The south Kentuckian., 1883-01-09
Hon. ]. Proctor Knott.

"te kct~tIciuhH mas SerYcu Ma cor
sii'lency in Congress twelve years
and II IL perhaps not too mnch 10 sa,
that no Representative from Ken
lucky ever made record more hon
orable to himself or more creditablt
TO his native State. Trained in the
old Democratic school OF strict con
atrnciion, and identified with the
common mass of bis fellow citizens
by birth, by fortune, by association
and sympathy, his career has been dis.
tinguished, not only by the sternesI
fiselfty to the consultation Of his
country, but an able aud fearless al.
vocacy Of the interests of the people,
against every cncroacbment OF reyo.
lutionary factions, every scheme Of
corruption, and every demand of ex.
trsyagance, willis not even breath OF
suspicion has ever tarnished his pub.
lIrr rr private character.
lie was admitted to seat in the
Fortieth Congress in 1857; he was
placed at the loot of the committs
ON Mines and INNINGS, but this OBJ
scure assignment did not prevent
him from speedily asserting his supe-
riority IN tho new arena TO which lie
had been chosen. His first speech
was in favor OF the admission OF his
colleague, Hon. Jno. Young Brown
10 bis seat, which for purity Of die.
tion, cogency OF reasoning and accu
racy Of learning has rarely been
equaled In any forum and which
placed him in the front rank of con-
stitutional lawyers in the House.
Ills next effort was in opposition to
Mr.. Stevens suffrage bill, which
showed him as much at home in the
broad field OF staicsmansbip, as in the
moro limited sphere of legal discps.
sion, sIiIs masterpiece, however, was
en- argument delivered during the
second session Of the Fortieth Con.
gress,-in opposition to a bill to pun
ish ex-Confederate soldiers for hold.
ing Office State or Federal, without
having been relieved by Congress
from their SO. calle disabilities, which
won for him the highest encomiums
OF tho scholars and jurists of the
country, and which has been pro-
nounced by competent critics as one
OF the most remarkable specimens OF
forensic logic in our language.
In the Forty first Congress Mr..
Knott was placed upon the commit.
tees OF the District of Columbia, and
PrivsteLand Claims,in both of which
he rendered valuable service to the
country by his resistance OF numer-
Gus schemes Of extravagaacc aud cor.
rup.ion. In this Congress he delfy-
ered his celebrated Duluth" speech
which not only made his name
household word among English
speaking people every where, but has
been translated Einto almost every
language in Europe. Yet remarka-
BILE as that famous effort is universal.
ly admitted to be, Mr.. Knott had on
ly the session before delivered a
speech on the wasteful extravagance
OF Congress, which although far less
celebrated, is thought by many to be
fully equal, ifnot superior 10 II, moi
only in beauty Of diction, but in the
pungcncy Of its satire, and the bril-
liancy ofits wit. Those two speeches
did more than anything else to call
popular attention to the recklessness
of public expenditures, and to arrest
he proaigacy Of the period
Upon the organization OF tho For.
ty-fonrth Congress, Mr., Speaker Kerr
appointed Mr.. Knott Chairman OF
the Judiciary committee, and we'll do
the legislative annals of that memo
rable period attest the wisdom OF that
choice. His lucid and lawyer-like
arguments in relation TO the dis,ribu-
tion Of the Geneva award, his mas
terly defense of tho Jurisdiction of
the Senate on the impeachment of
Secretary Belknap, or IN fact almost
any of his numerous reports as Chair.
man of the committee would have
been sufficient TO sustain his already
well earned reputation, but It was
upon the various, exciting and mo.
'mentary questions growing out Of
the count of the Electoral vote, that
he became most conspicuously dis.
tinguished, and 1t is perhaps not
going too far to soy, that had his
counsels prevailed, our country would
not have been disgraced by the pres.
ence of q fraudulent usurper in it's
chief executive Magistracy. Thor
oughly convinced not only that the
go called Electoral bill would result
II defeating the will of the people, as
expressed at the polls, but was a most
dangerous violation of the Constitu-
tion. Mr.. Knott opposed its passage
n one of the ablest speeches of his
life, refusing even to vote for any of
the so-called commissioners, or to
take any part whatever in organizing
the machinery by which 1t was to be
carried out.
AS an indication of the estimate
which is placed upon the ability and
integrity of Mr.. Knott by those &C.