, 1879-01-22
Prospect that tho Pension arrears
Bill Will Become a
Law.
Clarkson Potter Astonishes His
Friends by Opposing South-
ern War Claims.
Half a Million Persons Prepar-
ing to Euaigrate to
Liberia.
THE CIpHTRS.
4 DlSAGnEEAuI.E TASK,

O11ARAE&AULH TA9KA
Spteaat DfsDotrh 10 TBs JFIbssne.
WASHINGTON, D. c.. Jan. N.--Thc Potter
Committee has at Lust been Instructed to inves.
ivato the cipher dispatches, nma The result Is
lhat the Democrats are very much dissattaded
eth tho "llote business. To begin with, tlc
Democratic members Of the Potter Committee
feel Indignant that they were not allowed ttno
to sny anythInE, the only members who did
epcnk hcinE Potter himself ant Gen. 13uticr.
Fotess speech gives the greatest dissatisfaction
to sIfs colleagues on tho Committee. It was
weak and shutiling effort. in which be cnlcav-
urcd to nlocc upon everybody else the response
b!ilty for whatever blutlt1crs Mnl outragee tho
Committee has perpctrntet. Indeed, Potter
was so unglarded in his spccc1, rs to admit that
the Committee had been guilty Of mcanncss,
for he batd: "Tcre has been no mcafE or out
rageona action on the part OF thu COMMITTEES
that llas not been attributed to nlo.'' rottcr's
sprccl, briefly, was declaration tl.at tho wlolc
investigation was
a x1sEnAni.E AFPAln
OF Which he had no previous knowledge, and In
WHICH le had had 10 voluntary part, md that The
only reason Why le Is Its nominal Ggure-l,ead Ia
because the Democratic caucus seemed to be
nh'c to find nobody else. aud designated him for
tho dlsagrceablo seryitc.
Hrwitt's speech did not mend matters, It
sounded too much like Grnmcrcy Park. 1t borc
all the car'marks of q production OF the Lit
erary Bureau. Certainly tho sentiments CON-
tafucu In thu speech which Hewitt rcsd In such
pcrfunctory manner were nut bis own senti-
1ncnts. To suppose that they are Ia to believe
that Hewitt 10 capable VI
THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY sELr-sruL71r1cA-
TiDA.
1t has long been aE open secret that his per.
snnnl relations with Tilaen aru Rrent}y strained; !;
that he Inns been outraged at tie publication Of
tho cipher dispatches; at tho fncs that they cx-
ist, and that Ti'1cu, rclton, Moscs, mud the
ctt'ro band Of Coparcenurs have received MT
moro scycfe and bitter dcnunciattous than they
1avc At the l'ands Of Abrasn g. Hewitt, lato
Chairman of the National Democratic Com.
uttteu.
Yet Hewitt read a speech In the House this
afternoon which male TilJcn dcmi.gol VI
mum who has sat apart all ahcso months and
suffered with mcckness outraGcs and calun,ntea
that'have tecM heapud upon him, n.,l now
Hewitt said for the first tne ho Ind bcuu ablp
to ask vinlfcation. At the expression Of
these sentInicnts
TuH KEruBL1CANs SMILED,
when they thought that tie Democrats had had
minority III ule House ever since tic 9Th Ut
last Dcccul1cr, and that Huwitt ut any moule,,t
could have commanded the ti.nc u,,a willing at-
tention Of the llouso to SEEK thu vIulicat1on
which ho claims Ttldeu Is now about to secure.
Tbs whole matter was fnrcc, pteeo OF
hnneon'bc, ~ waa well illustrated by tlewitt's
own acts when has speech was through. II re-
port Ia tEae be Immediately called upon all tho
Democrats about httn to Rhut oil tlM debate
md not allow tie Republicans to keep uls
question open. "Lct the matter stop rtght
here" Hewitt is quoted ns saying privately to
his colleagues, and by beggarly majority u
three they succce0ed In
CHOKING orr ALL FURTHER REPuuttcsN mr.,
HATE.
This was not accomplished until nearly an hour
nnd half OF the tin,o had bsen occupied In
calling the roll. This tina WAS gaIuett either by
the urosssst aud most couaplcuous tnclticicucY
OF tltc tally clerk Or by lcl.bcrutu intention IN
h!a part. The roll, when 1t was rsad over, was
found to ta utterly lncosrcct, the Republicans
being ncaFly all ptaced Oil the wrong side. The
result VIA that the entsre long roll bad to ba
called over.
len BuTLrn's sPKEcM
was pEodlgtous failure. It was weak u,ul
pontlcsa, aud whatever there was tn 1t had nj.
EaIy been outliaed iu the public press. Hu
onty bad to say that It was no business
VI tile American people whether great
critne had beeu attempted. Their ouly conrern
would hnvc hcen In case tho attempted estno
hau been successful, u 1t waa uot worth while
10 spend public money to satisfy only prurient
curiosity for scandal, Or to Rnirch anybody, ur
u slndtsutc anybody. or course Tho cla,r,rap
Tor tue poor n'an could nat be forgotten. 1t
would bt better to distribute ten thousand dol
lars among khc nation's poor than To dryota II
~ TIL" iaqulFy. Cen butler bad l.is usual suc.
L~f 1nn. -