The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1857-02-03
Congress and the Press.

When two great institutions como into col
lision there is necessarily corresponding sem
sation, and so it has been in the case now pen
ding at Washington, which may be entitled
Congress as. the Press. AS we have hereto
fore stated, certain members of the House
felt their honor touched by statements made
by Mr. Simonton, correspondent of the N. Y.
Times, charging bribery and corruption in
the Minnesota Railroad Land Grant Bill
This case has now occupied nearly or quite a
fortnight of the time of the House, to the
neglect of every other kid of business. A
Committee of Investigation was appointed on
the part of the House, before whom Mr.. Ray
mond, editor Of the N. Y. Times, and Mr..
Simonton were examined, but nothing could
be elected from them to inculpate any mem
ber-both refusing to answer any questions
on this point; and other witnesses were equally
incommunicative. Mr.. Simonton was there
upon arrested by order of the House for con-
tumacy and placed in the custody of the Ser
geant-at-Arms. We infer that the restraint
imposed upon the prisoner was not very Sc
we're, however since he was allowed to attend
public entertainments and receives the con-
gratulations of his numerous friends. 1t was
his intention to have sued out writ of ha-
beas corpus, but this idea was abandoned by
advice of his counsel, Mr. Reverdy Johnson,
whose opinion was that he was bound to dis
close what he knew upon the subject. To
place the right of the House beyond question,
a law was passed by that body on Thursday
last, with stringent penalties, compelling wit
nesses 10 answer, so that now Mr., Simonton
will have to disclose or suffer the consequent
ces of refusal.
The Senate too sympathizing with the
House, passed a similar law for its own pro-
lection on Friday, only Mcssrs. Pugh, Hale
and Wilson voting in the negative, the dis
cussion of which was of rather a spicy char
acter. Mr.. Hale said that if Congress should
make this issue with the newspaper reporter
who is in custody, or even with street scav-
enger, he would beat Congress upon it before
the country, and would have the public SYM
pathy whether he was right or not. Mr..
Toombs said that tho principle Of "honor a
mong thieves" was now brought forward to
prevent the administration of public justice.
In reply to Mr.. Toombs, Mr. Hale said:
off public representations were correct, he
believed Mr.. Simonton wrong and the House
right; but he believed that if the bill should
pass, the positions would be reversed, and the
prisoner magnifed into hero. Severe as
the denuncations of the Press are, it is an
institution Notwithstanding 1t has a hund-
red eyes and thousand tongues. 1t sees,
hears and flashes what is said here through
out the whole country. The Press will live as
long as Congress will live-and day after.
Laughter. 1t will record, he said, our dis
solution, and the hero Of the Press will be
the man against whom Congress, in the year
of grace, 1857, undertake, by bill of pains
and penalties, 10 put down. He was willing
to 60 as far as any man could rightfulIy 60
though he thought at one time he would
never punish any man for contempt of the
Senate An individual named Nugent, COM
mitted nagrant breach Of privilege by pub
fishing treaty in the Nev York Herald
The moment he was arrested, many astute
men said the arrest was without authority
The Sergeant alarms gave him the best |
room he had in his house and the best meat
and liquor the city could afford, and the SEN
ate had to foot the bill. Laughter He !
sued out writ of habeas corpus, and the
Senate gave the lawyer five hundred dollars. /
The prisoner was held till the end OF Con- |
gress and then let loose.'
The following is given as the substance of
the law as it has passed both houses:
''Any person wlfully retpsing TO gtve testi
mony or TO produce papers before any Com
mittee, shall be liable FOR misdemcanor, and,
on convictions. pay fine of not more than
one thousand dollars, ncr less than one humid
red dollars, and be imprisoned in the Peni-
tiary not more than one gear, nor less than
one month. No person thus testifying shall |
be held to answer before any court of justice |
for any facts disclosed before the Committee |
OF either House.
This state of facts suggests word of COM
ment. Washington letter-writcrs are often
reckless in their statements no doubt, some-
times inexcusaby abusive and slanderous, and |
for aught we know IIr. Simonton may be
open TO these charges in the present case, not
withstanding the positive defamation Of Mr.. |
Paine, of North Carolina, that fellow-nom-
Der had offered him bribe Of fifteen hund-
red dollars; but il strikes us that Congress
has exhibited an uncaled for senstiveness
upon the subject, and that the investigation
bas not added TO its dignity. Honorable
membeIs ia both houses are in tho habit of |
charging upon each other with quite as grave |
offences against legislative propriety and pnb-
lie morals as are implied in the statements of
Mr. Simonson, and on tho point of general
respectab;Iity, Che Press of the country need
not sirink from a comparison with Congress-
IF the charges Of corruption against members
OF the House were well founded, tho less said
by them or their f:ends tho better; il not,
they could well afford TO let them sink silent
ly into oblivion. t.,
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