The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-03-12

and Sixth Congresses. The last pre-
vious occasion was in the Thirty-siXth
! Congress, when VIM. Remington, a
Wing, Of New Jersey, was speaker.
A REMARKABLE CONGRESS.
At noon to-day the iifty-tirst Con-
gress lin the opinion Of many veteran
legislators the most remarkable Con-
.ress since the war came to an end by
/ constitutional limitation.
| From the first to the last tie sessions
have been interesting and eventfull,
and for no long period were they ever
! characterized by the dullness which
occasionally for days at time marks
the proceedings Of nearly every Con-
gress, and especially Of those Congresses
| in which the first session is unusually
prolonged. The actual working time
of the Fifty-iirst Congress exceeded
that of any of its predecessors, and the
nominal session and time Of all except
the Fiftieth Congress, and in the num-
| her of measures brought to its atten-
ton, and the number, variety and i'm
portance of those acted on, it likewise
surpassed all previous Congresses.
THREE NOTABLE MEASURES.
! Three measures, any Of which in in
trinsic Importance and popular interest
would be sufficient for national issue,
stand forth pre-eminent among all
| others.
First, the Mckinley tariff bill, which
became law; second, the silver bill, on
which, in the first session, u compro-
mise was effected, based on the month
ly purchase Of + 800 600 ounces of silver.
which, in turn, was followed bya more
radical measure that failed OF passage;
and third, the Federal election bill,
which, after protracted, bitter, holy
fought and intensely exciting prelimi-
nary struggle, failed in the Senate to
reach decisive vote on its merits.
in the rules of the House added inter
est to its proceedings, and tho deter
mined but fruitless efforts to adopt the
most vital of these innovations formed
a part of the history of the last part Of
the session of the Senate.
Even in its mortuary record the Con-
gress was remarkable: the call Of death
having summoned no fewer than
twelve Of its representatives aid three
| OF its senators.
May Of the bills enacted into laws
appropriated an unusually large amount
of money, and the expenditures autho-
rizcd will exceed those of any ''peace"
Congress since the foundation OF the
government, the total appropriations
made by the Fiftieth Congress We're,
during the first session, S395,33I ,ol6,
and during the second session S422, $685.
343, or al aggregate OF SSl7, ,965, $50;
while appropriations for the first session
of the Fifty-first Congress: were $780,
G27 ,697, and those of the second session
will probably bring the total appropria-
ton for this Congress to Sl,0OO,Goo, GOO.
SOMETHING ABOUT BILLS.
\ comparison of the work OF Congress
Just closed with that Of its immediate
predecessor makes the following eXhi-
bit: Bills introduced in the House in
the Fifty-frst Congress, '4,03533, against,
in the Fiftieth Congress, 1864; in
crease, 1879. Joint resolutions, 27l; in
crease, TO- Senate bills, 5!29, against
1000, or an increase Of 1129. Joint reso-
lutions, 169; increase, "a.
Bills passed by the House, l74S, of
which 1913 became laws; and by the
Senate, 1905, of which G73 became laws,
making the total number of laws,
during the Flfty-frst Congress, 2lS6,
against 1921, in the Fiftieth Congress;
increase, ,3G2. The Senate also postponed
indefinitely GIG Senate and Is House
bills, this being equivalent to defeat.
'YET0ES.
During the Fiftleth Congress one
hundred and sixty-one bills. were vetoed
and during the Fifty-first Congress
fourteen, the most important Of which
were the act establishing 4 record and
pension office Of the war department
and acts providing for public buildings
at Bar Harbor, Me-, Dallas, Tex, Hud-
SOD, y. v, and Tuscaloosa, Ala. q.
CONTESTED ELECTION CASES.
Ont OF eighteen contested election
cases, the House seated eight Of the Re-
publican contestants, and declared the
seat Of Mr.. Brcckinridge, of Arkansas,
! vacant. Two cases, Goodrich vs. Bull
lock, from Florida, and McGinnis vs.
Anderson, from West Virginia., in
| which the committee recommended
The seating OF the Republican contest
ants, were not disposed Of; and the
! elections committee itself never acted
on the Eaton W. phclnn, Tennessee,
case. The Senate disposed 0! of It's sole
contested election case by seating two
Republican senators from Montana.
RESULT OF CONGRESS WORK.
As result OF The work Of Congress, \