The Portland daily press., 1878-01-31
THURSDAY MORNING, JAN. 81.
on the government annually with other esti-
mates. The proposition to have an elective
legislative body was defeated in committee by

on the government annually with other esti-
mates. The proposition to have an elective
legislative body was defeated in committee by
vote.
SOME OF THE NEW BILLS.
Mr.. Durham of Kentucky, from the House
Committee on Appropriations, reports bill
which appropriatss $4,000 for the employment
of clerks in the Land Office and to investigate
fraudulent land entries, trespasses on public
lands, etc., and 900 to enable the Commits
sioners of the General Land Office to employ
the necessary clerical force to carry into effect
the act Of Congress approved June, 1879, for
Bringing into market public lands In Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi. Alabama and Florida.
The bill introduced by Mr.. Stephens to enable
importers to use metric weights and measures,
provides that ad-quantum duties upon imported
goods invoiced according to the metric system
shall be collected at rates appropriate to the
weights and measures of said system; the rate
per gram tobe 35,l0 per cent. of the rate per
ounce avoiTdupois, or 80. 10 per cent of the rate
per ounce Troy: the rate per kilogramme to be
Zz.lo times the rate per pound; the rate per
per metric ton to be % times the rate per 100
pounds or W per cent. of the rate per 224O
pounds; the rate per lineal metre to be 100 per
cent. of the rate per lineal yard; the rate per
square meter to 119 per cent. of the rate per
square yard; the rate per square meter to be
l97 per cent of the rate per 1000 square feet /;
the rate per liter to be 26 per cent of the rate
per gallon; the rate per hektoliter to be 2S.1
times the rate per bushel; the rate per cubic
meter to be Ii times the rate per cubic yard, or
80 times the rate per cubic foot.
THE CURRENCY.
The House committee on banking and cur
rency had under consideration Tuesday the
bill offered by Mr.. Springer of Illinois to pre-
vent the further contraction of the currency
The author of the bill appeared and urged the
adoption of the bill. He said the currency was
being contracted at the rate of $1,000 1000 q
month, and he thought it should be made the
law that legal tender notes should not be al
lowed to fall below the volume of $3.50, ,000, 900.
He thinks that the President would not veto
such bill, and that after its passage it would
be easier to accomplish the repeal of the re-
sumption act. The resumptionists would be
less anxious to maintain that measure when
they found they could not do it and destroy the
legal tender currency of the country. Mr.
Springer having referred to the large number
OF failures throughout the country as having
been brought about by the contraction of the
currency, Mr.. Chittenden of New York, who il
member of the committee, answered him
that they were failures of men who had beer
financially embarrassed for years, and theiI
failures took place in the minst of plethora
OF money, such as had not existed in New
York for long time. The fact, he said, that
millions of dollars were lying idle in banks was
evidence that there was no scarcity of money
in the country. Springer replied that the very
fact that there was this plethora of money ant
NO demand for it, was evidence thst the
financial system was SO deficient and wrons
as to destroy the business of the country. Mr.
Springer will endeavor to put his bill on it
passage under suspension of the rules unless
portunity of his being recognized for the pur-
pose is presented.