The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-04-10
NO.

lazy power arse. II IS IN the cOnfl
sion of disorder aud the lack of righ
to be executed by the civil officers o
the law. 1t is within the smoke ot
such contract that a man on horss
back rides in and liberty is pacitied q
order. AS long as the civil powers oi
the law may be properly executed by
the civil officers in this country there
is no danger of military. The strong
arms, the clean hands and brave hearts
of our people, North and South, viii
never yield to a standing army, even II
8 million strong, unless it become alb
solutely necessary under the pressure
of the usurpatIon and arbitrary power
of some irresponsible member of the
| system to sacrifice liberty TO order,
that the time will never come IN this
country unless you, my friends, disre-
gard the plain teaching OF history.
Blackburn, of Kentucky, was the
next speaker who promised his speech
with the hope that he would in no way
depart from the plan of fairness in any
| debate; that no utterance of his would
give call to the charge that any general
question was involved in the issue un-
der consideration; nobody had been
surprised a. the speeches of the gentle
msn from New Jersey, (Robesop) F;
the performance would not have been
would not have been faily
rounded out-unless some member
of the pnvy council of that impeIalis-
tic dynasty under whose ADMINISTERS
tion the very vicious practice had
grown up TO what it was and now
sought TO repeat had testified on the
floor in its behalf. 1t had been argued
by various gentlemen on the other side
that this repeal was revolutionary in
character, that it had no place upon
the appropriation bill, that It was out
of line and should be considered as an
independent proposition. lie was but
poor student of his country's history
who was not able to satisfy himself
that from the foundation of the Con-
stitutiou down to the present time it
had ever been held, and that, by the
highest authorities in the land, that 1t
was in the power of the House to con-
troll the employment of the army by
Withholding supplies. In the very
nature of things, the proposed repeal
could not he revolutionary. Negative
Affirmative legislation might be,
brit negative legislation cannot be.
There was no one who would assert
that previous to 1865 the executive
had heli the power which this bill
proposed to deprive him OF. The Com
stitution did not give the right to the
President TO send armed forces into
any State, even to suppress domestic
violence. BY no means. 1t required
the President to protect every State
from invasion, but only conferred on
HIM the right to send soldiers to that
State to suppress domestic violence
when the Legislature of that State or
the Governor should make a requisi-
ton on HIM. He was not permitted to
anticipate domestic violence; neither
he nor the Legislature nor the Govern
or. Domestic violence must have been
in existence, and that fact must have
been certified to him by the Legislature.
There was no prerogatIve which the
President held which was not clearly
defined and limited by law, but the
Constitution had made Congress, ID
express terms, the grand reservoir into
which all powers of implication flowed.
This bill could not comprehend revo-
luton, but it was said il was in the
proper place when it was engraited
upon the appropriation bill. If. he said,
lectures were to be read to Democrats
let them come from some quarter and
some member rot convicted on the
record. The gentleman from Ohio
| (Gaffeld) had told the House that
this was an effort and an unmanly
effort to staTve the government to
death and had contracted it with what
be termed a bolder and braver action Of
certain members Of Congress in 1861
who had left their seats Snd had car
ried their issues to field OF carnage
that the gentleman had said that this
was revolution aud had decried the
effort which the Democrats were max
ing to adopt it. Far better would it
have been for the people OF the coun-
try il the power of the gentleman from
Ohio had been applied at an earlier
period of his political history in de-
nouncing and opposing the revolution
airy legislation. Did the gentleman
remember the record be had made in
1862, on an amendment offered by Mr.
Wilson of Iowa to al appropriation bll'
proposing 10 revolution'Zs the judicia'
system of the country, proposing to
rob co-ofdina.e branch oI
the government; proposing t.
strip the Supreme Court O.
prerosatlves, and the powers that the
Federal Constitution bad clothed il
with co that amendment bad provided
that If any circuit or district couIt
should declsre an act of Congress e
be unconstitutional, the judgment
should be carried up to the Supreme
Court, and if two-thIrds of the mem.
bers of that court should not affirm
the Judgment, the same sh u Il be re-
versed, and on q call OF yeas and nays
the gentleman from Ohio is fOuno
voting yea. In bis speech OF Saturday
the gentleman from Ohio had chal
lenged all coners to show n single in
stance in the history OF the country
where the count OF the executive hac
ever been coerced. Blackburn accepted
the gage OF battle, which the gen
tleman has thrswn down. III
would read from the record anc
show them Rp instance on the twenty
second of March, 1867. Mr.. johnson
had signed an army appropriation bill
under protest, feeling, as he said, con
strained to rsturn the bill with his sig
nature, but accompanying it with BIZ
protest. Was there no coercion there
Why, the record was full Of in,
stances. He referred 10 the ef.
fort which was made aud which
came SO near resulting in the inn
peachment Of the Executive Of tie
country. The ExecuiIve had been i'm
pesched OF high crimes and INSIDE
meanors and OF usurpation Gpd '---''H-
| ton of law, first, in that be haa cor
ruptly used the appoIntipR power. hao
| the gentlemen from Onio lntendSd 70
impeach him for thatl The gentleman
knew that he had not. 5 cOnd, in
that be bad corruptIy used the pardon
ing power. Had tic gentleman IN
tended TO impesch him for THAR Eg-
erybody knew be had not. Third, in
that he had corIuptly uscd the veto
power. There wac where TIE sting
came in. l. Was the exeic - - tha'
prerogative, it WAS the emp.os naent Of
that veto power for which The House
voted those articles Of impeachment.
Fourth, 10 that be has corruptly dis
posed Of public property. That was
. mere fo:mal count in the indictment.
Fifth, in That he has corTuptly inter
fered with the election. Those were
the two counts in this Indictment or