Year: 1871

Congress Yesterday-The Steamship subsi-


dies-The Income Tax-The Omnibus Appro-


priation Bill.


The Senate, after its late night session on
bill to regulate elections in the States, went to
work yesterday on the Post Office Appropria-
ton bill, and kept at it steadily till the hour of
adjournment. The important question on this
bill was that of steamship subsidies. The pro-
position to give five hundred thousand dollars
year to line Of steamers between San Fran
cisco and Australia was defeated, after discus
sion, by vote of twenty-seven to twenty -four.
The proposition to double the subsidy of the
line to China and Japan from half million to
million of dollars, and the service from
monthly to semi-monthly. was under consid-
Grafton when the Senate adjourned. It will
probably meet the same fate as the Australian
project.


Congress appears determined to do nothing
in aid Of steamship enterprises, but rather to
aim at their total defeat. Its motto seems to
be, ''Millions for railroads, but not dollar
for ocean commerce." Not so have the other
enlightened governments of the world UNDER
stood their relations and duty to that great
interest which has made the wealth and power
of SO many nations in the past and In the
present.


The House bill for the celebration of the
centenary anniversary of American Independ-
ence by an international exposition of arts,
manufactures and products at Philadelphia, in
1876, was passed by the Senate yesterday, and
now only awaits the Presidents signature to
become law.


In the House a letter from the Com
missioner of Internal Revenue to the
Chairman of the Committee of Ways and
Means was read, representing the necessity of
some definite action being taken by the House
on the proposition to abolish the income tax,
and urging that such action be taken without
delay. Mr.. Hooper notified the House, in con-
nection with the letter, that he would, at the
earliest opportunity, move to go into Commit
tee of the Whole and take up the bill for action.
There are now but five days Of this Congress
left, and there is reason to fear, in view of the
facility with which the rules of the House can
be used to obstruct legislative action, that the
bill abolishng the income tax, like many other
matters of great public interest, will fail to re-
ceive consideration at the present Congress.


The whole of yesterdays session in the
House was occupied in the consideration of
the Omnibus" Appropriation bill, several
items of which elected much discussion. The
paragraph appropriating six millions to reim-
burse States for their outlay in equipping
troops during the rebellion was excluded from
the bill on a point of order. Mr.. Dawes,
chairman of the Committee on Appropriations,
vainly endeavored to resist the Pennsylvania
delegation in an object which they seem to
have as much at heart as even maintaining
high duties on iron and coal the removal of
the Navy Yard from Philadelphia to League
Island, and they carried their point by vote
of one hundred and forty to forty -four. Then
Dawes worried out with his efforts to make
progress in the bill, and despairing of the
House continuing in session long enough to dis.
pose of it paragraph by paragraph moved a
suspension of the rules and the passage of the
bill without further consideration. The
House, however, was not in an accommodate
ing mood, and refused to adopt this wholesale
system Of legislation, but adjourned without
disposing of the bill. 1t appears highly pro-
bable now that some of the appropriation bills
will have to 60 over till the next session.