The Portland daily press., 1876-02-26
WASHINGTON.
Senator spencer,s Case.

WASHINGTON, Feb 25.-The Senate commit.
| tee on elections to-day made preliminary ar
| rangements for an investigation of Senator
| Spencer's election. A number of witnesses
were ordered to be summoned and the commit
tee adjourned until Monday.
| Still Wrestling with the Financial Ques
tion.
The Democratic caucus committee held ar
adjourned meeting to-day, but arrived at nc
conclusion ON the financial question. The feel
ing among the members of the committee is
represented as more favorable than heretofore
to satisfactory agreement on the basis of
Payne's bill.
A Trick to Prevent Specie Resumption
1t has leaked out that the House Committee
on Appropriations, in reporting a deficiency
bill to continue work in the Treasury bureau
| of engraving and printing, will add a provise
| repeating so much of the act of Jan. Is, 1875,
| as authorizes the sale of bonds to purchase sill
| yer, which is to be substituted for fractional
| currency. This may be anticipated by the pas
| sage of Senate resolution, declaring that the
| time has arrived for the issue of this silver
| coin, which will make the appropriation for the
| printing bureau necessary.
Internal Revenue Receipts.
The receipts of internal revenue for the first
| six months of the present fiscal year amounted
to $57 602, ,741, against 53. .562 889 for the same
| time the previous year. OF the receipts, $27, ;
BIZ, ,967 were from spirits; $19, ,695, AL from
| tobacco; $4,794,035 from fermented liquors;
81, ,093, ,573 from banks and bankers; So 237, ,677
| from adhesive stamps; $137 1858 from penalties
| and 1885,, ,752 from articles formerly taxed but
| now exempt. The increase in spats is $3 348,
| SOL.
Minister Schenck's Case.
The correspondence of the State Department
| with Gen. Schenck, shows that on the former
| being informed of Schenck's having become q
| director in the Emma Mining Company, Secre
tary Fish requested his withdrawal therefrom
which Schenck at once acceded to on Decem.
Der 6, 1871. 1t is stated that the course of the
department was based on the conviction that
while the use of the name of a minister of the
United States in such an enterprise was incon.
sistent with his position at the same time that
Gen. Schenck had been guilty of no wrong pur-
pose or intent in connecting himself with the
company in question. II remain" says the
Secretary, ''frmly of this opinion and am furth.
er satisfied that he, in common with many 9th
ers, became sufferer thereby" As to Schenck' g
connection with the prosecution of the Mach
ad0c claim against the British government, the
Secretary says he is satisfied that the reflections
made upon him are unjust, and that Schenck
| is open to no imputati0ns whatever arising
therefrom.
The Senate Post Office Com mittee in their
investigations find that second class mail mat
ter, which includes only newspapers and maga-
zines to regular subscribers, is now carried at
al annuai loss oI nearly $o,UVU,uOo peyond tne
postage, and that this sum equals the entire de-
ticency of the department. The committee
have considered the best means of fixing the
rates on third class matter, and next Thursday
| will take up the rates on second class tbs be.
| lieved that il the rates on newspapers can be
raised SO as to yield only So, 100000 year that
the postage on letters can be reduced to two
cents.
! Republican Caucus.
The Republican Senators had caucus to day
| on the bill to restore to the pension rolls the
| names of all persons dropped for participation
! in the rebellion. The caucus decided that as
| the bill provides for the payment of arrearages
of pensions durin the past fourteen or fifteen
years, which are estimated to amount TO several
millions of dollars, the bill ought not to be
passed in the present condition of the treasury.
This action will secure its defeat in the Senate.