Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-14

them. He reinforced bis position that the house WAS not entitled to the custody of the bill and papers by quoting from a decision of Speaker Coifax in the Thirty eighth congress, where he declined to receive a conference report proposed to be made by MT. Washburn because the house was not entitled to receive it. He also read from Jefferson s manual to sfow that the papers in the case belonged to the house assenting to the request for a conference. MT. Reed suggested this situation: Suppose at the same time the house took the action proposed in this order the senate should demand the bill for the purpose of taking other sction upon it. What situation should we be in?
 MT. Reed said he did not know that he should succeed in convincing the majority that they were wrong in this matter, but he would put them where the beathen are who have heard the missionary-they will have no second chance for redemption. Laughter1.
 Speaker Crisp, in ruling upon the point of order, said that in considering the point of order made by MT. Reed it was neces- sary not only to look at the position of the
 bill, but at what is proposed to be done by the resolution reported. After reciting the various eteps in the passage of the bill the speaker said that as to it's parliamentary status Mir. Reed had correctly cited the scope and effect of Jefferson s manual. Ths rule, however, he said, proposed to change Jef-
 ferson's manual, and the question was not whether what was proposed to be done was according to authority, but whether the change in the rules will be valid, legal and binding. The house, Mr. Crisp said, had the right to change the rules based on the manual as we'll as any other rules, and the case cited by MT. Reed from the Thirty eighth congress was not in point. As to the legality of the proceeding, the speaker said he had found precedent in the pro- ceedings of the Forty ninth congress, which was on all fours with the action proposed.
 In that instance the bill was introduced in
 the senate, and after reaching the same stage as the tariff bill as at present, on motion of MT. Harlan, one of the con-
 ferees, the senate discharged it's conferees,
 the senate receding from its disagree m"Ht to the house amendments and the bill becoming law. At the same .~.e tune 10, 1872, the journal of the
 house showed that the bill was in that
 body. The object of all conferences, said
 Speaker Crisp, was to get the minds of the
 two houses together, and while confer ence committee is still in existence, it has
 been held that one house may recede from
 the disagreement to the amendments of the
 other house and permit the bill to become
 law. In support of this position the
 speaker had the clerk read from decision
 of Speaker Carlisle, which was to the effect
 that where two conferees disagreed the
 situation was different from that of other
 cases, and the house may vote to change it's
 action upon the bill without rescinding
 previous votes of contrary character.
 ''In brief,'' said the speaker, "the point of order made by the gentleman from Maine is overruled, and the question IS upon bordering the prev ious question:
 The previous question was seconded
 without division, and the speaker recog-
 nized the gentleman from Mississippi, Mir. Catchings, who had arisen from his seat simultanoousIy with MT. Reed. The former
 indicated his willingness to yield to MT. Reed, while the latter sat down as if un-
 willing to deprive Mr. CatchinGs of the floor.
 MT. Reed, however, again arose and
 made one of his most sarcastic speeches.
 He did not wonder, he said, that the other side did uot desire to discuss the action about to be taken. Laughter But he would give them plain statement of what they were
 going to do. The house had announced
 some time ago that it would fight the sen-
 ate and die in the last ditch. This was the
 last ditch and the lower part of it. Laugh ter.
 He realized how distasteful it must be and
 how the democrats were trying to sea- son it with suitable varnishings. They were about to enact what they believed was not an honest bill in a dishonest way. They were about to desert the "roll of honor'' and trick themselves out with the gewgaws of this absurb proposition. MT. Turner of Georgia replied to, MT. Reed and was greeted with applause by the democrats. He said the gentleman from Maine had built up a parliamentary sys- tenn which now reacted against him. There was no right or justice in the as- sumption that the action of the senate in sending the bill back to the house was erroneous. MT. Reed said he did not make any claim. He had been informed that the irregularty occurred, but he had no per- sonal information.
 Mir. Turner proceeded to show that the present action of the house was strictly regular. On all such occasions as this there was sound common sense dominat1ng g congress, which brought order out of the partimentary chaos which experts had de. vised. When the Mckinley bill was passed more than 100 of the amendments were passed with little or no debate. FIf 1t took only two hours to impose the burdens of the Mckinley law upon the American people" said he, 'shoufd 1t take any more than two hours to lift the bur- dens from the American people?'' Each one of these items had been dis cussed for months.
 Mr. Reed proceeded to discuss the de- cision of the chair, and the controversy over the decision between himself and MT. Turner consumed the few remaining min- uteB.
 The question then being on agreeing to the resolution, Mir. Reed demanded Q di- vision. The entire democratic side arose
 en masse, but when the negative vote was called for the republicans sat calmly in their seats, hoping to break quorum. When the speaker announced the vote, 188, three more than quorum, the repub- licaus were somewhat disconcerted. MT. Reed demanded the yeas and nays.
 The house order was adopted-176 to U-- eleven not voting.
 Among the democrats voting in the nega- tive were Messrs. Davey, Robertson of Louisiana, Covert, Price, German, War ner.
 MT. Kilgore answered as present, but did not vote. Ia other respects the vote was strictly on party lines.
 Upon the announcement of the vote