New-York tribune., 1874-05-06
WASHINGTON,
NEW CURRENCY BILL.

NEW CURRENCY BILL.
THE sENArK COMMITTEES SUBSTITUTE FOR TIE
ROUSE Brt1,-posyTIoN OF TBE INFIATioNiSTs
ON THE COMMITTEE
IBr rELRGRAPH THE TRIDUNEl
WASHINGTON May 5-The Senate Finance Com
mittee has substantially agreed to allow the Chair
man, Senator Sherman, to report substitute ior
the House Currency bill, each member of the Com
mittee at the same time reservng the right to offer
amendments to it, The bill will provide for free
banking release the reserves on circulation, except
per cent, which is to be deposited In the
Treasury and require reserves on deposits TO be
Kept by each bank in its own vaults In these par
ticulars the Committees bill will not differ much
from the House bill. To prepare for specie pay
ments the proposed bill will require the retirement
Of greenbacks equal in amount to so per cent OF the
new National bank currency issued the retirement
70 begin at once and continue until the volume OF
the groenback currency is reduced to SSOO,Oo,ooo'
The REDEMPTION section Of the bill is substantially
that 80 often advanced by Senator Sherman IL con-
templates the redemption of the ereenbacks after
January /, 1877, whenever presented In sums OF
1000. OF any multiple thereof, in gold, or five per
cent gold bonds, at the option of the Government;
the greenbacks thus redeemed to be used by the Sec
rotary of the Treasury any others in the Treasury
The nhationsts on the Committee arc understood
to favor postponing the retirement of greenbacks
until the National bank circulation reaches $751;
ooO,O00. The Committee will probably report the
bill to the Senate within day or two.
TIE MORMON QUESTION IN CONGRESS.
BILLS FOR THE REGULATION OF MoIMoNIsM AND
TIE SUPPRESSION OF PoLYGAMY-THE SEVERAL
PLANS PRoPosED-ATrEMPT TO GET ACTION ON
TIE BILL OF HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
IBY TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRIBUNE.l
WASHINGTON, May 5.-If the Mormon question
does not receive the attention OF the House this ses
sion it will not be for want of reports of Commit
tees bringing the subject forward for action i'll regu
iar order Three Committees have been looking
into the state OF affairs in Utah. and each has re-
ported bill or resolution. which, if reached, will
open for discussion the whole question of the pecu-
liar social religious, and political relations of the
followers of Brigham Young, and their difficulties
with the Federal Territorial authorities. First, the
Committee on Territories made two reports the ma
jority recommending the passage of the old bill
which was pushed in the last Congress by Chaplain
Newman. and was generally known as the "Perse-
cution BILL" and the minority favoTing q much
mlder measure intended to prevent the exercise of
undue authority by the Mormon Probate Courts and
the conflict between these petty tribunals and the
Federal Courts. Then the Judiciary Committee,
TO which the subject properly belongs, reported
a bill covering about the same ground as the mi
norty bill of the Committee Territories, its object
being to enforce proper respect for Federal
authority and deprive the Probate Courts Of their
extraordinary and mischievous powers without plac
ing in the hands of the Governor, Marshal and other
Territorial officers any such machinery of perse
cntion as was proposedby the Newman BILL Finally,
the Committee OF EiHcc:;;Gns have resolution
pending, dispoHng of the contest over the seat
of the delegate from Utah by declaring Mr.. Can
non duly elected and to this amendment will be
offered by Mr. Hazelton reOpening the case and send
ing il to a select committee to investigate the
charge of polygamy preferred against Cannon. On
this which is likely to be first reached, the whole
Mormon question can and no doubt will be debated
Judge Poland attempted this morning to get
action on the bill of the Judiciary Committee, but,
finding it was likely to be sent to the Committee of
the Whole on point of order, he withdrew 1t. Al
though the bill is not manifestly measure OF
persecution as the one reported from the Committee
ON Territories it open to substantially the same
objections aud will meet with much opposition. Its
primary object is to provide way by which Nor
mons can be tried for the crime Of polygamy by
juries composed exclusively of men who are hostile
TO them To effect this ii first prohibits the Probate
Courts from exercising any civil or criminal juris-
dcton except in the settlement of estates and mat
ters of guardianship; provides for holding United
States District Courts throughout the Territory.
with sole power 10 try Odooot
the Marshall and DisrictAttorney to appoint depu-
ties al ibitnm and gives the Governor power to ap
point commissioners in each county to draw jurors.
In this manner the judicial machinery for trying
any Mormon whom the Federal officials may desire
to try is made perfect.
Two things more requisite to complete the
scheme of stamping out poygamy-evdence of
guilt aud jury without sympathy with the ac-
cused. way to procure the first is provided by
the following clause And whenever, in any pro-
ceeding for divorce in any civil cause, or in any
criminal prosecution it is necessary to prove the ex-
istence Of a marriage relation between two persons,
il shall not be necessary to prove the same by the
production of any record certificate of marriage,
but evidence of cohabitation between the parties as
husband and wife, and the acts, conduct declara-
tions and admissions of the parties shall be
admissible, and the marriage may be estab-
lished like any question Of fact" Any Nor
mon practIcing polygamy could be convicted
under this rule of evidence, if jury could be i'm
paneled with no Mormons upon it. To make this
feasible the bill provides that in the trial OF any
prosecution for adultery bgamy or polygamy, it
shall be a good and sufficient cause of principal
challenge to any prior challenge to any juror that
he practices polygamy or that he believes in the
rightfulness Of the same' Rigidly enforced, this
bill would leave the entire Mormon population only
the alternative of flying from the Territory, or going
10 the Penitentiary as felons.
THE DISTRICT INVESTIGATION.
DISCOVERY OF CREDIT MoBnIER RING IN IA