The Portland daily press., 1875-12-21
BILLS INTRODUCED.
Senator BOutwelYs Bill TO Promote Our
Maritime luterests.

cheney of the navy and promote the maritime
Interests OF the United States, proposes sYs
tenn of bounties on sh:pbuilding as follows:
The Secretary of the Treasury is to offer boun-
ty of not more than IS per ton, to be paid each
year for five years for the construction in the
United States OF iron steamships of not less
than 1000 tons each nor exceeding 500. 600 in the
aggregate, and not more than 100000 to be au-
thorized in any one year; said ships to be en-
ployed exclusively in foreign trade. Proposals
are to be received and preference given the first
year for $4,000 tonnage on the Atlantic coast,
$4,000 upon the great Ia zes and Mississippi riv
er, and $4,000 on the Pacific coast. The vessels
are to be constructed on models approved by
the Navy Department, ard the goverpmeut is
to have the right to purchase or employ them
upon the appraisement of disinterested COM
mission. The bill also provides for the pay
ment of bounties on vessels hereafter launched
as follows:
Six dollars per ton for sailing vessels of 400
tons and upwards employed in the foreign trade
and between the ATLANTIC and Pacific ports of
the United States, and 81 per ton for sailing
vessels Of not less than 200 tons burden author
lied to be engaged more than three months
per year in the cOasting trade. Provided that
if vessels of the two last varied descriptions
are afterwards enrolled for the coastlng trade
| the bounties shall be refunded to the govern
| ment less 10 per cent. per annum; bounty of
81 per ton for the period of five years is pro-
vided for vessels employed in the cod or mack
erel fishery not less than four months each
| fisheries may purchase supplies in bond with
out payment of duties.
The bill finally provides that vessels hereafter
built by the Navy Department for open sea ser
vice shall not exceed 1000 tons each.
Of the Revolution.
Bill introduced by Mr.. Dennis for the settle
ment of claims OF officers of the revolutionary
| war, Sc, provides that officers of the army Of
| the revolution who were entitled to half pay
@ for life under resolutions Of Congress: October
| 30 and 81, 1880, January Z, May 8, 1876 shall
be entitled to receive the same, although such
officer may have received in lieu thereof by GER
tifcates or otherwise the Communication Of full
pay for five years under the resolution of Mar.
2. 1888. The bill also provides that the benefit
| Of the resolution Of the oath of August,
| 1880, shall be extended to the widows and
lineal descendants Of all officers embraced
| therein who died in the service at any period
during the war of the revolution. 1t also au
thorizes the accounting officers of the treasury
to adjudicate all such claims, and provides that
| the SECRETARY of the Treasury may in his dis.
cretion issue bonds of the United States for
such claims, said bonds to be redeemed twenty
years from date, and bear interest at the rate
OF per cent. per annum. 1t also pledges the
faith OF the United States for the payment of
interest and redemption of the principal of the
bonds which may be issued under the act
senator Med onaId's Resolutions.
| The concurrent resolutions which Senator
| Mcdonald of Indiana, will offer in the Senate
after the holiday recess as substitute for those
| recently submitted by Senator Morton, and of
which he gave notice to-day, have not been fin
! ished, and therefore could not be presented to-
| day. The following is a rough draft of them,
| containing the substance thereof though the
| phrasenlogy may be changed somewhat before
| their presentation to the Senate:
Resolved, By the Senate, the House of Rep
| resentatives cOncusring, that the people of the
United States constitute nation aud are one
peone in the manner only ard the extent pro-
vided for in the federal constitution, and the
| amendments thereto
Resolved, That the United States colonies
| declared and achieved their indepence, and the
| federal constitution was formed and adopted by
the several states formerly comprising the con-
federacy and called the United States of Amer
| lea, the chief purpose of which was to form a
| more perfect union, establish Justice insure
domestic tranquility and provide for comm IN
| defence, and the powers not delegated to it by
| the United Statts nor prohibited by it to the
states were reserved to the states respectively
| and to the people.
| Resolved, That as the states were at the time
| of the formation and adoption of the federal
| constitution. each sovereign, free and inde-
| peLdent except in 30 far as such sovereignty
| had been delegated to the Congress by the arti-
cle' of confederation, the rights reserved to the
states and to the people in the formation of the
| federal government weIe sovereign rights which
| cannot be paired without usurpation and
| al government with respect to the rights of the
states and people is by strict construction of
| the federal constitution and the amendments
thereto, and the assumption of no doubtful
| powers
Resolved, That in the formation of the fed
| eral government it was the clear design to leave
| each state and the people thereof, sovereign as
| to all matters of local or domestic concern and
to confer upon the federal government sover-
eign powers as to suchmatters as might affect the
| general welfare of all the states or as might be
necessary to secure domest tang lility, which
| powers were defined in the federal constitution
and its amendments. The people of The Unit
| ed States therefore from the nature and charac-
| ter of their governments state aud national.
| and from their relations to each are not
national unity in the ordinary sense of that
| term
| Resolved, That it being the design to make
the government formed under the federal con-
stitutiou perpetual the right of any state or
any number of states to secede from the Union
was not reserved So far as the right has been
claimed to exist it should be deemed forever
settled against it by the results of the late civil
| war.