The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-07-05
THE WORK OF CONGRESS-.
A List of the Measures that Have BE
come Laws.

/ come Laws.
The first session of the Forty-eighth Com
gress, which closed on Monday afternoon, ex.
tended over period of seven months and
four days, although the actual working time
will not exceed one hundred and sixty-fve
days. In that time there were introduced in
the Senate 1857 bills and 81 Joint resolutions,
and in the House 1907 bills and 284 resolu-
TONS Of these, 81 Senate bills and 10 SEN
ate resolutions have passed both houses and
become laws by executive approval, and 81
House bills and 81 House resolutions have be-
come laws in the same manner. Three House
bills also became laws without the action oil
the President, and one was returned to the
House with his veto.
Of the measures introduced in the Senate,
368 bills and II joint resolutions were indefi-
nitety postponed and 6 bills were laid upon
the table. In the House IA bills and 8 joint
resolutions were postponed indefinitely. A
majority of the measures introduced in both
houses related to matters not of general i'm
portance, such rs bills for private relief and
pensions, for the erection OF public buildings,
bridging of rivers, and for other improve
ments of only local importance. The append
ed summary of the work of the session exhib.
its the present condition of all the more i'm
portant matters of legislation which were
submitted for the action of Congress.
The following measures passed both Houses,
and were signed by the President, in addition
to the regular annual appropriation bills and
the river and harbor bill: l
Bills to reduce the rate of postage on news
paper and periodical publications of the Sec
ond class when sent by others than the pub
Usher or news agent to one cent for each four
ounces, to provide civil government for the
Territory of Alaska; to extend the duration Of
Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims
until December, 1885; to prevent and punish
the counterfeiting in the United States OF
bonds or other securities of foreign govern
ments; to grant fifteen days leave of absence,
with pay, in each year to letter carriers; to au.
thorize the Secretary of War to offer reward
of S25, 900 for the rescue of the Greedy Arctic
exploring party; to establish bureau of labor
statistics; to make all public roads and high
ways post roads; to authorize the Legislatures
of the States of Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana
and Tennessee to sell or lease certain lands
appropriated for school purposes; to remove
certain burdens from the American merchant
marine commonly known as the Dingley
shipping bill;) to equalize the rank of grad
yates of the Naval Academy upon their APP
pointment to the various corps; to establish a
bureau of animal industry, prevent the expor-
tation of diseased cattle and provide for the
suppression and extirpation of pleuro-p neu-
monia and other contagious diseases among
domestic animals; to make it felony for any
person to personate an officer or employe of
the United States, acting under authority OF
the United States or any department thereof;
to authorize the National Academy ofSciences
to receive and hold trust funds for the pro-
motion of science and for other purposes to
repeal the test oath act of 1862; to authorize
the fitting out of an expedition for the relief
/ of Eraal.y md rty in he. A
to limit the time in which prosecutions may
be begun against persons for violations of the
internal revenue laws to three years; to re-
lieve from the charge of desertion certain SOL
diers of the late war, who, after having served
faithfully until the close of the war, left their
commands without leave; to provide for the
| location in State west the Mississippi river
of branch home for volunteer soldiers of the
Mexican war and war of 1872, whose disabil-
tiles were not incurred in service against the
United States; to provide for the disposal OF
abandoned and useless military reservations;
to reorganize the corps of judge advocate OF
the army; to establish bureau of navigation
in the Treasury Department.
| The following measures have been incor-
porated in regular appropriation bills and
! become laws:
Bills to prohibit officers of the government
from accepting voluntary service for the gov
eminent, and from employing personal service
in excess of that authorized by law, except in
cases of sudden emergency, involving the loss
of human life or the destruction of property,
| incorporated in the urgent deficiency bill;)
! to appoint commission to visit the several
countries of Central and South America to
collect information as to the best mode of Sc
curing more intimate international and COM
mercial relations between those countries and
| the United States, incorporated in the con-
| sular and diplomatic bill;) to provide that
hereafter all estimates of appropriations, and
estimates of deficiencies i'll appropriations in
tended for the consideration of Congress,
shall be transmitted to Congress through the
| Secretary of the Treasury and in no other
manner, incorporated in the deficiency bill;)
! to provide that the number of deputy colec-
tors of internal revenue, gaugers, storekeep-
ers and clerks employed in the internal reve-
nue. service shall not be increased; to create Il
board of pension appeals to be appointed by
the Secretary of the Interior, incorporated
in the legislative bill;) to provide for the APP
pontment of scientific commission, which
may, in the name of the United States gov
ernment conduct national conference of
electricians in Philadelphia in the autumn of
1884, lin the sundry civil bill;) to authorize
the President, in case of threatened or actual
epidemics, to use the unexpended balance of
appropriation made by the act of August Z,
1882, and March 8, 1888, not to exceed one
hundred thousand dollars, in aid of State and
! local boards or otherwise in his discretion,
in preventing and suppressing the spread of
the same and maintaining quarantine at points
of danger, incorporated in the sundry civil
bill;) to prevent the admission to the Govern
ment Hospital for the Insane of inmates of
the Soldiers Home who are now or may
hereafter become insane, incorporated in the
sundry civil bill;) to provide that that it shall
not be lawful for the head of any executive
department or of any bureau, branch or Office
of the government to cause to be printed, nor
for the public printer to print, any document
or matter ofany character whatever except
that which is authorized by law and necessary
to administer the public business, nor for any
bureau officer to embrace in his annual or
other report to be printed any matter not
directly pertaining to the duties of his office
as prescribed by law, incorporated in the
sundry civil billy to provide for the appoint
ment of a Missouri river commission with
powers and duties similar to those of the Mis-
sissippi river commission, lin the river and
harbor bill;) to appropriate 50, 100000 to pay
the rebate TAX on tobacco, embodied in the
urgent deficiency bill.
DEFEATED MEASURES.
In addition to the affirmative legislation
which has been completed by Congress various
measures presented for its consideration have
been disposed of adversely. Among the most
important measures which have met this fate
are the following:
The Morrison tariff hill, Ito reduce import
duties and war taxes" which was reported
from the ways and means committee, debated
for several weeks in the House, and finally
defeated by the striking out of ita enaoting
clause, .rfr,-r-ss. ~ y
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