The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-02-06
Washington News and Gossip.

RELUCTANCE OF COMMITTEES TO REPORT BILLS.
The House proceeded Wednesday with the
egular call of Committees, but notw tbs .anding
the great number of Committees and the limited
number of morning hours during which the
Committees can be called, very many of the
Committees were called without responding.
At this state of the session this woul1 seem to
indicate that the Committees generally feel I'M
willing to report many of the bills before them !,
in view of the temper of the house and public
sentiment lis known that a very great pro-
portion of the bills call for appropriations, and
that IL e friends of many of these bills prefer
sion as possible, iu the hope that the general f.
nancial condition will so improve as to give
them better prospects OF success.
PlNCHBEcK TO BE THROWN OVERHEARD.
1t is rumored that Senator Carpenter has
been persuaded not to present bis bill for new
election in Louisiana. statement has been
made of alleged particulars of the conference
held at the house of Senator West, the night be-
fore last, and it is said that it was there agreed
to throw Pinch eek overheard. In confirna-
ton of this, a Sena or remarked, tonight, that
there would OF be twenty votes for Pinch
beck's admission, and Pinchbeck has tele-
graphed home that there would not be twenty
votes against him.
THE LATE JAMES BROOKS AND THE CREDIT
m MOBILIER.
In case the Committee on Ways and Means
shall proceed with the inquiry concerning the
Sanborn con tracts for collecting arrears of in
come tax. one branch of the Credit Mobilier
story will be again revived. 1t will be under
stood that James Brooks, deceased, in the early
part of the Credit Mobilier investigation pro.
tested that he was not the owner of a single
share of the Credit Mobllier stock. 1t was SUBJ
sequently proved, upon examination Of the
books of the Credit Moblier Company, that a
certain number of the shares upon which large
dividends were paid were charged to one Neil
son, the sonin-law of Brooks, and that the
books where the entry was made bore evident
traces of previous erasure. 1t is understood
that one of the persons from whom arrears of
income tax has been collected is Nelson, he
having failed to return the amounts raised for
the shares of Credit Mobilier stock charged to
him on the books The fact that he had not
returned the dividends on this stock as per-
show that at the time the income returns
should be made the stock did not stand in his
name.
LITTLE TRICK.
A nice little scheme was defeated in Con-
gress Wednesday The Committee on the Pa
ciic Railroad attempted to have passed
through the House, without reading, bill
granting right of way to the Southern Cont
mental Railway. The Speaker, however, ex-
amined the bill, and decided that it must be
sent to the Committee of the Whole, since it
grants ten acres every five miles, and the use
of timber from the public lands
AMICABLY ADJ sTED.
Geo. H. Butler, who in recent letter allud
ed to W. j. Florence, the actor, in a manner
which gave great offence and for which the
latter declared he would hold Butler personally
responsible, came here day or two ago to af.
ford Florence an opportunity for so doing. The
difference was amicably adjusted and both per-
sons appeared in public together last night.
DECISION RELATIVE TO THE BANKRUPT ACT
Attorney General Williams has given an
opinion that the law of 1871, which provided
that money paid into the courts shall be de-
posted with the Assistant Treasurers does not
apply to moneys in bankrupt cases, and that
the latter must be disposed of under the pro
visions of the bankrupt act and the rulea of the
court made under that act.