American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1826-05-12

fusion and anarchy With one of those bold and
reckless bounds which formerly characterized Mr..
Calhoun as a reasoner. he punges on the 9th and
7lh rules of the Senate, as the sole foundation oil
| his official authority. They are as follows, VIZ
/" When a member shall be called 10 order, he shall
F." sit down, until the President shall have determin-
" ed whether he is in order or not and every CUES
I" ton of order shall be decided by the President
Z" without debate ; but il there be doubt IN his
" mind he may call tor the sense OF the Senate
| "If the member be called to order, for words
" spoken, the excepionabe words shall be immedi
" ately taken down, il writing, that the President
- may be better enabled TO Judge OF The matter"
| Now, sir, every man whose faculties have not
been straue in the, exercise" OF party discipline
must consider these rules providing for the case
only, where Senator think, opef TO call aho'h
er 10 order In such a state OF things the rules re
quire the interrupted member " TO sit down until
the President shall have determined whether he Is
in order not" and when the call IS made LOT
" words spoken" the words to :" be taken down IN
writing, that the President may be better enabled
10 Judge of the matter"
These rules are, manilestly, shield to protect
the dignity OF the Senate from the indecorum oil
unchecked calls order, determinations, and discus
slons on the floor. They can. by no decent argu'
ment, be tortured into doctrine denying 10 the
presiding officer of deliberave assembly the pow
err TO preserve order: power which is as much
part of his Office, the power OF deciding cause
is part of the Office of Judge. Is there any in
elligible principle which can subject these rules TO
an operation that would entiile one Senator 10 COM
nit disorder until checked ty another, and thus re
duce the very officer who is the appointed guardian
OF decorum in the Hall to he degradation OF use
ess auumaton he plain English oil the doctrine
Of order, in any drhberalive body, is that power
In the presiding officer Of such body, to preserve
order, IS conferred by the single fact OF his appoint
L. ale Nrla - f1ar
ssry consequence Of this power: and that unless
So body, acting acthin the sphere Of its compe
tpnce expressly restricts this power and this right
no restriction on them can be supposed The rules
now under consideration, are special regulations
adapted given cases, but leaving the general, ORR
pnal right OF the chair to call to or6er, untouched
and resting, where it should rest on common sense
and usage
In assuming the strange postulate that the power
Of the chair to call TO order on questions touching
the latitude OF freedom Of debate" is appellate only
Mr. Calhoun seem, awa'e, that he invites charge
of extravaganza, and attempts parry by argu
ment, appropriate to his er oticiO come xion, as
Vice. P esident OF the United States. with the Senate.
The slightest examination o the duties incident to
this connection, will show that the argument is, il
possible, more untenabe than the postuate.
The President of the Senate whom the Constitu
lion contemplaies, is the Vice President of the Uni
ted States; add it is in certain contingencies only,
thar the Senate can elect their presiding officer
The powers, then. of the Constitutional President
81 the Senate, furnish the criterion OF the powers of
the individual, who in the happening OF any Of these
contingencies, may be its elected President Yet
! Mr. Calhoun with mote than scholastic absur6tY,
derives from the pre- existing relation to the Senate
OF President whom il may possibly elect crilcri
| n Tor determining, and reason for abrdelng, the
powers of its Constitutional President, who has no
| such citation TO it
AS the residuary legaee of General Jeckson's
professions to the Presidency Mr.. Calhoun, IN his
memorable address, repeats The stale arihce, which
each OF them had often employed, OF Identifying his
own cause with the cause oil the people. " The
" Vice President said, be prided him.e elf on his con-
!" necton with the Senate but il was impossible
that he should forget that that connection was Gre
" aed by the operation of the constitution. In dis.
+" charging his duty in this seat II would be unpar-
donabe in him not TO recollect that he was placed
" in the chair, not by the voice OF the Senate but
10y that of the people, and that to them, and not to
: this body he was ultimately responsible.''
| This is undoubtedly sound doctrine. But it is
here pressed into service from which it must soon
desert 1t is distinctive beauty of the republican
system. that as the people delegate their agents
no supefiuous power. every power which they dele
gate, implies duty to be discharged The Vice.
President and the Senate are both the creatures of
the people, exercising the respective powers dele
gated to each by the people. One of the powers
thus acquired by the Vice President, is to preside
over the Senate, and, by consequence, to preserve
order therein. How has MIR. Calhoun discharged
the duties inseparabr from this power? By rpfis-
ing to exercise It, without imitation from some
member of the Senate! IL other words, one of the
servants of people renders that homage another
servant of the people, which he denies the people
themselves. One agent respects CO ordinate agent
and disregards the sovereign who constituted them
both, He obeysth depository of delegated power
and dlsobeys the paramount authority which is the
source OF that power And yet, ",he honorable