Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1850-02-28
N l1lel.
Volume lX=:=:==::::Number 80.

knowledge of the will of the people in those bodies,
and wisdom In carrying that will into effect,
than can he found in single body.
There is evident tendency in the progressive
spirit of the age in the United States increase,
ther than diminish the number Of members in legisa
tive budies; and for obvious reasons, embodying
more intimate and extended knowledge of the WILL
the wants. and the interests Of the people, well
greater wisdom 10 carry that will into effect.
The double organization Will enable larger body
To act separately than could act together. But The
chief and great object Uf this separation IF the lcgs
lature into two houses, acting separately, and with
co-ordInate powers, TO destroy the evil effects Of
sudden and strong excitement, and of precpitate
measures. spriDgiug from passion caprice prejudice,
personal influence and party intrigue" All these
passions and influences sympathetic and may be-
come general III body, TO stamp their i'm
press on the propositions under considerations; but the
other body, acting separately is influenced there
by; and, moreover, the elements thereof may not
exist IN the other to Tie extent; and if both
should exhibit want of due consideration. it il no
argument, In favor of the Siagle body IL like
wise be conceded that it is diicult when there
are two hou .es to form combinations by which mea-
sures pernico1s to the interests of the people,
thrust upon the country. This legIsia :" log roll
ing" has done much mischief in this State, even with
our checks; that much more would have been done
by single legislative assembly without them, Is
highly probable
Having thus given a few brief reasons for the dou-
bic organization, and which but title Of what
might be adduced, II will be shown that eXpe-
rience sheds broad stream of gt this question.
That the gentleman who has put forth this Proposl
iion Of single Legislative assembly, Las carefully
avoided history in relation therein, apparent.
Men, Learned in the law have ileorized on, and
skeiched the plans of model governments, but time,
the great teacher, has shown that in consequence Of
the infinity Of motives 10 human action, theory
can be predcaed thereon, and that experience is the
fra tn1a faf
country. Fortunately for the people of this State,
they not subjected to the necessity of testing, by
way of experiment, the proposed plan. Pennsyve-
mia and Georgia, composed of people homogeneous
with our own, that the will of the people might be
directly reflected by their delegates, concentrated all
Legislative power in single house and have the
result in the instability aud passion which marked
their proceedings; and sensible the people Of
this defect, and the Inconvenience they had suffered
from it, that i1 both States they amended their
stitutions and introduced another body check the
misrule that had prevailed. No portion of the po
ical history of mOnkind is full of instructive
| lessons this subject, contains striking
proofs of The faction instability aud misery of
under the dominion of single, unchecked assembly,
than that of the ltsinn republics at the middle ages,
| and which rose in great numbers and with dazzling
and transient spendor in the interval between the
| fall of the Eastern and Western Empire of the Ro-
They all alike constituted with single
unbalanced assembly. They ell alike miserable
and ended III similar disgrace. France Is perhaps
the only nation hat having tried both plans, adheres
that of single assembly; and her example, black
ened with recent infamy will tempt the people Of
this country ursake safe and well tried system,
to tread in her devious and tortuuus footsteps.
The argument rs by no means conclusive, that
when measure falls between the houses the will
of the people has been defeated thereby. One house
has as good right to know the will of the people as
the other, and when a measure fails TO receive the
sanction of both houses ii is presumptve at least,
that is not required, that the employed to
carry that will into effect inadequate deri-
mental to other cherished measure principle
of the people and so far has Legislation gone to
carry out the viii Of tie people that have in our
local laws met the wishes Of every individual The
concentration of nl Legislative power in a siqgle
sembly would only increase the great curse of the
age-excessive legislation embracing things present
nnd as in Congress, when they proposed in The be.
ginning of the Mexican TO leglsate in reference
! 10 any territory might acquire-thngs to
Ii is urged against the double organization of the
Legislature, that the tro houses do not give that a.
sembly would give and feel. This is by no means
true. And If it were true, it would prove that single
! member would be better than many members, for
having TO divide the responsibility with. hs
would exercise and attention in due proportion
To the whole respons siby.
| There are remedies for oil the evils complained of
but they are not TO be found in the consolidation
the two branches of the legislative department.
I