Worcester daily spy., 1860-02-02
SQ(ortester Daily spp.
Correspondence of the New York Tribune
THE REPRESENTATIVES, HALL, AS SEEN
FROM THE GALLERY.
WAsHINGroN, Jan. 27, 1860.

One accustomed to look occasionally upon
the House of Representatives for the past
twenty years, is impressed with certain mark
edcitterences between the present assemblage
and its predecessors whether sitting III the
old hall, with its stately pillars, lofty dome,
and generally grave aspect, or the new, with
its tiashy panels, tawdry ceiling, and super
abundant emblaZonry.
The change which first strikes the spectator
is the absence OF the desks, on which members,
according to immemorial prescription used to
frank documents, write letters, or gracefully
repOse their feet, while gazing at the ladies
gallery, the orator of the hour meanwhile rend'
ing the welkin of the chamber TO the edlhca-
ton of his distant Buncombe, and the discom-
fort of his solitary auditor, the occupant OF the
chair. We deteSt those desks; we like these
benches They compel members to face the
business in hand and If the House will still
further copy the English Commons by intro
ducing coughing, scraping of feet, and ironical
cheers, the days of forensic bores, ounces and
5onkeys, will be numbered.
The turbulence of the House instantly ar
rests the attention. Proverbially the most
stormy delberative body in the world, the
present Congress surpasses all its predecessors
in disorder. For nearly eight weeks it has
been in Il chronic chaos. Obvious causes, ag-
gravated by the indecsion, not to say imbe-
cility, of clerk who has no aptness for pre-
siding, have produced this wild uproar, which
finds its only parallel in the "irrepressible con-
1icts" of Tammany Hall and the Garrisonian
conventions at the Boston Melodeon. On the
floor there are excited harangues charges of
falsehood kissing hot vituperations stamping
of feet, peals of laughter, with occasional vio-
lent swayings TO and fro, and the grasping of
deadly weapons; while the galleries, crowded
to the brm, here bevy of bellies Haunting the
latest fashions, and there gang Of bullies arm
ed to the teeth catch the spirit of the scene
below, and applaud hiss, and swear in style
that would disgrace race-course or a gam
bling hell. Talk of the French legislative as
sembly, with its Dantons, Murats, and Robes
perres, its violence and blasphemy on the
floor, and its cleaning dagger and shouts for
vengeance in the overhanging galleries Look
upon its counterpartin the XXXVIth Congress.
AS one sees the halting Clerk decline to enter
tain motions that tend to dsentangle the di.
lemma and give the House Speaker he longs
for another John Quincy Adams to rise, as in
the famous New Jersey case, and summon or
der out of chaos, by stating his own motion,
and in response to the taunting demand "Ah
but who will put it to the vote z" instantly re-
ply 81 intend to do it myself! This scene
so instantaneous in its effects, so dramatic in
its incidents, is freshly remembered. In the
twinkling of an eye, the usurping Clerk sunk
to the condition Of a hreFng scribe, and the
House assumed the conduct of its own pro-
ceedings, and became deliberative assembly.
But the most marked change between the
past and the present, and especially between
this House and the last, is in the relative pre-
ponderance of intellectual power among the
Republicans and their Democratic opponents.
We will first notice the former, New England
retains many of her ablest representatives, as
for eXample-and we only mention few as
specimens-Washburn, Morse, Morrill,, Tap
pan, Dawes, Gooch, Thayer, Burlington, Bur
lingame; while she has impaired additional
learning, ability, and vigor to her ranks in
the persons of Adams, Elliot, Train, Edwards,
Delano, Ferry, and their compeers.
We need not name the strong men of the
last House whom New York has retained in
this. The places of those left at home are
worthily filed by new members, OF whom
doubtless Reynolds, Conkling, Humphrey,
Sedgwick, Beale, and Spaulding, bring hither
the most professional and forensic reputation,
but whose colleagues have qualifications as
valuable, to meet the peculiar cXigenccs Of
their position, as the possession or stores Of le-
gal lore and superior talking talents.
The Middle States have wisely kept in the
national forum, Grow, Hickman, Morris, Sher-
man, Stanton, Wade, Bingham, and others
doubtless whose names slip from the memory
while she has added to the list the marvellous
Corwin, the sagacious Pennington, the eXpe-
rienced Stevens, with whom we may couple
the names of Campbell, Mcknight, Moorhead,
Hutchins, Gurley, and Edgerton.
Following the star of empire to its home in
the North West, we again welcome from 1ndi-
ana Colfax, Wilson, and Case; Washburne,
and his three able associates from Illinois
Washburn and Potter from "WOody Wiscon-
sin - Curtis of Iowa wEe ofthe new men,
bers we recollect Dunn and Porter Of Indiana,
nf iobi J,;,
dom, who so CALAMITY won the fight in young
Minnesota. Two names are missed from the
list of Western members, and they are among
the abiest that adorn it-Howard and Blair.
They will be enrolled ere Congress adjourns.
Turning to the northern Democracy, we see
loquacious Mr.. Bishop fleeing before the anti
Lecompton storm, and seeking shelter in the
Patent Office; while commonplace Clancy
Jones, more fit for a country curate than the
chair of the Ways and Means, escapes to Aus
tria. Mr., Hughes surveys the general rout
from the bench of the Court of Claims; long
headed Mr.. Corning makes room for clear.
sighted Mr.. Reynolds; Mr.. j. T. Hatch, on
learning that Mr.. Dean Richmond would not
allow him to go to Charleston, permits Mr..
Buchanan to inter him in the Buffalo post OF.
flee. But we cannot stop to hunt up all the
killed and wounded of the Lecompton cam
paign. Dropping our cyprus on the grave of
in that glorious fight whose place is occupied,
not filled, by the fiippant, plant, vaunting Nc
Clernand, we pass on to note changes on the
southern side of the chamber.
And what falling off is here, in intellectual
power and parliamentary skill For many
years past the southern democracy has been
gradually yielding the supremacy in the House
10 its northern opponents. We don't refer to
early times, when Macon, CASTOR, Randolph,
Lowndes, Clay, Calhoun, Grundy, Barbour,
Hamilton Poinsett, Rives, and Forsyth, shed
a halo ofmental and oratorical splendor around
the southern side of the hall. Nor to the
more recent period, when Virginia could point
without blushing to Stevens and Archer
when South Carolina was made respectable by
McDuf1ie, Legare, and Pinckney; when Geor-
gia could boast of Wayne and Wilde; when
Tennessee was proud of Polk, Bell, and Pey-
ton ; when Alabama contributed to the nation
al councils the clear head of Lewis, and the
whole country was electrified with the elo-
quence of Prentiss of Mississippi.
We refer to times nearer our own, and say
that Virginia Democracy finds a poor substi-
tute for Drumgoole, Mcdowell, Jones, and
Hunter, in Billy Smith, Garnett, Leako, and
Pryor. as does Georgia for the parliamentary
skill of Cobb and the brilliant vituperatons Of
Toombs, in the vengeful vaunting of Crawford
and the empty noise of Gartrell. North Caro-
lima recently had her Williams, her Mckay
and her Shcpperd in the south wing of the
capitol. Not to speak of Stanley and Rayner
Tor they were Whigs-and excepting from
the listrespectable Mr.. Winslow, her present
democratic Ruffns and Craiges sink below
the standard even O her wooden-headed Cling.
man South Carolina has substituted feeble
Mr Ashmore for her robust Orr, and has ex-
changed the political philosonhv of Rhett for