The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-10-20
GAFIELD'S RECORD
AS Exhibited by HIS Votes and
Speeches in Congress.
His Contempt for the Constitution.

be The Republican party made no pretens
~ that the confscation and reconstruction act
m were within either the letter or the spirit o
III the Constitution. Thad. Stevens, James A
Garfield, John a. Bingham, aud other
= boldly declared chat the Constitution of the
United States must be thrown to the winds
ar when necessity demanded the substitution
ot Of the sword for the regular and orderly adj
Il ministratiOn of the law.
al In 1863 Garfield left the army and re-
, treated TO his home in Ohio, where he en-
II tered the race for a seat in the 38th Con
j. gress to which he was elected in October
n Of that year On the 9TH day Of December,
0 1868, he was sworn in member of the
a House. taking the following oath
It Il, James A Garfield, do solemnly swea r
y that, to the best Of my knowledge and abili-
c ty, / will support aud defend the Constitu-
= ton Of the United States; that |
Y will bear true faith and allegiance to the
e same that | take this obligation freely,
: | without any mental reservation or purpose
z | Of vasion."
How he respected the obligations of that
oath the following will show:
/ January II, 1864, the House had under
consideration dill 'to punish treason and
frebeJlt0n and to seize and c0nfscate the prop
eltg Of r>5els" Garfield said that the nsur
rectionarv States were out of the Union,
and had no rights under the Constitution"
Under this doctrine lands could be appro-
prfated and parceled out to Northern sol
diers as Caesar and Napoleon, in cases of
foreign conquest, had divided conquered
territory among their followers and depend
lents The measure being denounced on the
| Democratic side of the House as violation
of the plain letter of the Constitution, Mr..
Garfield, speaking for the Republican party,
said: uo1tld not break the Constitution at
all unless It should become NECESSARY to Orer-
leap its barriers" (Globe, 1st Sess. 18Th
Cong, p. 2I3)
During the debate on Colfax's resolution
to expel Long of Ohio, for words spoken in
the House, Garfield was reminded of his
declaration about overlapping the Consti
tuition Being asked if he still held the
same views Mr.. Garfield answered deliher-
atey in these reasonable words:
| Il WOULD TAKE ALL THE OLD SANCTIONS
| OF THE LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION AND
FLING THEM To THE WINDS IF NECEssA-
RY." (Globe, 1st Ssss 38h Cong, p.I504.) |
| January Is, 1864, Mr. Dawson, Demo-
| crat, of Pennsylvania, offered a resolution !:
chat whenever any State now in insur-
rection shall submit to the authority of the |
| Federal Government as defined in the |
Constitution, hostilities against her shall |
| cease and such State shall be protected, and |
her people shall be guaranteed in the full !
enjoyment of all the rights which the |
Constitution gives them" (Gl0be. lst ,Sess |
18Th COng., p. 25S.)
On motion of Thad. Stevens this resolu-
ton was tabled by Radical votes, GARFIELD |
voting yea
MUZZLING THE SUPREME COURT.
Garfield voted for bill providing that
none of the lawless measures known as the |
reconstruction acts should be declared I'M
constitutional except by the concurrence of
Two-THIRDs Of all the Judges Of the Supreme
Court By this vote he declared himself not
only in favor of muzzling the Supreme
Court, but of striking down that tribunal
and subordinating its jurisdiction and pow
ers to the will of Congress (.See Globe, I'd
,Sess, 40th cong, p. 4SS.
CoNFIsCATIoN AND MILITARY sUBJECTIoN.
In discussing the Confscation Act, Mr.
Garfield took the ground that the Confed-
crates were in the same category with the
Tories of the Revolution ; that their lands
and personal estates ought to be confiscated
and parceled out among the Federal soldiers.
These were his words
"Conficate their estates, both personal
and real, for life and forerer. The war began
by proclamation, and it must end by proc
Iamation. WE CAN HOLD THE IN
SURGENT STATES IN MILITARY
SUBJECTION FOR HALF A CENTU-
ALL THOSE STATES THE MEN WHO
FOUGHT AND SUFFERED FOR THE
TRUTH, FILLING THE FIELDS ON
WHICH THEY PICTHED THEIR
TENTS. (GL0be, Ist Sess., 18th Cong, p.
405.)
IMPLACABLE HATE.
In his remarks on one of the reconstruc-
ton measures, Mr.. Garfield said:
eff the gentlemen who report this bill
will put in a section that all who partici-
pated in the rebellion shall be FOREVER ex>
cluded from the right of elective franchise,
then l will say the proposition will be just,
and one we can stand upon as matter of
principle -4nything is just which excludes
from privilege and power ALL those in.
famous men who participated in rebellion"
Subsequently, the same bill being before
the House, Mr.. Garfield asked that the pre-
vious question be voted down, that he
might move the following amendment:
s'All persons who voluntarily adhered to
the late instruction, giving aid and COM
fort to the so-called Southern Confed
eracv. are FOREVER excluded from hold 1
ing any office of trust or profit under t
the Government of the United States" '
Globe, LIST Sess. 39h Cong, PIP. PAS, 2463.) {
HE WANTED TO HANG SOUTHERN PEOPLE.
In debating bill ''to provide for the more {
sfsctuaI q0peTnnleat Of the iasurrectiOndry :
States" Mr. Garfield made display of ma
Lightly and fiendlsh cruelty toward a fallen fa
and helpless foe equalled only by the brutal |
and bloodthirsty William De La Marck, the '
Wild Boar of Ardennes. 1t should be re-
membered that the war was then over, and |
that the Contederates had long before t
grounded their arms and submitted in good
faith to Federal authority.
Read the following cold-blooded declara~
tions deliberately uttered on the floor of the {
House
cit is clearly the right of the victorious
government to INDICT, TRY, CONVICT, AND
HANG EVERY REBEL TRAITOR IN THE SOUTH
for their bloody conspiracy against the Re-
public. l believe, sir, the time
has come when we must lay the heavy hand
of military authority upon these rebel COM
munities and hold them in its grasp.
81 give my support to this military bill.
II Is serere. IT WAS WRITTEN WITH A
STEEL PEN MADE OUT OF BAYoNET, and
bayonets have done US good service hitherto.
ALL ASK Is THAT CONGRESS SHALL PLACE
CIVIL GOVERNMENTS BEFORE THESE PEG
PIE OF THE REBEL STATES AND GORDON
OF BAYONETs BEHIND THEM" See Cong, |
Globe, I'd Session, Both Congress, PIP. 1103,
1104.
On the 18th of February, 1877, nearly
two years after the close of the war, the
same bill being under discussion, Mr.. Gar /
field made another exhibition of his malig-
nifty towards the people of the South.
Speaking in a tone of exultation and with
a smile of triumph, like cowardly despot
with his iron heel upon the neck of his
victim, this advocate of Imperialism uttered
the following language:
MIR. SPEAKER. This bill starts out by
laying hands on the rebel governments and
taking the very breath of life out of them.
In the next place it puts the bayonet at the
breast of every rebel in the South. In the
next place it leaves in the hands of Congress
utterly and absolutely the work of recon- j,