The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-01-31

in this city There have always been in this city
leading political presses, attached to the two great po
cal parties OF the confederacy Parties may chan and
shift. but such will always be the case The lntegen-
is the wing organ at this time and the Union the
present organ OF the democratic party The system OF re
porting the debates here takes away from these two pa
pers their exclusive party character at least 80 far as i
respects these debates Under peril OF being dismissed,
and of losing the profitable compensation for these
ports neither OF them will suppress garble any speech
made by senator OF the political party opposed to such
paper Both of these papers compelled TO publish all
the speeches on both sides. The people all that is
said both sides senator can force both papers to
become the medium of making the truth public, and
any necessary explanations which will 60 to their
most important consideration. ! hold il to be step
towards the reformation of the public press, rather
preventive against Its becoming unusy and unfairly the
means of partisan Misrepresentation, which Of immense
consequence do not say the papers here would, with
out this syste certainly garbe unfairly msrepfesent
though we have had ID former times, complaints of pa
pcrs similarly situated, OF being guilty OF abuses in this
respect and all know that the lpers have suppressed
generally, before this system Ct mean not published the
speeches of members OF the opposite party to them II
high party times should spring up, the temptation under
excited political feelings to adopt such unfair and lib
erai means would be strong Sit, am satisfied the in
telgent people of this country will appreciate the benefits
that result now and will hereafter greater degree as
The system is improved by experience, from this effect
alone, worth ten times the amount it and
though shall soon to be member OF this body,
SHALL as a citizen, deeply regretits abtogaior
AS to errors and mistakes that ocaur In the reports in
my judgment the reports are good and great deal
better than, under the circumstances and the intro
duction OF the system, could be expected. They are
much better than those of last session We all know that
hall the time senator's one side Of the chamber do
not hear distinctly all that said the other sde
less the senator speaking raises his and the places
provided for the two reporters in the very po-
sltion to hear; they perched up there (pointing
the reporters seas) in back corners, and most in
conveniently for them. AMI but ono reporter can re-
port for each paper, and room is furnished them
in the Capitol in which to write oi their remarks for
the papers, SO as to submit them at to senators Tor
revision, have, generally, when cared about what
have said here being reported at ALL procured their
and written them out fully and revised and corrected
them Still have not prevented errors and mistakes in
such revised remarks. for which do not blame them.
know II is impossible, any under any system,
avoid them. A ludicrous instance of this will
The other day. in alulng to the folly of keeping the
enormous expense. said one citizen with masket
worth million of live-oak trees in the defence of
the country &c. and Is printed in both papers one
owing to my legbe scrbbng i'll the correction Of the
notes. and the ppogapher, suppose, thought it real
pretty well as market" and so he put it in As
ished that the reporters did not hear me distinctly
Doubtless the system may be improved Increase The
enable the reporters 10 be increased in number by edit
ors of the papers, give them sear the chamber
in which ID make Up their feports at once, and where
senators revise them at once and It is the best sys
TEN, IN my judgment, that can be devised, When came
here was in favor of abrogang the system Of contract
ing for public printing and preferred the establishment of
sional printers. have changed my mind this subject
aso and in favor Of electng printers. If pur-
sued and judcousy carried out is, am satisfied the
best 1t is bond from the publishers OF papers in this
city for their good behaviour and for giving correct in
formation the public, and weakens the power OF the
press here by increasing i,s responsibility to the just and
press here being necessarily the chief medium OF con
gressional information to which the people look, will
and andy viii Be unfair and partial and unjust g d
their party and if entirely Uncontrolled, they will be-
come Nuisance TO their party.
MIR. NILES remarked that he not much
Moyed senators at the reporters making him
speak English, as he was at their missating him in
matters OF fact When statements of facts and points
were made exactly contrary to what they were, they
only unpleasant TO the speakers but calculated
to msead the people OF the country He thought that
what had taken place during the last few years in the
matter OF publishing reports Of Congress- must have sat
sed every sera,or OF one thing; and that was, that It
was matter of very great diffcuty-and he would not
hesitate to say, that no system could be adopted
| by which perfect accuracy could be attained in
the matter of reporting, unless the sketches of the
marks submitted to senators for revision No other
system would be satisfactory, especially whilst the
reporters are situated so az to be unable to hear dis
tncty the remarks made by the speakers The reporters
are Obliged TO state something and if they do not hear
WE'LL it is not 10 be wondered at that they should com
nit But if there could be sufficient corps of
porters, that the remarks could be Immediately writ
ten out and handed 10 the members during the day, they
might any gross errors which are likely I'd occur
and have the revised reports go INTO the papers Tor the
next morning. Until this plan was pursued depend
cnCe could be placed upon the accuracy OF Inc
With regard to the resolution under considerations he
would only say that he would vote for the inquiry pro-
posed to be male, but he would prefer that should be
referred to the Committee the Contingent Expenses OF
the Senate AS member of the Committee Printing,
he wished to have nothing to do with the matter. That
committee already had resolution under consideration
with regard the scope and construction OF the present
arrangement for reporting. He apprehended that the
reporters and publishers had gone much too far they
had embodied everything that had been read in the
Senate IN their reports and expected to De paid for it.
This matter which should be looked into.
While up he would notice the extraordinary argu-
men of his excellent friend from Florida MIR WEST
CORR who seemed 10 think there great benefit in
having the proceedings published in both papers, be-
cause would by oblgng the publishers TO print Impair
tIal reports be the means OF training and dlscpllnng
them, and make them behave like decent men, and he
seems think that due to that fact that these papers
have been much less partisan than formerly. He (MF
NILEs) could not quite concur with his friend. He
thought the lnellIgencer much what it had been
Tor forty years. Its editors and proletors VIII A,
they pofessed and ought be-he organ of the WING
thought it had changed somewhat, and he was sorry
TO say that had changed for the Instead be.
ing the organ of The great democratic party it had
become the organ OF sectional partya fragment OF a
partya sort OF one sided party. He could nothing
else in the party of which this paper the organ bur
Congress and TO the whole Union. Now if his friend
from Florida thought this mpro yement in the
character of the paper, he (Nr wanted him have
the full benefit OF that fact He (Mr would rather see
the papers depend more upon the patronage of the whole
country They were here at the of government as
the organs OF the great parties, and should rely upon
a section for their support. That TO be sure was mat
ter for them to decide but certainly he did not see any
great good which had arisen, was likely to arise from
ling these presses and making them the medium