New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-26
HOW WILL CARLISLE RULE
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION TO BE DECIDED
BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.
FATE OF THE. TARIFF BILL INVoL'ED-OAN IHE
BILL BE SENT TO A CONFERENCE

rsr TELL GRAPH TO THE TRIBuSH ]

fHY TELL GRAPH THE TRIBghRl
Washington. Jan. o5.-The action Of the Senate to-
day, on motion Of Mr.. Allison, In ASKING tor con-
ference with the House the so-caied Mills Dill ana
the Senate substitute therefor Is likely 70 prscipa'e
a discussion tomorrow in the House when speaker
Carlisle under the rules LAYS the bill before tho House
for reference Owing to the obstructive character
of the House rules, which buried senate DIS ana
House bills with Senate amendments on inc speaker
table until the last Congress, new RUE was tncro
adopted requiring the Speaker, each DAY after tho
reading OF the Journal TO lay before the House for
reference all business his table, tho accumulation
Of the previous days sitting. In order 10 faolh'ate
business and roach vote its amendments TO House
bills the Senate established the practice OF asking
conference with the House such bills and amend
ments. The Dngley Shipping bill was thus saved
from burial IN that Legislative graveyard the
Speakers table by the action Of senator rye "no
after the adoption OF the Senate amendments on May
s, 1884, moved that the Senate request conierence
with the House thereon question OF order was
raised that that motion not In Order but IL was
overrilled and the motion entertained and adopted
Senator FRYE produced several precedeuts which es
tabshed its regularity and result, the Dill and
amendments were taken up In tho HOUSE Inc
Senate amendments were disagreed 10, aud the re-
quest for conference was granted. Inc subject
thus became highly privileged and the Dill was saved
But for that piece Of parliamentary strategy on the
part of Senator Frye the bill would have oed on inc
speakers table or in the Committee OF tho Whole,
where Il would have gone point OF order when
ever reached.
The Senate quickly perceived the advantage thus
gained and forthwith proceeded TO ask conferences
whenever IL amended House bills and considered the
subject OF sufficient Importance TO warrant CONFER
ence. All through the XLVIIIth Congress and part
Of the XLIXth Congress, Speaker Carlisle followed The
established practice and held such requests OF tho
Senate for conferences to be privileged questions
Finally, when the oeomargarine bill' with Senate
amendments and a request for conference thereon,
was reported b. Mr.. Hatch as privileged question
from the Committee Agriculture Speaker Carlisle
took the bull by the HORNS and ruled first that the
right to report revenue bill at any time was con-
fined exclusively to the Committee on Ways and
Means and second, tho question raised by Mr..
Dngey that before such request OF the Senate could
be treated as privileged question there must be
actual disagreement by tho House 10 said Senate
amendments, thus RELOCATING tho bill and amend
ments and request for conference to tho slow pro.
cesses Of the House rules and practice. II was
only after the most stubborn contest that Colonel
Hatch was finally able 10 reach the stage Of DIS
agreement to the Senate amendment. That ruling
Of Speaker Carlisle a very important one being
reversal Of the uniform practice OF the House In
harmony with the wellestablshed principles Of com
mon parliamentary law as expounded by jefferson
and Cushing. An appeal not taken for the
reason that Mr.. Carlisle promised that the Committee
Rules would report at the beginning Of the next
session rule regulating conferences In harmony
with the existing practice. That promise, like many
SAher similar promises, has not been redeemed.
II the question be raised and Mr.. Carlisle shall
adhere tomorrow 70 HIS former ruling appeal
probably will be taken and test vote had at once
IL is quito likely, however. that several Democrats
who would Ike to get the bill into conference at
reference
Committee will not vote 10 reverse the Speakers
ruling, though it was originally made for a partisan
purpose and IS manfestly wrong.
II the Senate substitute be sent 10 Ways and Means
as now seems probable, II Is understood that Chair
man NILS Will az once call the committee together for
ts consideration, and that daily sessions will be held
N fund necessary, the object being 20 formulate
amendments 10 the substitute I'm the limo OF Dark
Ian tern reform and 10 back them up IN a report
which viii be In the nature Of a defence and apology