The Portland daily press., 1877-11-13

tee ons Transportation Routes to the seaboard.
A number of bills were introduced and refer
red, among them the following:
By Mr. Window to establish department of
commerce.
Mr. Maxey submitted resolution instruct
ing the Committee on Military to inquire into
the expediency of constructing defensive works
on the Rio Grande frontier. Laid over.
The Vice President submitted a communica-
tion from the President in answer to the Senate
resolution of October 10th, enclosing a report
of the Secretary of the Navy on the navy ap-
preparations and expenditures by the Navy De-
partment from March a. 1885, to June 80, 1876;
also announcing that similar statement for
the War Department is in preparation. Order
ed to be printed and referred to the Committee
on Appropriations.
He also laid before the Senate communica-
tion from the President in compliance with the
Senate resolution of October 30th, transmitting
statement of the appropriations and expendi-
lures on account of the army and navy PEN
sions from March a, 1889. to June 80, 1876. Re-
ferred to Committee on Appropriations.
Mr.. Dawes called up the Senate bill to au-
thorize the taking of certain parcels of land for
public uses at thesintersection of Pennsylvania
and Maryland avenues on the west front of the
capitol grounds, which was amended and pass
ed.
Mr.. Sargent submitted resolution that the
Secretary of the Navy be instructed to inform
the Senate whether further legislation was nee
essary to protect the active list of the navy
from promotions of officers physically unfit for
duty at sea. Agreed to-
Senate at 80 o'clock went into executive ses-
sion, and when the doors were reopened at
o'clock adjourned.
Mr.. Atkins had read paper from the Adju-
tant General, being copy of the telegram
sent to the chairman of the Appropriation
Hoo Nnxv .srS.,
listed at q 1902, and statement from the tele-
graph operator at the War Department that he
had check at the Capitol for its receipt
Mr.. Atkins said he had questioned the opera
tor, who denied having received any such de-
spatch. He thought it due to the Adjutant
General 60 have the paper read
Mr.. Garfield sent to the clerk desk and
had read letter from the Secretary of War,
defending himself from the charges made
against him in Saturdays debate in regard to
the recruiting of soldiers since the army bill
was before the Committee on Appropriations
The Secretary claims that the enlistment of
recruits is expressly authorized by law and
therefore it can be carried on even in the alb
sence of an appropriation. Nevertheless he
had not deemed it best to continue the recruit
ing after The 1st of July, not for want of au-
thority, but because he thought it inexpedient
to muster men into the Service when there was
no money to pay them. Orders had been &C.
cordingly issued to stop recruiting on the 1st of
July. Subsequently an urgent appeal had
come from Major General Mcdowell, com.
manding the military division of the Pacific,
approved and urged by tbe General of the
army, asking authority to enlist recruits for the
cavalry regiments engaged in that department
10 carrying on the then existing Indian war.
The Secretary had yielded to that appeal and
recruiting had been for a short time permitted
for that purpose. The order for this recruiting
was not only lawful, but urgent and necessary.
This order for recruiting had been counter
mauded as soon as the emergency seemed over
and no enlistments were made since.
Mr.. Banning, chairman of the Committee on
Military Affairs, sent to the clerks desk and
had read telegram received today from the
AdJQtant General, stating that the recruiting
returns showed 1923 men had been enlisted
since the 1st of July, 1877, and that the prin-
cipal part of them had been enlisted on the
Pacific coast by authority of the General Of the
army given on the 9th of j July, to meet the exi-
gencies of the Indian war.
Mr.. Hewitt, member of the appropriation
committee, criticised the Secretary's letter and
SAID that the first effort on the part of the COM
mittee had been to ascertain the force of the
army. and the Secretary of War had stated il
in telegram to be 2l, 1868, then the General OF
the army had come before the committee and
stated the number at q, ,902 as by the last re-
turn, but had declared his opinion that the
army had been reduced to less than 10000 men
by stoppage OF enistments, the expiration of
service and casualties: then the Adiutant GEN
eral had come and confirmed the statement of
the General of the army and had stated speci6-
caly that enlistments were stopped since the
1st of July By telegram just now received
from the Adjutant General the House had been
informed that recruiting had been resumed on
the 9th of July and had terminated sometime
in August and that the fact had been known
to the Adjutant General when he was before
the committee, and yet he did not state it but
ho6 nj, fh0 troy ufriu fhn TOW = h.
cessation of recruiting that the appropriation
was exhausted and that no money was avail.
able for keeping up the army to the standard
fixed by law. The Secretary of War was sit
ting in the committee room when this state
ment was made and he had not given the com.
mittee the information now furnished in his
letter. Therefore, whatever responsibility
might attach TO any erroneous impression be.
loDged to the Secretary of War, the General oi
the army and the Adjutant General He ther
proceeded to discuss the right asserted by the
the Secretary OF War to authorize enlistments
in the absence of appropriations and claim :
ed that there was no such right on the part ot
the President. If the President had that power
1t would be concession of every principle fol
which the Anglo-Saxon race had struggled
from the time OF Charles L to the present time.
The claim of Charles was that he had not only
the right to maintain an army but that he had
a right to go outside and raise money for its
support For that purpose he had imposed the
illegal ship money tax, against which John
Hampden and other patriots rebelled. Tnat
long controversy had been settled by the bill of
rights under William LII, which declared that
standing army should not be maintained in
time of peace except by consent of the people
He quoted Judge Story as saying that the con-
troll OF the people over standing army was
absolute by reason of the power of the House
of Representatives to direct the appropriations
The proposition of the Secretary of War now
was that the President might maintain the
army up to the limit in the absence of an an.
preparation. If it meant anything it meaut
that From that proposition he (Hewitt) dis
sented in the name of human freedom The
only safeguard which the country had in re fer
ence to standing army was that the army
came from the appropriation bill and from no
other source whatever.
Mr.. Garfield replied to Mr.. Hewitt. 81 G
thought the House would compare the candor
of the letter just read from the Secretary of
War with that OF the gentleman from New
York (Hewitt) in such way as would not be
unfavorable to the Secretary. He wished to
know If the gentleman thought the President
should have dissolved the army because there
had been no appropriation made, or did he
think the army should be allowed to melt away
by death and deserton till it should become too
Inefficient to protect the frontier? Did he mean
to say that the President had no power to ap-
point an officer to fill a vacancy because no ap-
preparation had been made to pay that officer?
ln the great pressure on the Pacific coast gal
liant men had gone to army heaoquarters to as
slst in projecting their homes against the saw
ages, and had been told that the re being no ap-
proprisiion they would have to trust to the JUS
tice of Congress for their Day. When by this
means the country bad been saved, it was
haunted in the face of the Secretary of War
that he was impeachable for high crimes and
msdemeanors. The attempt to talk of i'm
peachment and to blame the War Department
for its action was as uDkind as it was unpatri-
otto and cruel to the army.
The House in regular order proceeded to the
consideration OF the army appropriation bill as
reported from the committee Of the whole on
Saturday.
The first amendment was that offered by Mr.
Schleicher, strising out the clause prohibitiu
recruiting of the army beyond the number OF
enlisted men on tie rolls on the LIST of Novem-
ber, which was concurred 10.
The House refused to concur in the amend
ment prohibiting recruiting beyond the number
on the rolls on the 1st of November, except in
the cavalry service and for employment on the
MeXo an border.
The next amendment was one offered by Mr..
Culberson providing that force of four cavalry
regiments be recruited to 100 men in each COM
pany, the same to be employed in the defence
of the Mexican and Indian frontiers # Texas
provided that nothing herein contained shall
authorize the recruiting of the number of men
on the rolls including IL dian scouts and hes
pita stewards beyond 0000, of whom four
avary regiments shall be kept in service on
the Mexican fro liter in Texas. Concurred in,
yeas 133 nays 127
The Republicans voted solidly against the