The Portland daily press., 1876-08-07
Forty Fourth COngress-First Session.
SENATE.
WASHINGTON. d. G.

Mr. Thurman moved to POSTPONE the resolu-
ion ard take up the bill to provide for the Gre
alton of sinking fund to settle the indebted
ness due from the Pacific r. r.
Mr. Morton said he agreed with his friend
friend from Ohio that there was but one object
IN having those documents printed, and that
was to circulate them among the people AMI
convey to them information oh the subject. He
to observe in reading the letter of
Tildeu and Hendricks that they did not see fit
to take notice OF this transaction at Hamburg
and transactions of a kindred character
throughout the South. They had much to say
about finances, economy and reform, but moth
ing about these murders. This message and
should be printed and put before
the people. 1t was quite as important to attend
to this matter now as any other business before
the Senate.
Mr.. Thurman said the purpose of the resou-
ton was admitted. 1t was merely to print at
public expense an account of deplorable event
which recently took place in South Carolina.
Every good man deplored that transaction,
Whenever violence took place in one section of
this country, there was Senators on this floor
ready to print the account thereof at the public
expense inst before an election. Mr.. Thurman
said that in other sections of the country beside
South Carolina murders went on and no notice
was taken of them. There were murders and
violence in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio,
but they excited no indignation in the breast OF
She Senator from Indiana.
Mr.. Cameron saik there had been murders in
Pennsylvania, but the state authorities had ar
rested the murderers, and six were now SEN
fenced to be hanged. Whenever the people of
the South take steps to have speedy justice
dealt out to murderers, he would say they had
done well. In Pennsylvania every man, no
matter what his politics were, favored punish
ment of criminals in that state.
Mr.. Patterson of South Carolina inquired if
the murders of the Molly Maguires in Peunsyl-
MIA Upra nolitica1 murdarS
Mr.. Camerou-NO sir. But the murderers
were all Democrats. daughter on the Repub-
lican side)
Mr.. Thurman asked whose fault it was if
murderers were not punished in South Carroll
ma. The Governor was Republican, every
Judge on the bench was Republican, and he
had been told every commonwealth attorney in
the state was Republican. If the laws are not
enforced whose fault was il?
Mr.. Gordon of Georgia said every militia
company in the state was composed of black
men armed at government expense.
MI Mcmillan of Minnesota asked if white
men in South Carolina could not form militia
companies also under the laws Of the state.
Mr. Gordon replied they could, but they were
not allowed arms.
into companies and armed themselves. They
organized under the general incorporation laws
of the state and called 6neir captain president
Mr. Thurman asked why the legislature did
not repeal the law and prevent them so organ
izing.
without repeating all the incorporation Jaws of
the state.
Mr. Thurman sid that was about the calibre
of South Carolina legislature. 1t could not
prohibit an illegal organization without repeal
ing the incorporation laws of the state. Who
was authorized to say that the authorities of
South Carolina would not punish murderers?
He repeated his statement that all the officials
of the state were Republicans
Mr. Patterson said he wished the Senator
would 90 little farther and say the jurors of
the state were also Republicans.
Mr.. Thurman said when any man said that
because Juror was not Republican he could
not render an honest judgment he lbeled his
state.
Mr.. Patterson denied that any person had
ever been punished in South Carolina for polit-
ical murder.
Mr. Thurman said probably case had never
been made out to warrant Judgment OF
guilty.
Mr. Patterson replied they had so been made
out frequently.
Mr.. Thurman-That is the Senator'S assertion
against the jurors oath. prefer to take the
jurors oath.
Debate here ceased.
The morning hour having expired before &C
ton was taken on the motion to print 1O,000
copies of the Presidents Hamburg massacre
message, the bill establishing post routes was
taken up.
Mr. Boutwell, submitted a joint resolution
authorizing the appointment of commission
to consider the expediency of issuing silver
dollar and making the same legal tender. he
ferred to the Finance Committee.
The post route bill was laid on the table, and
a motion to proceed with the resolution to
print extra copies of the message on the Ham
burg trouble was agreed to, yeas 80, nays Is.
Mr.. Thurman renewed his motion to post
pone further consideration of the resolution
and take up the bill to provide Tor the creation
Of sinking fund to settle the Indebtedness due
from Pacific r. r. companies, but before vote
was taken Mr.. ingalls,, by unanimous consent,
reported from the conference committee on the
bill to provide for the sale of the Usage coded
lands in Kansas to actual settlers, which was
debated at length by Messrs Edmunds and
Thurman.
The report was agreed to.
The debate on the resolution to print 10000
copies Of the Hamburg massacre message was
continued, Mr. Salisbury deprecating the mss
sacre and arraigning the Republican party as
the cause thereof
The debate was continued at some length.
Mr.. Edmunds made speech in favor OF the
resolution defending the Republican party.
Without action the Senate went into execu-
tive and adjourned.
HOUSE.
Mr. Torrey from the Committee on Military
Affairs, asked leave to report resolution au-
thorizing the committee to continue during re-
cess its investigation into the management and
control of the National Home for disabled vol
unteers.
Mr.. Hale of Maine, objected.
The Bouse then as regular order took up the
Bland silver bill.
Mr.. Hale suggested that this attempt of Bland
to force the bill through the morning hour was
useless, and he thought the gentleman should
withdraw his call for the previous question.
Mr.. Bland replied that when the bill demon
citing silver was passed surreptitiously by
gentleman who represented the money sharks
of the country there had been no fllibustering,
and it would be pusllanimous of him should
he give up trying to get through his bill be-
cause of fillibustering motions
Mr.. Pierce of Massachusetts,, said the state
ly is untrue 1t had been three years before
Congress-
Mr.. Bland-It was fraud.
Dilatory motions were made by O'Bren and
Townsend of Pennsy lvania, in order to con-
sumo the morning hour.
The morning hour expired and the bill wenl
over without action.
Majority and minority reports of committees
on expenditure in the War Department and in
the Department of Justice were made by ely
mer and Caulifed. Ordered printed.
The chairman of the Committee on Banking
sumption act.of January A, 1875, which directs
the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem in coin
legal tender notes then outstanding, and pro-
posed to allow an hour and half for its dis
cussion and a like time for the discussion of the
further bill which he was directed to report,
providing for commission on the subject. He
would decline, however, to allow amendments
to be offered. He opened the argument by de-
claring his belief that the fixing of day for
resumption was hopeless menace to prosper-
ty, that it effected no good, and that it was ut
terly useless for all practical purposes. The
best business men of the country had said So
and said SO to his committee. Not single paper
could be found connected officially with the
government which did not negative the idea
that specie resumption could be reached on the
LIST of January, 1879. Such thing was utter
ly impossible. 1t was not in the nature of the
business interests of this continent or the other
to collect an amount of coin sufficient to reach
on that date. The bill which it
was proposed to repeal in part had passed Con-
gress as party necessity, under the whip and
spur of the previous question.
Mr.. Goode of Virginia, favored the bill.
MIR. Townsend Of Pennsylvania, another
member of the committee, opposed it.
Mr., Raymond of Indiana, was in favor of it.
Messrs Eames, Hewitt and Chittendcn OPP
posed it, and MIR. Hubbell favored it.
Mr.. Holman favored the repeal of the re-
sumption act.
Messrs. O'Brien, Burchard and Kasson OPP
posed it.
Mr.. Cox closed the discussion and called for
the previous question, declining to allow MIR.
Hewitt to offer substitute browning for com.
iocin 10 = sub