Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-30

Mr. Fox moved TO defer the special order for Q.
week. He said re did sn because there is another
Act to the same effect. Lost.
Mr.. Fox moved to strike out the enacting clause.
| Lost.
Mr.. MAY-Mr. Speaker count myself proud to
nave lived to see this day. For something more
than TWO years | have been wishing that might
| oceupy : place here as do now and have an op-
portunity to talk about this law. am going to
tTesi@ss Tor little space upon ;he time of the
house, and give them brief history of the law
when when IS now sought to be repealed. And wish
to say now in advance that 10 not intend to saw
anything that viii be considered as A personal re-
| Hecuon upon any man, either here or elsewhere
| or upon any party and yet it would be necessary
ior Ie N giving the history OF this Law to annad-
vert somewhat sharply upon the history of the past
In poltlcs am Republican, don't know as gen
tlemen know 1t. This law was aimed at the leaders
q Wbat IS known as the WoikiDgnen's party 1t
never had any other purpose. 1t utterly and en-.
tlrely failed OF the purpose, as it should have done
Now, am not an aspirant for hon0rs at the hayds
OF that party. II | were, it would be a
hopeless aspiration. | suspect tina. no
member OF that party has ever voted for me for
anything. certainly have never solicited their
votes, much as | respect them, because they are
peculiarly loyal to their party candidates anu have
never had the honor OF being placed upon their
tickets. Denis heayney is man with whom have
the honor TO be solnCwha. acquainted. He has
some pecuarities but underlying all OF them there
Is AS sterling honesty IS ever animated human
heart. He is in the habit of calling spade a
spaue, ana Il plck Handle PICK handle. Now, |
would probably call pick handle walking stick
but he does net. When he speaks about q pick
handle, he means pick handle and he called Ger.
tain men the pick-hand brigade. | would say q
lot OF gentlemen with walking canes in their hands
Two years ago, as gentlemen very well know, Deals
KearGey was making some loud-mouthed charges
agans. the public officials of San Francisco He
called them scOundrels, plUndering THE, es, mid
night robbers and daylight thieves. Tie officials
disliked it. Tiey had no taste fer such talk as
thai
Mr. DEL VALLE-I rise to point Of order. do
not believe :be matter now under consideration has
ANYTHING to do with the matters discussed by the
gentleman.
The CnAIR-'The point is well taken. The ques.
tion is upon the repeal of the section.
nr. MAY-Mr. Speaker, shall certainly not travel
9ut oI the record The officials came up from San
Francisco and lobbied and railroadcd thro;lrb this
house this law and | will tell you why they lid
it, ii the house VIII give the right to say so.
lCries Of "Go on."l
Mr. ApA&s-l hope :he gentleman viii not be al
lowed to 20 on. We don't want to hear pspis Rear.
ney or any other man eUloglzed here
Mr.. MAY ! shall speak Of George Washington. or
Abraham Lincoln, or anybody else 50 long as the
House viii sustain me.
The CHAIR-Ihe gentleman will conlinc himself TO
the question.
Mr. MAY will confiue myself to the question.
say then that when that man undertook 10 express
his opinions in San Francisco
The SPEsEER-I call the gentleman to order The
question before the House is upon the propriety Of
repeating this law.
MIR. MAT-I appeal from the decision OF the
House.
The decision Of the Ch If was sustained by 4 vote
Of 81 ayes to u nOes.
Mr. MAY surrender the floor.
Mr. TYLER spoke to the question and offered an
amendment as to reduce the crime from a felony
to a simple misdenIsauor. He claimed that such a
law ought to 5e IN the statutes. That such 4 Law
to be found on the statute books Of every = tl.e
in the Union, and the only objection that could be
urged was that the penalty was too high.
Mr.. Fox 1ir. Speaker, have no doubt there was
some undue excitement when this law was passed ;
bu; does it follow that because wrong was done
another shall be perpetratedY l do not propose 70
consider the condition under which this law was
passed. nor do intend to reflect upon the purity Of
the motives Of my predecessors upon this floor,
nor upon the Governor Of the State But sir in
considering this BILL as hcpe to act in considering
every other bill propose to bring to my aid the
best reason that God has given determine the
right wrong. This section ought not in my opin-
on stricken from thestatute books of this State
The first question is whether the people Of the State
desire to-day to place upon the st3tutcbOUEs the de
claration that it is no: crime for man to advise
ncite his fellowInen To destroy the property or
the lives of their fellowcitiZ5ns Are We prerirel
to 60 far back into the regions Of harbasm as to
say that we will write upon the statute books of
the State provision that it is violation Of the
law to ncite men TO burn your dwellings, destroy
your ships, utterly destroy your properly, even
to take your lives? That Law is not new to civi!za.
England for centuries past. Bnt it concluded
to take the common law and place il upon the
books where every man can see it. In the common
law there was no penalty fixed, and it became neces-
sary to place it the statute books and fix pen
atty. The penalty fixed is in my judgment, un-
wise, and is SO fixed to defeat the purpose Of the
law. Put by amending it 50 as to make it miSle-
meanor, instead of n felony il viii he a good law
Such a law will never infringe upon the rights
privileges Of any honest man.
Mr. BRAUNuAET quoted Sections 4oi, i0j and 400,
to show that this $ law ample to cover
the case without the one which was passed for
special purpose. The law. lac said, passed un-
der Il mis- ipH;ehensiau OF facts. He thought it WAS
not necessary 70 20 any further Than the ccrlnon
law of Nagllrd. Daring Mr.. Braunhart's speech
he compelled to undergo the same ordeal Of OBJ
jeciOas and poiut5 OF Or1er The gentleman from
san Francisco, Air. May, but persistenty held the
floor, and said indirectly what he not permit
ted to say directly.
Nr. ADAMS moTed the previous question.
The ayes and noes were demanded, and the House
refused to order the main question.
Mr. MAYBELL-hir Speaker, when | was q littla
boy, and had very lite sense, heard precept or
axiom which read something like this: - Silence is
golden" But since / grew to manhood / came
across another axiom something like this q" Silence
is caused by mental defect, and is Indicative If
lack If expire sion, peculiar 30 that which is llvcst
in the order Of animate creation, known rs the
cam" But sometimes clans speak, and move
the previous question. | shall contne myself to the
question of the amendment. am opposed to il FIRST,
because IL StrlhCS AT an CIeCy NLiltC tne cause
mains. Second, il cannot he enforced, because it
creates host Of enemies, aud therefore 1t is impo-
tent. Third, that gag law of any nature conceals
the true condition OF society. Shut'Of expression,
and what is the result. The heart may be bleeding,
the whole frame and civil structure may be under
going the tortures and throes Of perditiOu but if
the expression is shut off the victim must suffer
without relief Fourth, IN the remote past the re-
suit Of such law has been anarchy civil wars, and
revolution. Mr.. Speaker, you may by q rag law
suppress the cry of the people, but You sup
preas the fire that is raging within their breasts
You may have peace. bUt it is the peace that over
hangs Vesuvius and -Etna. Tie expression may be
pent up, but the iire Of revolt and revolution
will burn within the breast, and 4. any moment
the explosion may ensue and the land be
veloped in death and desolatioa These
rentlemen who move the previous question
do not understand the magnitude Of this question.
wish to God that the Almighty had furnished
them with comprehension so that they might be
able to. This is the most important question that
has ever come before this Assembly. will make
that so clear that even the gentlemen who move the
previous qu. stion can see it. At the time when
those great minds took into consideration tie build
ing of this structure that we are proud to call the
great Republic Of TIE United States, what was the
first thought in the minds Of those men? | imagine
see them now, sir, in their provincial capital,
sitting at their rude desks with quills and paper de-
fore them ready to convey to paper what then
in their minds. And what the first thought?
What it they first placed upon that ever aenor
able paper? Why Article |, Section l, of the Ma
tlOnal constitution congress k0aIl make no law
respecting establishment of religion, prohibit.
ing the free exercise thereof or abridging
the freedom Of speech, Of the press"
etc. That was the first law written upon
paper. And it is upon such questions 2s this that
men move the previous question Ny God is it
any wonder that the nation IS running into anarchy
has been said that the laborug classes can never
rule that the rich must run the Government. Now,
would ask these legal gentlemen, why are You
against me? do not inpugn their motives. Ii is
simply because they stand upon different plane,
and look upon these things in a different light.
Had they been IN my position IN the obscury of pov
eitY, laboTing beneath the lash OF cheap labor they
would view this matter in a different light. Now,
sir let these gentlemen 20 with down the
darkness of obseuritY and poverty, and will show
them why the people have cried out for relief. Let
them the blood upon their robes, and seei there
wrongs, and whether the supp ession Of their
agonzing cries would bring about public good and
permanent peace. II a mother with her child in
her arms and the wall Of that infant was disturbing
her dreams, would she place the hand of suppression
upon its mouth to s,ifie that infants cry knowing
that it would not have cried out bad it not been
that there was inward pain, inward suffer ng, 60
ing on within that infants breast. A mother that
would seek to strnsle the cries of her infant would
be considered inhuman, yet tine principle is the
to be enacted and the wall of suffering people is
sought to be stifed. This people would
not cry, the child would not cry, un-
less there was something wrong within
Let take into councils the opinion Of the
great and eloquent Erskine. He SAYS: Unjust
prosecutions lead to the ruin Of all Governments
Whoever will look back into tie history Of the world
in general and Of own in particular will be con-
vineed that exactly as prosecutions have been cruel