The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-04-18
WHERE TEtE RE&s-ON~IBTf :.
AZ OF THE PR E&gDEN
DISASTER BEL ONGS
Speech oC Hon. - G. ckburn,
Representative from Kentucky.
Frankfort conan

representative from KAenIucky.
Frankfort Woman
Nix. BLACKBURN 5egan BY saying that,
unds r ordinary clrca >rant:. :, a Rs-preSeTl-
tatIv. would b. cxp ect q u tone before the
PEOPLE aid render account of his stew
aFd-hip. and that he aoull be proud 10 TO
II he IaI any record worthy Of perpetus
a ION That his mission at this time u a
hat OF 4 IA who had beeI forced TO look
on and witness the i,epetration OF such
fraud upon the peopse OF this country a no
American citizen Rat ever cOntem plated
lie said the country was NOW N an a0aor-
mai 2ni unnatural coHdit On, growing out
OF the success of this crime, and hs office
y "a simply TO detail. as well IA ht. could, the
ptn"ranI OF ev ntS as it pissed BE- ore hlin
Tine people had gained an uHmtStdk able VIC
tory at the polls. They had ii llSlIed up their
work Z Family aud efficiently. aud when the
polls closed oH the seventh o. NONem Der
they committed To our custody the Pfesi-
den iai Ill e under title itdrt-a~ BIZ sup
p"r ed hy a maj ori Y ot al she Sti-es, by
tai jplitv 81 the Els {, oral Col'' %e. larry
counted: b. "A popular majority 81 263 DOL
and a IN ,rity 81 ,2O 20 OF Tie " hite peo-
PIE that they we're noW naturally curious
L know by What art, deEIc'. alchemy or
e ltif..ltfrFV they hal been SInuicd out a
President Here VA a btrIlc fairy fought
and vie,o org iajfly OF. The resp visibility
FOR the aiter disaster must eiEhef rest upon
the people or upon the lead r. lie : IA ne
there repeated what H. hId sid upon the
II or OF Congress, that no atom of RESPONSE
bilIty rested up II the shoulders of the peo-
pie, but upon rhe Shoulders of Congress
The Constitution do not make the candl-
a ate HE custodian OF thIS popular right, put
iu{ oscs that trust upon the Congress OF the
United States. Probably tie should have
given acknowledgements To the masses VINO
: ought t. voice their sentiment in popular
gatherings. 1t WAS not t. him but to us
that fhe people looked for Il protection OF
that dearest right selection ot their rulers
Ii this censure, however well merited, must
be pronounced upon him, it Is Tot for me-
or tor any other member of this Congress,
To give ute ance To the sentence. Let lC
come from one less guilty than himself.
He said the people were familiar with the
manner in which The Electoral Tribunal mad
beem created. They were perhaps aware
that it could never have been created with
out the assistance OF Democrats. The re-
sponsibility rests alike on ID rmocrats of all
sections 1t cannot be properly forced upon
our northern allies. There WIRE only tigh-
teen Democrats i'm the House who voted
against the bill, and of this number five be-
Ionged TO the delegation OF kentucky.
1t j. to be rrnt III bercd that of the thirty
eight STATES composing the Union, heh-
lucky was the only one amajatity of whose
G. ,ugrcSmen voted against this fraud Of an
r,lccso Commission, and stood firm TO the
Ia t. voting agllnst con>umm alton OF That
tIaId.
Ii there was blun,ler or something dark
ar chan blundrr, the record shows that the
South contributed her full quota, and that.
too, from among her most prominent and
distinguished leaders.
lie here pa.d Il high tribute t. some of the
Democrats OF the Northern States, who
gave their voices against the comp ttiOn OF
the count aud the cOnsummation OF this
fraud, iustancing the delegation from Penn
>ylvauia. Ohio. and Illinois. He said the
North was not alone 10 blame, bit that the
responsibility was divided, and : honors
were easy"
Some OF our memb RS, lie said, undertook
to vindicate their position by saying that il
they had defe tied The count, Hayes would
have been indicted by baYone:s; that it was
ftcccsSary to give Inn the color of right, by
sustaining the action of the Tribunal, or 10
submit 10 his inauguration by force. lie
held that it woul1 have been more credit
able TO the country had the conspirators
been permitted to undertake this latter
measure. lie thought all the danger that
they ever encountered was wrapped up in
the proposition that the President OF the
Senate should count the vo e, and that even
til At Ii al been diSpellcd like mist before the
sun when. by q vote of A To IL. the senate
the power TO settle this issue to 4
Commission. It gave up The point fully,
fairly 2nd irretrieyably when the vote was
cast. Ii was the greatest, if not the only
blunder that these scheming, Conuiviag fell
lows had yet perpetQated; and 1t was vital
one to them had the democratic House been
shreWd enough to seize the opportunity, and
refuse to concur in The bill 1t WOULD nave
set tied the question in So far as 10 prevent
the fraudulent succession of Hayes il it had
not eventually secured the inauguration of
Tilden.
who had walked confidingly into the trap
OF the Commission. when they found thew
had been trickPQ, deceived, and SwindlCd,
were still amiable enough % treat and jug
gle with such iugglerS as Matthew's, Car
te d, and Foster, tor the disenthra lment of
South Carolina and Louisiana. refusing to
profit by experience, they were willing to
trust and lie betrayed IA second time.
AS tor Lnuisian' The Lo: Il only knew
what would become OF that dOwn-trOdden
and abused people; that he believed the
present Commission designed t. go down
there aud treat for the dsenthraltment of
that state by offering Il GuVernOrship for Il
Legislature, Il soVeI eig mtg fUf TWO Senators
lie did not know, ana no other Democrat
knew, what secret instructions the RepublI
cans OF this Commission hal. but he believed
they were substantially To force Louisiana
into a purchase of their Governor.
lie c.oScd his speech (of which this is an
Xxi 'emely meagfe repprt) with an admir-.
able tribute to the Democratic party OF the
country, showing that in every case where
it had stood fully and firmly upon principle
it had attained triumph, and In every case
where it had yielded to mere policy, at no
matter how small sacrifice, it h2u suffered
reverse. He referred to several late Con-
gressional and Presidential elections i'm il
lustrat0n, showing ho1F much more efficient
a fair and square Eight upon the principles
of eighty years ago had been.
IL said this contest had been made be-
tween bulk capital upon the one side and
labor upon the other, and that the Demo-
crl. -io party represented the latter. Upon
that issue it wen the light; bus in4 meqmteiy
afterwards it fell into the hands Of the capt.
tai intero Vt. and iC was by it the victory was
ruthlessly hung away.
lie said there was proposition now to
materialize the Democratic party of the
South, to make it party looking TO local
and sectional money interest, ana sinking
Che lpoad national views of common inter
est and WelfaFe-Gpnu which it was founded.
lie did not approve this blndonnlent of the
old aims and ends of Democracy. lie dis
trusted all diversions that involved sacri-
nee Of any part of the true principle; that
matelialiSnl in politics meant to grab from
re FEDERAL Treasury The cSnn.en contribu-
utions OF he people, that were not surs.
EN,o