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Show FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS. The House. Washington, February 1. In his opening prayer the Chaplain, said : "We commend to Thy infinite pity and tenderness Thy servant, the Secretary of State, who sits with his children in his home desolate, because be-cause twice in a fortnight death hath entered. en-tered. In this time, when earthly estate and human sympathy availeth so little, may the spirit of the living God come to cheer and comfort them." Hanback, of Kansas, rising to a question of personal privilege, sent to the Clerk.s desk to have an editorial from yesterday's New York World read, entitled "The Telephone Tele-phone Scandal,7? but the reading was immediately im-mediately interrupted by Breckenridge, of Arkansas, with a point of order that there was nothing in the editorial which reflected upon the gentleman from Kansas in his Representative capacity. The Speaker inquired in-quired whether there was any allusion in it to the gentleman from Kansas. Hanback shook his head. The Speaker then said: "The gentleman roust state what the question of privilege is." . Hanback "The House will understand what the question is after the article is read." Speaker "But unless the article reflects in some way On the gentleman from Kansas in his representative capacity, there can be noquestion of privilege involved." Hanback: "Not at all; I disclaim that; but I ask that the article be read." Speaker: "The-article does not appear to contain any reference to the gentleman from Kansas." Hanback: "The article that is to be read, and other articles, reflect on this House, and on that I claim is a question of the highest privilege." - . A short discussion ensued on the point of order, in the course of whioh Dunn, of Arkansas, Ar-kansas, maintained that a question of privilege privi-lege must be clearly shown before the records of the House were made a vehicle to cart scandals before the country. In order to get around the difficulty, Hanback offered the following resolution: "Resolved, That the Committee on Expenditures Ex-penditures in the Department of Justice be empowered to make a full inquiry into any expenditure on the part of the Government relative to the rights of Bell and Pan-Eleotrio Pan-Eleotrio Telephone Companies, and for the purpose of this investigation, and to the end that the people may be fully advised, the committee is granted the right to send for persons and papers, all expenses to be audited and accounted from approved vouchers, and when so approved to be paid out of any. moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. The Speaker could not see that the resolution resolu-tion involved the question of privilege. It was merely a resolution of inquiry. Another short debate ensued over this ruling, in the course which Randall said while he did not believe that the House had anything to do with subjeot matter as presented, he was opposed to throwing . any obstacle in the way of the fullest investigation which pertained to the good government of the United States. After a little more wrangling on the subject, Morrison out the Gordion knot by asking a unanimous consent that the resolution be immediately considered. Beach Bhowed a disposition to object, but was prevailed upon by Robertson to give his consent, and the resolution ' was adopted without dissent. - -. - - . |