The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1856-01-25
TILE CONTEST FOR sPEAKER.

LIE CO-' AAs'N
The following remarks upon the farce which
i,being played at Washington we copy from
bs Nashville Banner. The views here eN-
pressed are in conformity with those enter
tanned by the country at large
lis biub time that the struggle Tor the
c.iorsLin which has now lasted seven
weets should be put an end to. IL Is mere
nor,v STRUGGLE. The slavery questions upon
which the members Of the House are divided
w. Of no immediate, practical Importance to
a. south or to the North. Look abroad
80 tbe slaye-holding States, and say 1t they
,,are ever in more prosperous conditional
Was slave property ever more valuable or
al ,be STAKEHOLDER ever feel less apprehen
Ion as to the peaceful and undisturbed pos
session of his slaves than Mt this moment p
Neperi And does any party-does any mem.
Der of the House of Representatives profess
to believe that there is any power in Congress
TO interfere with slavery in the Statesl No
there is not a member in the House, of any
party, that processes to believe any such
thing. Mr.. Gidlings' vote, denying the ex-
istenee Of any such power in Congress, stands
recorded on the Journals Of the House Mr..
Seward and Mr. Chase give public utteranee
to the same Opinionl
II is no question, then, as to the right of
the people of the slave holding States, to
the secure and uninterrupted use and en-
ioyment OF their slave property, that the
three parties in the House of Representatives
are so divided upon, that they can not or pW
not organize, and proceed to the discharge of
the high duties which they were elected, as
representatives of the people, to discharge
What, then, in the name of common sense, is
the fuss about We desire to speak of the
present House of Representatives with all
proper respect, but if we speak truly aud
conscientiously, when asked what is the fuss
about, we shall be compelled to answer, that,
in our humble opinion, it is all much ado
about nothing"-by which we wish to be un.
derstood rs expressing the opinion, that the
slavery questions, upon which the members
of the House are divided, or think they are
for ,ome of them are not near so far apart as
they imagine-are of no present, practical
Importance to the South, and constitute no
good reason why there should not, during the
first week of the session, have been union
among n sufficient number of the members,
TO effect an organization of the House and 90
on with the dispatch of the public business
much of which is Of IN urgent and important
character, and as sneh, required their prompt
attention. And this business must be attend
ed to. A Speaker must be elected, and the
House must be organized. The Government
must be carried on. The people of tae United
States are not prepared for anarchy. They
did not elect ttco hundred and Hirty,four rep
resentatives and pay them eight dollars per
day, and mileage to boot, to go to Washing
tou and spend seven weeks in squabblng
about Speaker. in defining their Positions
as party men, and, in short, in doing those
things which they ought not to do, while !
they left undone those things which they
were sent there expressly to do.
We shall not attempt to point out ho,u the !
triangular struggle might long ago, or how it |
might now, be brought to a close. That is |
the business of the representatives them
selves. 1t being their exclusive, and their |
very first, business to elect n Speaker, it was
their business, and still is, to find out and !
adopt some mode of electing one. Where |
there's n will, there's always a way. We say |
a Speaker--not your candidate nor my can. |
didate-but a Speaker to do the peoples bust |
ness. The peoples business All if it had |
been the dong of the peoples business only |
that a Speaker was wanted for there would |
have been very little delay, and very few |
ballotings would have sufliced for that pur-
pose. But it was party business that was,
and has been, uppermoet in the minds Of the |
peoples epresentatives--it was pdrfy |
Speaker that was wanted-and there being |
three parties, and neither possessing major. !
ity, the extraordinary and, we may say I'M
seemly, spectacle has been presented to this
country and to the civilized world, of two
hundred and thirty four representatives Of
this free people, constituting the popular
branch of our National Legislature, meeting |
together daily, at a time when public bust
ness. both in relation to our foreign and our
domestic affairs, most prcssingly demand their
attention, and, for seven weeks voting for their
party candidates for Spenker-to
the utter neglect of all other businessl
The proceeding is totally inde(ensible. No
,andid, intelligent man, of any party, will
Jay that it is defensible. There must be q
grave derelction of duty to the public inter
,sts somc,ohere Each of the three parties
while it readily admits this to be so, will yet
protest that the blame does not
lie at his door, but at the door of one or Goth
If the other parties. Which of the parties is
n the wrong, or whether all three have each
Is share of the blame to bear, we shall not
undertake to decide. We have, in the fore
,oing remarks, considered the subject in
General point of view-from the peoples
,oint of view. We may have occasion at
uture day to discuss tin n party point of
new.