The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-01-27
THE CENTENNIAL BILL PASSED.

The following remarks of Hon. Mr..
Robins and Hon. Mr.. Lamar, in the
House on Tuesday, are too good to be
neglected.
Mr.. Robins, of North Carolina, fol-
lowed. He said that when the war broke
out, North Carolina farmer had six
sons, grown up to manhood, who, at the
first tap of the drum, went to the field to
fight in the cause of the South. They
had not stayed to reason about it, and
they fought from Bull Run to Appomat-
toX-but not all Of them. One was sleep
ing at AntietanI, one at Charlottesville,
one at Chickahominy and another in
Kentucky; but two Of them were at APP
pomattox. Battle-scarred, they had seen
the flag go down which they had fol-
lowed with unfatering devotion. One
of those survivors was he who addressed
the committee, and who now said that
he had seen enough Of war and wanted
peace; that he wanted reconciliation and
brotherhood all over the country. That
was why he proposed to vote tor the bill,
for he thought that the tendency of the
celebration was to promote peace. Why
was there not peace? The soldiers had
fought out the war with bayonets, mus
kets and cannon, and had now ceased
fighting The reason why there was not
peace, was because few selfish, reck-
less political agitators still wanted to keep
up the fight, and their weapons were
asses jawbones. Laughter and APP
plause.] He was opposed to participa-
ton in that kind of warfare, He wanted
peace. His people had senJ him here to
talk peace, to help to bring about recon-
ciliation and good understanding.
The debate was continued by Messrs.
Williams, of Wisconsin, and Lamar in
favor of the bill, and by Messrs. White
and Goodhill against it.
In the course of Mr.. Lamar's speech,
he asked whether it could be said that,
in view of the plenary power of the Gen
eral Government in regard to foreign
affairs, there was a constitutional incom-
potency in Congress to invite commits
sioners from foreign countries to bring
here the productions of commerce, art
and industry. Was it unconstitutional
in the President to give an invitation
which the law authorized him to give?
If not, it was clearly and unqualifedly
the duty of Congress to appropriate the
moneys for that purpose. He favored
the celebration in order that the people
of the North should become satisfied of
the longing desire of the Southern peo-
pie to live with them in perpetual union,
and before that feeling all others sunk
into insignifcance. He deprecated an
allusion made by Mr.. Townsend, of New
York, last week to Preston Brooks, and
intimated that the inevitable effect of the
allusion was to excite the passion, to in
flame the animoslty and to awake hatred
of sectionalism. He Lamar) advocated
the scheme because it carried out the
spirit of peace and reconciliation. 1t was
something like animage of the feeling of
the people, who demanded that the alien
alton and distrust which had heretofore
existed between the two sections of the
Union should no longer obstruct the
glories of the American people. AS God
was his judge, he did not believe that
that alienation existed any longer
Never, since Jefferson was first inaugu-
rated, had the entire mass of the Ameri.
can people been animated by purer, in
tenser, broader, more universal patriot
ism, looking to universal brotherhood
and affection. He knew that that senti-
ment had not found its full expression
here; that it had been kept down and
smothered in the meshes of intolerant
political organizations, and that its voice
had not been heard amid the clamors
and appeals of impassioned partisans;
but in the political, as well as in the nat
ural world, the agencies that were most
powerful were not most noisy. Violence,
passion and fanaticism could always find
voices and fill the air with their factious
clamors; while the deep and earnest feel
ings of great people lay unspeken in
their hearts. The currents of passion
and feeling might flow hither and thither
lashed by extraneous agencies, but there
was in the great sea of unsounded depth
common humanity, a common hope, a
common interest and a common patriot
ism which lay unspoken. Applause. !
Mr.. Lamar spoke under the rule which
limited the time to ten minutes, but as
soon as the time expired Mr.. Garfield
rose and courteously yielded his time to
Mr.. Lamar.
After further discussion the bill passed
yeas 146, nays 130.