The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-01-17

qs,e rtssns Congress ard she Nert Presl-
dency. 8
From the Washington correspondence Of the
Chsrleston Mercury we clip the following sug-
gestive extract
This is the most important session that has Bat.
The shape NOW taken, ard tho combinations made,
viii influence for weai for wo the destnies Of the 80
in the far future Political affairs have assumed Tor
present peculiar oompIexionra ther Of the Kind WI cb
NAV be called the neutral Much confusion OF po
and principle exists among the democrats Ii great
field for statesmanshp, and mu:n mst oe accompansd
able man for the Presidency there much str or
asprants there want Where political char.Asns aud
boobe have ecn successful charlaans and boobies may
st bone for success But tie democratic party Will have
death struggle next election and they cannot auord 70
waste strength on heavy oaa US can'aase s ~
or there will be a defeat and smash up slch rs mas re'
been heard Of since the celebrated charge OF Don Vuoe
uror The ock OF sheep. In the opposition Ranks no uise
g treated with greater consideration or has more general
il tlucnce than Mr. Crt.enden. II he is taken UP by the
republicans his chances will be great for he occupies
nrrcseT that position in politics which will enable TIE
Northwest and West to swallow him WHOLE while New
England and the North will take any one who Is anti
Southeyn--eycn Bezehub himself.
We entirely concur in the opinion thus ex-
pressed Of the Importance Of the present session
in reference to the future All parties are adrift,
and everything is OF sea. Within var Or
two past, from the costly legacles of Mr.. Blu
chanan's predecessors, and from the crushing
effects of the late sweeping financial revulsion,
the national debt has been expanded from TWEEN
ty FIVE to some sixty-fve millions of dollars
Twenty or thirty millions more will be needed
for the regn'ar federal expenses of the ensuing
scal year; and then there is the thirty millions
bill for the purchase of Cuba, the Pacific Rail-
-o,5 1;u oud the Eyncutjvo rnnomman lions
for ten additional war steamers and for military
prolectorate over the northern provinces of
Mexico; and the bill pending in the Senate CIV
inc the President certain discretionary powers
of peace or war in reference to Central Ameri-
can affairs; and in the House, the French Spolia-
ton bill of five millions There are, Also vari-
Gus other things calling for money-money-fo
| thousands and milliens Of moneywith the GER
| tainty of hundred millions on the wrong side
of the books, and not dollar in The Treasury.
| Six weeks Of the session have been expended,
| with little or nothing to show for it; and some
| six weeks of the session remain, with all this
| budget Of millions upon millions to attend to-
| including the paramount necessities Of an empty
| treasury, with its heavy disbursements aud
| slim receipts And what are the chances
| On the Cuba question it appears thai
| the democracy Of the two houses are coming
together upon the plan Of the thirty million bill
| But we must await some further Developments
before we can predict the success Of this or any
| other OF the great measures before this Congress
| The signs in both houses indicate q continued
| waste of time in the bunc0mbe speeches Of dema
| cogues and President makers; and the "grcat
| field for craftsmanship" spoken of by our
Charleston contemporary, will most probably be
turned over to the next Congress, and under the
pressing exigencies Of an extra session. But
whether anything, now or then, will be "acconl-
plished for Southern independence" remains to
| be seen. The first necessities are those of the
federal treasury, and Southern independence u
| may be safely postponed to a more conyenien,
! season.
Whatever may be done by this expiring Con
gress the budget of heavy business which vii
20 over to the next will exert a prodigious in
Huence in the reorganization of parties for thu
Prvridvnvy. The democracy, In this view, may
now take the initiative If they will, in the inau
guration, upon the basis of the Presidents Mes
sage, of new, grand and practical line Of poll
| cy, foreign and domestic, which will give them
| the inside track for 1860. Otherwise they mus,
be content to play second eddie to the opposition
| With regard to the overshadowing availability
! Of Mr.. Crittenden as the true man for the opposi
ton in 1860, we apprehend that Mr.. Seward
and his partisans will have word Or two to
say. The leaders of the republican party are
evidently not in the mood to court the uncertain
alliance Of Southern State or two upon an old
Southern conservative like Mr.. Crittenden at
! the hazard Of losing the vote Of New York Mr.
| Crittenden was too intimately identified with
| the Fillmore movement Of 1856 to go down with
| the Fremont republicans in 1860. 1t is only
| upon some such national man as General Scott.
whose skirts are clean Of all contact with these
| old factions, feuds and grudges among the oppo-
sition rank and Gle, that they can be fused into
| a solid mass in 1860. But the cauldron is be-
ginning to boil and bubble, and doubtless before
long some very curious things will be brought
to The surface. In the meantime, ii there is any
| disposition among the democratic leaders TO
present united front to the enemy in 1860, the
| fact will presently appear in their Deeds during
the short remnant left OF this present Improbable
Congress
THuILow WEED AND TIE LoDDY--CuRIors
History OF THE STATE BARBEa-We give in
anoiherpart Of this paper some curious historical
| "reminiscences ancnt the history of Mr.. Tburlow
Weed, who is SO well known as the Chief of the
Albany lobby. The first of our extracts is
copied from the New York HERALD of nineteen
years ago. when Seward reigned at Albany and
Thurlow Weed served lim--as Oliver lie Dain,
the celebrated State barber, did Louis the
Thirteenth. Then Weed kept the slate upon
which all the appointments were entered be-
fore hand. Weed was the Governor, the same