The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-23


would violate its duty and become party
to revolutionary and fraudulent proceed
ings, the moment 1t put its seal Of approval
upon them by admitting the applicant. The
constitution of the United States made the
senate and not the supreme court of Lou
isiana the judge of the election Of its own
members. The supreme court of Louisi.
ana had as little power to pass upon the
question as TO what body of men consti-
tuted the legislature of Louisiana as he
(Idmunds) had as private citizen of Yer
mont. No court, 10 matter how broad its
jurisdiction may be, can, in government
framed like ours, declare to degree which
can be binding upon the senate, what body
of men constitute the legislature of a state.
IF there were fifty pretended governments
in state at time the court of one could
not decide upon the legality of the other.
He (Edmunds) had listened to the argu
ments on Louisiana for two or three years,
and had not heard the most Jealous advo-
cate of the Kellogg and Pinchbacb side
maintain the soundness of the decision of
the supreme court of that state.
The senator from Indiana (Morton) had
claimed that the president of the United
States had recognized the Kellogg govern
ment, and that he having recognized it the
senate was bound to do so. The recogn-
ton of Kellogg by the president was not
the recognition of the legislature which
elected Pinchback. He (Edmunds) denied
that the president had recognized kellogg.
The president, fifteen hundred miles away,
recognizec the fact that il was the duty of
everybody to obey the mandates of the law.
Then came the revolution in Louisiana, and
then came the president with the decara-
ton that he would take the man whom the
courts had put in possession and uphold him
until Congress should act. The president
had appealed 10 Congress again and again
to act in the case. He (Edmunds) was
bound to say, as senator of the United
States, that the attitude Of the president
was absolutely immaterial to the senate.
lie knew of nothing in the constitution or
laws giving the president the right to bind
the senate, and the president would be the
last man to claim any right to judge of
what the constitution has RENTED to the
senate alone. The senate has the right I'M
der the constitution to decide upon the cleo
ton of Pinchback, and no action of the
president or any one else could bind the
| senate. Applause in the galleries.
Mr.. Howe said he thought it was his
! duty to follow the decisions of the supreme
court of Louisiana because, in his opinion,
that court understood the laws of the state
Just as well, if not better, than the senate
He argued that the Lynch returning board
was the legal returning board, and had au-
thority TO return as elected the members of
the legislature which elected Pinchback.
He reviewed at some length the circum-
stances attending the election of 1872, and
contended that Pinchback was elected by
the legal legislature and should lie admitted
Mr.. Logan Of Illinois, said the senate
should declare that the Kellogg or Mem
cry government was the legal government
of Louisiana, or that there was no govern
ment in that state at all. In deciding q
case of this kind he was guided by the de-
cision of the supreme court of the state,
the recognition of the president and all the
attending circumstances. The senate should
have some respect for the courts of the diff
ferent states in deciding affairs pertaining
TO state laws Where two pretended gov.
ernmcnts existed in a state he would like
TO know where the power existed to deter
mine which was the legal government if it
did not exist in the judiciary? The argu-
ment of the senator from Vermont ed
munds) denying this theory denied the
right of a state through any of its depart
ments to save itself; it denied the right of
the national government to save itself
Louisiana had majority of Ii, 900 colored,
over the white votes, and Pinchback was
INC representative OIL Tue majority. ne
senators on the other side of the chamber
were fond of making appeals to senators
to rise above party feelings, but he had
never seen an occasion when those senators
voted for republican. If the senate re-
fused to seat Pinchback, he Logan) sup
posed Mcmillan would appear with his
credentials, and then the democratic sena-
tors would vote solidly for his admission,
or, perhaps, senator would be elected by
that legislatureno now being concerted in New
York, without authority, by committee
of cx-membcrs of congress. lie predicted
that murder, crime and confusion would
be the result in Louisiana if the senate re-
fused to seat Pinchback.
Mr.. Morton, of Indiana, said it was man.
ifest to all that the democratic party had
made this party question. One reason
why the democrats opposed the seating OF
Pinchback was that he was colored. They
did not like the color, Mr.. Morton argued
that every vote against Pinchback would be
in effect to demoralize the republican party
in Louisiana, to disturb the peace of the
state and bring about scenes OF bloodshed.
If Pinchback should be rejected by the SEN
ate it would be a declaration that he was
not elected by the legislature of Louisiana.
What, then, would be the attitude of the
administration : The next house of repre-
scntatvcs would he democratic and he
(Morton) predicted that among the very
first resolutions TO pass that body would
he one recognizing the McEnery govern
mcnt and calling upon the president to rec
ognize it, II the senate should refuse to
recognize the Kellogg government now,
what ground would be left to the president
to stand upon The democrats well under
stood this and set the trap into which the
l;na Of d
icans might well fellow the example of
the democrats, and when they had doubt
they might cast votes in favor of their own
party. Referring to the argument of the
senator from Vermont (Edmunds) Mr..
Morton said he had never heard better
democratic speech, or more one-sided
one than that senator made. lie made no
reference at all to the crimes and murders
which had been committed in Louisiana,
Mr. Edmunds said his friend Morton had
said he never heard a better democratic
speech. Had not the senator heard better
ones, when he used To make them himself?
daughter
Mr. Morton replied that he had made
democratic speeches. but the last one be
made was in 1852, and if he could not now
be forgiven for that after the lapse of near
ly % years, he never could be forgiven in
this world. If it was to be thrown in his
face now that he made democratic speeches,
% years ago, what eXtenuation was to be
made fora republican who makes demo-
cratic speeches on this floor in 1875 Cap
plausc in the galleues.) Rcsuming his ar
gument, Mr.. Morton said Kellogg had re-
ceived a majority of the votes cast, and
spoke at length in regard to the outrages in
Louisiana since 1867. lie then referred to
the decisions of the state courts in I.ouisi- |
ana, and the supreme court of the state in
regard to the legality of the legislature, and
claimed that these decisions were final and |
binding upon the senate. II there was any |
wrong in the election, it was back at the |
polls, where the senate could not get 10 1t. |
He would venture the assertion that there |
had not been legislature elected in any |
state during the last five years in which
there WIS not some member not legally |