Morning journal and courier., 1881-12-16
CORRESPONDENCE.

l Affairs in Washington-Gossip About l the Cab1net-senate Committees-The Gutteau Trial.
 WASHINGTON, D. O., Dec. 13, 1881. 1 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER: Congress has not distinguished itself as yet in performing feats of legislation. To-day was bill day in the House and of course nothing was done. In the Senate besides l the introduction of a few unimportant mat ters, the day was taken by Senators Pendle- ton, Dawes and Ben Hill in orations upon
 Senator Pendleton's civil service reform bill. The question who will compose the Cabl- net is attracting more attention here than the doings of Congress. In the Hobbies of the uptown hotels last night there was ex- l tended speculation as to whom the President will select for the vacant Attorney General ship. It is now rumored that Senator Frye, of Maine will be the coming man, and the l reason for it is given that it will return Mir.
 Blaine to the Senate and give the last touch | necessary to thoroughly harmonize the Re- publican party. Concerning the Postmaster Generalship, it is thought that First Assist ant Hatton will succeed to the vacancy. Ex- Governor Davis, of Texas, is also mentioned, but men say he missed his case by making | application in person.
 In the cases of the New York Senators, Miller and Lapham, who were charged by
  | ture with holding their seats illegally, the Senate Committee of Privileges and Elec- tioDs has asked to be discharged finding the charges utterly groundless.
 | Speaker Keller is hard at work on the House committees. The slate will not be ar- l ranged until the last of the week. The | Speaker is yet open to conviction and may change his mind a dozen times before final announcement, so speculation is useless. Of all the Cabinet nominations which the prophets announced would be sent in to day, 1 that of ex-Senator Frelinghuysen for Secre- tary of State was the only one of fact. It was of course immediately confirmed. A Republican Senator said to-day that, ex cept Frelinghuysen, the President had not l determined upon any new Cabinet appoint I ments that General Grant will be permit l ted to name one Cabinet officer, and so far | he is undecided as between Chaffee and Gen. eraI Beale, but the probabilities are that Beale will be fixed upon and will go into the Cabinet Postmaster General James expect l ed to remain in the Cabinet until the end of 1 the present fiscal year, but the directors of 1 the bank of which he has been chosen presi- l dent object to this arrangement and want his 1 services about the first of next year. It is l therefore probable that he may retire from l the Cabinet in January. The Republican Senators this morning I held @ caucus. of very brief duration, at | which the report of their committee on the l subject of revising the Republican member l ship of some of the Senate committees was received explained and accepted without controversy As stated on Saturday, it pro- vides for making Senator Windom the chair man of the Foreign Relations committee i; Senator Miller, of California, chairman of | the Committee on the Revision of the Laws, and Senator Sewell, of New Jersey, chairman of the Committee on Enrolling Bills. Mir.
 Windom will also be placed on the commit tees on patents, education and labor, and transportation to the seaboard No compre- hensiye resolution on the subject will be sub- mitted to the Senate; but the various changes will be made from time to time sep arately.
 The bill introduced in the Senate to-day by Mir. Edmunds, to provide for the expenses incurred in consequence of the assault upon
 the late President, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in behalf of the
 late President, provided the aggregate sum allowed and paid does not exceed one hun dred thousand dollars.
 In the Guiteau trial to-day the testimony of Dr. J. Fordyce Barker was very damaging to the prisoner. The doctor defined insanity
 as perversion of the normal action Of the individual. He said that there were diseases | in the human system which cause no change in the organs they affect, percep1bIe before
 death or perceptib1e to 8 post naortese exam | nation there is no such disease as heredi tary insanity; there are, however, hereditary tendencies toward insanity the mere fact That the parents of one become mentally in sane is not evidence that the child should he insane: deIusions are no evidence of in- sanity; there are many insane persons who have no delusions, and many sane people
 who have delusions moral insanity is notn- ing other than wickedness; the habit of one boasting of familiarity with those holding
 high positions is no evidence of insanity, but I fNzsA sA<a.x fra<>tr Tc very quietly. but it could be seen that he was profoundly impressed by the tone of
 knowledge and conviction in which it was
 given.