Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-05-03

No greater absurdty has appeared in speeches
or newspapers for long time than the senseless
clamor just now raised about the gag" in the
senate. That body prides itself upon its dignity
and perhaps has some dignity to be proud of,
but tits safe to say that at present it has much
less of the respect of the country than the house
of Representatives. In the latter assembly public
business occdpies considerable portion of the
time, and is disposed Of, comparatively speak
ing, with promptuess and dispatch; IN the for
mer, talk on all sorts of irrelevant matters,
political and personal is the order oil
the day, and business is a mere incident to
its proceedings. The very people who now
make this cutlery against what they call the
gag" have been accustomed TO jibe at
the fatulence Of congress, and remind
the members that the public business
waited while they aired their rhetoric But
now, when majority of the senate show
sense of their former shortcomings, and are
disposed to restrict themselves TO a moderate
indulgence in the luxury Of oratOry, they are de-
nounced for changing up the gag in terrorem
upon the wall of the senate chamber" and max
ing an Unprecedented and shameless assault
upon the rights Of the minority and freedom of
debate" The occasion of all this frenzied elocu-
ton is simply the passage of a resolution to the
effect that, when appropriation bill lis pending
during the present session, only amendments
relating to the subject matter Of the bill shall
be entertained, and it shall be in order to move
TO contine debate upon amendments to five min
utes by any senator on the pending motion, and
flo N Ial cba1I no d,tttfb
ont debate.
This seems innocent and reasonable enough,
and an ,expedient well adapted TO facilitate
the dispatch of business by shutting off loose
and dilatory talk. To the common mind no
good reason is apparent why amendments TO APP
preparation bills should not be confined to mat
tiers relating TO the general subject, nor why de-
bate upon them should not be restricted within
moderate limits. Even with this limitation SEN
ators will be in no danger of losing their luen-
cy of speech. The senate is not always occupied
with appropriation bills, and other subjects will
afford abundant opportunity for stump speech
making. To iorego the privilege of oratory or
this one subject is moderate sacrifice to duty
which will not provoke any great degree of sym
paihy from the public, however severely tn
terrible priyation may wiring the hearts of fey
senators. That a majority were willing t
accept this wholesome restraint seems sigma
instance of senatorial virtue, worthy to be com
pared with the famous "self-deDying ordinance
of the long parliament. Mr.. Trumbull, q
course, arose as the champion of unrestricte
talk, and he certainly made the most of the oC
casion. He reminded the senate that he wa
there in Lecompton times, but the domineerini
majority which then ruled never proposed any
thing so atrocious as this "attempt to violat
what had been the settled practice Of the gov
eminent from the beginning" Mr. Casserly
Mr. Stevenson, and some others, also grey
warmly eloquent, but their resistance was vain
Ia the coul Sc of the debate there was grea
deal OF boastiul talk about the dignity of tn
senate, and its superiority in the way of mutua
courtesy and propriety of demeanor to the house
Of representatives. AS Mr.. Trumbull said 81
has always been thought better to leave If /,
that sense of propriety and decorum which ha
always governed the members Of this body +
determine for themselves how long and whe
each member should speak" Mr.. Sherma
very properly ridiculed this assumption of sup
rioriiy, and suggested that the vague talk abot
senatorial dignity and the imperied rights
the minority was simply bnncombe To h
mind even further restrictions on the license
debate would be desirable, and the senate mig
probably adopt the house rule Of the "preyioi
question" or something like IL; and he vel
sensibly said that IL one should appeal to Il
people Of the United States they would sa!
oil ta. 1.uf