The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-20

=
sent the honor of the country to Geneva, and
he cannot abandon it without dishonoring the
country.
Congress Yesterday-The Ku KIux Report
Duties on Ten and Coffee, Coal and Salt
! Supplementary Civil Rights Bill-The
French Arms Resolution.
The House was all day yesterday the scene
of busy turmoil and excitement. After the
usual time spent in the call of the States for
bills for reference Supplementary Civil
Rights bill, of which Mr.. Hooper, of Massa-
chusetts, is the reputed author, and which
resembles in its main features that with which
Mr.. Sumner, of Massachusetts, so pertina-
ciously bored the Senate some weeks ago. was
introduced by member from Maine, that
State being the first on the call, and would
have passed under the previous question were
it not that the remainder of the morning hour
was ingeniously consumed by the democrats
getting vote by yeas and nays on the I'M
usual motion that the bill be rejected. It goes
over now till the morning hour next Monday,
coming up after the coll of States for
can be made to occupy the whole hour by
requiring bills to be read in ertenso there is
little probability of its seeing the light again
through that process. Neither can it, of
course, be passed under suspension of the
rules, as that would require two-thrds ma
jority; but an effort may be made in the
Senate to attach it as an amendment to an
appropriation bill or some other necessary
measure. We think the country can manage
to get along very well without this pet meas
ure of Mr.. Summers. The colored people
have quite as many privileges and rights as
are good for them, and perhaps little Scere,
1t is not absolutely necessary for them to be
received as guests in aristocratic hotels, to
ride in palace sleeping cars, to occupy the
choice seats In theatres or to be buried in the
most exclusive cemeteries, and we rather
think that they will have to dispense with
these Injuries for little while longer.
The Ku Klux reports were made yesterday
in both houses. In the Senate the minority
report was accepted without a question,
except so far as correcting or explaining one
statement made in it. But In the House 1t
had not such an easy time, and came very
near being excluded altogether, owing to a
criticism of Congress for having passed the
Ku Klux bill at the dictation Of San impe-
rious, If not an imperial, President" Such
and similar expressions were regarded by the
republican side of the House as offensive,
and were ruled by the Speaker to be in viola
ton of the Parliamentary rule. Objection
was therefore made to receiving or printing
the rules for that purpose was rejected
by the lack of few votes to
make the necessary two-thirds majority.
Finally the snag was avoided by motion
of Mr.. Banks, of Massachusetts,, that the
minority report be received and printed, on
condition that 1t shall contain nothing in vio-
lation of the rules. That was agreed to with
out division, and both these electioneering
documents-the majority and minority re-
ports-were ordered to be printed together.
A motion to print forty thousand extra copies
was made and referred to the Committee on
Printing.
The question Of taxation also came up in
the House yesterday. First 1t was in the
shape of resolution, offered by Mr.. Hale, of
Maine, instructing the Committee of Ways
and Means to report a bill putting coal and
salt on the free list. Mr.. Dawes, the chair
man of that committee, attempted to remon-
strate against such an invasion of its province,
and wished to have the resolution simply
referred to 1t. The Pennsylvania members
instantly fred up into active hostility to the
proposition, and it failed to receive the requi-
site two-thirds majority, the vote being 1O3
| to &c.
This raid upon the Committee of Ways and
Means was followed by another, proposing to
take from the Committee of the Whole, where
It was referred last week, the bill removing
the duties on tea and coffee and to pass 1t
under suspension Of the rules. The Penn
sylvanians and all the protectionists sup
ported this proposition, and the free traders,
while recognizing that 1t was protectionist
measure in the disguise of measure OF popu-
lar relief, were afraid to record their votes
against 1t, and so the bill passed by vote Oh
1853 to SO. lis passage, however, Is OF no
practical account, for precisely similar Dill
has been lying before the Senate since the
18th of March last, when Il passed the house.
as we'll az bill 10 put salt and coal on the
| - ~. A. . sct-o6 IN these meditateo