Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-01-28
HOUSE PROCEEDINGS.

mlttee on fost OfhceS and Post Roads, re-
ported The post route bill, which was order
ed printed and recommit:ed.
Mr.. speer, Of Georgia, st the expiration
OF the morning hour, called up the contest
ed election case of Yeates VS.. Martin.
Mr.. Conger, Of Michigan, inquired whether
this was question of higher privilege than
the question before the House yesterday.
He had understood the Chair to decide,
when the other question was up, that he
could not imagine q question of higher
privilege than the one whi:h involved the
election Of President.
The Speaker replied that the Chair had
not been asked To recognize any member
upon that question. The gentleman In
charge OF the resolution was not pressing IG.
Mr.. Conger remarked, sarcastically, that
( IL there was need Of any urging from his
side Of the House he was ready 10 urge it.
The election case was then taken up. and
Mr. Speer argued in favor of the contestant,
Yeates.
MIR. Field, of Massachusetts, spoke 10 sup
port of the claims of Martin.
Mr.. Keifer, of Ohio. also presented the
case Of the contestee, Martin, and at the
conclusion Of his speech warned the Demo-
cratic party that il It did not place the seal
OF disapprovsl upon such practices as had
been resOrted to in this case, the dav was
coming when 1t would be swept from the
4 halls OF Congress by the American people.
Mr.. Russell, Of North Carolina, also
warned the Democratic party that If the
/ ressoniDgs Of the Committee on Elections
/ were adopted some fifteen or twenty gentle
men from the South IN the next Congress
would walk out some morning and give
/ place to men who had been counted in,
whether elected or not.
/ A Democrat-We will see about that.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Russell's speech
/ Mr.. Springer, OF Illinois, demanded the
/ previous question, and the Republicans re-
fusing to vote the House was left without
/ quorum. The House then at o'clock ad-
journed
SENATE PROCEEDINGS.
In the Senate. Mr.. Dawes presented a
/ petition signed by John Welsh, Bishop
/ Simpson, Rev. Joseph Cook, Wendell Phil
! lips and 80 600 other individual signers, with
the signatures OF churches, benevolent and
other societies, representing in all more
than $1,000 citizens, praying Congress to
/ observe the treaties heretofore made with
the Indian tribes, and In future to do justice
to the remnants OF that people Referred
! to the Committee on Indian Affairs
I MIR. Whyte reported favOrably the House
concurrent resolution for printing thirty
thousand copies of the chronological Com
missions report on the cotton worm,
/ with the means of cOunteracting its raw
sges. The bill was passed, as was also the
House joint resolution to print six thousand
copies OF the report OF the National Board
/ OF Health
The following bills were introduced:
/ By Mr.. Garlend-To establish uniform
system Of bankruptcy. Referred to the
/ Committee on the Judiciary.
! BT Mr.. Csll-To provide for the payment
I of part of the interest on the sum of $780,
I 000 under the treaty Of 1856 to the Seminole
I Indians.
/ Mr. Jones, Of Florida, from the Commit
\ tee on Public Buildings and Grounds, re-
/ ported fsvorablY the House bill to provide
! for the construction of public building at
/ Jackson, Miss.
! Mr.. Beck addressed the Senate for an
( hour in advocacy OF free ships, taking as
i his text his resolution submitted on Mon
/ day for the repeal OF ell laws prohibiting
! our citizens from purchasing ships to en-
! gage IN the foreign carrying trade, or which
/ prevent the registration of them as Ameri
! can ships, when owned, commanded and
4 Differed by United States citizens. He
I argued that we were unable TO compete with
/ foreign nations either for our own carrying
/ trade or the foreign trade, because every
! nation but our own was allowed to buy It's
/ ships where it could get them the cheapest.
/ Every dollar that we made cur ships cost
+ above what was paid by the people of other
/ countries only handicapped US aud dlmin-
/ lSu6Q our GuAuC6s Oh SUCCESSFUL cOmpSll-
/ tiOn. Before the war We could buy ships
+ cheaply, but the effect of our
4 policy had stree been to build up
/ a navy for England, which had
now the finest body OF sailors in the world,
/ while the United States was without ma
rine. The imminent danger to US In for
/ eign war, with our defepseless ocean and
/ Gulf coasts, was next referred to. Our
surplus being largely agricultural, and
so great thst 1t cannot be con-
sumed at homo, we are obliged
to float our exports In foreign ships, and
thus Germany, England and France were
doing our carrying trade. If these nations
went to wal, ,although we might be on the best
terms with the belligeIents. we would suffer
more than they, because our products would
90 to the bottom, as the cruisers of each
country destroyed the merchant vessels of
the other. The only remedy was for us to
do our own hauling. The great producing
interest of the West was perhaps the
one most interested Ia this question of
cheap transportation, because all the cost
of transportation both to the seeboard and
over the ocean to market comes out OF the
man who raises the product that is TO be
transported. Whatever diminishes the cost
is to his benefit, and whatever adds to it has
to come out OF his pocket. All subsidies
and bounties only add so much more to his
burden In taxation. and fail to accomplish
the remedy. Cheapness of transportation
is the only remedy, and a ship Is only a
wagon adapted to highway over which 1t
travels Our treaties with Germany, Nor
way, Sweden and other countries gave
them all the privileges OF cur own citizens
in our own ports, and all OF them are doing
Their carrying trade in free, cheap ships.
We are keeping our navigation laws TO the
injury Of our own people.
Mr.. Beck then proceeded with an elabo-
rate discussion OF the tariff, with its ine
It I'D ansfo 81
operation in fostering mOnopoles at the
expense of the poor man. Incidentally
depressing In this connection to notice the !
estimate of the Commissioners of Pen
siors. that over $500, 0,000,0 GOO would be re-
quired to meet the expenses of the pension |
arrears act, he said the pension act, which |
he was fortunate In having voted against, I
would provide heavier tax and more en-
during burden than the national debt.
Ma. Blaine followed In reply to Mr.. Beck. |
He construed that Senator's speech as an /
admission that his policy looked forward to
ard proclaimed permanent dependence Of |
this country upon EUgland for her ships. 1
He could not allow such a speech to go |
out for a single day without an answer. He /
did not believe the people or the Con- /
gress Of the United States were
ready to acknowledge or proclaim any such /
dependence. He said It was a remarkable |
fact that in twenty years since the begin
States had not done one solitary thing to
uphold the navigation interest OF the coun- /
try until the Senator from Kentucky Mr.. !
Beck, rose In his seat and proposed to make /
. proclamation of perpetual future de-
pendenee Of this country upon England
for such commerce as she may
enjoy. Mr.. Blaine then proceeded to
show how American steamship lines had /
been driven from the ocean By the failure I
OF the American Government to encourage
and support them, as other governments, /
and especially Great Britain, had encour- /
aged and supported their lines. He cited |
as an instance of this the steamship line be- /
tween New York and Brazil, to which tire /
Government Of Brazil was willing to give /
$lOO. coo per year, but TO which the United |
States would give nothing. The British |
Government, on the other hand, was ready
to unite with Brszil in encouraging line /
Of steamers, and so her line took /
the place OF ours. Great B1Fain
had paid from her Treasury more than $780, !
OO0. .OC0, all together, to aid her steamship !
lines IN all parts Of the world. France, al |
though she buys her ships In England, paid !
% OOO, 900 francs last year to aid and en-.
courage her line of steamers. Italy, for |
the same purpose, paid s. 900, 600 francs, and
eveu Austria, with only single seaport, !
naid $500 coo In steamship subsidies.
Now the United States could not win In
thjs great international struggle without
sdoptiug exactly the same means that had
achieved victory for others. What was
-I.a u -. ,ok m holm Mr. IOhn Roach !