Edwardsville Spectator

From the Washington Republican of Feb. 8.

On no occasion, since the commencement of the present session, have we witnessed so full an attendance in the House of Representatives, as on the last two days, to hear the debates on the subject of the "suppressed documents." The greater part of the Senate, which adjourned very early, the Judges of the Supreme Court, and the members of the bar, the foreign ministers, and some of the high executive officers of the government, thronged the floor; whilst the galleries were crowded in proportion. On the first day, the debate took a personal direction, and was marked by a bitterness greatly to be regretted. The allusions to himself, by one or two intemperate speakers, were too obvious to be mistaken, and Mr. Cook defended himself with a spirit, eloquence, and self-possession, which, of itself, was sufficient to redeem the tottering dignity of the House. The effect of the orator, was evident on the following day, in the qualified warmth and apologetic tone which characterized the language of those who had before assailed him. When the final question was taken on the resolution of Mr. Campbell, as amended by Mr. Cook, there were few "Noes" to be heard: and those gentlemen who voted in the negative, did so, from a conviction that Mr. Dickens had marked the paragraph in question, and that further investigation to discover the person who had done so, was consequently unnecessary. The sense of the House throughout the discussion, was universally opposed to the personal, ill-advised, and undigested course of those members who attempted to divert the stream of investigation from its proper course. Although, therefore, it has been said by some political writers, that there is less talent than usual in the present Congress-- an assertion we by no means assent to--we take it upon ourselves to say, that in point of political virtue, and sound patriotism, and wise discretion, it has seldom, if ever, been exceeded, by any legislative body since the commencement of the independent government. If we see in it no comet splendor, dazzling us while we admire it; we discover in it that more genial and generous radiance which expands the heart, and is calculated to diffuse over the union, a cherishing warmth, and all those advantages of security and happiness which are the legitimate effects of institutions founded on the principles and regulated by the spirit of genuine republicanism.