The Washington union., 1858-02-16
WASHINGTON CITY.
TUESDAY MORNING. FEB. ls. 1855.

TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. ls, 1855.
THE LECoMPToN COMMITTEE AND SPEAKER ORR
The opposition newspapers, more especially the
Philadelphia Press and New York Times, assail-
ing Mr. Orr with great bitterness of inyective for
the manner in which he thought fit to constitute the
Harris committee on the Lecompton constitution. 1t
is pretended that some ancient and invioable par
liaentary rule has been dsregarded in the selection
Of this committee.
We are ut loss to know what rule Ii relied on
for this assertion in what manual OF parliamentary
practice it is to be found, and on what ground OF
reason it rests.
There is parliamentary rule which requires that
when any bill or measure or matter is referred
to a committee, it skall be referred to ma
jority Of friends it being a parliamentary max
i'm that AZ a child is not to be put to nurse
that cares not for it, SO no man ls to be EN-
ployed in any matter who has declared himself
against it," But this rule cuts up the objections
against the committee in question by the roots Tor,
az the Lecompton constitution is the subjectmatter
referred to this committee, for inquiry into the whole
facts of it's origin and history this very rule rendered
mittee 30 that il would contain majority friendly to
this constitution.
The regular course Of proceeding with this instru-
ment and the special message of the President,
would have BEEN to refer them to tho standing Com
mittee on Territories of the House which might
have been presumed fully as competent to deal with
the subiect-matter they imbodied as any special
A. l,c raisad We
of but one objection that could have been legit-
mately urged against giving the Lecompton con-
sttution this reference-and that il, that the COM
mttee was opposed to the matter referred, and that
the reference would be like committing child to al
inimical nurse. This objection did not exist how
ever, in fact and, not existing, there was no sul-
cent excuse for raising special committee. com
mttee, however, having been raised it not only
as we conceive, incumbent upon the Speaker to 80
constitute it az to give the friends of the special mes
sage and the Lecompton constitution majority OF
it's members, in pursuance Of the just parliamentary
rule we have cited, butt would have been monstrous
to have referred those papers to hostile committee
In the opinion of great many the House did VIC
lence to parliamentary usage or courtesy in re-
pirate standing committee; it was expecting toe
much of the House parliamentary body to refer
the matter to committee positively hostile-far toe
much to expect of the dominant political party in
the House to commit leading measure of policy to
the hostile nursing of an implacabe enemy. The
outcry against Speaker Orr is therefore, not only
unreasonable, puerile and petulant, but IL at wal
with most wise and Just canon of parliamentary
practice.
A glance at the composition of the committee il
its relations to parties and sections will suffice t.
vindicate the mpartality Of the Speaker. The rule
to which we have alluded required him to constitute
majority Of the committee. Of the friends to the mat
ter referred. That requirement being satisfied let III
scan the committee with reference to it's sectiona
and party relations. 1t consists of tho following
named gentlemen, from the localities and of the po
| litical atiipitiea indicated