The New York herald., 1871-03-01


the Duty ON Coni-ssBuiIins'' the Pacidc
RuiIrOnd Securities.
The Sundry Civil Service Appropriation
bill, familiarity designated the "Omnibus"
bill, as it embraces all the departments of the
government, emerged yesterday from the
depths to which the vote of the House on
Monday had consigned it. Mr. Dawes, the
chairman of the Committee on Appropriations,
delivered discourse appropriate to the
solemnty of the occasion of disentombng the
wrongdoing, accused it of having heaped up,
against his remonstrance and opposition,
large appropriations for public buildings, and
with then having shrunk from its own work
and straugled its own offspring. His homily
had good effect, for after it the House
reconsidered its action of Monday in tablng
the bill, and then refused to lay it on
the table. But Dawes having thus got
the better of his repentant colleagues, took ad-
vantage of his position and offered substitute
for the bill, emitting all the appropriations for
public buildings not yet commenced, which the
House had on Monday inserted in the bill by
two-thrds majorties, and which it had after
wards made the excuse for action hostile to
the bill. The only exception which Dawes
made to this exclusion of new works was the
League Island Navy Yard, and this exception
he made. according to his own statement, in
Difference to the decisive vote of the House on
that subject the other day. Perhaps he was
still more influenced by desire not to have
the whole Pennsylvania delegation voting
against his bill and lobbying in the House to
defeat it. But motion was made to strike
out League Island, and then the Pennsylvania
members, without regard to party lines, but
Influenced only by local interest," went sedu-
lously to work canvassing for votes, and sue
ceeded in getting just enough to save their pct
measure. The substitute was then agreed to
and the bill passed and sent to the Senate Il
contains the appropriations for the post offices
in this city and Boston, but excludes all appro-
priations for buildings not yet commenced.
The next measure of Importance on which
the House took action was a bill to promote
the construction Of the Cincinnati and
Southern Railroad. This bill is of the same
between this city and Washington-that is, it
gives a national charter to the company.
instead of leaving the matter within the con-
troll Of the Kentucky Legislature, which is
governed by existing railroad interests, as tho
New Jersey Legislature is by the Camden and
Amboy Railroad Company, and is not willing
to allow the road to be built through that
State. The bill was passed under suspen-
sion Of the rules and without discussion, by
vote Of l3l to g..
The Southern Pacific Railroad bill was
taken from the Speakers table by two
thirds majority, 136 to 50, aud the dis
agreeing votes on the House amendments
were referred to conference commit
struction to trunk line, cutting off
all the branches provided for in the Senate
bill, and reduce the land grant one halt, from
twenty-sx to thirteen millions Of acres. The
House is determined to adhere to its position,
and .Le probability Is that the Senate will
come to it rather than incur the risk of having
the bill lost.
The best thing that the House did yester-
day-or, indeed, that it did for many day
was done by it under the lead Of Mr.. Fer
nando Wood, in the passage of bill for the
immediate repeal of the duty on coal.
1t was passed by the very decisive vote
Of IA to 46, the negative votes com
ing from the coal Representatives OF
Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and
Tennessee, and few stragglers. We hope
that the Senate will not allow this best mea-
sure of the Congress to fail for want of action
in that body. We may expect the Senators
from the coal States to resort to par
liamentary artifice to kill it by indi-
rection; but we appeal to Senators
generally, and especially to Messrs Conkling
and Fenton, to see to it that this bill receives
the vote of that body and becomes law be-
fore Saturday next
A Ku Klux bill Of the most violent charac-
ter, upsetting all the ordinary forms of civil
rule and virtually declaring the Southern COM
munities in a state of siege, was reported by
Mr.. Butler, of Massachusetts,, from the Re-
construction Committee who moved to sus-
pend the rules and proceed with it, to the ex
cusion of all other business, till the end of the
session, except appropriation bills and reports
of committees of conference. That PROPOSE
ton, sweeping as 1t was, only lacked one vote
of the requisite two-thirds majority. Three
republicans voted against it-Messrs. Farms
worth, Fitch and Wilkinson-and change OF
one of these votes would have carried it, the
actual vote being 127 to 65. For the present
the South is safe from the proposed infiction,
and it is not likely that, for this session at
least, its safety will be disturbed by this
measure.
Conference committees were appointed BY