Daily Kennebec journal., 1879-04-02
Genera, Gariieid's Great Speech
Defining the Republican Posi-

In the House OF Representatives. at Wash
ington, on Saturday, debate on the clause in
the Army Appropriation bill forbidding the
troops to preserve peace at the polls being
resumed. Gen. Garfield outlined the republic
can position in a mastery speech, in which
he denounced the democratic programme n
reyolutnary, and threatening the very lii,
of the government
+ Mr.. Garfield opened by skctching the point
at issue between the two parties at the close
I of last session, quoting the action of the dem
ocraic caucus to show that party had deter
mined. unless the action of the House was
concurrcd in. to refuse appropriations. Re
pubicans had done their utmost TO avoid such
a catastrophe. but no spirit of adjustment had
been manifested by the majority, and now the
propositions of last session were substantially
reatlirmcd.
The government was divided into three
parts. \ foreigner could point out dozen
WAYS in which il could he OycrthrOwn without
violence. The people might refuse To elect
representatives: the State legislatures might
refuse to elect senators or a bare majority
of one in either House might meet every day
for two wears and vote AT once to adjourn. In
either of those suppo>itions the government
would be at an end. Not with the Exccu-
tive. There were laws provided under which
hc could. failing in his duty be impcachcd.
Now. the Fathers had exposed one side of our
government to these risks. relying on what:
On the sovereignty of the nation and the force
of public opinion
The foundation stone of our government
wa, free consent. Nothing in this rcpublic
can be law that has not the free consent of
ia. la, frna nf rho 60
and the free consent of the Executive, or. if
the Executive refuses his free consent thai of
two-thirds of each body. Will ANYBODY deny
that: VIII anybody challenge IA line of that
statement. that tree consent is the foundation
rock of all our institutions? And vet the
programme announced two weeks ago was
that, if the Senate refused to consent to the
demand of the House, the government should
stop.
The proposition was then. and the pro-
grammc i, now that. although there is not n
Senate TO veto, there is still third indcpcnd-
cut factor in the legislative power of the gov
crnmcnt which il to be coerced at the peril OF
the destruction of the government. 1t makes
no difference what your issue is. Ii it were
the simplest and most inoffensiyc proposition
in the world. yet, if you demand, as n matter
of coercion. that it shall be put in, every fair
minded republican in America would be
bound to resist it as much as though his life
depended on his resistance. | am not argu-
ing at present as to the merits of your three
amendments ut all. ! am speaking of your
methods. and say that they are against the
constitution of our country. | say that they
are revolutionary to the core and that they
tend to the destruction of the first element of
American liberty. which is the free consent of
all the powers that unite to make the law.
1t is little surprising to me that our
friends on the other side should have gone
into this great contest on so slender topic as
the one embraced III this particular bill.
Victor Hugo said in his description of the
great battle of Waterloo, that the two armies
were like two mighty giants. and that some
times chip under the heel of one might de-
terminc the victory. Ii may be, gentlemen,
that there is merely chip under your heel.
or it may be that you treated it as u chip on
your shoulder; but. whether it is under your
heel or on your shoulder. it represents mat
ter Of revolution and we fight for the chip as il
ii were an ingot of the richest ore. Loud
applause on the floor and in the galleries.
Do the gentlemen know what they ask when
they ask us to repeal this measure! Who
made this Law which You now demand to have
repealed in this bill; 1t was introduced into
| lIt tNtIidtt VI iIit nllt' fNldltS Nv II nTOlll-
ncnt democrat from the State of Kentucky
(Mr. PowclN. II was insisted upon in an
able and elaborate speech by him. it was re.
ported against by Il republican committee in
that body it went through days and weeks OF
debate in the Senate. and. when il fiji ally
came to be acted upon in that body, tis i.
about the way the vote ran: Every dcmot raj
in the Senate voted for it, and every Sen tor
who voted against it was a republican.
Mr.. Garfield went on to show that in the
Senate Mr.. Hendricks of Indiana Mr.. Davis
of Kentucky. Mr.. salisbury of Delaware and
all the democratic leaders of the period voted
for the act now sought to be repealed lie
MIR. Garfield voted against it.
Mr.. Wood asked if. when the law was
passed, a state of war did not practically still
exist. Was Mr.. Garfield prepared to pcrpct
uate il now, II year, after the war had sub
sideG:
Mr. Garfield have no doubt that the pa.
triotc gentleman from New York took al
those things into consideration when he voted
for that bill, and may have been upatriotit
in voting against it, but he and must stant
on our record as made up. Let it be under
stood that have not at all entered into the
merits of the case. am discussing a methot
of revolution against the constitution of tn,
United States. desire to ask the forbear
ance of the gentlemen on the other side fol
remarks that dislike to make. for they will
bear witness that have in many ways showi
my desire that the wounds of the war shall b,
healed and that the grass that God plants owe
the graves of our dead may signalize the re
turn of the spring of friendship and peace be
tween all parts of this country. But an
compelled by the necessity of the situation t,
refer for moment to a chapter of history
The last act of the democratic domination i,
this House eighteen years ago was strrin,
and dramatic but it was heroic and high
souled. Then the democratic party said. II
you elect your man rs President of the Unit
ed States we will shoot your Union to death,
and the people of this country not willing t.
be coerced, but believing they had right t,
vote for Abraham Lincoln if they chose, di,
elect him lawfully as President: and the,
your leaders, in control of the majority of tn
other wing of this Capitol, did the heroi
thing in Withdrawing from their seats, an
your representatives Withdrew from thei
seats and flung down to us the gauge q
mortal battle. We called it rebellion
but we admitted that it was honora
bic that ii was courageous and that it wa
noble to give Us the fell gauge of battle an
fight it out in the open field. That conhit
md ,rl. f,,li nJ, Ill II