When T. H. Benton was in the House he was of the opinion that
the third day of March, and consequently the congressional
term, ended at midnight of that day, instead of at noon on the
fourth, as unbroken usage had fixt it. So on the last morning
he sat with his hat on, talked loudly, loafed about the floor,
and finally refused to vote or answer to his name when the roll
was called. At last the speaker, the Hon. James L. Orr, of South
Carolina, picked him up and put an end to these legislative
larks.
“No, sir; no, sir; NO, sir!” shouted the venerable Missourian;
“I will not vote. I have no right to vote. This is no House, and
I am not a member of it.”
“Then, sir,” said Speaker Orr like a flash, with his sweetest
manner, “if the gentleman is not a member of this House, the
sergeant-at-arms will please put him out.”
And so this vast constitutional question settled itself.
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