and Europe or between the United States and Asia, shall, during the time they are entitled to receive the foregoing allowance, be put on allowance in meat, bread, or water that is short in quantity or bad in quality, the master, owner, or owners of such vessel shall pay one dollar to every passenger for every day and for each particular of bread, water, and meat, in respect to which he shall be put on such allowance, and one half a dollar to every passenger for every day and for every other particular of such weekly allowance, in respect to which he shall have been put upon an allowance which is short in quantity or bad in quality, unless it shall be proved that at the time of leaving the last port from which the vessel set out upon her voyage she had on board, for the use of the passengers, well secured under deck, a quantity of provisions and water sufficient, according to the allowance herein prescribed, for the voyage. If the owner, agent, or master of any such vessel shall willfully fail to furnish and distribute such provisions, cooked as aforesaid, he or they shall, upon conviction thereof before any circuit court or district court of the United States, be fined not more than $1,000, and shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year; but the enforcement of this penalty, or any of the penalties prescribed by this act, shall not affect the civil responsibility of the owner, agent, or master, to such passengers as may have suffered from any violation thereof.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the messes into which the passengers in any vessel may be divided shall not consist of more than ten statute adults in each mess, and members of the same family, whereof one at least is a male adult, shall be allowed to form a separate mess. The provisions, according to the section, shall be issued, such of them as require to be cooked, in a properly cooked state, daily, before two o'clock in the afternoon, to the head person, for the time being, of each mess, on behalf and for the use of the members thereof. The first of such issues shall be made before two o'clock in the afternoon of the day of embarkation to or for such passengers as shall be then on board. And the parents or guardians of sick or nursing infants shall be allowed free access to the camboose or cooking range, at any time before twelve o'clock noon, or after two o'clock afternoon, and permitted there to prepare food for such sick or nursing infants. In case of non-compliance with any of the requirements of this section, the master, owner, or owners of the shipshall, for each offense, be liable to a penalty not exceeding $500.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the master of every vessel shall maintain good discipline and such habits of cleanliness among the passengers as will tend to the preservation and promotion to health; and to that end he shall, before sailing, cause suitable printed regulations in the English, French, and German languages, for this purpose, to be posted conspicuously in each compartment, and shall keep the same so posted during the voyage; and shail cause the compartments occupied by such passengers to be kept at all times in a clean, healthy state; and the owner or owners of every such vessel are required to construct the decks and all parts of said compartments so that they can be thoroughly cleansed; and they shall also provide two sate, convenient privies or water-closets in suitable parts of the vessel for the exclusive use of the passengers, and each class of compartments in the proportion of one privy or watercloset to every fifty passengers, and such privies or water-closets shall not be taken down until the expiration of forty-eight hours after the arrival of the vessel at the port of final discharge, unless all the passengers sooner quit the vessel; and the passengers shall be entitled to remain on board the vessel till the expiration of such time, and be provided for and maintained in the same manner as during the voyage. And the master of every such vessel shall permit and require the passengers to bring their beds and bedding to the upper deck at least three times a week, in fine weather, for the purpose of airing the same; and the passengers shall likewise be permitted to frequently exercise on the upper deck. And the owner, agent, or master of every vessel shall provide, for disinfecting purposes, a supply of carbolic or cresylic acid, and cause the same to be used, in proper quantity and in a proper manner, on the deck occupied by the passengers, and also in the hold, forecastle, and bilges of the vessel as the physician, or the master, if there be no physician, may deem necessary. For every violation of the provisions of this section the owner, agent, or master shall incur a penalty not exceeding $500 nor less than $200.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master of every vessel carrying one hundred persons, including the officers, crew, and passengers, and of every vessel of the United States bound on a sea voyage of a thousand miles or more, and carrying one hundred persons, shall provide throughout the voyage a duly qualified physician, whose competency in the case of a domestic vessel shall be determined under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. But an alien employed in a foreign vessel, who, by the laws of the country to which the vessel belongs in which he is employed, is authorized to practice, shall be deemed duly qualified; and every such vessel employed as aforesaid shall be provided, for the use of the passengers, offcers, and crew, with a supply of medicines, medical comforts, surgical instruinents, and other things proper and necessary for diseases and accidents incident to sea voyages, and for the medical treatment of the passengers during the voyage, including carbolic or cresylic acid for disinfecting purposes, with written or printed directions for the use of the same, respectively, good in quality and sufficient in quan tity for the probable exigencies of the voyage, and properly packed and placed under the charge of the physician, when there is one on board, to be used under his direction; and in the case of vessels of the

United States bound from a port of the United States, the owner, agent, or master shall have such medicines, medical comforts, instruments, disinfecting agents, and other things put up by an apothecary or apothecaries designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, on the recommendation of the collector, or other chief officer of the customs of the port, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. For any violation of the provisions of this section the owner, agent, or master shall incur a penalty not exceeding $1,000, nor less than $500; and any apothecary who shall supply medicines, medical comforts, instruments, disinfecting agents, or other things, in an adulterated condition, or of inferior quality, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall incur a like penalty; and no such vessel shall be allowed to clear from any port of the United States unless provided as in this section required.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the owner of every vessel of the United States carrying passengers, and bound on a sea voyage of five hundred miles or upward, shall provide for the use of the passengers, officers, and crew, medicines, medical comforts, and other things, with the directions for the use of the same, and put up as required in the preceding section in the case of vessels of the United States. And for every violation of this section the owner, agent, or master shall incur a penalty not exceeding $500 nor less shan $100.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That every master or othor otheer, seaman, or other person employed on board a vessel, who shall, during the voyage, under promise of marriage, or by threats, or by the exercise of his authority, or by solicitation, or the making of gifts or presents, seduce and have illicit connection with any female passenger, shall be deemed guilty of a crime, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, nor less than three months, or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both, and the court sentencing the person so convicted may, in its discretion, by an order to be entered on its minutes, direct the amount of fine, when collected, to be paid for the use or benefit of the female seduced, or her child or children, if any: Provided, That the subsequent intermarriage of the parties seducing and seduced may be pleaded in bar of a conviction.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That no officer or seaman, nor other person employed on board of any such vessel, shall visit or frequent any part of the vessel assigned to passengers, except by the direction or permission of the master of the vessel; and every officer, seaman, or other person, who shall violate the provisions of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall forfeit to the said vessel his wages for the voyage of the said vessel during which the said offense has been committed, and shall be imprisoned for a term of not less than three months, nor more than twelve months. Any master who shall direct or permit any officer or seaman or other person employed on board of such vessel, to visit or frequent any part of said vessel assigned to passengers, except for the purpose of doing or performing some necessary act or duty as an officer, seaman, or person employed as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of $500 for each occasion on which he shall so direct or permit the provisions of this section to be violated by any such officer, seaman, or other person employed on board of such ship or vessel.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master of every vessel shall provide one stewardess for every fifty female passengers on board, which stewardess shall be a married woman of good character, and the wife of an employé of the vessel; and one steward for every fifty male passengers on board. And it shall be the duty of the stewardess or stewardesses, and steward or stewards, under the direction of the physician, if there be one, and master or chief mate, to preserve proper order, decorum, and cleanliness in the female and male compartments respectively, and shall assist the physician in taking proper care of the sick, and generally superintend the police of the passenger decks, and such steward or stewards shall not be required to assist in navigating or working the vessel; and such stewards and stewardesses shall be regularly appointed employés of such vessel, and shall not be selected from among the passengers on such vessel; and every such vessel so employed shall have on board a sea-faring man for every one hundred passengers, who shall be employed in cooking the food of the passengers; and said cook shall likewise be exempt from the duty of assisting in navigating or working the vessel. For a violation of any of the provisions of this section the master, owner, or owners shall incur a penalty of not less than $100, nor more than $500.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted. That the provisions of the act of August 30, 1852, and the acts amendatory thereof, so far as they relate to boats and lifepreservers on board passenger steamers, shall, from and after the time this act takes effect, apply with equal force and impose like penalties for their violation in the case of sailing passenger vessels belonging in whole or in part to a citizen or citizens of the United States.

SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the owner, agent, or master of any vessel carrying passengers to or from the United States shall not carry as cargo horses, cattle, gunpowder, bituminous coal, naphtha, benzine, petroleum, nitro-glycerine, lucifer matches, nor any other explosive article or articles which ignite by friction, guano or green hides, nor any other article, either as cargo, as aforesaid, or as ballast, which by reason of the nature, quantity, or mode of stowage thereof, will be likely to endanger the health, comfort, or safety of the passengers; and the owner, agent, or master, who shall violate any of the pro

visions of this section shall, for each offense, on conviction thereof, incur a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, and, at the discretion of the court, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year nor less than one month.

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the master of any vessel arriving in the United States, or any of the Territories thereof, from any foreign place whatever, at the time that he delivers a manifest of the cargo, and if there be no cargo, then at the time of making report or entry of the vessel, pursuant to law, shall also deliver and report to the collector of the district in which such vessel shall arrive, a list or manifest of all the passengers taken on board of the said vessel at any foreign port or place; in which list or manifest it shall be the duty of the said master to designate particularly the age, sex, and occupation of the said passengers respectively, the compartment of the vessel occupied by each during the voyage, the country to which they severally belong, and that of which it is their intention to become inhabitants; and shall further set forth whether any and what number have died on the voyage; which list or manifest shall be sworn to by the said master, in the same manner as directed by law in relation to the manifest of the cargo; and the refusal or neglect of the master aforesaid to comply with the provisions of this section, or any part thereof, shall incur the same penalties, disabilities, and forfeitures as are provided for a refusal or neglect to report and deliver a manifest of the cargo aforesaid.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That no such vessel shall take on board at any foreign port or place passengers with the intent to bring such passengers to the United States, unless the list or manifest required by the provisions of section twenty of this act shall have been duly examined, verified, and certified to by the United States consular officer at such port or place. And such consular officer shall use his utmost diligence to ascertain and discover whether such passengers come from any port, place, or district where, at the time of his or her leaving such, port, place, or district, any infectious, contagious, or other disease, shall have been raging in an epidemic form; and if he shall find that no such disease was so raging, as aforesaid, he shall duly certify to such list or manifest; otherwise he shall withhold the same, and shall not make such certificate. In such consular certificate he shall fully set forth. in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, that he has faithfully performed the duties required of him by the provisions of this section, and shall transmit, monthly, to the Secretary of the Treasury, a certified copy of each list or manifest made and certified as aforesaid. And if any vessel shall bring any passengers within the jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of the provisions of this section, the owner, agent, or master of such vessel, upon conviction thereof, shall incur a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year nor less than three months, at the discretion of the court. And any consular officer of the United States who shall fail to perform the duties imposed upon him by the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, incur a penalty of not less than $1,000.

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted. That in case there shall have occurred on board any vessel arriving at any port or place within the United States or its Territories, any death among the passengers, (other than cabin passengers,) the master, or owner of such vessel shall, within twenty-four hours after the time within which the report and list or manifest of passengers is required to be delivered to the collector of the customs, pay to the mid collector the sum of ten dollars for each passenger above the age of five years who shall have died on the voyage by natural disease; and the said collector shall pay the money thus received, at such times and in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury, by general rules, shall direct, to any board or commission appointed by and acting under the authority of the State within which the port where such vessel arrived is situated, for the care and protection of sick, indigent, or destitute emigrants, to be applied to the objects of their appointment; and if there be more than one board or commission who shall claim such payment, the Secretary of the Treasury shall determine which is entitled to receive the same, and his decision in the premises shall be final and without appeal: Provided, That the payment shall in no case be awarded or made to any board or commission or association formed for the protection or advancement of any particular class of immigrants, or immigrants of any particular nation or creed; and if the master, owner, or consignee of any vessel refuse or neglect to pay to the collector the sum and sums of money required within the time prescribed by this section, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars, in addition to such sum of ten dollars, for each passenger upon whose death the same has become payable, to be recovered by the United States in any circuit or district court of the United States where such vessel may arrive, or such master, owner, or consignee may reside; and when recovered, the said money shall be disposed of in the same manner as is directed with respect to the sum and sums required to be paid to the collector of customs.

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the collector of the customs at any port of the United States at which any vessel shall arrive, or from which any vessel shall be about to depart, shall examine such vessel and ascertain whether the requirements of this act have been complied with. He shall also examine each vessel on its arrival at his port and report to the Secretary of the Treasury the time of sailing, the length of the voyage, the ventilation, the num ber of passengers, their nationality, their supply of food, the number of deaths; the sex of those who died

during the voyage, with his opinion of the cause of the mortality, if any, and if none, what precautionary ineasures, arrangements, or habits are supposed to have been instrumental in causing the exemption, and such other information as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, and shall quarter-yearly forward copies of the manifest or list of passengers herein provided to the Secretary of State of the United States, by whom statements of the same shall be laid before Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make such rules and regulations, and cause to be made such special examinations into the practical operation of this act, and of the efficiency of the officers acting thereunder, as he may consider necessary; and the expenses incurred in making such examinations shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated.

SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That the amount of the several penalties imposed by the provisions of this act upon the owner, agent, or master, shall be liens on the vessels in the employment of which such provisions shall be violated, and such vessels may be libeled therefor in any circuit court or district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which they shall arrive.

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That all the penalties imposed by the provisions of this act may be sued for and recovered in the name of the United States, in the district court or circuit court, or before a commissioner of either of said courts within the jurisdiction of which the offense shall have been committed, or in which the offender may come. One half of such penalties when recovered, unless otherwise provided, shall be to the use of the informer, and one half to the use of the United States. Such penalties may also be recovered in an action of debt, by any person who will sue therefor in any court of the United States. But nothing herein shall prevent the recovery of such penalties in any other form of legal proceedings known to the law and its practice in the respective States.

SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That every master shall keep posted during the entire voyage in a conspicuous place in each compartment, and in the forecastle, at least one copy of a synopsis of the provisions of this act, printed in English, French, and German, to be prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury, and supplied in sufficient quantities to the consular officers, and collectors of customs of the United States, who shall, on the application of any master for the certificate required by the eighteenth section of this act, furnish such master with four sets of the synopsis aforesaid. For every violation of this section such master, or the owner or owners of such vessel, shall, upon conviction thereof, incur a penalty of $500, and if it shall appear by the examination to be made by the collector of the customs, as provided in the twentieth section of this act, that the requirements of this section have not been complied with, it is hereby made the duty of such collector to institute suit in the proper court for the recovery of the penalty herein specified: Provided, That a certificate from such consul or consular officer of the United States to the effect that he was not, at the time of the application aforesaid, in possession of such synopsis of the provisions of this act, shall exempt such master or owner or owners of such vessel from liability to the penalty imposed by this section.

SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect within thirty days from the time of its approval; and it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of State to give notice in the ports of Europe, and elsewhere, of this act, in such manner as he shall deem proper.

SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That whenever any damage is sustained by any passenger in his or her persou, or by injury to his or her baggage after he or she shall have embarked in a vessel, either by dereliction of duty or non-observance of the provisions of this act on the part of the owner, agent, master, or other employé on board the vessel, the owner. agent, or master shall be liable to the full amount of damage to every persons so injured or his or her legal representatives, and in any action on the part of a passenger for damages it shall not be a defense that the party injured consented to the act or acts complained of or took' passage with the knowledge of them.

SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. But such repeal shall not effect any security given before this act takes effect, anything done before this act takes effect, any liability accruing before this act takes effect, any fine, penalty, forfeiture, or other punishment incurred, or to be incurred, in respect to any offense committed before this act takes effect, or any legal proceeding or other remedy for enforcing or recovering any such liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment as aforesaid: and such repeal shall revive no act heretofore repealed.

Miscellaneous Provisions.

SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That for the purposes of this act the following words and expressions, whenever they occur, shall respectively have the following signification, if not inconsistent with the context or subject-matter; that is to say:

"Passengers" shall include all passengers except cabin passengers and infants less than one year old; and no person shall be deemed cabin passengers unless the space allotted to his or her exclusive use shall be in the proportion of at least thirty-six clear superficial feet of deck to each statute adult, nor unless they shall be inessed throughout the voyage at the same table with the master or first officer of the ship.

'Statuto adult" shall signify and include one passenger over twelve years of age, or two passengers under twelve years of age.

Single male" shall signify a male passenger over twelve years of age, unmarried or unaccompanied by his wife.

'Single female" shall signify and include a female passenger over twelve years of age, unmarried or unaccompanied by her husband.

"Owner" shall signify and include the owner or charterer of a vessel" herein described.

Master" shall signify the person who shall be borne on the ship's articles as master, or who, other than a pilot, shall for the time being be in charge or command of a vessel.

"Agent" shall signify and include a consignee and any person, other than the master, authorized to act for the owner in matters relating to the passage contract.

Vessel" shall signify every description of seagoing vessel, domestic or foreign, propelled otherwise than by oars, and employed in the carriage of passengers upon any voyage to which the provisions of this act extend.

..

"Main deck" shall signify the deck in a vessel immediately beneath the upper or spar deck; the second deck" shall signify tho deck immediately beneath the main deck;" and the third deck, not being an orlop deck, shall signify the deck immediately beneath the second deck.

'Compartment" shall signify a space on a vessel on any proper deck, kopt free of cargo or stores, for the exclusive use and occupation of passengers, extending fore and aft to a substantial bulkhead, built athwartships and firmly attached to the side of the vessel, and having suitable means of ready communication with the upper deck.

"Voyage" shall signify and include a voyage of any such vessel, with passengers on board. from a foreign territory to the United States, or from the United States to a foreign territory.

Unless otherwise expressed or required by the context, any word or expression herein before defined, or other matter not expressed, and requisite in any particular enactment herein to carry out the purposes of this act, shall be supplied on construction.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. GORHAM, its Secretary, announced that the Senate had passed severally without amendment bills and joint resolutions of the following titles:

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 44) relative to the sale of the marine hospital at Evansville, Indiana;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 246) directing the Secretary of State to present to George Wright, master of the British brig, J. and Ğ. Wright, a gold chronometer, in appreciation of his personal services in saving the lives of three American seameu, wrecked at sea on board of the American schooner Lizzie F. Choate, of Massachusetts;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 268) for the relief of Robert L. Lindsay;

A bill (H. R. No. 1120) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to change the names of certain vessels; and

A bill (H. R. No. 1218) appropriating money to sustain the Indian commission and carry out treaties made thereby.

The message further announced that the Senate had passed severally with an amendment, in which the concurrence of the House was requested, bills of the following titles:

A bill (H. R. No. 538) to extend the boundaries of the collection district of Philadelphia so as to include the whole consolidated city of Philadelphia;

A bill (H. R. No. 861) relating to the Supreme Court; and

A bill (H. R. No. 198) to reestablish the boundaries of the collection districts of Michigan and Michilimackinac, and to change the names of the collection districts of Michilimackinac and Port Huron.

The message further announced that the Senate had passed the following Senate bills and joint resolutions, in which the concurrence of the House was requested:

An act (S. No. 361) for the relief of D. H. Macdonald, late acting United States consul at Capetown;

An act (S. No. 472) supplementary to an act entitled "An act to allow the United States to prosecute appeals and writs of error without giving security;"

An act (S. No. 533) to establish Cambridge, in the State of Maryland, a port of delivery; An act (S. No. 153) to establish a collection district in the State of Oregon;

An act (S. No. 303) for the relief of P. R. Parrott;

An act (S. No. 442) to amend section one of an act to prevent and punish frauds upon the revenue, and for other purposes, approved March 3, 1863;

An act (S. No. 542) for relief of Thomas W. Ward, late collector of customs, district of Corpus Christi, Texas;

Joint resolution (S. No. 113) authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue an American register to the British-built brig Highland Mary;

Joint resolution (S. No. 36) authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue an American register to the bark Aug. Guardien;

Joint resolution (S. No. 147) for the relief of Jonathan S. Turner;

An act (S. No. 505) to amend section five of an act entitled "An act concerning the registering and recording of ships or vessels," approved December 31, 1792;

An act (S. No. 209) to incorporate the Evening Star newspaper; and

An act (S. No. 204) to provide for the appointment of a supervising surgeon of the marine hospitals of the United States.

COMMITTEE ON ENROLLED BILLS.

The SPEAKER. The Chair desires to state to the House that all the members of the Committee on Enrolled Bills are absent, and the Chair will, therefore, if there be no objection, appoint two additional members of the committee.

There was no objection; and

The SPEAKER appointed Mr. WILSON, of Ohio, and Mr. GOLLADAY additional members of the Committee on Enrolled Bills.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

By unanimous consent indefinite leave of absence was granted to Mr. CLARKE, of Ohio, after Monday next, on account of indisposition.

LEAVE TO PRINT.

By unanimous consent leave was granted to Mr. MULLINS to print some remarks on the bill relieving R. R. Butler from disabilities. [See Appendix.]

RIVER AND HARBOR BILL.

Mr. EGGLESTON. When the bill now before the House is disposed of, the river and harbor bill will come up. It has been suggested by my colleagues on the Committee on Commerce, and by those who are opposed to some portions of the bill, that we should fix on Tuesday next, or some day early next week, for final action on that bill, as some of those interested in its discussion wish to leave the city to-night. I therefore suggest to my colleague on the committee, [Mr. ELIOT,] who has the bill in charge, that he make a motion to postpone, if he sees fit to do so.

Mr. ELIOT. From the best information I can obtain I think the probability is that we shall have the tax bill upon us before it would be possible to mature the river and harbor bill, and by the rule of the House it will then become necessary for us to enter on the consideration of that bill. I do not object to the suggestion made by my colleague on the committee to postpone the river and harbor bill until Tuesday next, with the understanding that it shall be considered immediately after the tax bill is disposed of.

Mr. SPALDING. That will not do. There are other bills waiting to come in. I object. Subsequently Mr. SPALDING withdrew his objection, and the bill (H. R. No. 1046) making appropriations for the repair, preservation, and completion of certain public works, and for other purposes, was postponed until Tuesday next after the morning hour.

IMMIGRANT SHIPS.

The House resumed the consideration of the bill (H. R. No. 1100) to amend an act entitled "An act to regulate the carriage of passengers in steamships and other vessels, and for other purposes.'

Mr. O'NEILL. I offer the following amendment, not from the Committee on Commerce, but on my own motion:

At the end of section twenty-six insert the following:

Provided, That fifty per cent. of the gross amount of the commutation or head-money collected from any vessel bringing immigrants to any port of the United States be placed to the credit of the respective States in which the immigrants settle by a pro rata distribution among said States, and the said fifty per cent. to be made under the supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom monthly statements of the amounts received in each port shall be made by the individual or association collecting the same.

I will explain the amendment, and I think it will strike the minds of some members, at least, as very appropriate. The object of it is this: in all the ports where immigrants arrive there is collected what is called "headmoney. It is collected from the ship-owners technically, but really it is from the immigrants. For instance, in New York the head money amounts to two dollars on each passenger. Large sums of money are thus collected either by commissioners of immigration, boards of health, or by individuals detailed for the purpose by municipal authorities, and the sum realized generally, I am informed, in its full extent is not appropriated to the purpose for which it is paid. Some two or three hundred thousand immigrants arrive in New York yearly, a few thousand in Philadelphia, and perhaps more in Baltimore than in the latter city. Baltimore is now prepared to do a larger business than ever of this kind by the steamship lines to which reference was made the other day by the gentleman from Maryland, [Mr. PHELPS.] The parties who collect this money pay, I have no doubt, a considerable portion of it for the support and maintenance of some of the poorer immigrants who arrive in the ports where it is collected, but the bulk of the money should go to the States where the immigrants settle, and where, if want and poverty overake them, they can be benefited by the fund to which they have indirectly contributed, for, as I understand it, though the money ostensibly comes from the ship, it actually is paid by its addition to the charge for passage.

It is well known that some of these immigrants do not come here to work, but they go into our pauper asylums and establishments and remain about our towns and cities. Still I am glad to say that a great many of them do not come within that category. The most of them go out to the West; they remain in New York but a few days. I understand they are usually shipped off within three or four days, often within twenty-four hours. Yet this commutation or head-money remains in the hands of the commissioners or board of emigration, and does not go exclusively to the support of those from whom it is derived.

Mr. BENJAMIN. By what authority is this money collected? By virtue of a law of Congress or by virtue of a State law?

Mr. O'NEILL. I expected that question to be asked, and I am ready to answer it. I presented this amendment not by authority of the committee, as I have said, but upon my own responsibility, with a view to ascertain whether we can enact such a law. This head-money is imposed by State legislation, not by acts of Congress. And yet I doubt very much whether, under the Constitution of the United States, a State has any right to do this.

Mr. BENJAMIN. I desire to know the views of the gentleman upon the right and authority of the Congress of the United States to control a fund raised in pursuance of the legislative action of the various States. Perhaps we have that authority, but I do not see it clearly.

Mr. O'NEILL. The amendment I have offered is intended to raise that question, to see by what right a State imposes this tax upon immigrants arriving in this country. It is not intended so much to get hold of that money as to settle that question. My impression is that there is no right in the States to do it. I am

of opinion there is a right in the Congress of the United States to do it, and in it alone is the power vested.

Mr. UPSON. What disposition is it proposed to make of this money?

Mr. O'NEILL. My amendment proposes to take fifty per cent. of it to be distributed among the respective States where these immigrants settle, according to the average number of those who settle in the respective States. Why should the State of New York take two dollars from the pocket of every immigrant who lands there, and authorize these associations to accumulate this fund? I have no doubt they do a great deal of good, in the way of charitable assistance, yet I do not see why they should be allowed to exact this tax from all immigrants who arrive at New York. They do not come merely to the port of New York or the port of Philadelphia, or the port of Baltimore; but their destination is the United States, and they may not settle until they reach the Rocky mountains or the Pacific slope.

Mr. UPSON. How is this money, so distributed to the various States, to be applied for the advantage of these immigrants?

Mr. O'NEILL. By the authorities of the State through those who may be delegated to assist the needy immigrant.

Mr. WILLIAMS, of Pennsylvania. Will my colleague [Mr. O'NEILL] allow me to interrupt him a moment?

Mr. O'NEILL. Certainly.

Mr. WILLIAMS, of Pennsylvania. I understand my colleague to say that he doubts, perhaps he denies, the power of the State to impose

this tax.

Mr. O'NEILL. Yes, sir.

Mr. WILLIAMS, of Pennsylvania. Is not the effect of his amendment to affirm that power?

Mr. O'NEILL. It does to some extent in effect affirm that power. But it will give an opportunity of appeal to the courts, when the question can be determined whether any such right exists in a State.

Mr. JUDD. Will the gentleman yield to me for a few minutes?

Mr. O'NEILL. Certainly.

Mr. JUDD. The amendment presented by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. O'NEILL] presents questions of very great importance. It not only involves the legal proposition of the right to levy this tax upon emigrants, as suggested by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. WILLIAMS,] but the further question, namely, in what manner and by whom the fund thus collected shall be disbursed to accomplish the most good for the class supposed to be benefited by it.

I think I can safely say that a majority of the immigrants to this country have a fixed destination before they leave their homes; that a majority of those immigrants do not intend to remain in the ports of their arrival. This tax is levied by these State associations ostensibly for the purpose of aiding and protecting the poor and the needy on their arrival and during their earlier residence here. If I understand the provisions of the immigrant laws in force in the port of New York, societies organized under the laws of that State collect from each ship a tax of two dollars for each immigrant under the claim of caring for the needy; the charities distributed from that fund do not extend beyond the limits of that State, and the immigrant destined for the Northwest gets no benefit from the fund to which he has contributed after he gets beyond the boundary lines of the State of New York, no matter how des. titute and suffering may be his condition.

This levy that is made upon each immigrant, although nominally paid by the owner of the ship, is in reality paid by the passenger, the ship-owners include in the fare of such immigrant. Hence, in the case of immigrants destined for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and the Northwest generally, when they get where they are taken ill or their means are exhausted, become a burden upon the citizens at the point

where this occurs, and charity takes the place of reliance upon a fund that those parties have helped to create, and this burden, although cheerfully borne by the philanthropic, ought not to be imposed upon them. There is no reason why the mere passer through New York should contribute to a fund that he can never have the benefit of as soon as he passes the State line. The surpluses now accumulated ought in some form to reach the persons who were intended to be benefited.

An instance of that kind occurred in the city of Chicago within the last two years. Nearly a thousand immigrants destined for Minnesota, every one of whom had paid this tax, which had gone into the hands of the commissioners of emigration in New York, were entirely destitute when they arrived at Chicago, without money to proceed upon their journey to sup port themselves while tarrying there. They were thrown upon our streets; they taxed the capacity of every foreign aid society in our city to support them, until by voluntary contributions, and by the generous charities of the community-and I will add of the railroad companies in the way of free transportationthey were sent to their ultimate destination. That, Mr. Speaker, cost the citizens of Chicago in voluntary contributions $5,000 in money. They ought to have had the privilege of calling upon the societies in the cities where this money was paid to make a contribution to them of a portion of it. Such cases are strictly within the spirit, object, and intent of this kind of legislation. And the laws should be so framed as to provide for these contingencies; and unless some changes are made in the mode of distributing this fund so as to meet the necessities of of those for whose benefit it is created controversies will arise that will shake these institutions. The inquiry will very properly be made whether this tax accomplishes the purpose for which it was created. It may create magnificent public buildings that are an honor to the city of New York, but the emigrant may starve after he passes the boundaries of that State. Some mode of caring for those that need aid while they are on their journey should be devised, and then practically the good would be accomplished that the theory of this thing presupposes.

Mr. O'NEILL. I propose now to yield to the gentleman from New York, [Mr. CHANLER;] but before doing so I wish to add a word or two to what I have already said. I much prefer the amendment as it stands. If, however, the House does not see fit to pass it, I will only say that at some future time I will prepare and introduce a bill to cover the point.

Mr. JUDD. I did not rise, Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of attacking these organizations in the large sea-ports in any shape or form, but only to call the attention of this House, and the gentlemen representing those cities, to the fact that some arrangement should be made by legislation so the proper equities might be dealt out.

Mr. O'NEILL. I believe the board of commissioners of emigration in New York does a great deal of good. It has been the means of erecting some grand charities in that city. I am here ready to do that organization full justice. All I want is to have the question tested. If the tax is to be collected I do not see why we should not legislate for its distribution at points distant from its collection.

Mr. CHANLER. I hope the gentleman from Pennsylvania will adhere to the intention that he has just stated, and that is to prepare and bring in a separate and distinct proposition touching this matter. It is a question outside of the purposes of this bill. I hope he will draw up and report such a bill to the House at an early day.

Mr. O'NEILL. I withdraw my amendment, and hope the House will act at once upon this bill for the protection of immigrants and pass it. It will result, I think, as I said at the beginning, in securing on this most important subject the joint action of the different nations who are interested in it.

I also hope, Mr. Speaker, when we shall have perfected our immigration laws we may do something for the enactment of a general naturalization law upon such a basis as will protect us and our institutions, and will so enforce the law as to prevent the illegal exercise of the elective franchise by those who have scarcely touched our shores. I have heard that ship-loads of immigrants, within twenty-four hours of their arrival at the port of New York, have been led to the polls by designing men, and many of them, I have no doubt, totally ignorant that they were violating the law, have set at naught the votes of the American-born and law-abiding adopted citi zens who have exercised their dearest right in good faith to their country.

Mr. CHANLER. I propose the following amendment to the twelfth section, which understand the gentleman from Pennsylvania will agree to.

Mr. O'NEILL. I yield to the gentleman's amendment. He has been helping us to perfect the bill.

Mr. CHANLER. I move to add to the twelfth section the following:

Any unmarried male passenger, master, or other officer, seaman, or other person over fourteen years of age, on board any vessel carrying passengers to or from any part of the United States, who shall openly live and cohabit with any unmarried woman shall thereafter be deemed the lawful husband of such woman, and they shall be husband and wife, and subject to all the privileges and liabilities of that relation.

Mr. CHANLER. The object of this is to carry out the object of the bill, and to prevent the seduction of female emigrant passengers on their way across the ocean. It is an amendment which is needed. One of the great sources of trouble in emigration is the seduction of women by the offieers and men and by passen. gers pretending to be married to those women, and abandoning them and their children upon reaching the shore. The object of this bill is to embody the spirit of the law of the State of New York regulating marriage. It has been submitted to one of the gentlemen from New York on the Committee of Commerce, [Mr. HUMPHREY,] who approves it as being in accordance with the law of New York. I urge it as a preventive measure, and doing no injury to any one.

Mr. O'NEILL. I suggest to the House that they will adopt the gentleman's amendment. It certainly can do no harm, and it will protect the innocent in many cases.

Mr. COVODE. I would like to have the gentleman from New York [Mr. CHANLER] answer this question: if there should be im proprieties committed by one man on half a dozen women how are they going to settle that difficulty. [Laughter.]

Mr. GLOSSBRENNER. Send him to Utah. [Laughter.]

gen.

Mr. CHANLER. My friend suggests sending him to Utah. [Laughter.] But the tleman will understand that the compartments of these immigrant ships are separated. They have three kinds of compartments-one for unmarried males, one for unmarried females, and one for married males and females. Therefore it will be very easy for a person claiming to be married to a woman to get access to the cabin of married people, thereby doing great injury to the women in that compartment and great injury to the ship. The immorality, therefore, will be sanctioned by your bill unless you protect these women by some such provision. I ask for a vote.

The question being put, there were-ayes fourteen.

Mr. CHANLER. I demand tellers.
Tellers were refused.

Mr. CHANLER. I move to amend by adding at the end of section eighteen the following:

And such consular officer shall on proper and satisfactory proof, be suspended from his office by the President, and on conviction be removed from office, and be thereafter disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under this Government.

I will merely state that the eighteenth section relates to infected ships sailing from European ports to this country, and the object of my amendment is to enforce more strictly the duty of consols and consular agents of inquiring into the condition of those towns and townships from which the immigrant comes. If he shall omit to protect the ship by proper means he is to be liable to a severe penalty, It is a necessary protection from those infectious diseases which we have seen so frequently prevailing on ship-board in the last few years. The very case which gave rise to this bill, called the pest ships, was one where the ship started without proper precaution and with a number of infected passengers. Had the consular agent taken such proper precautions as are called for in this bill, the great loss of life in that case would have been prevented. I propose simply a more stringent means of securing the discharge of the duties of our consular agents.

Mr. RANDALL. I suggest that the gentleman strike out the last part of the proposed amendment.

Mr. CHANLER. Very well.

The amendment as modified was as follows: And such consular officer shall, on proper and satisfactory proof, be suspended from his office by the President.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. BROOMALL. I suggest to my colleague to move to strike out the last clause of the bill, as follows:

Unless otherwise expressed or required by the context, any word or expression herein before defined, or other matter not expressed, and requisite in any particular enactment herein to carry out the purposes of this act, shall be supplied on construction.

Mr. O'NEILL. I have no objection to striking it out. If the gentleman from New York will conclude his remarks now I will call the previous question.

Mr. CHANLER. I will do so.

Mr. ROBINSON. I desire to ask the gen tleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. O'NEILL] what did he mean by the remark made a few moments ago that he intended at a future time to move some amendment to the present' law to prevent immigrants arriving here from voting.

Mr. O'NEILL. I did not yield to the gen: tleman; but I will reply

Mr. ROBINSON. If the gentleman does not wish to yield I will take my seat.

Mr. O'NEILL. If the gentleman had listened to me he would have heard what I said. I made no such proposition as he referred to. Mr. ROBINSON. The gentleman is entirely wrong about that matter.

Mr. CHANLER next addressed the House. [See Appendix.]

Mr. O'NEILL. I now call the previous question.

Mr. BROOKS. I wish to ask the gentleman from Pennsylvania a question.

Mr. O'NEILL: I withdraw the call for the previous question for that purpose.

Mr. BROOKS. The bill is a pretty long one, and I have not had time to read it through. My question is how he proposes in this bill to regulate immigration in foreign vessels-in foreign steamers, for instance? It was stated here yesterday in debate, and is a fact well known that most of the steamers which bring immigrants to this country are foreign steamers, under a foreign flag. How can this bill regu late and control those vessels?

Mr. O'NEILL. I will endeavor to answer the gentleman. The existing laws relating to the carrying of immigrant passengers are very imperfect, and decisions have been made against their application to steamships. This bill seeks to apply the same penalties against the owners or agents or consignees of steamships carrying passengers as former laws applied to sailing vessels. Now, sir, we do not say that by this law we can regulate foreign vessels, but we do say from what we learn from the representative of the Prussian Government, and the representative of the British Government, and

the representatives of several steamship lines running from other countries, that many Governments will take action on this subject, and we are now framing what we consider may be the basis of a proper immigrant bill to suit all the countries of the world.

Mr. BROOKS. The apprehension I have is that unless this matter is regulated by treaty, while these severe penalties are imposed on our own vessels and none on foreign vessels, the whole immigrant trade of the country will be carried on in foreign bottoms.

Mr. O'NEILL. The bill, of course, seeks to impose penalties on all vessels which bring immigrants. We can certainly enforce our law when the vessels reach our shores: That right has never been questioned; there is no doubt about that. I now call the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. I call for the reading of

Mr. ROBINSON. the engrossed bill.

Mr. RANDALL. I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; and the House (at four o'clock and forty-five minutes p. m.) adjourned.

PETITIONS, ETC.

The following petitions, &c., were presented under the rule, and referred to the appropriate committees:

By Mr. BANKS: A memorial of insurance companies, ship-owners, and merchants of New York, asking that measures may be taken to establish the principle, as a part of international law, that after the cessation of hostilities for one year between belligerent nations, the state of war shall be deemed at an end, notwithstanding the absence of a formal treaty or declaration of peace, signed by Francis Skiddy, Grinnell, Minturn & Co., Russell Sturgis, C. H. Marshall & Co., Howland & Aspinwall, Nesmith & Sons, Charles Luling & Co., Howland Frothingham, Snow & Burgess, C. P. Fisher & Co., and others.

Also, a memorial of insurance companies, ship-owners, and merchants of New York, asking that measures may be taken to establish the principle as a part of international law, that after the cessation of hostilities for one year between beligerent nations, the state of war shall be deemed at an end, notwithstanding the absence of a formal treaty or declaration of peace, signed by J. D. Jones, Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company; John A. Parker, Great Western Insurance Company; John H. Lyell, New York Mutual Insurance Company; J. R. Myers, Pacific Mutual Insurance Company, and others.

By Mr. BECK: The petition of Dr. William S. Chipley, of Lexington, Kentucky, praying that his son, William Dudley Chipley, of Columbus, Georgia, and others, now imprisoned at Atlanta, be delivered by the military authori ties, by order of Congress, to the civil tribunals for trial, according to the provisions of the Constitution and laws. Said petition is accompanied by a number of affidavits, which are made part of it.

By Mr. BUTLER: The petition of Gilbert Pierce and others, for leave to build a bridge over a portion of the navigable waters of the harbor of Boston.

By Mr. GROVER: The petition of John B. Bland, of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, for compensation for buildings destroyed by fire in said city by Federal soldiers.

By Mr. KERR: A memorial of Simeon K. Wolfe, W. L. Carter, William N. Tracewell, H. S. Wolfe, Alanson Stephens, S. M. Stockslager, Henry Zenor, M. M. Hon, Edward Harbison, Morgan B. Clark, John L. Wolford, and others, for the relief of Jacob Biggs, whose eyes were destroyed in battle in the late war.

By Mr. STOKES: The petition for the relief of James M. Marshal, of La Fayette, Tennessee.

IN SENATE.

FRIDAY, June 19, 1868.

Prayer by Rev. A. D. GILLETTE, D. D. On motion of Mr. WILSON, and by unanimous consent, the reading of the Journal of yesterday was dispensed with.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

Mr. WILSON presented resolutions of the Legislature of Massachusetts, in favor of the construction of a ship-canal connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario; which were referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. MORGAN presented the petition of the United States Express Company, praying that the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized to issue to that company United States bonds and compound-interest notes in lieu of bonds and notes destroyed by fire on the 30th of January, 1866; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.

Mr. POMEROY presented the petition of William Pollard, late a second assistant engineer United States Navy, praying to be restored to the rank in the Navy from which he has been dismissed; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

Mr. CATTELL. I present a memorial numerously signed by underwriters and merchants of Philadelphia, urging the importance of the coast survey for the preservation and development of the commercial wealth of the country, and earnestly requesting that no means be adopted to lessen the full efficiency of that service. I understand the Committee on Appropriations have reported on that subject, and I therefore move that the memorial lie on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. CONKLING. I ask leave to present the memorial of a number of insurance companies, praying that Congress will, by resolution or such other action as may be proper in the premises, declare and establish as a principle governing the relations of the United States with other nations at peace with this country, but which as between themselves may have been at war, that whenever hostilities between such belligerents shall have ceased for so long a period of time as to raise the presumption that they will not be renewed (and which period the memorialists would suggest should not, unless in exceptional cases, exceed one year) the state of war shall be deemed to be at an end, so far as the Government and citizens of the United States are concerned, notwithstanding the absence of any formal treaty or declaration of peace. The memorial sets out the evils growing out of the uncertain state of thing existing in reference to the other Powers, the South American republics for example, which having had difficulties among themselves have not come to a condition of peace by formal treaty; and the memorialists ask some action of Congress which will enable our citizens to deal with those belligerents and yet not impinge upon any obligations which they ought to observe. I move that the memorial be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. The motion was agreed to.

Mr. CONKLING. I present a similar memorial, signed by a number of leading merchants of the city of New York, and I move that it take the same reference.

The motion was agreed to.

MRS. ANN CORCORAN.

Mr. VAN WINKLE. I submit a report from a committee of conference.

The report was read, as follows:

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment to the bill (S. No. 184) granting a pension to Mrs. Ann Corcoran, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend, and do recommend to their respective Houses, as follows:

That the Senate recede from their disagreement to the amendment of the House, and agree to the same. P. G. VAN WINKLE, LYMAN TRUMBULL, Managers on the part of the Senate. H. VAN AERNAM, G. F. MILLER, Managers on the part of the House.

Mr. VAN WINKLE. I move that the report be adopted.

Mr. MORRILL, of Vermont. I should like to have the Senator from West Virginia state what the subject is.

Mr. VAN WINKLE. It is a pension bill, and the amendment relates simply to the date at which the pension shall commence. The report was concurred in.

MICHAEL HENNESSY.

Mr. VAN WINKLE. There are two other pension bills which have been returned from the House of Representatives with amendments, and which are now on the table, which I should like to have acted upon. The first is Senate bill No. 280.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (8. No. 280) granting a pension to Michael Hennessy, of Platte county, Missouri. The amendment was to strike out all after the word "pensions," in line five, and to insert in lieu thereof "subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, commencing January 1, 1865."

Mr. VAN WINKLE. I move that the Senate concur in the amendment of the House. The motion was agreed to.

GEORGE BENNETT.

Mr. VAN WINKLE. I now move to take from the table Senate bill No. 425, which has been returned from the House with an amendment.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to consider the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. No. 425) granting a pension to George Bennett. The amendment was to strike out all after the word "pension," in line eight, and to insert in lieu thereof "subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, commencing April 7, 1863."

N.. VAN WINKLE. I make the same motion in that case.

The amendment was concurred in.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. MORRILL, of Vermont, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Sister M. Zavier and Sister De Sales, of Charleston, South Carolina, submitted a report; which was ordered to be printed.

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred the petition of Dennis Sullivan, submitted a report; which was ordered to be printed.

Mr. EDMUNDS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (S. No. 538) in addition to an act to regulate the times and manner of holding elections for Senators in Congress, reported it with amend

ments.

Mr. HENDERSON, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. No. 478) to amend an act entitled "An act for the removal of the Sisseton, Warpeton, Medawakonton, and Warpekuta bands of Sioux or Dakota Indians, and for the disposition of their lands in Minnesota and Dakota," approved March 3, 1863, reported it without amendment.

Mr. HOWE, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the petition of William McDonagh, reported adversely thereon.

Mr. WILLEY, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the petition of True Putney, of Washington, District of Columbia, in relation to paving carriage-ways in the city of Washington, asked to be discharged from its further consideration; which was agreed to.

He also, from the same committee, to whom were referred the memorial of Rowland Cromelien, praying the right of way on any avenue or main line of railroad in the city of Washington for the privilege of testing his patent for an improvement in railroads; a petition of citizens of Washington city, District of Columbia, praying for the speedy passage of a bill rechartering that city; à petition of citizens

of the District of Columbia, praying equal rights with other citizens of the United States; a resolution of the Senate directing the Committee on the District of Columbia to inquire whether any legislation is necessary to secure safety and convenience of passengers on street cars of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, in Washington, District of Columbia; resolu tions of the common council of the city of Washington, District of Columbia, in favor of granting an extension of the city charter with such amendments as may be deemed advis able, asked to be discharged from their further consideration; which was agreed to.

DONATION OF IRON RAILING.

Mr. FESSENDEN. The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. R. No. 294) donating to the Washington City Orphan Asylum the iron railing taken from the old Hall of the House of Representatives, have had the same under consideration, and directed me to report it back without amendment and recommend its passage. This railing is of no value to us, and it may be of some value to this orphan asylum; and if there be no objection, I move that the resolution be taken up and passed.

By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the joint resolution. It proposes to donate to the Washington City Orphan Asylum the iron railing taken from the old Hall of the House of Representatives, now in the Capitol Grounds, on condition that it be taken away in ten days after the passage of this joint resolution.

The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

EVANSVILLE MARINE HOSPITAL.

Mr. MORTON. I desire to move to recon. sider the vote by which the joint resolution (H. R. No. 44) authorizing the sale of the marine hospital at Evansville, Indiana, was passed yesterday.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair is informed that the resolution has gone to the House of Representatives, and it will be neces sary to make a motion to request the return of the bill from the House.

Mr. MORTON. Should that be made preliminary to this motion?

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Yes, sir. The Chair will put the question on a motion requesting the return of the joint resolution from the House of Representatives. The motion was agreed to.

ISRAEL T. CANBY'S SURETIES.

Mr. WILLEY. The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (S. No. 428) for the relief of the sureties of Israel T. Canby, late receiver of public moneys at Crawfordsville, Indiana, have had it under consideration, and directed me to report it back to the Senate without amendment and recommend its passage, accompanied with a report which I ask may be printed.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The report will be printed, if there be no objection.

Mr. HENDRICKS. There are but three of these sureties alive who are responsible. One of them is a very old gentleman, and another is very frail from sickness, and I should like very much to have the bill passed at this session. As it is a very clear case and a very short bill, I should like to have it considered now if possible. I ask that the bill be read, and then, if there be any objection to it, I will not insist upon it.

There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. It proposes to release the sureties of Israel T. Canby, late receiver of public moneys at the land office at Crawfordsville, Indiaua, from all liability arising from any defalcation, omission, or misconduct of his as such receiver; and it directs the proper officers of the Treasury Department to dismiss any and