Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-04-20

House pause in such case, for IA single moment,
to punish tho INJURY offered 10 ITSELF through its
presiding officer, assaulted not on the grolrd of
private quarrel, and lac would have the House bear
this in mind, but Tor diSCharging his duty in the
Chair. the Houss could hesitate To- exercise its
powers in such a case h1 should scarcely conceive
1t competent TO entertain Charge oil contempt
against itself And what the distinction be-
twiNt this supposed case and the present one The
injured party, though not holding an official station
in that i;ouso Representative on its floor of
10000 American citizrns--;,nd surely the cons,itu-
cnts ofthlt gentleman had good IL right to he re-
! presented there tcir fellow citizens and as iust
claim to vote, On the import mt matters decided
there hu; how were they tn enjoy these rights, If
their Representative disabled from atcn,,ing TO
his dui les in that iiousC2
| Ii party Of strong men should Lev violent
hands on several oithc members ofihaI House, and
bind thcm so as To prevent them from coming there
would it be said that this was disturbance Of tie
deliberations Of Congress, Interference with IFS
privileges! Would they, in such Case turn round
and tell their injured colleagues, it was Il matter
with which they had nothing to do; that they must
seek their redress III the Courts of the District?
Was this the satisfaction should offer the conS,i-
tucuts of those members, FOR having been deprived
OF their voice in the councils Of The nation? Ard
what, he would ak, the ciiicroncc bctwxt bind
ing mcinarr, and beating Kim as to prevent the
posi- iiity OF has attendance in that House?
He wOali beg OF each gcntlcman for moment
TO suppose that this outrage had been committed on
his own friend collie lgu3; that for the Discharge
OF his duty in that House, that friend had been
assaulted by ruiiiln with such a wconou and so
mcrcilossly beat that he now laid on his bed
with his bones broken, his hcSl, bruised, and his
character attempted thus TO be dsgraced; let each
gentleman suppose that it WAS his own friend or
! fellow Representative who had been thus treated
and th"n ask hlmscifif it a remedy common
suratc To the wrongs of that friend, to turn him
over to the Courts of the District, there TO await
his redress by the tar'iy process of the law And
he would tell gentlemen, that what had occurred
/ 10 Ia
| OF them: 1t migl occwr to the honorable gentleman
from Tennessee, (Alr. PoLK,) and no one in that
! House, would regret mere than himself should it
DC that gcntlcmans i'll fortune TO become the victim
OF ruiiiaillsni; readily or zcalously TO
stand up to vnGic0tc that gcnticmam's rights and
! those OF his constituents. lie would repeat it
what had happened to the worthy member from
ONO, might happen to each and every of them.
II, then, the sense of public dutyaud of the rights
oflholr constitucn:s-had been pleaded i'm vain he
womb beg of gentlemen to suffer the voice of pri-
vntc friendship ard ofsocial feeling, prevail Wit,
tho! 20 resent the wrongs of their injured associ-
ate. The members Of that House were cut off from
the society of their friends and relations; and they
must nnturhli; look to each other for support Mr.
g. concluded by saying, that ii the House did not
ma generous spirit, exert its power in vndication
oi the rights accorded to it by the Constitution thc
time might come when the voice of the people
would not be heard within those walls-whcn their
wrongs and expressions dare not be told in the
House OF Representatives.. He had now stated the
| views ne entertained on THIS subject; and he had
done so from wish to vindicLtc the corstitu-
| tonal rights of that House and Of the American
icoplc, by securing to the members of that House
proper immunity to the :tttul discharge OF their
duties there.
Mr.. DRAYTON commenced, by expressing his
objection 10 decision of any question involving TO-
pics OF high and general Importance, requiring a
full, free, calm and deliberate investigations bv a
resort to the previous question. He considered
such mode of arriving at II conclusion, on points
only ri,yilp Of tI,r
Representative o! the Pcopl, but the liberty of the
citizen also, at variance with the Constitutions
lie was at loss, indeed, TO conceive subject more
important or which more required their deliberate
consideration, than the present one. If that House
could not debate uuinterruptcdiy, and without the
apprehension OF violence outrage, on any sub
lcct before it, where tic of their dcba-
ting at all? Why not proceed to the question: at
once, upon every subject upon which they might
be called on to decide, without the Formally of
stopping to debate or facts?
In considering the question, he considered that
two inquiries were before the House. The first
WAS, had the House the power to under the cir
cuInstanccs of the cascl The second was, in what
manner the House should execute that power, if
they possessed iu
These two points, in his opinion, embraced the
whole matter. In touching upon the first, he must
declare hIS solemn conviction that, when the dav
should arrive, when freedom Of debate shall be re-
strained, from that momcn. the pillars OF our con-
Slituhon will toter-thc temple will be destroyed,
Frustrated to rise more. He asked then if they
would say that the freedom of discussion could be
preserved, II, Tor words spoken in that House. upon
a subject OF public interest, the person using them
should be subjected 10, and visited by, personal vo
lenco? Was individual, for the conscientious
discharge of his duties in his place there to be sub
lJcctcdto outrage elsewhere? Why, upon this prin-
ciP!c, they might extend The imPunity which would
bo granted, in case such offence should pass
with ImPuuity, TO cases where Il Representative of
the People might be put to death for his conduct
in the discharge Of his public duty, at least so far
as the action of the House was concerned in its
prevention or punishment Mr. DRAYroy went on
to argue, that the House certainly had the power
to punish, in the before them or it could net
be supposed that they lad the authority to act in
matters OF grave and capital nature, such as the
one nc had Just cited. If they had not, why the
power granted them by the constitution of freedom
OF debate and the right to preserve it, was mere
barren right to mere abstraction. If the power
exists it may be acted upon, or it is u power that
is poN. crcss.
gross and daring assault had been made upon
Representative of the People. 1t deserved, it de-
handcd, thcr consldcratc attention; an attention
too, which he sure would he unmixod with
either party or personal considerations. No gen
ticman OF that House, he was confident would
! Wow inc matter as relating to party friend, or Il
party ioc-it not to be looked at in a political
| aspect; ana whenever party political motives
can influence our actions in such matters, said Mr.
DRArToN, then shall have abundant reason to
ion,ne ior the stability and integrity of poll
cai institutions. MIR. ID. Observed that what seem
! cd TO be To the gentleman from Tennessee MIR.
| toLk') the popular principle in Of contempt
OF prcach OF privilege, appeared to him mir. d. 10
nc The monarchcal dcspotic principle in its full
extent. he popular principle, he conceived, was
comprised mainly in The preservation of the rialfs
Of that House, without which there could Lo no
security to the people, that i'll their public acts the
members OF 1t were influenced guided by no