The Portland daily press., 1868-02-29

at by fine and imprisonment, ana inei'si'ii'''
Johoia Office under government; A., HI,
AlteG. explanations by MIR, Butter sn0 pii
passed. sNs y . con,,,,;.+o, =.
tha Whole on state of the Union. Mr.. SEQ
field i'm the chair, on sundry CIVIL expenses
H. Price moved to reduce the item for fuel
for fine Presidents house from $4,000 to $1,000
| He wanted to know how they could manage
TO burn $50 tons of coal there in a year.
Mr.. Washburne, of Illinois, said the item
! had appeared very large to the Committee on
| Appropriations, but Gen.. Michler, Superin-
| 'ndent of Public Buildings, assured the com.
mi gee it was not too much The White House
was very hot place. Mr.. Van Wyck will
make it hotter
Mr.. Price would undertake to keep the Pres
eat warm two years at one half the cost IN a
colder latitude. The amendment was REJECT
ed.
On motion of Mr.. Voorhees, the item of $50, :
900 for repairs Sc. of Pennsylvania Avenue
was struck out.
The Committee rose and reported the bill to
the House. 1t was postponed to Wednesday.
Mr. Schenck introduced a bill to fix and
eoualize the pay of officers and establish the
| nav of enlisted men of the Army. Referred
to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr.. Schenck gave some information as to
the business before the Committee of WAYS
and Means. The present tax laws he said
were prolix, confused and contradictory, full
of repetition, and in fact such mass of crude
legislation that it has been thought advisable
to report an entire revision of the whole sys-
TEN, with all its provisions and the Commit
tee was now at work preparing bills of that
kind, and hoped to report it in a week or two.
The Committee proposed TO impose no tax
whatever on home manufactures, except per-
haps on some five or six articles, and these
purely articles of luxury. The Committee
would still preserve the special tax in nature
of license manufacturers and ath
persons, and perhaps would retain in some
instances tax on sales, amounting to one
fifth of one per cent The Committee was
satisfied that the five per cent. tax on all the
manufacturers of the country could be and
ought to be given up. He should not under
take to say what these five or six articles were
on winch the tax was proposed to be retained;
they were however purely articles of luxury,
such as jewels, gold watch cases, billiards.
&c. He was afraid that if he were to name
them all the Committee wonld be overrun
with representatives of those interests He
had been asked as to the large manufacturing
interest, that of carriage makers, and he was
ready now to say that carriages were not
among the articles regarded as Injuries and
to be taxed.
Mr., Blaine suggested they were TO be on the
free list
Mr.. Schenck said they did not propose to
nave what IS called free list, and they would
simply provide that such and such things
should be taxed, and would say nothing about
things that should not be taxed
Mr.. Paine asked him to state whether the
committee contemplated the abolition of the
income tax.
Mr. Schenek replied as to that matter lie
had not been instructed by the Committee to
make any statement nor had the Committee
itself definitely decided on it.
= After remarks by Messrs. Price and SEQ
field as to the risk of passing the bill just re-
ported on account of the door which it would
open to frauds the House adjourned.