The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-05 00:00:00

that his whole list consists of 45 old Whig papers
(nearly all south), two papers heretofore Democratic, 10
Know.nothing, and one Independent."
While the Whigs of the South are organising for
the support of Mr. Fillmore, the Northern Whigs
are taking ground for Fremont. A large Whig
meeting was held in Boston last week, at which
the Republican nomination was endorsed. Some
of the Southern Democrats have it in view, if there
is no election by the people, to throw overboard
Mr. Buchanan, and have Mr. Breckenridge, the
Democratic nominee for the Vice-Presidency,
made President. The constitution provides that—
" Art. 12, Sect. I.—The electors shall meet in their
respective States, and vote by ballot for President and
Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall
name in their ballots the person voted for as President,
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-Pre•
sident ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as
Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each,
which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit,
Neale, to the Government of the United States, directed
to the President of the Senate ; the 'President of the
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of.
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes
shall then be counted ; tim person having the greatest
number of votes for President shall be President, if such
number be a majority of the whole number of tbe elec-
tors appoiMed ; and if no person have such a majority,
then from the persons having the highest number, not
exceeding three on the list of those voted for as Presi-
dent, the House of Representatives shall choose imme-
diately by ballot the President. But in choosing the
President the votes shall be taken by States, the repre-
sentation from each State having one vote ; a quorum
for this purpose shall consist of a number of members
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the
States shall be necessary to a choice ; and if the House
of Representatives shall tot choose a President when-
ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them before
the 4th day of March next following, then the Vice-
President shall act as President, as in case of death or
other constitutional disability of the Presic'eat."
The scheme is that there shall be no election of
President by the house, and that Mr. Brecken-
ridge, being elected Vice-President by the Senate,
shall become (lc facto President on the 4th of
March, 1857.
In Congress there has not been much of public
interest sine* my last. The Senate have passed the
bill for fortifications, reducing the amount from
$3,000,000 (the war estimate) to $1,800,000, and
have voted to adjourn on the 18th of august. The
house have had the neutralisation laws under dis-
cussion, and have been debating the Senate's reso-
lution of adjournment, finally agreeing to it.
Parties have been mainly interested at Washington
with the projected duel between Mr. Burlingame
and Mr. Brooks, the hero of the Sumner assault.
Like most Washington duels, it has flashed in the
pan: Mr. Burlingame proposed to fight with rifles
in her Majesty's dominions, but Mr. Brooks
thought it was not worth while to go so far to be
shot at, and intimates that a duel in Canada is
quite a different affair to a duel in the. States.
The minority report on the Kansas elections is
printed at length in the Union, of the 19th. The
conclusions are :
" 1. That at the first election held in the territory
under the organic act for delegate to Congress, General
John W. Whitfield received a plurality of the legal
votes cast, and was duly elected such delegate, as stated
in the majority report.
;42. That the territorial Legislature was a legally
constituted body, and 'had power to pass valid laws,
and their enactments are therefore valid.
" 3. That these laws, when appealed to, have been
used for the protection of life, liberty, and property, and
for the maintenance of raw and order in the territory.
" 4. That the election under which the sitting delegate
John W. Whitfield, was held, was in pursuance of valid
law, and should be regarded as a valid election.
" 5. That as said Whitfield, at said election, received
a large number of legal votes without opposition, he was
duly elected as a delegate to this body, and is entitled to
a seat in this house.
" 6. That the election under which the contestiwt'' de-
legate, Andrew H. Reeder, claims his seat, was not held
under any law, but in contemptuous disregard of all
law ; and that it shou Id only be regarded as the expres-
sion of a band of mal3ontents and revolutionists, and
consequently should be wholly disregarded by the
House.
"7. As to whether nr not Andrew 11. Reeder re-
ceived a greater number of votes of resident citizens on
the 9th than J. W. Whitfield did on the let of October,
1855, no testimony was taken by the committee, so far
as the undersigned knows, nor is it material to the
issue."

General Smith has assumed the command of the
United States' troops in the territory, and in reply
to a request from the Free-state men for protec-
tion against the armed Missourians, replied that
he -had no authority to do so ; that those bands
were the regularly enrolled militia of the territory ;
that everything they do is clone under colour of
law, and that the Free-state men have no redress
except by resort to the civil powers. The Senate
have passed a resolution asking the President for
the instructions to the United States' troops in
Kansas.
The Government deny that President Comon-
fort has been offered 6,000,000 for a new slice of
Mexican territory. Notwithstanding this denial,
it is believed by well-informed people in Washing-
ton, that the new Minister at Mexico has been
authorised to negotiate for a further cession with
reference to the proposed Pacific Railroad. All the
iron needed for that road (if made on the Southern
route), imported from the Pacific side, would at
L present have to pay duty in Mexican ports. I have
no doubt that the Cabinet are negotiating to do
away with the necessity.
The various reports on this road will be sub-
mitted to Congress this week. One will go against
any Government aid to the project; a second in
favour of a single road, to be constructed by the
aid of cash advances from the Government, these
advances to be reimbursed by the sale of lands to
be set aside for that purpose ; the third, signed by
all the gommittee except the two making th above
report, recommending three roads, and gigantic
grants of land for their construction that would
throw, the Illinois Central grant far into the shade.
We hardly know at Washingtm who is President
atlNicaragua. No reliable account shows Walker as
possessed of more than 600 fighting men ; he is also
reduced in funds, and can hope for nothing from
this country. A foray into Costaißica is made im-
practicable by the rainy season, consequently at
present Rivas is supposed to be uppermost.
-In this-city we are as yet free from the yellow
fever, although vessels continue to arrive at quar-
antine with it on, board. There is so much of it in
the bay below that I fear we cannot avoid it here.
We have had cool weather for a few days past, but
the fire is returning. We have at last succeeded
in convicting a Portuguese slaver of being con-
cerned in the slave trade, and have sentenced him
to 10 years' imprisonment. These fellows have
almost invariably succeeded in escaping their de-
serts. The late arrivals from Cuba speak of the
landing of a largo cargo of coolies on the island to
work on the plantations in the place of Africans.