Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-12-20
LATEST NEWS.
BY TEL
TO THE WORCESTER DAILY SPY
American Telegraph Office, Lincoln House Block.l
THIRTY.sIxTH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.
CiEAr A I'M

SENATE
The Vice President being absent. Mr..
Bright moved that Mr.. Fitzpatrick be appoint
ed president Of the Senate pro tenn.
Mr.. Foote said tue practice OF the Senate
had been to proceed to ballot
The Senate balloted, when Mr.. Fitzpatrick
was elected, having 80 votes to 10 for Mr. Eos.
ter and one for NJ. Hamlin.
Mr.. Fitzpatrick took tue chair, and present
ed the report Of the Treasurer of the United
States.
Mr.. Mason asked that his investigation com
mittee be authorized to employ clerk
Agreed.
Mr. Pugh called up his resolution, submitted
last Tuesday
Mr. Hale said it was not in order to proceed
with business prior to the organization of the
House.
Mr.. Pugh stated that he desired to reply to
the remarks Of Mr.. Iverson, and lie cared not
whether he spoke on a resolution or point of
order. He desired to defend the northern
democracy from the charge of unsoundness,
winch did not come with good grace from
those in the south who had not done so much
for the party as northerners. He spoke of
the difficulty in the north in battling against
sectarianism, and defending the rights of the
SOUTH They never elected Senator from
Georgia to be a judge as to the soundness of
their democracy.
He repudiated the sentiment that the posi-
ton Of Mr.. Douglas on territorial rights was
akin to the Wilmot proviso, and read extracts
OF speeches by Mr. Cass and by Mr.. Iverson,
to show that they once sustained the same
position. He referred to the instructions sent
by the Georgia Legislature to her Senator'S
when the Kansas Nebraska bill was up, in
favor of non-intervention, and he said he stood
the fnpnrnia nj He did
safe ground upon which the advocates of the
Lecompton constitution could stand for one
moment, if the doctrine announced by Mr.
lverson is to be the doctrine of the Democratic
party. He said that an attempt is now made,
contrary to the opinions formerly entertained
by the legislatures of the Southern States to
break through the principles of the compro-
mise of 1850, and break through the covenant
of the Kansas bill, and on that text to preach
sermons on the unsound Democracy.
lie quoted Mr.. OWNS speech in California,
where it was stated that Mr.. Douglas was de-
posed from the Craftsmanship of the territorial
committee on account of his views on the
Kansas bill. He would not stand here to de-
fend Mr.. Douglas, who was able to speak for
himself. If he was expelled from the COM
mittee for that purpose, they might thereby
be compelled to eXpel 99-l00ths of the Democ-
racy i'll the non-saveholding States. 1t was
no longer a question of individuals, but of
principles and instead of assailing a-man who
was absent, it would be more manly to do
as Mr.. Iverson did, to arraign the en-
tire party. He could see nothing in
the Lecompton constitution that ought to
divide the democrats, or make it necessary to
have changes in the committees. But the
facts seemd to show that Mr.. Douglas was not
removed for that. After his speech in the
Sauatp 1pnnnnninU talr
with the Administration and almost the entire,
body Of Democratic Senators, north and south
they put him again at the head of the territorial
committee, where he staid till the Lecompton
controversy was dead and buried. Now the
aVowal Is that he is not removed for that
cause, but because he had the misfortune to
entertain opinions which are entertained by
almost the entire body of the north. He APP.
pealed to southern Senators to know if they
regarded this as a test of democratic fellow.
ship. If, as the Senator from California says
you are parties to this act of decapitation, do
you mean to have it go forth to the country
that whoever entertains these opinions is unfit
to be a member of the democatic party
Mr.. Rice of Minnesota was party to the
transaction and uphold it.
Mr.. Pugh went on to refer to the rule of the
Senate on the subject of committees, LIST, never
to dlsplace a Senator without his consent and
I'd, never to promote any one else over him
He thought this usage was intolerably bad Ii
had given Senators from the slaveholding
states, the chair of every committee control
ling the public business The Senator from
Illinois was the only exception, and he had
been decapitated. The simplest way out
of this controversy, was to do justice and put
down all these attempts from one section OF
the union or another to disturb the platform of
fhn No., IIo f,,,I 4l,n
element now prevailing on the slavery ques-
ton. The proceedings in the House of Rep
resentatives as well as in some state Legsla-
lures ought to admonsh us that we have fallen
on evil times. We hear defiance and threats
from one quarter and the other which are
fraught with danger to this glorious Union.
Mr. Iverson said he would take some future
occasion to respond to those remarks of Mr..
Pugh, applicable to himself, and also to venti-
late some other topics touched upon by the
Senator.
Mr. Gwin explained, that the action of the
California Legislature, in reference to the res
olutions referred to and quoted by Mr.. Pugh,
they were intended to take the subject away
from Congress, and leave it to the Judicial tri-
bunals OF the country. The position of the
Democrats of California is that these are pure
ly judicial questions. As to the action in the
case of Mr.. Douglas, he said it was the duty
of that Senator to be here when the Senate
was organized, and he also cOntended that it
was right that the majority OF the democratic
Senators who were held responsible for its
organization should no longer place man at
the head of the Committee on Territories,
holding opinions in direct conflict with the
majority on questions OF territorial power.
A long colloquial debate here ensued be-
tween Messrs. Pugh and Gwin, in which Mr..
Davis also participated.
Mr.. Hale hoped that inasmuch as the ques
ton of order he had raised had been fully elu-
cidated, the Chair would now decide the
point
Mr.. Lane desired to say a few words on a
question which had been brought up, if Mr..
Hale would withdraw.
Mr.. Hale-I will withdraw anything the
Senator from Oregon desires (Laughter.)
Mr.. Lane remarked that it was not his pur.
pose to prescribe rule or lay down platform
of principles for the democratic party. He
had nothing to do with the case of Mr.. Doug
las and he had no doubt there were many
good democrats in the northern states who
did not agree, upon the question Of territorial
rights, with the majority of the party. He
would not say they were not good democrats
because they disagreed with him, nor would
he say that holding the views of MIR. Douglas
would have been a reason Tor him to oppose
that gentleman being chairman of the commit
tee on territories. He was sorry to find that
his own views on this territorial question diff
cred very materially from Mr.. Pugh's. He
held that a territory is the common property
of the people, in which every state has equal
rights, and that while in that territorial state
the people could not by unfriendly legislation
nor by unequal taxation infringe on the rights
of the people Of any state in the Union. In
the case of Arizona, for instance, which was
.roll ndnntnd To cln lnhor La ,unIld NOT silh.