Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-10-06

FIRST SPEECH OF SENATOR BLAINE-AN AUDI
ENcE OF TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE - PAY
MKNT OF REBEL CLAIMS.

FIRST SPEECH OF SENATOR BLAINE-AN AUDI
ENcE OF TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE - PAY
MKNT OF REBEL CLAIMS.
The Hon. James G.. Blaine, of Maine
made his first speech in Ohio during tn
present canvass at Warren, Ohio, Septem
Der 24. He spoke for two hours in th'
Court House Square to an audience of owe
10000 people who had gathered from al
parts of the surrounding country. Among
other things he said
| The Democrats say that the Constitution
forbids the payment of rebel claims. Now
the Constitution does forbid the payment
| of two classes of claims. You shall moi
make any appropriation to pay the rebel
debt nor for the slaves that were emancipat-
ed. The Constitution in one clause Of the
18th Amendment, undoubtedly says that.
| will not stop to argue that, though | think
ey3n this may be got round, but | will ac
knowledge that those gateways are closed
| will admit that there is no danger of any
money being paid for the rebel debt, or for
the slaves that were emancipated. But in
side Of that. gentlemen, there is nothing in
siN NOh-hANutiOu iutt ipiblNo tuC liN
for all the articles that were DESTROYED down
South during the war, all the wild destruc-
tion that followed the war, all the houses,
the fences, school houses, churches. towns,
and the wheat and the corn and the bacon,
and the mules and horses, the railroads.
bridges, culverts, and thousand and one
nameleSs sources of loss, are all payable to-
day. If you can get majority in Congress
to vote the money. There is nothing in
the world to prevent ii. They have very
nearly 200 bills now piled up. | have seen
it stated at 40, but it is very nearly 200,
and of every Imaginable thing. For the
number Of these bills you have the testi-
mony Of the Hon. W illiam Lawrence, care
ful. painstakng, Industrious man. lie is
moderate in bis statements, and has care
fully examined, and from his experience, for
he Is more competent than any other man in
the House, be said that those already filed
would involve the payment of from four to
seven bundled million dollars from the na-
tional treasury, in the event Of a majority Of
the House voting them.
Well, the War Claims Committee
of the House sat, and, as |
said, Judge Lawrence, Of Bclleion;aine,
was chairman, and they had it gs a rule that
a man must first establish biz loyalty before
establishing his claims. The first thing that
committee did when the Democrats got con-
trol Of it was 10 strike out tha: requirement
and let any man put in his claim for losses
without regard to the question Of loyalty at
all.
And then they made another rule, which
certainly the lawyers, if there be any doing
me the honor to listen 10 me, w.ll LOOK upon
d remarkable, that any person putting in a
claim Tor damages might sustain that claim
by his own a,lIayit and that Of some other
person knowing the facts. Here comes John
smith. OF Alabama. who swears he has lost
S20 900 by the Union army, and then John
Jones ~wears that i 80. This would bank
r-pt the Roihschild- When we were taxing
everything during the war. from the solitary
hair that was lett on the bald man : pate 10
hi- shoe. We taxed cotton. and under the
cotton tax collected so 0J0 600. Now they
come forward and ask thar the taxes be
paid back, not 10 the mtn who paid the
tixes. but that the SO 000, 600 shall be
paid to the cottou-proGucing states in the
proportion of their bales OF cotton. There
are l. b!!ls now pending for the payment Of
that one claim.
And now. gentlemen. more startling than
ANYTHING else, on Thursday Of last week,
there Wa, a decision rendered in the city Of
Portland, STATE of Maine. in the Unijei
State Circuit Cont, Judge Nsthan Clifford
presiding, with Daniel Clark, District Judge
Of New Hampshire, sitting with him-and
want the attention of the LAWYERS again
confirming the Judgment obtained against
Neal Dow. Of tie l3th Maine regiment IN
Louisiana, giving judgment to a rebel against
Dow personally for sugar seized on his
plantation by foraging party from his
regiment. They were out ioragius and seized
some sugar. and the man sued for It, and
Dow said. " II You are a loyal man We will
give YOU a receipt. and you will easily get
Your pay for it, lie declined to do it,and got
Judgment IN Louisiana court. The nlted
State Circuit Court at Portland confirmed
that Judgment, and ordered execution to issue
for Sl.15u. That being SO, | say, gentlemen.
Will IL NOT enable the man that owsed the
field at ATpomattox to collect ground rent
from Grant Tor the occupancy OF it and de-
-traciion Of the fences and crops? There
has never been 81 menaciny Il cloud as this
hanging over free people. This decision
Nh- Mainly Al~-tIttA mum fNNs-N = .sAA n
ol New Hampshire. Ile was brought up in
the true faith. but the Supreme Court over
ruled him in the person OF Clifford. Clil-
ford j. an ingram, hungry Demo -rat, double
dyed and twisted, dyed in the wool, and
coarse wool at that Much laughter And,
in ms Judgment, he has carried that ease for
eight years and never offered that decision
until he i'll his ignorance believed IN 4 Dem
ocratic triumph II there should be
Democratic dreamer here, will not that
gentleman tell me why any solitary battalion
or division OF the army in the South cannot
be sued f1r every article Of treSplss?
Let me read to you Of the nature OF the
ease Ex-Gov Underwood. of Vermont,
man of as pure character a. lives, says II
have known M Tilden for twenty years.
nave debated thi- question with him per
sonaliy. and know that he holds the opin-
ion that the war was unconstitutional. |
heard him declare, in conversation with my
self since the close Of the war, that every
man in the nited States Army that march
ed across Southern soil was trcSpGsser, and
liable to suit for damages in an action Tor
tresnass' think that Clifford read that
opinion Of Tilden the day before be made his
decision in regard 10 Dows sugar And the
Democrats tell You the Constitution iorbids
the payment OF these claims Never was
anSthiug more mcuacing or alarming.