that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

JOHN W. HARRIS.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported back, with a recommendation that the same do pass, Senate bill No. 332, granting a pension to John W. Harris.

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

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pensionroll the name of John W. Harris, late a pilot in the service of the United States, and to allow him from the naval pension fund a pension at the rate of twenty-five dollars per month, to commence on April 15, 1863.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

HARRIET W. POND.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported back, with a recommendation that the same do pass, Senate bill No. 501,. granting a pension to Harriet W. Pond.

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

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension roll the_name of Harriet W. Pond, wife of James Pond, formerly Harriet W. Stinson, and to allow and pay to her as in her own right, and not subject to the claim or control of her husband, a pension at the rate of seventeen dollars per month, to commence on the 21st day of August, 1864, and to continue during her natural life.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.
Some time subsequently,

Mr. MAYNARD said: I did not at the time pay particular attention to the bill granting a pension to Harriet W. Pond, or I would have asked some explanation of it, as it seems to be a bill granting a pension to a woman who has a husband living.

The SPEAKER. The Chair noticed at the time the bill was read that it was a peculiar bill.

Mr. BEATTY. The report accompanying the bill explains it fully. I ask that the report be printed in the Globe, in connection with the bill.

No objection was made.

The report was as follows, made by Mr. VAN WINKLE, of the Senate:

The Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the petition of Mrs. Harriet W. Pond, respectfully report:

That the said petition, with accompanying papers, was originally referred to the Committee of Claims, who reported the facts of the case as follows, which, after due examination, this committee adopt as correct:

Sho represents that she volunteered her services to minister to the necessities of the soldiers during the rebellion; that she left her home in Old Town, Maine, and went out with the sixth Maine volunteers, and continued an active attendant upon the sick and dying until the close of the war; was on thirteen battle-fields and many heavy skirmishes, and among other things assisted in preserving the names of the dead and procuring the bodies of many for their friends; and spent freely of her own money for the sick. wounded, and dying to the amount of at least $3,000. Her son, of that regiment, was killed in battle, but had expended $1,000 of his own money, at his mother's request, for the same purpose.

She represents that in field and hospital sho attended to the necessities of all soldiers alike, and without any expectation of remuneration, and would not ask for it now but her health and constitution have suffered by fatigues, hardship, and exposure, and she is left without means of support.

She further represents that at the battle of Antietam, while assisting in the removal of wounded soldiers, a wagon was overthrown, killing three soldiers and breaking her own leg; that she renewed her labors for the soldiers before her limb was strong. causing it to be thrown out of place, and erysipelas set in, by which she is permanently disabled.

She shows, too, that in 1863, while with the Maine regiment, she was captured by the rebels, and by them robbed of $250 in money, and clothing beside.

Her affidavit shows that she expended $4,000 in the service, and there is some corroborative testimony upon the subject. The papers indicate her good character and persistency in the work.

The Committee of Claims conclude their report as follows:

Your committee are of opinion that compensation in such cases, if made at all, should be by the States whose regiments accept the services and permit such attendance. This committee has hitherto declined to recognize such claims. But in consideration of the injury she has received, and loss of her son, on whom, it is alleged, she leaned for support, it may be proper that a pension be provided for the petitioner in this case; and they recommend that her papers be referred to the Committee on Pensions.

In accordance with this recommendation the said petition and papers were referred to this committee, who proceeded to consider the same. They do not find that there is any law ander the provisions of which the petitioner is entitled to a pension, unless on account of the death of her son, a private in the service, who was killed in battle; but it does not appear that she was so dependent on him at and before the time of his death as to bring her within the said provisions.

If this is so, the case is one of a class of which several, within the last few years, after being previously referred to the Military, Naval, or other Committees, have been sent to the Pension Committee. The class referred to consists of cases in which relief or reward is asked of the Government on account of alleged exemplary services in the Army or Navy. It is evident that the consideration of such cases does not fall within the proper duties of the Committee on Pensions. They have, however, for two or three years reported on them, usually adversely, or have asked to be discharged from their further consideration, not because they had been improperly referred, but as a conclusion from the facts presented. Many of these cases have asked a double or increased pension for the widows of officers of the higher rank, the rate not increasing after the rank of lieutenant colonel is reached in the ascending scale. Such increase not being allowed by law, it will be readily perceived that what is asked in such cases is a mere gratuity. For at least two years past no such case has been reported on favorably by this committee. If they approved such increase, they would deem it their duty to report an amendment to the general law, increasing the rates of pensions in the cases mentioned, thus putting all on the same footing.

There are, however, in the case of the petitioner to whom this report more particularly relates, some facts at least analogous to the cases in which pensions are allowed by law. The petitioner had devoted herself to the service of her country by administering to the wants of sick and wounded soldiers, and this for years continuously; and while actually assisting in removing some of the wounded from the battlefield of Antietam, an accident by which three of her charge were killed made her a cripple for life. In consideration of this the committee submit to the Senate the accompanying bill granting her the pension of an acting assistant surgeon, as in her own right, from the time she left the Army during her natural life.

It is proper, in explanation of some of the phraseology of the bill, to state that since the war the petitioner, who during its continuance was a widow, was again married; but that her husband is himself greatly disabled by disease contracted while an offcer in the Army during the war, and unable to contribute to her subsistence. In ordinary cases pensions are not granted to married women, but as in this case the pension, if granted, is in consideration of her own personal services and permanent disabilty, the committee have sought and intended to make it payable to her in her individual right until her death.

LUCINDA R. JOHNSON.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported back, with a recommendation that the same do pass, Senate bill No. 500, granting a pension to Lucinda R. Johnson.

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

The bill, which was read, directs the Seeretary of the Interior to place on the pensionroll, subject to the limitations and provisions of the pension laws, the name of Lucinda R. Johnson, the widow of Dr. B. Johnson, of Illinois, late a contract surgeon in the military service of the United States, and to pay her a pension at the rate of seventeen dollars per month, to commence March 7, 1865, and to continue during her widowhood.

The bill was read the third time, and passed. Mr. BEATTY moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

HENRY BROWN.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported back, with an amendment, Senate bill No. 517, granting a pension to the widow and children of Henry Brown.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pensionroll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the names of Rehma Brown, the widow, and Nacey J., Alvey F., Sarah C., and Henry, children under sixteen years of age of Henry Brown, late a private in company K, tenth regiment Tennessee caralry volunteers, and to pay her a pension at the rate of eight dollars per month during widowhood, and two dollars per month for each of the children until they shall attain the age of sixteen years, commencing January 31, 1864.

The amendment was to strike out from and including the words, "at the rate of eight dollars per month" and to insert" commencing January 31, 1864."

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill, as amended, was read the third time, and passed.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

MARIA SCHWEITZER AND CHILDREN.

Mr. BEATTY, from the same committee, also reported back, with an amendment, Senate bill No. 422 granting a pension to Maria Schweitzer and the minor children of Conrad Schweitzer, deceased.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pensionroll the names of Maria Schweitzer, the widow, and Carl B. and Maria Schweitzer, children under sixteen years of age of Conrad Schweitzer, late a private in company C, sixty-first regiment New York volunteers, and allow and pay her a pension at the rate of eight dollars per month for herself during widowhood, and two dollars per month for each of the children, until they severally attain the age of sixteen years, commencing February 2, 1865. The amendment was to strike out all after the words " pay her a pension" and to insert the words subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, commencing February 2, 1865."

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill, as amended, was read the third time, and passed.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

CHILDREN Of Robert T. WEED, DECEASED. Mr. BEATTY, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back, with an amendment, a bill (S. No. 583) granting a pension to John A. Weed and Elizabeth J. Weed, minor children of Robert T. Weed, deceased.

The bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll the names of John A. Weed and Elizabeth J. Weed, only surviving children of Robert T. Weed, late a private in the second Indiana volunteer battery, who died in the service of the United States and in the line of duty, and to pay to guardians, a pension of eight dollars them, or their legally-appointed guardian or per month from November 10, 1864, the date of the d.ath of their father, until they respectively attain the age of sixteen years.

The amendment of the committee was to strike out all after the words "a pension," and insert "subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, commencing November 10, 1862."

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

JULIA WHISTLER.

Mr. BEATTY, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back adversely a bill (S. No. 516) granting a pension to Julia Whistler; which was laid on the table.

JACOB LEIT.

Mr. BEATTY. I move that the Committee on Invalid Pensions be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Jacob Leit, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for additional bounty, and that the same be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

The motion was agreed to.

GEORGE T. BRIEN.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back, with an amendment, a bill (S. No. 314) for the relief of George T. Brien.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to allow and pay to George T. Brien, out of the naval pension fund, a pension at the rate of fifteen dollars per month, in lieu of the pension of five dollars per month heretofore allowed him, the pension to commence from and after the passage of this act and to continue during his natural life.

The amendment of the committee was to strike out all after the words "at the rate of" and insert in lieu thereof "eight dollars per month, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws.

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill, as amended, was ordered to be read

a third time; and it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

PATRICK COLLINS.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1406) granting a pension to Patrick Collins; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Patrick Collins, a resident of Columbus, Franklin county, Ohio, and late an employé of the United States military railroad construction corps, and to pay him a pension at the rate of ten dollars per month.

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

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

JOHN GRIDLEY.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, also reported a bill (H. R. No. 1407) granting a pension to John Gridley; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of John Gridley, late of company G ninth regiment Michigan volunteers, commencing February 4, 1865.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed. Mr. VAN AERNAM moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the

table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

CATHARINE GENSLER.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, also reported a bill (H. R. No. 1408) granting a pension to Catharine Gensler; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the

provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Catharine Gensler, mother of John D. Gensler, late private company I one hundred and sixty-ninth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, commencing June 29, 1864.

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

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

ASA F. HOLCOMB.

Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same committee, also reported a bill (H. R. No. 1409) granting a pension to Asa F. Holcomb; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Asa F. Holcomb, private company B twenty-fourth regiment New York cavalry, commencing September 29, 1864.

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

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

EMILY B. BIDWELL.

mittee, also reported back House bill No. 1363, Mr. VAN AERNAM, from the same com. granting a pension to Emily B. Bidwell, widow of the late Brigadier General Daniel B. Bidwell, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Emily B. Bidwell, widow of the late Brigadier General Daniel B. Bidwell, at the rate of fifty dollars per month from the 19th of October, 1864, at which date he was killed at the battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia, to continue during her widowhood; and the pen. sion heretofore allowed her under the general law shall be discontinued, and the sum received by her under the same shall be deducted from the pension hereby granted.

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

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

MRS. EMMA M. MOORE.

Mr. BENJAMIN, from the same committee, also reported back adversely Senate bill No. 519, granting a pension to Mrs. Emma M. Moore.

Mr. MAYNARD. I hope the gentleman will give the House some reason why that bill ought not to pass.

Mr. BENJAMIN. Mr. Chairman, in that case the facts are about as follows: Mrs. Moore was at one time the widow of Lieutenant Cox, United States Navy. He died about fifteen years ago, and his widow was pensioned under the general law at the rate of twentyfive dollars per month. She continued to receive that pension for several years until she married Commodore Moore. Commodore Moore, prior to his marriage with widow Cox, had belonged to the United States Navy. He resigned from the United States Navy and went into the navy of Texas when Texas was an independent nation. He continued in the Texan service until about the time that country was annexed to the United States, and although the Texan navy was annexed to that of the United States, the officers belonging to the Texan navy were not commissioned in the United States service. They for a long time importuned Congress, and finally got their claim into the courts, but both the courts and

Congress decided adversely to them. Commodore Moore remained a private citizen up to his death, which was some five years ago. Mrs. Moore comes in now and asks that the pension she received by her former husband, who at the time of his death was an officer in the United States Navy, may be revived to her. The Senate passed a bill reviving it. The Committee on Invalid Pensions are of opinion that we should not extend the provisions of the pension law that far, or if we do, that it should be by general law which should cover all such cases. We are of opinion that this party has no claim on the United States Government for a pension; certainly not in consequence of her marriage with Commodore Moore, and certainly not, having married after the death of her first husband, by virtue of whose death she received the pension I have stated. Hence we report adversely upon the bill.

Mr. MAYNARD. If my memory is not at fault, there are some personal considerations clustering around this widow, this patriotic woman, that would incline the House to take the same view of the case that is taken by the Senate. She was unquestionably entitled to a pension by reason of the services and death of her first husband. She drew a pension until she married her second husband. The second husband is now dead, and she is doubly a widow. I see no principle that is to be violated, as we have intermitted the pension during the time of her coverture, by restoring her again to the pension-list, and I confess it would gratify me much to see that done. I speak without any personal knowledge of the party, without ever having even seen her, but merely from what I have learned through others who are somewhat acquainted with her personal history. If the gentleman will allow me, I will move that the bill be recommitted to the Committee on Invalid Pensions with permission to report at any time, and will ask them to give it another examination.

Mr. BENJAMIN. I do not think there is any necessity for recommitting the bill to the committee. I presume no instance can be found in the history of our legislation where we have revived a pension that has lapsed by virtue of the marriage of a widow. I am not aware of any such precedent. If there is any reason why it should be done in this case the same reason would unquestionably apply to every case of the kind, and they are numer ous, as the committee know. Were the committee instructed by the House to inquire into the expediency of so amending the general law that in the event of the death of a second husband the pension should be revived to the widow, that would present the question_distinctly as applied to all such cases. But I am decidedly opposed, and I believe that is the view of the committee, to taking this isolated case and making it an exception to all other cases. Numerous cases of the kind have come before the committee, and they have reported adversely upon them in every instance, so far as I know.

Mr. MAYNARD. If I am not mistaken in reference to the identity of this party, she presents an unusually strong and an unusually meritorious claim, if there can be such a thing as a meritorious woman connected with the naval service. If I am not mistaken she is descended on her father's side from a naval officer who has reflected great renown on our Navy. I mean Commodore Rogers.

Mr. BENJAMIN. I know nothing of her parentage.

Mr. MAYNARD. If I am not mistaken the family have reflected upon our naval service more renown than, perhaps, any other family in the country that has served in the Navy. If that be the case, it presents an appeal to us, it seems to me, that scarcely any other woman in the country could present. For that reason I would be glad to have this bill recommitted, so that the committee may again examine it and see whether there are not facts connected with it which would take it out of the general run of cases.

Mr. BENJAMIN. I know nothing of the parentage of this lady, or of her history, except what is contained in the papers before the committee. But I am of opinion that it makes no difference in that respect, and that we should not bend our legislation when dispensing favors of this kind-for they are nothing but favorsto fit any particular case; but we should legislate for all cases, and preserve a principle in the legislation for all these cases. If the principle in this bill is correct, it will apply with the same force to all the other cases of a like character; and, as I said before, they are numerous. This party received a pension under the law; she married the second time with the full knowledge that the pension would lapse in consequence of her second marriage. The committee of the Senate base their report in favor of this bill upon the fact that her second husband should have been incorporated in the Navy of the United States; that is the argument that is used in the report of the Senate committee. But the House committee were not able to see the force of that argument in every way. That question has been discussed over and over again in Congress, and had received an adjudication in the courts of the country, and the decision had been the same in each case; and we could see no good reason for coming in at this late day, when more thon twenty years had elapsed, and reversing the decision of former Congresses, and the decision of the courts, and placing this party upon the pension-roll of the country; we did not think it would be right and just to do so. Hence there was no other alternative than to report adversely upon the bill of the Senate. I have no objection to having the bill recommitted, but I think the result would still be the same.

a more reliable support than the Government, which was pensioning her in consequence of the chivalrous acts of her first husband.

Mr. MAYNARD. My colleague will allow me to ask whether he, of all the men in this House, would interpose any obstacle in the way of either man or woman contracting a second marriage? [Laughter.]

Mr. MULLINS. By no means; but when persons do elect of their own choice to marry a second time I do not want to pay them for doing it. [Laughter.] It might be considered something like bribing them to go against their will. I want their choice to be open and free. We should not give a pension in this case. The lady might have a third husband, and he might die, and we might have to give her another pension for him. [Laughter.] To grant pensions in this way is perhaps bad luck to the husband. [Laughter.] I want this lady to die in peace and quietude. As she has elected her present position let her remain in it peacefully and quietly. She is now in fine credit. She is the widow of two naval officers, one of whom seems to have been in the service of a foreign country. The courts and Congress have decided that enough has been done in the way of payments for Texas by our paying in the first place millions on millions to buy her and afterward paying millions to fight her. I think it is time we should stop paying people coming from Texas, whether male or female. [Laughter.] I do not care to run in debt in that way. It does not pay. I think the committee are right in their report

Mr. MULLINS. Will the gentleman yield

to me for a few moments?

Mr. BENJAMIN. Certainly.

Mr. MULLINS. I know nothing of this case beyond what has been stated on this floor. But it strikes my mind forcibly that the Committee on Invalid Pensions have taken the right view of the matter. Because reminis cences cluster around this woman on account of her name or anything else, that is no argument to my mind in favor of departing from our general principles. As to her noble birth and the line from which she has descended, I beg leave to say that there are those who have sprung from very low families, whose parents were, perhaps, kicked out of the furrow a half dozen times by a bad plow while endeavoring to get corn for their children to live on, are just as much entitled to the mercy and magnanimity of this Government, and even much more so, than any one who had rich parents, or who may happen to be the widow of a naval officer.

Mr. MAYNARD. I would ask my colleague [Mr. MULLINS] whether all the pensions that we give by special legislation to widows and children are not in cases which come outside of the ordinary rule of law; the cases of persons who cannot obtain pensions at the Pension Bureau under our general laws? And I would also ask whether we do not give pensions to them in consequence of meritorious services rendered the country by their fathers, by their husbands, and possibly in some instances by their sons?

Mr. MULLINS. I comprehend the idea, and I would reply

Mr. MAYNARD. The gentleman will allow me a moment further. Did we not, very early in the history of this country, give to the daughters of Count de Grasse, a foreigner, a gratuity, a bonus, and finally place them on the pension-roll?

Mr. MULLINS. Yes, I think the Government has fully acquitted itself in all such cases, and ought to have stopped long ago in many of them. And here there comes up a lady, who, being of proper age and disposing memory, [laughter,] elected by her own choice to abandon the protection of the Government and take to her side one whom she looked upon as

Mr. BENJAMIN. I desire to correct the gentleman from Tennessee, [Mr. MULLINS.] This lady was never a Texan.

widows and orphans and invalid soldiers and sailors who have no pensions, and have not been able to get any under the general law. They have not, however, been entirely regardless of the subject of the increase of pensions either in this or the preceding Congress. It will be recollected that a few years since our pension laws were such that a poor widow who had six or eight or ten children, as many had, dependent upon her for support, she received eight dollars a month. Measures have been matured and passed by this Congress whereby a widow who has children receives an additional pension of two dollars a month, and twenty-four dollars a year for each child dependent upon her for support. We found, so far as individuals were concerned, that a great many entirely disabled, where they had lost both arms, both legs, or both eyes, were receiving only eight dollars a month. We have increased those in proportion to the disability; those partially disabled getting eight dollars; those very severely, fifteen dollars; another class, twenty dollars; and those totally disabled, so as to be entirely dependent on others, twenty-five dollars a month. This makes an increase on the pension bills of something like

fifty per cent. We have thus done tolerably well in increasing pensions. So far as the particular subject referred to is concerned, the committee will be glad to take it up, as they have all questions in regard to pensions, at the earliest possible opportunity. They may be able to report at this session, but I cannot say whether they will or not.

CATHARINE ECKHARDT.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, also reported back the bill (S. No. 549) grant

hardt, with the recommendation that it do pass.

Mr. BENJAMIN. This lady married Commodore Moore in 1849, after the annexation of Texas, and when he was a citizen of the United States.

Mr. MULLINS. Had he become naturalized? He had been a citizen of the republic of Texas. Did he become naturalized by the annexation?

Mr. BENJAMIN. Yes, sir.

Mr. ALLISON. I move that this bill be recommitted to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

The motion was agreed to.

HENRIETTA NOBLES.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back without amendment a bill (S. No. 232) granting a pension to Henrietta Nobles.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll the name of Henrietta Nobles, widow of Daniel G. Nobles, late a captain of the fourth regiment Tennessee infantry, and to pay her a pension at the rate of twenty dollars per month, to commence November 2, 1862, and continue during her widowhood.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

PAYMENT OF PENSIONS IN COIN.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. I wish to inquire of the chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions whether there is any prospect of the committee acting on the bill referred to them for the payment of pensioners in coin?

Mr. PERHAM. Mr. Chairman, in regard to that subject I have to answer that the committee has been very busily engaged during all the session, when they could possibly be in committee, in providing pensions for the

The bill was read. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to pay to Catharine Eckhardt, widow of Henry L. Eckhardt, late a private in company C, fifth regiment Missouri volunteers, in addition to the pension heretofore granted her, the further sum of two dollars per month, for and on account of the care, custody, and maintenance by her of Anna M. Eckhardt, a child under sixteen years of age of Henry L. Eckhardt by a former wife, from the 3d day of February, 1868, while she has such care, custody, and maintenance, until the child shall attain the age of sixteen years.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

CARRIE E. BURDETT.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, also reported the bill (S. No. 238) granting a pension to Carrie E. Burdett, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The bill was read. It proposes to direct the Secretary of the Interior to place the name of Carrie E. Burdett, widow of James F. Burdett, late an acting assistant surgeon in the military service, on the pension roll, at the rate of seventeen dollars per month, to commence on the 6th of August, 1866, and to continue during her widowhood.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

JOHN W. JAMISON, DECEASED.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, also reported back Senate bill No. 427, for the relief of the widow and children of John W. Jamison, deceased, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The reading of the bill was dispensed with,

CHARLOTTE POSEY.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported back a bill (S. No. 318) for the relief of Charlotte Posey with a recommendation that it do pass.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

REBECCA SENOR.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported back a bill (S. No. 316) for the relief of Rebecca Senor, mother of James H. Senor, deceased, with a recommendation that it do pass.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

ELIZABETH STEEPLETON.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, also reported back, with a recommendation that the same do pass, Senate bill No. 494, granting a pension to Elizabeth Steepleton, widow of Harrison W. Steepleton, deceased.

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

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pensionroll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Elizabeth Steepleton, widow of Harrison W. Steepleton, late a private in company E, sixth regiment Indiana legion, and allow and pay her a pension at the rate of eight dollars per month, to commence on the 9th of July, 1863, and to continue during her widowhood.

The bill was read the third time, and passed. Mr. PERHAM 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.

ANNIE E. DIXON.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported adversely upon Senate bill No. 282, granting a pension to Annie E. Dixon; and the same was laid on the table.

CHILDREN OF LA FAYETTE CAMERON. Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported back, with an amendment, Senate bill No. 175, for the relief of Joseph McGhee Cameron and Mary Jane Cameron, children of La Fayette Cameron, deceased.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place the names of Joseph McGhee Cameron and Mary Jane Cameron, residents of the District of Columbia, children under sixteen years of age of La Fayette Cameron, deceased, on the pensionroll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, and to pay them a pension at the rate of eight dollars per month, and to each the additional sum of two dollars per month from the 17th of December, 1862, until they severally attain the age of sixteen years. The amendment was to strike out all after the words "pay them a pension" and to insert the words "from the 17th day of December, 1862."

The amendment was agreed to.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

CHILDREN OF JOSEPH BERRY.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1410) granting a pension to the minor children of Joseph Berry; which was read a first and second time.

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

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pensionroll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the names of Mary E. Berry and Louisa Berry, minor children of Joseph Berry, late a private in company B, fourth regiment Iowa volunteers, commencing October 27, 1862, and to continue until November 26, 1867.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

MRS. ALICE A. DRYER.

Mr. PERHAM, from the same committee, reported back, with a substitute, a bill (H. R. No. 614) for the relief of Mrs. Alice A. Dryer.

The substitute, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Interior to pay to Alice A. Dryer, widow of Hiram Dryer, late a major of the thirteenth regiment United States infantry, whose name is now on the list of pensioners, the sum of twenty-five dollars per month, during her widowhood, in lieu of the pension she is now receiving. This act to take effect from the 5th of March, 1867, the day of the death of Hiram Dryer.

The substitute was agreed to.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

POLLY W. COTTON.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1411) granting a pension to Polly W. Cotton; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Polly W. Cotton, widow of Wayne W. Cotton, late of company G, seventh regiment Tennessee infantry, and pay her a pension as the widow of a captain in lieu of the pension she has been receiving, the pension to com. mence April 18, 1863.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM R. SILVEY.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1412) granting a pension to the children of William R. Silvey; which was read a first and second

time.

The bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the names of William A. Silvey and Mary Elizabeth Ann Silvey, children under the age of sixteen years of William R. Silvey, late a private in company B, second regiment Tennessee infantry, the pension to commence November 13, 1863.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

SETH LEA.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back, with an amendment in the form of a substitute, a bill (H. R. No. 1315) for the relief of Seth Lea.

The substitute proposes to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Seth Lea, of Knox county, Tennessee, and pay him a pension as a second lieutenant, commencing January 15, 1863.

The substitute was agreed to.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

JANE ROOK.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1413) granting a pension to Jane Rook; which was read a first and second time.

The bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to place on the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Jane Rook, mother of James C. Rook, late a private in company A, third regiment Maine volunteer infantry, commencing July 16, 1862.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

SARAH K. JOHNSON.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1414) granting a pension to Sarah K. Johnson; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to place upon the pension-roll, subject to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, the name of Sarah K. Johnson, late of Salisbury, North Carolina, and pay her a pension at the rate of thirty dollars per month, commencing March 4, 1868, and to continue during her natural life.

Mr. MULLINS. I desire to inquire why the committee propose in the case of this lady that the pension shall continue during her nat ural life?

Mr. PERHAM. It is a pension on account of her own services.

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

Mr. PERHAM 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.

Mr. PERHAM. The gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. POLSLEY] has prepared a most interesting report in this case, and I move that it be printed in the Globe with the other proceedings.

The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks that would be proper, as it is a novel case.

Mr. MILLER. I think where there are reports in these cases they should go into the Globe.

The SPEAKER. That would enlarge the Globe very much.

The report was ordered to be printed. It is as follows:

The Committee on Invalid Pensions, to whom was referred the petition of Mrs. Sarah K. Johnson, have

given the same their most careful consideration, and ask leave to make the following report:

That our northern women have won the highest praise for their devotion and self-sacrifice in the cause of their country, but great as their labors and sacrifices have been they are certainly inferior to those of some of the loyal women of the South, who, for the love they bore to their country and its flag, braved all the contempt, obloquy, and scorn which southern women could heap upon them; who lived for years in utter isolation from the society of relations, friends, and neighbors because they would render such aid and succor as was in their power to the defenders of the national cause in prison, in sorrow, and in suffering. Among these heroines none deserves a higher place in the record of womanly patriotism and courage than Mrs. Sarah K. Johnson. At the breaking out of the war Mrs. Johnson was teaching a school in Salisbury, where she was born and always resided. When the first prisoners were brought into that place the southern women turned out in their carriages and with a band escorted them through the town, and when they filed past saluted them with contemptuous epithets. From that time Mrs. Johnson determined to devote herself to the amelioration of the condition of the prisoners; and the testimony of thousands of the Union soldiers confined there proves how nobly she performed the duties she undertook. It was no easy task, for she was entirely alone, being the only woman who openly advocated Union sentiments and attempted to administer to the wants of the prisoners. For fifteen months none of the women of Salisbury spoke to her or called upon her, and every possible indignity was heaped upon her as a Yankee sympathizer.' Her scholars were withdrawn from her school, and it was broken up, and her means were very limited; nevertheless, she accomplished more by sympathetic arrangements than many would have done with a larger outlay of money.

When the first exchange of prisoners was made she went to the depot to arrange some pallets for some of the sick who were leaving, when she stumbled in the crowd, and looking down she found a young Federal soldier who had fainted and fallen, and was in danger of being trodden to death. She raised him up and called for water, but none of the people would get her a drop to save a 'Yankee's' life. Some of the soldiers who were in the cars threw their canteens to her, and she succeeded in reviving bim; during this time the crowd heaped upon her every insulting epithet they could think of, and her life even was in danger. But she braved it all, and succeeded in obtaining permission from Colonel Godwin, then in command of the post, who was a kindhearted man, to let her remove him to her own house, promising to take care of him as if he were her own son, and if he died to give him Christian burial. was in the last stages of consumption, and she felt sure he would die if taken to the prison hospital. None of the citizens of the place would even assist in carrying him, and after a time two gentlemen from Richmond stepped forward and helped to convey him to her house. There she watched over him for hours, as he was in a terrible state from neglect, having had blisters applied to his chest which had never been dressed and were full of vermin.

He

The poor boy, whose name was Hugh Perry, was from Wisconsin, and belonged to the fifth Michigan cavalry, only lived a few days, and she had a grave dug for him in her garden, for burial had been refused in the public graveyard, and she had been threatened that if she had him interred decently his body should be dug up and buried in the street, and they even threatened to take his body from the house for that purpose. Mrs. Johnson assured them that they could only do that over her dead body, and that she should resist them to death.

For this and similar things she was cited to appear before the sessions of the Presbyterian church: for this and similar acts of humanity she was literally ostracised from society, and when the war came to an end she was compelled to leave the place.

During the first two years she was enabled to do a great many acts of kindness for the prisoners, but after that time she was watched very closely as a Yankee sympathizer, and the rules of the prison were stricter, and what she could do was done by strategy. Her means now were much reduced, but she still continued in her good works, cutting up her carpets and spare blankets to make into moccasins, and when new squads of prisoners arrived supplied them with bread and water as they halted in front of her house, which they were compelled to do for hours, waiting the routine of being mustered into the prison. They were not allowed to leave the ranks, and she would turn an old-fashioned windlass herself for hours, raising water from her well; for the prisoners were often twenty-four to forty-eight hours on the railroad without rations or water.

Generally the officer in command would grant her request, but once a sergeant told her, in reply, if she gave any of them a drop of water or a piece of bread or dared to come outside of her gate for that purpose he would pin her to the earth with his bayonet. She defied him, and taking her pail of water in one hand and a basket of bread in the other, she walked directly past him on her errand of mercy; he followed her, placing his bayonet between her shoulders, just so that she could feel the cold steel. She turned and coolly asked him why he did not pin her to the earth, as he had threatened to do, but got no reply. Then some of the rebels said, "Sergeant, you can't make anything out of that woman, you had better let her alone," and she performed ber work unmolested. She came North last summer to visit her daughter who had been placed in school in Connecticut by the kindness of some of the officers she had befriended while in prison, transportation having been given her by Generals Schofield and Carter, who testified to the services she had rendered

our prisoners, and that she was entitled to the gratitude of the Government and all loyal citizens.

Your committee desire to include in their report extracts from a letter of Mr. Eddy, who was confined in Salisbury prison, North Carolina:

"I was a prisoner at that place, and as such formed the acquaintance of Mrs. Johnson, an acquaintance never to be forgotten. Her kindness to the prisoners literally knew no bounds but her abilities, and these seemed to increase with the demands of the case.

"For, like the poor woman of old, her barrel of meal wasted not, neither did her cruise of oil fail.' She was one of those mysterious women who seemed always to abound, and yet to have nothing herself. She is a wonderful woman. No prisoner was sick the fact of which she did not hear at once, and some comfort always came. There was not a single exception. She attended to our washing at a pecuniary loss to herself. She wrote letters of comfort and good cheer. She wept with us, and when we went away she reoiced with us, and was the only one who extended to us a kind and parting hand.

"That she did what she did from pure motives is clear to my mind; first, in that she did it in face of such opposition; second, in that she did it to the impoverishing of herself; third, in that she did it when the almost universal sentiment of the South was that the confederacy must be a success. I believe her motives were pure. I belive she sacrificed everything for the Union soldiers. She was one among the few. We prisoners found but one woman like hier."

The following is a copy of a letter signed by twelve officers of the United States Navy, and at the time it was written were prisoners in Salisbury:

CONFEDERATE STATES MILITARY PRISON, SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA, January 22, 1863. MADAM: Allow me to tender you my many grateful acknowledgments, and those of my officers and fellow-prisoners, for your kind and very acceptable loan of crockery for the use of the mess, without which we should be compelled to take our meals with no regard to proprieties, not to say the decencies of civilized life.

Poor as we are in everything but thanks, we can only pray that this and all the other similar acts of kindness on your part may be abundantly recompensed by Him who has declared that inasmuch as they are done unto the least of one of these his brethren they are done unto Him. I trust that when (if ever) we are so happy as to be released from these bonds we shall be privileged, before returning to our homes and the beloved ones whose hearts are this day full of sorrow and anxiety on our account, to express to you in person our gratitude for your kindness and sympathy for us in the calamity which has befallen us, strangers as we are to you, and with no other claims than that of a common humanity and Christian brotherhood, both unhappily too often disregarded by poth parties in these evil times.

Dr. C. D. Palmer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, certifies as follows:

"I have known her personally and intimately since September, 1866, during which time I have been family physician of Mrs. Sarah K. Johnson. My attention was first drawn to her in the capacity of city physician for the poor, on account of her pecuniary want. I found her much reduced in health, requiring my services almost constantly. Her nervous system has been so seriously impaired from what she has undergone during the war that she has not been, nor do I think she ever will be, able to maintain herself, or attend even to her ordinary household duties. She is a woman of great force of character and strength of will, and no ordinary amount of physical and mental labor could have so wrecked her constitution." From evidence and letters presented to the committee they are of the opinion (as expressed in one of the letters written to her by one who had received aid and comfort from her) that she "lives in the hearts and memories of thousands of our people." She was "the angel of mercy-nobly stepping between the forlorn prisoner and the phantom of despairgiving to his crushed heart a bright remembrance of a good and kind mother, bidding him be patient and cheerful, that the hour of deliverance might find him able to enjoy the anticipated pleasure of a union with the loved ones around the family hearth."

Your committee have examined the case with much care, and take pleasure in reporting the accompanying bill, granting her a pension of thirty dollars per month, commencing March 4, 1868, it appearing that Mrs. Johnson is very feeble in health, and that she has been obliged to leave her native State of North Carolina in consequence of her continued kindness to Union prisoners in the Salisbury prison.

LAND BOUNTIES.

Mr. PERHAM, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, reported back the following resolution; and the same was referred to the Committee on the Public Lands:

Resolved, That the Committee on Pensions be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for bounties in land, to be given to the soldiers of the nation in the late war of the rebellion, and report by bill or otherwise.

CLERK OF PENSION COMMITTEE. Mr. MILLER. I now submit the resolution which is reported from the Committee ou Invalid Pensions.

The Clerk read as follows:

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and is hereby, authorized and directed to pay to the clerk of the Committee on Invalid Pensions a sum of money which shall make his compensation equal to that of the clerk of the Committee of Claims, to commence July 1, 1868.