Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-02-14
0be eGree press
BURLINGTON
FRIDAY MORNING. FEB. Il, 1862.
THE EXPULSION OF BRIGHT.

After so long debate, the Senate came to
vote on Wednesday on the Resolution iul
the expulsion of Senator Bright of Indiana
and with the following result
YEAs-Anthony, Browning, Chandler, Clark,
Collamor, DAVIS, Dixon, Doolittle. Fessenden,
Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, HENDERSON,
Howard, Howe. JohHson, King, Lane Of Indiana,
MeDosgai, Morrill,, POmeroy, Sherman, Simmons,
Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilmot,
Wilson Of NJ iss., WILSON Of Mo.-J2
NAYs-Bdyard, CARLISLE, Harris, KENNEDY,
Latham, NesIaifh. Pe1ree, Por,H, Rier, Salisbury,
| len Byck, Thonpson, WILEY, -l3.
lRepublicans in Roman, Democrats in Hahes,
Union men in SMALL CAPITALs.l
The Vice President said that as hco thirds
had voted in favor of the resolution, it was
adopted.
Considerable debate for and against the
resol ution took place on the last day. To
our view Mr.. anthony of R. l., covered the
entire ground when be said that she should
rote on The simple record Of The letter. He
thought that any Senator ioho could grite such
letter 10 such a traitor, ,cas unftfod for a
place IN The Sendte.''
The arguments of Messrs. Bdyard of nal.,
Harris of n. Y. and others, who voted
against the resolution, the sum and sub
stance Of which were that Bright, when he
wrote the letter, did not beEeue there i00uid
be any 'oar, are to us of no weight. 1t is
very doubtful whether JEFF Davis himseI,
or Floyd or Cobb or Toombs, or a host of
Others, as fagrant rebels as they arc. beiered
there would be any war when they declared
he~selycs free OIL all allegiance to the United
States government, and set up their so called
Confederate State government. They knew
they had so managed as to dislrm the Ma
tional government, to empty its treasury to
and to place nearly all its forts in a position
to fall at any moment INTO the hands Of any
mobs, which under the name of Stats-nghts
men might at the first word from
their leaders rush into them. They knew
that they were sure of the traitorous aid Of |
Twiggs and Tatnall and host of others in |
the Army and Navy. They knew, or rather
thought they knew, that by means of tie
Democratic Party in the free States, they
were sure of blocking the wheels Of the Gov
crnment, 50 that any efficient movement to
save 1t from destruction would be impossible. |
They firmly believed that they should prevent
the Inauguration Of President Lincoln, and /
that the majority of the Nation (the five
Eastern States, perhaps, excepted) would
accept, as the best they could do, the South
ern Confederate States Government, and that
thus by coup d'sfaf, without blOodshed,
the Southern Shareholders would De put into
uncontrolled and perpetual possession of
National power. Not one of them dreamed
Of the possibility that. at the call of the
President, hundred thousand men would
spring 10 arms for the protection Of the scat
Of Goyernment,-that within a month-nsy
within a fortnight after-in spite of all
the treacherous combinations of Maryland
and Virginia, the capital would be made
safe and the traitors forced to choose between
death by the halter or death on the battle
field. No doubt the war was as much of
surprise to the chief cOnspirators and the
Southern people generally, as to the people
Of the loyal States, for they thought their
treason had made success sure without
a war.
Bright was a steady cO-worker with
the chief couspiratOrs. They always had
his voice and his vote. By his letter to Davis,
he accepted the Rebel Government as true
and the purpose of his letter
was to make that same rebel government
stronger. and the National Government
weaker. That his letter failed to
reach Davis, DO more lessened his
,omplicity with that arch rebel, than the
allure of Arnold's DISPATCHES for the be-
.rayal of West Point, to reach the British
Commander for whom they were written,
Affected their treasOnable character. The vote
Ior Bright's expulsion from the Senate was
righteous one. The wonder is that it was
% long delayed and that even single true
patriot could find reason to oppose it.