New-York tribune., 1875-01-28
IEdSE.

worthy person. We refer to Peasc OF Con-
necticut. Peasc is at present engaged in repre-
senting the State of Mississippi i'll the Senate
of the United States. lie has been doing it
now rearly year, having been elected to
rattle round in vacancy which Mr.. Adclbcrt
Ames had previously somewhat thinly vailed,
but which had been left wide open to the
weather by that statcsman's resignation. For
nearly twelve months Pcasc has sat in the
Senate and represented Mississippi without
making an audible sign. Enough for him to
look illustrious, to be consciously great, to let
his large intellectual processes accumulate, and
to bide his time. 1t came on Tuesday, and 1t
ran two days. Two days destined to ill large
space in history, and that have already taken
several pages of The Congressional RecOrd
Louisiana affairs were under consideration, anG
the Senate had listened to several speeches from
ordinary everyday statesmen, Peaso mean
while sitting in the background calmly con-
templating the scene. TO the eye of the casual
observer Ire seemed cold and passiOnless. He
was not He was representing Mississippi and
was slowly but surely filing up with thunder
bolts. In the language of poetry he hung on
the low horizon surcharged to bursting. In the
slang of the street he was "layIng for 'em."
On Tuesday he SAID to himself, "This thing
"has been going on long enough. The Senate
"nOw shall hear from Pcasc." He carried his
Lip and swept the galleries with his eagle eye,
and smiled his measurcless satisfaction as he
thought what great delight there was in store
for them. The Senator from Virginia closed
his speech and sat down. Then rose Peasc to
the Senate and the country, and shook the
wild tanges of his frosty hair. Sending first
to the Clerks desk the resolutions of the Mis-
sissippi Legisl ture approving the action of
Gen. Sheridan in L0uisiana-much as the
brolcn-nosed gladiator shes his castor into
the Iing--he waited till they were read. Then
pulling himself together he opened up. He
said the President had been compared TO
Cesar and declared to be q uslrDcr and mill
tary dictator upon the strength of mere news
paper reports. Pease Immediately put them
down. Indeed the bare statement tLat the
charge Of being q usurper and dictator rests
upon nothing but newspaper reports uncovers
the weakness of the case. Nobody has seen
him usurp or heard him dictate, and Pease
disclosed the grOundlcssness of the charge in
the shrewd and sagacious observation that
the case. All, there's no doubt about Pease
when he gets hold of a subject lie has the
inspiration of genius. the grip of fate, and the
cheek of right whale. 1t is the misfortune
of the American people that the only proof
they have that Pease made a two days speech
in the Senate is from newspaper reports. But
that is not Pease's fault.
Proceeding from this position, that there
was no proof that Grant had ever usurped or
dictated, Pease went on to say that the treat
ment of Louisiana was eminently proper, and
that upon the whole the people down that
way could MT have too much of 1t. He de-
scribed the organization of the Louisiana
Legislature, and denounced the conduct of the
Conservatives as revolutionary. There had
been $500 murders for political reasons in
Louisiana, he said. Beng q man who dis
trusts newspaper reports, we judge that Pease
had personal knowledge of these $500 mur-
ders, perhaps stood by and saw them, or may
be was murdered once or twice himself We
could have wished the statement had been q
little under or over $500, because it would
have seemed more exact and accurate. Be
sides, people are getting incredulOus of round
numbers, especially in relation TO murders.
Still we have great confidence in Pease, and
feel sure he would not have said there were
$500 murders if he had not seen them him
self. Pease is none of your hearsay witnesses
1t is much to be regretted that at the moment
when Pease hOvcred over the Senate with the
casual remark that some members of that
body were in the habir of apologizing for
assassination and murder, Mr.. Thurman of
Ohio should have interrupted him with the
absurd and unreasonable request for their
names. Some people are so dreadfully par
ticular. The idea of q Senator's taking up
little thing like that Pease did MT remember
any names. OF course not. What difference
did it make about names any way Everybody
knew there was $50 to Speak-sort of a-an
atmosphere of sympathy with assassination
and murder on the Democratic side of the
Senate chamber, and that was enough. 1t is
the atmosphere that tells. Why even in
Louisiana they could give no names of in
timidated persons, but it was notorious that
there was an atmosphere of intimidation there
SO much 50 that the ADMINISTRATION would
have lost the State If it had not been for the
Returning Board
Pease covered the case. He eypectorated
outrages till the blood ran cold. He narrowed
the Senate for two days, with only the neces-
sary interruptions for sleep and regular meals.
Two days that Senate sat and watched the
wild wagging of the schoolmaster's chin. Two
days he unroled to them murders in the first
degree; two days polished off The Congress
sionaI Record with crimson statistics and no
end of gore. 1t was great, very great
speech. There may be those who would have
this great effort dismissed into history with
the brief and discourteous remark, "At this
"juncture Pease of Mis- sissippi rose up, and