New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-22
DEBATES IN THE SENATE.
WEDNESDAY, February Z, 1872.

Mr.. Ingraham, from the committee of
conference, presented an amended Dill TO
the Senate.
Mr.. Ray-I protest against these amend
ments. If You will make calculation as
to the time the Secretary of the Senate is
employed, you will find that fifteen hundred
dollars q session is over twenty dollars
day, and eighteen hundred dollars session
is nearly thirty dollars day. Such COM
pepsatiOn is simply ridiculous. Ii we go
into reform, let us go down to the bottom.
Mr.. McMillen-I will go with the Senator
if he will include j. o. Nixon's claim in his
reform measures. -,
Mr.. Ray-I say ten dollars a day would
be full compensation for the Secretary, but
l am willing to give. fifteen dollars day,
or a thousand and fifty dollars for the sew
enty days.
MIR. Blackman-I am perfectly willing to
nav these officers proper salary, but it
seems to me we ought to make the salary OF
the Assistant Secretary double that of the
Secretary, because the Assistant Secretary
does all the work.
Mr.. McMillen-But the chief Secretary
is engaged in his duty down at the Gus
tomhouse.
MIR. RAY move that the Senate do not
concur in these amendments, and that we
insist upon the bill as originally passed.
Mr.. Ingraham-In Justice to the commit
tee of conference, will say that we did all
we could to preserve the original features oil
the bill as it passed the Senate, but we
were assured by the members of the House
committee Eof conference, that the House
would pass no other bill but the one now
under consideration-that by vote of six
ty-one to twenty one they had adopted this
bill, and had moved to reconsider the vote
by which it was adopted, and had laid that
motion on the table. They had determined
they would not back down on anything.
A Senator-Starve them out.
Mr.. Ingraham-That is. just it. 1t the
Senate wants to starve them cut it can re-
fuse to concur.
Mr.. Todd see very plainly the gentle
men want to make capital out OF this. l
come here for my eight dollars day, and L
move that we concur in the amendments OF
the committee of conference.
Mr. Hunsaker-1 was member OF that
committee. There were great many points
that objected to, but it was one OF the
most difficult matters to effect any arrange
ment whatever. The committee had very
hard session. and my experience IS that 1t is
about the best bill they can get up. agree
with the Senator from Ouachita tMr. Ray,
that no employee of the Senate ought to re-
ceive greater compensation than member,
and would vote for law to that effect.
Mr. McbIillen-Will the Senator from ST.
James (Mr. Hunsaker) allow me to give him
a little information! l am told that such
of the employees Of the Senate as have posi-
tons in the CustOmhouse are not allowed to
receive compensation from the government
during their term of service in the Senate;
consequently, we are expected to make up
to them what they lose.
Mr.. Smith-This is House bill. is 1t not
The President-Yes, sir.
Mr.. Smith-Then how can the committee
of conference suggest amendments! They
can either adhere or not.
Mr.. Ray-This committee of conference
suggested charges, which have been ap-
proved by the House and sent down here
now for the concurrence of the Senate.
think that is regular.
The Presdent-I hold it is perfectly reg
ular and therefore decide the point OF
order not well taken.
Mr.. RAY have only word or two TO
say. We have fixed the expenses or the
Legislature On q scale which will not eX-
coed two hundred thousand dollars: but
am told they have already fifty clerks III
the House, and we do not know how many
more there will be before the end OF the
session. All that l want is an economical
administration, and regard the compensa-
ton fixed by the Senate as the highest that
can be consistently allowed. Therefore
move that the Senate do not concur in these
amendments.
The yeas and nays were called upon the
question of concurring in the amendments
suggested by the committee OF conference.
Yeas fifteen, nays fifteen.
The President gave the casting vote IN the
negative, explaining that he did so because
he saw the chairman of the committee had
himself voted against his own report.
Mr holland moved to postpone these
amendments indefinitely.
Mr.. Ingraham-The great point OF differ
- naffh A
and the committee of the House was the
employment of clerks. In the House they
have fifty -four clerks drawing seven dollars
a day. l said everything in the way OF
argument to persuade the House committee
to agree to the striking out of at least thirty
of these clerks.
Mr.. McMillen-Does not the bill as re
turned to us from the House limit the num-
Der of clerks!
Mr.. Ingraham-It leaves the House to ap-
point as many as it pleases.
The motion to indefinitely postpone the
amendments was lost.
Mr.. McMillen-I am sorry to see the
Senate refusing to make these reductions.
The proposition we have voted down was a
proposition of reduction. l regret to see
Senators who have been so prominent in
reform measures recording their votes
against the proposition, because in the first
instance it was a reduction of the Secre-
tary's salary from two thousand dollars to
eighteen hundred dollars, and the Assist
ant Secretary's from eighteen hundred dol
lars to sixteen hundred dollars Ii we had
concurred in this report we would have re
duced expenses by that sum at least, but I
take it that the majority Of the Senators,
including all those so strenuous in their ad-
yocacy of reform, are opposed to these re-
auctions. regret to see this manifestation
on the part of Senators, and hope they will
reconsider their votes.
Mr.. Blackman-Either the gentleman
does not understand the question or do
not. Either he is in ignorance of the
force of the vote just taken, OF | do
not know anything about it, and l have
been voting in the dark. As to the ques-
ton of reform. have nothing to say about
it.
Mr.. McMilen-That is what object to.
You have not enough to say about it.
Mr. Blackman-I understand that the
Senate first passed bill for the appropria-
ton of certain amount OF money to meet
the expenses of the General Assembly. and
fixing the compensation of the employees:
that that bill was sent to the House OF Rep,
resentatiyes, and the House of Representa-
tiyes refused to pass the bill of the Senate,
but passed an original bill which they called
a substitute for the Senate bill. They sent
this down to the Senate, which refused tS
concur in the House bill, and inserted
amendments therein, which amendments
were reduction of the salaries OF the EN-,
ployes and limitation Of the number OF
clerks.
Mr. Ray-Will the gentleman permit me
to interrupt him. | hold that if the Senate
refuses to concur in the amendments pro
posed by the committee of conference, Ii
brings the matter back to the original Sen
ate amendments.
Mr.. Blackman That is the way under