Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-02-23
THE HOUSE or REPRESENTA-.
TTYES or OHIO.


Perhaps, Mr.. Editor, at the present time
u short sketch Of the Legislature Of our
State may not como umiss to you and YOU
readers, especially when there is such a dis
Pressing dedrth OF news, ur when their pro.
ceedings sre nothing but such matters al
are not of any particular local interest.
There are in tine present House of Re.
presentatives l04 members the average age
being nearly AZ years. They are, Of course
a very respectable body of men, and pos.
scssing an average amount of talent. The
oldest member is Gen. George House, oil
Guile county, a Democrat. Gen. House
was a member of the same body forty years
ago, before modern innovations such as
pages and Sergeants alarms were though,
OF. In thuse good old days they employed
one doorkeeper, who was at once messen.
ger, Sergeant-at. arms, and maid of all work
about the Hall generally. Then members
carried their own bills reports, or memoir.
als to the Clerks desk and even condescend.
I'd to 60 to the Post Office Tor their okn
mail matter. Now, however, things have
materially change. Five pages, aud four
Sergeants.at-A Arms are busily employed car.
ry'ng documents, reports. and what not
here and there about the House, while the
Post Office, is for all practical purposes, a,
every members desk. Gen. House is a quiet
but good member, never boring the mem.
bers by any long speeches, but always OH
hand, an example that other members nigh,
follow without injury to their reputation fol
industry.
The youngest members are A. Il. Cory,
a merchant Of She 10y, ,and Robt. Huiche-
son, a lawyer from Madison, both of whom
are Democrats, bachelors, and downright
clever fellows.
The various occupations are represented
as follows:
Lawyers Is, Doctors Is, Farmers AZ
Clergy 2. Merchants IL, Mechanics @, Man.
ufacturers l. Surveyors /, Editors and Pint.
ers A, Teachers 8, Steamboat Captain l
Citizen /.
Whatever may have been true Of the pro.
ponderance Of Lawyers in this body here
%tofore, one thing is very true now, they are
largely In the minority Those that are
here however, ore practical, working men
and seem disposed TO transact the bushes.
Of the State and then go home.
or the clergy there ure but two, Mr.. Nc.
Cune, of Huron county, (who is q nun o
very decided talent) a son.in-law of Rev
Edward Smith, formerly of the Pittsburgh
Conference; and Rev. NJ. s. Clapp, OF tn,
Campbellite persuasion, and a brother.in
law OF Bishop Campbell, Of Bethany.
The Republicans have a majority o
twelve in the House, nominally, but the
vote for the resolution going into the cleo
tion Of u. s. Senator shows hat lheir
practical minority is imuch less, in fact n,
majority at all.
One great and remarkable peculiarly
about the members of this House, is the
unaccoun,able tact that not a single one o
them, so far rs ] have been able to learn
but was forced to como here and serve thu
people in the very undesirable office of Re
preventative. So singular a fact is certainl,
withou, precedent, and did we not know
that Legislators never equivocate, we nigh
doubt the truth of the statement; but it /.
unmistakeable, us member after member, In
the course Of the debates on the various
measures that have heen boforo ,hem, has
a9owed with all the gravity of a sage, tina,
he never sought the office to which he had
been electcd--that his people had placed
him there without his consent and in some
cases actually against his will. Certainly
such remarkable cases of murlyrdom have
not occurred since the originals OF ''Fox's
Book of Martyrs" suffered anl died. The
unspphisticated voters around the hastings
last fail, when these same sacriticial offer
ings were labOring to prove that the very
safety of our "Deluved country depended
on their sending him, Che present forced
indi iidual) to Columbus, will see by the
foregoing statement that they misapprehend.
ed tho "driit of his argument" and II they
will but review the whole matter they must
become convinced that they were altoge.h-
or mistaken.
The Speaker of the House, Col. II. c.
Parsons, is n most excellent presiding Of
icer. Prompt in his transaction OF bust
ness he is always gentlemanly aud on the
alert in the consideration OF the most vexa.
tious questions Of parliamentary law. All
the wi.es Of udroit parliamentarians on the
Democratic side of the House have not
succeeded in throwing him off ais guard
Dir. u. Is an excellent debuter, and would
exert a grenter influence on the floor than
the Lnair; Notwithstanding this however,
his selection as Speaker was one eminently
to be made"
] may in another article make some allu.
sion 10 the Senate.