Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-12-01
wAsHrNGToN LETTER.
The Senatorial Crisis-HoVv il Was
Brought AbOut, &c.
From oar regular correspondent /.

" ASEAAN t3lN III n E1A8s
The Senatorial Crisis-EHoVv il Was
Brought AbOnt, &c.
From our regular correspondent.
EDITORS CHRONICLE: You have
been made acquainted ere this with
the historical fact that the Demo-
Gratis have gained, for moment at
least, control Of the Senate through
the detection of two Southern Re
publicans. This in European Gov
ernments would be called crisis,
and any episodes of the transfer or
seizure of the legislative sceptre can
not but be interesting.
To careless lookers-on from the
galleries there was nothing of unus-
ual interest occurring on last We'd
nesday in the American House of |
Lords. True the famous Senator,
Ben. Hill, was making speech on
the Kellogg VS.. Spofford and Corbin
VS.. Butler cases, and he was listened
to very attentively by the Demo-
cratic Senators, who filled their seats
in the closest order. The Republi-
can Senators paid little attention to
the remarks of the peer from Geor-
gia; Senator Conkling especially
seemed studiously inattentive, but
it is characteristic of this Senator to
treat as "trifies light as air" the re-
marks of both friend and foe. Mr..
Hill talked on and on, and the gal
leries listened anxiously for the rash
bursts of eloquence for which he is
famous; but there was not spark
of fire in anything he said. He had
evidently no intention of repeating
the blunder of his amnesty rhetoric.
1t was his first speech in the Senate,
or, at least, in the United States Sen
ate, but he spoke eXtempOraneously,
without notes, and with as little en-
barrassment as if he were at home
again in the Confederate Senate or
before a Georgia court. In all that
he says Mr.. Hill has the perfect, re-
liant, yet unobtrusive, pOise off man
conscious but not vain of peership
with the ablest. Twice Senator
Mitchell, from Oregon, interrupted
him with questions, but quickly sat
down, nonplussed with ready replies
and flurried and excited by his own
heroic daring. There is no place
where the contrast between weak
and able men is more pronounced
than in the arena of the United
States Senate. If Senator Mitchell
had been compelled at that moment
to appeal to the galleries, as in the
gladitorial contests of old, reversed
thumbs would have condemned him
to legislative death, such is our ex-
ecration of the crime of mediocrity
in national councils. Mr.. Hill did
not speak longer than twenty-five
minutes, and after a few passes with
parliamentary fOils between Sena-
tors Hoar, Thurman and COnkling,
Senator Bayard, of Delaware, gained
the floor. Mr.. Bayard can say less
in more good English than any Sen
ator in the chamber. His presence
is noble, his manner dignified, his
rhetoric is chaste, and his speeches
are interminable. He is the Demo-
cratic resource for the consumption
of time. On any question, and with
out moments preparation, he can
talk inoffensively, as regards gram
mar, logic or rhetoric, for two hours,
watch in hand.
The old habitues of the gallery,
and especially the veteran journal
lists who have begun to crowd the
reporters division, realize that be-
meath all this dignified flow of irrel-
evant talk and superficial placidity
of grave Senators there is in progress
a portentious struggle, struggle
that will mark an epoch in nations
history, civilized blOodless read
iustment of policies such as have
been decided in past ages only by an
increased Of the census of widows
and orphans. The Democratic ranks
are very compact; every Senator is
in his seat or in sight of it. The Re-
pubIicans are not prepared for bat
tie that must depend entirely on nu-
merical superiority. Two of their
Senators are absent. The bonanza
Senator, Sharon, of Nevada, has not
been in his seat this session, and
Senator Patterson, of South Carroll
ma, is in the court room where the
murderers of Lincoln We're convicted !
to answer the charge of bribery and |
corruption. But the Democrats |
seem even more anxious than the
Republicans for his presence in the |
Senate Chamber. He has been sus-
pected of late and there is signifi- |
canoe in the fact that, notwithstand- |
ing his prOtracted absence at trial,
he has neglected to pair with a DEM
ocrat. Senator Patterson did not |
put in an appearance, but, in spite
of his absence, the Democrats had
majority of one, and for the first
time in sixteen years the control of
the Senate on any vital political
question was in the hands of the
Democrats. On the following day
there was an adjournment to save
time and hurry up the reserve
Sharon, of Nevada, the Butcher who,
it is hoped, will skip across the Con-
tinent and save the day; but with
the votes of COnover and Patterson
the Democrats will still have a ma
jority of one. Their plan is first to
seat Butler and Eustis and with this