Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-06-05
CONG R E s.

1t is related by Bacon, that once, during the reign
of Queen Elizabeth of England when Parliament had
sat long, and the House of Commons especially
had done in effect nothing, the SPEAKER of that
body coming one day to the QUEEN, she said to
him, q Now, Mr. Speaker, what has passed in your
House 7" To which the Speaker replied off it
please your Majesty, seven weeks"
If our Sovereign (the People, of the United States
could be supposed bodily to address the same ques
tion to Mr.. Speaker BoYD, of our House of Repre-
sentatives, what much more satisfactory reply than
this could the Speaker make, substituting SIX
months for seven toeeks
Yes, this very day completes the sixth month OF
the Session. and tomorrow begins the seventh And
vet, though Congress has been in session for SIX
months, the Message of the PRESIDENT, transmitted
to Congress on the second day of the Session,
crowded as it is with recommendations of measures
of the highest import to the interests and welfare of
the People of the United States and their Govern
ment, has not yet received, in the House of Repre-
sentatives, the respect of a special consideration:
to this day, from the first week Of the session,
{exoept on two OCCASIONS as we Think has 1t
been in order for any Member of the House of
Representatives, without general consent or a
formal suspension of the rules for regulating the
order of proceedings, to introduce the notice of
the House any original or independent proposition:
To do the Members of the House justice, there is
disposition the part of most of them to discharge
the duties for which they sent hither by their
constituents, which would have produced valuable
fruit, had not their action been parayzed, not only by
the Rules, but by the incubus of the Presidential
topic, which seems to have found its way into almost
every question, from that of the mere Printing for
Congress that of the gratutous distribution of all
the Lands of the United States and thus converting
of revenue to field of boundless speculation Even
IN the week before last set apart beforehand to the
consideration of business of the Territories of the
United States for the first three days the Presdea-
tial Election instead of the wants and wishes of the
People of the Territories, which were the order of
the day, became the subject of contention, though
the three latter days of the week (Which might be
termed lucid intervaD were proftably and usefuly
employed upon the proper business Of the House.
During the last week, under the influence of
and salutary change Of the Rules, few reports
from committees have been received, and the num-
Der which, as we learn, in readiness to be pre-
scented, when opportunity is afforded, proves that
the committees Of the House, acting in their lesser
circles, have been far from remiss in their duties
Tomorrow is the day fixed for the meeting of the
National Democratic Convention in the city Of Bal
timore. Little business will be done, we presume,
for several days after this day, and hardly any this
week. The prospect is, we think, very faint one
that the " Deficiency Bill" for want of which 50
many branches of the public service are suffering,
will be finally disposed Of in all this week
1t may be satisfactory to our readers, in that
event, to know that the termination of the fiscal
gear is not as near at hand as it was made to ap-
pear by unaccountabe slip of the pen in our last
1t ends on the Goth of next month, June,) and not
on the last day Of this month, as then stated