The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-10-03
JUDGE LAWS CoNGREs.
q SIONAL RECORD.
To the Voters Of the First Congress
si0l.oI District:

otOHtf I(fob fCCs
JUDGE LAW AGAINST ABoLsHING THE
FRANRING PRIVILEGE.
January 9, 1S62-This bill and amend
ments being before the House,
Mr.. Wright. | move to lay the bill and
amendments on the table, and ON that
motion call the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered
Mr. Wickliffe Allow me to enquire
what will be the effect of that motion ifi
prevails? Will it prevent further action
Of the House upon this subject?
The Speaker. The motion is to lay the
whole subject on the table.
Mr.. Wickliffe. Win that prevent the
House hereafter from passing a bill on
this subject?
The Speaker The House must deter
mine that question, not the Speaker.
n The question was taken, and it was
decided in the negative-yeas 81 nays
r78, Hon. JoHN LAW voting to lay the
whole subject on the table. Ii. j. p. 100
Gong. Globe, Jan. TO- .ii.s...e--4f
Jan. 14-The House had under con-
sileration the bill for abolishing the
Franking Privilege.
Mr.. Porter, of Indiana. 1t is indis-
pensable, in order to maintain the public
credit, that we shall raise additional rev.
enue and alleviate, as far as possible, the
burdens upon the treasury. If we can
find productive tax, which is voluntary,
and not coercive, and which will bring
an immediate return to the tax payer of
more than the taxes which he pays, such
a tax ought to receive special favor.
From the foundation of the Government
until within the lastfew yearsit has been
the policy to make the Post Office De-
partment self-sustaining. Our Treasury
has been so full and the facilities for
raising revenues have been so great
within the last few years. that there has
been q temporary departure from this
policy, but now when our sources of rev
enue have become so inadequate to the
wants of the Government, and since we
are compelled to resort to additional
sources of taxation, it is indispensable
that we should now return so far as pos
sible to the original policy of the Govern
ment Mr. Porter then went into
general argument in favor of the bill,
and in conclusion said: I" trust that this
Congress will distinguish itself by des-
troying the franking privilege, Those
who are the recipients of public matter
do not ask aims from us; they are will
ling to pay the postage upon what they
receive, instead of imposing the burden
upon the people at large
Mr. Colfax said: i" | heard the remarks
of the distinguished Postmaster General,
from Kentucky Mr.. Wicklffe !, very i'm
perfectly where | sit. One of his argu-
ments, which / did hear, however, was
this, that it would be impossible for this
bill to pass both Houses of Congress. /
desire to state to the gentleman that a
bill to abolish the Franking Privilege
has frequently passed the Senate, al
though such bill has never passed the
House. At the last session bill passed
the Senate for that purpose with only
two dissenting votes, one given by Mr..
| Hemphill, of Texas, a secessionist, and
the other by Mr. Wilkinson, Senator
from Minnesota All the other Senators
voted for the passage of the bill This,
then, is sufficient answsr to the gentle
mans declaration that it is impossible to
pass this bill through both branches ot
| Congress.
with these remarks / will add that
will vote against the instructions o.
Messrs Pomeroy and Wickliffe, which
continue the Franking Privilege, and il
l find that majority of the House are
in favor of the total abolition with pre-
payment added, as proposed by the gen
tleman from New York Roscoe Conk
ling1 / will waive the details of the Bill
and go with him, although / think thai
the Committee bill is the best for the
country My own preference, indeed, is
for the total abolition of the whole sys
TEN, and thus to break up this long
standing abuse under which the whole
people are taxed for the benefit of {
part The COnamittees Bill 060lishes 4
utterly, but leaves members as if th'
law of compulsory prepayment, passed
few years ago, did not apply to them
the great bulk of their correspondence be
ing on the business of their hundreds o
thousands of constituents, and leavin;
them to prepay or not as they deem fiji
ting. The proposition of Mr.. Rosco
Conkling, also, abolishes the system, bu
requires as to opre-pdy euerything we send
letters, books, speeches, and all"
The question then required on MI
Wickliffe's substitute, which provide
that the Franking Privilege should b
exercised by members only during tn
sessions of Congress and for thirty day
thereafter"
Mr.. Wicklife demanded the yeas an
nays, which were ordered Yeas SO
nays 81. Hon. JOHN LAW voting ye;
: H. J. p. IT'S.
The question then required on NJ
Pomeroys proposition, which was rejec
ed.
Z The question then recurred on III
Roscoe -Conklings amendment, and Il
yeas and nays were ordered, and stoo
: yeas 107; nays AZ Hon. JOHN LAW v
9 ting nay H. j. p. 27S. M
The next motion upon which vo
: was taken was to lay the bill on the tabl
upon which Hon JOHN LAW voted in Il
affirmative The vote stood yeas A
u nays l04.
The question being then on the pa
o sage of the bill, and the yeas and ma
= being ordered, the vote stood, yeas 10