The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-04-17
THE LIBERALS.
MONSTER MEETING IN NEW
YORK.
TRU MBULL SPEAKS IN TRUMPET
TONES.

[The following is the conclusion of Sem
ator Trumbull's great speech, the begin
ing of which we published yesterday.]
He not only pays the money, but he pays
it without any appropriation to pay it
with. The constitution Of your country
declares that money shall only be paid out
of the treasury in pursuance of appropri-
alton made by law. What authority had
he to pay money appropriated in 1863 and
1870 for work done in 1864 or before ?
The officer might just as we'll have taken
$4,000 out Of the treasury without any
at all; as well have taken
any money as to have taken the money he
did He not only violated the law by pay
ing money on an account that had been
settled, but also by taking money that had
never been appropriated for such q pur-
pose. What is the answer TO this The
answer is that such was his construction
of the law. Laughter.l What would
YOU think of the construction of con-
tract that one of you had made to pay one
OF your employees $4,000 in full Of all
claims growing out Of transaction, If he
| was to come to you afterwards and
ask $4,000 more, and you, offering your
receipt, was told, "My construction of the
receipt is that you pay $4,000 more
There is no excuse for such u transaction,
and if the country was not full of these
violations of the law and plundering of
the treasury such Transaction would
create an indignation through the whole
country; but there is so much Of it that
you overlook these breaches of law and
Interpretations Of public money.
Applause 1t is said by some, ooh, there
was no intention to do any wrong" The
question is not one Of intention. An abso.
lutte monarch may govern his subjects
Justly, or he may Cypress and enslave
them. The question is not whether the
secretaries pay mo.ey on accounts which
arc justly due? The question is, had
they any authority to pay the money.
think nothing was due in this case. Due
or not due there was no authority in tn,
secretary to open this account and pay
this $4,000.
! QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR.
have thus briefly, fellow-citizens
stated to you that slavery has been abol-
ished; that the rebellion has been put
down, the states restored to their former
position in the union. All these questions
have been settled, and any person who
itate the public mind in reference to them
must do SO for purpose the of diverting at
tention from the living issues of the times.
[Applause.] And what are those? have
tried to state to you what they are.
They relate to the encroachment by the
federal government upon the rights OF
state and local governments. They relate
to amnesty and to securing the equal
| 81 htc Of all nrip ip1a l,,;n
the foundation Of the republican party
system by which taxation shall be re.
duced, and SO arranged to bear equally, as
far as possible, upon all branches Of il.
dustry, without increasing one branch TO,
the benefit CT another. [Applause.
They relate to the publication of the civil
service and the administration of the gov
eminent, by which plunderers shall b,
driven from power cries of "gosd
good u and the government placed il
the hands of honest men.
Now, why cannot this be done? I had
hoped, fellow-citizens, that all this could
be accomplished through tho instrumen.
talities of these now having control of The
government, but the experience of the pas,
session OF congress and the present session
has satisfied me that these reforms canno,
be accomplished through the agency OF
the ruling spirits now controlling govern.
ment. Applause. Protesting to BIO for
amnesty, they defeat every amnesty bill
that is offered, by limitations and incon-
grucus amendments. Protesting to DO for
civil-service reform, they will do nothing
practically to accomplish it. Applause.
Protesting, with loud voice, TO be ia favor
OF the fullest investigation and the correc-
Won OF abuses, they appoint committees
Gon.rary to all parliamentary precedent
lapphesel and all common sense, if the
object Is 70 ind out whether abuses exi.t
SO organized as TO be controIiod h., ~
friends OF the accused and e., ;u1
every person is carefully xc,ndod ~ ~
Aeves abuses exist, and wants s,r;o, ~
Vsslgation. Applause H.d 80"
course been pursued in New YorI .nat
think you would have unear,Sa,a o you
frauds? Suppose, when it was disco.hes e
that millions of dollars had beon so
J dered in this city by corrupt n,Fo; ah-
those officials had been called upon To am
point q committee of investigation. NM
had selected their own committee, do yo,
think you could have uneartIe,
them? Why 1t took your com
mittee Of seventy, with the assistanc
OF the ablest lawyers in America, month
to ascertain whore the money Of whicl
you had been robbed had gone, and VIII,
had received it; and / think IL is onI,
within few weeks that you have beef
able 10 lind out. And don't think yO,
have found where 1t all went vet. Il H
any wonder, then, that these Committee,
have only seen the surface of the corrun,
ton with which nearly every Department,