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Show SENATE. At tho expiration of tho morning1 hour the senate resumed the consideraj tion of the resolution to investigate tha alleged sales of arms to French agenLs, and Sumner addressed the senate. lie said: '' Iksidcs the unaccustomed interest inter-est which this debate has excited, 1 cannot fail to note that it has wandered far from any original purpose of mine, and into fields which I have no desire to enter. 1 shall try to bring it b:ick to tho real issue, which I- hopts lo pn sent without passion or pivituliee, and hero sir, 1 declare what is the only rule of my life, that in what 1 say . to-day thoro shall not bo a single word which is not prompted by a love of truth and a desire for justice." Ho then referred to tho late events in New York, and said there was a cry for reform every where. Abuses were developed in tho ordnance ouice, and they were a subject of universal univer-sal scandal. It was time, something should be done to arrest the suspicion thrown on our otlicials. His resolution bad been met by various objections, lie bad been charged with introducing politics, pol-itics, and (illusions had been made to tlio presidential election. Logan interrupted, and asked that ladies be permitted to occupy the cloak rooms. liamlin objecled,saying two field days in one session wero enough. I Murmurs of disapprobation. ) Sumner continued: He was earnest for reform in the civil service, and should always vote for every enquiry having that object in view. Ha had never heard of this matter until weeks after tho meeting of congress, and then from a distinguished native born citizen, who has not been mentioned men-tioned in tho debate. He did not believe be-lieve tho introduction of the resolution would prejudice Germany on the San .luan question, as the whole matter was known in Berlin long before the introduction intro-duction of tho resolution in the senate. Tlio pending resolution presented the. general question, whether there is not suiiicicnt reason for an enquiry into tbe.sale of arms during tho French and German war? This diverged into two questions; the first relating to international interna-tional duty, tlio second rebiing to malfeasance mal-feasance on the part of our- own officials. He discussed both those points at length, and said an investigation could, not b refused without setting at defiance the r Kcs of decency and common sense. The question was then taken on Trumbull's niot'on to reconsider the vote by which Conkling's umcndnien!, directing tho committee to inquire j whether any American senator orciti- zen had hold unauthorized comtuunica- I tion with any foreign government or1 its agent, was adoptud, and tho motion1 was lost; 3'oas, 1'J; nays, '2A. Tho Ke- Jublicans who voted to reconsider wero 'erry, Logan, Sprague, Trumbull and West; Sumner and Schurz did not vote. Harlow replied briefly to Sumner. Schurz offered an amendment pending pend-ing tho resolution, directing the committee com-mittee to inquire also whether muzzle loading guns, transformed into breechloaders, breech-loaders, havo been sold by the war department de-partment ir. such largo numbers as to seriously alloc t the defensive capacity of tho country in caso of war. Carpenter obtained the lloor but yioldedi'or a motion to adjourn. HOISE. Tho house proceeded with tho business busi-ness on tho speaker's table, and disposed dis-posed of a number of senate bills and amendments. |