The Portland daily press., 1878-06-21
The Louisiana Approximation.

These are the remarks of Senator Blaine in
the U. g. Senate the 18th inst on the propo-
stion to pay $4,000 expenses of the louisiana
commission:
Mr.. Blaine-1 should take no part in this
debate except that happen to ba member of
the committee which reports the approximation,
though was not present when this item was
oruered TO be put in the bill. would not want
70 DO anything that would seem simply spite-
Iul or ugly, or a mere disposition to punch
SOMEBODY after the fight is over; but the dues-
tion IS here, and the Senate has simply TO meet
IL and to say whether or not voting to pay these
Thai is the whole of it
Mr. Dawes-When we voted to paw the
fisheries award, we did not approve the act.
:, Mr. Blaine-That was done on the asslmp-
uon that we had agreed to do il. This was
done In advance of an agreement, without au-
thority, and there is no analogy whatever be-
tween the cases.
Mr. Thurman-When the Senator saws that
me they agreed to pay for the act, what act does
the Senator mean?
Mr. Blaine-I mean the act bv which f;va
men went down to New Orleans to toll off
enough members from the Packard legislature
TO 70. make up legislature that would recognize
Nichols as governor.
Mr. Thurman-I wanted to know whether
tne Senator referred to the act of the President
IN sending these men there or the acts of the
commission after they got there
Mr. Blaine-Very we'll; do not mince mat
ters at all. do not think the President of the
United States had any right to send these men
to Louisiana on this errand As / said here on
the oth OF March, 1877, three days after the
PRESIDENT was inaugurated, (when made use
OF phrase that has been a little historic since
and 1 repeat It to-day, if Hayes was elected
President, Packard was elected governor, L
said then, and have said since, and history
has vindieated the truth of it, that it was not
10 the power of any man on the American con-
unent to throw shade of doubt on the title
tnat man was the President himself re
was not IN the power of any man on this
continent that day to do it, but the Presi-
oent engaged hve men to 90 down to Louisiana
to geta Legislature together that wouId recoO-
nize Nichols as governor. This resnlt was
achleved under some sort of hocus-pocus, 1t is
true,oy which they were to constitute. believe
10 the euphuism of Mr.. Evarts, a single Lepis-
issule; i; Dot you cannot see one effort in the
Whole OF IL that was ever made by this commits
SION 10 get Legislature that would
recognize Packard. There never was any
suggestion made to the Legislature that
was sitting under Nichols that they
m,gn. come over and make a majority in the
Legislature which was sitting under Packard.
am not going to discuss that whole aues-
tion now; am only going to submit at this
late DAY whether the men who did that work.
tne men who threw doubt upon the question
whether the Republicans had carried Louisiana
the men who threw into confusion and
cnaos the fair, legitimate, constitutional results
OF the presidential election, the men who were
the authors of all the mischief that has been
enacted since IN that whole matter, shall now
Dc pad by vote of the Congress of the
United States for doing it? For one I shall not
vote to pay them.
One other thing. To this day and to this
hour there has never been any authority or any
pretended authority, to use phrase somewhat
known in the iron-clad oath, that recopnized
Nichols as governor of Louisiana within that
State.
Mr.. Eastis-It was not necessary.
MT blane-l think it was necessary.
Where come from the counting of the votes
IN the presence of witnesses, and the solemn
declaration that this man having received q
maJority,is governor, and that he be declared in
public to have been duly elected governor,
hat he be sworn in the presence OF the LsgisIa-
ture, and that proclamation thereof be made
with the whole people as witnesses, and the
blessing of God invoked for his rule, all these
are regarded as necessary, where 1 come from.
The Governor of the Senator's State sits to-day
IN MS executive chair, placed there by q mob.
Nothing else ever put him there. He was
placed there really and absolutely by mob.
More than that
Mr. McDonald-I should like to ask the Sem
ator from Maine one question. Was the vote
By which Packard was declared governor ever
counted?
Mr.. Blaine-It was counted exactly by the
same mode and by the same men that the vote
Tor PRESIDENT was counted.
thority.
Mr.. Blaine-I do not admit that it was by
bad authority for the President of the United
States, and never will admit it was bad au-
thorlty for Governor Packard, have stood
hrst aud last and shall stand to the end for the
comp plete integrity of the title of the President,
aud the same logic makes me stand for the
integrity Of the title of those men who were
elected on the same day by the same vote No
bulldozng mobs in New Orleans or other parts
OF Louisiana shall shake me from that belief
and that position. According to the logic laid
down by the Senator from Ohio IMr Thur
mani maintain here that Abraham Lincoln
never could have taken his seat as President of
the United States. The city of Washington
was agains9 him; sll the surrounding mob was
against Lincoln being sworn on the morning of
the 4th of March, 1861, just as much as they
were 10 New Orleans against Packard being
sworn In 10 January. 1877. Talk about troopsl
The Democratic party would never have per-
mitted Abraham Lincoln to be sworn in az
President but for the presence of troops Win
field Scott old, reverent, heroic, stood in front
OF the Capitol over battery Of artillery the day
that Lincoln was sworn 10, to keep down a
Democratic mob that would have resisted by
force bad they dared. 1 again declare that
shall not vote to pay any money for any such
illegal purpose as was that of the louisiana
com mission.