Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1866-03-21
SPEECH
new. G. I.. BrCKALEW,
-. OF PENNsYLv4NIA,
In The Senate Of The Ilnilrd States, February
2lst 1876.
T Conrinued from last treeJvs paper. ]

In the Senate Of The Ljnilrd States, February
2lst loGG.
CONTINUED from last tretss paper.
Mr.. President, do not dislike or de-
,spise. New England. 1 am couteLt to
acknowledge her neris, to deal justly
By her people, and even to overlook in
come degree what conceive to be her
errors OF opinion aud extravagancies OF
conduct. The man Of the East is. in
dustriou., euterpr,sing and thrifty; his
Ingenuity is remarkable, and his achieve
uents in the pursuits of private life and
in public employments constitute a prom
inentpart Of the national history. He
has reclaimed The forest and the prairie
20 ,he uses of man; has been active in
educational improvement and in estab-
fishing literature which, however de-
fectivc, gives promise Of futsre excel
lsnce. lie has been producer of wealth,
and his activity has been a great ele-
ment of national force and of national
progress. And he has won distinction
upon tho occap as well as upon the land,
not only in naval conflicts in the late
" AEf huu btlll luBE6 III AOl u4CA " a. OAb
also in the pursuits of peaceful commerce.
lie carries our flag over great seas, to
distant i-lands and to the uttermost parts
Of the earth. lie drops the line as
patient f-Lrrman off the Newfoundland
banks, or follows, with poised spear, the
walrus abd the whale among the ice
berss Of the North. A hundred years
ago The enterprise and thriis of the New
England mariner was celebrated by Ed
mund Burke 10 language that will never
die
NO sea but what i. vsTed by their fisheries"
BY the way, sir, that excellent word
vexed-excelleut in the--connecIion in
which It is used-I once thought was a
seintillation of the fine genius Of Burke
himself. / thought so until | remem-
bcred that the great master before him
had writtetsatout
Ihe vexrd Bermoot hes"
Sir, the passage is TO be found in the
Tempest
Protesting, then, that am not prompt
ed By anrpashy or jealousy toward the
East, proceed to mention the remedial
measures which will remove the Unequal!
icy complained of, or at least reduce it
within tolerable bounds. The first rem
edy will be what has already been sug-
Rested the admission Of Senators into
lhe Senate from the eleven States of the
South fer by increasing the whole
number Of members in the Senate the
existing inequality will sink in relative
Importance. Though it will not disap-
pear, il will be less potent and perniciou,
iksn at present The second and more
effecsual remedy will be an amendment
Of the Constitution readjusting senatorial
representation upon a more just basis.
Let it be provided that States contain
ing more than 6nc million and less than
three millions. two Senators; and States
contrasting more than three millions,
three Senators. This arrangement will
make representation 10 the Senate much
more equal and satisfactory than it now
is, and ought not to meet with objection
in any quarter. 1t will make three
elssses Of States, each class having rep
resensation somewhat in proportion to its
relative importance in the Union, while
the State basis for senatorial representa-
tion, one of the best features of our con-
stitutional system, viii be retained in
complste integrity.
Promising that / ,hall recur to this
point hereafter, I will now proceed to
the second division of my subject the
question of
~s RECONSTRUCTION.
I use tliis term As including two points:
arss, the reorganization Of southern
State goyerDnents |; and second, the sd-
mission Of southern Senators and Repre-
psntztives into Congress. This last
poiRt involves one Of the remedies for
eastern predominance in the Senate, al
ready mentioned oelr
was one of those who thought the
provisional governments set up in the
South under Mr. Lincoln's Administra-
ton were legitimate and proper. Bat /
regarded them in q very different light
from that ia which they appeared to be
regarded By him. He sent PROV; sionaI
governors to several of the 6'uihern
States, at whose instance portion Of the
people set 1p local governments. He
also rept Major Hay to Florida upon an
expedition Of government-making which
iueIoriousIy failed in consequence Of the
defeat Of 1hc military foroa which accom-