Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1857-03-03
Address of w. Nj. CORY.
TO 'mg C'onstitusnts Of tie County and

4 Liz clSCIlOu W Ill JOHu ) va
cancy will be held next Monday, and
make it the occasion Of "A brief conference
with. my constituents. The facts, of the
expulsion are all before you. To-day there
was read in the House timid protest, re-
producing the one-sided statement of the
manifesto which was signed ny the Demo
Gratis here, except myself, and drawn up
by Stanley Matthew's, who worthily repro
duced and defended it last Saturday night
in Cincinnati. / can well afford TO leave
The document, and the despicable defence
OF it in your hands! You have read and
appreciated the original resolution for mile
age and per diem, the controversy over it
between Caldwell and Slough, the words Of
the former, the blow Of the latter, his re-
flsal to apologize to the House, his niutia-
ton of the statement he twice read to the
House when it went on the House journal,
his PERSISTENCE III the original fault at eve
ry stage of the House proceedings, and
his hectoring the House and threatening
the debater up to the vote of expulsion,
With his general character and manners
you are likewise acquainted. %. ag,......
/ d When the case was heard there was a
choice of resolutions. Mr.. Bunker's pro-
posed expulsion, pure and simple Mr..
Hutchinson's j. proposed that Caldwell
should be censuled by vote, and that
Slough should be publicly reprimanded
III open session by the Speaker in behalf
of the House The signers of the mani
festo chose to support the latter resolution.
! The majority of two-thirds supported the
io1ner. L was one of them, and spoke and
voted in the affirmative L now approve
tf 4 Il, Al,
do over to-day, L would do it again. /
have no doubt OF being sustained by the
action of the constituency on the 18th
inso. 2as .f,. sH .osla- sIsr od !, .
! AS one of the guardians of your inter-
est and honor, could not hesitate be-
tween the resolutions. ,Expulsion, pure
and simple, was the proper course for the
I Legislature. To have adopted the other
resolution Of q vote of censure on Cad
well, and OF public reprimand of Slough
7. by the Speaker, would have been an error.
4 + The.question was not OF how the matter
4 of right and wrong stood between the par
ties, but what was due to itself by de-
4 Lucrative body whose sanctity had been
/ destroyed by an act of violence perpetra-
ted by one member on another in open
session. The physical harm done by
. Slough to Caiwell was not great; but a
. ilawemaker had become u law breaker in
\ the very sanctuary of Legislation. All
u ,trr,t Is ssrid srbouC-5he triffing injury in-
ilitted is s-inappropriate, because there was
actual, palpable violence, with IN evil in
tention; and homicide would not have been
!. n higher aggression upon the Legislature
Z s5ittingas IL deliberative body. Mr.. Cad
, well had characterized the proposition oI
, Mr.. Slough III deserved language, and rs
the majority and minority OF the committee
T say, without any intention TO give otfense
7 Fhe House was not outraged by the IAN
guage, nor was any other member; and al
The committee find no fault with Mr.. Cad
well. 1t would have been, therefore, fol
!, ly for the House to pass the vote of cen
sure on him. The other branch of Mr.
. Hutchinson s resolution was also objec
tionable. 1t proposed the public repri
mand of Mr.. Slough before the House by
the Speaker. But Mr.. Sloughs otfenst
} was principally in his contumacious refu
| sal to make amends to the House; and j
would have been very edifying to havethC
:, Speaker scoiding him, and he swearing a
: the Speaker as he had done at the debaters
That day IN the history of the Ohio Leg
ishtule would have been more memorable
than the day Of the assault. | did not in
tend to contribute to the getting up ofsucl
: a scene. | do not think we'll of the en-
tertainment, nor do my constituents. ''1
e The true line Of duty was to eXpel Mr.
: Slough, because he had violated the right
. of the House, by assaulting a fellow mem
Der, and afterwards persisted in his fault
iii spite Of delay for several days, the ex
e press wish of his friends, and the hope o
+ the whole House. There was no time, VI
q to the calling of yeas and nays, that tn
House would not have been glad to hea
u Mr.. Slough say, 81 have trespassedon TIN
: dignity and decency of this place, and asl
4 forgiveness for it, The apology would
@ have been at once received, and everybody
q felt relief and pleasure. sdL ->!'.} =.
Having replied to the yburthen of tn
: manifesto respecting the smallness of ti
: ing to do with the pending question, | will
add, that If the greatest injury had bee
perpctrated in heat of blood, but had beel
rppented of, and atoned for, so far as tn
: House was concerned, by a manly nc
e acknowledgements and apology, the otfenc
: against us would have been infinitely les
. than it is under present circumstances
3, The Legislature owed tito itself, in the ac
V tual case, o.expel the member; butin tn
= case suggested, our duty would have bee
Y reversed We could sit with a savage VIII
S repented and asked forgiveness. but nc
= with one who persisted in the injury, an
constantly by speech and writing, threa;
Y ened its repetition. lDi HI-.pdl .1p
= And this leads 10 the correction of anoth
+ er error in all the reasoning of the adyo
Gates of Mr.. Slough. They insist that th
act of expulsion sis the stamp of degra
u dation.' This is also n mistake. Th
i degradation is not the act of the Legisla
y ture, but 'his'own aot.d If the Legislatur
do injustice by taking counsel of its pas
sions, its prejudices, Its malice, instead {
: governing itself by the rule of rectitude
!, n is he Lanrislalnlre which hecnmas danra