, 1856-12-19
Remarks Of Mr.. Smith.
Dslirered on taking his seat as Speaker o
The House of Representatives..

Dslirered on taking his seat as Speaker Of
The House Of Representatives..
GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE Before en-
tering upon the discharge of the duties i'm
posed upon me by my election as Speaker
Of this House, permit me to refer briefly
to the Importance of the labors which, as
representatives of the people of the terri
tory Of Washington, we are required to
perform To this House, in connection
with the coordinate branch of the Legis-
lative assembly, now assembled in another
part of this building, is committed the
power to enact laws for the government OF
the territory. The will Of the people, is
to be by us reflected upon the pages of the
statute book. The definition Of crimes
the mode in which criminals shall be pros
cuted, and the manner and extent of their
punishment, are to be prescribed by us.
The existing laws upon this subject and
those which relate to the manner of pro-
tectng and enforcing private rights, are
all subject to our revision, amendment or
repeal Subject to only few constitu-
tional restrictions the whole field of legis-
lation is open before us and we are for
the time the guardians Of the morals, the
lives, the liberty and the property of our
constituents. The future growth and pros
pcrity of our country also depend very
much upon the faithfulness and ability with
which our duties as legislators are perform
cd. We have country of vast extent
and great resources, containing every
element necessary to the formation Of a
great state, except population. For this
we depend chiefly upon immigration, which
will be greatly influenced by the character
of our laws aud the manner Of their exc
cution. A considerate man, in seeking a
new home for his family and a field for the
exercise of his industry and enterprise,
would select land where morality is OBJ
served, where law is observed and where
property is safe. The tendency of free in
stitutions aud wise legislation to encourage
immigration and develope the resources Of
q country, is fully exemplifed in the. his
tory Of the United States. The unexam-
pied growth and prosperity of our great
nation, are not so much owing to the ma
tural advantages Of the country, as to the
freedom Of our institutions and the excel
lence of our laws. And it will be observ-
ed that those states of the Union which
have been best governed, have made the
most rapid advances, not only in intelli-
gence aud wealth, but in population. And
let the laws Of this territory be such as
will commend themselves TO every intelli-
gent mind--such as will promote morality,
industry and enterprise-such as will secure
to every one who seeks home upon our
shores, the unmolested enjoyment Of life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness8 And
we have reason to expect, that ere long a
tide of immigration will set in upon US,
that will continue and increase until every
valley in our wide land will be peopled,
aud our now new and neglected country
will become mighty state.
1t is to be expected that during our de-
liberations, there will be wide differences
of opinion between members Of this house
as to the best means Of attaining the same
end and animated discussions will take
place upon the various questions that may
come before us and were we to forget
that we all have equal rights upon this
floor to express our opinions-that we are
alike in duty bound to do so, and that we
are equally responsible to our constituents,
unkind feelings and harsh language might
be iudulged in, but remembering these
things, trust we shall be able cheerfully
to accord to each other the right to form
our own opinions aud TO express them with
the utmost freedom. II all men could
think alike, laws would be adopted by
common consent (if laws would be required
at ALL and legislatures would have no ex-
istence. But such is the fallibility Of hu-
man reason, that wide differences Of opin-
ion exist upon almost all subjects; and
these differences can only be reconciled, il
reconciled at all, by free Interchange Of
thought. Discussion is the parent Of pro-
gress, and conflict Of opinion is the guide
to truth.
In relation TO my own peculiar duties as
your presiding officer, allow me to say
that enter upon them with tho determi-
nation to discharge them fairly and Impair
TALLY. bring to the task no great
amount of experience in parliamentary pro
ceedings, and yet trust that with the as
sistance of the House may be able to
perform them satisfactorily. The position
which occupy, implies mutual confidence
between this body and myself You, gen.
tlemen, by your unanimous and unsolicited
votes, have expressed your confidence that
as Speaker will act fairly and impartially
and by accepting the position which you
have given me, signify my confidence that
in the legitimate discharge Of the duties Of
my Office, will be sustained by the House.
l need not inform this House that the pre-
siding officer in deliberative body, has
no power to enforce the rules of order He
can only remind the House Of the existence
and requirements Of those rules, and It Is
then for the House to see that they are en-
forced.
As was never before present at the Or
ganization Of deliberative body, it may
be that my remarks have been rather more
extended than was proper, and they may