American citizen., 1879-04-19
BLACKBURN'S RINGING SPEECH

We nisgers elecktid dat dayr'
atlantic Constitution.
BLACKBURN'S RINGING SPEECH.
The Eloquent Kentuckian's defense of ths
Democratic Policy in Congress-A Sting.
ing RejOinder to Garfield.
In the House of Representatives on the Sd,
the Army Appropriation bill being under
consideration, Mr.. Blackburn said
He was but poor student of his country's
history who was not able to satisfy himself
that from the foundation of the Constitution
down to the present time 1t has ever been held
(and that by the highest authorities in the
land) that it was i'll the power Of the House to
holding supplies. In the very nature of things
the proposed repeal cUtld not be revolution
ary Negative legisiatioii WIS H. meyer eve Eevoihn the
right 70 the President to send armed forces
into any State, even to suppress domestic VI
dent to protect any state from invasion, but
only conferred upon 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 redufsftion
upon him. He was not Permitted to antici-
Legislature nor the Governor. Domestic vfo-
lence must have been in existence. and that
Legislature. More than one third of all the
permanent legislation affecting that arm of
the Government had been put upon the stat
ute books as riders upon ali Army appropria-
ton bin. If lectures were to be read to the
Democrats, let them come from some quar-
ter and some member not convicted On
the record. Did the gentleman from Ohio
(Gartield) remember the record ne
by b;o Mr.. l wilson no Of Iowa to an appropriatien
bill proposing to revolutionize the judicial
of the
posing to strip the supreme Court of the pre-
negatives and powers that the Federal Con
What was there that the party that gentle
man ably led had not done In that cat
gentleman from Ohio had challenged all com
to show a single instance In the history OF
tive had been coerced. He (Blackburn) ac-
cepted the gage of battle which the gentle
man had thrown down. He would read from
the I'd of March, 1867, Andrew johnson had
signed an Army appropriation bill under pro
record wss full of instances He found that
in the Thirty ninth Congress that had occur
red which would never fade from the minds
of the American people. He referred to the
resulting in the successful impe eachment of
were two principal counts in this Indictment
on which it was proposed to fmpeach the Ex-
ecutive. One was the exercise iu OF INC ve,0 tt,
elections-but to prevent interference OF the
Army power in elections. The count had been
from Ohio was on record every time vOt
ing in its favor, and he had been supported in
voting @ side by side with him to inn.
peach the President for the exercise of the
veto power. one then comparatively obscure
would have remained to this day, and until
his dying day. in that obscurity for which
signed him. Side by side with the gentleman
from Ohio, stood and voted Mr.. Hayes of the
% and in I the gaiieriesj, and now by what sort Of
authority had the gentleman from Ohio come
to threaten the House with the probable and
possible action of the Executiye? What pro-
vision of the Federal Constitution undertook
to clothe any body, either the President him
self or one of his Privy Council even including
his Premier the Secretary of State. to Fit. rs
he had done, on the floor of the House last
saturday and BY his presence G ana hLpSi apprS1val
the American Congress [derisive laughter on
the Republican -ideI. Referring t. Mr.. Gar
fields statement regarding Mr.. Powell, Mr..
Blackburn said, did not the gentleman from
Ohio know that the amedment to Senator
motion of senator Pomeroy. and that every
Democrat had voted against 1t, Senator Pow
ell among the number II waS not t canGid s
place the de d statesman In such a false posi-
ton. Let one take the dar rkened pages OF his
country's history for the last IL long years,
and read it carefully, and tell me then
whether it lies in the mouth of this
leader of a once great but now waning
party to read lectures to any body, either on
the score of revolutionary Legislation or eN-
trnneous introduction OF legislation on ap-
the record which they have made, better to
listen patiently to a confirmed inebriate as
|
better let the queen of the demi monde clab-
crate on the beauties OF female virtue, or let
the devil prate of Il scheme OF universal re-
demption, than for homilies on good morals
and lectures on revolutionary legislation to
be delivered from such Il source! [Appause
on the Democratic side. Let it go to the
country that one party in this Congress as
scrts that the manacles shall fall from the
limbs of freemen, and that the Army shall
not hold its mailed hand at the throat of the
sOVerefp II. and that the other party declares
that rather than release its grasp it will brina :
III. 4. a /
with whom 1 stand identified ave willing to
accept the issue-ayc, more; we go farther
| and admit that we are the ones who make the
| issue, and we are ready for you to accept it
| planting ourselves on this broad ground We
| welcome controversy. For the first time IN
Is wears the Democracy is back in power in
| both branches of Congress. We propose tC
| celebrate our return to power by wiptng iron
| the statute book those degrading restrictions
| on freemen, and by striking away the
| shackIes which partisan legislation has i'm
| posed. We do not intend to stop until W,
| have stricken the last vestige of your wa
| measures from the statute book Qike thos,
| which were born of passions incident to civi
| strife, and which looked alone Z,
| the ;lbridEcment of the liberties of the citi
| zcn) until we have an untrammeled election
| and unsuperviscd ballot, aud an absolut,
| free right for citizen to deposit his ballot n
| IL condition, the precedent for which we OIL
| to you Tor the passage OF this bill Itth'
| gentleman from Ohio il to be excused (to
certainly lie can not he justiicti) for p;tr;l,iin
before this House the ar9umcntuia IN tc'ToF'l
of IL veto that is cut and dried to be pa
upon Il bill which has not yet passed, anu
he is to be pardoncd for warming the fiou 3
that the Executive branch oil the Govern
| nrnt will never yield its assent to this meas
| ure in it's present form, ask whether ma
| rot he warranted and Justified in efnployin
| equal candor in assuring that gentleman an
! his as-ociutes that the dominant power 1
body, Is also equally determined that until it