Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-02-10
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

Prom our Regular Corrc-pondrnt
WAsHINGroN, d. c., Feb. :, 1881.
There is a decidedly improved pros,
pect that the necessary business of this
session will be completed before the
day of adjournment, and of course that
no extra session will be necessary. The
Senate is to be thanked in great meas.
ure for this, and that fact is especially
suggestive at time when the House
seems determined to make itself still
more unwieldy than it now Is by in.
creasing its membership, There ought,
l believe, to be an expression OF opinion
all over the country against such in.
crease. The House is now so large that
it cannot do business at once intelli.
gently and speedily. SO there is this
that year by year more of the proper
legislative work is done by the House
committees, and accepted by the House
as reported, and still more is finally
licked into shape as Senator Hamil
ton expresses it, 10y conference commit
tees at the end of each session. Not
once in ten times does a member OF the
House vote his own intelligent opinion
of measures of importance. The House
is already too large.
The gratifying things which the Sen
ate did last week were TO agree to two
sets of resolutions concerning the elect.
oral count. The frst-also adopted by
the Hoose-simPly provides a mode
and time for the present count. 1t
was suggested by the clear.headed Rep.
resentative, Mr.. Carlisle, of Kentucky.
The counting is to be done by four tell.
ers, two to be selected by each House.
The second set, passed yesterday, is
simply a declaration that the Vice
President is not authorized to count the
electoral vote, and that it is the duty OF
Congress to institute without delay
measures for the due and orderly per.
formance of that duty hereafter. With
one exception all the Senators present
voted for the resolution. Temperate
action on this subject is having happy
effect on the progress of other legisla
tive business.
The House funding bill will be report.
ed to the Senate this week, with
amendments TO the effect that the
bonds ts4OO, ,OOO,OOO) shall be redeema.
BILE in FIVE years and payable in twenty
years that the rate of interest upon
them shall be 81 per cent. per annum /;
that the one.ten certificates authorized
by the bill shall bear interest at a rate
not exceeding three and one.half per
cent. per annum and that the interest
in each case shall be payable semi.annu.
ally. The committee strike out the
fifth section, which compelled Natl onal
Banks to receive the new bonds as Sc.
curity for circulation, etc. The discro-
ton thus proposed to give the Secretary
of the Treasury "a to the rate Of interest
on Treasury certificates will probably be
disagreed to by the House.
A Cabinet rumor of interest is pub
lished this morning to the effect that
New York will after all have the Secre.
taryship of the Treasury, and that the
appointee will be man acceptable to
Senator Conkling. have never been
able TO believe that President Garfield,
If he made Senator Blaine Secretary OF
State, would give the position Of next
honor and importance to any one to
whom the senior New York Senator
objected. Mr. Sherman being satisfied
with his place in the Senate, the arrange
ment suggested above conciliates all
who were prominent at Chicago either
a. candidates or as leading advocates Of
Others as candidates.
The fact that the select committee OF
the House on the interoceanic ship
canal has, by a majority of one, agreed
to report bill to guarantee $50. 600, 900
of bonds for the Eads company is Of no