The Daily spy., 1848-12-11
A DAY IN CONGRESS

Is sVeiheu "A me lahcholy spectacle, truly;
and yet the general lack of tidety-o true low
alty-ot essential moral honesty-ls even mare
dePlorable characteristic of the exercise of DOW.
er.
Some two hundred and ninety men are elected
and well paid by the People of this country IN
perform the duties ofa Federal or National Leo.
sia.ure. lhey are paid for each day they work.
with clear implication that they shall WORK for
each day thsy are paid, though that by no means
follows Nobody expects or wishes that each
Member shall be in attendance every Gav and
hour OF session, on pain of submitting to re-
ducuon from his pay; but there is general and
necessary implication that no man shall take paw
lor ume when he Nilltully neglected his duty
and thereby obstructed and prevented the trans
action OF business. Is not this undeniable
On Monday, the two Houses of Congress- met
and went through the usual prelminaries; on
tuesday they received and endured the reading
OF the Presidents Message; on Wednesday. the
House elected Chaplain, and, within three
quarters oil an hour after meeting, by vote Of
64 to 90, adjourned; dozens sitting in their seats
and not voting, and only nineteen rising in sun
port OF demand for the Yeas and Navs. The
Senate did not even succeed in forming quo
rum; out OF fifty seven or eight Members. who
are all sure to be in Tor their pay and mileage,
only twenty nine appeared in their seats; and
the annual hypocrisy OF electing a Chaplain had
TO so over and waste aaother day If either
House had Chaplain who dare preach to its
Members what they ought to hear-ot their faith
lessness, their neglect OF duty, their iniquitous
waste OF time and robbery OF the public bv taking
from the Treasury money which they have not
even attempted 10 earn-then there would be
some sense in the Chaplain business; but anv
Ill bred Nathan or Elijah who should undertake
such job would be kicked out in short order
SO the chaplaincy rema ns thing of grimace and
mummery, nicely calculated TO help some flock
less and complaisant shepherd to few hundred
dollars, and impose devout simpletons an ex-
alted notion OF the plety OF COngress.-Shoud not
the truth be spoken
The pretence for similar Iaithlessness in form.
er instances has been that the COMMITTEES acere
not dppOlnted-and that nett er House could
properly apply itself to business until it had Com
mittees to which Executive communications, bills
resolutions, &C., might be referred. Finally as
this excuse was utterly fails in the present case:
since this lsHsame Congress that adjourned onfy
lew months since, after Session of some two
thirds or three-iourths of year, and which be.
lore adJournlng, was very properly brought TO
resolve that the bills already matured in Com.
mittees should stand good and hold their places
on the calendar-in other words that the public
ouslnes should be taken up at this Session iust
where 1t was broken off by the close of the last
Each Rouse has therefore now at least huud-
red bills on its calendar, ready Tor conclusive az.
have reported them ready to explain and advo-
cate them-in short, everything as ripe for their
passage or rejection as it ever can be- Yet Sena
tors stay away from even the short sitting of one
or two hours per day, under the pretext OF seek
ing lodgings, or some other equally empty. and
the House adjourns in torty-hve minutes after
assembling, only nineteen Members calling tor
the Yeas and Nays! Not even the death of Mr.
Lewis Of the Senate, or OF Mr. Sims ofthe House
Is announced; these are stu .iously kept back in
order to form pretexts for waiting TWO more days
when the House may not venture to adiour with
out pretext Do the People ever look into
these things
There is unfortunately school o! politics now
considerably in vogue which teaches that the
perfection OF governing consists in not governing
and that the Congress or Legislature which does
nearest TO nothing, merits the highest testimoni-
ais OF public gratitude. If the disciples of this
school could always be found pressing early ad-
tournaments, lower pay for Legislators and less
frequent sessions, we could more easily respect
their position. UnhaPply, they really resort TO
those or kindred modes Of giving efficiency to
their doctrines, which are too generally made 10
serve as varnish for Incidence and untathtuI-
ness. But majority OF the House and power
ful minority OF the Senate are elected as oppo.
nents to the do-nothing school, and these disgrace
and stultty themselves when they permit day
to be wasted which they have. power TO save
Every day thus lost at the outset is equivalent to
the defeat OF ten bills at the close OF
the Session-some of them doubtless of the high.
est importance and clearest benehcence.
But in truth the great sorrow is that so manv Of
the Members OF Congress, of men in high sta
ton elsewhere, are merely dexterous iugglers or
the tools oil dexterous jugglers with the cup ard
balls OF politics, shuffled into responsible places
as reward for past compiances or in the hope Of
being there made useful to the inventors and
Patentees OF their intellectual and moral greatness
TO such men, the idea Of anybody's coming to
Congress for anything else than the distinction
and the plunder, unlessi it be in the hope Of nri-
gui ng their way up TO some still azier and more
lucrative post, Is SO irresitbly comic-such an ex
hibition OF jolly greenness-that they cannot con.
template il without danger of expulsion. Just
SO long as the People choose to shut their ewes
and elect such men as party caucuses, such as
they VIGOROUSLY are, shall see fit to pick out for
them, they will be served as the now are-apd
will richly deserve it.--.N Y. Tribune.
nnkf II vxxu Dnau