The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-05-22

ways been recognized as Bourbon
who was closely allied with the sx-
Confederate element, it was supposed
at the time Of his appointment that
his long service as public representa-
tive and as a member of the Senate
on Foreign Affairs, had at
least given him sufficient acquaintance
with the requirement of his present
place to enable him to fulfill them in
telligently, and that as had sufficient |
breadth and patriotism to sink the
character of the narrow and hide
oound partisan in the discharge of his
duties as the head of the State depart
meut.
This he has not done, however.
He has made Cleveland's- administra-
tion ridiculous by securing the appoint
ment of persons, as representatives
abroad, who were neither eligible un-
der our own laws nor receivable under
the customs and practice of foreign
powers. And his efforts to reward ex-
rebels have brought out fact which
is new to the masses of the people
shat of the older generation of men
who were on the rebel side, the greater
number are ineligible for Office, under
the constitution of the United States
statutes The third section of the
fourteenth amendment debars from
holding any Office, civil OF military, un
der the United States, any one who, as
a public officer either of the United
States or any state, took an oath to
support the United States constitution,
and thereafter engage in the rebellion.
Section ,767 of the Revised Statutes
supplements this with provision that
any one ineligible under the above who
accepts OF holds any prohibited Office
shall be subject to imprisonment Of not
over one year, or fined not more than
81 900, or both. The law also pro-
vides for ousting such persons who
have accepted Office, by quo oe'ayyanto
proceedings. The number of people
who, at one time or another, held eff
ces which necessitated the taking of
the official oath to support the consti-
tuition is very large, and compromised
everybody of any note at the South
during the rebellion. Executive par
dens and the general amnesty procla-
nation relieved these men of criminal
| liability for treason, and made them
| voters, but did not make them eligible
to hold office. 1t takes law of Con
gress to do that. The Senate will
have its hands full to overhaul the
records of some of the recent appoint
ees of Mr.. Bayard, and acertain if they
are eligible to represent abroad the
government they strove to destroy.
Mr.. Kelley who was recently appoint
ed by Bayard to the Austrian Mission
at a banquet at Richmond, rendered
him in honor of his appointment, he
made speech in which he used the
following extraordinary language:
am to-day, as are millions of my
conntrymen, recognizing with fullest
loyalty the authority Of go0srumsut
ozer my o7ow state t0unded ON aohat I
lonsdsrsd a gross and bloody avolation
Of bubA;c rights e0mmitted against my
self and them.
That Is. lie accepts service under
government which he boldly says is
founded on gross and bloody viola
ton Of the rights of himself and the
Southern people at large. Why do
not some of the democratic newspapers
read Mr.. Kelley the same lecture they
read the republican press every time
an allusion was made by the latter to
the war issue2 He is waving the
''bloody shirt" to-day as vigorously as
did any republican editor. On his
own statement, then, Kelley is stultl-
flying himself by accepting Office nnder
government whose right to exist he
denies-for what? The salary of min
lister to Austria, of course. Can not
Bayard, if he selects ex-rebel for office,
find men who gave up the fight when
Lee surrendered It is burning dis
grace to the United States to send such
man as it's accredited representative
to foreign country. His offence is
not in having been rebel, but in not