Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-05-08
XLVI CONGRESS.
SENATE.
WASHINGTON, May, I.

On motion, Mr.. Ingalls, resolu>
ton was adopted, calling on the Presi-
dent to communicate to the Senate
what measures had been taken to
prevent the occupation of Indian
Territory by white settlers.
House bill to prohibit military
in elections was read
twice. The Senate, by a vote of
"a against 81, disagreed to the mo-
ton of Mr.. Edmunds to refer it to
the Committee on the Judiciary,
and then laid it on the table, sub
ject to be called up hereafter.
The Senate resumed the con-
sideration of the Louisiana con-
tested election case. Mr.. Ed
munds' amendment was rejected
Mr.. Conkling then offered an
amendment to the pending resolu-
ton providing that the inquiry
shall be confined to the matters
alleged in the memorial of Mr..
and to be new and
deterrent from those covered
by the previous inquiry,
which was also disagreed to, the
committee then accepted an amend
ment inquiring whether Mr.. Spof-
ford used corrupt or unlawful means.
After considerable discussion, in
which Louisiana affairs were alluded
to with much animation. The Sen
ate passed the resolution of the Com
mittee on Privileges and Elections,
authorizing them to take the testi-
mony in the matter of the memo>
rial of Spoford contesting the seat
of Kellogg, with the amendments
of Mr.. Hoar as above mentioned.
The vote, on the adoption of the
resolution, was-yeas, % nays, II.
The Senate took up House bill
for prohibiting military interference
at the polls. Mr.. Blaine offered
an amendment. imposing sever pen
alties upon any person who shall
carry a concealed deadly weapon at
any place or within a mile of any
place where Il general or special
election for Representative to Cons
gress Is being held.
Mr.. Chalmers, of Mississippi,
called up as a question of privilege
the resolution previously offered by
him for an investigation into his
conduct at Fort Pillow. He said
that his friends had pointed out to
him the difficulty in the way of
such investigation, and that he
himself recognized the danger of
rekindling the flames of passion
and prejudice which all good men
desired to see covered up in their
ashes. But it was a hard thing
to ask soldiers who had lost
all save their honor to permit
that also to be taken from them by
a repetition of the accusations that
were utterly untrue. The action of
the House yesterday, had however,
satisfied him that the gentlemen
were not willing now to grant that
investigation and therefore he had
to accept the advice of
bis friends and to make his own
statement. He proceeded to narrate
the incidents of the attack on Fort
Pillow, in which attack he had been
early in the day in command of the
cavalry, but about nine
clock in the morning, General
Forrest had arrived and taken COM
nand. He admitted that numbers of
.he garrison who had made arush for
he gunboat lad been fired at and
killed, but if any had been killed in
1iolation of the usages of war, most
searching examination on the part
If the Congressional Committee
lad been unable to fix any respon-
ibility for it, at least ON the Gems
raj and officers in command. He
leuied that any wounded men had
,een burned up in quarters that had
'een set on fire the morning after
be capture of the fort. He as
erted that 40 per cent. of the gar
ison were saved wholly untouched. I
Part of the Federal troops ran out /
f the fort, and nearly all of those
we're killed or wounded, but a large
lumber of the garrison, mostly |
'hite men, had remained, and had
gathered around Gen. Forest and /