Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-01-30

L
WASHINGTON, January 2, 1863.
It is no longer q mark Of infamy FOL
politicians acting IN their legislative ca
pacity to take bribes. Every now RuG
then there prevails Ia Washington re-
port such as should make honest meE
oiush with shame. The Alaska pur-
chase is ons instance. How muca money
wss paid to get Congress to sanction that
worthless acquisition will never, per
haps, be known. A committee Of inves-
tigstion hss been appointed, but, thus
far, the only trace of bFibe is that
which vas taken by one OF the editors Of
the Chronicle. Yet COngressmen are be-
ieved 20 have been mixed up with the
business. OF course none Of the parties
to the transaction viii reveal what they
know, and the committee will report
that no mem Der CT either House has sui
lied his fingers with the touch Of forbid
1 den geld. Yet it does not follow that
such is the faet. Where men are banded
together, as the Republicans are, fell
/ low feeling would seal their lips il re-
gard TO any dslinq qusncies brought home
I 70 their colleagues. 1t vas reported also,
( not long ago, that ii cost half q million
of dollars to carry certain railroad
/ grant through Congress. The story may
! not have been true, or the amount may
/ have been exaggerated but one thing is
/ evident, the very prevalence of the
report shows that the honesty of
members of Congress Is not above
suspicion. That suspicion Tsy be
well or i'll founded, but It gath
ers sustsnanee from the fact that
men grow suddenly wealthy no one
I cnrI1 -
writes Washington correspondent Of a
Western paper, =" who entered the SEN
ate when they had not sixpence to bless
themselves with, remained IN Office six
years on q salary Of five thousand dollars
year and mileage, lived better than
thsy ever had lived before, and at the
end Of their term were worth a clear
million.u Senator Harlan is cited as an
instance of this species Of good fortune.
The writer refers to the income tax List
as showing that few years ago the
net income Of Mr. Harlan was two thou
sand dollars. Last year 1t was hun
dred thousand I" I ought to meation, u
the correspondent continues, "that it
Tas duTin1 BIS BIS Cabinet office that SssssF.
Il. pat into practice that wonderful sys-
tenn Of domestic economy Whicn deyel-
oped such large savings out OF sueh
small earnings. He had been doing
pretty we'll before thai, bat his longest
strides were made while he lSbored in
the Interior Department"
Other Senator'S names have been
limited abroad ss not iusansi0le TO the
cogent arguments which lobby agents
know so well how to Spply, and hence it
may be surmIsed that, il candidate has
no soruples, ne may very well afford to
pay hundred thousand dollars for g
seat in the Senate, and yet put his money
out to quite a handsome interest.
II,
Messrs. Baldwin, Conservative, and
Whittlesy, Radical, OF Virginia, again
laid their respective views Of the c0adi- /
ton Of Virginia before the recoustrue- I
tion Committee to-day. Baldwin told /.
the Committee, In his judgment, there /
could be no harmony in that State If .
the white people were left disfraachised, /
and, in measure under the feet OF their .
former slaves. Whittlesy expended his .
wrath against Mr.. Mckenzie, a native .
Radical, who testified yesterday, and .
who seemed to think white men we're 4
entitled to equal rights with the negro. /
Whittlesy says Mckenzie misrepresents 4
the Radical sentiment of the State.
which Is against enfrRnchising the
whites.
The only thing accomplished today
in Congress was the defeat of the bill
additional subsidies to the cen
tral or Atchisou brsach Of the Union
Pacific Railroad. II was discussed in
the Senate most of the day, but when
vote was reached it was defeated by 20
to 2S. This is believed to be the fats OF (
al similar projects st this session. Three
Democratic Senators, Davis, McCTeery
and Buckalew gave the votes that de-
feated it.
".
Senator McCreery's speech on finance,
to defeat the Central Pacific
railroad Job, was the principal feature in
the Senate. It was running and sharp
on the several financial
introduced into Congress.
The Senator said he had no proposition
to submit on the question himself, and If
those already before Congress were the
only dependence of the country he
thought likely our public debt never
would be paid. In the meantime, Sher-
man might plant, and Morton might
water, but the debt was increasing, and
would increase, and Congress Itself was
-he cause, He commanded the undi-
gided attention of the Senate, and on
The conclusion OF his remarks many
Senator's, Radicals and Democrats, gath {
sred around and congratulated him.
V.
The Senate Committee on Finance
leld a meeting this morning and dis
,Ossed the bill to prohibit the secret sales
md purchases OF gold on account of the
United States Government. This bin
has been almost UNANIMOUSLY approved
by the com mittee, but ID the discussion
c-day it was conclQ led that ita provis- I
ons we're not sufficiently comprehensive
o stop that psFnieious practice, and il
vas determined that Senator Sherman {
hOuld prepare bill meeting the require
nents of the case.
VI.
A great cry was created amongst the {
Radicals of the House, especially among |
he Missouri Radicals, by the telegram {
rom Jefferson City to Mr.. Van Horn, OF I
dissouri, that the Supreme Court had !
eclded that Rodman, Secretary Of 81 ate, {
iad no legal authority to 80 beyond the (
leoti0d returns and throw out counties.
his decision will prove the grave Of
Fan Horn and Dyer, vhese seats are to I
70 contested IL ths next Congress,
VII. +
Mensrd, the Louisiana darky, who {
rgusd hiss ooan case in the contest for I
he vscant seat in Congress from that
Itate, complaina bitterly Of bis treat t
nent by his Radical friends, They have t
turned their backs on him,
nd given him nothing but advice. His {
white colleagues from louisiana are
qually Indifferent with the rest.
VIII. {
The President will probably, on SAtur- 2
ay, issue pardon to DIR. Mndd, sem I
snced to Imprisonment for life at the
Dry Tortugss for alleged completely in Z
he assassination Of President Lincoln. c
me rest OF the sentence Of Edward I
pangler will also be remitted. He bss !
wo years more to serve on the same \
barge. j
TX. I
The Gaze of the Dover Savings Bank, Z
to-, in the matter of the Floyd accept {
neea, wss continued 10 the Supreme .
'ourt to-day, and Judge Dickey, assist e
Mt Attorney General, replied to Judge 1
Ilack, taking ground that no head Of the y
department. could accept commercial