The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-03-25

The sharp Debate between Douglas
L -aHnE1 EFeasRnl, en- n the Senate.

ana EessemGien IN the Seh1Les
Mr.. Douglas protests against the Globes
report of his remarks last Friday, in the
sharp debate with Messrs Wilson and Fes-
sender, but it is published without any
alteration, and it is difficult to find any in
accuracy in it.
The debate was unexpectedly personal,
and resulted quite differently from the
wishes of MIR. Douglas, who set it a-going.
Mr.. Douglas has become impatient of the
judicious silence of the Republican senator's
and he determined, by some ingenious hook
or crook, to 4" bring them to their milk -
Believing that division of opinion existed
among them on the question of the proper
policy to be pursued by the administra-
ton in reference to the seeded states,
he hoped to elicit premature discussion
from them, and to destroy the efficiency
and unity of the party at the outset. Their
provoking reticence, broken only by an oc-
casional bothering interrogatory from them,
proved too much for his temper and he re-
sorted to those weapons of taunts and char
ges of Inconsistency in the use of which he
is prominent. This was done under the
guise of concern for the public peace and
safety. A brief enthusiastically direct
and forcible reply was delivered by Mr..
Wilson, who denied Mr.. Douglass right to
act as Interpreter for the administration,
and asserted that the effect of his elaborate
speech was to revive the sectional excite
ment which he assumed to ,deprecate and
oppose. Mr.. Douglas, in his answer, made
slip of the tongue, in saying the sena-
tor from Maine instead Of the senator from
Massachusetts, and was corrected in good
temper by Mr. Fessenden and others, In a
moment of excitement he asserted that he
had made no such mistake. They assured
H. Ill 20 1-ol hn ,Sz
senator to attack Mr.. Fessenden. The sena-
tor from Maine he pronounced guilty of
discourtesy in not accepting his own con-
strucsion of the language he had used, and
thus violating an established rule among
gentlemen Mr.. Fessenden rose and reas-
serted that the mistake had been committed.
Mr.. Douglas then replied that the senator
from Maine said what was false and he
knew it.
MIR. FEssENDEN's REToRT.
A profound stiffness followed. MIR. Fes-
sender took the floor, and with the most
cool and impassiye severity, administered to
his impetuous antagonist lesson which
will not soon be forgotten. The austere in
difference with which he treated the impu-
tations on himself, and the contemptuous
irony of his voice, look, and gesture, cannot |
he reproduced III any report Of its kind, !
brief and inpron'ptu as it was, his retort was |
the mostcomplete parliamentary effort which |
has been heard in the Senate for a long |
time. The definition Of his position with |
reference 20 the question Of personal respou- |
sibilty and the dueling code was exceeding |
~ apt and explicit. In reply to sugge5-
ton of Mr.. Douglas, he stated that the SEN
ator from Illinois need not fear, or, to speak |
more delicately, need not apprehend any
hostile message from him. He, Mr.. Fessen- |
dec, made it point to use insulting Ian |
guage TO no one, least Of all TO q gentleman |
who recognized code OF settling difficult
ties different from his own. "And why? |
Because | would consider myself coward |
to deliberately insult a duelist when could |
not give the offended party the only salts
faction which he would deem adequate for
the wrong But man who, like the Sen
ator from Illinois, is presumed to recognize
the code, and who wantonly insults another,
knowing that he is not 4 duelist, is even q
greater coward than l."
Mr.. Douglas is endowed with amazing
deZterity and resources in debate, but this
time be seemed baf1ed, and promising to
give the other side good deal of trouble
yet, he sat down, with this remark that the
noise in the galleries would not allow him
to proceed.
POLICY TOWARDS THE sECEDING STATES.
In the course of his speech, Mr.. Fessen-
den said what the Republicans generally
believe to be true, that the object of Mr..
Douglass resolution, asking the Secretary
of War to explain the motives and policy
of the administration on a very delicate
question, was to lay the basis of speech
to arouse an irritating debate, and to create
instead of allaying5 apprehension in the
public mind for he had no reason to ex-
pect the resolution would pass. If he had
been disposed not to embarrass the admin
istration, and had acted in good faith, the
resolution would have been directed, not to,
the War Department, but to the President,
and would only ask for such information as
the Chief Magistrate might deem it compati-
BILE with the public interests to commun;-
cate. The rumors of warIike intent and
suspicion Of disunion sentiments on the part
of Republican Senators he pronounced pure
ly inventions of Mr.. Douglas. The admin
istration meant what it had announced,
policy of peace, and, in his opinion, the
Senator from Illinois was doing all in his
power to thwart that policy.
As Mr.. Fessenden, by his position as
Chairman of Finance, becomes the leader
of the administration party in the Senate,
his announcement, though coupled with
profession of ignorance of its policy, is of
signifcance-N. 2. Post.