The Portland daily press., 1874-01-13
TERMS $500 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE.

ue' Congress of Bills" enough having been
ai'eady referred, to occupy the time of the
COMMITTEES, (if they are carefully and honestly
oohs'uereo) until the probable adjournment,
sometime next July; and that member will
be nations curiosity who at the end of the
session can conscientiously say IT presented
only dozen bills" The Senate and Hopse
have really, like a yoke of well broken oxen
settled sqaarely down to their work. In con.
nection with the House Salary Bill, (now be-
fore the Senate,) the Secretary of the Senate
by authority of its resolution has Outing the
recess been earnestly at work hunting for
back-pay precedents, and has unearthed the
ollowing: Act of September 22d 1789-AJs
proved by Washington-Act of March 10Th
1S16-Approyed by Madison-Act OF Decem-
Der 1st 1S17--Approved by Monroe-Act Of
August 18th 1s56-Approved by Pierce-and
Act of July 2Sth 1S66-Approved by johnson.
These several Acts authorized back-pay for
from ten to seventeen months, What effect
these facts which have been lying In the dark
aud musty archives of the Senate for so
many years, will have upon the question
few days will determine.
The chiefs of Bureaus have not been so
| prompt in discovering the necessity of cutting
down their estimates as the committee desir-
| ed. One Head Of Bureau waited for the 9TH
| er, and the consequence is, that Congress will
in al! probability do the cutting down itself
| A large reduction has however, been made by
| the War Department in its estimate for forti-
| fications, and river and harbor improvements;
the figures having been changed from twen-
ty-one millions of dollars in the aggregate, TO
three millions, a large difference certainly,
but in the opinion Of many an unwise one.
| To say nothing of the employment of labor,
| such liberal amounts as the first mentioned
/ figures includes in its possibilities, the OBJ
| structlons to the perfect navigation of rivers
and harbors become more difficult to remove
1 every year they are permitted to remain, and
| what would cost five or six millions of d0l-
| lars in this direction now, would in few
| years cost fifteen or twenty millions, aside
| from the fact that the regions of country in
| tended to be benefited by this appropriation
| are prevented from increasing the resources OF
| the whole country which perhaps in three or
| four years might have equaled the entire
| amount of money appropriated. The Civil
| rights bill seems to be the bone OF discomfort
| now since the salary bill has gone to the Sen
| ate No bill ever had warmer or more earn1
| est advocates, or more bitter or persistent en-
emies. Amendment alter amendment has
| been offered until upon motion of General
Butler it has been sent back to the committee
| for more careful consideration, particularly in
| relation to the proposed amendments, some
| of which are ridiculous In the extreme, and
| only offered to embarrass its advocates and de-
fer its passage. That it will triumphantly pass
both branches ofCongress there is not the shad-
ow of doubt. the only really serious objec-
tion in the whole measure, is that one which
| touches upon education and the common
| school system in the South and earnest, stead
| fast Republicans are honestly canvassing the
| effect of the educational clause in the Southern
/ States and it is argued by many Of them-and
rightly too---that its passage as it stands upon
| the question of common schools la question
upon which Congress has never legislated,
and which is purely and exclusively the ques-
ton for the inhabitants within the geographi-
cal limits of State to determine)
will defeat the object of the bill In
this particular. Gen. Butler in ad-
vocating his motion to recommit the bill
made an eloquent speech, and paid glowing
compliment to tbe colored me.nber Mr.. Elliott
FROM South Carolina who had spoken the day
before on the question of Civil Rights. Mr..
Eiliott's appeal was the greatest ex-
preston of the rights of his rate that has
ever been made on that floor, and
in oratorical power and eloquence in languages
and sentiment, 1t makes him the peer, las
| Gen. Butler proclaimed him, of any man in
Congress. General Butler in his speech yes
terday related how he ove;came his preju-
dice against the negro and in burst Of elo-
quence wherein he described their unquali-
fed bravery in. an assault upon certain work
he actually shed tears as the memory Of that
eventful morning rose before him: but as
| some of the attitudes of his character are
only imperfectly known, IL was impossible to
MAKE up ones mind to shed with him, and
it will always be question in my mind
whether the sainted Benjamin was sincere,
or as vulgar parlance hath it, only playing It.
| FITZ