The record-union., 1897-04-01

best rule of law that no statute should
be retroactive.
The parliamentary point was imme
amendment had not yet been ordered
read by the full committee.
In order to avoid any technical trou-
BILE, Dingley withdrew the amendment,
and called a meeting of the Ways and
Means Committee, whose members filed
out of the hall.
The committee was absent but few
moments, and upon entering the cham
ber, Grosvenor again offered the amend
ment making the bill effective April 1st.
Dockery D) of Missouri offered an
amendment for proviso to suspend
the duties on articles controlled by
trusts.
A point of order being made against
it, after a short discussion was sus-
tanned by the Chair.
An arrangement was made for fif-
teen minutes debate on each side on
the Grosvenor amendment.
Bailey stated that the opposition was
extremely anxious to reach two sched-
ules in the bill, and did not desire to
consume more time in this amend
ment.
In opening, Grosvenor remarked upon
the alleged attempts of the Democrats
to make political capital out of the os-
tentatious opposition to trusts. AS
the pending proposition to make this
tariff bill to go into effect April 1st, no
matter what the date of it's final enact
ment, he said two questions were in
volved-its eXpediency and it's wisdom.
That it was wise he did not think any
one would deny. and he would, there
FORE direct his attention entirely to the
question of it's expediency. AS a ques-
ton of law, his view was that these
things not forbidden to Congress were
legal. On this subject he planted him
self, he said, on the conclusions of
Judge Cooley in his work on constitu-
tional law in the chapter entitled Ret
respective law" In that chapter Judge
Cooley, he said, contended that there
was no doubt of the right of the Legisla-
lature to enact retrospective legiSla-
ton, if that power was not forbidden.
The constitutional limitation was that
Congress should have no right to pass
a bill of attainder or an ex post facto
law, and provided that no State should
pass an ex post facto law, or a law i'm
pairing the obligations of contracts. 1t
was plain that the Constitution in
tended to deny this right to the States,
and by implication retain it in Con-
gress.
He quoted a decision of the Supreme
Court made in 1880 in support o. his
contention, and a decision of the Su
preme Court of Iowa, which held no
prohibition against an eX post factO law,
to the effect that a retrospective law
was not necessarily an eX post factO
law. This law would be retrospective,
in that it would levy custom duties on
merchandise bought or shipped after
a liberal provision, in that it did not ap-
ply to goods now afioat.
Grosvenor's strongest point was that
in connection with the present tariff
bill, which bore date of August 1,
1894, but was not finally enacted until
two days later. Although this was un-
the Supreme Court had held
that it was retrospective. The income
tax, although it had been held uncon-
stitutional (not on that point, how
ever) levied on every dollar held on the
1st of the preceding January. Whisky
in bond, manufactured under the ninety
cent tax, under the operation of that
bill, paid 20 cents additional
Richardson D.) of Tennessee contend
ed that the Supreme Court decision in
the case involving the Wilson law. in
which the opinion of the Supreme Court
was delivered by Chief Justice Fuller
decided exactly contrary to the con-
tention of Grosvenor. Goods imported
between August 1st and August 2S
1894, it was decided should pay the
Mckinley and not the Wilson rates.
IF you are going to make this law
take effect tomorrow, why not say to-
day." demanded Bland Cd of Missou-
ri, "or why not the day the Mckinley
law was reported? The real purpose, ~
he added, was to check all imports SO
long as the bill was pending before
Congress, if that should be until next
March,
The debate on the amendment was
concluded by Bailey, who said: ''Mr.
Grosvenor fails to distinguish between
the power of Congress to pass retroact-
i've law ard put two inconsistent laws
in action at the same time. The prop
osition of the Ways and Means Com
mittee is that Congress shall have the
power to compel the people of the Unit
ed States to live at the same time
under two different and conficting
laws. Even if by strange decision of
a court Congress could exercise that
power, it would not be wise to exer-
else it. You propose to put the peo-
pie under laws that are yet in the un-
fathomable wisdom Of the United
States Senate.
The debate having been ended. Gros-
venor proposed an amendment to the
amendment, which was that the lien
imposed on goods by this Act import
ed between April 1st and the enact
ment of the Act should be only to the
amount of the excess of the duties of
this Act over the Wilson Act.
The amendment to the amendment
was adopted.
The vote was then taken by tellers on
the original amendment fixing April
1st as the date on which the bill was
to go into effect, and it was adopted
80 to 120.
The clerk resumed the reading of the
bill, but he had not completed a single
page before motions to strike out the
last word" and the last two words
were again forthcoming, and made the
ground for f1ve-minute speeches. Some
of these We're fast and furious. The
galleries by this time were crowded to
suffocation Many prominent persons
were present.
Hartman (Silver R.) of Montana de-
clared that if this bill became a law it