Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-04-08

~ THE UNITED STATES SENATE, MiECH IS
Senators cln no more
realize my regret than they can measure my
amazement that ny colleague (Iohnstonl
| should have felt it incumbent on himself 10
| Join The assaullng column i'll this chamber
lie first introduces the question of my polit
ical consistency, or II lac prefers, lnconSst-
ency, and next ha would introduce me TO
this honorable body, not as his colleague but
as a repudiator of public obligations. How
ever much he and his cohorts may cndcavor
by the cheap logic of the attorney to demon
strate what ought to be, am by nay con
victions and my sense of honor what ain. In
this particular | have largely the advantage
| OF my colleague, for, if | take him by his
| record, ,dimnutive as it is, he neither knows
what he is nor what duty he came here 10
perform. Laughter.
Mr.. Malone then proceeded to give an cy
haustive review OF the political AID
FINANCIAL HISTORY OF yIHGINI,
for the last decade. lie declared that the
Readjusters had never repealed any Of the
funding contracts made by Virginia, but as
serted that the bill passed in 1873 by the Nir-
ginia Legislature, and known as the brokers
bili,' which had been advocated by his col
league, repudiated, and forcibly repudiaied,
one-third of the debt of Virginia The Read
| JusteTS Htlu tlill tWO-lnl Oh lnt lnOltN
which Nirg inia had borrowed should be
paid the other third belonging TO West
Virginia, according To every principle Of
law and equity. Since 1871 the Readust-
ing party had denied To the creditor the war
| interest, and had proposed To Pay the rest III
full. Its adyersaries hal funded that war
interest, and proposed to rcpudiate Onc-half
of that which Virginia was in law and honor
bound to pay. lie would like the Senators
from West Virginia 10 tell the country what
that State had done with reference t. the
payment of one third of the debt contracted
by the commonwealth of virginia, whether
it had ever proposed To pay one silver 10
maintain the homer and dignity of the old
commonwealth
He criticised the action Of his colleague in
not defending the people ol Virginia from
the accusation thai they were dishonorablc,
dishonorable, too, i'll the opinion of men who
represented States, which, by arbitrary
legislation, had reduced their debts from
S343, ,000, 900 to SSi, 900 900 lie sent TO
the clerks desk and had read a table show
inG the extent to which the debts nf the
Southern States had been scaled down.
"tepudiaion honorable, adjustment dis
honorable" oh, Virginia, lac said, ii WIS for
this you barred your h,som To the soldiers
tread and the horses foot. 1t was for this you
ldl Wsist your iitl'If'llll ulSIldNt'l N'ui l'i
titude and courage, your heroic suffering and
sacrifice. l,wa' iur this you suffered the dis
membermtnt of your territory and sent your
sons To the field Ia return 10 the ruins that
were once their homes. 1t was for this You
so reluctantly abandoned your allegiance to
the common country 10 hr last In war and
last To go out. Oh ingratitude, thou baScst
AMI meanest of crimes
He would refer now TO IN intcrrosaiory
put last Friday by Senator Voorhees, to Sen
ator Logan as 10 whether the LATTER would
endorse the papers of an applican: for the
smallest postoilice who favored Reputation
either of the State or National debt. lie
would ask the gentleman Mr.. Voorhees,
how he found it compatible with his prirci-
pies to associate with Senators from States
who had 'rcpudacd." but had not read
justed." lie hal never heard Mr.. Riddle
berger express favorable opinion even of
the views of the Senator from Indiana on
the National debt Laughter lie also
quoted from John W. Daniel, one OF the
leaders Of the Bourbon party in Virginia, de
nouncing the iniquitous measures of Federal
finances and proposing 10 reverse them lie
recommended the Senators from Indiana AMI
Delaware (Messrs. Voorhees, and liaylr,l) Ia
try and reconcile their differences of views
On the financial question before the Senator
|
As to the Senator from Georgia Mr.
Brown, who seemed 10 he So much troubled
about rcadjustmcni, he questioned whether
the word had ever produced II man who
could 50 readily rcaduSt himself 10 all con
,litions and all circumstances. Laughter
That gentleman had got ahead ot the people
and ot the Democratic party IN the effort
lv dissolve the tnihn, and was the first Gnv
ernor III the South Ia cnniiscalc private
property in the courts Of Savannah ami 10
seize Fort Pulaski before the act al sccrs-
sion. Runner had it that the presidency al
the Confederate States WAS the gentleman
object at that time. In the struggle that en-
sued hc Mr. Brown was earnest for the
cause, until its fortunes began Ia waver,
and then he abandoned it with his militia.
After the war; he was next heard Of in the
Chicago republican convention in fact
that gentleman might say with th" poet
laureate's brook:
Men may come ani men mag 20
Eat 20 on forever
I.alightcr) lie WAS next heard OF us
radical candidate Tor the United States Sen
ate hut was beaten by Il more moderate repnb
lican, the late Joshua Hill He next appear
ed as the appointee of the carpet bag governor
of Georgia (the prince ot carpct-baGsers,
Bnllock) to the Office Of chief justice OF that
State, which position he subsequently, resign
ed to take the presidency of a railroad com
pany. Now that gentleman was here ~ the
leader of the democratic party, and his eN
PLANTATION was that the democratic party had
erred and abandoned lin, but that now ii
had righted itself and rallied ON his Mr..
Bruwn's) grant reserve Of uniying and un-
chanreahlc principles. daughter That
gentleman had alluded To ''rumors ot ii bar
gain" Ii there were any truth i'll those
rumors, then he Mr.. Mahone) was indebted
for any advantage he might draw from il To
the fact thai the senator from Georgia did
not know Of the opportunity. daughter
On that point he Mr.. Mahonrl would an
sWrr all the inurndoci of stnatnrs distinctly
and gravcly. With due REGARD Ia The digni
ty and ,ccnrnm Of the s'rnllr he hurled
back with scorn and contempt every iinpu-
tation that his action here hal been induced
hy any other consideration than that OF the
promotion of his peoples interests and Of
the welfare ot tlr whole country. lie might
occupy the Senate for an hour with rIImots
Us Ia the manner in which the senator from
Georgia, Mr.. Brown gni 10 the Stirr, AMI
the gentleman should learn from that fact
the valuable lesson thai every senator should
bu left to adjust his accounts with his own
constituents. lie avuwc,l his responsibility
his proud responsibility, for the introduction
Of Mr. RIddlclcrgcr's name as i candidate
for Office hut piufcss,d his readiness To
withdraw that name if il were true as re-
port had IT, that democratic srn.l"ts would
then withdraw their opposition in the rlec-
tinn OF officers ot the Senate.
This opposition to MIR. i;illlrhersFrr WAS
in view I'll the coming election in Virginia.
Ii wasth desire Ia uphold i:'Irl"'nism there.
1t was the desire Ia uph"ld party which,
while openly prnicssifi; obedience :" thcc"n
siitution, held by mental reservation rur-
| noses hostile to the constitution Ii was To-
uphold party there which did moi believe
in the right Of the friedman Ia vote. 1t was
To uphold Il party that, whii. nInhnally ac-
ccpting the lIncinnuli platform, in which
fnlI yoiea ffr, ballot and AN honest count
hal been ,lrInandrd, la. introduced a con
stituiinnal umrn,ncnt requiring that M
! ,,,.,, .h,,iJ ,.,Yi E. I,,iI,t t,r an ,tliss an