The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-03-19

ssLook to the Senate"
This was once the rsllylng cry In the hour OF
,,smsy and danger. When the House OF Repre-
sentatiyes, with characteristic turbulence ana
precipitaney was burrying the country to the very
verge of ruin-"Leok tote Senate" was the cry that
ehsered the patriots heart 1t WAS body in those
DAYS worth looking at, with Calhoun, Clay, Web
ster that majestic triumvirate, sustaining on
their massive shoulders the destiDies Of the con-
t,pent. 1t was the sheet anchor That held the
ship Of state 10 her moorngs, when the storm was
at It's widest, and the pillows rolled mountain
high The country looked TO the Senate NOT only
with faith in lie wisdom, patriotism and conserVa
tism bnt with high appreciation OF its dignity
it's decorum, and the lofty and courteous bearing
which characterized the intercourse OF its mem
hers IL was then the American House OF Lords
not hereditary peers, but Nature's NOblemen
p,cked ont from the multitude for their superior
apaIties of inteilect, and fitted by education and
manners 10 give strength and grace to their high
position.
What IL IL now2 Who can look now to the Sc
nate of the Uuted States, without exclsiming-
ALAS. how faiieni' Where are its lights OF other
davsp Where the splendid constellation of states
men. TO whose gittering obs the storm-tossed
mariner always looked, and never looked Ia vain
Where the men who, matter who might DO
President In name were themselves the leaders
and guides OF the great parties OF the country,
and who, whenever national crisis occurred, put
their shoulders together to the wheel, and saved
the Repubiies Where are they! Truly has it
been said ssThey lie In their graves, and theif
nantes lie beside them" They have passed away,
and left no iDheritors Of their greatness. And
from the hour that the last Of these men died, 1--WE
have walked on ashes thiDly covering the hre,
the fire Of q volcano, smouldering beneath vine
and flower clad surface Of seeming prosperity, but
ready, at any moment to break forth, and convert
the garden spot Of the earth into burning de-
sert
lie who looks now to the Senate, will see in
place of the departed giants, and shuifling about
10 their big shoes, men who, In their time, sat on
the back seats; who were sort of connecting link
between the lobby aud the law making power, and
who never rose to speak In the presence of Clay,
Webster and Calhoun, without blnshing and STAN
msring like bashful pupils in awe of their mas
tiers; men who wonid never question one of their
positions except in terms OF the most profound
Difference, and who would more have thought
of breaking lance with them in intellectual en-
counter than II buzzard of making war upon an
eagle. Yet these buzzards now our eagles;
terrific swoop and scream. Cross-road politicians.
bar-room demagOgues the very scurf and scum
Of political corruption, may now be found in the
United States Senate, place once as pure rs an
icicle and bright as a sunbeam. With few ex-
ceptions, the Senate has become as contemplate
10 talent and character as the House OF Represen-
tatives Scenes have lately occurred there dis
graceful to the members to the good name of that
once venerated department of the government,
and to the nation at arge,-if the nation could be
any farther disgraeed than it has before been by
the conduct of its represen The inforiorty
Of talent aud craftsmanship is An evil which, how
ever deplorable aud humiIiating, the members can
not help. No man makes his own brains, and we
do not expect them to supply natural defect. 1t
il thesfault Of the constituency, or of the times
that the Gibraltar OF our strength Is converted
into hospital of Ineapables and lncurables. But
every man is competent to conduct himself with
decorum and courtesy, to respect the proprieties
Of life, aud to recognize difference between the
council chamber of the Republic and bear garden.
Even this amount Of Senatorial qualification does
not characterize that once august body; for while
here and there handful of gentlemen of the oden |
time still alag superfuOus on the STAGE" the |
spirit pervading the mass may be witnessed in the
proceedings of Monday night aud in the coarse
personalities, vulgar invective and unscrupulous
defamation not only Of individuals, but of whole
sections of the country, which form the stable OF
Equatorial harangues.
II we "look TO the Senate" in these times it j.
only to behold signs of evil omen. There can be
no worse signs of the future Of a country than the
ipcsmpetency and corruption OF the men in whose
hands the destinies of nation placed. There
are exceptions, but WISDOM moderation and public
virtue nc longer characteristic of the Senate of
the United States. What must become of an army
without generals; ship without helmsmen: IA |
body without brains? Nature is no Democrat;
Nature every day gives the lie to the transparent
humbng that all men are born equal Nature
hts every man for his place, giving some the
capacity to govern, whilst others are born to be |
The led and governed class In England, an aris-
focracy; In France, an Emperor; among the |
chosen people In former times, the Almighty him
self WAS lawgiver aud king We too, had our |
leaders, political and intellectual leaders, and we
looked "to the Senate" as to Mount Sinai, for the |
divine voice that should guide the tribes in their
Journeys through the wilderness. But the thun- |
ters and lightnings that announced the presence |
of Divinity have ceased our prophets and high |
priests are dead, and hungry wolves aud obscene |
birds have made their abode In the sacred moun- |
tain. What 10 to become of q government which |
has no governing mind, and whose governors, as
both branches Of Congress have often proved, |
are not capable of governing themselves!
--o---
The Prime Shlntster of England.
The New York Journal of Commerce gives AN |
sketch Of Edward Geofiroy, fourteenth |
Earl Of Derby, now, for the second time prime mi
hester Of England. lie was horn i'm 1893. eduea-
ted at Elton aud Oxford and entered the House OF
Commons In 1921. His early fame as a debater
And statesman was gained nader the name Of stan
ley His father dying ia 1851 he succeeded to the
family honors and immense wealth. When he
nrst entered the political arena he attached him
self to the Wing party, aud held various impor-
tant posts nader Wing administrations, but be.
came alienstsd by their policy In regard To Irish