The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-05-30
Washington News and Gossip.
THE MOIETY BILL,

The MOlETY BILL
The Senate moiety bill as amended, will be
substantially combination of the Fenton bill
and that reported by Mr. Roberts from the
Ways and Means Committee. and passed by
the House a few days ago. 1t was thought
best to unite these bills for two reasons. The
Finance Committee were unanimously of the
opinion that it would be unsafe for the Roberts
bill repealing moieties to become law without
some new provision in regard to the salaries of
customs officials. The portion of the bill that
came from the House will be reported to the
Senate with only one or two important amend.
ments. An attempt has been made to restol g
the third section as it was reported from the
Committee on Ways and Means, authorizing
the seizure of books ard papers whenever the
United States attorney shall allege to the court
whenever suit is pending, that any business
book, invoice or paper, belonging to the defend
ant, will tend to prove the charges made by the
government: and it now looks as though the
attempt would be successful, so far as the
committee is concerned, though they seem will
ing to modify its provisions so as to make the
seizure discretionary with the Judge instead of
mandatory. If the judge is made responsible
for every seizure, acts of this kind will be less
frequent and their execution less oppressive.
Still the merchants absolutely deny the neces-
sity for any such authority, holding the custody
OF the goods to be sufficient security for the
government. which has as great facilities for
ascertaining the market value of goods as the
merchant. The only otherimportant amendment
to the House portion of the bill relates to the
submission of the question of fraudulent intent
to the jury as separate and Independent ques-
ton. The effect of this amendment will be to
allow merchant against whom suit is brought
not only to vindicate his character, if he is in
nocent, but to get decision on any other ma
terial point that may alise. The sections of
the Roberts bill repeating moltes were taken
from the Fenton bill, so that of course in COM
blnlng the two the corresponding sections of
the latter are omitted. The remainder of the
Fenton bill, as modified by its author, and in
troduced in the Senate few days ago. is pre-
served intact with some slight changes The
most important of these relate to the schedules
OF salaries of customs officers, which are slight
ly reduced in the BILL as it will be reported by
the committee. Taken altogether, with the
exception Of the section relating to the seizure
more perfect than any on the subject ever be-
fore Congress, and Notwithstanding the known
hostility of some of the most influential Sena-
tors to some portions of it, it is hoped that it
Will be taken up early next week and passed.
THE FREEDMEN's MONUMENT,
The Committee on Appropriations have
agreed to the request of Governor Stanard to
an appropriation for the erection of base and
pedestal for the bronze statue of Lincoln. Up
on this will be placed full length figure of
Lincoln, and kneeling beside it the figure of
slave. This has been cast abroad; and will ar
rive in this country in few days The history
OF the monument is this: A colored slave, a
woman, hearing of the death of Mr.. Lincoln,
in small town in Tennessee, handed to an
army officer the sum of five dollars, which she
said she had been saving for some good pur-
pose, and desired to put it in his hands as a
basis of fund for building freedmen's mon
ument to Mr.. Lincoln. The money was sent
by this officer to the western sanitary commits
sion at st. Louis, and upon their advertising
the circumstance freedmen in various parts Of
the country made contributions until the sum
reached $4,000, and for this bronze statue
was cast abroad. 1t will be erected upon one of
the reservations in this city.