n of the character and dignity
of the great Legislative Assembly.

"During the term just closing, questions of deep import to political
parties and to the country have here found earnest and at times
passionate discussion. This Chamber has indeed been the arena
of great debate. The record of four years of parliamentary struggles,
of masterful debates, of important legislation, is closed, and
passes now to the domain of history.

"I think I can truly say, in the words of a distinguished predecessor,
'In the discharge of my official duties, I have known no cause, no
party, no friend.' It has been my earnest endeavor justly to
interpret, and faithfully to execute, the rules of the Senate. At
times the temptation may be strong to compass partisan ends by a
disregard or a perversion of the rules. Yet, I think it safe to
say, the result, however salutary, will be dearly purchased by a
departure from the method prescribed by the Senate for its own
guidance. A single instance, as indicated, might prove the forerunner
of untold evils.

''T will be recorded for a precedent,
And many an error by the same example
Will rush into the State.'

"It must not be forgotten that the rules governing this body are
founded deep in human experience; that they are the result of
centuries of tireless effort in legislative hall, to conserve,
to render stable and secure, the rights and liberties which have
been achieved by conflict. By its rules, the Senate wisely fixes the
limits to its own power. Of those who clamor against the Senate
and its mode of procedure it may be truly said, 'They know not what
they do.' In this Chamber alone are preserved, without restraint,
two essentials of wise legislation and of good government--the
right of amendment and of debate. Great evils often result from
hasty legislation, rarely from the delay which follows full
discussion and deliberation. In my humble judgment, the historic
Senate, preserving the unrestricted right of amendment and of
debate, maintaining intact the time-honored parliamentary methods and
amenities which unfailingly secure action after deliberation,
possesses in our scheme of government a value which can not be
measured by words. The Senate is a perpetual body. In the
terse words of an eminent Senator now present: 'The men who framed
the Constitution had studied thoroughly all former attempts at
Republican government. History was strewn with the wrecks of
unsucce