Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-04-07
CONGRESSIONAL.
SENATE.

atOr Jonas, OF Louisiana, presented
memorial received by telegraph
from the various exchanges of New
Orleans, earnestly petitioning favor
able action on the Mississippi levee
appropriation bill, and opposing any
experimental schemes to which the
best engineering talent of the counA
try is opposed. Read and referred.
The bill admitting Dakota as a
State, was reported from the COM
mittee on territories, without the
amendment calendars.
Senator Miller, of Colorado, intro
duced q bill to execute certain treaty
stipulations relating to the Chinese,
identical with the vetoed Chinese
bill, except that the time of the sus-
pension of the immigration is reduced
to ten years, and that the time for it
to go into effect is made sixty days
instead of ninety days after it's en-
actment.
Referred to the committee on for
eign relations.
Senator Morgan called up his
Mexican reciprocity resolution, and
after some discussion, in which Sen
ator Morgan said that the resolution
contemplated Legislative action upon
the tariffs of the two countries, it
passed without objection.
Senator Jackson, from the COM
mittee on claims, reported by refer>
ring the claim of the State national
bank of Louisiana, for cotton taken
by agents of the government in
1865, to theSCourt of Claims for ad-
ludlcation.
The presidential count bill came
up as unfinished business.
After some discussion of the status
Of the veto message as privileged
question, Senator Harris moved to
postpone the unfinished business,
with view to taking up the vetoed
Chinese bill.
The vote being taken, Senator
Harris motion prevailed; yeas, 29,
nays, 25. The vote was a party one,
except that Senators Cameron, Of
Wisconsin, Jones, of Nevada, and
Miller, of California, voted aye with
the Democrats, and Senators Davis,
of Illinois, and Malone voted no,
with the Republicans.
The Chinese bill was then taken
up without opposition
Senator Sherman moved to refer
the bill and message to the commit
tee on foreign relations. Senator
Sherman supported and elaborated
the objections of the President, and
particularly of the Chinese minister,
and urgued that as there was no oce
caslon for haste the meas nre should
be carefully perfected in the com-
mittee, with a view of obviating these
objections.
Senator Garland expressed the
| opinion that in view of the pro-
| tracted discussion of the measure in
| the Senate and House, it was impos-
sible that any new light could be
| thrown upon it. That as intelli>
gent action could be had at this time
as well as any other, the only pur-
pose Of the proposed reference was
to bury the bill.
Senator Morgan argued that the
motion, by involving virtual recon
sideration of the message, was an
evasion of the constitutional
requirement of direct vote
Referring to a memorandum OF
five objections to the bill by the Chi
nese minister, which accompanied the
veto, he said he believed this to be
the first instance in American his
tory in which the President of the
United States has consulted a foreign
power about which Congress was
legislating, as to whether the pro-
posed legislation would be agreeable
to that power. So far as concerned
the President, the objections of the
Chinese minister had been worth
more than arguments on which
the bill had passed Congress
Charging that the Republican admin
| istration had arrayed themselves il
| hostility to any Legislation in ques
ton, he arraigned the Republica,
party for having assumed like at
titude, and said the Republican lead
er in the Senate was now attempting
to smother the question and sil
around it by referring it to the com
mittee.
Senator Bayard followed in Ions
speech against the reference and Il
defense of the bill.
At the conclusion of Senator Bay
ards speech, the pending question
being divided at the request OF Sen
ator Garland to vote upon the frs