The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-05-10
Condemnation Of the Coalition.

The Southside (Va.,) Demscrat thus refers to
the recent proceedings of Congress. We re.
publish its structures as indicating of the senti.
ment in Virginia, but must put in our protest
against the sweeping structures which it makes
on the members of Congress- We do not be-
leve that the "honest men are in feeble minor
ity" in that body, for men may be blinded by
partizan or personal feelings into the support of
even such schemes us the coalition. We be-
ieve the sober second thought of many of these
has already induced them to abandon it, for the
coalition has scarcely a corporal's guard left
now. Some of its friends, however, still evnce
fidelity and stubborness in its behalf worthy
of better cause.
Conversation Wednesday, the Senate was
engaged in the discussion of the proposition to
grant an increase of compensation to the Collins
line of steamers. Mr.. Hunter, of Virginia, oppos-
ed the proposition in speech Of marked ability.
He guards the treasury with a sleepless and
incorruptible vigilance. Very probably his eff
forts will be unavailing. Bills were engrossed,
granting land to the State of Michigan for rail-
ways and plank roads. Thus goes the common
property of all the States. The printing ques-
| ton engaged the attention Of the House. A
combination has been formed for the purpose Of
giving the public printing to the Union and the
| Republic. These are the party organs, and be-
ing unable to sustain themselves the two parties
are striving to keep them alive by feeding them
from the public treasury. A few honest men
are opposing the schemes of the coalition, but
in the Congress Of the United States, the honest
men are in feeble minority, and the two dull
est, feeblest and in every way, most worthless
papers in the country, may, in consideration Of
their imbecility, be pensioned by the govern
ment.
The Mississippian, referring to the coalition
says:
A COALITION BROKEN UP-It is known to
our readers that the contractor for doing the
public printing at Washington, having failed to
execute the work according to agreement, the
joint committee on printing, reported resolu-
ton to divide the job between the Offices of the
Union and the Republic-the latter the special
organ of the administration. We are gratfied
to see that this proposition for largely Demo
cratic Congress to give profitable job to the
proprietors ola Wing newspaper, and thus arm
them with the means of making war in the Dem
ocratc party, has been rejected by decisive
vote of the House of Representatives.
Truman Smith, the noted commander inchief
of the Wings, during the Taylor campaign, was
one of the high contracting powers in the pres
ent case
We have stated elsewhere that the House,
by decisive vote, refused to concur in the re-
port of the committee. Gov. Brown, in his OPP
position to it, was sustained by an overwhelm-
ing majority of his party in Congress, and will
be ty his constituency at home. If the commit
tee had reported in favor of employing the
Union office, exclusive of the Republic, or any
other Wing paper, to execute the work, at a
reasonable rate, we would have found no cause
of opposition to it but the proposition for a
Democratic Congress to give the organ of the
administration ammunition to fight the Democ-
racy within the Presidential contest before us,
Is an e3cess of liberality amounting to unpardon-
able folly.