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the bills and joint resolution were severally read twice by their titles and referred to the Committee on Claims:

A bill (H. R. No. 354) for the relief of Edward P. McKinney, of Binghamton, New York, late captain and assistant commissary of subsistence;

A bill (H. R. No. 386) for the relief of Francis A. Gibbons;

A bill (H. R. No. 516) for the relief of Munroe Young;

A bill (H. R. No. 517) for the relief of Liston H. Pearce;

A bill (H. R. No. 518) for the relief of the owners of the bark Maria Henry;

A bill (H. R. No. 519) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for the payment of horses and other property destroyed in the military service of the United States," approved June 25, 1864;

A bill (H. R. No. 520) for the relief of Elisha J. House, assessor of internal revenue for the second district of Michigan;

A bill (H. R. No. 521) for the benefit of Henry Horne;

A bill (H. R. No. 522) for the relief of Nathan Noyes; and

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 122) referring the claim of W. N. Swayne and P. K. Howard to the Court of Claims.

JOINT RESOLUTIONS INTRODUCED.

Mr. WILSON asked, and by unanimous conBent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 76) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which was read twice by its title, referred to the joint committee on reconstruction, and ordered to be printed.

He also asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 77) respecting brevet rank of officers of the Army; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL.

the

Mr. SHERMAN. I move to take up Post Office appropriation bill so that it may be left as the unfinished business of to-day to come up at one o'clock on Monday.

Mr. TRUMBULL. Before the bill is taken I desire to submit an amendment which I up, wish to have printed.

Mr. SHERMAN. Let the bill be taken up first.

The motion was agreed to; and the consideration of the bill (H. R. No. 280) making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, and for other purposes, was resumed.

Mr. TRUMBULL. I wish to withdraw the amendment which I offered to this bill some days ago, and I now send to the Chair an amendment to take its place, and I ask that it be printed.

The amendment was received and ordered to be printed.

Mr. RAMSEY. I move that the Senate adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
FRIDAY, April 27, 1866.

The House met at twelve o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. C. B. BOYNTON.

The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

FREEDMEN.

Mr. KASSON, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be communicated to this House a collation of the provisions in reference to freedmen, contained in the amended constitutions of the southern States, and in the laws passed by those States since the overthrow of the rebellion, so far as information upon that subject may be in the possession of the Executive Government.

COMMITTEE DISCHARGED FROM SUNDRY CASES.

On motion of Mr. ANCONA, the Committee on Military Affairs was discharged from the further consideration of the following cases, which were laid upon the table:

Petitions and memorials, with accompanying papers, of sundry officers and their legal representatives, for relief from responsibility on account of funds, vouchers, records, &c., captured and lost by them during the late war, namely: Majors E. L. Moore, C. C. Clark, D. Colden Ruggles, deceased, by his administrator, General George D. Ruggles, and John M. Austin, paymasters United States Army; Lieutenant Henry J. Spooner, Brevet Major William R. Murphy, Lieutenant Alfred C. Law, and Lieutenant Augustus H. Plummer, acting commissaries of subsistence.

Also, the following bills and joint resolution: A bill (H. R. No. 395) for the relief of Brevet Major T. C. Bowles, assistant quartermaster United States volunteers;

A bill (H. R. No. 148) for the relief of Captain Charles Brewster, commissary of subsistence; and

payment of $540 in full for the services of the claimant as chaplain of the one hundred and thirty-second regiment Illinois volunteers during the recent rebellion.

The report in the case was read. It states that the claimant was appointed chaplain by Governor Yates, of Illinois, on the 1st of June, 1864, and his name, through the negligence of the officers, was never placed on the musterroll.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I would like to know why, if this man has performed services during the whole of the war, his name was not on the roll. It is very strange that there should be a chaplain serving during the war, treated as such, and getting no pay. It is, perhaps, one of those cases spoken of the other day. There were many of these patriotic men who proposed to go into the war, and who were willing to serve for nothing, and after serving on those terms they now come back and ask for pay.

Mr. THORNTON. I will explain it. The petitioner served only for three months, instead of during the war, and his name was not

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 111) for the re-put on the muster-roll, as appears clearly from lief of Lieutenant À. H. Pearl, acting commissary of subsistence.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I call for the regular order of business.

The House accordingly proceeded, as the regular order of business, to call the committees for reports of a private nature, commencing with the Committee of Claims."

ADVERSE REPORTS.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Claims, made adverse reports on the petition of Lewis Laddoners, and the petition of W. P. Ellison and others; which were laid on the table.

MUNROE YOUNG.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Munroe Young; which was read a first and second time.

The bill was read in full. It proposes to pay $141 70 in gold to the claimant, being the amount wrongfully collected of him as duties on articles recovered from the wreck of the British ship William Corey, at Portland, Maine, on the 19th of June, 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. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.
EDWARD P. M'KINNEY.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Claims, reported House bill No. 354, for the relief of Edward P. McKinney, of Binghamton, late captain and assistant commissary of subsistence.

The bill was read. It allows $475, or so much thereof as the proof shall establish, on the claimant proving satisfactorily that the money was properly paid by him prior to the 13th of August, 1864, to men of the Rhode Island and United States cavalry, and that his vouchers were forcibly taken and destroyed between Harper's Ferry and Winchester, Virginia, without fault on his part.

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. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

LISTON H. PEARCE.

Mr. THORNTON, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Liston H. Pearce; which was read a first and second time.

The bill was read in full. It authorizes the

the testimony, from no fault of his, but of the officers. All the officers of the regiment certified that he performed service as chaplain of the regiment, which served only three months. He supposed his name was on the roll, but in consequence of the neglect of the officers it was not. But he performed the service in good faith.

Mr. TAYLOR. I would ask the gentleman if this chaplain was ever appointed by the Governor of his State or in any other way.

Mr. THORNTON. He was appointed by Governor Yates, of Illinois, and afterward by the late President.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. It is not made entirely clear to my mind why this gentleman's name was not put upon the roll if he was a regular chaplain.

Mr. THORNTON. The evidence does not disclose the reason, but the inference is that it was from neglect on the part of the officers.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I understood my colleague to say that this claimant was only in the three months' service. That was all.

Mr. THORNTON.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Well, the amount is small.

Mr. DEMING. I would ask the gentleman if he was ever appointed a field officer by any competent authority?

Mr. THORNTON. He was, by Governor Yates, of Illinois.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

BARK MARIA HENRY.

Mr. THORNTON also, from the same committee, reported a bill for the relief of the owners of the bark Maria Henry; which was read, a first and second time.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the sum of $12,000 to George Hern, agent of the owners of the bark Maria Henry, as full compensation for the use and detention of the said vessel by the United States from the 26th of February to the 26th of May, 1865, inclusive.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I move that this bill be referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. THORNTON. I hope that motion will not prevail. This case has been investigated very carefully by the Committee of Claims, to which it was referred. It provides compensation to the owners of this bark for the use or detention of the vessel. I think the Committee of Claims is just as competent to take charge of an investigation of such a matter as the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. LAWRENCE, of Ohio. I submit that this bill involves an appropriation and must have its first consideration in a Committee of the Whole House.

The SPEAKER. The Chair would have sustained the point of order if it had been made in time, but the House has already considered the bill in the House. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] has moved to refer it to the Committee on Commerce, and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. THORNTON] is making remarks in opposition to that motion. Mr. THORNTON. I ask that the report be read.

The report was read.

that this was a new vessel of six hundred and forty tons, and this charter to the Government was for her first voyage. The vessel was worth from sixty to sixty-five thousand dollars. She was chartered for this trip to Port Royal, and was detained, as has been stated by the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. THORNTON,] for sixty-nine days. She was rechartered to go to Philadelphia for a cargo of coal, and while waiting there she was notified that no cargo could be provided for her.

She was finally discharged in May, just at the time when business was at a stand-still in consequence of the collapse of the rebellion, and no freight could be obtained there. And the vessel had to take a very low charter to go from there to St. John, and there take a charter to England. Any gentleman acquainted with com

Mr. THORNTON. It will be seen by the report that in February, 1865, the quartermaster's department chartered this vessel to carry oats and hay from Portland, Maine, to Port|mercial matters must know very well that a vesRoyal, South Carolina; and the agreement was that she was not to be detained in discharging her cargo longer than ten days. This would have released the vessel on the 26th of February. Instead of that she was detained at Port Royal until the 9th of March, 1865, and was then ordered to Moorhead City, North Carolina, and there discharged her cargo, and was detained there until the 26th of May, 1865. The vessel was thus detained by the military authorities for nearly a hundred days. She then sailed for Philadelphia.

The proof shows that during the time this vessel was detained by the military authorities she might have earned $12,500 in carrying coal from Philadelphia to New Orleans. But the bark was detained, as I have said, and the committee have fixed upon the sum of $12,000 as the amount of damages sustained by the owners of the bark in consequence of this detention.

The committee are satisfied, from a thorough examination of the case, that the amount is much less than the very serious damage done the owners of the vessel during the time of its detention by the military authorities. I hope the bill will pass, and not be referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I made the motion to refer this bill to the Committee on Commerce because bills of this character are always referred to that committee, as they have the jurisdiction of cases of this kind. I trust my colleague [Mr. THORNTON] will make no objection to referring this bill to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. THORNTON. I hope not; the matter has been already fully investigated.

Mr. UPSON. Is this amount of $12,000 estimated and reckoned as a loss of profit?

Mr. THORNTON. The difficulty was in determining upon the proper rule for estimating the amount of damages. The owners claimed constructive damages; but the committee based the amount here named in the bill upon the last contract made to carry coal from Philadelphia to New Orleans, and for carrying that coal the owners could have netted $12,500. In view of that and of the port and insurance charges and outfitting expenses, the committee are satisfied that $12,000 will not cover the entire loss.

Mr. UPSON. It is, then, an estimate of loss of profits?

Mr. THORNTON. To some extent it is. Mr. UPSON. I do not know upon what principle of law this can be given.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois From the reading of the report in this case it appears that this contract was entered into, and a certain amount stipulated as demurrage, which, at the rate of $12,000 for the time here named, would make $48,000 a year for a bark which I presume could have been bought for $12,000 in the first instance.

Mr. THORNTON. It was a new bark, and cost $60,000. This was its first trip, according to the proof of merchants in Portland, Maine. The gentleman, therefore, is entirely mistaken in his conclusion.

Mr. LYNCH. I will say, in reply to the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. WASHBURNE,]

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sel on a voyage cannot afford to take demurrage for lying in port. And besides all this, if the owners had had the liberty to take a charter at the time the Government chartered her, it has been shown here, and attested by the evidence of merchants in New York, Philadel phia, and Portland, who are well acquainted with these matters, that the owners would have made in that time more than twenty thousand dollars. This is not speculative at all, but the ordinary freight of the vessel, based upon the amount she earned from the time she left Portland until the time she had discharged her cargo at Port Royal.

Now, I want to say one word further, in regard to the motion of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] to refer the bill to the Committee on Commerce. That will involve a delay of some months, and will very probably carry it beyond the close of this session. The Committee of Claims have had the matter in charge from the first of the session. There have been no lobby agents here, for the men who own this vessel are not able to employ lobby agents. They are a few men of limited means, who have put all their means in this vessel, and are now embarrassed for want of what is justly due them from the Government.

There are now claims upon the vessel which are waiting the payment of this amount which is due from the Government. I hope, at any rate, that the matter will be settled here now, so that these parties may know what is to be their fate. I trust that the bill will not be permitted to go over to the next session, which would inevitably be its fate if it should be referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. DELANO. There are a number of other matters which I desire to get before the House this morning; and therefore I feel compelled to call the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; which was upon the motion to refer the bill to the Committee on Commerce.

The motion was not agreed to.

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. THORNTON 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.

COMPENSATION FOR HORSES.

Mr. THORNTON, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide for the payment of horses and other property destroyed in the military service of the United States,' approved June 25, 1864;" which was read a first and second time.

The bill provides that the act which it proposes to amend shall, from the commencement of the recent rebellion, extend to and include all cases of the loss of any horse by any officer, non-commissioned officer, private, or musician in the military service of the United States, while in the line of his duty in such service, by the abandonment of the same in consequence of injury arising from unavoidable accidents in

land transportation fur ished by the Government, wherever it shall appear that such abandonment was the result of the order of a superior officer, and the injury and loss were with out any fault or negligence on the part of the person sustaining such loss.

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

Mr. THORNTON. Mr. Speaker, I will only remark that a law passed in 1849 provided for compensation for the loss of horses in consequence of accidents in water transportation. În 1864 another law was enacted, providing for compensation for the loss of horses captured by the enemy. There have been referred to the Committee of Claims a number of resolutions and bills contemplating compensation for horses lost in the recent war in consequence of unavoidable accidents by land transportation. During the war a great many horses were transported upon the various railroads of the country; and this bill simply provides that the act of 1864 shall be extended so as to include cases of horses abandoned by order of a superior officer, in consequence of unavoidable accident resulting from land transportation furnished by the Government. It will embrace only a very small class of cases. The committee are satisfied, from the cases which have come before them, that a law of this kind is necessary and just.

Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question. Mr. McKEE. I trust the gentleman will not press the demand for the previous question. I desire to offer a substitute for the bill.

Mr. THORNTON. I respectfully decline to yield for that purpose. I am satisfied that the House is not ready at this time to go further than this bill provides; and I prefer that the gentleman should present his proposition at some other time.

On seconding the previous question, there were-ayes 53, noes 11; no quorum voting.

The SPEAKER, under the rule, ordered tellers; and appointed Messrs. THORNTON and MCKEE.

The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes seventy-five, noes not counted.

So the previous question was seconded. The main question was ordered; and under the operation thereof 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. THORNTON 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.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

Mr. TROWBRIDGE, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee had examined and found truly enrolled bills of the following titles; which were thereupon signed by the Speaker:

An act (S. No. 158) to facilitate the settlement of accounts of the Treasurer of the United States, and to secure certain moneys to the United States, or to the persons to whom they are due, and who are entitled to receive the same; and

An act (S. No. 255) to remit and refund certain duties.

FRANCIS A. GIBBONS.

Mr. DELANO, from the Committee of Claims, reported back House bill No. 386, for the relief of Francis A. Gibbons, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The bill, which was read, provides that the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise expended, the sum of $563 19 to Francis A. Gibbons, the same being money paid by him for property purchased at a quartermaster's sale, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on the 15th day of February, 1863, under the direction of Colonel Belger, assistant quartermaster, which was not delivered to the purchaser.

Mr. DELANO demanded the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof 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. DELANO moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

BEALS AND DIXON.

Mr. DELANO, from the same committee, reported back Senate resolution No. 56, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to. adjust the claim of Beals & Dixon against the United States, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The joint resolution, which was read, provides that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to cause the accounts of Beals & Dixon, for deliveries of material after May 1, 1861, under their contracts with the United States, to be adjusted and paid; allowing to said Beals & Dixon such additional prices for material delivered after May 1, 1861, as, in his opinion, they may be justly entitled to under the provisions of their supplementary contract, dated January 1, 1857; provided, that in the opinion of the Attorney General said Beals & Dixon have a legal claim upon the United States for an increase of prices under said contract.

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

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

GOLDSMITH BROTHERS.

Mr. DELANO. I am directed by the Committee of Claims to report back Senate bill No. 192, for the relief of Goldsmith Brothers, of the cities of San Francisco, California, and Portland, Oregon, brokers, and to move that it be referred to the Committee of the Whole House

on the Private Calendar.

I will barely say to the House and to the friends of this bill, which is to duplicate certain Treasury notes to the amount of $10,000 alleged to have been lost, that the committee after a careful analysis of the evidence came to the 'conclusion that in two particulars, it is too weak to justify them in recommending the passage of the bill, and for the purpose of enabling the friends to supply this deficiency I move its reference as I have indicated.

Mr. HENDERSON. When are we likely to reach the bill in the Committee of the Whole House on the Private Calendar? I want to know so as to have the necessary proof ready.

The SPEAKER. The Chair would infer from the remarks of the chairman when the evidence is supplied he will call the case up. The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the Private Calendar.

Mr. DELANO. I ask to have entered a motion to reconsider the vote by which the bill was referred, so that I may have the bill under my control.

The motion was accordingly entered.

ELISHA J. HOUSE.

Mr.DELANO, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Elisha J. House. The bill was read a first and second time.

It provides that the proper accounting officers of the Treasury Department shall credit and allow Elisha J. House $797 47 in the settlement of his accounts.

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

On motion of Mr. DELANO, the Committee of Claims was discharged from the further consideration of the petition of William McBry

ant, and the same was referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

EMPLOYMENT OF A CLERK.

Mr. DELANO, in response to a resolution of the House, reported that in the judgment of the Committee of Claims a clerk is necessary and indispensable for the transaction of its business; that all the customary hours of labor during the day, and frequently far into the night, are devoted by the clerk to the necessary and legitimate business of the committee, and that no member of the committee has employed him in attending to private business during business hours for the reason that his time is fully employed in his public duties. The report was laid upon the table, and ordered to be printed.

W. N. SWAYNE AND P. K. HOWARD.

Mr. WARD, from the Committee of Claims, to which was referred the claim of W. N. Swayne and P. K. Howard, for damages sustained by collision of a United States transport with a tug on the Mississippi river, August 13, 1865, reported back the same with a joint resolution referring the claim for adjudication to the Court of Claims.

The joint resolution was read a first, second, and third time, and passed.

Mr. WARD moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was passed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

HENRY HORNE.

Mr. McKEE, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the benefit of Henry Horne; which was read a first and second time.

The bill was read in full. It authorizes the payment of $400 in gold, or its equivalent in United States currency, being the amount advanced by him for the use of Federal prisoners at Andersonville in 1864 and 1865, under the supervision of Father Whelan.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

ADVERSE REPORTS.

Mr. McKEE, from the Committee of Claims, made adverse reports on the following cases; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petitions of William B. L. Thrasher, James Byers, and Benjamin Roach.

NATHAN NOYES.

Mr. THORNTON, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Nathan Noyes; which was read a first and second

time.

The bill was read in full. It authorizes the payment to the claimant $150 in full satisfaction of Treasury warrant No. 3885, dated January 15, 1866, on the surrender of said warrant.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

JAMES CRUTCHETT.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Claims, reported back Senate joint resolution No. 60, referring the petition and papers in the case of James Crutchett to the Court of Claims; and moved that the same be indefinitely postponed.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, moved to reconsider the motion by which the joint resolution was indefinitely postponed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

ADVERSE REPORTS.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana, from the Committee of Claims, made an adverse report

on the claim of N. P. Munroe: which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. DELANO, from the same committee, reported adversely on the following cases; which were ordered to lie on the table:

Petitions of A. H. Markland, R. M. Shelton, John Kaye, M. J. Gonzalves, James McLaughlin, and others.

CHARLES BREWER AND COMPANY.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, from the Committee on Commerce, reported a bill for the relief of Charles Brewer & Co.; which was read a first and second time.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Charles Brewer & Co., of Boston, Massachusetts, the sum of $3,520, in full for the passage in the Hawaiian bark Kameha meha, of sixty-eight destitute seamen belonging to American vessels which were burned by the Anglo-confederate pirate Shenandoah, from the island of Ascension to Honolulu.

Mr. ANCONA. I ask that the report be read.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. There is no report, except a letter from the Secretary of State. I ask that it be read.

The Clerk read the letter as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, March 14, 1866. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a letter from Messrs. Charles Brewer & Co., of Boston, inclosing to this Department an account of the Hawaiian bark Kamehameha V, for the passage of destitute American seamen from the Ascension islands to Honolulu. These seamen, numbering sixty-eight, belonging to American vessels which were burned by the pirate Shenandoah, were landed on the Ascension islands without any provision being made for their support. They were found in a destitute condition by the master of the bark Kamehameha V, and taken to Honolulu. It seems but just and proper that this claim should be promptly paid. As, however, there is no fund at the disposal of this Department with which to meet it, the claim is respectfully referred to Congress, with the recommendation that an appropriation be made sufficient to cover it.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Hon. E. B. WASHBURNE, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, House of Representatives.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has expired. Is there any objection to considering this bill at this time?

Mr. ANCONA. I demand the regular order of business.

The SPEAKER. Then the bill goes over until next Friday.

CHANGE OF REFERENCE.

On motion of Mr. NIBLACK, by unanimous consent, the Committee of Appropriations was discharged from the further consideration of the petition of J. H. Sherwin; and the same was referred to the select committee of freedmen's affairs.

NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

The House then proceeded, as the regular order of business, to the consideration of the unfinished business of last evening, being House bill No. 414, to secure the speedy construction of the Northern Pacific railroad and telegraph line, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes.

The pending question was Mr. WENTWORTH'S motion to refer to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. STEVENS. I hope, before anything else is done, the substitute which I offered yesterday will be read as I have modified it. The substitute, as modified, was read. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I would inquire if that substitute has been printed.

The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks it has not been printed as it now stands. Some parts of the substitute as now offered have been

printed, but some parts of it are in manuscript.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. How is it before the House?

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. STEVENS,] by the consent of the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. WENTWORTH,] who made the motion to refer the bill to the Committee on Public Lands, moved a substi

tute for the bill, and this morning he has modified that substitute, as he had a right to do. Mr. BINGHAM obtained the floor. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I hope this substitute will be printed.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. BINGHAM] is entitled to the floor.

THE TAX BILL.

Mr. MORRILL. With the consent of the gentleman from Ohio, who has the floor, I desire to state to the House that the bill amending the internal revenue act which was made the special order for Thursday of next week, will not be called up before next Monday week after the morning hour. The bill will not be printed before to-morrow; and gentlemen have intimated to me that they will not be able to examine its provisions before the time I have indicated.

NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD AGAIN.

Mr. BINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I do not know, in view of the many and various objections which were urged to this bill as originally reported by the committee, that I would have been willing to have given my vote for it in the form in which it first came into the House, for the reason that the bill, by reason of the general terms in which it was reported, was liable to misconstruction, and possibly liable therefore to the very objections urged against it by some of the gentlemen who have spoken.

But, sir, in my judgment, the substitute which has just been read to the House removes and silences every objection that has been urged by gentlemen who have heretofore spoken against the adoption of this measure.

I agree with gentlemen that it is the duty at all times of the Representatives of the people to guard with jealous care the Treasury of the nation. Assuming that position, and agreeing to the fullest extent upon that point with honorable gentlemen who have spoken against this measure, I beg to say that it is capable of absolute demonstration that the substitute which has just been read in the hearing of the House, in any event, whether this company goes forward with this work or abandons it, guards the Treasury of the nation and puts money into it. The act of 1864 has passed for the time being beyond the power of this House. Rights have been vested under it. No forfeiture has arisen. The time has not expired, as was suggested at one time by my honorable colleague, [Mr. | DELANO,] but which I believe he afterward corrected the time has not yet expired which was fixed by the terms of the act of 1864, within which the corporators could exercise the privileges secured to them by that act.

Nor does that time expire, by the terms of the act, until the month of July next, within which time these corporators or their assignees, whoever they may be, may secure to themselves beyond the reach of cure on the part of this House the great franchise provided for in the act of 1864.

Now, what change is wrought in this legislation by the substitute as now presented to the House, and which I hope will pass, if for no other reason than that it so materially changes the existing act as to give additional security and make assurance doubly sure that this great road, the need of the country, will be speedily constructed? The pending substitute does this, among other things: it enables the Government of the United States to reclaim at once and hold as a security for the construction of this road-which all members will admit to be essential to the prosperity of the country and the development of its resources in the Northwest-all the lands contained in the original grant of 1864, lying south of the line of survey from the shores of Lake Superior to the shores of the Pacific ocean. The amount of land thus reclaimed is variously -estimated on this side of this House and on that side. I have not stopped myself to make the calculation, but I am informed by one of the members of the committee, who has given his attention to it, that the amount of land thus

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reclaimed for the purpose of constructing this road is not less than twenty-three million acres. What are the additional guards thrown into this bill by the substitute, and which, I say, remove the objections which gentlemen have urged here against it? The substitute provides that the Government of the United States shall not pledge one dollar of credit to the payment for the construction of any part of this road, as the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] urged yesterday, and urged not without some color of authority from the text of the bill as it was originally reported. Sir, the substitute is guarded as carefully as human language can guard anything, it limits and restricts the Secretary of the Treasury so that he can never issue the pledge of this Government save when the company shall have first constructed twenty-five consecutive miles or more of this road, and then the pledge is only to extend to the number of sections so completed. In the first division of the road, upon the construction of twenty-five miles or more by the company, and the full completion thereof as provided by the provisions of the original charter and of the pending substitute, the Secretary of the Treasury is to issue the pledge of the Government for the payment of the interest upon two hundred shares of the stock of the road per mile, to the extent that the road shall be so constructed, and after its completion, and not before.

As the company proceed with the work, by the construction of additional sections of the road from year to year, the pledge of the interest is only to be given under this limitation: for the first year, not more than fifty miles; for the second year, not more than one hundred miles; for the third year, not more than two hundred miles; for the fourth year, not more than two hundred miles; and thereafter not more than three hundred miles per year till the whole road is completed. The Secretary of the Treasury is to proceed to pledge, subject to these limitations, the credit of the Government, to guaranty the interest only upon the stock of the road, under the further limitations within the first division, which extends from the eastern terminus to the one hundred and first meridian of longitude, at the rate of two hundred shares to the mile and no more. This, sir, is not a pledge of the Government, as has been asserted over and over again in the hurry of debate, to pay the stock or any part of the stock. It is to pay the interest, and only the interest, semi-annually, from and after the date of the pledge, and not ante-dating it at the rate of six per cent. for so much of the road as shall have been constructed, and only upon two hundred shares of the stock per mile within the first division. The original charter fixes the amount of the shares at $100 each.

What, then, is the whole amount which the Government of the United States is liable to pay as interest semi-annually upon the first division of this road, as the same may be completed? It is but $1,200 per mile; that and no more. I hope the House will not mistake me in what I say here-$1,200 is the interest per mile on two hundred shares to the mile of the eastern division at $100 per share.

The interest per annum on the eastern division is $1,200 per mile, and no more, over the whole division. The gentleman [Mr. FARNSWORTH] says that it makes $24,000 in twenty years, but I ask him to remember his words of yesterday, which did injustice to his own intelligence, when he intimated that under this bill we were to allow the company this magnificent grant of lands on the north side of this road, and construct the road, too. Who ever before heard, in this country, of $1,200 building a railroad to the extent of a mile? Why, it would not supply the ties, to say nothing about grading the road, to say nothing about constructing the bridges, to say nothing about furnishing the iron, to say nothing about the work necessary to lay it down in its place, and to say nothing about the equipment of the road, all of which is provided for in the original act of incorporation, and by this bill

is a condition-precedent to be performed by the company before the United States gives its pledge to pay $1,200 per mile per annum. What I have just said applies throughout the whole extent of the eastern division, a distance of about three hundred and eighty miles.

But, says the gentleman, that will be $24,000 per mile at the end of twenty years. So it might be if the Government in all that time received no returns either from the proceeds of the completed road or the sale of the lands. But, sir, upon the hypothesis that the company would build the road to the extent required by the law, and we are not to issue this pledge until the company does this-when we secure twenty-five per cent. of the gross proceeds of the road as is provided in this bill, and have the absolute control of it, the road touching your great inland sea, Lake Superior-I would like to know whether one fourth of the gross proceeds of the road would not pay the interest at the rate of six per cent. upon one half of the cost of its construction. I undertake to say, sir, that under the limitations of this bill, the Government does not assume to pay more than the interest upon one half the cost of the construction upon the eastern division of the road. Twelve hundred dollars per mile is but the interest on $20,000, and who believes that less than $40,000 will build and equip the road in the manner required by the original act? But if twenty-five per cent. of the gross proceeds of the road would not be sufficient, what remains? Some twelve thousand acres of land to each mile on the south side of the road, in addition to the twenty-five per cent. of the gross proceeds of the completed road are reserved to the Government to secure the Government on its pledge of $1,200 annually per mile.

The other gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. WASHBURNE,] in arguing this question yester day, objected to some of the provisions of the third section on the ground that the covenants were not mutual between the corporation and the Government; that the bill contained no provision which would enable the Government to enforce the security provided for its protection. On that point I ask the attention of the House to the consideration of the fact that by the substitute just read the third section has been struck out. Hence that objection falls to the ground, especially in view of the other provision contained in the substitute, that if the corporation shall fail to pay the interest for a period of ninety days after the maturity of the obligation it shall then be within the power of the Treasurer of the United States to proceed to sell every acre of the twelve thousand acres adjacent to each mile of the road so constructed and on the south side, and put the proceeds into the Treasury of the United States for the purpose of reimbursing the Govern

ment.

Upon a showing of this sort, I submit to gentlemen that there is no room here to cavil on this question of security, entire security, to the Government for this pledge of interest-none at all. I admit that there is a higher rate per mile laid upon the Government in the mountain district, which is the second or third division. But when gentlemen look into this question, they will find that, view it as they may, unless history altogether fails to repeat itself in this country in relation to railroads, it is utterly impossible that the Government of the United States can ever by possibility be a loser to the extent of a single dollar, in the event of the construction of the road, and without its construction by the company the Government incurs no liability whatever. The provisions of the bill pending simply secure the construction. of the road by the company or the forfeiture of all the privileges granted by the bill.

In order that gentlemen may fully appreciate all the provisions of the pending substitute touching the other divisions of the road, I ask their attention to the further provision of the bill, that upon the second division of the road, there shall be pledged by the Government the interest upon two hundred and fifty shares per mile for the distance of six hundred and twenty

miles, when completed by the company, and which, being carefully computed, amounts to $1,500 annually per mile. Let gentlemen consider that, before the second division of this road is reached at all, before one dollar is pledged by the Government of the United States toward the payment of interest upon one rod of the road to be constructed within the second division, you will already have in running order a road of three hundred and eighty miles running from the shores of Lake Supe

rior westward.

Is any gentleman going to tell me such a road as that, in full operation and thoroughly equipped by this company, with twelve thousand acres of land to every mile of it, to be sold in the event of delay to pay the interest of this debt; that the Government of the United States, with the proceeds of these twelve thousand acres of land to each mile of the road and twenty-five per cent, of the gross proceeds of the road, cannot pay interest upon one half the cost of its construction or $1,200 per annum upon each mile of the completed road? If that could be so, a railroad would never be built upon this continent. Never, sir.

Mr. SPALDING. I do not think my colleague is readily embarrassed by interruption. Mr. BINGHAM. Not at all; but my time is limited. I will, however, yield to my colleague for a moment.

Mr. SPALDING. I will barely ask, inasmuch as the gentleman says that the substitute materially alters the features of the bill, whether he expects the House to vote on that substitute without having an opportunity to read it in print. I am told that our objections are remedied by the substitute. If so, we would be happy to vote for it. I want my friend, before he sits down, to let us hear from him in regard to the fact of attaching this whole liability to the Government upon the credit of the nation.

Mr. BINGHAM. If my colleague had observed and weighed the words I uttered, he would have noticed I admitted the general scope and purpose of the bill, by reason of the generality of its language as originally reported, were liable to the misconstruction put upon it by gentlemen who have already spoken. The language of the substitute is so plain that it requires no lawyer to understand it. There is not a man between these oceans who can read the English language who will fail to know that the Government of the United States, under the substitute, can never issue one dollar of pledge for the payment of interest except at the rates provided, mile for mile, as the road is constructed, and not till it is completed within the limitations named.

I now come back to the further provisions of the bill of which I was speaking when interrupted by my colleague.

annually of interest upon the track of this great road.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman's twenty minutes have expired.

Mr. BINGHAM. Only a word further. I repeat, the passage of this bill secures the construction of the road by saying to European capitalists, this great nation, oppressed as it is with a public debt of $3,000,000,000, considers this stock and company a perfect security against any embarrassment to its Treasury, a perfect security that not another cent of burden will be laid upon this people by reason of the loan of the nation's credit.

That is the position I assume here to-day. I wish to place it on record, that in my judg ment the provisions of this bill, if passed, will never lay one cent of burden upon any citizen of the Republic. It cannot in the nature of things, unless a railroad like that pointing to the gold regions and commencing upon the shore of Lake Superior shall, by one fourth of its gross proceeds and the proceeds of twelve thousand acres of land to every mile of it, fail to pay the interest upon one half the cost of its construction and equipment.

I beg leave to say further that this measure, if adopted, instead of increasing the burdens of the people, will diminish them.

The adoption of this measure secures the construction of this road at a very early day to such an extent as, I believe, from the best information I have, will unite the head of navigation on the Missouri river with the head of navigation on the Columbia river, so that within the period of two years after the adoption of this bill we shall have through communication by rail and water from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. The survey reveals the fact that the distance between the navigable waters of the Missouri and Columbia is not more than five hundred miles; a remarkable revelation, indicating that God, in His providence, has so ordered it that this grand country, looking out upon Asia from the western slope of the Rocky mountains, and looking out upon Europe from the eastern slope, is to be one country, now and forever, one and inseparable.

I think it is the duty of statesmen to pass this bill if the effect of the measure will be to draw to the construction of this road the capitalists of the world, who are looking with eager eyes to our gold regions, and thus reduce the burdens of the people by the increase of the nation's wealth and the development of our great resources. It is certainly the first duty of statesmen, to whom the people have committed the trust of legislating for the general welfare, so to shape their legislation as to develop all the resources of this country, and thereby make this youngest-born of the nations the producer and the carrier for the civilized world; to enable it, in short, to lay its hand on the uncounted treasures of your vast western domain and the immense commerce of the great East, and make itself the carrier of the trade of all Europe, with China and the Indies, by the shortest possible route upon this planet.

In the third division of the road the Government is to pledge the interest upon five hun dred shares to the mile for five hundred and twenty miles. The third is the mountain division, on which the pledge amounts to $3,000 per annum per mile. What I have already said will justify me in saying that when the road reaches this mountain region, where are gold and silver and copper and iron beyond computation, the one fourth the gross proceeds of the road will pay, not simply interest at six per cent. on one half of the cost of its construction, but twenty persions which have grown out of this bill for the cent. on one half of the cost of its construction. In the fourth division the limitation of the bill is the interest upon three hundred shares to the mile for two hundred and eighty miles, or $1,800 annually per mile. This is the substance of the bill as amended.

I now yield twenty minutes of the remainder of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey, || [Mr. ROGERS.]

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I have listened with considerable attention to the discus

last two or three days, and especially to the
position which has been taken by those who
are opposed to it. In fact, from the wholesale
charges which were made against the integrity
of those who are here endeavoring to get this
bill passed, before I had given the bill reflec-
tion and looked at the consequences that would
result to the nation from our action in passing
it, I was almost led to believe that some of the
charges that have been made by those who
appeared to be such sticklers at this time for
the Treasury were true. But, sir, I find that
the grand idea that appears to have been sought
to be impressed upon members of this House
and upon
the country has been that this is a

Now, touching its effect on the credit of the
Government of the United States.
By the
adoption of this substitute you secure, in my
judgment, the construction of this road. How?
You lend the credit of a great people to an or-
ganized company, by which they are able to call
upon the capitalists of the whole civilized world
and say to them, no matter what may be the
stress upon the credit of the United States, the
Congress does not hesitate to pledge the credit gigantic scheme or swindle for the purpose of
of the Government to secure the payment semi-robbing the Treasury of the United States and

the people of the country. And, sir, I must say here in advance, as regards some of the persons whose names appear as directors of this corporation, that the charges which have been made against them as being public plunderers of the Treasury and men unworthy of the confidence of good citizens, are such as ought to be repelled by those who know the personal character, standing, and reputation of those

men.

I find among those directors the names of R. D. Rice and of Hon. D. M. Swift, a former member of Congress, who, according to the theory of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. DELANO,] belong to the swarm of men who have come here for the purpose of depleting and robbing the Treasury of the United States for the purpose of putting the spoils into their own pockets.

Sir, it must be a weak case, indeed, that will not be met by argument on the part of those who are opposed to it; and because these men have been unable to discuss the real merits of this question at all, I have taken the trouble to investigate it and see whether these charges of wholesale fraud and corruption are true.

It is said by gentlemen who oppose this bill that this bill has been attempted to be put through under the previous question. This objection was raised by the honorable gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. WASHBURNE,] who is himself always most ready to take advantage of the previous question whenever it answers his purpose. And yet he comes here and undertakes to brow-beat members who take the part of these honorable people, by howling against the attempt to make use of the previous question. I ask the gentleman to remember when my own State was interested in the passage of a bill, when one of her railroad corporations that had plighted to it the faith of the State of New Jersey, was attempted to be shielded by this Congress, then the gentleman was willing to shut my mouth and refused to allow me one minute to be heard in the defense of my own State, although millions of dollars were involved in the interest of that corporation, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxes in the interest of the people of my State.

I say, sir, that it is with a very poor grace that gentlemen of that character, men who have taken the position that that gentleman has taken in regard to the demand for the previous question upon measures heretofore pending of a like character to this, come before the House now and tell the country that this is a gigantic scheme to rob the Treasury of the United States, simply because by a vote of the House the bill was authorized to be brought before it at a night session, and because notice was given by the gentleman who had control of the bill that at some future time the previous question would be called upon it.

Now, there is no fraud and no taint of fraud in this bill from the beginning to the end of it; and there ought to be no imputations of that character upon honorable gentlemen who are here endeavoring to advance the best interests of the country by establishing this great railroad route which is to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans by bands of iron and by the iron horse, which is to transport our troops in time of war, thus enabling us to bid defiance to Great Britain by locomotive power, which will run our troops and munitions of war along the very frontier of the British domain if they undertake to hurl their lion against the rights and liberties of this country,

Now, sir, I am moved, in my consideration of this bill, by nothing but what I believe to be the interests of the country. I do not wish to put it in the power of thieves to deplete the Treasury, but I believe that the United States, instead of being damaged by the construction of this grand enterprise, will stride onward in the path of prosperity; it will invite the legions of the Old World to these shores; and it will enable the people of this country to protect their rights and liberties whenever an invasion shall be made upon it by any foreign Power.

But the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASH

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