ou an amendment springing up in this way. I do not see that there is any necessity for determining the matter just at the present time.

Mr. WILSON. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive busi

reports to go upon the Calendar, and not to be brought back into the House on a motion to reconsider, commencing with the Committee of Elections.

No reports were made.

ness.

Mr. SHERMAN. I hope that we may get rid of this appropriation bill. This question may come just as well on some other appropriation bill.

Mr. WILSON. If the Senator withdraws the amendment we can do that.

Mr. HENDERSON. I do not. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator from Massachusetts withdraw his motion for an executive session?

Mr. WILSON. The amendment proposed by the Senator from Illinois will require some further examination and discussion, and if it is to be pressed I certainly think we had better not attempt to pass the bill to-day. We had better let it go over and reflect upon it.

Mr. HENDERSON. I have no objection to that course. I have another amendment that I propose to offer to this bill, and perhaps it is an amendment that ought to be printed and that Senators would like to consider. I do not desire to put myself in the way of the passage of the appropriation bills. If it is absolutely necessary, if the public service requires that the bill should be passed immediately, I shall not stand in the way.

Mr. TRUMBULL. It is a bill for the next fiscal year, and will not go into effect until July next.

Mr. HENDERSON. That is what I supposed, and therefore it is not at all necessary that it should be hurried through immediately. I desire to offer another amendment, to insert the following as an additional section:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That in all cases in which the incumbents of civil offices shall be permitted to perform the duties of their respective offices after their successors shall have been appointed and confirmed by the Senate, and after such successors shall have offered to qualify as provided by law, such incumbents shall not be paid any salary or other compensation, nor shall they be permitted to receive any emoluments of office for services rendered after the expiration of thirty days after the adjournment of the session of the Senate at which the appointment of their successors may be confirmed.

EIGHT-HOUR SYSTEM.

The SPEAKER. The next business in order is the calling of the States and Territories for resolutions, the pending question being upon the resolution offered on Monday last by the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. INGERSOLL.] On the demand for the previous question on Monday, no quorum voted. A motion to lay the resolution on the table was lost, and the question now recurs on seconding the demand for the previous question.

The resolution was read, as follows:

Whereas it is one of the paramount duties of all legislative bodies to lighten as much as possible the burdens resting upon the laboring classes and promote the general welfare: Therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, That the Committee for the District of Columbia be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing by law the eight-hour system, as it is called, as constituting a day's work in the District of Columbia, and that said committee be authorized to report by bill or otherwise.

Mr. PRICE. I move to reconsider the vote by which the House agreed to the resolution; and to lay that motion on the table.

The question having been put on laying the motion on the table, no quorum voted.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I ask the gentleman from California [Mr. BIDWELL] what particular object he has in holding a session to-morrow evening.

Mr. PRICE. I will answer that question. The Committee on the Pacific Railroad has not been called for two months, and from the course of business it will be two months longer before it will be called. Some members will have to be absent in a few days, and the committee are very desirous of making a report.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Do the committee want an evening session for the purpose of passing their bills?

Mr. PRICE. For the purpose of acting upon them.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I consider these Pacific railroad bills as most important, granting as they do some sixty million dol lars, and I trust that this House will not consider them in an evening session. There is no necessity for evening sessions now. The House is far ahead of the Senate, and I trust we will consider this matter only when the committee is called in order for reports.

Mr. CONKLING. Does the resolution admit the construction that action is to be taken on the bill to-morrow night?

The SPEAKER. The Clerk will read the resolution.

The resolution was again read.

Mr. CONKLING. Now, I ask the Chair whether the proper construction of that resolu

eration.

Mr. PRICE. My intention was that these bills should be acted upon to-morrow night, if the House agreed to the resolution. And, Mr. Speaker, I see no force in the objection of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] or that of the gentleman from New York, [Mr. CONKLING.] If it is proper to act upon these bills at any time, they can be acted upon tomorrow just as well as three months hence. The Committee on the Pacific Railroad has not been called for two months; and in the course of the regular call of committees that committee will not, in all probability, be called for two months to come. I have said to the House, and I say again, that there are some members of the committee who wish to be absent for a few days, and who do not feel at liberty to be absent until this committee has been called.

Now, the call of a committee for reports involves the necessity of acting upon the reports when made, although, as a matter of course, the bills reported may be postponed by the House until a day certain.

The SPEAKER. The Chair will read the rule, on page 58 of the Digest:

"The right to report at any time carries with it tho right to consider the matter when reported. And where authority is given to a committee to make a report at a particular time, the right follows to consider the report when made."

Mr. PRICE. Certainly.

Mr. STEVENS. I suggest to the gentleman from Iowa, [Mr. PRICE,] that he consent, or if necessary put it into the resolution, that, although the bills may be discussed, yet no vote shall be taken upon them to-morrow night.

Mr. PRICE. I have no objection to that, if the vote can be taken

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I desire to inquire into what position a bill would be left if it should be discussed to-morrow night without a vote being taken.

The SPEAKER. It would come up the next morning as unfinished business.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. By that means, then, the Committee on the Pacific Railroad would come in ahead of all other committees. I object to that, as it would be unfair to other committees. The Committee on Commerce, having very important business to report, has not had an opportunity to do so for some weeks.

Mr. PRICE. It is a little too late now for the gentleman from Illinois to object, and I will say to him that the very reason why I desire to have to-morrow night fixed for the hearing of reports from the Committee on the Pacific Railroad was that it would not interfere with any other business.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I object to debate. The SPEAKER. The motion to reconsider is not debatable, and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. ELDRIDGE] objects to debate.

On the motion to lay on the table the motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was agreed to, there were-ayes 40, noes 33. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, called for the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 61, nays 40, not voting 82; as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R.

[Mr. HIGBY,] in offering this resolution, to have read any papers that accompany it.

The SPEAKER. It is not; that is in the nature of debate.

Ashley. Baker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell. Bromwell, Broomall, Bundy, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Ferry, Grinnell, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Asahel W. Hubbard, Hulburd, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, McKee, McRuer, Miller, Moorhead, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Orth, Patterson, Perham, Plants, Price, John H. Rice, Rogers, Rollins, Schenck, Smith, Stevens, Thayer, Upson, Burt Van Horn, Warner, William B. Washburn, Wentworth, James F. Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge-61.

NAYS-Messrs. Ancona, Boyer, Chanler, Render W. Clarke, Conkling, Delano, Dixon, Eggleston, Eldridge, Eliot, Farquhar, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Hale, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Chester D. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Jenckes, Julian, Latham, Marshall, McCullough, Mercur, Paine, Ritter, Ross, Scofield, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Spalding, Taber, Taylor, Francis Thomas. Trowbridge, Ward, and Elihu B. Washburne-40.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Alley, James M. Ashley, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Bergen, Blaine, Brandegee, Buckland, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coffroth, Cook, Cullom, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawson, Denison, Dodge, Dumont, Eckley, Farnsworth, Garfield, Grider, Griswold, Harris, Hart, Hill, Hogan, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Jones, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Le Blond, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, Morrill, Newell, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, O'Neill, Phelps, Pike, Pomeroy, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Wiliam H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, Rousseau, Sawyer, Shellabarger, Sloan, Starr, Stilwell, Strouse, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Trimble, Van Aernam, Robert T. Van Horn, Henry D. Washburn, Welker, Whaley, Williams, Stephen F. Wilson, Winfield, and Wright-82.

So the motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

CUSTOM-HOUSE FRAUDS, ETC.

Mr. HIGBY submitted the following resolution, upon which he demanded the previous question:

Resolved, That the Committee on Public Expenditures be instructed to investigate the compromises of frauds upon the revenue which are alleged to have taken place in connection with the custom-house at Boston, and to ascertain what disposition has been made of the moneys paid under such compromises; also, to investigate such other alleged frauds upon the customs or internal revenue as they may deem advisable, and whether any vexatious suits have been commenced against importers and others brought or instigated by any person or persons connected with the customs or internal revenue service in the cities of Boston or New York; and that the committee be authorized to send for persons and papers; and if, in their judgment, it shall be necessary and most economical to take testimony in Boston or New York by such members of the committee as they may designate, not exceeding five in number, such designated members of the committee may have leave to sit during the recess of Congress for the purpose of such investigation, and with the aforesaid powers and authority.

Mr. DAWES. It is due to the character and object of the resolution that it should not be passed under the previous question.

Mr. SPALDING. I object to debate. Mr. DAWES. I hope the previous question will not be sustained.

||

The question was put on seconding the demand for the previous question; and there were-ayes 17, noes 43; no quorum voting. Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. HIGBY and CHANLER were appointed.

The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes 35, noes 62.

So the House refused to second the demand for the previous question.

Mr. DAWES. I rise to debate the resolution.

The SPEAKER. Then the resolution goes over under the rule.

COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS.

Whereas one great object contemplated in the establishment of the Agricultural Department was the distribution of valuable seeds and plants among the people of the United States: Therefore,

Resolved, That the Committee on Agriculture be directed to inquire into the money value of the quota of seeds and plants received by the members of Congress from the Department; what proportion the same holds to the whole appropriation for that purpose; whether a much larger quota could not be obtained by advertisement and contracts with the gardeners and nurserymen of the country; and generally what steps are necessary to increase the efficiency of the Agricultural Department.

RECONSTRUCTION-TENNESSEE.

Mr. LATHAM submitted the following preamble and resolutions:

Whereas the committee on reconstruction has reported that the people of Tennessee are found to be in a condition to exercise the functions of a State within this Union; and whereas, by the information received through the investigations of said committee and through other channels, it is the sense of this House that the people of said State are entitled to representation herein: Therefore,

Resolved by the House of Representatives, (the Senate concurring.) That the committee on reconstruction be, and the same is hereby, relieved from the further consideration of all matters pertaining to the representation of the State of Tennessee in this House.

Resolved, That the credentials of the Representatives-elect from said State be, and the same are hereby, referred to the Committee of Elections, with leave to report at any time, and with instructions to report as soon as practicable upon the elections, returns, and qualifications of each of said Representatives-elect.

Mr. BROOMALL. I would ask if that does not go to the committee on reconstruction without debate.

Mr. LATHAM. The resolution is to relieve the committee from the further consideration of the subject so far as the State of Tennessee

is concerned.

the first resolution should be concurred in by the Senate, being a concurrent resolution, then the committee on reconstruction would be required under it to report back the credentials of Representatives-elect from Tennessee; and then the House would take such action as they pleased in regard to them.

Mr. LATHAM. I will withdraw the second resolution.

Mr. BROOMALL. Can that be done now? The SPEAKER. The gentleman has the right to withdraw his resolution or to modify it before any vote has been taken.

Mr. RANDALL, of Pennsylvania. I understand the Speaker to say that if the Senate should concur in the resolution then this committee on reconstruction would be discharged from the further consideration of the credentials in question. I rise to a point of order, that the Senate has nothing to do with credentials of members-elect to this House.

The SPEAKER. The Chair overrules the point of order. The resolution reads, "the Senate concurring," and the gentleman who offered it has thus submitted it as a concurrent resolution.

Is that resolution in

The SPEAKER. It is. A resolution of the House can be rescinded by a subsequent resolution of the House, introduced by any member under theegular call of the States. But this is a concurrent resolution, and though offered in order, requires by its language the action of the Senate.

Mr. CONKLING. I rise to a question of order.

The SPEAKER. The Chair will examine the resolution.

Mr. BROOMALL. I hold that the concurrent resolution of the two Houses cannot be repealed in this way.

The SPEAKER. The Chair would rule that the first resolution offered by the gentleman from West Virginia, [Mr. LATHAM,] being a concurrent resolution, is in order. But the second resolution, being a simple resolution.of the House, would not be in order at present. If

Mr. BROOMALL. order under this call?

The whole subject of the resolution having been referred to a committee, I allude to the joint committee and to the joint action of the two Houses, and that committee not having asked to be discharged, and the time to reconsider the reference having passed, it is not now in order, by a new resolution, passed by a mere majority, and not under a suspension of the rules, to bring the matter back into the House for consideration. If the point of order is not supported by the ground I have stated, I submit another ground.

The committee having possession of this subject has made a report to the House. That report is still pending. A motion to recommit the report was adopted, but a motion to reconsider the recommittal was entered and still stands. This arrested the subject on its way back to the joint committee, and left it before the House. Thus it is out of order to discharge the committee of the subject, because the House and not the committee has possession of it now. It cannot be brought up in the manner proposed.

Mr. ROSS. Is it in order for the gentleman from New York [Mr. CONKLING] to make a speech now?

The SPEAKER. The Chair is of opinion that the gentleman from New York has not gone beyond fully stating the point of order.

Mr. ROSS. He seemed to me to be making quite a speech.

The SPEAKER. The Chair overrules the first part of the point of order, and sustains the second part, which is that the committee on reconstruction have reported on the credentials from Tennessee; that the report was recommitted to that committee, and that, while a motion to reconsider is pending, the report is before the House and not before the committee. The question in regard to Tennessee is not before the committee on reconstruction, but before the House.

Mr. FINCK. I rise to a point of order. Has not the report of the committee in regard to Tennessee been recommitted?

The SPEAKER. It has; but the motion to reconsider is pending, which arrests the action of the House.

Mr. FINCK. Is it not always in the power of the House to discharge a committee?"

The SPEAKER. It is, if the matter is before the committee; but, as stated by the

gentleman from New York, the matter is not before the committee, but before the House, pending a motion to reconsider.

Mr. LATHAM. What will be the first vote taken on the motion to reconsider?

The SPEAKER. The first vote will be on the reconsideration of the vote by which the subject was recommitted. The Clerk will read from page 164 of Barclay's Digest.

The Clerk read, as follows:

requested to furnish this House with a full statement of all money on hand, on the 10th day of July, 1865, applicable to the support of the various Indian tribes. and for all other purposes connected with the Indian service. Also, the entire amount which has been expended since that time and up to the 20th day of April, 1866, and the objects for which such expenditures have been made, together with the amount now on hand applicable to said service under the following heads." Also the amount which has been expended, over and above the appropriations already made, namely:

Pay of superintendents and agents, pay of subagents, pay of temporary clerks by superintendents, pay of interpreters, pay for presents to Indians, pay for provisions for Indians, pay for agency buildings and repairs, for contingent expenses of the Indian department, for making treaties with Indian tribes, for transportation of Indian annuity goods, support of refugee Indians in the southern and midale superintendencies, amount expended for support of refugee and other Indians over and above the amount heretofore appropriated.

The SPEAKER. To reconsider the vote by which the report in the Tennessee case was recommitted to the committee on reconstruction. That can be called up at any time when the House is not engaged in the transaction of other business.

Mr. LATHAM. If the House reconsider that vote, what would be the next vote?

The SPEAKER. The subject would be before the House-not recommitted to the committee.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. Does the Chair decide that the committee have not the subject in charge?

The SPEAKER. The subject is not before the committee pending the motion to reconsider, which can be called up at any time when the House is not engaged in other business.

Mr. ROSS. Is there no chance by which the House can get rid of this committee?

The SPEAKER. That is not germane to the question before the House.

Mr. WENTWORTH. I call for the regular order of business.

Mr. DELANO. I take an appeal from the decision of the Chair in reference to the Tennessee credentials.

The SPEAKER. The appeal is entertained but is not debatable, as it has been made at a time when debate is not in order, and upon a question growing out of an undebatable subject.

Mr. CONKLING. I move that the appeal be laid upon the table.

Mr. RANDALL, of Pennsylvania. I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DELANO. As the appeal is not debatable I withdraw it.

INDIAN DEPREDATIONS.

Mr. HITCHCOCK, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to provide for the relief of persons for damages sustained by reason of depredations and injuries by certain bands of Arrapahoes, Cheyenne, and Sioux Indians; which was read a first and second time, ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

FIRST REGIMENT COLORADO MILITIA.

Mr. BRADFORD, by unanimous consent, submitted the following preamble and resolution; which were read, considered, and agreed

to:

Whereas it is represented that a certain regiment of militia, known as the first regiment of Colorado mounted militia, was in the winter of 1865 mustered into the service of the United States by order of Colonel Thomas Moonlight, then commanding the district of Colorado, and that they remained in the service for several months, the horses and a portion of the equipments being supplied from private means, and that said regiment was discharged without compensation: Therefore,

Be it resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the facts, and if they find them to be substantially true as stated, to report a bill providing such compensation as may be just and proper.

SUPPORT OF INDIAN TRIBES.

Mr. BURLEIGH, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be

TRIAL OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. The SPEAKER. The next business in order is the following resolution offered by the gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. JULIAN,] which was laid over one day under the rule:

Resolved, (as the deliberate judgment of this House,) That the speedy trial of Jefferson Davis, either by a civil or military tribunal, for the crime of treason or the other crimes of which he stands charged, and his prompt execution, if found guilty, are imperatively demanded by the people of the United States in order that treason may be adequately branded by the nation, traitors made infamous, and the repetition of their crimes, as far as possible, be prevented.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I suggest to the gentleman to refer that to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. JULIAN. Mr. Speaker, is this resolution now debatable?

The SPEAKER. It is; it was laid over under the rule for debate.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Has the morning hour expired?

The SPEAKER. The morning hour will expire in one minute.

Mr. JULIAN. I demand the previous question on the adoption of the resolution.

Mr. SMITH. I desire to debate it.

The SPEAKER. If the previous question is not seconded it will then be open for debate. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I ask that the resolution be again reported.

The SPEAKER. It will again be reported if there is no objection.

Mr. JULIAN. I object.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Has not the morning hour expired?

The SPEAKER. Not yet.

The previous question was seconded-ayes

50, noes 42.

Mr. ANCONA. I demand tellers on seconding the demand for the previous question. The SPEAKER. It is too late.

Mr. ANCONA. Then I demand tellers on ordering the main question.

Mr. HARRIS. Is the resolution debatable? The SPEAKER. It is not.

Mr. CHANLER. Is it in order to move to lay the resolution on the table?

The SPEAKER. It is.

Mr. CHANLER. I make that motion, and demand the yeas and nays upon it.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. Iagain ask the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. JULIAN] to permit this to go to the Committee on the Judiciary, who are now investigating that charge and taking testimony.

Mr. HARDING, of Illinois. I do not see that this resolution involves any doubtful question upon which we need the advice of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. ELDRIDGE.

Is it in

order to move

an amendment?

The SPEAKER. It is not. Mr. ELDRIDGE. I ask the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. JULIAN] to allow the word "military' to be stricken out, so as to leave it that he shall be tried by a civil tribunal. Then there will be no objection to it.

Mr. GARFIELD. I hope it will not be stricken out, but that we shall have full power to try him.

this House has no authority whatever to pass upon.

The SPEAKER. The Chair overrules the question of order. It is not a question of order; it is a matter for the discretion of the House.

Mr. JULIAN. I conceive no possible reason for declining a direct vote on the proposition, and I therefore ask for a vote of the House on the resolution as it stands.

Mr. HARRIS. I rise to a point of order, that the resolution presents a question which

tion was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

NITRO-GLYCERINE.

from the further consideration of the message of the President of the United States transmitting communications from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General, requestinga modification of the oath of office prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and the same was laid upon the table, and the report of the committee ordered to be printed. Mr. ROGERS submitted a minority report upon the same subject; which was laid upon the table, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa, moved to reconsider the vote by which the report of the Committee on the Judiciary was disposed of; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

PREVENTION OF CHOLERA.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I move to suspend the rules to enable me to report from the Committee on Commerce, for action at this time, a joint resolution to prevent the introduction of cholera into the ports of the United States.

The question was taken; and two thirds voting in favor thereof, the rules were suspended.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, then, from the Committee on Commerce, reported the joint resolution; which was read a first and second time.

The joint resolution authorizes the President of the United States to make and carry into effect such orders and regulations of quarantine as in his opinion may be deemed necessary and proper, in aid of State or municipal authorities, to guard against the introduction of cholera into the ports of the United States. It further authorizes the President to empower military and naval commanders in ports and places in States that have been or are in insurrection to enforce such quarantine regulations as may be deemed necessary for the purpose of guarding against the introduction of cholera or yellow fever, and providing for a proper course of treatment of patients.

The resolution also appropriates such amount of money as may be necessary to carry the joint resolution into effect.

Mr. SCOFIELD. I rise to a point of order. I submit that, as the joint resolution makes an appropriation, it must have its first consideration in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Pennsylvania will observe that the suspension of the rules suspended that rule as well as all others. The motion was to suspend the rules that the joint resolution might be considered in the House at this time.

Mr. SCOFIELD. Then I wish to suggest to the gentleman from Illinois that there ought to be some limit to the amount of the appropriation.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. The committee considered that point, and they did not fix any limit to the amount of the appropriation because it was impossible to tell how much or how little would be needed. It is a matter which must necessarily be left to the discretion of the Departments. I would be in favor of fixing a very small sum if the object could be accomplished. But the yellow fever

is

now prevailing in some of the ports and in other places in the South, and the Secretary of War has issued an order rather outside of his authority, and unless some provision of this kind shall be made he says he will have to revoke that order. I hope, therefore, the House will pass the joint resolution, and I demand the previous question upon it.

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

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

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolu

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, gave notice that the Committee on Commerce, to which was referred the subject of the necessary legislation to protect life and property from the dangerous explosive properties of nitro-glycerine, with leave to report upon the subject at any time, would probably be prepared to report on Thursday next, at which time they would ask the action of the House upon the subject.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT.

A message in writing was here received from the President of the United States, by Hon. EDMUND COOPER, acting Private Secretary; also a message that he had approved and signed bills and joint resolutions of the following titles, namely:

An act (H. R. No. 18) to authorize the sale of marine hospitals and of revenue-cutters; An act (H. R. No. 25) for the relief of Thomas Hurly;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 88) expressive of the thanks of Congress to Major General Winfield S. Hancock;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 102) for the relief of Alexander Thompson late United States consul at Maranham; and

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 108) appointing managers for the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.

The House resumed the consideration of the bill (H. R. No. 361) entitled "An act to reorganize and establish the Army of the United States."

The following section was under consideration:

SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the quartermaster's department of the Army shall hereafter consist of one quartermaster general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier general; six quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; ten quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant colonels of cavalry; fifteen quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; forty-four quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry; and at least two thirds of all original vacancies in each of the grades of lieutenant colonel or major, and all original vacancies in the grade of captain shall be filled by selection from among those persons who have rendered meritorious service as assistant quartermasters of volunteers in the Army of the United States in the late war. But after the first appointments made under the provisions of this section, as vacancies may occur in the grades of major and captain in this department, no appointments to fill the same shall be made until the number of majors shall be reduced to twelve and the number of captains to thirty, and thereafter the number of officers in each of said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers.

by Mr. DAVIS: The following amendment had been moved

Strike out all after the enacting clause of the section. and insert the following:

That the quartermaster's department of the Army shall hereafter consist of one quartermaster general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier general; four assistant quartermasters general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; eight deputy quartermasters general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant colonels of cavalry: sixteen quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; and forty-eight assistant quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry, and the vacancies hereby created in the grade of assistant quartermaster shall be filled by selection from among the persons who have rendered meritorious service as assistant quartermasters of volunteers during two years of the

The question recurred upon the amendment of Mr. DAVIS.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move to amend the amendment by adding the following:

But as vacancies may occur in the grades of major and captain in this department no appointments to fill the same shall be made until the number of majors shall be reduced to twelve and the number of captains to thirty, and thereafter the number of officers in cach of said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers.

The amendment proposed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. THAYER] and accepted by the gentleman from New York [Mr. DAVIS] in lieu of one he had offered does not conform, as I will hereafter show, to what was recommended by the military officers to which this matter was submitted. There has been a great deal of misapprehension upon that matter, which has been persistently pressed upon this House, all of which I mean to clear up by the record.

But I confine myself now to proposing to amend the substitute by adding to it that which I have read, and which is contained in the original section, eventually reducing the number the continued increase of the force in the quarof those officers with a view to guarding against termaster's department, and bringing it down, even in case the substitute should be adopted, to the point to which the committee think it should be brought, by legislation looking to the future sufficiency of the quartermaster's department.

Now, I have already said to this House that there has been a continued effort made to increase the number of officers and to increase their rank in the different bureaus or staff departments stationed here at Washington. And I have said to the House that I was prepared to expect that, whenever any committee felt it their duty to report against this gradual progress in the increase of numbers, rank, and pay in these staff departments, there would be a general outcry from those departments, which would be felt in its influence upon this House; and, as I once before said, that influence has gone far beyond my expectations. This House has already passed upon the Adjutant General's department, and has added two colonels and one lieutenant colonel beyond what was ever recommended by anybody outside of this House, and beyond what was asked for by the Adjutant General's department itself. That the House has already done.

Mr. CONKLING. If the gentleman will allow me, I desire to say that I have no doubt the fact is precisely as he states it; and I wish to say for one that, such being the effect of the section, I voted under an entire misapprehension; I understood the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. THAYER] to receive from a mem ber of the committee the assurance that the effect of the amendment would be to leave the matter precisely as it stood; and when afterward the chairman of the committee showed us the effect of that amendment, I am satisfied that it took entirely by surprise a large number of those who had voted for it.

Mr. SCHENCK. I am assured by two or three gentlemen around me that they voted under a misapprehension; and I desire to prevent any such misapprehension in the future. Mr. THAYER. Will the gentleman allow

me to correct an erroneous statement?

Mr. SCHENCK. I will give the gentleman an opportunity to make the correction when I get through.

Now, sir, I think myself that the House, in voting upon the proposition made by the gen tleman from Pennsylvania, did not understand that he had accepted a modification proposed by the gentleman from Maine, [Mr. BLAINE, which introduced an entirely new feature. am sorry that the gentleman from Maine, my colleague on the committee, is not present at this time, because I wish that the history of this matter shall be fully understood. proposed by the gentleman to go further than the Department itself had asked, because if we did not do so, certain friends of his would

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