Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-06

be unnecessary for laboring men TO work ss
much as eight hours day. The progress of
the world for the last thirty or forty years had
shown that men had been doing too much
drudgery and not enough thinking.
HOUSE.
Rev. DR.. Phillips Brooks of Boston delivered
prayer in the House this morning
THE HAWAIIAN REcIPRocITY TREATY
Mr. Mckinley (ohio) asked unanimous con-
sent for the present consideration of the bill
providing that nothing in the tariff act shall be
held to repeal or impair the reciprocity treaty
with the Hawaiian Islands.
Mr. Bland Mo- thought that the bill should
he considered In the committee of the whole
and Mr.. Mckinley moved that the House go
into committee for that purpose. but withdrew
~ motl"n when he found 1t WAS impossible to
limit the time for debate.
AMENDING THE LAND FORFEITURE BILLS.
The Speaker laid before the House Senate
bill amending the land forfeiture act of Septem-
ber 29, 1880 50 that the period within which
setuers, purchasers and Others, under the pro-
visions Of said act, may make application to
purchase lands forfeited thereby when such
periou Deglns To run from the passage of the
act shah begin 20 run from the date of the
PRONUNCIATION by the commissioner of the gen.
eral iand Office of the instructions TO the Off
GERS Of the local lard offices for their direction
IN The disposition of said lands. The bill was
passed With verbal amendments.
The Senate bill was passed referring 10 the
court oil lalms the claim of the administratrix
strnctlon Of the vessels Agowan and Pontunsic
in 1862.
THE POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL
Mr.. Bingham (Pa), from the committee on
post offices and post roads. reported the post
Office appropriation bill, and it was placed on
the calendar.
The House then went into committee of the
whole MIR. Payson of Illinois in the chair ON
the sundry civil appropriation bill.
MR.. DINaLEYs POINT OF ORDER
The pending question was the decision of the
chair upon the point of order raised by Mr..
Dingley Of Maine against Mr.. Bands free
coinage amendment There was no debate and
the Speaker immediately proceeded 10 deliver
his decision.
The amendment he said was proposed to the
recomage paragraph. The gentleman from
Maine made the point of order that the amend
ment was not In order under the rules for two
reasons-hrst, because 1t changed existing law,
ana second, because II was not germane. In the
Judgment OF the chair the question involved
was purely one Of construction of the rules
1he arguments addressed in opposition 10
the point of order were based on the assump-
nSn that the pending paragraph in the bill,
recoinage, was in itself change of existing law.
With that view of the case the chair did not
concur. The Revised Statutes imposed the
duty on the Secretary of the Treasury in
very many different instances of causing
gold and silver coins in the treasury
to be recoined. The pending paragraph only
made provision for the performance Of this
work, so that not only did the paragraph not
change existing law, but it proposed that the
existing law should continue for the next fiscal
year precisely as it had continued for many
years past. 1t made provision (or it shouldl
for the expense of the recoinage of certain
gold and silver coin. Before dollar could be
used the Secretary Of the Treasury must have
IN the treasury some coin of the character
named in the paragraph. The paragraph pro-
means for the performance of the statutory
act.
CLEAR CHANGE OF EXISTING LAW.
The amendment clearly proposed change Of
existing law by substituting free coinage for
the present coinage. The amendment was not
In order to this paragraph of the bill The
argument as to the necessity and proprietr of
the proposed legislation in the present financial
condition OF the country could be considered
only in case the point was one of doubt but in
this case the chair perfectly clear as to the
proper construction of the rule. II was equally
clear that the amendment was not eermane 10
the paragraph. The amendment presented a
new polnt ana entlrelN revolutlOnlZed the COIN
age law. This could not be done in this way.
and the chair accordingly sustained the point
of order.
THE cHAIR's DECISION SUSTAINED.
Mr.. Bland Mo.) appealed from the decision
and, after brief remarks by him and Mr..
Springer in opposition to the ruling of the
chair, the vote WAS taken on the question:
''Shall the decision of the chair stand as the
judgment of the committee?"
There was immediately great excitement in
the hall; and as Messrs Cannon and Bland
took their place as tellers. nearly every member
in the House rose and anxiously watched the
count. The following democrats voted in the
affirmative: Messrs. Andrew. Mutchler, Vaux.
Spinola, Dunphy, Wiley and Clancy. The fol-
lowing republicans voted in the negative.
Messrs. Carter, Townsend (Col. J, Lind, Bsrtine.
Turner (kan. }. Kelley, Laws Connell, Hermann
and Sweet and Clark CWyo.).
The vote was very close and not until the
last moment was il evident which side would
tip the scales. When the chair announced tbe
vote to be l34 to l27 the republican side burst
into applause. So the decision was sustained
Pending the announcement of the vote Mr..
Mudd (Md.) stated that he paired with Mr..
Featherstone ARK against the free coinage
bill. butt not considering the question of sus-
tanning Of the chairs decision as a vote on free
coinage he had voted in the affirmative.
Mr.. Bland suggested that the gentleman from
Maryland was violating his Pair.
Mr.. Dockery (Mo.) moved to strike ont the
Of so, 600 for recoinage and in
sert the words, land SO much as may be neces-
sary to meet the expenses of such recoinage is
hereby appropriated out of the silver profit