The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-03-22
RirI,mond 4ispatfh.
,,n,v MARCH y, 1867
a nesks in the House

, iron desks i'll the lia'e VI '
''''''' i, usc in the House OF pe'e-
:" Thc movement calls to NINA 'he
g. that existed prior 10 III.
o.. i,,r,dnction Of the desks. 1t was III
imitation of the order IN inc o'". ..,'
I1o,sc Of Comusons--on'y benches WIZ"
s,,ninr hacks to them. There were n" o,SN.'
.,d the writing that was done by ,"e','' sa.
:, the House had to bc done nj " ''''' l',,, ur
r ~. clcrl's table. in the centre II XIV "
the hall. The benches were ''hs '' nn,hor
seats extending from one a'S'' - ,",.ard,
They were raised from INC '''''
the walls of the r""'''' ,,, Ill, mon
I,non these benches meh'''> ~. INV
.s,,,. nnraccd in dclibcration. Ihey were
~. :.r;,;nr nor occupied with reading OF
costinr up accounts, or Attending " in"''>,
other tlan the business OF the HOUSE, ~
concentrated was the attention OF senueiile"
unon whit was going on that it was Trying
ordeal for n speaker to address the houso
unless he was a man of experience Ill the puS'-
ness of legislation and debate. \ young
statesman always dreaded this trial; ana We
have seen those who afterwards became able
and adroit dcbatcrs painfully agitatcd, anu
break down in first attempt In the ii'"H''
This was the effect of the arrangement OF the
hall and the steady and fixed gaze OF mcm-
bcrs on every one who addressed the Iif''i.
There are no such trials in the House Win
its present arrangement of desks. Members
ore too much absorbed in other matters ana
consulting their own ease by free positions
10 inspire the respect and awe with WINCH
the body once filled every inexperienced
speaker.
We are convinced that the change OF the
order of the hall, and the introduction OF
desks, have had bad moral effect upon the
General Assembly. 1t is less dcllberatlfe
body. il is less concentrated, and less harmo-
Nous in its proceedings. Under tho old SyS-
ten, members knew each other better, as
they were free to sit where they pleased each
dav: and they understood one another bet
ter, and really understood what was gong
on better They gave their whole attention
during the hours of the sittinSS to the public
business, and attended to their personal
affairs and correspondence ut their rooms
during the hours of recess. In this way
there was far more vigor, energy, and inlci-
ligencr. in the prosecution of the representa-
tive duties.
The first time we saw the House Of Dele
gates was in the winter of 1S3l-'o2-thc
first session of the Assembly after the adop-
ton Of the amended Constitution of 1880.
That Constitution introduced what were
called the "pot-boicrs," or heads OF faml-
lies. into the list of voters, which had previ-
ollsy been confined to frccholders. This ell
larcemcnt of the number of voters most rs
s,rcdly made an impression on the General
Assembly hy impairing, in time, to some en-
tent its stately dignity and lofty tone. The
"old.GaShioncd" men of that day who bitter
" opposed this extension of the right of Sul-
frayc, compared the spot" to the Grccian
horSe--or Trojan horse us it is often styled
that was full of armed men. They predicted
that the invasion of "pot-boilcrs" would be
followed Ivy unlimited suffrage, and that the
high public cha ,arter of the representative
body Of the State would be broken down,
and the Virginia Legislature would bc no
better than those of some other States where
suffrage was universal.
Every one who knows anything Of the
bodies before that time and since knows that
there has been gradual waning Of the dig
nifty and decorum of the Virginia Legislature
'l,,tl ,.,nlc r,.l,rn TN,
be deprecated, or whether it could have been
ayerted, it is needless to discuss in these
times, when we have drifted into sort of
universal suffrage which puts that of the
Constitution of 1850 away so far that it seems
to be as irrecovcrablc as the garden Of Para
disc.
But the Legislature of 1881 had not re-
ceived an impression from the enlargement of
the right of suffrage. 1t was composed of
the same earnest, grave, and lofty men that
had legislated for Virginia from the period of
the revolution. There had not been time
for change. We have never seen their
like assembled since. There was a style of
public devotion, earnest investigation, able,
searching, fair, and chivalrous debate, that we
have not seen displayed at any subsequent
period. The fcrocity-and may we not say
vulgarity ?--of party spirit soon invaded the
halls of the Capitol and impaired their de-
corum, while the high standard of statesman
ship was gradually-at first very gradually
lowered.
But what is the use of dilating upon those
golden and elevated times? None, we sup
pose although it is interesting, at least, to
elderly people. We proceed therefore to say
that with the days of party bitterness and
questionable party morality and strategy
came the spirit of reform in many respects,
which helped to impair the order and integ-
rity of legislation. Not the least injurious
was the change in the arrangement of the
halls of the Capitol. Members began to con-
suit their own comfort and to initiate Con-
gress with its desks, knives, stationery, &C.
The desks came first in our halls, and then
came easy consciences about stationery, and
at last there are the knives. The halls
became free-and-easy rooms, decorum fled,
business went on slip-shod, anybody
and everybody spoke, and for the first
time there was the necessity to "limit
gentlemen" to fifteen minutes. When we
first heard the motion for that limitation we
were shocked to think that Virginia legisla.
tors had fallen as low as congressman! Un-
der the "old system" debates were generally
left to a few able speakers, and the House,
iy