THE HUNTINGDON GLOBE, A DEMOCRATIC FAMILY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. &C.
THE GLOBE.
Circulation—the largest in the county
125.1111VEIDOTI PA-.:.
Wednesday, January 19 1859.
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ARRANTS, 'FEE BILLS,
NOTES, with a waiver of the $3OO Law.
JUDGMENT NOTES, with a waiver of the $3OO Law.
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT, with Teachers.
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, for Justices of the Peace
and Ministers of the Gospel.
COMPLAINT, WARRANT, and COMMITMENT, in case
of Assault and Battery, and Affray.
SCLERE FACIAS, to recover amount of Judgment.
COLLECTORS' RECEIPTS, for State, County, School,
Borough and Township Taxes.
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BLANKS, of every description, printed to order, neatly,
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New A.d-vertisemeuts.
.fir Stray bull, by John Robb.
.la- Mt. "Vernon Ball, by the Managers
„Rai' A Farm at public sale by, Andrew Smith.
&Ir. A Catalogue of new and popular Songs, Schottisches,
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Music Store.
Pennsylvania Legislature.
[Correspondence of The Globe.]
MONDAY, Jan. 10.—SENATE,—Met at 3 o'-
clock. Petitions were presented as follow :
to authorize the voters of Northampton coun
ty to vote on the removal of the county seat
from _Easton to Nazareth, for a law to regu
late the height of fences in the county of
Schuylkill ; and for a new county out of parts
of Crawford, Warren and Venango. The
House bill abolishing the Canal Board was
under consideration and passed the commit
tee of the whole. A resolution authorizing
the appointment of an additional assistant
Door-keeper was offered and indefinitely post
poned. HOUSE.—A resolution was passed
authorizing the pUrchase for each Member,
Clerk and assistant Clerk of the two llouses,
a copy of Purdon's Digest and Sutherland's
Manual. A bill was passed abolishing the
office of sealer of weights and measures in
the counties'of Lancaster and Franklin.
TUESDAY. — SENATE.—Petitions were pre
sented, praying the erection of a new county
out of parts of Clearfield, Cambria, Indiana
and Jefferson, to be called Pine. The reso=
lution requesting the clergymen of 'Harrisburg
to open each morning session of the Senate
with prayer was considered and after a long
and interesting debate was adopted by a vote
of :24 to 6. The tariff resolutions introduced
by Mr. Lawrence of Washington were refer
red to a special committee. The Speaker an
nounced the standing committees. The name
of Mr. Wigton, representative from Hunting:
don, appears as a member of the committees
on "Ways and Means and on Printing. A pe
tition from citizens of Cambria county was
read contesting the seat of Thomas 11. Por
ter, Dem., the sitting member from Cambria.
A petition contesting the seat of Oliver Evans,
democrat, representative from Philadelphia,
was presented. The use of the Hall was
granted for the delivery of Parke Benjamin's
lecture for the benefit of the Citizen Fire
Company, on nest Tuesday evening. Mr.
Nill read in place a bill to exempt parsona
ges from taxation, and Mr. Miller one giving
Justices of the Peace power, with a jury of
six, to hear and finally determine certain
cases. A committee was selected in the case
of David R. McClain, now sitting as a member
from Philadelphia, whose right to a seat is con-
tested.
WEIDNESDAY.—SENATE.—A Committee was
appointed, who, in conjunction with a com
mittee from the House, shall examine a man
ual prepared by Jacob Zeigler, late Clerk of
the House. HonsE.—A bill was read erect
ing a new county to be called Pine, out of
parts of Clearfield, Cambria, Indiana and
Jefferson. Bills were also read, relating to
the collection of taxes in the several counties,
to prevent the destruction of fish, relating to
marriages. Several veto messages sent in by
Governor Packer were considered, and on the
question shall the bills pass notwithstand
ing the objections of the Governor ? The
veto was on the first, yeas, none ; nays, 94 ;
on the next, yeas, 5, nays 86 ; on the next,
yea, 1, nays, 91 ; on the next yeas, 3, nays,
88 ; on the • next, yea, 1, nays, 86. Here
may be perceived how hasty' and inconsider
ate our Legislature are in rushing through,
at locomotive speed, bills of great impor
tance.
TnuRSDAY.—SENATE.—The bill introduced
by Mr. Schell, to prohibit the circulation of
bank notes of aless denomination than twen
ty dollars, was reported as committed. Mr.
Schell offered a resolution to institute an
examination into the use of the franking
privilege. An ineffectual attempt was made
to authorize the appointment of an addition
al Assistant Door-keeper for the Senate.—
HousE.—Petitions were presented praying
the erection of a new county out of parts of
Erie, Crawford and Warren. A bill was
read to incorporate a bank at Lewistown.
FRIDAY.—SENATE.—Nominations were made
of candidates for State Treasurer. Mr. Schell
nominated John Scott, of Huntingdon. Ad
journed until Monday. House.—The vote
on three veto messages was taken, when they
were almost unanimously sustained. The
committee on accounts was authorized to ex
amine into the alleged abuse of the franking
privilege.
SATURDAY.—Senate not in session. Noth
ing of particular importance to the readers
of the Globe, before the House.
Cone of the note-worthy incidents of this
session, is, that the Senate is opened every
morning with prayer. The reneontre between
Messrs. Church and Donavan. excited some
interest, but the transaction is condemned 'by
the better thinking people. Eli Slifer of
T_Tnion county was elected State Treasurer to
day.
STANDING COMMITTEES OF TEE SENATE
The Speaker laid before the House the an
nual report of the State Librarian ; which
was read by the Clerk.
The Speaker announced the following stand
ing committees of the house; which were
read by the Clerk,
Ways and Mea,ns---Messrs. Chase, Law
rence, (Washington,) Smith, (Berks,) Mc-
Dowell, Green, Thorn, Wilcox, Walborn,
Wigton.
Judiciary—Messrs. M'Clure, Irish , Goepp,
Nill, Thompson, Ketchum, Chase, Gritman,
Gratz.
Pensions and Gratuities—Messrs. Dodds,
Rose, Brodhead, Durbaraw, Zuller, llottens
tine, Wolf.
Claims—Messrs. Williams, (Bucks,) Hard
ing, Laird, Wagonseller, Abbott, Witberow,
Wolf.
Agricultural—Messrs. Fearon, Bryson, Ber
tolet, Shaffer, Galley, Dismont,
(Bedford.)
Education—Messrs. Foster, Kinney, Nill,
Pugh, Styer, 11i11, Zoller, Graham, Smith,
(Philadelphia,) Laird.
Domestic Manufactures—Messrs. Bayard,
Dodds, Warden, Peirce, Good, Mann, Walk
er,
Accounts—Messrs. 'Pinkerton, Williston,
Shields, Barlow, Woodring, Pennell, M'Cur
dy.
Vice and Immortality—Messrs. Abbott,
Graham, Oaks, Buyer, (Schuylkill,) Evans,
Wood ring, M'Curdv, Rouse, Campbell.
Militia System—Messrs. Wilson, Rouse,
Neall, Wiley, Good, Rohrer, Harding.
Election Districts—Messrs. Keneagy, Bal
liet, Galley, Shields, Jackson, Eckman, Barns
ley.
Banks—Messrs. Lawrence, (Washington,)
M'Clure, Smith, (Philadelphia,) Barlow, Pat
terson, Mehaffey, Glatz, (Bucks,)
Estates and Escheats—Messrs. Taylor, Wil
liston, Smead, Rohrer, Wilson, Thompson,
Rose.
Road and Bridges—Messrs. Pennell, Stuart,
Durbaraw, flottenstine, Quigley, Campbell,
Walker.
Corporations—Messrs. llumersly,
Elh - naker,Quigley,Acker,Glatz,Price,Church,
Fisher.
Local Appropriations—Messrs. Wiley.
(Bedford,) Boyer, (Clearfield,) Wood,
Porter, Sheppard, Stoneback.
Lands—Messrs. Acker, Stephens, Whit
man. Neall, Miller, Custer, Stuart.
Divorces—Messrs. "Hamersly, roster, Gray,
Witherov, Gritman, Smead, Gratz.
New Counties and County Seats—Messrs.
Burley, Boyer, (Clearfield,) Fleming, Palm,
Shaffer, Dismont, Mehaffey,
Compare Bills—Messrs. Barnsley, Gray,
Sheppard, Stoneback. Peirce.
Library—Messrs. Church, Goepp,,lrish.
Canals and Inland Navigation—Messrs.
Patterson, Ramsdell, Warden, Oaks, Kenea
gy, El(maker, Bayard.
Railroads—Messrs. Walborn, M'Dowell,
Thorn, Smith, (Berks.) Church, Lawrence,
(Washington,) Styer, Evans, Burley, Ketch
um, Wilcox, Price, Patterson.
Printing—Messrs. M'Dowell, Ramsdell,
Wigton.
Public Buildings—Messrs. Green, Wagon
seller, Kinney.
Mines and Minerals—Messrs. Pugh, Tay
lor, Fearon, Porter, Pinkerton, .Brodhead,
Bryson, Fisher, WVileos, Buyer, (Sehuylkill,)
Neall, Hill, Whitman.
STANDING COMMITTEES OF TILE fl USE
The Speaker announced the Standing Com
mittees of the Senate, as follows
Finance—Messrs. Turney, Randall, Welsh,
Coffey, Gregg.
J udiciary—Messrs. Bell, Brewer, Miller,
Scofield, Finney.
Accounts- , —Messrs. 'Wright, Gazzam, Tur
nev, Baldwin, Fetter.
'E , 4tates and Escheats—Messrs. Welsh,
Schell, Penney, Shaeffer, Palmer.
Pensions and Gratuities—Messrs. Finney,
Blood, Harris, Keller, Frazer.
Corporations—Messrs. "Wright, Steele,
Schell, Shaeffer, Gazzam.
Library—Messrs. Brewer, Francis, Schin
del.
Banks—Messrs. Marselis, Schell, Gazzam,
Keller, Myer.
CAnals and Inland Navigation—Messrs,
Steele, Myer, Blood, Thompson, Miller.
Railroads—Messrs. Randall, Craig, Steele,
Coffey, Finney.
Election Districts—Messrs. Scofield, Mar
sells, Parker, Thompson, Myer.
Retrenchment and Reform—Messrs. Gaz
zam, Nunnemacher, Bell, Yardley, Parker.
Education—Messrs. Miller, Welsh, Schin
del, Penney, Yardley.
Agriculture and Domestic Manufactures--
Messrs. Fetter, Rutherford, Nunnemacher,
Baldwin, Schindel.
Militia—Messrs. Brewer, Blood, Fetter,
Harris, Shaeffer.
Roads and Bridges—Messrs. Nunnemach
er, Baldwin, Fetter, Rutherford, Thompson.
Cumpare Bills—Messrs. Myer, Keller,
Wright, Francis, Yardley.
Vice and Immortality—Messrs. Schindel,
Francis, Palmer, Wright, Harris.
Private Claims and Damages—Messrs.
Schell, Craig, Steele, Shaeffer, Rutherford.
Public Printing—Messrs. Keller, Palmer,
Marselis, Yardley, Craig.
Public Buildings—Messrs. Craig, Schell,
Turney.
New Counties and County Seats—Messrs.
Blood, Turner, Keller, Gregg, Schell
January 17th.
FROM UTAII.--The Valley Tan of the 10th
ult., reports cold weather at Salt Lake. It
says:—"Within the past week several persons
have frozen to death in this valley and in the
kanyon adjacent. Mr. Lever, while coming
from Camp Field in the stage, got out to walk
and perished on the road. Two men whose
names we did not learn, were frozen to death
in Cottonwood ; another was found dead in
Emigration kanyon ; and we learn that the
mail Carrier, north, between this and Box
Elder, was also frozen. Every person that
arrives, no matter from what direction, has
suffered severely from the cold and frost—bit
ten feet, hands and ears, are the prevailing
marks for the last few days."
See advertisement of _Dr. Sanford's
Liverlnvigorato‘r in another column.
ger- See *advertisement of Prof. Wood'
Bair Restorative in another column.
The linntingdon County Agricultural So
ciety met pursuant. to previous notice, in the
Court House, on Tuesday evening, 11th
President Jno. C. Watson in the Chair.
The minutes of the Association since the
last annual meeting were read by the Secre
tary and approved.
The Committee of Arrangements for the
last annual Agricultural Exhibition, having
requested permission to make a statement of
their proceedings, were, on motion, allowed
the privilege of making a report of the same,
which report was accepted and ordered for
publication in the papers of the County, fa
vorable to the cause of Agriculture, who will
insert the same gratis.
The Society then proceeded to the election
of officers, when, on motion of A. W. Bene
dict, Esq., the present officers were continued
for the coming year, as follows :
PRESIDENT,
Jot= C. WATSON of Brady Township.
VICE PRESIDENTS,
Eli Wakefield, Brady tp.
Hays Hamilton, Franklin tp.
John Rhodes, Henderson tp.
Perry Moore, Morris tp.
John P. Stuart, Oneida, tp.
F. H. Lane, Huntingdon bor.
John Porter, Alexandria bor.
S. Robb, Walker tp.
Richard Chilcott, Union, tp.
11. Isenberg Esq., Juniata tp.
Maj. W.m. Moore, West tp.
John Long, Shirleysburg bor.
Geo. W. Speer, Shirley tp.
K. L. Green, Clay tp.
Wm. Hutchison, Warriorsmark tp.
John Cresswell, Petersburg bor.
Jas. Cree, Dublin - tp.
A. C. Blair, Tell tp.
Geo. Jackson, Jackson tp.
Jos. Cunningham, Barree tp.
Jas. Entrekin, Hopewell tp.
Jas. Clark, Birmingham bor.
Robert Madden, Springfield tp.
Wm. A. Whittaker, Porter tp.
Ralph Crotsley, Cass tp.
Andrew Neff, Cromwell tp. •
J. E. Orbison, Orbisonia bor.
The following Vice Presidents were also
elected to fill vacancies:
John Griffith, Toad tp. ,
Levi Evans, Carbon tp.
Col. J. Cresswell, Cassville bor.
RECORDING SECRETARIES,
R. McDivitt, Huntingdon.
J. F. Ramey, Huntingdon
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY,
Geo. W. Speer, Shirley tp.
LIBRARIAN,
T. H. Cremer. Esq., Huntingdon.
TREASURER,
Geo. Jackson, Iluntingdon.
The Committee appointed to visit the Far
mer's Iligh School reported. Report receiv
ed and Committee discharged.
Committee appointed at a previous meeting
to attend the State Fair at Pittsburgh, not
being present, was, on motion, continued.
On motion of A. W. Benedict, the Vice
Presidents be instructed to receive from the
officers of the Society, annual and life mem
bership tickets, and make an effort to dispose
of as many of them as possible prior to the
next meeting of the Society in April, and
that the officers be directed to have some of
these tickets printed.
Some remarks were made by F. 11. Lane,
Esq. in favor of the Farmer's High School,
calling the attention of the Association to
the need of assistance for the promotion of
this Institution, and soliciting further funds
and subscriptions for this purpose.
Some very appropriate remarks were made
by the President on the importance of 'Hor
ticulture, and recommending the subject to
the consideration of the Society.
When, on motion, Society adjourned to meet
on Tuesday evening of the first week of the
April Court.
JNO. C. WATSON, President.
R. MeDivlrr, Secretaries.
J. F. RAMEY,
Speech of Vice President Breckinridge,
Delivered in the Senate Chamber of the
United States, January 4. 1859, on the oc
casion of the Removal of the Senate to the
Nezo Hall.
SENATORS : I have been charged by the
committee to whom you confided the arrange
ments of this day, with the duty of expressing
some of the reflections that naturally occur
in taking final leave of a chamber which has
so long been occupied by the Senate. In the
progress of our country and the growth of the
representation, this room has become too con
tracted for the representatives of the States
now existing and soon too exist; and, accord
ingly, you are about to exchange it for a hall
affording accommodations adequate to the
present and the future. The occasion sug
gests many interesting reminiscences, and it
may be agreeable in the first place to occupy
a few minutes with a short account of the
various places at which Congress has assem
bled, of the struggles which proceeded the
permanent location of the seat of government,
and of the circumstances under which it
was finally established on the banks of the
Potomac.
JUNIA.TA
The Congress of the Revolution was some
times a fugitive, holding its sessions, as the
chances of war required, at Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Lancaster, Annapolis, and York.
During the period between the conclusion of
peace and the commencement of the present
government., it met at Princeton, Annapolis,
Trenton, and New York.
After the idea of a permanent Union had
been executed in part by the adoption of the
Articles of Confederation, the question pre
sented itself of fixing a seat of government,
and this immediately called forth intense in
terest and rivalry.
That the place should he central, having re
gard to the population and territory of the
Confederacy, was the only point common to
the contending parties. Propositions of all
kinds were offered, debated, and rejected,
sometimes with intemperate warmth. At
length, on the 7th of October, 1783, the Con
gress being at Princeton—whither they had
been driven from Philadelphia, by the insults
of a body of armed men—it was resolved that
.Agricultural Society.
a building for the use of Congress be erected
near the falls of the Delaware. This was
soon after modified, by requiring suitable
buildings to be also erected near the falls of
the Potomac, that the residence of Congress
might alternate between those two places.—
But the question was not allowed.to rest, and
at length, after frequent and warm debates,
it was resolved that the residence of Congress
should continue at one place ; and commis
sioners were appointed with full power to lay
out a district for a federal town near the falls
of the Delaware. And, in the meantime,
Congress assembled alternately at Trenton,
and Annapolis ; but the representatives of
other States were unremitting in exertions
for their respective localities.
On the 23d of December, 1784, it was re
solved to remove to the city of New York,
and to remain there until the building on the
Delaware should be completed ; and, accord
ingly, on the 11th of January, 1785, the Con
gress met at New York, where they contin
ued to hold their session until the Confedra
tion gave place to the Constitution.
The commissioners to layout a federal town
on the Delaware, reported their proceedings
to Congress, but no further steps were taken
to carry the revolution into effect.
When the bonds of union were drawn
closer by the organization of the new govern
ment under the Constitution on the 3d of
March, 1780, the subject was revived and dis
cussed with greater warmth than before ; it
was conceded on all sides that the residence
of Congress should continue at one place,
and the prospect of stability in the govern
ment, invested the question with a deeper in
terest.
Some members proposed New York as be
ing "superior to any place they knew for the
orderly and decent behavior of its inhabi
tants." To this it was answered that it was
not desirable that the political capital should
be in a commercial metropolis. Others rid
iculed the idea of building palaces in the
woods. Mr. Gerry, of Massachusetts, thought
it highly unreasonable to fix the seat of gov
ernment in such a position as to have nine
States of the thirteen to the northward of the
place ; while the South Carolinians objected
to Philadelphia on account of the number of
Quakers,
who, they said, con tin ually annoyed
the Southern members with schemes of eman
cipation.
In the midst of these disputes the House
of Representatives resolved: " That the per
manent seat of government ought to be at
some convenient place on the banks of the
Susquehanna." On the introduction of a
bill to give effect to this resolution, much
feeling was exhibited, especially by the South
ern members. Mr. Madison thought if the
proceedings of that day had been foreseen
by Virginia, that State might not have be
come a party to the Constitution. The ques
tion was allowed by every member to be a
matter of great importance. Mr. Scott said
the future tranquility and - well-being of the
United States depended as much on this as
any question that ever had or could come be
fore Congress. And Mr. Fisher Ames re
marked that every principle of pride and
honor, and even of patriotism, were engaged.
For a time any agreement appeared impossi
ble ; but the good genius of our system final
ly . prevailed, and on the 16th of July, 1790,
an act was passed containing the following
clause:
"That a district of territory not exceeding
ten miles square, to be located as hereafter
directed, on the river Potomac, at some place
between the mouths of the Eastern Branch
and Conogocheague, be, and the same is here
by, accepted, for the permanent seat of the
government of the United States."
The same act provided that Congress should
hold its sessions at Philadelphia until the
first Monday in November, 1800, when the
government should remove to the district se
lected on the Potomac. Thus was settled a
question which had produced much sectional
feeling between the States. But all difficul
ties were not yet surmounted ; fur Congress,
either from indifference or the want of money,
failed to make adequate appropriations for
the erection of public buildings, and the com
missioners were often reduced to great straits
to maintain the progress of the work. Find
ing it impossible to borrow money in Europe,
or to obtain it from Congress, Washington,
in December, 1706, made a personal appeal
to the Legislature of Maryland, which was
responded to by an advance of $lOO,OOO ; but
in so deplorable a condition was the credit
of the federal government, that the State
required as a guaranty of payment the
pledge of the private credit of the commis
sioners.
From the beginning Washington had ad
vocated the present scat of government—its
establishment here was due, in a -large mea
sure, to his influence ; it was his wisdom and
prudence that composed disputes, and settled
conflicting_ titles, and it was chiefly through
his personal influence that the funds were
provided to prepare the buildings for the re
ception of the President and Congress.
The wings of the Capitol having been suf
ficiently prepared, the government removed
to this District on the 17th of November
1800. Or, as Mr. 'Walcott expressed it left
the comforts of Philadelphia "to go to the
Indian place with the long name, in the
woods on the Potomac." I will not pause to
describe the appearance at that day of the
place where the city was to be. Cotempora
ry accounts represent it as desolate in ex
treme, with its long-unopened avenues and
streets, its deep morasses, and its vast area
covered with trees instead of houses. It is
enough to say, that Washington projected the
whole plan upon a scale of centuries, and
that time enough remains to fill the measure
of his great conception.
The Senate continued to occupy the north
wing, and the House of Representatives the
south wing of the Capitol until the 24th of
August, 1814, when the British army entered
the city and burned the public buildings.—
This occurred during the recess, and the Pres
ident immediately convened the Congress.—
Both Houses met in a brick building known
as Blodget's Hotel, which occupied a part of
the square now. covered by the General Post
Office. But the accommodations in that house
being quite insufficient, a number of public
Spirited citizens erected a more commodious
building on Capitol Hill, and tendered it to
Congress : the offer was accepted, and both
Houses continued to occupy it until the wings
of the new Capitol were completed. This
building yet stands on the street opposite to
the north-eastern corner of the Capitol square,
and has since been occasionally occupied by
persons employed in different branches of the
public service.
On the 6th
. of December, 1819, the Senate
assembled for the first time in this charriber,
which has been the theatre of their delibera
tions for more than thirty-nine years.
And now the strifes and uncertainties of
the past are finished ; we see around us on
every side tho proofs of stability and improve
merit ; this Capitol is worthy of the• Repub
lic ; noble public buildings meet the view on
every hand ; treasures of science and the arts
begin to accumulate. As this flourishing.
city enlarges, it testifies to the wisdom and
forecast that dictated the plan of it. Future
generations will not be disturbed with ques
tions concerning, the centre of population
or of territory, since the steamboat, the rail
road, and the telegraph have made communi
cation almost instantaneous. The' spat is sa
cred by a thousand memories, which are so
many pledges that the city of Washington,
foundedby him and bearing his revered name,
with its beautiful site, bounded by picturesque
eminences, and the broad Potomac, and ly
ing within view of his home and his tomb,
shall remain forever the political Capital of
the United States.
It would be interesting to note the gradu
al changes which have occurred in the prac
tical working of the government since the
adoption of the Constitution ; and it may be
appropriate to this occasion to remark one of
the most striking of them. At the origin of i
the government the Senate seemed to be re- i
garded chiefly as an executive council. The I
President often visited the chamber and con
ferred personally with this body. Most of
its business was transacted with closed doors,
and it took comparatively little part in the
legislative debates. '
The rising and vigorous intellects of the
country sought the arena of the House of
Representatives as the appropriate theatre for
the display of their powers. Mr. Madison
observed on some occasion that, being a
young man, and desiring to increase his repu
tation,
' 1
be could not afford to enter the Senate;
and it will be remembered that, so late as
1842, the great debates which preceded the
war, and aroused the country to the asser
tion of its - rights, took place in the other
branch of Congress. To such an extent was
the idea of seclusion carried, that when this
chamber was completed, no seats were prepa
red for the accommodation of the public; and
it was not until many years afterwards that
the semi-circular gallery was erected which
admits the people to be witnesses of your
proceedings. But now the Senate, besides
its peculiar relations to the executive depart
ment
of the government, assumes its full
share of duty as a co-equal branch of the
Legislature ; indeed from the limited num
ber of its members, and for other obvious rea
sons, the most important questions, especial
ly
of foreign policy, are apt to pass first -tin
der discussion in this body, and to be a mem
ber of it is justly regarded as one of the
highest honors which can be conferred on an
American statesman. •
It is scarcely necessary to point out the
causes of this change, or to say that it is a
concession both to the importance and indi
viduality of the States, and to the free and
open character of the government.
In connection to this easy but thorough
transition, it is worthy of remark that it has
been effected without a charge from any quar
ter that the Senate has transcended its con
stitutional sphere—a tribute at once to the
moderation of the Senate, and another proof
of thoughtful men of the comprehensive
wisdom . with which the framers of the Con
stitution secured essential principles without
inconveniently embarrassing the action of the
government.
The progress of this popular movement, in
one aspect of it, has been steadily and mark
ed. At the origin of the government, no ar
rangements in the Senate were made for t,spec
tators ; in this chamber about one-third of
.the space is allotted to the public, and in the
new apartment in the galleries cover two
thirds of its arena. In all free countries the
admission of the people to witness legislative
proceedings is an essential element of public
confidence, and it is not to be anticipated
that this wholesome principle will ever be
abused by the substitution of partial and in
terested demonstrations for the expression of
a matured and enlightened public opinion.—
Yet it should never be forgotton that not
France, but the turbulent spectators within
the ball, awed and controlled the French As
sembly. With this lesson and its consequen
ces before us, the time will never come when
the deliberations of the Senate shall be sway
ed by the blandishments or the thunders of
the galleries.
It is impossible to disconnect from an occa
sion like this, a crowd of reflections on our
own past history, and of speculations on the
future. The most meagre account of the
Senate involves a summary of the progress of
our country. From year to year you have
seen your representation enlarge ; time and
again you have proudly Welcomed a new sis
ter unto the Confederacy, and the occurren
ces of this day are a material, and impressiVe
proof of the growth and prosperity of the
United States. Three periods in the history
of the Senate mark in striking contrast three
i epochs in the history of the Union.
On the 3d of March, 1780, when the gov
ernment was organized under the Constitu
tion, the Senate was composed of the repre
sentatives of eleven States, containing three
millions of people.
On the 6th of December, 1810, when the
,Senate met for the first time, in this room, it
was composed of the representatives of twenty
one States, containing nine millions of people.
To-day, it is composed of the representa
tives of thirty-two States, containing more
than twenty-eight millions of people, pros
perous, happy and still devoted to constitu
tional liberty. Let these great facts, speak
for themselves to all the world.
The career of the United States cannot be
measured by that of any people of whom his
tory gives account; and the mind is almost
appalled at the contemplation of the prodigi
ous force which has marked their progress.
Sixty-nine years ago, thirteen States, contain
ing three millions inhabitants, burdened with
debt, and exhausted by the long war of inde
pendence, established for their common good
a free constitution, on principles new to man
kind, and began their experiment with the
good wishes of a few doubting friends, and
the derision of the world. Look at the result
to-day : twenty-eight millions of people, in
every way happier than an equal number• in
any other part of the globe, the centre
of population and political power descending
the western slopes of the Allegheny moun
tains, and the originalthirteen States, form
ing but the eastern margin on the map of our
vast possessions. See besides, christianity,
civilization, and the arts given to a continent
—the despised colonies grown into a power
of the first class, representing and protecting
ideas that involve the progress of the human
race—a commerce greater than that of any
other nation—every variety of climate, soil,
and production to make a people powerful
and happy—free interchange between the
States—in a word, behold present greatness,
and in the future an empire to which the an
cient mistress of the world in the height of
her glory could not be compared. Such is
our country ; ay, and more than my mind'
could conceive, or my tongue could utter. Is
there an American who regrets the past ?
Is there one who will deride his country's
laws, pervert his Constitution, or alienate
her people ?" If there be such a man, let his
memory descend to posterity laden with the
execrations of all mankind.
SO happy is the• political and social conch--•
tion of the United States, and so accustomed'
are we to the secure enjoyment of a freedom
elsewhere unknown, that we are apt to under
value the treasures we possess, and to lose in'
some degree the sense of obligation to our'
forefathers. But when the strifes- of faction
shake the government, and even threaten it,
we may pause with advantage long enougfr
to remember that we are reaping the reward ,
of other men's labors. This liberty we in--
herit—this admirable Constitution, which has
survived peace and war, prosperity and ad
versity—this double scheme of government,.
State and Federal, so peculiar and so little
understood by other- Powers, yet which pro
tects the earnings of industry, and Makes the
largest personal freedom compatible with ,
public order; these great results were not
achieved without wisdom, and toil, and blood. ,
The touching and heroic record is before the'
world ; but to all this we were born, and like'
heirs upon whom has been cast a great hiller- -
Lance, have only the high duty to preserve,
to extend, and to adorn it. The grand pro
ductions of the era in which the foundations
of this government were laid, reveal the deep
sense its founders had of their obligations to
the whole family of man. Let us never for
get that the responsibilities imposed on this
generation are by so much the greater than
those which rested on our revolutionary an
cestors, as the population, extent and power
of our country surpass the dawning promise
of its origin.
It would be a pleasing task to pursue many
trains of thought, not wholly foreign to this
occasion, but the temptation to enter the
wide field must be rigorously curbed ; yet I
may be pardoned, perhaps for one or two ad
ditional reflections.
The Senate is assembled for the last time
in this chamber. Henceforth it will be con
verted to other uses ; yet must remain forever
connected with great events, and sacred to the
memories of the departed orators and states
men who have engaged in high debates, and
shaped the policy of their country. Hereafter
the American and the stranger, as they wan
der through the Capitol, will turn with in
stinctive reverence to view the spot on which
so many and great materials have accumula
ted for history. They will recall the images
of the great and thc good, whose renown is the
common property of the Union ; and chiefly,
perhaps, they will linger around the seats
once occupied by the mighty three, whose
names and, fame—associated in life—death
has not been able to sever; illustrious men,
who, in their generation, sometimes divided,
sometimes led, and sometimes resisted pub
lic opinion--for they were of that higher
class of statesmen who seek the right and
follow their convictions.
There sat Calhoun, the Senator—inflexible,
austere, oppressed but not overwhelmed by
his deep sense of the importance of his public
functions—seeking the truth, then fearlessly
following it ; a man whose unsparing intel
lect compelled all his emotions to earmonize
with the deductions of his rigorous logic, and
whose noble cuontenance habitually wore the
expression of one engaged in the performance
of high public duties.
This was Webster's seat. lle, too, was
every inch a Senator. Conscious of his own
vast powers, be reposed with confidence on
himself, and scorning the contrivances of
smaller men, he stood among his peers all the
greater for the simple dignity of his senato
rial demeanor. Type of his northern home,
he rises before the imagination in the grand
and granite outline of his form and intellect,
like a great New England rock, repelling a
New England wave. As a writer, his pro
ductions will be cherished by statesmen and
scholars while the English tongue is spoken.
As a senatorial orator, his great :efforts are
historically associated with this chamber,
whose very air seems yet to vibrate beneath
the strokes of his deep tones and his weighty
words. -
On the outer circle, sat floury Clay, with
his impetuous and ardent nature untamed by
age, and exhibiting in the Senate the same
vehement patriotism and passionate eh iq uenco
that, of yore, electrified the House of Repre
sentatives and the country. His extraordina
ry personal endowments, his courage—all
his noble qualities, invested him with an in
di t iduality and charm of character which, in
any age, would hare made him a favorite of
history. He loved his country above all
earthly objects. fie loved liberty in all coun
tries. Illustrious man !—orator, patriot, phi
lanthropist—whose light, at its meridian, was
seen and felt in the remotest part of the civ
ilized world ; and whose declining sun, as it
hastened down the West, threw back its levol
beams in hues of mellow splendor to illumi
nate and to cheer the land he loved and served
so well.
All the States may point with gratified
pride to the services in the Senate of their
patriotic sons. Crowding the memory come
the names of Adams, llayne, Mason, Otis,
Macon, Pinckney, and the rest—l cannot
number them—who, in the record of their
acts and utterances, appeal to their success
ors to give the Un:t n a destiny nor unworthy
of the past. What models were these to awa
ken emulation, or to plunge in despair ! For
tunate will be the American statesman who,
in this age, or in succeeding times shall con
tribute to invest the new hall to which we go
with historic memories like those which clus
ter here.
And now, Senators, we leave this memora ,
ble chamber, bearing with us, unimpaired,
the Constitution we received from our fore
fathers. Let us cherish it with grateful ac
knowledgement to the Divine Power, who
controls the.destinies of empires, and whose
goodness we adore, The structures reared
by men, yield to the corroding tooth of time.
These marble walls must moulder with ruin ;
but the principles of constitutional liberty,
guarded by wisdom and virtue, unlike mate
rial elements, do not decay. Let us devout :
edly trust thatanother Senate, in another age
shall bear to a new. and larger chamber this
Constitution vigorous and inviolate—and that
the last generation. of posterity shall wit
ness the deliberations ,
of the representatives
of American States still united, prosperous
and free.
PtuANn rot?. THE GOSPEL.—The pews in
Henry Ward • Beecher's church, Brooklyn,
were rented at auction for the year, on Tues-.
day, and brought $24,642 50, about $B,OO
more than they were sold for last year.—
Very many who were anxious to obtain pews
were unable to procure them. The competi
tion among the bidders was very spirited.—
Mr. Beecher was present during the sale, and
appeared to be delighted at the great interest
manifested" by his congregation to obtain seats.