San Andreas independent., 1858-07-03
Interesting "reminiscences.


"Gen. Sam Houston is said to be the
only member Of the present Congress who
was also member thirty-fve years AGO.
when Edward Everett formed one of the
three hundred constituting that body"
There are some slight inaccuracies in
this statement, although not material
The Congress in which Gen Houston and
Mr. Everett were members together, was
that of 1S25-27, more than thirty years
ago, but not thirty y-fve, and the whole
number Of members was two hundred and
sixty-one, and not three hundred. 1t is
of that Congress that Gen. Houston was
the only one who is nova member of this
Congress- But he is far from being the
only surviving member, and there is at
least one member of this Congress who
was in Congress long previous to 1925.
Mr. Crittenden, the venerable Senator
from Kentucky, was in the Senate in 1917,
more than forty years ago. Houston left
Congress in 1927, and did not come back
till 1916, having been not only out of
Congress, but for the most part out of the
Union, brought back, if all accounts of
his anti-annexation coquetry with Eng
land be true, rather against his own will.
Congress contained great many men
who have since acquired great reputation,
and occupied the highest positions in the
country. Four of its members Van
Buren, Harrison, Polk and Buchanan
have since been elected President Two
Ill Il
have been Vice Presidents The presid-
ing officer of the Senate was John G.. Cal
houn, then in the zenith of his popularity
and in the highest vigor of his intellect.
The eccentric Randolph occupied the seat
which, at the close of the term, was filled
by John Tyler, afterwards President
Daniel Webster was in the House, and
Hugh L. White in the Senate-men
whom large masses of devoted friends un-
availingly stroye to elect to the Presiden-
cy. Benton, then a giant among orators
and statesmen, was in the Senate; so was
Hayne, of South Carolina, who died so
young and so deeply lamented; Forsyth,
who never had a superior as a debater in
the Senate, afterwards Secretary of State
and Minister to Spain; Louis McLane,
who became, successively, Secretary of
State and of the Treasury, and Minister
to England; Levi Woodbury., afterwards
Secretary of the Navy, of the Treasury,
and Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States. In the House, besides
McDuf6e and Hamilton, and Philip p
Barbour-men who have left great repu-
tatlons unconnected with public station
there were Edward Livingston, of Louisi-
ana, Secretary of State and Minister to
France; VIM. G. Rives, of Virginia, also
Minister to France; Andrew Stevenson,
of Virginia, Minister to England; and,
though we name him last, not the least
conspicuous there, Mr. Everett himself,
whose name had already became widely
known for ripe scholarship, and who be-
came, successively, Minister to England
and Secretary of State.
1t was a remarkable body which inclu-
ded these men. Very few of the men,
bers survive, and of the whole list, Presi-
dent Buchanan is the only one now in
public life, excepting Gen. Houston, of
luC CcHdUC Ocu. IlUuSlOu was OILY
known for some eccentricities, which soon
after made him notorious, if not famous,
and his titles to distinctions whatevert they
are, were earned on another field than In
the councils or service of the u. S.
In looking over the list of members of
this Congress, as published in Niles Reg
lister of December, 1925, we notice GU
rious circumstance The list contains the
full names of every member of the House
of Representatives but one. There was
a new member from Tennessee, whose
christian name could not be found out by
the compiler, and so he put him down
thus: - Polk. Twenty years after
wards, this obscure gentleman, of whose
identity there was much question in 1925,
was elected President of the United States,