The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-04-30
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS-.

WASHINGTON April ~.
In the Senate today bill was favorably re-
ported by Mr.. Garland, CONSTITUTING an
amendment to the Thurman act relating to
Pacific railroads.
Mr.. Morrill, reported favorably joint reso-
luton appropriating $4,000 to defray ex-
penses OF the ceremonies connected with the
approaching completion and dedication of the
Washington monument. The grafton is to be
delivered by Hon. Robert @. Winthrop.
Mr.. George offered resolution directing the
committee on patents to report the bill provid-
ing that hereafter no patent shall be granted
for any invention or discovery made by any
person who at the time of such invention or
discovery shall not be citizen and resident Of
the United States, and further instructing the
committee to inquire into the expediency of
providing bylaw that all patents hereafter
granted be subject to purchase by the United
States for public use upon. fair valuation
thereof.
The Senate then resumed consideration of
the pleur0 pneumonia bill. Mr.. Miller of Cal
ifornia offered as an amendment the MEASURE
heretofore reported by him from the Commits
tee on Foreign relations, prohibiting the inn
portation of diseased cattle or those which
have been exposed to contagion and authoriz.
ing the President to prohibit the Importation
of adnlterated food products from nations that
uDjustly discriminate against the United
States.
Mr.. Plumb moved to lay Mr.. Milier's
amendment on the table. Agreed to, 81 to IA.
The bill was then read and passed.
The chair laid before the Senate the shipping
bill reported by Mr.. Frye, from the Committed
on Commerce.
Adjourned.
In the House a joint resolution was passed
directing the President to bring to the atten-
ton of the government the Venezuela claim
of ]. E. Wheelock for indemnity for gross out
RACES end to demand the immediate settlement
Of the claim.
The House then went into committee of the
whole on the tariff bill.
Mr.. Hiscock of New York instituted COM
parison between the condition of business in
the country prior to the tariff of 1861 and its
condition at the present time, and from the
comparison deduced the conclusion that the
protective system was beneficial.
Mr.. Morse of Massachusetts said that he was
not free trader because the time had not vet
come for free trade, nor was he protectionist
for the necessity for a protective tariff no
longer existed. He would suggest the reduc-
ton OF taxation by limiting the national in
come to the ordinary needs of the government,
cessation OF silver coinage, passage of ma
tionsl bankruptcy law, free ships, free coal,
free potatoes, free sugar, free raw material.
He wished he could support a bill which would
reduce the revenue 100000 600, and he would
vote for the Morrison bill because its author
had informed him that it would result in
reduction of $30,000,0O0.
Mr.. Hurd of Ohio took the floor in advocacy
OF the bill. Mr.. Hurds speech was very long,
and was an exhaustive dissertation upon the
benefits OF free trade and the evils of Drotec.
ton. In the course of his remarks he said
that nothing was clearer to his mind than that
the destruction of the foreign carrying trade
was the result of the prohibition of an Ameri-
can registry to foreign built vessels and the
high prices of raw material to shipbnildere.
The oceans were free TO all and any person
might sail whithersoever he pleased, but in
this free-for-all where was America? The
skill of the sailor of every nation was there
asserting itself except ours; fortunes were
being built up for the people of all nations
except ours. and yet this was an ocean bound
republic. Referring to the effect of the tariff
upon the farmer, Mr.. Hurd said: "But pro-
tective tariff did more injury to the farmer in
the injury it occasioned to his foreign market
1t had already robbed America of one-half of
the markets of the old world and England,
because the American tariff prohibited practi
cally the Importation of English goods. had
sought to find food supplies elsewhere, and
under the impulse of necessity the most amaz-
ing fact OF modern times has been developed.
India, old and effete, had become to Great
Britain country from which her grain might
be obtained, and the effect of this on the mar
kets OF the United within the last nine months
had been decline in the expectation of
American cereals of more than $45 900 900
and wheat had gone down in Chicago to less
than so cents; and this development of the
wheat production of India was entirely the
result of protective tariff in America"
Mr. Turner of Ohio followed in support of
the bill, and Mr.. Dingley in opposition, after
which the committee rose
Mr.. Forney of Alabama, from the committee
on appropriations, reported the army appro.
priatioD bill.
The House then took recess until O'Clock,
the evening session to be for debate only on
the tariff bill
EVENING SESSION.
There were very few members present at the
night session. After a quarter of an hour
speech by Mr.. Winans of Wisconsin, the
House adjourned.