The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-02-07
XLIId CONGRESS-.SECOND SESSION.
SENATE.


Mr.. Edmunds offered resolution asking tn
President to send the Senate any informatio
| in his possession relative to the alleged lnten
| ton of Great Britain to revoke the treaty @
| Washington unless the claims of the Unite
| States shall be presented upon the principle an
| in manner agreeable to the other party. III
said it was extremely desirable to have this in
formation-no one felt it more deeply than b
did the disturbances of peace between the ma
lions. The people of the United States ha
shown their desire for peace by submitting t
arbitration, claims which they felt might not b
submitted to any tribunal but themselves. Blu
the British government and til nations had ha'
| full notice that the claims Tor consequential
damages was to be made and if they were nov
| about to repudiate the treaty let us sa,
"Amen," and take care to enter into no NOR
treaties with powers so ready to break them ant
| at the proper time to take measures to vlndi
cate our national honor and enforce our jus
| claims.
Mr.. TrumbulI thought the Senate ought no
to adopt the resolution upon the report tina
Great Britain was going to repudiate solemn
treaty.
Mr.. Trumbull, continuing, said that Parlia
ment had not yet assembled and if the country
wanted the treaty repudiated the best way wa:
to have it done would be to insult Great Britain
by this resolution.
Mr.. Edmunds said this was mere ordinary
resolution of enquiry as the matter was now al
legged to be under consideration by the govern
sarily require the action of Parliament at ALL
Mr.. Cameron, chairman of the Committee OF
Foreign Affairs, thought that the President hao
no such information as this resolution called
for and he had no idea that Great Britain in
tended to disgrace herself by repudiating the
treaty or any part of it,
Mr. Edmunds, at Mr.. Trumbulps suggestion,
modified the resolve so as to merely ask Tor IN
formation as to the intention of Great Britain
to repudiate the treaty without mentioning the
alleged reason.
Mr. Sumner presented memorial of the
householders of the District of Columbia ask
ing protection against the extravaganza of the
territorial government which has already in
Cured debt of $13, 000, 600, equal to one-sixth
the value of the whole district. IA
Mr.. Frelinghuysen presented the resolution
of the New Jersey Legislature, recommending
the purchase of Independence Hall for the Cen
tennial celebration in 1876, the purchase money
to be used by Philadelphia for the erection of
museum Of revolutionary relics.
Mr.. Sherman reported bill making it an Of
sense punishable by years imprisonment and
$1,000 fine for any private cooperation, firm or
individual to issue any obligation or promise to
pay, for use as circulating medium or currency.
Mr.. Sherman, from the Finance Committee,
reported a bill requiring the Secretary of the
Treasury to call in 5000, 900 of three per cent.
certificates monthly in addition to the amount
he was now authorized to retire each month by
existing laws.
Mr. Conkling offered a resolution which was
adopted directing the Committee ON Retrench-
ment to investigate the abuses of extortion in
connection with quarantine and health regula-
tions of New York.
Mr.. Robertson called up in regular order the
amnesty bill and the resolution went over.
The Amnesty bill was discussed by Messrs.
Sherman, Thurman, Morton and Frelinghuy-
sen till o'clock, when the Senate went into
executive session and soon after adjourned.
e-f.., HOUSE.
A bill was adopted that the Secretary of War
state what military posts be abolished.
THE EDUCATIONAL BILL.
The educational bill came up at 80.
Mr.. Perez (rep.) offered proviso that the bill
shall not in any way effect any existing laws
for the disposition Of public lands, nor to be
construed as preventing any disposition thereof
which Congress hereafter may see fit to make.
Mr.. Finkelnburg (rep.) of Missouri, init
mated that he would vote against the provise,
as it seemed to make reservation for future
railroad grants.
Mr.. Poland of Vermont, offered an amend
ment providing that the act is not to have any
effect to impede any law authorizing pre-emp-
ton of public lands, nor shall it be construed as
limiting in any manner the power of Congress
to alter or extend the right of homesteads.
Mr.. Dunnell (rep) of Minnesota, spoke in
advocacy of the bill. He saw nothing in it
recognizing the right of the national govern
ment to interfere in education in the States.
Mr.. w. r. Roberts (dem.) of New York, ask
ed Mr.. Dunnell if it proposed to exclude relig-
ious denominational schools from the benefit OF
the bill
Mr.. DunneI replied that the UNCONVENTIONAL
schools, as such, were not entitled to partieipa-
ton in the proposed fund any more than they
were under the laws setting aside certain town
ships and sections of public lands for school
purposes
During the discussion Mr.. Butler (rep) of
Tennessee, declared that the Democratic party
had stolen 100000 of the Tennessee school
fund and the Republican party only 100000.
Mr.. Garrett (dem.) of Tennessee, asked when;
and Mr.. Butler replied when he (Garrett) was a
member of the Legislature and expelled.
Mr.. Garrett said the latter statement was will
fully false, and was called to order.
Mr.. Blair rep of Michigan, and Mr.. Co.
burn rep Of Indiana, spoke in support OF the
bill, while Mr.. Harris dem. of Virginia, and
Storms (dem.) of Pennsylvania, spoke against
it.
Mr. Harris said that Virginia never would
submit to social equality between whites and
blacks, while Mr.. Storms denounced the bill as
a humbug, because under it the distribution for
school purposes would hardly amount to a cent
and half per head for every man, woman and
child in the United States. He also charged
that the boasted education OF Massachusetts
had resulted in producing infdelity in religion
and degenerency in the race-two of the great
est evils which had afflicted Massachusetts and
had almost driven out the old-fashioned ideas
of Puritansm. He read statistics upon the
physical degenerency in Massachusetts, show
ing that the birth rate in Massachusetts, was
constantly diminishing, and that although the
native population exceeded the foreign popula-
ton four to one, the birth rate among the latter
were greater than among the former The num-
Der of deaths among the native population ex-
ceeded the number of births.
Mr.. Kelley (rep) of Pennsylvania, eulogized
the educational system of his own State, and
said that while Virginia was making it a felony
to teach colored child to read, Pennsylvania
had provided a collegiate education for color
ed people, both at Pittsburg and Philadelphia.
The gentleman from Virginia Mr.. Harris)
might not exhibit such extreme terror about
mixed schools. The difficulty would only be
temporary for the sun and air of the Southern
States were known to bleach the blacklist Afri.
can, both in hair and complexion to the color of
pure Saxon. daughter
Mr., Hereford-If the gentlemen in favor OF
forcing mixed schools on the people?
Mr. Kelley:-I say this that nature gives the
lie to the assertion that Southern men abhor
close intercourse with women of African des-
cent. He ascribed the poverty and decay Of
the South to the absence of education which
deferred emigrants from going there.
Mr. Garfield (rep.) of Ohio, said he would
discuss the bill on two questions. What was
proposed to be given to the cause of education.
How was it proposed to give it? He showed
that since the establishment of the government
one per cent of the revenues had been derived
from public lands and amounted to S35, 100000
He thought of giving that to the cause of edu
cation was a great one and the country would
remember the man who formulated that
thought in law, and the Congress which gave
to it assent He protested that the gift was
not to disturb the American system OF educa
ton, but rather to be used through it to be par
| of and wholly subordinated to it. The leading
governments of Europe were beginning to SEE
that the American school system was better
than theirs because the American system
sprang from local self government aud NUM-
| cipal institutions He disclaimed utterly the
| idea that the bill proposed any government
| control over the schools. 1t only required
| reports as to what had been done il
| them to be made to Congress and the publica
| ton of those reports would awaken emulation
between the several States He cordially sup
| ported the bill and hoped it would pass.
| Messrs. Goodrich, Stevenson and Shank
| (reps.) supported the bill
| Mr. Dawes (rep) advocated not the details, bu
| the general scope of the bill. He wished ever
unoccupied acre of public domain were, by thi
| bill, consecrated for such good and noble pur
| pose Those who had witnessed the mode il
which the public land had been preyed upol
| and spoliated for the last ten years by the &C
| ton of Congress, could not but regret that
| stronger resistance had not been made to such
system. He himself had voted for lands to tn
| Pacific railroad, but had resisted all other Xix
grants. To the charge that the bill was a meas
| ure of Capitalization, he said there was nothn
| that men were so slow to acknowledge as tina
the country was becoming great nation, nc
only in name, but everything which goes t
make up nation.
The gentleman on the other side attribute
that tendency to political events; but, in hi
| judgement, it was the result of force hidde