New-York tribune., 1873-01-08
WASHINGTON.
CURRENT TOPICS AT THE CAPITAL.
DEPRESSING EFFECT OF CREDIT MOBILIER DIS
CLOSURES.
IBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE !

TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRI3UsRl
WASHINGTON, Tuesday, jan T. 1873.
The session Of the House. to-day, was unusually duil
and langud. The members had been occupied all the
morning IN reading such abstracts of the Credit Mooer
testimony as appeared 10 the local papers, and they
came to the Capitol with detected air and with very
little spirit for taking hold of tho public business the
almost universal feeling seemed 20 be that the develop
ments made by the Investigating Committee would
shock the public and greatly lessen the confidence
OF the people in Congress. new member from the
west expressed the general sentiment wheh ne
said to group OF friends, just before the
House convened when such men as these men
lOnng half dozen named in Mr.. Amcss testlnony-
are shown TO be implicated In this wretched business
what Will the public think OF the rest OF us Ihrough
out the whole day business dragged heavily, and DaIey
a quorum could be got 10 vote upon any division. In
the morning hour the Foreign Affairs Committee re-
ney-Genera to examine the claims OF certain insurance
companies for losses sustained through the Dark
on the Chinese coast, boarded by an armed
force pundered and burned The insurers now ask Tor
repayment OF the losses from the Chinese Indemnity
fund This bill beaten, chiefly because few mem:
bers could be got to listen TO Mr. Woods explanation OF
the case. Mr.. Packard FROM the same Committee
70 pay the claims OF United states citizens adudlcated
by the Convention OF 1885, The rest OF the day was spent
In Committee Of the Whole on the Executive
LEGISLATIVE, and Judicial Appropriation iI die
in discussing paragraph providing for the payment OF
members Of Congress from March TO December prior 10
sworn in. Now that the spring session has been aDo
shed members cannot get any pay until the House or
ganizes IN December as the law now stands, and many
OF them object to being cut of frOm the public crib for
so long time. The paragraph was finally adopted
WIN an amcnuinent pIO'lulnE tudt "hoIS NV. "a
contest Is to the Clerk the member whose seat IS
contested shall not receive pay
THE POINT SAN JOSE CONTROVERSY SETTLED.
The Military Committee Of the House decided this
morning TO make majority report adverse to bill to
compensate the former occupants Of Point san Jose,
California This is curious which illustrates how
IA 10 .ftos hr fba
Government, to obtain relief from Congress number
OF citizens OF San Francisco who had built handsome
houses on Point san jose beautiful prOmontory jut-
ting into the bay within the city limits and who
had occupied the property for many years under
a title precisely similar 10 that hcl hy the Of
half the land in the city, rud0ly dsPossessed in
1894 by United states troops Army officers took posses
sion or their houses and put their dfnlture into the
streets. The for this proceeding was the dseoV
cry order President Fillmore iss1ed IN 1880 but
before made public, reseryng the ground for mill
taTy purposes Two years ago Congress 4esueu an aet
releasing a portion OF the lana on which a
authorities did 20 retain. Tue Jecupants OF the
remainder asked that tueI property might be returned
10 them, or that some colnncnsaton might De given
them. The Military Committee have decided To DO
neither They take the position hat the land belongs TO
the Government and thai the pants must suffer the
consequences OF the failure OF tho Government 10 pro
mugate President Fillmore ortei.
THE NEw-YORK sUB-rREAsCRY DEFALCATIoN.
The Committee appointed before the to In-
yesgate the defalcatioL the sub-Treasury at New
York will make their report IN few days They Will ex-
onerate Assistant Treasurer Hhouse from all blame in
connection with affair Johnson the clerk who stole
the money was old empoye OF the subTreasury, and
nothing in his conduct gave any ground for suspectng
his fidelity The Committee appear TO regard the defal-
cation as one which could not have been
prevented because the Assistant Treasurer is
Obliged 20 Tepose sufficient confidence IN
number OF his clerks to give them the handling or
large sums of money and he had cause 10 suspect
thar Johnson unworthy OF this confidence. Careful
Investigation was made OF the or keeping the
accounts and discussing money ana OF guarding the
funds In the vaults. Ii probable that the Committee
xe suggest as preventive measure against future de-
facatiOns, the payment OF salaries large enough 10
secure a superior class OF men for positions whlch require
ib handling of large amounts Of public mOneys, and at
the same te render the occupants OF such positions
less open to temptation than they are Win the meager
salaries now paid them.