New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-05-14

Il hn
American conflict published in 1864. he
had analysed them and defined them to
! this effect: that if in consultation cOnYen-
! ton and the like the South still desired.
with any considerable approach to unanim-
| ity, to separate, it should be allowed to
| do so.
Mr.. Speer, of Pennsylvania, objected that
| Mr.. Voorhees, remarks were not in the ma
ture of a personal explanation; but the
! Speaker Overruled the objection, and Mr.
Voorhees, proceeded with his speech amid
| great excitement and confusion, which rem
] dered much of what he said inaudible at
the reporters desk He repeated that Mr..
! Greeley, after three years of war, had
still he'd and published the same
sentiments, and they still unreserved.
| Was a man fit to be President wi o
stood committed to the doctrine that who
ever desired to dissolve their connection
| with the government had the unalienalle
right to do sOl That might commend him
| to some people, but it would not when his
! subsequent course was called to mind
| Some OF the highest men of the South had
told him (VOOrhees, with tears in their
eyes, that more than any one thing which
satls1ed them that they could have a
| separate system and form of government
to suit themselves was the voice of
| the then victorious Republican party
speaking through it's acknowledged
| organ. And yet when the Southern people
did what this man had told them they had
the inalienable right to do, no wild beast,
hungry for blood, ever screamed at his
prey as he (Greeley) had shouted son to
RichmOnd"-tO kill every one of them for
doing what he told them they had the in
ailenable right to do. That was a solemn
page of history, which could not be revised.
The waters of the ocean could not wash It
out. Mortal man could not gainsay it.
A red sea of blood had not been
enough to satisfy them, but he had also in
sisted upon the cOnhscation of the homes
and property of the women and children of
the South.
Others might do as they pleased, but for
him (VO lrhees) and his household he would
not do this thing. Parties to be successful
must be banded together on common prin-
ciple-nO other combination Of men was
worthy success. He was told that his party
desired success against this administration.
No one desired it more than himself. but
there was something which was better than
success and greater to the heart than sue
cess: A great man had said it was better to
be right thantolbe PresiCo t, and so he said
it was better to be right than succeed.
He entered his protest against the at
tempt to transfer the Democrats of the
country to camp where there was nothing
belonging to them.
Mr.. Roosevelt asked Mr.. Voorhees, whetber
he would support the candidate of the Dem
ocratic convention at Baltimore, whoever
that candidate might be.
Mr.. Voorhees, replied that he was not in.
the habit of voting against Democratic
nominations. He believed that the gentle
man himself would have some difficulty in
answering has own question TlaughterE but
he did not despair of success. His position
was in favor OF standing by the PRINCIPLES
of his party, and he would vote for
the man who represented those principIes
he had no fears, however, of what the Bal
timOre convention would do; but he could
not vote for man who spoke of the Demo-
cratic party as that to which all the hauntss.
of debauchery gave nine-tenths of their sun--
port 1t had been sometimes said that this
nominee had given bail for Jefferson Davis
when he was in prison; but that was too.
narrow platform for any party to stand
upon. Laughter. 1t would be most dan
gerous to raise an issue as between the map
who put Mr.. Davis in jail and the man who
ba1ed him out. 1t would not be a safe
ISSUE and he implOred his Southern friends
not TO make it. 1t might provoke a com
parisOn which would not be favorable to the
nominee OF the Cincinnati convention. Mr..
Davis had not been a helpless man: a hun
dred millions of property at the South had
been ready to bail him, and it sometimes
seemed to him (VOOrhees) that it was merely
piece OF lmpertlnence on the part of the.
nominee of the Cincinnati convention To
offer himself as bail for Mr. Davis. When
Andrew johnson and Edwin M. Stanton
Secretary of War, desired and proposed.
''as he knew to be the fact to
arrest Robert E. Lee, Joseph n
johnson, and other prominent Confederate
officers, there was but one man who could
prevent that thing being done, and that
was the present incumbent of the Presi
nDfT TnI nftf L
forward and tOlO them that these men had
given him their parole as soldiers, and that
that parole should be respected. GADDlause
from the Republican side of the House
If he should be driven to take the stlIm6
and press the claims of Mr.. Greeley. he
would find candidate opposing him who
had done more and kinder things for
the South than his nominee had done.
Mr.. Roosevelt suggested that Mr.. Voor-
hees had been recently in conference with
President Grant
Mr.. voorhees, said he had not crossed the
OF the White House for three
years, and whoever had made such a state
ment had uttered vile ealumny.
Mr.. Roosevelt said he bod made the state
mert on information given to him; he had
heard two or three days ago thai sueb an
interview had taken place.
Mr. VOOrhees-Then the gentleman asso-
clates with men who do not tell the truth.
Mr.. Randall asked Mr.. Voorhees, whether
he would have voted for Judge Davis and
advocated his election if he had received
the nomination at Cincinnati 2
Mr.. Noorhees-Judge Davis represents
many Ihlngs IN common with my own views.
Mr. Randall-He is a Republican.
MIR. VOOrhees-That is not the point. I
cannot join combination which represents
nothing that am for. On great eOnstitu-
uOnal questions Judge Davis stood, in
trouDlous times, where | stOOd-in behalf of
the rights and liberties of the citizen, while
such men as Greeley were hurrying them in
to the earthquake. The strong probabilities
are, IN my judgment, that if Judge Davis
had been presented by Cincinnati he would
have been accepted by majority of the
Democratic party of the country. In that
may be mistaken. | am only stating NV
own individual opinion. / should have re-
garded him with very great favor It Is
quite a different thing whether | should
vote for Republican who has so much in
common with my own views or for one who
has nothing in common with them.
Mr.. Randall should not vote for eitber
Of theuf unless they were indorsed bv tbe
Democratic convention.
Mr. VOOrhees-That is ripht
Mr.. Randall-And | shOuId vote for
,ither of them if indOrsed bv the Demo
ratio convention
Mr. Bird would vote for either of them
he was indOrsed.
Mr.. Kerr stated that so far as that state
lent IN the Reptblican referred to him 4
as simply untrue.
MT Nlolack repeated the same remark
lding that nothing but the power of Organ,
alton would compel him to vote for NJ
reeley, but that whenever the Democratic
arty acted ON the question, he would Weld
Dedience to its action.
I