National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1882-02-16
CONGRESSIONAL,
Proceedings In tho senate aud House OF
Repreaeutnttvcs.


Representatives.
In The Senate Wednesday the President pro tenn
pore submitted from the Secretary OF the Treasury,
the report Of the cattle commission on tho lung
plague Of cattle.
Mr.. Miller, Of California, made an adverse report
upon the Senate bill to confer positive in place OF
relative rank on the Officers OF the Engineer Corps
u S. N Indefinitely postponed
A resolution, reported by Mr.. Plat, from the
Committee on Contingent Expenses, TO provide
messenger for ench or the Committees on Finance
Post. Offices, Pensions, Claims, judiciary, and En-.
crossed Bills, was discussed. The absolute neccs-
sity Of the provision to facilitate committee bust
meas was generally conceded, and, on motion Of
Mr.. Ingalls,, the District Committee was included
In the resolution.
Mr.. Morgan offered and advocated an amend
ment providing q messenger for each Senator who
Is not the chairman of n committee. lie said by
reason Of theonerous character OF their duties
many Senators were literally working themselves
TO death-their labors being from twenty-five to
| thirty times as great as those devolved upon mem
bers Of the House. He thought the resolution in
troduccd by Mr.. Brown for clerk TO every sena-
tor not already supplied with one as committee
chairman ought TO be passed, After discussion,
| participated in by Messrs. Van Wyck, Morrcll,
| Teller, Brown, Vest, Allison, Butler, Plat,
| and Call, the amendment OF Mr.. Morgan was re.
| jected-aycs TO- noes SS-and the resolution, as
| ayes 49, noes To-
The senate then, at two O'Clock, took up and
temporarily passed over the regular order the anti
| polygnmy bill and Mr. Call, on leave, addressed
| the Senate IN support Of his proposed amendment
10 the pension arrears resolution declnringi In favor
| OF pensions to the survivors of Indian wars prior
| TO 1916. He said that every argument In favor OF
the, granting and contlnuance Of pensions 70
soldiers of the late war applies with equal force In
behalf the disabled of the Mexican and Indian
| war
tpnliOn takp tlp bill restricting Chit
nese Immigration as soon as the polygamy bill Is
disposed Of
1859 OF the Revised Statutes OF the United States,
| In reference to bgnmy and for other PURPOSES was
taken up and the appointments proposed by the
| Committee on the Judiciary were read and agreed
| TO up to the fifth section, which authorizes the
President to grant amnesty to classes Of Offenders
| guilty before the passage of the act of blgamy,
| polygamy, OF unlawful cohabitation OH such con-
| ditions as he shall think proper
| Mr.. uoar suggested the query whether, under his
exercise of the pardoning power, which was
limited TO pardons and reprieves In individual
cases. the President could constitutionally pardon
whole classes of offenders against n particular law
upon such conditions as he may prescribe2 If he
could do this then he could exercise a legislative
function. IL the President made pardon con ;
ditional upon the payment of certain sum OF
money. would his act be lawful?
Mr.. Edmunds said the committee had been in
doubt whether any provision on the point was
necessary at nll and had inserted 1t only because
the question was an open one. The object Of 1t
was to enable the Government to say to the great
and sin no more you shall not be prosecuted for
what You have already done" By the general
amnesty act Of July II, 1869, Congress empowered
the President to grant amnesty on such conditions
rs he might deem cxpedient fN the public wei.
fare. IL did not, therefore, follow that he could
not have acted without that legislation, but the
net made II safe that persons should receive par
don by classification or conditions ms distinct from
persons individually pardoned. Where, as sug
| gested by Mr.. HOar n President takes money for u
pardon the remedy is by impeachment
Mr.. Bayard said he regarded the proposition as
n mere brutcRl ll'Ren and as valuable only as an
expression of the spirit of mercy and forgiveness,
| not OF fpersecuton for the past in which the law
| was to be enacted and enforced.
Edmunds as to the motive for the committees
action
The section as amended and the remaining com.
mittee amendments to the eighth section wcro
| adopted The eighth section provides for the con-
duct of elections the registration and cGnvassing
of voters &c in the Territory, until provisions for
the same Is made by the Legislative assembly pro-
| vided for in the bill by appointecs of board OF
fye persons to be appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Senate, all of whom shall not be
members ofany one political party, sc.
Mr.. Brown moved to amend so Us to require
that not more than three of the board shall be of
the same political party.
The amendments were further discussed by
Messrs Edmunds,, Gail Bayard, Vest Garland,
and Jones of Florida.
At 45O a motion for an executive session was
lost by ayes, 81 noes 29 and, after several efforts
TO secure mn arrangement for vote
on the bill, .interspersed with motions
that the measure should be proceeded with i'm
mediately after the morning business tomorrow,
and the debate upon IL closed ut half past FIVE p.
M Upon this understanding, Mr.. Edmunds, IN
Mr.. Coke, on leave, INTRODUCED bill nppropri-
atng 100000 for continuing the improvement OF
Galveston Harbor. Texas.
At half-past Ave the Senate adjourned until to-