Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-03-06
THE DAILY EVENING STAR


mil the nsxt day,
- We have seen nothing Of late in the
speech-making line to "take down. the sub
Joined
GREAT SPEECH OF GEN RILEY,
In TIE House Of Representatives. of Missouri,
February 8, 1851.
After long and heated discussion on the
reference of bill amending the charter Of the
city Of csrcndelet to Q standing committee of
the House.
Mr.. Riley obtained the Aoor, and addressed
the House:
Mr.. Speaker:-Every body is pitching into
this matter like toad frogs into willow swamp,
on lovely evening, in the bslmy month Of
June, when the mellow light of the full moon
fills with delicious food the thin, ETHEREAL
atmospheric air. Applause. Sir, want to
put in word, or perhaps a word and half
There seems to be disposition to fight.
say, if there is any fighting to be done, come
Applause. In the language of the ancient
Roman,
"Come one, come all, this rock shall fly
From its firm base, in pigs eyer
Now, there has been great deal of bombast
here to-day. call it bombast from ''Alpha''
70 Omega" Il don't understand the mean.
ing of the words thought Sir, the question to
I
is the all-sbsorbing question-like sponge,
sir-a large unreasonable sponge of globe
shape, in = small tumbler of water-it sucks
up everything. Sir, l stand here with the
weapons / have designated, to defend the
rights of st. Louis county, the rights of any
other county-even the county of Cedar itself
fdsughter and applause. Sir, the debate has
assumed lstitudinosity. We have had q
little blackjack bunconbe, a little two-bit
huncombe, bombast buncombe bung- hole bun
cOInbe, and the devil and his grandmother
knows what other kind Of buncombe. Laugh
teri
Why, sir, just give some Of 'em little
Southern soap and little Northern water, and
quicker than hound pup can lick skillet
they will make enough buncombe-lather to
wash the golden flock that roams abroad the
azure meads of heaven. TCheerS and laugh
ter. / allude to the starry armament.
The Speaker.-The gentleman is out Of Or
der. He must confne himself to the question.
Mr. Riley.--Just retain your linen If you
please I'll stick to the text rs close pitch
plaster to pine plank, or lean pig to hot
jam rock. fCries of g Go on;' - You'll do. -
1 want to say to these carboneriferous gen.
tlemsn, these igneous individuals. these deto-
mating demonstrators, these pereginous yolca-
noes, come on with your combustibles, If /
don't--well, I'll suck the Gulf Of Mexico
through a goose quill. Laughter and ap-
piause Perhaps you think am diminutive
tubers and sparse in the mundane elevation.
You may discover, gentlemen, you are labor
ing under as great a misapprehension as
though you had incinerated your inner vest
nent. In the language Of the noble bard
''I was not born in thicket
To be scared by cricket" lApplause
SO, We have lost our proper position. Our
proper position is to the zenith and nadir-our
heads to the one, our heels to the other, at
right angle with the horizon, spanned by that
azure arc Of the lustrous armament, bright
with the corruscstions of innumerable constel-
latiOns, and proud as a speckled stud horse on
a country court day. -TCheers
p" But how have the mighty fallen" in the
language OF the poet Silversmith. We have
lost our proper position. We have assumed
sloshindicular or chronological position.
And what is the cause? Echo answers bun
combe," sir, - buncombe." The people have
been fed on buncombe, while a lot of spawned,
ringboued, hamstrung, wind CALLED, swyn-
eyed, split-hoofed, distempered, poIl-eviled,
pOt-bellied politicians have had their noses in
the public crib until there amt fodder enough
left 70 make Cruel for a sick grasshopper.
ICheers and laughter.
Sir, these hungry brats keep tugging at the
public pap. They say "let down your milk,
Sucky, or you II have split bag" Do they
think they can stuff such buf4combe down sur
craw! No, sir; you might as well try to stuff
butter in a wild cat with a hot awi. TCon-
tinued laughter. The thing can't be did
X n.
sir-yes, sir, great institution. One Of the
greatest perhaps that ever rose, reigned or fell.
But, sir, there is too much private cutlery
ground. The thing won't pay. Occasionally
big ak is brought in to be fixed up, ostensibly
for the purpose Of hewing down the gnarled
lwoed of ignorance and folly that obstruct the
public highway of progress. The machine
whirls; the axe is applied. The lockers on arc
enchanted with the brilliant sparks elected.
The tool is polished; keenly edged; and, while
the public stare in gaping expectancy Of see
ing the road cleared, the implement is slyly
taken of to improve the private acres of some
'faithful friend of the people" What is the
result! The distractions remain unmoved.
The people curse because the car lags-or, if it
does move, It's at the expense OF broken
wheel and jaded and sore hacked team. tell
you, the thing WON'T pay. The time will come
when the nasal promontories of these disinter-
ested grinders will be put to the stone, instead
Of their hardware. [Applause.l 1 am mighty
afraid the machine is going to stop. The grease
Is giving out laundering fast II is beginning
20 creak on axis. Gentlemen, it is my private
opinion. confdentially expressed, that all the
grit is pretty near worn of. [Applause.
Mr.. Speaker, you must excuse me for my
latitudinosity and eircumlocutoriness. My old
blunderbuss seatters amazingly, but IL anybody
gets Peppersd, il amt my fault If they are in
the way.
hogany-faced gentry-what do they know
sbout the blessings of freedom About as
much, sir, as a toad-frog does Of high glory.
Do they think they can escape me? I'll fol-
low them through psndsmoniun and high wa
ter. lChsers and laughter.
These are the ones that have got our liberty
pole Of its perpendionlarity. 'Tis they who
would rend the stars and stripes-thst noble
nag, the blood Of our Evolutionary fathers en-
bslmed In its red. The purity Of the cause for
which they disd-denoted By the white; the
:. blue-the freedom they attained, like the azure
air that wraps their native hills and fingers on
their lovely plains. tCheers.I The high bird
! Of liberty sits perehed on the topmost branch,
but there Is no secession salt on his glorious
tail. / fear he will no more spread his noble
pinions 10 soar beyond the azure regions of the
bereal pole. But let not Missouri pull the
last feather from his sheitering wing, 70 plume
q shaft to pierce his noble breast; or, what il
the same, make pen to sign secession ordi-
nance IApplause.l Alas poor bird, IL they