The daily gazette., 1879-04-04
THIRD EDITION
.The Political Debate.


-RnPUBLIcANS ELAUNTINo THn
BLOODY saIHT AND HURLIAa BACK
DEFIANCE.
WASHINGTON, April 3.-General Gar
field is answered tonight, aud / OF only
but ann hilated. 1t has been a
day of strong speeches in the House, but
the strongest and the best was made by
Blackburn, Of Kentucky. 1t was after |
three O'Clock before he took the floor. |
Proctor kuott had opened the days de- |
bate with an able legal argument, but |
Knots voice is weak, and, While he is !
one of the most talented men and bright
est wits who has ever sat in the House,
rarely appears in debate upon the floor,
and when he does commands attention
by the matter and not the manner Of his
speech. Withal, he Is an exceedingly
modest man, and while his oratorical
culver is loaded TO the brim with witty
shafts Of ridicule and hyperbole, as was
evidenced by his immortal speech ON
Duluth, he is not gwen to using these
pungent weapons and deli4hts more in
the dry tones of tue law. His spec ch to-
day was confined entirely to the legal
questions at issue, and was an able expo
81 ion OF the law. AT er Knott came a
bpctCll VI OlutI liOm
an entirely different man. 1t was The
maiden speech OF new member, Hcuck,
the only Republican from Tennessee.
After Ho OK came. Robeson, the Ex-
Secretary, who has already stepped 10
the fore as one of the Republican lt adefs,
and evidencr d by his manner aud speech
to-day lat lie does not mean to play sec
ond fiddle to anybody OH the Republican
In halh h.f lis "a
were not fighting for military power,
but defending a civil power; that the
posse conitatus could be used under the
present law, at the instance Of the civil
authority, and to e.force the civil laws.
1t was good point, and he mad" it the
bone and marrow of his speech. But he
wen, one step TOO far. He adWitted
that the purpose OF the law was TO enable
the 5 ate authorities TO keep the peace at
the polls, and right then and there anoth-
er new member, who is rapiJly coming
to the fore as a lawyer (McLahe, of Mary
land), punctured the whole structure
with single question: 'Is there any
decision of the Supreme Court which
even intimates that there exists such a
thing as United States peace 10 be pro-
tected Is there any law anywhere in
the Constitution or out of it which III axes
it the duty OF the United States to keep
the peace" Robinson was obi ged u
admit there was not, and his argument
was broken. 1t is no. the duty Of the
United States to keep the peace, and it il
not its duty TO protect the peace. Thai
dnty devolves upon the States and mu.
inequalities, not the United States, sc
said McLane and the position could moi
be refuted.
But the great speech of the diy wa
Black burns. He spoke from bis seat on
the Democratic side, to the right OF tbs
main aisle, and "a little nearer the from
than Garfield's seat, over on The left. He
did not stride up and down the aisle Al
Garfield did. He hardly moved E ON be
side his desk. But he spoke vigorously
and eloqueutly, aud made every shot tell
First OF all the Democrats, he lashtd th,
Republicans on their record ,on ~hich h,
had bo oked himself. His desk was GOV
cred with volumes of the Congr-SSionl
Record, with bills and laws. John Eth,
of Loulsiara, sat at his elbow to hand n
the documents as they were wanted. Th
''hett" of The ombardment fell on Ga
field Reading from the Record BLACK
burn laid bare vote after vote which G al
field had cast for legislation tar more r,
volutionary than anything now though
of. He reviewed the legislation whic
had been enacted to make the Suprem
Court partisan. He reviewed the Iegii
lation Of the Republicans dunng A nd
john IONS time. He read tile RecOr
where the Republican party tried t
coerce President Johnson aud attache
TO an army appr prlation bill claus
taking from the President some of th
powers As Commauder-,nc chief :onferre
by the Constlt@uon, and Len L- made
strong point 10y recitiI from the recor
the message OF johnson IN re urniug tn
bill without his sigma uTe, but dechnin
TO veto an appropriation b. Il although
contained extraneous matter more revu
lutionary than any ever attached 10 III
other bill before or since. Then be rea
the articles of impeachment again.
johnson, and recalled the fact that til
main cause Of bitterness against Johuso
was embodied in article s -"I imprac
Andrew johnson for abuse OF the vet
power"
There was n sensati on when, after Vi N
ing the changes on tins fact, Black bur
remarked that this article in peach uE ia
President for abusing he veto bower wa
not voted for once or twice, but scvers
times, ,and every time the gentleman II OF
OHIO Is reco rded AZ VOiing yea, and til
Record shows that at that lime, votin
shoulder to shoulder with the geutienal
was another man from OHIO, an obscur
man then, az who, but for "A cou bln
ton OF unturseen circuInstanc s, woul
nave Remained uDlil now u the y DS uf
ty to which God, IN His wi wisdom, inient
ed him. 81 find voting with HIM Ruthel
ford Is. Ha, es, of Ohio." 1t was d shaI
thrust, and The House saw u t. force
the logic as Black burn proceeded to dra
the parallel be ween then and now he
when Mr.. Hayes voted 10 impedch
President for abusing the veto puwe
and thai Pre,Ident one who would IL,
veto an appropriation bull; and no,
when the majority in Congress is d,
nounced as revolutionary for attachit
Objectionable legis alton to an appropri
ton bill and Is threatened with veto
veto by The same Mr.. Hayes.
"Well,' said Mr.. Back burn, ait
more seemly r "a contirmcd ue briate
preach the virtue OF femperance, tor Il
queen of the deIDi-moul 10 sing of f
male VIRTUES, for the devil t. prat. ti
doctrine Of salvation by faith, than f,
the gentleman from Ohio aud his par
to read US homi' les on mo ality." I'll
SPEECH brlstled with such compariso
and tened with such aniuadvcrs on
and when, in conclusl on, he dec are / II,
the Democrats we're " illng o stand,
need be, on the principle issue un
the Congress expired by limitat IN al
then go to the sovereign peupl- for
Judgment, the Democratic side applau
ed to the echo ami the galleries j ined
Tonight the d. bate was renewed IA