On June 13, 1850, when the Senate was discussing the so-called Compromise of 1850 that Henry Clay was trying to put together, Missouri’s Thomas Hart Benton accused Clay of “lecturing” the Senators, all of whom, he pointed out, were over thirty years old, the limit prescribed by the Constitution for Senate membership.
Clay responded at once.
”Now, with respect to lecturing the Senate, it is an office which I have never sought to fill,” he said hotly. “There are many reasons I do not like to do it. In giving a lecture, the person lecturing ought to have some ability to impart instruction, and the person to whom it is addressed should have the capacity of receiving it. In this case, as between the Senator and myself, both of these conditions are wanting. Therefore I do not aspire to the office of a lecturer.”
The Senate exploded with laughter.
Source:
Boller, Paul F. “On the Floor.” Congressional Anecdotes. New York: Oxford UP, 1991. 191-92. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Clay, Henry Clay, 359.
Further Reading:
[Thomas Hart Benton / “Old Bullion”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hart_Benton_(politician)
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