Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-14
AT THE NATIONS CAPITAL
FITZ JOHN PORTER'S RELIEF
VOTED BY THE SENATE.

The Passage of the Bill Effected by SO
Votes to 25-MandersOn and Logan Cry
Out in Opposition, While Mr.. Riddle
berger Assumes the Defensive-Other
Events and Incidents of the Day.
WASHINGTON, March 13.-In the SEN
ate to-day, Mr.. Harrison, from the Com
mittee on Territories, reported favorably,
and had placed on the calendar, bill for
the admission Of Dakota.
Mr.. Plumb submitted a joint resolution,
which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, appropriating $1,000, to be
made Immediately ayailaBIe under the di-
rection of the Commissioner of Agricul-
ture, for the suppression of the foot and
mouth disease among cattle in Kansas.
Within a few minutes of the reference,
Mr.. Plumb, from the committee, reported
the joint resolution favorably and asked
its immediate consideration.
Mr.. Sherman objected to the resolution.
He said: ''As l believe that the object OF
that resolution will be best accomplished
by the passage of the House pleurO-pneu-
mOnia bill. l Will object for the present,
and hope that the House bill will be taken
up and passed as quickly as possible"
The resolution accordingly went over.
Mr.. Plumb gave notice that he would
call Hp the resolution tomorrow.
Mr.. Sewell then called UP the FitZ John
Porter bill. Before the morning hour had
proceeded beyond 1890 O'Clock, Mr..
Miller, of New York, said that the Sen
ate had yesterday put aside important
public business to take up this bill for
private relief. He moved to lay Mr.. Sew
elPs motion on the table, but withdrew
the motion in order to expedite business,
! aF41 o1 %, 10,
SewelPs motion.
The Senate agreed to take up the bill.
MIR. MANDERsoN's PROTEST.
Mr.. Manderson then took the floor.
Many eminent men, he said, had cOnsid-
cred this case. He could, therefore, not
expect to add anything to the information
of the Senate on the subject. Through
war and through peace the claimant had
insisted that he had been harshly treated.
If a man at sea were struggling with the
waves how was it possible for those who
looked on not to feel an interest in his
fate? Let any observer of the contest be-
fore the Senate be ever so Indifferent he
could not avoid feeling an interest in the
subject Nothing would give Mr.. Mander-
son more pleasure than to be able to say to
the man most interested in the bill before
the Senate, "YOu have been greatly
wrOnged. Take your fun reparatiOn.v If
the half way rcparatiOn of tins bill. He
would give him full righting Of his
wrongs. We might not be able to restore
to him the years that were past, but high
honor and emOluments should be his
Mr.. MandersOn understood the claim to be
that on a full examination, no fault could
be found with the conduct of Gen. Fitz
John Porter. He had not examined till
recently the report and proceedings
Of the court martial that tried Gen. Por-
ter. He had read Gen. Grants paper in
the North american ReUjelC, and that
with other reading had aroused in him
sympathy and interest in the case. He
felt that it was his duty then to examine
the matter thoroughly, and he was sorry
to be compelled to say that from the
examination he had given the case,
whether this be a case Of judicial review
or an exercise of clemency. he felt bound
to vote no on this bill. The bill asked
that Congress should set aside the verdict
OF court martial; to review and set
aside the decision of one of the highest
trlbunals-a most dangerous precedent
1t had become the fashion sin the piping
times OF peace" to Sneer at the court mar
tial yet that body was more nearly "a
jury of his peers" than the accused man
could possibly have under any other cir
cumstances, for It's members We're his
brother officers. No less a person than
the President of the United States was the
final court of appeals, and who was it
that had reviewed the findings and deci-
sion against FItZ John Porter? 1t had been
that honest, ,clear-headed, judicial-minded,
merciful man, Abraham Lincoln. This
bill VAS restraint upon the proper indie
pendence Of the executive. If the case
should come to this Senate as an original
proposition on the findings of the court
martial, and Congress should take to itself
to review the record and let the prisoner 20,
the advocates of this bill would stand
aghast Mr.. MandersOn had for twenty
years as a lawyer seen cases go to courts
of appeal, and sometimes his clients
cases had gone against him. If a prece-
dent was to be set here OF a review bv
Congress of the work of other depart
ments of the government, why should he
not bring before Congress the cases Of
those unfortunate clients that Congress
may set aside the verdict of the jury and
the decision OF the court of appeals. He
could not see upon what grounds the case
should be reOpened. Mr.. Manderson was
loudly applauded when he completed his
remarks.
LOGAN'S OPPOSITION.
Mr.. Logan then addressed the Senate.
''In 1861 he said. ''when the ministering
angels of this country had ceased to
smooth the brOws of many a soldier, who.
administering
laws to put down rebellion could believe
that the power of the law would be in
voked in aid Of such a measure as that
before this Senate? Travelling back to
1860 we find that fOrty-fve days were con-
sumed by a cOurt-martial in the trial of
an individual who, by its decision, was
discharged from the army of the United
States. Part Of that cOurt-martial were
learned in civil law, all of them were con-
versant with military law. What
is the trial now going on? Is
it a trial of Fitz John Porter?
No, it is trial at the grave of those that
are dead on a charge that the men who
had tried this man had distorted the facts
Fitz John Porter had after all these years
became the prosecutor 1t was a trial
not of the living, but of the dead. 1t was
trial at this late day of Abraham Lin
coin rather than of FitZ John Porter.
without desiring" said Mr.. Logan, fac
ing the Democratic side of the chamber,
''tO criticise the vote of any one | hope
that | may be pardoned for making one
remark. 1t is perfectly natural that those
who had been engaged in a rebellion
against great government like this, when
they failed Of success and have them
selves been pardOned by the government.
that they should, without examination of
the evidence in a case, feel sympathy for
those who during the war had been dis
missed from the service of the United
States. Why? because they would
naturally sympathize with them and saw
[ have been forgiven, and, therefore, | for
give everybody else" In the course of
his remarks Mr.. Logan charged and de-
fed contradiction that FitZ John Porter
was the cause Of the loss of the first battle
of Bull Run. Loud applause in the
gallery, which was instantly repressed by
the presiding officer, Mr.. Frye, in the
chair, who announced that under no cir
cumstances could applause be permitted,
and if repeated the offenders would be re-
moved by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
RIDDLEBERGER To THE RESCUE.
Mr.. Riddleberger said that he did not
think it necessary to apologize for the
vote he would cast. The fighting which
Gen. Porter had done after this sO-caled
disObedience of orders had been such as
to wholly negative the idea of treason.
Mr.. Riddleberger professed to have some
knowledge on the subject of Gen. Porter's
earnestness and fighting yigOr, for he
(Riddleberger) had been a witness of it.
He had known of a similar case of inius-
tice in the Confederate army, when Gen.
Jackson told Brig. Gen. Garnett that he
must 20 to the rear and suffer arrest for
''disObedience of Orders;1 but Gen, Gar
nett was restored within a year, and
sealed his devotion with his blood at the
battle of Antietam.
THE BILL PASSED.
The bill was then ordered to a third
reading. 1t was read the third time and
passed by a vote of 36 yeas to % nays.
The result was received with mingled ap-
plause and Kisses from the gallery. The
vote was as follows: