New-York tribune., 1882-02-17
LEGLSL4TLTE PARALTSLS.

Senator LdmunUS has uHOCIlahcn an almost
impossible task. His earnest efforts to make
waste of time unpopular will add to his large
claims upon public gratitude. But he will find
it extremely difficult to cure or even to
ameorate, the evil. Public opinion is the less
regarded by Senators, because their seats are
secure for six years. But precisely the same
evil exists in the House, and, in spite of its
rules or often by means Of them, prevents the
discharge of public duties. The truth is, that
public opinion is not right in this matter, and
it will not be found easy to arouse an earnest
and general public censure of members who
waste time in displaying their rhetoric or their
learning, in appealing to the prcjudices or
selfish interests of their constituents, or in
ventilating their own private grievances. Many
constituencies, and large proportion of the
voters in every constituency, still have the
notion that Il Senator or Representative must
be a failure unless he makes great speeches.
The American fOndness for combat, for per-
sonalities, and for display of "gift of gab,"
is the cause Of much mischief, and popular faults
are, to a large extent responsible for legisla-
tive failings. But that is not the whole of the
difficulty. Law making bodies appear to be
breaking down in other lands.
idemic, III Europe as in America. In Great Brit
ain Mr.. Gladstones Ministry is confronted with
the same problem, and a dissolution of Par
lament may result from measures deemed ne
cessary to secure attention to public business
In France, while the measure upon which VI.
Gambetta was ousted looked rather to the com
position of the legislative body, the real diff
Guilty which rendered a change necessary was
in substance this, that the legislative body as
constituted had proved incapable of transact
ing the public business with needful efficiency
In other countries the same difficulty has APP
peared. Reduced to its simplest terms, the
problem is this: A legislative body which is
not the mere tool of the Executive and which
really represents the popular will, tends to be-
come dO-nOthing body, incompetent by reason
of its waste of time and inability to conline
itself to important matters. How can this
tendency be overcome without rendering the
legislative body radically corrupt essentially
the instrument of Executive power7
South Carolina member has proposed a
House OF 600 members. He reasons that small
bodies are apt to become corrupt. Another
proposition is to abolish the desks of members.
which does not go to the root of the matter at
all. Mr.. Hewitt declares that the paralysis of
the legislative body is the principal danger of
the Republic, but he merely proposes to get
rid of private bills and to put the tariff ques-
ton in the way of settlement i'll accordance
with his ideas The fact that the rules
Of the House, as they now stand, often
operate to prevent dispatch of business is also
noticed, but it is not shown wherein the
House, with its complicated rules, and the
Senate without them, essentially differ in re-
spect to dispatch of business.
This matter is vital, it may rs well be adj
mitted. If self-goyemment intrusts law
making power to a body which, by reason Of
its very nature. is competent only as a speech
making or as log-rolling body, the sooner
we know il the better. To say that cOnstitu-
ents can remedy all the difficulty IS only to
say that constituents do not now show
themselves capable of self-govcrnmcnt They
may be improved by such a development of
public opinion a. Mr.. Edmunds urges they
may be rendered competent TO govern them
selves but, if this theory is correct, the con-
stltuents are not now capable of making their