The Portland daily press., 1877-02-15
Forty Fourth Congressional Session.
SENATE.

WASHINGTON, Feb. IA.
Mr.. Morrill, from the committee on public
buildings, reported favorably on the bill for the
erection of fire proof buildings for national
museum. Placed on the calendar.
Bill removing disability of Jos e. Johnston
of Virginia passed.
Mr. Conkling called up the bill to provide for
the distribution of Mexican awards, and asked
it to be passed now. Objection was made by
Spencer of Alabama.
At the expiration of the morning honr the
Senate resumed the consideration of the bill to
amend the Pacific railroad acts and Mr.. Booth
took the floor.
Mr.. Boutwell, Withdrew the amendment sub.
mtted by him several days ago to the bill Of
the railroad committee providing that nav
ments of $4,000 per annum to be made by the
railroad companies to the credit of the sinking
fund shall be in addition to all payments or re
quirements from the companies under the orig
inal acts instead of in lieu of all payments and
requirements undor those acts
Mr.. Booth renewed the amendment. He also
submitted an amendment to the second section
of the bill of the railroad committee so as to
provide that the Central Pacific and Union
Pacific COMPANIES shall each pay into the treas
ury OF the United States $75OO00 per annum in
equal semI-annual iDstallments on the first
day OF April and October each year, commence
ing the LIST of October, 1877, in lawful money
until said sums with interest thereon as herein
after provided shall be sufficient when added to
the other to the credit of the sinking fund to
pay OFT and eXtlnguiSh the government bonds
advanced with six per cent. interest thereon
from their respective dates up to the date when
they are SO paid and extinguished The interest
on all sums placed to the credit of said sinking
fund shall be credi-e and added thereto semi
annually at the rate of six per cent. per annum,
provided, however, that if The foregoing provis-
ion shall prove insufficient 10 extinguish the
government bonds and interest thereon at ma
turity.. The semi-annual payments shall be IN
creased to such sum as will be sufficient
for that purpose. He moved several other
amendments.
Mr.. Booths amendment that the $3.50, 900 to
be paid by the companies to the credit of the
sinking fund shall be 10 addition to o her paw
ments instead of in lieu of other payments and
requirements was agreed tO-yeas % nays 20
Pending discussion, the Senate on motion of
Mr.. ingalls,, at SAC o'clock went into executive
session and when the doors were re-0peued the
railroad bill was laid aside with the uuder-
standing it be unfinished business for to NOR
row.
Mr. Window called up the Senate bill ap-
propriatiug $1,000 to pay the expenses of the
Electoral Commission, and it was passed.
Mr.. Sargent from the committee on bill ap-
propriatng $3.50, 900 to supply the deficiency in
the appropriation for public printing and bind
Ing during the current fiscal year, made re-
port, which was agreed TO, and the bill was
pas sed.
Bill as agreed upon in conference committee
and passed. provides that from and after the
present session of Congress the congressional
printer shall not pay price exceeding 30 cents
per 1000 ems for composition, and 40 cents an
hour for time of work in binding, etc.
Mr.. WIndom from the committee on appro
priations reported back the legislative, judIcia
and executive appropriation bill with sundry
amendments. Placed on the calendar
The Senate at o'clock took a recess till 10
HOUSE.
Several bills were introduced and referred.
The resolutions of the Florida committee
were taken up.
Mr.. Thompson of Massachusetts, defended
The majority from the charges made against
it by the minority report and stated that the
minority had been treated with the greatest
fairness and any charge to the contrary was
untrue. The minority had gone down to Flor
canvassng board. He criticized that portion
Of their report which states that the action of
that board was singularly faithful. Faithful to
what? Faithful to the country? No. Faith
full to the state Of Florida? No. 1t had un-
dertaken to cheat the people of Florida out of
their lawfully elected governor. The majority
had never refused to summon witness when
desired by the minority. The gentleman from
Minnesota tDunnelD had charged on the floor
OF the HOUSE yesterday that Democratic fraud
existed in Florida. Why had he not proved it
when he was there? He had been given eyery
opportunity to do so and yet he could not In
short he (FhompsonJ declared that the minori-
ty report was substantially untrue from begin :
ming to end, although the facts were we'll
known to them when they made that report
The Tilden electors had been as truly elected
elected 10 Florida as the Hayes electors had
been in Massachusetts.
The majority resolution declaring the Tilden
electors as duly elected in Florida was then
adopted-yeas 142, nays 82-a party vote with
the exception OF Mr.. Purman, who voted in
the affirmative.
The House at 2.40 o'clock went into the
committee of the whole on the naval appro
priation bill. The bill appropriates $12, 4S7,-
524.40.
Mr.. Whitthorne of Tennessee, said that in
the proper place he intended to offer an
amendment to the bill reported from the Com
mittee on Naval Affairs TO authorize the APP
pointment of mixed commission to decide
upon the future naval policy of the United
States He called atteDtion to the fact that
since 1861 there had been expended or the navy
over $500 000, 900, and yet it was not as eff lent
today as it was in 1861 The President had
stated in his annual message to Congress that
the navy was stronger now than it ever had
been, but he (Whitthorne) did not wish the
country to be misled by that statement. The
strength OF navy did not consist IN the mum Der
of its vessels but in its power to DESTROY and the
United States navy had become so powerless as
not to have standard among the navies of the
world. In the Dwer of destroying its adversa-
RES the United States Navy was in the rear of
even the Brazilian and Turkish navies. Since
1864 there has been over $125, 1000, 600 expended
10 the bureau OF construction and 1epairs. 1t
would have been wiser in 1864 to have buried
up every naval vessel, and to have used the
$4,000 600 in building entirely new vessels.
He did not wish to be understood as charging
the waste of all that money upon the Navy De-
partm-nt or upon Congress, but that vast sum
had been expended and there was nothing to
show for it. He thought the amendment
should be adopt4d in order that the future poll
cy of the United States should be decided upon.
His opinion personally was that the days of
vast navles and armed vessels had passed, and
that the future naval policy of the United States
should be alone confined to the idea of speed in
vessels. The French navy had once fallen as
low as the United States navy was ncw but by
just such commission had revived its an
Gent prestige.
Ii a commission were appointed the result
would b. that the United States navy would
again become the pride and boast of the Amer
lean people.
Mr. Harris of Massachusetts defended the
Secretary of the Navy from the charge of be-
ing responsible for the waste of money in ex-
pendltures. The fault lay in the fact that
Congress never had naval policy. He agreed
with the gentleman from Tennessee whit
horne) that the time had come when the navy
should be composed of light swift vessels which
could attack and sink the largest vessels with
out themselves being injured. At present the
navy was composed of heavy vessels which
were unable to fight and equally unable to run
away The commission would be able to settle
that question and all the questions pertaining
thereto, aud be thought when the amendment
was offered it should be adopted.
Mr.. Hale of Maine said the gentleman from
Tennessee (WhitthOrne) had last year dscov-
cred me hod for improving the navy of the
United States, which Was by the impeachment
OF the Secretary of the Navy. That attempt
had failed, and now he came forward with the
proposition for commission which was to be
apanacea for all the ills which afflicted the
Navy Department. That commission was to
be made up of three persons who had passed
their lives in the naval service and of SIX per-
sons who in all probability would know
nothing whatever about the subject they were
to enquire into. He denied tnat tae American
navy was in worse nditiou than it had ever
been before and he believed that if war had
ensued between Spain and the United States
DUNG the Virginius excitement the Us navy
would have come out conquerors.