Congressional Proceedings

Tuesday, Fcb. 12. - Senate. - Mr. Christíancy, in presenting petitions from cillzcns of Michigan favoring & sixtocnth constitutional amendrnont couíerring the right of suffrago upon women, said that be boped the Committee on Privileges and Eleotions wouíd tak e up the subject and report upon it. When he ehould bccomo KiiUfjfif d that a major ity of the women of the country wero in favor of femaio suffrage he won ld vote for it, but uutil then he wonld uot. Ho did uot think these petitions should bc preaented to Congress, The Legislatures of Staten were the proper bodies to present them to Mr. Morrill, from thö Co"3iniitlee ou Finance, roported favorabiy on the House joitit resolution declaring that the reduction of the tax on disülk d spirits is inexpedient. He also reported a subRtituto for the Henatc bilí to provide for a commisMÍon ou the nubject of the alcohol Hquor traffic Mr. tturnaide, from tho Committee on Military Affaire, reported, with amondmeutp, tho Sonate bill to remove all rcBtrlcllona uow existing in regard to the enlietnient of .colored citizens in any arm of the United States arniy. Mosnrs, Maxoy and Gockrel), of the committee, announccd that tbey did uot agree with the majoritj of the committee in roporting thia bill. . . . Mr. Thurmau proHented petitions of citizens of Oliio ín favor of the renioneüzatiou of eilver and tho rcpeal of the Reeumptiou law....A few bilis of minor importance were introducod, and i a bill was passed making the 22a of Fobi ruary a Jcgai holiday in the District of Cnlumbla, j after which conaideration wan rcpumed of the SÜver 1 bill. Bpeohea wero made by Mr. McDonald, of Indiana, and Mr. McherBon, of New Jerbey - the former in favor of and the lattor in opposition to the measure. Houhk. - The House went through the ceremony of formally receiing Carpenter'a painting of l'rcsident Lincoln signirg the emanclpation proclamation, after which the Military bill was digcusfted. The most notable feature of the presontation ceremonies was au eloquent eulogium upon Mr. Lincoln by Alexauder il. Stephen?, ex-Vice President of the Confederacy, in which he confcBscd that slavery was a weakuess, and avowed his conntant, conscientioufl belief in the Union cause. He apokc of Mr. Lincoln at hia friend, and euloijized hís personal and politica! vlrtues with. groat warmth and energy. NVeinesday, Feb. 13.- Senatf.- The Senate renewed the diacussion of the Bland Silvor bill. Speeches wcre made by Meters. Merriiiion and Saunders in favor of the bill, and by Mr. Sargout in oppoeition. House. -The Honeo woko up from the imual du 11 routine that has lately charactcrized lts proceedinga, and indulged ia one of thoae bitter personal oontrovcrBicH that were ao common in yeara gone by. Hewitt, of New York, and Aiken, of South Carolina, were the central flguree in the affair. The former arosc to a personal cxplanation, and defended liunpelf against the charge of slandering the South, macp by Mr. House, of TenneaBee, on Monday. If therpi was anything in the language which he had nsp.á which could be construed mto any slandf ring of the Represeutativea of the Southorn Staten, he would takc it back, but he íhmíhU d that hifi motives were tó dof end the rr prese utati ves of the South froru the stander which bad been uttered againftt their good name by the gentleman from South Carolina (Aiken), when he declarcd that West l'oint was an incabus on the country. Houte repüed to Hewitt. He eaid he was a mau of honor, and always prond to apologize when he had been guilty of a ïuistake. He was sorry for what he had said, for be had uppoHcd that Ilewitt had reflected upon the South. Aiken then took the floor aud accused Hewitt of garbling bis speech. He (Alken) was not in favor of Belling cut Weet i'oint, B.6 poiuted to itri time I!lu8triou8 graduates, bc(iinuing with Jeff Pavis, Itobert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson. audothcr noted Generáis, ind thon paBëed to the Union side. He had fought theai and found them focmen worthy of liia stoel, but he bad never i met Hcwiit there, Then, in hiu moet excited mannor, be Ban!, " Wf-wt Point jtevcr produoed an F.sui I or a Bcncdict Arnold - mark niy words - never produced a man who had the ProHidruey in hi graap, and," Mhriekintí in a whtrlwind of paffiion, "Hold it, f?old it; do jou hear?" Hewitt, tretubliug with agitation, retorted : 'The gentleman ïnRinuatea that aoinebody sold out the Presidency. No Northern man nold out tho Presideucy - the propoeition to sell the rreaidency waa made to me, and I coiitemptuoualy refmed it." [Ercite ment and shouta of ■' Name," " Kame."J Mr. EUsworth - I want to know who it was that proposod to the gentleman to eeli out the Preaidency. Mr. If the House deHiren to havo that portion of unwritten htetory told I will teil it. [CrieB of " Let ib have it ali,'' and great ercitcment.] Mr. Hewitt, af ter order had been eome what restored, proceeded to recount tho facU connected with a propoKition made to him by Col. Pickett (as coming from J. H. Maddox, Special Agent of the Treasury Department) to pay J. Madison Wells, Chairman of the Itcturning Board of Louisiana, for giving the count of tnat State to Mr. Tilden, all of which was leetined to by Mr. Howitt before the committee of the ilouse at the laat session. "And now,1' eaid he, M in conclusión, I nuk the gentleman from South Carolina ( iken) to teil me by whatrighthe turne on me and accusea me of elUng the Prepidency?" Aiken rencwed hift tbrusts at Hewitt, oharging that he had boaated that he would rather nell the 1'renidency than npill ono drop of blood in defenne of the Democratie party. Hewitt denied that ho had ever eaid thiH, and oharged Bouth Carolina with bcing fale and unchivalrouB. Above the din, in a olear, loud, picicing voico, t'atterHon, of New York, the oMeet man in the Houmï, nearly 80. aid, " How pleasant it ie to gec brotberB dweil in unity," i .ut - trell broke in to intímate to Hewitt and Aikeu that it waa but eight miles to BlatienBburg, the noted ducling-ground, and tne House mlfht procecd to its budinera, llewitt, maddencd by Aikn' dccond charge, proceeded to explaín i why the filibuHterB did not sucerrd. He Rtated f nat ' he had scen Charles Koster, and told hiui thut thrre would be trouble uuIcbb the Houth oonld bo Balimir-d ' that Il;i ck wus honeHt in hls policy of local y government ; that aoon after Koster made the 1 speech in which hc dcclared that the flHg Hhonld thenceforth wave over States, not over provincei-, and that from that hour ho (Ilewitt) had loarned tbat the South was Batisfled. Stating thls, Hewitt strongly intimated the belief that the Soulhern Demócrata had made a bargain wiih the frieudsof Hayett that the troop should withdrawn. Hewitt had ended his speech only by giving a challenge to the Louisiana Conservativea and to the Hepublican attendauta at the Wormley conference. Tho attempt waa made to limtt tbis dieciiHSion, but the Kepublicau, led by B u ButUr, shouted, "Thia is the best thing that could happ'-n," and the hot talk of Kinley, of Ohio, the author of the only reflolution to invoatigate the TfeBidential couut that bas been piesentcd, characterized Wells aa " a hoary-headed old raBcal.' and arraigned Hecretary Sherman and the visiting statcumen for their telfgrani of condolence to AnderRon, "aconvícted felón." This, in turn, brought Garflelíl, Hale, and Ellis to thfir fcet. Each in turn told the story of the Wormley conference. Koeter inrfignantly deuiod that therc was a bargaiu, and vehcmently asaerted that he had neither gtveii nor received aay promiaee from anybody anywhere. Garfteld defended the thirty or forty anti-filibuatera among the Southf rn men, and raid that if ui:y mortal man uny where charged these Southern gintlcmen with bargains that man lied. He defended in a simi'ar way the Northern Rpublicans, and dcclared that the troops were withdrawu as a matter of constitutional duty, and not of policy; but he did not forget 4o rebuke the peopïe of LouíPÍana for the ruanner in which they are treating the Returning Board. He charged that the trial was a malicioua pereecution. E. Johu EIlls, for the South, denicd ihat there waa a bargain, and chargo-d that w lioever said that Louifiiaiia betrayed the rights of Tilden "liea in hit heart anl in hm own falso throat.7' Theae worda wero intended for Mr. Ht-witt, bat were subsequently A'ithdrawn by Mr. K1ÜH upon the pira that he mÍKunderft-od Mr. HcMtt. Tho story of the Wormley conffrcnc, aa it was bo often told, was repcatod by Mr. KHia, and it agreed Jn evory particular with thft accounts of Mentir. Fouter, John Young Brown and (thers Thia cnrted the mont cxcitlug day of the scasion, and the ftrst gignificaut alluaiouB to the aubject of the Preaídeutial count. Thubsuay, Fob. 14.- Senate.- The Houee resolntion declarhig it inexpedient to reduce the present tax on whisky wraa concurred in- yeaa, 40; j nays, 9 Senator Jones, of Nevada, made a two s hourw speech in Bupport of the Hllver bill, most of ! his speech being devoted to au argument hhowing that Bilver haf not rtoprrciated in value ince Hu demoneti.ntion, and againut the aam-rtioas that the dollar proponed by the bill ia dlahonoring the merlimii of paymeot and a depreclated coln. Mr. Warit'Mgh tipoke tmtnit tho bill, and in the courpc of 1ÍH rcmarltH Baid thero had been statement of dintrefts and suLfring, but to hi mind all thia cry of weeping and wailing was to divert the atlenttón of the people while they were being robbed . for the benefit of the bloated Gorman empire and Nevada ailver kingn. Hol'SF.. - comnninication wafi reccived from tho Sooretary of iho Treasury uotlfjing Congrofs tbat i oojwpareij with the lus? flacal ycar, and according to tliO present rato of inereanc thore woiild be ft deficit the prwKsnt fiscal yoar of $1,069,219. The Secret nry reooionionded increimed taJtation cr roduccd exponditurfís. A f ter considerable wrangling the commuiiicntion waa referred to íUo Ways and Meins Comuiíttoe The Went Poiut Military Acadcmy blll was patBed. . . .Mr. Gibeoii, oí Louiaiana, rising to a quontion of privilege, huí. I he ropudiated the intimatiou ov suspiciou of any representativo of Louiaiana h&viug been engaged Ín any bargaln ín regard to the Preaideucy whieh reflectad on the honor of tliat ÍState. Ho deftnded tho Returiiing Iloard pro8cutínnBt and saitl the pro-eodingB were in aflcordaiico wíth tho lawií of Louteimiji. Mr, Halo - Doos the gentleman BiiHtain tbe prosecutlnnn that have leen Biid are now going ou apiiiüBt tiie lí-jturning Board '1 Mr. Gibfiou - If the men have boen guflty of any violation of tho laws of that Statí1, the authoritiee aro porfcctly right iu prosecuting thcui. JIr. líalo - Xhcii tho gontleinan doos not discourage it. Mr. GibBon - Boes the gcntlemau mean to Hay he. tbinka it ia not right to proaecute fchom? Mr. Hule - I ) ii s the gentleman atdc what I think ? I think the whole proccedinc is the grcutest üittrago which ha ever ocourred iu American history, because I believe it to be politlcal peraecutiou iinder the gnUc of tho proecfs of law. Mr. Oibson- I do not yield to the gentleman to denownce the people of the State of Louipitma. Since I bave been on thin floor, tho gentleman from Maino haa omitted no occasion to denou nee tho peopie of Louiaiana. I have treated bis formcr denunciatioiiB as I treat thiH, ivi th the con tempt which they merit. Fhiday, Feb. 15.-Sknatk. Consideraüon of the Silver bill waa roëumed, and Mr. ïngalls spoko in favor of tho natasure. Ho dcclarod that gold was the worst enemy the people had to coutend itaiimt, and expreeaed tbe hopo that' if a singlo I standard must prevail it wou ld be a silver one. In concludiug ho rcferred to the people of the West and their labore, and aid when he reflectod upon the burdens they bore he was atstonUhed at thcir moderation. After Mr. fngalV speech, and an explan&tion by Mr. Laniar of the roaaonH that impelled him to voto againnt the bill, notwithstamiing tbo iustructions of bia State IegJHlature, 1he Senate bcgau voting on tho vurioiia ajnondincntte. Tho motiüD to fltrike out tho freq-roinago feature was the flrsi in order. This was adopted by a voto of 49 vea to 22 nays. Mr. Kdmuuds then tcd the foflowing ainoiulinent : " But nothiug ui this Hcction oontainM ehall be oonstriNul to iiiterfero with tho cuiuagu of gold and eubmdiary silvcrcoins as riow authoriwd by ïaw. After a lengtby dtsciujaton thie wan rejected - yens, '2' ; U"y, 4G. The iiiiCftion Uu-n ret-urretl ou the Beoond acctioQ of the biJl report el by tbe Coiumittee on Finam'f, providing for au inU'rnatioDal coiuuiisuioD to adopt a conmion ratio of legal tender uk bdtweon gold and Bilver. After coimidcrablo tlfbate, Mr. : Allison modified tho amctulment by atriking out tho worde "of legal tender," so that tho conference ehould be to adopt a comiuon ratio betwecn gold and BUvec without referenco to legal tender. The amendincnt as modified was agreed to - yeae, 40; nay, 30. Mr. McDonald ui unit tod au amondment to the clauno making the silvcr dollar a local tender for all debte and dues, public and private, except wherc otherwiso provided by contract, bo aa to read, instead of provided by, expressly tipulatcd m, tho contract. Agreed to - yeaa, 37; nayn, 35. Mr. líooth oíToml tho folIowinR amondmcnt : "That any hWder of coin authortzed by this net may dcDosil tho samo with the Treasurcr or any Aasistant Treamirer oí tho United States, in eums uot less thau $10, and recpive therefor certificaten of not lew than $10 cach, corre spond ing with denoniinationa of Unitod States notea. The coin deposited for or repreaenting certificatcs flhall bo rctaincd in the treaaury for the payment of thO same on demand. Said certlflcates sliall be receivable for cuBtoms, taxes aad all pnbJic duee, and when bo received inay be rciuBuecl.1' Aloptrd- 49 toH. Aíter a BcsBion lasting nearly all night, tho lïland Silvcr bil], eo ameuded, wiia pasHcd by a vote of 48 to 21. House,- The Houbö spent the eutire day in debating a bilí to pay certain Southern mail contractors a claim amounttng to $375,000. No aetion was takcu on tho bill. Monday. Fob. 18. - Senate. - Tho bill to onable Indiana to become citfzens was taktn up, and Mr. Whyto epoke in oppoeition Mr. Bayard preeentod the petition of tho National Liberal Loaguo, eignod by the offleers thcroof and 10t6ö0 persons reBiding in overy State of the Union, favoring the adoption of an amcndnicnt to tho conatitutiou t-eparating c!uirc!i and stato Tho iTsolution ol Mr. üeck lo have au inquiry mto the legiRlation needetl to prevent the introduction of yollow fover into tbo country was adopte J Mr. Camcron, of Penneylvania, introduced a )ill to tcinutate certaiu oillcere of tho United Statea army. Tho bill for the relief of sluiers on public lands under the I're-emptiou lawa WAfl pasBed. Housk.- The Silver billt ;ih paswed by the Senate, wa roturned to the Hoime and placea upon the Speaker tab'.e. Bills wcre introduced and referred: By Mr. Itobertson, a reaolution of the Louisiana Apacnibly in favor oí tho Texa Paolfic biü and tho liland Zilver bill; by Mr. Southard, a joint resolution of the Ohio Lpgiölatnro declaring Tluited States bond payable, principal and intf-rrst, in tilver t tho option of the Goverumftnt, and doclaring further that President Huyes and Sei rotary 8herniau, in their opposltion to th Silver bill, do not represent the view cf th people of Ohio ; by Mr. Itiddle, to prohtbit the or giiLii.ation of National Bankinc Aöaociations unde the exintinL luw, and re-charter those now i opcration; by Mr. Burchard, to proinote tho do posU of eavings, and the re-f unding cf the natlona debt ; by Mr. Corlett, to incorpórate the Nationa Pacific railroad; by Mr. Garfieid, to provide for morf thorough inventipalion of railroad accidents by Mr. Banka, granting tho privilege of the fioor one impreso ntative of evtry newsppor having dai télëgrapnlo commanication with Washington.