The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-03-11

| go Tor 'good harbors, good roads, and
good laws" and, for the sake of them, to
support good men, whether they come
from Louisiana or New York-from New
England or California.
Mr.. BoRLAND's movement in the SEN
ate has one precedent we believe in the
House of Commons, and only one that we
can find. On the 4th of June, 1923, MI.
JONES rose in the House of Commons to
call its attention to paragraph in the
Morning Chronicle, rejecting on the pro-
ceedings of that House, which was in the
following words:
:" The small majority of six last night in House
of one hundred and ninety perfectly deci-
sive of the sentiments of members with respect to
the abominabls proceedings in the of Borthwick
An analysis of that majority will be curious ex-
hibition. We should like to see their names
they must be most UaIlabe partisans they are EN-
IDENTIFY not men TO stick at a little"
This gave offence to Mr.. JONES, who
was one of the majority, and he called the
attention of the House to it, without Gin
tending to found any harsh measures there
upon" Mr.. JONES did not intend to take
any proceedings against the editor of the
Morning Chronicle, whom he believed to
be very respectable gentleman; but he
moved "that the said newspaper be delipered
IN and read" Mr.. HoBHoUsE suggested
that there would "be an end put to all
public business if the House were to be
called upon to interfere in every case in
which honorable members might con-
ceive themselves to have been impro-
'perly censured. Every member must
have found observations directed against
him in those papers which were opposed
to him in politics. Not single day
passed in which honorable members did
not find their conduct ten million times
more misrepresented than that of the
honorable mover was in the paragraph
which he had noticed. II really would
be preposterous to found a motion ON such
a passage"
Mr.. CANNING hoped that the honorable
member would not press his motion. "In
cases." he said, "where an individual
found his oucn conduct grossly misrepre-
sented, it was very natural that he should
take any means Of righting himself; but
great inconvenience would arise If every
member forming one Of a majority against
which reflections had been made were to
take up the time of the House by ex-
'plaining his motives, and, in fact, re-
debating the question upon which he
had voted. He hoped that the honora-
bic member, having satisfied his own
nice sense Of honor, would allow the
subject to drop"
In Difference to the opinions of Mr..
HoBHoUsE and Mr.. CANNING, who were
less sensitive than Mr.. JONES, and better
parliament men, the motion Uas With
draon; and we cannot now turn to any
instance in which any similar motion was
ever made successfully in the British par
Lament.
We say, therefore, that Mr.. BoRLAND's
arraignment of the Republic for the article
in question was supplementary, and an
invasion of the rights of the press, as well
as of the orders of the Senate. Mr.. BoR-
LAND has no right, nor has any other
Senator right, to visit us with the indig-
nifty of sending our journal to the Secre-
tary's desk to be read, for the purpose of
making an article in its columns the sub
ject of his censure, and Of throwing upon
us the appearance of being amenable as a
culprit for any such cause to any such
jurisdiction: The right-the senatorial
right to do such an act in such case
implies the right to chastise as well as to
censure for the expression of any poiittc cal
opinion that does not suit the dominant
majority. The act of the Senator is an
act Of intimidation and menace-deroga-
tory to the press and personally injurious
to ourselves-and is the first step and
long step towards finding the appropriate
remedy" for free discussion, with which
we were threatened, now two months ago,
by the "oficial organ of the Senate"
We copy the paragraph to which we
refer:
From he Union Of January Sh
"The Democratic members Of Congress desire to
understand If they are to be lampooned and black
guarded by the organ Of the Cabinet, whenever
they engage in dcbateS We hope the Cabinet will
cause its organ 70 enlighten the members on this
point. At any rate, the Cabinet and the organ
will gain nothing by the policy which they are
now pursuing. The Democratic members intend
TO enjoy unrestricted freedom Of debate during
the present session; and we doubt not they will
find appropriate remedy for the scurrlity ofthe
Cabinet organ"
II would no doubt be extremely agree
able to the honorable Senator to secure for
the coalition-opposition majorities immu-
nifty from impeachment by the press. II
would aid them in their work of break
ing down the Administration, if they
could secure a monopoly of censure to