The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1881-01-29
oUR WASHINGTON LErrER.

WAsmSGroN, 2. O., Jan. %, 81.
The House has lately taken up
and decided several cases Of con
tested seats, and in them the Demo.
Gratis have acted with a fairness 10
which the House had been a stran-
ger for twenty years. This is more
commendable because IL is we'll
understood hat 80 or 40 Demo.
cratic seats will be contested in
the next House, and no one doubts
the old Republican tactics will be
pursued. There is hardly an in.
stance during Republican supreme
cy in The House, in which a mem
Der Of that party voted 10 seat a
Democrat, or unseat a Republican, Z
or refused to vote to unseat a DEM
ocrat. The exceptions were when 4
some men like Ben Butler, whose
combatiyeness occasionally over
came his party loyalty. ventured to
vote against a committee on caucus
decisions. Among the Southern
seats contested 1t is sand are all
those from Mississippi except one
that OF Representative Money.
He says all that saves him from a
c~ontestiS the fact tnat no one man
is against him. ny
One influential Senator says he
does not think the Senate will
amend the House funding bIl ma
lerially except in IA particular,
and that will be by giving discre.
ton to the Secretary Of the Freasu-
ry to issue the bonds with 81 per
cent. interest ii it is found impossi.
bic to float them at 8. 1t may also
increase the percentage allowed
for disposing OF them from one,
fourth per cent. TO one-half per
cent. t4gca5 la5t
BY taking advantage Of a Demo-
cratic Senator's absence on Thurs
day last the Republicans of the
Senate Military Committee were
able TO secure a favorable report OH
the bill putting Ex-Presldent Grant
On the retired list. The measure
will come before the House for Il
vote on Monday, and vii. proba-
bly, be passed. It's late in the
'1onse is uncertain.
Last night the House wept
through the occasional farce Of try
ing to force a quorumgof members.
The officers were sent out to bring
in absentees, and the usually silly
proceedings took up the night.
This was all the more ridiculous Z
from the fact that the business Oh
hand was only the passage OF a
private bill, not the furtherance Of
any important legislation. Oddly
enough the Senate was engaged
during an etxra session on hat and
the previous day in angrily discuss
ing the means Of furnishing some
newspaper nan for having secured
copies OF The Chinese treaties prior
to their consideration by the SEN
ate. Venerable Senators wished
to imprison the newspaper mai
and otherwise punish him. In
similar cases that course has been
pursued but never with any good
effect. What the Senate should
do, OF course, is to punish the Sena.
tor or Senate officer who sold the
} copy. Senators have only tesn
coughed at when they have done
any thing else. But il seems I'M.
possible for either House or Senate
+ to get through a session without
doing something silly.
1t will not be safe 20 believe all
that is said about President-elect
Garfeld's intentions, and the bad
feeling Of some Republicans az
5 their own supposed ill-treatment
or at the advancement Of their
enemies. II is safe, however, TO
} say that Senator Conkling will be
very angry if Senator Blaine is
made Secretary Of State, no matter
what other places lie himself may
be permitted to dispose Of. That
would be an offence never 10 be
q forgiven.
CARROLL
Q Mr.. i. N. Carrutb, 1 former sheriff