Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-03-19

!. Land fsr o LanAlsss vs.. NixEers for
tho Nigxtf3ess s'.--Tombs. wade, Fss.
sender 80 seward---An Excitinx sen-
Z Ate scepe. .A--kAe-.s.
We have previously given accounts Of the
of the Senate on the ever MEM
orable Friday night when the $30,OO0,OO0
Cuba bill was up for final action in that body, =
but the following account by an occasional cor
respondent of the N. Y. Tribune, we do not
feel iustifable in Withholding from our readers.
The account proceeds: - .~LSs
After a little brush on points of order,
Toombs GOT the hoor. TO understand the
scene that followed, you must know that
Seward and Wilson sit on the rear row OF
chairs, and Toombs, Wade and Benjamin i'm
mediately in front of them in the next row
Wade having Tombs on bis right and Ben
jamin on his left-and all five being in close
proximity to each other. A little further on
to theleft of BENJAMIN sits FesSenden. Toombs
ways imprisoned and furious, he was now
extraordinarily vehement in tone, violent in q,
gesticulation, and abusive in language. He
called Seward demagogue demagogue
said he dispised all demagogues, detested
small demagogues in particular, but more es-
pecially pitied and despised those who could
be driven by small demagogues, bringing his
fist in the vicinity of Wades desk IS he at
tered the last clause. He accused the Repub
licans in body of cowardice, personal and
political-of skulking the issue of Cuba,
and shivering in their shoes at its mere
name. . .
He rung the changes on Stewards term,
"Land for the landless," and sneered at the
"lacklanders," As he called them, of whom
the Republicans were afraid, &c. He smote
his own desk violently, occasionally reached
over and struck Stewards, kept his back to-
ward the Chair that he might turn his face
toward Seward, ever and anon thrusting his
hand almost in his face, and pushing mad
vertantly against Wade's chair all this time
his face glowing with passion, and his air, mien
and tone suggesting the ferocity of Danton,
combined with the malignity of Murat. Du-
ring his short speech portion Of the galleries
kept up running accompaniment of feeble
gusts of laughter. .-s..
Nearly ali eyes had been fixed on Toombs
and Seward-the latter calm and pale. and
looking steadily at his assailant. But the few
who knew Wade well, had not failed to notice
chair, his compressed lips, and the indescriba-
BILE air of defiance that sat upon his comte-
nance. Ere Toombs was fairly in his seat,
Seward, Wilson, Fessenden and Wade sprang
to their feet. 1t was impossible for the Chair
to assign the floor to anybody but :" the Sena-
tor from Ohio" for the tone in which he pro-
nounced the formula, "Mr. PRESIDENT" and
the eve fixed on Breckenridge, said, as plain
as words could have uttered it, Il must and
will have it."
Wade, who don't fear the devil, turned
square upon Toombs, who knows that Wade
don't fear the devil, and, bringing his fist down
| within about an inch of Toombs' nose and
heavily upon his desk, said-his eye riveting
him, and the hot words kissing through his
teeth-"Skulk, ali! SILVER, do wei"
The Georgian pushed his chair-it stands
on castors-a few inches further off, so as to
| give his Ohio neighbor more room!
| Wade went on, leaping almost from the
floor at every sentence, showing plainly that
though he was able to reply effectively to the
taunts and abuse that fell from Toombs' lips,
he would rather drive them forcibly down his
! throat-all of which Toombs knew, because,
once on a time, they being neighbors in the
Senate then as now, Toombs was abusing all
Republicans in the most vituperous style,
when Wade, his hands on the arms of bis
chair ready to leap to his feet, demanded to
know, "Does the Senator include me in what
he is now saying?" Upon which the Geor-
Ohio !" Since that occurrence, everybody
thinks Toombs desires to give Wade wide
berth. ....
But, to the speech The first sentence went
straight to the core of the subject, and all the
rest followed it. "You sheer at the Home
stead bill, because it gives land to the land
less, do your What is your pet measure p
Stealing niggers for the niggerless! We 60
to the country upon it-I.and for the Land
less uers,s Niggers for the NIggerless I"
That was enough. The galleries had seem,
ingly held their breath. Now, some feet came
down with one determined stamp upon the
hoor-a few hands smote tOgether-but the
mass, in the gallery and in the Senate, shout
ed with mingled roar of laughter and cheers,
the President throwing down the gavel in
despair.
| Having, in this phrase, compressed the
whole argument into the smallest possible
compass, Wade went on roasting the Democ-
raoy about their ''nigger bill" and satisfying
Toombs that he (Wade) was not much fright
ened, however it might be with him (Toombs;)
and then he handed over the fight to Fessen-
den.
Mr. Fessenden was more deliberate. In
deed, he was persistently calm and provoking
ly COOL He told Mr. Toombs that Republi-
cans did not skulk nor SILVER on the Cuba
question, but only meant by this course to
take their own time and teach gentlemen that
the Senate was to be governed by its own
rules, and not by the decrees of party eau
Gus, and that they should permit the vote to
be taken on the bill when they had said all
they wished on the subject, and not one me-
ment sooner.
All this time Seward sat quietly in his chair.
Those accustomed to read his thoughts on his
face, knew he was biding his opportunity to
reply. Finally, he took the floor. He never
spoke of the Senator from Georgia He turn
ed his back somewhat toward him, with
mingled air of dignity and contempt. He
drew his own chair aside, pushed Wilson'S out
of the way, stepped back a pace or so, shook
1 off trammels, forgot Blair's rhetoric, Camp
bells rhetoric, and Stewards rhetoric, calmly
defined the different kinds of courage, said he
hoped he had enough to serve his purpose as
Senator and man, and then rose with his
theme, contrasting in few glowing words the
with the pernicious scheme of acquiring Cuba,
aIiu, @uuu&nS 10 tne freSlqcnLS eltoftS 70
clutch the purse and the sword, denounced
him in severe but strictly parliamentary Ian
guage, for attempting thus 70 divert the public
| mind from the issues which his Kansas and
| financial policies had precipitated upon the
country, and he concluded by comparing, in
| few eloquent sentences, the principle which
would give land and homes to freedom and
free laborers, with that which would extend
and strengthen the curse and crime of human
bondage among men.
As be pronounced the closing words, he
proudly turned his back upon the Chair, drew
ont S nd 1Lod int tho cd;