The Washington bee., 1891-02-21

Inose communities Wnere tney occurred
should like to hear of somebody thai
/ could applaud for having spoken il
Mississippi or in South Carolina to meet
nigs without distinction of party, at the
time and at the moment that the fragrant
outrages were being performed, to curb
and redress and punish them. All, Mr.
President, that is a severe and sad, but
nevertheless an memorable maxim: Jlde1
ddHndtur cum nOce7aS dbsOlUittIr.
Do then the communities where these
outrages go unpublished and unpunish-
able complain that we accuse them OF
being the judges that absolve these guilty
men! Nay,they applaud them, they vote
Tor them, they place them in authority by
no warrant except their services in these
transactions. speak of the lower stratum
OF patronage and otfice-seeking in those
nelghborhoods. Now, this is the truth.
Why do not the proud people of the
south denounce, at least, the infamies of
fraud? Why do not the lovers of the
constitution and the lovers of the country
and the lovers Of their brethren at the
north make examples of these violent
actors In these savage outrages? Every
ratlhcatlon is equivalent to mandate;
the TACT that they remain quiet and do
not denounce these infamies is equal to a
mandate to commit them. Do not these
violent men regard this acceptance and
quiet as ratification equal to mandate?
and are they who pursue the mandate to
expect to see justice visited upon those
who bring in the fruits, or rather to reap
the benefits of this execution of these
behests?
How long would the black population
fear these individual and personal intimi-
datons If the community was not behind
them? How much would they fear them
If these bold violators were subject to the
general law and hanged or imprisoned for
their part In that infamous work? Then
the colored people would see that it was
an individual or personal outrage, and
these actors would no longer put them.
selves in this service, if they were to
receive the fate that belongs to them.
When, therefore, we are told that We are
accusing communities. while we are open
to the same accusation at home. we
answer that whenever it is shown
that In reference to the suffrage there
is an organized force or organized
FRAUD, and that a community does not
rebel against that and punish the per-
petrators, make better laws, give better
judges, better administration of laws.
then we shall be open to the accusation,
But New York state is not opeo TO the
accusation.
FE. President, what is the measure
before us? Now that we have got through
q somewhat distasteful survey of the sit
uation Of the country and cursory in
spection of the suffrage and of the motives
and methods that should attend upon It's
exercise, and should be ready to sur.t
that whatever is wise and onatever is
rsefnl in redress of the imischiefs should
be accomplished by law, what is to be
sai6 OF the .easure now before the senate
and the COUNTRY? 1t relates entirely to
the election Of representatives in con-
gress. 1t is o,rSbody. 1t is the body of
the people of the United States. 1t is not
any longer situation in which the repre-
sentatives are delegates from the states,
That belonged to the continental con-
gress and the old confederacy. Yet it
comes to this, as claimed by the opponents
of the measure under somewhat rash, as
/ think, proposition of law, thai these
representatives are state officers and state
delegates, and that We have accepted not
only the administration of the voting suf-
frage, but we have accepted the states as
the masters and the authors and the
experimenting power over theIe repre-
Bentatives.
Did you ever hear, even il the most
extreme theory of instruction, that any
state ever undertook to instruct repre-
sentative in congress how he should vote?
/ have never understood that such a
thing has been undertaken. What would
be the use of one candidate carrying the
republican election in one district, and
five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten other
districts in the state all going the other
way if the state were to direct the action
OF the representative of the single district?
Would the republican be instructed to
vote on the democratic side of the housei
Is that the relation
Mr.. Reagan. If the senator will allow
me, he is aware of the fact that senators
are instructed by the state legislatures
because the legislature is the constituent
of the senator. A representative may be
requested, but he cannot be instructed
because the representative is the repre-
sentative of local constituency, and not
of the state.
Mr.. Evarts. That is exactly what have
said. / have not mentioned the senators
because | do not need to talk of them.
do not believe any way very much in thu
principle of instructing senators after they
get here. l shall not talk about them
The senator agrees with me perfectly tina
the representative is not the representa-
tive of a state, but of the constituency
that elects him.
Mr.. Reagan. / was led to make tn,
remark because the senator was speaking
of the Legislature of state not instruct
inc a representative | inferred that HI
was forgetting that legislature had n
authority to instruct a representative, bu
it was the local constituency which b.
represented that had that right.
Mr.. Evarts. was urging that they ha'
not any right. That was my proposition
that they had no such right, and tina
nobody had been wild enough or ignoran
enough to suppose they had the right
We do not need to treat the subject il
any narrow view such as l have bee
considering When this government wa