Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-03-24

chttus Was nooig hDo tIiuulpudItie HLseaineo " i
the House. Mr. DAvIs. after reciting the con-
currence Of the House in various disagreeing |
votes, said:
These. Mr. Speaker, cover al the business de- |
tails OF Tie various sDeBdmeBss of the House
and Senate. Having passed over The amendment
which vas the SUI ject of controversy IN The
House until We reached this point, We then re
verted TO i snd found ihat there vss = radical
diversity of opinion. aud perhaps irreconcila-
be one. between The representative OF The House
aud th0ee OF he Senate TIE gentlemen on the
part OF the Senate stated that mile majority OF
The Senate eoEeuued "a The pTinciFie involved 10
that amendment vet that the majority OF The Sen
ate had refused upon two votes, deliberately de
iermined, not 10 pass the amendment as part OF
this bill
IL was then proposed to them that they should
take the section Ia the form 10 which il bad pass
Ell the House, carry Il into the Senate and pass
Il Immediately separate bill. aud send it to
the House 10 order that we might act upon it
Immediately, upon which cOIditiOn We were
ready TO have agreed 10 recommend the House
20 allow the bill 10 pass without ihls amendment
The gentlemen thought that they could not
accomplish that in the present state of the feeling
aud temper OF the Senate and declined 10 make
the effort Under these circumstances il remain
ed for a mrjOrity OF the House committee 10
determine between the great result of losing
important appropriation bill, or, after having
raised a question OF this magnitude touching 30
nearly the right OF every citizen 10 his personal
liberty and the very endurance OF republican
institutions, and to insure its prompt consider
ton fastened IL on an appropriation BILL TO allow
il 10 be stricken out OF the bill As IA matter of
secondary importance The committee thought
that their duty 10 their constituents, the House,
aud to themselves, would hot allow them 10
provide Tor any pecunisry appropriations At the
expense of so grave a reflection upon the iunda-
mental principles OF the government
The situation il grave one The president
mas now 10y lava law insanely passed bg the
last congress, 10 repeal which the II ouse early ia
It's hrst session unanimously passed bill which
10 this day the Senate has refused TO even con
sider-the absolute authority TO deprive every Of
6cer OF the United States of his commission at
his will. on his own judgment, and at his pleasure
O. caprice alone The law does not merely au-
ihorise, bur il requests the president 10 the
power conferred.
There are laws upon the statute-book which
SUBJECT to trial By courts martial, composed OF
these officers, thus dependent upon the will of the
president, large classes OF our fellow citizens
The practice of the government has iutroduC
! ed into he jurisprudence OF the United States
/ principles unknown TO the laws of the Unii ed
States. loosely described under the general term
/ OF che rules aud 'usages OF war, and new
1 crimes, defined by no law, called +" military Of
/ fenSes;" and without the authority of any stat
+ ue constitutional or unconstitutional. and point
| ing these laws-conEned by the usage oil the
world to enemies in euemies' terrtury--agaiEs1
/ our owu citizens IN our own territory has reUeat-
/ edly deprived many citizens OF the United States
/ of their liberty, has condemned many to death,
vino have only been redeemed from that extreme
! penalty by the kindness OF the president heart
and aided doubtless by the serious scruples he
cannot bat feel touching the legality OF the juog
] meut that assigned them to death.
There have been many cases in which iudg
ments of c0nhnements in the peniientiary have
been iufic Ell for acts not punishable either under
the u-ages OF war or under any statute of the
/ United States by any military tribunal: crimes
Tor which the laws OF the United States prescribe
the punishment have been visited with other snd
severer pGuIshmeuts by military tribunals: VIC
/ a,ions of contract with the government. real or
/ imputed, have been construed by these tribunal
/ into frauds. and punished as crimes: excessive
bail has been demanded and when furnished i'm
pudently reduced; and the attempt OF congress
TO discriminate between crimes commute ed by per
Sons in the military forces aud citizens not n
those forces has been aunulled, and the very Of
lenses it specifically required to be tried before
military tribunals dependent upon the will of the
p esident.
me 6fSH yctftfpHSQ UumDtN, ma
refused or neglected more than once TO stop the
illegal proceedings and submit the case t. the
courts of the United States. Courts maTfiql
are organized 10 cOnUiet - Is the sinister dec
laratiOn oil the assistant secretary OF the navy
and the president sill tolerstes his presence
That hand inserted, under the innocent title
OF bill to increase the p,ymasters OF the navy.
4 section subjectDg every gent and servant of
the navy dep irtment 10 Trial by court martial
l. 4et,. a.
discovery or exposure, and now hangs on a mo
I ton To reconsider.
/ Ii was the settled purpose OF oppression dis
closed by that act which occasened this amend
ment. and forhids It's abandOnment.
4 The CON mittee remember that such things are
/ Inconsistent with the endurance of republican
government. The party which tolerates or dc
tends them must destroy itself or the republic
They felt they had reached point al which
vote must be cast which may break up political
parties, or. If it do not. will break up or save
great republican government Before these al.
ternatives they could not hesitate. They thought
IL best, now, at this time. TO leave this law stand
ing rs a broken dyke in the midst'of the rising
/ food of lawless power around Us, to show TO this
/ generation how high that food of lawless power
+ has risen 10 onO three wears of civil war, rs
warning to those Who are to come after US, as an
awakening to those who now with US
/
( ton. far as the constitutional privileges and
prerogatives Of this House will enable, tiem to
accomplish the result. that this bill shall not
become a law il these words do not stand ~ part
of 1.-THE affirmat by tie representatives of
the states end of the people of the inalienabe
birthright of every American citizen and on that
question they appeal from the judgment of the
Senate to the judgment OF the American people
"a paragraph is going the rounds of the
Newspapers stating that " board of eOlOred OF
hcer' has been called together TO decide wheihor
negro troops sub-ist on the same rations that
are furnished to white soldiers" The rssions Of
the white soldiers consist about Of the following
Hard tack and bacon. with coffee, in the morn
ing; bacon aud hard tack for dinner. with water
to suit; tea and hard tack and bacon for supper.
aid all the water that IS handy. Nov, if the
niggers can't live on that, We suppose the col