The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-01-18
Debate in the State Senate.

THE Columbia Union gives the annexed re-
,,eSt of a debate in the State Senate on thurs
day'last The Senate had under consideration
tie report of the Joint Investigating Commit
eeand the Governors Message concerning the
matters therein contained, when the following
animated discussion took places
Immediately upon taking under consideration
postpone the whole matter, and upon this mo-
Sion Senator Leslie took the floor and made one
of,his characteristic speeches. he said many
things, among which were in substance, the
following remarks do not know what the
Republican party can do, or cannot do, but
knoW something they cannot afford to 40, one
Of which is to undertake to dispose of this re-
port in such a summary manner, without CIV
ing the country some reason tor such action.
70 wipe out this report at one breath, which
has cost more than S2O,000 is unreasonable, as
tits endeavored to be done by the members IN
the back seats, referring to the Democrats
and by the vote of the Senator from Darling
ton. tMr. Whittemore.) The report contains a
great deal of abuse, and has caused much trou-
BE; every paper in and outside the state mas
talked about it, and the Republican party mas
been charged with robbery. Turning to the
Democratic side of the House, he said Cen
tlemen in the back seats, remember the gentle
man from Darlington voted aye Ii there was
trouble. why did they not come out boldly ana
r,,eat IL. and not endeavor to hush the matter
mo. after the expense and trouble to get up SUCH
= report Has the Republican party the power
to correct abuses? The gentleman from Oar
lipton voted "aye" to put an end to the con-
sideration of the report
So far as the report referred to him, ne would
saw there wasn't man who could say he acted
wrongly in his Office while he was land COM
missioner. The statements contained IN the
report of the committee were false, and there is
no5 Republican who can get up here and say ne
had acted wrongly, and any man VINO mace
such charges was sneak and coward; 1nere
were charges made in that "primar" tnat were
an outrage and an insult to him, ana tne coI.
inittee who made them had got to back right
down ont of it. Grave allegations have been
iaade, printed and circulated against the hrst
officers of the Republican party and without
passing upon the report making them, 1t was
epdeayored to put it out of reach by one vote;
Twas the most cowardly, mean motion thai l
ever heard made; there is no respecta6illty III
it. I would rather come up and say guilty than
to get out of it by such means. Nobody can
stand here and assail me on the land commls-
sion subject without he lies. don't want to
speak improperly, but had rather most any
other act had been committed than that the
Republican from Darlington had urged such
motion after making such noise about the re,
port, and spending so much money; All nad
shortcomings in some respects. nave zone
things that am sorry for history marked these
shortcomings; marked by the hour mans
liza the black spots but if he tries to do bet
ter. the world will forgive him; but to-day the
Senator from Darlington has done the biackest
thing of all. There were some men who had
t,ltiek to say "Pm rascal" and then they are
h5rir,iger. but man who will do all these dirty
things and then try to hush it up is worse than
that. No matter how much State officers might
steal, they were angels of light compared with
any gentleman who sends forth such charges to
the world and then smothers them. L would
like to have erected a post, with head light,
and on it written so every man, woman and
child could see, these words:
aJoINT SPECIAL COMMITTEES INvEsTIGA-
rroN REPORT. Hon. B. F. WHTTTEMoRE,
SENATOR FROM DARLINGTON, VOTED TO HUSH
UP TIE WHOLE THING"
.sThave marked my questions in the, report,
got all ready to consider it, and know the com
mittee has got to back right down out of that
rerort. will not vote to postpone 1t. Ihe
country is entitled to know about It.
Senator Nash, who made the motion to IN
defriteiy postpone the report, said,. In sub
stance, that for the last three years the Senate
had been entertained by something OF tnis
Kind. The Committee to investigate the Land
Commission. amounted to nothing; 50 with the
COMMITTEE to investigate the Congressional
District Election affairs and this High JOINT
Investigation Committee had struggled all over
the lot. gone to New York and had their run
ners. aides-de-camp, and adjutants, messengers
and pages, and for all he knew were met by
Jim Fisk's regiment, to be escorted up Nassau
street: they had travelled around something IN
the nanner.of the Duke Alexis. He sympa:-
thized with Senator Leslie, who had laboredi
hard for two wears to convince the Senate, ana
everybody else, thathe had done nothing wrong.
he might talk till doomsday-till the last
trumpet blowed, and the newspapers then would
have the last say. He thought the best course
for the senator to pursue, was to appoint anoth
er Investigating Committee to investigate the
report OF this one-the charges Oh 'nS 'oln
mittee. =,
Senator Whittemore replied to Mr.. Leslie, III
substance, that he didn't ask the gentlemen to
he his father confessor, or to interpret his ac-
tions or thoughts; didn't ask the Jockey Of
Barnwell to define his thoughts. The motion
made to postpone was made and explained by
the Senator from Richland. Any Senator who
had or should express an opinion if the report
was taken up, was placed in peculiar position
II he shall ever be called upon to sit IN high
court of impeachment. If the gentleman from
Barnwell desired to take up anJthlng againse
him contained in the report, he would say right
here he was ready to take up the gauntlet !;
There was nothing stated in that report that ne
should ever back down from-never. He would
say to the author of the message of the Cover
no. nor that Thompsonian document, and to all,
that he should never finch from his duty when
the hour shall come, and will stand by the re-
port from beginning to end, and had the facts
and figures for every word of it. 1t was TAR
fetched that he was trying to smother action on
the report. The Senate would stultlfy them,
selves if they went on with the report and found
the report true, and the other House came
knocking at the door of the Senate with arti,
cles of impeachment. AS Senator ne woula e,u
S;scuss eyery subject in the report, but as Sem