Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-12-17
The way the PresideHt's Message was
Received I'm Congress. gt

The Way the President's Message was
Received in Congress
sThe Washington special to the 7fists-
burch Commercial give the following
account of the a ton of the two Houses
of Congress on the impudent and insult
ing Message of the President: s7tn
The country may properly congratu
late itself upon having got the last 0i
Andrew JohnsOn's annual messages. lt
is such a document as was never oeiore
sent to Congress, and it received such
treatment as no other message received;
The Indignation it excited at the Capitoi
was something with which the people
cannot help sympathizing, and the con-
demnation poured upon the head OF the
had man whose name it bears Will douot-
less he echoed from one end of the land
to the other. The Senate received the
message from the Presidents private
Secretary at exactly one O'Clock. There
were not many persons in the galleries,
for the populace expected scene at the
other end of the Capitol. The CLERK
began its reading just as printed copies
were distributed among the Senators
He had read about ten minutes, not
having reached the atrocious paragraph
in which the President advocates repu-
diation through nonpaynent oil interest
on our bonds, when Mr. Cenness rose
and Indignantly moved to dispense with
the further reading of the document.
The wrath and contempt of Senators
had been gradually rising. One could
see that easily enough from the galleries.
tn
however no less novel than astounding,
and at first decided majority of Sena-
tors seemed to be opposed to such severe
treatment of the emergency.
Garret Davis caught at his breath, ana
managed to say that the motion was
most extraordinary.
"Yes,n responded Conness, land the
message is most extraordinary; such a
one as no other President ever sent 10
Congress" Warming to his subject, he
went on to say that it was TRADE OF
abuse an indecent attack upon Congress,
a tissue of malignant falsehoods. This
language caused a decided sensation
Several Senators rose to speak. Two or
three appealed to Conness to Withdraw
his molten. Others urged him to press
it to a vote, and there was some confu-
sion.
Vice President Wade called for a vote
on the motion to stop the reading and
OH the Uiua voee answer declared that ii
had carried. Mr.. Davis and others
wanted yea and nay vote. and so that
was ordered.
Meantime there had been some pri-
vate consultation, and as its result Mr..
Conness said he was willing to with
draw the motion if il was thought best.
Mr. Cameron replied he would at once
renew it, and SO it was not withdrawn.
Mr.. Howe said: "The message was in
decent in its character. The COnstitu-
ton does not give the President any
right to sendus such a message, nor does
it impose upon us the duty ofsiistenlng
to such a message
Messrs. Morton and Wilson concurred
in pronouncing it full of misrepresenta-
tion, but thought the Senate had better
read it through. Mr.. Cameron charac-
terised it as unfit to go-on the Senate
journal, and wanted it thrown upon the
table at once, Gov. Morton reminded
the Senate that the President had q
right to communicate his views in his
own way, adding that he himself thought
the message as bad a one as it could be.
Mr.. Wilson spoke of it as the rawlings OF
bad, disappointed man. Mr.. Drake
characterized il as the last kick of a de-
feated executive, which it was not worth
while to mind. te
A majority of the Senate seemed to
think otherwise, for when at this point
Mr.. Edmunds moved an adjournment il
was carried without division. Thus the
Senate, outraged beyond restraint, refus-
ed for the first time in its life to hear a
Message from the White House. While
there was some division of opinion
among Republicans as to the propriety
of allowing it to be read, there was none
in condemnation of its doctrines, or in
protest against it's wicked plea for the
late rebellion. go ir@9l
THE HOUSE.
The House took the reading of the
message very quietly. The mems gal
lery was crowded, though evidently not
so much to hear the document read as
to see how it was received by the repre-.
sentatives. Clerk Mcpherson seemed
impressed with the gravity of his mis-.
sion, aud read the pages in loud and
clear voice, easily filling the Chamber
Very few members paid any attention
to him, however. Many of them left
the floor; ethers wrote letters; several
read newspapers, little knots gathered
for laughter and conversation, and there
was buzz of small talk throughout the
Hall. asiI.. ai -slt Is iSs-.jti
As the Clerk read the last lines, sew
eral members rose. Mr.. .Washburne, o
Illinois, got the floor, and in few
grave, measured words denounced the
message for its reputation doctrines
speak ing of the document as disgraceful
in the extreme. Fernando Wood, that
pink of prnpriety, called him to order
holding that he had no right to nse the
word disgraceful in connection with any
message from the President. The Speak
er ruled of course that any member had
a right to speak of it as he pleased, SO
long as he kept within the bounds of de-
corum Messrs. Wood, Randall and
Eldridge all tried to speak at once, all
evidently meaning to raise further points
of order. Mr.. Washburne refused to
yield the floor and Sthe Speaker was
obliged to sharply rap them to order and
direct them to take their seats.
Mr. Broomall wanted the floor to offer
a resolution against repudiatioh in any
form, and Mr.. Washburne Yielded
| These three Democrats and others al
once jumped to their feet, and with q
good deal of confusion got in a point OF
order that Mr.. Broomall at this juncture
couldn't have, his resolution read by the
Clerk. "Very well, ~ said Broomall, II
read it myself. as part of my remarks. y
And so he did, walking to the Clerk 's
desk and reading it from where Yhad
Stevens stood in late years to make his
speeches.
Mr.. Schenck then, of the dozen who
wanted to, got the floor by permission o.
Mr.. Washburne, and for the Ways and
Means Committee denounced the mes
sage as the most gross, shameful and in
| famous document ever emanating from 6
public officer. He compared 1t to the Or
egon resolutions which the House refused
enter upon its jou nal, saying it was like
them, impertinent and scandalous, en-
members of the opposition tried to speak
but the House refused to hear any apollo