CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



247 



the revolutionary and reactionary elements in 

 a great party, though in u minority as to num- 

 bers, havu obtained such control of it as to 

 drive the entire force of the party toward rev- 

 olution. If tin- people of the North do not 

 appreciate the situation now, they never will 

 appreciate it. If the people of the whole coun- 

 try do not appreciate it now, they never will 

 appreciate it. 



" The gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Dur- 

 ham] has said that it was necessary to put up- 

 on the appropriation bills this political legisla- 

 tion. Sir, my comment upon that statement 

 is to say that I hold in my hand a bill passed 

 seventy-four days ago by a Republican Senate 

 repealing the test oath so much insisted on by 

 this Democratic House. That bill is very brief 

 and in these words : 



"Beit enacted, etc.. That section 820 of the Revised 

 Statutes of the United States be, and the eumc Is here- 

 by, repealed, saving the application of the same to all 

 offenses committed prior to April 20, 1871, and all 

 proceedings for prosecution of offenses pending on 

 the said L*>th day of April, 1871. 



" Passed the Senate, December 20, 1878. 



" Attest : GEO. C. GORHAM, Secretary. 



"By WM. E. SPBNCEB, Chief Clerk. 



" Seventy-four days have gone by since that 

 bill came to us from the Senate, and no at- 

 tempt has been made to take it from the 

 Speaker's table and pass it, so as to give the 

 gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Durham] and 

 his associates 'an honest and an intelligent 

 jury.' Instead of that, a Democratic caucus 

 has taken this matter into its own hands, has 

 ignored a proper bill passed by a Republican 

 Senate, and has demanded that this and other 

 measures, which they declare to be of vital 

 importance, shall be forced through Congress 

 upon appropriation bills. It has attempted to 

 array this House against a coordinate branch 

 of the National Legislature, the Senate of the 

 United States, as I believe with the intention 

 on the part of some men belonging to the re- 

 actionary and revolutionary portion of that 

 party to precipitate an extra session of Con- 

 gress. That is what I have charged from the 

 beginning, and in proof of the correctness of 

 my assertion is this bill passed by a Republican 

 Senate, but which this Democratic House has 

 persistently refused even to take up and con- 

 sider." 



Mr. Southard of Ohio: " As the mover of a 

 part of these amendments, I desire to say that 

 it was with the highest, the purest, and the 

 most patriotic motives. The positions taken 

 are incontestably right, and will be maintained 

 until these odious laws cease to exist. Laws 

 prescribing test oaths for jurors and those 

 creating marshals and supervisors of elections, 

 clothed with the arbitrary power of arrest 

 without warrant, should cease to exist in this 

 free country, and the polling-places of elec- 

 tions should be free from the presence of the 

 military. As it has been in England since the 

 dawn of her civilization, so shall it be in 

 America. The Democratic party have consid- 



erately and firmly planted themselves upon 

 these truths. They now appeal to the people 

 of these United States, confidently trusting in 

 their patriotism, their intelligence, and their 

 integrity." 



M r. Atkins : " I believe the gentleman from 

 Maine [Mr. Hale] will remember that there 

 was a motion made to suspend the rules and 

 pass these very measures, and the other side of 

 the House voted against it and defeated it." 



Mr. Manning: "Yes, Mr. Speaker, three 

 weeks ago I made a motion to suspend the 

 rules and put upon its passage a bill repealing 

 the test oath and certain election laws. One 

 hundred and twenty-six Democrats voted for 

 the passage of the bill and one hundred and 

 thirteen Republicans voted against it ; the 

 Democrats standing solidly for it, and the Re- 

 publicans solidly against it." 



Mr. Hale : " Bring out the record ; let us see 

 the record." 



Mr. Manning: "It will be seen by reference 

 to the 'Record' of the llth ultimo, page 20, 

 that I introduced the following bill in the due 

 course of business : 



" Be it enacted, etc., That sections 820 and 821 of 

 the Revised Statutes of the United States, and also the 

 sections from 2011 to 2031. both inclusive, and all 

 other sections authorizing the appointment and pay- 

 ment of supervisors of elections and special deputy 

 marshals to aid and assist said supervisors, be, and 

 the same are hereby, repealed. 



" All the sections referred to were read to the 

 House. It was my purpose in introducing it 

 to afford a full vindication to the Democratic 

 party in the event of the present threatened 

 emergency that it could not be truthfully said 

 we were undertaking to coerce the repeal of 

 these statutes until we had exhausted all ordi- 

 nary means. So important a fact so recently 

 transpiring could hardly have been forgotten 

 by either the gentleman from Ohio or the gen- 

 tleman from Maine, as they were both present 

 and voted against the bill." 



The Speaker : " Representatives, in a mo- 

 ment this Congress will expire. Its acts, 

 whether for weal or woe, are indelibly in- 

 scribed upon the pages of history. In this 

 Hall, party has been arrayed against party and 

 interest against interest in fierce and bitter 

 struggle; but it is due to truth to say that on 

 every side there has been honest ambition to 

 win popular esteem by seeking, each in his 

 own way and according to his best judgment, 

 the general welfare. Whether or not the de- 

 sired end of the public good has been success- 

 fully attained is for time to prove ; but that 

 such has been the aim of both sides can not 

 justly be disputed. 



"Genuine concord between all the States 

 and the citizens thereof is the corner-stone 

 of our national prosperity. What prostrates 

 or elevates one at the expense of the other in- 

 evitably inures to the ultimate injury of all. 

 Although each Representative has championed 

 the wishes of his immediate constituency with 

 earnestness and energy, yet during the whole 



