Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1881-04-19

SPEECH BY SENATOR VANCE.-On
last Thursday, Senator Vance, of N. c.,
made characteristic speech in the Sen
ate, in the course of which he said =
1.-THE republican side, he said, coming
down to the question of the election of
officers, had inquired why the demo-
Gratis would not vote for Riddlerger.-
| That was shifting the issue. The ques-
ton was how could gentlemen on the
other side support him? He was a
rebel, an unrepentant rebel; demo-
crat, an unrepentant democrat; a read
| ulster, an unrepentant readjuster. How
could they forgive him? What was the
object for their supporting him? He
(Mr. Vance) objected to voting for any
man who called himself a democrat,
who had a surname before the word
democrat" He objected to the man
ner in which the republican party had
undertaken to foist candidate upon the
Senate. because it was in defiance of the
whole plan of political salvation. Rid
dleberger had been taken up in his sins,
unrepentant and unshriven, and had
been translated into the heaven of re
publlcanism without having tasted of
death. Laughter. The Senator from
Connecticut (Mr. Hawley) had stated
that this movement was going to
break up the solid South. It re-
minded him of the story of the boy
whose dog "Tige" had died, and who
"bet that the angels would be scared
when they saw Tige trot.ing through
the front gate" The solid South was to
be broken when Tige came trotting
through the front gate Laughter.
Had SO great an undertaken ever been
inaugurated by such small means Did
any body ever before hear q party an
nounce the extremities to which it was
reduced when it announced that it re-
lied for success on an alliance with the
Senator from Virginia and the election
of Riddleberger. to the Office Of sergeant
at arms? Instead of this movement
being, as was stated, an alliance to pro-
mote the purity of the ballot box, it was
an attempt once more to subject the peO /.
pie of the solid South (who had been
Tree long enoug to gather up little
money! to the dominion of carpet bag
rule in order that ther little savings
might be swept away"
We should be very far, either by
voice or pen. from giving any encour-
agement to strife, and especially such
as could possibly result in an applica-
tlon of the principles recognized in the
SO called "Code of honor" But those
who believe in the Code are of opinion
that our new Republican Senator was
badly worsted in the encounter with
''the Tall Sycamore of the Wabash, !"
and that the onus is upon him. Simply
saying that ''you are another" when
an affront has been offered, does not, in
the estimation of those who hold to the
Code, wipe out the insult.
We are but q novice in such matters 4;
and yet we think that Mr.. Voorhees,
first explanation and disclaimer should
have been sufficient for the man who
has been cavorting around the Senate
with chip on his hat and daring any
body to knock it off. His attempt to
play the bully towards gentleman has
been signally rebuked, and we hope that
nothing more serious will come of it 4;
although it is likely that Gen. Malone
will have other opportunities to resent
criticism upon his extraordinary and
wholly indefensible course.-Lynch6urg
Vargi,aian.