Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-02-26
SD CONGRESS.
House and Senate Working on
Appropriation Bills.
House Passes General Deficiency Bill,
Minus Behring Sea Award.
Senate Pass Sundry Civil Bill Including
Purchase Of Blaine Residence.

ssWashington, Feb. 25.-The genera
deficiency bill was taken up in the House
The House considered the amendment
to pay the British government s425, 00t
in full for all damages claimed by thu
Canadian sealers who were interferet
with by the United States. Cannon
(Rep.) of Illinois, combatted the appro
priation. OF the S5i2, 600 claimed by tn,
British ambassador, 1858, 900 was fol-
speculative damages alone. He quotet
from the award in the Geneva arbitration
the unanimous opinion of the tribunal
being that speculative damages could
not be considered, because they depended
upon such contingencies that no calcula
ton could be based thereon Hooker
! Dem sustained the amendment on the
ground that the United States was bound
to meet and settle these damages
Henderson (Rep.) of Iowa, said with
American citizens knocking at the door
for payment Of claims long adjudicated
to be due and with the award of the
Geneva arbitration against the United
States ON the subject of consequential
damages, he was not in a hurry in these
days of a depleted treasury to dump $500,
900 into the British treasury especially
when there was high authority for the
statement that much of the claim was I'M
founded and unjust. OF all the claims
made, according to Mr.. Foster, SS1, SIS
was probably well founded, and the re
mainder speculative or wholly unfounded.
For one, Henderson said he was in favor
of the commission provided for in the con
vention passing upon these claims, so if
there were Americans masquerading I'M
der British auspices they might be smoked
out. (Applause.)
McCreary Dem. of Kentucky, favored
the amendment. He said the United
States must either pay the 1925, 600 in
settlement of these claims or submit them
to the scrutiny and award of joint com
mission. The settlement by commits
sion would cost the government at least
twice as much.
Hit (Rep.) of Illinois, opposing the
amendment, exposed the basis of the
claims on behalf of Thomas H. Cooper, a
British subject of San Francisco amount
ing to $225,000 Cooper, he said, was a
man of straw, put up by an American
citizen of San Francisco who was engaged
in a scheme to destroy seals, violate the
laws of the land and now to deplete the
treasury. OF the whole amount of S5l2,
900 claimed by Sir Julian, only S1S2, OO0
was not shown to be owned by American
citizens hiding behind Canadian and Eng
lish dummies. The whole amount of the
claim. substantially was for seal skirs
that the claimants did not catch, and it
was unfounded under the rule laid down
in the award by the Geneva tribunal.
Dingley (Rep.) of Maine, reviewed the
circumstances which led to the present
situation. He said we were confronted
with an alternative, either horn of which
was an evil. On the one hand if we vote
to pay the amount proposed by the
state department., we would be paying an
extravagant and unjustifiable sum. On
the other hand, if the question of dam
ages was submitted to commission, the
umpire to be from foreign government.
no one could tell what the result would
be- Justice would make much smaller
measure of the damages than it was pro-
posed to pay.
Breckinridge closed the debate on the
amendment with an appeal that the award
be paid. Upon rising vote the amend
ment was defeated: ayes, IL nays, SO.
A division was demanded, resulting: ayes,
"a nays, &c. and the amendment was
adopted for the time being as in the COM
mittec of the whole.
The amendment offered by Breckenridge
was adopted, extending the appropriation
for the Mexican boundary commission.
The commission has not yet completed its
work, and this provision simply provides
for continuation of the work.
The committee rose and the bill was
reported to the House. 1t was agreed that
all the amendments be adopted except the
extra compensation for clerks and the
payment of the Behring sea awards. Up
on this latter, question the yeas and nays
were demanded, and it was rejected: yeas,
112; nays, 143; present and not voting,5
A yea and nay vote was demanded on
the amendment to pay the employees of
the House and clerks an extra months
salary, and resulted: yeas, 143; nays, los.
Cox dem. of Tennessee, moved to recon
slider the vote having voted yea for that
purpose and Hayes Dem of Iowa, moved
to lay the motion to reconsider on the
table. The motion to reconsider was laid
on the table; yeas, las; nays 81.
Maddocks dem. )of Georgia, moved to
re-commit the bill with instructions to
omit the part providing an extra month
pay for the clerks of members, but the
House refused, 1875 to 75, to second the
demand for the previous question on this
motion. A little Intellectual filibustering
was INDUCED in at this point in aid of the
effort to defeat the provision for month
extra pay to employees and the motion to
re commit the bill. The bill was then
passed, the House dividing on the motion,
1Sl to "a. Bland (Dem.) of Missouri.
demanded the yeas and nays, but only II
members rose to second the demand and
the bill was declared passed, amid ap-
plause.
Henderson (Dem.) of North Carolina,
presented the report of the conferees on
the post office appropriation bill 1t was
a partial agreement only and was agreed
to. Action on the matters still in dispute
was postponed until tomorrow. The
agreement reached by the conferees was
confirmed and the amendments put in the
bill by the Senate, with one exception,
that the railway postal clerks hereafter
appointed shall reside at some point on
the line to which they are assigned. but
clerks now employed shall not be compelled
to change their residences The total
Continued on cd page.