Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-05
SOME FUNNY PHASES OF THE RADI-
Cal. CAUCIR.

The Radical caucus in Washington
Saturday night must have been a funny
affair. The report Of its proceedings
shows how unfit the men who composed
it are to legislate for nation. They
were swayed by prejudices and passion
alone, justice and right never once enter
ing into the thoughts to which they gave
expression The correspondent Of the
Cincinnati Commercial telegraphs that
they had a tumultuOus time, and that
Everybody who had anything to say
against the President was y0eife-ously
checred, and no one attempted to say any
thing in his favor" 1t is quite evident
that no man would have been permitted
to say anything in favor OF the President,
for they had met TO condemn him in
everything possible and to praise him in
nothing. Something Of the temper of
this cabal May be inferred from a single
episode reported by the Commercial
correspondent 81 6se8 saszs&
"Thad. Stevens offered a resolution that
the Republican members of the Senate be
requested not to confirm any appOintees of
the President when they were removed for
political purposes. r,rr
"a perfect storm of applause followed
this. Desks were ratified and hands clap
ped, when Mr., Spalding, of Ohio had the
| -, - or,l -. rs-Lff,1
ness of the proposition. He did not see
how he could vote for any such request.
He believed the Senate was as well ac-
quainted with the needs of the country as
the House was, and the Senators knew as
we'll as Representatives what was best to be
done in such an emergency.
This drew Thad. Stevens from his chair.
He jumped like an acrobat, and, as he took
the floor, he was literally applauded in adj
vance, his sentiments being easily antici-
pated. He pitched into Spalding in ter
rible way. Said he: eve are the repre-
sentatives of the people, and we know quite
as we'll as the Senate what the country de-
mands. We have a right to advise the
Senate, and as we are fresh from the people
we ought to know what the people wan"
In conclusion, Thad. cast whitening look
at Spalding, and quietly remarked that he
did not know what selfish purpose that gen
| tleman had in view. He didn't know what
vacancies were to be filled in Ohio. He
heard of Judgeship, or something of that
sort, but he hoped that the representatives
of the people would stand up to the work
before them, and do it as became men of
principle and courage"
The ferocity with which Stevens at
tackled Mr.. Spalding for daring to ques-
ton the propriety of making 50 unusual
request of the Senate, is convincing
proof that nothing Ike fair-dealing would
be tolerated by the men who follow the
lead of the Pennsylvania autocrat
That chronic fault-fnder, Judge Kelley
of Philadelphia, could scarcely find words
possessing sufficient acrimony with
which to abuse the President, his dia-
tribes in that line having become stale
and Improbable" He declared that in
his city the appointing power had been
horribly abused, and capped the climax
by asserting that "many men whom he,
as criminal Judge, had sentenced to the
penitentiary, had been appointed to Offices
of high trust and profit" The CONNER
ciars correspondent says: ....
Gone case especially occurred to Judge
Kelley Just then. 1t was that of man
who had once stolen a steam engine from
the navy yard, and hidden it Somewhere.
He was found out and brought it back As
soon as the matter got hushed up he stole
it again. He had since then stolen all the
copper and metal he could carry off He
was one of the Presidents appointees."
For wonder, this effort of Judge Kelly
had its legitimate effect, for according to
the Commercials correspondent, several
members here said that was nothing to
what had been done in their districts
One man said the Collector in his district
stole house and lot Another said the
Assessor where he lived had been arrested
once or twice for pickins pockets. A
third said that the postmaster Of his town
was known to have stolen twenty grind
stones. There are very few men who
could survive this turning into ridicule
what was meant by Judge Kelly to be a
crushing blow at the President He must
have been lost to all sense of propriety if
he did not feel the keen edge of this re-
Duke administered by his own friends.
This ludicrous turn in the wind-work
of the caucus seems to have affected all
present in rather singular way, for after
feeble echo of Judge Kelly by Mr. Dar-
ling, of New York, we are told that
"The caucus resolved itself into sort Of
Methodist mass meeting, only that, instead
of telling each other what the Lord had
done for them, they related what the devil,
in the person of Andrew johnson, had
been at since the adjournment of Congress.
Such list of woes never was given out be-
fore"
After this interchange Of Experiences"
Mr. Stevens resolution was adopted, even
Mr.. Spalding not voting againstit, "satis-
Il 1 ! r I