The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1879-12-25
FROM WASHINGTON.
work OGCongress up 70 Date,

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21.-Congress met
in the second session of the Forty-sixth
Congress on the LIST day of Dec. The
Senate met on - days, and the House
on II days. The Senate devoted exact
ly 20 hours and SO minutes to business
and the House 80 hours and 1 minutes.
Over 200 bills and joint resolutions
we're introduced in the Senate, and over
700 in the House. There were nearly
200 petitions presented in the Senate,
and 500 in the House. During the time
Congress was in session it accomplish
ed very much more than is usual in the
brief time between assembling in Dec,
and the Christmas holidays. The his
tory of Congress has not before shown
such a record as the passage by the
House of three appropriation bills in
this brief space of time. The Senate
passed one Of the appropriation bills
(PensiOEs) which vas sent TO it by the
House. Later it will take up the Con-
sular and Diplomatic Bill, Immediately
after recess. Among the financial meas
ures% introduced were the resolutions in
both houses early in the session, declar-
ing there should be no interference
with the present financial condition.
As an offset to that, the bill of Senator
Bayard, TO abolish the legal-tender
quality of the greenback, as suggested
by the President in his message, was
introduced. Among financial measur-
eS offered, and which are pending, are
bills respecting the refunding of the
National debt Zone offered by Wood and
another by Garield) bills to substitute
greenbacks for National bank notes; a
bill to restore gold and silver to their
full power; one to amend the Resump-
ton Act, one to repeal that act; bills TO
issue gold and silver certificates and to
provide for the redemption thereof; II
bill to compel the paying out of all
kinds of money in the Treasury not
needed for current expenses in the re-
| demption of bonds; a bill to repeal the
| ten per cent. tax on State banks, and
Viewers bill to issue $500, 600 900 to
pay soldiers the difference between coin
and the currency in which they were
paid. The above bills are all pending
in the House. Measures OF like char
acter to some of them are pending in
the Senate. There are twenty-five or
thirty bills pending, which affect the
revenue. Half a dozen bills were Off
cred looking to an inter-oceauic canal
across the isthmus. These will all go
to the special committee appointed to-
day, of which King, of Louisiana, is
Chairman. The House passed twenty
six bills, and the Senate seventeen,
most of them Of a private nature.
Twelve or fourteen bills passed boJll
Houses, and the President has already
approved a number of them.
The principal discussion in the Sem
ate was over the resolutions of Mr.
voorhees, to inquire into the cause o.
the exodus of colored people from N,
c., while the principal discussion il
the House had relation to the Ute In.
dams of Colorado.
A large number of important bills OF
miscellaneous subjects have beer
introduced, while there have beer
many calls upon the Departments fol
information upon which to base legisla
ton, so that there will be no dearth o
important subjects for members of boil
houses to legislate upon as 500 as the.
} reasonable January 9th next.