Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1869-03-02

is au unfit person to receive the favor which he
now asks at our hands He has been all along,
have been informed, bitter rebel in act aud !
in heart, and that the sole motive which now |
prompts him to ask 10 have his disability
removed is his desire to hod the office OF which
he ~ 10 possession.
Mr.. Connes4 And wrongfully in possession.
MIR. Howard And wrongfully and uncon- |
stitutonally in possession, as the Senator tIom
Illinois very wells knows, because the Senator
cannot have forgotten that long since the people
Of the United States ratified the fourteenth
amendment of the Constitution, which excludes
from the right Of holding office just such men
as this Asa Rogers appears to be. VI course
he is under the disability created by that
amendment; otherwise his name would not De
in this bill That is conc ded
Now, sir, If that Is his sole motive, rs appears
to be the case ii he merely wishes to continue
in the possession Of the office which he thus
illegally holds, u think it exhibits Gu his pant
some want Of modesty, not to say OF patriotism
and fidelity to the country and cannot vote
for any man who is ac,uated by any such mo
i've as seems TO actuate Mr.. Rogers.
There are other names in this bill to winch
shall object and | hope my objection will be
sustained by my honorable friend from Illinois.
| shall object to the removal OF the disabilities
Of Matthew Harrison and Andrew jackson
BradfeId, of Loudoun county, Virginia; w
K. MILAN, of Fairfax; and John }. Chew. OF
Of Spottsyivana county, and various others
contained in the amendment OF the committee;
and at the proper time shall move to expunGc
their names from the record for the sane
| reason.
Mr.. Conkliug desire to say II word about
this matter, and feel bound to say 1t because
/ ala in some sort responsible for the presence
Of this name which it is proposed to strike out
| The objections which hear assigned, partlcu-
| arly by the honorable Senator from Michigan
seem to me rather applicable to bills OF this
| sort and to the generality CT names which they
| have contained AMI TO the mode OF proceeding
| IN regard to them than to the particular name
at which they are aimed | have never teen
! in committee or in he Senate one OF those MI
| ed with the most alacrity on this subject On
| the contrary have thought there ought TO tie
some established mode OF investigating appil-
cations OF this sOr!; that there should Dc re
| slrlctions provided snd some m0Ge oil SHllhg
| all applications, to the end that 1t need not be
SO hap -ha2arl as it must be in spite OF all per
| sonaI effort to investigate it. Therefore | have
good deal OF sympathy with the suggestion
which | hear made now AZ applicable to Mt.
| Rogers
differ, however, with The Senator from
| Nebraska in suppo>ing that the application BY
| the man himself, With frank statement on
paper Of his wish to have bis disabilities lie
moved and i!is willingness 10 stand TO and
abide by the terms which Congress have seen
| fit 10 impose warrants his being characterized
az scounGreI, as | understood the Senator to
suggest.
Mr. Wilson. That is The best evidence we
can have Of his integrity
Mr.. Conkling. As lac honorable Senator
| from Massachusetts suggests to ne and a. |
have always thought IL i, one Of the best cyl
dences we can have ul bis fitness to be rchev
cd and of his willingness to abide by the terms
we have required, and especially IN the ease
OF thi4 man, when the application comes from
a man high in tone and high IN character as
understand Mr.. Rogers 10 be. II the person
| in question were, aside from his application,
scoundreI; il he were known to the Senate to
be a man whose verarity was entitled TO no
poet then very likely such an application as
this ought to be treated as OF no weight. lliS
man, however, for reasons which actuated me
| in proposing his name, is not | think OF that
character have taken some pains to nves
| tigalo the case Of Mr.. Rogers. hear, aS has
been stated By the Senator from West Nrel-
MA, that he is Il man OF high character, man
of probity and responsibility, aside from his Pc
| ltica opinions; and hear further from INFORM
ants respected, | think il | should mention them
| by the entire Senate, that Mr.. Rogers Is, eS-
pcciaIly by comparison with many others who
have been relieved a man fit to be the rcclpI'
cnt Of this cemency.
Now, Mr.. President, if we are to retreat
| from our position, if we arc to cease TO remove
disabilities altogether in the manner which has
[ h, I,1t
and if the other names included 10 the pending
bill are to pass with or without objection, |
insist upon it, upon lhe facts as | understand
| them, that it would be an arbitrary and unwlSc
Discrimination one to be regretted, ii we should
strike ont Asa Rogers We are told he took
office. | understand he took it when there
was no disability in his way in that regard,
| and understand that on his part there IS 10
| rather a remarkable degree an absence OF those
| thugs which in other cases have constituted an
objection. Therefore | hope that his name will
NOT be stricken out unless on the adoption OF 4
policy which IS to go to the root OF the whole
matter and say that nobody shall be relieved
hereafter until we have established particular
modes Of proceeding to ascertain the proprlety
Of that action.
Mr.. sawyer Mr.. President, trust that this
name will not be stricken out, not because !
know anything specially about Mr. Rogers eY-
cs,t 50 far as has been stated on the aoJr Of the
senate, but because of the general principle.
believe in all cases Of doubt should be in ia
vor of that man who pes )nally applies to have
MS disabilities removed. 1t seems to be assumed
b. certain Senators that the only proper parties
nom whom disabilities should be removed are
those wnom the Republicans III their neighbor-
hood Indicate as proper for such rellet / DO
not hold this opinion. On the other hand be-
lieve it TO be radically wrong and greatly i'm
polite. I believe that this idea that we shall
hold the disabilities which are imposed by the
fourteenth amendment over the spectacle men
of the South for an indie finite period to bea wrong
idea, one calculated 10 do us mischief there,
one which has dono Us mischief there Ia tn past;
and that wherever any man OF hitherto good
character who is under disability comes forward
and asks the Congress of the United States 10
relieve him from his disabilities the Government
is stronger for doing insteado of weaker. Where
any man has been complicated with rebellion to
thet5uVernment since its establishment IN lob5,
where he has been privy or accessory to tn