Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-12-02
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
MIR. GIDDINGs IN REPLY TO Mr.. SMITH.


r. GIDDINGs, of Ohio, copy of long letter, which
has already appeared in some of the Ohio papers,
on the subject of the Address of the Hon. TRUMAN
SMITH to the Public, published in this paper some
weeks ago. To so much of the address of the lat
ter as arraigned Mr.. GIDDINGs's conduct in the
House as the Representative of his constituents we
very willingly publish the reply Of that gentleman,
as subioined. AS for the residue of his letter, we
do not perceive any advantage that can accrue to
Mr.. GIDDMos or to the Public, by allowing to be
repeated in our columns now that the election and
its excitements are over, the arguments for or
against the several candidates for the Presidency, or
the ordinations and fecriminatons of their respec-
tive supporters. Let by-gones be by-gones.
Extract from Mr.. Giddings's reply TO Mr.. Smith.
"You assa me in quite unusual among gentle
men occupying the stations which fill. You say that you
have caused the Journal of the House of Representatives to be
searched in order to determine the number Of times during the
late session which failed my the call
of the yeas and nays. This is believe, he first time that
ever member Of Congress acknowledged himself to have
entered upon such work For the dignity Of the body to
which we belong hope may be the last You little know
the character the people whom these mPutaons adj
dressed Can you imagine yourself to have been constituted
my oveseer Has it this, that you consider your
self clothed with supervisory powers over the Representative
of seventy thousand Of the sovereign people Of our gallant
State Have they s requested you to sit IN judgment on
the habits of their Congressional agent Had you referred
to my official acts to my votes, my political opinions,
should have felt disposition to reply My opinions and
public acts have altogether escaped public scrutiny and
they are the proper subjects of examination But to them
you take exception, while you attempt to charge me with
n
there are members Of that body whom my constituents would
be willing if they appeared in their seats
any occasion.
81 think you cannot be ignorant that have long regarded
the practice in the House Of Representatives Of
frequently calling the yeas and nays unnecessary waste
of time and disrepuable that body When they call
cd on adounmen,s and the "cas of the House. and for
suspending the rules usually pay attention to them, but
occupy my time in other business. We told that in the
early days Of the republic they seldom called than
six eight times in session. You say they called
three hundred and rtyeght times during the late session.
Each call occupies about twenty minutes One hundred and
twelve hours thus occupied Our daily sitngs would
average less than four hours and including Sabbahs
than one months time wasted in this useless ceremony
But suppong twenty of those calls really proper yet
least part of the whole session must have been
wasted. And you complain that did not my time
with the Others To discourage this practice, have refused
to my in all except such deemed Of
importance. But these attempts my part 10 discou
rage what have long regarded evil you have endeavoed
torture into evidence that absent from my
often told that evldposed persons would make such
attempt to mispesent to my constituents. uniformly
answered tina, represented constituency intelligent be
affected by acts Of such character
You say that you always hand Except for special
reasons prepared to your VOTE II is not my business
call you that subject But always looks
picious making himself the trumpeter of his
merits have the Journal OF the House of Representa-
tves before me, get it short of Washington but
will hazard the opinion that you absent during the late
session far greater number Of days than You
frequently gone, sad raise funds promote the
election Of General Taylor And you also in attendance
the Philadelphia Convention. But in this attempt sg
Matte me, and to hold yourself up pattern of official in
dusty you have provoked scrutiny. You not only
absent yourself political erands but you instrument
tai in getting others Congress for the purpose
If YOU through the National ntsgencer will deny that you
Chairman Of the Wing Executive Committee paid the
penses of other members Of Congress who absent from
their seats for political purposes to the Of five times
the number Of days that was will endeavor to show your
by making for you showing how
many days expenses you paid to each member who umped
it for General Taylor during the session. Yet you
regard my absence Buffalo and Massachusetts, derec
ton of duty. It is that to Massachusetts, and
absent eight days 1t is also that in 1916
went to Maine at your request and absent twice
long was in Massachusetts, promugating the doc
tnes You then approved Of my absence, and paid my
penses If the doctrines promulgated right in 1885,
they could not be wrong in l54s. Truth, like its Divine
Author is immuabe. II my doctrines in Maine
they could not have been in Massachusetts, But
think shall be perfectly safe in saying that the speeches in
favor Of General Taylor in the House of Representatives made
for the purpose Of promoting his election occupied the whole
House days than absent both at Massachusetts, and
at Buffalo. This would show loss the nation Of tUo
hundred and tcentyeg times greater than that occasion
ed by my absence Again, nearly one-haf Of the Wing
bers Of Congress attended the Convention Philadelphia
which nominated General Taylor. They absent about
the same length Of time that Buffalo and nearly the
proportion Of the Democratic members in attend
at the Baltimore Convention which nominated General
Cass This will show additional loss Of nearly one hun
ded times greater than that occasoned by my absence For
those members you have word Of reproof You were
Of them. went TO Massachusetts, and to Buffalo the
quest and by advice Of many worthy and patriotic friends
went in strict accordance with the long usage pre-
vang both in the Senate and in the House. did be-
evng that could do for my country and for mankind
than could remain Washington great number Of
my constituents had desired me them Buffalo, to
assist in the formation Of political party which should direct