Year: 1871

Congress - Negro Equality In Common


schsels-Tho BroslIya Navy Yard-Ns-


tiosal Education.


The Senate had before 1t yesterday bill
for the establishment Of q common school
system Of education in the District Of Colum-
bia, in which bill there Is a provision that
there shall be no distinction made on account
Of race, color or previous condition Of servi-
tude, in the admission Of children to the
schools or in their mode Of education or treat.
ment. Senator Patterson, of New Hampshire,
a member of the District Committee, and him
self the president of an educational institution,
moved to strike out that provision, as one
which would only produce the failure Of the
whole system but Mr.. Sumner, caring nothing
for consequences, and stimulated only by
his theories Of negro equality, resisted the
proposition, and had for an ally the colored
Senator from Mississippi, who avowed
naively that he had no prejudice against the
white race, and that, consequently, there
should be no prejudice against the blacks. As
there are public schools in the District OF
Columbia specially set apart for colored chill.
dren we cannot see the propriety of endeavor-
ing to break up that arrangement and to put
in practice compulsory system of equality
between white and colored children, which
can only result in driving the former entirely
from the public schools. No decision on the
question was reached yesterday.


In the House bill for the removal of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard was reported from the
Committee on Naval Affairs, and was dis
cussed during the morning hour. Amend
ments were offered, and are still pending,
extending its application to the navy yards
Of Charlestown, Mass, and Kittery,
Me-, and also making it applicable
to all the navy yards in the United
States. The arguments against the
maintenance of navy yards are that ex-
perlence in this country, and In England and
France, has proved that ships can be built
cheaper, better and quicker at private ship
yards, under contract, than they can be at the
navy yards; that, in this country mechanics
are employed or dismissed at the navy yards
for political reasons, and that the best way to
encourage the shipbuilding interest is to
have the work of the government performed
at private yards, under contract These rea-
sons have great weight, and viii probably
result in the passage of the bill.


The chairman of the Committee on Appro.
priations, apparently stimulated by his sue
cess in exposing and defeating the Chorpen-
ming fraud, has made another move against
the Postmaster General. in procuring
authority for his committee to send for
persons and papers and to prosecute
an inquiry into the facts connected with tho
cancellation of Demsey & O'Tooles contract
for supplying stamps and envelopes to the
Post Office Department. 1t is charged that
the contract was cancelled without just cause,
and for the purpose of allowing higher rates
to other parties


A bill for the organization of bands of Texan
Rangers, to guard the frontiers of that State
against Indian depredations, was briefly dis
cussed in the House and was summarily dis
posed of by being laid upon the table, its oppo-
nents representing that the objects were to
furnish employment to some of the estimable
youths of that region who had nothing else to
do; also to involve the United States in q
war with Mexico; and that the quiet people
there would have more to apprehend from
the Rangers than from the Indians.


The House passed a joint resolution, intro
duced by Mr.. Butler, of Massachusetts,,
authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to
remit duties on imported articles of merchaa-
disc donated and actually sold in fairs for the
benefit Of the destitute and wounded citizens
OF France. We presume that, in conformity
with the principle established in the resolution
providing for national vessels to carry supplies
for the destitute people of both France and
Germany, this resolution will be amended in
the Senate by making it apply also to goods
donated by German fairs.


Several hours of yesterdays session in the
House were consumed in the debate on the
bill to establish system of national educa-
ton. 1t went over till to-day without action.