Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-16
IN SENATE AND HOUSE.
Detailed Proceedings Of Both Bodi.

|
Detailed Proceedings of Both Bodies.
! WASHINGTON, April 15.-The Chair
laid before the Senate to-day a cOmmuni-
cation from the Attorney General in re-
ply to the recent resolution of the Senate
relating to the office of Marshal of the
| Middle and Southern districts of Ala
bama. The Attorney General states that
the question whether there now exists
vacancy in that office, is a question of law
which has been decided by the United
States District Courts in the negative.
Mr.. Morgan offered a resolution which
| be asked to have printed and laid over.
| directing the Committee on the Judiciary
| to inquire and report whether Paul Stro-
! bach, whose confirmation as United States
/ Marshal i'll Alabama has been rejected bv
| the Senate, is now discharging the duties
! of the office and whether he is entitled to
! do so. The bankruptcy bill was then
! taken up as unfinished business.
Consideration of the bankruptcy bin
| was proceeded with by sections, and
! much progress was made. the debate
being confined strictly to the legal aspects
| OF the provisions read. Amendments of
! the details were proposed by Messrs.
! George, Bayard, Hoar, Wilson. Sauls-
! bury, and Slater, most of which were
| agreed to. The debate was participated
| in by the Senators named, and by Messrs.
Harrison, Aldrich, Garland, Cameron, of
! Wisconsin, and others. The sections
agreed to to-day provide, among other
! things, that any person owing provable
! debts exceeding $500 may voluntarily petit
| tiOn to be adjudicated a bankrupt.
! Any trader owing debts in excess
OF 81 900 who leaves his State to avoid his
| creditors o. cOnceals himself to avoid ar
I roc sr.fI l.
| fraudulent transfer of his property, or
| cOnceals or removes the same to avoid
| process or with intent to defraud his cred
! it0rs, prOcures or suffers judgment to be
| procured against him, or who being actu-
| ally lnsolyent suffers his property to be
| seized on execution and fails within
| twenty days to redeem it or has suspended
| payment of his accounts for a period of
| thirty days after they We're due and pay
| able, shall be deemed to have committed
| an act of bankruptcy and may be ad-
! Judged bankrupt on a petition filed by
| three or more Ofhis creditors. The Senate
| then adjourned.
IN THE HOUSE.
In the expectation that the initial fight
! over the Morrison tariff bill would take
! place to-day, the members on the Repub-
! lican and Democratic sides who have the
| duty Of securing pairs for absentees were
| kept busy this morning in seeing that the
! vote of no man should be wasted. and that
! all pairs should contain the names Of an
| advocate and opponent of the measure.
| On motion of Mr.. Oates, of Alabama.
! the Senate bill was passed to increase the
| endowment Of the University of Alabama
! from the public lands in that State.
Mr.. Morrison, GfIllinois, at 1855 O'Clock
| moved that the House go into committee
| OF The whole for consideration of the
! tariff bill. There was no division and
| the motion was agreed to, Mr.. Cox, of
| New York, being called to the chair. In
| mediately upon the committees assem-
| bling, Mr.. Eaton of Connecticut, objected
| to cons deration of the bill, and the OBJ
| lection was reported to the House. By
| vote of l40 yeas to 1873 nays the committee
| decided to consider the measure.
There was intense interest manifested
in the call At the conclusion of the
| first roll call there appeared a majority of
| one in favor of the measure. Then went
on the second call and members crowded
around any one Oftheir colleagues who was
| keeping tally, earnestly listening for each
| response. The result was so close that
until the final announcement nobody was
| quite sure how the vote stood, but upon
| the announcement there was roar of ap-
| plause from the Democratic side.
THE DEBATE.
The committee then resumed its sitting and
| Mr.. Morrison opened the debate in support of
| the bill He described the financial condition
| of the country. stated the estimated surplus
! Of revenues over expenditures, and dwet
| upon the necessity Of reducing taxation. To
| fan TO reduce taxation and to relieve the peo-
| pie would be q ilacrant disregard Of a public
| duty. The pending bill might n0t,be ail that
| was required, but IL was an advance towards
promise of a more complete tariff reform
! Such a reform and adjustment of the tariff
was not believed to be attalnable at the pres
| ent session. 1t would create no surprise that
IN the opinion of a minority of the WAYS and
Means Committee the measure was not suni-
ciently harmonious to secure their approval
| They found in ii no merit, because it proposed
to reduce all duties alike. Horizontal reduc-
tiOn might not be the BEST but none other
was now practicable. The protectonsts OPP
posed II, not because it was horizontal reduc-
tien, but because it was reduction at all.
MIR. Kelley, OF Pennsylvania, made the OPEN
ing speech in opposition to the bill. He did
not believe that any cheapening of goods
could relieve any of the American industries
/ The evil was not that the goods were not
cheap enough or that America could produce
them. The truth to be considered of all men
was that the power OF production the world
over had outrun the power of consumption
ana that all markets were OYerstocked and
in every land skilled and industrious
people had been idle for a large
portion Of all recent years. Nihilism in |
Russia, Socialism in Germany, Socialism
and Nlhiism in the border regions Of Austria, |
Communism in France. Socialism. which |
would present almost every question that the |
British Parliament would consider during
great cOuntries-idleness, want, misery in |
every industrial centre. He then proceeded
to give chapters from the terrible lives of the |
industrial classes OF England, as learned by |
him during a three months visit to merry |
neutrality-suspicious. free trade Enlgand-in |
order to show the fearful condition of the Ia
boring people in that country, and said that
the proposition now made was that the United |
States should enter the race with the world for |
cheapness which had led to such terrible re-
suits in England. There was nothing Of so |
little value IN England as a working man or |
woman with reasonably good appetite In |
one town he had seen women making trace
chains, and the gentleman from Kentucky
(Mr. Turner was returned to Congress every |
year because he advocated placing trace |
chains on the free list.
Mr.. Turner said that that was "A good pro !
position which he hoped would be adOpted
Mr.. Kelley replied that women could real
ze 80 or 60 cents week for making trace |
chains. God forbid that any Kentucky wo-
man must ever work at such masculine en-
pOyment for such starvation wages He re. |
called the reply of Emory Storrs to an Eng
lishman who, at dinner given by Minister |
Lowell, was badgering him about free trade. |
| will admit that free trade is best for you. at
least for those of you who can afford to con-
sumo anything that is produced. but / claim |
that protection is best for us. You think |
great deal more for cheap shoe than YOU do |
for prosperous shoemaker while in America |
we think more of the artisan than of his |
work. Applause on the Republican side1
Mr.. Mills, of Texas, was the next speaker
He argued against the repeal of the internal
revenue tax and in favor of the reduction of
the tariff duties. The pending bill was ex-
treme in nothing. 1t was exceedingly mod
crate. but reduced the present rate on
a horizontal scale of 20 per cent. 1t
would prove a substantial relief from
taxation to the people, but thatwas only
one-half Of the good which would re-
suit from its passage. 1t would remove the
distractions in the way of the expectation OF
American agricultural products. It. would
increase importation, it would increase ex-
| pOrtation. 1t would increase the value of
! exports. 1t would decrease the price of man
ufactured products. Mr. Russell. of Massa-
chusetts was next accorded the floor.
The committee rose and the House ad-
| jaurned.
River Appropriations
WASHINGTON, April 5.-Representa-
| tives Vance, Bennett Skinner, Green and
| O'Hara, of North Carolina, appeared be-
| fore the House Committee on Rivers and
Harbors to-day on behalf of appropria-