Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1866-12-14
CONGRESSIONAL.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.-The bill passed
by the House to-day simply provides that
each Congress, beginning with the 10th,
shall hold three sessions each,--two as now
and another beginning on the 4th of March
next and every second year thereafter. 1t
was put through by vote OF 1913 to 20, the
negative vote being entirely made up of de-
mocrats. The bill is not likely to be taken
up in the Senate till after the holidays. 1t
will probably pass by good majority when
ever reached. The question of providing an
election in States that do not hold elections
prior to March will be considered in another
bill.
As one of the results Of last weeks eau
Gus, in the House, a special committee, con-
sisting of Messrs. Eliot, Shellabarger, and
Campbell of Tennessee, has been appointed
to investigate the New Orleans riot They
will leave for that city next week. A Sec
ond committee, consisting of Messrs Pike,
Farnsworth and Cooper of Tennessee, has
been appointed to investigate the murder of
Union soldiers in South Carolina, and they
will enter upon the work next week. A
third committee, Mr.. Perham chairman, has
been ordered to inquire if any persons who
were dropped from pension rolls for partic-
patton in the rebellion, have been restored.
and if so, by what authority.
The House did q smart piece of business
in quiet way this afternoon, by vote of
about five to one. 1t consisted in so amend
ing the pension bill as to make it provide
that the term of office of all pension agents
appointed since the LIST of last January, shall
expire in thirty days after the passage Of the
act that pension agents, instead of being
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior
and the President, shall hereafter be APP
pointed only on the advice and consent OF
the Senate; and that nominations to all va
cancies made under the bill, shall be made
within fifteen days after its passage.
The first political speech of the session
was made in the House this afternoon by
Mr.. Blaine. 1t was fully up to the most adj.
vanced standard Of the Republican Union
party, and will prove happy introduction
to the winters work. He held that the cleo
tions had shown that no Southern State could
be admitted till the amendment to the Con.
stitution is adopted, and he now, in view o.
the fact that so many of them had rejected
this, demanded that we should advance al
once to the platform of negro suffrage. The
speech attracted marked notice, and wol
commentator from the best men in the
House.
The Mexican correspondence sent to tn,
House by the President to-day, contained
very little not before known to the public
1t related wholly to Gen. Sedgwick's occu
patton of Matamoras. Gen. Sheridan sus
| pended him from command and the Presi
dent relieved him from duty. Gen. Sheri
dan bluntly expressed the opinion that h,
had been tempered with by Mexican mer
chants, and is confident that no serious di
plomatic complications can arise out of tn,
affair.
The discussion on the District negro suf
frage bill opened quite brskly in the Senat
this afternoon, and was participated in b,
half dozen Senators. No vote was reach
ed on any of the numerous proposition
brought forward, and it is likely enough tina
that two or three days may be occupied il
discussion. The debate seemed to indicat
preponderance in favor Of universal SUI
frage and the dsfranchisement of rebels.
Senator B. Gratz Brown to-day agail
brought forward his proposition for putin!
the telegraph lines under the control of tn
post-oflice department 1t is about the sam
as he advocated at the last session, and i
said to have the approval of Postmaster
General Randall.
The Senate territorial committee to-da
reported favorably on the bill for the admis
sion of Nebraska, and Mr. Wade brough
in new bill for the admission of Colorado
The passage Of either bill by two-third
vote is not certain.