Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-03-09

as an independent nation. 1t is now question
OF heroic strength and brave endurance. The
struggle must be terrible indee d. There will be
| darker days perhaps than we have yet seen.
de knew what war was and could not pray
for IT, but only for the return ofhalycon days.
But this government and its institutions,
/ biood-bought and enjoyed by the humblest,
! are not exclusively our own. They are a
| legacy in trust. We have no right to sur
render them to a foreign or domestic foe
| Noble men, heroes and martyrs, have placed
them IN our hands for safe keeping. Better
that war blight the land, better that commerce
/ perish, than now to waver and let this star in
the heavens go out in military despotism.
In the main he endorsed cheerfully and
| heartily the resolutions. Though he might
| differ somewhat in the eulogiums of the last
resolution, he would never play the eur by
swapping and snarling at the heels of the
President. (Applause.)
The speaker then took up the plea of the
| opposition that the Constitution is in danger,
and characterized its absurdfty in fitting
terms. He defended the doctrine of military
necessity; yet, in the exercise of it, the
| President had never, in his opinion, trans.
cended his constitutional powers. The oppo-
| sltlon were greatly exercised because the
writ of habeas corpus had been suspended, and
some northern traitors brought to grief Our
| good PRESIDENT was not guilty of crime in
| =
pending the writ of hdbeaS corpus. he ought to
have suspended the traitors He spoke of
the suffering endured in the army, and what
/ he himself had experienced. Why, if his
own father was to avow such sentiments as
| some gentlemen avow this floor he would
I disown him. When this war-eclosec, the
| speaker said IN conclusion, be it three months
or thirty years, the world woulG see what it
| had not seen in Athens, in Rome, or Venice.
u ,1xrht nd -,.l..
ders there was not single slave %sa
Mr.. BINGHAM said he had been greatly
| surprised that any man should make such a
| speech as that which the gentleman from
Dane (Mr. Geo. B. Smith, had made this
afternoon. He was surprised that man
| should ignore facts and ignore history as that
gentleman had done. Why, that gentleman
| knows that if this was despotic country he
! could never have made such speech as he
had done. No, Mr.. Speaker, it was mere
party clap-trap. 1t was because he finds the
| party which he has acted with and which has
| been so long in power at length in a minori-
ty, and without the power and patronage to
which it was accustomed. The speech re-
minded him OF an anecdote of an Indian who
came to white man crying abraham"
Jesus Christ" &c When asked what he
meant, he said cider" Just so the oppo-
sition cried out Constitution" "despotism,"
"ha6eGS corpus" when they meant place
The speaker declared that if in the pro-
| gress of this war, by proclamation or the red
| right hand, the manacles were stricken from
the slave, he would applaud, and the whole
people would applaud, to the very echo
But II was not true that this war was prose
cuted for the purpose of freeing the slave
The speaker showed how all the great
| Union victories of the war had occurred since
the proclamation Of emancipation. 1t was
easy toeritieise and find fault, but the real
! trouble with the other side was that they were
| not in power. Such opposition was common
! in all countries during wars
| Mr.. B. continued at some length, common
ting, in humorous vein occasionally, upon
| the position of the opposition.
| The speaker concluded by reading some
passages from Gen. Gannts New York speech,
calling it the case of Gannt VS. Smith.
Mr.. McGARRY followed. In the course of
his remarks he said that the resolutions never
! ought to have been introduced here They
related to matters that did not belong to
the House to act upon, and for this reason
on former occasion he yoted against tie achoIe
| Of these resolutions.
Mr.. WEBB explained the pending amend
ment, and declared himself opposed to re-
| cedlDg from Inconvenience with il. He
| explained his understanding of the terms
| propositions of peace" He thought the
| language implied treating with what calls itself
! the government of the Southern Confederacy,
| and therefore wanted the resolution to ex-
| press our opposition to any such propositions
! Mr.. w. continued at some length TO criti-
else the speech of Mr. Geo. B. Smith-his
| assumption that the rebels possessed rights
under the Consttution-his tenderness for
| slave property-and from that passed to a re-
| view OF the past history of the Democratic
| party, showing that it was always pro-slaverv
! The Speaker alluded to the speech of Mr.
Smith as most signal evidence of the I'M
| truthfulness of the charges Of despotism with
which 1t abounded. No such speech could
| have been made here if the government was
what he asserted it to have become since he
! spoke here to-day in the presence of hun
| dreds, denouncing the President in the most
violent language, and no man interfered or
! questioned his right to criticse the Admins
tration and give free expression to his views.
Mr.. ABRAMS said he could not be here on
Thursday and therefore wished to submit a
few remarks. He denied that the Democrat
ic party disloyal. No party was respon-
slble for the expressions of individuals And
| the Democratic party was just as loyal as the
Abolition or Union party. But he protested
against the passage or these resolutions He
was opposed to the Administration, but he
recognized Mr.. Lincoln as the constitutionalIv
elected President. He was in favor of war
against the rebellion until the old flag waved
over every lHcH OF the SOIL OF the United
States. (Applause.) He hoped moreover to
see the rebels of the South expiate their of
fences where criminals pay the penalty for
their crimes. He asked the House to drop
the resolutions and leave the nomination of a
President to the conventions called for that
purpose.
Mr. BARRON called for the previous ques-
tlon-not demanded.
The motion to postpone was lost.
Mr.. SANBORN opposed concurring in the
Senate amendment, and spoke at some length
against the resolutions In the course of his |
remarks be admitted that the Democratic
party was in catamose state" he INDUCED
in long and incoherent speech abusive of
the administration. He said that If Yalandig- |
ham was traitor then Geo. B. Smith was |
traitor, which remark was received with GEN
eral applause in the lobby and gallery
Mr.. GElSSE said that he represented a |
Democratic district. A Union league had |
been tolerated there. Its members were |
armed. None of the Democrats were armed |
but II these resolutions passed he should at |
an a rxrJfe tCnt