National Republican., 1879-03-31
THE UNIONS NEW DANGER


whether, at the expiration of fourteen years
after the war was subsidized, that gentleman is
yet prepared to continue war measure in
time of profound peace in the country
MIR. Garfield have no doubt that the pa
triotic gentleman from New York took all
those things into consideration when he voted
for that bill, and l may have been unpatriotic
in voting against it, but he and l must stand
on our record rs made up. Let it be under
stood that have not at all entered into the
discussion of the merits of the case. am dis
cussing method of revolution against tho
Constitution of the United States. l de-
sire to ask the forbearance of gentle
men on the other side for remarks
that | dislike to make, for they
will bear witness that l have in many
ways shown my desire that the wounds of the
war shall be healed, and that the grass that
God grants over the graves of our dead may
signalize the return of the spring of friendship
and peace between all parts of this country.
But am compelled by the necessity of the
| situation to refer for a moment to chapter
of history, The last act of the Democratic
domination in this House eighteen years ago
was stirring and dramatic, but it was heroic
aud high.souled Then the Democratic
| party said, IF you elect your man as
President of the United States we will
shoot your Union to death y and the people Of
this country, not willing to bo coerced, but be.
| lieving they had right to vote for Abraham
| Lincoln If they chose, did elect him lawfully
rs President, and then your leaders in control
| OF the majority of the other wing of this Cap
| itol did tho heroic thing of withdrawing from
their seats, and your Representatives withdrew
from their seats here and flung down to us the
gage of mortal battle. We called it rebellion,
but we admitted that 1t was honorable, that it
was courageous, aud that it was noble to give
us the fell gage of battle and fight it out in
the open field. That conflict and what fol-
lowed we all know too well, and to-day, after
eighteen years, the book of your domination is
opened where you turned down your leaves in
1850, and you nre signalling your return
to power by reading the second chapter mot
this time heroic one, that declares that il We
| do not let you dash statute out of the book,
you will not shoot the Union to death, as in
the first chapter, but starve 1t to death by re-
fusing tho necessary appropriations. Applause
| on the Republican side You gentlemen have
it in your power to kill this Government. You
have It in your power, by Withholding these
two bills, to smite the nerve centres of our
Constitution to the stiffness of death, and you
have declared your purpose to do it If you
cannot break down the element of free
consent that up to this time have always ruled
in the Government.
Mr.. Davis (of n. C.)-Do | understand the
gentleman to state that the refusal to admit
the army at the polls will be the death of this
Government? That is the logic of his remark
if it means anything We say it will be the
preservation of tho Government to keep the
army from destroying liberty at the polls
MIR. Garhcld-l have too much respect
for the Intelligence of the gentleman from
North Carolina to believe that he thinks that
that was my argument. He does not say thai
he thinks so. On the contrary. | am sure thai
every clear minded man knows that that wa,
not my argument. My argument was this
!, That unless some independent branch of th,
In tttfn t.,rtt "a
sign or vote what it does not consent to- you
will use the power in your hands to starve tn,
Government to death.
Mr.. Davis--How dies the gentleman assume
that we are forcing some branch of the Gov
ernment to- do what tdoes not wish to do? How
f do we know that, or how does the gentleman
know it?
, Mr. GarGeld-My reply to the gentleman i
that read at the outset Of my remarks th
: declaration of his party, asserting that this
its programme and l am speaking to that pre-
gramme. In 1856, in Cincinnati, in the na
r tional Democratic convention, aud still later, !
1S60, the national Democracy in the Unite
States affirmed the right of the veto as one Q
the sacred rights Of our Government, and de
: clared that any law which could not be passc
Q over Il veto by Il two-thirds vote had no rig
a to become law, and that the only redress wa
an appeal from the veto TO the people at TIL
. next election.
That has been the Democratic doctrine 0
o that subject from the remotcst day-cortanl
o from General Jackson's time until now. Wha
C would you have said in 1861 if the Democrat
@ majority in the Senate, instead Of taking th
s. course which it did, had simply said, "We wi
@ put an amendment on an appropriation bill d
" claring the right of any State to secede fro
= the Union at pleasure, and lorbidding any of
% Ger of the army or navy of the United State
G from interfering with any State in its purpo'
IN la thnt hnt lp rut ir m
iority had said then, Put that on these appr
priaton bills or we will refuse supplies to I'll
10 Government"
v. And now, lawfully, In our right and In o,
r places here we pick up the gage OF battle whic
d you have thrown down, aud will appeal to OH
4 common sovereign to sec whether you sha
" break down the principle of free consent
Z legislation at the price of starving the Go
g crnment to DEATH
h. We are ready to pass these bills for the SUI
"a port OF the Government at any hour when yo
will offer them in the ordinary way, and If yC
., offer these other measures as separate measur
~ we will meet you in the spirit of fair and fir
~ ternal debate. But you shall not compel u
40 20 you shall not cocrce us, oven to save this Go
30 ernment, until the question has gone to VI
y. sovereign to determine whether ii will conse
Su w to break down any of its voluntary power
y And on that ground, gentlemen, we plant ou
~ selves. Loud applause on the Republican si'
unu IN tnc gallclles,l
Perhaps they could have killed the Cover
'h mcnt then by starvation But in the madne
u of that hour the leaders of the secession NOV
A. ment did not dream that it would bo honoral
of to put their fight on that ground, but thu
IN walked out on their plan of battle and foug
=. it out But now, in a way which the widest
III secessionists neye dreamed of taking, 1t is pr
g posed to make this new assault OH the vitals
20 the nation. Gentlemen addressing the Dem
es cratic side of the House, we have tried
of count the cost. We did try to count it in IL
rs, before we picked up the gage Of battle, and
ey though no man could then forecast the awf
ii loss in blood and treasure, yet, having start
er in, we staid there to victory. We simply ma
the appeal to our sovereign, to that great O
nipotent public opinion in America to
termine whether the Union should be shot
ch death.
on We remind you, in conclusion, that this grC
iv zeal Of yours in regard to keeping the oilic,
400 of the Government out of the States has /
100 been always yours. l remember that only
'sS years before the war your law authorized m
he shals of the United States to 60 through
he our households and hunt for fugitive slav
in 1t did not only that, but 1t empowered M
raj shals to call for a posse cOmitdtUS aud to C
ch upon all the bystanders to join IN the cha
ed and your Democratic AttOrney-General
clarcd in an opinion in 1854 that a "marsl
of the United States might call to his aid
whole posse, including soldiers and sailors a
ue marines of tho United States, to Join in
chase aud to hunt down the fugitive"
let Now, fcllow-members of the House, IL,
let the purpose Of making slavery eternal )
md y1ttts f.top al1ata md an