The national Republican., 1868-12-19

s--..-
81 DsoENpsR Is, 1903.
70 rus RErupLtdAs: rhoss couversant
withthe details Of consressionai proceedings
fjr years past, are fcrcibly struck with the
growing Importance Of the consideration Of
Legislative business in committee. Up to
within year or two past committee recon-.
mendations had comparatively little weight
with either House Of CongresI Now, how.
however, It Is the hardest thing imaginable
to overcome, In Senate or House, commit.
toes unfsvorable report. This is the iegi,i.
mate result Of The closer considerations which
Congressional committees now accord to all
business con6ied to them. They Investigate
far more thoroughly than formerly, and de-
liberate under greater sense of the responsi.
bilities oftheir position, than was their custom
twenty five years ago. We are thus gradually
adopting the Englsh Parlismsnt's committee
customs, which arc admirable indeed Their
committees are really in practice oon,is for
the adjudication Of nearly all questions dis.
posed Of by Parliament. '.ii ) q,
No bill or measure Of public or private i'm.
portance passes Parliament that has not been
previously as thoroughly tried before com.
mittsc Of the body as suit at, law Is tried
before an English Law court. Testimony on
both sidos Is taken before thu com nittee in
nearly oil cases, and able parliamentary at
torneys and advocates are as regularly ON.
ployed by both sides as In courts Of law. The
result is, that q parliamentary committees
report upon any question submitted to them,
rarely fails to bs adopted by either House,
being taken as anal. Parliament, simply-in
nine cases out Of ten-snacts the 90 nmittss's
decisions. This, while securing far more en-
lightened judsusns than could bo made by
the bodies, (sach menbsr voting on bis own
convictions upon imperfect knowledge Of tho
facts involved relieves Parliament from nine
tenths Of the labor even yet devolved upon
our Congress, which tries over again every
case previously more thoroughly aud closely
tried before the committees. I trust some
member or members will take up the subject
Of such reform in Congressional legislation
" will necsssitato the thorough trial Of every
>referred to q committee, before that COM
r.i,,s, adopting rules compelling the parties
- .,.h ~sa to try 1t there-uot before House
or s.n,t. Tho adoption Of tho practice Of
u,l;n, . com 1itteO's report conclusive, will
a, oncs 1, scam, to me, effect that object.
Half m. tim, of Congress Is devoted to the
, ,r.;,,sr,.iOu Of sub, 'scts which would not Oc.
,.n,b Of their tim, If the change I
-, . +, aaop,od; " lille those subjects
would In nine cases out o. ton surrey DO a's'
no,sd of more Justly and ''e,nsea,'y 'nan
rb.n a, at present, dozens " members aud
s,n,,or, "pitch in IN their oon'iaera'ion
without duo Investigation OF 'h' 'A''' In
| volved. :.
Tho sens.e to-day mad, n s..u..,,as Wv
right direction with reference 70 ~. 49, CO.
of tho reconstruction Of Georgis =
has but pretendedto To accept the rsconsts 'c''Oa
laws Of Congress True, Gsorsfs has organ
her State governm.nt undae tssm, and he.
Representatives oc,upy seats in the House
hall. But her Legislature has deliberately
repudiated the reconstr: 'tion laws OIL o0n-
gress under which alone the s,'a'e can no"
claim co-equllity in ths Union. Ha,. W fe
pudiated the letter and spiri: Of those laws iu
Il
members Of the Georgia Legislature, wholly on
frivolous and illegal grounds, the sane body
stands ready to follow up that act by my
| others equally as antagonistI, to the laws of
Congress and popular rights that may be necss.
sary to restore slavery in fact, if not in name,
in Georgia, and to drive from the State all
whites who fail to worship treason in the per.
- L. l. Al
whose benefit 1t Is thus sought to restore tho
aate-rebellion condition Of public affairs there.
Mr.. Edmunds' bill, Introduced to day and
referred to the Ssnato's Rsoonstru,tion Com
mittee, proposes to repeal So much Of tho
United States reconstruction laws as author
lied the admission Of Georgia on certain con.
ditions-thoss conditions having been virtually
rspudiated. 1t further provides for proris.
ional government over the State until Georgia
shall have complied with the reconstruction
laws Of the United States in spirit rs we'll as
nominally. wrote you some time since that
Congress was In no temper to be triasd with
in this reconstruction matter, and would
surely hold Georgia and Louisiana to strict
account for their shameless prostitution Of the
leniency OF the Government in treating them
conquered provinces as they are in fsct-as no
other Government on the face of the Garth
ever treated beaten rebel States, after go long,
costly and bloody war for their reduction, as
our late war certainly was. Mr.. Eimunds is
notoriously ono Of the milisst aud most con.
servative Republicans in Congress. No other
member Of either House Is further from being
9 radical-uone. I sincerely believe that there
is not Republican Of either House who will
fail to go as far as his bill proposes to insure
that the reconst7u,tion policy of Congress
shall prevail throughout the South.
The efficient aad intelligent Librarian of
Congress, Mr. spofOrd, is proving himself
eminently tho man for the place, by q new
work he has undertaken, AMI iudesd com.
Pletel, SO far as its preparation for publica-
tion is concerned. Thus, he has made com.
plets catalogue of all the works the Library
contains, by subjects and on subjects. This
isto be in addition to the usual annual alpha.
betical catalogue. I know Of no other groat
library in existence Of which su2h n catalogue
has been made. 1t has been printed at the Gov
ernmcnt printing Office as far as the letter G,
and, as far as printed, is, to a person like
myself, who delights to read systematically and
sophically-sxbausting subject by sub.
| ient IA n ha tnaonR Al In al