Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-05-19
+ From the Opposition.
Gov. Harris and the Thirty-Fourth
C0nOreSS.

= From the Opposition.
Gov. Harris and the Thirty-Fourth
Congress.
In the Union and Americdn's report of Gov.
Harris speech in this place, we find the fol-
lowing paragraph:
"He [Gov. Harris] charged, furthermore,
that the tbirty-fourth Congress, composed of
large Opposition majority, calling them
selves Black Republican-Know-No things and
Know Nothing Black Republicans. was the
most wasteful aud profgate Congress in the
history of the government, having apprOpria-
ted, over and above the amount estimated as
necessary by the departments, SIl ,48S777 SO!
This he challenged his competitor to deny"
We most respectfully take issue with the
Governor as to the accuracy of his statement.
that the thirty-fourth Congress was composed
of large Opposition majority. Congress con-
sites Of tlro Houses-the Senate and the House
of Representatives. The Democrats never,
during the 34th Congress, had a less majority
in the Senate than -tourteea--which is very
large majority in body consisting, as the
Senate did at that time. Of 81 members. In
the House of Representatives they were in
minority during the two sessions of the 34th
Congress. To say that that Congress, thus COM
posed, was composed of large Opposition
majority Is to say that which is not true
in point of fact.
In charging that that Congress "was the
most wasteful and prohigate" Congress in the
history of the government, Governor Harris
charges that the Overwhelmingly Democratic
Senate, which constituted a coordinate
branch of that Congress, was "the most
| wasteful and prohgate" Senate in the history
of the Government
AS proof conclusive that the 34th Congress
was ''the most wasteful and profigate" Con-
gress known in our history, Gov. Harris cites
the fact of it's having appropriated over and
above the amount estimated as necessary by
the departments, l1,48S,777.
Say you so, Governor? What, then, have
you to say of the 32nd Congress, which did
the same thing, and in which the Democrats
had a majority of fourteen in the Senate and
Jyfty-one in the House of Representatives? ,
In the Treasury Report submitted to Congress
at the session of lS52-'53 it is stated. that the
estimated expenditures for the fiscal year end
ing June 3Oth, 1853, which were submitted to
Congress in December 1851, were S42, 1872 299,
and that Congress actually appropriated and
authorized the expenditure of S53.360, 579.-
Thus did Congress. with large Democratic
majorities in both Houses. exceed the Whig
estimates of the Wing heads of Departments
of a Wing administration for a single year,
| upwards of ten millions Of dollars!
In exceeding the estimates, therefore, the
Black Republicans of the House of Represen-
tatives of the 34th Congress, but followed in the
footsteps of their illustrious Democratic prede-
cessors of the 32nd Congress.
| But deep into the Treasury as the Black
Republican House of Representatives of the
34th Congress might have been disposed to go
by its appropriations, the Democratic Senate
went still deeper and carried the Black Re-
publican House along with it. In speech
made in the House of Representatives on the
18th of June, 1858, the Hon. j. LETcHER
now the Democratic candidate for Governor
of Virginia, said:
" At the last session of the Thirty-Fourth
/ Congress, the Senate returned to this House
the sundry civil bill with one hundred and
! three amendments, covering appropriations
/
House on the last night of the session, when
we had no opportunity ere,l 10 read the amend
| Bleuts IN the House. On the recommendation of
the Committee of Ways and Means IA ma or-
ity of whom were Black Republicans and
Know-Nothingsl the House [Black Bepubli-
can, it wasl rejected all the amendments, and
| the bill and amendments thus rejected, went
| to a committee Of conference, who reported
the next morning that the Senate should re-
cede from amendments covering S7l3.256,
and that the House should recede from It's
| disagreement to the residue"
The report of the committee of conference
was accordingly concurredin by both Houses,
and the Democratic Senate succeeded on the
last night of the session in forcing upon a
reluctant Black Republican House of Repre-
sentatives amendments appropriating $685.
500 of the public money!
Why is il, that Governor Harris has not d.
rected at least a portion of his fire upon the
Democratic Senate of the 3ith Congress =
Does he think to hold the Opposition party
of Tennessee responsible for the action of the
Republican House of Representatives of the
34lh Congress, and at the same time to alb
solve the Democratic party from the respon-
| sbility of the action of the Democratic Sen
ate during that Congress? If be does, he
must have a most aristocratic contempt for
the public intelligence.