Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-02-10
CONGRESS-.

In the Senate, on Monday, Mr.. Ingalls, of
Kansas made a long speech in favor of his
resolution declaring the pension arrears act
to be wise measure, and one which ought
not to be repealed. He gave the estimated
amount necessary to pay pensions in conse-
quence OF the addition of the arrears until
1906 as 81, 2G4, 229, 077, or more than half
the amount Of the public debt at the close of
the war, and - per cent. of its present fig
ure. MIR. ingalls, spoke with whitening sar-
casm of the people who would stop to count
the cost of what he regards as an act of the
highest justice, but he apparently forgot to
deal with one very important defect of his
bill-its entire failure to furnish the govern
ment with adequate means of checking fraud
in the claims submitted under the act
In the House an important bill was passed
under a suspension of the rules and passed
SO quickly that many members were not aware
that such action had been taken. The bill is
one introduced by Mr.. Burrows of Michigan,
and its most important provision is that no
person guilty OF blgamy or polygamy shall be
eligible to the office of delegate in the House
of Representatives from a territory. When
the Speaker put the question whether the
House would suspend the rules and pass the
bill, there were few yeas and not one mega
tive vote. Immediately the bill was declared
passed, and then some of the Democrats be-
BhA " luD tutlL eyes anu ulbCONcI uOH Tue
thing had been done. The bill is aimed di-
rectly at polygamy and the Utah delegate,
MIR. Cannon, who Is an avOwed polygamst,
and whose claim TO a delegates seat is now
under consideration in the committee ON cleo
tons.
Mr.. Joyce of Vermont made an attempt to
secure the passage, under a suspension of the
rules, Of his bill for the creation of a COM
mission to examine the alcoholic liquor traf-
fic, but it failed on vote of 1l2 yeas to %
nays two-thirds vote being required.
Among the bills introduced in the House
was one by Mr.. Robson, of New Jersey, au-
thorizing the Postmaster General to contract
for and establish weekly mail steamship
service between Fort Pond Bay on Long Is
land, and Milford Haven, Wales by means
of line of irst-class steamships, and pro-
vides that the vessels shall be iron or steel
screw steamships capable of making at least
IS miles per hour, and shall be wholly of
American construction. They shall be allow
ed to carry passengers and their baggage in
addition to the mails, and do an ordinary ex-
press business, but shall not engage in a
freight traffic. The government shall have
the right, in case of war, to take for the use
of the United States one or all of the vessels
employed in said line on paying reasonable
compensation to the owners, not to exceed in
any case the original cost The compensa-
ton for the mail service is graduated as fol-
lows $40, 500 for each outward bound trip
made within six days; $40, 600 for each trip
made within seven days; $500 for each trip
made within seven and one-half days $4,000
for each trip occupying more than seven and
one-half days
On Wednesday the arrears of pensions bill
was Endorsed in the Senate by Blair of New
Hampshire, Vest of Missouri and Maxey of
Texas. Vest, in advocating the principles of
the bill, said that he accepted the full and le-
climate results of the surrender at AppOmat-
tox without any reservation. Maxey said that
had the southern cause succeeded he would
have voted to pension the confederate SOL
diors, and on that principle he was in favor
of pensioning the Union soldiers.
The days debate in the House makes it APP
parent that the unequal, automatically ex-
act and politically unfair Seaton plan, which
has been adopted by the census committee as
the basis of apportionment, will not be sus-
tanned by the House, and that the plan and
the committee bill are likely to incur defeat
together. The committee bill of 800 does
not, of course, of necessity fall with the plan
but the two are so connected that they will be
likely to stand and fall together The indig-
nation expressed by the representatives from
the smaller states at the evident injustice done
them is shared by some representatives from
the larger states, not benefited by the number
800. The point that the constitution gives
Congress no power to determine what the
representation in districts shall be, and that
the only grant of power to Congress is to
make an apportionment just and equal as to
the people in the states, has been much dis
cussed in private, and in many instances
warmly approved.