26 DECEMBER 1863, Page 3

The election of the Speaker in the American House of

Represen- tatives on Saturday demonstrates how completely the defeat of the Government in last year's elections was a vote of dissatisfaction with an unsuccessful conduct of the war, and not a sign of political dis- trust. It was said after the elections that the Opposition party, if they had not a majority, had all but a majority in that House. And so it would probably have been if the events of the year had not transformed numbers of Opposition voters into Administration voters. As it is, Mr. Colfax, of Indiana (Republican) was elected Speaker by 101 votes against only 52 given for Mr. Cox, of Ohio (Democrat).