Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1876-01-14
coxcLrsIox OF nI.,INE,s SPEECH.

The debate upon the Amnesty bill was
closed in Congress yesterday. by speech
es from Blaine. Banks and Randall.
Our spscs prscludes q presentation Of
Mr.. Blains's speech. which MAS rather
q running debate With a dozsn Demo
Gratis and i~nterspsrsed with countless
interruptions. sufico it to say that
Blaine showed the insincerity OF Hill.
Cox, and others. In aplain way BY quo
tations from their published speeches.
He denied alphabetically the charge OF
cruelty to rebel prisoners in Northern
prisons. and dsiied proof to the con.
trary. In concluding. he said that IL
NO cannot have o Centennial without
JEFF Davis DO honorsd by amnesty. let
M have q general Jail delivery. Take
out OF prison." said he. ''all your GRIM
inals, take out the men sentenced for
piracy and murder. and proclaim the
Jubilee" Referring to the attempt to
hold President Grant responsible for
the whisky frauds. Banks made an un-
ansvsrabls point. and closed his speech
a. follows: ".
The gentleman from Georgia said the
logic which I had presented made Gen.
Grant responsible for Mcdonald and
Joyce. Tho gentleman may have thought
that was wit. but I cannot see IL. II
Davis. the moment that the crimes OF
Anderonvills were brought TO his attsn-
ton, had Mraignsd the perpetrators Of
them aud issued an order that tho guilty
men should not escape. thon there would
have been some little consistency in the
gentlsman's position. Il was ill-con-
csrtsd and in very bad and ill.tasts for
the gentleman from Georgia to introduce
Grant's name In this connsction-very
bad taste indeed. But I may mention
on the authority Of General Grant. whom
the gentleman from Georgia inpugnsd
In connection with the exchange Of pris-
onsrs, that one trouble relative to the
exchange Of prisoners was that Davis
government observed no honor. Gen.
Grant states that the brigade OF Carter
Stevenson. who was dislodged al Chat
tanooga, was made up Of paroled
prisoners taken al tho city % vieks-
burg, and Stevenson was one OF them.
and be states that parslsd prisoners who
we're taken one day and discharged were
found next day in front Of his line; but
In stating this Grant was careful to say
that Lee, the two Johnsons. Pemborton
and other great Confederate Generals
had been honorable. but that with Davis,
the Executive OF the Government. there
was no honor. As to the number Of
prisoners who died on each side, I have
boon told BY an army officer that there
wore q large number OF deaths among
the rebels. but during the latter part OF
the war they came into our hands very
much exhausted. ill.clad and diseased.
and that they died Of the diseases they
brought with them. One surgeon said
10 me: "The question was not what
was the condition Of the prisoners whom
they came 10 Us, but what was IL when
they were taken back" Our men were
taksn In good health and strength and
they came back wasted and worn skels-
tons. The rebels we're taken smaeiated.
General Grant says that M the time
such superhuman efforts were made on
the Confsderais side 70: Exchange there
we're ninety thousand prisoners in our
hands Who would have rs-entered the
rebel army In good health and ready for
fighting. That sheds q good doal OF light
on what the gentleman from Georgia
said. Blaine read a letter from Robert
Ould. Confederate agent OF exchange. to
Colonel Myers. directing him, u ex-
igencies required. to take trains for the
transportation Of corn and TO pay nc
regard to Yankee prisoners, Is II was
better 10 let the prisoners starve than
for their soldiers TO suffer. Blaine 70.
fsrrsd 10 the military order by General
windsr to open fro with grape on the
prisoners at Andsrsonville u the Union
troops came within reach Of them, which
order Hill intimated was q forgery. and
the use Of bloodhounds for hunting
down prisoners. He admitted there
were dogs ksrt for that purpose. but
denied their being bloodhoands. and
ended BY saying: ''fn view Of all these
acts I have only TO say IL the American
Congress By Q tvo-thiris vote shall
pronounce Jefferson Davis worthy OF
being restored TO tho full rights Of
American citizenship. I can only vote
against II and hang my head in silence"
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The more cautious OF the Democratic