Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1879-02-15
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.

roads, reported an amendment to the Post
office Appropriation bill, establishing a
steamship line between New York and Rio
Janeiro via Norfolk, and another between
New Orleans and Rio Janeiro via Galveston,
each ipe Raser,sS 5i s;of, SIogUUH per 10
reports of the Committee on Privileges and
Elections were submitted, one declaring the
| eiection OF Corbin and the other the election
| OF Butler from South Carolina. Mr.. Coke
| spoke at length I'm favor of constructing n
railroad in Texas to the Rio Grande. The
| Edmunds's resolution declaring the validity
OF the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth
| Bayard and Edmunds speaking at length
thereon. Mr.. Edmunds mt the close of his
| remarks endeavored to force a vote upon his
resolution, but the Senate by vote of 2s to
Is resolved to go into executive session..
I'm In the House, the Army, Appropriation
of the Whole. Mr.. Durham submitted an
amendment reducing the army to 10000
reduce the number to 1900. and argued in
| favor of better organization of the militia.
defeated. Mr.. Cox, of New York, moved
to amend by fixing the force at l7ooa.
of the army. Tho United States he said had
territory lying from o9cenn to ocean, cover
o5 oS6 neor,s ieS Dy ao
der. It had an army which could not main
tain skirmish line across It, and the border
had been n running, bleeding wound ever
| since Texas had been admitted into the
Union. The debate continued at great
| length, and with considerable acerbitt, MIR.
| Cox and other Democrats charging that but
Tor the menace of the Army the great Pres
idential fraud" would never have been COM
mitted. tDerisive laughter from the Repub-
| lican side.l Upon a vote being taken, Mr..
CoN's amendment was defeated without di-
vision, and Mr.. Durham's by a vote of &C to
| lis. An evening session was held, at which
| the Mississippi Levee bill was considered in
| Committee of the Whole and reported to
the House, which without action thereon ad
journed,
In the sehate, on the 9Th, consideration
wits Resumed of the resolutions of Mr. Ed
munds, declaring the validity of the Thir-
| teenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments to the Constitution of ii United
States. In the course of the discussion that
followed, Mr.. Hill said this discussion lind
developed the fact that all accepted the Thir-
teenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend,
his friends On, the other side OF tha
tell their people that the Democrats did not
accept them. He did not think any good
could come from the discussion, and he
thought 1t time to close it now. and with it
close the door on the war. Mr.. Edmunds
said the whole matter was Just this: that
while the political party to which his friend
(Hinl belonged voted against the Thirteenth,
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, they
now declared them valid. These amend
having a Democratic Legislature had refus-
ed to agree to them, and some Legislatures
which afterwards became Democratic at
tempted to withdraw the ratification given
by previous Legislatures There had never
been any legislation to carry out any of
these aihendmeDts which did not meet with
the opposition of the Democratic party and
II that party should come into power ali these
amendments and the laws to support them
would be swept from the statute books. The
discussion was continued at great length, and
after the Senate had rejected n number of
substitutes, amendments, motions to adjourn,
postpone, etc, the resolutions were passed-l
yeas % nays las follows:
Ieds.Messrs. Anthony, Booth, Bruce, Burn
Kirkwood. Mcmillan, Mitchell. Morrill,, Ogles,
by, Paddock, Plumb, Rollins, Spencer, Teller,
Ndys-Messrs. Bailey, Bayard, Beck, Cock
rel, Coke, Davis (W. Val Eaton, Garland,
mar, Maxey, Morgan, Voorhees-I.
Messrs. Allison, Dawes, Blaine. Saunders,
Dorsey, Matthews, Jones CNevada), Sharon,
Wadleigh and Cnnover, who would have
with Messrs. McCreary, Barnum, Wallace,
Butler. Eustis. Mcdonald. Dennis, Jones
(Florida), MCPHERSON, Thurman, Ransom,
have voted in the negative. The resolutions
as agreed to are as follows:
Resotred, as the Judgment of the Senate,
That the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fiji
teenth Amendments to the Constitution of
the United States have been legally ratified,
authority as any other part of the Constitu-
ton; that the people of each state have a
common interest in the enforcement of the
whole Constitution in every State of the
Union, and that it is alike the right and
the duty of Congress to enforce
citizen in the exercise of all rights thereby
secured, by the laws of a general character
already passed for that purpose, and by fur
ther appropriate legislation so far as such
enforcement and protection are not secured
by existing laws; and IL is the duty of the EN-
faithfully and with diligence carry ali such
laws into impartial execution, and of Con-
gress to appropriate all moneys needful to
Resolved further, That it is the duty of Con-
gress to provide by law for full and impartial
protection of all citizens of the United states
duly qualified in the right to vote for Repre-
sentatives I'm Congress- and to this end the
Committee of Judiciary be, and hereby is, in
may be, a bill for the protection of such rights
and punishment of infractions thereof
.....ln the House, the Mississippi Levee bill
was taken up and passed-yeas, l55; nays 49,
The bill provides for the appointment of II
commission to inquire into and decide upon
plan for the Improvement of the navigation
of the Mississippi River and the protection OF
alluvial lands. The Army Appropriation bill
was further considered in Committee of the
Whole.
In the Senate, on the 9th, the bill to pro-
vide for taking the tenth and subsequent
censuses was passed with only negative
votes. A resolution was adopted instructing
the Committee on Agriculture to inquire in
regard TO the reports concerning infec-
In the House, the Army Appropriation
bill was further considered in Committee of
the Whole, and Mr.. Whites amendment.
comprising most of the features of the Army
Reorganization bill, was anopted. This
amendment makes no change in the numeri-
cal strength of the Army. and provides for
age of 81. 1t also provides for the reorgani-
zation of the STAFF and a reduction in the
number OF officers by voluntary natural
causes. The Committee rose and the House
adjourned without action on the bill.
In the Senate, on the 7th, Mr.. Matthews,
from the Select Committee to inquire as to
the best means of preventing the introdue-
ton of epidemic diseases, reported joint
during the recess of Congress, and to retain
the services of three experts who
shall visit Havana and such 9TH
direct, to inquire into the history of vel.
low fever. The Joint resolution also re-
quests the President to invite the concur.
renee and cooperation of the Spanish
Government in examination and expert
ments to be made in furtherance of
the same committee, reported bill to
prevent the introduction of contagious dis
ease, and to establish Bureau of Public
Health. Both bills were placed on the cal
endar. The House bill to relieve certain legal
disabilities of women passed. 1t provides
that any woman who shall have been II mem
Der of the highest court of any State Ter
ritory or of the Supreme Court of the District
of Columbia tor the space of three Years of
good standing and moral character, shall be
admitted to practice before the Supreme
Court of the United States. .... In the House,
the reports of the Conference Committees on
the Indian Appropriation bill and the bill fix
ing the terms of the District and Circuit
Courts of Colorado were agreed to, and u
number of private bills passed.
In the Senate, on the Sth, the report Of
the Conference Committee on the Indian
Appropriation bill was submitted and the
bill passed. The total amount appropriated
is 4,Il3,206, s33,O6S less than for the
present fiscal year. Mr.. Bruce, from
the Committee on Levees and Inn
provements of the Mississippi Riv-
er, reported without amendment the
House bill to provide for the organization
OF Mississippi River Improvement Commi5-
sion, and for the correction, permanent To-