The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-05-08
CONGRESS.
Senate.
WASHINGTON, MAY 8.

Senate.
lhe House JOINT resolution in re,at on to tue at.
tempted ASSASSINATION OF the Emperor of Russia was
passed.
he Committee on Commerce reported Joint
resolution directing the Secretaries of War ana tina
NAVY TO unite in ESTABLISHING a uniform syst m of
uarantne in the ports OF the United states
=, lie JOINT resolution to exempt crude petroleum
from lLtelna tax was taken up ana passed
Eouse OF Representatives.
After the reading of the journal Mr. Garlic q
(Ohio) moved to postpone the special order, being
the CONSTITUTIONAL amendment reported by the lom.
mittce oil Reconstl uctOn until the Tax bill shall be
disr 0sed OF 1T won be national CO onlGy to have
the Tax bill DELAYED.
Mr., Stevens PA hoped that no such disnosition
wOu be made OF it. He had no idea that the
discussion of the Constitutional amenament would
occupy more than two or tnrce days and II was not
the intention OF lhe comNAtee 10 have the her
two measures acted on until it seen what di po-
ston the Senate would Riake OF the Constitutional
AmenC ment.
Dir. LIE Blond (05ol called for the yeas aud ma ays
on Mr. Gartield's moTOn, saving hat he want ed to
we WHO were ~ elr%r o. Plvlng the negro prefer
ence over the important interests OF the country.
The vote was taken and resulted in-yeas 81 n lys
81; 20 the motion lost
Mr.. WashDdrre (ll offered a resolution, which
was adopted, erecting the Committee on Banking
and Currency TO examine INTO all the facts and cir.
cumstance3 connected with the recent failure of tbe
Merchants National Bank of WashIn ton and
her banks and to report to the House the amount
OF Government money deposi ed in such banks and
Gy whom the causes of their failure, and also what
lurther legislation is necessary in relation 10 the
national banks to protect the public and the Gov.
ana TO examine witnesses under oath.
The House then proceeded to the consideration of
tie special order being the JOINT resolution reported
by the Reconstruction Committee, processing an
amendment to the Constitution of the United States
lhe debate was opened by MIR. Stevens, in support
OF the JOINT resolution.
MIR. Stevens SAID that the proposition before the
House tell lar short OF his wishes but he believed 1t
was all that could be obtained in the present state
OF public oDInIon. Not only Congress, but the
several States we've to be consulted.
On careful survey of the whole ground the Com.
mltee do not believe that nineteen of the loval
States could be induced to ratlty any proposition
more stringent than tins He repeated "the nine.
teen ates for he utterly repudlated and scOrned
the id' that State not actually in the Union was
to be counted on the question OF ratification.
1t was absurd to suppose that any than three.
tourhs OF the States which proposed the amendment
were required to make 1t valid Believing then that
this was the best proposition that could be made
efectual, he accepted 1t.
Referring to the other Constitutional amendment
passed IN the House this session, which failed in the
Senate, he said it was slaughtered by puer1le and
pedantic criticism, by perversion of philosophical
defamation.
It's death, produced by selfrighteous Republicans
and UnrghteOus COpperheads, postponed, perhaps
for ages the salvation of the cOlOred race But ii
would not do for those who had, for thirty years
'loug ht the beasts at EDhesus" to be frightened at
the FAM gs of "moO ern catamounTs"
Heaven forbid that the southern States, or any
OF them, were TO be le resented in Congress until
the monuments of freedom were built high and
film,