The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-15

Supplied with Arms-Is 1t Blank
Cartridge or Is 1t n BombshelIs
The resolution which Mr.. Sumner offered
in the Senate some days ago, to institute an
inquiry into the means by which the French
were supplied with arms from this country
during their late war with Germany, came up
yesterday for consideration, and elected quite
a lively discussion. The friends of the adj
ministration-notably Messrs. Conkling, Nor
ton and Carpenter-had no hesitation in recog-
nizing the resolution as an attack upon the
President and Secretary of War, and extended
an invitation to Sumner to ''lay on" The
Massachusetts Senator, of course, disclaimed
any other motive than that of q high sense of
public duty, and expressed great re-
luctance at having that duty imposed
upon him. Mr.. Sherman attempted to divert
the Senate into more useful branch Of bust
ness than that of entering on political de-
bate, and rebuked the majority for being so
readily excited by waving of the red flag
in the hands of their adversaries He subse-
quently alluded directly to Sumner as one of
the adversaries, and inquired whether there
could be any motive in bringing up the reso-
luton except to provoke q political discussionp
Morton and Carpenter took rather conflicting
views of the effect and character of the reso-
luton, the former describing it as ''blank
| cartridge" which he wished to have exploded
at once, and the latter recognizing it as q
''bombshel," intended to blow General Grant
and his friends out of water-we suppose he
meant hot water. Summers colleague, Mr..
Wilson, favored the fullest and promptest
investigation of the subject, and did
not fear that the result would be
injurious to the administration even, although
mistakes might. have been committed. The
people, in his opinion, were magnanimous
enough to forgive any such mistakes. In
subsequent part of the debate he stated in
detail the facts 50 far as the War Department
was connected with them. That Department
had sold, between 1865 and 1871, arms to the
amount of over fifteen million dollars,
which had all been paid into the Treasury,
and had never sold dollars worth to the
French government or to any one known to be
its agents We fail to see how, with this
state of facts, Mr. Sumner can expect to make
any political capital out of his resolution or of
the investigation which he is aiming at. No
decision of the question had been arrived at
when the Senate adjourned.
In the House the order of the day-coming
after several propositions for erecting govern
ment buildings at Indianapolis, Hartford, Gin
cinnat and Quincy-was the Naval Appro-
priation bill. A good deal of discussion of no
general interest took place upon it in Commit
tee of the Whole, and amendments were
adopted prohibiting political influences in the
employment or dismissal Of mechanics and
laborers in the government navy yards, and
leaving their selection with the several heads
of the various mechanical departments without
interference from officers of the navy.
The bill to remove all import duties from
tea and coffee was reported in the House from
the Committee of Ways and Means, and re-
ferred to the Committee of the Whole on the
State of the Union, Mr.. Finkelnburg, who re-
ported it, stating that majority Of the Com
mittee of Ways aud Means, including him
self, was opposed to it. The debate upon it
will open up the whole tariff question.