The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-02-16

Opposition to Railroad misunderstanding
ton Society.
Special Correspondence of the New Orleans crsseentl
WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 10, 1869.
A CHAPTER DEVOTED TO MULLINS AND MULLN
STALKS.
A rara avis from Tennessee who rejoces in the;
name of Mullins has appeared upon the stage OF
action, and carried all before him. No longer
quote the shade of Demosthenes nor cite the elo'
quence of Cicero. They were but they are not.
Mr.. Mullins star is In the ascendant. and like the
bean stalk of Jacks, has arrived at maturity in
twelve hours growth. Last night we remembered
Demosthenes-last night people spoke reveyenty
of Mr.. Cicero and his productions. but alas for
human hopes and human expectations; their star
has set and he would be an ignorsmus indeed who
would dare to refer to them. All hail! The
conquering hero comes! Yes, Mullins, we greet
thee thou art the coming man. We knew thee
last night only as Mullins Mullins from Tennessee,
possessor of csrpetbsg-' long, lean. lank
one too-but this morning Mullins is no more. BE
il, but he is not We forget his origin. we forget
his carpetbag, we forget his antecedents, and
conscious that in his presence We see not Null
Inns but the master spirit Of the age the successor
of Clay Webster and Calhoun, we humbly bow
the knee, we greet the most grave and reverend
signor as the leader of the House, the model ora.
tor of the age, the; wisest 6olon of the times,
the most brilliant man of the period in fact g
second Daniel come to judgment. Christopher
Columbuss discoveries fade into insigni6canoe ana.
pale before thy rising star. Yes, Mullins has madf
q discovery, which we In our widest theories haS
never dreamed of, and in imparting that wonder;
full secret in our legislative halls and to ths
country at large has crowned himself with half
of immortality. Louisiana, poor weak State, en-,
tirely unconscious of the existence Of Mullinsfs
presumed, dared and even entered into an elecS'
ton for presidential electors who duly cast thei
votes and forwarded them here with certificate
of one warmoth annexed stating that the modusa
operandi was correct. But Mullins objected.
objected to the votes of Louisiana being received
and counted. According to Mr.. Mullins, Lpuisi4
ana was the Southern Confederacy, and the very.
ID is supposed to still reside in the precincts IS
said Confederacy as represented by Louisiana.
The rebellion was still raging, aud the idea thai,
Louisiana should presume to exercise ans:
rights other than the rights of existence, aroused.
in Mr.. Mullins breast such virtuous storm Of.
Indignation, such tempest in teapot, that in
fact had Mullins represented in his lanky form the
from end to end. But luckily 'this was not
thusy," and she still rides serenely, unmindfu o.
Mullins, who was ssuelched so effectually by
vote of 1876 to 63, that he immediately subsidized,
and q sadder and wiser man can realize the fact,
trite but true, that republics are ungrateful. But
Mr.. M ulns is not to be squelched; he is above
being squelched. He rises again for a personal
explanation, but is cut short by an objection, and
for time his light is hid under a bushel; but he
is of the irrepressible order, and what startling
discovery, what new freak this tisus nature
may next produce can only be imagined.
COUNTING THE ELECTORAL VOTE.
Constitutional provisions have fixed to-day for
counting the electoral vote upon which is decided
the occupancy OF the executive mansion for the
next four years. Although considered mere
Formally, the attraction toward the Capitol was
very great and every available spot was occupied
at an early hour by the curious sightseers. The
inevitable irrepressble darby was present IN.
strong force, much to the disgust of their Radical
brethren, who found that their mokeships had
monopozed the most eligible seats which the gal.
leries afforded. Long before the important event
took place long lines pressed against the doore
leading into the galleries, until ingress or egress
was rendered impossible. Bya special concession
the ladies of senators and members were admit
ted to the floor Of the House. where the joint SEES,
sion was held. This act Of gaantry was readily
taken advantage Of by the fair sex, and when tho
House was called to order IL was only with the
greatest difficulty that the fair chatterers could be-
silenced, or brought to realize that their fun and
laughter were extremely supplementary. 1t was
pleasant diversity from the usual disorder and
confusion which prevails in the House to listen to-
the merry peals Of laughter, which would escape
despite the desperate efforts Of the delighted fair
ones to be on their good behavior. Seated
among the other visitors in the gallery were Jesse
Grant, the father Of the general, and Mrs. Grant,
his wife. The general himself not In the city.
AT ten minutes to one the moment arrived and,
arm in arm the senators came into the chamber
| and took the seats in 'front.' which were assigned
| them. Old Ben Wade took his place as presiding
officer, and called the joint session to order. But
| Ben's squeaking voice was lost In the murmur Of
the thousand voices engaged IN conversation on
the floor and in the galleries, and 1t was not until
| the gsvel had been severely punished that the
| confusion was abated. The certificate Of the vote
| of New Hampshire was then read announcing that
| the five votes of that State had been given for
Ulysses 8. Grant for president and Schuyler Col.
fax for vice presidents then followed the votes OF
the different States, but not In regular order until
| the vote of Louisiana was reached, when Mullins
of Tennessee. objected. which brought the joint
| session to deadlock, the Senate retiring TO its
| own chamber to consider the objection the OBJ
lection was ver.rued-the vote of Louisiana was
| received, and no further disturbance was created
| until the vote of Georgia was profered, when Ben
Butler objectiDg, the Senate again retired to Its
chamber for consideration. Butler sent to the
clerks desk his objection in writing. that the elec
| tors did not meet on the first Wednesday of De-
cember, as required by law, and the State had not
complied with the reconstruction laws. The chair
said he was inclined to hold Congress TO the rule
adopted, which was that the vote of Georgia could
be counted if 1t did not change the result, but
could not be counted lift should change the result
which opinion produced great laughter. and
have no doubt will be considered 10 Georgia one
Of the funniest jokes of the season. The House
then, by vote Of Al yeas to $50 nays, decided
that the vote of Georgia should not be counted
after which, no further objection being made, the
| vote progressed to final termination, enlivened
| by some little sparring between Ben Wade of the
| Senate and Ben Butler of the House, In which our
New Orleans hero was severely snubbed, and re-
scented it in of his periodical explosions, result
| ing in a good deal of noise, plenty of smoke but
no execution, and thus ended the first chapter.
| GRANTS POLICY.
The great topic of interest amongst the poti-
| clans Is the course Of Grant between ow and the
| Inauguration. Whether he will at once take his
position and show his hand. or whether, as hith.
erto, he shall continue the silence which appears
30 ominous TO the leading spirits Of the Radical
party. am inclined to believe that nothing new
will be developed until after he assumes his posi-
ton, and that matters will remain in stdtu quo
| until that shalI hannen m the M TINA rnmnra