The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1830-01-07
HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES,.
.Monday Dec. %, 1920.

Monday Dec. %, 1920
Mr.. Buchanan, from the Committee on
the Judiciary, reported Bill. establishing
Circuit Courts, and abrdging the jurisdlc-
ton of District Courts in Indiana, Illinois,
Missouri, Mississippi, &c. which was twice
read and committed The Bill provides
for the Appointment of two additional Cir
cult Judges, and creates two additional
Circuits, and all the Judges, as at present,
to constitute the Supreme Court. The i'm,
portancc Of this Bill, it ia believed will Gre
ate n good deal Of debate, and it is doubt
ful if Congress agree to its provision. The
Supreme Court is now sufficiently nuuier.
Gus for all the purposes of consultation and
deliberaton, aud it is feared that by incTea-
sing the number Of Judges, wo shaIl only
create confusion and uncertainty IN the le-
EnI decisions Of that respectable tribunal
Mr.. Wicklihe of kentucky, Chairman of
tho Committee of Rotronchment, reported
a bill TO establish a uniform rule for com
putting the allowance for travelling eX.
penses of members Of Congress, and to
limit their per diem pay to such days as they
hall actually be in attendance on Congress-
The bill wns amended on motion Of Mr..
~. ~
TO the shortc9' Post road from the members
residence to Washington. The distance
by the provisions of the bill, TO be ascor.
tained by the Post Master Generals certf-
icate. An Interesting discussion arose on
the bill.
Mr.. Burgess said he would not permit
himself to doubt that any gentleman, max
ing statement to this House wonld make
il truly; and If any mSstatement OF dis
tances had been maoo, no ret bound 10
r.esuu,e that il had boon mado accidently,
and would be corrected as soon as discov-
erod. lie could not see the utility Of this
bill at all, he said unless it was intended
to say.by solemn enactment Of this House,
that the members of Congress are not 10
be trusted in questions in which their inter
eat may come in conflict with their verac-
ity. If, however, facts warranted such al
assumption, there might he sufficient req
son to Justify the passage orthat bill. I'm
I'll some statement Of facts, shelving
grounds for this assumption, should be
made on the authority Of the Committee
which reported the bill, he could not be
warranted in voting for Dill authorizing
such reflection on the House. IIa had
UtN'l uclTu lUuN any SUSI It'oIt Hhu UFtN
made bv the Coihmttee. He had never
heard automatically, that any gentlemen of
this House, or Of the Senate, had ever TAX
en- any more money for mileage than, on q
fair calculation, no was entitled to receive.
He could not vote for this amendment,
therefore, or for the bill, but should be dis
posed, when the bill came before the House,
to move its commitment, with view to
obtain from the Committee report Of such
facts as should shew that the bill was not
merely justified, but called for, by a due
regard to the public interest.
Mr.. Wickliifc, in reply to the gentleman
from Rhode Island, who said that he could
not vote for the bill. because tho Commit
tce which reported it had not reported q
statement offacts of fovercharre of mileage
bv members was within the knowledge of
that Committee. He felt no disposition, rs
member Of the House, to present in Spc.
cic report the name Of individual members,
who, under the law of 1918, had drawn an
undue amount of mileage, but ho now sta
ted the fact generally, that Il practice had
obtained in this House. rs its records would
prove, by which members from the same
State and the same neighborhood. have
been in the habit of computing their mile.
age differently, some by water and some
by land. II was believed by the Commit.
tee that there should DO some uniform
standard by which this mileage should be
computed. He alluded to the fact. within
the recollection of gentlemen near him, that
in the year 1893, the practice first began
in this house Of charging mileage by the
river route; since when the practice had
been gradually extending itself. At that
tine, gentleman, not now a member,
claimed the privilege of charging for the
distance of descending the Mississippi, as
cending the Oho.and thence by land. Nor
was it for that session only that the charge
was made; for he went back six preceding
sessions,and claimed and received the same
rate Of allowance. This fact would be
shown by the accounts now on file in the
Treasury Department. Nor was this. said
Mr. w. tho only instance Of such charges
We f'hc committed then conceived. that
whilst we were complaining Of construct.
i've journeys and charges for journeys nev
or made. &c. on the part OF other public a.
gents. il was proper. from o regard TO con
sistencv. that We should nj least put n stor
10 this business of constructive lonrnnys a.
mong ourselves. The act of 1918, dcclar
ing that tho computation ofthe distance o
travel Of members Of Congress should b,
made bv ihe most usual route. the compu
tailgn uf the, circuitous river Isuie was