Year: 1871

=
Congress Neutrality-suspicious. Claims Corr


mission-The Frecdmen's Bnrenu-The In.


come Tax-The Appropriation BiIIs-A
Rush of Business.


We commented yesterday upon the move
ment inaugnrated in the Senate for letting
loose new horde of raiders upon the national
Treasury in the shape of loyal Southerners,
whose property was taken and used by our
troops during the rebellion. We regret to say
that the House yesterday made an independent
move in the same direction. The House pro-
position is in the form Of bill for the crea-
ton of commission, which is to sit for two
years, in Washiny yton and in the South, is to
collect all the evidence of such claims and
submit its report to Congress, which is then
to act in the matter. In some respects this
proposition is preferable to that of the Senate
but the object and effect of both of them are
about the same, and that is to impose upon
the Treasury responsibilities the aggregate Of
which no one can now estimate AS we said
yesterday, there were really no loyal men in
the rebel States, except such as were forced
to be so by the presence of our armies-at
least none who were in condition to furnish
supplies; and even if there were some
scattered isolated cases of the kind,
the bill would prove of little comparative
benefit to them. Its only result will be to
enrich crowd of spectators, who will 60
into the Southern States and buy up these
claims for small per centage. or fabricate
them in wholesale. 1t may be, however, that
there is some political manGuvre at the bottom
OF the scheme, and that it is expected to be Of
some use in securing adherents in that section
to the republican party in the coming Presi-
dental campaign These politicians are up to
all sorts of games, and this costly one is pro-
badly Of them.


The Freedmen's Bureau and its head Gem
eral o. o. Howard, received certificate Of
good character yesterday in the House, in the
adoption of resolution declaring that it was
most efficient instrument in promoting the
wel-being and education of four and a
half millions of enfranchised people,
and that General Howard deserved
the gratitude of the American people. Even
the democrats expressed their assent to the
elevation of the negro race and were willing
to agree to that part of the resolution; but
they would not subscribe to the merits of
General Howard. AS the resolution, however,
was not susceptible of division, it was adopted
only by a strict party vote.


The bill to repeal the income tax came up
for square vote, on motion by Mr.. Hooper,
chairman Of the Committee Of Ways and Means,
to suspend the rules and pass it. Instead,
however, of the two-thirds majority which was
requisite to pass it in that shape, it failed to
receive simple majority, the result of the yea
and nay vote being 9l to l16. Although that
closes the question. SO far as this Congress is
concerned, the vote is not to be taken as a cor
rect indication of the sentiment of the House.
for as it was obvious that it could not pass
under suspension of the rules, many members
who really favored it voted against it SO as to
appear right on the record before their non
taxpaying constituents. 1t was that idea
which underl7y the joke Of Mr.. Hooper's
announcement that, as there appeared
TO be majority against the repeal Of the
income tax, he would not move to go into
Committee Of the Whole to take up the bill for
the same purpose on the calendar of that
committee. The Senate might still tack it on
as an amendment to the bill repeating the duty
on coal, and that double measure would be
the most popular act of legislation that Con-
gress could possibly perform.


The conference on the Legislative Appro-
priatlon bill failed, and Mr.. Dawes explained
to the House the cause of its failure. The
points on which the House conferees declined
to yield to the Senate were on the increase Of
salaries Of the United States Judges and Of
bureau off >ials in Washington, the building Of
a new State Department, and the extension Of
the grounds of the Capitol. These latter
points infamcd Mr. Logan, of Illinois, to such
an extent as to provoke him to launch out in o
Rocky Mountain oration on the removal of the
Capitol, which he threatens to accomplish i'm
few years, and on the obsequies soon to be
performed on the republican party, assassinated
by its own friends. With Logan transferred
to the Senate and Blair there already, we ex-
pect to see that staid, solemn, respectable
body of legislators transformed before long
into an amusing and tumultous assembly.


The House came very near establishing yes
terday an extraordinary precedent in connec-
ton with contested election cases. This was
the adoption of resolution to pay demo-
cratic Representative from Texas two thou
sand dollars for expenses incurred in main
tanning and defending his right to the seat.
The resolution was adopted Immediately
after the House met, and while the chairman
and members of the Election Committee were
not present. Subsequently, however, the
chairman, Mr.. Paine, of Wisconsin, called
the attention of the House to it and the resolu-
tion was rescinded and the Texas innovator
was left with no other reward than the possess