The Portland daily press., 1869-01-30
Mr.. PERHAM AID TIE PENSION BuL.-Mr.

MR.. FEEHAM AND TIE PENSION DALI Shl- |
Ferhan, member OF Congress from the second
Maine district. has been attacked with much
acrimony on account of the nature of the Sec
ond section of the bill reported by him from
the Committee on Pensions, providing that
widows leading lives Of prostitution or concu
binage shall draw no pensions from the III.
States Mr.. Perham explained his po
Thursday, by saying that "the comm -,
of pensions, in his annual repor'' nao o"'ieu
especial attention to the SUBJECT Ahe icom-
,,;ss;onar stated that the number OF widows
ha,;,o pensions who were cohabiting without
,,orr;aoe refusing that solemn, legal rite, and
living in open prostitution, was increasing, and
that the government should not be unwillingly
placed in the strange attitude of offering a
premium for immortality. He wanted the op-
ponents OF the section to see what they pro-
posed to fight. Here, for instance, were two
widows, living in the same community, both
drawing pensions and both forming matrimo-
NAL engagements. The one goes and gets
married honestly and forfeits her pension, the
other declines the marriage rite but cohabits
with the man and retains her pension"
Mr. Perham and the Commissioner may have
some ground for the very serious charges they
make against some of the recipients of the
governments bounty. But it is unfortunate
that they should have made so painful sub
ect topic of discussion until some adequate
means could be suggested for remedying the
evil complained of. 1t is absurd to leave the
moral status of pensioner to be adjudged by
pension agents, as seems to be contemplated
by Mr.. Perbam's BILL 1t would clothe those
officials with judicial powers of very import
ant and delicate municipalities for which they
have neither the leisure nor the training. The
class affected by the law, everybody will glad
ly acknowledge, is very limited in numbers
and it may be considered doubtful whether it
would not have been better to ignore their ex-
istence rather than to bring reproach upon so
many deserving people. Atleast, it is no more
| than fair that if immoral character is to be a
| bar to receiving pensions, the law should be
| made applicable to pensioners of both sexes.
| OFFICERS OF THE NEXT HoUsE.--A Wash
| ington correspondent of a Democratic paper
whose want of sympathy with any of the can
didates would have tendency to make him
| impartial, says it SIS generally conceded that
| Mr.. Blaine will be the choice of a majority of
Representatives for Speaker of the next
House. The contestants for the honor, Messrs
Dawes and Blaine, had test of their strength
| in the recent vote in the Anderson-Switzler
| case, and it was found that Blaine had more
| supporters than Dawes, the Blaine men voting
| for Anderson, to whom the seat was awarded.
Mr.. Bnxton the present Doorkeeper, is very
| popular and will undoubtedly be elected Mr.
| Washburn, a member of the present Congress
| from Indiana, is making an Industrious can
| vass for the position of Sergeant-at-Arms but
he has made but little Roadway, the present in
cumbent, Mr.. Ordway, having about two
thirds of the House outspoken in his favor
The candidates for Clerk are the incumbent,
Mr.. Mcpherson; Roswell Hart, recently a
member from New York; and Mr.. Eckley, at
present a member from Ohio. From present
appearances, Mr.. Mcpherson will have an
easy race and be reelected" -4ls
MAINE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY,"
The annual meeting of the Maine State Agri-
| cultural Society was held at the Agricultural
Rooms in the State House Wednesday, IN
| 81 Seth Seaman, the President in the chair.
| The Treasurer read the report, giving the
| whole receipts OF the Society at the late State
Fair, at $12,666 50. The premiums awarded
| were $332S50; expenses, $7,2379 50; amount in
| the treasury, $4,000. This sum is to be divided
between the State, the Portland horticultural
and Cumberland County societies, which unit
ed in the late Fair, according to basis agreed
upon. The number of medals awarded, %;
diplomas, no. The Secretary read his report,
which was quite lengthy, and gave a succnct
account or history of the State Society since
its formation The following gentlemen were
nominated and duly elected members of the
| Society: Seth Seaman, Scarboro', President;
S. L. Boardman, Augusta, Secretary; VIM. E.
Morris, Portland, Treasurer; Warren Percival,
| Vassalboro'. Samuel WATSON, Ellsworth, Trus-
| tees. The two latter named gentlemen were
reelected, their for ner term of service as mem
bers of the Board having just expired.
MIR. LYNoH's financial measures are stead
| lily gaining supporters. His late speech has
been commented upon very favorably by al
| most the entire press Of the country. Even
the Worcester Spy, which recently did Mr..
Lynch the greatest injustice in speaking of
| another NATTER says:
Mr.. Lynch's system in itself seems to be
suspiciously simple and easy, but though it has
its weak points, doubtless it has at least the
merit OF being a raiahtiorward, practical way
| of meeting the difficulty, by honest payment
| of honest debts, instead of endeavoring to con-
| jure them out of sight by some kind of sfinan-
cial leSerdermain and ingenious device by
which nation may eat its cake and have it,
| which is sure to turn out q lamentable failure
in practice, however promising look it may
| have on paper.
| ~ . -----------------------41
REPUTATION is a monster of such hideous