WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1857
426
In the next place, it was proper that he should make the an- nouncement which he did make, in pursuance of the Constitu- tion and law. He has carried out, in my opinion, in these two acts-opening the votes received by him, and announcing the result--all the functions delegated to him by the Constitution and law. I look upon every subsequent act by either body, or both bodies, as done without legal or constitutional authority. There was no means by which a decision could be had in the House of Representatives upon the validity or insufficiency of the votes, and therefore the President of this body was estopped from taking action thereon. Mr. President, I call for the reading of the 2d rule of the Sen- ate, which prohibits conversation while a Senator is speaking. The President pro tempore. Senators will please not converse in the Hall. Does the Senator from Texas insist' on the reading of the 2d rule? Mr. Houston. I seldom speak in this body, and I do not ask for the reading of this rule with relation to myself; but I desire to hear what is going on. I suggest that hereafter the Sergeant- at-Arms put out of this Chamber every person who whispers sufficiently loud to be heard above the voice of the speaker. Sir, I well remember the august and solemn appearance of this body some twenty years ago when the Fathers sat he1·e. Then it was a majestic body indeed. There was something awful in its ap- pearance. The solemn stillness, the gravity of Senators, the pro- priety of conduct, the silent auditory-all impressed the spectator with a solemn awe when he entered this Chamber or came into its galleries or lobbies. The House of Representatives, too, was silent. If there a voice was heard in the galleries, instantly the eye of the Speaker rested upon the Sergeant-at-Arms, and a messenger or the Sergeant in person immediately repaired to the individual in the gallery and touched him, and there was silence. If a member sat in an indecorous position, or laid his foot upon his desk, the Speaker sent his page with this message: "The compliments of the Speaker to Mr. ---, and he will please take down his foot"; and he never put it up a second time. There was grandeur about legislation then; there was impres- sive awe. Then, when you came into the Senate Chamber, there was no hum, no noise, no whispering, no talking; and legislation then was as beneficial to the country as it is at this hour. The time is coming when this body will be hurried and pressed with business, and the tumult of business will be sufficient without
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