The New York herald., 1868-03-12

respective sds duties It the ates Of their nsr
the saint asaoy az aa @ as noM v.ssed
Mr. EIIoT (rep.) of Mass, addressed the House IN
advocacy Of the bin and In defence OF the Freedlnehs
Bureau, in regard 10 which the public mind had been
led 2stray by the statements or the resldent III ne
vetoes and speeches as If those statements ca eaiSe
from a person on whose word reliance eouu ec
placed But the people ought not TO rely on the sta.e
ments uf facts; they would lind in the end tiat taey
troh oe carried !" ar o es ei as fast as Of
light 1t would take million times as long 70 Teacn
them as it takes ray OF light to come from we SUI.
travagant and believed he had put that rather
strong He declared that the whole amount OF money
support Of the Bureau was s3 s47, ,s54 He had been
asked what the aggregate amount Of APPROXIMATIONS
made by Congress for the Freedmen's Bureau was,
and ia TO that he would say that the aggre-
gate appropriations amounted to $l0,7sO 75O ~.
Mr.. ELDRIpGE ldem.) OF Wis.,, questioned "a, MT; sh:
Eliot to the amount realized by the Bureau Tor tne
sale and use of abandoned lands and property IN tue
South.
Mr.. ELIOT replied that the Bureau had come in
possession of property abandoned by rebels and I'M
repentant owners who deserved hanging ana tlat
If the Bureau had been allowed to retain possession
of such property the Treasury need not have been
called on for any sum for its support. He charged
upon the President and upon the Presidents sup.
porters that 1t was because OF their action anu oi
their opposition that the expenses OF the Bureau
were not paid out of this abandoned property, az
had been the design Of Congress.
Mr.. TRlMBLE, (1em.) Of KY, expressed desire ior
information how Mr. Eliot could reconcile the theory
that these freedmen were competent to frame insti-
tutons for the government OF States with the fact
that they had to be provided for by the Freemen's
Bureau.
Mr.. ELIOT said he should not expect to satisfy the
gentleman from Kentucky on that point.
Mr.. TRIMBLE suggested that the gentleman might
try to satisfy the country.
Mr. ORTIZ, (rep.) OF Ind. intimaed that the country
was already perfectly satisfied.
Mr. ELIOT closed his speech with defence OF the
Bureau and of the laws establishing It, The republi-
can party he declared not to be afrighted back
from Its appointed work. There may have been cor
rupt and selfseeking men in that party and unwise
and i'll considered measures adopted, but the great
record of the party would remain. That party stood
its defence; it needed defence II proposed
TO carry attack, here at home, on the stump by
on the fight against the slavebOrn power beaten III
the field, but hopeful yet by cunning strategy to
undo the work which the national arms had accom-
pshed.
The morning hour having expired the bill went
over till tomorrow.
The Senate amendment to the House bill TO facll.
tate the payment of soldiers bounties was taken
from the Speakers table and, on motion OF Mr..
PAINE nOn-Concurred In, and committee OF confer
THE ADMISSION or ALABAMA.
The House then, at halfpast one O'Clock, took up
the bill for the admission OF the State OF Alabama
Mr.. FARNswORTH, (rep.) Of H., member OF the
speech in support of the bill, contendng that al
though the Reconstruction laws required majority
OF the registered voters to vote on the proposed cons
tuition, the State should nevertheless be admitted
first because that provision was unusual and improp
er, and second because intimidation was used to keep
voters from the polls. The committee had had before
1t some two hundred afdavits all tending to prove
the latter fact; that system OF ostracis, social and
financial prevailed i'm Alabama: that loyal white men
deferred in thousands from voting and that
such an unprecedentedly severe storm had been ra-
ging in Alabama during the election period that
thousands OF voters had been kept from the polls one
man actually being drowned in attempting to swim
stream in order to get to the place OF voting.
Mr. woop; ldeml Of n T., inquired whether ,. ; as,
warrant violation OF the law OF Congress-
Mr.. FARNswoRTH replied in the affirmative, both
for himself and for the committee. All sorts of
plans, he said had been resorted 10 by the rebels
there to prevent voting; and the committee was
%er d m @ e o Ui e and Wend
have voted for it If they could Under all these cir
cumstances the committee could see no reason why
the people OF Alabama should be told that Congress
would 70 back on them, and that they should have
to go through the whole work over again, particu-
larry under the new Supplementary Reconstruc-
tion law simple majority OF the persons voting
would govern in all future elections
Mr.. LOAN, (rep) OF Mo-, inquired how the funda-
mental condition in the BILL that universal suffrage
should not be denied or abridged could be enforced.
Mr. FARNswoRTH replied that Alabama would
come in on that fundamental condition. ana would
be bound by it.
Mr. WooD inquired how Alabama, il she were now
admitted, and should afterwards deny or abrdge the
right OF suffrage on account OF color could be taken
out of the Union againY
Mr.. FARNswoRTH replied that it was not proposed
to take her out of the Union again; but Alabama
would be stopped from going behind the bill for her
admission.
Mr. LOAN inquired the number of white votes cast
In the Alabama elections
Mr.. FARNswoRTH could not inform him; but
stated that there were thirty Thousand white men IN
Alabama in full accord with the iberty-0vlng people
Of the State.
Mr. STEVENS, trep:.) Of Pa, stated that but one
thousand men voted against the constitution and
they were supposed to be white men who did vote.
Mr. LOAN asked what assurance there was that II
Alabama were admitted 1t would not be found after
the next election in the hands of the rebel patyf
Mr.. FARNswoRTH replied that there was enough TO
satisfy the committee that very large majority OF
the voters IN Alabama were IN avor oi tne consau
and the Threats used In the rebel papers against all
who would vote for 1t.
Mr.. Ross, tdem.) of H.. inquired whether the
loyal blacks in Alabama were In the habit OF reading
Mr.. FARNswoRTH replied that the loyal blacks
any other papers as the disoyal whites were In his
colleagues tMr. Rossp district.
Mr.. BOYER, (dem.) Of Pa, inquired whether any
witnesses had been examined before the committee
whether the facts stated by the gentleman did not
rest entirely on er pdrte afiidavtss
Mr.. STEVENS, of Pa, remarked that In the absence
Of his colleage Mr. Farnsworth) three witnesses had
been examined before the committee
Mr.. ELDRIDGE subsequently remarked that, so far
as the gentleman from kentucky tMr. Becky, mem-
ber Of the committee, had any knowledge, there were
no witnesses examined.
Mr. KERR tdern) OF Ind asked whether Congress
had ever BEFORE in the admission Of state reserved
the right to repeal the acts OF such States
Mr.. FARNswoRTH suggested that In the admission
of the gentemans own State tindlana) conditions
had been imposed.
kERR duiilltleu lnat tncre was cOnultOu
posed In reference to the taxation Of certain parts OF
the public lands, but any violation OF that limitation
was TO be remeded in the courts and now by another
law OF Congress, the Speaker would bear him testi
mony, the courts had furnished that remedy.
Mr. FARNswoRTH asked where the courts got their
authortyf
| Mr.. KERR-They got It from the constitution and
| laws OF the United states.
Mr.. FARsswoRTn-They got it from Congress- and
1 if Congress can c0the the courts with authority 10
execute part OF the compact, why cannot Congress
/ itself do tf
Mr.. KERR-It was not part Of a compact; it was
simply "a condition relating To the pubic lands In
which the state OF Indiana never had any title
Mr.. BECK, tlem.l OF ky., one or the minority men,
i bers OF the Committee on Reconstruction took the
moor IN opposition 10 the bill lie disclaimed all
knowledge OF any report having been submitted 10
the committee and sald nc knew nothing of such
report until he saw II published in the newspapers
| tins morning.
Mr.. SrEvESs, Of Pa said iha' The gentleman from
Kentucky tMr. Beck had been generally very atten-
tive TO lis duties on the committee and very polite.
but that nevertheless the very FIRST thing that was
read To the committee short report and he was