Morning journal and courier., 1884-06-25
Forty-Eighth ConEress-.-First Session.
WASHINGTON, June "A.

WASHINGTON, June "A.
 SENATE After routine business the Mex ican veterans pension bill was taken up. Senator Williams spoke against the bill. The structure and purpose of the bill, he said, had been completely revolutionized. It's fate had been sealed in caucus and he protested against general pension legislation being rushed through in the shape of amendments to this bill.
 At this point the conference report on the labor statistics bill was agreed to.
 The debate was continued by Messrs. Slater and Morgan. The latter referred to the evident disposition of the northern Senas tors to make it appear that the southern members were opposed to pensioning the Union soldiers
 to agreement. The bill was further amended to allow widows who married Mexican sol diers after the war pc, sions. A number of amendments were voted down and the bill left substantially as amended yesterday. When the bill was about to be put on it's pas sage MT. Hawley asked for some estimate of the annual expenditures which would be en- tailed by it.
 MT. Jackson stated that the amount had been variously estimated from ten, fifty to one hundred millions.
 Mir. Hawley said the bill ought to be post poned until some definite estimate was sub- mitted.
 
 Of pensions had estimated that the bill as amended would entail an annual increase of $I2, 5OO, ,0OO.
 MT. Morgan moved to postpone further consideration of the bill until December; lost, 26 yeas, 34 nays.
 The bill was then passed by s7 yeas to 27 nays. Messrs. Butler, George, Lamar and Ransom voted with the Republicans for the bill and Messrs. Edmunds and Eawley with the Democrats against it. As passed the bill pensions Mexican soldiers whe actually served fourteen days in Mexico or on the coasts or frontier. It does not include any person not within the rule of age (62) or disability, or who incurred such disability while in rebellion against the United States. Its provisions are extended to soldiers suffer- ing from disability who served three months in the Union army during the late war. Several additional sections have been added in the way of perfecting the pension laws.
 The legislative, executive and judicial ap- propriation bill was taken up. Some little progress was made and at $50 p. m. the Senate went into executive session, adjourn ing when the doors were reopened.
 HoUsE.-Mr Cox, of New York, called up the bill introduced by MT. Skinner, of New York, giving letter carriers fifteen days leave of absence each year. MT. Cosgrove, of Missouri, antagonized the bill and argued that the substitutes would be put on about 
 amendment that no leaves should be granted between September 15 and April 1st. This was lost; yeas III, nays 1l5.
 The motion to reconsider this vote was laid on the table, 124 to 99.
 A motion to recomn1it was lost, "A to 14S The bill was then passed without division. The bill to repeal the homestead and pre- emption laws came up as unfinished business on demand for the regular order and was passed; 147 yeas, Al nays.
 The House next took up the bill of Mir. Eaton. of Connec .icut, relating to the count of the electoral vote.
 Mir. Herbert, of Alabama, urged action, believing that the people would not stand another electoral commission and that even a bad law was better than no law at all. He favored the Senate bill in preference to MT. Eaton's substitute. MT. Eaton closed the debate in support of the substitute for the Senate bilL which was adopted; yeas 127, nays s2, and the bill was passed.
 The House then at p. m. took reces un- til o'clock.
 At 1O:3O D. m. the House adjourned.