The Evening critic., 1882-02-03
CONGRESS TODAY.
THE BUSINESS IN BOTH HOUSES.

Private BiIIs i'm the Mouse-A Bill 60
Pension the widows of Presidents
Funding Bill in the Senate-Notcs
and Gossip.
In the Senate, after the journal was read,
numerous petitions and memorials were
presented and appropriately referred. After
this Mr.. Malone, from the Committee on
Agriculture, reported favorably House bill
appropriating 1000 to pay for agricultural
specimens recently on exhibition at At
lanta, Ga. The bill was passed There
being no further reports from committees
the introduction of bills were in order,
whereupon several Senators offered bills and
had them referred.
Mr.. George, of Mississippi called up his
report on the petition of the opponents of
the liquor traffic, asking for select com
mittee to whom all petitions and memorials
in reference to that subject should be
referred. The consideration of the matter
was laid over informally.
pensioning Presidents' widows.
Mr. Teller reported bill from tho Com
mittee on Pensions, directing tho Commits
soner of Pensions to place tho names Of
Mrs. Garfield, Mrs. James X. Polk, and
Mrs. John Tyler ON the pension roll, aud
that each of them, from and after the 10Th
day of September, 1881, shall receive
pension of $4,000 annually. Ordered on
the calendar
Mr.. Saunders called up the bill straight
ening the boundary line between Dakota
and Nebraska. After discussion the bill
was passed. and Senator Vest called up
Senate bill s17, authorizing the purchase of
ground and the erection of a hall of records
in the District of Columbia.
The morning hour having expired, Mr..
ingalls, called for the regular order, which
was the funding bill
Mr.. Logan asked to lay aside the pending
business temporarily in order to call up and
consider Senator Harris bill authorizing
| the National Board of Health to procure
and distribute free vaccine virus. The bill
| was passed.
The funding bill was then taken up and
| Mr.. Hawley's amendment was the question
| before the Senate and Mr.. Voorhees, took
| the floor in opposition to the amendment.
Proceedings i'm the House.
| In the House resolution was adopted
| directing that the Committee on Coinage,
/ Weights and Measures be furnished with a
complete collection of the coin of the coun-
| try properly framed.
In Committee of the Whole the House
| proceeded with the consideration ofbills on
the private calendar, Mr.. Dineley, of Maine,
in the chair. The Post office Appropriation
| bill will not receive attention to day.
| Capitol Notes.
| A Mr.. Carrigan, of Norfolk, Va, was to-
day appointed mail messenger in the House
Post Office, vice Il. N. Bowler.
The directors of the District German
| Orphan Asylum were at the Capitol to-day
looking after the interest of the pending
bill to change the name of their institution.
| Mr.. Crowley, of tho House Territory Sub
| committee, which was to have met to-day,
is in New York, and the bill relating to
Dakota was not passed upon by the COM
| mittee as was the programme.
There was a considerable lobby on hand
at the Capitol to-day looking after the in
terests of the proposed American maritime
ship canal company, in which Gen. Grant
is named as proposed incorporation.
Rather an interesting bill introduced in
the Senate yesterday was a measure by
Senator Lapham, providing that whenever
| monument associations shall propose to
designate revolutionary battle fields by
monuments, Congress shall appropriate 81
for every dollar raised by the association or
society, provided that the total cost of the
monument docs not exceed $4,000. The
effect of this bill shall expire in twenty-five
years.
Senator Morrill, has introduced two bills
amending the Revised Statutes relative to
national banks-one requiring the circu-
lating notes ofbanks to bear the written sig
nature of the president or vice president and
cashier, and the other providing, in sub
stance, that the amount of circulating notes
to be issued to any national bank deposit
ing bonds for security shall not exceed 80
per cent. ofthe market value of any bonds
so deposited that may have fallen below par.
The House Committee on Ways and
Means gave hearing yesterday to tho
representatives of the National Distillers'
and Spirit-Dealers' Association, and of the
Wine and Spirits Traders Society of the
United States in advocacy of proposed legis-
lation to reduce the tax on distilled liquors
to fifty cents gallon, to modify the exist
ing laws in regard to distillery warehouses
and distillers' bonds, and to reduce the duty
on imported brandy and spirits to $1.50 per
| gallon. Remarks were made in advocacy
and explanation of the draft Of the bill
prepared and submitted 10 the committee
by Mr. Gabriel @. Wharton, of Kentucky;
Mr.. Crichton, of Baltimore; Mr.. Lesser, OF
New York, and Mr.. c. S. Clark, of Peoria,
Ill. Tuesday evening next was agreed upon
by the committee for the consideration OF
the tariff bill.
The President has transmitted to both
Houses of Congress the draft of bill pre-
pared by the Secretary of tho Interior sup
Elementary to the recent act making appro-
priations for the payment of the volunteer
force employed in the Census-ofiice. The
bill prepared by Secretary Kirkwood sup
plies an omission in the original act, and is
thought necessary by Judge Lawrence
First Comptroller of the Treasury Depart
ment, to enable the Treasury disbursine
and accounting officers to recognize and
pay the certilicate1 given by volunteer en-
ployes to various persons in this city. The
supplementary bill provides that payment
for the services of the volunteer clerks may
! be made to the clerks or their assigns, or tt
, any person or corporation authorized Il
receive payment, provided that no unrea
sonable rates of interest or discount have
been charged.