New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-02-16
FROM WASHINGTON.
Observation-Disclosures.
yrtn. ~ ossrs,c1.l cou.srordsu-

vouk have seen lara. group Of intensely interest
cd M. prber. rear the center Of the Hall surround
ipe ,trs-ee figure, seemingly bali nsn' halt by,
Ard an mummy; lis spLr,e hiIen hair conoed
eloss down upon long, Mario" hea'' his saio"'
beardless shi. resembling stri7eled parchment AIS
saupt. ,ick,y body .wsyirg 10 and fro with etc''e-
mon, tis arm. sweeping around 10 short angles,
his Alto voice. sweet and strlil Ike Won.ns,
pitebed 70 lis hiebes. key. and piercing the re-
n,otest corner Of the crowded galleries. Ihis Is
Mr. Alexander II. Stephens closing the debate Oh
the bin for the admission If Oregon.
This whilom Wing and now strlct-eonstrucuoh
Democrat and leader of the Slavery propaganda
in the House. when sitting NJ alstahce i'oAs iho
boy OF eighteen who has been struggling ali his
liz with relentless chills and fever AZ he gets up
IN address the chair you surprised a. the att
| tuJ, of the specter before YOU rl.Ing nearly SIX
feet from the floor. The tones OF ms voice r.vet
your attention. 1t is not a mans voice, nor
| BOYS nor exactly woman s. You never beard
| such a voice before. In decamdtOry passages,
when sweed u its full capacity, II sounds like
yecitatye in music, or the wall of the wind IN
| grove of pines or 81 the long drawn sentences
Tonotonousy rise and fall, Ike the bOrtatOry strains
OF revival preacher iintng tie giorles oil heaven,
and warning from the wrath to come. The ges
lures. angular sharp and impeluous, saw the AIR.
dart forward like Taper and strike out rlght ana
! left like broad sword. In imprisoned periods,
the bonv cenched fist smites blow after blow on
,be desk: end the long. skinny finger following
! the deep. set. mournful and now glowing eye, to
some distant object serves as an exclamation point
! al the close of pungeH retort, an emphatic as
| seri0B, or a nervous sentence.
We are thus minute in describing Mr.. Stephrnss
pfpsiqus, because il is the basis, and very large
share of the suptrstructuTe, OF his reputation IN
| Congress and the country. We have seen men,
beers of the diplomatic corps, who did not under
stand word of English, sit spel-bound half an
hour while Stephens was speaking; their gaze rly-
eted by the look tone and manner OF the strange
| being below His admirers call him close rca-
soper- the ablest in the House. He is no reasOner
at all The argumentative parts of his speeches
are nothing but dOgmatsms, uttered IN lucid IAN
guaqe. and with nervous emphasis; mere assump-
lion of premises, and assertions Of conclusions.
He studies the subject matter, knows It's facts, and
SD can Off prove his statements by an apt citation,
or confusean opponent by his superior acquaintance
with the cotempOraneOus data or the historical
precedents pertaining TO the question. But,
though he greatly affects reasoning, his speeches
show neither the form nor the substance OF the
therefore, the hate, and the because OF real logic.
He is a model debatef, IN that he keeps close To
the pending subject; eXcels in short sharp state
mems: views every matter from narrow, not
to say low stand point; dssec.s all questions with
thin. technical blade; is bold, bitter sellwiled
partisan: exceedingly unfair 10 reply when his an
tagOnist has no chance TO respond or explain. In
fine conceive of fire without warmth, Of knife
cutting Ia the bone without drawing blood, of
skeleton that shall stand up and talk having neither
fe.h, nerves lungs, nor lips, and you can conceive
of the matter and manner of speech from Alex
ander III. Stephens.
Mr.. Stephens has been often compared to John
Randolph. Except IN some pecullarlt!es OF look
and voice, he is quite unlike the unique orator OF
Roanoke. He never plays part, nor affects SIN
gularty Randolph always did, even III the So
Tenn hour. when, in the chamber of death, he
traced the word " RemOrse" on the card Of his
physician, DR.. Parish. Randolph had an exubersnt,
hayward fancy, to which he gave rein III his
forensic displays. Stephens rarely uses metaphor,
either to illustrate or adorn. Randolph reyeIed in
quotations from poets and dramatsts, ancient aud
modern. Stephens never cites anything more
classic than Coke and Hansard. Randolph was
highly dramatic in dictlOn and delivery; and, at
times his eloquence flowed in a stream beautiful
and picturesque as his own Roanoke. Stephens is
always terse and pointed, and usually dry and
ddactlc. His yaledictory to-day was more ornate
than any speech We ever heard HIM deliver before
As be put on bis heavy overcoat at the close, all
knew that il was not the afiectaion Of Randolph,
mounting jockey cap at the conclusion OF his
speeches but was dictated by prudent regard for
a constitution long shaken by strange maladies.
Mr. Stephens will leave Congress at the close of
his present term. Less eccentric, but scarcely
less valuable to the Southern Democracy are two
other members of the present House, who retire at
the same time-Col. Orr OF South Carolina and
Mr.. Letcher of Virginia.
Mr.. Speaker Orr is large, muscular man, full
six feet high Of middle age. not astidous in dress
nor scrupulously neat in general appearance. He
displays a frank, rubicund countenance, a head
spaIsely srrinked on the apex with Drownish hair,
not well developed in the logical region with Ian
guage full, and perceptye organs unusually large.
His air and mien yiHdicate the sOundness OF the
reputation he won before assuming the chair, of
being straightforward business man, ready, COM
nonsense debater, VINO took plain, level views Of
subiects, neither carrying the Dpe of argument
down into their deep gofges, nor bathing their
nights with the hues Of brilliant Illustration, never
astonishing by his profundity nor startling by his
splendor and wholly eschewng metaphysics,
Observation-Disclosures, and rhodomOutade. He was d
thoroughly uniformed member, spoke often and co.
gently, and gave close attention 10 the current
business of the House.
AS a presiding officer, Col Orr, in respect 10
mere capacity, Is fully equal 10 the average of
Speakers for the last thirty years. Familiar with
rules and precedents, patient and Oodnatured not
skillful in keeping order, but prompt in dspatching
business, with loud ringing voice which breaks
in upon the confusion on the floor Ike the scream
of locomotive approaching depot, and not grace
full in the chair because he will always keep swinging
the gave in his hsnd and rolling cut OF Virginia
"honey-dew - like sweet morsel under his tongue
His elevation to the chair, just after 1t had been
vacated by Mr. Banks, stimulates comparisons be-
tween Col. Orr and his distinguished predecessor.
We miss the erect form of Banks; the mellow
tones; the unerring glance: the prompt response;
the graceful wave OF the hand; the lucid dicti0n
in deciding, without faltering, questions of order
piled on questions Of order; the absence of hustle