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Show FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. j W.ahitii:ton, 6 Tne president pre (t.u. Iiid n.-f.ir the stmate the huu e hi-l ui Ljrtml the turtber retirinnut of Untul .S'-ites leii! tender note', wiiu-.i w-a rdad tUe first time oy i;s inl t it it might b rettjrred to the tv in Miiiua uu finance in accordance Wi'.ii r.i-fo;ii. t Crn -il ittjcied to is reference, Ahu in Kf.l in a inn bill be read a eecouJ i-m". His ut'ict waa to have tb-i lull p isied without ft rt-'fereuce. but Murrtll objected to the second I reading of the bill to day, and it was i laid over. I Sargent, from tne committee on appropriations, reported the pension appropriation bill with amendment. I Allison reported the Indian appro- : priation bill with amendments. Both placed ou the calendar. McOonAld preseuUd a numerously Bigned petition that General Jonn O, Fremont be included in the bill pending, to place Shields on the re- 1 tired liat. Referred. 1 The senate then took up the oill tc repeal the bmkrupt law, reported ( from the judiciary committee witri amendment on Tuursday last. Beck submitted an amendment to strike out the 1st of January, 1S70, a-J the lime when the repeal of the law should lake eflect, and insert iu lieu thereof an amendment to repeal the law Irom the passage of the act. Ti.e discussion of the bill lasted until un-til tie expiration of the morning hour whea the bill to repeal the specie resumption act civnio up ua unfinished business. Tfturmau then moved that this bill be laid aside inlormally with the understanding that tbebankrupt bill ahould be considered when Gordon concluded his remarks in favor of the repeal of the specie resumption act. Gordon thtn addressed the Benate iu lavor of repealing the apeois remnnptiou act. : Gordon favored honest finaucies and a return -lo specie payments; but hu denied- the proposition that the shortest road to specie payment was tha beat one, no matter how rough it be. He oould not see why it waj not better to the Bave couutry by common senso than ruin it by science. The policy ot contractor: 1 nlauted the seed not of resump'-ioo but of consumption of the vitals of the country until it swept all our energies and enterprises away. He did' no, believe the secretary of the treasury could maintain resumption without bringing great distress upon the couutry. The south would not ba found wanting when the couniryV honor or flag were assailed. He Bpoke j of the baneltil Sects of communism, and said it must be suppressed. Sargent, from the appropriations committee, called up the invalid pension pen-sion bill for the year ending June, 1879. In explanation, he said under the legislation of March 9, any soldier of thij war of 1812, even though iu a single engagement, was entitled lo a pension, and the widow ot such soldier to a pension. Thia added nearly 51,500,000 to the pension roll; 22,225 new nainea bad been placed on the roll aince the beginning of the preseut fiscal yea-. The bill, as it came from the house, appropriates $29,371, 000, or $838,000 m.iro than last year. The; senate ojmmit'e had added $35,000 lor fees to examining BurgeouB, in order to enable the commissioner lo secure the aervicesof good physicians. Regarding the seooud section, which provides that after July 1st, wounded and disabled Union soldiers shall occupy the offices of pension agents, Urgent said, if adopted, it would re quire a change (n the offiuea of the pension agents all over tbe country next July. The senate commiitee had therefore stricken it out and inserted in-serted iu lieu thereof that preference shall bt TRftfter be given to wounded or disabled Union ayldiers in the appointment appoint-ment of pension agents. The clause fixing the examining surgeon's fee at $1 was stricken out by :be committee and an amendment added making the t impropriation for fees $83,000, ia stetd of $50,000. This amendment whs agreed to by the senate. Beck opposed the amendment re-cardiug re-cardiug the appointment of disabled -toldiera, and eaid thia section infringed in-fringed on the president's rights; besides, sometimes the president ink hi 1 not Mod- the wounded eolditr who could give the required bond. He could not deny soldiers any righto or : generosity, 'but would not vote for anything unconstitutional. Cnristiancy made remarks of a similar sim-ilar drift. D.irsey submitted an amendment that after October, '78, the offices ol all pension agents shall expire, and that tlifirenfter honorably discharged Umon soldiers shall fiVI the pension offices. Hoar moved to amend bv adding or widows or daughters of soldiers. Agreed to. SauUbury opposed both amend cneuta as unconstitutional. lugalls expressed the belief that the democrats I eared more fur an abridge meut of power ol tbe next than of the resent president. If tne democratic house coma pass eucn a dim neuia oot see why the senate, ostensibly republican, should object to it. Hereford What ao you mean by ostensibly republican? lugalls VV ell, nominally repub liciin. Blaine History will vindicate yon. lugalls Yes, history will vindicate me. After discussion, Dorsey modified his amendment to read aa follows: I That on tbe 1st day of January, '79, the terms of office of all peusion agents shall expire, and honorably discharged 'wounded or disabled Union soldiers or widows or daughiera of such eoidiers shall be appointed to such offices. Agreed to, yeas 27, nays 22. Sargent then submitted an amendment amend-ment to that of the committee providing pro-viding that from and after the passage of the act, in ease vacancy in the office ol peneion agent, it Bhall be filled by tbe appointment ol wounded or disabled Union Boldiers. Agreed to. Pending discussion ChriBtiancy introduced in-troduced a bill to amend section 5,414 of tbe Revised Statutes and to punish forgery s-.d other lite crimes irju-riuu-ily a fleeting foreign governments Referred. Adjourned. HOUSE. Under the oall of states the fuUowiDg bills were referred: By Tbompsoo, declaring that all propositions to chaoge or modify the UtrtJ Utw are injurious and detrinn u: lo ttif- Keueral welfare of thu eop!e j and that it is unwise to wat-te Unit; a' , preeut in the oiscuseion f the ood ; Und bid. He moved its relen nre to the committee on appronn itions. Wood moved its reference to tbe committee on ways and means. Pge moved ita reiereucrt to the 1 committee ot tbe whole on the elate of the Union. Agreed io. ;' By Scales, giving lo all religious ! denominations equal rights and pnvi j ' legea io Indian reservations. j ' Shelley moved to suspend t! e rules ' and paes the bill reducing the t.,x on ! ' Bnud and ud chewing and smoking' tobacco to sixteen ct-nls per pound; on cigars to five dollars per thousand; j on cigarette weighing not more than three and a half pounds to the thousand, thou-sand, one Qollar and twenty Hvi' cents, and weighing over three and a half pouniJn five dollars per thou-aud. 1 he miiinin w ij not agreed to, yuas 120, ny-i 115. The house then cuni'ulercd the District of Colurubii bill. Il removes property qualification for cotnmis-piouera, cotnmis-piouera, abolishes poll tax, provided fur the payment of iotertTit on 3-65 I bondct, but declare the government lis not lwbie for the payment of the I principal and provides for three com- uiiU)Jier3. Tow nee ud's amendment requiring I thut tne election of cxjuiwiesiuuera be by jjiut ballot I of congress was re 'ject.d. Also the amendment ol Cox making the appointment of commis- Bionen devolve on the president, with the advice of the senate. The committee's amendment Btrik ing out the propeily qualification clause and the clause requiring voters to have paid a poll tax, agreed to. Question was raised as to limiting the rate of taxation to 1.75 per $100 and incidentally. Cox of Ohio and Cox of New York denied that the government was re-i re-i sponsible either for the principal or interest. Without disposing of the i question the houee adjourned. |