to prevent fraud in all transactions connected with the public lands. It should be its purpose to carry out more extensively than heretofore the great educational interest which it has inaugurated by encouraging the establishment of schools and colleges throughout the great West by the aid of lands donated for that purpose. Now, sir, in all this vast tract there is no provision for a single school if this act is consummated. That whole region of country will be left in the darkness of ignorance for years and years to come, while grasping specu lators shall wring from unwilling hands whatever prices they may choose to exact for their lands. The country will be deprived of all those improvements which are necessary to the progress of civilized society. I wish to say, as one member of this committee, that I look upon this as one of the most gigantic frauds ever sought to be perpetrated on the Government or people; and the same foul parties, practices, and purpose are at the bottom of it that stamp with infamy all the proceedings of this most cursed Administration.

Mr.SHELLABARGER. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed at what is represented to be the action of the executive part of the Government of the United States touching the ceding of these lands lying within one of the States to a corporation. What is the nature and extent of this treaty power of the United States? It is the power of one sovereign State-the United States of one part-to make with any other sovereign a contract which becomes the law of the land, and so binding that it cannot be changed either by the United States or by any State; and if by treaty the President and the Senate can dispose of one sixth of the territory of one State of this Union, so as to give these lands to a corporation or individual, then so could they contract with any foreign State that such foreign State might purchase and own and exercise jurisdiction over such lands within such State. This results from the very nature of the power to make treaties. Whatever does come fairly within the power of the United States to make a treaty about it must be a thing touching which the power to contract is complete and unlimited, unless to appropriate money, and in which the contract may in all respects be whatever the parties having the power to contract may choose to make it. If, then, the lands within a State can be ceded by treaty to corporations, through the power given by the treaty to Indians, so can they be so ceded by contract to a foreign State with such power and jurisdiction as the contractors may please.

And

deem it wise to make it; and I conclude that, just because it is evident that the treaty could not stipulate with the Indians that these lands should be forever the property of the United States and subject to its exclusive jurisdiction, or that the treaty could not grant these lands to a foreign State, therefore this subject-matter of the disposal of the public lands cannot come within the scope of that treaty-making power which, in its nature, must be so unlimited. No, Mr. Speaker, the power to dispose of the public lands is to be found in that clause of the Constitution which gives to Congress, and not to the treaty-making power, the " power to dispose of and to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory and other property belonging to the United States." This clause of the Constitution is plainly a power to dispose of the lands of the United States by providing for their sale and conveyance of title, and to govern them while they are the property of the Government. And obviously this is precisely what is here attempted to be done by the treaty-making power, but which the Constitution expressly intrusts to Congress. Surely, Mr. Speaker, if the action of the Executive in this matter were done deliberately and in full view of the usurpation it seems to me to involve, and is such as described by the gentlemen who have spoken, it would make a proper case for such proceeding as has just failed at the other end of the Capitol. According to my memory heretofore the Congress, and not the treaty power, has disposed of the public land, and this is a new practice.

Mr. JULIAN. I merely wish to correct the gentleman from Ohio on a matter of fact. For some seven years past the President and Senate have been doing exactly such things on a smaller scale as are proposed in this infamous | treaty, and it is to check and prevent the continuance of that policy that the proceeding now before the House is directed.

Mr. SHELLABARGER. Do I understand the gentleman to say that by treaties we have been giving away lands within the States?

Mr. JULIAN. In repeated cases we have done it within the last few years. I wish to say further, that while I agree with the gentleman as to the power by treaty to accept and receive grants of lands by the United States, I wish to remind him that that does not apply, and cannot apply, to these Indian lands, the titles to which are in the United States, while the right of occupancy alone is in the Indians, who may certainly cede that right to the United States, but certainly could not cede it to any corporation.

which the United States sustain and assume toward Indian tribes in treating with them, what I wanted to say is that we treat with them, not really as foreign nations, but as the inhabitants of our country and as the wards of the United States; and we treat with them generally not in the way of the ultimate and final disposal of the public lands, but only as to their possessory rights, leaving the final disposal of their lands to the action of Congress whenever the Indian titles may be terminated.

Now, sir, can this be possible; when, by the Constitution, the United States cannot acquire Mr. SHELLABARGER. I am glad the any land or exercise any jurisdiction over any gentleman has reminded me of what I meant land within any State except only such as by to say touching the anomalous character of our "the Legislature of the State in which the treaties with the Indians, and their anomalous same shall be for the erection of forts, maga- relations to the United States. As to the fact zines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful he states that such treaties have been made, buildings?" And even to this limited extent though the fact had escaped my memory, it and for these limited purposes, these lands does not make right or sanctify a manifest cannot be acquired and perpetually governed usurpation of the powers of Congress over the except by the authority, not of the treaty-mak-disposal of the public lands. As to the relations ing power, but of the Congress, and with the assent of the Legislature of the State. can the President and Senate, by treaty, dispose of one sixth of a State or all of a State to whomsoever the treaty-making power is competent to contract with, and confer such rights, jurisdictions, and powers as the United States can give over everything which is within its power to make treaties about. It may be said that this treaty does not attempt to do more than confer title to these lands, a thing the United States clearly may do, and does not withdraw them from the jurisdiction of the State of Kansas, nor to give them to a foreign jurisdiction. The obvious reply to that sug gestion is, first, that I have already given. I am not arguing that the United States could not by law authorize this title to be sold to this corporation; but I am arguing that whatever the United States can dispose of by treaty must be a thing as to which the treaty may be made, whatever the contracting parties may 40TH CONG. 2D SESS.-No. 205.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I would inquire of the Chair how much time I have left.

The SPEAKER pro tempore, (Mr. DAWES.) The gentleman has seven minutes of his hour remaining.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I now yield to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. CARY] for five minutes.

Mr. CARY. I regret exceedingly that I can have but five minutes on a question of this magnitude. I am in favor of the adoption of

these resolutions. I think it is our duty, as far as possible, to arrest this gigantic swindle, a swindle not only upon the Indians, but upon the settlers who may be there, upon the State of Kansas, and more than all a gigantic swindle upon the whole people of this country.

It is proposed to permit these Indians to convey eight million acres of the most fertile portion of Kansas to a railroad corporation, for a railroad that will cost to build it not to exceed $3,000,000, while the lands ceded are worth to-day $12,000,000, leaving a clear profit of $9,000,000 to a single individual who owns that railroad. The amount of territory proposed to be ceded is one third as large as the State of Ohio, and twice as large as the State of Massachusetts. Gentlemen upon the other side speak of this treaty as an act of "this infernal administration." Sir, the President has had, the Senate have had, and the Osage Indians have had bad examples and bad precedents set them heretofore. This is but another of the swindles that have been practiced upon the people of this country in regard to public lands. This is like the case of the Pacific railroad. In that case a few men organized a railroad corporation and obtained a subsidy from Congress nearly large enough to build the road, and then they obtained a cession from Congress, not from the President of the United States, not from the Senate alone, but from this House of Representatives, of land enough to make four such States as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and have enough left over to make two States like Massachusetts.

Now, no wonder, after such an example as that, that these untutored savages are willing to give eight million acres of land to a little contemptible railroad company, whose road does not go anywhere near this land.

Sir, this whole system is a swindle. I insist that the Congress of the United States are only the trustees of the public domain, and that we have no right to grant these lands to any railroad corporation under heaven. You may give the proceeds of public lands to railroads; but the lands themselves are the inheritance of the whole people. Every man who will settle upon these lands, and open up a farm and cultivate it, is entitled to the privilege of doing so. But I cannot be led into a general discussion of this subject upon this proposition. I think it is the imperative duty of this House to pass these resolutions, to pass other resolutions, to do anything to prevent this swindle upon the people of this country and upon the Indians. This treaty proposes to give eight million acres of our public land to a railroad corporation whose road will not go anywhere near it. It is part and parcel of the whole system of railroad land-grant legislation. The President of the United States, the Senate of the United States, and the Osage Indians are doing in this case only what the Thirty-Ninth Congress did in precisely a simi

lar case.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. The Committee on Indian Affairs have instructed me to offer a substitute for the second resolution, as follows:

Resolved, (as the sense of this House,) That the objects, terms, conditions, and stipulations of the aforesaid pretended treaty are not within the treatymaking power, nor are they authorized either by the Constitution or laws of the United States; and therefore this House does hereby solemnly condemn the same, and does also earnestly but respectfully express the hope and expectation that the Senate will not ratify the said pretended treaty.

The resolution originally reported from the committee was as follows:

Resolved, That this House does hereby solemnly and earnestly protest against the ratification of the stipulations of said pretended treaty by the Senate, and will feel bound to refuse any appropriation in its behalf, or to recognize its validity in any form. The question was upon the substitute; and being taken, it was agreed to.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I now call the previous question upon the series of resolutions as amended.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

The series of resolutions were then unanimously adopted.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas, moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolutions were adopted; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to. Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I move that the report and accompanying documents be printed in the Globe.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I now make the ordinary motion to print the report and papers accompanying it.

The motion was agreed to.

HOGAN VS. PILE.

Mr. COOK, from the Committee of Elections, in the matter of the contested-election case of Hogan vs. PILE, submitted a report concluding with the following resolution:

Resolved, That WILLIAM A. PILE is duly elected a member of this House from the first district of Missouri.

The report was laid upon the table, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. CHANLER submitted a minority report, which was also ordered to be printed.

M'KEE VS. YOUNG.

Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I wish, as I understood the tax bill will be reported on Monday next, and as it is made the special order from day to day to the exclusion of all other business, to give notice that I will on Saturday call up after the morning hour the case of McKee against Young.

HANNAH MOORE.

Mr. HILL, by unanimous consent, moved that the petition of Hannah Moore be taken from the table, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

The motion was agreed to.

CHARGES AGAINST A SUPREME COURT JUDGE.

Mr. BOUTWELL, from the Committee on the Judiciary, moved that that committee be discharged from the further consideration of a resolution referred to them relative to one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and that the same be laid on the table. The motion was agreed to.

UNITED STATES COURTS IN TENNESSEE.

Mr. BOUTWELL, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported back Senate bill No. 377, to change the time of holding the district and circuit courts of the United States in the several districts in the State of Tennessee, with an amendment.

The bill provides that the circuit and district courts for the district of East Tennessee shall hereafter be held at Knoxville, on the second Mondays of March and September in each year; for the district of Middle Tennessee at Nashville, on the third Mondays of April and October of each year; and for the district of West Tennessee at Memphis, on the fourth Mondays of May and November of each year. All recognizances, indictments, or other proceedings, civil and criminal, now pending or returnable in those courts, are to be entered in court and be heard and tried according to the times of holding the courts as herein provided. The act is to take effect from and after the first Monday in July, 1868.

The amendment was read as follows: Strike out March and September" and insert "January and July."

The amendment was agreed to.

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

Mr. BOUTWELL 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.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. GORHAM, its Secretary, notifying the House that that body insisted on its amendment to

House bill No. 1059, to relieve certain citizens of North Carolina of disabilities, non-concurred in by the House and agreed to the committee of conference asked for, and had appointed Mr. STEWART, Mr. WILSON, and Mr. SHERMAN the managers of said conference on its part.

It further announced that the Senate had passed a bill (S. No. 440) supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide a national currency, secured by a pledge of United States bonds, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," approved June 3, 1864, in which the concurrence of the House was requested.

It further announced that the Senate had indefinitely postponed House bill No. 970, to provide for a temporary and provisional government for Alabama.

It announced, in conclusion, that the Senate had passed without amendment House joint resolution No. 295, to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to remit the duties on certain articles contributed to the National Association of American Sharp-shooters.

APPEALS FROM THE COURT OF CLAIMS.

Mr. BOUTWELL, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported back Senate bill No. 164, to provide for appeals from the Court of Claims, and for other purposes, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The first section provides that an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States shall be allowed on behalf of the United States from all the final judgments of the said Court of Claims adverse to the United States, whether such judgments shall have been rendered by virtue of the general or any special power or jurisdiction of said court under the limitations now provided by law for other cases of appeal from said court.

The second section provides that said Court of Claims, at any time while any suit or claim is pending before or on appeal from said court, or within two years next after the final disposi tion of any such suit or claim, may, on motion on behalf of the United States, grant a new trial in any such suit or claim and stay the pay. ment of any judgment therein, upon such evidence (although the same may be cumulative or other) as shall reasonably satisfy said court that any fraud, wrong, or injustice in the premises has been done to the United States. until an order is made staying the payment of a judgment the same shall be payable and paid as now provided by law.

But

shall be material in any suit or claim before The third section provides that whenever it any court to ascertain whether any person did or did not give any aid or comfort to the late rebellion, the claimant or party asserting the loyalty of any such person to the United States during such rebellion shall be required to prove affirmatively that such person did, during said rebellion, consistently adhere to the United States, and did give no aid or comfort to persons engaged in said rebellion; and the voluntary residence of any such person in any place where, at any time during such residence, the rebel forces or organization held sway, shall be prima facie evidence that such person did give aid and comfort to said rebellion and to the persons engaged therein.

The fourth section provides that no plaintiff or claimant, or any person from or through whom any such plaintiff or claimant derives his alleged title, claim, or right against the United States. or any person interested in any such titie, claim, or right, shall be a competent witness in the Court of Claims in supporting any such title, claim, or right, and no testimony given by such plaintiff, claimant, or person shall be used; provided that the United States shall, if they see cause, have the right to examine such plaintiff, claimant, or person as a witness, under the regulations and with the privileges provided in section eight of the act passed March 3, 1863, entitled "An act to amend an act to establish a court for the investigation of claims against the United States," approved February 24, 1855.

The fifth section provides that from and after the 1st day of July, 1868, the Attorney General of the United States for the time being shall, with his assistants, attend to the prose cution and defense of all matters and suits in the Court of Claims on behalf of the United States. There shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, two assistant Attorneys General, who shall hold their oflices for four years respectively, unless sooner lawfully removed, and whose salaries shall be $4,000 each per year, payable quarterly, and who shall be in lieu of the solicitor, assistant solicitor, and deputy solicitor of the Court of Claims, and of the Assistant Attorney General now provided for by law; and the existing offices of solicitor, assistant solicitor, and deputy solicitor of the Court of Claims, and of Assistant Attorney General, are hereby abolished from and after the 1st day of July, 1868. The Attorney General shall have power to appoint two additional clerks of the fourth class, and one clerk at a salary not exceeding $2,000, in his office.

The sixth section provides that it shall also be the duty of the said Attorney General and his assistants, in all cases brought against the United States in said Court of Claims founded upon any contract, agreement, or transaction with any executive Department, or any bureau, officer, or agent of such Department, or where the matter or thing on which the claim is based shall have been passed upon and decided by any Department, bureau, or officer intrusted by law or Department regulations with the settlement and adjustment of such claims, demands, or accounts, to transmit to said Department, bureau, or officer, as aforesaid, a printed copy of the petition filed by the claimant in such case, with a request that the said Department, bureau, or officer to whom the same shall be so transmitted as aforesaid, will furnish to said Attorney General all facts, circumstances, and evidence touching said claim as is or may be in the possession or knowledge of the said Department, bureau, or officer; and it shall be the duty of the said Department, bureau, or officer to whom such petition may be transmitted and such request preferred as aforesaid, without delay, and within a reasonable time, to furnish said Attorney General with a full statement of all the facts, information, and proofs which are or may be within the knowledge or in the possession of said Department, bureau, or officer, relating to the claim aforesaid. Such statement shall also contain a reference to or description of all official documents or papers, if any, as may or do furnish proof of facts referred to in said statement, or that may be necessary and proper for the defense of the United States against the said claim, together with the Department, office, or place where the same is kept or may be procured. And if the said claim shall have been passed upon and decided by the said Department, bureau, or officer, the statement or answer to be transmitted to said Attorney General, as hereinbefore provided, shall succinctly state the reasons and principles upon which such decision shall have been based. In all cases where such decision shall have been made upon any act of Congress, or upon any section or clause of such act, the same shall be cited specifically. And if any previous interpretation or construction shall have been given to such act, section, or clause by the said Department or bureau transmitting such statement, the same shall be set forth succinctly in said statement, and a copy of the opinion filed, if any, shall be annexed to such statement and transmitted with the same to the Attorney General aforesaid. And where any decision in the case shall have been based upon any regulation of an executive Department, or where such regulation shall or may, in the opinion of the Department, bureau, or officer transmitting such statement, have any bearing upon the claim in suit, the same shall be distinctly referred to and quoted in extenso in the statement transmitted to said Attorney General; provided, however, that where there

shall be pending in the said court more than one case, or a class, of cases, the defense to which shall rest upon the same facts, circumstances, and proofs, the said Department, bureau, or officer shall only be required to certify and transmit one statement of the same, and such statement shall be held to apply to all such classes of cases as if made out, certified, and transmitted in each case respect ively.

The seventh section provides that it shall and may be lawful for the head of any executive Department, whenever any claim is made upon said Department, involving disputed facts or controverted questions of law, where the amount in controversy exceeds $3,000, or where the decision will affect a class of cases or furnish a precedent for the future action of any executive Department in the adjustment of a class of cases, without regard to the amount involved in the particular case, or where any authority, right, privilege, or exemption is claimed or denied under the Constitution of the United States, to cause such claim, with all the vouchers, papers, proofs, and documents pertaining thereto, to be transmitted to the Court of Claims, and the same shall be there proceeded in as if originally commenced by the voluntary action of the claimant. And the Secretary of the Treasury may, upon the certificate of any Auditor or Comptroller of the Treasury, direct any account, matter, or claim of the character, amount, or class described or limited in this section to be transmitted, with all the vouchers, papers, documents, and proofs pertaining thereto, to the said Court of Claims, for trial and adjudication; provided, however, that no case shall be referred by any head of a Department unless it belongs to one of the several classes of cases as to which, by reason of the subject-matter and character, the said Court of Claims might, under existing laws, take jurisdiction on such voluntary action of the claimant. And all the cases mentioned in this section which shall be transmitted by the head of any executive Department, or upon the certificate of any Auditor or Comptroller, shall be proceeded in as other cases pending in said court, and shall, in all respects, be subject to the same rules and regulations; and appeals from the final judgments or decrees of the said court therein to the Supreme Court of the United States shall be allowed in the manner now provided by law. The amount of the final judgments or decrees in said cases so transmitted to said court, where rendered in favor of the claimants, shall in all cases be paid out of any specific appropriation applicable to the same if any such there be; and where no such appropriation exists the same shall be paid in the same manner as other judgments of said

court.

The eighth section provides that no person shall file or prosecute any claim or suit in the Court of Claims, or an appeal therefrom, for or in respect to which he or any assignee of his shall have commenced and has pending, or shall commence and have pending, any suit or process in any other court against any officer or person who, at the time the cause as above alleged in such suit or process arose, was in respect thereto acting or professing to act, mediately or immediately, under the authority of the United States, unless such suit or process, if now pending in such other court, shall be withdrawn or dismissed within thirty days next after the passage of this act.

The ninth and last section provides that all provisions of any act incompatible herewith be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I'will demand the previous question, after allowing the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] to offer an amendment which he desires to make.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I move to amend by adding the following section:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the clerk of the said Court of Claims to transmit to Congress at the commencement of every December session, a full and complete statement of all the judgments rendered by said court for the pre

vious year, stating the amounts thereof, and the par

ties in whose favor rendered, together with a synopsis of the nature of the claims upon which said judgments have been rendered.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I demand the previous question on the bill and amendment.

Mr. BROOKS. I ask the gentleman if this bill has been printed as reported by the Judiciary Committee?

Mr. BOUTWELL. It has not been printed. It is a Senate bill and was printed in the Sen

ate.

Mr. BROOKS. What amendments have been made by the Judiciary Committee?

Mr. BOUTWELL. None whatever. It is reported just as it came from the Senate. The gentleman from Illinois has just proposed an amendment requiring returns to be made by the clerk of the transactions of the court.

Mr. BROOKS. I have listened with all the attention I could give to the reading by the Clerk, but it is almost impossible to comprehend so long a bill as this. It seems to me it is driving it rather fast to put it through under the previous question.

Mr. BLAINE. It is printed, and has been on the files for a month.

Mr. STEVENS, of Pennsylvania. I wish to say that there are one or two words that are ambiguous, and I move to amend by inserting that this bill shall have no retroactive effect.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I cannot yield for that purpose. I think it unnecessary to introduce any such amendment. The bill in the nature of the case is prospective.

On seconding the previous question there were-ayes 36, noes 18; no quorum voting. Tellers were ordered; and the Chair appointed Messrs. BOUTWELL and BROOKS. The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes 76, noes 20.

So the previous question was seconded. The main question was then ordered; and under the operation thereof the amendment of Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, was adopted; and the bill, as amended, was read the third time. Mr. BROOKS. I call the yeas and nays on the passage of the bill.

The

yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 88, nays 27, not voting 74; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Anderson, Bailey, Baldwin, Banks, Beaman, Beatty, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Broomall, Buckland, Cake, Churchill, Reader W.Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Delano, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eggleston, Ela. Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Gravely, Harding, Higby, Hill, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd,Jenckes,Judd, Kelsey, Ketcham, Koontz, Loan, Loughridge, Marvin, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Moore, Morrell, Mullins, Myers, Newcomb, O'Neill, Paine, Peters, Plants, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Robertson, Sawyer, Scofield, Selye, Shanks, Shellabarger, Aaron F. Stevens, Stokes, Taylor, Thomas, John Trimble, Trowbridge, Twichell, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, and Stephen F. Wilson-88.

NAYS-Messrs. Adams, Archer, Beck, Brooks, Cary, Chanler, Eldridge, Getz, Glossbrenner, Grover, Haight, Hawkins, Hotchkiss, Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jones, Kerr, Knott, McCullough, Mungen, Nicholson, Pruyn, Randall, Stone, Taber, Lawrence S. Trimble, and Van Trump-27.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Arnell, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Axtell, Baker, Barnes, Barnum. Boyer, Bromwell, Burr, Butler, Dodge, Eckley, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Golladay, Griswold, Halsey, Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Hunter, Johnson, Julian, Kelley, Kitchen, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Logan, Lynch, Mallory, Marshall, Maynard, McCormick, Miller, Moorhead, Morrissey, Niblack,Nunn, Orth, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Pile, Poland, Raum, Robinson, Ross, Schenck, SitSmith, Spalding. Starkweather, Thaddeus Stevens, greaves, Stewart, Taffe, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Henry D. Washburn, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, Windom, Wood, Woodbridge, and Woodward-74.

So the bill was passed.

Mr. BOUTWELL 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.

SUITS IN UNITED STATES COURTS.

Mr. THOMAS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported adversely on the bill (H.

R. No. 801) relating to suits in the courts of the United States, and for other purposes; and the same was laid on the table.

HABEAS CORPUS ACT.

Mr. THOMAS also, from the same committee, reported adversely on the bill (H. R. No. 1219) amendatory of an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases, and for other purposes;" and the same was laid on the table.

Mr. THOMAS also, from the same committee, reported back the bill (H. R. No. 1261) amendatory of an act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases, and for other purposes, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute therefor.

The SPEAKER. If there is no objection the substitute will be considered as an original bill.

Mr. INGERSOLL. Let the original bill be read.

Mr. THOMAS. I will explain. The two bills on which the committee have just reported adversely are provided for in this bill. In other words, we have consolidated three bills on kindred subjects into one, which the Clerk is about to read.

It provides that

The substitute was read. no owner or owners of any ship or vessel or of any railway or of any line of transportation, no persons, firms, or corporations engaged in business as common carriers of goods, wares, or merchandise of any kind between the States, shall be subject or liable to answer for or to make good to any person or persons, firms, or corporations, any loss or damage which may happen to any goods or merchandise whatever which shall have been delivered to any such owner or owners, or to any ship or vessel, or to any railway, or to any line of transportation, or to any persons, firms, or corporations engaged in business as common carriers of goods, wares, or merchandise of any kind between the different States, whenever such loss or damage shall have been occasioned by the acts of those engaged in hostility to the Government of the United States during the late rebellion, or whenever such loss or damage shall have been occasioned by any of the forces of the United States, or by any of the officers in command of any such forces.

The second section provides that this act shall not be construed to affect any contract of insurance for war risks which may have been made with reference to any goods, wares, or merchandise which shall have been so destroyed.

The third section declares that the provisions of an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March 3, 1863, shall extend to any suit or prosecution, civil or criminal, which has been or shall be commenced in any State court against the owner or owners of any ship or vessel, or of any railway, or of any line of transportation, firm, or corporation engaged in business as common carriers of goods, wares, or merchandise, for any loss or damage which may have happened to any goods, wares, or merchandise whatever which shall have been delivered to any such owner or owners of any such ship or vessel, or of any railway or of any line of transportation, firm, or corporation engaged in business as common carriers, and where such loss or damage shall have been occasioned by the acts of those engaged in hostilities against the Government of the United States during the late rebellion, or where such loss or damage shall have been occasioned by any forces of the United States or by any officer in command of such forces, subject however to the provisions contained in the second section of this act.

The fourth section provides that where any suit is pending, or may hereafter be brought, in any State court for or against any partnership, firm, joint stock company, or corporation, and any member of such partnership, firm, joint stock company, or corporation is, when

such suit is pending, a citizen of another State, such member, whether he be plaintiff or defendant, if he will make and file in such State court an affidavit stating that he has reason to believe, and does believe, that, from prejudice or local influence, he will not be able to obtain justice in such State court, may, at any time before final hearing or trial of the suit, file a petition in such State court for the removal of the suit into the next circuit court of the United States to be held in the district where the suit is pending, and offer good and sufficient sureties for his entering in such court, on the first day of its session, copies of all process, pleadings, depositions, testimony, and other proceedings in said suit, and doing such other appropriate acts as are required to be done by the act entitled "An act for the removal of causes, in certain cases, from State courts,' approved July 27, 1866; and that it shall thereupon be the duty of the State court to accept the sureties and proceed no further in the suit; and the copies aforesaid being entered in the United States court, the suit shall proceed in the same manner as if it had been brought there by original process; and all the provisions of the act referred to respecting bail, attachments, injunctions, or other restraining process, and in respect to any bonds of indemnity or other obligations given upon the issuing or granting of any attachment or other restraining process, shall apply with like force and effect in all respects to similar matters, process, or things in the suits for the removal of which this act provides.

to take the case out of the local court at Galena and into the United States Court at Chicago to be tried there? If it does, I am against it. Mr. THOMAS. This law may not precisely fit each individual case that may be conceived of in gentlemen's imaginations as occurring in their own vicinity. It is for general public purposes. It is founded not on any experience derived from instances in the courts of Illinois, but it has its origin in the condition of affairs in the southern States, and instead of indulging in mere declarations on the subject, I will read extracts from two letters that have been put in my possession from gentlemen well acquainted with the condition and sentiment of that country, showing the absolute necessity for legislation of this character on the part of Congress.

In one of these letters I find this declaration: "I have been a practicing lawyer for forty-five years and upward, and think I can claim some experience in the profession. I have no hesitation in saying that the course of decisions in your cases"

This includes judges as well as juries"forces me to the conclusion that it is next to impossible to defend you successfully, even when the law is on your side."

In another part of the same letter the writer says:

"I will not undertake to say that you can be protected by Federal legislation. But unless some change can be worked out from that or some other source I do believe that an institution so valuable to the public as yours is, will be compelled to discontinue its operations."

Mr. VAN TRUMP. How do those extracts

explain the question of jurisdiction between

the several courts, State and Federal?

Mr. THOMAS. I will come to that pres

one of which I will read:

The sixth section provides that when the defendant desiring to remove a suit is a corporation created by or under the laws of a State other than that in which the suit is brought, any affidavit required for the purpose of such removal may be made by any officer, director, or agent of such corporation.

The seventh section provides that this act shall apply to suits already commenced, provided that no final, hearing or final judgment or decree shall have been had thereon.

The substitute was agreed to.

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

Mr. THOMAS. I will simply remark that this is a bill analogous to laws of a like character passed repeatedly by Congress. I do not anticipate that the House desires any discussion on the subject, and I move the previous question.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I would like to ask the gentleman from Maryland before he calls the previous question a question in relation to some of the provisions of the bill.

Mr. THOMAS. I withdraw the previous question for that purpose.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I do not know but that the provisions of the bill may be all correct; but it is a long bill, and it was impossible for me to catch the whole meaning. If there is anything in the bill which takes away the right of the citizen of a State to sue an express company in that particular locality and have the case tried in that locality, I am opposed to it.

Mr. THOMAS. Well, that is one of the prime objects of the bill.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Let me state a case. Suppose, for instance, one of my constituents at Galena sustains a loss by an express company of $10,000 or of $100, and sues the express company in the local court, ⚫ does this bill authorize the express company

"We feel bound to advise you of the strong and bitter feeling against the express companies in this State. It seems to be confined to no class of people, but to pervade all ranks in all sections, and even among the members of the bar its influence is very marked. Its violence has recently much increased, and in the excitement now prevailing in our country we meet on all sides with passionate denunciations and prejudices." The odium in which you are held is political. Your company is usually styled 'a Yankee concern.'

999

"The contruction given to the law of carriers in this State by the courts is such that no corporation engaged in that business can live.'

These letters all breathe one and the same spirit. I will respond to the inquiry of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. VAN TRUMP] by saying that one of these bills was introduced by the distinguished lawyer from Pennsylvania, [Mr. WOODWARD,] another by a distinguished gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. INGERSOLL,] and the third by myself at the instance of constituents of mine in the State of Maryland. Now, if it is the determination of this House that those non-residents shall not have a fair hearing anywhere, then let the law stand as it now is. But if, on the contrary, you think that the citizens of the United States ought to have a fair chance before the tribunals of the United States, then pass this bill.

Mr. TRIMBLE, of Kentucky. Will the gentleman allow me to ask him a question? Mr. THOMAS. Certainly.

Mr. TRIMBLE, of Kentucky. I would inquire of the gentleman whether or not, under the provisions of this bill, an action against a railroad company or express company or any other company named in this bill may not be removed from a State court to a Federal court; and whether any case can be prosecuted to final judgment in a State court while there is a single stockholder of the company who is a non-resident?

Mr. THOMAS. That is the very thing I am aiming at; I avow it without hesitation. We live in extraordinary times, and with an extraordinary condition of society in one section of our country; and if there be authority in the Government of the United States to rescue its citizens from the wrong done them in the State courts, then it is the duty and the prerogative of this Government to exercise that authority. It is for that purpose that bills are here reported and acted upon day after day.

And let me say to the gentleman from Kentucky, [Mr. TRIMBLE,] that we do not propose to carry citizens of Kentucky or South Carolina before a foreign jurisdiction, but before the courts of the United States, before juries of our own countrymen summoned by impar tial marshals, who are sworn to try impartially the cases that come before them. We put all the citizens of the country upon the same platform, and unless the House is disposed to leave my constituents and the constituents of every member on this floor without the means of obtaining a fair trial, they will pass this bill. I now call the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

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

The question was upon the passage of the bill.

Mr. TRIMBLE, of Kentucky, called for the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 80, nays 42, not voting 67; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, Bailey, Baldwin, Beaman, Beatty, Benton, Blaine, Boutwell, Bromwell, Buckland, Butler, Cake, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Dawes, Donnelly, Driggs, Eggleston, Ela, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Harding, Higby, Hill, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Jenckes, Julian, Keisey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Loan, Loughridge, Mallory, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Moore, Moorhead, Morrell, Mullins, Newcomb, O'Neill, Pile, Plants, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Robertson, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Stokes, Taylor, Thomas, John Trimble, Trowbridge, Twichell, Van Aernam, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, and John T. Wilson-80.

NAYS-Messrs. Adams, Archer, Baker, Beck, Blair, Brooks, Cary, Chanler, Cobb, Cullom, Eldridge, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Haight. Hawkins, Hotchkiss, Humphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Jones, Judd, Kerr, Knott, Marvin, McCullough, Mungen, Niblack, Nicholson, Paine, Peters, Pruyn, Randall, Shanks, Stewart, Stone, Taber, Taffe, Lawrence S. Trimble, Van Trump, and Elihu B. Washburne-42. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnell, James M. Ashley, Axtell, Banks, Barnes, Barnum, Benjamin, Bingham, Boyer, Broomall, Burr, Delano, Dixon, Dodge, Eckley, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Gravely, Griswold, Halsey, Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Hunter, Kelley, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Logan, Lynch, Marshall, Maynard, McCormick, Miller, Morrissey, Myers, Nunn, Orth, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Poland, Raum, Robinson, Ross, Schenck, Selye, Sitgreaves, Aaron F. Stevens, Thaddeus Stevens, Upson, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Henry D. Washburn, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wood, Woodbridge, and Woodward-67.

So the bill was passed.

Mr. THOMAS 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 pro tempore (Mr. DAWES in the chair) stated that the morning hour had expired.

IMMIGRANT SHIPS.

The House then resumed the consideration of the special order, being House bill No. 1100, to amend an act entitled "An act to regulate the carriage of passengers in steamships and other vessels, and for other purposes," on which Mr. O'NEILL was entitled to the floor.

The first reading of the bill for information was dispensed with.

Mr. O'NEILL. Mr. Speaker, I wish to state to the House that this subject came before the Committee on Commerce on the joint resolution presented by the gentleman from New York, [Mr. CHANLER,] which was followed in a few days by resolutions from the Germans of the city of Cincinnati, presented by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. EGGLESTON] and his colleague, [Mr. CARY.] I wish to say further that the preparation of the bill did not fall exclusively on me. I was aided by my colleagues of the sub-committee of the Committee on Commerce, the two gentlemen from New York, [Mr. HUMPHREYS and Mr. ROBERTSON,] and also

by Captain W. M. Mew, the efficient head of the division of steamship inspection of the Treasury Department, as well as others engaged in shipping interests. The result is the bill before the House, which we consider one eminently fitted for the purposes had in view. I will state in a few words the object of this legislation. It seeks the enforcement of penalties never before enforced for the purpose of securing proper light, ventilation, and space upon ships carrying immigrants to this country, and to insure for them full protection in morals, health, and comfort. It provides regulations for determining the proper number of passengers each ship is to carry. It imposes the duty upon our consuls abroad of seeing that the immigrants do not come from districts infected with epidemic diseases, thus preventing the importation of pestilence, and upon the collectors of our ports at which they arrive of making thorough and proper examination of the condition of the emigrants and the vessels in which they are brought, as well as for obtaining all other pertinent information. It also attempts to prevent in future the over. crowding of passengers, thus stopping the risks of engendering disease upon the passage. In short, it looks to the entire protection of those who leave their homes abroad to come here and settle among us. Certainly no subject should attract greater attention in an American Congress, representing the territorial vastness of our country; it is dictated alike by the interests of humanity and a sound national policy.

This bill is in many respects similar to the acts of 1855 and 1860. The committee has sought to revise and improve those laws. Our general object is to see whether we cannot enforce the penalties provided by them against those who violate the law in this regard. Since we have taken up the subject a marked effect has been produced in other countries, and it is confidently believed that there will be some joint international action binding all countries from which immigrants come under one law common to all, comprising a system which will end the abuses now existing. The power of the courts has been of no avail to correct evils which have brought misery and death to hundreds of our fellow-creatures enduring the horrors of an Atlantic voyage in pest-ships.

Mr. WELKER. How does the gentleman propose to enforce the provisions of this bill? Does he do it by enforcing the penalties upon the guilty parties after coming to this country, or does he provide for an investigation of the matter before they sail from foreign countries for this country, so as to take care of the immigrants on the passage?

Mr. O'NEILL. Of course we can do nothing until the vessel reaches this country. Then we provide for enlarged jurisdiction, an improvement upon the procedure under the existing laws. We not only give jurisdiction to the United States courts, but extend it directly to the commissioners of those courts, so that there may be full and prompt remedy for the wrongs complained of. We take the power from the officers of the Treasury Department of stopping proceedings and remitting the fines and forfeitures. We also give power to the immigrants to follow the guilty parties wherever they may go within our limits. If they go to Boston, Philadelphia, or Baltimore, we give the poor immigrant who has suffered the right to follow them and sue them in the courts wherever they may be. We provide for every facility for bringing guilty parties to justice.

such vessels may be libeled therefor in any circuit or district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which they shall arrive.

The House will perceive that this bill, while not putting restrictions impossible to be complied with upon those engaged in carrying immigrants to our shores, is designed to lodge in the hands of the real sufferers abundant means of redress, actually throwing open our courts to them all over the land, thus showing to the world that the moment they embark they are measurably under the protection of our beneficent laws.

The bill may possibly be made more perfect before it passes the other branch of Congress; but so far as we can we have endeavored to perfect this so that immigrants may recover for the wrongs done them. I have a few amendments to offer from the committee, after which I shall yield to the gentleman from New York, [Mr. CHANLER.]

Sundry amendments were offered by the committee, which were severally agreed to; so that the bill, as amended, will read as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall not be carried on any vessel on a voyage between the United States and foreign territory not contiguous thereto a greater number of passengers than in the following proportion, to wit: On the second deck and lower deck, neither being an orlop deck, one passenger for every one hundred and twenty cubic feet of clear space contained therein, and on the main deck and poop deck, one passenger for every one hundred cubic feet of clear space contained therein, the space in each case to be ascertained in the manner provided by law for the measurement of tonnage. And no passenger shall be carried on an orlop or temporary deck; nor on any deck where the height or distance between decks, or from the deck to the roof or covering of deck houses, measured on the inside, is less than six feet; nor upon any deck not having good and sufficient side lights and ventilation; nor on any sailing vessel except upon the main and poop decks and deck houses, subject to the aforesaid limitation as to space and height between decks. If a greater number of "statute adults" than the number allowable by the proportion aforesaid be carried during a voyage, or be brought within the United States by a voyage, or be taken on board a vessel within the United States for a voyage, the owner, agent, or master shall forfeit fifty dollars for each passenger so carried, brought, or taken on board in excess of the number allowable by the provisions of this section. And if the number of such statute adults in excess is more than twentyfive per cent. of such allowable number, the owner, agent, and master shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof the owner or agent shall be fined not exceeding $5,000, and imprisoned not exceeding six months, or either, at the discretion of the court, and the master shall be imprisoned not less than six months and not more than one year.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master shall provide for each statute adult a single berth, not less than six feet in length nor less than two feet in width, or a like space in a double berth, which shall be of the same length and at least four feet in width, divided into two compartments by a suitable partition board not less than one foot high, which berths shall be built of good and substantial material and workmanship, shall be ranged lengthwise with the vessel, against the sides or against a substantial bulkhead or other secure support extending from deck to deck, shall be separated at each end by a like partition of at least the width of the berth from any other berth or structure adjacent; there shall be no more than two tiers of berths if the height or distance between decks is less than seven and one half feet, nor more than three tiers of berths in any case, and the interval or space between the lowest berth and the deck beneath shall not be less than nine inches, and each deck on which passengers may be carried under the provisions of this act shall be divided into at least three distinc: compartments, separated by a well-constructed bulkhead, the foremost of which compartments shall be occu pied by single male passengers of the age of twelve years and upward: the next abaft shall be occupied by families, that is to say, consisting of husbands and their wives, and children under twelve years af age, the berths or cabins in which compartments shall be effectually separated from each other in such manner as to provide suitable privacy and seclusion for each family, or where any such cabin affords more cubic space than is required for each member of one

family the extra space shall be occupied by another or part of another family; and the next compartment abaft shall be for the exclusive use and occu

Mr. O'NEILL. The penalty is alien against the vessel. In section twenty-one you will find the following provision;

That the amount of the several penalties imposed by the provisions of this act upon the owner, agent, or master, sha'l be liens on the vessels in the employment of which such provisions shall be violated, and

and upward; and each compartment shall be connected with the deck above by suitable companionways; and in case of a non-compliance with the provisions of this section the owner, agent, or master of the vessel shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars for each passenger on board.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master shall provide for passengers of each sex a separate hospital in a compartment, properly divided off by a partition, in suitable parts of the vessel appropriated for passengers, to be used exclu

sively as such, properly built and secured, containing not less than eighteen clear superficial feet of the deck for every fifty passengers; and such hospital or hospitals shall be fitted with bed places and supplied with proper beds and bedding and utensils, and throughout the voyage kept so fitted and supplied. And for every failure to comply with any of the requirements of this section the master, owner, or owners of the vessel shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master shall provide the passengers in each compartment on each deck, suitable means of communication with the upper deck of the vessel by a substantial stairway furnished with a hand-rail, and covered at the upper deck by a booby-hatch or house over the passage-way leading to the compartments alloted to such passengers below deck, firmly secured to the deck or combings of the hatch, with two doors, the sills of which shall be at least one foot above the deck, so constructed that one door or window in such house may at all times be left open for ventilation. In case of a non-compliance with the requirements of this section the owner, agent, or master shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding $500.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master shall provide for each compartment containing not more than one hundred passengers, at least two ventilators, one of which shall be inserted in the after part of the compartment, and the other in the forward part of the compartment, one of them provided with an exhausting cap and the other with a receiving cap proportioned to the size of the compartment. In a compartment containing two hundred such passengers, the diameter of cach shall be twelve inches in the clear, and in like proportion for a larger or smaller number of passengers; said ventilators shall rise at least four feet six inches above the upper deck of the vessel, and be of the most approved form and construction; nevertheless, if it shall appear from the report to be made and approved, as hereinafter provided, that the compartments are equally well ventilated by any other means, such other means of ventilation shall be deemed a compliance with the provisions of this section. In case of non-compliance with the provisions of this section the owner, agent, or master shall incur a penalty of $500.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master shall provide for the passengers on the upper deck, housed and conveniently arranged, at least one caboose or cooking-range, the dimensions of which shall be equal to four feet long and one foot six inches wide for every two hundred passengers; and provision shall be made, in the manner aforesaid, in this ratio, for a greater or less number of passengers; but nothing herein contained shall take away the right to make such arrangements for cooking between decks as may be approved by the officers charged with the execution of this act. In case of non-compliance with the requirements of this section, the owner, agent, or master shall incur a penalty of $200.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted. That the owner, agent, or master shall, during the voyage, from the time of receiving the passengers on board, and including the time of detention at any place before the termination thereof, issue to each passenger, or, where the passengers are divided into messes, to the head man for the time being of each mess, on behalf and for the use of all the members thereof, an allowance of pure water and sweet and wholesome provisions of good quality, as follows: daily, three quarts of water to each passenger, exclusive of the quantity herein specified as necessary for cooking purposes; weekly, three and a half pounds of good Navy bread, one pound of wheat flour, one and a half pounds of oat-meal, one and a half pounds of rice, one and a half pounds of pease or beans, two pounds of potatoes, one and a quarter pounds of beef, one pound of pork, two ounces of tea, one pound of sugar, two ounces of salt, one half an ounce of mustard, one quarter of an ounce of ground black or white pepper, and one gill of vinegar. Substitutions for the foregoing articles of weekly allowance may be made by the master, as follows, namely: one pound of preserved meat for one pound of salt pork or beef: one pound of flour or Navy bread, or one half a pound of pork or beef, for one and a quarter pounds of oatmeal, or one pound of rice, or one pound of pease or beans; one pound of rice for one and a quarter pounds of oat-meal; and one and a quarter pounds of oat-meal for one pound of rice; three and a half ounces of cocoa, or of coffee roasted and ground, for two ounces of tea; three quarters of a pound of molasses for one half a pound of sugar; one gill of mixed pickles for one gill of vinegar. And there shall be issued to each passenger between the United States and any Asiatic port the following allowance of provisions daily, three quarts of water; and weekly, vegetables or fruit, fresh or dried, three pounds; rice, bread, flour, and taro, seven pounds; fresh or salt meat and fish, two and three quarter pounds; tea, one and a half ounces; China oil, three fourths of a gill; butter, for cooking, three fourths of an ounce; vermicelli, two ounces. In addition to such allowance of water to each passenger, the master shall issue, for cooking purposes, an additional supply of pure water after the rate of at least ten gallons for every one hundred passengers, for every day of the voyage; and shall cause the food and provisions of all the passengers to be well and properly cooked daily, and to be served out and distributed to them at regular and stated hours, by messes, or in such other manner as shall be deemed best and most conducive to the health and comfort of the passengers, of which hours and manner of distribution due and sufficient notice shall be given. If the passengers on board any vessel engaged in carrying passengers, either between the United States