Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-02-14

Tney SIT. Ine chairman moves 10 1mpugi
thestatesmanship of the Foreign Secretary
The House sustains the committee. Mr.
Seward complacently smiles at the brutsrl
Irecognize the empire! The Secretary o
the Treasury is seated between the gentle
man from Pennsylvania and the gentleman
from Vermont. In comes the venerable
Secretary of the Navy. Neptune with hi
grave beard and trident is not more solemn
rising from his saline couch. Laughter.
The Secretary of the Interiorl ArounC
him gathers the Indian, Land, and District
committees. The Attorney and Postmas-
ter General, both new as to the House, ur.
bane and tremulous, yet confident that nc
mistake of theirs can be reached by Con-
gressional action. The House is opened
scrutable Essence whom it is our privilege
to worship under the poetic piety of an ac-
Journal is readi iThe Speaker raises his
gavel, when rumble, like the Ten,bLo,
which precedes the earthquake in volcanic
regions, sounds through the corridors! All
| eyes are fixed upon the door! Voild the
laundering Secretary Of War appears
[Great Langhter.] Upon his brow the very
feature of Mars, to threaten and command
Room for the war minister! His flowing
beard and spectacled face, SO familiar to our
eyes
Tl Assume the god affect the nod.
And seem to shake the spheresW ~ -
| tLaughter.1 "M .j '|hl % h9.I y
b What to him are the princes of Begun, re-
ferred to yesterday in debate? What the
princes of Lahore, with their Koh-i-noors?
A whole casket lies in his glance; for is he
not the dispenser of $500,000,000 year
[Laughter.l What to him the civil list OF
George Ill, which the Speaker Norton told
the king was great beyond exampIep' Mil
lions hang upon his smile, whereonIy thou
sands hung upon the smiles of the proud
monarchs OF England What to him are
the satrapies of the Indies Whole heca-
tombs of greenbacks daily are sacrificed by
| his order! In plain attire, but potential
mood, he comes! Far off his coming shines !;
in form and seeming but a man, but in i'm
lagination like the angel of the pit, floating
many rood on the burning mari of war I!
| About him herd thousands of slaughtered
| beef. Laughter.l Around him throng mil
lions of tons of forage; guns and wagons
horses and mules-an innumerable host, too
| great for the contracted mind of man; and
from his brow hang bounties for millions,
and honors'for all Before him fall, as be-
| fore an oriental throne, theprostrate House.
| In vain the Speaker calls to order! In vain
the Sergeant-a -at-Arms brandishes the mace.
| Our symbol falls before the golden wand of
this magician of war! At length he, too,
| deigns to sit. He is flanked by my military
colleagues [Messrs. Schenck and Garfield, ]
and the House is ready with their questions!
Rare diversion here, Mr.. Speaker. The re-
cord provided by the Clerk is produced.
! My colleague, Mr., Shepck, or rather my
colleague, Mr.. Garfield, with that sense of
military skill and courage for which he SO
distinguished, Is the first to rise to inquire of
the War minister, and not without embar-
rassment The House is breathless as he
asks-what? Whether the blowing out of
the bulkhead of the Dutch Gap canal by
Butler has seriously affected the backbone
of the rebellion? daughter If ay, how
| many vertebra are demolished; and after
conference. with the Naval committee,
| whether the canal, in case of tempestuous
| sea, is navigable for double-enders; and
whether they cannot go either way therein
without turning rouLdp [Laughter,l 8,
The gentleman from Illinois Mr.. Wash
| burne] would call up the head OF the Treas
ury and ask whether 1t would be best to tax
the whisky drank in the last century,, with
a view to assist Legislatures of States to a
patriotic choice of Senators [laughterl, and
If so, what amount should be levied on the
| spirits of '76? [Laugter.l The chairman
fend his positions-would inquire, with the
gravity of Pluto's iron countenance, wheth-
er it would not be wise to enact law pun-
| ishing with death all who might sell pea
nuts and putty on any other than a gold
basis lLaughter.] A chorus Of voices
would inquire whether the Treasury could
not 80 interpret the five per cent income
tax as to relieve members recently defeated
from all tax upon their mileage in the next
Congress. Laughter. I'i't lS ~. !. IL
Then the venerable Secretary of the Navy
would be put to his catechism. A mem
ber from Massachusetts, would inquire
what effect the payment of Goldfish boun-
| ties, as a nursery for our seaman, would
have upon the navigation of the iron-clads.
| daughter might be tempted myself to
ask of the same venerable master of the
| trident whether the Abyssinian was used
| by Cleopatra in her naval service; If so,
were they at the battle of the Nile: and,
| 'were they there all the while ?" Laugh
teri II SO. what Pompey thought of it..
But the gentleman from Vermont ever
alive to the interests of New England, I Mr..
Morrill, would inquire triumphantly of
Mr.. Fessenden whether the tariff should
not be so amended as to increase the duty
on dystuffs and paper, so that, on a future
issue Of $4,000, ,000, 900 of greenbacks, the
tariff will be prohibitory, the prices raised,
and a satisfactory deficiency be produced
in our revenues. I Laughter.] Or whether,
by raising the price of dystuffs aud paper,
the value of ogreenbacks, inS the market
might not be made equal to the cost of their
manufacture? htLaughter.] But what
stunning blow would be given by Demo-
cratic member, WHO, rising solemnly, should
inquire of the War Department what pro-
lection, in case OF foreign war, is afforded
by the manning of Forts Warren and La
Fayette by their present loyal force; If SO,
how many are there at thistime; howllonSl
have they been there, and with what pros,
pect gof relief. (Laughter.l ~ IOthink nv
friend from Maryland [Mr. Harris] would
ask that question: Eaughter.l fi6iojnG na
| Nor should the gentleman from Indiana, d
[Mr. Holman,] the, most useful memberof
this House, ever faithful to the soldier, be-
omitted from the programme. What, with /
icrushing results, could he, inquire of, Mr.. 4
Stanton, what effect our Democratice efforts
here to increase the pay Of the soldier has 4
had, on the recent lelections. q And if not,
why not? g[Laughter:l y Perhaps this, too,
interests my colleague in front, Mr.. PEN |
dleton, who took some interest In soldiers
pay and the last election fLaughter.] Or,
rising to the innocent sublime, the GENTLE
man from Iow9d MIR. Grinnelll should ask |
the Navy DEPARTMENT. 3at Grad u
| Mr. EDGERroNi What igentleman9f from
Iowa does the gentleman mean ?q 9dl Isbu1
3 Mrol Cox My pastoral friendsld fGreatd
laughter.] aaiiGa sd 1901 hag .sspeq % III ID
Mr.. GR1NNELL. u simply wish to ask the
gentleman from Ohio whether he proposes
to- revive the church- -pnrtnershitl novel;