the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

MARGARET C. LONG.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1249) granting a pension to Margaret C. Long; which was read a first and second time.

The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill was read at length. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Margaret C. Long, widow of Jesse K. Long, late a private of company E, twenty-eighth regiment Kentucky volunteers, commencing June 6, 1864.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. VAN AERNAM moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

JAMES ROONEY.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1250) granting a pension to James Rooney; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of James Rooney, late a member of company B, seventh Missouri cavalry, commencing April 14, 1863.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. VAN AERNAM moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

CHARLES HAMSTEAD.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same com. mittee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1251) granting a pension to Charles Hamstead; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Charles Hamstead, late a member of Captain Schell's company of West Virginia State guard, afterward the seventh West Vir ginia volunteers, commencing February 26, 1862.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. VAN AERNAM moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

CHILDREN OF G. W. FREER.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1252) granting a pension to the minor children of Garrett W. Freer; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the names of W. G. Freer, Brodhead E. Freer, and Clarence Freer, minor children of Garrett W. Freer, late a special agent in the thirteenth district of New York, as the minor children of a second lieutenant, commencing July 5, 1868. Mr. HOLMAN. I think this bill should provide that the pension be given to these chil dren jointly. As it now reads the pension would go to each one of the children.

Mr. VAN AERNAM. I have no objection to such an amendment, and will move it. The amendment was agreed to.

40TH CONG. 2D SESS.--No. 195.

The bill, as amended, was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. VAN AERNAM moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table,

The latter motion was agreed to.

JULIA L. DOTY.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1253) granting a pension to Julia L. Doty; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Julia L. Doty and the minor children of John M. Doty, late a contract surgeon of United States volunteers, who died at Annapolis, Maryland.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. BEATTY moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

FRANCES M. WEBSTER.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported a bill. (H. R. No. 1254) granting a pension to Frances M. Webster; which was read a first and second time.

The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pensionroll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Frances M. Webster, widow of L. B. Webster, late a captain and brevet lieutenant colonel of the fourth regiment of United States cavalry.

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The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. BEATTY moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to. The SPEAKER. The morning hour has expired.

ORDER OF BUSINESS TO-MORROW.

Mr. SCHENCK. Mr. Speaker, it is now so late that I do not propose to move to go into Committee of the Whole on the special order. I hope, however, that members gen. erally will be in attendance to night, so as to give us a quorum, that we may proceed with the tax bill. I have also a proposition to make. It is that the House agree to meet to-morrow at eleven o'clock a. m., and sit till five o'clock p. m., dispensing with the evening session. I ask the House to give us one good solid day. Mr. GOLLADAY. I object.

Mr. SCHENCK. I propose, then, that we meet at eleven o'clock to-morrow to go into Committee of the Whole on the tax bill im: mediately after the morning hour and to con tinue in session till five o'clock, dispensing with the evening session.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I object.

AMERICAN SHARPSHOOTERS.

Mr. SCHENCK, by unanimous consent, reported from the Committee of Ways and Means a joint resolution (H. R. No. 295) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to remit the duties on certain articles contributed to the National Association of American Sharpshooters; which was read a first and second time.

Mr. SCHENCK. Mr. Speaker, I think a brief explanation will satisfy the House of the propriety of passing this resolution, which the committee unanimously directed me to report. This Association of American Sharpshooters is an association of delegates from all the Ger

man societies, who are in a short time to hold a grand festival in the city of New York, continuing four weeks, to which festival they have, I believe, invited Congress; and, as I just learn, (for I was not present at the time,) the House, in response to that invitation, has appointed a committee. Individuals in Germany, as well as associations there of a similar character, have agreed to contribute a number of medals, &c., to be among the prizes shot for. We are asked to provide that these articles, to an amount not exceeding $10,000 in currency, may come in free of duty; and the Committee of Ways and Means are unanimously in favor of the measure.

Mr. ROBINSON. I trust that this resolution will be passed without opposition on either side.

The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

Mr. SCHENCK moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

ENROLLED BILL SIGNED.

Mr. HOLMAN, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee had examined and found truly enrolled a bill of the following title; when the Speaker signed the same:

An act (H. R. No. 1058) to admit the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to representation in Congress.

SALE OF DAMAGED ARMS, ETC.

Mr. GARFIELD. I ask unanimous consent to report back from the Committee on Military Affairs a joint resolution (H. R. No. 292) directing the Secretary of War to sell damaged or unserviceable arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores. This is a measure of very considerable importance to the Treasury, and I trust there will be no objection to allowing it to be reported now.

Mr. SCOFIELD. I object.

Mr. SCHENCK. In order to encourage gentlemen to come here this evening I move that the House now take its recess.

The motion was agreed to; and the House (at four o'clock and thirty-five minutes p. m.) took a recess till half past seven o'clock p. m.

EVENING SESSION.

At half past seven o'clock the House reassembled in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. POMEROY in the chair,) and resumed the consideration of the special order, being the bill (H., R. No. 1060) to reduce into one act and to amend the laws relating to internal taxes.

The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will continue the reading of the bill where he left off yesterday.

The Clerk read as follows:

Power of attorney for the sale or transfer of any stock, bonds, or scrip, or for the collection of any dividends or interest thereon, twenty-five cents.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Power of attorney or proxy for voting at any election for officers of any incorporated company or society, except religious, charitable, or literary societies, or public cemeteries, ten cents.

Mr. BARNES. I move to strike that paragraph out of the bill. This proposes to bring in a very small revenue and is obtained at great inconvenience. This issuing of proxies at any election can only be done immediately before the election. The shareholders of a stock company are distributed in the different sections of the country. Many of them are unacquainted with the character of the stamp the law requires, and when the shareholders meet for an election this is the cause of a very great deal of confusion. I submit to the Committee of Ways and Means whether it is neces

sary to continue the stamp tax upon these proxies.

Mr. SCHENCK. I rise to oppose the amendment, and I hope that it will not prevail.

The question was taken; and the amend ment was rejected.

No further amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Power of attorney to receive or collect ront, twentyfive cents.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Power of attorney to sell and convey real estate, or to rent or lease the same, one dollar.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Power of attorney for any other purpose, fifty

cents.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Probate of will, or letters of administration: Where the estate and effects for or in respect of which such probate or letters of administration applied for shall be sworn or declared not to exceed the value of $2,000, one dollar. Exceeding $2,000, for every additional $1,000 or fractional part thereof, in excess of $2,000, fifty cents: Provided, That no stamp, either for probate of wills, or letters testamentary, or of administration, or on administrator or guardian bond, shall be required when the value of the estate and effects, real and personal, does not exceed $1,000: Provided, further, That no stamp tax shall be required upon any papers necessary to be used for the collection from the Government of claims by soldiers or their legal representatives of the United States, for pensions, back pay, bounty, or for property lost in the service.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Protest. Upon the protest of every note, bill of exchange, acceptance, check, or draft, or any marine protest, whether protested by a notary public or by any other officer who may be authorized by the laws of any State or States to make such protest, twentyfive cents.

No amendment being offered, the Clerk read the next paragraph, as follows:

Receipts for any sum 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: but when more than one signature is affixed to the same paper, one or more stamps may be affixed thereto, representing the whole amount required for such signatures.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move to strike out "twenty dollars" and in lieu thereof to insert "fifty dollars.'

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The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MILLER. I move to strike out the whole paragraph. I should like to see this tax dispensed with, for there is nothing more annoying than this two-cent tax. I do not know what revenue it brings in, but I do not think it can amount to much. There is no part of the stamp law that is so much found fault with as this two-cent stamp.

Mr. SCHENCK. We have amended the bill by saying that no tax shall be required on receipts for an amount under fifty dollars instead of twenty dollars. It is the stamps upon smaller receipts that cause annoyance.

Mr. MILLER. How much is received from stamps ?

Mr. SCHENCK.

Eighteen million dollars

in the gross. It is $2,000,000 from these twocent stamps.

Mr. MILLER. I withdraw the amendment. We must have revenue.

Mr. GETZ. I renew the amendment.
The amendment was disagreed to.

Mr. PRICE. I move to strike out the latter portion of the paragraph after the words "two cents." The reason I do it is simply this. These receipts are made all over the country, and it makes no difference which the sum is, fifty dollars or five dollars, except that there are less at five dollars. But in the rural dis tricts, where men give receipts, they cannot get the stamps without more expense than they are worth. There is no tax in the whole bill, from page one to page three hundred and sixty, that gives so much dissatisfaction as this two-cent tax. I had hoped that the chairman of the committee would himself have moved

to strike out this paragraph and let it go. It will do more to satisfy the people than anything, and will save a great annoyance.

Mr. PAINE. The gentleman did not move to strike out the whole paragraph.

The CHAIRMAN. That was moved and withdrawn.

Mr. SCHENCK. I have to repeat what I have said before, that the committee have no more interest in this matter than the gentle men themselves. Our only desire is to collect the revenue. All taxes are inconvenient and this among the rest. But we have endeavored to avoid a great source of inconvenience by raising, as gentlemen will see, the amount of receipt to fifty dollars, no stamp being required on any sum below that. Mr. MILLER. I suggest to make the amount $100.

Mr. PRICE. No; strike it all out.
The amendment was agreed to.
The Clerk read as follows:

SEC. 103. And be it further enacted, That in any and all cases where an adhesive stamp shall be used for denoting the payment of any tax imposed by law, except as may be otherwise provided, the person making, delivering, or giving the instrument, matter, or thing to be taxed shall affix the stamp and cancel the same by writing thereon the initials of his name and the date upon which the same shall be affixed or used, so that the same may not again be used, or in such other manner as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may by general regulation prescribe.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move to strike out the words "affix the stamp and cancel the same by writing thereon," and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

To affix the stamp or stamps denoting said tax that the entire surface thereof shall be exposed to view, and shall cancel the same by writing with ink upon each and every stamp so used.

Mr. PETERS. I move to amend by adding the words by inserting "in words or printing. It is very common to print.

Mr. BARNES. Stamping.

Mr. SCHENCK. The last clause of the section reads, "or in such manner as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may by general regulation prescribe." The report of the scientific commission says the surest way is to have the stamps made of gum and ink which will be erased when it is attempted to be washed out, and to have the canceling done in writ ing, and we have left it discretionary with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to allow it to be done by a machine, or in some other wuy.

Mr. PETERS. Most of the business houses do it by printing.

Mr. SCHENCK. Not always; the surest way is by ink.

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Mr. PETERS. It is done by a machine. Mr. SCHENCK. That is permitted, although the other is a regular way. The purpose for which we require the whole surface of the stamp to be visible is simply this: we find in Philadelphia, for instance, a engaged in putting up patent medicine where he is required to put on a four-cent stamp. He takes two two-cent stamps, cuts them in two, and uses two halves, so as to show only the edges of them, making them look as if they were two whole stamps. Then he uses the other two halves on another package.

Mr. BARNES. I desire to ask a question. The phraseology of this section applies to instruments, while the remarks of the chairman of the committee apply to articles also.

Mr. SCHENCK. The language is "instrument, matter, or things." That will take in any other thing.

Mr. BARNES. I move to strike out the section for the purpose of offering a suggestion. It seems to me that where articles are multiplied as often as they are in some branches of business to which stamps are applicable, it

in writing; but if he should, I do not see how it could be done. If I understand the present law this power exists with the Commissioner, and he decides that printing and stamping may be done.

Mr. GRISWOLD. The gentleman, I apprehend, does not understand this section. If he will look at the last two lines of the paragraph, he will see that it leaves the Commissioner at liberty to allow them to be canceled in some other way.

The question was taken on Mr. BARNES'S amendment; and it was disagreed to.

The Clerk read the next section, as follows: SEC. 104. And be it further enacted, That the acceptor of any bill of exchange or order for the payment of any sum of money drawn, or purporting to be drawn, in any foreign country, but payable in the United States, shall, before paying or accepting the same, place thereon a stamp for the proper amount of tax, and cancel the same, as the law requires for inland bills of exchange or promissory notes; and no bill of exchange shall be paid or negotiated without such stamp; and if any person shall pay or negotiate, or offer in payment, or receive, or take in payment any such draft or order, he shall be liable to a penalty of $200.

No amendment was offered; and the next section was read, as follows:

SEC. 105. And be it further enacted, That no stamp tax shall be required on official instruments, documents, and papers issued by the officers of the United States Government or of any State, county, town, or other municipal corporation, in the exercise of funetions strictly belonging to them in their ordinary governmental and municipal capacity; nor on affidavits, nor on powers of attorney, or any other paper relating to applications for bounty, arrearages of pay, or pensions,or to the receipt thereof; nor upon tickets or contracts of insurance when limited to accidental injury to persons, nor on certificates of the measurement or weight of animals, wood, coal, or hay; nor on deposit notes to mutual insurance companies, for insurance upon which policies subject to stamp taxes have been or are to be issued; nor on manifests, bills of lading, or passage tickets, by steamboats or vessels plying between ports of the United States and ports of British North America on the lakes or other inland waters dividing that country from the United States: nor on any certificate of the record of a deed or other instrument in writing, or of the acknowledgment or proof thereof by attesting witnesses, nor to any indorsement of a negotiable instrument, nor on any warranty of attorney accompanying a bond or note, when such bond or note shall have affixed thereto the stamp or stamps denoting the tax required; and whenever any bond or note shall be secured by a mortgage, but one stamp shall be required to be placed on such papers, but the stamp placed thereon shall be for the largest amount required for either of said instruments.

Mr. SCHENCK. I offer, from the Com. mittee of Ways and Means, the following amendment:

Page 154, section one hundred and five, at the end of line twenty, insert the following: "Nor on any duplicate or copy of any instrument in writing retained by the person making, delivering, or giving the same.'

The amendment was agreed to.

The next section was read, as follows:

SEC. 106. And be it further enacted, That any person who, with intent to evade the tax thereon, shail make, sign, or issue, or cause to be made, signed, or issued, any instrument, document, or paper of any kind or description whatsoever, or accept, negotiate, or pay, or cause to be accepted, negotiated, or paid, any bill of exchange, draft, or order, or promissory note for the payment of money, without the same being duly stamped, and the stamp thereon canceled as required by law, shall, for every such offense, forfeit the sum of fifty dollars; and such instrument. document, or paper, bill, draft, order, or note, not being stamped according to law, shall be deemed invalid and of no effect: Provided, That the title of a purchaser of land by deed duly stamped shall not be defeated or affected by the want of a proper stamp on any deed conveying said land by any person, from, through, or under whom his grantor claims or holds title.

Mr. SPALDING. I move to amend that section by inserting before the word "any," on line fourteen, the words "contract or," so that

it shall read "or any contract or deed conveying said land," &c.

Mr. ALLISON. There is no objection to that.

The amendment was agreed to.

The next section, was read, as follows: SEC. 107. And be it further enacted, That no instrument, document, or paper required by law to be stamped shall be admitted or used as evidence in any court unless the proper stamp denoting the amount of tax payable thereon shall have been affixed thereto and canceled as required by law; nor shall it be lawful to record any such instrument, document, or paper unless a stamp of the proper amount is affixed thereto and canceled in the manner required by law; and the record of any such instrument, document, or paper not stamped as aforesaid shall not be admitted or used as evidence in any court. And any power of attorney, conveyance, or document of any kind, made in any foreign country to be used in the United States, shall pay the same tax as is required by law on similar instruments or documents when made or issued in the United States, and the person to whom the same is issued or by whom it is to be used shall, before using the same, affix thereon and cancel the proper stamp for the amount of tax required.

No amendment was offered.

The next section was read, as follows:

SEC. 108. And be it further enacted, That in case any person shall not have affixed to any instrument the stamp required by law thereon at the time of making or issuing the said instrument, and he, or any other person having an interest therein, shall be desirous of affixing such stamp to said instrument, or if said instrument be lost, to a copy thereof, he, or such other person, shall appear before the collector of the proper district, who shall, upon the payment of the amount of the stamp required by law, and of a penalty of fifty dollars, and where the whole amount of the tax denoted by the stamp required shall exceed the sum of fifty dollars, on payment also of interest, at the rate of six per cent. on said tax from the day on which such stamp ought to have been affixed, affix the proper stamp to such instrument or copy and cancel the same, and note upon the margin thereof the date of his so doing, and the fact that such penalty has been paid; and the same shall thereupon be deemed and held to be as valid, to all intents and purposes, as if stamped when made or issued. But if it shall appear upon evidence satisfactory to said collector that any such instrument was not duly stamped at the time of making or issuing the same, by reason of accident, mistake, or inadvertence, and without any willful design to defraud the United States of the tax, or to evade or delay the payment thereof, then and in such case, if such instrument, or, if the original be lost, a copy thereof, duly certified by the officer having charge of any records in which such original is required to be recorded, or otherwise duly proven to the satisfaction of the collector, shall, within six months after the making or issuing thereof, be brought to the said collector of revenue to be stamped, and the stamp tax chargeable thereon paid, it shall be lawful for the said collector to remit the penalty aforesaid, and to affix and cancel the proper stamp upon such instrument. And when the original instrument, or a certified or duly proved copy thereof, as aforesaid, thus stamped so as to entitle the same to be recorded, shall be presented to the clerk, register, recorder, or other officer having charge of the original record it shall be lawful for such officer, upon the payment of the fee legally chargeable for the recording thereof, to make a new record thereof, or to note upon the original record the fact that the error or omission in the stamping of said original instrument has been corrected pursuant to law; and the original instrument, or such certified copy, or the record therof, may be used in all courts and places in the same manner and with like effect as if the instrument had been originally stamped. In any case where it shall appear that the failure to affix the stamp required by law on any instrument at the time of making, signing, or issuing the same was occasioned by the fact that no collection district was then established at the place where such instrument was made, signed, or issued, and that the required stamp was afterward, and before the 1st day of January, 1869, duly affixed thereto, or to a copy thereof, and canceled according to the provisions of this section, the same shall be as valid to all intents and purposes as if stamped originally as required by law. But no right acquired in good faith before the stamping of any instrument or copy thereof, and the recording thereof, shall in any manner be affected by such subsequent stamping.

Mr. SCHENCK. I offer the following amendment from the Committee of Ways and Means:

Page 156, line eight, after the word "shall" insert the words "under regulations to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue."

The amendment was agreed to. Mr. SPALDING. I offer the following amendment:

Page 157, line fifty-one, after the word "issued," insert the words: "or when it shall appear that the proper stamp was omitted by reason of a commonly received construction of the act different from that finally, and after the lapse of six months from the date of the instrument, given to it by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, requiring a stamp."

I will explain the object of that amendment. Where the party executing the instrument does not at the time of its execution suppose that a stamp is necessary, and after the lapse of six months the Commissioner shall decide that a stamp is necessary, in such a case there is no possible place left where the evil can be corrected unless we have an amendment of this sort adopted. In cases that occur after six months have elapsed, where a party in good faith omits to put a stamp but is entirely willing to do it when he discovers his error and that the Commissioner requires a particular stamp, then I want that the party shall have an opportunity to do it. I suppose there will be no objection to the amendment.

Mr. MAYNARD. The gentleman refers, I presume, to cases where the party fails to put on a stamp through a misconstruction of the law?

Mr. SPALDING. Yes, sir. I will state a case that I know to have occurred. A friend of mine has issued land contracts and put on, perhaps, a twenty-five cent. stamp, and has discovered, after the lapse of six months, that the Commissioner requires, perhaps, a dollar stamp. He is willing to put it on, but he has not the power under the law, and the law, as it now exists, does not give the power. It is for a case like that that I propose this amendment. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue may not have made his decision until more than six months after the instrument is made. It is in reference to a case where the collector himself may not suppose that a stamp is required, or may suppose that a stamp of less value is required. But after the lapse of six months he finds, by a decision of the Commissioner, Such a case that a higher stamp is required.

will not often occur, but when it does occur we ought to afford an opportunity to the party, who is really not in fault, to come in and affix a stamp.

Mr. SCHENCK. From comparison, I am satisfied there never was a stamp act before so liberal in its provisions for inadvertence, inexperience, and ignorance as this act is. And surely it will not do to keep it open in this vague manner forever. This has been in operation now for some time, and it has obtained a fixed construction and there is a settled practice under it. It appears to me that it would this up be a very uncertain matter to open the exceedingly loose manner in which my colleague proposes.

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Mr. SPALDING. I wish to provide a rem. edy and to rectify the practice as it now exists under the law. There is now no remedy.

Mr. MAYNARD. Why not extend the time for affixing the stamp for six months?

man.

The amendment, as modified, was then agreed to.

No further amendment was offered. The next section was read, as follows: SEC. 109. And be it further enacted, That no instrument, document, writing, or paper of any description, required by law to be stamped, shall be deemed or held invalid and of no effect for the want of the particular kind or description of stamp designated for and denoting the tax on any such instrument, document, writing, or paper, provided a legal stamp or stamps, denoting a tax of equal amount, shall have been duly affixed and used thereon; but the provisions of this section shall not apply to any stampappropriated to denote the tax charged on proprietary articles, or articles enumerated in schedule C. No amendment was offered.

The committee here rose informally; and Mr. BLAINE took the chair as Speaker pro tempore.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. HAMLIN, one of its Clerks, informed the House that the Senate had passed, without amendment, House joint resolution No. 137, requesting the President to intercede with her majesty, the Queen of Great Britain, to secure the speedy release of Rev. John McMahon, convicted on a charge of treason-felony, and now confined at Kingston, Canada West.

The message further informed the House that the Senate had passed a joint resolution (S. R. No. 121) to carry into effect the resolu tion approved March 2, 1867, providing for the exchange of public documents, in which the concurrence of the House was requested.

INTERNAL TAX BILL.

The Committee of the Whole again resumed the consideration of the internal tax bill. The following section was read:

SEC. 110. And be it further enacted, That there shall be levied, collected, and paid as taxes, upon every package, parcel, article, or thing mentioned and described in schedule C, the several amounts of money set down in figures against the same respectively, or otherwise specified or set forth in said schedule, the payment of which amounts shall be indicated and proved by adhesive stamps to be affixed. to such package, parcel, article, or thing, and canceled in the manner and form prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue; and the articles named in said schedule of foreign manufacture, imported into the United States, shall, in addition to the import duties imposed on the same, be subject to the taxes therein prescribed, and shall have the proper stamps affixed thereon and canceled; and any person who shall sell or offer for sale any of such articles, whether of foreign or domestic manufacture, shall be deemed the manufacturer thereof, and shall be subject to all the taxes, liabilities, and penalties imposed by law upon such manufacturers.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move, by instruction of the Committee of Ways and Means, to amend the section just read by adding to it the following:

And the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may, from time to time, furnish, supply, and deliver to any manufacturer of friction or other matches, cigar lights, or wax tapers, a suitable quantity of adhesive or other stamps, such as may be prescribed for use in such cases, without prepayment therefor, on a credit of not exceeding sixty days, requiring, in advance, a bond in a penal sum of not less than double the denominate value of such stamps, with such security as he may judge necessary, to secure payment therefor to the United States within the time prescribed for such payment. And upon all such bonds or other securities taken by said Commissioner, suits may be maintained in the circuit or district courts of the United States, in the several districts where any of the persons giving said bonds or other securities reside or may be found, in any appropriate form of action.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move to insert the following, as an additional section, to come in immediately after the section just read:

SEC. And be it further enacted, That no stamp tax shall be imposed upon any uncompounded medicinal drug or chemical, nor upon any medicine compounded according to the United States or other

national pharmacopoeia, or of which the full and proper formula is published in any of the dispensatories now or hitherto in common use among physicians or apothecaries, or in any pharmaceutical journal now issued by any incorporated college of pharmacy, when not sold or offered for sale, or advertised under any other name, form, or guise than that under which they may be severally denominated and laid down in said pharmacopoeias, dispensatories, or journals as aforesaid; nor upon medicines sold to or for the use of any person, which may be mixed and compounded for said person according to the written receipt or prescription of any physician or surgeon. But nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt from stamp tax any medicinal articles, whether simple or compounded by any rule, authority, or formula, published or unpublished, which are put up in a style or manner similar to that of patent or proprietary medicines in general, or advertised in newspapers or by public handbills for popular sale and use, as having any special proprietary claim to merit, or to any peculiar advantage in mode of preparation, quality, use, or effect, whether such claim be real or pretended.

Mr. GRISWOLD. Before the question is taken upon the amendment or additional section, just moved by the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, [Mr. SCHENCK.] I desire to move to amend section one hundred and ten by adding to it the following:

Provided, That when such imported articles, except playing-cards, lucifer or friction matches,cigar lights, and wax tapers, shall be sold in the original and unbroken package in which the bottles or other inclosures were packed by the manufacturer, the person so selling said articles shall not be subject to

any penalty on account of the want of the proper

stamp.

This is simply the provision of the present law, and a provision which it seems to me is practically very important. It will be observed that this section provides a penalty upon persons offering for sale these articles. I cannot learn that any frauds have resulted from the present law. I think this provision is eminently worthy of consideration as a practical provision.

Mr. SCHENCK. The amendment of the gentleman, my colleague on the Committee of Ways and Means, [Mr. GRISWOLD,] does not strictly relate to my amendment, which is to insert an additional section. But I am willing that the question should be first taken on his amendment. I admit that the provision he offers is the provision of the present law. The Committee of Ways and Means, however, though they very seldom disagree with each other, have not agreed with him in regard to retaining that provision of the present law in this bill.

Now, instead of making any argument myself upon this provision, I will send to the Clerk's desk, to be read as my speech, a little article I have just discovered in a Philadelphia paper touching that subject.

The Clerk read as follows:

"Duties on Foreign and Domestic Perfumery.- A proviso attached to section one hundred and sixtynine of the internal revenue law permits foreign perfumery to be sold in unbroken packages without being stamped when such perfumery is packed by the manufacturer. The effect of this provision is disastrous to our own manufacturers, since they are compelled by law to stamp all the perfumery made in their establishments, while the foreign merchant is allowed the privilege of disposing of his products without the stamp duty. Such a discrimination, to say the least, is unwise, and calculated to injure home manufacturers. But this is not the only evil caused by the proviso. Unprincipled parties in this and other cities, taking advantage of the license afforded them, are engaged in putting up their goods with imitation labels and trade-marks of the foreign article, thus cheating the Government, and by the fraud seriously injuring those who, in the legitimate business, cheerfully comply with the law and add to the revenue of the country. General SCHENCK, in reporting the new tax bill, has wisely stricken out this obnoxious proviso, and we trust that Congress, hav ing an eye to the interest of American manufactures and American industry, will look to it that foreign influence, and that of the swindlers in our own country, may not again have the clause snaked through' on the final passage of the bill."

Mr. MAYNARD. I ask the gentleman from New York to modify his amendment so as to strike out "provided that," and to insert "but ;" so it will read "but when," for reasons that are obvious. I will not take the trouble to explain the reasons.

Mr. GRISWOLD. Iaccept that modification. Mr. BARNES. I should like to have the amendment again read.

The amendment was again read.

Mr. BARNES. Mr. Chairman, that provision is eminently just and proper. So far as protecting domestic manufacturers by not

applying the stamp the tariff act which imposes duties on the arrival of these goods at our custom-houses can be so arranged as to collect an increased duty. There can be no conflict in that respect. The inconvenience to the merchant is great. The articles are small in character, and come in large cases, and the cases are opened and the small packages are opened and the wrappers disturbed in order to affix the stamp. It is a very serious inconvenience to the importer. I can see no reason for it except in the suggestion made by the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, that it gives a nominal advantage to the foreign manufacturer over the domestic manufacturer. That I say can be provided for by increasing the duties on imports. I think the amendment is eminently proper.

Mr. O'NEILL. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike out the last line for the purpose of say. ing a few words in reference to the pending

amendment. The article which was read at the request of the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means was written by a friend of mine who is engaged in this trade in the city of Philadelphia. The manufacture of perfumery is carried on very largely in the city of Philadelphia; and a committee on the part of the gentlemen engaged in this trade very ably presented their case to the Committee of Ways mit. It is an unjust discrimination against and Means, as I think the chairman will adour domestic manufacturers, and in favor of the foreign manufacturers to permit the latter to bring in their packages unbroken with a single stamp affixed, while the former are compelled to affix a stamp to every separate article. remedied. I do not suppose that we are in This injury to our manufactures ought to be favor of crushing out our own industry, in how ever slight degree, in behalf of the foreign manufacturer. I know the gentleman from New York does not want to do it. I am a tariff man, and in favor of home industry in every respect, and believe my friend is, and am therefore surprised he should have submitted amendment. this amendment. I withdraw my pro forma

Mr. HIGBY. We have got into confusion about these amendments. The amendment of the gentleman from New York is to one portion of the bill and that of the gentleman from Ohio to another portion.

The CHAIRMAN. Debate is exhausted.

Mr. BARNES. I rise to appeal from the decision of the Chair. I rose to speak to the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio when the gentleman from New York moved his amendment, an amendment entirely distinct in its character.

Mr. SCHENCK. I withdraw my amendment for the present.

the appearance of the package they are the same. There are a number of articles known to the trade as British patent medicines. There is a confusion in reference to excepted articles which is unnecessary. I desire that the articles excepted in the amendment of the chairman of the committee from stamping be stamped, to make all articles of a class come under, one class with reference to stamps. I do not propose that physicians' prescriptions shall be stamped.

Mr. SCHENCK. It is impossible to get along in this way. We have proposed a section which is precisely a section taken from the present law. At first the committee were of opinion that it might be left out altogether. That, however, was thought to be illiberal, and upon reconsideration the committee instructed me to move to restore the exemption of certain articles as is now done in the present law. The gentleman thinks the section adopted from the present law, which contains the exemption is too broad, if I understand him-that it ought not to exempt so many things. I am perfectly willing to limit it if the gentleman will only put his amendment in some tangible shape. But to talk generally about the section being too broad, and exempting too many things withdifficult way of managing a subject. out indicating wherein it is too broad, is a

understood by the chairman. Mr. BARNES. I did not make myself

Mr. SCHENCK. I hear the gentleman with a great deal of difficulty.

Mr. BARNES. My amendment is to strike out all that part of his amendment which refers to articles excepted. Strike out all after the word "compounded" to the word "upon,' referring to physicians' prescriptions.

Mr. SCHENCK. I understand the gentleman to propose to amend by striking out certain words, so that it shall read: "that no stamp tax shall be imposed upon any medicines sold to or for the use of any person," &c. I will accept that amendment, or, rather, as I have no

right to accept it, I am willing to have a vote taken upon it.

The amendment to the amendment was agreed to.

The amendment, as amended, was then agreed to.

Mr. SCHENCK. I now renew the amend. ment which I withdrew for a moment.

Mr. BARNES. I desire the attention of the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. I move to strike out all that part of the amendment which refers to excepted articles, the recipes of which are published in the pharmacopoeia. There is a class of articles known as proprietary articles, some still under the control of the proprietors, and others which have passed from their control and become public. The latter are exempted while the others require stamps. I desire to increase the articles to be stamped by including the articles called the pharmacopoeia articles. There are articles called Bacon's Drops and Godfrey's Cordial, which were started years ago by gentlemen of those names in England, and which are now manufactured by the trade all over the country. The recipes of those articles are published in the pharmacopoeia. Druggists here and elsewhere make them up. The recipes purport to state what those articles are made of. Whether they do or not I do not know. Articles made from recipes called by other individual names are required to be stamped, and in character of article and

Mr. BARNES. It seems almost necessary, in order to protect the merchant who deals in these articles, that the stamps to be affixed by this section should be exposed to sight. In the majority of instances it is so. Probably ninety-nine per cent. of all the articles to which stamps are applied are stamped as this provision requires. There are some proprietors, however, who affix the stamps inside of the wrapper surrounding the bottle or jar, and a merchant, in buying a large quantity, in order to protect himself, is compelled to exempts each article, and in doing so he destroys its good appearance. There are accidents occurring in so slight a business as that. It is impossible to guard against employés putting up articles the value of which is three or four cents. They cannot be so watched that many of the articles will not be inclosed without a stamp upon them; and the proprietor himself, undertaking to guard his manufactory or laboratory with the best ability he can bring to bear, is not certain that he is not constantly violating the law. There is no way of detecting these omissions until a report comes from some part of the country that they find the articles unstamped. I have seen the most reliable merchants of this class of goods in the United States led into controversy with

parties in the western States and California. Bills are unpaid on account of reclamation claims in which no proof can be offered; and I submit that it seems to be a necessary protection to the manufacturer himself and to the merchant that these stamps, in all instances, should be exposed to view.

Mr. SCHENCK. I hope that amendment will not prevail.

The question was taken on Mr. BARNES'S amendment; and it was disagreed to.

The Clerk read the next section, as follows: SEC. 111. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall make, prepare, sell, offer for sale, or remove for consumption or sale any article or thing enumerated and described in schedule C without affixing thereon and canceling the proper stamps as required by law; or shall conceal or remove, or cause to be concealed or removed, any such article or thing, in or to any place, with a view to evade the payment of the tax thereon; or shall remove, detach, or cause or permit to be removed or detached, theştamp from any such article or thing, with intent to use said stamp on any other article or thing, he shall forfeit to the United States the article or thing in regard to which either of the said offenses is committed; and shall for every such offense be liable to a penalty of $100, to be assessed and collected as in other cases.

Mr. SCHENCK. I am instructed by the Committee of Ways and Means to offer the following amendment:

Page 159, section one hundred and eleven, strike out lines fourteen and fifteen, as follows: "penalty of $100, to be assessed and collected as in other cases," and insert in lieu thereof the following: "fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, and the tax shall be assessed and collected as in other cases.' The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. SCHENCK. I am also instructed by the Committee of Ways and Means to offer the following amendment, to come in at the end of the section:

But friction or other matches, cigar lights, or wax tapers, may be sold and removed for export beyond the limits of the United States without payment of the tax thereon under such rules and regulations as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may prescribe."

The amendment was agreed to.

The next section was read, as follows:

SEC. 112. And be it further enacted, That any proprietor of a proprietary article, or article subject to stamp duty under schedule C of this act, shall have the privilege of furnishing without expense to the United States, in suitable form, to be approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, his own dies and designs for stamps therefor, to be for his exclusive use; which dies and designs, being first approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall be made under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, and retained in the Treasury Department, and the stamps prepared therefrom and issued to the Commissioner as in other cases. That in all cases where such amp is used, in lieu of writing the initials and date thereon, the said stamp shall be so affixed on the article or package, that in using or opening the same the said stamp shall be effectually destroyed; and in default thereof the said proprietor shall be liable to the same penalty as is prescribed in this act for neglecting to affix a stamp. Any person who shall fraudulently obtain or use any such stamp, or die, or design therefor; and any person forging or counterfeiting, or causing or procuring the forging or counterfeiting any representation, likeness, similitude, or colorable imitation of any such stamp; or an engraver or printer who shall sell or give away any such stamp; or being a merchant, broker, peddler, or person dealing, in whole or in part, in similar goods, wares, merchandise, manufactures, preparations, or articles, or those designed for similar objects or purposes, shall have knowingly or fraudulently in his possession any such forged, counterfeited likeness, similitude, or colorable imitation of any such stamps, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, and imprisoned not less than one year nor more than five years.

Mr. SCHENCK. I offer, from the Committee of Ways and Means, the following amendment:

Page 160, line nineteen, strike out all after the word "therefor" down to and including the word "purposes," in line twenty-six, as follows:

And any person forging or counterfeiting, or causing or procuring the forging or counterfeiting any representation, likeness. similitude, or colorable imitation of any such stamp; or an engraver or printer who shall sell or give away any such stamp; or being a merchant, broker, peddler, or person dealing, in whole or in part, in similar goods, wares, merchandise, manufactures, preparations, or articles, or those designed for similar objects or purposes.

And insert in lieu thereof the following:

Or who shall forge or counterfeit, or cause or procure the forging or counterfeiting of any representation, likeness, similitude, or colorable imitation of any such stamp; or any engraver or printer who shall sell or give away any such stamp; or any person who.

The amendment was agreed to.

The Clerk read as follows:

SCHEDULE C.

Medicines or preparations.

For and upon every packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, containing any pills, powders, tinetures, troches, lozenges, sirups, cordials, bitters, anodynes, tonics, plasters, liniments, salves, ointments, pastes, drops, waters, essences, spirits, oils, or other medicinal preparations or compositions whatsoever,

made and sold, or removed for consumption and sale, by any person or persons whatever, wherein the person making or preparing the same has, or claims to have, any private formula or occult secret or art for the making or preparing the same, or has, or claims to have, any exclusive right or title to the making or preparing the same, or which are prepared, uttered, vended, or exposed for sale under any letters patent, or held out or recommended to the public by the makers, venders, or proprietors thereof as proprietary medicines, or as remedies or specifics for any disease, diseases, or affections whatever affecting the human or animal body, as follows: where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall not exceed, at retail price or value, the sum of twenty-five cents, one cent.

Mr. SCHENCK. This is properly one paragraph down to the end of line seventy-seven. I ask that it may be read, so that I may offer an amendment from the Committee of Ways and Means.

Mr. BARNES. I must object until I know what the amendment is.

Mr. SCHENCK. I propose to strike out from line fifty-six to line seventy-seven inclusive.

Mr. BARNES. I shall be compelled to object, for I want to discuss the different

amounts.

Mr. SCHENCK. I do not see how the gen. tleman can object. I cannot make my motion until the part of the bill which I propose to amend is read. It is really one paragraph; it all relates to the same subject.

The CHAIRMAN. They are treated as separate paragraphs.

Mr. SCHENCK. Then I offer the following amendment from the Committee of Ways and Means:

Page 161, line forty-four, strike out the words "secret and art," and insert". art or secret" in lieu thereof.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. SCHENCK. I now offer the following amendment from the Committee of Ways and

Means:

Page 162, strike out from and including line fiftysix, down to the end of line seventy-seven, on page 163, as follows:

Retail price or value, the sum of twenty-five cents, one cent. Where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of twenty-five cents, and not exceed the retail price or value of fifty cents, two cents. Where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of fifty cents, and shall not exceed the retail price or value of seventy-five cents, three cents. Where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of seventy-five cents, and shall not exceed the retail price or value of one dollar, four cents. Where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall exceed the retail price or value of one dollar, for each and every fifty cents or fractional part thereof over and above the one dollar, as before mentioned, an additional two cents.

And insert in lieu thereof the following:

The retail price or value to be fixed by the manufacturer of the article and stamped or printed there, the sum of twenty-five cents, one cent. Where such packet, box, bottle, pot, vial, or other inclosure, with its contents, shall exceed such retail price or value of twenty-five cents, for each additional twenty-five cents, or fractional part thereof, an additional one cent.

It

Mr. BARNES. I move to amend the amendment by striking out the word "retail" and inserting "wholesale." This section of the bill is a very singular finance measure. compels the manufacturer of a chair in Philadelphia to pay a tax upon the price which the chair shall be sold at retail in Chicago. The manufacturer of a book in Boston is to pay-a tax, not upon the price which he receives for the book, but the price which the jobber in New York receives for it and the retailer in St. Louis. It seems to me one of the most singular recommendations in this bill that any manufacturer of an article should be taxed at any other price than that which he receives for his products. I have heard no explanation offered for this manner of taxation. Objec.

tionable as the stamping of small articles is, to compel the manufacturer of these small articles to pay not only his own tax but that of every middleman until it reaches the consumer, is, if possible, still more objectionable. I assume that this House has too much practical sense to attempt to levy taxes in that way. I do not wish to impugn the practical ability or the good intentions of the gentlemen on the committee who have presented this recommendation. I understand the sources of their authority. A similar provision has been contained in bills enacted by previous Congresses; but the word "retail" has been included. A modification is now proposed so as to compel the proprietor to fix his price. He is thus practically driven to resort to a subterfuge by printing upon his articles a false price. By this means, I undertake to say, Yankee ingenuity will be able to evade this provision, so that nothing practically will be gained. Yet the proprietors are forced into this false position.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I would like to call the attention of the House to the amount of the tax which it is proposed to impose upon these articles, assuming that the proprietor does print upon his articles the prices at which he thinks they ought to be sold in the locality where they are made. Those articles which sell at fifty cents a dozen or about four cents apiece, are taxed by the requirement of a stamp, one cent each, which is twenty-five per cent. Now, when billiard-tables are manufactured and sold at a taxation of one per cent., I ask whether this House, with its practical sense, is disposed to impose this onerous tax upon what is the poor man's medicine. throughout the sparsely-settled districts of this country, making it pay a tax of twenty-five per cent.

[Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. BARNES's amendment to the amendment was not agreed to.

ing

Mr. BARNES. I move to amend the amendment by striking out "one cent," and insertone half cent." Mr. Chairman, I have endeavored from time to time to have this stamping system abolished, putting these articles where they belong, under an ad valorem system. The only argument, so far as I have been able to observe, by which the stamp system is defended, is that it is a convenient method of collecting taxes. Now, among the articles enumerated in this bill are billiardtables and pianos, upon which a stamp could easily be put without any great inconvenience to the manufacturer or the seller; but to impose this stamp tax upon such articles as lucifer matches, the buckles on harness, the buttons on a coat, the cogs on a wheel, and require each of these articles to be manipulated in the manner here provided for, seems to me to be unreasonable.

Mr. MAYNARD. The gentleman from New York will allow me to suggest that upon the articles he has just named there is but a single tax; the tax is collected only once; but a piano, for example, is taxed two dollars every year; and before it is worn out it may be taxed to the entire value of the instrument.

Mr. BARNES. I will reply to the gentleman by saying that as to the articles named in this paragraph, seventy per cent. of them are necessarily composed of double proof-spirits. The manufacturer now pays a tax of at least four hundred per cent. on seventy-five per cent. of his materials. We have in this case an instance of taxation multiplied to a most unreasonable extent. It is the severest taxation enumerated in this bill, and the most difficult in its application. Such taxation cannot be to the advantage of the Government. Now, sir, if stamps are a convenient mode of collecting taxes, why do not the committee propose to extend this system further? Why do they not impose a stamp duty upon native wines, instead of taxing them six dollars a dozen? Why do they not propose to require stamps in regard to various other articles enumerated in this bill? It would seem as if those articles with refer