Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-01-28
Tho Amnesty Debate.

CYAN" the Washington cores
pondent of the Springfield RepubE-
can, whose letters, in the qualities of
honesty and candor and political dis
cernment are in agreeable contrast to
the editorials of that paper, referring
to the amnesty debate in the House,
says:
There can be no doubt, | think,
that the Democrats of the House are
dreadful sick of the amnesty debate.
kilograms have poured in from the
North t, the leaders here to "stop the
debate If the majority had had the
wit to let Sam Cox speech end the
debate, Jim Blaine would have had
the W orst Of it; but the very first man
to take the floor after Cox and KELLEY
were through was one of the most
pestiferous of the tire-caters - Ben
Hill. What sublime impotence in
s"ch Il man to undertake to preach to
the House on amnesty, clemency and
humanity! While in the rebel Con-
gress he had proposed, two or three
times, the most brutal measures Tor
the extripation Of Union soldiers, and
only six months ago he threatened II
second civil war if the South and the
Democrats of the North did not carry
the elections, next tall. That was
not exactly the way he put it, but it
was the essence of his threat. He
threatened war in defense of the
Constitution - against the Republi-
cans who wer violating it. OF course
1t was ''rebels" who were to Judge Of
the question, and "rebelS" who were
to commence the new war ''inside the
Union" Benjamin Hill is II used up
man at the North. The Democrats
Of the House no longer respect him
This was the danger of such adebate
to the Democracy in the NORTH
1t was impossible to keep the mouths
of the "rcbel>" shut. They cn~'d
talk, and, when they talked, they
were sure to say something which
would provoke decent people at the
North. And this is the way 1t is 90
ing to be, all winter. If the rebellion
comes upin amy shape f + discussion,
fellows like Hill are going to have
their say, and in that say" will be
found things which will show the
northern people that southern civil
cation is yet so years behind that f
the Republican party. 1t is no Iues-
ton whatever Of ''the bloody Shirt"
it is question of civilization against
barbarisln,- an emil yhtened Christ
ianity against a very low form Of it,
and when the people Of the great
North come to see the contrast, they
will not allow this semi-barbariSm to
take possession of the government.
Take one little incident Of the de-
bate on the relative humanity Of
North and South in the war. Blaine
brought the documents to show that
packs of bloodhounds were used by
two or three Georgia regiments to
chase down Union soldiers escaping
from the horrors Of Andersonville,
and Hill admitted that it was true, rs
if he saw nothing out of the way III
that. But it illustrated the difference
between the two civilizations-that
born of slavery and that of freedom.
One makes use of bloodhounds and
the lash and the howic-knife; the
other Of the spelling book and the
newspaper. And, though slavery is
abolished, yet the southern people are
not more than half civilized. Aud
these debates--no matter who starts
them up, or tor what purpose--these
debates tend to show the difference
between the two civilizations. Mr..
Kerr showed himself to be Il shrewd
observer of political otfenses when
he remarked that "the weakest part
of Mr.. Cox speech was where he
sneercd ut the colored peoples" for,
added the Speaker, "these persons are
now citizens, and are entitled to the
same treatment as other citizens. p
What IA noble sentiment was that!
But little Sam Cox has too small i
soul to appreciate such a sentiment.
f4ere were IS confederate soldiers