The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-01-28

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terms of tho Constitution of the u
nited States was null and void
But was not going to argue that
proposition. That Is far reaching
that goes 10 the validity Of all your
reconstruction acts. What / set out
to say was that if it bo admitted
that your reconstruction acts were
legal, constitutional, valid in all ro-
spects, Georgia complied with every
one of them, with every reputation
contained IN them, as your own
President admits, as the Chairman
Of the Judiciary Committee has
completely demonstrated IN pa
per before the Senate Georgia
complied with every ono Of theisre.
qluromeuts and was entitled TO rep
resentatioR in Congl ess, and was
actually represented in the Fortleth
Congress in the House of Represen.
tatlves until the end of that Con
gross and therefore what you find
fault with is not that Georgia has
violated any Of your reconstruction
acts not that sho has violated the
Fourteenth Amendment OF the Con-
stltution not that sho has not
complied with every requisition
you have made of her; but that her
Legislature have misinterp~eted her
own State Constitution. If you turn
out tho Legislature Of Georgia for
that, you can turn the Legislature
of Massachusetts out and put in
any men you please IN their stead
you can do IT with Ohio you can
do 1t with any State with Just rs
much reason as you do it with Geor-
gla.
Now, sir, l dismiss that but
there is one thing more said. Tho
very able Senator from Vermont
Mr.. Edmunds1 put this upon a
ground which to his mind furnishes
a justification for this bill, and that
is that thoy are outraged in Goor-
gia, that there are murders commit
led there and the Senator from
Nevada Mr.. Nyo] who spoke TO-
night with so much humor, reter~
ates the same cry. Why, good hea
vens, II Congress can interfere in q
State without being called upon by
it's Legislature or It's Executive, as
ia provided in the Constitution, to
ropress crime If tho bare existence
of lawlessncss IN State, is 10 justi-
iy Congress in interposing without
any call of the Governor, without
any call Of the Legislature, without
any such call ms the Constitution Of
the Union provides, ask you Of
what earthly use are State Constl-
tutions ct all or the State Govern
ments at all q?
Think of the Senator from Ncva-
da talking abovt ou;rages and mur.
doris being ground Of Congress
ional interference ! Why, sir, l had
the pleasure Of passing through q
part of bus State last summer, and
heard of scarcely anything else but
Of murders, and in that part vf his
State which l did pass through gam
bling seemed to be the chief indus
try, and tho pistol the chief means
OF enforcing "Stand and deliver. p
In proportion TO Its population, l
believe, without meaning TO he Of
fepsive to that Stato-I disolalm
any such thing rs that
Mr.. Stewart-I think the Senator
from Ohio IS now doing Nevada We
ry great injustice, because do not
think there is State in the Union
where the laws are better enforced
for the protection of life and prop
orty than Nevada. The stories he
has heard were along the line of
the Union Pacific Railroad. A band
of outlaws followed the construc-
tion Of that road into tho Wyom~
ing and Utah Territories. In Ne
vada, OF course, as in all other Now
Territories, when we commenced
there was more or less violence.-
That is always the case IN new mi.
ming countries to certain extent,
but the p, oplo of Nevada have sue
ceeded in maintaining law and Or
der as well as any new State or
Territory in the United States ever
did.
Mr.. Thurman / am very glad
TO hear it, and if you will lot Geor.
gia do what Nevada has done, take
care of herself, you will have law
and order there. You would not
have bad so much law and order in
Nevada if this Government had
sent It's troops there to enforce law
and order by drum-head courts
mart:al-"courts organized to con-
Wet" 1t is because the people of
Nevada were lef. to themselves that
the reign of terror and of outrage
which once disgraced that Statehas
ceased and she has become q State
of law and order. DO the same
thing with Georgia, keep your
hands off, let her alone, and her
people will from an inevitable ne-
lRessity OF selfprescrvation, that ne
cessity which compels IN the end
every community TO preserve and
MAINTAIN law and order, become rs
orderly as any State in this Union.
But there are outrages forsooth.
Can you take up paper that is not
full of them Here is the great
State of Pennsylvania, one OF the
most orderly States of the Union,
a State in which religion, intelli>
gence and education are to DO found
as widely diffused, as well obs