The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-09-23
The Parties and Principles OF the Next
House OF Rcpresentativcs-IIow VIII
the Election of Speaker be Decided.

| publican or abolitionist party, which will lack
some halfdozen votes to give it majority.
| Next comes the national democratic party,
weaker than the republicans by full SCORE Of
votes. The balance of power will be held by
the Southern opposition members, with their
twenty votes, and by the nti-Lecompton
| or Douglas democrats, with their eleven votes.
Unless some members of one or both of these
last mentioned factions fuse with one of the two
great parties, either directly, by voting for its
candidate, or indirectly, by absenting them
selves from the House, or voting in favor of an
election by the plurality rule, the organization Of
the next House may be indefinitely postponed
1t is important, therefore, to understand pre-
csely the political principles held and con-
tended for by each of the four, in order to see
what the prospects are for the organization of
the House.
Well, in the first place, we all know what the
republican party represents. 1t represents
sectionalism in its most repugnant and danger
Gus form. Opposition to slavery is its guiding
star, and the control of the federal government
its aim. II is arrayed against the vital interests
of one section of the Union, and would if it
could reduce the prosperous cotton and sugar
growing States Of the South to the degraded and
impoverished condition of Jamaica and Hayti.
The English and the French governments
have realized the irreparable blunder of negro
emancipation, but our Northern and Western
abolitionists are too intensely stupid to under
| stand the matter in It's true social and political
aspects. and would. for the sake of power and
plumber. bring our Southern States into SINH
lar condition Of poverty and decentralization
with the British and French West India Islands.
In a word, the black republican party repre-
SCENTS the "irrcpressible conflict" doctrines of
William ii. Seward and his abominablc Roches-
ter programme.
The democratic party Is not without its faults
Under our political system no party can be. Its
adherents are, no less than their adversaries,
kept together more by ''the cohesive power Of
the public plumber" than by their attachment
10 principle. But still, il must be admitted that
If republicanism l. sectional, democracy is emil
nenty national. Il has nothing to do with an
irrcpressibe conflict, but regards the sovereign
| rights Of every State as indefeasible. and has
| some general notions Of its own about that new
political monstrosity designated squatter sove-
| reignty. Ii has just enough of weak points to
ensure always the existence Of powerful op-
| position, and enough Of great national pro-
grcssive principles to draw to il the support of
| the patriotic masses Of the country.
So there is no difficulty whatever in sketch
ip0 N IF tba fxyn L.,
now coniending for mastery in the Union-of
which contest the first prize will be the Speaker
ship and organization Of the next House of
Representatives. II is not so easy, however. to
fix the features Of the two hobbledehoy factions.
II would be hard TO say what the Southern op-
position members propose TO accomplish. They
only know that they are the fossil remains either
ofthe old and respectable wing party, which died
with Clay and Webster, OF Of the political fun
gus that sprung up at its grave, and brought
Live Oak George into ephemeral notoriety
With very prudsh and ridiculous regard for
consistency. they do not like to support the
administration or the democratic party, but
they cannot possibly cooperate with the black
republicans With the former they have many
principles in common with the latter none at
all. The democracy is national in all its lead
ing ideas and tendencies. So are they. Black
republicanism, sectional in its character has
for its primary motive hostility to Southern
institutions. In those institutions they have
the deepest interest While, therefore, the
distinctions between these Southern opposi-
tionists and the democracy are but imaginary,
those between them and the republicans are
real and irreconcilable. II is between them, in
fact, that the "irrepressiblc conflict" exists, If
at all. With which party, then, will they side
in the organization of the next Houses That
is more than we can say. We only know with
which party they ought, on every principle Of
reason and common sense, to side.
What remains to be disposed Of! Another
ridiculously small faction, denominated anti
Lecomptonites or Douglas democrats, and
whose whole numerical force does not amount
to bakers dozen. On all political subjects
save support of the administration, and except
ing some crotchets on the pastand-gonc qucs-
ton Of Kansas they entertain notions coincid-
ing exactly with those Of the national demo-
crats. There is, 10 be sure, some curious meta
physical abstraction in regard TO the extent Of
squatter sovereignty, about which the Douglas
democrats are supposed to hold opinions con-
trary to those Of the democratic party proper;
but really, the whole thing is in such precious
middle and is such a mighty small affair
after all, that ], IL Of no consequence what
anybody thinks about II. Like the new
Catholic dogma NJ the immaculate concan,;on
people may believe just as much Of II as they
please. Squat,er sovereignty was in itself
humbug; but this new Douglas dogma sought
to be engrafted on it is only the ghost Of hum
bug. And so there IL really A. little diverg-