The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-11

The way % hind It-Ssmsthan8 - -
the Country.
The democrats of the House Of Representa-
tives at Washington, in eausus, on Tuesday
night, resolved that they wsuld persist in 9
continuous session Of the House, day and
night, until q Speaker should be elected.
Pursuant to this resolution, the session Of We'd
nesday continued all that day and all that
night, till eight o'clock yesterday morning,
when, doubtless from physical exhaustion, 9
majority of the House collapsed, and carried
an adjournment to twelve O'Clock this day.
Upon the re-assenbling therefore, of the
House this morning, the three parties concern
ed will have had the benefit Of twenty -eight
tations in reference to some speedy and def
mite settlement of the question.
The result, let us hope, will be the election
of Speaker before another adjournment
This expensive farce Of moral 6rmness ameng
the respective adherents Of Banks, Richard
son and Fuller has continued long enough.
1t will have probably cost the public treasury,
thus far, no. cent less than two hundred and
City thousand dollars in the current and con-
|
of the Senate, and the direct and indirect
drawbacks to the regular progress Of the bust
ness affairs of the government. This is pay
ing rather extensively, we suspect, for the te-
nacious adhesion to their principles on the part
of Mr.. Joshua z. Giddings, Mr.. Howell Cobb
and Mr. Humphrey Marshall, and their friends
respectively. At all events, we believe the solid
body of the American people, of all parties,
would prefer the election of Richardson,
Fuller, or even Banks, to the further prolonga-
ton of this demoralizing and miserable mock
cry of stump speeches and two or three bal
lots from day to day, at the rate OF at least
four thousand dollars per day from the public
funds, for the expenses of the House alone.
The country is satisfied that as long as
seventy four men adhere to Richardson, one
hundred and five to Banks, and forty to Fuller.
with eight or nine scattering votes there can
be no election Of Speaker by majority of
all the votes thus cast Over one hundred
experiments have proved this fact as clearly
as that two and two make four. The only
way in which Speaker could be elected by
the system thus far pursued, would be to keep
it up until by deaths the balance Of power
represented by Fuller and others would be
reduced to less than balance Of power but
as it is probable that this reduction could not
be contaminated within the Limitation of this
Congress, (the 4th of March, 1850 one of
two alternatives should be adopted-the block
ade should be broken by the scattering con-
sentative Know Nothings or by the democracy,
or the House should adjourn to some future
day, that the members in the interval might go
back to the people for fresh instructions.
As the smallest of the three parties of the
House, it devolves first up on the national Know
Noihings to choose between Richardson, or
some other democrat, and Banks. If they have
no choice to make between democrats and Sc
varieties, let it so be understood, when the re-
sponsibily Of putting an end to this insuffera
bic rubbish will be transferred to the democrats
as the weaker party Of the two most numerous
in the body. The country understands very
clearly that the Seward abolition league is in
minority in the aggregate vote of the
House. One hundred and five ballots-run-
ming into the seventh week Of the session
are quite sufficient to establish that fact The
democrats are also in a minority in the
body, as has been abundantly proved by the
same heightened list of absurd experiments.
The balance Of power rests with the Fuller
party and the scattering votes Everybody is
satisfied upon these points. Everybody is also
satisfied that with or without Speaker the ba-
lance Of power may control the legislation Of
the House. If, then, this balance of power
party have no choice as between a democrat
and Banks, the time has fully arrived, from the
pressure of the public interests, for the demo-
Gratis to throw the contest into the hands of
this third party, leaving them to the decisive
alternative OF a vote tor Richardson, or some
other man acceptable to bis supporters, or the
election Of Banks by his present vote.
The one or the other of these decisive alter
natives may be readily comprised by the adop-
ton of the plurality rule. Aud why should
the democrats hesitate for fear OF being held
accountable for the election of Banks Ii the
conservative Know Nothings prefer mis- cleo
tion TO the choice of democrat, so let it be.
We are simply dealing with the rights of ma
jorities and minorites. There is general
opposition majority against the democrats in
the House. That majority, If they can agree,
are fairly entitled to the Hsslse off :ers. 1t
not, and the democrats are equally opposed to
Know Nothings and aboltiouists, they cannot
be expected to make any advaees to either.
But the democrats, being in the minority, have
no right to persist in holding an unreasonable
check upon the public business by standing in
the way of the execution of the will Of or the
right belonging to, the majority Of the House.
NJ thn IA 0rsAr
frankly step forward and say-A majority of
this House elected by the people are against
us-it is manifest that our candidate cannot
be elected except by the cooperation of part
of this general opposition majority. To bring,