Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1882 — XLVITH CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

XLVITH CONGRESS.

Both houses of Congress went into, session without formality ou Monday, Dec. A No opening of that body in late years has be-n attended with less interest or excitement, Abe attendanc • at tne Ci pitol being about what would be found t ere on any ordinary day in the middle of a session. President pro tern Davis cat ed the Senate to order, and after the introduction of a few bills o minor importance the annnal message oi President Arthur was received and read Then Mr. t rown. of Georgia, announced the death of Senator Hill, and offered a resolution of roe ret, wh.ch was unanimously agreed to, whereupon, as a token of respect to the deceased, the Be- ate adjourned for the day. Speaker Keiter called the House to ord. r at 11 o'clock. Rollcall d.sclosed the presence of zo2 members. The report of the Tariff Commission and the Inman Appropriation bill were presented and referred. Bills were introduced by Mr. Herbert, of Alabama, prohibiting political assessments of Government employes; by Mr. Ka«son, of lowa, for the better regulation of the civil service; bv Mr. Anderson, of Kansas, to create an Agricultural Commission; and by Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, abolishing the offices of Assistant Secretary of War and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Cox, of New York, offered a resolution calling on the Secretary of War for Information as to the amounts of appropriations tinder the River and Harbor bills of 1881 and IHB2, withheld, and under what provision of law. Mr. Kasson offered a resolution granting the Committee on Civil Service Reform leave to report at any time. Mr. Cox favored the resolution; asked what quickened the conscience of his friends; made some jocular remarks as to his candidacy for Speakership, and yielded to Mr. Springer, who twitted his friends on the other side upon the failure of the assessment policy. The death of Mr. Lowe, of Alabama, and of Mr. Updegraff, of OhiO, werdChnnounced respectively by Messrs. Herbert and Saylor, the President’s message was read, and the House adjourned. Mr. Book offered a long resolution in the Senate on the 6th fnst, reciting the fact that the National Republican Committee levied assessment* tor political purposes and ordering the i Committee on Judiciary to investigate. Mr. Barrow was sworn in as Senator from Georgia, to fill the unexpired term of Ben j. H. Hill, deceased. Mr. Platt Introduced a resolu-' tion calling fqr Information as‘to tne number of pemdouers/on the 'rolls, amount of pensions," number or pending applications, eta After debata thq reaftlptjpn , wet* over. A. long debate‘tfteik tne- proposition to change thCheur of meeting of the Senate lrom noon to 11 o'clock A bill to amend section 1,860 of the Revised Statutes, so as pot to exclude rstired atmr offiders from holding civil offices in the Territories, passed. In the House the Committee on Ways ,: and Means reported favorably on Me. Kellogg's bill to abolish internal revenue taxes on, tObaeoo, snixfft Cigars and cigarettes. The bill prcwitMXor titeUhemjaitioiial repeal of all tnternalfexes Nnhll kinds of manufactured and raw tobacco. Eleven members of the committee were present when the vote.was taken for the reported, fell, six voting for and five against, favorable action. Mr. Springer offered A resolution, to' print 2,000 copies of the rules ol the House, remarking; that the new memhegsu; peg* ; Jongress would nted them to study ppiq umpiring for the sesMom; MX Holman objecteq ari«l' the resolution war lost). The House took upand passed the bill pertAiulagtq the discharge,American sea- • men ateoeda»ift"Eej>ealß the law which requires, the -pay tn«ib<6f three months' wages on such discharge and simply requires shipowners to furnish djflohargqd-riim emproymrtkt: oh Other vessels or P ’ THeref transacted in CongrfesrOd thidth Ihst, the sessions of b^th

houses being exceedingly brief. In the Ben#t#»' pePWrttfc ygge pfefofc* tfpsn. of ojifc. ana Kansas for an yin crease of pensions!** those who lost an arm or a leg in theft war. The, Commissioner of Pensions wak. instructed to furnish a list of such sufterari*' Mr. Anthony introduced a bill to prohibit ihn use of the Capitol for other thsp its legitimate' purposes, and Mr. Chilcott an act.- foE J.be erfecn’ tjrripor i pnbnc building at &WtS?CoL Mr/ Ingalls explained the provisions of the bill to establish a uniform system of. bankruptcy.. In (bfer House,' - Mr. Willis offered a reiSofition for' mi' inquiry into the assAsignqim of' Government employes for political l Ararpcscs; Mr. Caswell offfeed a resolution, wbioh was adopted, authorizing a clarise in the Pcstoffloe bill reducing letter postagejto .* cents. A bill was passed to refund to Che State of Ceoxgia $35,000 expended by the State for the common defense in 1777. A bill to authorize the extension qf the Chesapeake and Ohio road over military lands at Fortress Monroe was referred. Mr. Kasson and others made a minority report against the abolition of the tobacco tax, on the ground of uncertainty as to the amount of money required for pensions.. The Presided sent to tyi* Senate, in executive ' quite at bitch <h eppointments, including the- following: #teorge E. Waring, Jrt df Rhode Island, to be, iI of the Ntkionil Boarftof Hc#Mhi Heri# M.Mor(cqnr. of liouisiana, to Be Sedettlry of' thb Legation ofc the United Slates to Mexico - “ao Rsndh, of Nebraska,to be*«ceiyhr of Fttbtto Moneys at Niobrara; .< James P. Lose, of Indiana, to be Register of the Land Office at Dead wood. •Indian Agents: Williao. WSirtmell, of Ohio, at Umatilla agency OregMAli, M. Rlordan.of Ari■ona, at the Navs jo New Mexioo; John Clark, of Michigan, At the Colorado River acency, Arizona; AH. Jackson, of Nebraska, at Pima agency, Arizona; Brig. Gen. John 1 Pqpe, to be Major General; Col. R. B. Mackenzie of the Fourth cavalry, to be Brigadier General: Maj. William A Rucker,- Paymaster, to be Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Payriiaster General; M«j. George JSt Elliott, of the oorps Of engineer*, to be Lieutenant Colonel of Ei>?:ineers; Commodore Earl English to be Chief of he Bureau of Equipment arid Reorni inv, Department of the Navy; also a large number of army promotions. Seven members presented petitions in the Senate, on the 7th test., for an Increase of pensions to one-armed and dfle-lesged soldiers. The Bankruptcy,biH was discussed and amended Mr. Beck called up his resolution in 'reference to political assessments during the late campaign, and Mr. Hale offered a substitute calling for an investigation into levies upon liauor-dealers bv the Democratic Congressional Committee. he House passed a joint resolution to print, 20,0*0 copies of the Ttiriff Commission’s report; passed he Indian Appropriation bill, which sets aside $5,»'H,V 99; killed the bill authorizing the building of a home tor indigent sailors and soldiers nt Eric, Pa., and adjourned. The President nominated to the Senate, in executive session, Edmund K. Cnlhoun to be R-*r Admiral m ihe Navy, together with a long list of minor Postmasters.

Several petit'ons were presented te the Senate, at its session on the Bth test., asking action on the tobacco tax and urging the passage of a bill to increase the pensions of soldiers who have suffered the loss of an arm or a leg. A bill was passed to establish title to the site of the* military post at El Paso. There w*s prolonged debate on the resolution as to political assessments and on the Bankrhpi oy bill. An attempt to strike from the bill all provision for Involuntary bankruptcy was defeated, but Mr. Morgan secured an amendment to in-cl’-de option trading in st > ks, grain, tc., in acts of bankruptcy. On motion of Mr. Morrill, the internal revenue bill, with its pendihg amendments, was recommitted to the Committee on Finance. In the House. Mr. Burrows reported the oonsu ar appropriation, which so s aside sl, 68,v55. Incom--11 it ee of the whole, the lrtlt for the re ief of he officers and men 01 the monitor vhich foug- 1 tt e Merrimac was defeated. Mr. Bingham reported a bill to rednoe letter postage to 2 cents. Mr. Pendleton gave notioe to the Senvte, at the s sslon of the 9th Inst, that after the Bankruptcy bill was disposed of he would move to take up the Civil Service bill. Mr. Vance ne" cured the passaae of a resolution directing the , Secretary o: the Treasury to furnis * a dotailod 8 atement of the cost of collecting internal revenue in each di-trict. Mr. Haw ey intoduoeda i bill to prevent officers of the United States from 1 collecting subscriptions jot asseelmeUtg from cacti vthM.; ~ A brief executive seas o 1 was bfld. ‘ Petition* . from tobacco(l- ah rs be e presented f ir a rebate equal tc any .reduction that, mav be made ia the tax. In he iHouse.of Representatives, Ms. Page mrerted a reeolution calling on the Secretary otWar lor 'i-torma iou whether the tnnds set asid-- bv I he River and Harbor bid were appropriate! for work* not of interest to commerce or navigation, nnd, if so, requesting - that sp<cl-fk-ations be furnished. An exiting debate followed, in which McLane arid (Robeson sup- '

ported the resolution and Cox and Kasson opposed It, but it was adopted. Mr. Kasson reported a bill to improve the civil service, a biS was passed to rectify the title to the military poet at El Paso. Mr. McCotd introduced a t>ih to regnlate interstate oommere\ Mr. Slater introduced a bill in the Senate, on the 11th inst, to forfeit the unearned lands of the Oregon Central road. Mr. Ferry presented a measure to increase the pension of soldiers and sailors who lost an arm or leg in the service. Mr. Van Wyck offered a. resolution of inquiry whether a railroad ia being constructed across the Niobrara military reservation without authority from Congress. The Bankruptcy bill prepared by Judge Lowell and recommended generally by Eastern Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce, was substituted for what is known as the “Equity bill,” which was championed by the Western and Southern Sena torn The vote stood 34 to 30 and the substitute was sent to the Judiciary Committee for revision. A motion to take up Mr. Pendleton’s Civil Service bill was carried; but the Senate dismissed and defeated a scheme tp release the Memphis and Little Rock road from its obligations to earn,' troops free and mails at a reduced rate. The Senate confirmed the nominations of Gen. Pope and CoL Mackenzie, to be Major General and Brigadier General respectively. In the House, Mr. Springer introduced a joint resolution providing for an amendment to the constitution which shall extend the terms of the President and Vice President to six years and render them Ineligible for re-election. It also Axes a threeyears’ term for Congressmen, and provide* that, beginning with the year 1885, the Congress elected in November previous shall meet on the first Wednesday of January. Mr. Townshend, of Illinois, introduced a resolution reciting the efforts of cenain railway managers to prevent the construction or competing lines in the Northwest, and directing the Committee on, Commero* to report a bill to prohibit and punish such •combination. Mr. . Waite introduced • : bill to stop the coinage of silver, dollars until the stock is reduced to $50,000,000, and Mr. Ellis offered a measure to authorize th» State of Louisiana to establish quarantine stations.' Mr. Dibhell presented an act to abolish, internal-revenue taxes and allow a rebate on whisky and tobacco, and another to reduce the specie ihtho treasury ,tolslsCL--000,000. M Aj hul Was- passed,* to. sunttorixe brevdt commissions for distinguished conduct in Indian iiampaigns.