The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-01-24
THlRTY-F0URTH CONGRESS-.
First Session.
Friday, January ls, 1856.
The Senate did not sit to-day.

HOUSE.
The Clerk called the House to order at IL
O'Clock, and the Journal of yesterday was read.
Mr.. Garlic, Of Virginia, then obtained the
floor, and proceeded to conclude the remarks
commenced by him yesterday. He was not
prepared to say how he should have voted on
the Territorial bills of Utah and New Mexico,
had he been member of the House in 1850,
but desired to correct an erroneous impression
which prevailed in the country. that the same
principle OF alien suffrage was to be found in
those measures as was contained in the act or
ganizing the Territories of Kansas and Ne
braska.
de appealed to the friends of the Admins
| tratlon, II they could not, for the time necessa-
| ry to organize the House upon a conservative,
national basis, forget their party feelings, and
whatever advantage they might expect to at
tam by continuing thus to refuse all associa-
ton with those who, like themselves, were pre-
pared to organize upon such basis?
Mr. Mace, of Indiana, held in his hand
proposition, concerning which he had not con-
suited single member of the House He had
conceived it in a spirit of concession and COM
promise. and would address it to the members
| OF the House as statesmen, as men who could
| look above and beyond the mere tricks of par
ty. sHe believed his proposition ought to be
| adopted, and without even call of the yeas
and nays, inasmuch as it would to certain
| extent, accommodate every interest in the
| House.
The resolution was read, as follows
ResOlced, That Nathaniel P. Banks, ir, be
and he is declared elected Speaker of the House;
William Cullom, Clerk; Adam J. Glossbrenner,
Sergeant-at-Arms; John M. johnson, Postmas-
ter; and Z. W. McKnew, Doorkeeper.
| Mr.. Wheeler, of New York, moved that the
resolution be laid on the table; which motion
was decided in the affirmative, by the following
vote:
YEAs-Messrs. Aiken, Allen, Barclay, Barks-
dale, Bell, Bennett of Mississippi, Bocock, Bowie,
Boyce, Branch, Broom, Burlington, Burnett
Cadwalader, Campbell of Kentucky, Carlile
Caruthers, Clingman, Cobb of Georgia, Cobb of
Alabama, Cox, Craige, Cullen, Davidson, Dow
dell, Dunn, Edmnndson, Edwards, Elliott, Eng
lish, Etheridge, Eustis, Evans, Faulkner, Flor
ence, Foster, Fuller of Pennsylvania, Fuller of
Maine, Gilbert Goode, Greenwood, Hall of
Iowa, Harris of Maryland, Harris of Illinois,
Harris of Alabama, Harrison, Herbert, Kick
man, Houston, Jewett, Jones of Tennessee,
Jones of Pennsylvania, Kelly, Kennett, Kidwell,
Lake, Letter, Letcher, Lindley, Lumpkin, A. K
Marshall of Kentucky, H. Marshall of Ken
lucky, Marshall of Illinois, Maxwell, McMuen,
Mcqueen, Miller of Indiana, MilIson Moore,
Oliver of Missouri, Orr, Paine, Peck, Phelps,
Porter, Powell, Quitman, Reade, Ready, Ri
caud, Richardson, Rivers, Rufin, Rust, San
didge, Savage, Scott, Smith of Tennessee, Smith
of Virginia, Smith of Alabama, Sneed, Ste
Trippe, Underwood, Vail, Walk, Walker, War
ner, Watkins, Wheeler, Whitney, Williams,
Winslow, Wright of Mississippi, Wright of
Tennessee, and Zollicoffer.-llI.
| NAYs-Messrs. Albright, Allison, Barbour,
Bennett of New York, Benson, Bilinghurst,
Bingham, Bliss, Bradshaw, Brenton, Burlin-
game, Campbell of Pennsylvania, Campbell of
Ohio, Chafee, Clawson, Colfax, Comins, Cragin,
Cumback, Damrell, Davis of Massachusetts,
Day, Dean, De Witt, Dick, Dickson, Dodd, Dur
fee, Edie, Emrie, Galloway, Giddings, Granger,
Grow, Harlan, Holloway, Horton of New York,
| Horton of Ohio, Howard, Hughston, Kelsey,
King, Knapp, Knight. knowlton, Knox, Kun
KEEL, Mace, Matteson, McCarty, Morgan, Morrill,,
Mott, Nichols, Norton, Parker, Pearce, Pei,
ton, Pennington, Petit, Pike, Pringle, Pur-
Vance, Richie, Robbins, Roberts, Sabin, Sage,
Sapp, Sherman, Simmons, Spinner, Stanton,
Stranahan, Tappan, Thorington, Thurston, Traf
ton, Wade, Wakeman, Walbridge, Waldron,
| Washburne of Wisconsin, Washburne of Hi
nos, Washburn of Maine, Watson, WEIGH,
| Wood, Woodruff, and Woodwork.
| Mr.. Giddings, of Ohio, moved to reconsider
the vote by which the House yesterday rejected
the plurality resolution submitted by Mr.. Viii
liams, stating that he did so for the purpose of
| placing before the House and the country his
views respecting the responsibility of parties
for the failure to organize the House. He
charged the responsibility upon the Democratic
party, who had thus far voted against every
attempt made to effect an election by the plu-
rality rule, notwithstanding, in l849. the Wing
and Democratic caucuses adopted that rule,
which, receiving the sanction of the House,
produced an organization. The Democratic
party then received the benefit of that rule, and
the country had approved the precedent thus
set. He believed he might speak for the Re-
publican party, and say that they now stood
ready, as they had ever been since the COM
mencement of the session, to act in accordance
with that precedent Although the President
was threatening to involve the country in a
war, the Democratic party, receding from their
former position, now refused to follow the pre-
| cedent which they set in l849, and would not
stand by the principle which they then pro-
claimed.
Mr.. Cobb, of Georgia, rose for the purpose of
| correcting the statement which had been made
| by the gentleman from Ohio. In l849, the plu-
rality rule was adopted by the Wing caucus,
| and reported by committee Of conference of
the two parties to the Democratic caucus by
which it was rejected by a decided majority.
AsotWiIhsldhuibS tniS, III WAS oHereu IN lne
| House by member of the Democratic party,
and adopted by the votes of members of the
Wing party and of minority of the Democrat
| ic party. If the gentleman would examine the
| record, he would find that a majority of the
| Democratic party in l949 voted against the
| adoption of that rule.
| The plurality rule would never receive the
sanction of his vote, when the effect of its adop-
ton would inevitably be to place in the Speak
er's chair the gentleman from Massachusetts,
and he believed that such was the determine
ton of the House. If gentlemen were continu-
ing to support Mr.. Banks, under the impression
| that finally the plurality rule would be adopted
| rendering inevitable the election of that candi-
date, he would give it as his opinion that they
were deceiving themselves.
Mr.. Giddings then referred to the record to
prove that in l849 the Democratic party, as
SUCH did in caucus, aside from all other par
ties, adept the plurality rule.
Mr. Giddings would take no explanation of
the proceedings of that caucus after seven years
had elapsed, but would stand by the record,
which at the time was considered correct, and
which no man had now the right to change
He withdrew his motion to reconsider.
Mr.. Letcher, of Virginia, desired to know
why it was that gentlemen, knowing that Mr.
Banks could not be elected, still insisted upon
sustaining him in preference to any other mem
Der of the Republican party? Was it because
they endorsed the principles advanced by that
gentleman, of the social equality of the white
and black races, and desired to see the problem
worked out, by which it was to be ascertained
which of the two races would absorb the other
Mr.. Banks had made no such declaration.
He had expressed no opinion upon either of the
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