The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-03-06
THE WORK OF CONGRESS
Matters That Were Considered in
the Session Just Closed.
MEASURES THAT HAVE BECOME LAW

Car Coupler Bill, the Chinese Exclu-
sion Bill, the National Quarantine Bill
and the Immigration Bill.
WASHINGTON, March 8-The silver and
tariff questions, the anti-options bill and
reduction of appropriations were the lead
ing topics of consideration by the Fifty
second congress, which expired by limita-
tion at IL o'clock noon on Saturday, and
secondary only in importance to these
matters were measures relating to the
Worlds fair, equipment of railroads with
automatic car couplers, national quarsn-
tine and immigration. Behring sea and
Hawaiian annexation. Nothing of an
affirmative nature, except to prevent two
items in the Mckinley bill taking effect,
was actually accomplished SO far as
respects silver, the tariff or anti-options,
the action taken, on each of these ques-
tions in one branch of congress being
negatived by the action or non-action of
the other branch. The condition of the
public treasury, though it did not result
in the Fifty-iirst congress getting below
the billion dollar limit, undoubtedly infiu-
enced legislation to a considerable extent
and prevented the authorization of many
proposed new expenditures for improve
ment Of the public service for public build
ings payment of cloims and for other pur-
poses
The silver question was kept steadily
before the attention of congress by the al
ternate efforts of the advocates of free
coinage and of the repeal of the Sherman
law. The coinage committee of the house
in the first session reported free silver
bill, which after an exciting debate was
saved from defeat by the casting vote of
the speaker, but was afterwards filtbus-
tered to death, the friends of the bill fail
ing to secure the signatures Of n majority
| of the Democrats to Il petition asking for u
| cloture rule in its behalf. The senate
then passed free coinage bill, but when
| the free silver men renewed their fight in
| the house they were outnumbered by four-N
| !. en- votes, and of course failed. The anti
| "A, er men met similar fate in their eff
s5rts to secure a repeal Of the present law,
n. senate refusing by decisive vote to
reconsider it and the house killing the
Andrew-Cate bill by declining to vote so
as to give its friends the parliamentary
right to move cloture on it, without which
it concededly can never be forced to vote
in the closing hours of the congress.
On the tariff the dominant party in the
house adopted policy of attacking the
Mckinley bill in detail, largely for politi-
cal reasons and partly for the reason that
in view of the political complexion of the
senate it was practically out of the ques-
tion to pass new tariff revision bill
through the senate while special measures
might stand some show of passage The
result was the enactment into law of two
bills continuing block tin on the free list
and fine linen at 35 per cent. ad valorem.
Under the Mckinley bill large duties were
to take effect on these items in the near
future.
I'm Al.
the house only to be pigeon holed in the
senate as follows: Free wool and reduction
of duties on wooden manufactures, free cot
ton baggng, ties, gins and cotton bagging
machinery, free binding twine, free silver,
lead ores where the value mot the weght)
OF the silver exceeds that of the lead in any
importation, free tin plate, terne plate,
taggers tin and the limitation to 500 OF
the amount of personal baggage returning
tourists may oring into the United States.
The anti-options bills passed by both
houses but was killed by the refusal of the
house to suspend the rules and agree by
two-thirds vote to the amendments put on
the bill by the senate the opponents of the
measure manoeuvering SO as to prevent
Mr. Hatch making effective his majority
in favor of the measure and forcing him
at the last moment to try suspension of
the rules The pure food BILL the running
senate, but was neyerable TO get considera-
tion in the house.
Three bills We're vetoed by the president,
viz: To refer the McGarrnhan claim to
the court Of claims IA second Mctiarrahan
bill failing of action in the house,: to amend
the court Of appeals act and in relating to
marshals in the United States courts in
Alabama This last bill became a law by
passing over the veto, Senator Hoar (Rep.)
stating that it had been vetoed through
misunderstanding of its provisions.
Following are the more important of the
bills which have become laws; The car
coupler bill, the Chinese exclusion bill, ma
tonal quarantinesbill, immigration bill, to
grant an American registry to two Inman
line steamships, to pension survivors of the
Black Hawk and Seminole Indian wars,
to increase the pension to veterans of the
Mexican war, to enable the president to
enforce reciprocal arrangements with Can
ada, the omnibus lighthouse and fog sig
nal bill, tosamend the interstate commerce
laws so as to meet the Gresham and Coun-
selman decisions and correct defects in it,
to make the secretary of agriculture eligi-
BILE to the presidential succession, author
izing the establishment of a branch ma
tional bank on the Worlds fair grounds
to accept to beqncst of General Cullom TO
West Point academy, to extend for two
years the time within which applications
may be made to remove technical charges
of deserion against Mexican war veterans
to establish n court of appeals in the Dis
trict of Columbia, to authorize the secre-
tary of the treasury to obtain designs for
public buildings from local architects, who
may also be employed to superintend their
construction, to authorize the construction
of a bridge across the Mississippi near New
Orleans, td extend the seal protec ting
statutes to the North Pacific ocean.