The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-08-09
Forty Fourth Congress-First Session.
SENATE.

100000 copies of the report for 1874 and 200 600
copies for 1875, and was agreed to, yeas "a, nays
IL. The resolution was agreed to, but subse-
quently reconsdered on motion of Mr.. Antho-
Dy, who said there was NO money to pay for the
work. Reconsideration was agreed to.
Mr.. Frelinghuysen then introduced bill to
print 100000 copies of the report of the Com
missioner of Agriculture for 1874 and 100000
copies of the report for 1875 and appropriatiug
$13O,0OO to pay for the work. Passed, yeas "a,
nays Is.
The House bill to provide for certain indebt-
edness incurred in the construction of the New
York post office passed. 1t approprates $227,-
566 e.
Mr.. Eaton made lengthy argument in reply
to Mr., EdmUnds.
Mr. Patterson spoke of the Hamburg massa-
ere and eulogized Gov. Chamberlain.
Senate at O'clock went into exectve session
and soon adjourned.
HOUSE.
Mr.. Throckmorton offered resolution paying
salary to the late door-keeper, FItzhugh, till
the first of August. Referred
Mr.. Landers of Indiana introduced bill to
secure the prompt resumption of specie pay
ment, Referred to the Committee on Coin
On motion of Mr.. Garfield leave of absence
was granted to those members (some 20 in
number) who desired it.
Mr.. Waddell asked leave to take from the
Speakers table and pass the Senate bill allow
ing the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. to carry
United States mails on their new iron steam
ships.
Mr.. Holman objected.
Mr.. Strait Introduced a bill authorizing the
appointment of a commission to investigate re-
lative to the Rocky Mountain grasshopper.
Referred.
The House resumed the consideration of the
Bland silver bill, whereupOn diliatory motions
were set on foot by Odell of New York and
Pierce of Massachusetts, to consume the morn
ing hour.
At the close of the morning hour Mr. Bland
of Missouri announced his willingness to allow
any amendments to be added to the bill, but
his proposition was not acceded to by his OPP
ponents
Mir. Hale of Maine obtained the floor by
parliamentary device of calling up motion to
reconsider the vote by which the Presidents
message on the sundry civil appropriation bill
was referred some time since to the committee
on appropriations and proceeded to make
speech on the subject of general politics. Dis
cuSsipg the controversy between the House
and the Senate he asserted that it never had
been the case and it never would be the case
that the popular branch of the American Con-
gress when committed to any just measure of
reform, any wide reaching question which met
the approval of the peopleocould be stayed eth.
er by the Senate or Executive in that regard.
Whenever that question and that time should
English history, and it would be found that
with the House arrayed for right and the Sen.
ate or Executive arrayed for wrong the Senate
or Executive would and must yield. The domi-
nant party in the House had such an oppor-
tunity afforded it when it assembled last
December as no party had ever had. That
party had been elected ON certain promises of
reform, on questions of civil service, of relief
from taxation and other broad and general
questions.
He reminded the House of the spectacle
which the city of Washington presented to the
country at the meeting Of Congress when the
streets and hotels were crowded with appli-
capts for the 300 offices in the House.
He referred to- the first official act Of the
House in the selection of its Speaker, of the
committees, and he showed that of the "a
standing committees the craftsmanship of 81
was given to members from the section of
country for which Mr.. Lamar claimed so
much modesty the other day. He also COM
mented on the changes In the personnel of
officers Of the House, illustrating that question
by the House post Office appropriations, the
Postmaster of the last House who had lost his
leg in the Ualon army at Kenesaw, having to
make way for one who had been captured in
the rebel army and had served with j. E. B.
Stewards raiding cavalry, and the subordinates
most of them old Union soldiers, having to
make way for others, seven of whom had serv
ed in the rebel army. He also noted the re-
moval of the veteran Journal Clerk of the
House, Mr.. Barclay, and his being replaced by
man who Immediately set to work to: make
merchandise of his Office.
On this point he was corrected by Mr.. Har-
rison of Illinois, add Mr.. Randall of Pennsyl-
vania, who reminded him that Barclay had re-
signed, but to this he replied that his resigna-
ton was because Barclays trusted assistants
had been removed and he knew his time was
soon to come. He also alluded to the disci-
pine which it was soon necessary to apply to
many OF the new officials, specifying the Jour
nal clerk. who had succeeded Barclay, the
clerk OF the military committee and the clerk
of the committee on ways and means, who had
been convicted by the New York Tribune of
having named his innocent child after the as
sassin of Abraham Lincoln. He confessed
that the moment the chairman of the commit
tee on Ways and Means fair honorable
man, became convinced that the charge was
true, he sent that clerk Keeling from the door
OF his committee room,
He then spoke of the great public questions
with which the Hoase should have dealt-ques-
tons OF finance, currency, commerce, but
which it ignored, preferring to embark in
wild crusade of investigation In connection
with these Investigations he referred to the
seizure of kilograms and declared that the
committee which had been guilty of that
seizure had no more right to those kilograms
than it had to his purse and that it had gained
possession of them in no better way than if its
members had stolen into his house, hid under
bis bed and listened to all his secret couversa-
ton. One of these kilograms thus seized had
been from the wife of a Cabinet Minister to
her husband telling him Of her baby and some
domestic matter, but the committee sent for
that Cabinet Minister and demanded the cipher
key to that despatch, There has never been
such ridiculous display since Sergeant Buzz
fuz'S speech on mutton chops and tomato
sauce. Passing on to the question of economy,
he asserted that there were more committee
clerks in this House than in any Republican
House, that the expenses of the numerous
committees were enormous, that instead OF two
stenographers to the committees at former
sessions, he had counted up seventeen of them
at this session.
Mr.. Lawrence of Ohio asserted that the
pending claims were mostly entering wedges,
and that all the Southern claims would even
tually aggregate $50O,OOO0OO.
Mr.. Hale tcontnuing) said it was intended
that the North should pay these bills and that
he who lived long enough would see provided
the Democratic party gained power in all the
branches of the government) that that was the
case. At this point of his speech Mr.. Hale's
hour expired and a motion to extend his time
was objected to by Singleton. to whom Hale
had in the course of his speech declined to
yield. He, however, obtained permission to
have the rest of the speech printed in the Rec.
ord.
Mr.; Cox Of New York, replied to Mr.. Hale's
''magnifcently hefty,' and as a magnificent
collection of minute things making ap nothing
In the aggregate. The gentleman from Maine
had not referred to the unloading of Gen. Grant
and his administration, nor to all the various
IIduus COMMENCEMENT Inc executive departments
That was not in the gentleman's line, but he
had charged to the House that it had actually
so reformed itself as that one committee had
cleared out its clerk and that the committee on
rules had cleared out two officials. one the
Journal clerk and the other the doorkeeper, for
certain improprieties, but not for theving.
The political discussion then went over to be
renewed tomorrow.
Mr. Lawrence of Ohio, introduced an amend
ment 10 the constitution for that known as the
Blaine shool amendment. Referred to Judici-
airy Committee.