the
Interior to place on the pension roll the names
of surviving officers and enlisted men, including
militia and volunteers of the military
and naval services of the United States, who
served 60 days in the war of 1846 and 1847
with Mexico. An effort will be made to pass
it at the present session of Congress.
The act allows a pension of 88 per month,
but does not apply to any person who is receiving
a pension at that rate, but if his pension
is less than that he shall receive enough
to make it $8 per month. All persons entitled
to the pension shall receive it from the
passage of the act during their natural lives.
Before a pension is allowed, proof shall be
submitted of his or her right to it, and any
person making a false oath shall be stricken
from the roll. The loss of certificate of discharge
shall not deprive a person of the benefits
of the act, but other evidence shall be
sufficient, and a land warrant granted on account
of honorable service shall be taken as
sufficient evidence, unless it can be proven
that the warrant was fraudulently obtained.
Senator Hampton's Speech.
The Washington correspondent of the
News and Courier says the event last Thursday
at the Capitol was Mr. Hampton's speech
upon the political issues of the session. All
! expressions as to the style of the speech have
; been of the most complimentary character?
I the wisdom, moderation and justice of the
views it presented being well calculated to
i elicit general and sincere admiration and respect.
As to the effects of the speech, on the
! stalwarts, the correspondent says:
Perhaps no better evidence of its worth and
weight could have been afforded than the uu;
willing and rude tribute paid by Conkling, I
! and protracted by him throughout the short!
j time that the Governor occupied the floor, j
j The senator from New York may be classed ,
i as a gentleman under a liberal construction J
of the term, but that he is not a gentleman !
he loses no opportunity like that presented today
to assert in the plainest manner. While
i Governor Hampton was speaking, and while
! every other person in the hall was leaning
| forward with eager interest to catch his slight- j
j est word, Conkling affected to bo writing a
i letter, occasionally varying this very diapha- j
nous performance by stopping to speak to
those around him, or by rising from his seat
and walking about among the desks to con-j
verse with his admirers on the Republican J
side.
j At one time while he was engaged in writing
his endless letter, Governor Hampton said
in the course of his remarks that he did not j
think it wise for the Democracy "to do any-1
thing which would be calculated to drive the
President into the ranks of those who would
trample upon him and us alike."
Conkling was not so busily engaged but
that he heard this, as was clearly evidenced
by the raanuer in which he tossed his white
woolly head and wrinkled his sneering nose,
until the corners of his nostrils invaded the
proper domain of his angry eyes. You see
Mr. Conkling does not like Mr. Hayes since
the latter euchred him in the matter of the
New York Customhouse appointments, and
this delicately equipped shaft of Senator
Hampton went straight to his sorest spot.
Logan, Blaine and Chandler all bad urgent
business in the cloak-room, which apparently
kept them occupied until about the time the
Governor finished.
A large number of orders for the speech
have already been handed in?before it is
printed?and it will be widely circulated
throughout the North and East with the happiest
results, as every one believes.
Alarming, if True.
The Charlotte Observer of last Friday
has the following, which is alarming, provided
it is not a hoax that some thoughtless
person is endeavoring to perpetrate through
the agency of the recipient of the letters mentioned
:
A letter has recently been received by a
negro man at Matthews' Station, in this county,
which has created a ripple of excitement
iu the community. The negro, it seems, applied
to a young man in the neighborhood to
read the letter to him, being unable to read
himself, and in this way the facts in the case
became public. The letter was dated at
Hampton, S. C:, and -was signed by a name
to which was attached the word "secretary."
The letter informed the negro man that it was
now time to begin to burn house3hnd railroad
bridges in the country, and went on to say
that the colored men must resort to this, as
they were not treated as they should be,
and that their Northern friends would furnish
them the money. It informed the party
addressed that the "president" had 8200
for him for his service in the cause, and
would come up on the train. He was, however,
told to spare Monroe and Charlotte.
Some reference having been made to a former
letter, the negro was questioned as to
this, and exhibited another signed by another
name, to which was attached the word
"president." ^his was: dated at Russell, S. C.,
and was to the same purport as that referred
to. One or the other of the letters informed
the negro man to whom they were addressed
that he 'should send his answer to Liberty,
S. C. The negro pretends to know nothing
about the whole matter, except what he has
heard from the letters. He has been about
Matthews' Station for several weeks, and
was formerly employed on the Carolina Central
Railway as one of the hands who were
working with the ^team-shovel. It was soon
after he was discharged from the road that
he came to Matthews'. He has been employed
by several farmers in the neighborhood,
and none have noticed anything suspicious
aboyt bis conduct. The matter is undergoing
investigation at the hands of several well
known citizens in an around Matthews'. Letters
have been written to the points in South
Carolina indicated in the letters received by
the ne^ro. but as vet nothiner has been heard
- ? 0 -1 J ~ rt> ?
from these places. Tho more conservative
element in this community is disposed to
look upon the matter with 110 feeling of alarm,
but at the same time consider that it is one
which must be investigated.
In connection with this matter the News
and Courier suggests that there have been
rumors prevalent in many parts of the State
to the effect that the defunct Radical party
was reorganizing, and this may be one of
their plans for "reorganizing."
Correspondence of the Yorkville Enquirer.
LETTER FROM BLACK'S STATION.
Black's Station, S. C., June 10,1879.
The crop prospects of this section are very
fine, notwithstanding the ground has befen
thoroughly wet but once since the 1st of
March. Gardens are needing ruin very
much. The wheat has some rust, though
there is less on the Fultz variety than any
other that has been sown, and it will yield a
heavier crop. It is becoming a. favorite with
the farmers of this vicinity.
The farm .of Mr. John Moore, near here, is
worthy of mention, from the manner in which
it is conducted, being so entirely different
l /?. .1 - 1 .1 1 .u- .
irora Hie usual iiieuiuu ui but: [Jieaeub uny.
He devotes his tirae and attention to grain
and grasses and stock-raising. He usually
has from 40 to 50 acres set in clover and timothy.
Part of this is allotted off for grazing.
He slaughtered seven hogs at one time that
had run on the clover and fed awhile on corn,
the lightest of which weighed 440 pounds,
and the heaviest 670 pounds, net. This is
equal to the blue grass region of Kentucky.
Last week he cut 16 acres of clover, in itwo
days, with a mowing machine. It was something
new to our people to see a man seated
upon a mowiug machine, holding the reins of
two sleek, fat mules, cutting a heavy swarth
of four feet of rich grass. Mr. Moore has
two large barus, with cattle stalls under
them. He saves from his stdck tons of manure
and turns it under with clover. This
saves him the expense of buying guano and
trebles his crop, while it is a permanent fertilizer.
Mr. Moore is preparing to stock his
farm with thoroughbred animals of the best
blood. His acreago of corn and small grain
is large. He uses improved farming implements
with skilled white labor exclusively.
He finds a market for his bacon, corn and
hay right at his door, selling it generally to
those who should produce such articles on
their own farms.
Under a recent order from Col. G. J. Foreacre,
general manager of the Air-Line Railroad,
on Saturday morning last, trains left
the opposite ends of the road, taking all the
employes of the roadito Tocoa. The day,
and the ride Were given them for recreation.
The party visited Tocoa Falls, and after
spending a day of enjoyment in which all,
from the section hand to the highest official
participated, they returned to their respective
places next morning.
The citizens of Union county have offered a
reward of several hundred dollars for the arrest
of Edwards who shot and killed John
Sanders, while the latter was hoeing cotton in
a field. The murder was wilful and outrageous,
and it is hoped the murderer will be
caught.
A. Hardin, Esq., delivered at Antioch Baptist
Church, on the first Saturday of this
month, a lecture on church government,
which was pronounced an able address. He
will be ninety years of age the 21st day of j
this mouth. In making a public speech, i
when animated by his subject, he assumes a '
youthful appearance, stands erect, gestures j
with grace and speaks with the vim of his
younger days.
In our trial justice's court, Marsh Hamp-!
ton was tried for shooting and killing a cow j
belonging to Samuel VVhitesides. He was
found guilty and required to pay the sum of
?15 damage. Ego.
BSF* The Chinese question has broken out in
Australia. The Mongolians have been pouring
into the country by the thousands, aud
already the whites complain that they are j
being ruined by cheap Chinese labor. The |
seamen have struck against the employment I
of the intruders, who will work for much
smaller wages, and several serious riots have
occurred in consequence at Sydney, an attempt
being made on one occasion to burn
the Chinese quarter of the city. Popular
feeling which is influenced by rumors that |
the Chinese Government means to pour its
people into Australia by the v/holesale, sus-,
tains the strikers, and at last accounts it was
expected that the steamship companies would ,
yield. I
SPEECH OF SENATOR HAMPTON.
IN THE U. S. SENATE, JUNE 5.
The bill to repeal sections 820 and 821 of the
Revised Statutes of the United States, relative
to jurors in the United States Courts being
under consideration, Mr. IJampton said:
Mr. President, I beg to acknowledge my
obligations to the Senator from Delaware [Mr.
Bayard] for the courtesy which enables me to
submit a few remarks to the Senate; and in
taking up the bill which he lias laid before the
Senate, I do not propose to discuss it specially.
I rather prefer to make general remarks
upon the subjects which have l>een under discussion
during this session.
The main reason why I do not desire to
speak particularly to this bill, is that I can
hardly suppose that there is a Senator 011 this
floor who will object to its passage, for it
strikes from the statute-book one of the most
infamous laws which have ever disgraced legislation.
It is simply to strike off a law which
was placed there, if not by mistake, by fraud,
and I therefore do not feel that it is necessary
* A - - A ? - ? A _ At- ^
ior me 10 enter niiu uie uiauuasiun iuuuci
than simply to give an illustration of how the
present law can be used to tyrannize over the
people of the country.
In the recent trials in the United States circuit
court at Charleston, a short time ago, a
jury was summoned. One of the judges who
was on the bench could not take the test oath.
The district attorney had been in the Confederate
army; the assistant attorney had likewise
been in that army. They of course could
not take the test oath. And yet when the jurors
were brought up every democrat had that
oath applied to him, while all men who were
not democrats, men who had served through
the whole war, if they were republicans, were
allowed to take their places upon that jury
without having the oath administered to them.
I think it is not necessary to say anything
more to show the impropriety, to say the least,
of allowing a law of that sort to stand.
There are many reasons which make me reluctant
to obtrude my views on the Senate at
this time. I recognize fully the propriety of
that unwritten rule of the Senate which imposes
silence upon the new and inexperienced
members of this body until they have become
familiar, by association, with the experience of
their older and wiser colleagues. The physical
disability under which I labor not only
motron nil evei-tirm nninfnl tn me hilt unfits
me to do justice either to the great questions
now pending o? to myself, and I cannot, therefore,
address the Senate at length. Nor is it
necessary to do so. Argument, rhetoric, invective,
and denunciation have been exhausted
by our opponents, and I can scarcely hope
that any utterances of mine will allay the
prejudices which have been aroused, or carry
conviction to the minds of the people.
These are potent reasons to enforce my silence,
ana under ordinary circumstances I
should have adhered to my determination to
take no part in the debates of this session.
But the subjects which have engaged the attention
of Congress and of the country during
the present session are.not of ordinary importance,
and the tone and temper of the debate,
which has been prolonged through weeks or
vehement and angry denunciation, impose upon
the representatives of the South at least
the duty of honest protest. Against my wishes,
therefore, and under every disadvantage
imposed upon me by my physical condition,
I must, as one of those representatives, ask
the indulgence of the Senate while I place upon
record my earnest protest against the unfairness
with which we have been treated.
The President pro tempore. The Chair'
would state to the Senator from South Carolina
that if at any time it would be more convenient
to him to speak sitting, he is at perfect
liberty to do so.
Mr. Hampton. I thank you, sir.
Day after day we have listened while Senators
of great reputation, high ability, and
whose words are the creed of thousands of conscientious
and patriotic citizens, have denounced
the opinions and the actions of southern
men as revolutionary and treasonable. It
has been declared that the democratic caucus
rules the Senate and that the southern members
rule the caucus, dictating the policy to
lie pursued. The able and distinguished Senator
from Ohio (Mr. Thurman) with equal
truth, justice, and candor has, it is true, met
and refuted that charge by assuming for the
northern and western democracy the responsibility
of the present political situation. But
in spite of this generous assumption of responsibility
on his part, the truth still remains
that we of the South do make the democratic
majority in this Chamber, and we are thus as
responsible for what we approve and support
sis for what we suggest. I have not the presumption
to make any claim to leadership here,
but while not attempting, to lead, it is my
duty to know where and whom I follow, and
for any vote which I may cast here I shall
never endeavor to shield myself from responsibility
behind any man or any party. If the
policy I support is revolutionary, I am the
revolutionist; if there is trea&on in my 'vote,
I am the traitor.
But, sir, I ask in all seriousness what are the
issues before the Senate to wliich such language
is appropriate? I might demand of
Senators on the other side the proof that any
action of ours was revolutionary. I might
open the Constitution and reading its precise
and emphatic definition of treason, ask
who of us is "levying war against the United
States or giving aid and comfort to their enemies,"
or what overt act of violence we are
proposing to commit ? But I do not desire
to make a mere technical argument. I desire
to meet the accusation in its spirit as well as
in its letter. What are the issues before us?
Let us understand them distinctly. But first
let me say what are not the issues we are discussing.
To me there is no question, there
can be none, as to the propriety of making the
appropriations necessary for the support of the
Goverment in all its departments. Upon this
point there shall be no misapprehension of my
position. By no vote of mine will the appropriations
neccessary for the efficient maintenance
of the Army be refused. It is competent
tor uongress to aeciare unaer wnai nraiutuuua
and upon what conditions the appropriation
is to be made. The form in which this is done
I regard as immaterial. In my judgment it
would have been best to adhere to the usual
form; but as it has been deenled advisable to
make the necessary appropriations in another
manner, I shall, in order to secure unanmity,
acquiesce in the decision of the majority.
But in no event can I consent to aid in disbanding
the Army or impairing its efficiency. It
is the army of the South as well as of the
North ; it is the Army of the whole country.
In its history, from the days of the Revolution,
through its achievments of 1S1'2 and the glories
of the Mexican war, I have some reason,
by right of birth and blood to be proud. In
the late civil contest, on many a bloody field,
I tested its valor, and no word nor act of mine
shall depreciate its value or lessen its usefulness.
But because I so regard it, no act of
mine shall tend to degrade its rank and file
into a police squad nor convert its officers into
detectives. I will not so legislate that against
its own honorable instincts and traditions it
shall be the instrument of tyranny in the
hands of a factious party or of an executive
who might be so unscrupulous as to use it
unlawfully. Nor shall I consent, because of
any difference of opinion upon. matters of legislation
between the majority and the minority,
or between the majority and the President,
to close the courts of justice, stop the administration
of the Departments, and embarrass the
necessary and orderly life of the Government.
The Constitution, which I have not idly sworn
to suport, has provided the means by which an
appeal to the country can be taken, and it is
for the people to decide whether the presidential
veto has been wisely and patriotically used to
defeat the will of this Congress which represents
a vast majority of the citizens of the
United States. My duty will have l>een performed
when I have used all the power with
which that Constitution has entrusted me.
The President and the minority in Congress
must be responsible for the use of theirs. And
while these are my general views of duty, I
certainly have no inducement, 110 disposition,
"...l A +
Hi CllllJill IcliV) cue [Iltacni AUiuuiioviubivii*
It is ii source of profound regret to me that
the President could not find himself able to j
approve the bills he has vetoed. To me they
seem to embody but simple declarations of con-1
stitutional principles, and to be in entire con- [
formity with the policy which he has announced
repeatedly as the one that he would pursue. I
Hut I aiu not disposed, on account of this dif-j
ference, grave though it be, to denounce his ac-:
tlon nor to impugn his motives. I am well j
aware that his position is not easy nor his responsibility
light. I remember, and the people
whom I represent remember, that in a critical
period of our history, in disregard of the pas-j
sionsaiul in opposition to the wishes of the par-!
ty who placed him in his present position, with !
doubt as to the result of his independent action, i
moved, as I honestly believe, by his convictions
of duty, he withdrew the Federal troops from
the State-houses of South Carolina andLouisi-,
ana, thus enabling the people of these States
to restore their local governments to those who I
represent the popular will, as well as the char- j
acter, the intelligence, and the property of the
two States. For this action, wise and patriotic
as I am sure that history will record it, I for
one am grateful. And while in the honest and
necessary party differences which must arise
in a free country it will be my duty, with all
the energy and ability I possess, to oppose the
partisan policy of which he is the representative.
my opposition shall not be captious. Nor
shall I, by bitter and acrimonious censure,
drive him into dependence on those who would,
in their selfish rush for power, trample on him
and on us. I trust, therefore, in what I have
to say, that I shall oe able to speak with truth
and soberness.
What, then, let me ask again, are the issues
before tne country upon which any action of
ours can be Called revolutionary and treasonable?
If the repealing acts which have been
suggested were passed to-day, we should simply
be remanded to the legislation under which the
country has lived and moved and had its being
for seventy-five years of its existence. Can
such a restoration lie revolution or treason ?
Surely not, unless the intervening war has so
changed our relations to each other that the
old constitutional legislation is no longer applicable
to our condition; and yet this is really
what Senators on the other side would have
the country believe. I ask, in all candor, would
such legislation as we now seek to rei?eal have
been conceived or defended by any statesman
before the late war? Would any President,
from 1789 to 1861, ever have dreamed of sending
an army of the United States to keep the
peace at the iiolls, or of appointing Federal
supervisors and marslials to superintend the
popular ballot? If not, then the necessity for
the maintenance of this legislation .arises from
something new in the. relations of the States
to the Union. Will any Senator point out
what that new element is? If any exists, what
is the difference irr the relations a State holds
to the Union to-day and those of the same
State before the war? If there is none, and I
venture to say that none can be pointed out,
wherein consists the necessity for such legislation
to-day which did not exist then? This
question should, I think, be fairly answered,
because it is the point upon which the accusations
against the South rest. If all that we
ask is what existed for three-quarters of a century
of our existence, how can it be revolutionary
nr treasonable to make this demand?
If the democratic doctrine that Federal troops
cannot lawfully used at the polls, or cannot
interfere in State matters unless specially requested
to do so by the constituted authorities
of a State be a heresy, we have the strongest
republican authority to sustain that heresy.
In his message to the Legislature of Pennsylvania,
in January, 1871, Governor John W.
Geary used the following language:
The employment of troops of the United States
at elections, without the consent of the local and
State governmenta, has recently received considerable
attention and reprehension. * * Under
any circams'ances, in my opinion, it is unsafe
and antagonistic to the principles that should
govern our republican institutions. Ac the last
October elections, United States troops were stationed
in Philadelphia for the avowea purpose of
enforcing the election lawB. This was done without
the consent or even the knowledge of tbe
civil authorities of either the city or the State,
and without any expressed desire on the part of
the citizens, and, as far as can be ascertained,
without existing necessity.
The democratic party stands to-day where
Governor Geary, a staunch republican, stood
then. Nor are we without other and equally
as high republican authority to sustain the position
taken by our party. Hon. Carl Schurz,
now a distinguished member of the present
Cabinet, in his place on this. floor, made this
memorable protest against the scandalous and
unconstitutional use of Federal soldiery in
Louisiana:
United States soldiers, with fixed bayonets,
decided the case against them, and took them out
of the legislative hall by force. I cannot,
therefore, escape from the deliberate conviction,
*-*.?? 1 ? ii 1? #???a *L.i tv -
a conviction conscientiously lurmeu, ium uio
deed done on the 4th of January, in the Statehouse
of Louisiana, by the military forces of the
United States, constitutes a gross and manifest
violation of the Constitution and laws of this
Repnblio. If this can be done in Louisiana,
and if such a thing be sustained by Congress,
how long will it be before it can be done
in Massachusetts and Ohio 7
He who in a place like onrs fails to stop, or even
justifies a blow at the fundamental laws of the
land, makes himself the accomplice of those who
strike at the life of the Republic and at the liberties
of the people.
The present able Secretary of State, Mr.
Evarts, in his great speech on the same subject
in New York, was even more emphatic than
his colleague iif the Cabinet, and his words
could well be adopted now to formulate the
creed of the democratic party. He used the
following language:
When men vote, and when their chosen officers
meet, and when without violence and without
demonstration of insurrection they undertake
to conduct the affairs of their political government^uo
soldiers can interfere.
There are two very distinct firm lines of limitation,
which observed, will protect the machinery
of the Government for the people to-day; that
is, that the sole Intervention of the Federal power
within State authority shall be to suppress
violence, and that their office after that shall not
assume to go further unless when invited by the
supreme authority of the State.
What use is it to give the purse and the
sword to the House of Commons if the King or
the President by military power- can determine
what shall be the constitution of the House of i
Commons or the House of Congress 7- And this
is what they fought for in England. * * And
for this reason the people of the United States are
justified in assuming that the supreme civil pow
-t. -1 1 miUfnun AM/4 Ihfif ?A '
or Hllttll UUIUIIJUIU uvcji UIC uiiuioij! aim ku?? mv
merging of them or interference with them shall
be permitted.
Now Mr. President, shall we be denounced 1
simply because we plant ourselves, not only [
where the fathers of the Republic stood, but
where the great lights of the republican party 1
have declared the only true constitutional po- J
sition can be found. Now, sir, I venture to '
assert that underlying the whole argument
on the other side are two assumptions: first,
that the war lias so* developed the independent
existence of the Federal Government as distin- 1
guished from the States, as to give it greater !
power, larger influence, and more direct interest
in congressional elections than it possessed
before; second, that the Administration, as j
the representative of that party which elected
it and in control of the Federal machinery, is
bound to use that power and influence in the
protection of these interests. In other words, :
that the privileges and prerogatives of the 1
States are to be obliterated, not by force, but
by the subtler though not less destructive in- |
ttuences of the two great national parties using ;
the powers of the Federal government as weap- ,
ons of party warfare.
Now, I do not propose to make any constitutional
argument on this subject. It is sutfl- :
cient for me to say that I hold the form and
character of our government to liave been un- 1
altered by the late war, and that the mutual
relations of the General Government and the 1
several States of the Union remain precisely (
as they were when the union was formed. I 1
hold that the recent constitutional amendments 1
have wrought no change in these relations and 1
in these views. I am sustained by the lan- 1
guage of the Supreme Court of the United 1
States in the case of The Collector vs. Day,
reported in eleventh volume Wallace. In this '
case, Justice Nelson, in delivering the opinio# '<
of the court, used the following language: <
The General Government and the States, al- '
though both exist within the same territorial 1
limits, are separate and distinct sovereignties, 1
acting separately and independently of each oth- 1
er within their respective spheres. j
In the same decree the ensuing words are <
used: !
Such being the separate and independent condition
of the States in our complex system, as <
recognized by the Constitution, and the exist- i
ence of which is so indispensable that without 1
them the General Government itself would dis- (
appear from the family of nations, Ac. (
I maintain, therefore, that the Constitution i
lias not been changed in its essential features ,
by the late amendments, and that it is there- i
fore now what it was before the war, so that 1
when the country demanded the perservation j
of ttie Union by a restoration of the States, it i
meant such a Union and such States as the
Constitution recognized. Can any advocate of ]
a strong government, which is but another <
term for centralization, suppose for one in- ]
stant that the founders of our Republic contemplated
or would have countenanced the
exercise of such powers by the Federal Gov- j
eminent as are claimed for it by the legisla- \
tion we are seeking to repeal? l)oes any Sen- i
ator here believe that this is a safe, a whole- ]
some condition of public affairs? Putting ]
aside all extreme theories of State rights, does i
not every Senator recognize the fact that one of i
the elements of our political safety has been ]
the manner in which local State interests have i
acted and reacted within the States upon na- f
tional politics, so that until just before the war :1
we never have had great national parties i
which divided thercountiy lietween them sim- [ 1
ply on Federal issues. Local influences had ]
always to lie considered. But if in the "future i i
we are to have only great national parties, in ! i
behalf of one or the other of which the Admin-' ]
istration is to interfere directly, we are on the <
high road to a consolidation even more dan- !
gerpus because more violent and variable than i
a recognized change in the Government. 1
My objection, therefore, to this legislation i
which the war called forth is not its immedi- |
ate danger. It is pot the actual Army which i
I fear, or its direct influence. But I do most
strenuously object to any legislation which
affords any excuse or justification to the Government
that it has the right or interest in
any way or in any degree to interfere with the
perfect freedom of elections. The roughness or
even riot of an election is no greater than any
other violation of the peace; and no State in
this Union is without ample means of suppression.
And if the State authorities are unable
or unwilling to do their duty, you have not
now, you will not have for generations to
come, an Army strong enough to take their
place. U is better so ; better tliat in one or
two great States, there should be temporary
turbulence, confusion, than that in the whole
country there should be military desi>otism.
Congress has the right to decide who shall
take his seat as representative and who shall
not. Congress can punish with disfranchisement
any community which would force into
these Halls an improperly elected member ; and
that is a safer, a surer, a more constitutional
safeguard than the exercise of any doubtful or
unlawful power by the Federal Government.
But, Mr. President, unjust as have been the
assumptions against the South to which I
have alluded, there are others not less grave.
There has run through this whole discussion >
the strong and steady current of insinuation
that the South is not true to the Union ; that
its object in pressing the repeal of those measures
which we deem dangerous to our liberties
is to give us a freer field for conspiracy and a
better opportunity to suppress by force and
fraud the real voice of the southern people.
We are tauntingly told that proof of these
charges is found in the presence on this floor
of twenty-two members who served in the Confederate
army, and the South is reproached,
nay, denounced, for sending such men to rep- ,
resent her here. Sir, the answer to this charge
is simple.
Nearly every man in the South who could
bear arms was in her armies, and she can
scarcely be reproached with justice for trust- ing
and honoring in peace the men who risked
their fortunes and their lives for her in war.
And when the . fact is cited that while the ^
South sends so many of her old soldiers to represent
her in this august assembly, the North
sends but four, I submit that the reproach, if
reproach rests anywhere, belongs rather 4o
the North than to the South. I feel that I
but speak the sentiments of every man here
who was in the Confederate service when I
express my deep regret that there are "not in
this Chamber more of the men'who met us in.
battle, for if opposed to us politically, they
would, if true soldiers and gentlemen, treat
us with the respect that brave men never fail
to accord to each other. And, sir, had these
? A*\rvrtnm/? n i no tirliinll frtl* VOQW3
gicat/ up?AS0iug aiuiiuo nuivu iv& jluua jvwm
confronted each other in a death grapple been ^
left to make and enforce the terms of peace,
not only would the country have been spared
much of the suffering and the humiliation it
has experienced, but it would have enjoyed a
peace honorable alike to conquerors and con- \
quered. We should long ere this have seen a
union re-established on the basis of fraternal
reconciliation and a whole people bound together
by the indissoluble bonds of mutual res- pect,
common interests, and a common destiny.
Such, at least, is the firm conviction of
every true soldier in the South, and all her
sons wer? soldiers. Nor is "this conviction
wanting among the brave soldiers of the
North, for I have heard it expressed by them
time and again.
That the men who truly represent th6 South
are here to-day is due mainly to our friends on
the other side. When you insisted that the
States should return to the Union : when you
called upon them to send back their Representatives,
did you mean what you said, or did you
mean the Southern States to be rotten boroughs
to be filled by nominations of the repub- lican
party ? Indeed, did you not for fifteen
years make them so ? And I will leave it to
the candor of republican Senators to say whether
they are satisfied with the result of the experiment
they made at such frightful cost to us
and the whole country. We are here because
we do represent the popular majority,
the character, the intelligence, and the property
of the States which have sent us. We are
here because, left to themselves, the instincts
of the recently enfranchised voters have taught
them that their interests are* identical with :
ours. We are here because, belonging to
your own race, trained in the same political
experience as your own, taught by years of
rule how to govern, we could not be subor
dinated, and the people of the country did not
wish us to be subordinated, to such a mass of
ignorant voters as you had rashly, and suddenly
created. We are here, we trust, for the
good of the whole country. What we were
you knew when you insisted that we should
still be part and parcel of this Union.
For the past you cannot expect us to apologize
; to do so would be to sacrifice our own
self-respect and to forfeit the respect of all
honorable men. In the heat of the conflict We
struck hard blows, and doubtless spoke
hard words. But does the remembeifhg or
repeating them now bring us any nearer the
peace and harmony for which the whole country
so ardently longs? The men who served
in the opposing armies are now the strongest advocates
of a4rue reconciliation. We learned
in a common school how to respect our enemies;
we learned that personal courage and
honor and truth were better guarantees of
patriotism than constitutional learning or
eloquent speech; we learned at least that in
spite of differences, even unto death, there
was a common country which we could better
serve in friendship than in hatred, and were
our antagonists of the late war here to-day. in
the contests on this floor as in fiercer battles
of yore, whoever might be the victor, we -\
should be aitsured of a fair field and an honest
surrender. [Applause in the galleries.] Judge
us more by our acts ' ^
The Presiding Officer, (Mr. Wallace in
the chair.) The Senator will suspend. The
Chair gives notice that if further applause
occurs in the galleries he will order them to
be cleared. Order must be preserved. - ?
Mr. HAatPTON. Judge us now by our acts;
T ^ 11. i^
tiuu iijjiiui x cvah. wiiai are tuey iu piuvu&e uiatrustr
We ask you to strike from the statute-book
legislation which was as much the
instrument of war, the expression of distrust,
as were armies ana navies and military districts.
We say, if you bring us back as States,
treat us as States. We ask you to remove the
disability which forbids a citizen to serve on
a jury When it does not forbid him to serve on
the bench. We ask you to leave the ballotiiox
free, as it has been through nearly the
whole 01 our political existence. You may
refuse. You have the right to refuse if you
hold our demands to be unwise or unconstitutional.
But surely in the face of the recent decision *
of the Supreme Court in regard to the juror's
oath, in face of the legislation of nearly a century
in reference to military interference at
the polls, you cannot charge us with revolution
or treason in making these requests. Upon
these issues we are willing to stand. If the
people are with us we shall prevail- and this
war legislation will be repealed. If the people
are with you, then this legislation will stand
mrl -rim non loom fn 0H0nt mironlxroo fn fhnon
H1U fTv vuu 1^1*1 U liU UUU[/V UUitX/lTW- VVJ wnvov
changes in our old constitutional thoughts
md habits as we have learned to adapt ourselves
to others. In the great contest in which
we failed we lost much. We lost power and ^
wealth and precious lives. But when the people
of the United States declare that the right
)f self-government is extinguished in the
States; that the prerogative of a free vote,
which is the distinguishing glory of American '
ntizenship, can be exercised only under the
mpervision of a Federal marshal or the projection
of a Federal soldier; that the duties
)f Governors and Legislatures to maintain the
lignity and preserve the peace of sovereign
states has been transferred to the President;
md when it has become revolution and trea?n
to ask the people to consider these things,
;hen will the memory of our poor losses be forgotten
in the overwhelming calamities which
would follow the loss of American freedom.
\ thousand years scarce serve to form a State;
\n hour may lay it in the dust, and when
3an man its shattered splendors renovate, ^
Recall its virtues back, and vanquish time and
fate.
Mr President, patriotic men of all parties,
North and South, can join heart and hand in
die effort to perpetuate on this continent conititutional
liberty as established by our fathers.
[11 this noble work we of the South will not
prove laggards. We wish to promote the best
interest of the whole country ; we wish to restore
harmony and good-will; we hope to see
permanent peace and widespread prosperity
among all classes of our people ; we desire to
see the painful memories of the late unhappy "
war buried in our hearts, not rising to the lips
in bitter words which can only provoke sectional
animosity, and we proposej in spite of
misapprehension, misrepresentation, and denunciation,
to stand firmly by the Constitution
in its integrity, to maintain the Union in per- ?v
petuity, trusting, hoping, praying that to our
children, if not to us, it may lie given to see the
States of this mighty Republic bound together,
not alone by the ties of material interest, but
by the cords of true fraternity, ruled by a great,
a happy, a free people crowned with all the
glories which God in his infinite mercy can bestow.
[Applause in the galleries, j