, 1859-02-18
xxxyth CoSGREss--.-sGexe SESSION.

! -
x11y.h ooscREss--.-s9sxe SESSION.
WAsursorox, Feb. l7.-SxxArE.-Mr. Hun.
ter, from the Finance Committee, reported the
Executive, Legislative sad Judicial Appropsia-
tion bill.
Mr. Mason, from the COMMITTEES on Foreign
Relations, moved 70 print the report Of the
u. S. Commissioner TO Yancourer's Inland :;
agreed to.
Mr. Wilson'S resolution. recently laid over.
calling for detailed information respecting Mr..
Butterfeld's Overland Mail contracts, Was taken
up and agreed 70.
Nnmefous private memorials, &C., were dis
Mr.. Wade, Of Ohio, moved to postpone all
prior orders, md take up the Homestead bill
Lit. johnson, Of Tenn. also urged it.
Messr1. Wilson and ShieldA desired vote,
and Messra. Reid and Hunter wished 70 have it
postponed, but the bill was taken up, &c to "a,
and resd.
M.. Hunter again moved to take up the Con
au'ar and Dlp'omaho Appropriation bill.
Mr, Stuart demonstrated sganbt this crowd
Ing of the Homestead bill BY m appropriation
bill, which wss sure to pass.
Some time WIS occupied In arranging the pre-.
cedepce Of business.
Mr Seward urged rota on the Homestead
bill rs g measure that would settle definitely the
policy with respect 70 tho public lands, and
would rescue them from being held by apecula-
tors aud capitalists to tie detrimeut Of the inter-
esta Of labor. ,..s
the Homestead. and take up the Consular and
Diplomatic Appropriation bill was 28 To 2s,
when the Vice Preaident gave the casting vote
in favor OF the latter.
Mr. Pugh moved IN amendment to the Diplo-
uatic end Consular bill, proposing to abolish
all grades Of ministers excepting one, and liking
%boa of hHf tyrnfe %1D GOO. with SecYH.
taries st IS 600, bus all missions are to be spe'
ci2l. aud for reasons explained to the Senate at
the time Of apportionment. Consuls-general to
be aboIished, consuls to hare feos Of odice to
the limit Of salaries now provided by law.
Mr. Mason said q few words In favor OF the
general scope Of Push's amendment, but thought
more time would be required in preparing prac.
ticl measures. He intlmRted his readiness to
Cooperate, at q suitable time, with Pugh in re-
vlsn9 the consular and dipiomatio service.
The bill was then laid aside for the Cubn
proposition when Mr.. Chandler took the floor
He energeticsIy denounced the measure and cho'
racterized it as worthy Of the 0stend Manifesto
and Of its author, Of the brigand, Jas. Buchanan.
INT unworthy Of the President Of the United
States.
Tue $50 900 900 is great bribery and corrupt.
ion 1uud, and the pnrctase Of Cuba is clap.tap
and vain attempt to saye the Democratic party
from that annihilution the Almighty Las destined
for it. He spoke elaborately On tue expense the
purchase would entail LIS mortgage and interest.
and detailed bis personal experience to prove that
Cuba, although good land, is not SO g6od as the
Western States. aud its elm is in effect, per-
1,eiua tropic. To purchase the Island, ia merely
IL pay two hundred dollars per head for every
nlan, woman Child and negro, not to own them,
for leave to govern a hcam Of population tEat VIC
would reject with scorn If they offered to come
for nothing. The only Use OF the 1$laud
to us would he to keep there 4 feet aud
army, costing hundred millions Annually. The
native Oreoles are an ignorant, vicious. priest
ridden set, over wbom Gen. Facou established
a military despotisu, not to prevent political
insurrection, but crime. From the Captain
Generai, the Judge on the bench, and the Priest
in the pulpit to the lowest Cuban. bribery is
universal. No other but the Catholic religion is
tolerated, and the CubanE to man are true 10
the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church
to despotism. He believed that the Declaration
Of Independence quoted by Mr. Benjamin, was
written in some tavern in New Orleans What
WIS the tate Of the gallant Crittendeu, when he
went in good faith to aid there so-called painting
Cubans: He died like man, bnt declared with
bis last brekth that he had been deceived in hlR
belief that the Cubans thirated for liberty
Here he went largely into tue Dred Scott de-
cislon, saying that 1t and the thirty mi!ilnn cor
Iuption mud are the only planks in tho: Demo.
critic platform Of 1860. and under which they will
march to certaiu defeat lfr. Chandler concluded
by examining tic details bf the expenditures, TO
show thut tue increase since 1852 has arisen lIOm
corruption.
Sir. Polk spoke i'll favor Of tue acquisition of
Cuba.
The Consular and Diplomatic Appropriation
bill was then again tlEeu u1,.
hr* PnEh offered auolhtr amendment TO cnusot-
,ate the smaller missions. but without taking i
Tole upon ii the Seua.c adjourned.
HousE.-The Sergeant alarms, pursuant to
previous ordera Of the House, produced John
Csssin, Of Philadelphia, who had been summon
ed, but failed to appear before the Select Com
mittce, 10 Investigate the accoun. Of Mt. Sea-
man, the late Superintendent Of Public Print
ing. He il row arragned Ut the bur Of The
House under attachment for contempt.
On motion Of Ar. Geo. Taylor. Chairman Of
the Committee. the Speaker was directed to pro-
pound to Mr. Cassin, the question. what e1cuse
he had to give, and whether be wos now ready
proper questions.
Mr.. Cassn answered bv I wltten statement ill.,
der oath, that an being summoned ty tic Ser
;seant alarms IN the 9:h inst, he ifnn,edlatcly
prepared toattenl as required. hut allowed l,im-
sctf to tc delayed few L3ss owing to tile illness
Of near relative. He tlal now come and yoluu-
tArily surrendered himself. He meant no dis1e-
slEct TO the House, aud begged to be excused for
auy apparent or actual Gclcction, and was ready
t. scs.il5 tcfprc the committee. uaviug purged
himself from the alleged contempt, On motion Of
Nr. Taylor hc WIS dis .harged from custody.
hr. English called mp the bill regulating the
postnge on newspapers and periodicals.. lie sald
It had been reported extensively through the
preaa that this bill proposed to tax newspapers
paakiug in exchange. This was not the tact
The detign wss that periodical dealers shall re-
ceive their mail matter on the saue terms a.
regular Subscribers Another section authoriz.
ed maps ind lilhogral hs to be carried at one
cent per ounce or fraction Of m ounce.
ed from the mai!s. The third section
proposes to punish persons taking letters out
of the office by mistake. but wilfu!ly
or fraudulcntly neg'ecsfng to return them also
}ersons WHO. in like manner, faled to apply money
handed them for the prepayment OF postage, DC.
euch Offences. The bill proposes fine Of SlO0. or
one years imprisonment, or both- The bill WAS
passed.
Mr. English made IN Intellectual effart to con.
tider the bill to abolish the thinking privilege.
Mr. Co1fax stated that by the phsa-eology oi
one section Of the bill every newspaper publisher
would be compelled to prepay the postage on his
entire circulation passing through the mails, 6
change asked for BY no one.
rane in tue chair.
The Army Appropriation bill was taken up.
Mr. Usris, OF Hiss, defended the Democrat
ic party from Hr. Garnets's charges OF extrarn.
gance. He accounted for the increased expen.
ditures, By referring to the extension Of mail
facilities, the Utsh war, expenses attending new
Territories. DC. For these increased expendi-
tures neither the President nor heads Of the de-
phrtments, but Congress Was responsible.
Mr. Granger followed, eulogizug New York
for her efforts to guard the liberty ot every per.
son who sets foot on her soil, and declaring that
If she fulfilled her constitutional obligations no
persons can invade her territory 10 lake awsy
human beings into slavery. Congress, he taid,
bad no power to ieglslate for the return Of fuGu-
tive slsve4-
Mr.. Letcher defended lie action Of the the Com.
mittnn Nf NnEH and NpHns Gac], ,t1ry ~ fit4v