The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-12-07
Copgrsss-- Fourth Day upon the Spss,fer-So |
Co--The President ON tae Affairs Of Kansas.


The philosophers of Congress have wasted
another dag in their vain efforts 20 elect q
Speaker by majority upon such division OF
parties as can only command plurality. Their
several experimental votes yesterday differ from
those of the three preceding days in no very
material particulars. We find the name Of Mar
shall of Kentucky, withdrawn'as the candidate
of the Southern Know Nothings, and that of
Smith, of Alabama, substituted, but with no
greater promise of an election.
There are three ways by which Speaker
may readily be elected-5y ballot, by plu-
rality, or by rule knocking off at every
v0te--never to come on again-all those
last voted for having less than twenty
votes, and the next lowest candidate BY bal
lot the opposition elements could come to
fusion, perhaps; whereas by the Oiva poce sys-
TEN, the vote Of every man has to be blabbed
out without the slightest regard to the deli
cacy of such members as would prefer to do
the thing more quietly and coniidentally. We
fear, however, that it is too late for the ballot,
and that if it were tried, the more fer0cious of
the black republicans would unite with the de-
mocrats to defeat it. The plurality system by
which Mr.. Cobb was elected in 1S49, may next
be resorted to; but if the democrats and ma
tional Know Nothings will persist in a MAORI
ty election, they may accomplish it by the
dropping system. Finally, Speaker may be
elected by keeping at it as they stand, and
trusting to luck. Sebastopol was not taken in
aweek; but it was taken after fashion, by
keeping at it.
Mr. Hales resolution calling upon the Pre-
sident for copy if any, of his despatch to
Governor Shannon Of Kansas, concerning his
demand for United States troops to restore
law and order in the Territory, lies over till
Monday. In the meantime the President has
caused to be published the correspondence in
question, from which it appears that he can't
give definite answer to the Governor till he re-
ceives his letter in the regular way by mail, oil
the way from Kansas, including the irregu-
larities and mishaps of the running machinery
of the Post Office Department. But, war or
no war in Kansas, the President cannot under
take to interfere by telegraph. 1t is not ac-
cording to routine and besides, he desires to
be mixed up as little with this Kansas bust
ness as possible always has desired it, There
is one point gained, however, in the publica-
ton Of his telegraphic correspondence with
Governor Shannon. It does away the ne
cessity of Hales resolution, and prevents
the tender-footed Northern democrats of the
House from entertaining uncomfortable suspi
cions and notions of rebellion.
We are informed that Senators Jones, of
Tennessee Benjamin, of Louisiana Toombs,
of Georgia, and Pratt, Of Maryland--hereto-
fore among the "live whigs"-may all Of them
henceforward be counted among the living
democracy, Of the hard she'll type. Mr.. Fish,
our Senatorial colleague of Mr.. Seward, has
given out that he belongs to no party at pre-
sent, and must be counted in the appointment
of the committees Of the Senate as an out
slider. Mr.. Crittendcn, Of Kentucky and Mr..
Bell, Of Tennessee, having gone over to the
Kaow Notbings, meanwhile, we may expect o
very interesting organization of the Senate
committees by the democratic caucus which
will settle that business. Finally, let us
shave no fears of the morrow. Sufficient for
he day is the evil thereof"
THE SLAVERY AGITATIoN--THE EXTREMES
MEETING-NoRrHERN ABOLITIoNIsM VERSUS
SOUTHERN RETALATIoN.-Th bill passed by
the last Massachusetts Legislature, nullifying
the Fugitive Slave law and providing pains
and penalties against all such State officers as
shall presume to take any part in the business
of restoring runaway slave to his master,
and other proceedings in other Northern Le-
gislaturos directed against the institution of
slavery, are working out their natural conse.
quences in the South.
The Southern retaliatory movements of which
we have already informed our readers are:--
]. The annual message of the Governor Of
Georgia, and the bill of "garnishments" intro
duced into the Legislature for the confiscation
of certain Northern claims as an offset for kid
Mapped negroes hereafter.
2. The message of the Governor Of Alaba-
ma, and the corresponding resolutions intro
duced into The Assembly of that State.
3. The message of the Governor of South
Carolina upon the subject.
4. The message of the Governor Of Vir-
ginia--some extracts from which we published
yesterday.
Our letter from Richmond, in this paper,
shows that the General Assembly Of the Old
Dominion are even more intensely excited than
the Governor. They propose q series Of re-
taliations against Massachusetts and her abb
iition sisterhood; and the active reorganization
of the whole Virginia militia force, in view of
the dreaded uitimatum of an appeal to arms in
defence of Southern rights, Southern property
and Southern social institutions, against North
ern fanaticism and Northern aggrcssions-
No doubt these retalatory examples will be
followed up, more or less, by every Southern
State in the Union; and their immediate effect
will be to widen the breach in Congress
between the Southern members of both houses
and the Northern free soilers that have been
thrown in among them, on account of the fee
bleness Of Mr. Pierce's administration, and the