Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-06-22
FORTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, June 81.

WASHINGTON, June 81
| SENATE. Mr.. Sherman. from the Finance
Committee, reported that the Committee
unanimously recommended non-concurrencc
| III the amendments of the House to the Senate
Currency bill, and the appointment of Com
mttee of Conference
! The tariff bill was made the special order as
soon as the Consulate appropriation bill was
/ disposed of.
The Senate then resumed the Post Office
appropriation bill, and the franking appeal
i amendments.
Mr.. Trumbulls amendment, limiting the
ranking privilege to the dept and allowing
public documents to be ranked only from
Washington City, was rejected, % to 20.
Sherman, Warner and Sprague have been
appointed as a Conference Committee on the
part OF the Senate, on the Currency bill
| The Senate then proceeded with the Con-
sular and Diplomatic appropriation bill and
adopted amendments providing for a Consul
General at Liberia, raising the Minister to
Japan to Envoy extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary, and increasing the appropri-
alton for contingent expenses of foreign inter
course, and for missions, from $4,000 to
$50, 600.
HOUSE. Mr. Butler, from the Reconstruc-
ton Committee, reported bill for full and
general grace, amnesty and oblivion Of
wrongful acts, of all persons engaged in the
late rebellion. Ordered to be printed and
recommtted.
Mr.. Schenck of o., from Committee on
Ways and Means, reported back the Funding
bill, with one slight verbal amendment, and
asked that it be made special order for
| Tuesday next.
| Mr.. Randall objected.
| Mr.. Schenck withdrew the bill, saving
that he would take the chances of its being
made special order in the House next Mon
day, under suspension of the rules.
Among the bills reported, was one By Mr.
Ella of n H., reciting that S67S,372 was due
by the United States to the State of Mass,
for interest on expenditures during the war
of 1872. The bill went over without action.
The case of b. +. Whttimorc of S. c.,
came up by special assignment, and Mr..
Logan of H., offered a resolution meeting
the action of the Committee on Military
Affairs, and the House in reporting a resolu-
| ton declaring that Whittimore by selling
naval cadetslips was unworthy of seat in
the House: reciting is election and presen-
taton of his credentials. and resolving that
| the House of Representatives decline to al
low the said B. f. Whittimore to be sworn in
| as Representative in the 4lst Congress, and
direct that his credentials be returned to
him.
Mr.. Logan proceeded to address the House
in support of the resolution, and quoted the
statute which rendered Whittimore liable to
be tried criminally for his offence, and on
conviction to be murdered, infamous and in
| capable OF holding any place of trust or
| profit, under the government of the United
| States. He held that the judicial action of
the House in the matter disqualified him. the
same as if he had been tried and convicted
in court of justice. If the House had
power to expel them by parity of reason, it
had power to exclude them otherwise. The
power to eXpel did not amount to anything.
This mans constituents had. been notified that
the House had solemnly declared that he was
unworthy to occupy a seat as member, but
| they had thought it proper if to insult the
| House to re-elect him. The House had no
| right to say that man should be excluded on
account of his politics or faith but it had the
right to say that a man of infamous character
should be excluded.
Mr.. Eldridge of Wis, suggested the danger
of assuming such right, which might be ex-
tended 10 the exclusion of men on account of
| their politics or religion.
| Mr.. Logan denied that the position which
he took was open to such criticism. He had
directly disclaimed the power of the House to
exclude men on account of politics religion,
| but only on account of what the law declared
| to be Il crime. The case of Giddings of Ohio,
who was censured by the House for introduce
ing anti-slavery resolutions, who resigned and
was reelected and re-admitted at the same
Congress, was not a contrary precedent, be-
| cause his offence not crime. SO to with
| Brooks and keitt.
| Mr.. Farnsworth took offence to an alusion
made against him by Mr.. Logan, as a friend
| of Mr.. Whittimore. He did not want the
! Oap m ind nj loo in
| pense. lie was no more that gentemars
| friend than his colleague was, but he was in
| favor of deciding the case on calm, dispas-
| sionate view of it.
| Mr.. Eldridge of Wis, suggested a case of
constituent desiring to be represented by
Just such a man AS Whittimore. and partici-
pating in the benefits of his acts, and asked
whether a refusal to admit him would not be
touching on the rights of representation
| Mr.. Logan denied that it would. He said
the case was exactly as the election of
colored man would have been before colored
men were admitted to citizenship. Whit
more's constituents knew he was disqualified,
just as colored men were disqualified.
| After long discussion, the matter was left
| to the Judiciary Committee 70 report the law
and the precedents of the case; and further,
| Mr. Whittimore was entitled to a seat in the
| House.
The House went into Committee of the
Whole on sundry civil expenses on the ap-
preparation bill.
Mr.. Dawes deemed this a proper occasion
it being the last general appropriation bill to
review the work of the Committee, and of
the House in regard to public expenditures.
| He reminded the House of the remarks made
by himself in the early part of the session,
| comparing the estimates of next year with
| the estimates of the last administration for
the present year, and showing that the bal
ance was aarmingly against the former. The
remarks made by himself had been much
commented on, and no two gentlemen had
since been able to agree upon the figures for
either year.
The Treasury department had however
employed one of its most faithful accounts to
review the estimates for both years, and he
now laid before the House to be printed in
the Globe, the result of that investigation. 1t
showed the balance to be handsomely in favor
of the estimates of this administration. The
summary showed the estimate for the new
year to be SIS, 09S, 295 less than the estimates