CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 23, 

The SPEAKER. The Chair will entertain a motion for a call of the 

House, which is the only business that can now be transacted. 

1\lr. STONE. I move that there be a call of the House. 

Mr. ROBBINS, of North Carolina. I rise to a point of order. 

The SPEAKER. The gentleman will state his point of order. 

Mr. ROBBINS, of North Carolina. My point of order is this: It 

does not require a quorum to decide the motion to adjourn, and therefore it is not necessary to have a call of the House until the want of a quorum is developed upon some question which requires a quorum 

to determine it. 

The SPEAKER. The want of a quorum has been developed upon 

the motion to adjourn. · .Mr. ROBBINS, of North Carolina. My point is that it does notrequire a quorum to determine the motion to adjourn. 

The SPEAKER. That is true; but the vote by tellers developed 

the fact that there was no quorum present. 

Mr. BANNING. Is a motion to adjourn now in order! 

The SPEAKER. Business having intervened, the motion for a call 

of the House having been made since a motion to adjourn was voted 

upon, it is now in order again to move th.at the House adjourn. 

Mr. BANNING. I make the motion that the House now adjourn. 

The SPEAKER. The Speaker desires to state that he will be absent 

to-morrow, and ha designated the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 

Mr. CLYMER, to occupy his place. 

Mr. HOLMAN. It is understood that no business will be transacted 

to-morrow. 

The motion of 'Mr. BAN~'ING was agreed to; and accordingly (at 

two o'clock and twenty minutes p.m.) the House adjourned. 

PETITIONS, ETC. 

The following petitions, &c., were presented at the Clerk's desk 

under the rule, and referred as stated: 

By Mr. BLISS : The petition of Francis L. Dalton, to be re-imbursed 

for expenses incurred in defending his official acts, to the Committee 

of Ways and Means. 

By Mr. CHAPIN : The petition of Jerry Lyons, for restoration of 

pen ion, to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. 

By Mr. O'NEILL : The petition of James L. Reynolds, of Lanca-ster, 

Pennsylvania, and A. Wilhelm, of Cornwall, same State, administrator 

de bonis non of the estate of R. W. Coleman, deceased, sureties of Lieutenant-Colonel S. M. Reynolds, paymaster of the United States Army, 

for relief, to the Committee on Military Affairs. 

By Mr. THORNBURGH: The memorial of William F. Frasier, for 

relief for injuries received during the late war, to the Committee on War Claims. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

SATURDAY, December 23, 1876. 

The House met at twelve o'clock m., Mr. CLYMER in the chair as Speaker pro ternpo1·e. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. I. L. ToWNSEND. 

Mr. 'VOOD, of New York. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the Journal be dispensed with. 

There was no objection. 

POLITICAL CO:l\"DITION OF THE COUNTRY. 

Mr. ~IDTCHLER. I aak unanimous consent to have read andreferred to the select committee of 'which the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 

PAYNE] is chairman a memorial which I send to the Clerk's desk, and 

which is signed by prominent citizens of Philadelphia belonging to 

all political parties. 

The memorial waa read, as follows : 

To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in 

Oongress assembled : 

The undersigned, members of all political parties, beg leave resMctfnlly but earnestly to represent to your honorable bodies that in their.belief the citizens of the 

United States are almost unanimous in the demand that the questions arising from 

the late presidential election shall be dealt with in a spirit predetermined to harmonize conflicting views, irrespective of the success or defeat of individual candidates. 

The undersigned feel that any other course involves perils to the very structure of our Government which no thoughtful man can contemplate without dread. Even 

should such perils be averted, a partisan contest in Conj!I'ess, resulting in a proclamation of a President without the acquiescence of both Houses, would destroy the 

confidence of the people in the justice of the decision adopted, would weaken their 

respect for the forms of Ia.w, and impair their faith in the adequacy of the Constitution to preserve substantial justice between contending parties. The consequences of such action could not fail to be deplorable to the country and ruinous to the party which might achieve a temporary triumph. No adminis- tration placed in power in any manner that may ofl'end the popular sense of right 

could conduct the affairs of the nn.tion with cretlit to itself or advantage to the coun- try. Under such an administration the opposition would enjoy an overwhelming nilva.ntage, and a. short-lived party triumph wonld be followed by inevitable down- f all. It may be emphatically asserted that the future will belong to those who now show themselves supetior to the blind partisanship of the moment, and ready to promote harmony and to avert strife. 

Even a \)rolongation of the existing uncertainty is greatly to be deprecated, en- tailing as 1t must do a paralysis of industry and a prostration of all material interests, which will work incalculable evil by destroying the demand for .la.bor and depriving of support the poor and the unemployed. 

The understgned, therefore, conndently hope that your honorable bodies will ear- nestly seek some mode of reaching a deci ion of the pending questions that will satisfy the conscience of the country. They feel assured that when Senators and Representatives of the United States are called upon to exercise judicial powers fran~lit 

with consequences so momentous, they will bring to the discharge of their high 

functions a spirit of fairness and impartiality that will result in virtual unanimity 

of judgment. A result so reaohed, whatever it may be, will unquestionably com- mand the willing acquiescence of the whole nation. 

WJLLIAM WELSH, 

HENRY ARMITT BROWN, 

JOHN WELSH, 

And many others. 

There being no objection, the memorial was referred to the select 

committee on counting the electoral vote. . Mr. MQNROE. I ask to be excused from service on the committee 

to ascertain the powers and privileges of the House in .regard to the 

elootoral count. 

There was no objection, and the request was granted. 

IMPROVEME~T OF RIVERS AND HARBORS. 

Mr. REAGAN, by unanimous consent, reported from the Committee on Commerce thefollowing preamble and resolution; which were read, considered, and adopted: 

Whereas the President of the United States in his aunuaJ message of December 

5, 1876, states that, with his approval, the Secretary of W a.r directed that the amount of $2,000,000, out of the $5,015,000 appropriated by the act of Congress of August 

14, 1876, for river and harbor improvements, should be expended, and that no new work should be begun, and none prosecuted which were not of national importance; 

And whereas the Chief of En¢neers in his report of October 21, 1876, state that, 

in compliance with the instructions of the Secretary of War of September 4, 1 76, 

certain allotments have been made limiting the expenditures under the above-named act to $2,000,000, and directing that no new work of improvement should be begun: 

Therefore, 

Be it resolved lJy the House of Representatives, That the President of the United 

States be requested to communicate to this House copies of all orders made by him or under his dirootion, and of all orders and correspondence in the War Depart. 

ment, including all reports and communications from the Chief of Engineers, re- lating to said order and limitations on the expenditures authorized by said act of 

Congress; and that he be also requested to inform this Hoose whether any orders or authority have been given by him or by the Secretary of War authorizing other . expenditures under said act in addition to said 2,000,000; and if so, how much and 

for what \)articular works of improvement; and that he be requested to communi- cate to this House all orders and correspondence in relation tliereto ; and that the 

President be requested to state under what law or authority these orders and lim· 

itations upon said act of Congress were made. 

Mr. REAGAN moved to reconsider the vote just taken; and also 

moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. 

The latter motion was agreed to. 

PENSIONS. 

Mr. HEWITT, of Alabama. I ask unanimous consent to submit for 

adoption the following resolutions: 

Resolved, That House bill No. 2283, granting peDBions to certain soldiers and sail- ors of the Mexican, Florida, and Blaei Hawk wars, and certain widows of decea ed 

soldiers and sailors of said warst be made a special order for Thursday the 4th day 

of January next, after the mornmg hour, and from day to day thereafter until disposed of, not to interfere with the general appropriation bills. 

:Mr. HALE. I must object to the adoption of this resolution. I 

think that, with the small number here and in view of the general 

understanding that no business should be done to-day, we should not 

go on and set business for the future when the whole House shall be 

here. For that reason I must object. 

COUNTrnG ELECTOR.AJ, VOTES. 

Mr. SPRINGER. The committee appointed yesterday to confer 

with the similar committee on the part of the Senate in reference to 

counting the votes for President and Vice-President have instructed me to report the following resolution and ask its adoption at this 

time: 

Resolved, That the special committee to confer with a similar committee on the 

part of the Senate in reference to counting the electoral votes for President and 

Vice-Pre ident be authori:l'ied to compile and print for the use of that committee 

and the House the proceedings and debates of Con~ess relating to the counting of 

the electoral votes from the first election of President and Vice-President to the 

present time ; and that said committee shall have power to employ such oleri.ca.l 

assistance as may be necessary in the preparation of said compilation. 

There being no objection, the resolution was adopted. 

REP .A YME.NT OF TONNAGE TAX. 

Mr. FAULKNER. I ask unanimous consent that the bill (S. No. 

994) to amend section 2931 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

States, so as to allow repayment by the Secretary of the Treasury of 

the tonnage tax where it has been exacted in contravention of treaty 

provisions, be taken from the Speaker's table and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs. 

Mr. GARFIELD. Not to be brought back on a motion to recon- sider. 

Mr. FAULKNER. Certainly. We simply desire to have the bill 

considered and acted on by the committee. 

There beingnoobjection, the bill was taken from the Speaker's table, 

read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Foreign .Affairs, not to be brought back on a motion to reconsider. 

.APPOINTMENT IN PAY DEP.A.RTME...~ OF THE .A.Rl\!Y. 

Mr. A. S. WILLIAMS, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill 

(H. R. No. 4275) to correc~ an appointment in the Pay Department of 

the Army; which was read a first and second time, referred to the 

Committee on Military .Affairs, and ordered to be printed. 
1876. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 375 

COMPILATIO:NS OF QUESTIO:NS OF ORDER. 

Mr. A. S. WILLIAMS also, by unanimous consent, submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee of Accounts: 

Besol1Jed, That there be paid out of the contingent fund of the Honse snob sum as may be necessary to complete the compilation of questions of order clecided in the 

Honse of R.epresentatives, ordered by the Honse on the 15th of August last, subject 

to the approval of the Committee of Accounts. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

:Mr. ATKINS. Mr. Speaker, was it not the understanding yesterday that na business should be transacted in the House to-day¥ 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. All this business is proceeding by 

unanimous consent. 

Mr. BUCKNER. I move that the House adjourn. 

SE'ITLERS ON THE SAN JUAN AND OTHER ISLANDS. 

Mr. ·BANNING. Before the question is put on the motion to adjourn, 

I desire to make a correction of the RECORD. It appears by the 

RECORD that House bill (H. R. No. 3878) for the relief of the settlers on San Juan, Orcas, and other islands, lately in dispute be~een the 

United States and Great Britain, was reported ba-ck from the Committee on Military Affairs and referred to the Committee on Public 

Lands. The bill was not in the possession of our committee, and the 

RECORD should have statedthatExecutiveDocumentNo.308in refer- ence to the subject-matter of that bill was reported ba-ck and referred 

to the Committee on Public Lands. 

SERGE~T IN SIGNAL CORPS. 

Mr. BANNING, by unanimous consent, ilitroduced a bill (H. R. No• 

4276) to authorize the appointment of a sergeant in the Signal Corps as a second lieutenant in the Army; which was read a first and sec- ond time, referred to the Committee on Military .Affairs, and ordered 

to be printed. 

CAPTAIN JOHN A. LYNCH. 

Mr. BANNING also introduced a bill (H. R. No. 4277) for the relief 

of Captain John A. Lynch; which was read a first and second time, 

referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, and ordered to be 

printed. 

ADJOURNMENT OVER. 

Mr. BLOUNT. I move that when the House adjourns to-day it be 

to meet on Wednesday next. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. An order of that kind has already been 

made. 

Mr. BLOUNT. There wa-s a resolution adopted, as I understand, 

expressive of the desire of the House on this subject; bot my idea was that notwithstanding that resolution a motion of this kind was necessary now. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the judgment of the Chair, there 

is no necessity for submitting such a motion. 

.Mr. REAGAN. I presume that when the House adjourns to-day it 

will be announced that in conformity wi1h previous resolution the 

adjournment is until Wednesday next. 

LEAVE OF ABSENCE. 

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted as follows: 

To ?til·. METCALFE, for ten days from January 2 on account of iint 

portant business. 

To Mr. STENGER, from the 26th to the 30th instant. 

To Mr. MACKEY, for ten days from the 30th instant. 

To Mr. McCRARY, until January 3 on account of important busi- ness. 

The motion of Mr. BucKNER was then agreed to; and accordingly (at 

twelve o'clock and twenty minutes p.m.) the House, pursuant to the 

order heretofore made, adjourned until Wednesday next. 

IN SENATE. 

TUESD.A Y, December 26, 1876. .. JAMES K. KELLY, from the State of Oregon, appeared in his seat 

to-day. . Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. BYRON Sum>ERLAND, D. D. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Journal of Friday last will be 

read. 

COMMITTEE ON PRIVILEGES AND ELECTIO:NS. 

Mr. MORTON. Before the Secretary proceeds to read the minutes 

I should like to suggest that it is important to have another member 

appointed upon the Committee on Privileges and Elections. The 

body of the committee has gone South, as yon are a ware, sir, and there 

is not now a quorum of the subcommittee here. I ask, therefore, to 

have one more member added to the committee during the investigation in reference to the presidential election, a subject already re- ferred to the committee. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempo1·e. Is there objection to this being done 

before the reading of the Journal f The Chair hears no objection. 

By unanimous consent, the President pro tempore was authorized 

to make the appointment, and Mr. MITCHELL was appointed. 

The Journal of Friday's proceedings was read and approved: 

llOUSE BILLS IffiFERRED. 

The bill (H. R. No. 4272) authorizing the use of certain fonds now in the Treasury belonging to the Osage Indians was read twice by 

its title, and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. 

The joint resolution (H. R. No. 169) authorizing the Secretary of 

War to supply blankets to the Reform School in the District of Columbia was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. 

PRESIDE:NTIAL .APPROVALS. 

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. U.S. 

GRANT, jr., his Secretary, announced that the Preside~t had on the 

18th instant approved and signed the act (S. No. 620) to remove the 

political disabilities of James Argyle Smith, of Mississippi, and on the 2'2d instant the act (S. No. 745) to authorize the Secretary of the 

Treasury to issue a register and change the name of the brig A. S. 

Pennell to the City of Moule. 

ADJOURNMEN"T TO FRIDAY. 

Mr. WRIGHT. I move that when the Senate adjourns to-day it be 

to meet on Friday next. 

The motion was agreed to. 

SIOUX NEGOTIATIONS. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate the following 

message from the President of the United States: 

To the Senate and House of .Representa.mves: 

I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter, submitted by the Secretary of the 

Interior, from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs accompanied by the report and 

journal of proceedings of the commission appo n~ on the 24th day of August last to obtain certain concessions from the Sioux Indians in accordanoo with the pro- visions contained in the Indian appropriation act for the current fiscal year. I ask your special consideration of these articles of agreement, as among other 

advantages to be gained by them is the clear right of citizens to go into a. country of which they have taken possession and from which they cannot be excluded. 

U.S. GRANT. EXECUTIVE ~SION, December 22, 1876. 

The message wa-s ordered to lie on the table and be printed. 

PEN:NSYLV.llUA AVENUE PAVING. 

The PRESIDENT pro ternporelaid before the Senate_ the following 

message from the President of the United States: 

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

I lmve the honor to transmit herewith a report (and papers which accompanied it) of the progress of the work committed to their charge, addressed to me by the 

commissioners appointed under the act of Congress approved July 19, 1876, authorizing the repavement of Pennsylvania avenue. U.S. GRANT. ~CUTIVE MANSION, December 22, 1876. 

The message was ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 

RULES OF THE SENATE . 

Mr. FERRY, (Mr. WRIGHT in the chair.) I am directed by the Committee on Rules, to whom was recommitted on the 18th instant the 

report of the committee recommending a revision of the roles of the 

Senate, to submit the revised rules in an amended form. I ask that 

the report lie on the table, the printing having already been ordered. 

The report waa ordered to lie on the table. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business. 

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to the con- sideration of executive business. After nine minutes spent in execu- tive session the doors were re-opened, and (at twelve o'clock and fifteen minutes p. m.) the Senate a-djourned. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

WEDNESDAY, December 27, 1876 • 

The House met at twelve o'clockm. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. 

I. L. TOWNSEND. 

The Journal of Saturday was read and approved. 

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDE:NT. 

A message in writing from the President of the United States was received by his Private Secretary, Mr. U. S. GRANT, jr. 

'l'he message further announced that the President had approved 

and signed bills of the House of the following titles, viz : 

.An act (H. R. No. 1581) for the relief of John Gowers late of Company C, One hundred and eleventh Regiment New York Volunteers ; 

.An act (H. R. No. 1503) for the relief of Sarah F. Albertson, of 

Booneville, Missouri ; 

.An act (H. R. No. 648) for the relief of .Andrew J. Barrett; 

.An act (H. R. No. 1075) directing the Second Auditor to settle the pay and bounty account of John Amrilahaie or Ammahe; 

An act (H. R. No.l592) to re-imburse Horace Glover for property un- lawfully seized and sold by the United States Government; 

An act (H. R. No. 4124) to provide for the expenses of certain special