give the pith and substance of an elaborate law
argument, compressed into one-fifth of the lan-
guage in which it was made. Why, sir, the re-
sult was exactly what a little experience would
have taught, perhaps what reflection should have
taught us. It was very soon obvious to every
one who came to look over his "sketch." Sir,
such sketches, instead of benefiting our constitu-
ents, would have made their representatives ridi-
culous. it could not be done. It must be ob-
vious, that in any thing like a connected, con-
tinuous argument, to cut out four-fifths, would
be to destroy it. In my own case the reporter
was aware of this, and volunteered the remark:
for his own justification, that he could not do jus-
tice to the argument. Other gentlemen had
found the same to be the ease with their speeches
and we have all been forced to amplify and ex-
tend these sketches, so as to make our arguments
intelligible. What then was the reporter to do ?
Was he to insist on putting into the bands of the
printer, as a gentleman's argument, that which
the gentleman told him was not his argument, to
publish as opinions expressed here, what he was
told were not the opinions expressed;
The reporter, sir, has no right to publish for
me any thing which I have not said, and after I
have desired him to forbear publishing it, be-
cause it was not said. He had then, no alternative
but to enlarge the matter to be reported so to in-
clude as much of the debate as would make it
intelligible or give just came of offence to mem-
bers. Sir, I do not recognise the authority of
the committee as the gentleman from Allegany
seems to do. I admit no authority in them or any
one else to take notes of my speech, and in despite
of my own convictions, made according to the ac-
tual character of the debate, and from these, de-
liver to the printer such portions of it only, as
when separated from the rest, will convey no ac-
curate impression of what my speech was.
Mr. SMITH said he did not mean that the commit-
tee, should do any such thing but that when they
discovered extended speeches they might have
said to the reporter, at the time, " this is beyond
the term of your contract; we hold you to your
contract." That would have been sufficient, and
he humbly conceived that was their duty.
Mr. CHAMBERS. As to the duty of the commit-
tee, he should say " quere de hoc." Why were
they, more than any other equal number of mem-
bers, to keep watch over this matter ' They were
named to make a contract, and they had perform-
ed that duty, reported theirs labor and the House
had confirmed it. For one, sir, I had rather pay
three times the amount to have a fair report of
what we do say, than one farthing to have non-
sense made of all we say. As to " extended de-
bates," if it was intended to allude to reports of
speeches of larger dimensions in the Register,
than upon the floor of the House, they have no
personal interest in it. On no occasion have I
used any other license than to correct the phrase-
ology and arrange the course of argument so as
to preserve, with as perfect accuracy as possible,
the line and substance of argument actually used
here. No reported speech of mine contains any
thing not said here, and as much abbreviated as |
the want of time in correcting the notes would
allow. Well, sir, in point of fact, this proceed-
ing has gone on regularly, day by day. We have
received, used and distributed these reported de-
bates and no objection to their length has been
made by any one. It was rightly said by the
gentleman from Baltimore, (Mr. Brent,) that ob-
jection ought to have been made at the time, cer-
tainly, if not on the first departure, it should
have been in some reasonable time after the de-
parture became habitual. According to every
principle of common justice, and certainly ac-
cording to principles of common law, if one par-
ty accepts the services of another, continues to
employ him and use the fruits of his labor, be is
bound to compensate him the fair value of such
services. No, sir, he cannot take the benefit of
his labor and then tell him he has done more
than he required him to do. This would not do
before a court and jury, according to the most
rigid rules of sheer law. Then here we are.
The fund appropriated for the purpose is ex-
hausted. It is exhausted in pursuing a practice
begun and continued under our observation and
sanctioned and ratified by our adoption. More
labor is necessary, or the services we have had
must be useless—worse than useless. The dis-
appointment will be greater to the public, be-
sides the loss to subscribers, than if we had never
commenced reporting. Sir, there is but one
course we can take; we must have our work
done, well done, and we must make a just com-
pensation for doing it. The compensation seems
to he large. I am aware of that. But then it
must be remembered, as had been stated, that the
occupation required a peculiar talent and that it
could only be pursued at limited intervals and
not often for long periods, and the rate of com-
pensation must be regulated by such considera-
tions as these. Now, my friend from Caroline,
[Mr. Thawley,] will not probably appreciate
fully what I have urged about the difficulty of
compressing long arguments, as he rarely grati-
fies us with a speech, and when he does so, is
much more apt to give us a pithy remark instead
of a long talk; yet he will see the force of this
last argument, because we have illustrations con-
stantly before us. He has seen an individual
indicted for a serious crime, which put his char-
acter and his life in jeopardy; or, the Owner of
a large domain contending for some of his fine
fields. What does he do? Why, he goes right
away to a lawyer. And, he does not go to the
cheap lawyer, but to the able lawyer. Well,
the case comes up, and, in the course of an hour
or two, the criminal is acquitted or the title to
the estate settled, and then comes the compensa-
tion—the fee. How much? Why, five hundred.
Yes, sir, and he pays it cheerfully; and so he
should, when he remembers that it has cost that
lawyer, besides the hazard of success, years of
toil and labor to prepare himself to gladden the
hearts of that client, and his family, and his
friends, and relieve their anxious fears, by pro-
curing an acquittal to the prisoner, or by getting a
verdict from the jury in the ejectment case.
Now, sir, we have here a most important eject-
ment case; an ejectment instituted against our |
