The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-01-22
mr.. burt.

In the report Of our Congressional pro-
ceedings will be found full account Of
what took place yesterday in the House Of
Representatives. 1t will there be seen
that an effort was made to undo so much
of what had been done by the House as
relates to the appointment Of the Wing
doorkeeper for the present Congress. The
ldoorkeeper, we understand, has some
small patronage in his gift, touching the
appointment Of few pages, or some
thing of that sort. Locofocoism could
not endure the thought that this patron
age should remain at the disposition of
WING; and Mr.. BURT was accordingly
selected as the instrument for disturbing
the arrangement by which the Wing
doorkeeper and the Locofoco postmaster
were supposed to be secured in their
places.
Mr.. BURT is about the last man in the
House whom we should have supposed
capable of an unworthy action. He is
the very pink of the elite. He is the
most chivalric of the chivalry. Reserved,
austere, aristocratic to the last degree; a
man of points and prophecies; nice to a
fault, and with (supposed) instructive
adherence of the mere tricks of party; he
he's suffered himself to be involved in a
scheme which, in our view of it, is to the
last degree objectionable. The fall of
Mr.. BURT shows the danger of evil COM
pany. The time has been when Mr..
BURT would have scorned such proceed
ing as sincerely and as deeply as we our
selves do; but Mr.. BURT has been fami-
liar with evil associates, and the purest
ermine is soiled by a foul contact.
If the Who's, when Mr.. CoBB was in
Dictated for the Speakership by plurality
vote, had made an effort to deprive him
of the position, after what had taken
place in the House, they would have done
precisely what Mr.. BURT attempted TO do
yesterday in regard to the doorkeeper.
When the plurality vote was announced,
Mr.. STANLr and the Wines at once
honorably united with their opponents to
make that plurality majority, that there
might be no mistake or question as to the
position Of Mr.. Com. This was a case
precisely parallel to that by which the
Wings and Locofocos had united to con-
tinue Mr.. HoRNoR the doorkeeper, and
Mr.. JOHNSON the postmaster, in their re-
spective places. TWAS understood to be
a compromise 1t was a fair and reason
able compromise. But no sooner had it
been accomplished, and under circum-
stances which, in our judgment, bound
every man OF honor to abide by the re-
suit, than the fastidious Mr.. BURT rises in
his seat, and undertakes to break up 40
much of the compromise as relates to the
WING doorkeeper. There was no diff
Guilty about the Locofoco postmaster.
That part of the arrangement was per-
fectly satisfactory to the chivalry Of South
Carolina. But so much of the arrange
ment as related to WING doorkeeper--
so much as touched the obvious consider
alton Of the compromise on the part of the
Wncs-Mr. BURT was ready to vio-
late.
We know not what peculiar views of
political honor may be entertained by the
chivalry Of South Carolina. We may be
permitted to say, however, that in the
school Of plain political dealing, wherein
we claim to have been educated, such
conduct would call for very different ex-
PLANTATION from any that can be given TO it |
by the gentleman from South Carolina.
We know not, and we do not care to
know, whether or not he joined in the ar
rangement by which the postmaster and
doorkeeper were in effect elected by the
House; but we do humbly conceive that
more paltry piece of political shutting
was never attempted, than that by which
Locofocoism hoped to secure to itself tho