Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-02-17
FORTY-NISTH CONGRESS-,
First Session.
SENATE.

WARRINGTON, Feb l6.
Among the memorials presented was on,
by MI Plumb, being concurrent resolution
OF the legislature of Kansas. praying tha
Congress may provide for the rights of wa,
through Indian Territory, also a petition o,
the bankers, merchants and lawyers, etc, of
Savannah, Ga, presented by Mr.. Brown
praying for the repeal of the silver coinage
act.
Mr.. Morrill,, from the committee on finance,
reported favorably the House bill providins
that the treasurer of the United States NAV,
with the consent of the treasury, authorize
the assistant treasurer to act in the place and
discharge the duties of treasurer, and that
under necessity of absence of either treasurer
or assistant treasurer, the treasurer NAV with
like consent, designate clerk of the treas
ury department to be acting assistant treas.
urer.
The bill also provides that the official bond
OF the principal office should be held to cover
and apply to the person to act for the time
being.
Mr.. Morrill, said the passage of the bill was
urgently needed. At this time the assistant
treasurer was sick, and the treasurer had
been working so hard that his hands had be.
come disabled. 1t was with difficulty that he
Souiu sisu papers
The bill was favorably recommitted.
The education bill was taken up, and Mr..
jackson addressed the Senate in favor of the
bill. He said he esteemed it great personal
privilege, as we'll as high and patriotic duty
to give the bill his support, for he was iul-
psessed with the conviction that if it would
provide against dangers which no free gov
ernment had yet survived. we must take wild.
er precautions than any nation had ever yet
taken, by diffusing, for while, among our
people, that intelligence which alone will
constitute safeguards and protection of our
political institutions.
AS to the constitutonality of the measure
now before the Senate, Mr.. Blair believed
that question to have been settled by such
overwhelming authority that anv man pre-
senting that point and discussing, was simply
Willing away his time. The only merit in
making the point was that it kept senator 9
constituency clear on record. The average
length of the school period in the Southern
States, Mr.. Blair said, was only about three
months. Tho maintenance of schools for
this period cost the Southern people SIG 900,
600 annually. The 100000 proposed to
be given the first year under the present bill
would only prolong the schools to months,
at the utmost, so that the provision, instead
of being liberal, was rather parsimqnious.
Mr.. Blair read number of letters from
the Southern people favoring the bill. and
added that it was useless for anybody to say
that the people of the South did not want this
bill passed. He had received letters from
teachers in Texas favoring the bill.
Mr.. Coke said the teachers didn't represent
the people of Texas. The state was also SOL
id democratic. and the last democratic con-
ventiOn denounced this bill.
Mr.. Blair thought the action of the teach.
ers in their convention more expenses of
feeling of the people on the school ques-
mittee.
The legislatures of Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama and other southern legislatures had
pronounced unanimously for this bill, and
the people behind them demanded it. We
must have our voters educated in order that
the people of the republic might become
thoroughly homogeneous. Every duty and
every obligation, constitutional and moral,
celled upon us to help our friends south TEN
pOrarily in their work of education.
Mr.. Hawley said the State board of edu-
cation of Connecticut believed the bill to be
unwise. They criticised Mr.. Blair's course
in having reprinted in the records the speech
es formerly delivered by him on this subject
and said there should be some limitation of
the ''leave to print" privilege.
Here the debate closed for today.
On motion Mr.. Frye the Senate appointed
Monday, next, at two o'clock for the consid-
Grafton Of the resolution reported by him
from the committee on foreign relations, ex-
pressing the sense of the Senate to be that
no further fishery commissions should be
appointed or provided for. In making the
motion Mr. Frye said that the fishing ven-
lures commence early in March and that the
passage of the resolution referred to would
very much encourage those engaged in those
ventures.
The credentials of the reelection of Sena.
tor A. p. German were presented by Mr..
Wilson of Maryland and were read and filed.
message from the president was LAID be-
fore the Senate transmitting a statement
of the payments of awards of the commis
sioners appointed under the convention be
tween the United States and France under
the treaties of 1905 and 1881, and the treaty
with Spain of 1919.
The Senate at 3. 80 adjourned.