New-York tribune., 1880-09-27

REVOLTTION IT CONGRESS.

REVOLUTION IT CONGRESS-
From speeeh IN The House Of Representatives March 20,
1879, by General james A GGrfetd
Mr. CHAIRMAN: | have no hope Of being able TO
convey to the members OF this house NY om vo ~
viction of the very great gravity and soemnlty OF
the crisis which this decision OF tbe SnalI anu & VI
the Committee of the Whole has brought upon % thls
country / wish could be proved a raise pfophe.,
in reference 10 the result of this action. wlsh !
could be overwhelmed with the PROOF , tna' !
am utterly mistaken in my views. but no
view have ever taken has entered more deepy
and more seriously into my convictions than this
That this House has to-day resolved 10 enter upon
revolution against the Constitution ana ,'oVerh.
ment of the United States. DO not know that that
intention exists in the minds of half the representa-,
tives who occupy the other SIDE Of this hali. nall.
hope it does not. am ready 10 penpue pt
II does not exist to any large extent Dut
I moan IN saw the consequences of the programme
inst adopted If persisted n is nothing less thah lhe
total subversion Of this Government ..,,.a -.
I'm 10 this hour our sovereign has never failed u.s.
There has never been such a refusal 10 exercise
urinary functions of sovereignty as elther 10 eu-
danger or cripple the Government; nor nave Tue
majority of the representatives Of that sovereign IN
either House of Congress ever before announced
their purpose to use their voluntary powers Tor ls
destruction. And now, for the iIst tli9e III
oup history. and will add for the first time for at
least two centuries in the history of any Englsh;
speaking nation, 1t Is proposed ana insisted
pon that these voluntary powers shall be useu Ior
he destruction of the Government. want it dis,
tinctIy understood that the proposition whlch
read at the beginning OF my remarks, ana whIcn I -
the programme announced to the American people
to-day is this : That if this House cannot nave lts
own way in certain matters not connected wltn
appropriations 1t will so use OF refraii iionl usns'
its voluntary powers as TO destroy the OOVerh-
Our theory of law is free consent That IS the
granite foundation OF our whole supefstruc're on
sent-tHe free consent of the House; the free con-
sent of the Senate; the free consent or the Exccu-
tive or if he refuse II, the free consent OF i"o.
thirds of these bodies. viii any man deny that
VIII any man challenge line OF the statement tnat
free consent the foundation rock OF all our lnsttu
tousf And vet the programme announced TWO weeks
ago was that If the Senate refused 10 consent 10 the
demand of the House. the Government should stop
And the proposition was then, ana the programme Is
now that although there not Senate TO be coerced
there is still third independent branch III the egls
jatiye mower of the Government, whose consent is
to be coerced at the peril OF the destruction OF tls
Government that is, If the President, IN the DIS
charge of his duty. shall exercise his PLAIN constu
tonal right TO refuse his consent to this proposed
legislation the Congress will so use its voluntary
movers as to destroy the Government. This Is the
proposition which we contronti and we denoHnce IL
Us revolution. - . =,
remind the gentleman thab in 1856 the National
Democratic Conventton. IN session at OIhclhat,
and st1l later the National Democratic Convention
of 500 affirmed the right of the veto of the
sacred rights guaranteed by our government mere
Is the resolution: .,, -.
the President the qualified veto power by which he
is enabled under restrictions and responsibilities
amply sufficient TO guard the pnblc interests, TO
suspend the passage of bill whose merits cannot
secure the approval of twOthirds OF the Senate and
House of REPRESENTATIVES until the Judgment OF the
people can be obtained thereon
The doctrine is that any measure ~hlch cannot
| be passed over q veto by two-thrds vote has no
| right to become law and the only mode OF re-
dress is an appeal to the people at the next eec'i1
! earliest days-notably SO from Jacksons time
until now. :, i. -
| would have said if, in 1851. the Democratic mem
bers of the Senate, being then a majority OF that
body instead of taking the heroic % coursf ana gong
| appropriation bill an amendment declaring the
| right of any State to secede from the Union at
pleasure and forbidding the President or any officer
OF the Army Navy of the United States from in,
terfering with any State IN its work of secession"
Suppose they had said to TIE President. Unless you
consent to the Incorporating OF this provision III an
appropriation bill, we will refuse supplies TO the
Government" Perhaps they could then have killed
the Government by starvaiOnj but even IN the mad
| ness of that hour, the leaders OF rebellion did not
think 1t worthy their manhood to put their fight on
| that dishonorabe ground They planted themselves
on the higher plane of battle and fought 1t out to
Now. by method which the widest secessonlst
scorned to adopt, it is proposed to make this new
assault upon the life of the Republic.
| Gentlemen, we have calmly surveyed this new
field of conflict we have tried to count the cost OF
the struggle. as we did that OF 1e6d before we
took up your gaze 3i Dat'e . su IaOqgn oss n9 of
blood and treasure, yet In the name OF liberty and
union we accepted the issue and fought 1t out to the
| end. We made the appeal to our august sovereign.
| to the omnipOtent public opinion OF America, to
determine whether the Union should perish at your
| hands. You know the result And now law
fully the exercise of our right as Representatives,.
we take up the you have this day thrown down,
and appeal again TO our common sovereign to deter
mine whether you shall be permitted to destroy the
principle of free consent i'll legislation under the
| threat of starving the Government to death.
| We are ready TO pass these bulls for the support
of the Government at any hour when you will offer
in, ti,a 1ina vvaV hv m mr.
scribed by the Constitution If you offer those
other propositions of legislation rs separate meas.
ures will meet you IN the fraternal spirit
of fair Fdebate and will discuss their
merits. Some OF your measures many OF us
will vote for in separate bills. But you shall not
ooerce auy independent branch of this Government.
even by the threat of starvation, to surrender its
voluntary powers until the question has been ap-
pealed to the sovereign and decided In your favor.
On this ground we plant ourselves and here We will
stand to the end.