Los Angeles daily herald., 1876-02-10
BlaIne's Amnesty Speech.

A Washington correspondent, who
witnessed Blaine's last effort in the
House to stir up hate and strife be-
tween the two sections of the Union,
to enhance his own prospects for the
Presidency, writes as follows to
prominent Western newspaper:
"Never has aman so fallen in es-
TEEN. Never did man so quickly
impair his influence. Never has a
man lost his entire characteristics and
standing so completely as James G..
Blaine. For years he had been re-
garded as breakwater against the
strong red tide of radealism which
knew no law, and stopped at no device
for the furtherance of party ends. The
eX-Speaker, unaware of the change
that had come over the spirit of the
exactly where he left off, and by di
rect assertion in speech and gesture
tried the same tactics of provocation
and insolent assumption to the hot
headed Southerners to respond, trust
ing to their anger for the sa me indis-
cretions that had marked the first
days debate; but as he piled horrors
upon horrors on the first day, his
power to move even the Republican
hot-heads had gone. Merely n curious
desire to hear how he would answer
his adversares kept the attention of
the House. 1t was easy to see that as
these signs of Indifference became con-
spicuous his vigor relaxed tremen-
dously. His utterances, which before
this had been hot, tumultuous and
angry, fell into rambling, disconnect-
ed, and sometimes incoherent asser-
tions, without compactness, without
method, and, worse than all, without
that absorbing evidence of spontane-
Gus, irrestrainable earnestness, lacking
which his speech lost its entire power
as moving plea.
"He had handkerchief hishand,
which served very etfectually from a
dramatic standpoint. He would fiirt
it to the right aud left, and when he
thought he had clnched some huge
monstrosity ofassertion he would drop
the rag in a way that indicated fare
we'll forever to any hope of coping with
me on this point To many members
on the other side this continual drop
ping of the handkerchief was perpet-
ual reminder of the signal for the word
fire. in the duello, but none of them
thought it prudent to- follow Blaine's
wish and crafty his insult with any
thing more than maddening compla-
cency. Blaine's manner was was
simply diabolical. In his savage mock
cry, which at times lost all semblance
on the other side, and when it was
,tx hnx 81 lot
with an accent of scorn and sneer, the
very essence of bad breeding. He
worked hard to stir up the angry pas
sions of the southern members, but he
failed through the excessive good ma
ture of Ben. Hill, who came over and
occupied a seat upon the Republican
side, and during Blaine's talk his
smiling presence there did much to
destroy the effect of Blaine's points.
For instance, the would-be President
would only charge Mr.. Hill with ha-
tired of the Union and a desire to re-
peat the experiment of secession.
This he would charge with the most
insulting persistency. Hill, however,
laughed at all his charges, and refused
the eX-Speaker the satisfaction of his
becoming angry at his counts. Hill
created quite burst ofapplause by say
ing at one juncture, oh, no; we are in
the Union now, and there is no more
going out for US, l assure YOU
Blaine's speech was medley, a
combination of taunt, sneer, thrust,
counter thrust, and vicious demagog-
uery. He failed utterly by his uncon-
cealed vindctiveness. His malevo-
lence carried him far beyond the spir-
it of the House. No applause follow
ed him, and nothing but goodhumored
smiles greeted his sharpest insults. 1t
was the case of man having the usu.
al rations of rope issued to him to en-
able him to hang himself. When he
set down, the conventional boquet
from the botanical garden, appeared
upon his desk. He pushed it from
him without a glance at it. Buried in
the mire of political demagoguery and
baffied in his hopes of breaking the
fast-growing harmony of sections,
anything clear and beautiful was a re-
proach to him.
"The sense of the House was un-
mistakly relieved when Blaine finish
ed, and as he sat down the verdict on
every face was as plain as though ut
tered in the word defeated.W