THE AMERICAN HOUSE OF REPEESENTATIVES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 114, 12 March 1853, Page 4

THE AMERICAN HOUSE OF REPEESENTATIVES.

The Times gives the following account of a row in the House of Kepresentatives, at Washington, and makes some strictures thereon, which we transfer to our columns, seeing that we shall soon have similar institutions, and the warning may be of service. The only drawback to the affair is that the quarrel was patched up, and " all America" (as the Yankees style themselves) was grievously disappointed at the failure of a " real fight." " In the stagnation thickening round us on this side the Atlantic, it is a comfort to know that the next ocean mail may bring us some news ;—not the. settlement or otherwise of the fishery question, not the capture of the Lobos Islands, or the " discovery" of Cuba by an enterprising navigator from New York, but something not less interesting, though within the very walls of the American Legislature. As " the latest news" from Washington, specially despatched through telegraph to the office of the New York Tribune before the closing of the last mail, we have the exciting announced ment that <f there are genuine symptoms of-a real fight between General C'ullum and W. H. Polk, of Tennessee ; and also between the same Mr. Polk and Addison White, of Kentucky, all growing out of the debate in the. House. The preliminaries, for a duel are now;iu arrangement." No envious Sergeant-at-Arms, no busy magistrate, seems to be thought of, and still

less do the friends of the parties seem likely to interfere; so the next mail may give us the sequel of these pleasant preliminaries in the shape of some grievous bodily injuries, theresuit of half-a-dozen alternate discharges of a-ifles or revolvers. That one debate should have given rise to two duels, and those of such necessity and interest, might surprise the diligent readers of oar own Parliamentary intelligence ; but, when the debate is perused, the wonder disappears. It is a very lively affair, ; and reminds one of the primitive councils of chiefs, when an Agamemnon would offer a gratuitous insult to the bravest of his colleagues, and an Achilles would defy his chief, without being once called to order, except by the silent suggestions of Pallas Athense, The subject matter of the dispute was familiar enough to the assembled representatives, but in the report it is treated in a brief allusive -manner, which precludes the possibility of our forming any opinion about it.

"The gauntlet was thrown down by Mr. Polk. Apropos to a bill about lighthouses, he delivered the following enigmatical, but as it appears inflammatory speech :—" It was not his purpose to discuss the bill before them, but to show, among other things, that the Whig party have gone into liquidation, and cannot pay 10 cents, on the dollar. He was at Baltimore when the Whigs nominated General Scott, and it was understood for three or four days that men from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia had agreed to come to Seward, and the fact that Scott was nominated showed the bargain had been made." A single word, the proverb tells us, is enough for the wise, and it is equally certain a single word will sometimes have a marvellous effect on the unwise. Ah antagonist jumped up at once. The whole assembly were .conscious of his presence, and felt the rising1 "difficulty." Mr. Cullum was the man. Simply to prove his perfect readiness to quarrel, he exclaimed, " I can't hear my colleague." The reporter explains, " these gentlemen occupied seats on opposite sides of the Hall; members generally began to manifest additional interest in the proceedings. 'I wish, then,' said Mr. Polk in reply,' you would come a little nearer.'" We are to conclude that Mr. Cullum adopted this pacific suggestion, and, the whole assemblage now listening arrectis auribus, the two belligerents stood face to face in pleasant proximity. Mr. Cullum continued, "I understood you to say something about- a betrayal of the South." Mr. Polk hereupon became more explicit :—" I say the man who now occupies a position as a senator from Tennessee was to ,have been nominated with Fillmore on the ticket, and that he betrayed his interest. My colleague can answer whether he was connected with this betrayal." Mr. Cullum met the challenge^—" My colleague in the Senate can answer for himself. I proclaim here that I have entered into no collusion, public or private, and I pronounce the insinuation gratuitous, unfounded, untruthful, and utterly false." This was enough. The whole assembly, and the two fiery spirits round whom it had gathered, went off at this word, and henceforth there was little else than interchange of denials in the most simple, natural, and emphatic expressions, ■which we must give as briefly as we can, and which require no comment. " Mr. Polk, nothing abashed, promptly repeated his charge of betrayal, and added, "I say, when my colleague made the assertion at the City-hall, in this city, that Franklin Pierce or his horse fainted, he lied!" Hereupon the Chairman called to order, as it seems Avith mighty little purpose, for Mr. Cullum rejoined, *' when my colleague insinuates that I have made a false representation, he is a liar." The case was evidently become one for " preliminaries," so Mr. Polk invoked the aid of a squire. " I ask some friend to come to me." •' That's what I say," said Mr. Cullum. Some friend of order having interfered, the quarrel now took a rather more argumentative and historical line, and Mr. Polk went into an attack on General Scott's military career. This called up Mr. White, of Kentucky, to whom Mr. Polk immediately intimated that if he wanted to fight he was welcome ; and, as this did not seem to be understood, he added, "the excitement being," as the reporter says, " at the fever point all over the Hall," " For fear of onisre^ . presentation, I tell the gentleman he is a liar." For some minutes after this the House appears to have been pretty equally divided between its wish to enjoy the sport and its sense of its injured dignity, half standing ou tiptoes and half

calling to order. After a time, Mr. Gulluin sought an opportunity of explanation, and seemed for a time really to be adopting a conciliatory tone; but it did not last long, and at the first opening he offered the implacable Mr. Polk interjected, ''I said you are a liar, and I say so again." After one more fierce defiance from Mr. Cullum, and one more speech ending with "liars" by Mr. Polk, this amiable discussion at last wore itself out, simply because it had come to a pass that words could do no more. Pistols or rifles must now decide the knotty points of the "betrayal of the South,"Tierce's courage, and General Scott's truth. " Will our friends at Washington give us credit for sincerity when we say that the cause of representative institutions and constitutional government is rather too low just now to afford this unfavourable display ? Parliaments ought to have a dignity of their own. The military despotisms of Europe have their pageants, their reviews, their fetes, their religious, ceremonies, their consecrated chiefs, their time-honoured symbols and forms. Republics, and even constitutional monarchies, are rather bare of these things. They should, therefore, have something else instead. Their deliberations should be grave, decorous, courteous, and calm. The representative of the people, being a ruler, a chief, and elder of the people, ought to bear meekly and suitably his high honour, and do justice thereby to those he represents. Are we really to conclude that Mr. Polk, bearing the name of the late President, fairly and correctly represents his constituency or the general spirit of the United States? Is it usual in that country for any dozen men assembled anywhere to go on giving the lie to one another for half-an-hour together? From this exhibition we might conclude that it was no such uncommon occurrence, and that really the American tongue is so foul, the American honour is so blunt, as to endure the free bandying backwards and forwards of this most dreadful charge for a dozen times in succession. No rifles or revolvers can. wipe out the disgrace of such a scene, and the stain on the honour of those who merely heard and saw without taking the trouble to stop it. Will not the Americans, for the sake of liberty itself, for the sake of civilization, provide against the recurrence of so great a political scandal?"