Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1871 — Weekly News Summary. [ARTICLE]

Weekly News Summary.

CONGRESSIONAL. In the Senate, on the 10th, a motion was agreed to to proceed to the election of standing committees, and a resolution was submitted with a list as agreed upon liy the Republican caucus, and a request was made by Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, thut Ills name lie eliminated from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and a motion to that etrcct was agreed to. A lengthy and hitter debate then ensued on the question of the removal of Mr. Sumner from tho Committee on Foreign Relations, of which ho bad been Chairman for a number of years, Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, being eubelltuted in his stead. A motion to postpone the consideration of the question was filially lost, and the resolution confirming the committees us agreed upon in caucus, with the exception of thu change made in the Committee on Privileges ami Elections, was adopted—B3 to 9.. . Majority and minority reports were made from the select Committee on Southern Outrages, and were ordered to.hc printed... .Executive session and adjournment to the l-3tli. In the House, on the 10th, a joint resolution was passed construing the Internal Revenue act of July 14,1870, so as to provide for the admission of animals, especially those imported for breeding purposes, free of duty, from the Dominion of Canada.... Bills were introduced to abolish the franking privilege; to repeal the income tax; to antliorlzo and regulate the construction of bridges across tho Mississippi. Missouri and Ohio rivers; to amend the act regulating the carriage (if passengers by steumere; to remove all legal and political''disabilities.... Bills were passed — 1» grant certain articles ol machinery to the Industrial Homo School of the District of Columbia; a Deficiency bill, ippropriallng $141,155 ... A resolution was adopted lor the appointment of a select committee of five members ou the subject of the construction a; <1 maintenance of a complete and effective system of ieveea on the Mississippi River, with authority to sit during tho recess.... Tile bill to repeal ttie duties on salt and coal was considered in Committee of the Wh01e.... Adjourned to the 13th. In thu Senate, on the 13th, all bills and petitions previously introduced were taken from the table and referred to the newly-organized committees.. .. Bills were introduced—to establish an Eastern Judicial District in Kentucky ; for a ship canal to connect the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan; fertile enlistment of three hundred additional seamen in the United States navy; milking a land grant to aid the Green Bay & Lake Pepin Railroad, and a railroad from Milwaukee to I.ake Superior, via Green Bay, Wis.; extending the lime for constructing the railroud from St. Croix River to the west end of Lake Superior and Bavfield; to amend the Kansas Pacific Railroad bill by changing the eastern terminus from Marshal to the eastern boundary of Texaff.-Bue east from Marshal, and making the gauge of the whole line uniform 1 .... The credentials of Goldthwaite vice Hamilton, and Reynolds, claiming seats In the Senate, with the claim of ex-Senator Abbott lo hold bis seat, were taken from the tabic and referred to the Committee oil Privileges and Elections.... Executive session and adjournment.

In the. House, on the 13th, bills were introduced and referred—to enable the Atlantic «fe Pacific Railroad Company to mortgage its road and confer jurisdiction oil the District of Missouri: to promote the construction of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad; giving additional representaliou to certain Stales in the House of Reprcscnta lives; providing for the construction of a bridge over the Missouri River at Boonevilie. and declaring the same a post route; making appropriation for the repair, preservation and completion of public works at Monroe, Mich.; to grant lauds to Dakota for railroad purposes; to enable the people of Colorado to form a constitution and State S" overnraent, and to enable the people of New iexico to do likewise, the latter under tho name of Lincoln, with a view to admission into the Union.. .A concurrent resolution was agreed t 0—125 to 07—for an adjournment nine vlit on the 15th. ...Joint resolutions were adopted—removing the impost ou salt —145 to 40; removing the lax on foreign coal-132 to 57; placing ten and celtee on the free iist.... A resolution declaring the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United Slates duly ratified by three fourths of the States, and that no State lias the right to withdraw its ratification aficr it lias given it: and, further, that Congress has the right to impose the ratification of these amendments as a condition precedent to representation in Congress, was introduced and negatived—yeas I IP, flays 75— two-thirds juot voting for the resolution .. ..Adjourned. In the Senate, on the 14th, the House resolution for final adjournment ou the 15th was tabled—B2 to 13... .A resolution was adopted calling on the Secretary of State for information as to what States, if any, have ratified the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, since, the issue of his proclamation, March 80, 1870... .A bill was passed to authorize the reissue of National Bauk notes iu exchange for mutilated hills... Bills were Introduced—granting the proceeds of the sales of mineral lands to the Sutro Tunnel Company; appropriating $20,000, to aid in (lie building of an orphan asylum at Charleston, under the cliargo of the Sisters of Mercy ... .1 he bill for the protection of settlers on public lands was called up and discussed. . . .Pending the conHideration of the resolution confining business to legislation upon alleged Ku-Klux outrages, the Senate adjourned.

In the House, on the 14th, resolutions were adopted extending the time for taking the testimony in several contested election cases, including Bowen against DeLarge, of South lina The bill to remove all political disabilities was taken up and debated at considerable length, and, after amendment, the vote on the passage ot the bill resulted in 150 yeas to 82 nays; two-thirds not having voted for the hill, it wae declareu rejected.... The Senate MU making tho Governor of the District of Columbia one -of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institute was passed.... Adjourned. In the Senate, on the 15th, a bill was passed, and a motion for reconsideration was afterwards agreed to, to carry into effect the decision of the Supreme Court feinting to the bounties of soldiers enlisted between May 3 and July ’-2, 1851, the bill giving SIOO bounty to honorably discharged soldiers enlisted between May 3 and July 22, 185 t. ... Bills were introduced—to establish ocean steamship lines for tho transportation of malls botween the l ulled States and foreign countries; to remove disabilities from certain Kentuckians; granting land for a railroad and telegraphic line from Columbia River to Great Salt Lake; providing that u gross of matches shall contain 14,400 matches, put up in packages of 100; iu relation to additional accounts, providing that the widow, children, or father aud mother of any soldier who enlisted for a less period than one year, and who was killed or died in the service, shall ho entitled to receive the same bounties as have been provided for by the law when the soldier enlisted for two years.... The House bills repealing the duties on coal and salt were read ft nccoml lime.... Kiecutive eceelou ana adjournment.

In the House, on tho 15th, a bill was passed granting permission to the Morse Monument Association to erect a monument to Prof. Morse at thu- iutersectlon of Pennsylvania avenue and Seventh street....A resolution was adopted—lls to 84- “ that a select committee of thirteen be appointed by tho Speaker, whose duty it shall be to inquire into the condition of the late insurrectionary States, so far as regards the execution of the laws and tlio safety of lives and properly of the citizens of the United Slates, and- report the result of tliclr investigation lo the House in December next, with such recommendation as they may deem expedient; and that tho said committee be authorized to employ a clerk and a stenographer; to sit during the recess, send for persons and papers, take testimony, and visit, at their deserction, through a subcommittee, any portion of the Southern States during the recess; and that the expenses of said Committee be paid from the contingent fund of the House.”... Messrs. Butler, of Massachusetts; Sbellabarger, of Ohio; Kelly, of Pennsylvania; Maynard, of Tennessee; Coburn, of Indiana; Buckley, of Alabama; Stevenson, of Ohio; Burdell, of Missouri; Cox, of New York; Beck, of Kentucky; Archer, of Maryland; Waddell, of North Carolina; and Robinson, of Illinois, were appointed as such committee.... A resolution was agreed to-117 to.TH-that, the Senate concurring, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House close the preteut session of Congress on the SOth of March, at 12 o’clock, noon ...Adjourned.

In the Senate, on the 16th, bills were pawed—House bill granting permission for the erection of the monument to Prof. Morse at the Intersection of Seventh street and Pennsylvania avenue; providing for the appointment? by the President, of three commissioners, two of whom to he engineers of the army, and one a mining engineer, to examine and report on the Sntro Tunnel. In Nevada; to enable the Leavenworth, I awrencc & (iatveatou ttatlroad Company to re--I,a portion of their road; amendatory of the ad authorizing the construction of a bridge over the Arkansas River.... A bill was reported amendatory of the act Incorporating tho Texas Pact tic Railroad Company, allowing the Arknnaas-branch to connect wlih the Texas Pacific road. ...Bills write Introduced and reterred-lo authorize the esi übltabmeut of au ocean mall service between

tho United States and Europe, by lines of American steamships; to enable the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company to mortgage Its rood; repealing the act fixing Mines for tho regular meetings of Congress, approved January 2, 1807; granting the Utah Southern Railroad Company right of way through public lands for tho construction or a railroad anil telegraph lino; to enablo the Houghton and Ontonagon Railroad Company to make a survey of its road; authorizing tho Southern Minnesota Railroad Company to connect its line with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company; to reduce the rates of correspondence by telegraph, and to connect the telegraph with the postal service; for the protection of persons resident within the United Slates against unlawful combinations and conspiracies with the judiciary; to more fully enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.... \ resolution was offered, laid over and ordered printed, concerning tho allcgod outrages In the Southern States, instructing the Judiciary Committee to report a bill or bills that will enable the President and the CQiirtß of the United States to execute thejaws, punish such organized violence, and secure to all citizens the right* so guaranteed to them.... A joint resolution was introduced proposing an amendment to the constitution for the establishment of a constitutional tribnnal consisting of one member from each State, with power to decide all questions of conflict und jurisdiction between tne United States and the several States, and the constitutionality of bills passed by Congress or acted on by any Government officer, and to open and count the electoral votes for President and Vice-President.... Executive session and adjournment. In the House, on the 10th, a bitter personal debate occurred between Messrs. Butler, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Blaine, Speaker, (Mr. Wheeler being in the shair), on the action of the House in ordering, and the Speaker in appointing, tho Select Committee to Investigate into affairs at the South, after which Messrs. Kelley, Shellabarger, Butler and Burdell, were severally excused from serving on such committee Mr. Butler afterwards objected to the House taking up the Senate bill, insisting on the regular order, so bo could Introduce his antl-Ku-Klux bill Adjourned.- —

FOREIGN. Baron Baude, Gen. Caille, and MM. De Moulard and DeClerq have been appointed plenipotentiaries of France to negotiate the final treaty of peace with Prussia. King Victor Emmanuel denounces as a forgery a letter credited to him by the Paris correspondent of the London Times , expressive of surprise and disappointment at the hard terms inflicted on France, especially as to accession of territory. The letter was stated to have been written to the Emperor William. In the French National Assembly at Bordeaux on the 10th, a proposition for a rembval to Versailles was adopted—4o6 to 104. - J A London dispatch of the 12th says the threatening demonstrations in Montmartre had ceased, and the National Guards had surrendered all their cannon.

Dispatches from Kingston, Jamaica, state that the United States steatners Terr-' nesse§ and Nantucket arrived there on the 11th from Port au Prince. The Commissioners were making their reports, which were strong for annexation. The Tennessee would leave for New York as soon as she coaled, by way of Key West. All hands were well. The Commissioners were badly received a Hayti, whe r e Gen. Cabrel informed them that he had had no battle with Baez. A Paris dispatch of the 13th says Versailles had been evacuated by the Germans, and a French garrison had been installed in the city. Paris was entirely quiet, and without signs of renewal of the recent agitation which was condemned by the entlpe press. It has been ascertained that twenty German soldiers were killed and sixty injured by the accident at Proteaux, on the Northwestern Railroad.

The Black Sea Conference held a session in London, on the 13th, at which all the members, including Due do Brogile, as the representative of France, w’crc present. It was believed that all the matters under discussion had been arranged, and that that was probably the last meeting of the conference. The Sandwich Islands have recently been violently shaken by an earthquake, doing considerable damage. A London dispatch of the 14th says: “ The Emperor William and party have arrived in the city of Nancy, where they were enthusiastically received by the German troops. They go to Metz to-mcfrrow, and, after an inspection of the city and the fortress, will continue their journey to Berlin.” The Emperor of Germany, accompanied by the Grand Duke of Hesse, arrived in Frankfort on the night of the 15th. The entile city w’as illuminated, flags were flying everywhere, and triumphal arches spanned the principal streets. A Kingston dispatch of the 16th says the United States steamer Tennessee, with the San DomiDgo Commission on board, sailed that morning for Key West.

DOMESTIC. Gold closed in New York on the 16th at lU}£. A recent San Francisco dispatch says Mount Roarier, Washington Territory, appeared to be firing up for a volcanic eruption. The heat at the summit had grown so great as to melt the snows, though heretofore tho hottest summers only partially melted them. There was a constant emission of steam, and some parties living in the vicinity say smoke as well. Helena, Ark., has been further damaged by a severe gale of wind, lasting fifty minutes. Much injury was done to buildings, nail-stones fell as large as pebbles, breaking dearly half the windows In town.

A dispatch from Columbia, S. C , on the evening of the 9th, says a large body of men, armed, from East Tennessee and North Carolina, had made their appearance in York and Chester counties, and fighting had been going on for several days. Reports were received that the most horrible outrages had been perpetrated in those counties by both colored militia and Ku-Klux. It was stated that Governor Scott would, on the 10th, proclaim martial law in York and Chester counties, and had telegraphed to President Grant and General Terry at Louisville, ashing for troops. A Charleston, 8. C., dispatch of the 12th says the troubles between the whites and negro militia in Chester County were subsiding. The citizens, in a public meeting, had pledged protsetion to all negroes who

would lay aside their arms and return quietly to their homes. There was a strong force of United States regulars in the county, at tho invi'ation of Governor Scott.

The New York Exjiress of the 13th says “ there has been a heavy reduction in railroad freights to the West. The rate for first class freight to Chicago is now $1 per 100 pounds, with a corresponding reduction on btlier classes to other points. Present indications point to a general railroad war, and much lower freights, as there is already some cutting under tjie regular rate of $1 to Chicago.” A St. Paul dispatch of the 14th says that in the lied River country, a few days before, the Canadian troops, finding Mr. Andrew Scott, formerly a Riel supporter, chased him far into Minnesota, and finally catching him, “ kicked and stabbed him with bayonets,” and left him in a dying condition. p The miners of the bituminous region of Pennsylvania, out of sympathy for the anthracite miners, have resolved to sutpend work in a few days. At Albany, N. Y., on the 15th, the jury in the Filkins’ case, charged with the robbery of the express car near that city several weeks ago, when the express messenger was nearly killed, rendered a verdict of robbery in the first degree, and the prisoner was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment. A Washington dispatch of tlife 16th says there was a startling rumor, not generally known, of advices received, from Minister Sickles, submitting, as the result of the negotiations he has been conducting for several months past, a proposition from the Government of Spain for the sale to this government of the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. The Spaniards want from $80,000,000 to $ 100,000,C00, payable in installments, the first payment to be $20,000,000 in gold, made immediately after the question of annexation should, by a popular vote of the islands be decided affirmatively.

PERSONAL. Among the nominations sent to the Senate on the 10th were: Herman Raster, Collector of Internal Revenue, First District Illinois; P. G. Stevens, Colleetor of Customs, at Miami, O.; Asa O. Alder, James B. Howell and Orange Ferris, Commissioners of Claims of loyal citizens for stores, etc., taken or furnished the army of the United States in the insurrectionary States; Peter Melinday, United States Marshal for lowa. Postmasters—B. P. Blanchard, New Orleans, La.; Wm. H. Adams, Boone, la.; John M. Andrews, Indianola, la.; Wm. W. Green, Dayton, O.; Albert M. Patterson, Crestline, O.; Henry S. Gibbons, St. Johns, Mich.; Philip Arnhold, St. Joseph, Mo.; John Hinnols, Gold Hill, Nev. Gov. Bntler, of Nebraska, answered the charges against him before the im peachment court, on the 10th, by a general denial, and the court adjourned until the 14th. The following nominations were sent to the Senate on the? 14tli: Walter N. Smith, Assistant Attorney General of the United States; D. G. Wade, Chief Justice of Montana; William Chesbiough, of New York, Assistant Secretary of Legation at London; Stillian A. Fisk, Recorder of Land Titles at St. Louis; George Bradley, Indian Agent for Michigan; Edwin Ellis, Indian Agent in Washington Territory; A. C. Smith, Collector of Internal Revenue, First District of Minnesota; D. Davidson, Collector of Internal Revenue, Sixth District of Tennessee.

POLITICAL. J. J. Evcletli, Republican, was elected Mayor of Augusta, Me., on the 13th, by 150 majority. At Biddeford, E. IV. Wcdgewood, Democrat, was re-elected by 300 majority. At Bangor, Dale, Republican, was elected Mayor by 185 majority ; Wakefield, the Temperance candidate, received 105 votes. In the Arkansas Legislature, on tho 13th, a message was received from Governor Clayton announcing the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Johnson, and appointing him to the position of Secretary of State, vice White, resigned. The Sen-, ate went into executive session and confirmed the appointment of Johnson, who was sworn, and entered on the discharge of his duties as Secretary of State. The Senate then elected Hadley, of Little Rock, a Clayton man, President. A Concord, N. H., dispatch dated at 1 a. m. on the morning of the 15th says: “ Returns from 172 towns foot up.- pike, 28,241; Weston, 28,139; Cooper, 253; scattering 132. Weston is probably elected by over 1,000 plurality.” The State Senate would probably be Democratic. In the House the Itepublicans would probably have a majority of about twenty. The election of the three Democratic Congressmen was conceded. A Little Rock, Ark., special to the Memphis Avalanche of the 14tti says Clayton had been again elected United States Senator. In the Senate the vote stood; Clayton 18, McDonald 3, Clark (Democrat) 2, English (Democrat) 1, J. F. White (colored) 1. In the House, Clayton received 43 votes, McDonald 15, Clark 12, White 4, English 1, scattering 8. This gives Clayton 17 majority on joint ballot.

The returns from New Hampshire on the 15th indicate that Weston, Democrat, for Governor, would probably have from 300 to 500 majority. The Third Congressional District was in some doubt, though Parker, Democrat, was probably elected. On the 15th the Mississippi Senate adopted a resolution declaring it inexpedient to take any further action on the subject of the election of United States Senators. Tho evidence In the impeachment trial ■-'l

of Gov. Iloldcn, of North Carolina, closed on the 14th. The Legislature of Virginia, on the 14th, re-elected John W. Johnson, Conservative, for United States Senator, by 108 to HO for John It. Popliam, the Republican nominee. The Rhode Island Democratic State Convention on the 10th made the following nominations: For Governor, Thomas Steers, of Smithfleld,- Lieutenant-Gov-ernor, Charier R. Cutler, of Warren; Secretary of State, Wm. Miller, of Bristol; Attorney-General George N. Bloss, of Providence; General Treasurer, Wm. P. Congdon of Newport. The news received at Concord on the evening of the 16th indicated that there had been no choice of Governor in New Hampshire, Weston failing of a majority of all the votes cast by 110 to 200. One dispatch says the House would probably be Democratic by from 5 to 10 majority, and another states that the Republicans claimed 8 majority.