Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-02-22

The Length of tho Session.
The Lh,ion and American manifests consider
able tenderness on the matter Of the length OF
the present session of the Legislature, as re-
ferred to by us a few days since. 1t takes is
sue with us that the session will be unusually
and unnecessarily long, and puts forth finn
sy argument to show that we are wrong. 1t
refers to the fact that the session of 1853
was la days, that of 1856, l55 days, and
that deducting the time az days. during
which the Legislature was adjourned by joint
resolution, the present session will be l4s
days-and adds that the latter will be shorter
than the two former. Accordingly IA is a
greater number than 149. The statement OF
the Union and american shows only one session
of the Legislatures Of Tennessee, to have
been longer than the present. Now, we did
not say that it was the longest session that has
ever been held; but that it was "longer than
usual" According to the Union and american
the length of one session is the standard OF
what is usual; and although the present session
is longer than every other session except one,
il is, nevertheless, shorter than usual! This
i, simply absurd. The Union and American,
and every one of it's readers, know that
what is customary or usual is not de-
termined by single act or event. But
to make it appear that the present session
is not longer in fact than any of its predeces-
sors the Union and american resorts to the
bubble of deducting IL days for the adjourn
hDli Vhu
it not examine the Journals and deduct all the
DAYS in which there was no session 1T would
have been equally legitimate and reasonable.
1t must be well known to our neiGhbor that
the reason and argument used to bring about
that adjournment, were that il was and had been
impossible to do business during the holidays,
because a quorum could not be had. And
the Senate Journal 1--WE have not that of the
House before us at this momenD for 1856,
shows that the Senate met ten days during the
HOLIDAYS, when there was no quorum present.
If You wish to make fair computation, why
not deduct these ten days from that session,
as well as the twelve from this! That would
make that session only 1f5 days, and this
the longest session that erer occurred IN Tennessee
We leave it to the candOr of the Union amt
American to say, whether he, aud not ourselves
is really in error.
Our neighbor further takes issue with us
that the length of the present session was nm
necessary, and quotes only what we said of the
Revised Code, and not all Of that. Now we
will make the Union and AnHricdn the judge Of
Il, - kaff III
the time spent in points of order, discussion,
explanations, &C., was really nee5fM for the
public good, or for judcious legislation? We
said that the delay could not be saddled upon
Code, because the public time had been other
wise squandered. We further stated that the
Code, could have been adopted in much
shorter mode than that pursued. 1t was not
Indispensable that the Code should have been
read three times over. AS we stated. the Code
was intended to be digest of the statutes al
ready in existence, and the fact as to whether it
is such is confided to the Committee of able and
honorable gentlemen who have it in charge, and
the reading of it before the assembly is matter
of form, which might he dispensed with. But
our neighbor insists that the Committee could
not have examined the Code in "a shor-
ter time than they have done and there
fore the session will not be unnecessarily long.
Now granting that the code could not have
been disposed of in any other way than the
manner in which il has been done, yet il is u
fact which ought to be well known to the
Union and american, that about one-half that
committee has not labored upon it at all.
That labor has been devolved upon y sub
committee. There were appointed two revi-
sors, who divided the work between them.
and why should not there have en- two sub
committees, AZ well as one, having, each, one
of the revisors to aid them, and thus shared
the onerous and thankless labor, and short
ened the time by half. This might have been
done greatly to the public interest, and with
out great Inconvenience to the Legislature,
aud so it was " unnecessary" (ss necessity i'm
plies an absence of alternatives) that so much
time should have been consumed by the code,
and both the hypothesis and conclusion OF the
Union and american fall to the ground.