Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-12-20
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

Mr.. Smith, of Wave take the following
passage from the Union's report Of the day
before yesterdays proceedings in the House
Mr.. Smith then entered into a personal
explanation. He said that he had been elect
ed to Congress as q Democrat, was a Demo-
crat, and, though he did not belong to the
Know Nothing order, had always refused to
denOunce that order. He had not voted for
Mr.. Wise for governor on personal grounds,
out he had Tot supported his opponent"
Being a constituent of this gentleman, We
are familiar with the history of his last cleo
ton to Congress, and can throw light on it
Thus, he owes it TO the Know Nothing party
of the District; as, had be received only the
Democratic votes that were given to him, he
would have been beaten by his competitor,
Mr.. Barbour, an anti-Know Nothing Wing
who was without party. That is, his az
gregate vote would have fallen thousands
short OF what 1t was. lie was the Know
Nothing candidate, if being voted for by that
party with great unanimity can Justly entitIe
gentleman TO that appellation. On the night
before the election, in returning from the
Democratic meeting in our shire town of
Alexandria, wherein Mr.. Smith was spoken of
by all who addressed it as having abandoned
his former political associations and placed his
cause and his hopes for the future in the keep
ing Of the Know Nothings, we heard him
earnestly addressing a large Know Nothing
meeting IN the street, whose huZzas and shouts
were about equally divided between Sam,
FlournOy and Smith, as being one and in
separable, now and forever" &C.
We certainly did not draw the conclusion,
from the tenor Of his appeals to that meeting
on that memorable night, and its responses
that he was not devoted to Know Nothing
ism, and nothing else. That our impression
was shared by our fellow citizens of that por-
ton Of his district is manifest in the fact that
out cf more than one hundred votes cast on the
succeeding day at the precinct where we voted
Mr.. Smith received every Know Nothing vote
Folled but two, and his competitor, Mr.. Bar
bou-, and Mr.. Funston, (not a candidate re-
ceived every Democratic vote but two-Mr
Smiths majority being, to a vote, precisely
that given for Mr.. FlOurnoy, the Know Moth.
ing candidate for Governor. 1t Will be re-
collected that il Virginia we vote riUa uoee,
and that how every man votes is duly re-
corded.
The Pent-up Fire-Of polemical discussion
171H burst out mOmentarily in the course of the
daily proceedings of the House, the earnest
efforts of large majority of the members to
The contrary notwithstanding. All the :" per-
sonal explanations" made yesterday in the
Hall were listened to with lI-grace by most of
the House, as they delayed the balIotings, so
lar 90 very futile. Nevertheless, they are In
siruetiVe as to the actual condition of the az
gregated mind of Congress, if not of the solu
ton OF the questionable is to be the Speaker ,
those OF yesterday disclosed Enthusiastically
the fact that there is a wide breach between
the know Nothings proper of Massachusetts,,
and all New England, we take it, who may not
lnappropriately be styled the Gardner Know
Nothings, and those Of New York and Pennsyl.
wanna who remain avowed twelfth section men.
Mr.. Trafton spoke for the former, and Mr..
Whitney for the latter. Thus while the
former proclaimed as the northern Know
Nothing creed, 1.-THE creed of the Gardner
party in contradistinction to the Republican
or Rockwell party in Massac husetts doctrines
on the slavery question, every whit as ultra
as those Of Dir. Giddings, the latter repelled
them as unfounded imputations when applied
10 Know Nothingism proper as protested in the
Middle States; avowing his willingness, and
that OF those sympathising with him, to admit
Kansas iLto the Union with a slayeholding
constitution, if her people SO elected
Mr. Whitney, by the bye, not only proved
himself fair debater, but one of fine abili-
tes-One capable Of sustaining himself with
dignity and effectiveness in the encounters of
acute and subtle logic so frequent in the hall
he may rest assured after the experience the
House had with him yesterday, that no one in
the chamber will essay to pick him up for
soft customer Queries were speared' AT
him from all sides, and he answered them
calmly and frankly, and SO reasonably that it
was The unanimous opinion Of all the MEM
bers Of the press who were present that. "a g.
debater' he came of with flying coIors; a very
rare occurrence, indeed, in the history of
maiden speeches In the House, delivered uu-
der cross fire OF questions designed to trim
the orator up, in the answers to be extrac.ad
from him
The Printing Of Congress.-Our talented
truthful, and ingenious neighbor is at fault
concerning the cause of the Comptroller of
the Ireasury's refusal to pay the aecruing
bills Of the Congressional printer. 1t arose
not from any circumstances connected with
the character or amount Of items in those
bills, but from the exhaustion of the annro.
prlatlons' About 81, 400, 900 was appropriated
to cover all the cost of the binding, paper, en-
CRAVING, and printing, for the last Congress.
Two sessionsJ while the cost Of doing the
work turns out to have been much more. AL.