Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-19
CONGRESSIONAL.
SENATE.

~ '>~~s~-~>>s0A>~AS-A -
SENATE.
WASHINGTON, January 1S.-A com
munication was received from the
Secretary of the Treasury in re-
sponse to a Senate resolution as to
the present rates of duties imposed
by France, Germany and Mexico
upon American manufactures.
Numerous petitions for a commits
! sion to investigate the liquor trafc
We're presented. a
Senator Davis, of Illinois, from
| the committee on the judiciary, re-
! ported back, favorably, the bill to
permit Ward Hunt, an associate
| justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, to retire. He gave
notice that he would ask it's consid-
Grafton tomorrow.
Senator Cameron, of Pennsylva-
MIA, from the committee on naval
affairs, reported resolution for the
examination, by that committee, of
new system of naval defense, in
vented by Capt. J. Erickson, and
report thereon. Adopted
A number of bills granting relief
in individual cases were presented.
Senator Blair offered resolution
instructing the committee on public
lands to inquire into the adminis>
tration of the land laws. Adopted.
The remainder of the morning hour
was occupied by Senator Brown in
remarks upon the currency question,
his text being his resolution declar-
ing the inexpediency of contracting
the currency by the withdrawal of
silver certificates or the discontinue
ance Of silver coinage.
At 2.25, Senator Brown concluded,
and his resolution went over without
action.
The Senate then resumed the con,
sideration of the Sherman funding bill.
Senator Morgan opposed the
bill. He said he was entirely salts
fed of the ability of the government
to pay $550,0O0,00O of the Win
dom continued bonds in eleven Years,
without drawing one cent from the
surplus revenues, and pre-
He also gave figures, -, Illustration.
spective totals, IF the appropriation
necessary to extinguish the whole
debt in five, twenty and thirty equal
installments. He was in favor of
using this surplus to extinguish the
debt at the rate of $10,000,000 per
annum. Commenting upon. the
avowal which, he said, had been made
by some Senators in the debate, of
postponing the payment of
part of the public debt and
thus continuing the debt indefinitely
in order to perpetuate the national
banking system, he spoke of the
incumbus of the bank power, which
having been created in moment of
folly, was making it's weight upon
the Government felt He referred
to the exclusiveness of the system in
limiting the basis of banking to
bonds of the Government to the
value of the franchise enjoyed by
banks by reason of their Cir
culation being founded upon
the credit and strength of the Gov
ernment, and to their apparent in~
tention to continue the business
upon from $50O,O00,000 to $l0,>
0OO,000,000 of the bonds.
He then suggested as a means of
avoiding continuance of this
system indefinitely, that the Govern
ment should cease paying interest
ON securities held by it for the
redemption of circulation, and
further the substitution in their
stead, from time to time, of State
bonds of undoubted security, as col-
lateral these being taken at fifty
cents on the dollar, or at any per
centage low enough to make the Sc
eurity absolutely safe.
Upon the conclusion of Senator
Morgan's remarks, the funding bill
was informally laid aside until to-
morrow.
The following bills were intro
duced:
By Senator George: To encourage
agriculture and manufactures. 1t
proposes to repeal all duties and inn
ports now laid on machinery for the
manufacture of cotton or wooden
goods, or goods composed of hemp
or jute; also on all tools of me-
chanics which are used solely in
manual labor; also on all agricultural
implements and on all iron cotton
ties.
By Senator Ferry: Relative to
the compensation of letter carriers,
Messages from the President were
received, transmitting for the con-
sideration of Congress, number Of
communications from the Secretary
of the Interior.
> The Senate, at $50, went into
executive session, and after few
minutes devoted to referring the
nominations received to-day, ad-
journed until to morrow.
HOUSE.
The House proceeded, as the regu
lar business of the morning hour, te
the call of committees for reports.
+ Mr.. Stephens, of Georgia, from
| the coinage committee, made re-
port on metric coinages. Recon-
} mitted and ordered printed.
i Mr. Willis. of Kentucky, offered I
resolution calling on the Presiden
for information as to the execution
s of section 1853 of the Revised
4 Statutes for the promotion of tn,
t efficiency of the civil service, ant
j whether the sum of $4,000, appro-
= priated for that purpose, is suficien
. for the purpose. Referred.
t After the transaction of some unin