Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-08-30
Congressional,

from the kearsarge.
Congressional,
In the L. S. Senate yesterday after
the GAzETTE's report closed Mr.. Stew
arts resolution directing the Secretary
of the Treasury to inform the Senate if
there is danger of deficiency in the
revenues of the government during the
current year, and, if so, the probable
amount, and what legislation will be
necessary to supply the deficiency, was
debated and then referred to the finance
committee-yeas 40, nays Is. Mr..
Dolph introduced bill appropriating
$500, 900 to carry ont the Chinese exclu-
sion act. Mr.. Gordon spoke in favor
of repeating the purchase clause of the
Sherman law. Mr. Teller said the
present depression was not due TO silver.
In the House the new code of rules
were considered, Speaker Crisp vacat-
ing the chair to take the floor in their
favor. The new rules are substantially
the same as those of the last Congress,
although in providing for limitation
OF the debate under certain circum-
stances there is slight advance to-
ward the Reed rules of the Fifty-frst
Congress.
Mr.. Reed twitted the democrats upon
their partial approval of the rules of
the Fifty-frst Congress, hut contended
that they had not gone far enough.
He then, argued in favor of the rights
of the majority, which rights had been
firmly maintained in the Fifty.frst Con-
gress. Now the House was in the habit
Of lodging measures instead of meeting
them.
He criticised the provision of the
rules, which, he claimed, vested the
committee on rules with the authority
which should he vested in the Speaker
Why not adobt system of rules which
would give to the majoli y control and
take away from the lilibusterer his OPP
portunity to stop the cor sideration of q
measure? 1t was better to have a
| Speaker exercise power in the full light
of public opinion than to exercise it in
the seclusion of the committee room.
Then the Speaker took the floor.
He said neither himself nor any mem.
Der of the committee on rules would re-
frain from reporting rules simply be-
cause they were part of the rules of the
Fifty-lirst Congress. Very much of
these rules was to be commended very
much of those rules had been by the
country absolutely condemned.
The gentleman from Maine Mr.. Reed)
when he stood up before the country
and spoke of the rules of the Fifty-iirst
Congress failed to speak of the prac-
,iceS adopted before the rules were
adopted, which were so odious to the
country. Applause. The first ac-
ton in the Fifty-frst Congress which
was odious to the country was not an
action under any rule, Lut it was the
arbitrary, high-handed action on the
part of the Speaker without authority
of rules, without authority Of anyone.
Applause. When the charges were
made against the Fifty-frst Congress,
let no one forget that the first charge
was that without the authority of the
House, without the authority of the
committee on the rules, the Speaker
had exercised power that had never
been granted TO him. Applause.
He had assumed upon himself the
power to count quorum. The ques-
ton had gone to the Supreme Court Of
the United States, and the gentleman
from Maine (Mr. Reed) had never been
justified. He chad heard the gentle
man from Maine several times say that
the Supreme Court had Justified his
course. The Supreme Court had not
touched the question. The Supreme
Court had said that the House had a
right to make its rules for its own gov
eminent and make its own provisions
for the entertainment of the presence OF
quorum, but it had never said that the
Speaker should make these rules. APP
plause. The gentleman had referred
to the power lodged in the committee
of rules. Dir. Crisp called the atten-
ton to the distinction that exist
ed betweed the policy of the gen
tleman from Maine and the poll
cy of the present committee on
rules. The gentleman from Maine be-
lieved that the power should be lodged
in the Speaker absolutely to decide
what was a dilatory motion. Under
the system proposed by the committee
on rules it was left to the House to de-
eide whether the motion was dilatory
or not.
The system adopted by the Fifty-sec-
ond Congress, as now readopted by the
committee on rules, was to maintain,
not the individual Judgment of the
chair, but the judgment of the majority
OF the House, The Speaker was not
granted the authority to control legis-
lation; the committee on rules was not
granted such authority. The authority
rested in the majority of the House.
Under the rules proposed dilatory mo-
tons would be avoided, for the House
had the power to reach that result by
report from the committee on rules.
The power lodged in that committee
was simply to report a proposition
The committee could not adopt cloture
It could not fix the order of business
without the consent of the House.