Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-14
Fo,ty- Eighth COngress---First Session.
WASHTNGToN Dec

WASHINGTON Dec. IS.
 SENATE The chair laid before the Senate the report of the joint commission on the Washington monument, giving details of the work.
 The resolutions offered yesterday by MT. Van Wyck, calling for copies of all papers relating to the attempted transfer of the land grant of the Texas Pacific railway to the Southern Pacific railroad and for vouchers showing the payments to special attorneys and detectives for services in the star route trials were passed.
 The report of the Committee on Rules sub rniting the proposed revision of rules was taken up. MT. Bayard took exception to the first rule, which gives the president pro tenn. the right to name in open Senate, or. if ab- sent in writing, 8 Senator to perform the duties of the chair, and the Senator so desig' mated may discharge such duties for a period not exceeding three days unless the Senate Shall otherwise order. While admitting the dangers and difficulties surrounding the present law. he thought the proposed rule a dangerous assumption, fraught in it's possibilities with very grave dangers. The president pro tenn. of the Senate was next in succession to the Fresi dent and Vice President Without stopping to chop logic, who under the proposed rule would succeed in the case of inability of the chief magistrate in case an acting president was in the chair when such death or inability occurred He held that the Senate had no right to adopt rule which allowed tha peg sibility of any man to nominate s fInctfon= ary, who in 2 contingency of law, without anY eoptfol" of the Senate, might be- come the President of the United States This question vas too serious for the Senate to take steps which are open to doubt and question. Let them rsth- CT amend the jaw and destTay tiis dangerous condition 6f thliIngs that devolyes executive power upon member of this branch of tAe Legislature whose own term and powers sse prescribed ard limited.
 Alf. Ednunds GnRsI'~ ;r tba chair, ob- .sa z 'S -o introduce 8 resolution that
 ~ senate proceed to elect president pro | tenn. The resolution went over temporarily. MT. Garlands offered an amendment to the proposed new rule to the effect that the des- | ignation of Senator to perform the duties | of the chair shall not extend beyond the ad- journment in the Senate. He did not believe, and it would be inconvenient to admit such 8 proposition, that the president pro tenn has the power to name person to hold his po- sition beyond the sitting ot the Senate, and he thought the old rule better in that respect than the one proposed.
 Mr. Edmunds said, in his opinion, under the constitution and the law, the president pro tenn. is an officer and required to take an oath as an officer. They must all agree that the person called to the chair temporarily is not the president pro tenn. of the Senate. that his being designated to hold the chair tempo rarily did not load him with the office of president pro tenn. But aside from this view of the case the whole matter is in the hands of the Senate, which could elect 8 new pres- ident pro tenn. at any moment it pleases. MT. Hawley saw no serious difficulty in the case. He could not see any objection to the