New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-10
CONGRESS AGAIN AT WORK.

session Yesterday The House received ana
referred many silver bills. Two were voted
on. the extreme silver men being defeated. Mr..
Hewitt has introduced a bill on the subject
which THE TRIBUNE dispatches refer to as
having good features. Mr.. Edmunds
smoke on the Electoral bill yesterday
In the Senate. Secretary Sherman mas
sent to the House bill in regard TO sugar
duties, and several other tariff matters. IL Is
said that General Devens is to retire and take
a seat on the bench. A controversy TOOK
place yesterday before an investigating COM
mittee between Mr.. Seward and Il. WHEY
Wells. The Potter Committee will meet to-day
AN oUTBURST OF SILVER IDEAS.
TWO OR THREE VOTES TAKEN IN THE HOUSE on En-
rRAvAGANT MISUNDERSTANDING NEW BILLS OF
FFRED-AN IMPORTANT BILL BY MR.. HEWITT.
lBY TELEGRAPH To THE TRIBUNEl
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.-The proceedings OF the
House to-day show that the average member OF tnd'
hody has learned very little on the silver question
during the Summer vacation.
One Democratic Representative from Illinois, Mt
Townshend, man of very little influence III inc
House. attempted to strike feeble dow at INC
New-York Clearing House, and through 1t at inc
National banks of the country for, taking measures
"a protect themselves from the flood of silver which
two resoIutions-one an inquiry, in substance
whether the Secretary of the Treasury has agreed to
he governed by the rules of the Clearing House IN
hstransactons with that institution and the other
attacking the banks directly by charging them with
conspiracy to nulify law of Congress. Both were
sent to committee where they will probably sleep
the sleep that knows no Weakening.
The next move in the same direction to-day was
the introduction of bill by Mr.. Durham, OF Ken
lucky, which provided that the Government should
redeem the trade dollars now outstanding at par in
standard silver dollars and, cause them TO be Te-
coined into the latter
II is possible that Mr.. Durham does not know
what the effect of such law as this would be. The
amount of trade dollars coined at the minis of the
United States in the last five years has been about
S35, DOC, 900, at least two-thrds of which amount
have been sent to the East Those dollars can now
be reimpOrted and laid down in the United States
for 9212 cents each. If they should be re-
ceiyed at the United States Treasury at
par a net gain of 7l2 per cent would
accrue to the present owners of trade dollars,
whether they be foreigners or Americans; and this
sum would have to be paid directly out of the
Treasury to spectators in trade dollars. That IS
the Government would give a dollar for 42O grams
of silver, when no one else can afford to pay more
than 92l2 cents for it. The idea that the Govern
ment would make profit on these dollars because
it would get TO grains of standard SILVER than
it paid out in redceming the trade dollars is erro-
neous, because the Government can go into the
market and buy silver much cheaper.
Nobody would suspect that man of Mr.. Dun
bam's known integrity would knowingly play thus
into the hands of silver spectators. He certainly
did il gnorantly. The House refused to suspend
the rules and pass his bill but the vote upon it
stood 154 in tho affirmative TO Of in the mega
tive, showing that 1t would have been agreed
TO if majority vote had been sufficient
ANOTHER WILD BILL.
The next movement on the silver question to-day
came from the Republican side OF the House. MT
Fort of Illinois seems to be the champion advocate
of the silver dollar among his party associates. His
resolution declared that the legaltender quality OF
the standard silver dollar must be maintained and
enforced, and that any discrimination by National
banks against these dollars shall be considered as
defiance of the laws of the United States 1t also
directed the Committee Banking and Currency
to report to the House a bill to retire the notes
Of any bank that makes such discrimination.
The effect OF this bill, should it become law
would be to throw an unnecessary obstacle in the
way of resumption, and to force upon the business
community the use Of coin that is wholly nnft for
such USE No measure could be invented that would
be more sure to make the silver dollar unpopular
than this, although that was not ITS purpose. The
vote on tins resolution was $50 IN the Affirmative
to 80 in the negative less than the necessary two
In addition to these measures upon which votes
were taken, there were at least hall dozen bills
Introduced the House to-day similar subjects,
but they were all sent to committees.
MIR. HEwITT's MEASURE.
Mr.. Hewitt, OF New-York, introduced one Of them,
il being bill to secure uniform standard Of
value" The following is the text of it,
Whereas uuder the constitutional power 10 coin money
thereof,
common unit OF value ana provided oL the rec con-
age OF gold CONS conforming thereto; aud
Whereas Congress has further provided for the coin
age OF the standard silver dollar which Is intended ana
ought to ,Quiyicnt Of The said unit Of value;
now therefore order 10 secure aud forever maintain
the equality Ofthe sd standard dollar Win the IaWiul
e eaGcied etc., That the gold ard silver coins Of the
men of debts shall hereafter be interchangeable at
thtir lawful vaue either for the other upon the demand
Of any holder thereof at the office OF the Assistant
Treasurer I'm the City Of NrwYork, when presented in
Of 800 multiple thereof and II shall be inc
for such interchange be coined such
amount standard silver dollars rs may DC found nece
dollars and that an provisions OF law fixing or limiting
the amounts coined Of such standard silver dollars
b.. and the same are hereby repealed.
Mr. Hewitt saws tins evening that his bill, though
short one has been the fruit Of some reflection.
and he thinks that it ought to be acceptable well
TO the silver men as to other people The most i'm
portant feature of it is the provision for the imita-
ton OF the monthly issue of standard dollars
Mr. Buckner introduced bill to-day which con-
templates an increase in the monthly coinage to
81 900 900 until the market value of silver bullion
in New-YOrk IS at par with coined standard silver,
and when this equilibrium shall have been attained
then the coinage to be made free. Mr.. Hewits bill
points IN the opposite direction.
"The aim of the silver dollar said Mr.. Hewitt
tonight 81 to make this country the receptacle Of