Show In the Senate WASHINGTON May 20 Immediately after reading the journal the oath of office was administered ad-ministered by the VicePresident te to Carlisle as Senator from Kentucky for Becks unexplred term Sherman presented petitions in favor of ex cluding from tho mails the Police Gazette and similar publications Polce Gazete Plumb introduced a bill to provide for the purchase of silver for use as lawful money pre pared by Banker St Johns of New York Re ferred to the finance committee Plumb offered a resolution instructing the finance committee to prepare and report in connection with the tariff bill a statement showing the duties lev dutes ied under the existing law the duties as they dutes would be under the House bill and the duties under the bill to be reported by the committee li the committee should recommend new duties or increase the reduction of existing duties to extng dutes state the reasons in each case for such addition or increase additon Reagan moved to amend the resolution to re resoluton quire in cases of compound duties a specific and ad valorem column showing the equivalent ad valorem amount of the duty where practicable passed Agreed to and the resolutions as amended Calls resolution asking for information as to the landing of landng an armed force from a revenue cutter at Cedar Keys Fla was modified and agreed to The Senate resumed consideration of the naval appropriation bill The pending question was Cockrells amendment to strike out the provision for three heavily armored bat tie ships at four millions each There was a lengthy debate on this in which Cockrell com Cocltrel mented on the recommendations of the secre tary of the navy for the construction of a large number vessels There is no occasion said Cockrell for the construction of coast do fenses or an Increase of the naval establish ment It was well for the Senate to remember that the surplus is already gone When the legislation of this Congress is finished there will bo no surplus and the peo pIe of the United States might bo I very happy i the taxes did not have to be in creased There was no necessity for the con struction of the great battle ships The Ameri can flag was perfectly safeiu every part mor earth The United States could rely on secur ing justice 1 withbut any manifestation of physl cal or visible force Voorhees said the American people no more i favored increasing tho navy and having great standing navy than they were in favor of bar ing 1 great standing army He had faith in hln ability of the American people to get ready whenever an emergency arose Butler spoke vigorously in opposition to tho amendment and regretted It was not in his power to vote for eight instead of three battleships He hoped all our difficulties might be settled by negotiation or arbitration but so long as human nature was as it is i was unsafe to asusmo that tho United States was in no danger of collision with foreign powers Blair moved to amend the provision for threo battle ships by inserting a proviso that it shall not be available until the government of Great Britain shall have been shal requested tho Presi dent to withdraw all her naval forces from American waters and to dismantle her naval stations in both South and North America and in t1e ndingnt lands and shall lvo l piinl or neglected for one year to do so Hawley said this proposition from a nation already disarmed to get Great Britain to dis arm was simply ludicrous Whllo he was as much In favor of peace as anybody be did not conceive of in any way departing from tho teachings of Holy Scripturo in favor of being prepared against violence and gross injustice There was some time in tho history of the world when for the sake of manhood and pat riotism for the sake of God and country a peo ple must fight and those were the days that lifted the people out of their worship of tho almighty dollar Mr Hale spoke of the defenseless condition of tho Pacific coast and the extensive British works and naval stations in British Columbia which ho had visited last year Coumbia Blairs amendment was rejected as was also Cockrells the latter by a vote of 3 to 18 Tho bill then passed Mitchell offered a resolution which was agreed to instructing committee on pensions to report an amendment to tho pension laws providing a more liberal manner fonvidows minor children and dependent relatives of de ceased Adjourned soldiers |