The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-02-13
The Debate in The House On Buffers
Resolution.

VT. Ut iIfhJ tldt WIS WIS NcIy lUl-
portant question. He thought that the
resolution Of censure was n proposition
| that the members of the House should So
| temnly, by vote, declare themselves viola
! tors of the law, under their oaths. 1t was
| n controlling principle with him that whe-
ther satisfied with y law or not he was
bound to obey It. The concurrent resolu-
ton under which the joi1t convention had
acted yesterday was obligatory on the
House, as it was obligatory on the presi
ding officer of the Senate and he would
tell the gentleman from Massachusetts that
it was too late for him to come with his
ID cnptdndupl speeches and 20 arraign the
| Constitution Of his country and its ma
kcrs and builders. 1t was the business
Of the presiding officer Of the convention
yesterday 10 DO exactly y,rt he did do,
| and to bow with respect j, : the require
ments of the concurrent II luton. And
yet the gentleman MIR. b I.ERl came be-
fore the House with his resolution, and
asked the House to pass it or TO refer it.
He MIR. BINGlIAN would ask the House 10
pass on the question:, because he could not,
rs representative Of the people, consent
that proposition of that sort should, even
by intcndment, meet his approval. The
resolution offered by the gentleman from
Massachusetts was contra0lCtcd by the
written record. That record WAS made up in
the very letter aud spirit of the concurrent
resolution. And now, he continued, comes
this gentleman asking the House to stultify
itself; to say to the country, in fact, that the
| people must, TO use the gentlemau's own
words, have recourse TO "thc sacred right
of revolution" Sir, the right of revolu-
tion is never sacred save when exercised
in vindication Of right aud in redress OF
a wrong. The "sacrcd right of revolu-
tion'' is invoked here for the purpose of
violating your own law.
Mr.. BUTLER: Will the gentleman al
low ne
Mr.. BINGHAM: No, sir.
Mr.. BUTLER: | only want to say that
you are not using my words i'll the counec-
| tion that | used them in.
Mr.. BINGHAM: The gentlcman's re-
marks do not appear in the Giobe this morn
ing but find the gent(sman's speech re-
! ported by the official representative of the
| press of the country. | am glad that the
gentleman takes back his words.
| Mr.. BUTLER: take back nothing.
Mr.. BINGHAM Then | ask the House
to compel you to take back your revolution.
| AIRY resolution. That is something that the
! gentleman cannot retract, and | denounce
it here to-day before the House and before
the people Of the country as being as un-
warranted as any act of secession. / de-
| uouuce, as n representative Of the people,
this attempt to inaugurate revolution on
the floor of this House. | will oppose the
! reference of the resolution as seeming to
commit the House in some sort 10 n chal-
| lcnge of your own law. How would II
| look for lis 10 refer another resolution sug-
| gestcd Ivy the speech of the gentleman
| MIR. BugLERI, and that is, that the
| House should be authorized TO use the
gcntlcmau's language, il the Senate
would not retire from the joint conven-
ton, to kick it outl The gentleman
from Massachusetts should he the cap
tain in the kicking operation. Laughter. J
| | think the gentleman cannot gainsay his
speech in that behalf, which brought down
the galleries and split the ears of the
groupilings; and it illustrated the animus
of his resolution. | denonuce it here as
| resolution of revolution. | denOunCc ii as
n resolution OF anarchy. The idea Of the
| House OF Representatives kicking the Sc
nate of the United States About the time
that you will have kicked the law-makipg
| power out Of existence you will have proved
| yourselves greater architects Of your coun-
| try's ruin than did the million Of men who,
for four years, waged war upon your Con
stitution and your laws, drenching your
land with blood, and ridging it all over
| with graves.
Mr.. BUTLER (aside) | always did like
that speech of Mr.. BINGHAM's. Laughter. !
Mr.. BINGHAM (not hear ring the remark
went on TO say ii was the sworn duty of the
President of the Senate to obey the law
whether he approved it or not. And fer
| doing SO this House is to censure him and
charge him with oppression of the House
| ard invasion Of its rights. Mr.. Speaker, II
will be sad day for America when it goes
out to the country that the House of Repre-
| sentative denounces o commissioned officer
of the people, acting under the obligation
| OF his oath, for obeying the law, even in
the presence of a mob which would disgrace
any assembly of men that ever convened
OH the face of Gods earth.
| honor that gallant old Roman !"
meaning Senator WADEl for standing in
his place yesterday, and saying, Come
what will, will abide the law" Notwith-
standing the clamor, he stood dthere-without
anger, without passion-demanding that the
tellers, as required by the concurrent reso-
luton, should announce the result-not
contrary to the law, but in accordance with
its express condition. If Ben WAHE had
never done any act in his life, that ect en-
| titled him to the respect and ccnsl .cr"tlon
Of his countrymen and if he he'd fallen
amid the clamor and tumult T-hich the
gentleman raised yesterday, :, might
be written on his grave, 'noo tel fhcSc
who survive me that lie here il cb"d'nn
10 your law, and i'll defiance Ct the c'Hncr
of the mob" Sir, denounce the cent?
mans proposition Of anarchy--thrt .nna~-
cny which has No head, and cannot a'l'k !;
that anarchy which has no heart, and can
not feel: but in its frenzy and IN Its MAD
ness tramples down law and order-tram-
pies childhood and youth and detenceiess
womanhood and vigorous manhood-Whlch,
in its fury and its madness, puts out me
light aud scattcrs sweet voices OF home.
ask the representatives of the people to put
their seal of condemnation upon 1t, anu 10
put the thing on the table, there to rot.
Mr.. SCHENCk spoke next. lie sus-
tanned Buffers resolution. He said that
members had all along begged the question,
and none more so than his colleague MIR.
BINGHAM when he denounced the views
of those who differed with him.
Mr.. BINGHAM: never denounce the
views of men at all. ! denounce revolu-
ton.