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Show FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. ! Nt.WIE. Wellington, 10. Ovor forty senators sena-tors were in the chamber beore tlio senate waH called to drder at noon. A great part of the morning hour was taken up in the presentation of a lare number ol petitions from vari oua purls of the country in favor ol the adoption of a eixtcenth amendment, amend-ment, prohibiting states from diafran cbising persona on account of sex, all of which woro referred to the committee com-mittee on privileges and elections. A large number ol bills were introduced intro-duced and relerred to appropriate coramitteee, among them the follow- I ing: By Siirgent, to regulute Chinese immigration. im-migration. By Dorsey, supplementary to the ant of March 3J, 1S77, in relation to luo i-iui opnugs reeervauoii iu nt-kanaaa. nt-kanaaa. By Plumb, to reorganize the "pay department of tho army. By Voorhees, to extend the provisions pro-visions of the act of 1S74 in relation to prize money to all fleet officers. By Kellojig, authorizing mail steamship aervice in the Gull of Mexico, Mex-ico, between New Orleana and certain cer-tain parts of the republic of Mexico. Conkling submitted a resolution instructing the com mi tee on judiciary judi-ciary to inauire and report in reward to the action taken by any department depart-ment or officer of government in restoring Major B. P. liuakle to the army of the United States. Agreed to. He aUo submitted the resolution instructing in-structing the committee on naval aGairs to inquire and report in regard to the restoration of Dr. L. J. Draper to the medical corps of the navy which wn9 debated at some length and agreed to. Edmund e submitted a joint resolution resolu-tion proposing an amendmenT to the constitution of the United States prohibiting pro-hibiting Btates from making appropriations appro-priations for sectarian purposes. Relerred Re-lerred to the committee ou judiciary. Alter the morning business had been disposed of-Edmunds of Vermont called for the regular order, and the senate resumed consideration of the 1 resolution of Matthews submitted before be-fore the recess, declaring the right of government to pay the principal and interest of bondB in silver coin. Beck spoke in favor of the remone ' tizntion ot the silver dollar. ! Sargent aubmitted the following: , Whereas, Thousands of women of the United States have petitioned congress con-gress for an amendment to the constitution, con-stitution, allowing women the rihtof suffrage; and, Whereas, Many of the representative representa-tive women of the country favoring such an amendment are present in the city, and have requested to be heard before the senate in advocacy of such amendment, Resolved, That a session of the senate sen-ate be holden that aaid representative women, or such of them aa may be designated for that purpose, may be heard before the senate. But for one reason only objection was made and the resolution was laid over. Eaton presented a petition of citizens citi-zens of New Haven, Conn., praying lor the passage of a law authorizing the coinage of silver dollars of 420 grains standard silver, ana mat tney be made legal tender for eiimu not exceeding $20, and that, an international interna-tional commigBion be organized to fix the relative value of gold and silver in foreign and domestic exchanges. Referred. Re-ferred. Eaton gave notice that when the silver bill came before the senate for consideration he would ofler a eutwii tute for it, in accordance with the above petition. Cameron, Pennsylvania, presented a resolution of the Pittsburg chamber of commerce, in favor of the erection ofr certain public buildings in that oity. Referred. Bayard moved that when the Benafe adjourn to day it be to meet on Monday Mon-day naxt. oargem saia ne Knew mere was much committee work to do, and public business might be expedited by such an adjournment, but he felt it hia duty to oppose the motion, s he desired to have the resolution submitted sub-mitted by him this morning, in regard to allowing female advocates ol the sixteenth amendment to present their arguments belore tbe senate, to be considered to-morrow. Thurman said the idea had been conveyed that the ladies now making the application to be heard by the senate represented the women of the United States. Hedenied thai they represented one Jwenlieth or hundredth hun-dredth part of the women of the United States. UHOubtedly they were very worthy women, but one of them said in the convention at Lincoln; hall that they intended to carry the aenate by God. Maybe May-be they would, but it would be long after eome of the old fogies were out of the chamber. (Laughter.) He did not wish to be Understood as wanting in respect (or these ladiea, but he was free to confess bat the woman who sat at her fireside and took care of her children was rather more respectable in his mind than the woman who threatened to carry the senate by God. It was for the Btates to declare who should c vote in the states. Let them begin' with Massur ohusotts. After Borne further discussion Sargent Sar-gent moved to atljourn. Rejected, yeas 20, nays 25. I The question then recurred on; Bayard'a motion to adjourn over until Monday. Rejected, yuaa 9, nays 35. Randolph then took the floor to address the senate on the ; r silver reeolution, but yielded the i r floor to Edmunds, who eaid, as the ladies who desired to be heard by the Benate, wished to know il : their petition would be granted, he i withdrew his objection to tbe present , consideration of the resolution sub-. sub-. milled by the senator from California (Sargent) this morning. The resolution was then taken up - and Sargent moved to fill the blnk so j :is the aenate should bold a session on , Saturday, January 12th, to hear the advocates of the sixteenth amend -1 ment, and that they ihould be allowed two hours to present their views. , A debate ensued. Sargent said tid predicted thia assault upon tho senate, as it had been called. It was only the begin ning ot assaults upon congress and state legislatures in favor of the sixteenth six-teenth amendment. This movement was spreading and growing more troublesome year after year. He argued that these ladies did lepreaent the women of the country and that they had been duly appointed by the (state conventions. ' Tbe resolution was tlTen rejected, yeas 13, nays 31. . UUlsE. Tbe hoiue met to-day at noon, apd 250 members responded to their names more than a quorum. The journal of December 10th whs read. The resolution reported .by Wood, prior to the recess, directing investigations investi-gations to be made into the management manage-ment of the several departments oi government, came up as the first business in order, it having been post poned till after the reading of the journal to day. Kelly asked unanimous consent to ; ofler a resolution recitiog that petitions peti-tions are to be presented to the houae ! from many thousand citizens from ! thirty five states of the Union, asking the adoption of an amendment to the constitution which shall prohibit tho several states from disfranchising citizens citi-zens of the United States on account of sex, and therefore ordering a session ses-sion of the house for Saturday next, at which representative women, chosen by the petitioners and now in the city, will be hoard at the bar. of the house in support of the same. . Crittenden objected, but withdrew his objection temporarily to permit Kelly to make a statement. Wood How long is the statement to be? Kelly Very brief. I have no elaborate remarks to make. I desire simply to bring to tbe attention atten-tion of the bouse these petitioners. They are here, largely delegated by citizens of both aexes, Jrom thirty five states of the Union, asking the house to "initiate proceedings which it cannot can-not Consummate, which it can only snlimif. In lh nonnlo nf llmuouor.tl states, to-wit: a constitutional amendment, and ask the houae, as it has on former occasions heard strangers to the body, on the floor, may in vindication of the right of the petition, hear a limited number of these women on Saturday next, a day when prohably there would otherwise be no session, state the grounds ol whit they believe to be a constitutional hardship and deprivation of rights which pertain to them as intelligent individuals, many of whom are large taxpayers. That is all that I can say at ibis time, under the restraint indicated. The speaker asked whether there was any objection to the ofleriug of the resolution. Crittenden of Missouri objected. Hewitt presented a petition ol the New York chamber of commerce praying for the parsage of a bill to correct all errors in the assessment and collection of duties on imports, whether in favor or against the government. gov-ernment. The proposed bill pro vhles that wherever it appears that insufficient duties or duties in excess of those required by existing laws at the date of the importation have been assessed, the secretary of the treasury shall order tho entriea of such goods to be relinquished and such equitable rules as shall give full effect to the act. Referred to the committtee on waya and meana. Stephens )of Georgia introduced a bill directing the secretary of etatu tc affix the great seal of the United States to a document entitled: "Tut administrators ol the United States government at the beginning -of its second century." . The following bills were introduced and referred: By Luttrell of California, to pro hibit tho employment ot Chinese or Mongolians on any public works ol the United States. Also to prevent tbe naturalization of Chinese or Mongolians. Also to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the territories and other places subject to the ex-cluiive ex-cluiive jurisdiction of tbe United States. Also a joint resolution of the California Cali-fornia legislation concerning Chinese immigration. By Cox of New York, for the coinage coin-age of 5-cent silver coins and the discontinuance dis-continuance of 5-cent nickel copper coins. - Bragg of Wisconsin oaked leave to ofler a resolution empowering tbe military committee to have the testimony testi-mony taken by it in regard to the Mexican border troubles printed and to report it to the house at any time. Hale objected. The motion to refer Wood's resolution reso-lution to the committee of the whole was accepted, and thereupon the house went into a committee of tho whole, Eden of Illinois in the chair, lor its consideration. JBurchard offered an amendment to the reeolution bo as to authorize the committee to apply to the house at any time for Buch powers. Wood opened the debate by explaining ex-plaining the object of the resolution. Ciymer conceded the, republicans were as earnest for investigation aa the democrats, but be had during the last Bec-sion heard rumors affecting a high officer which he would no more have mentioned in the house than he would have assassinated him, and had his committee not been armed with attachment powers the disgrace and dishonor of that official would not have been exposed. He was certain cer-tain the present heads of departments depart-ments courted investigation and wanted the past revealed, that they, without turning informers, might be vindicated. He regretfully assured the house that if the proof of past wickedness was asked, it wa3 forth-, coming and abundant. Cox of Ohio Baid he had favored Woods' resolution alone, of all his aide of the bouse. He was net sure that Hale's substitute waa not better, but he . could not imagine . that any resolution for the most rigid i investigation could be unfriendly in spirit toward himself, who, of aU on the floor, had aloue had the charge ot a department of the interior, against which there had been such severe charges. He would go with the democratic side for any investigation investiga-tion it might deem necessary. . Garfield said no objection was urged against, investigating any public officer on any reasonable ground, but it was objected that eighteen committees, commit-tees, without any allegation, be armed witti plenary powers to go searching around for souiolhing to investigate; to command any private person from Maine to California to leave his busi ness ana come nere, bringing bis books and papers and disclose any private aflairs, and that not by the express command of the bouse delivered de-livered in a case proposed, but by the vicarious power of the house given in ' advance to tbe committee. It was an unwise and unjustifiable proceeding. He did not propose to throw a drag net over 44,000,000 citizens, to drag any one into a committee room with Out any hearing and without the pecilic authority of the house. Banks Baid th& resolution conflicted with the bill of rights, which proleots citizens against unreasonable searphea and seizures. Jackson, when president, presi-dent, hid refused to allow any head of dpurtmeut to obey the senate's ordr and appear before that body to U'dtify as to what they had doaa. Buckf&er said the resolution con-UBmplattd con-UBmplattd reform and retrenchment, not the manufacture of political capital. GArtield aid ucu a drag-net resolution reso-lution of the Ia8t enngrees had cost the country half a million. Did aiy-budy aiy-budy believe the $75,000 which tuo naval committee bad cost had bL-en repaid. Clyracr thought it would enable, largely reduced appropriations this 1 year. Garfield replied that be still thought j 1 the charges should be stated first. Ifjl gentlemen desirtd to Investigate the piesideotjal title, let them make the charges and ha would help them at llieearlicst possible jjiome.;;t. Tucker could seeKio danir in allowing committees lo act as tho 1 resolution provided. Conger humorously alluded to Tucker'a expression lost year, nulla resti'jia rdrorottm, and said the 1 investigations had cost from $700,-000 $700,-000 to ISOO.OOO and had disgusted the whole country. Disreputable witnesses had been called and tbe only honor which had accrued was to his theatrical friend from Penosyl-1 vania, Ciymer, who had fancied a mare's neat with a horse on it, and brought it fo the house, mouuted the tribunal and presented his case with ho much glorification that the country ' had been astounded, while the house ' bad stood trembling with terror. (Laughter. ) Others had emulated mm, but there could not be two euch transactions in cne century. They bad failed. Burchard also opposed giving the committees such general powers in advance. A vote being taken ou the amendment amend-ment by Burchard, authorizes the ' committees to apply to the house fori power to send lor porsonH and papers, ( it was agreed to 98 lo 93. Foster oflered an amendment instructing in-structing the committee on expenditures expendi-tures to investigate the expenses incurred in-curred by the invetstigatinii commit-teB commit-teB of the Forty fourth congress and to report particulars thereof. He did Would the democracy want ts continue con-tinue the b puck's of investigation which had blackened the character of the late speaker of the house and of the promiuent candidate for demo cratic national nomination and now for the Ohio Benat:rship (Pendleton) (Pen-dleton) ? He had heard that the investigating committees had shown gross carelessness, if . not downright corruption, in expending money in paying dead-beat witnesses. One person who wanted to go to tbe Centennial had got hia member lo have him summoned as a witness, although he knew nothing of .the matter inquired into. Hewitt asked for the name, but Foster did not give il. Wood said Foster's amendment was disiugenious; not germane to the Bubject. Everybody knew there was corruption in all branches of the public-service. Foster "Do you charge corruption on the present administration?" Wood "1 know of none." Cox. in a brief speech, in which he alluded to the republicans as haviog gotten their man into tbe white house, provoked Foster into saying: ' In reply to the numerous allegations that have been made by the public 1 press, and . by Borne gentlemen 1 throdghout the country, I say that, so far as I am concerned, so far as any knowledge of mine is concerned, there , ib not oue sciotilU of truth in those i charges. Every word, every line that I know anything about, has been i printed and published to the world." Foiter's amendment waa finally adopted. ' . . Hale's Bubatitute waB theu adopted, 101 to 99. The republicans made triumphant demonstrations when the vote was announced. The committe then rose and reported. Hale endeavored to get action, but Wood moved to adjourn. Carried, 101 to 99 Adjourned.- |