The Aggressive Character Of The Senate

rt j _.,.-, ,.r Hm v.'-.v Vut k Times. No tbonghtful obserror ol tne iunctions of tbo suvcral departmenti whioh nndartbs CÓniütutíon, eonstitute th rninont of the United S'.ates, can oaotémptate iho present attitude and oompoaitíon of the United Stutos Sento without grave rcíluctions, leading I-crbaps to Rtll gravor pprehonsion.- W beu he rafleoU tbat noother departir, -nt. of tlie govormuent, not oven tbo iadiciary, is so far removed from direct resjwneibility to the pcople, it adds to the delic:ito'and important chnracter of th situation. So maoy eveiits hare ocorred during the past two years, forciLly illust rating tho airgressive character e f this body, that it is no longer obhgaiory upon public joarnalMi, espooially thoso of the same political faith,tokeep silotico with referenee to tho dangers t!iut tlireaton. I prnposa, therefore, to rilada briefly to samo OÍ the qnestions vrhich ore beginning to produce serious oimment and profound thnnght. Tho firat feature is- the aggressive tendenoy nf tho Senatu in the conatant acquisitioti of power. The tnnl-administration tri Aodrcw Johnsmi rondered so many iueasure3 of self defonco necespary, that it becarao a very ordinry and almost Ibitimate proeeeding for tho Benaté to assuma tho exercise of executive ns well s legislative powers. This habit it has nok abandoued. It still clings to all the ess?nt;al features of tho measures wbich it fjund necessriry to ennet aninst a recreant and unwnrthy President. A preteaee of surrender was made ft year aLo, when, on the urgent demaod of President Grant, a few comparatively nnimportant concessions were made in the Tenure-of-Offico act, while its very garra was kept alive by a resolute refusal to purreader the nesumed right that titio Sonate could rei-.istata nny man removed from office by the ExeciHive.- This is its posilion to-Gay, and it shows co signa of yielding. Not only is this the faet, büt its existence is used, in eome (íegree, to justify and nbuse, which bas not even the shadow of law for its basis. As a inatter of couuesy, it has beca for some yoars customary to reject n nomination for any office ín the place whero a Senator residos, if the nominee nhould be objectionablo to bim. No matter of wbat record or stand irg , no inatter of what efficiency or integrity the Dominee may be ; if he lias never beon so unfortunato ns to incur the personal hoglility of his Senator, the öenate will reject him as a courtesy to that individual Senator, and with the expectation on the part of overy other Sena tor that, should the necessity ever arise the samo courtesy will le extended in each individual case. Tlius wo have geon, wiihin the past few montbs, a gallant 6oldier and most excellent man rejected for the positioa of pension Agent at Knoxville, t the request of Senator Brownlow, tosocuro thc appointment of bis own son-iu-law, and tho rejection of a nominee for tho posilion of Postmas ter at Nashville, at tho request of Senntor Fowler, in order to secure the retentiou of Lia o-wn father-in-lw. The socond feature is - the irresponsibility of the Senate. This element of dauger seems to have grown into more formidable proportions within the past five years than it has ever assuraed before, though the causes from which it iiatur&lly springs have always existed. As one result, we see an ahnost total disregard of Exeeulive recommendatious; a aDother, a tedious, úseles?, wordy, unprofítable and somctiines un digniSed discussion of immaterial questions, loading to a consequent disregard nH (lit of the public business and VrS Uk m .- . p H ,, country ; as anotber, a fallare to respond to tho voice of public sentiment en oceasions requirinp; prompt end deoided nction- as witness the failure of the Senate to aot upon the admission of Tex au, and thus secure tho promulgation of tho fifleenth amendment, whereby tho now voters in the State of Connecticut ore virtually deprived of their coustitutional rirlit of frtincbise for a whole year; and, Snally, each a iaek of party discipline that, notwithstanding its complexion, we have a Senate so thoroughly out of order wilh the administratie!) that it is almost iuipossible for the latter to secure the passage of auy measure ol distinctive policy. I( Senators feit the pulfo of the people more frcely, through the medium of a mnre direct reeponsibrVity, this state of things would not exIst - at tho most, only in a Bmall degree. The third fenture is - the pr?pondcrant parti?an character of the IScnate. - 'The rebellion and reconstructioii have resulted in the almost uDprecedented fonrifttion of a legislative body, whose polilical división to day is sixty-two Republicans and ten Democrats. But one Stato remaina to be represonted in the Seuate, and her admiuibn is is likely to ïncrease this difproportion as tadecrease ït. From this f-iuation flow many of i.ho evils now so apparent, and it is in this direction only that we can look for their ultímate eorrcctioD. One result of lhi9 overwhelmiogmajority is that there are two, if not three, Kepublican partjes in the Senate ; anotber result is, tbat extreme measures have now agreater eb an oo of success in tho Senato than in the House; and another is, that the Republican party at largo is olmost irretrievably damaged by the disseriiion among ito raembers in the Senate, and lts fniluro to p-romptly co-opcrate with the President and tbc House of liepregentativcs. These civil resulta have be.en aggravated through tbs influx into the Sonate of lbo Southern members. - Coming to tho surface, as most of them did, on the issuo of rccoDstruction, it is DOt surprising that the elemt-nt ghould be empopcd of incongruous and raw material; it is, perhapü, surpriwing that it is not worse. But the admission of the Senators from the Southern States has lowcrcu thc average standard of abilïty in thc Senate, und has tLus inereaged tlio liabili'y of the Senate to err in its judgroent and action, Some of these Soutboro gentlemen are worthy representativcs of their States in all respects, but it ia dnubtful f moru than one-!hird of tho pretent number will ever be returned. JJut, as I have alrcady eaid, it is in this direotioa that wa ean ehiefly look for a coireclion cf tnany of tho evils whii:h now flow from the tendency tind poculiar coniposition of tho Senate. Time will undoubtcdly chango or modily Lts political complexion. If it could be douc at once it would be botter. If 11 dozen Democrats, all as ablo as Mr. TburmiiT!, werc lo replace a dozen of the Republicana iu that body during tho tiext thirty days it would be a great gin to the Senate, to the Ilepublican party and to tho country. The Feinale Priotern' Union, of New York city, now numbers about fitty members. The total number of women type fetters in thc citv is ono bundrod and fifty. Kansas pcople nre annoyed by the fact that thi'j ean't dig a vell without findiDg a veio of coal two or three feet tbick.