The Helena independent., 1893-07-01
Il was time la which anarchy prevailed In |
knnKna aud n hanna scniNtn lfiaN after Al

u was time la which anarchy prevailed II
Kansas, aud house committee. after Z
free or fair election had ever cconrred
there. Tho house voted an appropriation
for tho army containing 4 proviso which
forbade tho uso OF che military in enforcing
the nets of the pro-slayory Legislature IN
Kansas. The proviso was rejected BY ths
senate and cong ess adlouInsd. leaving M n.s sne
Pierce lost no timo in calling an extra ses'
sion and the bill. with the proviso stricken
out, WAS passed. sset @
Perhaps the most important special sea-
sion ever called was that Of July 4 1861.
T esident Lincoln had been In office only u
| few dava WHOM southern state after south.
esn state socedsd. a portion OF the army
had gone over to the confedcracy. ships
OF war were, in many casea. absent in dis
tant scas, munitions Of war wero in the
| hands OF the confederates, the government
treasury was bankrupt, and Fort Sumter
had snrrendersd. On April II the president
called for $4,000 volunteers TO overcome
accession, and congress was called togsther.
Hannibal Hamlin. by virtue OF his office 40
vice president. was then vi esident OF tue
senate. and Galusha A. Grow was made
speaker OF tho house OF rep esentntives.
bills wero passed to blockade the southern
ports. to authorize q loan of many millions,
to appropriate money for army and navy.
for call of 100000 volunteers. defining
conspiracy against the United States and
providing punishmens therefor and conhs-
eating all private property. including ne
eroes in slavery, employed sGainst the gov
ernment. Though propositions OF peace
were offered by democ ats, they wsto votod
down by the republican majority. the lat.
ter insisting that negotiations with armed
opposition to the governments were uncon-
stitutionnl. President Lincoln did not fipd
II necessary to oail another extra session
during tho war, and tho administrator OF
President G ant passed. without any.
In May. 1877. Rutherford b. Hayes called
congress together for Oct. 10. his reason
being the failure of the p'eoeding congress
10 PASS an appropriation for tho army. The
republicans had n majority III the senate
ana the democrats in the house.
After an acrimonious fight Samuel J. Ran
eau; OK fennsylyania' defeated james A.
Gasheld for speake:. The most memorable
ACT OF this session was the passage of the
Bland silver bill. Under the law enacted
July IA. 1870. which had to do with tho re-
tundlng Of ths national debt, all bonds
Issued under it were made payable in coin.
by the act of Feb. IL, 1873. the silver
dollar had been demonetized. Since that
year silver. as compared with gold, had
been gradually losing its value. A strong
movement was on foot to remonetize silver.
so shat 1t might be employed in the re-
denption of bonds. Tho Bland bill aa
passed ~ congress provided for the coin
age OF silver dollars, each containing 41211a
grams. to the amount of not less than
S2u0OO OOO nor NOR, than double that
amount per month. and made them legal
tender for public and rivate debts. The
silver dollar was then worth about so cents,
ana opponents of the bill argued that the
trade dollar alone possessed honest value.
PRESIDENT Hayes vetoed the bill, but the
senate and the house passed il over his
veto. The Sherman law took the place Of
the Bland act in 1890. AT the extra session
OF 1877 bill was passed forbidding the
further retirement of Untel States notes.
and proviso was inserted in the army ap-
preparations bill declaring it to bs unlaw-
ful to use the military as posse commi-
tatis. At this session also was appointed a
committee of which C!arkson N. Potter, of
New York. was chairman, whose duty il
was to investigate the charge that the re-
publicans had attempted to steal the cleo
toral votes of Louisiana. South Carolina,
Florida and other southern states in order
to make Rutherford B. Hayes president.