The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-05-15
XLlXth CONGRESS- FIRST SESSION.
SENATE.
WAsHINGToN. NAV Ia

WASHINGTON, may IL.
Among the petitions presented was one by
Mr.. Allison from dozen citizens of Iowa,
prayng for the abolition of the American
House of Lords. Referred.
Mr. Frye, from the committee on COM
merce, reported favorably his bill to limit
the privileges of foreign vessels in the ports
of the United States to the purposes accord
ed to vessels of the United States in foreign
ports Mr.. Frye said that he would, at the
proper time, add this bill as an amendment
to the House shipping bill. Placed on the
calendar
A number of public building bills were
taken np and passed In routine order.
Mr.. Mcmillan, from the committee on COM
merce, reported fayorably Mr.: Hoar's reso-
luton requiring the committee when res
porting the river and harbor bill to state the
facts that show the national Importance of
the several pieces of work and why, each
item of the appropriation is advisable.
Agreed to.
At o'clock the general pension bill was
placed before the Senate and Mr.. Vest took
the floor Mr.. Vest said he would not be de-
tered from expressing his views OF the pend
ing measure by reason of the fact that he
had been on the losing side during the war.
That struggle was ended 20 years ago and
self, he was conscious that he had kept his
oath of loyalty to the United States in the
letter and spirit and proposed hereafter to
make no other promises or professions. III
anybody suggested a doubt of his (Mr,
Vests loyalty or of his being in that respect
the equal of any Senator, he would answer
as Lord Marmion had answered Douglass,
'If thou sayest am not peer to any lord
in Scotland here, highland or lowland, far or
near, Lord Angus, thou hast lied
Continuing, Mr.. Vest said the soldier who
risked his life and limbs for his country was
entitled to have the damages incurred by him
repaired by his country. If his life was sac
rifced his last hours should be cheered by
the confidence that his loved ones should be
cared for by his country, in whose cause ne
had died This was contract between sol
dier and nation and the nation that could
not keep that contract as sacred obligation
deserved to be blotted out from the map OIL
christendom. How well the people OF the
United States had kept that contract was ev-
idenced by the votes of the Senators and
Representatives from the South and Nortn
which had already given 800, 100000 to the
Union soldiers of the war between the Unit
ed States and the confederacy. The South
ern soldiers and people had borne without a
murmur their share of the taxes necessary to
enable the nation to keep its contract and
southern soldiers, their widows and orpnans
had never asked for anything except the
right to weep for their dead and to deiend
the purity Of the purpose for which ,allI tnelf
men had died. The anxiety of both polltlcal
parties and the cupidity of pension claim
agents, Mr.. Vest believed, were responsible
for so much pension legislation: lie qid not
believe it was demanded by the volunteer
soldiers of the country. The astute and pur-
chased intellect of claim agents, cormorants
and curbstone lawyers in Washington was
constantly contriving new devices for IN
creasing pensions by which to fill their own
pockets.
Mr.. Vest criticized the course of the. Sen
ate in lately passing large number OF PR
yate pension bills without even reading
them.
Mr.. Morgan, finally, after much discussion on
him at the the pr proper time, providing that the
pensions covered by the bill and not provid-
ed for by existing laws should be payable on on
ly out of the money to be derived from inter-
nal revenueland requiring the secretary OF
ber 1856, What at rce percentage Of taxation on the