Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-01-12


lodged, that The present system Of admitting reporters
monopoly but il must be monopoly from The IA
ture Of the IL extend the privilege, where are
10 stop. Must every editor who publishes paper IN
this country, amounting To upwards oil thousand nave
admance here 10 the exclusion Of respectable citizens
who are equally entitled 10 the privilege with themselves
And il you pass this resolution 10 admit eight or len al
dillonal reporters, why not eighty or hundred as nry
all have The RIG ht 10 demand admission here ne
thought that sufficient number already admitted
here Tor all necessary PURPOSES and though they could
not arrest misrepresentation and calunny, lie was oP
posed 1" opening the door any wider
MIR. knight said that this memorial was presented 10
the Senate by several gentlemen, who state that they
reporters Of the procee dngs of Congress- and pray
Thai they may have some pIace assigned them IN The
gallery, any other convenient place Inns memorial
Sad Mr. was referred 10 committee Of the Senate.
The committee supposed that the object referred 10
them was, TO select convenient aud proper place tor
these reporters They have done 50, and have reported
that the front seat in the east gallery ON tine right OF The
Presidents chair, is place suitable Tor them; ana they
have also reported The resolution now under consIdea
ton, ASS gnlnG II 10 their The committee do not
propose assign to these reporters The whole OF the
front seat is supposedly Senators, neither does
the solution direct that The present reporters who
accommodated the floor Of the Senate shall be re
moved 10 the gallery No, Sir, they will remain where
they 1t permits these petitioners to have place
part of the front seat of the gallery for their USE
The committee did not consider these Inenoriass as
sandeers and vena letter writer's, stated by the Sc
nutUr from CONNECTICUT out viewed them IN Tile chaTac-
ter of reporters.
ii for The Senate decide whether shall be shut
up this room, and transact the business Of the nation,
whether shall let doings be known 10 the world
through The fundamentally of reporters
My intention, MIR President is only 10 vndIcate the
committee: moi 10 follow the wide range taken IN this
debate but consider the resolution before the Senate,
and whether these reporters shall have place assigned
H. them not. These memorIa!sls represented IN
their memorial reporters of the proceedings OF Con
iIIpv hays inpir Ia mn m IN
aud have the Of The public papers they re-
port for; they papers at distance from hs place.
1t is not presumed that these persons will give long
and detailed reports OF The reports OF Senators, but they
will give synopsis of The Of the Senate
in a manner acceptable the public the reports
ut whole speeches; they will give the substance, aud
the time OF eadng column after column of news
paper 10 find IT. They will no doubt report facts, as
truly as The present reporters Although they may
give only synopsis get will contain much of the do
ings of the Senate, and in mode similar TO New
York correspondent Of the National luelIigencer. We
all in a small corner OF that paper III condensed
form, much of the information We should get 10y reading
yard square newspaper ali the principal events are
related that occur; and these reports will be similar and
will be dused sooner than the ordinary reports pub
lshed here. IL these reporters have places assigned
lhen they will feel their responsibility, aud they will
not be those vile sanderers and vena letter writer's that
gentlemen suppose, nor they considered by the
committee.
Mr.. Buchanan observed that he should vote for the
motion of the Senator from Connecticut; and he would,
with the permission of the Senate, briefly stale the
which had brought him 10 this conclusion. For
his part he could not say that he had any personal
feelings III relation TO these letter writer's. lie bore
with much phosophic patience any other gentle.
man, that portion OF ih1l.ctun with which they had
thought proper 10 visit him; and he could not say that
they had abused him than he had TO expect
lie never mortified but by one letter. and that had
been written he believed Maine newspaper; in which
he was represented to be venerable old gentleman. ap
ilr b,,u Ytp uucarp only nj
he aCkuow lodged, had touched him upon tender point
Hit proposed 10 furnish seats 10 many report
for the different newspapers OF the United States
could be accommodated in the mhoe of tie front seat Of
he front gallery, lie would vote for The proposition with
al his heart But, he would ASH, Tho reporter :
reporter was person who gave faithful historical
account Of the proceedings Of The b"dy with full reports
or air abstracts Of The speeches Of lis different mem
bers, from which The public could be made acquainted
with the nature Of the business transacted Were the
letter writers reporters in this sense Would any Sena
Tor contend that they were No: they did not them
selves pretend 10 be They gave partial aud pIGuant
accounts Of such proceedings and debas struck tieiI
own fancy; and having The party feelings with the
members Of the body, they represented us IN the light
which would be agreeable TO the readers u the jour
nails for Which they were employed VIII Isl the letter
writer of party was in raptures with the speech ot
avore Senator aud represented il the very prriec.
ton Of eoguence and argument, another letter writer
Of the opposite party denounced the very same speech
poor, nmsy roIhy affair, which had been scattered
TO The winds by the breath Of some Ajax H. lamon on thu
other side. Now it notorious that these the
gentlemen under the Of reporters, for whom seats
be provided under the resolution ihen before the
Senate. He thought they MT entitled To any such
privilege their abOrs worthy OF such sane
ton by the Senate He had nothing 10 say against them
Let Them mingle with respectable fellow citizens
who daily frequent The galleries. and let them write
what they thought proper Personally he did not regard
their censurc In The long run, the people always come
to correct conclusion regard 10 the merits OF pubic
men, no matter how much they were misre presented
The case of the Senator from Connecticut Mr. Niles
was striking example Of the justice of this remark -
The letter writers had done him no H. ury although lie
had been carcaured TO greater degree than any mem
Der of The body Indeed he believed that these carlca-
lures instead Of njuring had elevated him To the public
esteem He thought he could appeal with confidence
TO all sides ri the House, whether Wings, Conserva
lives Democrats Tor The truth of the assertion that
the Senator from Connecticut now stood higher, much
higher in the body ITSELF than he had done two years
ago. r.
MIR had on several former occasions stated that il
the Senate expected have full and faithful reports ct
their proceedings and Debates there was but one mode
Of accomplishing this purpose lhey could not expect
the editors of the Globe and n,elIigencer employ
number Of skilu and experienced reporters,
to present 10 The public every thing of Importance that
was said and done in the body The patronage OF these
journals would not justify the expense; and IN THIS re-
sprct they differed from the leading journals OF London
in which you might read the next morning the whole
debate Of the preceding evening" in both Houses OF lar
Lament The few reporters employed by the Globe
and lnleigencer had done their duty well and even
better than could been expected; but if the Senate
thought il desirable communicate to The public full
and accurate account Of their debates and proceedings
they must employ and pay sufficient number OF their
own reporters and make Them responsible TO the body
itself
Under all the circumstances he was in favor Of leav-
nr the rule as il now was at least until the end OF The
present short session. If these gentlemen, who asked
for the accommodations really reporters he would
cheerfuly vote for The resouon but as they were not
he would leave them take their chance with other CT
zpns of The United States, in the comfortable galleries
of the Senate.
vania was mistaken the purport &" the resolution
i, conferred the privilege of admission on reporters
alone not on and therefore, il The resolu-
ton was adopted letter writer's would not be admitted
under it, But he was not disposed To jnn with honora-
bic Senators in the unmtgated Condemnation they had