Year: 1876

WASHINGTON. March "A.
SENATE.


Political Contributions.
Chair laid before the Senate House bill
in relation to political contributions.


Mr.. Davis suggested the bill be sent
to q Committee on the Judiciary.


Mr.. Howe thought it affected the
political matter more than anything
else, and that there was no law question
con injected with it that any commit
tee was not competent to wrestle with,
and he suggested it be sent to the Commit
tee on Privileges and Elections. Agreed
to. 81. .sEy IN


The Senate voted to adjourn over till
Monday when it adjourns to-day.


The Chair laid before the Senate the
bill on Sioux deficiencies, with the notice
that the House will not agree to the
amendments Of the Senate.


The Senate voted to insist upon It's
amendments, and asked for Committee
of Conference, and Messrs. Withers,
Allison and Oglesby were appointed.


Post Route Bill.


The Senate took up for consideration
the post route bill.


Mr.. Hamlin said that the committee
had paid personal attention t. all the
proposed routes, and had made personal
inquiry from different members as to the
necessity of all they had proposed. They
had stricken out and inserted only such
as they had carefully scrutiRized, and
perhaps upon this statement, the Senate
would not insist on having the bill
read in full. A debate ensued
during tbe course of which
MIR. Sargent ssid-Let the depart.
ments send their mail matter by streks
of the per. 1t will take no more time
than to lick stamp and it costs no more
to send mails in this manner than 1t does
with a stamp on them. He believed
that economy might be carried little
farther and members of Congress and
Senators might be put into oommunlca-
tion with their constituents by
the franking privileges. He believed it
all right that the mem bers and Senators
should be permitted 10 communicate with
their constituents and to send them such
information, printed or otherwise as they
deemed necessary The bill was amend
ed as to its minor parts and passed


The bill providing that Wilson
! McCandlas Judge Of the District Court
of the Western District of Pennsylvania
NAV be retired on account of al health.
although he has not reached the age OF
70 years, was taken up and amended so
MS to provide that he should res ign at tho
end of six months after his retirement,
and then passed.


Senate then resumed the consideration
of Senate bill No. l, 20


Count the Votes for President and
Vice-President.
Mr.. Burnside moved TO reconsider the
vote whereby the bill was passed to its
third reading, and then introduced the
following amendment:


Sec. 3, That if more than one return
shall be received by the President OF the
Senate from State, purportIns to be the
certificates of the electoral votes gwen at
the last preceding election for President
and Vice-President in such State, he
shall Immediately make q report thereon
TO the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States. who shall ut once
cause said supreme court to proceed to
examine as to who are the legal electors
of SAID State, and shall have power to
send for persons and papers; and the
said Chief Justice shall, on or before the
last Tuesday in January next, succeeding
the meeting of the electors of President
and Vice President, report to the fresl-
dent of the Senate which of said electors
we're legally elected, and the returns
sent by the electors so designated shall,
if in all other respects they are legal, be
counted before the two houses.


The question WAS then taken on the
amendment proposed by Mr.. Burnsides,
and it was lost. The question was then
taken up on the passage of the bill, ana
was passed as follows:


Mr.. Thurman said he was at loss &c
see what the Senators could see IN thls
bill of a partisan nature. de moved
reconsideration of the vote whereby the
bill was passed, in order to give one
more chance to fx the same bill to meet
the question when two sets OF returns
were sent in. He did hope that IN that
chamber where debate was allowed, some
measure could be perfected 10 meet the
necessity OF the case. If not, there was
no hope of getting it done at this Con-
gress


The motion was entered.


The Senate took up the Consular and
Diplomatic bill and made it the order o.
business. and then went into executive
session and soon adjourned.