Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-08
 THE HOUSE DISAPPOINTED On Account of the Delay in
 Getting LORD SALISBURY'S LETTER Contested Election Cases to Be Settled Ae
 cotdiug to Evidence.
CIVIL SERVICE RULES EXTENDED
It Is Now Certain That Two Election Com- mittees Will Be Appointed-A Place on the Committee Is Much
 Sought After.

Washington, Dec 7.-Great disappoint- ment was expressed by the house today that the president should have left the city yesterday and thereby delay laying before them the information contained in Lord Salisburys reply to Secretary Olney's letter, which reached Washing ton last evening. Such of the represent tatives as feel a keen and patriotic in- terest in the Venezuelan boundary ques- tion-and these constitute practically the whole house-have expected that the British premier's answer would be imne- diately forwarded by the president in a special message to congress. The pres ident's absence will prevent the house for possibly ten days from receiving this information unless some other method of procuring it is reached. MT. Livingston of Georgia, who is conspicuously friendly to Venezuela, believes that he has evolved plan which will get the Sails bury letter before the house by next week. This plan looks to the introduce tion of resolution when the house re- assemblies on Monday calling upon the secretary of state for his letter to Lord Salisbury, written in July last, and the British premiers reply received yester- day, if this be not incompatible with the public service. MT. Livingston will ask the immediate consideration of his reso- lution which, if adopted, may be fol- lowed with the correspondence within the next twenty-four or forty-eight hours.
 So far as Speaker Reeds influence goes the conclusions reached in the contested election cases now before the house will be based on the law and evidence, with out regard to partisan considerations. ITnW1 nf fifty Of Q To have applied for assignment to the cleo tions committee, and many of these gen. tlemen have preferred their request per- sonally. MT. Reed has repeatedly sought from these applicants an expression of opinion as to the spirit in which their work would be undertaken in the event they were placed upon the committee, To such as he has talked he has ex- pressed desire that the work should be expedited, in view of the very consider able expense which will accrue to the government from delaying a settlement of the cases, and he has also emphasized his belief that the committees. concu- sions shall be wholly free from political bias, and that each contest shall be set tied strictly on it's merits. There is now apparently little doubt that two elec- tions committees will be formed in order to facilitate matters, and it is one of the strong probabilities, so far as anyone can anticipate Speaker Reeds action, that the chairmen of the two committees will be Messrs. Daniels of New York and Call of Massachusetts.
 The president has amended the civil service rules and brought into the clas- sified service about forty-ive additional employees. The amendment reads that the special departmental rule No. 1 Is amended by striking from the list of places excepted from examination the department of labor statistical experts and temporary experts. So much of ex- ecutive orders as provides for the ap- pointment Of special agents in the de- partment of labor by non-competitive ex- ecution is hereby revoked