The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1876-04-20
CONGRESSIONAL
SENATE

! SE1NAAE-
The senate, April Sd, entertained anG
referred several petitions in regard to sus
tanning, etc, the signal service. While the
| senate was in executive session, Mr.. Adams
! clerk of the house of representatives., ap
| peared and announced that the house haC
| adopted articles of impeachment against w
| w. Belknap, late secretary of war, and haC
| appointed a manager to conduct the prose
| cUtiOn on the part of the house of represen
! tatives.
In the senate, on the 4th, the chail
announced as the special committee to in
| quire into the recent election in Mississippi
under the resolution adopted last week, Sen
atOrs Boutwell,, Cameron, Wise, Oglesby
| Bayard and M'DOnald. The Impeachment
managers on the part of the house appeared
| in the senate. Senator Ferry announced that
| the senate would take proper order on the
| subject OF the Impeachment, of which due
notice would be given. The house managers
| then retired. The chairman laid before the
| senate a message from the president of the
| United States returning to the senate, with,
! out his approval, bill for the relief of @. B.
| Tyler and E. II. Luckett, assignees of w. T.
| Chatham. The bill was for the purpose of
| refunding to Tyler and Luckett, assignees as
aforesaid, the money paid for the salary of a
| stOrekeeper in a distillery in Kentucky,
| during the month of December, 1869, and
| January, 1870 The senate went into execu.
! tive session After a three hours session
the doors were reOpened, and it was ordered
| that the articles of Impeachment against w,
| w. Belknap, late secretary of war, be printed
| Adjourned.
In the senate, on the 5th, Senator
Sherman called up the house bill to enable
the secretary of the treasury to pay the
judgments rendered by the court of Alabama
claims. In explanation of the bill, he said
the money received from Great Britain under
the Geneva award had been invested in one
bond for the whole amount, which bond was
subject to an order of congress. 1t was for
fifteen million dollars, and it was necessary
to change it, or issue smaller bonds for it.
to pay the judgment. The bill passed. Sen.
| atOr Clayton reported favOrably on the house
| bill to provide for the sale of the Kansas
| Indian lands, in Kansas, to actual settlers
and for the disposition of the proceeds of
| sale. Senator Window reported favOrably
on house bill authorizing the sale of the
| Pawnee Indian reservation. Passed. At one
| o'clock Chief Justice Waite, of the supreme
| court, appeared in the senate chamber, ac-
| cOmpanied by Senators EdmUnds. and Thur
man, and was escorted to a seat at the right
| of the president pro tenn. The following oath
was then administered: "YOu do solemnly
swear that, in ali things appertaining to the
| impeachment trial of w. w. Belknap, late
| secretary of war, now pending, you will be
| impartial, and render justice according to
! the constitution and the law" Senator Ed
munds submitted the following, which was
! agreed to: "0rdered, that summons be is
| sued, as required by the rules of procedure
and practice in the senate when sitting on
| the trial of the impeachment of w. w. Bel
KNAPP, returnable Monday, the seventeenth
| day of the present month, at one o'clock in
| the afternoon" The managers then retired.
| The senate then resumed the consideration
| of Legislative business, and took up the bill
liking the rate OF postage on thITd-ClaSs mail
matter and for other purposes. Senator Ham
lin stated briefly the considerations which
controlled the committee and the facts upon
which they had acted. If the old law allow
ing two ounces to go through the mail for
one cent should be restored, the deficiency
would exceed ten million dollars and III a
few years the deficiency would aggregate
hundreds of millions of dollars. Senator
| Thurman inquired If the department should
| be made self-sustainIng would not the effect
| be to make letters pay more than thev should?
! Senator Hamiin said that letters now pro-
| duced d surplus of between four and five
/ million dollars per annum. There had been
a great deal said about the present law in
| regard to third class mail matter. Two
| amendments were prepared by the commit
| tee, the first reducing the weight of third
| rate of postage. The pOstmGster-geneTal says
| it costs eighteen cents a pound to carry
| newspapers through the mails as secOnd-claSs
| matter, composed of newspapers and peri.
| OdiCals sent from the office of publication to
| the subscribers. There were one hundred
| and ffty-iYe million pieces transported last
| year, weighing fifty-ive million pounds, and
| being fifty per cent. of the whole weight O1
| the mail. They yielded a revenue of only
| nine hundred and seventy-six thousand dol
| lars, while it cost the government seven mil
| lion nine hundred and sixty-nine thousand
| dollars to transport them. The committee
| proposed to follow this bill with other rem
cdial measures to make the department self
sustaining. Adjourned.
In the senate, on the 9th, Mr.. Thur
man reported, with amendments, house bill
to correct an error in the revised statutes il
regard to warrants of arrest in extraditioI
cases. The amendments were agreed to anC
the bill passed. Mr.. Wright reported ad
versely on senate bill to abolish cauitaI pun
| ishment, and it was indefinitely postponed
| Bills were introduced and referred as fol
| lows: Making an appropriation to defray
| the expenses of the committee appointed b,
| the senate to investigate the recent election
| in Mississippi; to amend the act of congress
| creating the court of commissioners of tht
| Alabama claims, approved June %, 1874
| After the expiration of the morning hour tn
| consideration of the bill fixing the rate 0
postage on third class mail matter was re
| sumed and Mr.. Harvey offered a substitute
for the bill allowing four-pound packages il
mails at rate of postage of one cent 70
each two ounces. After executive session
the senate adjourned till Monday.
HOUSE.
In the house, April Sd, bill amenda