The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-11-09
THE PRESS.
(From the Maine State Press of Nov. s, 1879
History Of Seven Days.
The News for the week ending Wednes-
day Night, November =.
NATIONAL CAPITAL.

have agreed to report favorably upon the NOM
ination of John L. Stevens of Maine, Minister
to Sweden and Norway. The nomination of
John Welsh, Minister to England, has not yet
been considered by the committee John @.
Smith, whose nomination as Consul General at
Montreal, twas sent to the Senate Tuesday is the
late Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
The President made the following nominal
tions:
John Q. Smith of Ohio. consul general at
Montreal.
d. N. Cooley of Iowa, consul at Spezzia,
Italy.
Alexander W. Stern, assistant treasurer at
Cincinnati
The annual report of the superintendent OF
special agents of the Postcfice Department
show 543 arrests were made for offences against
the laws. Many cases of alleged improper
sales of postage stamps were investigated and
the postmasters removed for that cause. The
complaints of lost registered letters numbered
2,2S9 of the aggregate value of $54, 410, of
which ia letters and $10,510 were recovered.
The per centage of the actual losses compared
with the total value of registered letters, viz:
81 348,127, is about one-fftieth of one per cent,
or one in every 5000 letters.
The bill introduced by Representative Frye
ito amend the bankrupt law" proposes to re-
peal the bankrupt act of March 2. 1867, and all
supplemental acts on that subject and enact in
lieu thereof the following:
Be it enacted, &C., That whenever any debtor
individual, firm or corporation in failing Cir
cumstances shall make voluntary surrender
or assigc ment of their property, assets, estate
pffqcfq
without preference or without having given any
preference in contemplation of bankruptcy
under the laws of the state in which such debtor
shall reside, or in which the principal officer OF
the corporation is located, such debtor shall be
discharged from all further liability for debts
existing at the time OF such assignment or sur
render; provided the assigned estate and effects
shall be sufficient In amount to pay percentums
of such debts, and provided further that this
act shall not apply to any debts owing in any
fduciary capacity.
Second, The evidence of discharge shall be
the certificate under the seal of the court hav-
ing jurisdiction of the accounts.
CONGRESS-.
In the Senate Wednesday the vice president
appointed the following as special committee
to consider the subject of ascertaining the vote
for President and Vice President: Edmunds
ConkliDg, Howe, Mcmillan, Tellar. Davis,
Bayard, Thurman and Morgan. Several IN
important bills were introduced and referred.
In the House Mr.. Butler of Massachusetts
offered resolution looking to better ventila-
ton of the hall of the House Of Representa-
tives. The various portions of the Presidents
message were referred to the appropriate COM
mttees. Mr.. Ewing of Ohio, from the COM
mittee on banking, reported the following
bill:
That the three sections of the act entitled
San act to provide for the resumption OF specie
payments approved Jrnuary IA, 1875, be and
the same are thereby repealed"
Mr.. Fort Of Illinois presented the visws of
the minority committee in the shape of an
amendment to bill as follows:
"A bill to repeal all that part of the act, ap
proved January H. 1875, known as the resump-
ton act, which authorized the Secretary of the
Treasury to dispose Of United States bonds and
redeem and cancel the greenback currency
''Be it enacted &c., That all that portion Of
the act which reads as follows Quoting as
above from the third section) be and the same
is hereby repealed"
Mr.. Ewing moved the recon- mitment of the
bill and a parliamentary tussle eusued, which
resulted in getting the bill into such position
that it could only be called up in the morning
hour.
Thursday in the Senate the Vice President
appointed Senator Withers a member of the
Board of the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tute. Mr., Conkling introduced bill to allow
the repayment of the tonnage tax when it has
been exacted in contravention of twenty
provisions. There was brief discussion on the
resolution to provide for the disposition of sur.
plus bills Sc, after which the Senate adj
journed A number of bills were introduced
Il. Ill al
to get his bill repeating the resumption act to a
vote, but was defeated by dlatory motions
and the matter went over. The House went
into committee of the whole on the state of the
Union, and several members made important
speeches..
Friday In the Senate the death of Senator
Morton was announced and that body ad-
journed till Tuesday. In the House Ewing
made another attempt to get. up his anti
resumption bill, but was again defeated. The
House then adjourned, out of respect to the
late Senator Morton
Saturday in the House Mr.. Price asked leave
to offer resolution providing for the remone.
tization of silver but it was objected to, and
the consideration of the bill for the repeal Of
the resumption act was resumed. Again the
morning. hour was used up on motion to ad
journ, and the bill made no progress. A bill
for the free coinage of the silver dollar was
then introduced by Mr.. Buckner and referred
to the committee on coinage.
Monday large number Of bills were intro
duced, after which the House passed BANDS
bill for the recoinage of the silver dollar by q
vote of 1853 yeas to 81 nays About 100 mem
bers were absent. The text of the bill is as fol
ows:
There shall be coined at the several minis Of
the United States silver dollars of the weight oil
412a grains Troy standard silver as provided in
the act of January Sth 1887, on which there
shall be the devices and superscriptions pro-
vided by said act. Such coins, together with
the silver dollars heretofore coined by the U nit
ed States of like weight and fineness, shall be
legal tender at their nominal value, for all
debts and dues, public and private, except
when otherwise provided by contract And
any owuer of silver bullion may deposit the
same at any United States coinage mint or as
say Office, TO be coined into such dollars for hi
benefit, upon the same terms and conditions al
gold bullion is deposited for coinage under thu
existing law.
Mr.. Ewing thenlmoved to suspend the rules
and adopt the resolution, making the bill to re-
peal the third section of the resumption act 9
special order for tomorrow, and from day to day
until Tuesday on the 18th, at 3 o'clock, wher
the previous question shall be ordered on it
and on any amendments then pending, thu
special order not to interfere with the appro
priation bills, but to be extended if necessar,
SO as to allow five days for consideration of thu
bills. All .he amendments in the meanwhile
are to be in order. The motion was carried by
vote of 143 to AZ. A resolution was adopted
calling for the information in relation to thu
duty Of fifty cents per ton imposed upon Span
ish vessels entering American lports, also in re
gard to the contract with the syndicate.
Tuesday the Vice President laid before TIL
Senate communication from the POSTMASTER
General asking an appropriation Of 1851, $50 tt
supply deficiencies in the appropriations TO
compensation of postmasters during the fisca
year ending June 80, 1877. Referred to tn
committee on appropriations. bill was intro
duced by Mr.. Plumb to declare certain land
subject to taxation. House bill for the coinage
of the silver dollar was read by title and refer
red. In the House after the introduction of
laroa mn nher of hills the Honse took ND th