Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-02-09
scmitOr saalc on Eeuer;aI Politics

The following passages are taken from
the eloquent speech delivered in the United
States Senate by John p. Hale, of New
Hampshire, on the 18th ult. q:
THE sEmI-orFICIAL MEETING IN DOUGLAS
pARLoR.
This omission to submit the Constitu-
ton to the people Of Kansas Is not acci-
dental lam sorry to find, as have found
out this session, that the omission to put
it in the original bill was not accidental.
We have liCtle light ON this subject from
gentleman who always sheds light when
he speaks to the Scnate--I mean the hon
orable Senator from pennsylvania. Mr..
Bigler. He says this was not accidental,
/ by any means. He has spoken once or
twice about meeting that was held iu
the private parlor of private gentleman
There was a good deal Of inquiry and
anxiety to know what sort of "a meeting
that was. The gentleman who owns the
house, said he did not know anything
about it. That is not strange. The hos
pItable man let's his guests have the use
of any room til ey please. The honorable
Senator from Pennsylvania said this meet
ing was "semi- official" l do not know
what kind Of a meeting that was. have
heard of semi bar barous, a semi-vivilized,
and asem-savage people; 1 have heard OF
"a semi-annual, and IL semi-weekly; but
when you come to semi EIicial, l declare
it botheEs me. Laughter. What sort
of meeting was il? Was it an official
meeting? No. Was it an unofficial meet
ing? No. What was it? Semi official
Laughter.
l have never met anything analogous to
it but once in my life, and that will men
ton by way OF illustration. A trader in
my town, before the day of railroads, had
taken large bank-bill. and he was "a little
doubtful whether it was genuine or not
He concluded to give it to the stage driver
and send it down to the bank to inquire Of
the cashier whether it was genuine bill
; The driver took it and promised 10 attend
to it. He went down the first day, but he
had SO many other errands that he forgot
it, and he said he would certainly attend tc
it the next day. The next day he forgot
it, and the third day he forgot it; but he
said, tomorrow l will do it if l do nothing
else; will ascertain whether the bill is
: genuine or not. He went the fourth day
with a like result-he forgot it, and wher
he came home he saw the nervous, anxious
trader, wanting to know whether it was
genuine or not; and he was ashamed tc
tell him he had forgotten it, and he though
: he would lie il through. Said the trader
: to him did you call at the bank?'
"Yes." "Did the cashier say it was :
genuine bill?' "No, he did not "Dic
he say it was a bad one?'' No" "Well
what did he say?" HE said it was abou
middIing--semi-gen Laughter.
l have never learned to this day whether
that was good or a bad bill. Laughter.
They used to say, in General Jackson's
time, that he had kitchen cabinet as wei
4 as a regular one. This could not be
D meeting of the kitchen cabinet, because i
= sat in the pnrlor. Laughter. 1t wal
semi-olficial in its character also.
5 Again, sir, there is another thing re
markable about this meeting. The Sena
: tor says cit was semi-official and called
it was a called meeting; it was not
Y mere accidental gathering of few gen
d tlemen, coming in to pay their respects u
t the distinguished Senator in HE hoaPita