New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-07-09
Speech of Senator Carpenter.

26. on the Tribune correspondents who de
clined to tell where they got copy of the
: treaty: .rR
, Mr.. President, felt called upon by the
repeated and persistent efforts which have
! been made to misrepresent me in regard To
, this investigation, and to falsify the facts OF
| the case, to make these remarks, to show
, that l had merely performed Il duty i'm
posed upon me by the Senate, and to ex-
pose somewhat the malice which is inspir-
ing these attacks.
| desire now to speak for a moment in re-
gard to the pending resolution ordering the
entertainment which the Senate has been
furnishing to Messrs. White and Ramsdell
to terminate with the end of the present
session, and thus turning these gentlemen,
without food or shelter, into cold and un-
charitable world. [Laughter.J liz the
name of the press | protest against it. In
the interest of Fourteenth street protest
against it: and in the interest of these gen.
tlemen themselves, who are faring sumptu
ously and drawing double salary by day
and reposing in marble halls by night.
These heroes of the press, these martyrs in
the estimation of sicklv sentimentality,
ought not to be thus suddenly, summarily
and rudely cast out from your hospitality.
But, Mr. President, while the pretended
imprisonment of these men has been what
every one knew il would be if they were
not committed 10 jail. there are aspects of
this matter not to be laughed at, but
grave and serious import. They who are
charged by the people with governmental
powers to be exercised for the public good
may not innocently suffer them to be dis
| regarded or treated with contempt. 1t is
not your privilege as an individual Sen
ator, but II is the privilege OF the American
people that every tribunal known TO the
| constitution and laws, the courts of JUS
| rica auI +I,,I 81 sbnulI
serve. for exercise in the proper case, every
| power with which they are invested. The
! judge on the bench who permits the process
| of his court to be disobeyed brings the au-
| thority OF his court into public derisiOn and
| contempt, and thus enfeebles the admins
| tration of Justice and weakens the safe
guards Of civil society.
| The Senate has ordered this investigation
1t is a case clearly proper for the Senate to
! investigate. The investigation has been OBJ
| structed and arrested by the criminal refu-
| sal of witnesses to testify. Now. sir. if you
trite with these men, you destroy the power
| of the Senate ever TO accomplish another
| investigation, no matter how indispensable
| it may be TO the public good. For
their eontumaey they have been sub
jected only TO a nominal Imprisonment,
and now it is proposed TO release them
from that. The immediate effect of this is
| the recorded admission that You will not
make an investigation which you have de-
cided you ought to make, and which every
body knows YOU have not made.
But, sir, humiliating as this confession
would be, il is but a small part of the evils
TO result. 1t has been said that the Senate
is vindicated or. TO quote the Senator from
Indiana Mr. MOrton), the Senate ought,
from the testimony obtained, TO be reason
ably satisfied that no Senator has been at
fault Why, sir, what do Senators mean
IL h l..
know from whom this treaty was obtained
and without whose testimony it can not be
ascertained whether any Senator has
offended. refuse 10 testif.7. You decide that
thoy are in contempt and must answer the
questions, and 10 compel obedience you
order them into nominal confinement. They
still refuse: the fact you ordered to be as
certained remains unknown; the tenderness
of our hearts overcomes the conclusions OF
our reason. and they are released. Is this
vindication On the contrary. is it not do
ing what the Senator from Ohio Mr.. Thur
mani said the other day would justly sub
ject the Senate 10 Tldicule and public con
tempt
Tie country viii know and say, if we
pursue this course, that the Senate dares
not proceed in the proper exercise of its I'M
questioned power, and that We have been
driven from the performance of what We
have ourselves declared TO be our
duty by the clamor of Few young men in
Fourteenth street, who, with their hands |
on the wires, threaten to misrepresent and |
melign us individually if we do not aban- |
don this investigation. Is it possible that
any Senator can prefer the Justly merited |
contempt OF the people to encountering the |
effect Of falsehoods, few or many, mali |
ciously circulated by the press!
But it is said that the liberty of citizen is |
involved. The liberty and life of citizen |
Ill l-1,o,
life of citizen, when weighed against the |
public good, are OF small moment. Every |
man sent TO jail for violating an Injunction |
is deprived of his liberty. Does 1t follow |
from this that court ought not to compel |
obedience TO its judgment
You have appointed a committee to in |
vestigate Southern Outrages, and it is about |
visiting the South TO enter upon the dis |
charge OF its duties. Tie first witness may |
be member of the ku-klux Khan. He |
will state that he is under solemn pledge of
honor to his associates not to reveal their |
secrets, and that to do so would subject |
him TO in1amy among them. Then, sir, he
would point 10 these proceedings, and re- |
mind the committee that the Senate itself
had decided, III substance and effect, that |
witness ought not TO be compelled |
in such case to violate his personal |
honor by testifying. And although the |
committee might inform him that his rea- |
son did not amount TO a legal excuse, and |
he must answer the question, yet the COM
mittee would, in common honesty. be bound |
to say to him, that, if he refused to answer |
the question, all the Senate would do TO
him would be to subject him to nominal
custody of the sergeant-at-arms for few
days, and then release him.
In these cases we must act by fixed rules, |
and apply them impartially to every contu-
macious witness that may be brought be-
fore the Senate. II witness refuses to
testify we must determine what the conse- |
quences Of such refusal shall be, and then |
proceed impartially in all cases. ADy other |
course would be tyranny, pure and simple. |
Ii you have the power to continue a com
mittee after the adjournment, YOU can au
thoriZe the committee to take testimony. |
Wherever the constitution and laws author |
ize a thing to be done, the power is always |
implied to make the doing of it etfectual.. |
A witness summoned before your commit
tee in vacation, who refuses to testify, com
mits contempt of the Senate. |
Mr.. Sherman: If do not interrupt my |
friend, wish to ask him practical ques
ton. | have always understood the law to |
be that no committee IN the recess of the |
Senate was authorized to commit any one. |
Mr. Carpenter: l did not say that 1t was.
Mr.. Sherman: so understood the SEN |
ator. .
Mr. Carpenter: No; said if YOU could |
authorize committee to sit in the recess, |
that committee could subpoena witness |
before them, and if he refused to testify |
before them he would be guilty of con-
tempt OF the Senate, not of the COM
mittee. r. ~ s- |
Mr. Sherman: And might be ordered to
be arrested by the Senate II .. .s
Mr.. Carpenter: Yes, when the Senate |
convenes, So, too, you NAV order this |
N fnr no