Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-02

the clause imposing a duty of ten cents
| per pound on white acetate of lead for
medicinal purposes. This was adopted.
The duty on caustic soda was increased
from three-quarters of cent to one cent
| pound. Anitine dyes were placed at 40
per cent. ad yalorem. The item imposing
duty on bone black of . per cent. ad
valOrem was stricken from the bill on
motion of Mr.. Ellis, of Louisiana, the in
tention being to place the article on the
free list, several of the Republicans voting
with the Democrats.
At 8 O'Clock the committee rose and the
House adjourned.
SUPPOSED BOGUS PETITIONS.
Fifty-seven petitions asking the passage
of bill to extend national aid to common
schools were presented in the Senate this
morning by Messrs, Blair and Malone
twenty-five by the former and thirty-two
by the latter. The uniformity in the sig
natures to the great majority of these
memorials has created some question of
their genuincness as representative pc
titiOns. In many instances all the sigma
lures on the petitions to the number of fifty
or one hundred are found to have been
written by the same person with neither
crossmarkS nor memoranda to explain
this rather singular fact. A printed
caption to which the signatures are at
tached recites that the signers are i'm
pressed with the danger threatening our
Republic because of the appallinglillitera-
cy of the voting population as revealed in
the last census, for the enlighten-
ment Of which many States are
unable to make adequate provision,
and believing 1t to be the constitutional
duty of Congress to provide for the safety
of the Republic no less in time of peace
than in time of war, and that the enfran-
chisement of the freedmen imposes an
obligation upon the government to qualify
them for the safe discharge of the duties
with which they are charged, they earn
estly pray that their representatives in
Congress will take prompt and efficient
measures to avert this danger"
In one instance in petition, purporting
to come from Aiken, 5. c., the names of
three ministers of the gospel are signed to
the petition by the same person, and
among the Virginia petitions presented
by Mr.. Malone the same handwriting in
blue graphite is found in memorials pur-
porting to come from Lynchburg and
Salem, and the counties of NansemOnd,
Pittsylvania and Gloucester. The petit
tions are not dated, and with but one eX-
ception they are from the South.
THE sENATE's SUGAR SCHEDULE.
The following is the Senate Finance
Committees sugar schedule, adopted by
the Senate to-day, as an amendment to the
tariff bill:
Sugars not above 13 Dutch standard
shall pay the duties laid in the bill on
those not above Dutch standard, those
above 16 and not above 90 Dutch standard
shall pay 15-100 cents per pound instead
of cents as in the bill. All sugars above
13 and not above 16 Dutch standard shall
pay 65-1OO cents per pound.
REPUBLICAN BUGLE CALL.
The following circular was sent out to-
day to each Republican member of the
House:
"a quorum of Republican members is
demanded for Monday, the 9TH inst. 1t has
been fully demonstrated that, if the i'm
pOrtant business of this session is to re-
ceive final action, one hundred and forty
seven Republicans must be in their seats
from IL a. m. till adjournment"
THE TREASURY BALANCE SHEET.
The debt statement issued to-day
show the decrease of the public
debt during January to be 1918, $780,
1888 81. Cash in the Treasury,
1913, ,631 S4-gold certificates, S72, 49,
$40; silver certificates, $72, 745, 40; certif-
Gates Of deposit outstanding. $12, ,490, 900;
refunding certificates, $3S9, 150; legal ten
ders outstanding, $346, ,691, ,016; fractional
currency outstanding, $7,01S,093 II.
ANOTHER CALL FOR BONDS.
The Secretary of the Treasury to-day
issued call for the redemption of bonds
of the . per cent. funded loan of 1881 con-
tinued at 81 per cent. The call is for
$15, 900, 600, and notice is given that the
principal and accrued interest will be
paid at the Treasury on the 1st of May
next, and that interest will cease on that
day.