Asbury Dickens is clerk of the Senate, and a better clerk of that body could not have been found in the Union.
Edward Dyer is sergeant-at-arms, and he is an excellent officer.
In the House of Representatives, John W. Jones is the speaker. He appears to understand the rules of the House pretty well, but owing to the weakness of his voice, or to the structure of the room, perhaps, we should attribute something to each cause, I cannot hear speaker Jones at all, on any occasion, from any location in the room which I have ever been permitted to occupy, by the courtesy of the House.
Caleb J. M’Nulty is clerk of this House, and a better clerk, a more obliging one, more correct, more industrious, more attentive to all his duties as a clerk, more obliging, polite, and in all respects capable and faithful, never filled the clerk’s office. M. St. Clair Clarke, his predecessor in office, although applauded constantly for his good qualities of all sorts, yet our Ohio man does, for aught I can see, as well as M. St. Clair Clarke himself ever did in his best days.
Among the ladies attending on this session of Congress, we mention with pleasure and pride Mrs. M’Nulty, wife of the clerk of the House. She was born and educated in Ohio. She is beautiful in form and manners and does honor to our Buckeye State.
This handsome couple are young in years, just beginning the world and bid fair to live long and be useful in the world, and be ornaments of Ohio. Prosperity and success to them!
Doctor Lane of Louisville, Kentucky, is the sergeant-at-arms in the House, and he is a very gentlemanly, faithful and attentive officer.
The door-keeper, Jesse E. Dow, and the postmaster, John M. Johnson, are as good officers as need be, and they give general satisfaction.
Members of Congress, generally speaking, are not idle men by any means. Besides their attendance on the daily sessions of the two houses, they are on committees, which occupy no small portion of the day, and, sometimes they are in their committees to a late hour at night. The more laborious part of the members work more hours, than any farmer does in the country. Some of them have a great correspondence with their constituents and others. They are obliged to call at the public offices, on the business of those whom they represent. Some members, who represent the farmers of the interior, have little to do, and such members, are not often chairmen of important committees, and they may lead an easy life. Those who represent large cities, or many commercial people, have more than they can find time to do it in. The same remark applies to those who represent manufacturing districts. Delegates from Territories, like the Dodges, father and son, have an immense amount of business to do, and a great correspondence to carry on. Such men labor night and day. Calls on them, made by their constituents and by others from all parts of the Union, interrupt them a good deal. General Vance, chairman of the committee of claims, performs daily a very laborious task. So far as Ohio is concerned, in sending representatives to both houses, I am sure that we have little reason to complain of their remissness or inattention to the duties of their station. There is not a dissipated man among them nor an idler. So far as I know, they faithfully attend to all their business in Congress. Their per diem, eight dollars, seems to be a very liberal compensation for their services, but after paying all their bills for living here, very little remains. Those who have families here, actually fall in debt, and have to borrow money to pay a part of their expenses. A very considerable number of the members have their wives with them—and where they have daughters and female relatives, their compensation is wholly inadequate to pay their expenses. The ladies visit the library often and there read and amuse themselves, or they sit in the gallery of the House, listening to the debates. The families of such members as are able to bring them here, appear to be quite happy. By associating with many respectable, well informed and polite people, they learn a great deal of the world and its affairs. They become personally acquainted with the first men in the nation. In this way they can form a more correct estimate of such men, their character, dispositions, manners, habits and talents. In vain do we look into newspapers, pamphlets and periodicals for correct ideas concerning these men. They are much better, or not so bad, as common report makes them. Though I had known Mr. Calhoun forty years, by common report, and, although I had seen him often presiding in the Senate chamber, yet until I sat down beside him in his office, and had conversed with him sometime, I had never had any correct ideas of the man at all. I had always been told, that he was impetuous, sour and morose, but I found him to be the mildest, kindest and most agreeable man I ever saw. I was truly astonished at the contrast between the man as he really was, and the one he was represented to be! I was agreeably disappointed in many others. With the character of our western men I was in no case deceived, because I knew them either personally or from correct sources of information. For instance, although I had never seen the Kentucky senators, yet I found them, Crittenden and Morehead, as agreeable, as well informed, as friendly, kind and conciliating in their manners, as I had always understood they were.
By mingling in such society, our young men may acquire a fund of information, which may be of great value to them in after life.