The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-03-11
An Exciting Debate in the Senate.
SPEECH OF HON. GEORGE F. EDMUNDs.

bfhEOh VI HUM UiVhVh r. hD"'A'D'
The partisan contest which has created
such n commotion in the house during the
past week was Thursday transferred to the
senate, where Gen. Gordon, of Georgia,
made a fierce onslaught upon the admins
tration, using as his war horse the whisky
tax. lie charged vaiantly and quite de-
molished the reputation of the republican
party for honesty and ability in the collec-
ton of revenues
Senator Morton rose to reply, smarting
under his defeat on the Pinchback ques
ton, and the Georgian soon had an uncom-
Portable fire in the rear. He first over
hauled the defauting state treasurer of
Georgia, whose accounts are 100000
short but as he is a democrat they are
| being adjusted had he been republican
he would have been impeached. Mr.. Nor
| ton then commented on Gen. Gordon's re-
cent speech at Atlanta, in which he spoke
of the republican party as welded to "the
world, the flesh and the senator from In
DIANA" and gave some extracts from
another speech by Toombs, to show the real
enemies of the southern people.
Senator Edmunds closed the debate by
one of his ncisive speeches, showing that
the war of ideas which brought about re-
sort to arms by the two sections would
never be ended until there was equality be-
fore the law everywhere.
| Tho .paoiol Jianatphpa from, Wnahinr-
ton say that the most effective speech of
the whole debate was by Senator Edmunds.
1t was perfectly unanswerable as pre-
sentation of the main issue, between the
republicans and the democrats. He made
good use of Toomb's speech to the Georgia
legislature, in which he boosted of the
bribery and intimidation of his party, and
no democratic senator ventured on reply.
Mr.. Edmunds said that the honorable
senators from Georgia and Virginia had
deprecated sectional strife and imputed tC
the republic ans a desire to stir up strife
The speech Of the senator from Georgia
made at Atlanta, was calculated to stir ur
sectional strife. The place where 1t was
stirred up was not here, but when men OF
,
that was applsuded 10 the echo. In 1860
when the people of the north declared tina
equal rights should he the law of the lane
7 everywhere, and those in the south insist
: ed that the divine right OF slavery SHOULD
y be continued and that a man should carr,
his slave with him into any state, sec
tional strife was stirred up.
" When at last, by fair aud constitutions
. means, Mr.. Lincoln was elected presiden
@ of the United States, that was made tn
occasion for tremendous bloodshed an,
disaster, brought on by the southern por
U ton of the country. The people OF tn
y north had resisted the animosities an
|. strifes, and would resist them still 1t ha
a been charged that the republican part
y. was tyranical. 1t had passed the 18th an
IL 14th amendments to the constitution an
Re the civil rights bill, making everybod
1. equal before the law but the democrat
had always voted against them. 1t was
d conflict of ideas which made the tumu
now. One side was right and the othe
n wrong. The contest must go on so far d
IF his voice could aid it until the right pre-
vailed anG peace should exist everywher
- in the south.
n MIR. Withers said that peace did exit
d everywhere in his state
y Mr. Edmunds said that no doubt the ser
ator thought so, but the records OF til
courts and the daily newspapers proved jul
e the opposite. Tie people of the north ha
endeavored to enforce justice and at ever
step they had been resisted by the DENT
= :, cratic party. Not one of the amendme'
q to The constitution, brought forward
t. amelorate the condition of the people {
o the country, had received the support {
v the democratic party.
:, If the government should pass into I'll
t hands Of the democratic party all Ii
|, amendments to the constitution would |
IS absolute and might ss well never have bee
% passed. The intelligent people of the coul
try knew it.
g At the conclusion of his remarks
1t moved that the senate proceed to the col
If sideration of executive business, which WI
;, agreed to. When the doors were reopent
- the senate adjourned.