New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-20
ALBANY.

sIx IBsENIEEs IN THE TWO hoVsLe-No
sYrEcHEs AND NO NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. SESSION
TO-DAY.
,vsox TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRBuNEI
ALBANY, Jan. 19.-Thirty years ago yesterday
10, "a 1915 the last Democratic Senator from this
State. John A. Dix. was elected; 20 that it was not
eossibe even for the caucus to diyest the election
NJ to-day Of all interest. The long nteTegnum' luo
real importance of the event, aud Its rarity "non
compared with the frequency OF our ohoap
elections combined to give II piop'ii'on'
Still o Senatorial election hardly S.u"oS
the ladies' it seems; aud surely 1t woulu an o.
occasion Of great significance TO draw hi,toi VIZ
many of the non-poitical sex to iooK .. 'm0 p
of l2s men, whose faces even are no' d" W "Oy
..,o ;,+arostinp OF beautiful. They were not
o.o,t IN farce though few strayed IN, eVloehtiy
having less fear Of organized than OF dlsorgan
I'D LEGISLATURE. The caucus is generally sup
nressed menagere, with possibilities OF noise ana
poIitieal bloodshed, and lovely woman politely de-
,jnes TO be either glared Toared at Caucuses are
never trimmed with ribbons.
The regular business of the morning was brief
md uneventful. The Legislature is yet IN the first
stages of its familiarity with legislation and spends
most of its timo in introducing bills to the CLERK
acquaintance, and in the promscuOus shaking OF
hands for at Albany the national habit has become
the local mama. In America nothing is done
without shaking hands," says Dickens. or something
10 that effect in Albany. nothing is done or pro-
posed 10 be done without that vigorous ceremony
and even the conception Of an idea seems mpossioe
without first establishing this galvanic cOnnectiou
Al 90 minutes of ~. recess OF 10 minutes
was taken during which several people seizeu 'hc
,pportuuity 10 shake hands with the Speaker nav
Ing been deprived Of that privilege Tor three-
onarters of an hour, and all the members who
had the reouiste leisure ard strength proceeded TO
rds xyitb
fore 10 the Assembly was again called to order and
ss the hands of the clock marked the hour OF noon
the Speaker read the formula which announced
that the House was convened, in accordance win q
law of Congress aud a resolution of the Assembly
TO vote for United States Senator 10 succeed Ken
ben f. Fenton.
The ceremony itself is bald to the last degree
There were no nominations and no speeches, Out
Immediately at the clo.e of The Speakers announce
nent the roll was called each member rising IN his
place and declaring his choice-another instance
where the rG rooe vote seems the most dignifed and
.ppropriate We had Francis Herman" said IN all
ways imaginable. There was the man who said
"Francis Herman" dOubtfully, as if he thought
,ome other member of the Herman family would
have done better; the who said Francis Ker-
man" obstinateiY, apparently in spite OF the oppo-
stion Of his mOtherin-law and all his ot6er foreign
relations: the man who said it skeptically, as if
Dc plume; the man who shot it out as if his con
science was to be eased by rapi6ty; the man who
said casually-had just dropped in to say it, the
man who said it deliberately. with the air
of one who liked to hear q sensible man
talk; the man who said it solemny, as II he
thought Francis Herman no joke. Then there
was the man who threw it out modcstly as n mere
suggestion to the Clerk, and the man who said 1t
with shade of protest in his voice. as u ageTIeved
that any one should have doubted his intention
We had Francis Herman" demanded. exhorted,
deprecated detained and oven grOwled But there
was ne grOwl in the votes Of those who might he
supposed to have inherited some rcsentments from
fhe caucus Mr. Jacobs in the Senate, the only man
ever heard make three good speeches in one even
inR-as he did in the csucus-aud Mr.. acknowledgement
Of the ablost Committee of the Assembly both voted
for Herman like all Senator Murpby's friends. with
AZ much cordalty If his nomination had been the
dream of their youth and the only ambition of then
later years
The votes for f. D. Morgan ran through all the
famuts Of hope and despair. though there was more
of resignation In them than Of faith. For the most
part however. the Republicans announced their
choice with as much cheerfulness aud warmth as If
their votes were still worth a hundred cents on the
dollar II in any of them there was the echo of the
roar of the tidal wave. it smOtheTed in their
brisk desire to offset what to them the mourn
full monotony Of votes for Francis Herman.
IL the Assembly there were tive absentees and in
the Senate one. None Of these OBJECTIONS were
probably occasioned by unwillngness to vote for
the respective party candidates except that of Mr..
Scudder of Cattaraugus Senator FentODs brother
ip-lav and Liberal. Mr.. Scudder voted in the
Democratic caucus for John +. Hoffman. more for
the purpose 1t is understood of preserving his in
aiuduality than anything else aud il is believed
that he remained away to-day to show that be is
not wholly merged in the Democratic party. By the
Ave absences from the Assembly, and that
Of Mr.. Middleton from the Senate, the Demo
Gratis lost four votes, and the Republicans
two leaving the vote in the Assembly Il for Ker-
nan and 81 for Morgan and in the Senate
n for Morgan 10 for kernau, and one for Allen {.
Beach This last vote was cast by Senator Middle
ton who thus had little bolt all by himself taking
chs means Of atesting bis independence of either
party. In the Assembly. when the Speaker declared
shat Francis Herman had received majority Of the
votes Of the Assembly with the rest of the
formula applause the first sign of animation either
lawmakers spectators had shown, broke upon
him. Tomorrow both Houses meet in joint session
and compare votes.
II strikes one very curiousy, this formal ignoring
by the Legislature as a Legislature of the Legs
latuTe - a caucus. The election is to the caucus
what the dead cinder is to the live COAL but il is
approached with much reverence If il still had
AL the virtues of warmth and life. 1t merely regis
ters the odict Of King Caucus, but, by legislative
6ctiop its fonnality is considered the edict itself
There are nominations for by this same pleasant
fiction each member is supposed to make up his in
aividua mind, aad not TO have it made up for him.
There are speeches, for there is room for
nonary work and no hope of converts, while the