The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-01-10
Congressional Proceedings.

| WEDNEsDAY.-Th first business done in
the senate after the holiday recess was the
swearing in of Mr.. Hunton, democratic
senator from Virginia, to fill the unexpred
term of the late Senator Barbour. Mr..
Frye of Maine offered a resolution declar-
ing that in the opinion of the senate during
the investigation of the committee on for
eign relations into our relations with Ha-
wall there should be no interference on the
part of the United States government by
moral influence or physical force for the
restoration of Queen Liliuokalan or for the
maintenance of the provisional government
OF the Hawaiian Islands; and that our naval
force should be used on the islands only for
the protection of the lives and property of
American citizens. He asked that the res
olution lie on the table for the present and
said that he would by-and-by move to refer
1t to the committee on foreign relations.
THURsDAY.-In the senate, Mr.. Gray of
Delaware gave notice that on Tuesday of
this week he would move to proceed to the
consideration OF the house bill to repeal the
federal election laws, and that he would
ask to have its consideration continued till
conclusion shall be reached. He face
tiously remarked that perhaps Mr.. Hoar
might, possibly, have religious scruples
against transacting business on Monday
Jackson day. Mr.. Hoar wittily replied as
follows: " should like to keep before the
country the example of that distinguished
democrat-both in the matter of submitting
to the laws of the country in all parts of the
Union, and in the matter of his very wise
and admirable views on protection. Per-
haps, therefore, the influence of Monday
may be very good on everybody, if we take
up the bill on Tuesday" After an execu-
tive session. the senate adjourned till Mon
day. - In the house, Mr.. Oates of Ala
bama introduced a bill to largely increase
the monetary value of silver without dis
turblng its relation with gold. 1t provides
for the use of seigniorage silver as an i'm
mediate base of circulation and increase
that circulation otherwise, and also to prac-
tically stop the making of contracts payable
in gold. In the opinion of Mr.. Oates, this
would add $141 100000 to the amount of the
circulation. A postal telegraph bill was in
troduced by Mr.. Mcclure of California,
which provides for the issue of $25, 900, 900
in bonds to be expended in the erection of
telegraph lines starting at thirty-two of the
largest cities in the country. The tolls are
fixed at ten cents for ten words, and the
postmaster-general is authorized to arrange
for rate of twenty cents per one hundred
words for news dispatches,
FRDAY.-The entire time of the house
was frittered away in roll calls in which
there was no quorum, on the attempt of Mr..
Catchings to pass his resolution to schedule
the passage of the Wilson bill. The roll
was called four times, and house ad journed.
MoNDAY.-In the senate, Mr.. Hoar's reso-
luton offered last week calling on the sec
rotary of the treasury for a statement of
the payments to Mr.. Blount, commissioners
TO Hawaii, was laid before the senate.
After long debate, it was referred to the
committee on foreign relations. Mr.. Tur-
pie of Indiana offered a resolution declar-
ing that it was unwise and inexpedient to
consider lrther either the treaty or the
project of annexation of Hawaii that the
provisional government should be allowed
TO continue its own line of policy; and that
foreign intervention would be regarded as
an act unfriendly to the United States.
The resolution went over. After an execu-
tive session the senate adjourned. -
A quorum was at last obtained in the house.
and, after another passage at arms between
Speaker Crisp and Mr.. Boutelle of Maine,
the first gun in the tariff debate was fred
by Mr.. Wilson of West Virginia the father
of the Wilson bill and chairman of the ways
and means committee. He declared that
protection crept stealthily in at the back
door when the country was in the agony of
great cruel war, and that IL now sought
TO take advantage of the present CONNER
cial distress to hold on TO its position in the
revenue system of the country. He de-
clared that the greatest drain upon the
federal treasury had been the dependent
pension bill of 1890, by which the pension
appropriation had run up to $160000,0 900
year. Mr.. Wilson declared that the bill
never would have passed, just or unjust, if
there had not been an overlooking treasury,
which 1t was decided to empty, and il there
had not been devised along with it new
scheme OF taxation under which those other
pensioners, the protected industries, would
get the biggest pull and the largest part of
the taxes levied to pay pensions. The
whole OF the week will be devoted to gem
eral debate on the bill, and the two weeks
commencing next Monday will be devoted
to debate under the five-minute rule. 1t Is
proposed TO take Ia vote on the measure
January 20. -