New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-12
XLvrH CONGRESS---IIID SESSION.

SENATE. WAsHrxGroN. Dec. H. 1878
The VICE-PRESIDENE Land before the sen
ate to-day communication from the Secretary oi va
asking $50 600 70 furnish the east wing OF 'ue H"
building to be occupied by the war Dop''
ferred ,
pv Mr. MITCHELL Rep. Oregon)-Appropriailhg
s1-5 200 for tle construction Of revenue maIlne
steamer for service IN Alaska waters.
nv Mr. BECK Dem Ky IA bill for the repeal Of
soctiou 2ls of the Revised st'tutes OF tie Uni'ea
States, winch provides that no * ~ "n t1c
appO lltCd the Army OF the UnlteI oI'e' b''u VI "
ta R g lpi HIAELIS dep Me-Provding for Columns
sion for the Adjudication OF The clam Of the NOE"eSn
VG mr. AmERRiMoN Dem n. c. submitted the follow
nR P;so,r,d That the Secretary Of War be-, and hr Is
hereby instrnc ed to furnish for the use oil ht
statement 5no%g n me- Ind aomunton 10 be used ia
connection herewith supplied ~ tbc O'ualVG ieP"
ment OF the Army Ulcers ana soldiers ma "IH "a
their deputies Indian agents and Internal revenue o,
cers and revenue agents IesI,cuE'f Inar,I,pt ~
the Interior the Department OF the liebst' "nu ,V
Department OF Jgs,!Se lmie Tue I'I C' ot. Whether
an, arms or any OF them, have been sold an lor Whdt
peeS ann s1sb 5 designating by what author
Inv such arms and other things were 50 su!pieu Hou'
time To tiule
Tie following bills were reported and placed on the
calendars
The Senate bin relating 10 the appointment of Profess
sors OF Mathematics IN the Navy. ,. o
The House bin to promote KNOWLEDGE OF steam en-,
cheering aud iron shp-budlnglh seen'hc schooi' u
T6e House bill to correct the in regard 20 the Hot
Springs iiem.
Tue Fortincatlon Appropriation bill. $50
The Military Academy Appropriation DILL
The VICE PRESIDENT announced as the committee
on the at Of the senate to attend the next annual ex-
ANIMATION OF cadets at the United states Military Acad-
envy AT West Point, Messrs Window and Whyte.
The morning business having concluded the Pat
ont bill W taken up. Al O'Clock, the bill having been
read at1eugtb, The vICE-PREsIDENT announced the
expiration Of the morn NJ hour.
THE RESOLUTION OF Mr.. BLAINE.
ALL OTHER ORDERS LAID ASIDE AND Mr.. BLAINE
BEGINS TIKI DEBATE.
Mr. HAMLIN (Rcp Me) moved that the pending ana
all prior orders be lad aside and the Senate proceed 10
the consideration Of the resolution submitted oy DIS COZ
league (OIr. Blane). in regard to an inquiry rs 10
whether tbs Constitutional rights OF cuzens hau
not been violated in the receut elections III any Oh
tie States Of the Union. Agreed TO.
Mr. BLAINE O2ep Ne then took the floor
Mr. THURMAN Dem, O.lo) SAID he desired to ofer
an amendment to the reso union.
MIR BLAINE-I will yiel1 IN few minutes
Mr. BLAINE then spoke at length upon his resolution
MR. BLAINES SPEECH
Mr.. President The pending resolution was
offered by me with a twO-fold purpose in view:
First To place on record, il a definite and
authentic form the frauds and Outrages by which
some recent elections carried by the Demo-
cratic party in Southern States;
Second, To.fnd if there be any method bSswhich
o repetition of these crimes against free ballot
may be prevented.
The newspaper is the channel through which the
people of the United States Informed of current
events, and the accounts gwen III the press rep
resent the elections in of the Southern States
TO have been accompanied by violence; IN not
few cases reaching the destruction OF lie TO nave
been controlled by threats that awed aud lntlml-
dated large class of voters; 10 have been manlp-
ulated by fraud of the most shameless ana shame
full description Indeed In south CaIOlna theFe
seems to have been election at all III any proper
sense of the term. There was instead series OF
skirmishes over the State IN winch the Polhng-
places were regarded forts to be captured by one
party and held against the other, ana Wncte this
could not bo done with convenience frauds IN the
count and tssueballOt devices were resoTted TO In
order to efectualy destroy the voice OF the major
ity. These in brief are the accounts gwen III the
nOp-partsan press of the dsgraceful OutTdges That
attended the recent elections, and so far as have
seen these statements are without serious contra
diclon 1t is but just and fair TO all parties, how
ever, that an impartial investigation Oh tne Iacts
shall be made by committee OF the Senate, pro-
ceeding under the authority OF law and represent
ing the power of the Nation. Hence my resolution.
But we do not need investigation TO establish GER
tain facts already of official record we know That
JOG representatives IN Congress were recently
chosen in the states formerly slaVehOldln9, ana
that the Democrats elected 1Ol Ut possibly 1OZ and
the Republicans four or possibly hYe' we know
that thIrty-fve of these Representatives were as
signed TO the Southern States DT reason or the COL
pred population and that the entire pOtlcal power
thus founded on the numbers Of the cOlored people
has been sezed and appropriated 10 the aggradlze-
nent of its own strength by the DehocraIc party
THE REAL ISSUE.
The issue thus raised before the country. Mr.. Pres
aent il not one of mere sentiment for the rights OF
the negro-thOugh far distant be the day when the
rights of any American citizen, however black or
however poor shall form the mere dust OF the bal
apce in any controversy nor is the issue one that
Involves the waving of the "bloody shirt" to quote
the elegant vernacular of Democratic vtuperatiOn;
nor still further is the issue now presented only
question of the equality of the black voter OF the
South with the white voter Of the South the issue,
Mr.. President has taken a far wider range, one OF
poTtentOus magnitude; and that is, whether the
white voter of the North shall be equal to the white
voter of the South in shaping the policy and fixing
the destiny of this country; or whether 10 put III
still more badly the white man who fought IN the
ranks OF the Union Army shall have as welghty and
influential a vote In the Government of the Repub-
lie as the white man who fought in the ranks OF the
Rebel Army. The one fought to uphold, the other to
DESTROY the Union OF the States, and to-day ne VINO
fought to destroy is far more Important factor IN
the Government of the Nation than he who fought
Lei me illustrate my meaning by comparing
groups OF States Of the same representative strength
North and south. Take the States of South Caro-
lima Mississippi and Louisiana. They send seven
teen Representatives TO Congress. Their aggregate
population is composed Of ten hundred and thirty
fye thousand whites and twelve hundred and
twenty -fOur thousand cOlOred; the colOred being
nearly two hundred thousand IN excess oil the
whites OF the seventeen Representatives, then, il
is evident that nine were appOrtioDed to these
States by reason of their cOlOred population, and
only eight by reason of their white population and
vet in the choice of the entire seventeen Represen
fatiyes the colored voters had no voice or
power than their remote kindred ON the snOres OF
Senegambia OF on the Gold Coast. The ten hundred
and thlrty-hVe thousand white people had the sole
and absolute choice of the entire seventeen Repre-
sentatiyes. In contrast, take two States IN the
North, Iowa and Wisconsin. with seventeen Repre-
sentatIyes. They have white population OF two
million two hundred aud fOrty-seven thousand
considerably more than double the entire white pop