Connecticut western news., 1872-03-01
UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
SENATE.

UNITED STATES CONGRESS-.
 SENATE. |
 MT. Sumner, in aE discussion of his Franco-German arms bill said The sub- ject was interesting and important in two aspects-as it concerned ourselves and as it concerned foreign powers. All must unite in desire to relieve our country from suspicion, especially suspicion of a moral obEqutty. He would speak not of men, but of facts, and if anybody should be pointed at by the. statement he was about to make it would be the fault of the facts, and not his He had brought forward the subject with great reluctance, and after long delay. The main facts had been brought to his knowledge be- fore Christmas, but he had postponed bringing them into the Senate, because he knew they had been laid before the President and Secretary of War, and he had reason to believe that they would in- stitute an inquiry. They had not done so, however, but the Secretary of War had made to the House of Representa- tives @ report upon this subject. The character of that report would appear as he proceeded, and the Senate would judge whether it did not fall under some of the suspicion attached to, the whole transaction.
 MT. Wilson said: The sales commenced in 1865, and continued until 1871. The arms, &c., sold by the Government from the list of April, 1865, to the Both of June, 1871, amounted to $151, ,026, 142 91, every cent of which had been faithfully account ed for and paid to the Treasury.
 MT. Brownlow proposed to make per sonal explanation in reply to MT. Beck's assertion in the House that MT. Brown low, while Governor of Tennessee, made that State pandemonium. He was pro- ceeding to explain in very strong Ian guage, when he was checked by the Vice-President. The explanation was then read, the purport of which was that MT. Beck's statements were false. ''s.,
 MT. Cole submitted resolution, which was agreed to, instructing the Committee on Education and Labor to inquire into the expediency of an amendment to the Constitution providing some educational test in the exercise of the electoral fran chise.
 The Senate passed the bill extending the time for the construction of the rail- road from the St. Croix River to Lake Superior.
 HOUSE.
 MT. Hale, of Maine, in a discussion of U. $. naval affairs, mentioned the fact that the number of men to which the navy was limited was $500, and if the nation should get into war, it would be impossible to send out three additional vessels all fully armed, with the present force to which the navy was limited. The whole point of his argument WIS that the blame should fall where it prop erly rested. If there was no navy as g legacy from the past, and if the country had not now respectable naval estab- lishment, they should not grumble at any expense that was inevitable. The navy now possessed of the $50 vessels that belonged to it during the war, only 179 vessels of all classes. Of the rest, some had decayed, or sunk, or been sold j; of scores and ffties of others he did not know the fate he had not been able to follow them they were not on the hands of the Department, and the De partnent was not responsible for them. They had vanished and faded away, and were not to be found or traced. The navy now consisted of 179 vessels in all. These he classified into four classes not of strength, but of utility. z Class No. consisted of vessels that were at sea-some sailing vessels, some steam CTS and some iron -clads they numbered 36. Class No. 2 consisted of vessels suitable to relieve those that were at sea they numbered IA. Glass No. consisted of vessels that were worth being repaired in case of an emergency. e.
 In the House of Representatives sever al bills were passed for the erection of public buildings at various places.
 The Army Appropriation bill was re- ported, calling for $29, 9,548,0O
 | Bill passed that mechanics and labor ing men at the Navy-yards shall be se- lected by the heads of the various me- chanical departments in the yards, with out the interference of any naval officer.
 There was an exciting debate in the House of Representatives in committee of the whole on the Naval Appropriation bill, on MT. Slocum's motion to strike out the item for the Brooklyn Naval Hospital. MT. Hale was in favor of sell ing both the navy-yard and the naval hospital and putting the proceeds in the Treasury. MT. Banks was opposed to sales of government property. MT. Slocum declared that half the interest of the money for which the navy yard could be sold would repair all the vessels of the navy, or take care of the sick of the whole navy. Mir. Hall advocated the sale of useless vessels. MT. Maynard suggested that such historical vessels as the Constitution, the Macedonian, the Kearsarge, and the America should be excepted. Several alrepresentative offered their opinions on this point, amongth them MT. Butler, who said he would have useless vessels broken up and sold, but not sold as ships. MT. Maynard's sug- gestion was not accepted, and MT. Hale's motion was adopted. MT. Swann, in the course of the debate, said that in case of war there were not six vessels in the navy that could be relied CD, and he felt convinced that there was at present imminent danger of war.
 A bill was passed permitting all for eign photographs to be exhibited at the National Photograph Association in Cleveland to be admitted free.
 MT. Beck, of Kentucky, obtained per mission to defend himself against the attack of Senator Brownlow, and he took occasion to attack the Governors of Southern States. He said they had put forward Brownlow to attack him because Brownlow was cripple and an imbecile.
 JAMES B. GARDNER JR., of New York,