Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-12
He WAXED EXCEEDING WARM
Senator Hoar CriticiSes the For
eign Relations Committee.
A LIVELY DEBATE ENSUES
The House Disposes of the POstoffice Appro-
priation Bill.
AMENDMENT OF Mr.. QulG6'S ADOPTED
Notice Given That Motion Will Re Made
Today to Continue Consideration
of the Aldrich- Robbins
Contest Case.
A LIVELY DEBATE ENSUES
AMENDMENT OF Mr.. QulGG's ADOPTED

Washing ton, March 11.--Senator Hoar's
resolution to postpone the conference re-
port ON the Cuban concurrent resolution
till Monday, the 9Th of April, was taken
up early in the morning hour today and
after speech by Mr. Hoar in support of
it lost its place in morning hour and went
to the calendar from which there will
probably be no effort to resurrect it. But
the debate in the senate will go on all the
same tomorrow and until the subject is
disposed of, as the conference report is a
privileged question, at least until o'clock
every day, when it comes. in conflict with
the resolution for seating Mr. Dupont as
a. senator from the state of Delaware
question of still higher privilege.
Mr. Hoar's speech was largely an ar
raignment of the committee on foreign
relations for reporting the concurrent
resolutions without having any facts to
justify such action. He appealed to Sen
ator Sherman. whom he placed on the
same pedestal with Lincoln, Grant Fish,
Seward and his own illustrious brother,
General Sherman, to reconsider the posi-
tion which he had taken, and the only
reason for which was, he intimated, be-
cause a presidential election was at hand.
Mr.. Hoar said some very severe things
about the action of the committee on
foreign relations, and said that when 1t
wrote the. word concurrent" at the head
of the resolution 1t meant ''it is to be dis
tinctly understood that this is Pick
wickian resolution"
In opening the debate upon his resolu-
tion Mr.. Hoar said he did not suppose
that at his time of life it was necessary
for him to proclaim his sympathy with
any people struggling against oppression.
The Question of belligerency, he said;
was a question of fact, and 1t was rea-
soma BILE that the usual precaution should
be taken. The senate should have before
II the finding of facts by the proper COM
mittee charged with this investigation.
This subject was discussed in the COM
mittee for several days, andw as then
brought into the senate without any re-,
port, but accompanied by a speech from
Senator Morgan, who laid his sword on
the table and asked Spain toftake 1t up,
and declared his belief in the power of
congress, without the president, to grant
belligerent rights. The other speech,
that of Mr.. Sherman. contained quota.
tions from work that was repudiated.
Upon these statements, and without any
presentation of facts. congress was asked
10 act. sss
Mr.. Morgan interrupted Mr.. Hoar to
say that he was entitled to his own opin-
ION as to the authority to grant beihger-
ent rights, and would express them when
ever he saw fit. AS matter of fact, Mr..
Morgan said, the committee on judiciary,
of which Mr.. Hoar was chairman, had be-
fore 1t the question of determining the ma
ture of a concurrent resolution and in
volving the status of the Cuban resolu-
tions themselves. There had been unus-
ual delay there and the committe on for
eign relations waited patiently but In
vain for the light from that committee.
Mr.. Hoar accused the committee of
basing its resolutions upon statement
contained in letter from the agent of
the Cuban junta- Mr. Sherman took ex-
ceptions to this statement, declaring that
the information came from the state de-
partment itself.
Mr.. Hoar was complaining of the lack
of information before the senate on the
Cuban question, when Mr.. Sherman call
ed his attention to a printed document of
200 pages containing a message from the
president and all the correspondence con-
Quoted by the state department. This
document has been before the senate for
more than two weeks, and was open to
the senate all the time," said Mr.. Sher-
man, somewhat -petulantly.
"I do not belive anybody ever read 1t,
retorted Mr.. Hoar. whether the men,
bers of the committee did, 1 do not
know"
IT quoted from that document in my
speech literally" said Mr.. Morgan, "and
that speech was in the nature of report
from the committee.
..Then," said Mr.. Hoar with apparent
glee ''you spoke for the committee when
Spain to take 1t up. Is that not so, and
did you not speak for the committee
when you said there had been $4,000 pris-
oners executed in Cuba?"
4 MIR. Morgan said he did not speak for.
the committee with regard to the execu-
ton of prisoners. Mr.. Morgan said the
Record had been deliberately misquoted.
He gave that as a quotation from print
ed work and not as statement OF his
own.
Mr.. Hoar, quoting from one of the let
ters of Mr. Seward on the subject of bel
ligereney, to be read in the ear of Great
Britain by the United States minister
during our civil war, laid particular en-
phasis upon the word deliberate" and
turning towards Mr.. Sherman he said,
with a touch Of sarcasm in his voice: II
am afraid the word deliberate is new to
my honorable friend from Ohio and my
honorable friend from Alabama" (Mr.
Morgan) Mr.. Hoar said he did not be-
lieve the alleged facts before the sem
ate were sufficient to overrule the great
American authorities on international
law The senate was asked to put the seal
of it's condemnation on the doctrine of
Lincoln and Seward, and later the doc
trine of Grant.
1.-THE resolutions, as passed, might as
we'll have ascribed over them, Mr.. Hoar
said, "the inscription that they We're
passed in a Pickwickian sense. Congress
did not dare to-tell Spain that we recog-
nIzed the belligerents and proposed to
take the case up"
After reciting the definition OF an old
democratic judge in Massachusetts on
circumstantial evidence, Mr.. Hoar said
the recent activity on the part of the
somewhat sleepy committee on foreign
relations was circumstantial evidence.
not that war was approaching, but that
an election was approaching. He OPP
posed the idea that congress could act
alone in granting belligerency. and said
that the belief that 1t could only exists In
the minds of certain very estimable gen.
tlemen in the Senate chamber just now
in q very excftabIe frame of mind.
Mr. Hoar deplored the Idea of rushing
matters through congress that properly