Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-27
AT THE NATIONS CAPITAL
THE HOUSE DEVOTFS A DAY TO
THE MERCHANT MARINE.

Ofthe Bill the Result of Long Debate
Tariff Receipts Fall of Six Per Cent
Under the Act of 1888.
WASHINGTON, April 26.-In the House
to-day the Speaker announced the ap-
polntment of the following conference
committees:
on the Ndcdl Appropriation BiU-Messrs.
Hutchlns, Randall and Calkins.
IN tie Post OEce Appropriation 4 BIZ
Messrs. Townshend, Holman and Horr.
Mr.. Cox, of New York. from the Com
mlttee on Naval Affairs. asked leave to
report for present consideration the Sen
ate joint resolution granting permission
" Ensign Reynolde, of the United States
Navy, who is on duty with the Greely re-
lief expedition, to accept a decoration of
the Royal and Imperial Order of Francis
Joseph from the government Of Austria.
Mr. Robinson, of New York, objected
saying, however, that he was willing TO
extend the thanks of Congress to this
young man, an honor compared with
which these ribbons were nonsense.
The House then proceeded to the con-
slderatlon of the special order, it being
the Dill to remove certain burdens on
the American merchant marine. and en-
! courage the American foreign carrying
trade.
After the reading of the report Mr..
SlOcum, of New York, was awarded the
floor. Our navigation laws, he said, like
those relating to the militia, had not been
changed in the past century. They were
to-day Just what they were eighty years
ago. For fifty years they had been pre-
clsely the same as those of England.
/ Thirty years ago England had modified
her laws, and her commercial marine had
/ increased vastly from that modification.
and the bill under consideration proposed
to make our laws somewhat
{ ha OH do
/ by England. The subject had attracted
/ the attention of the people, and this meas
ure was intended simply to sweep away
some old laws which the shipOwners, ship
masters and merchants of the country
/ agreed should be eradicated from the
+ statute books. 1t contained no provision
! winch was not unanimously recommended
/ by the Shipping Committee and if it were
/ 10 pass IT must pass to-day. He would
not detain the House with any further
4 discussion. After speeches by Messrs.
i Deuster, Cox of New York, Parker and
Flndlay, the bill was read by sections for
1 amendment.
/ Mr.. Hatch, of Michigan, offered an
amendment excluding from the provisions
! of section II vessels navigating the great
! lakes or the waters connecting the same
/ at St. Lawrence river or the Gulf of
Mexico, and vessels engaged in the coast
! wise trade. This section requires vessels
/ to carry chests. In the course of a brief
/ discussion of the amendment, NJ. Hatch,
! as protective tariff man, declared him
/ self IN favor of free ships. The amend
medt was adopted.
/ Mr.. Hewitt, of New York, moved to
+ amend the section which abolishes the
/ Consular fees, and authorizes the Secre-
/ tary of the Treasury to allow such Con-
sular officers, as are paid in whole Or in /
! part by fees, such compensation for their
1 services as they would have received
prior to the passage of this act by adding
/ the words mot to exceed the aggregate
IN any fiscal year the amount of fees col
lected at each Consulate for such services
for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1881
1t was agreed to.
On motion of Mr.. Slocum the fourteenth
section was amended so as to read as
follows:
Section Il. That in lieu of the tax on
tonnage OF 80 cents per ton per
annum, heretofore imposed by law,
duty of cents per ton not to exceed
in the aggregate 10 cents per ton in any
one year is hereby imposed at each entry
on all vessels which shall be entered in
any port of the United States
from any foreign port or place in North
America, Central America, the, West
India Islands, the Bahama Islands, the
/ Bermuda Islands,. or the Sandwich
Islands, or Newfoundland, and duty of
/ cents per ton, not to exceed 80 cents per
ton per annum, is hereby imposed at each
entry on all vessels which shall be en-
tered in the United States from any other
( foreign ports, provided that the President
OF the United States shall suspend the col
lection of so much of the duty herein i'm
posed on vessels entered from any
port in the Dominion of Canada,
Newfoundland, the Bahama Islands,
Bermuda Islands, West India Islands,
Mexico and Central America, down to
md V,o1rN AerNF De-
may be in excess Of the tonnage and light
house dues or other equivalent tax, or
taxes, imposed on American vessels by
the government Of the foreign country in
which such port is situated, and shall, on
the passage Of this act and from time to
time thereafter as it may become neces-
/ sary, by reason of changes in the laws of
! the foreign countries above mentioned,
! indicate by proclamation the ports to
! which such suspension shall apply and
+ the rate or rates of tonnage duty,
/ if any, to be collected under such
suspension; and provided further that ali
vessels which shall have paid the tonnage
! tax imposed by section 1919 Of the Revised
Statutes for the current year, shall not be
/ liable to the tax herein levied, until the
expiration of the certificate of the last
payment of the tax.
The words ''nOt to exceed thirty cents
per ton per annum," We're inserted on
motion of Mr.. O'NeilI, of Pennsylvania.
I Mr.. Adams, of New York. moved to
amend section Is, which abOlIshes the
marine hospital tax, by applying its pro-
visions as we'll to vessels engaged in the
I cOastwise trade as to those engaged in
the foreign trade. 1t was adopted.
On motion of Mr.. George, of Oregon. an
/ amendment was adopted providing that
vessels arriving at port of entry of the
/ United States laden with coal, salt. rail-
road iron, and other like material in bulk
! may proceed to the place within that col
lection district to be specially designated
/ by the Secretary Of the Treasury at the
/ eXpense'of the person interested, for the
purpose Of unloading their cargoes.
Mr.. Cox, of New York, offered an
amendment providing that from and after
the passage of this act it shall be lawful
for any citizen of the United States to inn
port iron or steel built steamships of not
less than 1000 tons measurement free Of
duty, and such ships shall be admitted to
American registry, provided that said
ships shall be the exclusive property of
citizen or citizens of the United States;
and provided further that such ships shall
! be excluded from the cOastWise trade.
Mr.. SlOcum objected to this amendment
out of desire to keep the bill i'll such
shape as would make it least objection
able t1 special interests. The Maine
members and others representing ship
amendment on principle.
Mr.. Hammond, of Georgia, thought
/ that to pass the bill without amendment
would be like feeding an elephant on
goats milk. In the name of common
sense if the House intended to encourage
the building of ships let it do something
that looked like encouraging it. The
amendment was agreed to by Ill yeas to
90 nays. Messrs. Guenther. Hatch Of
Michigan, Ochiltree, Strait and York,
Republicans, voted in the affirmative, and
Messrs. Collins, Converse, Ellis, Finerty,
Hunt, Robinson ofNew York, Rosecrans,
Slocum, Tillman, and Warner of Ohio,
1 Democrats, in the negative.
On motion of Mr.. Hewitt, of New York,
an amendment was adopted providing
that the expense OF maintaining the Ma
rine Hospital Service shall be betrayed
out Of the receipts from the tonnage tax.
MIR. TOwnshend, of Illinois, wished to
offer an amendment for free material, but
he was cut out by a demand for the pre-
yious question. The bill was then passed.
Mr.. Burns, of Missouri, from the Com
mittee on Appropriations, reported the
&