Year: 1879

The demise of the Forty fifth Congres

 seems likely to occasion but brief interim il the work of law making at Washington. Tn

 new Congress, which comes in next week

 will nc doubt find occupation for severa months time. Such valuable work as our lat, statesmen (most of whom have retired witt the retiring Congress) succeeded in accomplish ing, was chiefly of the defensive kind Littl, positive advance was made in any right direc rtion. The passage of bill admitting womer to the practice of law in the U. s. Supreme Court, and of good census bill, are good deeds that shine very brightly out of the deep sur rounding darkness

 This Congress succeeded however in doing some important things which they ought nc, to have done, chief among which we reckon the act granting arrears of pensions-a meas ure beautifully calculated to enrich claim agents and deplete the treasury. The belaud- ed small savings of successive sessions are all swept away by single act of extravaganza like this. The President saved them from I making another magnificent blunder by his veto of the Antl-Chinese bill. The motive which led to both these measures was the same "a desire to make political capital with class Of voters, or with the people of a few states, at the expense of the nation at large The politicians of both parties were afraid to offend California by doing what they knew to be their duty. In the ether case they were afraid to tell the pensioners that the fin anees of the country were in no condition to warrant the expenditure of thirty or more millions for arrearsges which had in reality been forfeited by neglect.

 It was the necessities of the politician that called an extra session. The action of the federal supervisors is said to have lost the Democrats many thousand votes in New York city. Hence the Democracy were determined to procure the repeal of the law providing for their appointment, before the election of '79 Republicans, considering that State the pivot on which the election of 80 will probably turn, refused their assent. Now, new Congress Democratic in both branches, will try and bend a Republican President to their wishes. Wheth- CT the reduction of the tobacco tax by one- third was a political concession we cannot positively say, though it has the look of Dem ocratic yielding te the clamor of their political friends in Virginia and Kentucky.

 Among the important measures which failed were some which seem to us to have deserv- ed better fate It is burning shame that final action is not taken upon the distribution of the Geneva Award. The Senate and the majority of the House committee desired to admit the claims of the insurance companies 1; the House refused, and on that difference the entire bill failed. The bill establishing na- tional quarantine, also 8 very necessary meas ure, as it seems to us, failed, through the jeal- ous opposition of State interests. The attempt to remove the internal revenue tax on matches also failed, and nobody tried to relieve busi- ness of the annoying tax on bank checks. The extravaganza of the pension arrears act has probably made longer retention of these and other petty annoyrnces absolutely necessary When we come to the bad measures reject ed. the prospect is much pleasanter. One most reassuring feature of the present session is the strong Democratic opposition developed against the shoal of Southern claims from which se much was at one time feared. That class of claims seems pretty thoroughly dis posed of forever. The attempted transfer of the Indians from the Interior to the Army Department was unsuccessful in spite of Sheridan's brilliant cavalry charge upon Schurz. The country rejoices in the rejection of the Brazilian subsidy, of various bills for for the erection of public buildings and of several other extravagances originating, we regret to say, chiefly in the Republican Sen- ate.

 There is considerable excitement over the organization of the new House in which the Democracy have but very small majority. The Greenback members have been threaten ing separate organization to hold the balance of power, but they cannot bring quite enough soft money Democrats into the arrangement to make it effective. There will be sharp con- test made, however, against the reelection of Speaker Randall and the lobby, whose meas ures he has made special effort to thwart are trying ts help the chances of Mr. Blackburn, the only candidate against him.

 The New Census bill takes the enumeration out of the hands of U. S. marshals and gives it to 150 census supervisors who can give the