The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-03-09
Forty Fourth Congress-First Session.
SENATE.

WAodlNGION3 Mdr. o.
Mr.. Cameron presented petitions signed by
over 1000 persons, in regard to secret societies.
The petitioners declare opposition to all secret
organizations and ask Congress to withdraw
the charter granted to the Masonic Hall Asso-
citation of the District of Columbia, and that q
law be passed making it unlawful to appoint
any person to Office under the government who
ia member of a secret organization, and also
that members of such organizations may be
challenged as jurors. Referred to the judiciary
Committee.
Mr.. Cameron, in presenting the petition, said
he had been informed that the petitioners were
residents of every state and territory in the
United States. He asked that the petition be
read and printed in the records 1t was so Or
dered.
Mr.. Wright offered a resolution that Con-
gress adjourn the LIST of May, as he believed
they could get through all the work by that
time. Referred to the Appropriation Commit
tee.
Chair laid before the Senate the unfinished
business being the resolution to admit P. b. S.
Pinchback as a Senator from Louisiana.
MIR. Hitchcock moved to lay aside the unfin-
ished business and proceed TO consider the bill
for the admission of New Mexico. Rejected
p ayes, 80 nays.
Mr.. West of Louisiana then spoke in favor of
the admission of Pinchback.
The debate was continued by Paddock, Nor
rill of Vermont, Logan. Harvey, Morton, Ed.
munds and Anthony. Finally vote was taken
and Edmunds' amendment to insert the word
mot before the word admitted" so that the
read, Resolved, that P. B. S. Pinchback be
not admitted as senator from the state of
Louisiana for the term of six years, beginning
on the 4th of March, 1875" was agreed to, yeas
80, nays %, as follows:
YEAs-Bayard, Caperton, Christiancy, Cockrell,
Cooper, Davis, Dennis, Eaton. Edmunds, English,
Gordon, johnson, Jones OF Fla, Kelly, Herman,
KY M%e My MD1ad Massey Nor
Wallace, Whyte. Withers-32.
sgon Of Pa, conkiing, GonoSer, Cragin. Dorsey,
Hitchcock, Howe, ingalls,, Jones Of New, Logan,
Sharon, Shannon, Spencer, West. Windom-29
Messrs Bogy, Booth, Wadleigh, Goldthwaite
and Dawes, who would have voted in the afir-
NATIVE, were paired with Messrs. Alcorn,
Oglesby, Cameron of Mo-, Clayton and Wright,
who would have voted in the negative. Those
not voting were Burnside and Robertson.
The question then being on the resolution as
amended, it was agreed to, yeas 80, nays 3d.
the yeas and nays being taken and recorded as
above.
While the vote was being taken, Pinchback
was on the floor of the Senate and stood near
the entrance to one of the cloak rooms. As the
roll call proceeded he manifested some nervous
ness, and soon after the vole was announced he
left the chamber.
The Senate then took up the bill to enable
the people of New Mexico to form constitu-
ton and state government and for admission
of said state into the Union, so that it would
come up as unfinished business tomorrow.
AT 4.30 p. m. the Senate went into executive
session and when the doors were reopened adj
journed.
HOUSE.
The Speaker announced the following com
mittee on matters CONNECTED with the so-call-
ed whisky frauds and the Attnrnau Gonarapa
offce Messrs. Knott (chairman), Harris of
Virginia, Glover, Cochrane, Mcmahon, Nc
Creary aud Plaisted On request of Mr.. Har-
rs he was excused and the Speaker said he
would appoint another member in his place
during the day.
Mr.. Hoar of Massachusetts, called attention
to the fact that in the official record of eyester
days debate note has been added by Mr.. La
days since like note had been added by the
gentleman from Georgia (Hill.) He did not
mean to intimate that there was anything disa-
greeable in those additions but it was obvious
that the correctness of the record of debates,
their absolute fidelity, was the protection and
the only protection of all of them in their pub
lie lives here against msrepresentati ton else
where. One of two things must exist. Mem
bers would have to be pledged by the country
from newspaper abstracts OF what was said or
they must have an absolutely faithful record OF
the debate.
uAIs LII VI beOTSld COuCuTreU Will IlUdT
that no change ought to be made that would
affect the substance of the reports, and he ex-
planned that the note in the Record was insert
ed by reporter on his own judgment without
his (Hilps) knowledge
Mr.. Randall of Penn, chairman of the Com
mittee on appropriations reported the legislative
and executive appropriation bill and made a
statement as to the reduction proposed in it.
The estimates from the.departments for subjects
embraced in the bill. amounted to $20,77 3O6.
The appropriations in the sam bill last session
were SIS, 734, 900, and in this bill S12 799 $685. so
1t was reduction of about $4,000, 900 in the es-
Inmates, and reduction of about Sc, 900 600 on
the bill OF last year. Besides that the commit
tee laid in this bill the foundation of further re-
auctions to the amount of S., O0O, 900 more. The
committee recommends the transfer of the In
dian bureau to the War Department. which
would effect direct reduction of 1000. 600 in
the Indian appropriation bill and he had the an
thOrity of Geu. Sheridan for saving it would
effect reduction of $4,000 more in the
army appropriation bill The committee had
also recommended the abolition of SO special
agents of customs because they were believed
unnecessary and would admit amendments to
be offered by the chairman of the COMMITTEES
on Invalid Pensions (Jenks of Pa to transfer
the Pension Bureau from the Interior to the
War Department, by which the services of 300
persons could be dispensed with. The report
had been reached By the committee with great
unanmity. There was no difference in the
committee with regard to the proNiety of the
reforms and the reductions recommended.
Mr.. Holman, another member of the COM
mittee, concurred in what Mr. Randall had
said, and added that the transfer of the Indian