Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-12-14

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had been made on him Mr.. b. by bis enemies.
The Senate then went into executive session.
and after a few minutes spent therein, adjourned.
HOUSE-After our report closed
Mr.. Davis IN. W asked leave to offer the same
resolution which was objected to ON SATURDAY.,
requesting the President to inform the House
whether in his judgment any further legislation
is necessary to enable the Executive to secure q
more perfect neutrality in cases where there Is
war between European nation and an Amer
lean colony which Is struggling in good faith to
secure independent government; and that the
hospitality OF harbOr shall not be granted to one
party to the exclusion of the other. Debate
arising, the resolution went ever under the rule
Mr.. Fox n. W offered resolution authoriz-
befs to inquire into the cause of the late gold
fluctuations in New York, and also to ascertain
whether any Government official was in any way
Sc6enck obtained a suspension Of the rules. and
the resolution. modified by him, was adopted
and the Committee on Banking and Currency
WAS directed to make the examination.
Mr.. Ward N. W asked leave to present q pc
dtion. signed by 1000 citizens of the State of
New York, asking recognition Of the independ-
snce Of Cuba. The rules were suspended, and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr.. Paine, wis., from the Committee on
Elections, offered the following resaption:
Is % that he ssss e Ssn Of he
Virtue Of IN the sc Of COngrs entitled IAN act e re-
q sHs 1s ias
Oh lsss s1d e the proclsmstion Of James X Polk,
uncOnstitutionai and void and that Lewis Nc Kenxe
the SEVENTH district Of and
alleged to be q citizen Of said Aexandria county Is
the said State OF Virginia: therefore ." u
Resoired, That the Committee on the Judiciary be
nneonstutoos and yoid and Il so %Ssther said
Lewis Mckenzie is for that reason ineligible to
seventh district u virsns. and an the te
report BY bill or otherwise on or before the 10th day
Mr.. Paine said he supposed he might have
offered the resolution rs question of privilege,
but he preferred to offer 1t in this way as a sim
pie resolution for action at this time, and he
hoped no exception would be taken to it. This
was a question that the House would shortly be
called upon to meet, and he thought it desirable
that there should be report from the Commit
tee on the Judiciary.
MT. Fincklenburg (SIo.) objected to the reso-
luton.
Mr.. Paine then moved to suspend the rules.
Mr.. Logan (1l.l thought this very unusual
time 20 bring up this resolution, especially as
the question of the constitutiOnality of the act
OF retroceSsiOn had not been regularly raised.
1t has been decided that that act was constitu-
tiOnal, and no other decision has been asked for,
except by this resolution, and for that reason he
objected to the reference.
Mr.. Paine said the question had been raised,
and there Is now case pending in which it
must be decided. 1t was not raised as an alb
stract question: but because the necessity existed
to meet it promptly. The opposition seemed to
come, however, from gentlemen who were per-
haps interested in the removal of the capital or
seat of government, and he had no doubt the
opposition could be explained in that way. If
there was no objection he would withdraw the
resolution.
Objection was made.
Mr.. Logan was surprised that the chairman of
the Committee on Elections should attribute the
opposition to this measure to a desire for the re-
moval of the capital. He had viewed il inst the
other way, and thought the gentleman from
Wisconsin WE Tant;d TO get report upon this sub
Mr.. Grover (ky.) asked Mr.. Paine whether he
knew to what party Mr.. Mckenzie belonged,
that he was so anxious to rule him out.
Mr.. Paine replied that he believed Mr.. Nc
kenzie belonged to the Republican party.
MIR. FarnswOrth (Ill.) suggested that Mr.. Nc
kenzie was reported to represent other people
besides tlPse of Alexandria county. Va, aud he
wanted 10 know If it was proposed to disfran-
clise all the people of the congressional district
if the retrocessiOn of Alexandria was declared
Mr.. Paine said the gentleman knew very well
Se could Sssy be- ~ 4ns to
late him out Without cause.
Mr.. Randall pa thought the resolution con-
templated an act of injustice which the House
should not entertain, and he moved to Law it on
the table. He withdrew il, however, Temporal
rily, to allow further remarks.
Mr.. Schenck (Ohi0) said he was probably the
only survivor i'm the House of the Congress that
passed the act retrOceding the county of Alex
andrla to Virginia, some twenty three or twenty
i've years ago. He was a member of the House
then, aniser twenty years the retrocession
has beers fcogniZed as constitutional; the dis
trict of which Alexandria is a part has been
electing members of Congress from time to time,
and the right of representatives from that dis
trict has never been questioned Yet now we
are asked 10 make An outside collateral question,
and in his opinion it would be better to leave
the law alone as ii had stood for the past twenty
five or thirty years. Suppose We get The opinion
OF the Committee ON the Judiciary that the act
of retrocesson was unconstitutional, what have
we then? Why, we have simply the opinion of
nine intelligent gentlemen, as against the
the Congress that passed the act Of retrocession,
and who supposed they were doing a consttu-
tional act. Since that time it has always been
recognized as constitutional without a ques-
ton, and he did not see why it should be raised
now.
The question was then taken upon Mr.. Ran
dall's motion to lay the resolution on the table,
Mr. welker (Ohio) introduced a bill to amend
the act to incorporate the National junction
Railway of the District of Columbia. Re-
ferred to the Committee Oh the District Of CO.
lumbia.
Mr.. Cox On. W introduced bill to repeal all
and Means.
Mir. Kelley (Pa.) offered resolution declaring
that this Government would not submit to any
restrictions upon the passage of United States
vessels of war through any strait or canal of a
foreign country; and requesting the President
to communicate to our diplomatic representa-
recognize
any imps dime mt to the free passage of our war
vessels through the waters of any part of the
world. Referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs.
MIR. Butler, Mass, } from the Committee on
the Judiciary, reported bill to repeal the
tenure-of-ofiice act. Ordered to be printed and
TecOmmitted.
The Speaker laid before the House a message
from the President of the United States, en-
closing a communication from the Secretary of
State in relation to the States that have ratified
the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of
the United states. The Secretary Of State re-
ports that the following States have ratified 1t:
Wisconsin, Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, South
Carolina. Pennsylvania. Arkansas, Connecticut,
Florida, Illinois, New York, Indiana, New
The States of Missouri and Kansas have also re-
ported a ratification, but it is stated to be de-
fectiye in consequence Of certain omissions.
mittee on the Judiciary.
Mr.. Butler (Mass.) called up Senate bill to
remove political disabilities from certain indi-
viduals named therein.
The bill was passed.
The House then resolved itself into Committee
of the Whole, and resumed the consideration of
the census bill. The sections from II to q in
elusive were passed over without material
amendment.
The twenty-second section, which relates to
the apportionment of Representatives, caused
much discussion, and many amendments were
offered.
Mr.. Coburn (Ind.) offered an amendment au-
thor; a mir IN has s,hr