Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-06-26

wAsHrsoros, June 25, 1886.

VAsHlNGTOH, June ZJf iooo'
ssnaee.
/ The Committee on the District of Go
lumb'a has voted to report adyerssl.
upon the nomination Of Q. F. Matthew
tcolcred). OF Albany, N. Y, to be 70
corder Of deeds for the District Of Co
lumbia.
On motion Of Mf. Sewell, tho Senat'
took up the Fitz John Porter bill. Mr.
Logan addressed the Senate on the bill
Mr. Logan opened with an objection
to the bill on . constitutional point
The bill, he said, provided for an in
crease in the number Of persons on the
retired list Of the army. provided the
President appointed certain person to
the place. If he did not make thai
| special appointment the vacancy was
not to exist. Where did the Senate
get TIE power 10 name to the President
the person whom be should appoint to
an Office? Where did the House oil
Representatives get any power to name
10 the President the person whom he
should nominate to an Office?
The fact was that Fitz John Porter
and others whose names it was not now
necessary to mention conspired to make
itimpossible for a western officer to COM
maDd until Grant took hold of it, and
at that time Porter and some of his
kind were not then in it. 1t was part
Of the programme Of Porter and his
friends that no western man ahould
command that army. Mr.. Logan as
serted that Porter was the cause Of the
first Bull-Run defeat by persuading
Patterson to retreat from Winchester
with $4,000 men. In support Of this
he had the Clerk read some extracts
from his published work, 1.-THE Great
Conspiracy" He denied that he was
eDdeay6iing to prosecute Porter when
he was only defending Lincoln. AS
God is my judge" he said, 81 would
stand over tie dust Of Lincoln and
swear by all the gods to his act as be-
ing an honest and just act. Yos gentle
men that were down in the Confederacy
don't know anything about this case,
except what you have read, and you
come up here and vote without refer
ence to facts unless you have examined
them) out of sympathy for this man.
Every man restored TO the army by
Congress after dismissal because Of
sympathy with the rebellion had found
Republicans in Congress to aid him.
Prophecies Of few years ago were
coming true. The legislation Of the
war was being reversed every day, and
by Republican votes.
Within the last few days." Mr..
Logan said, "a man who above all others
ought rot to have done so bad dragged
from the grave the honored bones
of the greatest Secretary Of War that
this country had produced, and they had
been beslimed and besmirched by the
yilest ISLANDERS. So tho men who pro-
'ected this Government were TO be viii.
fled, while if anybody stood up
TO defend the upholders of the Union he
is called prosecutor" Union men
were now the men TO be kicked,
and enough Republicans were found
10 vote with the Democrats under
the Confederate flag against their
own flag. Any man who wanted TO
fight under the Confederate flag in this
chamber had right to do so. Mr..
Logan meant this course only in a pc.
litical sense--in the sense Of political
fght--while Republicans there were
helping the Democrats to pass bills
like this, there were bills giving pitiful
little pensions Of IS to SIS month to
disabled soldiers Of the Republic that
were being vetoed by the President.
SO for fighting for the flag, for standing
up in the time of war, for being ready
TO die that the Union might live, the
heavy hand of the Chief Executive Of
The Republic fell upon these poor SOL
diers; Jet Republican senators here we're
willing to vote to give $4,000 year to
man who was a traitor to his com
mander. So, if men wanted to be paid
literally by the United States, they had
only to be treacherous when they should
be true. If you are true when you
might be treacherous you are vetoed"
That said Mr.. Logan, sis a strange
thing to take place in this country"
Mr.. Plumb, in opposing the bill, said
lie would venture to say that not man
in the Senate who served the Confed-
erscy in arms would hesitate 10 say
that such soldier in the Confederate
army would have been dismissed in
disgrace if not shot for failing to per-
form the obvious duty which Porter
failed to perform on the Goth and Both
of August, 1862. Mr.. Plumb had UNI
deIstood that the court-martial that had
tried Porter came within one vote Of
decreeing his death.
Mr.. Sewell asked Mr.. Plumb's au-
thority for that statement.
Mr.. Plumb asked whether Mr.. SeEell
denied the statement.
Mr.. Sewell did deny it.
Mr.. Plumb said that while there was
no positive proof of his statement, as
the court was sworn to secrecy, it had
gone into the common knowledge OF
men. This so-called vindication OF Por-
ter was a stab at Abraham Lincoln.
Mr.. Plumb conceded that there was a
division among the northern people
about the matter, but it was division
like that occurring in the Mississippi
river, the eddy going one way and the
great full-headed stream the other way.
1t was not new thing for the North to
divide. Would the South divide on the
question? Was there nothing sgnifi-
cant in the fact that every man
who served in the Confederscy
would vote to put Fitz John Porter on
The roll Of Union heroes? We had
heard lately of an apotheesis Of Jeller-
son Davis at the same time that we
got the defamation of Edwin NJ. Stan
ton. Was there beneath all this q fell
low-feelipg fer the northern man who
defeated the Union army in battle?
The reinstatement Of Fitz John Porter
was the beginning Of an attempt to re-
write the history Of the Union army;