Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1846-07-25

Mr. HOUSIUNs OF Alabama, observed that ~ was one VI
the safest things in The world TO oppose bill like TINS which
u would pass. gentleman might launch out
in very popular harangue against 1t when he was al Inc
time perfectly would become law, and that ne
should get his pay and mileage under IT, The gentlemen
from Virginia and Maine Messrs DaoaeooLE and HAMLs)
knew this and they had spoken most zeaousy against the BILL
Mr. HAMIN asked it there not officers OF this House
who under contract TO the amount who were
dependant the passage of the bill before the Senate
Mr. HOUSTON said that might be SO but members were
in different situation they needed bill to meet the inter
val between June and August.
Mr. MORSE Of Louisiana replied to the remarks Of Mr..
HAmtfS about the amendment the general appropriation
bill which regulated the mileage OF meNbers lie considered
highly indecorous and improper for the members OF one
House reflect the pursued ny co-ordae branch
OF the Legislature.
Mr.. DROMGOOLE said he had carefully abstained from
so doing
Mr. STEWART as:d That he should vote for The amend
meht proposed b. the gentleman from Georgia, (Mr.
C"Bn. lie hoped it would be adopted and he here gave
notice that if it should not be adopted In committee and the
previous question should be called, he should himself
move the same amendment in the House. ard call the yeas
and nays He wished to who the gentlemen who
were ready 10 anticipate their pay, while hundreds Of APP
pcants waiting the door Of the House, and hundreds
of thousands of dollars which they Justly entitled
were withheld from them by delay For one he Was willing
TO wait the action Of the Senate Oh the general appropriation
bill just all the others obliged to wait who
cetned In that BILL But if gentlemen DESTROYS of dis
cussng amendments he thought they had much better turn
their attention TO amendment which Mr.. y. had offered
day two since, which provided that after Congress had been
session SIX mouths their per diem should be reduced to SIX
dollars that after they had been in session months
their per diem should BIO reduced four dollars and after
aight months dollars. Mr. SIS object in offering this
amendment had not been to reduce members pay but
shorten the sessions of Congress and this in apprehension
the only way in which that object could ever be effected
This bill pfoessedly to provide against deficit but Mr.
s. could tell gentlemen that there would be other deficits Of
far more consequence and far greater amount There would
be deficit and very great deficit shortly experienced in the
Of the country The contemplated passage OF the
tariff BILL of the subtreasury bill and the arehousing
bill and the land bill taken together, would reduce The
o e country onehalf And this proper time to
provide, in anticipation, for members own pay
Mr. CHAPMAN here called Mr.. STEWART to order. He
perceived that the gentleman about to nct upon the
House another tariff speech He hoped he would not be al
lowed to proceed 4
Mr. STEWART said that the House in Committee OF
the Whole the state of the Unon and he claimed the same
liberty OF debate which bad been allowed to other gentlemen
This bill appropriate money, and the money to be
appropriated was part of the revenue it certainly,
therefore, in order speak any thing which affected the
revenue .s.,-a us.
TIE CHAIR ruled Mr.. STEWART to be in order
Mr. STEWART said that whatever touched the revenues
of the country affected the people of the country, and formed
legitimate subject Of discussion in the peoples House Of Re-
representatives. This question which, as the govern
organ maintained, affected the Administration only;
question for the people much and more than 1t
question for the Administration He had said that there would
shortly be other deficiencies OF far importance than that
which this bill proposed to provide for II gentlemen carried
their proposed they would find themselves without
money pay the troops who fighting battles The
House had passed bill creating Treasury bank and au-
thoJzng issue millions of dollars in Government pa
per but, them millions Of paper money would prove but
drop in the bucket Gentlemen had sacrificed their own
principles but they had done it in van protesting themselves
the friends of exclusive metallic currency, and passing bill
which forbade any other to be received paid by The
Government They had in the face Of their measures
and their principles authorized the issue of paper
rency They had erected Treasury bank in the face of their
Subcasuy BILL the consequence of which was that the
Treasury would not get dollar in bullion but would only get
back its Treasury notes.
But than that, gentlemen would not get sufficient
meet the ordinary expenses of the Government
What were those ordinary expenses and what were their
| amount
Mr. s. called the attention Of the chairman of the Com
mtee of Ways and Means the fact and be should Like to
hear his explanation of it. The estimates made by The Secre-
of the Treasury before there word said about war
the prospect of war-es.aes rendered in time OF PR
found peace to meet the ordinary expenses OF the Govern
menthad been more by six millions and half than the ex
pendures of the preceding year. If gentlemen doubted It,
he would refer them the Secretarys report He wished
the chairman explain how il that the peace estimates
for this year exceeded by than six millions the peace
expenditures OF the last years and besides THIS we bad nad
bill appropratng million and half to make good deficient
appropriations. Add this million and half TO the SIX mil
lions and half he had Just mentioned and It would make
eight Millions by which amount expenditure, for the
present year surpassed those Of the last There stood the
fact in the Secretarys report and Mr. s. challenged the
chairman of the Committee o Ways and Means any friend
of the Secretary of the Administration To deny it, Was
this brought about conceal these and unpre
cedented expenditures in time of peace exceeding by SIX OF
millions the expenditures OF preceding years The
would smother up all this extravaganza and conceal
from the public All wasteful expenditures would now
be attributed TO the war. The would be blanket wide
enough TO cover all up.
But Mr. s. would leave this point and refer to sugges-
ton made this morning by the honorable gentleman from
Missouri, (Mr. BowLIS,) who bad introduced amend
for deducng the pay Of members for abseeets Mr.
concued in the justice and proprey OF that amendment
but he believed that this word absenteeism word
In the debates Of Congress,
Mr. s. had this morning employed for the first time,
the columns of the Unon and he thanked the editor or
the word The organ said that dbsenfee was
the Of all evil The government editor had given out
that there would be reply made in the Senate to the speeches
made by the Whig friends Of the tariff of 1872 but that as
the ee-ade tariff Senators not going to make any
reply he the learned editor would do il for them He had
accordingly commenced and the very first word he had en-
poyed this word Of abscnfeei and most powerful ar
gument he had made upon it. An able Senator from Massa-
chusets (Mr DAvs had attributed the destitute condition OF
the British colonies the fact of their having free trade with
England but the sapen editor corrected that position OF the
Senator and said that the low condition Of the colonies was
owing, not TO free trade, but TO dbsenteeis "a most ex-
cellent word" thank thee Jew, for that that they en-
poyed others manufacture every thing for them and mat
the true why they greatly depressed now
Mr. $. would ask what the policy of this Adminsa-
ton Was il any thing else but "abscneeism, from be-
ginning to end Was not regular system 81 aosenee
Let that policy be carried out and all the uadesmen
and mechanics who worked for the people OF tins country
would 10 absenees they would not reside IN this country
reside what further