'
I was dumb with indignation! The flood of legislative light thus
suddenly shed upon my unsophisticated mental vision, was too dazzling
for me. I replied, when I could command my voice, with some very severe
animadversions on bribery and corruption, with which the 'Sheriff' and
Jones expressed a hearty agreement, but they said we must take men as we
find them, and deal with them accordingly, or do without what we knew to
be our just dues; and the 'Sheriff' hobbled away, and took a seat in the
lobby. I left Jones with a determination to go over to the Senate and
consult with the Senator from our district, and ascertain whether he
entertained the same views of necessary appliances for legislation, as
did my friends of the Second and Third Houses. Our Senator was a very
sedate man, who had a reputation for honesty and piety, equalled only by
that of Jones himself. I explained my business, showed him my bill, and
he read it carefully through. On handing it back to me, he said,
quietly:
'If there _is anything in it,_ it will pass without much opposition. If
not, it will hardly go through the House. There is a _Ring_ formed over
there, which will prevent any legislation of this kind, unless it is
well paid for.'
Here was another legislative idiom! 'The Ring.' What did that mean? I
was not long kept in ignorance, for I soon learned that it was a
combination of members who had agreed to vote for no bill unless
approved by them, and not only approved, but well paid for.
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