The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1866-05-16
genator saulsbury,s speech.

The { lowing is the bold and manly speech
OF the Delawlre Senator on the passage OF
the Civil Rights bill over the veto of Presi
dent:
Nj. Sanlsbury said: / rise to say, that
in my Judgment, the passage OF this bill i,
the Inauguration of revelation. 1t is well
that the American people should take warn.
ing in time add set their houses in order;
Tor il is impossible that the people viii pa
tiently submit to such an act. Heaven
knows W. have had enough of blood, he'd,
enough of mourning in every household
There are too many new made graves foI
any one TO wish TO see more. Attempt tc
execute this law within the limits OF the
States Of this Union, and in my Judgment;
this country will be again plunged into the
horrors OF civil war. In my W State. q
small State, in point OF numbers, but q State
Of gallant sons and noble hearts, your law
will not be observed by the judiciary; altho'
many of them, indeed most of them, are Of
your pIrty. There is not a Republican
Judge in Delaware, and we never had a judge
there so deaf to the teachings of the great
] NINA les of the law as to attempt to en-.
force such a ~fagrantly unconstitutional act
as this. l shall not again enter upon the
constltutionality or unconstitutionality oi
the act, but if it is not grossly, palpably,
fagrantly unconstitutional, then five and
twelve years of a somewhat diligent study OF
the law has awaited me nothing.
Mr.. President, do you suppose, does the
Senate suppose, is there any sane men who
suppose. that if an honest State judiciary
shall decide that a free negro shall not testi-
fly because his testifying is prohibited by
the statute law Of the State, that the peo-
pie of that State will allow the agents OF
your commissioner to arrest those judges
and drag them from the beneh-that if the
Legislature OF a State enacts a law discrim-
nlinating between the races, that the people
are going to allow their Legislators also to
be dragged to prison, because you have SO
stated in this bill? Do you suppose, sir,
that the people are going to allow such an
outrage as that? No, sir. They would
soon say by their votes, as well as by their
power, that they would not submit to it,
Sir, | say this, not because | want these
scenes ofstrite to transpire. May God avert
them-but | say it because you are enter
ing upon the scene oil another revolution,
the effects OF which the wisest cannot fore.
see. And if in any solitary moment of my
life, | ever have doubted that | was right
when ] opposed the Inauguration of civil
war in this country-if ! ever doubted that
war was disunion, | am convinced now,
thoroughly and fully, of the truth that
every vote ] have given, and every word !
have uttorred thereon, has been right, and
| am convinced now that wal always was and
is disunion: and thank God, that during
the stormy periods of that war, many who
had not brains enough to comprehend the
meaning of what they said, charged me
with being a disunionist; but / have lived
to see the day when my political opponents
have not only become disunioni>ts, but re-
volutionists; and by every means that lies 10
in their power, are ruthles,ly trampling the
Constitution Of the country into the dust.
| shall not detain the Senate, but I will add
that while | will submit to the vote, aud ad-
wise peace, | can see nothing before tho
country but pictures of horror and revolu-
ton.