The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-12-10
In CONGRESS- OF THE u. STATES.
Thirtieth Congres.-First Session.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 0, 1917.
HOUSE OF REPREsENTATIvEs.

Unusual, DECEMBER q, 1871
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
The journal having been read
Mr.. JAMESON, with view, as he stated, to gave
the Speaker time TO appoint the standing committees
moved that when the House adjourn, it be to meet agar
on Monday next at II o'clock m; which was agreed TO
LIBRARY.
The first business IN order being the resolution submit
ted yesterday by Mr. C0IIANiER, (and pending when the
House adjourned) appointing JOINT library committee
the question put upon the adoption OF the said resou
ton, and decided in the Affirmative
NEWSPAPER POSTAGE.
Mr. BRODHEAD (by eave) gave notice of his in
enton to introduce bill TO repeal much of the Post
Office act OF Sd March, lsi7, as authorizes charge for
postage newspapers conveyed in the mail within thirty
miles OF the place OF publication.
CHApLAINs TO CONGRESS-
MIR. POLLOCK submitted the usual resolution provi-
ding for the election OF two chaplans to Congress, OF diff
feren, denominations.
mir PLLsBuRY being here introduced by his colleague,
Mr. KAUFMAN, received the oath Of Office at the hands
of the Speaker, and took his seat]
Mr. PETIT said he would detan the House but a
few moments tie had risen TO advocate reform which
he thought should be speedily made in the practice OF
this House. He had solemn conviction in his own
mind that this House had nopowertha the two houses
together had no powero appropriate money for religious
purposes. Certainly the proposition plain to
his own mind that where they had not the power to egs-
late at all they could not have power to appropriate
money. No member upon that floor would present the
proposition that they had power TO legisate upon the
subject Of religion at all, in any FORM for any purpose,
in any department of the government Their ancestors
wisely prohibited them from doing So by the constitution
they had given them. When the general government
was organized, there existed in OF the States an
established religion, and in others there great va
rey of forms of religion and in some great prenon-
derancc of one. New England almost exclusive
" Puritan, though they did hang few witches
there. Maryland,. then close by them, was, almost
exclusively Catholic The universal religionthe uni
versa faith--was adopted by them. In other por-
tons, the people were actuated by other interests
and, to prevent the rights and interests OF these va
| ola hain cd
made by the constitution that Congress should make
no law tending to the establishment OF any form OF re-
glon So then they could not leglsate on me sub
that they could not appropriate money where they could
not egslae Yesterday in their presence, he held up
his hand and appealing to the Supreme be- TOR lne
He should not hesitate to discharge that solemn appeal
he understood it, until II otherwise interpreted by
body having the right and the power to construe for
him. and control his action under it lie did not object
to the adoption of resolution proposing the accomplish
ment OF substantially the end Tie did not object to
the appointment of chapains, and the opening OF their
every morning by appeal to the Throne OF
Grace Constituted they were, he doubted not they
should need these appeals and not only need to have
them made but need to have them answered too.
Whether they should have answers, he could not
say. They would need TO have devout man for
a chaplain; for the good book told them that :. the
efectua, fervent prayer of righteous man avaieth
much' II he not righteous, then his prayers would
be in vain. The first amendment which he should pro-
pose 10 the original resolution, would be TO strike out the
sons. Why, he appealed 10 all men of good common
sensenot TO say of refined education-shoud they be
compelled to employ chapans of different denomnaons'
If there religion al al, there was true religion
universal religions catholic religion. Ii there was
orthodoxy there must necessarily be heerodoXy IT, them
they could find the right one out Of the six hundred and
could be but right onehe House might be able to
choose the right But, if the Senate should get the
start of them and choose the orthodox minister under the
original resolution they poor miserable creatures, would
be consigned the inevitable result of eec,ng heerodox
ministers and while in the Senate tho true seed would be
sown they of the House must necessarily have scatter
ed among them tares. The resolution provided Tor
exchanges between the chapans By this arrangement,
they might week listen to proper authority and have
prayers made which would be acceptable at the Throne
of Grace, and the week the descent OF blessing
might be stayed by the services OF one OF different de-
nomination whose prayers could not be answered But,
without urging this considerations let him say how utter
y foolish and childish this proposition was If MAORI
y OF the Senate Catholics and preferred the Catholic
religion, they would elect Catholic priest Why should
the House i majority OF them were Catholics, be pro
hibited by their action from choosing Catholic
priest to pray for them aso So he might run through
with all the others of the six hundred and forty denomi-
nations WHY should ns BE Be %e eHb d from os sss
was childish and vain The first thing to be done was
to strike out the words 'of different denominations and
let all OF them come there and enter into the contest The
amendment he proposed to add to the resolution
this proyiso, viz:
Propded such clapans shall be paid by the memberso OF
the respective houses and that the United Safes shan not
He had asked TO have this amendment put upon the
resolution, because, in the first place. was consistent
with proprety and secondly because he prohibited
from doing otherwise by the constitution OF his country
and he should not there do anything which might finally
pure to the adoption OF religion by the Congress OF the
United States He repeated he had no objection TO the
opening of each days deliberations by prayer On the
contrary, he then said that he would pay more than any
other member of the House would for the services OF
chaplain. He did not know but that he needed quite as
much prayer any of them; at any rate, he would be
as liberal any one. They paid $500 year to their
chaplain, that it cost them but about 80 so apiece tie
would pay 25 of it, rather than have supposed that he
was unwilling TO have chapa 1t was not from wish
that the House should not be opened by prayer that he
to put their hands into the treasury, and give the public
money to any description OF or
pagans, Mahommedans Jews, They had no such
power. He did not design to detain the House but
a few moments, nor would he. He had met with
bitter denunciatons from one end of the Union to
the other for the course which he had pursued there
upon this subject but he had gone on uhterrihed:
Such denunciatons were unheeded, and ever would
be. He had acted from conscientious regard to the
right He had said to his constituents over and over
again. and determined TO pursue this course so long
as they might send him there. He knew and could give
them beautiful catalogue OF the who had denounced
him. Some of them felons, from whom the stencil
not yet grown out upon his feons head. One not two
months out of the penitentiary had charged HIM with
being an infde nor did he care for IT, A distinguished
editor in New York-genlemen could Judge to whom he
referred-had taken such course towards hun. He
who had shed his brothers. blood had denounced hun.
He had only TO repeat to them the assurance that he had
acted from conscientious regard TO the right He asked
this resolution in order that he might be relieved from
the unpleasant necessity of voting against the election OF