The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-02-04
The Strengthening" Process OH
Friday

|
day:
! After little coyness and hesitancy, so
natural and becoming in men who were
about to take leap in the dark, doubtful
whether they were to land on a bed of roses
or q ledge of rocks, the Democratic stampede
commenced. In the twinkling of an eye, a
score of the bolder spirits prepared for the
exodus. The more sensitive generally, gave
rather tedious and usually quite unsatisfac-
tory reasons for abandoning Bocock, Mill
son, Lamar, and their other tried brethren,
for this North Carolina-Know-N Nothing Old
Line. Conservative-Na National Wing. The
more sensible made short work of the dis
agreeable job, by simply requesting that
their votes be changed.
The struggle now became interesting.
The Senate adjourned, and its members
went over almost naaSSe to the Represen-
tatives Hall. Reporters, spectators of note,
and politicians from all sections of the
Union, found -ingress upon the floor, and the
excitement became intense. The crowd
above filled every nook of the vast CALLER
les and overhowed into the adjoining pass
ages. Some of the more timid and nervous
Republicans began to feel anxious. The
six amiable gentlemen who had "compli-
mentedH Mr. Smith began to show some
signs of uneasiness.
The advancing wave had already reached
the Northern Democracy, and had swept in
| its outer edges. Mr.. Daniel E. SIckles had
! just gracefully "caved and gone under,
/ when Mr.. John Cochrane took the floor and
in speech of ten minutes urged his col
leagues to stand firm, and bravely facing the
surge, said "Thus far, but no farther
| The exhortation and the edict were alike
unheeded. The tide still poured on, bearing
| down Tom Florence, Mc-Clernand and 9TH
er sturdy champions of our adopted citi-
zens-
| AT length it was announced that Smith
| lacked but eight changes more to elect him.
Bill English sends up dying wall and dis
appears. Seven more changes, and the work
is done Barr, of New York-what will
| his Irish boys say to that? Barr stood lin
! gering, shivering on the brink, and feared
to launch away; bnt said he was ready to
leap into the gulf, like that other Roman,
when his plunge would elect Smith and save
| the country. Vallandigham said ditto to
Mr.. Barr. He was ready to commit suicide
at moments notice. Morris, of Illinois,
bold and bluff, tried to stem the current
which was sweeping the North Western
Democracy to perdition. He said he wouldn't
vote for Mr.. Smith until he declared his
opinions on Squatter Sovereignty and a
Slave Code.
The battle was beginning to look doubt
full, when Mr.. Hickman, who had withheld
his vote on the regular call of the roll, now
recorded his name for John Sherman. Mr..
Smith, who had been sitting On rear seat,
seemingly half frightened out of his wits,
and actually loosening his cravat to facil-
itate his breathing, now retired to the cloak
| room, and was speedily followed by dozen
fSn ,l,oA
transpired there. We only know that sew
eral gentlemen were Immediately thereafter
vociferous in declaring that Mr.. Smith had
given them satisfactory assurances in re-
gard to his opinions on such and such ques-
tions, ard was call right" whereupon some
of the weaker and more reluctant brethren
caught at these straws and went down with
the tide-Montgomery and Pendleton and
Howard among the rest-the galleries and
floor applauding, as they had been doing for
couple of hours, whenever some strong
swimmer, after butfeting the waves awhile,
gave up the ghost and was borne out of
sight. And now Mr.. John Cochrane again
took the floor, and, disclosing the fact that
his objections had been charmed away by
an assurance from somebody who had had
an interview with the gentleman in the cloak
room, he went over to Mr.. Smith, amid en-
Two or three others followed, when the
pages brought the report from the Clerks
desk that Smith was elected by one majority
And, now, gee the tall and graceful form
of him whom the Republicans had so stead
lily supported for seven weeks, and who had
not cast vote for Speaker during that long
and anxious period, slowly rising, and with
cool demeanor and calm voice, say, " Mr..
Clerk, call my name " Instantly comes
the stentorian challenge, "John Sherman! !"
to which, in firm tones, he gives back the
response, Mr.. Corwinl" You might have
heard a pin drop on the floor. Mr.. Smith
was tied Then the stampede commenced
on the other side. Judson, Scranton, Nixon,
Wood, and finally Joy Morris withdrew
from Smith, three returning to Sherman,
and one going to Corwin, and one to Pen
nngton.
The coalition, though discouraged, still
| struggled for victory. Vallandingham
plunged into the gap without hesitation.-
Morris, of Illinois, made lame apology for
stutifying himself. Poor Cox, after utter
ing a dying farewell, also went under. The
Republicans were yet in peril. 1t required
lis votes to elect, and Smith had 1E2;
while there remained Allen, of Ohio, Hol-
man and John G. Davis, of Indiana, and
Adrain, of New Jersey, out of whom to get
the necessary three. But the game was
blocked and Smith was defeated for the
Republicans knew that Adrain would not
vote for Smith, while, even had the other
| three above named given him their votes,
Millward, of Pa, would have deserted him,
and he would then have lacked ONE Of an
| election.
1t was sailing very near the wind, though.
Two or three things now occur to us:
l. All the Southern Democrats have voted
| for a Southern Know Nothing, when they
would never all vote for Northern Demo-
| crst.
| 2. Toprove that they are not sectional"
| the entire South has voted in a body for
one of their own men, while the "section-
| al'' North has been divided.
g. A portion of our friends have, by a
hazardous " experiment" which came near