The Portland daily press., 1875-01-20
Forty Third Congressional Session
SENATE.

WASHINGTON. Jan. 10.
A resolution providing that during the pres.
ent session it shall be in order at any time to
move a recess and pending an appropriation
bill to move to confne the debate on amend
| ments thereto to five on the pending motion,
and such motion shall be decided without de-
bate was agreed to.
Mr. Sherman from the Committee of Confer
ence in the House bill to amend the existing
| customs and internal revenue laws, and for
other purposes, made report which was read
He said the report was substantially the same
as that presented last session with exception
of the duty on hops which had been raised to 8
cents pound. The House proposed duty of
| 10 cents per pound, but the committee agreed
| upon eight. The two sections relating to to-
bacco and the sale of bonds, ETC.. which were
| the principal subjects of disagreement last
year were now both stricken out. Report was
aged to.
| Mr. Sargent moved that the rule adopted
| this morning in reference to limiting debate,
| &C., be applied to the legislative appropriation
bill. Agreed to.
The Senate then resumed the consideration
| of the legislative appropriation bill, pending
the amendment being that of Mr.. Boutwell, to
strike out the first part of the amendment pro-
posed by the committee which provided for the
organization of a bureau of commerce and
statistics, and it was agreed to-yeas 20, nays
q.
The question then being upon the second part
of the amendment proposed by the committee,
to continue the present bureau of Statistics was
agreed to.
Mr.. Morrill, of Maine moved an amendment,
approprating $4,000, or so much thereof as
may be necessary to defray the expenses of the
bureau, to be expended under the direction of
the Secretary of the Treasury. Agreed to.
Various petitions and memorials were pre-
sented, including one by the Vice President of
the legislature of Dakotah asking Congressiop-
al aid for the completion of the Northern Pa
cifc r r. Referred tn the Com mittpa on Rail-
roads.
The Senate went into executive session at
40 P. NJ. and soon adjourned.
HOUSE.
Mr. Storm of Pennsylvania, made a personal
explanation in reference to the CHI rge of being
implicated in the Pacific Mail subsidy, and de-
MED Indignantly he truth of the charges.
Mr. Sypher of Louisiana, made a similar de-
NAL in reference to the charges against him.
Mr. Chttenden of New York, also repudiat-
ed an intimation in the Chicago Tribune and
Chicago Post connecting him with the receipt
of money for the subsidy.
Mr.. Dawes of Massachusetts, said he had an
affidavit in his hand from L. E. Chittenden of
New York, that he was the person who had re-
ceived the money, Naughter)
A telegram was also received from ID. w.
Voorhees, and Boyd Winchester, persstng
against the allegations made against them in
connection with the Pacific Mail subsidy, and
requesting to be subp9ned.
Mr., E. Il. Hoar of Massachusetts,, offered
resolution for the appointment of a select COM
mittee of five to inquire whether the privileges
of the House have been violated by the arrest
and detention of Whtelaw Reid of New York,
at the suit of Alexander r shepherd while
Reid was within the District of Columbia uu-
der subpoena from a committee of the House.
Mr. Butler of Massachusetts,, opposed the
resolution on the ground that it was an attempt
to extend the privileges of the House beyond
the Constitution. He did not think the House
should interfere with the administration of
criminal Justice If Whitelaw Reid should
send into the District package of poison by
which man receiving it should receive injury
in his person, he would be liable to 0e brought
into the District and tried criminally for the
act but it was claimed if a man only sent a
package of malicious falsehoods by which the
good name and reputation of some citizen of
the District was struck down, he might do so
day by day without any animadversion.
The resolution was advocated by E. r. Hoar
and Kelley, and Dawes said no public man had
suffered more from an unbridled public press
than himself, but when he felt himself COM
PEELED to appeal TO law rather than bis own life
and character for vindication against the false
charges in the press, he should feel he had sunk
so low that his character would not be worth
any such resuscitation as the law could bring to
it, and he should consider it quite work OF
supererogation to take auy trouble about it,.
The Committee of Ways and Means looked
upon the arrest of Reid as unlawful. unwise
and impolitic.
At the close of the discussion Mr.. Butler
moved to lay the resolution on the table. Neg
atived, 10 to 102.
The resolution was then adopted, yeas 1877,
nays A, and the Speaker appointed as such Sc
lect committee Messrs E. r. Hoar of Massa-
chusetts, Hale of New York, Orth of Indiana,
Clymer of Pennsylvania, and Sayles of Ohio.
The House ordered Charles D. Wetmore to
be brought to the bar of the House for con-
tempt
The House then went into committee of the
whole, Mr. Poland in the chair, on the Indian
appropriation bill.
Wetmore was brought in but asked till to
morrow to consider whether he would answer
or not. Pending decision House adjourned.