Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-12-21

WAsHINGroN, Dec. 20.
Secretary Whitney has gone to New York
to be gone till Tuesday. Commodore Har-
mony is acting secretary during his absence.
Since the present session of Congress be-
gan 72S bius and joint resolutions have been
introduced in the Senate and II of which
originated in the House have been passed bv
that body; l247 executive messages, contain
ing about 1900 nominations. have been sent
BY the President to the Senate and have been
referred to the proper committees, but no
nominations confirmed. Two treaties, one
relating to the boundary line between this
country and Mexico. and the other prov iding
for settlement of claims of certain Ameri-
can citizens against Venezuela have been
sent to the Senate for ratification. Twenty
four bills and joint resolutions have been in
troduced in the House of Representatives and
four, two of which originated in the Senate,
have been passed. Tomorrow an effort will
be made in the House of Representatives to
secure the passage OF the presidential success
sion bill under the suspension of the rules
The result is doubtful as the motion to sus-
pend will not be in order until after the call
of the State for the introduction Of bills and
joint resolutions shall have been completed,
and as the members have their desks full of
bills to be introduced the call is likely to
consume the day. The House resolution to
adjourn tomorrow night for the holiday re.
cess will probably be adopted by the Senate
without change.
| Secretary Whitney positively denies tina,
he endorsed the object of the recent meeting
of the silver men in New York and has de-
clared himself in favor of the suspension OF
silver coinage. Mr.. Whitney's secretary
| who wrote the declinatiOn of the invitation
from the chairman of the meeting to Mr.
Whitney to attend. says: "The letter was
in substance similar to the hundred of re,
plies to invitations which Mr.. Whitney must
necessarily decline. 1t contained no indorse
ment whatever of the cause of the silver men
The letter was only what simply courtesy re.
quired.
| Secretary Manning in conversation, today
respecting the propose inquiry by the Senate
into the working of the New York custom
house said. As the executive officer, the
primarily responsibility for the execution Of
the tariff law, he should welcome the coop
Grafton of the committee of the Senate, if
one is created. He said, however, that dur
ing nearly all of the present year active in.
quiry into the condition of custom house.
had been going on uuder the initiation anG
supervision of his immediate predecessor and
himself and that the result Of the inquiry i.
exhibited in volume Of $50 printed pages
which, when examined by the senators, will
disclose all the needed facts in regard to the
custom house up to October last and assist
the work of the investigating committee. II
there had been a defective administration
since then which had escaped is attention ht
would be glad to know of it. Mr.. Manning
remarked that he had in his annual report tC
Congress described his own idea of a collec
tor of customs at great ports and he distinct
ly intimated that his own conviction that a
satisfactory execution of the present tariff
law would severely test the best officers thu
country could supply. The point of attack
now, he said, is the appraising department
and for obvious reasons he should firmly and
earnestly uphold the conscientious conduc
Of these officers against all corners Th,
secretary had no doubt the Senate and the
country would discriminate between the ex
listing tariff system and the officers who ad
ministered that system. 1t will be Difficult,
enough to execute the existing law with the
best of subordinates and it would be his effOr
to efficiently use such instruments as may bt
placed in his hands by the President and
Senate, to whom the law had wisely canfded
the selection of chief customs officials.
The animal review covering an estimate Of
the cotton crop of the United States and tn,
prospective disposition of the supply as pre-
pared by c. L. Greene & Co. places the est
mated crop for 1885 and SO at 6,90O, ,OO(
bales as compared with 5.669, 900 bales las
year. 1t is estimated that the total supply
will reach 1887 900 bales against 6.6s4 ,00t
last season and the estimated consumption fol
United States for the current season is 1875,
600 bales as compared with l,6S6,000 bale.
last aeasOn