provision is made the result will be that when the restoration shall have been completed which has been commenced there will be no power to protect or provide for these freedmen in the State where they. belong, although they now occupy allotments made to them by the Government of the United States, and have occupied them up to the present moment.

Mr. STEVENS. By the provisions of this bill there is to be no opportunity to test the question of the legality of the title to these lands. The section says, "that whenever the former owners of lands occupied under General Sherman's field order, dated at Savannah, January 16, 1865, shall apply for restoration of said lands, the Commissioner shall procure other lands by rent or purchase, not exceeding forty acres for each occupant," provided they can be bought for twenty-five dollars an acre. Therefore the moment these former owners apply the lands are to be restored, without ever testing the question of right, and drive off the six thousand freedmen who are on them, and we are to buy other lands for them at twentyfive dollars an acre.

Mr. ELIOT. No, sir; the gentleman has not carefully examined this section, or he would have found that it is not open to that criticism. If the lands, as the gentleman believes, belong to the United States and should be allotted to the men who are there upon those lands, these men would have a perfect right to test the title. No power can prevent them from contesting, if they desire to do so, the right of any claimant who should present himself in opposition to them. All that this section provides is that before the restoration shall be made the allotment of these lands shall be substituted.

Mr. STEVENS. Does the gentleman mean to say that if this bill shall become a law it will not require imperatively the surrender of those lands?

Mr. ELIOT. Why, sir, nothing can be done here that will come between the men who are upon those lands and their rights. The gentleman says that the bill contains no provision for testing the law. I say that no power of this Congress can prevent those men from testing

the law.

The SPEAKER. The hour of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. ELIOT] has expired. The gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] is recognized as entitled to the floor.

Mr. STEVENS. I want to suggest that those are lands belonging to the United States, and if the United States orders them to be surrendered, they must be surrendered, and there is no court that can prevent it.. But if allow you the law to stand as it now is without any such provision as this bill proposes, and if that is fand forfeited to the United States, as I contend, there is no individual, however high in power, who can divest the United States of that land, and restore it to the former rebel owners. But Congress, being sovereign, has the right to give away the lands of the United States; and as the freedmen hold those lands only by the permission of the United States, they hold subject to the provisions of United States law.

Mr. Speaker, I will now move the amendment to which I have referred.

The SPEAKER. A motion to recommit is pending, and prevents any amendment from being offered, unless the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. ELIOT] withdraws it.

Savannah, January 16, 1865, shall apply for restoration of said lands, the Commissioner shall refuse to surrender said land.

This will leave the question of law that may arise to be decided by the courts.

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to delay the passage of this bill by any extended remarks. The gentleman from Massachusetts asks me to call the previous question, and I will do so in a few moments. I wish to say that by the act of 1862 this Congress ordered that the lands, not of rebels-for under the fourth section that applied only where they were convicted-but of belligerents, serving in the army of the belligerent government, should be seized and forfeited for the benefit of the United States, the title to be vested in the United States, and the proceeds of the land when sold to be paid into the Treasury. By our Freedmen's Bureau law, the abandoned lands were ordered to be seized and allotted among the freedmen. This has been done. The order of General Sherman, under the sanction of the Secretary of War, indeed by his orders, allotted the lands thus seized to six thousand freedmen, who have built homes upon them, of forty acres each, running to the water. They have built upon those lands comfortable dwellings, and they remain there at the present time. It is now sought to allow the rebels whose lands we thus seized to come back and expel the men to whom the Government allotted these freeholds, as it was bound to do in honesty and in law. Those freedmen are to be turned out. It does not do to say that the Government shall expend twenty-five dollars an acre for land for the purpose of placing these freedmen somewhere else, where they have no homes and no plantations to work. I say that would be cruel and unjust. As I promised my friend to call the previous question, I

now do so.

Mr. DAVIS. I desire to inquire of the Chair whether if the previous question be voted down the bill will be open to amendment.

The SPEAKER. An amendment to an amendment is pending. An amendment can be offered to that amendment; or when that amendment is disposed of, another can be offered.

The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes 44, noes 54.

So the previous question was not seconded. Mr. DAVIS. I demand the previous question on the pending amendment, in order that I may have an opportunity to move one myself.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

The question recurred on Mr. STEVENS'S amendment.

Mr. RANDALL, of Pennsylvania, demanded the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 79, nays 46; not vot

YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Blaine, Brandegee, Bromwell, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Defrees, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Abner C. Harding, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Marston, McClurg, Moorhead, Morrill, Myers, O'Neill, Paine, Patterson, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Sawyer, Schenek, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Stevens, Thayer, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Welker, Whaley, Williams, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge-79.

NAYS-Messrs. Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, Bergen, Boyer, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Dawson, Dodge, Eldridge, Eliot, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Ketcham, Kuykendall, George V. Lawrence, Le Blond, Marshall, Marvin, McCullough, MeRuer, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Sitgreaves, Stilwell, Strouse, Taylor, Trimble, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, and Winfield-46.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Benjamin, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Broomall, Chanler, Coffroth, Culver, Delano, Denison, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Harris, Hart, Hayes, Hill, Hooper, Chester D. Hubbard, Johnson, Jones, Kasson, Latham, Lynch, McIndoe, McKee, Mercur, Miller, Morris, Moulton, Newell, Noell, Orth, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Pomeroy, William H. Randall, Raymond, Rollins, Shanklin, Smith, Starr, Taber, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Elihu B. Washburne, Wentworth, James F. Wilson, and Wright-58. So the amendment was adopted.

During the vote,

Mr. CULLOM stated that his colleague, Mr. ОRTн, was absent on account of illness. The vote was then announced as above recorded.

Mr. STEVENS moved to reconsided the vote by which the amendment was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

EQUALIZATION OF BOUNTIES.

Mr. SCHENCK. The gentleman from New York [Mr. DAVIS] yields to me. I ask this courtesy because it is in relation to a matter in which the House take a deep interest. The Committee on Military Affairs have carefully revised the bill to equalize bounties of soldiers and sailors, and have directed me to report it back to be printed as revised, and recommitted to the committee, in order that to-morrow, after the morning hour, I may again report it back and call for the action of the House. It was ordered accordingly.

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU-AGAIN. Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Speaker, I move the fol lowing amendment:

Add at the end of section two as follows: And the powers conferred and the duties enjoined by the act hereby amended shall be applicable to all persons named or referred to in this section, and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

And strike out the remaining sections of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I submit that amendment with no design of embarrassing the condition of the freedmen in this country. I do it because I believe it will meet all the requirements necessary and at the same time prevent much trouble in the future. The chairman of the committee who introduced the bill told us the main reason why it was proposed was, that the freedmen, under the proclamation of the President and by military operations, were technically under the provision of existing law, but that because of the action of State legislation and the adoption of the constitutional amendment hundreds of thousands besides require some protection, which this measure is designed to promote. The gentleman also informed us that it was necessary to extend the time for the operation of this bill. Now, the amendment which I have sent to the desk, leaving the provision as to the extension of the time un changed, brings under the operation of the present bill every person who is made free either by State action or by the adoption of the constitutional amendment, and the only inquiry, therefore, which remains is, whether, under the existing law, there is not an adequate protection furnished to all who are brought within the operation of the law.

Now, sir, the administration of this bureau from the time of the passage of the original act to the present has been under the supervision of the War Department. All the forces which have been required by the head of the bureau have been given by the Government of the United States; and I believe General Howard makes no complaint whatever that any aid has been withheld from him by this GovernUnder that bill we had authority to give to every freedman possession for a term

ment.

а

of years of a certain quantity of land. We have still that land belonging to the Government which can be allotted to the freedmen. There is no reason, therefore, why there should be any additional provisions on the subject, or any additional machinery. We have now all the means for the protection of the freedmen that are necessary, and if we add to the machinery which now exists we only incur additional expense to the Government, and impose upon the people increased and unnecessary burdens. At a time when the country is struggling under a weight of indebtedness, when its industry is depressed, when its finances are embarrassed, it seems to me we are proposing to do more than is essential or necessary in regard to that class of people in this country. We are inviting them to indolence rather than to labor. And while I believe we should protect them in every civil right, while we should give them equality before the law, I think the policy of the Government should be such as to induce every man to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.

I

Sir, it is a fact well known, capable of being proved at any time, that this Government has issued thousands, and I might say millions, of rations to men who might have supported themselves if they had been willing to labor, and I am unwilling to see the charity of this Government thrown away upon the indolent and the undeserving. And while I say this I desire to speak in the most respectful terms of the gentleman who is at the head of the bureau. believe there is no braver soldier, no purer Christian, no nobler philanthropist in the land than General Howard, and if he could be personally present over the wide area of his administration, I think we might intrust everything to his supervision and his care, and find no cause of complaint. But unfortunately the agents of this bureau are not all like him, and although there are many worthy and deserving men employed in it, there are cases where fraud has been committed and wrongs have been done, and I think we should be cautious about extending this system and making it a permanent institution of the country.

Another objection which I have to this bill is in reference to the sixth section, which opens the door to fraud on the part of those who are charged with the administration of this bureau. I do not know but the amendment proposed by the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] may dispose of this objection, but barely allude to it for the purpose of showing the haste with which we sometimes legislate. The sixth section provides that forty acres may be set apart for every occupant of lands occupied under General Sherman's field order, and that such lands can be procured at an average cost not exceeding twenty-five dollars per acre.

Thus if the Commissioner should have to purchase a quantity of land he might go on and pay $150 per acre to any favorite party, to any person in his interest, or any subordinate might do it, and he might offset it by buying land that could be purchased for fifty cents an acre and which might be utterly worthless.

Now, sir, in the course of a few months, before any great injury can be visited upon the country by the failure of our legislation, we shall have an opportunity of determining what may or may not be necessary by way of amendment to this bill. You have already a committee of investigation and inquiry into the administration of the affairs of the Freedmen's Bureau, and in a few months we shall have a report from that committee. Then we shall know the facts of the history of the bureau, and whether any additional powers are necessary or whether there are any wrongs to be redressed. I therefore think it far wiser for us now to say that we will simply extend the operations of this law for a single year longer, bring all classes of freedmen within the purview of its operation, and then postpone the consideration of all else until the next session of Congress. Then, if it shall be necessary, a new bill can be introduced embracing the

remaining features of this bill, and we can have such legislation as shall be founded upon our experience and proved to be necessary between this time and that. I trust, therefore, that the amendment which I have proposed will be adopted.

Mr. ELIOT. I now call the previous question on the amendment and on the bill.

Mr. ROGERS. I hope the gentleman will not undertake to run this bill through so rapidly.

Mr. LAWRENCE, of Ohio. I hope the previous question will not be sustained.

Mr. ROGERS. I hope that gentlemen on the other side, in their magnanimity, will vote down the previous question.

Mr. ELIOT. I withdraw the call for the previous question.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. FORNEY, its Secretary, informed the House that the Senate insisted on its amendments to the bill of the House (H. R. No. 85) for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, disagreed to by the House of Representatives, and agreed to the conference asked by the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses theron, and had appointed Messrs. KIRKWOOD, WILSON, and DAVIS Conferees on the part of the Senate.

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU-AGAIN.

Mr. BRANDEGEE. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. SCOFIELD] for the purpose of offering an amendment.

Mr. SCOFIELD. I move to amend the seventh section of the bill by striking out the following words

And shall provide proper sites and buildings for purposes of education whenever such association shall, without cost to the Government, provide suitable teachers and means of instruction, and he shall furnish such protection as may be required for the safe conduct of such schools. And said property shall be and remain the property of the United States until sales thereof shall be authorized by law

And inserting in lieu thereof the words "and afford them all proper protection." The amendment simply strikes out that portion of the section which authorizes the purchase of buildings for school-houses.

Mr. BRANDEGEE. I will now yield the floor to the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. SHELLABARGER, who desires to offer an amendment.

Mr. SHELLABARGER. I move to amend the sixth section, as amended, by adding at the end thereof the following proviso:

Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect the right of any person to recover in the proper court any title or right of possession which such person may have in any of the land held under such field order.

Mr. BRANDEGEE. Mr. Speaker, I have not been convinced by anything that has been said in this debate or anything that I know of in the existing situation of affairs of either the necessity or the policy of passing this bill at this time. We have now a commission, a board of officers, sent down by the President of the United States to inspect the operation of the existing law; and this House, and I presume I anticipate not rashly when I say the other House, will concur in it. Congress have authorized a committee of the two Houses also to go into the southern States and inspect the operation of the existing law in reference to this subject. Now, it seems to me that we can act much more intelligently on this subject at the short session of this Congress, after hearing the reports respectively of the board of officers sent by the President and of the committee of the two Houses. We can then know precisely what the operation of the present bureau system is; what its hardships are, if any; what its benefits are, if any; and what modifications and alterations or improvements legislators acting here for the whole country ought to adopt.

Without reference, therefore, to the special merits of this measure, but with reference to policy and to the fact that we can act more intelligently upon the reports to which I have referred, I move to postpone the bill and the

pending amendments until the second Monday of December next, and upon that motion I demand the previous question.

The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered.

Mr. ELDRIDGE demanded the yeas and nays on the motion to postpone.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the negative-yeas 51, nays 81, not voting 51; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Brandegee, Buckland, Darling, Davis, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Farquhar, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, Le Blond, Marshall, Marvin, McCullough, McRuer, Morris, Myers, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Sitgreaves, Smith, Stilwell, Strouse, Taylor, Trimble, Burt Van Horn, Henry D. Washburn, Whaley, and Winfield-51.

NAYS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Bromwell, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Deming, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Garfield, Abner C. Harding, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, Ingersoll, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, McKee, Moorhead, Morrill, O'Neill, Paine, Perham, Pike, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding. Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Ward, William B. Washburn, Welker, Williams, James F. Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge-81.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Baldwin, Barker. Benjamin, Bingham, Boyer, Broomall, Bundy, Chanler, Coffroth, Conkling, Culver, Defrees, Delano, Ferry, Finck, Grinnell, Griswold, Harris, Hart, Hayes, Hill, Chester D. Hubbard, Jenckes, Johnson, Jones, Kasson, McIndoe, Mercur, Miller, Moulton, Newell, Noell, Orth, Patterson, Phelps, Plants, Pomeroy, William H. Randall, Raymond, Rousseau, Shanklin, Starr, Taber, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Elihu B. Washburne, Wentworth, Stephen F. Wilson, and Wright-51.

So the motion to postpone was not agreed to. Mr. ANCONA. My colleague, Mr. BOYER, is paired with Mr. CONKLING. Mr. BOYER would have voted to postpone had he been present.

Mr. CHANLER. If I had been present when my name was called, I should have voted "ay.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has expired, and this bill accordingly goes over till next Tuesday.

On motion of Mr. ELIOT, the bill, with the pending amendment, was ordered to be printed.

REAPPRAISEMENT OF LANDS IN OHIO. The SPEAKER laid before the House a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting papers in regard to the reappraisement of certain lands in Ohio, pursuant to the authority of the joint resolution approved May 5, 1866; which was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.

HENRY P. BLANCHARD.

Mr. McRUER, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill for the relief of Henry P. Blanchard; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

FOREIGN MAIL SERVICE.

Mr. SMITH, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to amend the act providing for carrying the mails from the United States to foreign ports, and for other purposes; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

EVENING SESSION DISPENSED WITH.

Mr. STEVENS. I move that the evening session for to-day be dispensed with. The question was taken; and upon a division there were-ayes 64, noes 44. So the motion was agreed to.

TAX BILL.

Mr. MORRILL. I move that the rules be suspended, and that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the special order. The motion was agreed to.

So the rules were suspended; and the House accordingly resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. DAWES in the chair,) and resumed the consideration of the special order, being a bill of the House (No. 513) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and acts amendatory thereof. The Clerk read as follows:

That section one hundred and sixty-three be amended by striking out all after the enacting

clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: that hereafter no deed, instrument, document, writing, or paper required by law to be stamped, which has been signed or issued without being duly stamped. or with a deficient stamp, nor any copy thereof, shall be recorded, or admitted, or used as evidence in any court until a legal stamp or stamps, denoting the amount of duty, shall have been affixed thereto by the collector, as prescribed by law: Provided, That any power of attorney, conveyance, or document of any kind, made or purporting to be made in any foreign country to be used in the United States, shall pay the same duty as is required by law on similar instruments or documents when made or issued in the United States; and the party by whom the same is issued, or by whom it is to be used, shall, before using the same, affix thereon the stamp or stamps indicating the duty required.

No amendment being offered,
The Clerk read as follows:

That section one hundred and sixty-five be amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: that if any person, firm, company, or corporation shall make, prepare, and sell, or remove for consumption or sale, drugs, medicines, preparations, compositions, articles, or things, including perfumery, cosmetics, lucifer or friction matches, cigar lights, or wax tapers. photographs, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, or other sun pictures of any description, and playing cards, and also including ground or prepared mustards, wet or dry, preserved meats, fish, shell-fish, fruits, vegetables, sauces, sirups, jams, and jellies, when packed or sealed in cans, bottles, or other single packages, and ground coffee and ground pepper, Cayenne pepper, pimento, cloves, clove stems, mace, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, and other spices, and all compounds of mustard, or coffee, or spices, ground or adulterated, or mixed with other materials, and all articles and mixtures ground or prepared for sale, intended for use in the adulteration of mustard, or coffee, or spices, or for use as a substitute for mustard, or coffee. or spices, whether of domestic manufacture or imported, upon which a duty is imposed by law, as enumerated and mentioned in schedule C, without affixing thereto an adhesive stamp or label denoting the duty before mentioned, he or they shall incur a penalty of fifty dollars for every omission to affix such stamp; and for each and every omission to affix thereto the name or trade-mark of the manufacturer, together with the name of the article, and the quantity therein contained, when such packages consist

clove stems, mace, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, or other spices, or of compounds, or substitutes for coffee, or mustard, or spices, he or they shall incur a penalty of fifty dollars.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MYERS. I move to amend the paragraph by striking out the following words: Photographs, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, or other sun pictures of any description.

Mr. Chairman, I move this amendment now, in order that when we reach the section referring to stamps on photographs and other sun pictures I may move to strike that out and insert an amendment imposing on photographers a tax of five per cent. ad valorem on their salesthe same amendment which I withdrew at an earlier stage of the bill, rather than compel the Committee of the Whole to rise for want of a quorum. The chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means stated the other day that the objection which I made to the present mode of taxation had no force; but by subsequent inquiry and information I find my statement fully confirmed. I have received letters from the chief photographers of New York, Philadel. phia, Boston, and Washington, stating, from statistics, that there is not one itinerant photographer to one hundred resident photographers, though it was stated here the other day that the itinerants were as fifty to one resident. But, Mr. Chairman, even if this were the fact, it would be of no consequence; for all or nearly all of the pictures taken by itinerant photographers are ferrotypes, which are taken upon tin, six at a time frequently, and which sell for less than ten cents apiece. They are sold in this city six for fifty cents. Hence most of the pictures taken by the traveling photographers are so small as by a subsequent section to be exempt from tax; so that the Government at any rate could lose but little tax upon their business, even if they should not make proper returns. They are as likely, however, to give a correct account of their sales, as to affix the stamps required by the present law, for in many instances the pictures are mounted on blank cards and the wrong-doer can never be known.

But, Mr. Chairman, there is among those engaged in the business of photographing a general demand that an ad valorem tax shall be substituted for the present system. Those who are dishonest evade the law now by will

or of ground pepper, Cayenne pepper, pimento, cloves, clove stems, mace, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, or other spices, or of compounds, or substitutes for coffee, or mustard, or spices, he or they shall incur a penalty of fifty dollars.

Mr. MORRILL. I move to amend the sentence now reading, "and also including ground or prepared mustards, wet or dry," by striking out the words "ground or" and the words "wet or dry."

The amendment was agreed to.

while those who are honest frequently omit them unintentionally. I bought this morning hap-hazard five photographs; and I found that three of them had no stamps affixed. In other words, on these pictures, the Government lost six cents out of ten which it should have received. Of the pictures having no stamps affixed, one had no imprint of the photographer's name. With reference, then, to two of the pictures, the omission to affix the stamps was

And ground coffee and ground pepper, Cayenne pepper, pimento, cloves, clovestems, mace, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, and other spices, and all compounds of mustard, or coffee, or spices, ground or adulterated, or mixed with other materials, and all articles and mixtures ground and prepared for sale, intended for use in the adulteration of mustard, or coffee, or spices, or for use as a substitute for mustard, or coffee or spices.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I move to amend the sentence upon which a duty is imposed by law" by inserting the words or tax" after the word "duty."

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I move to amend the sentence "an adhesive stamp or label denoting the duty before mentioned" by striking out the word "duty" and inserting the word "tax." The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I move to strike out the following at the end of the paragraph:

And for each and every omission to affix thereto the name or trade-mark of the manufacturer, together with the name of the article and the quantity therein contained, when such packages consist of ground coffee, or of ground mustard, wet or dry, or of ground pepper, Cayenne pepper, pimento, cloves,

posely. I think it apparent that the Government would be the gainer by the ad valorem system. Wherever there is a photographer carrying on business, the assessor can find from his books the amount of his sales as well as in any other business. If no books are kept by a traveling or other photographer, some return must be made, and the assessor will no doubt get at the facts. It is just to these photographers that they should no longer be required to pay upon their business a greater proportionate amount of tax than is levied upon other branches of business. They frequently sell six, seven, or eight pictures for one dollar, and are required to pay twelve, fourteen, and sixteen per cent. or more on their sales, a percentage which is much too large when we bear in mind the fact that nearly all the chemicals used in this branch of business have within the last few years advanced in price two hundred and fifty to three hundred per cent.

I will not repeat, Mr. Chairman, what I said the other day about the defacement of these pictures in consequence of the affixing of stamps. At any rate the stamps upon the pictures make them very unsightly. It is for the interest of the photographers and the Gov

ernment and the public that this requirement in reference to affixing stamps should be no longer continued. I trust that my amendment will be adopted.

Mr. MORRILL. The gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. MYERS] has succeeded in repeating his speech much better than I can repeat mine. I do not perceive that he has presented any new argument. These photographs are a very fruitful source of revenue; and I trust that we shall not change the law in a way to cut off a large portion of the revenue we now receive.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I suppose it is the understanding that we may go back to adopt an amendment imposing an ad valorem duty as proposed by the gentleman from Pennsyl

vania.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair so understands.

The Clerk read as follows:

That section one hundred and sixty-nine be amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: that any person who shall offer or expose for sale any of the articles named in schedule C, or in any amendments thereto, whether the articles so offered or exposed are imported or are of foreign or domestic manufacture, shall be deemed the manufacturer thereof, and subject to all the duties, liabilities, and penalties imposed by law in regard to the sale of domestic articles without the use of the proper stamp or stamps denoting the tax paid thereon, and all such articles imported, or of foreign manufacture, shall, in addition to the import duties imposed on the same, be subject to the stamp tax, respectively, prescribed in schedule C, as aforesaid.

No amendment being offered,

The Clerk read as follows:

That schedule B, preceding section one hundred and seventy-one, be amended by striking out all the paragraphsrelating to "gauger's returns" and "measurer's returns;" and by striking out all from "receipts for the payment of any sum of money," down to "weigher's returns, if for a weight not exceeding five thousand pounds, ten cents; exceeding five thousand pounds, twenty-five cents," inclusive, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "receipts for any sum of money, or for the payment of any debt, exceeding twenty dollars in amount, not being for the satisfaction of any mortgage or judgment or decree of any court, or by indorsement on any stamped obligation in acknowledgment of its fulfillment, for each receipt two cents: Provided, That when more than one signature is affixed to the same paper, one or more stamps may be affixed thereto representing the whole amount of the stamp required for such signatures."

Mr. HOLMES. I move to amend by inserting the following:

That schedule B, preceding section one hundred and seventy-one, be amended by inserting immediately preceding the proviso relating to stamps on mortgages the following:

Upon any assignment or transfer of a mortgage the same stamp duty upon the amount remaining thereon as is herein imposed upon a mortgage for the same

amount.

Also, strike out the words "mortgage or" in said proviso.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. HOTCHKISS. I move to strike out the following:

Receipts for any sum of money, or for the payment of any debt exceeding twenty dollars in amount, not being for the satisfaction of any mortgage or judgment or decree of any court, or by indorsement on any stamped obligation in acknowledgment of its fulfillment, for each receipt two.

Mr. Chairman, the object is to relieve all receipts from stamps. I think the inconvenience to the public is greater than any benefit to the revenue. I think we might make that small amendment in this schedule. It is a great annoyance to business men and to farmers, and to the great mass of men who do not carry stamps with them. Sometimes they want to give receipts, and do not have stamps, and cannot procure them. The revenue is not so great as to require that the public should suffer this annoyance.

accomplish his purpose. I am opposed to his Mr. MORRILL. The gentleman does not object as well as to the method he has adopted of carrying it out. This strikes out the stamps upon receipts on property and leaves only those on receipts for money.

I will say to the committee, I see it is almost useless to resist the reduction of taxes in any direction. This is also a fruitful source of rev enue. Last year it exceeded $300,000 a month,

and we cannot afford to give it up, especially with the limitation here only to amounts exceeding twenty dollars.

The amendment was disagreed to.

Mr. PRICE. I move to add the following at the end of line twenty-nine hundred and twenty:

Provided further, That all stamps upon checks, notes, receipts, bills of exchange, certificates and contracts of ten cents and less be dispensed with and abolished after the 1st day of October, 1866.

Mr. Chairman, the object of that is to get rid of the small stamps. Every gentleman here knows they are a source of great annoyance and perplexity, while they are not the source of much revenue. I do not propose to abolish stamps upon receipts or any kind of paper, but these small stamps. I want to get rid of these small stamps. It is not the amount the people pay, but the trouble of having to keep them constantly on hand. I have heard of but one opinion all over the country, and that is, we should get rid of the annoyance of these small stamps. I think the committee will be prepared to vote for the amendment.

Mr. MORRILL. I shall be much surprised if they are. The small stamps are the ones least complained of.

Mr. HALE. What proportion do the returns from small stamps bear to those from large ones?

Mr. MORRILL. They are the largest, ten times more than from large stamps. The inconvenience which existed when the law was first enacted no longer exists.

Men are

as much accustomed to have these stamps in their pockets as to have postage stamps. I have no idea we will surrender the system of stamps for many years. It is a tax we can much better afford than any other.

The amendment was disagreed to.

Mr. MYERS. I move to insert on page 88, line nineteen hundred and seventy-eight, the following:

Photographs, ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes, and other pictures taken by action of light, not hereinafter exempted from tax, a tax of five per cent. ad valorem.

The amendment was agreed to.

The Clerk read as follows:

That schedule C be amended by striking out all after the words playing cards" and inserting in lien thereof the following:

For and upon every pack, not exceeding fifty-two cards in number, irrespective of price or value, five cents; for and upon every can, bottle, or other single package, containing meats, fish, shell-fish, fruits, vegetables, sauces, sirups, prepared mustard, jams or jellies preserved therein and packed or sealed, made, prepared, and sold, or removed for consumption in the United States, where such can, bottle, or other single package with its contents shall not exceed at the retail price or value the sum of twentyfive cents, one cent. Where such can, bottle, or other single package, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of twenty-five cents, and shall not exceed the retail price or value of fifty cents, two cents. Where such can, bottle, or other single package, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of fifty cents, for each and every twenty-five cents, or fractional part thereof, over and above the fifty cents as above mentioned, an additional one cent. Ground coffee, or any compound or mixture ground or prepared for sale and intended for consumption as coffee, or as a substitute for or adulteration of coffee, whether of domestic manufacture or imported, in packages not exceeding in weight one half pound, one half cent. And for each half pound in excess of one half pound, one half cent: Provided, That any fraction of a half pound shall be considered as one half pound and be stamped accordingly. Ground mustard, pepper, and Cayenne pepper, and cloves, clove stems, mace, ginger, cinnamon, cassia, pimento, or any compound or mixture, ground or prepared, intended to represent either of the articles as aforesaid, and for sale or consumption as such, or as a substitute for or adulteration of any of the said articles, in packages not exceeding in weight one fourth of a pound, one half cent. And for each one fourth of a pound in excess of one fourth of a pound, one half cent: Provided, That any fraction of one fourth of a pound shall be considered as one fourth of a pound and be stamped accordingly: Provided further, That any dealer may sell to any other dealer or manufacturer, for the purpose of being repacked, coffee, spices, or mustard, or adulterations of or substitutes therefor, in bulk of not less than one hundred pounds without payment of tax, on condition that the said packages are marked with the names of the dealer selling, and of the dealer or manufacturer purchasing such commodity, and the quantity thereof; but when sold for use or consumption must bear the name or trade-mark of the manufacturer, the quantity, and the proper stamp.

Mr. MORRILL. I move to amend by striking out all of the paragraph after the word "sold," in line twenty-nine hundred and thirty, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

Or offered for sale or removed for consumption in the United States on and after the 1st day of October, 1866, where such can, bottle, or other single package, with its contents, shall not exceed two pounds in weight, one cent: where such can, bottle, or other single package, with its contents, shall exceed two pounds in weight, for every additional pound or fractional part thereof, one cent.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. HOOPER, of Massachusetts. I move to insert after the word "amended" in line twenty-nine hundred and twenty-one the following:

Strike out the paragraph relating to cigar lights and wax tapers, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

On cigar lights, whether made in whole or in part of wood, glass, paper, or other material, in parcels or packages containing twenty-five lights in each parcel or package, one cent; when in parcels or packages containing more than twenty-five and not more than fifty lights, two cents: for every additional twentyfive lights or fractional part of that number, one cent additional, and.

Mr. RANDALL, of Pennsylvania. I ask leave to go back to add the following in relation to railroad passes, at the end of the paragraph, on page 126, after line twenty-nine hundred and twenty:

On all free-trip passes over any and every railroad conveying passengers by steam there shall be affixed on each a ten-cent stamp.

On all six-month free passes over such railroads there shall be affixed on each stamps amounting to $2.50.

On all yearly free passes over such railroads there shall be affixed on each stamps amounting to five dollars.

All stamps so affixed to be effaced with initials of the holder of such free passes.

Mr. STEVENS. I object.

Mr. MORRILL. I hope the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] will allow his colleague to offer this amendment. He gave notice and it was only by accident that it was not offered at the right time.

Mr. STEVENS. ~ I like lucky accidents.
The Clerk read as follows:

That section one hundred and seventy-nine be amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: that where it is not otherwise provided for in this act, it shall be the duty of the collectors, in their respective districts, and they are hereby authorized to prosecute for the recovery of any sum or sums that may be forfeited by virtue of this act; and all fines, penalties, and forfeitures which may be imposed or incurred by virtue of this act shall and may be sued for and recovered, where not otherwise herein provided, in the name of the United States in any proper form of action, or by any appropriate form of proceeding, before any circuit or district court of the United States for the district within which said fine, penalty, or forfeiture may have been incurred, or before any court of competent jurisdiction: and where not otherwise herein provided for, such share, not exceeding one moiety, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall by general regulations provide, shall be to the use of the person who shall first inform of the cause, matter, or thing, whereby any such fine, penalty, or forfeiture shall have been incurred, and the remainder shall be to the use of the United States; and when any sum is paid without suit, or before judgment, in lieu of fine, penalty, or forfeiture, and a share of the same is claimed by any person as informer, the court or a commissioner of the circuit or district court of the United States, on application of the United States district attorney, shall determine whether any claimant is entitled to such share, and to whom the same shall be paid. And the several circuit and district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of all offenses against any of the provisions of this act committed within their several districts: Provided, That no informer or informers shall in any one case be entitled to or receive more than $5,000: And provided further, That no collector, deputy collector, assessor, assistant assessor, revenue agent, revenue inspector, or other officer or person connected with the Treasury Department, or any of the branches thereof, shall be entitled to or receive, or shall be interested in any share allowed to an informer under the internal revenue law; and if any person coming within either of these exceptions shall receive from any informer, or from any applicant for an informer's share, either directly or indirectly, any sum of money or other valuable consideration for or in consequence of his services in obtaining such informer's share, or in consideration of his interest in such informer's share, such person shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, with costs of prosecution. It is hereby declared to be the true intent and meaning of the present and of all previous provisions of internal revenue acts granting shares to informers, that no right accrues or is

vested in an informer in any case until the fine, penalty, or forfeiture in such case is fixed by judgment or compromise, at which time the informer shall become entitled to his legal share of the amount so adjudged or agreed upon. And the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be and he is hereby empowered to compromise any case where the amount involved shall not exceed the sum of $500.

Mr. ALLISON. I move to amend by striking out the words "not exceeding one moiety" in line twenty-nine hundred and ninety-six, and to insert after the word "provide" in the next line the words "not exceeding one moiety nor more than $5,000 in any one case;" also to insert after the word "person " in line twentynine hundred and ninety eight, the words "to be ascertained by the court;" so that it will read:

And where not otherwise herein provided for such share as the Secretary of the Treasury shall by general regulations provide, not exceeding one moiety nor more than $5,000 in any one case, shall be to the use of the person, to be ascertained by the court, who shall first inform of the cause, matter, or thing, &c. The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. ALLISON. I move to strike out after the word "informer" in line three thousand and four, down to and including the words "district attorney" in line three thousand and six, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, and under such general regulations as the said Secretary shall prescribe, upon application.

It will then read:

And when any sum is paid without suit or before judgment in lieu of fine, penalty, or forfeiture, and a share of the same is claimed by any person as informer, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, and under such general regulations as the said Secretary shall prescribe, upon application shall determine, &c.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. ALLISON. I move further to strike out the first proviso embraced in lines three thousand and eleven, three thousand and twelve, and three thousand and thirteen, and the words, "and" and "further" in the second proviso. That is embraced in the amendment just made. The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. ALLISON. I move now to strike out all after the word "provided" in line three thousand and fourteen down to the word "exceptions" in line three thousand and twenty, as follows:

That no collector, deputy collector, assessor, assistant assessor, revenue agent, revenue inspector, or other officer or person connected with the Treasury Department, or any of the branches thereof, shall be entitled to or receive or shall be interested in any share allowed to an informer under the internal revenue law; and if any person coming within either of these exceptions.

And to insert in lieu thereof the following: That no revenue officer or other person connected with or in the employ of the Treasury Department, or any branch thereof, shall be entitled to receive or shall be interested in any share allowed to an informer under the internal revenue law in any case with which such revenue officer or other person as aforesaid shall be hereafter in any manner officially connected unless such share shall be recovered by the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, and if any such officer or person as aforesaid.

And also to insert after the word "share" in line three thousand and twenty-five the words "as hereinbefore provided."

The amendments were agreed to.

Mr. ALLISON. I move to strike out the words, "and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be, and he is hereby, empowered to compromise any case where the amount involved shall not exceed the sum of $500," and to insert in lieu thereof the following:

Provided further, That the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, and under such regulations as the said Secretary shall prescribe, shall be, and is hereby, authorized and empowered to compromise any case not pending in a court, or, if pending, with the approval of the court having jurisdiction of the

case.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. O'NEILL. I move to insert after the

word "paid" in line three thousand and eight the following:

And that in all cases of seizure or suit, under an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, or any supplement or supplements thereto, a sale shall be ordered by the proper authority, the United States marshal of the district in which such sale shall be ordered shall be authorized to employ an auctioneer, and to pay him out of the proceeds of such sale a commission not exceeding two and one half per cent. on the gross amount of such proceeds.

The object of this amendment is to remove a difficulty which occurs in some of the circuit and district courts. There is a difference of opinion between the judges of the circuit courts. In New York and Massachusetts and Maryland the judges invariably allow the marshal to have a commission on selling, or in other words, to employ an auctioneer who is skilled in selling, whereby the Government is benefited. In the courts of Pennsylvania the judges have generally thrown out these charges in the bills of the marshal.

Mr. ALLISON. Let me suggest to the gentleman that this amendment ought not to be inserted here. It would properly come in in section fourteen or section twenty or section twenty-eight. I presume there will be no objection to going back and considering this subject hereafter. Section fourteen has been reserved for future consideration, and the gentleman can offer his amendment to that section.

Mr. O'NEILL. I withdraw my amendment for the present.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. This section has been so modified by the amendments offered by the committee, that I am not certain whether the portion I propose to amend remains in it. I move, however, to strike out the following

words:

It is hereby declared to be the true intent and meaning of the present and of all previous provisions of internal revenue acts granting shares to informers, that no right accrues to or is vested in an informer in any case until the fine, penalty, or forfeiture in such case is fixed by judgment or compromise, at which time the informer shall become entitled to his legal share of the amount so adjudged or agreed upon.

I find that this proviso is made retroactive, and I should like to know why that is done. I believe that there are some cases of claims of informers pending against the Bureau of Internal Revenue where very unfortunate compromises have been made by the Department. I believe there is one in which the informer, residing at Buffalo, New York, is interested, and in which he claims $100,000 as his share of the penalties. That case, I believe, was settled by the Department in such a way that it resulted in a loss to the Government of about one hundred thousand dollars, and the informer gets nothing at all, although he presented the case in such a manner that all the facts were developed and the fraud of the parties was established. Now, if this provision is for the purpose of covering up these unfortunate acts of the Department to the detriment of those who have ferreted out these frauds, then I think it should be stricken out, or at least so much of it as is retroactive.

Mr. ALLISON. So far as I understand this provision, it is not put here for the purpose of covering up any transactions of the Department; but it is for the purpose of making that a part of the law which is now a matter of construction in the Internal Revenue Bureau. They have been very much annoyed by informers, by collectors and assessors who assume to be informers, who come in and prevent adjustment in proper cases by saying that they have an interest in the question of compromise and adjustment.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I will ask my colleague [Mr. ALLISON] whether the informer in the case to which I have referred has prevented the adjustment or settlement of that case.

Mr. ALLISON. I am not familiar enough with the case to know whether or not the informer did prevent the adjustment of that particular case.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. Has not that case been adjusted?

Mr. ALLISON. I know it has been adjusted, but I do not know whether or not the informer in that case objected or assented to the settlement. But I know he now claims as his moiety the sum of $150,000, when it was settled by the Government receiving, I believe, only $200,000. Now, the object of this paragraph is to leave this question of settlement and compromise to the courts and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Secretary of the Treasury, where it properly belongs, and whatever rights may hereafter accrue, or have heretofore accrued, shall be adjusted and settled without any collector or informer interfering with the question of adjustment, settlement, or suit, after the question is adjudicated either by the court or the Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. I believe it is a just and proper provision, and should be retained in the bill for the reason I have stated.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. After the expla nation of my colleague, [Mr. ALLISON,] which I think is entirely satisfactory to the committee, and I have no doubt will be to the Department, I will withdraw my amendment. Mr. ROSS. I move to amend this para-. graph by adding to it the following:

And provided further, That no person shall be convicted on the testimony of an informer, unless the by other testimony. material part of his testimony shall be corroborated

I am opposed to this system of hiring informers; it is bad policy, it is a bad practice, and I think it will have a bad tendency. I am very much surprised that the committee should propose to inaugurate a system of that kind, || and have paid informers, interested in large amounts, to testify against individuals for the purpose of procuring their conviction. The true theory is that the witness should stand impartial in giving his testimony before a jury; that is the old doctrine, the one adhered to in the old maxims of law. But by this provision we are ignoring this old fundamental principle, and making it the interest of an individual to perjure himself in order to convict some person that he may pocket the amount given as a bribe for the perjury. I can never give my assent to any system of that kind. I do not think these persons should be convicted unless they can be convicted as other persons areby fair and impartial testimony, without hiring men to swear against them, and making it their interest to perjure themselves in order to convict somebody.

Mr. ALLISON. This provision is just what it is in the present law. And the jury will be able to judge of the testimony of the informer, just as they do of the testimony of other per

sons.

The amendment was not agreed to.

mittee. It seems to me palpably unjust that an informer who is directly interested in the recovery of the penalty should be a witness to enforce that penalty, while the party against whom it is claimed is precluded from being a witness. I have no desire to shut out the informer, provided the party against whom the penalty is claimed can be admitted. The amendment refers simply to civil actions for the recovery of a penalty.

Mr. ALLISON. If it applies only to civil suits, I see no objection to the amendment. Mr. HALE. The language is, "in any ac tion for a penalty."

Mr. HUBBARD, of Iowa. I move to amend the amendment by inserting before the word "action" the word "civil.'

Mr. COOK. I would like to inquire whether this is not the law now; whether we have not already enacted that all parties may testify in civil suits in the United States courts.

Mr. ALLISON. That is the law now, I think, in such States as permit parties to testify; but where the State law prohibits parties from testifying I believe they are not permit ted to testify in the United States courts.

Mr. COOK. I think there is no such restriction. I am sure that in my own State everybody testifies in the Federal courts, while in the State courts no interested party is permitted to testify.

The amendment to the amendment was agreed to.

The amendment, as amended, was agreed to.

Mr. HOLMES. I move to amend by striking out the words "at any time," in line three thousand and thirty-four, and inserting in lieu thereof the words "and when paid or collected;" so that the clause will read:

And when paid or collected the informer shall become entitled to his legal share of the amount so adjudged or agreed upon.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MYERS. If the committee will give its consent to revert to a paragraph already passed, I move to amend by inserting after line twenty-nine hundred and twenty the words

that schedule C be amended by striking out the paragraph in relation to photographs." There was no objection, and the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. PAINE. I move to amend by adding at the end of the paragraph the following:

Every person who shall receive any money or other valuable thing under a threat of informing or as a consideration for not informing against any violation of this act, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $10,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, with costs of prosecution.

men

in all cases.

Mr. ALLISON. We have already amended section forty-four and stricken out everything with reference to the power of the Commissioner to compromise. Everything upon that subject is now embodied in the provision just

adopted.

Mr. THAYER. Then it is all right.

Mr. HALE. I move to amend by adding at the end of the paragraph the following:

Provided, That whenever in any action for a penalty the informer may be a witness for the prosecution, the party against whom such penalty is claimed may be, and shall be, admitted as a witness on his own behalf.'

This amendment will bring our law into conformity to the statutes already adopted by several States in reference to civil actions. I think the proposition will commend itself to the favorable consideration of every member of this com