Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-03-10

Rule Of the Radical Majority IN Congress.
The annexed is the protest ofthe Democratic
members of the House of Representatives, Of
fered Monday after the articles ofimpeachment
had been gone through with in that body, but
| which the House refused to receive, or even al
low to be printed:
| The undersigned, members of the Fortieth
| Congress of the United States, representing d.
recty or in principle, more than one half of the
whole people of the United States do hereby.
in the name of law and order, and IL behalf Of
| those they represent most sotemnty protest
! against the tyranny and injustice practiced by
the majority Of the House in violating the sacred
right of free debate and unconstrained delibera-
ton upon the greatest questions ever brought
| before an American Congress.
! The rules OF the House, made tor the protec-
| ton of minoritles and 'by strict adherence to
which the weaker party can only be protected
] from those irregularities and abuses which the
wantonness of power is but too often apt to Sug-
gest to large and successful majorities,' have
been, during this entire Congress, in violation
of their true spirit and intent, wantony and I'M
precedentedly suspended and set aside, not up
on particular and pressing matter, but upon
all pending subjects oflegislation, SO that by the
| reckless and arbitrary suspension Of the rules,
| and the wanton abuse of the previous question,
the rights of the minority have been utterly dis
regarded, the House of Representatives has
| ceased to be deliberative body, and the min
| ority have been compelled to vote upon the
| most important questions without any proper or
reasonable time for debate or consideration
To such an extent has this dangerous and OPP
pressive practice obtained that measures affect
ing vitality the whole country and the direct in
| terests Of our constituents, tending, as we be-
| To ho c,,bu ofo form,
| of government, in their very nature demanding
of the peoples representatives the most careful
examination and scrutiny, have been hurried
| through the forms of legislation without being
| printed, without one word of debate, or one mo-
ment's consideration without, indeed, the op-
portunity of the undersigned to protest, except
in violation of the then operating rule enforced
by the majority as the order of the House. y
! These alarming abuses of power might not
! seem to demand this formal protest if we were
not forced to the belief that determination
exists with the majority to revolutionize this
government by destroying the other CO. ordinate
| eminent in Congress. In the steps taken to
depose the President Of the United States, we
| are admonished that there is no end to their OPP
pressive measures to cripple the power and 81
| lence the voice Of the minority.
The resolution was pushed through the House
under the operation CT the previous question:
referring the matter to the committee On recon-
struction the committee, in hot haste, sitting
when the House was in session, in violation Of
one of its express rules, considered, and by a
strict party vote adopted and presented it again
| to the House for its action. And then was ex-
hibited one Of the most extraordinary speotacles
ever witnessed in deliberative parliamentary
body. Members were allowed some thirty, some
| tuautyy como ton co,np five Soma ono rninuta
only to discuss the most momentous questions
ever presented in Congress. Many could not
| get even one minute under the arbitrary rule of
the majority. And more than half Of these even
of the party voting to enforce the previous ques-
| ton, who desired to be heard, were permitted
speeches only in the GLOBE after the ques-
| ton upon the resolution was decided, and which
were never delivered in the House. No COM
ment can demonstrate more completely than the
| facts themselves the viciousness and illegality
| of such proceedings But this wanton and ex-
cessive use Of the power of the majority does
not stop here. While the committee were in
| session upon the further proceedings to remove
the President, and in anticipation of its action,
under the operation of the previous question,
without debate, in violation of an express rule,
new, special and most extraordinary rules for
the conduct of this proceeding, changing, with
out previous notice, the standing rules of the
House, were adopted to further limit debate
and more completely to place the minority in
the power and at the mercy of the majority.
Thus, while the majority OF Congress are war
| ring upon the other coordinate departments
| the executive and judicial-endeavori to sub
jugate and bring them both under the will and
control of Congress, the minority of the House
of Representatives are steadily and surely being
stripped of all power, and their constituents de-
prived of all proper representative voice In the
councils of the republic.
We do, therefore, most solenanly protest against
| the indeooroqs and undgnifed haste with which
the majority of the House inaugurated, present
ed and rushed through, by strict party vote,
in plain and papable violation of one of the
standing rules of the House, resolution de-
handing the impeachment of the Chief Magis-
trate of the people for alleged high crimes and
misdemeanors In Office when the gravity of the
charge and the character Of the high officer,
against which the attack was directed, and the
unforeseen and tremendous consequences which
might result therefrom to the peace and pros
perity of the people, called for the calmest and
wisest judgment, the most unprejudiced and i'm
partial elaboration on the part of those who
had the proceedings in charge.
We do, also, most solemnly protest against this
| thrice repeated attempt to degrade and break
| down one of the great co ordinate branches of
| the government through the spirit Of party ha-
| tired and vengeance against the person who, by
the constitution, is in the rightful and conscien
tious discharge of his functions, thus consuming
the precious time which ought to be faithfully
devoted to earnest efforts to relieve the pressing
wants OF the people, restoration OF a torn and
devastated country to union and good order,
| and to Tightening the burden of a taxation which
| is pressing down the energies of trade and com
| merce to the point of universal bankruptcy and
| ruin.
| We do, again, most sozensnly protest against,
and profoundly deprecate and deplore, any and
all attempts to array in hostile antagonism to
each other any of the departments of the gov
eminent upon the mere question of the constitu-
tionality or construction of law Of Congress,
the proper jurisdiction and final adjudication OF
which belongs exclusively to the judicial tribu-
nails: and we hereby warn the people of the
| United States that the public liberty and the
existence Of free institutions are involved, and
| that they are in imminent danger Of utter over
| throw in this suicidal struggle.
| We do, further, most solenanw protest against
that wild and radical spirit Of innovation upon
the early and well settled practice of the govern
| ment-a practice established by the men who
| framed the constitution, and who best under
stood it's spirit and meaning-which puts the
Chief Magistrate of the Republic, the repre-
sentative Of the dignity and power Of the peo-
pie, at the mercy Of one of his own subordnates,
assuming to be Secretary of War in violation of
his own pronounced conviction Of the law, who
| has the unhlu shinp efTronterv to Mace himself