The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-03-26

The Scene Between Lamar and Hoar
and Edmunds.
From Washington Lerter.1

and Edmunds.
From Washington Letter
Lamar rose. There was a dead silence as
began 70 speak Senators on both sides leane
forward expeetantly He had left his seat i
, the outer-row Of desks and taken his stand mid
0 way on the Democratic side in the front row
with Harris, OF Tennessee, on one side and Wal
lace, Of Pennsylvania on the other An ope
volume OF the Congressional Record Law on tn
desk before him. He began very deliberately
saying that he must confess his surprise an,
regret that the Senator from Massachusetts
should have wantonlv, without provocation
flung this insult; but almost the first sentenc,
he uttered was punctuated by the sharp, quicl
| rap of the Presidents gavcl Edmunds was il
the chair, a. grim and severe looking a. Fat,
itself. He said sharply: The Senator from
Mississippi Will suspend, he i out OF or
der"
Lamar, with a surprising expression on his
face, looked up inquiringly at the Chair. Ed
munds had risen, and stood with one hand
resting on the presidents desk, his tall form
towering above the exhausted clerks 1.-THE desk
| below. With great delibyration he said In
| the judgment Of the Chair the Senator from
! Mississippi Is ont OF order in using unpariia-
| mentary language"
Lamar Strengthened up, folded his arms
| threw back his head, and, deliberately enun-
| ciating every word, said ''In the Judgment of
! the Senator from Mississippi, he is entirely in
order, and has language is not only parlia-
| mentary, but literally and strictly true"
The Senator from Mississippi will take
his seat sharply retorted Edmunds emphati-
calIy punctuating the command with rap of
the gavel; the Chair has decided that the
Senator from Mississippi is ont of order, his
language being parliamentary
Lamar sat down, but quickly came to his
feet and said calmly: appeal from the de
cision OF the Chair" and then he took his
seat.
Garland demanded that the words of the
Senator from Mississippi should be taken
down and read.
Edmands said: "The reporter will read"
and Shuey, the assistant Senate reporter read
from his notes, in Il clear, distinct voice, The
interdicted sentence of Lamar's speech
Is the Senate ready for the question?
Shall the judgment of the Chair be sustained? p"
was the formal demand put to the Senate.
The yeas and nays? ?" exclaimed a half
dozen Democratic Senators.
The yeas and nays are demanded is there
a second?' quietly said Edmunds
Up went a score of hands on the Democratic
side
The yeas and nays are ordered the clerk
will call the roll, continued Edmunds. al
most in the same breath" The roll was called,
and by large majority the decision OF the
Chair reversed. With great suavity of
manner, Edmunds turned his face toward
Lamar and said "The Senate decides that
the Senator from Mississippi is in order. He
will proceed"
There was faint effort at applause in the
but Lamar threw up his hands dep |
recatingly, and the Presidents gavel came |
down with quick, sharp sound. and perfect |
stiffness reigned. With an effort at self-re- |
7traint, and slowly and deliberately, Lamar |
began again. Senator Blaine, who OF all men |
Is certainly competent critic, says he never |
saw man display more tact than Lamar I'M |
placed He made no apology for the language |
he had used but he said il there was one |
Senator who felt aggrieved, he would willingly
withdraw whatever he had said. Pausing an |
instant, as though for a reply, he proceeded as
deliberately as before. Usually Lamar is an
impassioned speaker, but on this occasion he |
seemingly weighed every word he uttered.
He made an unqualified defence OF Jefferson |
Davis and of the whole Southern people |
claiming that they were actuated by the high
EST motives and inspired by the lottiest patr-
)tsm. Mr.. Davis he said, was the represen-
-ative simply of the Southern people, and he
Is well as they dedicated their lives and for
unes to a cause they believed to be right A
vanton insult had been nfiaraA sirS-ni by the
notion from the Senator from Massachusetts, u
n the 9 5dImiiel aud 81 less degree gree only had
peen the representatives of the people in that
great struggle. But they had bowed to the
lecree of fate, and Loyalty accepted the situa-
ion when the God of battles had decided
against them. Since the war no man had
more unreservedly accepted the situation than
Mr.. Davis He had counselled no instruction,
lad advised no factious resistance after the
great struggle was ended by the overthrow OF
he Southern armies. The meaning of the
speaker was plain. He meant that Mr.. Davis
had not Immediately after the surrender,
sought to prolong the struggle by guerrilla
warfare.
But this expression was seized by the ever
H..
with great effect a few minutes later.
In speaking of the motives that inspired
Hoar's motion, Lamar used a singularly APP
propriate figure of speech. He was referring
to the persistent attack upon Davis, broken
and aged man. He said that the Senator
from Massachusetts, he believed, classed him
self among those who We're called Christian
statesmen He might have learned more
charity even from heather mythology.
At this point the speaker, paused, turned,
and, in a stage whisper, asked Who was 1t
that was chained to the rock?' and Thurman,
across three rows of desks, whispered, Pro
Without more than deliberate rest, La
mar went on ''When Prometheus was chain
ed to the rock it was not an eagle that pluck
ed at his vitals, but a vulture.' The action
was suited TO the utterances; as he said twas
not eagle that plucked at his ritals, the
arms were thrown up and the cuFvlng swoop |
IF the king of birds was described in the ges-
ture, and as he Kissed out it vulture the
right armed Strengthened out the index finger
pointed at Hoar 1t was as fine and effective |
piece of oratory as l ever witnessed. Hoar
felt the sting.
As Lamar finished and sat down Hoar rose
and made half-apologetic defence. He said
that if he had thought that his motion would
have been interpreted by the Senator from
Mississippi, and those who like him, had
been devoted to the Confederate cause, as an
insult to themselves, he would not have made
it.