National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-04-16

from the Cincinnati Gdsctte OF the 10Th Of April,
iSlp in which he was alluded to as one OF tnc no
ever Infamous Fort Pillow massacre
The extract also contained extracts from the re-
port made In the Thirtycighth Congress by Senator
Ben Wade, Of Ohio, and Representative Gooch, In
regard 10 the Fort Pillow massacre. lie also sent
to the Clerks desk and had read all extract from
speech made IN Cincinnati by the Hon Be,nIamin
Dutterworth, of Ohio. as reported IN the EHqnnG
Of April 10, 1879 10 the eeGtthO he had heard INC
hero of Fort Pillow stand up In the Hall of the Ma
tonal Capitol and denouncc you as traitors aud
enemies of your country" lie therefore offered n
resolution for the appointment OF committee OF
seven, 0l of whom should be soldiers of the Union
army, and of which tho majority should not be
Democrats said committee to Investigate the charges
made against him by the report made Mt the ilrSt
session of the Thirty eighth Congress touching his
conduct at Fort Pillow and report whether the
same were true or not and if those specific charges
were not true, whether he had been guilty OF other
conduct at the battle of Fort PillOW unworthy OF
an officer and gentleman aud rendering him un-
worthy to continue q member Of the House OF Rep
resenatives, and giving the committee leave 10 SIT
during the recess OF Congress to send for persohs'
Mr. CHALMERS This House has right to Judge
not only of election, but Of the qualification of IT'S
members, and IL one-half OF the charges made
against me are true. ! am murderer and unht 10
associate with gentlemen OF the House. MY cleo
ton under such circumstances, Is disgrace TO the
state OF Mississippi my presence hero stain upon
tie American Congress. This report made during
the Thirty eighth Congress. was made in the midst
OF war, II was founded on The &C plrie statements
OF witnesses most of whom were ignorant, not one
OF whom profeSsed to know me personally and
the only witness who undertook to identity me de-
scribed me az wearing star OH the coat That was
the witness who described the shooting of the child
referred to in the extract from the report made by
Senator Wade and Representative Goochl. No such
But II true. IL any Confederate officer had been
guilty OF so foul deed, the testimony of that wit
ness would oxOncrate me- for the star oil the coat
was mark OF q major und not ola general III the
Confederate army. All these charges were fully an.
swered IN the history Ut Forrest aud the Cavalry.
and in 1876 they were again rciutcd by the test-
mony OF living witnesses. The charges were re-
Gently renewed by partisan press did not then
notice II, because the charges were shocking to
humanity, so incredible, III my Judgment, and so
| FULLY denied that did not believe there was a re-.
specialize gentleman i'll the country who would
give crcdence to them. And, after two years scry-
ice with the members of the Forty.ifth Congress,
no member of that body has ever, by word action,
or insinuation inttmacd that he believed me TO be
| The monster of cruelty pictured in that reporta
Inc charges have recently been renewed: and a
member of this House, Hon. Benjamin Butter
worth; of Ohio, in his speech recently has con-
nected my name with the battle of For Pillow In Il
| manncr which indicates That he believes was
guilty OF those charges. have no words of bit
erness iorany gentleman who has thus unjustly ac-
cuscd me. While these charges stand on the records
OF the country by report from Congressional COM
mtttee they arc perhaps excusabe. II is therefore,
| greater reason why the investigation l ask for
should be granted, and the truth of history vim
dicated. IL Is due to me as Representative ii Is
due 10 my state, to the people of my district who
sent me here; It Is due to the party. with whom !
su associated, and, above ali, It Is due to the
honor OF the American soldier and due TO the
iameot this House of Representatives. and ask
| mat tie resolution may be adopted.
MIR. GARFIELD said that he desired TO call ntten'
| ton rs to tho extent to which the House ought 10
80 IN regard to requests for an investigation of per-
| Sonal character. Every one admitted that when q
mans representative Official character was nssaled
ii became part of the business of the House to In
| vcstigate whether the charge was correct; but II
was very important question how far the House
ought to go IN recognizing requests for investiga
ton OF charges against the personal character of
I'm "a zoos
OF his official duty, and altogether outside fit. II
| members went to work to defend themselves from
all the assaults made against them, II would take
more committees than could be made up from tho
| House to 60 around
They were compelled, with the DrImmond ligh
of the press blazing upon them every day to take
their vindication of themselves into their owl
hands they had to live down rather than tall
down the things which had been said against them
But In the present the gravamen of the charges
against the gentleman from Mississippi was in Al
official report of former Congress, and therefore
itmishrbe proper SUBJECTED inquiry but he sug
for another day, until gentlemen might look a
u and determine whether 1t was subject that TIN
House ought to take official cognaance Of.
Mr.. BUrrERwoRTH said that of the article In TIN
Cincinnati Gd-cHe he knew nothing; why 1t shout,
be coupled with what lie was alleged to have snlC
| In his speech at Music Hall in Cincinnati lie die
not know. He was not familiar with the charge
, which had been made against the gentleman from
Mississippi in connection with the battle Of For
Pillow. lie did not know that such grave charge
had ever been made but he must say what wa
known TO all people that his name had been den
titled with what was regarded at the time as Ni
outrage at Fort Pillow: beyond that he had not beei
familiar with the details of the charges.
, lie had referred to the gentleman from MissIs
spp as connected with Fort Pillow because tina
gentleman was better known in that connection
than in any other way. He had not said that tn
geneM orb ron og Inc pSGoPc
used that language but he had said that the plO
logic was that the people of the North had bee
aithless In 1861 and that the men on the other sid
had sided with the Constitution; that in seced
ing from thee Union they had simply exercised
that they should not secede had been ltrespasSin
on their constitutional rights. That had been til
ana eees OF e SrEu M ny yn me nc mad
in his choice of language, The report had bee
+ very imperfect and he had not said what the n
port alleged that he had.
Tho resolution was laid aside for the present by
Mr. ATKINS moved 10 so into Committee of tn
Whole on the legislative appropriation bill.
Mr.. BRAGG moved that on the amendment sui
+ mttcd by him last Saturday (rcpcaling the Ia
creating the Southern Claims Commission) the d.
bate shall not be confined to the tiveminute rule
Mr.. ATKINS opposed that motion.
. Aiter some discussion II was ruled that previOt
order Of the House, partly executed. had the ene'
Q OF excluding Mr.. Braggs notion
1 The House then, at two o'clock, went into Con
+ mittee of the Whole (Mr Blackburn IN the chat
on The legislative approximation BIZ The Pendin
/ clause repeating the law creating the souther
: Claims Commission, and a substitute therefor 70
leIIcu ny young, OF ICnUpsSee) NDOllSnlig III
commission. but transferring all claims now pent
. ing before IL TO the Court OF Claims.
Mr.. BRAGG spoke in advocacy of his proposition
Q Mr.. KEIFER replied 10 Mr.. Bragg, and elaine
/ that the court should not be interiercd with unit
il died by limitation, as would do, in March, 1883
/ Mr.. ATKINS said that the provision in regard
I the Southern Claims Commission had been place
in the bill on the suggestion Of the chairman of tn
Committee OH War Claims in the last Congress II
had stated that he thought II very proper that III
4 Commission should be extended another year; otl
/ erwise the three thousand claims before the Com
mission would have to be turned over to some othe
4 tribunal.
7 Nj. HOOKER inquired whether the abolition c
$ tho Southern Claims Commission would not say
, $4,000 or $4,000?
Mr.. ATKINs replied that II would not He wa
an economist, but he was not an economist at III
i expense of the right of claimants.
Mr.. RUSSELL IN. CD protested that the propositiO
) offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin M
Bragg was not only and injury, but an insult I
the Union men of the South and that If there wa
any class of men In the country who deserved th
consideration of the Government 1t was the Unto
men of the Southern States
History might be searched in vain for an instanc
r of men having suffered and endured for opinion
sake so much they had done Even IN tn
0 Huguenots of France the Dssenters Of Scotland
the Puritans of England. there was no parallel fu
! their endurance. They had suffered for primo
. pie. He denounced the assertion that there ha
been no Union men IN the South, II had becom
4 men of tho South. That had got TO be the higl
toned thing, the highly respectable thing but III
!. insinuation was SANDER on men who were tn
nf tho unutlpmnn from Wisconsin nr M nj