The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-01-23
EXCITING SCENE IN THE House.
Stevens vs.. Brooks.

The following is the answer of Mr..
Stevens to the remarks of Mr..
Brooks on the bill from the Reconstruct
ton Committee-remarks which the
speaker Of them has not allowed to be
printed in the Globe:
Mr.. Stevens, of Pennsylvania. Mr..
Speaker, l have listened With very
great pleasure Gas I always do) to the
golden-mouthed gentleman from New
York (Mr. Brooks,) in his attempt to
prove the Bible lie. That book SAYS
that God created 'of one blood all the
nations Of the EARTH" The gentleman
from New York, however, contends
that there were several different yarie.
ties, and that all nations were not ere.
ated "of one blood" The question
t u at issue between this gentleman
from New York and the author of tia
sacred volume 1 shall not attempt tc
decide. 1t is too high for me. But,
sir, the gentleman has given Us a histo.
~ Of the negro race from I believe the
time of the Queen of Sheba. lam
rot quite sure whether he included her
In Tat race or not. But, going over
the whole field from that time 20 th;,
he has, think, very well described the
shape OF the negro's foot, the crook Of
his ankle, the contour of his face
And then the gentleman went on to
consider the intellect of the negro.
Now, does the gentleman by all this
mean to say that the sons of Ethiopia
OF whom the great poet Of antiquity
speaks as the "blameless sous of Ethio.
pla' among whom the gods always re-
tired when they wished to spend an in
n"csnt and quiet hour not i'm
mortal souls; that they are to be classed
among "the beasts which PERISH" and
that God, who is to judge them, will not
damn him if he deserves it? (Laugh-
ter.) am sorry, sir, if such has come
to be the condition of that race in this
country. l had thought that the men,
bers Of that race had shown in our day
some evidences Of strength and power
10 be sure, I looked upon them as bar
bar;ans for having with their own right
hands, in defense Of liberty, stricken
down thousands of the friends of the
gentleman who has been enlightenins
us to-day: (Laughter.) This conduct
on their part did,, I confess, show a
cruelty and barbarism> which it is
perhaps hard to excuse. But the gen.
tleman must recollect that all are not
equally mild in their demeanor. and
that even the white man. might have
done the rame thing, had be been in
similar condition.
AS to intellect, there are various de-
grees Of it. In that regard the gen.
tl lem from New York towers above
the rest Of Us, though, 1 fear, be some.
times abuses bis superiority by the
defamation which he travels ont Of HI.
road to inaict upon us, with regard to
the various nations of the earth. But
that in intellectual gifts the gentleman
stands above all of Us, no man who has
heard him to-day, or heretofore, can
deny; and I DO not, I assure you, sir.
speak this ironically Daughter y for I
do not know when I have heard anv.
thing more eloqunt than the discourse
which the learned gentleman has given
us to-day. But I have ono proposition
70 MAKE. For the rat0rEaIchampion-
ship Of America l am willing to match
Fred: Douglas or Langston against the
gentleman from New York. I will
allow the latter gentleman to select two
out Of three Of the Judges. Let the
topic be anything the gentleman pleases,
except the negroes shin daughter; J and
1t at the end OF the discussion he docs
not "throw up the sponge 2" 1 will ad-
nit that the negro is "a inferior animal,
mot only inferior to the gentleman
from. Nsv7York, but inferior. to the
rest Of us. Laughter. >- >~'1 ILL., 49,
I call the previous question.
- $500 49, : - = : :. !. - ~ z