The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-14
The CLOSING Hours of the Session.

The Closing Hours of the Session.
| Yesterday was the last day of tn
extra session, and 10th houses, Will
they did a deal of work, had not ;
| little of funny business mixed in will
| it. The Senate, whether justly SO o.
not, are quite unanimous in tn,
opinion that the House looked upoI
| them as of little account any way
only a sort of tail to the Legislative
dog, to wag when the big branch Of
the laW-making power saw fit tx
wag them. Some of the senator!
were prudent enough to take the
Houses snubbing in good part
but many Of them felt disposed to not
wag all the time as the pleasure Of
the House required it. The Senate
felt it had nothing to do but to wait
on the pleasure of its neighbor, anG
say amen as it shouted the hallelujah
and this is just what 1t did all day
yesterday. This began at half-past
o'clock in the forenoon, and when g
message from the House was reported
by Chief Clerk Booth, saying the
House had passed bill so and so with
amendments, if the amendments
were not too bitter a pill
some senator would move in
parliamentary language that the Sen
ate take the physic straight, and the
Senate would proceed to take it, say
ing, it is bad dose, but it is the best
we can get. A few senators like Pope
and Harris, would now and then Ie-
fuse to swallow the House decoction,
but the most of them took it. Then,
after this had been done, some one
would move that the Senate take re-
cess, subject to the call of the gavel,
and the dignified body minus its dig
for the House to send in its next
the entire day was spent. Senator
Houston. who concluded it would be
impossible to keep this thing up until
IL o'clock at night, proposed a resolve
on the part of the Senate, the House
of RepreSe concurring, to adj
journ at 6 o'clock. Senator Pope,
with that grace and dignity for which
he is noted said: Mr.. President, 1
have an amendment to offer. He was
thoroughly surprised that any senator
should presume to offer such a resolu-
ton; that any senator should
presume to use such language
as the resolution contained. He would
propose an amendment in keeping
with the situation of the hour. So he
moved to strike out the word "con-
curing" and insert permitting"
making it read, "the House of repre-
entatives permitting" One bill was
reported to the Senate as having pass
ed the House without an amendment.
1t was not very important measure.
1t simply legalized the illegal pur-
chase of school lands by the depart
ment clerks, but as the dulcimer tones
of Chief Clerk Booth sounded
the words without amend
ment," the senators looked at each
other with sort of vacant stare and
then broke forth into prolonged
cheers, and Senator Gibbs gave the
chief clerk nickle to present to the
speaker on his return to the House.
Senator Gibbs had pet bill in regard
to road gates which came back to the
Senate like the prodigal son, as if it
had been fed on husks so long that
no one would recognize it as the
branch hale and strong. Gibbs was
Llcsu liz luONCu 10
fuse to concur and the physic being
a little too bitter, the Senate could not
swallow it. Gibbs piloted the docu-
ment right back to the House, and
there he stayed with it until by the
magic OF his personal influence the
House ate the crow mixed for the
Senate; took off the obnoxious amend
ments, passed the bill and sent it
back by its chief clerk as clean and
pretty as it originally went from
the Senate. 1t was when this bill
came back in this shape that the
second cheering was INDUCED in.
What were Gibbs magical arguments
the reporters failed to learn. The
mania was so strong that
the House could not adjourn without
giving the Senate parting snub, just to
show them what they could do, and so
the concurrent resolution to
adjourn by taking off thirty minutes
from the time.