The New York herald., 1871-03-05

| Our Washington reports and correspondence
present all the remarkable scenes and Incl
dents attending the dissolution of the old and
the opening of the new Congress. Contrary
to general expectation all the general appro-
priatlon bills got through in good time. The
Omnibus bill, which kept the House in
waiting through all the night session Of Friday,
came in from the Senate at halfpast four in
the morning, and, instead of referring the
Senate amendments to the Committee on
Appropriations, or to committee of con-
ference, the House came to the desperate
| resolution Of agreeing to them all in bulk,
which was certainly the easiest and possibly
the best plan Of disposing Of them. Mr.
Garfield, of Ohio, awoke the slumbering
lions of democracy by an astute device
Of his to give the republican ma
jority in the Forty second Congress the
same power over legislation that it had in the
Forty first, where it could always carry
through its measures by two-thirds majority.
Eldridge declaimed, and Randall stormed, and
Brooks vowed resistance, even at the hazard
Of revolution; but all this storm was pure ex-
travagance of passion and rant, for Garfield
was not sustained even by his own party in
what, after all, was but very simple and ne
cessary plan of shutting off that peculiar par
liamentary resort familiarly known as fllibus-
tering.
The night session, diversified with such
scenes and with occasional but unavailing at
tempts at land grabbing, wore on until near
sunrise, when, the ''Omnibus" bill having been
passed, the House took a recess till ten
o'clock, having first made the very sensible
arrangement that in the remaining hours of
the session no business should be in
order except conference reports and
matters connected with general appro-
priation bills. By this means the House
shut out variety of propositions which might
otherwise have come up to torment it, and the
only matter of business that did come up AFTER
ward was the report Of the conference COM
mittee on the bill to abolish the rank of
admiral and vice admiral. The committee
could not agree and asked to be discharged.
The House, under the lead Of Schofeld, was
disposed, however, to recede from its position
and let the Senate bill pass, which simply pro-
vided for cessation of the offices whenever
vacancies occur. But that did not suit the
views Of Butler and Starkweather and other
opponents of Admiral Porter, and they called
for the yeas and nays, when there was not
time to complete the vote before the hour of
noon. The vote was being taken when the
moment of dissolution arrived, the Speakers
hammer descended, and the close Of the Forty
first Congress was announced.
Then followed the organization of the Forty
second Congress, and Mr.. Blaine, having
been reelected Speaker by vote Of l26 to 93
over the democratic candidate, again took the
chair and called the House to order. His
addresses to the old and to the new House
| were models Of terseness and vigor While
assuring the minority that it would find in him
| in the present House, as it had found in the
last an impartial presiding officer, he pro-
claimed at the same time his fealty and ALE
glance to the party to which he owed his posi-
tion. He paid high compliment to the ma
tional government, under whose wise admins
traton peace reigns in all our borders, and
referred to the work Of the High Commission
as something that will bring an honorable,
cordial and lasting adjustment Of the only
misunderstanding that we have with any
foreign government.
There was some difficulty about the admis-
sion of the Tennessee and Mississippi dele
cations, but finally all the members who
presented credentials were sworn in and took
their seats. There was also in the Senate a
question raised as to the admission of new
| Senators from Alabama, Texas and Georgia;
! but the Senate, which never does things in a
hurry, postponed action on them for the
present.
| Both houses adjourned over till Tuesday
| next, but not before the House had passed
concurrent resolution, by an overpowering
majority, providing for the final adjournment
of this session on Wednesday next, at noon. It
! is not yet certain whether the Senate will con-
cur in that prompt termination of the session,
but the general understanding is that, even if
it do not agree to adjourn on Wednesday, it is
not disposed to protract the session.
The Herald as "Religious Hercules"
we cHp tne iollOWlng from cur sprlgnLly
| contemporary the Commercial Adoertiser, of
this city
| The HERALD with all It's magnificent opportuni
ties for propagating Gospel truth, is working, If we
may 80 express 1t, like religious Hercules
Beecher, Spurgeon. ,Collyer, Hyacinthe, and the
| whole host OF church luminares admit this, and
breathe more freely in the bissful conviction that
Is indeed expedltlng the millennium. One thing
however, we trust our matchless contemporary Will
not forget In It's warfare with the devI-hls Satanic
majesty is notoriously cheeky customer-and so
| long as the HERALD too assiduousy cutivates the
eminently Christian grace Of modesty it cannot
hope successfully to cope with him. Let 1t, there
FORE cast aside the shackles Of humility and op-
| pose old "Cloven Foot' with some OF his own
| "brassn
We are exceeding glad that the heart of so
profound theologian as our friend of the
Commercial has at last been touched, and that
he unites with the eminent divines he names in