The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-27

A4N ~ A1C1 ~, 1OsIs AAVAA
Congress Ycsterday-The Adjournment Re
solurion-The Apportionment and Appro-
priation Bills.
large majority of Senators-thirty-six to
twelve-that the final adjournment shall take
place this session much earlier than it ever
did before. The long session usually runs
into July or August, and even then much OF
the important business before Congress has to
go over without action. The Senate has now
fixed the day of adjournment for the 10Th of
May. 1t is difficult to assign any motive for
this unusual haste in shutting up the Congress
sional shop other than desire to evade the
great questions of civil service reform, reduc-
ton of tariff and internal revenue, universe
amnesty, the restoration of our shipping and
the revival of our commerce. II may be
said, of course, that the four months between
now and the end of May is sufficient time
within which to dispose of these and all other
necessary measures of legislation. That is
true enough, provided the Senate would cure
itself of its inveterate propensity to talk, and
60 to work like. a body of practical, common
sense men. But 1t is too much to expect such
reform in that branch of the civil service,
and therefore the action of the Senate yes
terday. in fixing such an early day for adjourn
ment, may fairly be regarded as the announce
ment of the determination of the Senate to do
nothing in the directions we have indicated.
1t is pretty apparent that this early adjourn
ment is an administration measure; but it will
not meet with such an easy success in the
House, where the free traders and revenue
reformers will make bitter fight against it.
We do not know less fruitful theme of dis
cussion than the bill to fix the number of Rep
resentatives and to apportiOn them among the
several States according to their population;
and yet the Senate has already spent two days
over that dry subject. The question is, shall
the number be two hundred and eight-three, as
fixed in the bill passed by the House ITSELF or
shall it be two hundred and forty three, as pro-
posed in the amendment reported from the
Senate Judiciary Committee? There is not a
constitutional point in it, not a question of
politics, or of negroes, or of Ku KluX-simply
one of choice between two given numbers;
and it might well be supposed that in any
other assembly the vote would be taken and
the matter decided in tie space of an hour or
two. But not so in the Senate. The tide of
talk still rolls on, and no one can venture to
say when it will cease.
The House set a good example yesterday in
the way Of prompt transaction of business.
Two important appropriation bills-the Legis-
lative, Executive and Judiciary bill and the
Pension bill-were considered and passed,
under the able management of Mr.. Garfield,
chairman of the Committee on Appropriations,
in addition to large batch ofprivate bills, and
all in session Of only three hours. The
simple reason for this promptitude is that the
House, by its business-like rules, gives no
encouragement to mere idle talk and twaddle.
What is said is always direct and to the pur-
pose. When it is desired to afford members
vent for the pent-up wisdom and eloquence Of
their souls the House sets apart day for that
purpose, when no business of any kind is
transacted, and when the gushing orators in
question, who are generally new or uninhuen-
tial members, and who only want to let
their constituents know that they are actually
in Congress, have the arena all to themselves.
To-day one of those sportive occasions is pre-
scented, and we hope the Congressional fedg-
lings will make the most of it.
During the consideration of the Civil Appro-
priation bill yesterday, and as pertinent to a
proposition to restrict the volume of public
printing, Mr.. Garfield illustrated the immensely
of the operations of the government printing
Office by the statement that the quantity
printed last year would constitute library Of
one hundred and twenty thousand volumes Of
| FIVE hundred pages each.
The payment of the famous Chorpenning
claim, which was so thoroughly vented last
| Congress, to the disrepute of the Post Office
Department, was guarded against by pro-
viso to the item to pay judgments of the Court
of Claims, directing that no part of the amount
should be used for that purpose. Mr.. Dawes
has the credit for this Chorpenning checkmate.
Snow STORMS, NORTH, SOUTH AND WEST
On Thursday last they had the severest snow
storm at Buffalo and along the lower great