The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-02-07

vote should govern. BE would saw To the Ger
tleman from Kentucky, with the indulgenc
of the House, that if the Clerk had any feelin
IN the canvass, 1t was not in favor of the gentle
man from Massachusetts,. But believing thai
according to the terms of the resolution, tn
course pursued IN announcing the result of tn
last vote was the proper one, and being actin
ated by no motive other than a desire to con
tinue to be impartial, and having consulte,
with the officers of the House who possesse,
more experience than himself, and also with III,
tellers, representing the two great parties re
spectively, he had come to the conclusion tina
the gentleman from Massachusetts was dull,
elected to the office of Speaker If there wa
any error In the matter, the Clerk would throw
himself upon the House, and trust that gentle
men who had thus far sustained him Womb
sustain him to the end in what he believed Il
be an impartial discharge of the duties which
had been devolved upon him.
Mr.. Campbell Of Ohio, had, from the bepin
ming, been one of those who believed that :
Speaker should be elected by a majority vote
tie submitted it TO the honor of those gentle
men who had voted for the plurality resolution
whether 1t did not now become them to carry
II out according to its terms. He had heard q
great deal about the danger of a dissolution OF
the Union. What had it come to this. that
the election OF any man to the Speakership
could dissolve this glorious Union of ours
Applause in the galleries. He did not care
what might be the sentiments of the gentleman
who was to preside over their deliberations
| he should be found one of the foremost in AS.
SAILING him, If he should dare take single stem
that would put in jeopardy the union of these
states. tie was an American, and for the
constitution OF his country as the highest law
mat was to control their action, as well as for the
union OF the States. If his heart was capable
OF entertaining single sentiment hostile to the
| Union, he would tear it out and cast it to the
| dogs. This struggle for the Speakership ought
to be closed, and closed now
Mr.. Clingman, of North Carolina, then oh.
| tanned the floor
Mr.. Rust, of Arkansas, desired to offer a res.
olution.
MIR. Clingman, of North Carolina, and Mr..
Cobb, Of Georgia, endeavored to bring their
Southern friends to reason.I
Mr.. Cobb, of Georgia, held that it was neces-
sary Tor majority of the House to elect a
speaker; but, ut the same time, when n ma
Jority adopted the plurality rule, and a plu-
rality vote was cast for any member, he was
erected by virtue Of the resolution originally
adopted Applause in the galleries When
1t was thought that there was probability that
the gentleman for whom he had voted would
be elected, he expressed this opinion, and would
repeat it now. He therefore did not agree with
gentlemen, that it was incumbent upon those
who voted for this plurality rule now TO partici-
pate Ill the election of the gentleman from
Massachusetts. He believed that that gentle
man had already been elected; and while he
had used every possible means to defeat the
plurality rule, yet with the conviction upon his
II dnn1 inf hot tl,or ~
sets had been elected by virtue of the opera
ton of that rule, he should feel bound to vote
for resolution declaring that he was the
Speaker Of the House
Mr.. Aiken, of South Carolina, asked permits
sion of the House to be allowed to conduct
Nathaniel Z. Banks to the chair, as Speaker
elect OF the House. Cries Of good" and ap-
plause in the galleries.
Mr.. kennett, of Missouri, hoped the request
OF the gentleman from South Carolina would he
granted.
Mr.. Clingman, of North Carolina, then sub
mtted the following resolution:
ReSotced, That, by reason of the adoption of
the proposition known as the plurality resolu-
ton, and the votes taken under it, the Hon. n.
L. Banks, OF Massachusetts, has been duly
chosen Speaker, and is hereby so declared.
MIR. Herbert, of California, had felt it his
duty to vote for the plurality rule. He now
felt it his duty, as an honorable man. to vote
that Mr.. Banks should be placed in the Sneak.
ers chair, believing that under the plurality
rule he had been fairly elected.
Mr.. Letcher, of Virginia, moved that the
House adjourn. Loud cries of "no," "no."l
They could not proceed intelgently, as no one
could hnnr what was being said on either side
~ me House. They had better adjourn. and
ooine mere with little more GOODNESS than th~, +
o mI@ haq 50 that they eopld o" Iad req
Ont were members.
The motion to adjourn was disagreed to by
arge majority.
Mr.. Clingman then demanded the previous
question on the adoption of his resolution;
which was seconded, and the main question
ordered.
The yeas and nays having been demanded
and ordered the Clerk proceeded to call the |
roll, and having concluded the same
Mr.. Jones, of Tennessee, before the result |
was announced, remarked that he was mem
Der of the House in l849, and voted against the |
adoption Of the plurality rule, by which Speak
er was elected. He had consistently voted
against it during the nine weeks the House had
been in session, because it was his conviction |
that the very result which was now deplOred by |
many members as a calamity to the country
adoption. The resolution had been adopted
against his counsel and against his vote. 1t
had been duly executed in the face and pres
ence of them all and his character was now
changed from that of an elector to that of a
Judge Of the fact whether or not Mr.. Banks had,
by the operation of that resolution and the vote
last taken for Speaker, been elected to preside
over the deliberations of the House. His con-
victions were that that gentleman had been duly
elected by ma ority having determined that
that should be the mode by which Speaker
should be elected, and by having then received,
upon the call of the roll designated by the ma
iority, the largest number Of votes, and that
number being majority of a quorum. The
resolution under consideration was, then, mere
ly declaratory of the fact that Nathaniel p.
Banks had been elected by the operation of that
resolution; and with these convictions, and be-
lieving that it was within the competency of the
House to elect in that mode, he voted in the
affirmative on the resolution before the House.
The vote on Mr.. Clingman's resolution was
then announced to be-yeas l56, nays 40-as
follows:
YEAs-Messrs. Aiken, Albright, Allen, ALI
son, Ball, Barbonr, Barclay, Bell, Bennett Of
New York, Benson, Billinghurst, Bingham,
Bishop, Bliss, Bowie, Bradshaw, Branch, Bren-
ton, Broom, Burlington, Burlingame, Cadwala-
der, Campbell of Pennsylvania, Campbell of
Ohio, Chaffee, Clark of New York, Clark Of
Connecticut, Clawson, Clingman, Cobb OF Ga,
Colfax, Comins, Covode, Cox, Cragin, Cullen,
Cumback, Damrell, Davis of Mass, Day, Dean,
De Witt, Dick, Dickson, Dodd, Dunn, Durfee,
Edie, English, Etheridge, Evans, Flagler, Flor
ence, Fuller of Maine, Galloway, Giddings, Gil
bert, Granger, Grow, Hall of Mass, Harlan,
Harris of Maryland Harris of Alabama, Harri
son, Herbert, Hickman, Hoffman, Holloway,
Horton of New York, Howard, Jewett, Jones of
Tenn, Jones of Penn, Kelly, Kelsey, Kennett,