The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-26
THE SALT LAKE HERALD. TUESDAY JANUARY g. 1897.

could be no crime against municipal
law or against the government dis
avowed by such decree. The COM
batants became belligerents, not Grim
inals. Since 1850 there has not been
ten years of continuous peace in Cuba,
and hundreds of thousands of citizens
of that country had taken up arms
to assert their rights and abolish the
existing form of tyranny and despot-
ism. The present was but the second
period Of the civil war of 1868, which
was simply suspended by a mutual
agreement, which the Spaniards had
violated, and it was largely being con-
Quoted by the same military COM
manders and the same civil leaders.
What" he asked, then is the duty
of congress in the premises?" The
constitutional power given by congress
to regulate commerce with foreign ma
tons, he declared with much emphasis,
included the power of recognition of
governments. He elaborated upon the
definition of the word commerce. -
with some brief Illustrations derived
from the use of the term as applied
between the sexes, which raised a tit
ter of laughter, and with numerous
references to the legal definitions of
the term commerce" as construed by
the courts.
Considering the clear language of the
constitution which conferred upon con-
gress the law-making power-not the
laW-DaSSing DoWer-and that a veto
could always be over-ridden by a two
thirds vote, it was plain to him, he
said, that there was a scheme in the
constitution of government by congress
alone as we'll as of government by the
president and congress acting in uni
son. The president might make
treaty and the senate might confirm it,
but congress could the next day re-
peal it.
At this state of his remarks the SEN
ator became energetic and brought
his fist down upon his desk with such
force as to scatter his notes and ref
erences in all directions, but couple
of active pages soon picked up the
papers, and Mr.. Turpie continued his
remarks, which We're listened to with
much attention on the Democratic side
of the senate. The Republican seats,
however, were almost empty. Mr..
Turpie closed by saying that he had
not originally approved the form of
Mr.. Cameron's resolution, although he
approved the use of it, thinking it not
sufficiently deferential to the executive;
but inasmuch as this consideration
seemed to have been forgotten by the
executive to the senate, he thought 1t
might be overlooked on the other, and
he, therefore, favored the passage of
the resolution.
The hour of 2 D. m. having now ar
rived the Nicaraguan canal bill was
laid before the senate, but at the re-
quest of Mr.. Morgan Oem. Ala.,) was
postponed until tomorrow.
Then Mr.. Turpie began the second
part of his speech on the relations of
the president to congress in regard to
the recognition of the Cuban republic
He discussed with much animation
the existing condition of affairs in
Cuba, contending that IL years ago the
SpaniardS, agreeing to an exchange of
prisoners, had recognized Cuban bellig-
erency. He compared the two trochas
erected by Weyler to the wall built fy
the Romans in Britain to keep out the
Scots, and said the object of these
trochas was plainly to prevent the
capture of the city of Havana by the
forces of the Cuban republic.
He denounced Weyler as a diminu-
tive reptile, who used his word against
women and children and fought the
enemy with paper bullets and said that
Weyler's apology for Zertucha's be-
trayal of Maceo by stating that Maceo
fell in loyal battle" was a recognition
of belligerency and acknowledgment of
an existing condition of war. Speak
ing of the recognition or belligerency
of the Cubans by the United States,
he said it would enable them to issue
letters of marque and drive Spanish
commerce from the ocean, and would
eventually to the recognition of a new
nationality.
1t being now o'clock, and after re-
ceiving the presidents message giving
the list of persons claiming to be
American citizens arrested in Cuba, the
senate suspended business to listen to
on the late Speaker Crisp and
afterwards adjourned.