egates, to suppose that much talk would move any of them from their convictions. As for eloquence, on such occasions, it was too prone to degenerate into invective.

It was contended by a delegate from Delaware, that the hour rule, under the operation of the previous question, would be the most horrible of gags. After a free interchange of views, the fifteen minute rule was adopted, with this proviso, that the rule should not be applied in discussions on the platform. The speakers will each be allowed an hour to ventilate the Territorial question. This is about the best thing that could be done. A conversation sprung up between Walker of Missouri, and Cochrane, pending a motion to open the galleries to the public. Walker informed the ladies that Mr. Cochrane was a bachelor. The information was received with immense approbation. Cochrane acknowledged his desperate condition, and expressed his willingness to enter into the marriage relation. Walker said that it was apparent that the reason why Cochrane had not married was because he could not. Y He moved to lay the New York bachelor on the table. The Chair tolerated this nonsense for some time, but at last interposed, and summarily shut down upon it. Mr. Vallandigham made an explanation of the action of the Executive committee regarding the issue of tickets, which was satisfactory. The Convention then refused to throw open the doors to the miscellaneous public.

There was now no business before the Convention, the committee on Credentials not being able to report the Convention adjourned to four o'clock, when the New York fight will come off. It will be warm, and loud and long. A considerable majority of the Convention will be in favor of excluding the Fernando Wood and Ike Cook delegations.

The Convention is most fortunate in having so excellent a presiding officer as Caleb Cushing. Mr. Cushing's head is wonderfully clear, and his knowledge of parliamentuary law-and the rules of the House of Representatives-perfect. All his statements of the questions that are before the house, are distinct and downright, and no one thinks, as yet, of taking an appeal from his decisions. This will help the Convention materially in its great tribulation.

More intense interest than has yet prevailed is felt in the forthcoming New York fight. This will consume the afternoon session, and to-morrow we will have the platform fight, and I do not see how it will be possible to prevent a disruption of the Convention. The South makes it a point of honor that the platform shall not be one capable of a double construction, but shall be one which cannot be fairly interpreted to mean any thing short of "sound Southern doctrine," that is, the protection of slave property in the Territories, and the unequivocal repudiation of the Douglas doctrine of squatter, or popular sovereignty. The Northern delegates don't care much about the honor of the matter. It is of the most grave consequence to them, involving, as I have before said, for them, the issues of life and death. Their political existence depends absoltely upon their ability to construe the platform adopted here to mean popular sovereignty," in other words, upon such a form of words in the platform, as will allow them to declare, in the North, that the officially expressed Democratic doctrine is that the people of the Terri

tories may, while in their territorial condition, abolish or exclude slavery. They cannot, dare not yield the opportunity for pressing this pretext. The South will not allow it. Here, then, is the "irrepressible conflict" -a conflict between enduring forces. You may with propriety use, respecting it, language as strong as that of Mr. Seward in his Rochester speech. The Douglas Democracy, you know, only want the pretext to use before the people. They are willing to acquiesce in the decision of the Supreme Court, knowing beforehand that the decision would be against them. The South stands upon what they believe to be principle, and they cannot in honor, as they say, allow the Northern branch of the party to yield so far to the Abolition pressure, as to take refuge from it under a false and fraudulent pretense.

The preponderant faction of the Northern Democracy say the Southern doctrine of protection of slave property in the Territories is "inadmissible "that is the word—and I believe they have, when the pinch comes, a majority of the Convention. The South says a platform with two faces is no longer tolerable. And the South has in this position a majority of the States. There is a majority in the committee on Platform in favor of amending the Cincinnati Platform so as to repudiate its Northern interpretation. The States of Pennsylvania, Oregon and California, as here represented, are with the South in this matter. The inevitable consequence is, there will be two reports from the committee on Platform. The majority report, favored by a minority of the Convention and the minority report, favored by the majority. Upon the adoption of the Cincinnati Platform, with its "popular sovereignty beresy" understood to be attached, and constituting its vitality, the South must withdraw. At least half a dozen States will certainly go, and how many more, and how many fragments of others, it is impossible to say. Then the majority Convention will nominate Douglas. The South will be sustained in its secession by the whole power of the Administration, and by the Southern Senators, who would be murdered, politically, by the nomination of Douglas in a full Convention, upon a platform on which it would be possible for him to stand.

When it was determined yesterday, as it was by an overwhelming vote, to adopt a platform before nominating a candidate, it appeared that there was no hope remaining of the unity of the Convention. Both factions voted to have the platform first. The only possible way to keep the Convention together from the start, was for the Douglas men to withdraw his name; and then the South, with another man, would have been willing to mitigate the asperities of the slave code platform. The disruption of this Convention insures the nomination of Seward at Chicago-but not his election. Southern secession here, would give Douglas strength in some of the Northern States. There would be

no possibility of his election, however, for he would certainly lose several Southern States. He might, and the chances are that he would, carry Northern States enough to defeat the election of Seward. Thus the election would be thrown into Congress-and eventually into the Senate. This is beyond question the game of the Southern men, and it looks as if the chances were that it would win. These are not only my opinions and speculations here to-day, but they are such as are cur

rent among those who are candid with themselves and frank in giving expression to their views.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

After some immaterial controversy,

Judge Krum of Missouri, chairman of the committee on Credentials, presented the following report and resolutions, upon which the committee had agreed, and he claimed for it the attention of the Con

vention:

MAJORITY REPORT.

To the National Democratic Convention:

MR. PRESIDENT:---Your committee on Credentials, immediately after their appointment, entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned them, and carefully examined the credentials of the several delegates to this Convention.

Your committee find that all the States of the Union, except the States of Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and New York are represented in this Convention by delegates duly elected in the several States by State or District organizations of the Democratic party, and your committee append to this report, as a part thereof, full lists of the delegates so selected.

Your committee further report that there were contesting claimants to the seats held by the delegations in the following cases, viz:

In the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts.

In the Fourth Congressional District of Maryland.

In the State of Illinois, and-

In the State of New York.

The contestants in these several cases had a full and impartial hearing before your committee, and, after a full consideration of their respective claims, your committee are of opinion that the sitting delegates in these Districts and States are justly entitled to their respective seats.

All of which is respectfully submitted,

JOHN M. KRUM, Chairman. Resolved, That the sitting delegates to this Convention from the State of Illinois, of whom Col. W. A. Richardson is chairman, are entitled to their respective seats.

Resolved, That Cornelius Doherty and K. S. Chappee, delegates representing the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts, are entitled to their respective seats.

Resolved, That F. M. Landham and Robert J. Brent, delegates representing the Fourth Congressional District of Maryland, are entitled to their respective

seats.

Resolved, That the delegates to this Convention from the State of New York, of which Dean Richmond is chairman, are entitled as such to seats therein.

Adopted.

Mr. Brooks, of Alabama, presented the following Minority Report and Resolutions:

MINORITY REPORT.

To the Honorable President of the National Democratic Convention:

The undersigned, members of the committee on Credentials, under an imperious sense of duty, are constrained to dissent from the report of the majority of this committee, and respectfully recommend that the two delegations from the State of New York be authorized to select each thirty-five delegates, and that the seventy Delegates thus selected be admitted to this Convention as the delegates of the New York Democracy, and that they be allowed two hours to report their selection-the two delegates to vote separately, each to be entitled to

seventeen votes, the remaining vote of said State to be cast alternately by the two delegations, the sitting members casting it the first time.

(Signed)

WILLIAM M. BROOKS,

Delegate from Alabama. JOHN S. DUDLEY,

Delegate from California. E. GREEN,

Delegate from Texas.

VAN H. MANNING,

Delegate from Arkansas.

JULIAN HARTRIDGE,

Delegate from Georgia.

W. S. BARRY,

of Mississippi.

Mr. Brooks of Alabama offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That the two delegations from New York be authorized to select each thirty-five delegates, and that the seventy Delegates thus selected, be admitted to this Convention as delegates from the New York Democracy, and that they be allowed two hours to report their selection. The two delegations to vote separately, each to be entitled to seventeen votes, the remaining vote to be cast alternately by the two delegations-the sitting members to cast it the first time.

A discussion followed in which New York politics were well ventilated.

Then the several resolutions reported by the majority were adopted, down to the resolution on the New York case.

The question then being on the amendment of Mr. Brooks of Alabama, the State of Alabama called for the vote by States, and the State of Mississippi seconded the call.

The amendment was lost by the following vote:

The question then recurring on the adoption of the resolution of the majority, the same was adopted by a large majority.

The entire report of the committee was then adopted.

Mr. North of Pennsylvania moved to reconsider the motion to adopt the report, and to lay that motion on the table. Agreed to.

Mr. North of Pennsylvania then moved that the rejected claimants

for seats in this Convention be invited to take honorary seats on this floor. [Cries of "No!" "No!" "No!"]

Mr. Lawrence of Louisiana. The gentlemen whose claims have been rejected will not accept such an offer.

A Voice. Then let them stay out.

The Illinois contest was not alluded to in debate. The Cook delegation were kicked out without a dissenting voice. This must be very pleasant to Mr. Buchanan, whose postmaster at Chicago, and especial pet, Mr. Cook is. Poor Cook swears profusely and piteously, and that is the extent of his capacity.

The death of the chairman of the Vermont delegation, Hon. John S. Robinson, was then announced and resolutions of respect passed.

The credential controversy being closed, the contest comes on the platform, and then-the disruption! An explosion is certain to take place, and the only question is as to the extent of the Southern secession. The air is full of rumors, and there is general concurrence in the proposition that it will be impossible for the unity of the Convention to be preserved up to the commencement of the balloting for candidates. I am informed by a delegate from one of the border Southern States, that his delegation will not withdraw when the Southern platform is rejected, and the Northern one with two interpretations is adopted, but will withdraw when Douglas is nominated on the equivocal platform, an event which is certain to follow the secession of the Gulf States, which will take place after the platform fight.

CHARLESTON, S. C., April 25th (at night). The Convention is now ready for the great business upon which it has come together-that of constructing a platform and nominating a candidate. The committee on Platform is now in session, and in agony no doubt, with the various ambiguous resolutions before it. The case is very simple. There is, to begin with, an irreconcilable difference in the doctrines respecting slavery in the Territories between the Northern and Southern wings of the Democratic party. The platform must be drawn with elaborate ambiguity, and capable of two constructions, or the party must be divided.

It is only certain just now, that the understanding this morning that there would be a disruption of the Convention, caused a panic, and that a disposition to compromise and be ambiguous prevails.

I hear it asserted on that which seems reliable authority, that Mr. Richardson of Illinois has authority to withdraw the name of Douglas, and will withdraw it, if there is any thing about the protection of slavery in the Territories in the platform.

The party must take refuge under false pretenses of doctrine, or go in pieces. The question is: Will the South yield the point of honor, which they have been insisting upon, so far as to allow the platform to be made ambiguous? If they will, the Douglas men are so confident in their ability to nominate Douglas, and in the potency of their warwhoop, that they will probably allow the Cincinnati Platform to be amended by the addition of something equivalent in the estimation of the South to the affirmation of the Dred Scott decision doctrine, with