Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-10-16
THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
The Sheet-AnChOr of the Republic.


speech Of Hon. Geo. n. Rdmunds
AT THE IEdIsLATIvE REUNION BANQUET AT
MONTPELIER LAST WEEK.
Mr.. President, Ladies and GentIemen,-
Until came here this evening, supposed
! was TO speak In response to q toast address,
cd TO the Senate Of the United States and not
simply to the Senate of Vermont, so in the
short time at my disposal had been exerting
myself to frame few observations upon the
relations Of the Senate Of the United States
to the people Of the several states, and par
| tioularly TO the people Of the smaller states
and, as II Is not amiss TO the toast which has
| just been read i shall say something upon
that topic. In the first place l wish TO re-
mind all this great company, all the gentlemen,
and the ladies (who are as much the rulers
Of this world as the men-far more so / may
say, as they ought to be), that II is q matter
of the greatest possible Importance for every
citizen of every one Of the 38 states Of this
Union to remember that the foundation-the
sheet anchor, as John Adams called it-of the
unity and freedom and progress Of this re-
public is In the nature Of the organization of
the Senate Of the United States and the ma
ture OF that organization, as all Of you know,
is precisely the same in it's intrinsic character
rs the nature Of the organization Of our own
Vermont House Of Representatives In which
representation. The representation in the
United States Senate depends on the individ-
ual entity, the individual independence, the
individual quality OF the state, whether II
contains many inhabitants or few, whether it
contains many thousand miles Of territory or
only few, whether II contains ambitious men
or men Of the plainest and most inobtrusive
kind, whether II contains men who earn their
| living by the sweat Of their brow, tilling their
| In thafr uvha
1t be built Of great institutions, great corpo-
rations and gigantic monopolies. Whatever
may be its circumstances. In the Senate Of the
United States each stands like the towns Of
Vermont in her House OF Representatives, In
its individuality as q state, the absolute equal
Of the rest. [Applause.
We may imagine very easily In q moments
reflection what would have been the condi-
| tion of this country at this moment had the
Senate of the United States been constituted
on different principle. II the size and pop
ulation Of the several states had been the test
Of representation in the Senate Of the United
States think 1t is not too much TO say In
sober minded truth that this republic would
not have endured until now. Many aud many
have been the times when, II the right of the
Senators Of each state TO resist and defeat the
current Of popular passion and prejudice
| which arises sometimes In the action Of the
had failed to exert itself-Rs It would have
failed IL the Senate had been constituted as
the national House Of Representatives is
| disoord and revolution would almost certainly
| have caused the dismemberment Of this Un-
| ion. am sorry to say that there are some
people in the United States, thinking citizens
Of the great states, Who in recent years, have
said that the time was beginning to draw near
| when the composition Of the Senate must be
oh nd lha Nato ka NaI
according to their population but have
confidence that this will never be done.
feel sure that there Is sufficient patriotism,
sufficient sense OF justice in the citizens of
the great states, to say that the small states
shall keep their equality Of representation,
and to refuse to consent to such an invasion
Of their rights Applause. But this Is not
the time to discuss subjects of this impor-
tance. l have felt ever since l came here
prouder and prouder of my native state, as
have once more renewed the acquAintances OF
my earliest public life and met my fellow
members of legislatures which existed more
than fourth Of q century ago. This reunion
has been spectacle which would be glad to
have all the Senators Of the United States, of
whatever political party, see, and can safely
say they would all be glad to be here and wit
ness this scene, except just at the present
moment, when 1 am addressing you. Laugh
ter and applause.
The things that touch us most, as we look
over the years that come and the years that
60, are personal recollections which cluster
around the men who have gone before US in
the time that have been in the Senate.
have seen every member from the other 81
states Of this Union come into the Senate and
go out of it. The great men OF the states Of
this country have marched upon the stage of
their great duties in procession and disap-
IhaRa ia mi ma hn
| a member when entered the Senate in 1866,
and he has not been a continuous member
Mr.. Sherman. All the rest have gone new
men have taken their places, with equal pow
era, equal splendor Of intellect, equal patriot.
ism, of all parties and creeds. One cannot,
in such case, help feeling that he stands
| almost alone in the years that go by 30 fast.
| There have been in the Senate, within my
| recollection, many men who would have
adorned any station, however great, II there
can be greater than that of Senator OF the
United States. There have been men Of op-
posite political views, Of different religious
| creeds, OF opposite views of social conditions
and progress-in short, differing from each
| other in every possible way, as far rs opinions
go; and yet there has always been the great
est personal harmony and good will between
the members Of that body. We have always
| been friends. They were. as O rule, almost
universally kind and courteous, even In the
heat OF debate. So from year TO year, as
time spins on and great events have come and
| had their day, there has been continuously
present concord of difference, II may use
| such paradox; on which tolerance Of opin-
ion, believe, rests the safety of the govern
ment. [Applause.]
There is one thing more which / wish to
say, although it is out of the line of festive
address. 1t is 10 regard to the value-the 90
ordinate value-to the progress OF govern
ment of this arrangement OF the Senate of
the United States. 1t is different, greatly
different, from any similar body in existence
in any government which Is not republican,
and in some that are. The republic Of France,
| for instance, so recently established (And am
sorry 10 say that / fear IL Ia in some danger
of being overthrown), has its Senate compos-
ed in way entirely different from ours. AL
though not hereditary in the country from
which have recently come, Great Britain,
| there is q Senate, known as the House of
Lords which theoretically possesses almost
the same powers, In many respects, as our
| Senate but its membership is hereditary, its
membership is a family property, with some
exceptions which IL is not necessary 10 emu
merate here. And what has been the result
In the course Of time this body, composed OF
an aristooracy instead Of based on the choice
OF the people, as ours, lost the power OF
/
| ed, aud no longer acts as q real check on the
actions of the House Of Commons. While
was in England, q genteman--A member Of
the House of Lords-in q conversation asked
me if it was possible that our Senate dared to
reject bills which had been passed by the
House of Representatives concerning impor-
tant measures. He said the House of Lords
did not venture TO take any such stand at the
present day that rarely In recent years had
the House of Lords undertaken 10 finally stop
the passage of a bill of which the Commons
approved and which involved any weighty
principle. In consequence of this condition
of things, the question had arisen, and was
now being widely discussed in England, wheth-
or ii would not be better to reoonstitute the
House of Lords, and form II on q basis like
the composition of our Senate. Applause.
think that We who are the cousins, not the
descendants, Of the present British people,
may rejoice that after the lapse OF less than
century Of the great American experiment of
self-government, an important feature Of our
scheme Of government has proved itself 10
be so valuable that 1t Is likely at no distant
day to be adopted by the empire from which
we separated in order to found our own.
Loud applause. The Senate Of the United