1473. CONFEDERATION, Congress under the.—
Our body [the Confederation
Congress] was little numerous, but very contentious.
Day after day was wasted on the
most unimportant questions. My colleague
[John F.] Mercer, was one of those afflicted
with the morbid rage of debate, of an ardent
mind, prompt imagination, and copious flow
of words, who heard with impatience any logic
which was not his own. Sitting near me on
some occasion of a trifling but wordy debate,
he asked how I could sit in silence, hearing so
much false reasoning, which a word should
refute? I observed to him, that to refute was
easy, but to silence was impossible; that in
measures brought forward by myself, I took
the laboring oar, as was incumbent on me;
but that in general, I was willing to listen;
that if every sound argument or objection was
used by some one or other of the numerous
debaters, it was enough; if not, I thought it
sufficient to suggest the omission, without going
into a repetition of what had been already
said by others; that this was a waste and
abuse of the time and patience of the House,
which could not be justified. And I believe,
that if the members of deliberative bodies
were to observe this course generally, they
would do in a day what takes them a week;
and it is really more questionable, than may at
first be thought, whether Bonaparte's dumb
legislature which said nothing and did much,
may not be preferable to one which talks
much and does nothing.—
Autobiography. Washington ed. i, 58.
Ford ed., i, 81.
(1821)
See Congress.
