The Portland daily press., 1866-01-26

Letter from the Federal Capital.
Suffrage in the District - The Freedmen's
Bureau Bill.-The Muster Out of Generals.
Resolution of Mr.. Lynch. = Personal
Items. fI"tl.e
WASHINGTON, Jan. %. 1853.
To the Editor of the Press:
The passage in the House on Thursday, the
18th inst, of the bill striking the word ",chite
from all election laws of the District, thus re-
moving all disqualifcations founded on race
or color, was great victory on the right side.
Whether few thousand negroes should vote
in the loca, elections of this District OR not
may seem small matter, but the great prin-
ciple involved imparts to the question a pro-
found significance, and a vast Importance
Those who desired in the passage of this bill
a triumph of principle. pure and simple, and
those Democrats who resisted amendments,
hoping thus to embarrass. and possibly to de-
feat it, were alike disappointed, though in DIFF
ferent ways, at the overwhelming majority by
which it passed. 1t is well known that great
differences Of opinion existed even among the
decided friends of the measure respecting the
precise form in which it should be put-differ-
ences which two caucuses of the Union men,
bers had quite failed to reconcile. That under
these circumstances, on the fullest vote of the
session, the bill should have passed By
116 yeas to "a nays leaves no shadow of doubt
as to the issue, and sadly puts out the pipes of
certain copperhead organs, who have been
comforting themselves with the wholly gratuit-
GUS and groundless assumption, that Presi-
dent johnson would veto the bill if it should
pass. Senator Morrills bill differs from the
House bill not at all in principle, merely add
ing to the main section several others pro-
viding in a stringent manner for its enforce
ment,-4n in this srespect it strikes me as being
decided improvement on the bill just passed
by the House. 1t has been temporarily laid
aside in the Senate in order to let Senator
TrImbulrs bill, .To enlarge the poacers of the
8 Ffeedmens Bureau" come up for discussion.
This is a measure of great and pressing i'm
portance. 1t provides that the Freedmen's
bureau shall continue in force till otherwise
provided by law, and shall extend 10 refugees
and freedmen in all parts of the United States;
that the country containing such refugees and
freedmen may be divided by the President in
to districts, not exceeding twelve in number,
with an Assistant Commissioner for each;
that the Commissioner, with the approval OF
the President, may divide these districts into
sub-districts and assign one agent to each,
who, with all employees Of the Bureau, shall
be under military jurisdiction and protection;
that the Secretary of War may direct such
issues of provisions, clothing, fuel, and other
supplies, including medical aid, as he may
rary relief Of destitute and suffering refugees
and freedmen; that the President may reserve
from sale and settlement three million acres
good land, of the public domain, in Florida,
Mississippi and Arkansas, to be rented in
small lots to the freedmen by the Commission
er, and finally sold to them upon equitable
terms; that the freedmen be protected in
their civil rights and immunities, including
the right to make and enforce contracts, to
sue, be parties, give evidence, to inherit, pur-
chase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and
personal property, &c. The bill contained
section confirming to the freedmen the possess
sorry rights to the Sea Island estates granted
by Gen. Sherman's special field order of JAN
uary 16, 1865, but regret to say this section
has been limited in its operation to three
years by amendment of the Senate. Any at
tempt to deprive freedman OF his civil rights,
or to return him to slavery, is punished with
fine and Imprisonment. This bill meets the
views of Gen. Howard, and is in fact, substan-
TALLY his own. am glad to add, on the very
best authority, that though the condition of
the freedmen is still in many places far from
satisfactory, yet there is on the whcle grad
ual Improvement and mehoration of their
state. This improvement, it is believed will
be greatly promoted by this measure of Mr..
Trumbull's, which without doubt is very soon
to become law.
On the fifteenth inst seventeen Major Gen
erals, and ninety-eight Brigadier Generals
we're honorably discharged and mustered out
of the Volunteer Service of the United
States. On the 1st proximo, four Major Gen.
erals and three Brigadiers are to be discharg-
ed. The pay and allowances of Major Gen.
eral amount in all to s5S40 90 per annum, be-
sides forage for five horses; those of Briga-
dier to SS594 90 and forage for four horses.
The pay and allowances of the officers above
named amount, it will be seen, to S475,1S4 90,
besides forage for 500 horses-an item worth
saving in hard times. Among those already
mustered out are Brigadier Generals John c.
Caldwell, Edward Hatch, James D. Fessenden,
Henry G. Thomas and Cyrus Hamlin, all
Maine men, believe. Twenty-six Major and
forty-nine Brigadier Generals remain in the
| Volunteer Service, among whom are Major
Generals o. o. Howard, and Francis Fessen-
den, each of whom has lost limb in battle,
| Brigadier Generals Seth Williams, Henry
Prince, David Tillson, Adelbert Ames and
Rufus ingalls,, all sons of the Pine Tree State.
The following preamble and resolution, in
| troduced into the House by Hon. John Lynch
on the 18th inst, will be read with interest by
those engaged in commerce, or in the carry
ing business:
"whereas many American ship-owners,
| while belligerent rights were accorded by for
eicn nations to rebel cruisers, in order to pro-
tect their vessels from destruction or capture
by our enemies, placed them under for
eign flags. thereby securing all the advan-
tages incident to such protection in competing
with American commerce for the carrying
trade Of the world-having derived all these
advantages by abandoning the flag of their
country during period OF war, and identify
ing their interests with the, destroyers of It's
commerce, they should not be permitted after
the restoration of peace to re-register their
vessels in American ports, as many have done,
and are now doing, in violation or evasion of
the spirit OF our navigation laws: Therefore,
/ Resotred, That all vessels once American,
whose national character has been changed,
or which have been placed under aforeign
flag or foreign register, should be treated as
be allowed an American register"
Hon. Noah Smith, who has filled many m
portant and responsible offices in the State