The Portland daily press., 1881-04-08
XLVIIth CONGRESS.
eenate-Executive Session.

WASHINGTON April Z.
The resolution for the election of Senate
officers was taken up, and a motion to go into
executive session, made by Mr.. Pendleton, was
voted down, 90 tn 80.
Mr.. Vance discussed the subject Of the state
debt Of North Carolina, denying that the debt
had ever been repudiated. He said that from
the day that the citizens of North Carolina
had recovered the control of the state, instead
of trying to pay the debt contracted by the car
petbag government and placed upon them in a
fraudulent manner, they had resolutely turned
their backs upon it. They had never tried to
pay and they never would. 1t was fraudulent
it was vicious, it was not debt in any sense of
the word.
Mr.. Vance denounced Mr. Riddleberser as
an unrepentant rebel, Democrat and Readjus-
ter, and said that Riddleberger had been taken
up in his sins uarepentant and unshriven and
had been translated into the heaven of Re-
publicanism without having tasted of death
laugh ter)
A discussion arose between the North Caro-
lima Senators and Mr.. Kellogg in reference to
North Cardinals debt.
Senator Ransom denied that the state had
repudiated any part of its just debts and insist
ed that the fact that the four per cent. bonds
Of the state were now selling at So proved that
her credit was untouched by the SANDERS
Mr.. Rollins said that the gentlemen Oh the
other side were shocked at the idea that the
Republicans should dare to give vote for a
Readjuster in Virginia who was with them on
the questions of a free vote and an honest
count.
Mr.. Vance-What difference is there be-
tween counting man out of his vote and out
of his money?
Mr.. Rollins-You have tried both and ought
10 be able to answer that question yourself.
Naughter)
Mr.. Vance, have not tried both; have
not tried either. My state has not tried either.
The assertion was witty but lacked truth.
Mr. nawaa ipuuirad If tho faint fI,af tba
eminent had deprived the Senator and his CO.
adjutors of the power of making slaves work
for nothing was any reason why North Caro-
lina should pay only 80 cents on thel dollar of
| her debt?
Mr. Vance replied by iDquiring if the ances-
tors of the Senator from Massachusetts had
| not brought slaves into this country in ships
paid for by the people of Massachusetts,.
Mr.. Dawes-ls that any reason why you
| should cheat your honest creditors? 90
Mr.. Rollins resuming the floor said that the
| Senators on the other side would have been
very willing to have received Mahone's vote
| Mr.. Hill of Georgia-But we would not have
| bought it.
Mr.. Rollinst-You waited on him and tried
! to make treaty but could not do it.
| Mr.. Salisbury had no doubt that there were
good people in New England, but when the
| Senators from that section assumed the pre-
| rogative of lecturing other people in regard to
morality and political sins they ought to look
| hb tu0lE OWu IcCOTuS. I10 uaQ U11S morning
| picked up a little volume of poems by Whit.
tier which related the early Traditions of the
people oflMaSSachuSettS and detailed chow they
prosecuted poor quakers. From that day to
the present there had been a prosecuting spirit
manifested in New England to their brethren
that New England senators if disposed to look
| around their own doorsills could find objects
that demanded their attention. But their
charity was of that broad kind that looked
away from home to see what it could do for
| the people of other sections. In the past wear
| there had been six hundred divorces granted
| in New England, 200 being in MassacRu sets.
| Before the Senators from Massachusetts took
| hold of the re-adjustment of State debts they
| had better re-adjust their marriage relation
| land he should be afraid to enter into that
| relation The Senator from Massachusetts,
| (Hoar) had several times quoted, Beware of
| the leaven of the Pharsee which is hypocrisy.
he Salisbury would like to inquire whether
| the Pharisee was not that man who preaching
| fidelity to public trust was seeking alliance to
| encourage reputation in the southern states
| When he heard mau crying out for a free
vote and a fair count who had sat upon the
Electoral Commission and cast out 10000 votes
| of Louisiana he should be apt to quote the
| passage of scripture, Beware OF the leaven
of the Pharisee which is hypocrisy" Q4augh-
ter)
Mr.. Call challenged any Republican Senator
to produce any evidence to prove that there
had been either intolerance, ostracism or VIC
lence of any kind on account of political opin-
ions in a Southern State. He went into an ex-
haustive history of the carpetbag govern
ments. He was frequently interrupted by Mr..
Blair, who asserted that the carpet-bag gov
ernments had assisted materially the prosper-
ty of the South. Mr. Call denied that the
right of suffrage was restricted in the South,
and criticised the laws which in Massachusetts
did restrict that right He also charged that
many voters in that State had been deprived
Of a free ballot by the influence of money and
by the influence of corporations.
This brought Messrs. Dawes and Hoar to
their feet in emphatic denial of the existence
of any such state Of facts, and long discus
sion ensued, the Massachusetts, Senators hold
ing that no man in that State was deprived of
his right of suffrage but by his own choice,
and Mr.. Mr.. Call contending that elections in
Southern States were fairer and freer than
those held in Massachusetts,.
At the end of this discussion the Senate. al
5.35. adjourned until Monday, yeas %, nays 16,
the negative vote being cast by the Democrats.