The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-12-10
The FTrAt Week NJ Congress and the Opening
Of the Second shall we Have Speaker


the first weeks berculean isbors Of the House
Of Representatives al Washington to elect
Speaker. The great point aimed at, and the
great difficulty in the business, Is a fusion
upon some man of the various anti de mocratic
party elements in sufficient Numbers to give
him majority ~ al the votes cast
On last Monday and Tuesday the Seward
men, par erccllace, permitted the thing to work
without any very active influence in behalf
of Mr.. Campbell, Of Ohio; the result was, that
from ffty-seven votes on Monday he fell down
10 fifty one on Tuesday, at the adjournment.
Then desperate effort appears to have been
made 10y Mr.. Giddngs, Thurlow Weed, Gen.
Webb and Greeley, to bring over the free soil
Know Nothings supporting Mr. Banks, Of
Massachusetts, to the help of Campbell. The
consequence was that on Wednesdays adj
journment Campbell ran up to eighty votes,
and Banks fell off from thirty to eight-a
handful OF Massachusetts, Know Nothings-
On Friday, however it was soon discovered
that Campbell had gone to the end Of his
rope, and he judcionsly declined, his speech
on the occasion betraying some chagrin and no
little Disappointing ut. Campbell thus being
out of the way, grand rush was made by the
black republican regulars on Saturday upon
Banks, who was rapidly carried up to one
hundred votes--lacking only twelve Of an elec-
tion It was hoped, perhaps, that another
trial would give him few more; but sticking
as it did at one hundred, the House adjourned
in most delightful condition for renewed
caucusing and pipe laying.
The last vote on Saturday-the thirty-third
from the beginning on Monday-was as fol-
THIRTY THIRD VOTE.
Richardson. .........a 70 nollisoffer ......... 3
Banks. 100 Pc nnngton z
Fuller. 80 Sea ttering. IA
After which there was an anti-Nebraska
meeting in the hall Of the House, which ad-
journed without attempting anything, as it was
evident that the thirty Fuller men were not
prepared to fuse upon any other candidate,
and that the regular blacks were not quite
prepared to fuse upon Fuller. Indeed, it
| appears that Weed, Wilson n Co. were fast
| getting to that point with Fuller when for
bearance ceases to be a virtue;" and we
are admonished that il Fuller's obstiuacy
defeats Banks, we may look out for break
ors. Yet, in spite of the threatened wrath
of Weed, Webb, Wilson d CO., the general i'm
preston in Washington on Saturday night was
that Banks would rapidly recede into the back
ground to-day, and that among the discordant
fusionists, as the inevitable result the con.
fusion would be worse COMPOUNDED than ever.
All this time the loose wings of the South,
and the twelfth section Know Nothings, have
| kaa hrl,l csx for fho
purpose Of enforcing upon the Seward alliance
the largest possible vote to secure majority.
Possibly, within the last thirty six hours there
may have been some persuasive log-rolling
with these Southern impracticables for if
only q dozen Of them shall have been,
or can be, induced TO play the absen-
| ee this morning, Mr.. Banks can be
| elected with his vote of Saturday. The par
TALLY Of Wilson, Weed, Webb and Greeley for
Banks is somewhat remarkable. 1t is true that
his Know Nothing allegiance does not take
precedence over his free soil principles; but
his antecedents are democratic, and, to some
extent, in the last Congress he was practi-
cally with the party Of the Nebraska bill.
We suppose that it is because Banks is from
Massachusetts,, and because the Know Moth
iDgs Of that State have rendered themselves
as odious as Lloyd Garrison himself to the
South, Gin the seditious proceedings Of the
notorious Hiss Legislature, including the null
LITIGATION of the Fugitive Slave law) that
Mr.. Banks has become the favorite of the
Seward log-rOlling committee. In this view
we shall have no regrets for his defeat, If de-
feated and set aside to-day, though it must he
admitted that in his personal qualifications for
the speakershp, Mr.. Banks is one of the very
first men of the Honse.
On the other hand, 1t appears that the demo
crazy are not the unit that they should be,
considering the important object of q tho
roughgoing reunion Of the party. The New
York softs do not fuse upon Richardson:
| skinner votes for Banks, Williams throws
| away his vote, and Oliver and Wheeler keep
complimenting each other" Now, If these
votes were cast for Richardson, they might
| bring In others, and soon reduce the contest to
apositive result Perhaps Mr. Cobb, Of Georgia,
who cannot exactly be called an administra-
ton democrat, would do better than Richard
son-perhaps he has been held in reserve for
final demonstration. We shall see.
Greeley has promised us the Speaker to-day,
| without fail; but should he fall which is very
likely, We incline to the suspicion that he
| would be rendering some service to the House
majority, in retiring with General Webb and
brother Weed down to Alexandria, or few
miles into the country, for day or two. Like
evil spirits, these three apostles Of freedom for
| Kansas appear to be the harbinpers of discord
wherever they attempt to manage the players
upon the stage. The Chevalier Wikoff would
be worth dozen such men in the diplomacy
required in the organization Of Congress
Should there be no Speaker at the conclu
| sion of the labors of the House to day, we sub
nit the nrnnrietv and eynpdinncv of throur;n.x