Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-04-27
IRREsOLUrION IN CONGRESS-.

ton that Congress shall adjourn on !
the 10th of June. Mr.. Windon was |
the author Of it and 1t was, at least !
to the Democratic Senators, a sur
prise, and was pushed through be-
fore serious opposition could be
arranged. (This was ON the 18th
inst.) A caucus OF house Democrats
was held to decide how IL should be
met, in which it appeared that the
party was not unanimous upon the
subject, and on the resolution COM
ing to the House the Republicans
made great efforts to push it through
summarily. A motion was made to
refer it to the Committee Of Ways
and Means, the usual course, which
was defeated by 139 to 107, many
Democrats being absent and several
voting with the Republicans, viz
three from New York, eight from
Pennsylvania two from New Jersey,
one each from California and Mary
land and several from Alabama.
This was on the 18th. On the 18th,
the reference having been thus de-
feated, the resolution came up for
direct vote, when Mr.. Wood, of
New York, moved to postpone the
consideration of the resolution till
May Is. This motion was carried
by a vote of 129 to 113. This was
nearly party vote, one Republican
voting for the motion Mr.. Rainey,
of South Carolina, and four Demo-
Gratis against it, including Mr.. ely
mer, of Pennsylvania. 1t is even
now understood that several Demo-
Gratis who voted for the motion of
postponement protested against be-
ing considered as pledged by that
vote to vote against the proposed
adjournment, when the resolution
is taken up for vote on the 18th of
May.
1t is no use closing our eyes to the
fact that this transaction indicates
grave Reorganization and want of
unanimity in the Democratic party,
and we propose for consideration
the probable causes of a movement
so unexpected. 1t was certainly not
dictated by a paucity of measures
before Congress. The proposed new
tariff law itself will certainly occupy
several weeks consideration in the
House alone, let alone the overhaul
ing it will meet with in the Senate.
Then there is the repeal of the re-
sumption law, the navigation laws,
Mr.. Beck's motion on the United
States sinking fund, the Texas Pa
ciflc bill, the funding bill for the
Central and Union Pacific; in short,
Congress has never had so many
important business measures before
it in the latter weeks of April, and
the satisfactory disposal Of these
measures between the present date
and the 10th of June is too obviously
impossible to leave ground for the
hypothesis that those who are for
adjournment by that day desire the
success of any of these measures
1t is their suppression, not their en-
actment, which is desired. And
who are these? The division of the
18th would intimate that they are
nearly the whole body of the Re-
publican party, and at least some
eighteen or twenty of the Demo.
cratic party, and probably more
concealed for the present among the
mot voting" The States from
which the boiling Democrats hail
indicate very plainly that it is
mainly the defeat of the new tariff
bill which is aimed at, while the
special opponents of any of the Other
measures above recOunted will
doubtless for their own purposes fall
into the ranks of the aoJOTnerS.
We are practically realizing, then
what this journal has long beer
pointing out, that the questions O
the future are financial, commercial
monetary Observation-Disclosures ques
tiOns, in Shorthand that they are
going to divide parties not according
to precisely the same lines of de
marcatiOn as those which were the
confines of the parties established
by the results of the war. The
bloody shirt is putrid and is near it;
final burial; the carpet-bagger i:
dead, and Southern claims car
scarcely elicit a grOan; but the bust
ness questions are so urgently press
ing upon mems attention that {
Congress unprepared for their con
sideratiOn meditateS suicide rathe
than confront them. For it is Ger
tain that if Congress does adjourn
leaving all these questions unset
tied, nothing else will be heard of
but they and they alone will be dis
cusSed in the next fall elections.
TIE men who sit in the presen
Congress were elected as Democrat
and Republicans accOl ding as they
were in favor of or opposed to thu
complete restitution of the South
those now to be elected will be dies
ignated according as they are 70,
expansion or restriction in matter
commercial and financial. The
bloody shirt will have no ghost of +,
chance; the carpet-bagger will no
be heard of, not so much as an obit
uary of him. Men like Mr.. Clymer
of Pennsylvania, will have to de
one out of three things-cOme on
for the full Western platform of eX
pansion, canvass his district as /;
Republican, or retire from publ,
life. There will be no room any
where for Democrats who are re
strictions, protectionists; they viii
no longer be called Democrats at all
1t is not because we consider the