Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1810-06-18

rn~ntsry nhrase. proceeds to consider Ills
wv ne othpr matter. and the statement offs
nroceedipps.' thrown into the form Ola dl-
grv. constitutes the Journal As II does
aot keep 4 journal Of debates, II IS neither
required to publish its debates, nor can Il
prevent the publication OF them, a1houBl
they may have taken place with ciosea
doors. For instance, when the House Ieiu-
sed to publish the journal OF lis proceedings
upon the secret proposition to buy dra9id
rhe Sand, (Florida), any member had
right 10 state what was said pro and con, up
Oh the subject generally. IT he stated no mo-
ton or vote. rhe distinction Is obvious.
Motions & votes are entered upon the Jour
nal. argument and eloquence are not. ~
seems that in England the exclusion OF the
populace from the galleries has not been
considered as involving denial n the right
of The members to publish even the proceed
ings, as we learn BY the following curious ar
ticle from late number of that celebrated
publication, Bel's Weekly Messenger. We
remember time, during the administration
Of Lord North, when the gallery was oHce
shut. 1Only once in the reign OF the Great
sTory.' North Our Wings OF the West
are not so scrupulous. The report ct the
proceedings, however, went on IN the ne VS.
papers as usual They were furnished by
members themselves. Till at length the
GOOD humoured Lord, in the blue ribbon,
stepped across the House to Mr. Fox, ana
said, Really, Mr.. Fox, since we have turn
ed reporters ourselves, the speeches are SO
clumsy, there is so much misrepresentation,
and SO much nonsense, that we must open
the gallery door In our own defence. lhis
remark was better calculated for the nerd
ian of London, than it would now be for that
of Washington The m ajority of our legis-
Iators must either be silent, or speak with
closed doors, if they mean to be respected
by the people. They can never be under
the necessity of opening the galleries IN de-
fence of their own reputation as men OF IN
tellect. Enough however Of this. Nor Is
it clear that we are obliged to adopt the
common law of Parliament. But IT that boz
dy. which is sometimes, with spice OF
profaneness, called somnipotent, does not
presum to consider its unquestioned right
to hold secret sessions as involving that OF |
preventing the publication OF its secret pro-
ceedings, it would seem to indicate little
arrogance in Legislature whose powers
are so limited as those of Congress, 10 pre-
sumo TO say that documents which form no |
part Of its Journal are not to be published,
because it is pe,.,aifteS to keep portion OF |
the journal itself secret
The task which the writer has underta- |
ken may be task OF years. He hopes to |
be enabled religiously TO perform his en-
gagements to the People. But as he an
nounces explicitly, as the result of long and /
deep reflection, that he considers himself /
entitled to make use Of ST least the SUBJ |
stance of all the documents upon which |
Congress has acted, and ofthe whole of the I
debates of the House OF Representatives,
be they now public or be they yet private,
even the uninitisted will in moment be |
satisfied that the field before himis svolu- I
mlnous and vast The torrent Of popular \
passion IS now so resistless, that if any good |
can ever be expected TO result ffom these /
pages, II must TIC or date at least as dis |
tant as the probable termination Of them
The responsibility of the writer may be |
tremendous one, bur he assumes it with all |
the cheerfulness of Principle, and will meet
its consequences with all the frmness of l
Patriotism.