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26th Congress Special Session Cong. Globe 231 (1841)

handle is hein.congrec/conglob0010 and id is 1 raw text is: C0 4UESIONAL GLOBB. ______ fected;, in xny tation, still, it is tobe- reiembeted that'no t he hai, ever been called to this place so unexpe'dtedly, aid undei so many ciroumstances of difficulty- and embarrassment. Itia nicely ba- lanced state of parties, and' amid scenes of great politial exciteneht, I was seletedto execute your higbest and most delicate trust, without previous preparation or experience.- and ith o p rty to sustaU me; other than those friend& 'whom I might makje5 by etdeavoring to discharge my dutiesjusty and s a~'tjally.' I 'for~saw matty' of the defficuthica to-whici '-should be exposeO, and if -14 had 0i- sutdjfmy own ease, I perhaps -should not have, acpt d- -the oflice, with my view -at its duties, and '-uer the circumstanees to which L have alluded. But higher considerations, I trust, determined me to iundertake. the arduous task, and to make you the best'return in my power for tht eonfidence with which you had lhonored me. In the excl.ted-<and feverish -state of mind which thenexisted, not only hefe,-but in the coun- try at large, I believed that a Speaker, who would manifest a desire to deal justly upon ali occasionp, could be more useftil than one of far greater abili- ties, *ho would':hild this Chair with no higher aim than that of- leading his party to victory, and, of dealring by the.vaquished with-nly' -such genero- sity as the conqueror may- bestow upon the' con- quered. This view 6f the s rvicss which a Speaker, in the opinion'-of too manyliay legitijohiely ren- def to his friends, would soon pervert party -ore- nixaions from the-noble pursuits of truth'and jus- ticriuto a mere contest -for power and office, and-, undemilder forms, infuse the spirit of civil war into thedivisions of this. House and the nation. Hsewho administers this office fob. himself 'or his party, may do much for both; but he who seeks the cimmon good; must administerit for the coun- try, andldeal justly by all. In pursuing this latter coumt, in times of high patty excitement, lie will doubttess expose his motives, to miconstruction, and'himself to -censure; but there isat least a satis- faction in the consciousness of- rectituidi.'higher than iublic pralse, and beyond the'reach'-even of publil ebssure. I knew, when' I took the. office, that I should not be able to execute its duties en- tirely'according-to my conception of -their na, ure burI blieVed that the mere effort to do so might serva as a useful example hereafter. To administer the rules fairly, is;, compatatively, - an easy task;' but there is great difficulty in or- ganiiing'theoedmisittees of jthe House/so as to do justice td all parties. - As itich in deliberation de- peids upon the statemnet of the proposition to be disettssed, so t the efficiency of this body depends, gretly 'upon- 1e constitution' of the committees which present rrst -of the subjectsalpon which it *cts, It is,-therefore, important to 'the Oa ties and the country, that -the power of proposing, through the%* -pommitteeis, should be fairly and rightly be- stowed. To ascertain what is fair in the dispensa- lion of :this power, is the most diiflqult duty, as'it should be the-most anxious care of a Speaker. To say that I had developed the general princ!ples of a just organization; would be to claim far more 'than I dsire. --But, that such principles may be esta- blished -by a reference to the position of parties, and the nature of the qu9slionsto be considered, I do ct doubt. The party upon which it naturally devolves to propose a question, ought to-have the poioer, it would' seem, to present its proposition in the shkite for which it is willink to be responsible. And, as the different parlties ho -the affirmative, according to -the nature of the mju0tion, -o ought the e0iistiltion of the' committees to be varied, In the committees connected with the Executive 1 )epattmet ts, it would seem just that the friends of the existing AdMinistration should have the nIajori- ty, to pirojose'the measures-which emanate origi- natty fromh their Patty, and for which they are mainly accountable. In committees of invektiga- tion,'it is equally clear *that the opposition, who hold the affirmative, should -have the majority and the power. Alad so, upon other qnestiplis, a reft- resde to their nature, and to the views ef the va- riovs sections of our Confederacy, will generally enable a Speakerto approximpte to just nuteg, ili constituting the co-tMmittees-whidh take bharge of hes -measurs. But, in all cases I hg4e enden- voted to guad the-minority upon the committees, in the point 6f numbers'td, ability- :T-at I hare sometimes failed in my most ear- nestaitempts to do justice, I freely confese; but it is something if I can hapo'that I have, t least,'. made it easier for those vho succeed me, to act -upon.some better principle than that of giving the whable power of the House to one of the parties, without regard to the'rights and feeling of others. Clothe this station with the- authority of justice, and how mudh may it not do to elevate the' views of parties'from themselves to their -country! But arm if with the mere- power, of numbers, and ad-* -minister it with an exclusive eye to the interests of a part, and it may become the, engine of ast much fraud ad,opprestion as can bepradlised in a Coun. try so freeI a' ours. .I ought, perha'ps, to apologize to yieu for the brief allusion I have made to tlepriociples which have governed me, but it is. the last' time I shall 'ever .claim your. indulgence, and I owed it to myself and to you to make the explanation. - If Ihave-done wrong, I-alone am responsible-for it; and if, I have earnestly sought to act justly and impartially, I teek no higher reward than the kind expression of you'r satisfaction, which-you hav e jstbeen pleaed to- offer me. f am saeto pass away from the station with which' you have honored sme, and I part from it. without regri. its trappings all maysee, but its, anxieties and irials must be endured to be tnlder- steod.- It is not, lio*ever, so easy a thing to sever, even for a season, the kindly ties of friendship; and-it is painful to.reflect upon' the thousand accidents of' lifeoWhich may prevent. many,, very many, of us from. ever meeing again,. But, although the traces of individual action are soon 'lostin the rapid current of events, it' is' still cheering to- think that webave contribtied io those great but silent results ofa wAll orderid Govern- ment which daily shed their blessings throughout the land. Still -prouder -is, the hope that, with or • without us, our country is 'n the march, to fulfil its 'mighty destiny, and accomplish the high mission of reform upon which we fondly believe it is sent. I - Permit me, erel conclude, to renew my grateful acknowledgments to- you for the bonbr you have' bestowe4 upon me, and the kind consideiation-which I yoi have shown me, upon so- many occasions. May each arid. all of you return in-safety to your, homes, to ehjoy in domesticlife a grateful repose from youi labors, and to' receive,' in the gratula- - tions of confiding constituents, the highest rewad wiih which a representativd can be honored. And now, when we are about to close the buiy scmene of ouT labors, and all sense of differenee or diviio is for the moment lost in the emotions, of the parting hour, may I not hope that we shall scg paints to remember only what ¢as pleasant and friendly in our past intercourse, and to forget- all that was iiainful or disagreeablel - 1 1, May-every blessing attend- you, gentlemen, in your progress th rough life, and may you continue to awake-n in 4he breasts of others the same kfndly emotions of friendship and respect with which I now take leave of you, as I perform my last ifli- ciat duty, and pronounce this House to be ad- journed without day. The HouseAdjourned sine die. I SENATE, T rtsoAv, March 4, 1841. At 11 o'clock the Senate was, claedto order by Mr. Dtiess, its Secretary. Mr. BAYARD said that it would 'be recollected 4hat on Tnesday lat, the Hon. Wkt. W Kt was etced President pro tem. but the'-fact- that Mr. Ke's term of s-rvice expired. with the close- of the last session, was overlooked and, in order to obViate the difficulty, he-would submit the follow' ing resolution for the consideration of th- Senate: Resotved, That the oath of office be administered to the Hon. WpA.'R. KING, a Senator, -elect from the State of Alabama, by the Hon. WAs;ay Cscr, and'that he be, and is hereby, chosen, President pro tem. -of the Senate. The resolution was enanimously agreed to; and Mr. KING, having been qualified, took his seat as president pro ten of the Senate. , Mr. MOUTON presented the credentials of the Hon ,ALiXxAsDE BsaRow, elected by the Legisfr- tire of Louisiana a Senator from that State fori six years from the4th' of Marcb,.instant. Mr. SEVIER presented the.credentfials of the Hon. ran C,. CALnotrtfelected by- the, Legislature of South Carolina a Senator from that State for six years from the 4th of March, instaiut. Mr. PIERCE. presented. the credentials of the Hon. Lxvi WooEnauY, elected by the Legislature of New Hampshire-a Senator from that State for six years ftrdhe-4th of March, instant, I Mr. MANGUM presented the credentials of the Ron Sosw MA6puRmsou Bra;ts, -elected 1by 'the Legislature of Georgia a Senator from that State for six years from the 4th 0f' March, instant. - The credentias were severally read, and ordered to be placed on file, The Diplomatic corps, and the Judgefof the Su- preme Court of the United States, entered the Se- nae chamber, and took the seats signed for them in front of the Secretary's lable, 'The Hon. Joir Trz, - Vice President elect, tind the Hon. thoacpn M, Joss o, 'ex-Vice Presi- dent, then entered the chamber with the Commit- tee of Arrangements. - 'The oath ofriofice having been administered by Mr. Kumo, the President pro tem. The VICE PRESIDENT addressed-. the Senate ,as follows: -S10oATeA: Called by the people of the United States to preside ler, your deliberations, I cannot withhold-thd exprefsioni of the high-estimate which I place on- the hodor-which they have conferred. upon me. To occupy the- seat which has been filled and adorned (to say. nothing of my' more ird- mediate ptedecessors) by an Adams, a Yefferson, a Gerry, a Clinton, and iTomnpkins-names that, although belonging -to The l ead, stiil live in the re- colleCtion-of' a grateul country-is an honor of which any man would liave just cause to be proud. But this honor is greatly augmented by the consi- deration of the true character of this body-by the high order of intellectual and morai powers which, has distinguished ir in all past time, and which still distinguishes' it-by the digniiy which has ior' the most part marked its proceedings; and, above all, by the important duties-which have'devolved upon it under the Cobstitution; Here are to be found the immediaterepresentatives of the States, by whose sovere'gu will the Government has been spoken into existence. Here exists' that perfect equality among the members of the Confederacy, which gives to the smallest -State in the Union a voies as potential as that of the largest. To this' body is committed,,in an eminent degree, the great trust of guarding and protecting the institutions handgd- down to us from our fathers, as well against the waves of popular and rash impulses on the one hand, as against attempts at Executive encroach- ment on the other. It may properly be regarded, as holding the balance, in which is-weighed the pow- ers conceded to this Government,,and the rights re- served to the States and to the People. Itis its pro- vince to concede what has been, granted, to with- hold what has been denied: thus, in all its features exhibiting a true iype of the glorlious Confederacy under which it'is our'happiness-t olive. Should the spirit of factiin-that destructive spirit which reck-' lesly, walks over prostrate rights and tramples laws and Const tntions in the dust-ever find an abiding< pJace within 'this hall, then indeed will a sen, tence of condemnation be issued against tht peace and happifess of this people, and their political institutions be made to 4t4*pfr to

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