The Woodville Republican. [volume] (Woodville, Miss.) 1847-1853, 1851-03-18
Close Of the Thiny-Pisl COngrn

Close Of the Thiny-Firsl Congress
5 We have at length, by telegraph an nc.
count OF the closing acts of the second ses.
; sion OF the Thiuy-FiSt Congress. II is
extremely brlef, Of course, and leaves a
great deal to be filed up and explained by de-
tails to he furnished hereafter. But il gives
mtelllgence of some very important mat.
ters which have been done, well or III, and
OF the failure of others in which the public
have great interest. The River and Har-
Dor bill, and the Fertilization bills, have
JAILED. These are heavy disappointments
TO large interests The River and Harbor
bill contained a large number of appropria-
tlons for the completion OF public works
already undertaken, aud the making of inn
provements IN various places, particularly
on the lakes and the upper rivers of the
Mississippi Valley, to the amount of more
than two millions of dollars. A great po-
Utica struggle was had upon these bills,
both on the constitutional question and as
affecting the purity of legislation. The
street constructionists opposed them on prin.
cple, and considerable number resisted
them as of corrupting influences in the man.
ner IN which they are usually got up and
passed The practice of combining local
Interests, by which a large number of APP
preparations for different objects is passed
through by the joint vote of all the friends
's0f easff VII (few of them would probably
secure NJ ssyurresrrfrytc tcrrsfng+erNy5av
is severely denounced bYa large numIesf of
memb& irrespectivsSSf the constitutional
,ques6on of the powf to make these appro.
'pEations' rdl ltsese two Influences another
may be added tvpufd ii Tire defearUr rrusus
bills
The appropriations already made are ex-
-.lremely large, and there is a great doubt in
the fQpds of many whether the revenuesof
the year WITT be sufficient to furnish the mon,
ey required. In the last days of the session
membe ss@eegfrI- to--iuutk INTO tlre ways and
means, and, being afraid they had already
voted away too much money, feel econom.
ica and withhold grants which they might
otherwise have felt well disposed to make.
The French spoliation bill, which some how
or other, always seer1s doomed to be the or.
der OF some unexpected scruple or some
financial embarrassment, was also lost.
The cheap Postage bill has also passed
se-rxaCr shape e-irry- -rve--rewcffite ~ but
the reduction of postage to three cents. pre-
paid, for all distances within the United
States, not exceeding three thousand miles.
with double and treble postage on double
and treble letters, each half ounce weight to
be treated as single letter, is ascertained
to be the principal featuEes When the
bill left the Senatethere were SOME very OBJ
jectionable provisions in those pads which
provide for newspaper and pamphlet pos
tage TIE bill was amended in the House,
TO what extent we do not know, but we
hope so as to make it satisfactory. The
general principle Of cheap postage, as estab-
lished in the bill, is great popular reform.
Upon the whole, this session will be mem.
oTa6te for what Congress has omiiledro do,
more than for anything -whieh-tt- has done;
for which the projects which it has baffled,
and the -calculatious it has disappointed, |
rather than anything positive in its acts.
The most significant of these omissions
something in it of a positive
~asapsafY. esaiSiti;ie, 4@s&Ssa''s sfsssf'