The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-01-03
CONGRESSIONAL.

DEC. Observation-Disclosures f. Carpenter
was elected President pro tenn, receiving %
votes against 16 for Allen G Thurman and
blanks Mr.. Summer called up the bill intro
duced by him the first day of the session for the
substitution of compound interest for legal Item
der notes, and addressed the Senate in favor
thereof. He said he was in favor of specie pay
nlent at the earliest day, and wonld support any
measure to secure that. Imitation Was death
to business Contraction Ct yaa was the propser tsr
nature of contraction, butwi hout taking dollar
from the people The present dIsordered curren-
| Of war has ceased and Congress should improve
the financial condition. Referred to the Finance
Committee. :. On motion OF Mr.. Window reso-
Transportation Routes 20 the SeAboard authority
to hold session during the holiday recess at such
place as they may select, with power to send
| III, briefly resumed Mr. Bogy introduced u
| bill authorizing, from and alter April !, 1874,
tender notes and one-half in gold. Adjourned.
| HouSe-Mr. Hoar reported = BID to establish
an educational fund ane To- apply
the proceeds of the sale of public lands
| to the education of the people,. The discussion
on the Salary bill was then resumed MIR Po-
| land spoke in favor of his amendment fixing
| Congressional salaries at So, ,O90 Mr.. Stephens
OF Georgia then with some assistance got to his
| feet, and sustained by crufch under his
left arm, spoke for nearly an hour. He was
listened to with the closest attention, many MEM
| bers rom the upper house being present. He ar
gued in favor of the constiutionality of the re-
troactive clause in the Salary biii and said that
if he were to state what he Thought the services of
| q Representative ought to be worth, 1t would go
far above the figure of any law that has ever been
passed. He had given it as his opinion in the last
speech he made in the House fourteen years ago,
| that if the salaries of Members of Congress were
SI0 0l0, of Senators Sl5, 900, of Chief-Jnsiee OF
/ the Supreme Court $50 060, of Associated Judges
! $25 70 and of President $lo0, 600, it would be
better Tor the country at large. He held the same
opinion still. In regard to the present bill, his
| hiatt Horn =in tha
ton of their votes in Congress, We've quite as re-
sponsibe as the Republicans. Messrs. Garfield,
Patterson, Randall, kasson, Dunnelt, Grassland
and Lawrence entered into the debate, after
which motion ts take up the previous question
wss voted down--ayes, 100; noes, l4--so Mr..
Kasson, who had reported the minority bill, OBJ
tanned control of the subject, but without fun ther
actionth the House adjourned.
1 DEC. 12.-House.- Petitions were presented
for the repeal of The bankrupt law. The Speak
er laid before the House communicate from
the Secretary of War, calling attention to the de-
faleations in the accounts of GEN. 0. O. Howard,
of the Freedmen Bureau, and at The request OF
| Mr.. Wood the letter WAS read, and Mr.. Wood
then offered resolution that the letter and accom-
! panying reports be referred 10 the Committee on
Military fairs, with instructions TO report reso-
! luton providing far the trial by military court
martial of any officer OF the army Implicated
therein. MF. Dawes moved to amend by strik-
ing out the clause relative to instructions, He
wished to have itsimply referred leaving the
committee to take such action it should Judge
best Considerable discussion ensued, when the
| amendment was carrietl-ayes, ia; noes, IS.
| he discussion of the salary question Was then
resumed, and on motion of Mr.. OFth the bill was
rsmitted to the Special Committee wi b the follow
ing instructions That the Select Committee report
a bill repealing the whole Salary act, so far as
| the same can be dune under the Constitution, ex-
ceptng Judges of supreme Court, and ascertain
the average amount of salary, mileage. and all
| other allowances exclusive of any estimate for
the use OF the frankng privilege paid TO Senators,
/ Representatives and Delegates, in the For
1 " ifSt n
determining the compensation of Senators,
! Representatives and Delegates in Congress
hereafter at the amount, as near as practicable,
thus ascertained, with necessary travelling ex-
penses, and restoring all other salaries as they
We're before the passage OF that act. The House
then went into Committee of the Whole, when
the bill appropriating $l,0 0,000 for cxtraordina-
| ry naval expenses was considered, in the debate
on which Mr. Cox said :. there was not hght ls
j enough in the House to kill a mouse. The
flag of the country had been dragged in
the dust through our diplomacy The
| House was pusillanimous before all the world
but the navy should be better and stronger, and
he would vote at all times to strengthen t - Mes
srs Hawley of Connecticut, Myers, Beck and
others defended the course of the Administration
/ in adjusting the Cuban difficulty. The bill was
/ finally lassed, and the House adjourned until
Monday.
| DEC. 15-Senate. West intro
dnced bill to provide for tie construction OF
| the Fort st. Philip Canal and its maintenance as
a national highway This bill was recon-
mended by the New Orleans Chamber OF COM
merce to the Senate Committee on 1ransporta-
| ton J Referred. -. Mr. Morton from the Com
mittee on Privileges and Elections submitted g
report that the committee had considered the ell
| eetion case of z. b. S. Pinchback ard Gen. Nc
MILAN, claiming seats as Senators from LoTiisf-
ana, and were evenly divided. He therefore
asked that the whole matter be referFedA to the
| Senate. So ordered -. Mr.. Sherman from the
Committee on Finance n ported back to the House
bill to provide for the redemption of the loan of
| 1858 1t was passed with several unimpOriant
| amendments. :. he Senate went into executive
session and soon after adjourned. House IA
large number of bills (over three handred)
| Monday call of States, among them
being the following: TO put printing paper,
type, ETC.. on the Tree list; TO allow producers to
! sell leaf tobacco without tax; for reciprocal free
| trade with the Spanish American possessions; /;
au horizing national banks to Withdraw bonds in
proportion to their reduction OF circulation; !;
granting pension to the widow of Gen Candy;
in aid oil the execution of the laws in Utah5 Tor
a survey for ship canal from Lake Michigan to
tennessee s e4ga and a Hawassee SEE Rivers; for M the
survey and report of the cost of q
double-track rail- Dad from Omaha to New York
City for the transportation of heavy freight;
for the Improvement of the Missouri River; TO
impose tax on incomes of So, 000 and over; to
regulate commerce between the Stales, and 20
regulate reasonable rates of railroad charges for
, freight; for trans Continental railroad; to
transfer to the War Department the manage
, ment Of Indian affairs; to establish 8
territorial government in Pembina. :. .Mr
Tremaine from the Committee on Judiciary
reported bill TO repeal The bankruptcy law,
, which was made the special order Tor tomorrow
=. The Ways and Means COMMITTEE. and the
Committee on preparations reported jointly 8
resolution requesting the President to cause re-
vision OF the estimates TO be made by the seyeIa
departments. and 10 cause a report 70 bi
7 made to the House il possible rs early a
the 6th Of January next, setting i0rtn IN Sdefai
: what public expenditures for the current iisca
| year and what estimates iur the next fiscal yea
can be reduced, and The amount of snch reduc
ti0n, without serious detriInent 10 the public ser
b vice A long debate followed and the resolution
! | was passed It was resolved that the hoiida
= adjournment should extend from Dec. - TO Jan
4 e. Adjourned.
! An English railway company derives
handsome income from the forgetfulnes
of its passengers. AT a recent sale Of vi
e claimed property which had accumulate
g during the past year, there were sold Fl q