The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-16

| Mr.. Springer, of Illinois, asked that to-mor-
row be set aside for the consideration Of private
bills and bills on the private calendar under
proceed ings to- day. He did this In order that
| there might be no antagonlsm to the pending
| contested elee ion case.
| After some discussion this arrangement was
Mr.. Davis asked leave to offer q resolution di
| recting the Secretary of the Treasury to inform
the House what u 9 was now made Of the Gus
tomhouse and old appraisers stores In San
TO put them. ObIectlon was made.
Secretary Of War was directed to send to the
House the report OF the survey of the harbor OF
Mobile.
| Mr.. Robbins. OF North Carolina, from the
Ways and Means Committee report d a subs l.
ings, in the treasury, and to provide for the
| funding of the. national debt Referred to the
committee Of The whole.
offer resol i'm directing The Attorney CEN
| eral 10 inform the House II, In his opinion. the
| app9iotment1 to Of cadets at l,rge to the Military
Academy at West Point and to the Naval Acai-
tmy at Annapolis. were made in accordance
with law or only IS matter OF custom, and for
h9W n.y. Wany nnnsse searf r. snch ustom has prevailed
Tie HOUSE then resuhed the consideration OF
the Dean Field contested election case, from the
Third Mas sachuSetts District,
Mr.. Gambler. Of Georgia. spoke in favor of
MIR. Field, The sitting member. The whole
que ton turns upon he validity Of he recount
Aldermen In Boston and Mr.. Gambler agreed to
show that The count Was legal and, ii legal, it
necessarily elected Mr.. Field;
1t having been oOnfauded that the count was
illegal, because the United States supervisors
were excluded and the recount was made In
secret, Mr. Gambler denied thai there was the
least attempt to exclude any one. but that The
whole count was conducted in accordance with
the laws Of the State of massachusetts,. and that
present. Tested by al the rules of validity and
right he believed that Mr.. Field was elected to
represent e, Il portion of Massachusetts.
\, W Mr. Wll,lans. OF Alabama, argued In favor Of
:, Mr.. hiscock. OF New York. advocated Mr..
Fields claims. He took issue generally with
the report OF the majority of the conn lit, g. and
argued that the final count ade by the Board
OF Aldermen's committees was the correct one 0
.d ne consdereu rs In reaching the decision He de:
U. ng ess had hbrOgaed the statute of the State
OF Massachusetts in relation to the counting of
votes.
He did not dispute the right of Congress to
Tx he time manner and place of holding cleo
tons. but he denied that C.ngres. had in fact
N the tate law which WAS repugnant to the
United States law In conclusion. he defended
the three Aldermen VINO made the count from
any q ~petsion cast upon them In the report OF
the M Jorlty.
Mr. Potter OF New York. said that the State
Of Massachusetts had provided by atute for a
recount of the votes. 1t was mandatory and
directory In certain sense, and it was bound
to be accepted in the absence of proof of inaccu-
COMPELLED to accept the count, especially as it
exercised p conro ling influence over any pre-
vious count. 1t would be most dangerous to
go behind such count.
be was here in three Congresses when the Re- |
publ1cans had stnrol. and he had seen them
act IN such Wavon contested cast 8 as TO often |
make his blood boil, but he did not propose to
get even by pursuing the same course in this |
Congress. for he believed these cases were OF |
judicial Character. and should be decided ju- |
dicially.
speaker Randall said that he felt it to be his |
duty 10 interrupt the proce- dings to perform |
the painful duty of laying before the House |
telegram which he had Just received. He then |
had read IL telegram from the State Departuent |
stating that the Cons ul-General at havana had |
that Hon. J. Il Leonard, a R-pre- |
sentative In Congress from Louisiana had died |
in that city this morning of yellow fever and |
requesting the ate elartment to lotify the I
House of the fact; staring also that he had d. |
rected Mr.. Leonar DIS body to be embalmed and |
as ing for in t, uctlons.
Mr. Ellis, of Lpuisi ma, said that the sad an
nounce ment Just read Won carry regr. and |
sadness to every one In the House, and es pe-
cially to those who knew him we'll and who bad :
learned to appreciate his virtues of head and
be RI. Il was not proper now to enter into
detailed account. or to eu ogize his deeeas d !
coieagne's shining. virtues. He would take
som. occos sion In the. future to do that. but he |
would move that as mark OF respeo. to the I