Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-06-25


these rates shall be prepaid +, stamps. 1t
also authorizes newspapers to be sent free to
actual subscribers within the county where
the same are printed. 1t also fixes the salary
of the postmaster at New York at So, 900, and
regulates the salaries of other postmasters ac-
corling to the business of their respective of:
fees. Mr.. Ramsey offered as an amendment
to the amendment, the House bill to prevent
and punish straw bids. Agreed to, and the
amendment as amended was then adopted.
Other amendments providing for the free
transmission of public documents through the
mails were offered, pending discussion Of
which the Senate went into executive session,
and ten adjourned. In the House, Mr.
Beck reported a bill for the relief of owners
and purchasers Of land sold for direct taxes
in the late nsurrectionary States, which was
passed. Mr. Tremain, from the committee of
conference on the bankrupt act, submitted
report. He said the main point of difference
between the Senate and House was, whether
the law should be repealed or modified. The
House favored the repeal of the law, and the
Senate desired simply modification. The
managers on the part of the House had failed
to secure repeal Of the law. They had
found the Senate members of the committee
firm, and they had either to let the old law
stand as it is, or do the next hest thing they
could, and secure such modification as
would make the law less obnoxious. One i'm
portant change was, that while now failure
to pay for fourteen days a man could be
thrown into bankruptcy by single creditor.
Now there was an extension Of time to forty
days. This he thought a material improve
ment on the present law. The next was as to
the power Of any one creditor to throw per-
son into bankruptcy. Now one man to whom
$3.50 is due can throw a person into bank
ruptcy. Is proposed to be modified, it requir-
ed the assent of one.fourth of the creditors
and one-third in value. This provision was
made to date back to the time this Congress
met in December last. The present law made
no provision for discharge from bankruptcy.
By the new bill the debtor may be discharged
when such debts are paid, or at the request Of
one.half of the creditors. Various other i'm
provements on the present law were mention
ed as reasons for accepting the report as
ameliorating the rigor of the present law. He
said the question for the House now to decide
was not whether the bankrupt act should be
repealed, but whether the present law should
stand in its present form. Mr.. Eldridge said
he had opposed the passage of the bankrupt
act and had always favored its repeal, but he
had signed the report, believing it the best
that could be done at this time. 1t was not
what he wanted, nor what the House wanted ;
but the Senate members of the committe were
firm, and they had to take this or let the old
law stand. All they could do was to pull as
many of the rotten pieces out of the old law
as they could. If they had done no more
than the Limitation of the fees and costs to
the bankrupt, it would be much gained. The
committee on the part of the House had done
all they possibly could. Mr.. Butler, of Mas
sachusetts, argued in thesame line to show the
bill far preferable to the present law, and the
only alternative left to the House. 1t was
only for the House to say which itwould have
this or the old law. Mr.. Ward, Of Illinois,
asked that the bill be printed and made the
special order for tomorrow morning. A vote
being taken the motion was lost. The report
was then agreed to-12S to "a.
In the Senate, on the 18th, after number
of bills Of a private nature had been disposed
of, the post.ofhce appropriation bill being the
unfinished business of the previous day, was
called up, the pending question being on the
amendment of Mr.. Frelinghuysen authorizing
all public documents to be sent through the
mails without the prepayment of postage, at
rate not exceeding twenty-five cents for any
one volume, and the postage to be collected
at the place Of delivery, and with the provlso
offered by Mr. Morrill,, of Vermont and ac-
cepted by Mr.. Frelinghuysen, that this shall
only apply to DOCUMENTS already ordered to
be printed at the time of the passage of this
act. Mr.. Thurman moved further amend
ment providing that the Congressional Record
shall go free through the mails. Mr. Morrll,
of Maine, moved to lay both amendments on
the table. Lost-yeas %, nays 81. After
much further discussion, Mr.. Thurman's
amendment was agreed to-yeas 2s, nays 81.
The amendment, as amended, was then adopt
ed--yeas 80, nays 26. Mr.. Ramsey then
moved an amendment that the provision Of
the bill requiring prepayment of postage on
newspapers and periodicals shall not 60 into
effect until January l, 1875. Agreed to.
Mr.. Stevenson, by unanimous consent, intro
duced bill to prohibit the publication of the
revised statutes Of the United States in the
newspapers at the public expense. Passed.
Mr.. Robertson moved an amendment provi-
ding for the entire restoration of the franking
privilege, which was rejected by vote of "o
to II. The amendment proposed by the
committee on appropriations that hereafter
the postage on all mailable matter shall be
prepaid was withdrawn, the amendment Of
Mr.. Sherman, which was adopted yesterday,
being a substitute for it. Mr.. Stevenson
moved an amendment to the postoffice bill
providing for the printing of 100000 copies
of the Agricultural report, 100000 copies for
the House, $4,000 for the Senate, and $4,000
for the Commissioner Of Agriculture, and
that the same shall be allowed to 80 free
through the mails. Rejected-yeas 81, nays
35. The post-ofice appropriation bill have
ing been considered in committee Of the
whole was then reported to the Senate, the