Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-12
VOL. XX---NO. 5S.

t should say SO. While he could have
g ne hostility TO the President. he might
l and did have very grave objections tC
The course whic he WIS pursuing
e He should have forgotten the obloouy
which he (Stevens) had calmly borne
for thirty years in the war for Liberty, if he
: should turn craven now
Mr.. PRICE, of Iowa. ask the gen
= tleman from Pennsylvania whether there
ls not some mistake in this matter.
; When hear him speak in such,,wsrm terms
of the President and when l remember
that the press Of the country has been US
ing the name Of certain Thaddeus Ste
vens as having been mentioned by the
President in a speech in front OF the White
House, and now when l hear the gentleman
whom | supposed to be the Thaddeus Ste
vens referred TO speak in such strong terms
in favor of the President, | want to hear
him say with his own lips whether he is
the same person or some one else. Laugh
tsr.l
Mr.. STEVENS said: Mr.. Speaker,
does the learned gentleman from
Iowa Price suppose for single
moment that the speech to which presume
he refers as having been made in front of
the White House, was an actual fact
Laughter.l 1 desire now to put the gem
tleman right. What I am going to say,
] however 1 40 not WISH 10 nave TepedLcu. IL
is a confidential communication. Laugh
teri presume that no person will violate
the confidence which 1 repose in him by
| repeating it. Sir, that speech, which has
imposed upon the gentleman from Iowa.
| which has had q considerable run, and
which has made some impression on the
| public mind, was one of the grandest
nOaxes that has ever been perpetrsted, and
more successful than any other except the
moon hoax, which, l am told deceived many
astute astronomers. Laughter am now
| glad ofan opportunity although do not wish
1t to go out to the public, lest my motive
might be misunderstood, of exonerating the
President from ever having made that
| speech. Laughter 1t is part
| OF the cunning cOntrivances of the
| COpperhead party, which has been pro-
| seriDing our President since the 4th of
March, 1865, taking advantage of an
oppOrtune accident which happened or
! that occasion. They have been ever since
| constantly denouncing him as addicted to
degrading vices. To show that, and in order
10 prove the truth of what | say about this
hoax, | send up 10 be read a part of that
same Islander, taken from the New York
World, Of March I, 1865.
The following extract from the New York
World, of March 7th, 1865, was then read
by the Clerk:
"The drunken and beastly Caligula, the
most prOhigate of the Roman emperors,
raised his horse to the dignity of Consul, an
Office that, in former times, had been Glled
by the greatest warriors and statesmen Of
the republic-the Scipios and CatOs, and by
the mighty Julius himself The consulship
was scarcely more disgraeed by that scan
dalOus transaction than is our Vice Presi-
dency by the late election of Andrew John
rb-f neca haI oIo in her
days by the talents aud accomplishments of
Adams and jefferson, Clinton and Gerry,
Calhoun and Van Buren,, and now to see it
filled by this insolent, drunken brute, in
comparison with whom even Calguls's
horse was respectable, for the poor animal
did not abuse his nature and to think that
only one frail life stands between this
insolent clOwnish drunkard and the Presi-
deney. May God bless and spare Abraham
Lincoln"
Mr.. NIBLACK, of Indiana-I beg to in
quire whether that may not also be hoax
III the same way as the speech Of the Presi-
dent was. Laughter.
Mr.. r.STEVENS-Thatw was a serious and in
sulfing slander of the New York World,
taking advantage of an incident which it
is thought by many was brought about by
COpperheads themselves. And they have |
ever since been prosecuting him with such |
ISLANDERS as that. But although they have |
asserted it from time. to time, they have |
never made the loyal Republican people of
this nation believe it. Laughter. Being |
unable TO fix sucn Odium on our President |
BY direct evidence, they bring in evidence |
aliuHde with the skill of praetieed advo- |
cate in case de ktRatico ingHireadO. |
Where the outside evidence was doubtful |
they cautiously lead the subject Of inquiry |
to speak on the question of his hallHeina
ton, and if they can get him 10 babble and
talk nonsense then intrinsic evidence in the /
case is made out. Laughter. Now if the
slanderers could make the people believe that |
the President ever uttered that speech then
they have made out their ease. Contin
ued laughter. But we know that the /
President never did utter it. II is not pos
sible, and am glad Of this opportunity to
relieve him from that edium. They had
indeed wrought up the whole story in
very cunning way.
Mr.. WINFIELD, of New YOrk-May ! hope
the injunction of secresy may be removed
from this earnest and sincere defense.
Mr.. STEVENS, with a seriousness of
manner that instantly provoked laughter,
exclaimed: "0h, l hope not, sir. / hops
the gentleman will not violate the conf
dence which l have placed in him.
Now, Mr.. Speaker, they had forged up
the whole thing pretty eunningly-enough
to impose upon the people. For instance,
they went into eircumstantial accounts, as
in the great Moon hoax They pretended
that the counsel OF the assassins Of the late
President escorted President johnson to
the stone wall, on which they say he stood
in front Of the White House. They also
pretended he was supported by late rebel
Mayor, who was furnished gratuitOusly
with lodgings in one OF our penal forts
for some time. All these circumstances
they threw about the matter. The
people may have been deceived, but
we, who know the President, knew
it was lie from the start. Iiaughter.] Now
having shown my friend from Iowa
PRICE, that all the foundation for
that thing was fallacious, I trust lie will al
low me to occupy the same friendly position
to the President which have occupied
heretofore.
Mr.. PRICE, am satisfied that the
House and country viii agree with me.
That was mistake. and a very great one. Al
though have not lived in the world so long
rs the honorable gentleman from Pennsyl-
yania, have found that history can
not always be depended upon, and
lut for the accidental occurrence I
# the speech made to-day by the |
gentleman from Pennsylvania, the speech of
he President wonld have gone down to his
ory as fact, and the present or succeeding
generations would never have discovered {
he mistake thus oppOrtnnely exposed.
Mr.. STEVENS resumed the reading of
his manuscript. Speaking of the contest
between the President and Congress, he
jaid there was but one Union paper in the
,ountry that opposed the policy of Congress- !
Every newspaper in his own State, except
me herinaphrOdite concern in Philadelphia, /
,ud one belligerent paper IN Harrisburg, +.
,dited by the postmaster, sustained Con- !
yress, and SO did every Republican in his !
State who was not an applicant for Office !
lie did not speak OF New York IN that con- !
lection, for he did not know about her. !
No one did except Secretary Seward, who .
,rofessed to understand her. But every !
paragraph in New York papers lauding the
President was but the outcrop Of an official
advertisement
At the close of his speech he said he had
delivered it on the same principle as the
ate President sent in veto to bill which !
le had already signed, because he had
written a veto and thought il well done.
Laughter. So he now allowed this speech :
Il his 10 he east uDOu the surges OF this tur- y