The Portland daily press., 1874-04-25

tne tax could be repealed and these great pub
nc WORKS would stand forever as monuments to
the wisdom of the present Congress. do not
Deiieve, however, it would be necessary either
70 issue bonds or levy additional taxes. The
Inauguration of the system of internal i'm
provementf in icated would so slim ulate the
business energies of the country, that W,
would find it easier to raise the additional rev.
enue required than it is now to meet existing
obligations.
Mr.. Morrill, of Maine called up the House
Dill to render available certain balances and
unexpended appropriations for the payment of
bounty and prize money to colored soldiers and
sailors. Passed.
The Chair submitted a communication from
the Secretary Of the Treasury, inclosng the re-
port OF Major George H. Elliot on his tour of
inspection OF European lighthouses
The Senate then went into executive session
and then adjourned
The consular and diplomatic appropriation
Dill was reported and referred to the Commit
zee OF the Whole. 1t appropriates $3347 ,3O4
iincluding $l,929,S19 for claims of British sub
$looGOofor the survey of the boundary between
the United States and the British possessions.
The legislative appropriation bill was taken
up in Committee of the Whole
Mr.. Mellish of N. Y, made personal ex-
nlanation, in which he denied being an infla-
III,
and he (Mellish) considered the remark of Mr..
Conger relative to Influences creeping
around" as cowardly, suggesting that such al
legation constituted conduct unbecoming .
member of the House or of gentleman.
Mr.. COnger replied that he must have mis-
understood Mr.. Mellsh, and continued semi
Jocose disclaimer.
A motion to strike out the paragraph for
bureau OF education occasioned debate, dur
Ing which Mr.. Beck of Ky, spoke on the veto,
declaring that the Comptroller of the Currency
nae nad mlsled thePresiaent in regard to the $400,
OOO,00O currency, and the President had i'm
posed upon the country by leading the people
to infer that the$400, ,000 900 had not been taken
up because it was not wanted.
m nhe motion to strike ont wa then withdrawn
Inc usual annual discussion over approprIa-
uons for the agricultural department occupied
several hours and covered the familiar range of
subjects, such as wOrthliness or local inappro-
priateness of the seeds furnished, the supply of
the northwest with such seeds as would grow
only in the valley of the lower Mississippi, and
the sending down there of Pennsylvania rye
and Berks county oats.
In the course of the discussion which was
generally amusing aud discursive. Mr.. Ward
of ILL.,, asserted that some of the departments
were make use of by members of Congress- and
on being pressed for specifications be named
the Comptroller of the Currency as one official
who had thus circulated speeches of several
members of the Committee on Banking and
Currency. He denounced it as favoritism,
partiality, wrong and almost as a crime. This
was confirmed by Mr.. Randall, but he said
the Comptroller had stated as a justification
that tine postage was no greater with the speech
than it would be on the correspondence without
it. Mr.. Randall added that enormous quantities
through the Agricultural Department.
Mr.. Cobb of Kansas, offered an amendment
fixing the postage on the agricultnralIre at
10 cents, but on objection of Mr., Willard of
Vt, it was ruled out of order.
Mr.. Lawrence of o, offered an amendment
obtain and publish statistics as to the produc-
tion of WOOL animal food, etc., but it was also
ruled out of order.
After the paragraphs relating to the agricul-
tural department were disposed of without any
notable changes, and when the appropriations
for the Judiciary committee came under con-
sideratiOn, Mr.. Duell moved an amendment
fixing the salary of District Judges in Califor-
mia, Maine. Massachusetts, Connecticut New
York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland,
souri,, Louisiana and Rhode Island at $4,000,
and in all other districts at $4,000. Rejected.
Mr.. Garfield Of Ohio, Chairman of the Ap
preparation Committee. moved to insert an
item of million dollars to pay judgments
of the Court of Claims. He remarked that the
estimates were for two milliou, while the
amount of the appropriation for the current
year was only 100000. He stated that the
aggregate of the pending cases before the court
was about 81, 100000 and the calculation was
that million would pay for all the judgments
but as the proposition was an important one.
he would MOI ask any action on the bill till to-
morrow.
The committee rose after dsposing of four
teen pages of the bill, leaving only six undis-
posed Of.
Mr.. Myers of Pa, introduced bill to repeal
the second section of the act of July 6, 1872,
which reduces the duties on certain imported
articles ten per cent Referred. Adjourned.