Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-04-19
WASHINGTON TOPICS AND GOSSIP
AZ ErE an rHr rENIANs.

WASHINGTON TOPICS AND GOSSIP.
AK EYE ON THE FENIANs.
The Government has information from
the northeastern frontier showing that the
Fenians are bent on violating the neu-
trslity laws, and that the time is about ct
hand when the authorities here will have
to issue q proclamation on the subject, or
else send troops to the border.
NOMINATION OF MR.. sTANBERRY.
Henry Stanberry, of Cincinnati, was
nominated by the President to-day as As
sociate Justice of the Supreme Court, in
| place of Catron, deceased. A bill reorgan-
izing the Court, so as to do away with the
necessity Of another Judge, has passed the
House, and is now before the Senate.
Whatever its fate there may be, the indi-
cations are not favorable to Mr. Stanbery's
confirmation.
THE PEACE PROCLAMATION.
The Interpretation of the peace proela-
nation which the President gave General
Howard, as recited in my last, has been
| embodied in an official order from the Ad-
iutant Generals Office, announcing that
the proclamation does not change or mod
fly the status of military occupation, or
| restrict the administration of impartial
justice through the Freedmen's Bureau.
Tho question which every n is now ask
ing, What then, does it mean" is q
question I cs4not answer. The President
says, with sufficient emphasis, if not with
entire perspicacity at is only another
declaration of my policy"
Ex-GoY. TOD AND THE ADMINISTRATION.
Ex-Governor Tod, of Ohio, has author
lied his friends to say that the use of his
name as one of the Vice Presidents of the
johnson National Union Club, so called,
was without his authority or consent, and
that he gave no authority or license what
ever to any one for using his lame as Vice
President or otherwise Of any johnson
Club or meeting and further, that he has
no sympathy for any organization Of
rebels, Copperheads or men of doubtful
political character and disturbers Of the
harmony of our country.
SENATOR STEWART BEFORE THE RECON
sTRUcTIoN CoMMITTEE-HE EXPLAINS
HIS PLAN o RESTORATION.
The Reconstruction Committee had a
meeting this morning, and heard Senator
Stewart, of Nevada, in behalf of his pro-
posed constitutional amendment to settle
the question of restoration, which he pre-
sented in the Senate on Thursday last.
The amendment prohibits any discrimina-
ton in civil rights or political suffrage,
and provides for the reputation of the
rebel debt. When the amendment is rat
flied by the Southern States it provides
for their admission to Congress and the
granting of a general amnesty. The Com
mittee did not seem disposed to receive
the proposition very favorably.
LIVELY TIMES IN CONGRESS.
The proceedings of both houses were
enlivened to-day with personalities of the
sharpest kind-in the Senate between
Messrs. Conness and McDougall, of Cali
fornia, and in the House between Messrs.
Raymond and Conkling, Of New York,
and Messrs. Ingersoll, of Illinois, and Ell
bridge, of Wisconsin. The affair in the
Senate grew ont of a charge by Mr.. Nc
Dougall, that Mr.. Conness was personally
interested in a railroad bill under consid-
Grafton. Conness denied the charge, and
McDougall, in his usual style, retorted in a
rambling speech of such an indecent char
acter that the Vice President was obliged
to call him to order. de was also called
to order at other times by Mr.. Sumner
and others. He charged Ccnness three
times with telling falsehoods. The latter
made several angry and indignant speech
es, and said be would gladly vote for Nc
Dougalrs expulsion, though he did not
care to start such a movement.
The Raymond-C onkling affair in the
House grew cut of g paragraph in the
Times telegraph column, concerning the
introduction Of Conkling's bankrupt bill.
Conkling characterized it as venomous
and malignant in its character, and said
he had good reason for believing that it
was not written by either of the two gen.
tlemen known as the regular correspon-
dents of that paper. Mr.. Raymond
seemed to see an indirect charge in his
colleagues rvuIaTA, UuI ne would neither
deny, admit or explain If, till it was put
in a more definite shape. This brought
Conkling to his feet again, and he prac-
tically repeated his original statement,
with the same asperity of manner, which
induced Mr. Raymond to say that he was
in no sense responsible for the paragraph
in question. The affair between Inger-
soil and Eldridge grew out OF a fling of
the latter, n of the most notorious Cop
perheads of the House, at Ingersoll, on
account of his war record. Ingersoll re-
torted that he remained at home to keep
Just such fellows as Eldridge from destroy
ing the Government. The latter got
and INDUCED in some bitter per-
sonalities, till he was called to order on
ali sides; and Ingersoll concluded by saw
the present indications were that the
Conservatives proposed to secure the re-
lease of JEFF. Davis, and run him for next
President.
Mr.. sEwARD's POSITION.
Mr.. Seward does not succeed very well
in covering up his footsteps. The follow
ing tracks have been discovered after the
New York Cooper Institute meeting, on
the 22d of February last. Mr.. Seward
made these statements TO q number of the
noted Conservative faithful, viz: That
be would certainly be a candidate for the
next Presidency,that the South, the North
Democrats, and Conservatives would
be his supporters. A few days since a
of New York politicians of the
Thurlow Weed school were discussing
his conversation of Mr.. Stewards in the
light of late events at Albany, and came
% the conclusion that his hopes were vain
md that one of their number must come
lere and tell the Secretary that, to use
heir own language, he was making a neat
DOL of himself. Mr.. ThurloW Weed YVES
'equested to undertake the mission but de-
lined on the ground that he had twice
,een the bearer ofsimilar messages to Mr..
and that he Weed had barely '
urvivsd either Of them, and that further
le would never again, knowingly, cross i
he path of the Secretary ambition.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Weed has arrived in
=, ,st, !