The national Republican., 1867-03-04
CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS.
CONGRESs...SECOND SESSION.
SATURDAY, March 2, 1867.
SENATE.

was agreed to.
The bill establishing certain post routes in staol
and Territories was passed
Binghams bill increasing the duty on wool wa,
passed.
The bankrupt bill was passed.
Inc report Of tho conference committee on the
compound interest note bill fixing amount Of certi
hcates at hity millions, was adopted.
Tho indemnity bill was passed as Il camo from
the House, without amendment.
The tenure Of office bill was passed over the Pres
dents veto by vote Of 35 yeas to II nays
The Senate then went into Executive session, and
did not opon the door for nix hours.
Inc conference report on tho army appropriation
bill was concutroi In.
The conference report on tho naval appropria.
| tion bill was concurrod in
Tho conference report on the tax bill was con.
cured in.
The conference report on tho civil appropriation
bill was concurred in. II strikes out the provision
for the payment of the internal revenue assessors
appointed In the Southern States.
The deficiency appropriation bill was then taken
up, amended and passed.
The House bill Omendatory Of tho tariff act Of
| 1854 was passed.
The Senate then, at $50 a. m, took recess un.
I'll 1880 p m. on Sunday evening
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Hon Turner M. Marquette was sworn in Us
member from tho new State Of Nebraska
The report Of the conference committee on the
new conference committee was ordered on the
bill.
bill was passed to pay to disabled soldiers the
contract price for artificial limbs instead Of fur.
nishing the limbs
Tho Committee on Elections were discharged
from the consideration Of the Aruell contested
election and pay and mileage from the date Of the
commencement Of tho contest allowed to Mr..
Thomas, contestant.
The Bingham tariff bill in regard to wool was
passed, and goes to the President.
A supplementary Executive report 10 reference
| 10 pardons Issued was presented.
Also, report OF tho Secretary Of the Interior,
in reference to appointments and removals in his
| Department.
After debate, in which the Democrats generally
denounced the military reconstruction bill as bill
for the dissolution Of the Union and declared their
regret at their inability, under the rules Of the
House, to defeat its passage, the bill was under q
suspension Of the rules passed over the President
veto by vote Of 1855 yeas to As nays the only Re.
publican voting in the negative being Mr.. Hale, oi
New York
The conference report on the army appropriation
| bill was agreed to.
The report Of the conference committee on the
compound interest note bill was agreed to-
The miscellaneous appropriation bill was reported
and several OF tho Senate amendments non.con'
CURED in.
The tenure of Office bill was passed over the Pres
ident's veto by vote of l3l yeas to 81 nays, and
was declared by the Speaker to be law.
Senate amendments TO bill for relief of inhabi
tants OF cities and towns on public lands were con
CURED in.
The conference committee report on the tax bill
was agreed to. II fixes 2i cents per pound on cot
tom allows gas companies to charge gas tax to con
sumers, and impoIes ono dollar gallon on grape
brandy.
On the motion Of Mr. LIE Blond, Of Ohio sup.
ported by Mr.. Hogan, Of No, and Mr.. Maynard,
OF Tenn, by unanimous vote, the House rendered
thanks to Speaker Colfax for the courteous, digni
fed able, and impartial manner in which he had
| discharged the duties Of presiding officer
The deficiency appropriation bill being still under
confederation, It was reported to the House. and q
| separate vote having been demanded upon striking
out the appropriations for tho Executive Mansion,
the House refused to strike out the appropriations
| referred to, and the bill was passed.
| Mr.. Hubbard, Of New York, from the special
committee on tho subject of abuses in the custom.
| houses, submitted o report, which was ordered Ia
| be printed. The testimony Is voluminous, and the
report covers over II pages of cap paper. Tho re.
| port says large amount Of testimony was taken
In exposition Of alleged abuses and frauds in rea.
tion to customs at the New York custom. house.
| Abuses have arisen in the collection Of customs
under every system yet devised, however admins.
tered Some, by reason Of long usage, seem to
have acquired tolerated recognitoni while others
under tho looseness and Generalization attendant
maturity. The abuses Of the revenue. seizure sys.
TEN, formidable aud manifold In any view have
crystallized into lcgaliEed extortion. Recently ex
tensive foreign interests have become so immeshed
Herewith that 1t is not improbable our Govern
mcnt through its diplomatic ear, will DO constrained
to takc some notice of the ways and the wies Of
men who, under various guises and pretonces, are
enacting most discrodtabo parts in tho various
marts Of Western Europe.
The committee, after referring to tho testimony
Of a =
back to the appointment Of Henry A. Smythe o.
Collector Of the port Of Now York. From the ties
timony, say tho committee, It is evident thai
Smythe gauged the appreciablo value and CONNER
cal use he could make of the disposal of the "gen
era ORDER business declaring as he did the very
first day of his official life, to Mr.. Barr, "the
North river general order business is the big plum
for tho Collector 1t is probable that before his
| confirmation by tho Senate, and possibly before
his nomination, he had agreed with certain per
sons that they should bo benefited by the allot.
mcnt Of the plum business. Smythe declined tC
inform the committee who these persons were, but
was less roticent as to the division or prize fixed
upon the general order business. by the aid oil
| more communicative witnesses the committee were
enabled to learn the names Of intended beneficial
Ties and tho sums they were to receive. By
smythes contompOraneOus declarations and tn,
testimony Of Potter A. Van Bergen, II seems tina
tho Collectors first known attempt to place thu
general order business to his own was by negO
tiatiOn with Van Bergen 4 Co. Tho uniform part
nership Of this concern may have originated il
Washington, possibly before Snytho's nomination
was acted upon In the Senate. Whatever thu
place and origin of its time may have been, it /
tolorably certain that Van Bergen, Geo. f. Thomp
son. Senators Doolittle and Patterson, and Mrs
Perry had unequal interest in its effective opera
tion. smythe had said that parties in Washington
must be taken caro- Of; and James Humphrey, a
partner Of the firm of Humphrey 4 Co, and at tina
time member Of Congress from the Brooklyn dis
trlct, called on Smythe, and told him that Georg,
Thompson, who represented Van Bergen & Co.
must have the lions share and that thero must b.
at least So 900 from the carriage business for poti
cal fund. One Of Humphreys partners had writer
on slip of paper a form, as follows "Nortl
river-ThOmpson, shares; II. & Co, ! share
East riyer-ll. Co, who are to take caro- Of tw
friends Of the Presidents carriage, 1000, for polt
ical fund This memoranda was found. Smyth,
had penciled tho back Of 1t and assented to The
proposition, and wrote on the back Of 1t memo
randa, as follow MRS. Perry, $4,000 Brown,
$2,OOOi political, $4,000 -, $4,000; -
s., 900. Total, S2O O00."
Tho slip was explained by tho surviving partne
of Humphrey 4 Co., and was proved undoubtedly
to be Smyth.'s. The duplicate "S5, 900" repre-
sented respectively the amounts destined for tn
two friends of tho President. There Is abundan
testimony to show that Messrs Dooittle and Pat
terson the friends of the President referred to
In speaking Of Humphrey death, smythe remarked
zone less to divide with"
The committee thon append table giving al