Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-01-18
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

ship of the Forlorn Hope, it strikes US that
the gentleman last mentioned has, at len 9Th.
carried off the palm. Mr.. Wheeler has been
very active, indeed. He has lost no opportu-
nifty to make pointed motions; while Mr..
walsh has said, on the floor, any quantity OF
sly telling things. Mr.. Maurice has tried,
more than once, to get the House to adopt
laundering resolutions indignating the Ma
tional Administration, and all that sort OF
thing. Mr. Cutting, up to yesterday, made
but a single demonstration upon the New
York difficulty in the party. We refer to his
maiapropos effort to effect the passage of his
resolutions, virtually censuring the Admins
speech, on tbs occasion, was not worthy OF
bis fine abilities and great experience as q
debater. Indeed, the effort, as whole, was
. dead failure. On the day before yesterday.
Mr.. Maurice renewed the contest for the lead
ership, in his attempt to introduce Bronson
resolution. Mr.. Walsh first followed him, yes
terday, in a clever speech, full of wit and
sarcasm, showing the President to be, what i,
termed sin the Bowery," plore,-to use hi,
own language-and, that while the Softs ar,
all rogues of the deepest dye, the Hards arr
all-yes, all honest men. Mr.. Smith, of Ala.
bama, gentleman most indefatigable in thu
pursuit of useful knowledge, we should judge
from his question, begged to know precisel,
the difference between Hards and Softs?
whereupon, Mr.. Cutting, adroitly scizing the
tv dol; fho 10
has evidently had some time prepared, b,
way Of formally putting the cause of Demo
cratic opposition to the National Administra
ton as forcibly before the country as may be
1t was great speech, beyond all question;
for no other member of the present House OF
Representatives Of the United States is capa
BILE Of arguing points with Hore adroitness
and jury-taking effect than Mr. c., who, all
the world know, stands unrivalled at the Ba,
of the great city of New York as pleader.
His effort Was to show that while the South
could not trust the Softs, the Hards had beer
steadfastly devoted to the cause of Southern
Rights. Carefully adhering to his invariabl,
policy Of refusing to permit an interruption
through which the force Of his fanciful facts
might be explained away in a single sentence
he certainly succeeded in arguing the Softs t.
be as black, as he essayed to make the Harris
appear white, upon the slavery question-in-
GLIDING, of course, the Rev. c. Edwards Les
ter, once an regular anti-slavery lecturer, and
his co-laborer on the New York NatiOna
Democrat, the ex-Rev. C. C. Burr, who mad
the Buffalo platform speech at Troy, in 1912;
also, Judge Bronson, who wrote the Buffalo
platform letter to the Van Burenite meeting
in the Park, in the same year; and Mr.. John
c. Mather, who was first of the New York
politicians to endorse the Wilmot proviso in
glowing letter to the Hon. David: of thai
ilk, which not long since saw the light in a
| newspaper.
There were one or two points, however,
which Mr.. Cutting seemed studiously to avoid
Thus, he failed to prove that because come
men who were considered emphatically sound
before 1913, bolted in that year, therefor,
| others who were sound in 80 may bolt witt
justice and IMMUNITY in 1853. He also failed
to explain satisfactorily to the strict construc
| tionists, the wide differences in tie views OF
the Softs and Hards as to the powers and du
| ties of the States and General Government
| 1t may not be known to the public that all
| the trouble between them at home, grows on
| of the fact that they are as wide asunder a.
| the poles on all questions involving suci
issues. While the Softs, for the most part, are
| strict constructionists and rigid economists
the Hards, also for the most part, believe il
to be the right and duty of Government to d.
any and every thing for every body. They
'go their death for special legislation Of
| every description and though We are glad t.
be able to say that however deeply involved
in the tergiversations of Abolitionism many
of their leaders were before lately joining
the Hard organization, as a party, they arc
now dead against that crazy ultraism. There
is really no telling how long it may be before
they see fit to stand by measures of consoli-
dation, which, if they triumph, will greatly
| strengthen the cause of the claim of the ma
jority to right to dispose of the question Of
American slavery, as they see fit. As clio
quent and pointed as this speech from Mr.
Cutting was there was literally nothing in it
in the slightest degree weakening the Pierce
policy of knowing no difference between the
various wings Of his supporters, so long as they
may stand firmly by the principles of the
Baltimore Democratic platform. Nor did it
embrace single point to illustrate the pro
propriety of the demand of the Hards, that
the Softs should, one and all, be prescribed !;
the penalty for a refusal to comply with it
being war to the knife upon the Admins
tration, in conjunction with Abolitionlsts OF
any others willing to join hands with them
Yet it was an adroit and very able effort
telling those things on Mr.. G's side which
would bear telling, with all the ingenuity OF
which the most famous plcader at the New
York bar is master, and avoiding an approach
even torards the many topics involved in IL
controversy, which could not possibly be
treated without leading to the conclusion, that
personal disappointments rather than princi-
pie is, after all, the true cause Of the grie-
vances of the New York Hards.
HINc LILLE LACHRANE.-The political pub
lie of W ashinston-that is, around the hotels
were treated last night to capital impromptu
speech from Ex-Governor Foote, Of Missis-