Show CONGRESS by W C SENATE washington jan 21 morrill from tho committee on finance fina uce reported without amendment the bill passed by tho house on the irth dinst to the refunding of the national debt placed on tho calendar chaffer introduced joint resolution directing tho cancellation of one and two dollar united states notes laid on the tabla to be called up by chaffer at athe conclusion ofilio morning business busi nesB the bills on the calendar opre considered the senate bill to authorize alic secretary of the interior to deponio the funds held by him as trustee for indian tribes in the treasury of the united states in lieu of investment led to a long adjourned HOUSE potter called up the resolution presented by him yesterday directing the committee on investigation of sectional frauds to inquire into the cipher dispatches and appropriating to defray expenses potter yielded however for boino preliminary matters stephens from the committee on coinage introduced a bill to authorize the coinage of goloid metric dollars and fractions of dollars referred I the house then proceeded aeration of the cipher resolution potter moved the previous question which wag seconded and the main question was ordered thus leaving on e hour for discussion which was thereupon opened by potter who said mr speaker I offered this resolution because I was instructed to kofl er it I do not propose to discuss it except to say a few words in reply to an attack made on me by the gentleman from michigan conger I was not in the house at the time and when the gent lemans attention was called to that fact he stated that I had left the house to avoid hearing him if alio gentleman thought o lie was mistaken I hav listened to the sprightly and amiable utterances of alio gentleman from michigan with a much satisfaction as any gentleman in this house the gentleman accused me because I biad not permitted an investigation of aliese dispatches mr speaker it is as open to the gentleman from michigan and has been ever since aliis of congress assembled and to every member of alie couo as it is to myself to propose such an investigation ho did not propose it no one on that bide of the house proposed it and for reasons which perhaps it is not difficult to divine but at any rate for reasons satisfactory to themselves no gentleman on this ido of the house had pro posed it and the gentleman from michigan said I had not permitted them to do so mr speaker neither had power to prevent them nor hal J sought to prevent them the only fisli I had expressed on alic subject was eliat if such resolution was introduced it might bo referred to another committee than that of which i was a member but I neither sought to influence anybody nor prevent any one from action in respect to it I simply refused to volunteer to introduce such resolution myself mid for these reasons at the last session of congress I introduced a resolution for tho committee to inquire into certain alleged and confessed wrongs in florida and louisiana which had taken place under color of state law and which were said to leave been perpetrated under the iu fluence of federal visitors and under tho protection of federal troops and which wrongs the electoral commission biad decided it was impossible for the states to rectify or recall such a matter was a proper subject for congressional legislation for if congress could not correct a wrong which had taken place in the states themselves it could at least adopt such legislation as would afford those states an opportunity to correct and recall the action taken of their law it was therefore a proper subject for investigation and when I introduced that ro solution I declined to yield to the amendment which the gentleman from maine hale heaired to offer proposing an inquiry into a certain cipher dispatch in oregon because I insisted that it was not within the province of congress to inquire into the individual wrong of any citizen which it could neither prevent nor punish and at any rate this anve ought not fo bo by any such inquiry I then suspect ju tha existence of dispatches which ha v been since published but tho analogy between and those which the gentleman from maine sought to have inquired into ia perfect and tho house having sustained me in my view of the question it was not for mo now to seek to set on foot myself an investigation of the kind nor prevent tho completion of tho work which I had in band by anny uch inquiry beyond that mr speaker ther were private personal reasons why I did not think I ought to sat on foot any such investigation vesti gation tho house may recollect that when I introduced tho reso lution of inquiry a leading independent journal of the country declared that I did so in pursuance of a bar gain between governor tilden and manelf in which I was to have his support i if the gentlemen will look at tho new york abune of saturday week they will it declared that the probable cause of this resolution is tor the object of personally injuring mr tilden for these reasons sir I did not fed called upon to volunteer any action on this subject I leavo not volunteered it and I introduce the which I do because without any request I leavo boan instructed to do so and I do it for no other reason butler opposed the resolution on the ground that congress had no jurisdiction over the private correa pond onoe of anybody he was a private man who held no public position besides congress should not take part in tho slander of any pub lie man to satisfy the curiosity of anybody in ho home or out of it There gult of appropriating money for alie would bo to stir up something which had bettor not bo soon felt or smelt it would bo far better to give ten thousand dollars to ft poor fat nily he had spoken against the resolution in order that it might be aid hereafter that at leant ono man acting an arid a a of conget was unbiased by party prejudice laughter and had been to showing up the private oll hiiri of private persons halo followed in support of alie ho said mow that the machine had been darted and set in motion let it roll and make an investigation into both sided of the question he had some sympathy sim ale hearted old gentleman in new york who biad been taken from hla privacy and thrust upon the country is a presidential candidate who had become alie apostle of ref oriu and who had remained in hi closet awaiting the verdict of the american people taking no liand or part in the notable campaign ire had been surrounded by con federated and co partners and nephews ho had attempted to purchase haae lie electoral college and the simple hearted old man should have an opportunity to come before congress and protect his character from the close around him who had attempted to besmirch it hewitt N supported the resolution ol he called the attention of butler to the fact that there were occasions in life when waa something higher than a audgo or a member of congress it was alen a sense of manhood struck into the human heart ho stood here in ahat spirit of manhood to invite tho fullest investigation of the telegrams those which had been published and those which not justice to samuel stilden JT ilden demanded eliat the investigation should bo made justice to tho great democratic party demanded it ju attico to alie american people alio bad elected him to the highest office in their gift demanded it let tilden have an opportunity to confront liis accusers and traducers traduce rs and show the world eliat atlease one of the candidates at the late presidential election vas not a miserable trickster willing to bar gain for alie highest office in the gift of the people whether the cipher dispatches published in the are genuine or not I have no means of knowing I never received one of them I was never cognizant of their existence until alicy were published by tho tribune neither do ik now whether the alleged transactions are this I do know that not ono of them containing a reference to money to influence returning boards r electoral votes was ever addressed to or received by any officer of the national democratic committee I inn aware that the newspapers have credited one of those persons to whom thi telegrams were addressed with having been an officer of tho democratic committee but I say to this house and to tho country that this y an error that they were zealous democrats and anxious to secure tho fruits of a victory which we biad unquestionably tion ably won in a contest of unparalleled and gigantic efforts on both sides is very evident but what they did waa the action of purely a voluntary and individual nature without either mo who was charged with the conduct of the campaign or I am here candidate of the democratic party in that memorable struggle satirical on republican bide of tha house tho most flagrant efforts leavo been made to show that ho had a personal knowledge ortho opera eions of his oscr zealous friends now stand hero to declare that there is not a particle of evidence to convict him of this knowledge on alio contrary tho evidence so far as produced and alie production of it ha been most skillfully managed to give an opposite impression proves conclusively that he biad no lucli knowledge for in no caso was any such purchase of votes eu acted and in every case it broke down for want of money Is it to bo supposed for a moment that if samuel J tilden had decided to buy those voles the purchase would have failed for alie want of money laughter on the republican side Is it not absolutely clear that when it readied a point where money townsend N Y interrupting did not money go to oregon Ore gop kiewitt without noticing town senda interruption eliere money waa required it failed and ii it not a conclusion irresistible eliat when in the last resort it was necessary to go to him for money ho indignantly stamped on the suggestion as one to which ho could give neither approval nor assistance conger followed with short speech making sarcastic allusions to the cipher dispatches as scriptural telegrams signed by moses and aaron and alie reat the leour allowed for discussion having closed garnald moved to rel consider alio vote ordering alio main question atkins moved to lay that motion on tho table and it was so ordered yeas nays tho house then proceeded to vote on the resolution and it wo adopted without division waddel from the postoffice post office committee reported iho post bouto bill and jt was parsed thursday night was get apart for the of the bill for alio of mail matte robbing from the committee on ways and means reported tho bill agreed upon by the committee to the sugar and ask cd to have it made the special order for next saturday wood objected and alie bill was ordered printed and tho house adjourned jour ned |