The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-12-20

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from the North, with lares stock of
soyefcnats, business snits, hats, &c,
direct from the manufacturers, which
they aasr q small advance on cost.
Sse asayerti==ssent.
REsToRATToN OF SENATOR LESLIE
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE s.IRRE-
PREssIBLE. 1T will be remembered
that. during the special session of the
General Assembly of this State,
which convened on the 9th day of
July last, Senator Charles P. Leslie,
of Barnwell, otherwise known as the
''irrepressible-" doubtless, forsooth,
on account of his persistent and
open opposition to class legislation
of all kinds-became obnoxious to a
majority of his colleagues, and, on
the first semblance of justifiable
opportunity, was brought to the bar
of the Senate. and sentenced to six
months suspension. BY what par
liamentary precedent or process of
law this judgment was enforced, no
one has yet undertaken to show, nor
has the fact that, during the opera
ton of this personal punishment,
the County which sent Mr.. Leslie
here, been deprived entirely of it's
representation on the floor of the
Senate, ever received justification by
reasoning or rule. The opponents
Of Mr.. Leslie, however, attained their
end, which was to keep him "out in
the cold," until the nation has de-
cided whether or not they were Sc
nators under the Reconstruction
Acts. The verdict came-they now
sit with undisputed authority us legis-
lators, and we are glad to find that
no matter what may have been the
causes of their action in the past,
justifable or not, they yesterday dis
played the good sense and magnani-
nifty to restore Mr.. Leslie to his seat,
having first modified the resolution
Of suspension in such way as to
terminate its operation with the close
of the special session. It is true that
this was not accomplished witho ut
some preliminary fillibustering on
the part Of the discontented minority,
on Friday, as will be seen by refer
ence to our report of the proceedings
Of that day; but the final action OF the
Senate in the premises, was of such a
confirmed character, as to leave no
doubt that its purpose was to do
justice to tho whole people, while it
was also magnanimous to Mr. Leslie.
On resuming his seat, Mr.. Leslie re-
marked, rs near rs our notes serve
us, as follows:
Mr.. PRESIDENT: 1t gives me great
pleasure to recognize you at this
time, in your new official capacity,
(alludingi to Mr. Montgomery as
President, pro tenn. and equal plea
sure, Senators, to greet you once
more as your colleague and co-labor-
er for the restoration of peace and
prosperity in this State. Thercsolu-
ton you have just adopted, rescind-
ing the resolution by which the
exercise of my Senatorial functions
was suspended, is gratefully appre-
ciated by me, not only on account of
myself, but of my constituents, par
ticularly as it was unaccompanied by
any demand for apology or explana-
ton on my part. L feel, however,
that it is my duty to say that, when
ever in the heat of debate, I have
ever employed language personally
Objectionable or offensive to Sena-
tors, unayoidably or collectively, it
has welled up to my lips from no in
stinct of prejudice, nor by any desire
to derogate from your dignity as le-
gislators. No gentleman ever de-
liberately proffers an insult, and I
should feel personally culpable, did
/ cherish the recollection of one word
of disrespect to you, personally,
uttered by me. Your magnanimous
action leads me to believe and hope
that, in the future, our counsels TO-
gether may be harmonious, courteous
and creditable alike to our characters
IL