New-York tribune., 1884-01-11
RULES OF THE SENATE.
THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE IN FAVOR.
AFTER HOT DISCUSSION THE COMMITTEE GETS TEE
RIVER AND HARBOR BILL.
BY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.

WASHINGTON Jan. 10.-The Senate voted to-day,
to refer of DID, the River and Harbor bill to the
Committee on Commerce. This result was
reached after prolonged discussion, III the course
! of which Senators were given an opportunity TO
| make known their views on number OF questions,
including the Constitution, the relative merits OK
free trade and protection the causes Of the decline
of American shipping, the system Of piracy under
lying compulsory pilotage, the navigation laws,
and other questions more or less pertinent
The discussion began on the motion of Senator Vest
strike ont Of rule 26 the provision which refers
to the River and HarbOr bill TO committee,
the Committee on Internal Improvements. Mr..
Mcpherson opposed the creation Of new committees
upon principles of economy. They entailed ex-
penses he said which, in the case proposed, were
entirely unnecessary. He stated that he favored
appropriations for rivers and harbOrs but he wished
them applied TO what might really be called rivers
and harboTs, not trout streams
Mr.. Maxey doubted whether, after all,
the creation of new committee, as claimed by
the Chairman of the Committee Rules would
remedy the defect which was at the bottom of ala
the trouble and caused people TO say that the Riy-
er and IarbOF bill never received the consldera-
tion it deserved. Would it result in bringing thd
bill any sooner from the House INTO the Senatef
He thought not The members of the Committee
on Commerce had assured the Senate that they had
ample time for the consideration OF the bill II 1t was
only brought in al earlier date. The Committee
on Commerce lad always had charge OF It.
The older members of the committee were thor
oughy conversant with the details attending its
discussion. They were acquainted with most of the
items of the bill their merits their claim to con-
| sideratiOn and their impcTfections. They had be
50 familiar with them that an intelligent DE-
cIsiOn could be arrived at without waste Of time.
| The members of the committee it was proposed 20
create would, on the other hand have 10 begin at
| the very beginning, acquaiut themselves with de-
| tails, acquire information on matters foreign to
them, and study matters TO which their att ntl0n
had never before been drawn. They would not have
! the time to do this.
| MIR. MAXEY BRANCHES OUT.
The Senator drifted into statement of the causes
of the decadonce of the American merchant marine
| as viewed by him. Later on the Senate listened to
diatrbe against protection and its banefu effects.
| The abolition of the corn laws, the growth OK
Englands commerce under the era of free trade and
! its decadence under protection, the hamlng hand-
writing on the wall Of Nneyeh hog products, corn,
wheat all were carried in the torrent Of invective
which ran its course for twenty minutes
and was interrupted only by remarks by Senator
| Morrill,. who permitted himself to point out tho
! fallacy Of several of the statements made by Mr.
Maxcy.
!
PERSONS contained in Senator Frye's speech of yes
terday upon pilots as a class. He never knew
worther SET of men than these very pilots. TO call
them pirates was doing them a gross in
| Justice To intimate that lobby influences
were at work in their interest, 10 maintain
compulsory pllotage, was doing them great wrong.
Pilots only earned few dollars and couldn't afford
to employ lobbyists.
The meritorious, brave and venturesOme class
! known as pilots, he said, would be driven out OK
business and prevented from earning livelihood
! if compulsory pilotage were abolished. lie quoted
the decision of United States Judge which incl
dentally gave pilots good character" >" commented
on the Constitution, put it upside down, set
it on its feet again, turned is
inside out showed it again in it's true bearings upon
the question of compulsory plotage ana lelt IL ony
to record his grief aud Indignation at having suen
! excellent men as pilots called pirates.
THE SYSTEM. NOT THE MEN, BLAMED.
Senator Frye begged toremark that he had spoken
merely of a system of piracy. He had applied tha
term to the system, not TO the pilots themselves
with which explanation the Senator from Florida,
who can see a distinction without difference, was
perfectly satisfied
| The Committee on Commerce found warm sup
porter in Senator Beck, who spoke against the adj
visibility of transferring river and harbor bills
from an old aud well-tried committee to a new and
inexperienced one. He, too, was unable to resist
the temptation of speaking at great length on the
shipping interests of this country and the dread
| full condition they were in at the present time.
Revival of commerce he thought impossible as
long rs laws prohibiting people nom buy-
ing ships wherever they pleased were IN
! force 10 people of other nations this
privilege was accorded TO the American people IL
| was denied. Mr. Beck spoke for more than twenty
minutes the protective taIlt,, whch, IN his
mind, was one Of the reasons that had contributed
to destroy the American merchant marine. ne con
! Si1p he Democratic
of free trade and on that issue IL was prepared 10
meet Its opponents. II,
Mr.. Frye was glad to see Democrats put them-
selves on record free traders, and he felt strongly
! teplpted TO enter the discussion OF the relative
merits f free trade and protection at tins lncture
sur he refrained from doing so because he wished,
il possible, finish the consideration OF the rules
to-day.
OPPOSED TO THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE.
Senator Morgan's remarks were directed against
the Committee on Commerce. He preiaced
them by stating that the Democratic party
| was in favor of the MODIFICATION
of the existing revenue laws in order to reauce
| surplus revenue of hundred million collars. no
had been in the Senate six years ana III lnat tlmo
no effort had been made by the Committee on I0nl-
| merce to repeal the odious navigation laws: Ihey
had been afraid "to tackle the question" This
hardness and negligence alone wonid DC gOod eA-
cuse for taking from them the River ana HaiDor
"Who wants to 60 on this committee, - he asked,
"except for the sake of being able to satisfy con-
sttueuts aud voting away money Tor improving
| rivers and harborsf" He in favor OF giving
the consideration of the River and Harbor Oni to q
After further discussion a vote on Mr.. Vests mo-
tiOn was taken with the result already stated Inc
! yeas were 80, the nays IL. >, ~
Senator Miller's proposition 10 refer All Dllis
making appropriations for the Departmen ol Agrl-
culture to the Committee on Agriculture was de-
| feated by vote Of 81 to ~
TIE PRESIDENCY OF THE SENATE.