The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-04-21
Greuiug Telegraph
FRIDAY, APRIL 81, 1871.
THE ADJO URNMENT or CONGRESS.


The first session of the Forty-second Con-
gress has come to an end, and the results
achieved are before the country. There has
been great deal of meaningless talk; not a
few exhibitions of blaokguardism, that have
tended to decrease the respect of the people
of the country for the law-malSing branch of
the Governments a great deal of quarrelling
and spiteful oratory on the part of men who
entertained exalted ideas of their own inn
portapce and little or no legislation likely
to be of any practical benefit
to the country. The only important
measure that has received the full attention
of Congress has been the Ku-kIux bill the
utility of which is more than doubtful, while
many subjects of unquestionable import
ance have either not been considered at all
or have been unable to command the favor
able notice Of our Senators and Representa-
tives. The Ku-klux bill passed yesterday,
and now it only remains to be seen how
much good or how much harm the efforts to
enforce it will do. If it has any effect in
putting stop to the political
murders and outrages that have dis
graced certain portions of the Southern
States since the conclusion of the Rebellion,
its passage will not be regretted; but all the
Indications are that it will do more harm than
good, and that it will tend to postpone that
complete reconciliation between the North
and the South which good men of all sections
are anxious to bring about. Contrary to the
dictates of sound political policy, and con-
trary to the urgent advice of the best and
most thoughtful men of the Republican party,
Congress refused to pass an Amnesty law;
and this REFUSAL taken in connection with the
passage of the Ku-klux, bill can scarcely
fail to increase the irritation
and bad feeling that unhappily
exist at the South. For the defeat of the
Amnesty bin the Senate alone is responsible,
and the great mistake made in this instance
is unfortunately not the only performance
that will tend to bring the upper house"
into discredit. The Senate announced its
intention not to consider any measure but the
Ku-klux bill, but the Deficiency bill was
loaded down with amendments of every de-
scription, the great majority of them being
private schemes to extract money from the
public treasury, and well calculated to in
crease the unenviable reputation already OBJ
tanned by the Senate of the United States,
that it is one of the most corrupt legislative
bodies in the country. Fortunately the
House of Representatives is either more vir-
tuous than the Senate or else its members
stand in greater awe of public opinion, and it
refused to concur in the Senate amendments.
During the session about forty bills, public
and private, were passed-some of which, like
the one for the relief of Nicholas p. Trist,
the nepotiator of the Guadaloupe treaty, had
merit None of them, however, except the
Ku-klux bill, were of special public interest
or Importance; and, with the result of the six
weeks of Congressional labor before them,
most sensible people will be apt to think that
the session was waste of time and money,
and that it had better not been held.