The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-02-19

Those voting Aye were; Connor
| Fields, Gather, Long, Mclean, Morris,
Nash. Reinhardt. Simms, Thompson,
| White of Halifax, and Willard.
| This defeated the Connor resolution
and the question was now on adoption
| of the impeachment resolution. The
roll call resulted in its adoption by a
| vote of 62 to 80. the vote being as
| above recorded.
The vote was announced amid ap-
| plause at 2:15 and the House took re-
| cess till s O'Clock last night.
MIR. CRAIG'S SPEECH.
Mr. Craig, who made the concluding
argument IN the debate on the impeach-
| ment resolution in the House yesterday
said:
| Gentlemen of the House 1t is said ty
| some that this resolution ought to have
| been introduced in caucus, so that our
party friends might have there consider
ed its advisabiity 1t is not party mat
ter and should not be decided upon
question of politics. 1t should be consid-
cred on a higher plane than that. Each
member of this House should consider
| this question according to the dictates of
his own conscience and not according to
the dictates of any party caucus.
| Il shall not discuss the gravity of this
| occasion | believe that every member Of
| this House sits here in the full realiZa
! ton OF his solemn and momentous re-
| sponsibilty. These proceedings for the
| last few days. or as my friend from Mar
| tin has termed it, this spectacle has been
witnessed with great interest by the peo-
| pie. ! hope its necessity has been wit
/ messed with great sorrow and regret by
| all good people. 1t is no difficult task TO
| bring the small offender to the bar of
! justice-the poor, the weak, the feeble
| hut today the majesty of the people of
| North Carolina, acting under the forms
| handed from the days of the fathers of
| the Revolution, and speaking through the
| voice of their chosen representatives
| teach the great truth so plainly that he
| who runs NAV read that the highest
| Judge must answer at the bar of justice
and the high court of impeachment. CAP
| plause). | rejoice that this is a land of
| law, with a constitutional government.
| While there is none so low and so feeble
| as to be beneath It's reach. there is none
| so high and great and powerful to be
| above it. cloud applause).
| The power of impeachment as | un-
| derstand it is the very keystone of the
| Constitution. 1t was not put there as
| scare-crow. 1t was not put there as dry
bones to be ratified. 1t was not put there
/ for the nurpGse of shooting fire crackers,
1 as the Chinese did when they attacked
| Pekin, but it vas put there as vital
| force of the Constitution as a shield of
the Constitutions not to protect the right
| of the private citzen-the law of the
| State and the Constitution do that and
| ii the right of any citizen be infringed
| upon he can 90 into court and vindicate
| himself and claim his rights and have
| those rights enforced. But this court of
| impeachment was organized and estab
| lished by our fathers to protect and main
| tain that law. Whenever we fail TO ex-
| ercise our duty as a court of impeach-
| ment. sitting here with the power to inn
peach while we do not strike directly at
! the liberty and the rights of the citizen,
| we strike directly to take down the
| shield and protection which that Consti-
tuition guarantees to every man
| Gentlemen of this House: | say if
/ there ever wos time in human history,
| if there ever was neriod in this Gov
| ernment or any other Government when
| the high and extraordinary power given
| to this high court of impeachment should
| be invoked. it is here in the year 1901,
and h. the General Assembly elected by
| the people in 1900. AS | say you may
search all history; you may read the his
| tory of all the judges who presided over
| the courts of English speaking people
| go search the bloody record of Jeffries,
read the trial of the seven Bishops, ex
| anime the records of all the Judges that
/ have presided over the country from then
| until now. ard in all the history of the
| Jurisprudence. you will find that never
| have judges so much power TO usurp and
destroy the acts of this co ordinate branch
| # the Government. (Applause).
'In 1903 a terrible state of affairs ex-
| isted IN North Carolina. ii was a state
| If affairs that brought shame and humili-
| alton TO everv man and woman in the
| State who was proud of our past record
| and @loried in our past history. That
| serpent that had creDt in secrecy and
/ filth and slime for thirty years in this
| commonwealth. in 1897 and 1895 raised
| for the first time its head in this capitol,
and licked out its f0rked tongue o. ire
and poison and ruin. prolonged ap
| plausel The East was under its do
| minion and the West did not escape. 1t
polluted and disgraced every public insti
| tuition of this State. (Applause.) The
/ people of North Carolina are aroused: not
! )nly the men but the women also. Thev
| are determined to come to their defence
| and take possession of the State Of our
| fathers. and preserve the heritage which
| hey becueathed to us
| There was a great social and political
/ revolution in North Carolina. The Gen
| raj Assembly of North Carolina came to
| his capitol in 1899 with a great mission.
| rhey came here with the great command
| If the people; they came here, if you
| please. TO right this wrong; to drive these
| lascals out and keen them out. Thev
1 came to clean out tbs Au"ean stable.
| Laughter and applause). They cleaned
| [ out, | thank my young talented young
| riend from The cCanty of Franklin for his
| ulogy on that Legislature. They clean
| I'd ii out according to the Constitution and
| according 10 the written law Of this land.
| Applause).
| Il shuddered when my friend from Mar
| in said that thev passed these laws in
| subverson OF law and to override the
| aw. l can see how the gentleman from