The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-12-05
rho RsnssesnbIinS OF Congress-The Short
Session and a slim Prospect.


| second Congress. unless meantime otherwise
ordered by law, will Immediately take its place.
| A quorum in each branch will doubtless be
| present to-day at noon, the hour Of meeting,
| with Speaker Blaine in the chair Of the House,
| and Vice President Colfax in the Senate.
| A Joint committee will then be appointed to
| wait upoa the President TO inform him that the
| two houses are in session and are ready to
receive any communication he may have to
make. The President then we expect, will
at once, by his confidential secretary, send up
| to the two houses his annual Message, with
the usual accompanying reports from the
| several executive departments. With the
reading of the Message in Congress the tele-
| graph viii scatter it broadcast ever the coun-
| try, 30 that before sunset it viii probably be
az well understood in New York, Bangor, New
| Orleans and San Francisco as in Washington.
| We expect nothing very startling in this
Message. General Grant, Astounding in start
ling effects during the war, has, since the
picturesque winding up at Appomattox Conrt
House, been the very embodiment of peace.
He viii give us gratifying exhibit Of the prac-
teal results of his administrative pclicy Of
economy, retrenchment reform and the re-
demption Of the national debt; he will show
how with Sherman, Sheridan and the army on
the one hand, and the Quaker peace commits
sioners and agents on the other, Red Cloud
and Spotted Tail have been induced to abandon
the war path; how the revenue has been
increased from the reduced tax on whiskey;
how marvellous are the prosperity and devel-
opnieut of the new States and Territories of
the West; how quietly under the fifteenth
amendment negro suffrage has been estab-
iished; how peaceably the new election laws
of Congress, with the consent Of TaInmany
Hall, were enforced in the New York city
election; how friendly are the relations sub
ssting between the United States and ''all the
world and the rest OF mankind, and how small
is our national debt compared with our
amazing national resources
We expect all this and much more in tho
same vein in the Message. Nor do we think
that it viii overlook our shipping interests, or
the Importance Of the acquisition of the island
Of ST. Domingo, or the cod fisheries Of New
foundand or the seal fisheries Of Alaska. But
we have no conception of what the President
will propose or say in reference to free trade,
Cuba, Mexico or those aforesaid Alabama
claims. We shall, perhaps, be Informed that
oar commercial relations with Cuba are still
disturbed by the intestine disorders of the
island, and that negotiations on the Alabama
claims will probably be resumed after the
Cfn in
Adjournment Of the European conference |
which Is soon to meet in London to rectify the |
status of Russia in the Black Sea. Bearing in |
mind tina. ''Lct us have peace il the motto |
of General Grant, and that ''Slow and sure" is |
the legend Of Mr.. Fish, we anticipate Mes
sage on our foreign affairs which the warlike
General Ben Butler, we are afraid, will pro-
nounce broad-brimmed, shad-bellied slip
shod and fat, but which will DO well adapted
to the programme of economy, retrenchment
reduction of taxes and redemption Of the debt.
What, then, will Congress do? Very little
in the way Of legislation this short session, we
appreheud, beyond the regular appropriation
bills. There is heavy budget Of unfinished
business on hand remaining over from the
last session, including big railway jobs and
small private claims internal tax bills, tariff
bills, postal telegraph bills and great variety
of other bills but, from present appearances,
the month of December will be occupied in
discussing the late elections, General Grant
and his chances, Tammeny Hall, Fcnton and
Tom Murphy, Sumner and Motley, Fish and
| Cuba, Gratz Brown, Carl Schurz and the Mis-
souri, rumpus, the Alabama gubernatorial
| middle and the free trade or revenue reform
| conspiracy for the upper hand in the next Con-
rress The everlasting niger" is exhausted
| in the fifteenth amendment, and the coast is
clear for free and full discussion Of anything
and everything under the Sun. The late cleo
lions, General Grant and the money question,
however, will first have to be ventilated,
| though we suspect that in the interval to
| Christmas General Butler will make power
! ful sortie with Yankee fishcrmens rights
against Canada and those Anglo-rebel Ala
bama spoiations. Nor do we despair Of q
| tremendous effort by Mr. Julian, of Indiana.
to bring into the foreground the sixteenth
amendment for woman suffrage.
Inspired by the reelection Of Governor
Hoffman and the defeat of General Schenck,
| Mr. Brooks, Mr. Cox and Mr.. Wood may bring
up in the House the question OF federal
bayonets in our political elections and the tax
on salt; but if Cox, Wood and Brooks move
| in these matters we expect that Joha Nor
| rissey and John Fox. before their retirement.
| will give counterblast that will exharate
the Young Democracy. Surely Morrissey and
Fox ought to do something to leave as their
mark in Congress before they retire, and their
time is short. It is supposed, however, that
one of the most exciting debates Of this session