The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-02 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1856.

There is a pretty quarrel, as it stands, between
the President and Congress of the United States.
Mr. FRANKLIN PIERCE, backed by the Pro slavery
men and the Senate, has apparently determined
to throw, by a coup d'etat all the power, during
the brief remainder of his official life, into the
hands of the pledged and thorough-going friends
of the Domestic Institution. On the other side,
the House of Representatives have abided firmly
by their principles, and re'usel to yield to Presi-
dent or Senate. Unfortunately, they have not
the power, belonging to the English House of
Commons, of expelling an obnoxious Administra-
tion. A party once in office must remain for the
full term for which it was elected, no matter how
strongly it may be opposed to public opinion.
Matters injurious to the welfare of the com-
mon weal may be forced by those who have
disappointed all the hopes and anticipations
previously entertaineJ, but there is no cousti-
tutioual' remedy—no means of displacing the
incubns that paralyses the energies of the Re-
public, and, like the " Old Man of the Sea," in
the Arabian f tble, prevents the free and rode
pendent action indispensable to the welfare and
prosperity of the people.
The House of Representatives, thoroughly dis-
gu4ted with the proceedings of the Executive, have
adopted the extreme, but constitutional conrs-, of
stopping the supplies. That they were fully jus-
tified in so doing no disinterested person can
deny. General PIERCE, in the vain hope of re-
election, flung all his weight into one side of the
political scale, and sought to give a decided triumph
to the minority. Kansas was, unfortunately for
itself, the arena in which the contest was to be
decided. As in the olden time Belgium was the
" Cockpit of Europe," Kansas was the battle-
ground whereon the conflicting elements in the
soi-disant "United States" were to decide their
differences. Bands of armed assassins from Mis-
souri invaded its free soil. A mock Legislature
was constituted, without the slightest pretext of
Legitimacy, and General PIERCE, as one of the
electioneering dodges in which he has proved so
unfortunate, thought fit to cast the mantle of his
protection over the usurping body. The army
of the United States became the auxiliaries of the
invaders, and the most atrocious crimes were per-
petrated under the shadow of law. In vain did
the popular representatives protest against this
untoward " state of affairs." Their remon-
strances made no favourable attention at the
" White House." If they produced any effect,
it was that they stimulatei the Executive to
more determined action on the other side. They
were, therefore, compelled to adopt the only con-
stitutional courso that remained, and to tack
riders to their money bills !
This decided course, however, led to no prac-
tical improvement ! Promises were made that
induced them to yield on questions relating to the
civil and judicial services. But the President
was not more trustworthy than the Princes of the
time-honoured proverb, iu whom we were cau-
tioned not to pin our faith. The Representatives
therefore continued firm on the Army Appropri-
ation Clause.
By that they steadily abided, de-
termined, in the pithy language
of one of their
members, that they " would not pay for powder
to shoot or halters to hang" the free • •
igrants
into Kansas. . .

The clause thus added was to the following

effect :

____
, " Provided, nevertheless, that no part of the military
force of the United states herein pro vided for shall