Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1883 — NEWS CONDENSED. [ARTICLE]

NEWS CONDENSED.

DOINGS OF OONGBESS. The Senate made little or bo progress with flio Tariff MU on Feb. 17, slttjough a good deal of talking was done. Mr. Sherman presented a proposition looking to an increase <rf the duties on certain kinds of steel. A very lively debate followed, In toe course of Mr. Beck intimated that the Ohio Senator s snbstitute was inspired by toe steel manufacturers, who three weeks *g° were satisfied with toe tariff that had been substantially agreed on, but now were clamoring that poverty stared them in. the face. Sherman denied toe accusation andeaid that the Senator from Kentucky could not bully him. Mr. Beck retorted that he would see to ft t: at the Ohio Senator should not bully the Senate. There was an exciting discussion in the House of Representatives of the Tariff issue. Mr. Dunnell (Rep.) arose and declared that it had been determined by the Republicans to abandon the bill, and reflected severe]* on his party colleagues for deluding the peoide. Mr. Kasson, in reply, laid the blame of/delaying the Mil on the Democratic strife, which statement was received with derisive exclamations from that side. JII-. Haskell immediately moved that the committee rise; and, the motion being agreed to, moved that all debate on toe pending and succeeding schedules of toe bill be closed in one hour. Mr. Carlisle raised toe point that the moti .n was not in order. The discussion on Carli dc’s i>oint of order was carried on amid a good deal of confusion and excitement The Republicans, led by Mr. Kasson, continued to charge upon the Democratic side of the House the responsibility for delay in the passage of a tariff measure. Mr. Morrison, on behalf of the Democrats, protested against putting through Congress so important a bill without due consideration. “If you will give ns a bill making a. 20 per cent, reduction, exclaimed Mr. Morrison, we will pass it before night." The discussion was interrupted by the Speaker who announced, the hour for special order— the eulogies on the late Representative Shackelford —had arrived. Mr. Blackburn and other Democrats, with an air of defiance, urged Immediate decision of toe point of order, but the Speaker did not yield to their demand, and the prayer of Wellington at Waterloo (for night or Blucher) was touchingly quoted by Mr. Tucker.

The Senate devoted nearly thirteen hours to the Tariff bill on Feb. 19, being in session from io o'clock a. m. till two hours post midnight. The whole time was given up to two or three items in the metal schedule. The effort to give tlie bill such form that it could successfully run the gantlet between the extreme hightariff men on the one side and the low-tariff men on the other resulted in a sort of compromise that was not very satisfactory to either side. Mr. Sherman’s amendment raising the dutv in steel was modified and adopted by a vote of 30 to 28, a strict party vote, except that Mr. McPherson voted with the Republicans and Mr. Van Wvck with toe Democrats. Mr. Cameron of Pennsylvania made a vigorous speech favoring protection. In the House, Mr. Kelley made a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill to reduce internal-revenue taxation being the House Revenue bill of last year, with the Senate amendment reducing the tax upon tobacco to 8 cents per pound. Mr. Springer raised the point of order-that the bill had not been before the Committee on Ways and Means, and that, therefore, it was beyond the* power of that committee to move to suspend the rules and put It on its passage. The Speaker overruled the point of order. In support of his motion, Mr. Kelley said every line in the bill presented iiad received the approval of the Senate and the committee which he represented; therefore, he believed, while doubt and uncertainty might prevail as to tariff legislation, there was an opportunity offered to mitigate our excessive revenue to the extent of $40,000,000. Mr. Morrison said the people were paying into the treasury $80,000,000 of Impost tax under war rates and twice $80,000,000 in bounty to manur facturers. The internal revenue had been reduced one-half, and to-day, twenty years aftcthc war, impost taxes remained as they were. Notwithstanding this, here was a bill brought to relieve the banking capital of the country and tobacco chewers at the expense of the people. It was offered here in order to give a quid of tobacco to some people with every likelihood of their biting at the bait. Mr. McKinley asserted that the surplus revenue in the treasury could be with safety reduced $80,000,000. Every one admitted, whether the tariff were revised or not, this internal revenue must, be reduced. Mr. House called the attention of the country to the spectacle presented to-day. For the last month, day and night, the House had been discussing the Tariff bill; and now came back to the same old propositions of the last session, the old scapegoat which had been expected to bear the sins of the Republican party into the wilderness. That party had gone before the country with that proposition, but the people had thrown Its bank checks In Its face, burnt its matches and broken Its bottle “ready relief” over its head. Let the Republican party go before the country, if it dared, with this bill in answer to the demand made at the last election for relief from taxation. The motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill was defeated —yeas, 162; nays, 92—not the necessary two-thirds in the affirmative. After six weeks of consideration, the Senate passed its Tariff bill at 2 o’clock on the 20th inst. No bill is remembered by old Senators as having consumed an equal amount of time. The bill finally passed by a handsome majority —42 to 13. Mr. Mitchell, of Pennsylvania, was the only Republican who voted against it, but he would have been joined by his colleague, Don Cameron, had not the latter been paired. Thirtv-threc Republicans, eight Democrats and David Davis voted for it. One Republican and eighteen Democrats voted against it. The last day of the debate was far from interesting. The day was consumed by various last efforts of Senators to amend the bill into the form t hey wanted it to assume. Mr. Sherman failed by a large majority to get the duties on wool raised, though there were on his side three Democrats —Brown, Camden and Pendleton, and Senator David Davis. Except ■Sewell of New Jersey, and Mitchell of Pennsylvania, all the Republican votes came from the Northwestern ana Pacific coast States. In other words, Senators from the sheep-raising States voted with Mr. Sherman, and Senators from the woolen-mill States voted against him. Galvanized iron was leveled up to W t cents a pound. April 1 was fixed as the date when the sugar duties were to go intp cffcct.and an amendment offered by Mr. Windom adopted, wh-reby i< is provided that the bill shall not interfere with any existing treaties, but when the tr-aties expire the bill shall become operative. A reduction of duty on common bottles was made. The House devoted the day to consideration of the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill in committee on the whole. The River and Harbor bill was handed in from the Commerce Committee.

The Army and the Fortification Appropriation bills, and the joint resolution Great Britain of the desire of the United States to abrogate the fishery clauses of the Washington treaty, were passed by the Senate Feb. 21. Mr. Edmunds called up his Supplementary AntiPolygamy bill, and some progress was made with it. The House discussed the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill in committee of the whole, when Mr. Bcltzhoover proceeded to make a very bitter attack upon Gen. Hazen and the Signal Service Bureau. Mr. Taylor, of Ohio, in reply, defended Gen. Hazen’s integrity and criticised Mr. Beltzhoover’s action in making an assault upon that officer in a speech which was not openly delivered, out was printed in the Uecc rd. The resolution offered by Mr. Garland for the appointment of a special committee to examine and report upon the methods of improving the navigation of the Mississippi river below Cairo was adopted by the Senate, Feb. 22. The Naval Appropriation bill occupied the attention of the Senate during the remainder of the day. The bill was practically completed. It was dcided that the limit of repairs to be made to old wooden vessels should be 20 per cent, of the cost of new vessels of the same size and material. Republican members of the Senate held a caucus at which it was informally agreed to take up the Shipping, Pension and Bankruptcy bills, and those providing for the division of Dakota Territory and to give precedence to the appropriation bills. In the House the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill was considered in committee of the whole, and an amendment offered by Mr. Blackburn, of Kentucky, cutting down the appropriation for the Geological Survey, was rejected after a spirited debate. Mr. Pound, of Wisconsin, offered an the pre-emption laws altogether, with all laws authorizing the filing of declaratory, statements for entry of public lands by agent or otherwise. The amendment was adopted, after Mr. Washburn had been given an opportunity to denounce the land-sharks and adventurers who had abused the laws so as to shut out actual settlers from the privilege of entering Government lands. A caucus of House Republicans was held in the evening, at which eighty Representatives voted to non-concur in the Senate tariff measures.