The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-06-08

sent conditions, it may subject them.
How THE TINE OF CoNGREss Is WASTED AND
ABrsED.-By reference to our report of the
proceedings of Congress it will be seen that
the House of Representatives continued in ses-
sion all Of the night before last, and till twelve
o'clock yesterday at noon. And whist doing,
it may be askeds Absolutely nothing; and
this has been the career Of Congress throughout
the session. 1t met In the first week in Decem-
Der, and consumed about two months In elect
ing Speaker. Ever since its record Il bar
rem waste, with here and there green spot u
scarce az the oasis In ne African desert. The
time has been spent in electioneering for the
Presidency, In making speeches for bunoombe
in putting through corrupt and fragrant jobs
and In psrsonal rows and scenes which are Q
Disgrace 10 The nation.
The real business Of the country is neglected
and postponed, and cannot be reached even
when members sit up all night to get at 1t, and
drag representatives. out Of bed to mako
quorum. The constituents of members
from the rural districts are meantime asto-
nished at receiving copies of their speeches,
sometimes eighteen columns long which were
never delivered at all. Reference was made
yesterday to one of these humbug compost
lions being printed in the Globe at the expense
of the country. On Wednesday and Thursday
time was consumed in motions of form and
speeches to order and dilatory proceedings,
which would have been sufficient for the deli
very of numerous legitimate speeches and the
transaction of much business; and there is thus
90 excuse left for the reprehensible practice of
printing in the Globe worthless speeches never
made at all.
Every session Congress is becoming worse
and worse, and the only way to cure the evil
is to lessen the time of each session. 1t Is be-
cause Congress has too much time on Its hands
that 1t has fallen into habits of idleness and
waste of time. If 1t were compelled to do the
whole of its work In three months 1t would
learn habits of industry and diligence, and
the really important matters would be at
tended to first. One hundred days In each
session would be ample time for all valuable
purposes, and such limit would get rid of q
vast amount of buncombe. The measures
necessary to be brought before Congress are
extremely few. The practice hitherto has
been to multiply useless or pernicious laws
and 10 govern too much. These bad prece.
dents ought to be abolished, and the plan of
governing least substituted. It question
whether Congress does not do more harm than
good to the country, and whether, with the
exception Of voting the appropriations to
carry on the operations of the government
(Which Congress had not time to attend to last
session., the people would not have been
gamers II Congress had never met at all in
the last two or three sessions, or II an earth
quake had swallowed 1t up In the first hour
after 1t assembled.
We hope, therefore, that some public spirit
ed member of Congress will propose Law to
limit each session to one hundred days. II
no other good should be accomplished by the
change the country would be spared the In.
Fiction of 90 many bad speeches, which arc
only adding fael to the fame of pernicious
agitation, many of the scandalous scenes Of
personal altercstion, and many Of the schemes
Of corruption for which Congress has now too
much leisure.