Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1874-10-16


the bill, knowing it would be defeated in
the House! What picture for an Amer
lean to contemplate! The Senate of the
United States in solemn session perform
ing this serious farce! Mr.. Frelinghuysen,
Mr.. Morton, ct I'D omne genus, rising each
in turn and in lacirymose and hypocritical
tone, with faces as gloomy and funeral as
the pail which had so recently covered the
dead Senator-appealing to his names for
the rectitude of their purposes, demanded
in hymning cadence the passage of this
Civil Rights bill, which was to guard and
protect for all time to come the black
people who had been orphaned and left
helpless by the untimely taxi ing off of their
great benefactor. Yet it was all farce ,
Having thus successfully humbugged
the poor negro, the Democratic Senators.
these distinguished philanthropists, re-
tired to committee room where, meeting
Mr.. Hagner, they let him into the secret
that they had only been playing a clever
trick on the living and dead, and that the
House would certainly defeat the bill. We
presume we are right in saying these gen
tlemen let Mr.. Hagner into their secret,
else we do not understand how he came to
know it, for we never heard it before
Mr.. Hsgner even went further and under
took to show that the Republican party is
not in favor of the Civil Rights bill at all
And to this end he cited the platform a
dopted by that party in Alabama. and also
stated that General Grant was opposed to
the measure. We suppose the President
told this to Mr.. H. likewise tor we were
always Of different opinion, recalling as
we did the second Inaugural, wherein he
pledged himself emphatically to the pass
age of this measure $50 far as Executive
influence" could bring it about Indeed
we are only surprised that Mr.. Hagner did
not tell US, as we were told before in the late
Republican Convention, that the Civil
Rights bill was Democratic measure
We do not think this assertion would have
required more effrontery than many things
said by Mr.. Hsgner in his very weak effu
sion.
Mr.. Hagner having closed, we left,
but understand that Mr.. Eugene Brooke
and Mr.. Eugene Digges afterwards az,
dressed the meeting. doubtless, much to
their own if not the qualification of their
audience.
Mr. George Merrick, followed these gen
tlemen and made the closing speech. We
heard no portion of his remarks, but I'M
derstand that he said, among other things.
that he was proud that he was native Of
Charles county. We are glad he is proud
Of something but we are sorry to believe
that Charles county does not reciprocate the
compliment. He said also, by way Of ex
PLANTATION Of his present position. that he
had progressed greatly in the last two or
three years, and that he was learning rap
idly. We believe him. He is learning
rapidly and he is progressing equally Blu,
We fear it is not that kind of progress
which has for its motto Excelsior" but
that other kind which illustrates "fdcilus
descensus Arerni."
The whole affair struck US as being tame
and remarkable for that absence of enthu
siasm, which is so characteristic of al
meetings of the colored people which we
have heretofore attended.