The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-07-21
THE ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS

The period having been nearly reached, be-
yond which the session of Congress has never
yet been protracted, the question is asked, on
all sides, when is the adjournment to take pace2
The question Is one we cannot answer. We
do not know whether the leaders have, in eau
Gus, fixed the day; all we know is, that the first
of August will see the Representatives of the
People sedulousty employed in studying the in
terests of their constituents, or their own, in
heading or impeaching the President. SO much
| as to the time OF ad ournment may b. inferred
from the declaration of Mr.. Fillmore In oppos-
ing the reception of Mr.. Casey's resolution to
adjourn on the first day Of August, he empha-
ticaly announced that he would resist, at this
time, any proposition in relation to adjourn
ment.
The limit 10 the session, if not as yet unde'
fined, is unquestlonably removed to some day
beyond the first of August. liza remoter period
has been determined on, the decree Of the eau
Gus has not yet been promulgated. No data be-
ing furnished, by authority, from which we can
safely calculate the probable day of adjourn
ment, we are left to such conjectura estimates
as can be made from general Indications We
must judge OF the future by the past. The ses-
sion has endured from the beginning of De EN-.
Der. From the outset until the last Veto, the
industry of Congress was uninterrupted in its
efforts to frame measures for the good of the
country. What was done during that lapse of
six months is yet undiscovered-is a sort of
terra incognid. The Loan bill was passed
some Of the appropriation bills were also passed.
Now, supposiDg that the Exchequer bill will
not be touched, and supposing that one-hllf of
the appropriation bills remain to be acted on,
and that the Tariff bill, when returned from the
Senate will occupy some time in debate
Judging from the past, how long will Congress
yet remain in session. The usual allowances
of interludes devoted to other matters, besides
the great bills, must b. made. We have put
the difficulty into a simple form of calcu-
aton Others can solve it as well as our.
selves. II the past constitute a fair rule
for judging the future, il will not be
rash TO suppose that tn people of this country
will enjoy the blessings of legislation until the
month OF Novembe-, at least. A legitimate
calculation would make the probable session
much longer. But there are sufficient reasons
why II should terminate before the time pre-
scrbed for the commencement of the next one
That the session will be one uuprecedenly
protracted Their, can now be no doubt What JUS
tI6caion of prolJnging it can be alleged is diff
cult of conjecture. The question is serious,
and no doubt should be considered without levi
y. The question is serious, both because the
prolongation of the session necessarily involves
the country IN an expenditure of money which
must be taken in part from the pocket of the
artizan and laborer to pay the legislator for the
services he processes to perform, and because
the acts of the Legislature may be such as to
effect momentously for veal or for woe the in
terests of the people. Looking, however, at the
acts of Congress we can hardly be serious