Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-03-10
Forty-second Congress-First Session,


were introduced and temporarily laid on the
table were those relating to the harbor Of refuge
and brcakwater at the entrance of the Cape
Cod ship canal; for the adjustment of French
spoation claims; to ratify and carry into effect
the constitution proposed for the Indian terri |
tory of Oklahoma; to incorporate the japan |
steam navigation company, confined TO naviga- |
ton of the waters of Japan, and to facilitate |
commerce between the United States and China |
and other Asiatic countries. The latter is the |
bill introduced last session for the incorporation
of company, with capital of five millions, to |
carry on general commercial business with |
and construct public works in those countries
Mr.. Nye introduced n resolution, which, on
objection of Mr.. Fenton, went over till to.mor
row, requesting the opinion of the secretary of
the interior upon the cXpcdence of appointing a
competent person to make personal observation
and report upon the topography, climate, soil
and mineral and other products of public lands,
the cost and facilities of Transporting those pro-
ducts to market, the price and amount of gov
eminent and railroad lands for sale, with COM
pilaton of all homestead and other laws for the
requirement Of public lands the whole to con-
stitute Il handbook for the information and
guidance of European immigrants, and to be
published in several languages and distributed
throughout this country and Europe.
MIR. Logan introduced a bill for the admission
of New Mexico as a state.
Adjourned
HOUSE.
Mr.. Hale of Maine introduced two important
bills, one to repeal the duty on salt and the
other to repeal the duty on coal. They were OBJ
iected TO and referred TO the committee Of the
whole.
The house, by vote of 112 to IS, Immediately
went into committee of the whole on the salt
bill Mr.. Hale made brief explanation, and
said he thought there had been now already
enough discussion, and that the house was pre-
pared to vote. He would therefore move that the
committee rise in order to stop debate. The
committee rose by vote of SO to ~.
The speaker announced the standing commit
tee on elections as; follows Messrs. McCrccry,
Stevenson, Hale Poland, Fnkelnburg, Thomas,
Kerr Potter and Arthur.
The house again went into committee of the
whole and resumed the consideration of the bill
to repeal the duty on salt.
Mr.. Hale remarked that Iduty on salt was
eighteen cents per one hundred pounds in bulk,
and twenty-fOur cents per one hundred in sacks.
Best Turks Island salt could be purchased at
nine or ten cents per bushel, and any body could
calculate what the tax was. He had been asked
to admit an amendment reducing the duty fifty
per cent, but could not agree to that. He be-
lieved the monopoly by the OnOndaga salt works
was as complete as any monopoly ever granted
by the Tudors in the most despotic times, ard
that it should be abolished,
Mr.. Famsworth moved to amend the bill by
adding coal to it.
Mr.. Wood supported the bill and the amend
ment. 1t would be offensive, he said, to address
W ah lutNllSCll bOuN any IGusOu WHY lll6 uuIN
on coal should be taken off at this time. They
all knew the suffering caused to the people by
high prices of coal. The tax on it was a tax on
one of the necessaries OF life; a tax on light;
tax on warmth; tax which bore heavily on
the poor, and which congress should be in haste
to repeal.
Mr.. Kelley of Pennsylvania opposed the bill
and the amendment. He reminded n majority
of the house that it was responsible for the
financial condition of the country. The secre-
tary of tile treasury was about to float new
loan, which, if successful, would reduce the ex-
penses of the government twenty millions per
year, and he now met with this first action of
the republican house, proposing to strike from
the revenues of the county nearly two million
of dOlars-s1 Jos, 473 on salt and S52t SIS on
coal. The revenue collected on salt was only
three cents per head on the whole population.
In the Joint high commission the admission of
coal from Canada, free of duty, was likely to be
question. If Canada would give free fisheries
in exchange for free coal, that would be qucs-
ton worthy of national consideration. He i'm
plored the republican majority to consider this
great question before it aSSailed the treasury by
such proposition. He suggested a reduction
of the duty on salt to y cents per 100 pounds in
bulk and Is cents in sacks, and offered an
amendment to that effect.
Mr.. Cox advocated the bill and the amend
ment. He referred to Mr.. Kelley as speaking
in rather different tone from that in which he
spoke,at the last congress.
MI hGllCg L dlll Ill IL HllUUTlIy, HUW.
Mr.. CoX-"You speak now in the language
of Jeremiah, aud not in that of Isaiah. We
have another order of things. The gentleman
speaks now in favor of cutting down the duty
on salt, but he would keep 1t on iron; so he
would cut off the duty on tea, coffee and SUI
gar"
Mr.. Kelley-"Not on sugar"
MIR. C0X-Do not interrupt me, now, in my
five minutes. Blood will follow where the knife
is driven, The duty that is paid on tea, coffee
and sugar all goes into the treasury, but when
the treasury receives five millions from duty on
non, the iron men of Pennsylvania receive $780,,
100000. Obstruction to the importation of coal
has furnished a basis for all the cOnspracies
and strikes and combinations in Pennsylvania,
for the purpose of raising the price of coal and
has cost the people of New England and New
York at least thirty millions. Why does not my
innocent gentleman from Maine, Mr.. Hale, add
potatoes to his salt2 1t is because potatoes are
raised in Maine, and he wants them protected.
want the people of New York and everywhere
to have free coal and all other articles free"
Mr. Hale-"l have no objections"
Mr. Richie opposed the bill and the amend
ment The appeal made in the interests of la
boring men he regarded as an illusion. While
he Sympathized fully with the demand for
revenue reform, he thought the revenue re-
formers were really moving in the wrong direc
tion in the matter, and subscribing the interest
which they ought to oppose; in word it was
capital, not labor, wealth, not poverty, mOnopo-
iiNSJ anu hOp INV pSppiNJ bhtte WIZ hNhiouNlhE
these changes
Mr.. Fmklenburg advocated the bill and
amendment, and replied to the argument of Mr.
Kelley: That gentleman's argument was, that a
tax on salt, which produced only 81 100000 a
year, should not be removed in the interest of
the new funding law, and yet he had voted,
some weeks ago, to repeal the income tax
which brought twelve millions into the treas
ury. The Inconsistency of that argument showed
its fallacy, and the insncerity of the gentleman
who made it.
~ Mr. Kelley-"My argument was that | was in
favor of repeating internal taxes as rapidly as
we can"
Mr. Fnkelnburg-"Then what becomes of the
new bonds and the funding law? daughter
The two propositions can not be reconciled.
Another fallacy of the gentleman's argument is
that, because the treasury only gets 81 100 900 a
year from the duty on salt, the duty only costs
the people three cents per head. He leaves out
of view the fact that the people pay tax on
domestic as well as on foreign salt"
Mr. Peters moved TO amend Mr.. Keley's
amendment, by fixing the duty on salt at six
cents per one hundred pounds in bulk and nine
cents in sacks. If they could not get low
and free salt.
After further discussion by Mrssrs. Eldridge,
Butler of Massachusetts, Cox and Maynard,
Mr.. Peters and Mr.. Kelley's amendments were
rejected and the committee rose,
Mr. Shellabarger introduced bill, which was
referred to the judiciary committee providing
that in all cases of instruction or obstruction
to the law, either of the United States or any
state or territory, by combination too power
full to be suppressed by the ordinary course of
Judicial proceedings, and in all cases where the
constitutional authorities Of any state or terri
tory shall fail or refuse so to execute the laws
thereof as to secure to all persons equal pro-
lection of the laws, it shall be lawful for the
president TO employ the land and naval forces of
the United States to suppress such combinations
and execute the laws. thOuUh the leuigla-
ture or executive of such state may not call for
such forces.
resolution by Mr.. Buffinton was adopted
directing the secretary of war to make survey
OF the harbor Of DuXbury, Mass, with view
TO increasing its facilities for commerce.
bill for the apportionment of representa-