Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-12-08
FIFrY-sEooND CoNcREss.

The House Coinage Committee Con
siders the Repeal of the Sherman
Act-Mr. Williams Bill to DiscOn
tfnue the Purchase of Silver-Mr
Harter Introduces His Banking
Bill-Proceedfngs of the Senate and
House.
WAsHIN GToN, Dec. THE house com
mittee on coinage met tonight to discuss
a bill for the repeal of the Sherman act
Mr.. Williams of Massachusetts, submitted
the following in lieu of the other bills to
repeal that law now before the committee
Section THAT the secretary of the
treasury Is directed to discontinue from
and after the first day of February, 1893
the purchase of silver bullion authorized
and directed by the act entitled, Gan aci
directing the purchase of silver bullion
and the issue of treasury notes thereon
and for other purposes" approved July
IA, 1890.
Section 2-That after the passage of this
act all deposits received for the redemp-
ton of circulating notes of national banks
shall be placed with the treasurer of the
United States to the respective credits of
the national banks making such deposits,
and all provisions of law shall be applica-
BILE to such deposits which are applicable
to like deposits before the passage of said
act of July IA, 1890.
Mr.. Williams in explaining his bill said
that instead of repeating the Sherman law
outright, which might impair the integ-
rity of the notes outstanding Hereunder,
III. T. HL, at,rx of xLnk
ury to discontinue the purchase of silver.
Mr.. Williams bill also proposes to amend
section six of the Sherman asst. This Sec
ton directs that the balances standing
with the treasurer to the credit of ma
tional banks for deposits made to redeem
the circulating notes of such banks shall
be covered into the treasury az miscel-
laneous receipt. Mr.. Williams said that
when the Sherman act became law there
were $50, 200, 900 of such funds on deposit
in the treasury. This was regarded as q
trust fund and had always been treated as
such. There was no rightful authority to
turn it into the treasury. There is now
no fund held as security for the notes out
standing.
Mr.. Williams proposed by the second
section of his bill that all deposits here
after reoeived for the redemption of the
circulating notes of national banks shall
be placed with the treasury to the credit
of the banks making them. Mr.. Williams
realizes that the withdrawal from ciroula-
ton of the present balance, namely $685.
600, 600, of the amount which was turned
into the general treasury at the time of
the passage of the Sherman act, would
prove an embarrassment in the preEent
condition of the treasury. At the came
time he thinks it proper that the present
practice should not be continued. His
propositions evoked considerable diecus-
sion pro and con, which was cut off by
the arrival of the hour of adjournment.
Senate.
Senator Hill introduced bill to repeal
the present silver purchase act.
Itwas appropriately referred.
The senate then debated Mr.. Vests joint
resolution introduced yesterday relating to
the civilized tribes of the Indian territory,
and without action adjourned.
House.
The unfinished business was the senate
bill conveying to Kansas portion of the
Fort Hayes military reservation as a site
for a soldiers home. The remainder of the
reservation is open to settlement under the
homestead law.
Mr.. Harter of Ohio, introduced COM
prehensive banking bill. which provides
for the perpetustion of the national bank
ing system and the restoration of the state
bank notes on basis which Mr.. Herter
considers absolutely safe, open to no
reasonable objection, and certain to be &C.
ceptable and efficient. He Gays no bank
notes in the world excepting possibly those
of the Bank of England, and hardly those
are 30 perfectly secured as, under this bill,
would be the notes of any of our state or
national bank notes, however remotely
situated. The bill aims to make all bank
note circulation flexible, promptly re DEEM
able in gold or it's equivalent. The tax i'm
posed by 1t upon national bank circulation
up to 80 per cent. of the paid in capital is
only one-afth of per cent, and it takes
all the taxes off state bank circulation, pro-
vided 1t is secured in the same manner and
to the same extent as national bank notes.
A bill having for its object the establish
ment of a uniform revenue customs duty
upon sugar and the adjustment of the
payment of sugar bounties was introduced
in the house to-day by Representative Har-
ter of Ohio. 1t provides in detail that on
and after February l, 1893, a uniform tar
If tax or customs duty of one-hslf of one
cent per pound be levied on all grades of
that the payment of all bounties to pro-
ducers of sugar in the United States shall
cease on the LIST of February next.
Mr.. Richardson of Tennessee chairman
of the committee on printing! called up
the senate bill providing for the public
printing and binding and for the distribu-
ton of public documents. The bill is very
voluminous, consisting of sixty-two print
ed peges and 103 sections. No radical
changes are made in existing law, but the
present regulations governing the joint
committee on printing and upon the public
printer are changed in some particulars
and made more specific.
The reading of the bill consumed long
time. Now and then the clerks voice was
interrupted by short eolloquy between
Mr.. Richardson and some mem
Der who was desirous of some information,
but the attendance of representatives soon
dwindled to less than fifty, and of the fifty
not more than dozen paid any attention
to the bill.
After debate substitute was offered
and agreed to, but the house refused tc
| order the previous question on tie third
reading.
The bill terminating the reduction of the
members of the engineer corps of the navy
came up. Mr.. Holman and others opposed
tuo ul-'. vi tuc y ueetiou VI tuo pAssaSe
| the vote stood yeas 1875, nays 9S.
Mr.. Holman moved to reconsider, and
Mr.. Herbert moved to lay that motion on
the table, pending which the consideration
hour expired and the bill went over.
| During one of the Interruptions Mr.
O'Neill of Pennsylvania, in order to illus
trate the spirit of the times and the sys
tenn to which the art of printing had beer
brought, held aloft a copy of to-day's Phil
adelphis Ledger, which had been placed
upon his desk at noon, although the build
ing in which that newspaper was published
and the plant had been damaged to a grea
extent by fire last night.
Pending action on the bill the house id
journed.
| SILVER COINAGE.
| BUTTE, Mont, Dec. IA strikingly sug
gestive letter was sent to day to Sscretar.
Foster of the United States treasury de
partment at Washington by Superlntend
emit Allen of the Butte and Boston Mining
company of this city. The letter is al
offer tn make any amount of much bette