The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-02-16
Congressional,
WAsH1NaroN. Feb. 10.

Grow referring to the Kansas restriction, SAID,
the population of that Territory was much
greater than that of Oregon, and that he new
er would give his sanction to such an unjust
restriction as was now proposed In favor VI
Oregon. =,
Mr.. Hughes, of Ind, charged the Republl-
cans with opposing the Oregon bill because the
Territory was Democratic.
Mr.. Nichols, of Ohio. advocated the admls-
sion of Oregon, and repudiated its being a par
ty question.
Mr.. Granger, of N. Y, opposed the admis-
sion of Oregon, objecting to the principle IN
the Constitution allowing unnaturalized for
eipners to vote. He opposed the provision
which prohibits negroes from suing in the
Courts.
Mr.. Maynard, of Tenn, opposed the bill be-
cause it granted the right of suffrage to I'M
naturalized foreigners.
On motion of MIR. Stephens, the vote on the
bill was fixed for Saturday at noon.
The House went into Committee. No quo
rum being present, the Com. took arccess until
7 o'clock.
SESSION.
Mr.. Keim, of Pa, made a speech in favor
of the acquisition of Cuba.
Mr.. Taylor, of La, spoke in favor of the
acquisition of Cuba.
Mr.. Abbott, of Me-, opposed the bill which
passed the Senate at the last session repeating
the fishing bounties. Several other speeches
were made on various subjects, when the House
adjourned.
SENATE.-Mr. Clingman said he had been
instructed by the Legislature of his State to
oppose any increase of duties, and to insist
upon the importation of railroad iron free of
duty. The President in his message had rec
commended specific duties, and the friends of
taxation had seized the opportunity to ask for
protection-the Senators from Pennsylvania
asking, the one SIS and the other SIS per ton,
which on iron worth e6 sterling is equivalent
to so per cent. The Pennsylvanians reminds
ed him of Falstaf, "When thou art king, rob
my exchequer,I Huh"-He could not assent
that the iron interestw was so oppressed. 1t had
increased in the extent of three-fold in the
past IL years. ratio not equaled by any other
branch of industry. He showed by numerous
illustrations that the succession of tariffs had
acted unfavorably on production, and also from
the statistics of the past 3S years that all
branches of industry prosper under a low tariff
and languish under a high one. He did not
attribute the late revulsion to the tariff of
1857. The country is fast recovering from the
depression, and the present revenue will be suf-
fcient if unnecessary expenses are cut Off
Most of those great expenditures had carried
by the votes of the opposition.
Mr.. Simmons of r l., replied in a lengthy
speech. His views were generally in favor of
a fixed ad valorem duty, the price to be deter
mined by law and not by the importer. He
was opposed to an increase of postage, which
would be putting the burden of the whole cost
of transportation of the mails upon the letter
writers. He was convinced that there was no
possible means to raise the required amount of
revenue from the present tariff. In the course
of his few remarks he said, the President has
recommended specific duties; he had no doubt the
President was sincere, for he had been for spe-
ciic duties for 40 years, but the enunciation of
that one honest sentiment of his heart had so
metamorphosed him that nobody knows him,
and like Acteon he is set upon by his own
hounds. The subject was postponed till to-
morrow, when Mr.. Hunter has the floor.
Mr.. Seward again attempted to procure the
consideration of his resolutions respecting the
Indiana Senators. After much debate the
Senate decided not totake it up, 20 against 10.
The Cuban bill was then taken up.
Mr.. Foote of VT, moved that no payment
should be made until the treaty is ratified by
the u. s. He said the purpose of the amend
ment is to prohibit payment to Spain till the
bargain be completed by both parties. How
ever desirable the acquisition of Cuba may be,
or is, on commercial or political considerations,
the question whether we would have it if we
could, is not presented in this bill. The only
naked alternative is, shall we appropriate thirty
millions from an exhausted treasury or by
superadding to the public debt, as "a bride tc
Spain to make such a treaty, and as a compul
sion to the American Senate to ratify it. The
Senate is a coordinate branch of the treaty
making power, without whose assent all treat
les are null and void. The bill is a Legislative
assumption of a perogative of the Senate, anG
is therefore unconstitutional. 1t is an insidi
Gus attempt to invade and get around thu
treaty-making power, and thus to remove on,
!. of the strongest safeguards of the public wei
. fare. Cuba, moreover, is not for sale, and can
not be purchased at any price, except that o
, blood.
1t is idle to appropriate a vast sum of none,
for its purchase, when Spain regards the ide
that she would sell it as an indignity to he
= honor, to her weakness, may be. He woul
not say that the bill was a transparent humbul
= or an experiment in political chicanery, blu
. would say that there has not been in the pas
-. forty years a more inopportune time to offer t
purchase.
Mr.. Pugh offered a substitute for Mr.. Foote
amendment, to the effect that no payment shal
be made under the act which shall involy
more than one hundred and fifty millions.
Mr.. Pugh spoke for upwards of two hour
reasoning that however appropriate the Spar
ish possession of Cuba was, it is no longer sc
inasmuch as she has let go every inch of GU
coast; that no power on earth has now so muc
' reason for its possession as the United States
as we own practlcally the Whoie commerce an
), much of the coast-nf tho Gulf and arc rut
Tied to the key which locks and unlocks it
moreover the government of Cuba is not sue
: as can be tolerated by any liberal Governments
It and is one which offers no redress for outrage
t on our citizens. He would insist that Spai
should arm the Captain Gen'l with powers, an
e would notify her that for the next outrage re
e dress would be demanded on the spot, and ez
4 acted at the lannon's mouth.
He had no doubt that the people of Cub
really desire annexation to the U. S., exclude
as they are, from all participation in the maj
agement and the e~moluments of the SOIL
. There is no affinity between Spain and Cubs
S except an affinity of blood; which did no
prevail in her case in Mexico, in Texas, nor il
. ours in the Revolution. Moreover, Spain ha
never exhibited any friendliness towards tn
t United States, but on the contrary, our relation
e for the mast ten Or twelve years have hnen +Los