Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-07-08

gresS (whose name is Leglon) be palu
$3.50 extra because of such protracted la
bor Thenceforth, this gratuity was re-
peated at the close of each session-the
money being taken by the generous men,
bers not from their own pockets, but In
Gle Sans, and the vote being now that
The usual extra compensation, etc. As
our session was a light as well as a short
one, some of US determined to stop this
treasury leak and we did it once or
twice, to the chagrin Of the movers. At
length came the last night Of the session,
and with it magnificent SPREAD free to
all members. in one of the committee
rooms, paid by levy of FIVE dollars per
head from the regiment of underllngs VINO
hoped thus to secure their usual gratu-
ity giving each net profit on the invest
ment of S245. After the House had been
| duly mellowed and warmed, a resolve to
lay the usual extra compensation was
sprung, but faied-two-thirds in the
affirmative being necessary to effect the
requisite suspension Of the rules. Nothing
daunted, the operators drew off to repair
damages and soon there was moved
resolve to pay the chaplain of the House
his stipend from the contingent fund, and
to suspend the rules, to accord this re-
solve an immediate consideration.
Il object, Mr. Speaker [ at once in
terposed we all know that the Chap
lan's salary has not been left unprovlded
for to this time This is u ruSe-I call for
the yeas and nays on suspending the
rules
'Shams shame = rose and reverberated
/ th hln in
out OF his hard-earned money. Refuse
the yeas and nays
The rules were Indignantly suspended,
and the resolution received.
And now, Mr.. Speaker said the men,
Der who had been cast for this part, |
move to amend the resolve before us by adj
ding the usual extra compensation to the
sub-clerks ,door-keepers and other employees
of the House
No sooner said than done; debate was
cut off and the amendment prevailed. The
resolve, as amended, was pushed through,
and our employees pocketed their sou
each, less the s. 50 recently and Judlcl-
iously invested as aforesaid.
was placed by the Speaker on the
Committee on Public Lands, whereof
man, and which was mainly composed OF
worthy upright men, intent on standing up
for public right against private greed. a
rious fair-seeming bills and claims came
before US, some of which had passed the
Senate, yet which we put our heel on a.
bare-faced robberies Virginia land claims
(for additional bounty lands to her Revo-
lutionary soldiers,) Il presumption to part
of Rock Island, etc, were among the Jobs
remorselessly slaughtered by Us; our sell
complacency-no to say selt-concelt,-
steadily augmentlng.
At length, there came along 4 meek, in
nocent-looking stranger. by whom we We're
nicely taken in and thoroughly done for.
1t was Il bill to cede to the several new
States (so-caled) such portions of the un-
sold public lands within their limits re-
spectively as were submerged or sodden,
and thus rendered useless and pestilental,
that i, swamps, marshes, bogs tens, etc.
These lands, we were told, were not merely
worthless while undrained they bred te-
vers, ague, AMI all manner of zymotic dis
eases. shortening the lives of the pioneers,
and rendering good lands adjacent un-
healthy and worthless. But cede these
swamp lands to the States including them
respectively, on condition that they should
sell them and devote the proceeds TO drain
ING and improving them, and everything
would be lovelv-thc neighhoring dry
lands would sell readily. and the treasury
be generously replenished, etc. There
was never a cat rolled whittier IN meal and
[, for one, was completely duped. As |
recollect, the bill did not pass at that ses-
sion, but we reported strongly in its favor.
and that report. doubtless, aided to carry
the measure through the next Congress.
The consequence was a reckless anu fraud
ulent transfer to certain States of millions
on millions of choice public lands, whole
sections of which had not muck enough on
their surface to accommodate single fair
sized trog while the appropriation OF the
proceeds to draining proved farce and
sham The lands went--all OF them that
had standing water enough on square
mile of their surface to float a duck IN
March, with a good deal more beside /.
while never a shake of ague has any plo-
neer been spared by reason of all the dram
age done under this specious act. L can on
lv hope that some of us learned a whole
some lesson of distrust.
The last night of a session is usually a
long one and ours was not only long but
excited. The two Houses were at vari-
ance the House desiring (at least voting)
to prohibit the introduction of slavery into
the vast territories just then acquired from
Mexico; the Senate dissenting from that
policy. OF course who voted for the re-
striction could not carry it through nor
over the Senate But the Senate was not
content to- stand on the defensive 1t at.
tached to the great Civil and Diplomatic
Appropriation bill [since divided a pro-
vision for the organization OF the new Ter,
ritories, Of course without the restriction
against slavery, and, in effect, said to us
You shall agree to this, or the new Tay
lor administration shall not have dollar
to spend after the Ist Of July ensuing. We
had one or two conferences by committee
but neither House would give way. Final
lv. the bill came back to US on this las
evening, the Senate insisting on its Terri
torial amendment. Each side had rallied
in full force there were but three OF al
the Representatives chosen from the slave
States who. were not in their seats and We
were morally certain to be beaten on a
motion to recede, three or four weak
brethren changing their votes rather thar
leave the Government penniless when some
one on our side, believe it was Richard
w. Thompson, of Ia, got in a motion t.
coucur with an amendment. This amend
ment accepted the Senate's project of or
ganizing the new territories, barely adding
a Stinulat ation that the existing laws thereO