The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-03

Rights 81 the Minority.
Yesterdays session Of the House Of Repre-
sentatives was the most contentious and ex-
citing that has occurred since the opening
scenes in that body at it's first meeting under
the Presidency of Andrew johnson. It was
indeed moro remarkable than anything that
occurred even ON that memorable occa-
sion; and we should have to 60 back
to the passionate parliamentary tactics in the
height of the Kansas-Nebraska struggle to
find . parallel. The strenuous flibustering
Last week, which kept the House in continu-
ous session for two successive nights and
great part of three consecutive days, without
rest or sleep, was very resolute and deter
mined, but at the same time exceedingly dull
and business-like Neither side lost its tenn
per or its self possession, and the incessant,
wearying roll calls to take the yeas and nays
on constantly repeated dilatory motions pro-
eeeded with Q heavy monotony which reused
no feeling. inAamed no passions, called
forth no angry speeches, provoked no sharp
thrusts or venomous retorts, and produced no
dramatic effect. But the scenes yesterday ex-
sides were hercely belligerent and the recip-
rocation of invective accusations kept the
House at q white heat and caused it to glow
like furnace. As compared with the sullen
flibustering of last week, it was like the con-
rrast between a heavy, lowering sky and the
vivid play of forked lightning ia . violent
thunder storm.
The victory was at last won by the republic
cans, but whether it was worth so fierce .
struggle time and events will show. The
new rule was adopted, not merely
by . bare majority, which would
have suficed to pass it, but by majority
of two-thirds, which proves loss Of
opposition strength in the course of the strug-
gle. The democrats were able to keep the
House at deadlock during the contest of
last week because their opponents were unable
to command q two-thirds majority. They
lost that advantage in the struggle yesterday,
but they might perhaps, have retained
it if the question before the House
had not been varied. The contest,
in its final shape, was not for
a simple suspension of the rules, but
for the adoption Of q new rule, which does not
leave the minority so absolutely helpless as it
would have been if the republicans had won
their victory on last weeks battle ground.
The new rule pays some respect to the rights
of debate. While it inhiblts more than one
dilatory motion on any stage of q bill it
does not permit any bill to be
passed on the same day on which
it is proposed, thus securing to the
minority one day for debate, whereas by
simple suspension of the rules debate might
have been cut of entirely and the opposition
completely gagged by a mere majority vote.
Another great difference in the two
propositions lies in the fact that the new rule
does not apply to bills making an appropri-
alton of money or pledging the credit of the
government 1t does not fling the door wide
open for the corrupt schemes Of the lobby as
o mere suspension of the rules would have
done. The effect. of the new rule is to
take out of the hands of the minority their
power to block all progress and defeat all
legislation by parliamentary 6libustering
The new rule is, perhaps, salutary change,
reason to complain of it in the
next House, when they will be majority
The minority have their rights, but those
rights have limit They have a right to be
heard, but not right to render the majority
powerless. They have . right to prevent
hasty, inconsiderate legislation, but not to
prevent legislation altogether by blocking its
wheels and keeping the House in a perpetual
wrangle, with no other object than to nulllfy the
will of the majority. No such scenes as our
American flibustering are ever witnessed in
the British House of Commons or any other
legislative body in the world. It is the in
defeasible right of the majority to control
morally bound to allow the minority
to express their views in debate, but
that is very different thing from giving
the minority power to defeat the transaction of
public business or toprevent the passage Of any
bills which they may dislike by interposing
incessant dilatory motions and consuming
the time OF the House in endless calls tor the
yeas and nays.
The new rule is very unsatisfactory to Gen.
eral Butler, who desired to gag the minority
and deprive them of all influence. Speaker
Blaine came down from the chair and made
vigorous speech on the floor in opposition to
the views of Butler. The sharp sparring
between him and several democratic men,
bers in an earlier stage of the proceedings
might have justified the suspicion that he
was carried too far by the heat of party feel
ing, if he had not afterwards defined and vim
Dictated his position by his speech on the
floor. HIS rulings during the long flibuster-
ing struggle last week were impartial and
considerate, and if some of his language in
the early part of the day yesterday was tinged
with unusual acerbity he had a good
daaI If y,rovocation from the flibusferno