The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-01-08
BALTIMORE.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1859.


The glory of the old Senate Chamber of the Ma
tional Capitol has departed from it for ever; yet,
memories of the past will still cluster around the
deserted hall, and fill it with the shadowy Pres
ences of Americas ablest and most eloquent
statesmen 1t was fitting that in the act of
abandoning the old Hall, for the newer and more
imposing one in which the Senators were about
to install themselves, some ceremonial should be
observed; and it fell naturally to Mr.. CRIrTENDEN,
as the Oldest member of the Senate and to Mr..
BRECKENRIDGE, the President of that body,
to make the parting addresses. 1t was spectacle
at once solemn and touching. portion of the
furniture had already been removed from the
chamber, and chairs alone filled the space pre-
viously occupied by the desks of the Senators.
Besides the Senators, there were present many
Members of the House of Representatves-drawn
thither by curiosity, to listen to the Farewell
speeches about to be delivered; and to their honor
be it said, that this OCCASION at least they OBJ
served the utmost decorum. The spell of the
genus locl was upon them. 'eThe chamber" as
Mr.. CRITTENDEN well said, Chad been the theatre
'of great events. There questions of the Consti-
"tuton and of American law had been debated,
sand matters of empire decided. There, too, they
chad seen CLAY, CALHOUN, WEBSTER, and WRIGHT,
'and a host of great and good men, who lad
"passed away. They would seem to have i'm
oppressed their greatness upon the very walls; and
eve might almost fancy that the dome over us
"still resounded with the echo of their tones"
Mr.. BRECKENRIDGE followed in similar strain
He sketched the movements of Congress from
place to place-from the first meeting of Colonial
Delegates at New York, in 1865, to the permanent
occupation, by the Congress of the UNITED STATES,
of the Capitol at Washington. With few
mastery touches, he drew the portraits of "the
'mighty three whose names and fame--associated
Sin life-death has not been able to sever; illus
"trious men, who, in their generation, sometimes
"divided, sometimes led, and sometimes resisted
'tpubc opnon,-for they were' said Mr.. Brock
ENRIDGE-perhaps unconscious of the peculiar sig
nifcance which might be attached to his eulogium
-"of that higher class of statesmen who seek
"the right, and follow their convictions" But
the removal of the Senators, to their new Hail. is
is eminently suggestive in other respects. 1t in
dictates the marvellous change which has taken
place in the wealth, and the power, and the pro-
gress of the country since the first Continental
Congress met in New York to protest against
"taxation without representation" 1t recalls to
mind how the Congress of the Revolution, in con-
slant danger of Surprisal by the enemy, still main
tanned its organization intact, and though driven
from place to place by the advance of the British |
never despaired of ultimate success; but developed
new energies in the presence of new misfortunes.
Mr.. BRECKENRIDGE traced its nomadic wanderngs
during the long and exhausting struggle which
commencing at Lexington in 1775, was virtually |
terminated by the surrender of CORVALLIS at |
Yorktown in 1881. In no two consecutive years |
did the delegates meet together at the same
place, and even after the war closed Con-
gress had no fixed habitation, but con-
tnued to shift about from Philadelphia to
Princeton, and from thence to Annapolis and |
Trenton and New York. 1t was not until 1888,
when by the treaty of Versailles the Independence
of the UNITED STATES was formally &C
knowledged by Great Britain, that the question of
establishing a permanent seat of Government
arose. warm discussion Immediately sprang up
with regard to the place which should be selected
10 meet the conflict of opinions, authority was
given to erect two buildings for the use of Con-
gress, one of which was to be erected near the
Falls of the Delaware, and another near the Falls of
the Potomac. Subsequently, the resolution was |
modified so as to restrict the residence of Con-
gresS to one particular place. and Commissioners
were appointed with full power to lay out dis
trict for federal town near the Falls of the Della
ware. The Commissioners reported progress at
the next session of Congress- but no action was
taken upon it. This sectional dispute, with regard
to the point best adapted for the permanent loca-
ton of the seat of Government continued to agi- |
tate Congress for several years. but was finally
settled in 1890, by the passage of act whchfi
permanently the seat of Government near the Falls
of the Potomac and authorized the erection of suit
able buildings. In 1900 the north of the Capt.
tol was completed, and fitted up so as to accommo-
date both houses of Congress. ''The PRESIDENTS
'house was completed externally, but the internal
finishing was quite behind-hand" At that
period the new city of Washington presented a
melancholy aspect. There was but one hotel in
the place, and that was of dimensions too limited
to lodge more than few of the members of Con-
gress-a few scattered houses dotted the unfenced |
waste and presented striking contrast to the
public buildings. "The people are poor" said
WoLcoTT, ''and, as far as l can Judge, they live
like fishes, by eating each other" The road to
Georgetown, three miles distant, and the only
place where member could live comfortably, was
execrable But there were great speculations even
then in city lots, and confident expectation was
entertained by enthusiastic capitalists that Wash
.Gston was destined to exceed in population any
city in the world. s'Mr. THORNTON, one of the
Commissioners, spoke of population of one hun
''dred and sixty thousand, as a matter of course,
lin a few years" 1t was, as we all now know, |
vain delusion; but many large fortune was sunk |
irretrievably in city lots, before the bubble bursted
Yet the Washington city of to-day, is in marked |
contrast to the place so designated half century
ago, when the land was sold at twenty-five cents
the superficial foot; when most of the inhabitants
"were low people and negroes; " when there was
no industry society, or business, and vice and in
temperance appeared to be the ruling characters
tics of the citizens. Mr.. Commissioner THoRNToN,s
estimate of Zone hundred and sixty thousand
population in the course of few years, has |
certainly not been realized But if the city of Wash
ington itself has made but slow progress the ter
exceeded the most sanguine expectations of the
founders OF the Republic. Carpenters Hall in
Philadelphia, an apartment not much larger than
modern drawing-room, contained with ease the
members of the Continental Congress; but now
the Capitol has to be enlarged to afford sufficient
space to accommodate the Senators and Representa-
tives of the UNITED STATES.
The political partnership which has hitherto ex-