Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-08-28
A Calm View of the Revoiutio AIRY Coz
duct of the House.

1t turns Gus that the final vo.e by which
the House refused to receIe from 5 lcvo-
In ionary proviso To the army appropra-
tion bill s.ood SO yeas to SO nays, throwin
the cas- ing vote upon the speaker. Mr..
Speaker Banks deliberately votec no. lie
did SO. of course, after consultation with
the chief engineers of black republicani5m
and in givin his vote was but their spokes-
man. Upon this state of facts the n. \.
Commercial Advertiser, a wing journal,
remarks:
Upon the republicans in the House,
therefore, The esponsibiity of defeating the
army approp iation bill undeniably rests.
The Senate by large majority refused to
incorporate such restriction upon the cx-
ecutive in the bill The House was on
Saturday night equally divided upon the
cxpedieucy of pcrsisiing in the rcsJric ion,
and Mr.. Banks, as the republican Speaker,
gave his casting vote in favor Of pcroisting,
and the small republican majority perse-
veled in that purpose TO he final loss Of the
bill. The question Of responsibility is
placed beyond question.
Probably the republicans will gloiy in
thus having defeated one of the appropri-
alton bills. We apprehend, however, that
the country generally, will regard the
achievements with very different feelings.
Even had the proviso been of less doub ful
cxpediency or constitutional, Y, it was not
the most manly or honorable mode of legis-
laing upon such a vexei question.
Let the reader carefully weigh the
terms of those provisos, and he will n
once see in what an embarrassing position
the President would have been placed had
the pay of the army depended upon his
fulfllment of all til, conditions thus impos
ed upon him. First. he is not to take any
5 cps TO enforce the law. Of the territorial
legislature unless Congress shall have de.
eli led whe her sal legislature was valid
egisla i've assembly. This was persisted
in when Congress was on the eve of adj
iournment and when il was well under
Stood that the present Congress would not
in either session. mike any such decision
Not, only, therefore, does ihis proviso leav,
the President utterly powerIess to enforce
any laws of said legislature. and compel
him to leave the Territory exposed to al
the horrors of civil war, and thus practi-
cally decide the very ques ion in dispute.
and which it ostepsiDiv leaves open, bu /
assumes also to overrule any decision ih7
may in the mean ime be made by the Sa-
preme Court of the U ed ) ,res, upon
whom the cons utica dcvolves the day 4
deciding such ques ions. Tnpug h. Su-
prcme Court should decile mex month
that the terri orial legislature Of Kansas IS
II vail legislative assembly no wi rs AID
inr the Irregular les of its cleo lon, this
proviso would compel the Press len 20 dis
regard such decision, AMI sill ref ain
from enforcing the laws on peril of deprv
ing the army of lis pay and support.
The second proyiso requires the Presl
dent to keep in the Territory the military
force at present there and employ them for
laudable purp 'ses therein specified, while
the :hird proviso demands that he shall
disarm the organized militia, and 'opd re-
call all tie United Suites arms distributeF
in the Territory. Not assuming, as per-
haps we ought not. that the words we have
talicsed mean all they express. for then
would the United States soldiers them
selves be disarmed, we think that no patri-
otto citizen could, in his cooler moments.
insist that unless the President will con
sent to repudiate in advances any decision
Of the Supreme Court. and will accept con
diiions SO embarrassing with respect to the
exercise of any federal authority i'll the
Territory of Kansas, tho army of the Uni
ted States shall not receive their pay, and
must Of necessity be disbanded; and dis
banded too at Time when, a tho Prcsi-
dent truly says. 'hcsiiities exist with va
rious Indian tribes Oh the remote frontiers
Of the United States, and in other respects
the public peace is seriously threatened
"With such embarrassing restraints i'm
posed upon him, who can suppose that the
President could exert the least influence for
good in the distracted Territory of Kansas.
And what high officer of this republic, hav
ing any self respect or any OF the sense OF
responsibility which betit the President,
would consent to be thus tra.nmclled in
the exercise of his prerogatives or in meet
ing his responsibilities? And yet the re-
publicans, through their incidental major
ity in the House. and by the casting vote
Of their own Speaker, have insisted that
either the Chief Magistrate shall submit to
be thus embarrassed and trammelled, or