Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-11-12
WASHINGTON.

WASHINGTON.
News From the National Capital.
Postmaster General James has
made arrangements to take pleasure
trip to Florida, leaving Washington
early next week and returning In
about fortnight thereafter.
Secratary WINDOWS refunding
operations have now been entirely
completes, the few remaining sus
pended cases having been disposed
of. The total of bonds continued at
b per cent. is $579, 560,05O and the
cost TO the government was about
$4,000, of which nearly $4,000 was
for paper and printing bonds, and
for all other expenses In clearing, and
cost of making exchanges of about
fifty-five millions of bonds in London
S4,499. This makes the expense Of
continuing each million dollars of
bonds about seventeen dollars and
eighty one cents.
Secretary Window says that his
refunding operations are resulting in
a much greater saving to the govern
ment than would have been effected
by the refunding measures of the
last Congress, for the following rea-
sons The bill passed by Congress
appropriated one quarter of one per
cent for the expenses of refunding,
which would have amounted to
ST., 1,44S,900 as against less than
$4,000 by his plan, as
part of the refunding. measures of
Congress, and in order to induce
the banks to accept the 3 per cent.
bond bill passed the Senate unan
imously repeating the tax on bank
deposits, which would have reduced
the annual revenues of the govern
ment S6,560,466 as shown by the
receipts Of 1880.
The House committee of ways and
menans of the last Congress,fo like
reason, reported fayorably a bill re-
pealing the tax On bank deposits and
also the two cent stamp tax on bank
checks, drafts and orders, amounting
in the aggregate to $9,676,699. This
sum, added to one>quarter of one
per cent. for expenses of the three
per cent refunding measure, amounts
to S10,125,5D9. The difference be-
tween the three and one-half and the
three per cent. bonds on the
entire amount of bonds refunded
Is 81 o97,800 per annum, which, de
Quoted from the totat of S10,125,~
500, as above stated, show an adj
vantage to the government fer tbs
-irst year of S7,227,769. By Win
dons operations o. Ell the refunding
measures prop )sed by the last Con
gress, and as it was proposed
by the House committee on ways
aud means to reduce the annual
revenue derived from banks was
SS,676,699, in order to induce tue
banks to take the per cent. bonds.
The - per cent, plan OF Secretary
Window shows a permanent ad-
vantage of $5,777, ,S99 per annum to
the government, over the measures
proposed by the ways and means
committee of the last House of
Representatives. Another advantage
of this measure over that proposed
by Congre s is,that the loan is paya-
bic at the discretion of the govern
NJ mt, and b ice may be paid at any
tin that the government has funds,
whether it be this year or hundred
years hence.
Judge Cox, in the Criminal Court
to day, delivered decision quashing
information in the Star Route cases,
and discharging the defendants. The
principal reason givenb by Judge Cox
for this action is, that Congress in
the act of establishing a police court
in the District of Columbia, in 1870,
by implication, draws the line be>
tween Infamous crimes and misde-
meanors any offense punishable by
Imprisonment in the penltentiary
being an infamous crime. After O
review of the acts of Congress bear
ing thereon, Judge Cox ruled that
the offenses charged in the informa-
ton are certainly infamous crimes,
and, as such, cannot be brought be.
fore the court in this manner, the
proper course being by presentment
or indictment by the grand jury.
The defendants were therefore dis
charged.
Col. VIM. A. Cook, for the prose
cution, made statement explaining
why the proceedings had been begun
by information, saying that in the
excitement and the delay caused by
the Presidents assassination, the
grand jury had been adjourned with
out the knowledge of the prosecu-
tion, thereby possibly giving defend
ants the benefit of the statute of limi-
tation, if the proceedings had been
brought in the usual way. Colonel
Cook afterwards assured a reporter
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