St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-02-18
TOPICS OF THE DAY.
News from Everywhere.
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.

CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
THE Post-office appropriation bill excited
sharp debate in the House on the 4th, but no
action was taken on any of the pending
amendments
FEB. 6, the Senate resumed consideration
of Mr. Ingals's resolution declaring that the
Pension Arrears law ought not to be repealed.
MI. Ingalls, moved to modify the amendment
declaring in favor of pensions to soldiers
OF the American war SO as TO limit IL
to needy or disabled ones. He said Senators
were not aware of the proportions which the
casualty list reached during the war. The
grand total of pensionable cases on the rolls
OF the War Department was 620545. Since
1851, 3s0,384 pensions had been granted by
still 233,ssl pensionable cases on which
no applications at all had ever been
made This was a conclusive an,
been swollen bv fraud and we may hereafter
look for very large accessions to the rolls
without any presumption of fraud as to the
aggregate of the cases placed there. Without
action the ,esolution was laid aside for exec
u,ive session.. .Repi esentative Burrows
(Mich.) moved to suspend the rules
and pass a bill defining the qTalifica,,
Representatives 1t provides that no person
guilty of bigany Or polygamy shall be eligi-
bic to Il scat i'll Congress as delegate from a
TeI rito,y. The House was in n very inatten-
tive mood and when the Speaker put the
question there were few responses. He, how
ever. declared the motion carried and the
bill passed A burst of laughter only then
appraised many members of the measure
which had been adopted. A motion for the
appointment of Il comm ssion on the subject
of alcoholic liquor traffic tailed to receive the
necessary two thirds.
THE bill donating cannon for statue OF
Garfield in Washington, amended by clause
authorizing the Secretary of War tC
pay 500 to the Society of the Army of the
Cumberland out or the sales OF condemned
ordnance, passed the Senate on the 9Th
Mr.. Coke was awarded the floor for a speech
upon the tariff, the Morrill, Commission bill
being taken up to allow him to speak He
favored tariff revision by II committee OF the
two houses. The Committee on Military At.
fairs reported favorably joint resolution au
thorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to as
certain the amount expended by Kansas in
repelling invnsions and the suppression Of
Indian ho>tilities. The Pension arrears reso
luton was made unfinished business. 49,. The
Nicaragua claims bill was reported back ad
s b I It e asn ies:
than the estimates and 1851 600 greater
than the amount appropriated for the current
year. The number of agents is reduced from
81 to 20. The Apportionmentb bill was taken W
and amendments offered fixing the number o.
repre- sentatives at 325, 3d. $685. 3l9, 1874 and 800
MI. Horr, of Michigan, opposed the Bill as ar
outrage on common sense and criticised the
SPEECH of Mr.. Prescott, of New York, for the
INT NATION that the 2ppOrt1OnfnenC SnOulQ Dt
basel somewhat on the wealth of the various
States. Pending discussion the House ad-
jouIned.
A FEATURE OF debate in the Senate, or
the sth, was a short but interesting speech by
Mr.. Vest. of Missouri, on the pension arrears
resolution. He said that lie accepted the full
and legitimate results of the surrender tAp-
poniattox without any evasion. All the
people of the South asked was that they
might be believed to have been honest il
{l,.,;.I orn ttf,,,t To I,a feda mr.
honest in the statement that they accept al
the legislative consequences of their defeat
A people who would not thus reward the sac
rfces of life and limb to save the Unions life
would deserve to be stricken from the
map of Christendom. The remainder
of the day was occupied in the pas
OF which was to establish ports Of delivery a
Kansas City and st. Joseph, ......ln the
House, Mr. Bayne PENN. member Of the
Committee on Census, defined the bill re-
ported by the committee, while Mr.. Coleridge
[Ind.), of the same committee offered meas
ure and supported his own amendment fixins
the number OF Representatives at BIC The
matter then went over and the Sherman
funding bill was taken from the Speakers tn
BILE and referred to the Committee on Way:
and Means. Eulogics were then pronounced
upon the late Representative OConnor, o
South Carolina, and the usual resolution:
were adopted.
THE Pension arrears resolution was fur.
ther considered by the Senate on the 9th, Mr.
Call submitting an amendment pensionins
needy and disabled survivors of Indian wars
prior to ls45, including the Blackhawk, Creel
and Seminole wars. In the House, Mr.
Hewitt introduced a bill fixing the day fo
the meeting of the electors Of President ant
Vice President, and providing for and reg
ulating the counting of votes for Presiden
and Vice. President, and n decision of thu
questions arising therefrom. Referred. Con
sideration of the Apportionment bill was re
sumed and it again went over. Senate
amendment to House bill appropiating $50,
the Atlanta Exposition, to be placed in thu
National Museum, was concurred in.