Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-02-07

On Saturday, Senator Morgan continued
his long argument in favor Of his substitute
for the Ejmunds resolution. Abiding to
slavery, he said, slavery in the South, when
it existed, involved no such hideous feature
as taking freemen and making them slaves.
Negroes were slaves when the people of the
South bought them, but his friends in the
Northeastern section of our country. when
they bought Indians from Cuba and from the
Narragansctt tribes, bought free men and
made them slaves.
Mr.. Edmunds, of Vermont, referred to the
carly history of Vermont on the question of
slavery A judge, before whom application
was made for the return of slave, said that
when the claimant could show bill of sale
for the man from Almighty God, he would
be returned, and not before.
Mr. Morgan declared that it was the duty
of that judge to obey his oath to support the
Constitution and laws. That Judge knew
Almighty God did not issue title-papers, and
it was his duty to obey the laws. Such a
Judge might be a sufficient model of honor
and propriety for the Senator from Vermont,
but he (Morgan) thanked God they had no
such Judge in his State. Alabama had de-
clared in her constitution that she did not
possess the right of secession. No Northern
State had made such declaration in its con-
stitution. Massachusetts, believed in it in
1879. She believed in it at the Hartford
convention. The people of tho South had
stopped taking lessons in that school. The
people of Alabama had no bitterness. no ami
oil aN .
its losses. They had buried them
long since with sigh. In conclusion,
Morgan said that the resolutions
of the Senator from Vermont were too COM
pick in their arrangements, too concealed in
their purposes, to enable him to vote for
them. No good could grow out of them, bo
cause they called for mere expression of
the Senates opinion.
Mr.. Morgan inquired Of Mr.. Eimunds if
he would vote to re-enact law in the face
of decision Of the Supreme Court of tho
United States against it.
Mr.. Eimunds said that he would re-
enact that law in case he thought it was
right
Mr.. Morgan retorted that there was diff
ference between himself and the Senator
from Vermont. lie would not vote for a |
law contrary to a decision of the Supreme |
Court.
Mr.. Eimunds only wanted to say lust |
now that his notions of constitutional law |
only differed from those of the Senator from |
Alabama in the way of applying them. lie
dad not believe in the right OF party against |
whom the Supreme Court OF the United |
States pronounced Judgment to resist
that judgment on any ground of higher
law. There might be exceptions. He
would not discuss that now. 1t was
not any higher law. but fidelity to the Con
stitutiOn and to his oath which compelled
him, when called upon us Senator to pass
A law, to be his own judge as to whether the
Constitution authorized him to pass it or
not. In considering it, he should pay great
respect to any decision OF the Supreme
Court, but if, after fair and due delibera-
lion, it should be his opinion that the law
was authorized by the Constitution, he
would be guilty Of perjury, should he fail to
tote for 1t on account OF decision of a
coordinate branch of the Government. That
vas all he desired to say now. lie did not
want to be held up as defying the Supreme
'Ourt on account of some imaginary higher
lw.
A minority Of the Senate Committee on
Elections, consisting Of Messrs. Hoar, Mitch
Il and Cameron of Wisconsin, have made
eport in favor of proposing woman suf-
rage amendment to the Constitution. They
aY:
The disagreement and corruption OF our
rcat cities is largely due to men whose
firth and training have been under other
ystems. There have heon crimes, blunders,
COMPLICATIONS, lollies in the history Of our
cpublic, but few Of these things have been
nc to the extentiOn OF suffrage. No person
Ill deny that the women of America are
nspircd with love of country equal to that
ihich animates their brothers and sons. A
lpacity to Judge Of character 50 sure and
ipd as to be termed intutiye, il an especial
of women. The report ex-
rcsses the belief that in the determining of
ublic policies by the collective Judgment of
ic State, which constitutes self-gOyernmcnt,
&c contribution Of womans vote will be of
rcat importance and value. :
The Senate Committee on Pensions has
ported iayorably on the House hill granting
pension to Deicrest Doty, Of TinmOuth.
crmont, formerly private in Company II, !
NTH Vermont Infantry. ,
Some of the Southern Democrats sailed in,
4 Saturday, against Gen. Bragg. OF Wis
,nsin, who had dared to take open ground
,ainst paying Southern war claims. I
Mr.. Chalmers cared nothing for the pay 8
ent of loyal Southern claims. because 10y
ty to the Union during the war meant dis I
yalty to everything he held dear. That I
any men in the South had been loyal To
&c Union was nevertheless true, but he had
more confidence in their honesty than I
Ouse had in stuffed cat SKIN Il
6 wanted to know who had a
pointed Mr. Bragg salesman Of the II
orthern Democrats and how many could he v
liver OF such men who were Democrats. I
c (Chalmers) would remind that gentle [
an that the war debt was not yet paid, O
ID that the cotton and tobacco States were
wing far more of that debt than WiscOn-
n. When that gentleman pleaded tho e
God OF Union soldiers no a set-O1 against i
@ payment of money due the South and |
lawfully taken since the war he reached il
pth that the bitterest Republican had not i
It descended He (Mr, Chalmers) would b