Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-04-16
0QIo Statesrrrarr.
A Senatorial RebuI1e.

A Senatorial Rebul1e.
In the debate, Thursday, upon the Civil
Rights bill in the Senate, Mr.. Wade, of
| Ohio, opposed the postponement of the
vote which was asked for in order to en-
able the Senators who were i'll to be in at
tendance when the vote should be taken,
and said ~
am very frank to say that when gentle
men tell us that if we persist here with all
the physical power the Almighty has put
into our hands we may probably prevail, it
is not an argument against my staying here,
standing by the Constitution, standing by
these powers that the Constitution has
armed me with, and which have no right
or authority to give up. No Senator on
this floor has any right to surrender the
authority with which we are clothed. The
moment President can rise and interpose
his interference with question purely
| Congressional and Legislative, your Con-
stitution is not worth the paper upon which
| it is written. That is the reason that ] urge,
and beg of my friends on this floor 10 take
every adUdntdge that the Alnigltty has Pit into
their hands to maintain; uphold, and sus-
tain that Constitution that we have sworn
we will support. 30. .I 2.
Mr.. McDougall, of California, admins
tered the following severe and dignifed re-
buke to his brother Senator:
Mr.. McDougall-Nr. President, the Sena-
tor from Ohio is in the habit of appealing
to his God in vindication of his Judgment
and conduct; it is common thing for him
to do SO; but, in view of the present dem
onstration, it may be well to ask who and
what is his god. In the old Persian
mythology there was an Ormasdes and an
Ahriman-a god of light and beauty, and a
god of darkness and death. The god of
| light sent the sun to shine and gentle show
ers to fructify the fields; the god of dark
ness sent the tornado and the tempest and
the thunder, scathing with pestilence the
nations. And in old Chaldean times men
came to worship Ahriman, the god OF dark
ness the god of pestilence and famine; and
his priests became multitudinous-they
swarmed the land-and white mon prayed
then, their offerings were, "We will not
sow field of grain; we will notdig well :;
we will not plant a tree" These were the
offerings to the dark spirit of evil until a
prophet came who redeemed that ancient
land, but he did it after crucifXiOn, like
our great Master.
The followers of Ahriman always appeal
ed to the same spirit manifested by the
Senator from Ohio. Death is to be of bis
angels now to redeem the Constitution and
tue laws and to establish liberty. Sickness,
suffering. evil, are to be his angels aud he
thanks the Almighty, his Almighty, that
sickness, danger and evil are about! 1t
may be good god for him in this world :;
but il there is any truth II what we learn
about the orders of religion in this Chris
tian world, his faith will not help him when
he shall ascend up and ask entrance at the
crystal doors. If there. can be evil ex-
pressed in high places that communicates
evil thoughts, that communicates evil
teachings, that demoralizes the youth who
receive impressions as does the wax, it is by
such lessons as the Senator from Ohio now
teaches by word of mouth as Senator in
this Senate Hall.
Sir, the President of the United States is
a constitutional officer, clothed with high
power and clothed with the very power
which he has exercised in this instance, and
those who conferred upon him these pow
ers were men such as Madison and Jay and
| Hamilton and Morris and Washington and a
host of worthy men, who, | think, knew as
much about the laws of Government, and
how they should be rightly balanced, as
any of the wisest who now sit here in
council. 1t is the duty of the President of
| the u. S. to stand as defender of the Con-
sttution in his place, as the conseryator of
the rights of the people,as tribune Of the peo-
| pie, as it was in old Rome when the people
did choose their tribunes to 90 into the Sen
ate Chamber among the aristoeracy of
Rome, and when they passed laws Injurious
to the Roman people, to stand and say, II
| torbidit." tt '. r s't.''
That is the veto power, incorporated
wisely by our fathers in the Constitution,
conferred upon the President of the United
States, and to be treated with consideration !;
an no appeal of the Senator to his God
can change the Constitution or the rights of
the President of the United States, or can
prevent a just consideration of the dignity
of this Senate body by persons who have
just consideration, who feel that they are
Senators.
1t is a strange thing, an exceedingly
strange thing, that when few Senators in
the city of Washington, i'll at their houses,
give assurance that they can be here to act
upon great public question on the day
following this, we should hear piece of
defamation, the Senator appealing to his
God, and saying with an To ti2onlpbe air,
swell or ill, God has made them ILL.," Sir,
the god of desolation, the god OF darkness,
the god of evilis his god. Inever expected
to hear such objections raised among hon.
oratle men; and men to be Senators should
be honorable men. / never expected to
hear such things in this Hall and | rose
simply to say that such sentiments were to
be condemned. and must receive my con-
demnatiOn, now and here, and if it amounts
to rebuke, trust it anay be rebuke.
A<.,, H..