Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1857-03-13
LEGISLATION ut Washington

The correspondent of the New York Tri-
June gives an account of the last night Of
the Session from which we take the follow.
ing. One feels ashamed of men who car
legislate in such a loose and irresponsible
way. 1t is a grievous wrong, and tends tl
corrupt the nation as well as to disgrace it
The Civil Appropriation bill, which
embraces all prolniscuous appropriations
and is n sort of omnibus, then came from
the Committee OF Conference. with about
EIGHTY Senate amendments agreed to By
that Committee. Jones of Tennessee Perry
of Me. stanton of Ohio knowlton of Maine
each made efforts to have those amendment,
read. But it was denied by the Chairman
of the Committee of Ways and Means ant
by the House, and that selfish and pusllan
imous body, in dcrogation of its own rights
and in contempt of all legislative dignity
and direction, roted 10 concur Nth ererJ
amendment in u lump, withom knowins
lrhat wdS embraced IN a single one Of Msm
except one. and that was for the appropri.
alton of IA million of dollars for the Wash
ington Water W orks-a scheme which could
not obtain, as an Independent measure, on
its present basis a vote of one third of the
Members of the House in its favor The de-
cision of the body, thus to swallow this
enormous batch of appropriations, without
knowing what they contained. was received
with mingled derision contempt, pain, and
furious temper, among various members
But the minority were too scrupulous to
tillibuster and too feeble to help themselves
in any other way, and the whole bill went
through under the parliamentary screws,
by a vote ofS1 to 81, within three quarters
of an hour. If the pay of members had
not been included in the same bill. would 1t
not have been defeated For this kind OF
legislation no terms of opprobrium can be
too caustc or severe. Ii ls alike contempt
ible and disgraceful The idea of CARVING
obnoxious measures, like the stupendous
Washington Water Works, for example.
against the deliberate and declared opposi-
ton Of the House. by fastening them. thro'
the machinery of Committee of Conference,
upon the appropriation bills which the
sense OF legislative responsibility, or the
pecpniarv wants or necessities of members
Will not permit them to oppose, is one OF
the most damnable features of the Con-
gressional action. 1t deserves the deepest
and widest public reprobation. 1t is swind-
ling by the million, and the members who
are guilty of it, or who will connive at it,
''SSi'S " NC IA IOrtu " uHINeTsul
For the city of Washington to obtain its
appropriation in this way is just about
equal, on the score of justice and morality,
to highway robbery and plundering Uncle
Sans chest with picks and crows. 1t
ought to fill the mind Of every Member of
Congress with contempt, as it certainly
must with prejudice. In view of such u
shameful mode of plundering the Treasury
it certainly must put every new member
especially on his guard against the cor
morant and atrocious grabsof the Federal
Capital.
Let it not be said this is an inevitable evil
The assertion is utterly false. Would the
House but once consult its own dignity and
its own sense of what is due to it as a CO.
ordinate legislative branch Of the Govern
ment, and refuse to pass bill of such a
character. and under such circumstances as
we have delineated, the practice of these
frauds on legislation would cease Let the
ciyil appropriation fail, if need be- The
experience would be worth millions, in mon
ey, and be of untold advantages in Other
respects.