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tions made by assessors to assessors, or by collectors to collectors," &c.

The amendment was agreed to.

66

assessors

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Mr. MORRILL. I have an amendment to offer by inserting after the word in line four the words "or by collectors to their deputies, or by deputy collectors to collectors." The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. WELKER. I move the following amendment, to come in at the end of the section:

And collectors shall be allowed reasonable express charges for the necessary transportation of money from their deputies to them as accounts for stationery are allowed.

I offer this amendment because several collectors have been refused payment of charges for the transmission of money by express. think it ought to be allowed.

Mr. ALLISON.

I

I would suggest whether the effect of this amendment would not be virtually to authorize collectors to send money by express; and if so, whether they would not be relieved from their liability as collectors.

Mr. WELKER. I do not suppose it would, unless they had orders to do so.

Mr. SPALDING. I hope it will not be adopted. They are the best-paid men in the country now.

The amendment was not agreed to.
The Clerk read as follows:

SEC. 65. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to appoint an officer in his Department who shall be styled "Special Commissioner of the Revenue," whose office shall terminate in four years from the passage of this act. It shall be the duty of the Special Commissioner of the Revenue to inquire into all the sources of national revenue, and the best methods of collecting the revenue; the relations of foreign trade to domestie industry; the mutual adjustment of the systems of taxation by customs and excise, with the view of insuring the requisite revenue with the least disturbauce or inconvenience to the progress of industry and the development of the resources of the country; and to inquire from time to time, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, into the manner in which officers charged with the administration and collection of the revenues perform their duties. And the said Special Commissioner of the Revenue shall from time to time report, through the Secretary of the Treasury, to Congress, either in the form of a bill or otherwise, such modifications of the rates of taxation or of the methods of collecting the revenues, and such other facts pertaining to the trade, industry, commerce, or taxation of the country, as he may find, by actual observation of the operation of the law, to be conducive to the public interest; and in order to enable the Special Commissioner of the Revenue to properly conduct his investigations, he is hereby empowered to examine the books, papers, and accounts of any officer of the revenue, to administer oaths, examine and summon witnesses, and take testimony; and each and every such person falsely swearing or affirming shall be subject to the penalties and disabilities prescribed by law for the punishment of corrupt and willful perjury; and all officers of the Government are hereby required to extend to the said Commissioner all reasonable facilities for the collection of information pertinent to the duties of his office. And the said Special Commissioner shall be paid an annual salary of $4,000, and the traveling expenses necessarily incurred while in the discharge of his duty; and all letters and documents to and from the Special Commissioner relating to the duties and business of his office shall be transmitted by mail free of postage. And section nineteen of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes,' approved June 30, 1864," approved March 3, 1865, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I offer the following as additional sections to the bill:

And be it further enacted, That in any case, civil or criminal, where suit or prosecution shall be commenced in any court of any State against any officer of the United States, appointed under or acting by authority of the act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," passed June 30, 1864, or of any act in addition thereto, or against any person acting under or by authority of any such officer, or against any person holding property or estate by title derived from any such officer, it shall be lawful for the defendant in such suit or prosecution, at any time before trial, upon a petition to the circuit court of the United States in and for the district in which the defendant shall have been served with process, setting forth the nature of said suit or prosecution, and verifying the said petition by affidavit, together with a certificate, signed by an attorney or counselor at law of some court of record of the State in which such suit shall have been commenced, or of the United States, setting forth that, as counsel for the petitioner, he has examined the proceedings against him, and carefully inquired into all the matters set forth in the petition, and that he believes the same to be true; which petition, affidavit,

and certificate shall be presented to the said circuit
court, if in session, and if not, to the clerk thereof, at
his office, and shall be filed in said office, and the
cause shall thereupon be entered on the docket of
said court, and shall be thereafter proceeded in as a
cause originally commenced in that court; and it
shall be the duty of the clerk of said court, if the suit
were commenced in the court below by summons, to
issue a writ of certiorari to the State court, requiring
said court to send to the said circuit court the record
and proceedings in said cause; or if it were com-
menced by capias, he shall issue a writ of habeas cor-
pus cum causa, a duplicate of which said writ shall be
delivered to the clerk of the State court, or left at his
some person duly authorized thereto; and thereupon
it shall be the duty of the said State court to stay all
further proceedings in such cause, and the said suit
or prosecution, upon delivery of such process, or leav-
ing the same as aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken
to be moved to the said circuit court, and any further
proceedings, trial, or judgment therein in the State
court shall be wholly null and void. And if the de-
fendant in any such suit be in actual custody on mesne
process therein, it shall be the duty of the marshal,
by virtue of the writ of habeas corpus cum causa, to
take the body of the defendant into his custody, to be
dealt with in the said cause according to the rules of
law and the order of the circuit court, or of any judge
thereof in vacation. And all attachments made, and
all bail and other security given, upon such suit or pros-
ecution shall be and continue in like force and effect
as if the same suit or prosecution had proceeded to
final judgment and execution in the State court; and
if, upon the removal of any such suit or prosecution,
it shall be made to appear to the said circuit court that
no copy of the record and proceedings therein, in the
State court can be obtained, it shall be lawful for said
circuit court to allow and require the plaintiff to pro-
ceed de novo, and to file a declaration of his cause of
action, and the parties may thereupon proceed as in
action originally brought in said circuit court; and on
failure of so proceeding, judgment of nolle prosequi
may be rendered against the plaintiff, with costs for
the defendant: Provided, That an act entitled "An
act further to provide for the collection of duties on
imports," passed March 2, 1833, shall not be so con-
strued as to apply to cases arising under an act en-
titled An act to provide internal revenue to sup-
port the Government, to pay interest on the public
debt, and for other purposes," passed June 30, 1864,
or any act in addition thereto or in amendment
thereof, nor to any case in which the validity or
interpretation of said act or acts shall be in issue.

office, by the marshal of the district, or his deputy, or

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That the fiftieth section of an act passed June 30, 1864, entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," is hereby repealed: Provided, That any case which may have been removed from the courts of any State under said fiftieth section, to the courts of the United States, shall be remanded to the State court from which it was so removed, with all the records relating to such case, unless the justice of the circuit court of the United States in which such suit or prosecution is pending shall be of opinion that said case would be removable from the court of the State to the circuit court under and by virtue of the sixty-sixth section of this act. And in all cases which may have been removed from any court of any State under and by virtue of said fiftieth section of said act of June 30, 1864, all attachments made, and all bail or other security given upon such suit or prosecution, shall be and continue in full force and effect until final judgment and execution, whether such suit shall be prosecuted to final judgment in the circuit court of the United States, or remanded to the State court from which it was removed.

SEC. And be it further enacted, That whenever a
writ of error shall be issued for the revision of any
judgment or decree in any criminal proceeding, where
is drawn in.question the construction of any statute
of the United States, in a court of any State, as is
provided in the twenty-fifth section of an act entitled
An act to establish the judicial courts of the United
States," passed September 24, 1789, the defendant, if
charged with an offense bailable by the laws of such
State, shall not be released from custody until a final
judgment upon such writ, or until a bond with suffi-
cient sureties in a reasonable sum, as ordered and
approved by the State court, shall be given; and if
the offense is not so bailable until a final judgment
upon the writ of error. Writs of error, in criminal
cases, shall have precedence upon the docket of the
Supreme Court, of all cases to which the Government
of the United States is not a party, excepting only
such cases as the court, at their discretion, may decide
to be of public importance.

I have been directed by the Committee on
the Judiciary to offer this amendment to the
bill. It has been submitted to the Committee
of Ways and Means and they concur in it. It
is merely a change of the law of 1833, giving
it the construction that was intended by Con-
gress when that law was passed, confining the
operations of the act to officers and persons
acting under them and by their authority.
appears from reading the debates that by inad-
vertence the words " or other
persons were
inserted after the word "officers," so that
under it, all cases arising under State laws in
connection with any trade or business for which
the present law requires a license to be taken
out, or this bill requires a special tax to be
paid may be removed into the United States

It

court, the parties claiming that the payment of the tax authorized them to conduct the particular business, no matter what the provisions of the State law might be. A great many cases were thus removed from the State courts into the United States courts. This interferes with the municipal regulations of all towns and cities and the proper administration of State laws. Mr. HALE. I have not had an opportunity to see this amendment in print, and I would inquire of the gentleman from Iowa whether under the sections now proposed all suits against officers of the revenue for acts which they may claim to justify under this law are to be transferred, or whether it is confined to those cases in which the validity of constructions of the act is in question.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. The best answer I can give is to read the first section of my amendment. It is as follows:

That in any case, civil or criminal, where suit or prosecution shall be commenced in any court of any State against any officer of the United States, appointed under or acting by authority of the act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," passed June 30, 1864, or of any act in addition thereto, or against any person acting under or by authority of any such officer, or against any person holding property or estate by title derived from any such officer, it shall be lawful for the defendant in such suit or prosecution, at any time before trial, upon a petition to the circuit court of the United States in and for the district in which the defendant shall have been served with process, setting forth the nature of said suit or prosecution, and verifying the said petition by affidavit, together with a certificate, signed by an attorney or counselor at law of some court of record of the State in which such suit shall have been commenced, or of the United States, setting forth that, as counsel for the petitioner, he has examined the proceedings against him, and carefully inquired into all the matters set forth in the petition, and that he believes the same to be true; which petition, affidavit, and certificate shall be presented to the said circuit court, if in session, and if not, to the clerk thereof, at his office, and shall be filed in said office, and the cause shall thereupon be entered on the docket of said court, &e.

Mr. HALE. I submit to the gentleman that he has made the section altogether too broad.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. It must be against an officer or against a person acting under the authority of that officer; consequently it may be a suit against him as an individual for an act done as an officer.

Mr. HALE. If that it is the construction of it, then it strikes me that it is by no means broad enough.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. In perfecting this amendment the Committee on the Judiciary availed themselves of the act of 1833, which has already received a construction. The only change that is made is in confining the operation of the act to persons who were officers or acting under the authority of officers. That act included other persons.

Mr. HALE. It strikes me, after hearing the explanation of the gentleman from Iowa, [Mr. WILSON,] that his amendment is altogether too meager in its provisions if it is intended to confine it to suits brought against persons who

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. Brought against them for any act performed by them as officers. Mr. HALE. It does not say so.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I think it does quite clearly.

Mr. HALE. I move to amend the first section of the amendment so that it will read:

That in any case, civil or criminal, where suit or prosecution shall be commenced in any court of any State against any officer of the United States, appointed under or acting by authority of the act entitled

An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," passed June 30, 1864, or of any act in addition thereto, or against any person acting under or by authority of any such officer, or on account of any act done under color of his office. or against any person holding property or estate by title derived from any such officer, affecting such property or estate, and involving the construction of this act, it shall be lawful for the defendant, &c. Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I will accept that amendment.

The amendment, as modified, was agreed to. Mr. STEVENS. I desire to move an amendment to section sixty-five. The first sentence of that section reads:

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to appoint an officer in his Department

who shall be styled "Special Commissioner of the Revenue," whose office shall terminate in four years after the passage of this act.

of legislation, and especially I do not propose to show temper when we can show nothing more than that. Even if we were here in a I desire to move to strike out the words, minority, I suppose that this power is no more "the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby au- than we would consent to grant to the Secthorized to appoint an officer in his Depart-retary of the Treasury. It is the same power ment," and insert in lieu thereof the words, "Congress shall by concurrent action elect an officer."

I am done, for my part, with giving any patronage to the Secretary of the Treasury where it can be avoided. He has already stated that he will appoint no one to office unless he sustains the policy of the President. He has this morning distinctly so informed a member of this House who called upon him in regard to an appointment. He asked the member if the applicant sustained the policy of the President, and when the member declined to tell him, he said, "I can appoint and will appoint no man who does not support the policy of the President." And referring to an apostate Senator from that region, the Secretary said, "I consult him when I make appointments, and I will appoint nobody who is not recommended by him."

Now, it is time for this House to let the people of the country know whether these officers are to be sacrificed to this determination of the subordinates of the President. If we do not stand by them they will not stand by us, and they ought not to. Sir, it is time we spoke out the truth about these things. It is a malfeasance in office. I will go further and say that I have already ascertained that four subordinates of the President have made the same declaration. And if I was a little younger, and I shall be in a week, I think I would let these officers know that there is a grand inquest of the nation before whom men who are guilty of malpractices in office can be brought and their cases presented to another tribunal which would try them.

Sir, we are recreant to our own interests, we are recreant to our own dignity, we are recreant to all the interests of the country if we do not stand by those who stand by us. With my consent no more patronage shall be put into the power of any man to be abused, avowedly abused. It is time that we speak aloud, and that we say to our friends in the country that they are in no danger; that they shall not be sacrificed because they stand by Congress; that they shall not be destroyed because they are not the tools of a recreant President. I say that I have authentic information that this very day this policy has been avowed by the Secretary of the Treasury; that he has declared distinctly that in the State referred to he will consult no one in relation to appointments but a recreant, apostate Senator, who has betrayed his party and his country

Mr. SPALDING. I wish to ask the gentleman from Pennsylvania whether he is serious in urging this amendment.

Mr. STEVENS. I am.

Mr. SPALDING. Then I seriously oppose it. Mr. MORRILL. I suppose, Mr. Chairman, that the gentleman from Pennsylvania has fully accomplished his purpose by making his speech. I presume that he does not intend to direct any portion of his remarks against the distinguished gentleman who has been employed in this service hitherto. Nor is there, I suppose, the slightest apprehension that any other man will be appointed to this position. If this amendment were appropriate anywhere, it is not appropriate here. I am one of those who, from the first, have been in favor of keeping our finances in all their relations-tax bills, tariffs, and everything else-separate and distinct from politics. I am still in favor of that policy. I do not approve of all the acts of the Secretary of the Treasury, nor do I approve of his recent speech. The speech which he made some months since in Indiana I thought was an able I do not so consider the speech that he recently made. I think it was an unfortu nate speech for the head of the Treasury, and entirely uncalled for. But at the same time I do not propose to change the ordinary course 39TH CONG. 1ST SESS.No. 179.

one.

we lodged with the Secretary last year and was satisfactorily exercised. I do not believe in the wisdom of any attempt to take the power away this year. I trust, therefore, that the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania will not be adopted.

Mr. HALE. I move to amend the amendment by striking out the last word, for the purpose of calling the attention of the committee to the provisions of the Constitution upon the subject of appointments to office. I do not know that the consideration of what the constitutional provisions may be will have any weight with the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania, but it strikes me that with this committee it ought to have. Now, sir, I find in the Constitution no warrant for the exercise by Congress, under any circumstances, of the appointing power. I find the appointing power provided for in express terms in the second section of the second article of the Constitution, which I ask leave to read:

"He [the President] shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, embassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law. But the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of Departments."

Here we have defined by the Constitution the only authorities recognized by that instrument as capable of exercising the appointing power-the President and the Senate, the President alone, the courts of law, and the heads of Departments. I respectfully inquire of the gentleman from Pennsylvania whether he proposes that, for the sake of punishing the Secretary of the Treasury for his very wicked speech the other evening, and his very wicked remark since, Congress shall override the provisions of the Constitution and assume a power of appointment to the exclusion of all the authorities defined by the Constitution.

Mr. STEVENS. This is no office. This is an agency to be created by this Congress, just the same as if we were to create a commission to proceed to the South or anywhere elsejust the same as we created a commission for the purpose of examining into these very matters of revenue. It does not come within the meaning of the Constitution at all, and never has been so considered. I propose no violation of an office of the Constitution. This is not an office. We propose simply to appoint an agent to do a particular thing. We might, if we chose, authorize a committee of this House to do it. It requires no appointment by the President. Whether or not the gentleman from New York [Mr. HALE] deems those arguments of the Secretary of the Treasury "wicked," I do deem them wicked. I do not believe that the gentleman so regards them; I think they rather appeal to his taste or appetite.

The gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MORRILL] says that he is for keeping the Secretary of the Treasury free from politics. So am I; and it is for that very reason that I have introduced this amendment and made these remarks. The Secretary of the Treasury has assumed to regulate his patronage by politics, and not by that which is connected with the interests of finance. He has prostituted his office to an unholy purpose; and I think it is time that

[Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. HALE. I withdraw my amendment to the amendment.

Mr. DELANO. I observe, Mr. Chairman, that this sixty-fifth section provides

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to appoint an officer in his Department who shall be styled "Special Commissioner of the Revenue," whose office shall terminate in four years from the passage of this act.

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As I understand, this provides for the appointment of an 66 officer;" and when appointed he will hold an "office." I cannot, therefore, readily comprehend the statement of the able and distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania, that this is not an office, unless we are using words of which we do not çomprehend the meaning. I suppose that is all that need be said on that point in addition to the well-taken constitutional objection of my friend from New York, [Mr. HALE.] But I ask this committee to consider for a single moment in what attitude they will place themselves by taking from the Secretary of the Treasury the usual and customary authority of appointing the officer. It can be looked upon in no other light than that of reproach to this officer. It can be looked upon in no other light than that of condemnation of his conduct.

Tell me what the Secretary of the Treasury has done which deserves the reproach and provokes this attack. On the question of reconstruction he differs from the majority of this House. Is he the slave of the majority of this House? Is he not entitled to entertain his own opinions about the proper manner of reorganizing these States? Are we all to square our opinions to a particular line of conduct or to a particular rule that is to be marked out by those in the majority? Cannot an officer of this Government have opinions on this subject without deserving the censure of this House in exercising the legitimate powers which belong to his office? What do we do by this line of policy? What do we effect in the country except to provoke and irritate a public sentiment already too much excited, and to prevent ourselves from arriving at those wise and calm conclusions which the country demands at our hands? How has the Secretary of the Treasury here to-day been denounced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. STEVENS.] And why? Because he entertains opinions in reference to the matter of reconstruction different from the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. STEVENS. The gentleman will allow me to say I do not denounce him for entertaining any such opinions, but I do denounce him for prostituting the patronage of this Government to make all other opinions bend to his

own.

Mr. DELANO. I ask the gentleman for his authority for saying that the Secretary of the Treasury has prostituted the patronage of the Government. What has he done it in; where and when? Let us have the specifications. Mr. STEVENS. The gentleman desires an answer?

Mr. DELANO. Certainly.

Mr. STEVENS. Probably the gentleman did not hear what I said at the outset.

Mr. DELANO. I did not hear any specifications.

Mr. STEVENS. I presume the gentleman did not hear what I said. I assert that a member of this House, of high respectability, to-day went to the Secretary of the Treasury to get certain officers named in his district, one of them a wounded soldier, and he was asked their opinions about sustaining the President's policy, stating distinctly unless they did sustain them he would not appoint them; that the President had made up his mind that that course should be pursued.

name.

Mr. DELANO. I would like to have his I venture to say there is a misapprehension between the gentleman and the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury may have said he would not appoint any man openly abusive and hostile to the President. I undertake to say beyond that he has not gone. I should like to have the proof. Mr. STEVENS. If the gentleman spoke of his own knowledge, I should of course believe him; but he does not pretend to do this. The gentleman who informed me not twenty inutes ago spoke upon his own authority, as respectable a man as any in the House. Fossibly he may not wish to have his name known. I have not had time to consult him. It may bring down upon him the wrath of those in the

Department. They know who I mean at the other end of the avenue, for he has just come from there.

[Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. BLAINE. I move to strike out "Secretary of the Treasury," and insert "President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate."

Mr. STEVENS. Let me modify my amendment first, so that it shall read that "Congress, by concurrent action, shall elect a Commissioner of the Revenue, and it shall be the duty of said Commissioner of the Revenue," &c.

Mr. BLAINE. I move to strike that out and to insert" by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." It strikes me the language of the bill as it now stands reported from the Committee of Ways and Means is unusual in placing the appointment in the head of the Department. As mentioned by the gentleman from New York, [Mr. HALE,] the appointing power is vested by the Constitution in the President of the United States. These Secretaries are but his servants, and we do not intend to invest the Secretary of the Treasury with a power distinct from the President of the United States. I think the chairman of the committee will accept the suggestion and modify his proposition so that the President shall not be interfered with in his constitutional right of nomination, nor shall the Senate be interfered with in their constitutional right of confirmation.

Mr. SPALDING. Who appoints the assessors?

Mr. BLAINE. The President; he appoints all of them. We all know that the different heads of Departments are intrusted with the nomination of their subordinates. The Secretary of War nominates officers of the Army and the Postmaster General nominates his subordinates; but the President of the United States is the power that does it; each one is the servant of the President.

Mr. ALLISON. I desire to call the gentle

man's attention to section nineteen of the act of 1865 for which this is a substitute, which did authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to select three commissioners.

Mr. BLAINE. It has been done in frequent instances. But it will be seen that it is not the usual legal, constitutional way in which the Government is presumed to work.. You are investing in a mere servant of the President a power which the Constitution gives to the President alone, subject to the review of the Senate, and my amendment simply puts this on the constitutional basis and does not interfere with anybody.

Mr. MORRILL. I do not regard the proposition in any shape in which it may come as of any practical importance. I do not believe there is a single man on this floor who believes that the office is to be conferred upon any individual except one that is known to us all. And for the purpose of terminating debate upon this section I move that the committee rise.

The motion was agreed to.

So the committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chair, Mr. DAWES reported that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union had had under consideration the Union generally and particularly the special order, being bill of the House No. 513, to amend an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and acts amendatory thereof, and had come to no resolution thereon.

CANAL AND SEWERAGE COMPANY.

Mr. STEVENS. At the request of a member who is absent I desire to enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which the amendments were adopted to the bill to incorporate the District of Columbia Canal and Sewerage Company. The SPEAKER. The motion will be entered. MOTION TO RECONSIDER.

Mr. BIDWELL.

I desire to enter a motion

to reconsider the vote of the House on Senate bill No. 123.

CLOSE OF DEBATE.

Mr. MORRILL. I move that when the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union shall resume the consideration of House bill No. 513, all debate upon the pending paragraph and the amendments thereto terminate in one minute.

The motion was agreed to.

TAX BILL-AGAIN.

Mr. MORRILL. I move that the rules be suspended, and that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the special order.

The motion was agreed to.

So the rules were suspended; and the House accordingly resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. DAWES in the chair,) and resumed the consideration of the special order, being a bill of the House (No. 513) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and acts amendatory thereof. Mr. BLAINE. I withdraw my amendment for the of having a direct vote on the purpose proposition of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. STEVENS.]

The question being taken on the amendment offered by Mr. STEVENS, there were-ayes 21, noes 47; no quorum voting.

The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Pennsylvania persist in his amendment?

Mr. STEVENS. I believe I will withdraw it. I think this section is of no use anyhow. I withdraw it.

Mr. COBB. I move to amend by striking out the entire section down to and including the word "postage," in line forty.

Mr. WILLIAMS. I renew the amendment of the gentleman from Maine [Mr. BLAINE] to strike out the words "the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to appoint" and insert in lieu thereof "the President is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint."

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I move as an amendment to the amendment to add the following:

And from and after the passage of this act all revenue agents authorized by this act and all acts to which this act is an amendment shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The question was taken on Mr. FARNSWORTH'S amendment to the amendment; and there were -ayes thirty, noes not counted.

So the amendment to the amendment was disagreed to.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I do not think that these amendments ought all to fail on account of the absence of a quorum. I hope the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means will allow us to have a vote on this amendment in the House.

Mr. MORRILL.

The amendment can as well be put on any other bill as on this. The question recurred on Mr. WILLIAMS'S amendment.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I hope the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. WILLIAMS] will accept my amendment as a modification of his.

Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir; it would read awkwardly.

Mr. STEVENS. I offer the following as an amendment to the amendment:

From and after the passage of this act all revenue agents authorized by this act, and all acts to which this is an amendment, shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Mr. LATHAM. Is an amendment to that amendment in order?

The CHAIRMAN. It is not in order; that

is an amendment to an amendment.

Mr. LATHAM. Is a question in order? The CHAIRMAN. No; no debate is in order. The Chair is about to put the question.

FARNSWORTH. I understand that

the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means is willing that I may offer my amendment in the House, so that we may have a vote upon it. [Cries of "Oh, no!" and "Object!"] Mr. STEVENS. I call for tellers on the amendment to the amendment.

Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. STEVENS and DELANO were appointed.

The committee divided; and the tellers reported-ayes 35, noes 39; no quorum voting.

Mr. MORRILL. Mr. Chairman, I hope the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] will withdraw his motion, and that this proposition will be put in shape and offered in the House on Monday, when we can vote upon it by the yeas and nays. I want very much to get through with the bill this evening.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I am content with that.

Mr. STEVENS. With the understanding that the vote is not to be taken to-night I withdraw the amendment to the amendment.

Mr. WILLIAMS. And I withdraw my amendment.

The question recurred upon the amendment of Mr. COBB, to strike out of section sixty-five the following:

The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to appoint an officer in his Department who shall be styled "Special Commissioner of the Revenue," whose office shall terminate in four years from the passage of this act. It shall be the duty of the Special Commissioner of the Revenue to inquire into all the sources of national revenue and the best methods of collecting the revenue; the relations of foreign trade to domestic industry; the mutual adjustment of the systems of taxation by customs and excise, with the view of insuring the requisite revenue with the least disturbance or inconvenience to the progress of industry and the development of the resources of the country: and to inquire from time to time, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, into the manner in which officers charged with the administration and collection of the revenues perform their duties. And the said Special Commissioner of the Revenue shall from time to time report, through the Secretary of the Treasury, to Congress, either in the form of a bill or otherwise, such modifications of the rates of taxation or of the methods of collecting the revenues, and such other facts pertaining to the trade, industry, commerce, or taxation of the country as he may find, by actual observation of the operation of the law, to be conducive to the public interest; and in order to enable the Special Commissioner of the Revenue to properly conduct his investigations, he is hereby empowered to examine the books, papers, and accounts of any officer of the revenue, to administer oaths, examine and summon witnesses, and take testimony; and each and every such person falsely swearing or affirming shall be subject to the penalties and disabilities prescribed by law for the punishment of corrupt and willful perjury; and all officers of the Government are hereby required to extend to the said Commissioner all reasonable facilities for the collection of information pertinent to the duties of his office. And the said Special Commissioner shall be paid an annual salary of $4,000 and the traveling expenses necessarily incurred while in the discharge of his duty; and all letters and documents to and from the Special Commissioner relating to the duties and business of his office shall be transmitted by mail free of postage. And.

So that the section, as amended, will read: SEC. 65. And be it further enacted, That section nineteen of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes,' approved June 30, 1864," approved March 3, 1865, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

The question was taken; and on a division there were-ayes 30, noes 51; no quorum voting.

Before the result was announced,

Mr. COBB.

Mr. MORRILL said: If the gentleman will withdraw his amendment now, I will consent that a vote may be taken upon it in the House. With the express understanding that I may move this amendment in the House, or if I should not be present my col league [Mr. PAINE] may move it, I will withdraw it at this time.

Mr. SPALDING. I move that the committee now rise.

Mr. MORRILL. I hope the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. SPALDING] will withdraw that motion, and let us get through with the bill in

Committee of the Whole.

Mr. SPALDING. We cannot do that tonight.

Mr. MORRILL. There is but one section left. through. It will take but a few minutes to get

Mr. SPALDING. Very well; I will withdraw the motion.

Mr. MORRIS. I move to insert the following as a new section after section sixty-five:

And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act corn-shellers shall be exempt from internal tax or duty.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. I move to amend by inserting after the words "corn-shellers, "the words "and woodenware." [Laughter.]

The amendment was agreed to.

The question recurred upon the amendment as amended; and being put, the Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it. Mr. MORRIS. I call for a division upon the question.

The question was put; and upon a division there were-ayes nineteen.

Before the vote in the negative was taken, Mr. MORRIS called for tellers. Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. MORRIS and SPALDING were appointed.

Mr. MORRILL. I regret to see the unwillingness manifested upon the part of members to have the consideration of this bill in Committee of the Whole concluded to-day; I therefore move that the committee now rise.

Mr. MORRIS. Before that question is put, I would inquire of the Chair in what position my amendment will be when the consideration of this bill is again resumed.

The CHAIRMAN. The pending question will then be upon the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. MORRIS,] as amended upon the motion of the gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. WASHBURN.]

The question was upon the motion of Mr. MORRILL that the committee rise.

The motion was agreed to.

So the committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chair, Mr. DAWES reported that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union had had under consideration the Union generally, and particularly the special order, being bill of the House No. 513, to amend an act entitled “An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and acts amendatory thereof, and had come to no resolution thereon. And then, on motion of Mr. DEFREES, (at five o'clock p. m.,) the House adjourned.

PETITIONS, ETC.

The following petitions, &c., were presented under the rule and referred to the appropriate committees: By Mr. BANKS: The memorial of Pardon Worsley, for compensation for services rendered the United

States.

By Mr. CLARKE, of Ohio: The petition of Barrington Behymer, asking to be paid for military service.

By Mr. DEFREES: A petition from sundry soldiers of Indiana, asking an amendment be made to the homestead act, so as to enable soldiers or their legal representatives in any land district, by exhibiting their discharge papers and making oath to their identity before the register, to secure a title to one hundred and sixty acres or less, and the time of settlement left to the option of the party acquiring title.

By Mr. ELIOT: The petition of Solomon T. Perry, and others, for the erection of a light-vessel at or near the reef of rocks known as the IIen and Chickens, in Buzzard's bay.

By Mr. HOLMES: The petition of Morgan L. Brown, and others, citizens of Madison county, New York, for an increase of the tariff or duty on wool.

By Mr. PIKE: The petition of O. S. Livermore, and 32 others, of Eastport, Maine, for enactment of laws regulating inter-State insurances.

IN SENATE.

MONDAY, May 28, 1866. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. E. H. GRAY. The Journal of Friday last was read and approved.

DEPOSITS IN NATIONAL BANKS.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore announced the appointment of Mr. WILSON, Mr. HENDERSON, Mr. VAN WINKLE, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mr. BUCKALEW as the select committee to inquire into the condition of the national banks with reference to Government deposits therein, un

der the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 24th instant.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate a communication from the Secretary of War, transmitting, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 9th of February last, information in relation to a compendium of medical statistics collected during the late war; which was ordered to lie on the table.

He also laid before the Senate a report of the Second Auditor of the Treasury, communicating, in obedience to law, copies of accounts of persons charged with the disbursement of moneys, goods, or effects of any kind for the benefit of the Indians from July 1, 1864, to June 30, 1865; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore presented the memorial of John C. Jacobi, late chaplain of Kalorama hospital, praying for compensation for loss of property by fire at that hospital on the 24th of December, 1865; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.

Mr. SUMNER. I offer the petition of Joseph Taylor, of Baltimore, in which he says that he fervently prays and beseeches Congress to take into consideration the suffering condition of over twenty thousand journeymen cigar-makers in the United States, and he asks Congress to increase the duties on imported cigars to three dollars per thousand and fifty per cent. ad valorem; and also to reduce the duty on Havana tobacco eighteen and three quarter cents per pound. I move the reference of the petition to the Committee on Finance. The motion was agreed to.

Mr. SUMNER. I also offer a petition of cigar-makers of Massachusetts, in which they set forth at length their grievances from the inequality of the laws regulating the cigar trade of the United States, and they ask remedies, which they set forth at length, to the end that they may be relieved from the evils complained of, and they say at the end "the only feasible plan is to put a direct tax on the leaf, for which your petitioners will ever pray." I move the reference of this petition also to the Committee on Finance.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. SUMNER. I also offer a petition, numerously signed by citizens of Andover, in Massachusetts, praying Congress to impose such conditions upon the rebel States as shall punish treason, at least with ineligibility to office and loss of power, and reward loyalty with confidence and honor; and which shall demand, as an evidence of sincere loyalty and good faith on the part of those States, the abolition of all distinctions, in their constitutions and laws, on account of color or race. that subject is now pending before the Senate, I move that this petition lie on the table. The motion was agreed to.

As

Mr. KIRKWOOD presented a petition of citizens of Keokuk, Iowa, praying for the passage of a general bankrupt law; which was referred to the Committee on Finance. Mr. GRIMES. I present the petition of officers and late officers and seamen of the Mississippi flotilla, who represent that they entered the public service at the commencement of the war and continued in it until its close, and that they have not received that proportion of prize money resulting from captures made by the flotilla that they were entitled to under the laws when they entered the service, nor such an amount as was received by those who were associated with them in the same service upon the Atlantic ocean, and praying for relief. I move that the petition be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs. The motion was agreed to.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. CONNESS, from the Committee on Mines and Mining, to whom was referred a

bill (S. No. 257) to regulate the occupation of mineral lands, and to extend the right of preemption thereto, reported it with an amendment, and submitted a report in writing; which was ordered to be printed.

BILL INTRODUCED.

Mr. HENDRICKS asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 341) amendatory of the preëmption laws, and for other purposes; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

RAILROAD TO POINT OF ROCKS.

Mr. WADE. I offer a resolution, and as it is merely a resolution of inquiry, I ask for its present consideration:

Whereas the necessity of the nation requires that the seat of Government should be more accessible to the great interests and convenience of the eastern, and particularly to the western portion of the same; and whereas the State of Marlyand did, by an act approved March, 1865, grant to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company the right to construct a railroad from the said railroad at the Point of Rocks to the line of the District of Columbia, with a purpose to run the same into the city of Washington: Therefore,

Be it resolved, That the Committee on the District of Columbia be instructed to inquire into the fact whether said railroad company intend to carry out the provisions of their said charter.

Mr. CRESWELL. I am not aware of the object of this resolution, but I suppose, of course, it is fairly stated on its face. My colleague [Mr. JOHNSON] is not here to-day, but will be here to-morrow.

Mr. WADE. I will state to the Senator that this resolution concludes no right; it is only an inquiry as to whether the company intend to build the road. I was requested to ask for its present consideration, but I have no objection to its going over if the Senator so desires. Mr. CRESWELL. I prefer that it should go over until to-morrow.

Mr. WADE. Let it go over. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution will lie over until to-morrow.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Mr. RAMSEY. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Senate bill No. 339, reported from the Committee on Pensions.

The motion was agreed to; and the bill (S. No. 339) granting a pension to Benjamin Franklin was read a second time, and considered as in Committee of the Whole. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to place the name of Benjamin Franklin, a private in company H, second regiment Minnesota cavalry volunteers, on the pension-roll, at the rate of twenty-five dollars per month, to commence from the 15th day of January, 1865, and to continue during

his natural life.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

CAIRO AND FULTON RAILROAD GRANT. Mr. POMEROY. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Senate bill No. 223.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 223) to revive and extend the provisions of an act granting the right of way and making a grant of land to the States of Arkansas and Missouri to aid in the construction of a railroad from a point upon the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Ohio river, via Little Rock, to the Texas boundary near Fulton, in Arkansas, with branches to Fort Smith and the Mississippi river, approved February 9, 1853, and for other purposes, the pending question being on the amendment of Mr. POMEROY, in section one, line three, after the word "that" to strike out the words "the above recited act" and to insert, the act granting the right of way and making a grant of land to the States of Arkansas and Missouri, to aid in the construction of a railroad from a point upon the Mississippi opposite the mouth of the Ohio river, via Little Rock, to the Texas boundary, near

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Fulton, in Arkansas, with branches to Fort Smith and the Mississippi river, approved February 9, 1853."

The amendment was agreed to.

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The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and the amendments were curred in. The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

KANSAS AND NEOSHO VALLEY RAILROAD.

Mr. HENDERSON. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the bill (S. No. 285) granting lands to the State of Kansas to aid in the construction of the Kansas and Neosho Valley railroad and its extension to Red river.

Mr. HENDRICKS. I rise to ask the Senator from Missouri if he desires to take up that bill in the absence of the Senator from Kansas, [Mr. LANE,] who, I understand, is opposed to the bill. I do not know why that Senator is absent this morning, but I suppose he will be here during the day. I have no desire on my own part to postpone the consideration of the bill any further; but it seems to me that it ought not to be taken up when the Senator from Kansas is out of his seat-I presume necessarily so.

Mr. HENDERSON. One of the Senators from Kansas is present.

Mr. HENDRICKS. But the Senator from Kansas who is absent is opposed to the bill. Mr. POMEROY. I presume my colleague will be in before we complete the reading of the bill. He is in town, and I know of no reason why he is not here. I presume that if we take up the bill he will be here before its reading is completed.

Mr. ANTHONY. I happen to have received a note from the Senator from Kansas, not in regard to this bill but with reference to another matter, in which he stated that he should be necessarily detained from the Senate to-day.

Mr. POMEROY. I know of no reason why we should not proceed to the consideration of the bill.

Mr. HENDRICKS. It is a question for the Senator from Missouri and other Senators to consider whether when a Senator from the

|

eral acts relating to pensions, asked a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed Mr. SIDNEY PERHAM of Maine, Mr. GEORGE V. LAWRENCE of Pennsylvania, and Mr. NELSON TAYLOR of New York managers at the same on its part.

The message further announced that the House of Representatives had agreed to the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. No. 568) to repeal section twenty-three of chapter seventy-nine of the acts of the third session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress, relating to passports.

The message also announced that the Speaker of the House of Representatives had appointed Mr. S. E. ANCONA, of Pennsylvania, as one of the managers at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill H. R. No. 85) for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, in place of Mr. ADAM J. GLOSSBRENNER, who has been excused from serving at said conference.

The message further announced that the House of Representatives had passed the following bill and joint resolution, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 602) to equalize the bounties of soldiers, sailors, and marines who served in the late war for the Union; and

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 143) making an appropriation for the repair of the Potomac bridge.

ENROLLED BILL SIGNED.

The message also announced that the Speaker of the House of Representatives had signed an enrolled bill (H. R. No. 568) to repeal section twenty-three of chapter seventy-nine of the acts of the third session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress; and it was thereupon signed by the President pro tempore of the Senate.

INTER-STATE INTERCOURSE.

Mr. HOWARD. I now move to take up House bill No. 11.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (H. R. No. 11) to facilitate commercial, postal, and military communication among the several States, the question being on the amendment proposed by Mr. section to the bill:

State where the grant is proposed to be made CRESWELL, to add the following as an additional

who is opposed to the bill, is absent, we ought to take it up in his absence. I think not.

Mr. HOWARD. I know very little of the merits of the bill which it is proposed to take up now; but as the Senator from Kansas is not in his seat at present I hope it will not be taken up, but that instead of it we shall take up House bill No. 11, relating to commerce between the States.

Mr. HENDERSON. I rise simply for the purpose of withdrawing my motion and giving a notice to the Senate. This is the third time this bill has been called up. It is really a matter of very little consequence; it simply involves perhaps the grant of five or six or seven thousand acres of land in the State of Kansas. Beyond that I think it cannot interfere with anybody's rights. I do not know that it interferes with anybody's rights in that respect. It is nothing more than a usual and ordinary land grant. This is the third time I have attempted to get the bill up, and something comes in the way all the time. I now give notice that I shall, after to-morrow, call the bill up no matter who is present or who is absent, and ask that the Senate vote upon the proposition.

Mr. SUMNER. I understand the Senator from Missouri to withdraw his motion. Mr. HENDERSON. Yes, sir; I withdraw it for the present.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the House of Representatives had disagreed to the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. No. 363) supplementary to the sev.

And be it further enacted, That Congress may at any time alter, amend, or repeal this act.

Mr. SUMNER. I would simply remark that that amendment is entirely superfluous. Congress can do what is there proposed at any time. I do not see any use in adding the words.

Mr. MORRILL. That depends very much, I believe, upon questions which may arise before the courts. It has been pretty well settled in this country that there are certain rights which inhere in corporations, that cannot be repealed unless the power to do so is reserved.

Mr. CHANDLER. This bill is general in its character; there are no specific rights granted to any one corporation over others. The power which this amendment proposes to reserve is evidently contained in the original bill. would rather take the bill as it is, and I prefer that the amendment should not be adopted. The amendment was rejected; there being, on a division--ayes 12, noes 18.

Mr. MORRILL. I feel under a sort of obligation to pay a passing compliment to this bill. I once had some thoughts collected on this subject on one or two points, but they have pretty much passed out of my mind at the present moment, and I am rather apprehensive that I shall not be able to recall them at this time in a way at all satisfactory or instructive to the Senate; but it is a matter of quite too much importance to be allowed to go by default. I am not going to speak against time, and I do not propose to make a very discursive speech. I propose only to reply

to two or three propositions which were stated on a former occasion on the other side of the Chamber.

The honorable Senator from Michigan [Mr. HOWARD] when this question was up the other day denominated it a very simple proposition, by which I suppose he meant to convey to us the idea that it was an unmixed and plain proposition, one that was uncompounded with other questions. I believe he thought it so plain, so simple, so unmixed, and clear that even the great power and ingenuity of the honorable Senator from Maryland [Mr. JoHNSON] "to make the worse appear the better reason" could not obscure it.

Now, sir, what is the proposition so characterized by the honorable Senator from Michigan? We all know what the bill is. The bill, in its comprehension and sweep, asserts that the Government of the United States may anthorize the railroads in the several States to make connections with each other, without regard to the terms of their charters and without regard to the laws and constitutions of the several States. That is the general proposition; but the proposition which the honorable Senator from Michigan maintains is so clear and explicit that no sophistry of argumentation can obscure it. It is simply the proposition that the Government of the United States has the exclusive power to regulate foreign commerce and commerce among the States. I do not mean to misstate the honorable Senator. I understand that to be his proposition, that it is clear beyond cavil and beyond controversy that the Government of the United States has the exclusive right to regulate foreign commerce and commerce among the States. I do not deny that proposition. I think that is clear and conclusive. The very statement of it carries conviction. Nobody denies it on this side of the Chamber that I know of. But is that all there is in this case? Does the honorable Senator mean to say that when he has declared that proposition to be a clear one he has argued his case and is entitled to a verdict? Is there no other question of commerce than foreign commerce and commerce among the States? When the honorable Senator has made that declaration and asserted that proposition he has not reached this case at all. He has argued it, to be sure, very adroitly; he has shown that he understands the skill of the profession which he ornaments; but he has not begun to approach this case. This bill has nothing to do with foreign commerce, and I suggest to the honorable Senator that it has very little to do with commerce among the States.

The great distinction for which I contend, and which the Senator on the former occasion did not touch, nay, did not approach, is this: while I concede that the jurisdiction of the United States is exclusive and supreme over foreign commerce and commerce among the States, there is a commerce which is internal, which is domestic, and which is exclusively within the power of the States. That is the proposition to which I invite the attention of the honorable Senator and to which I commend him. This bill invades that commerce, and therefore I oppose it. The honorable Senator will find in the history of the legislation of this country, in the history of the Constitution, in its interpretation by the wise men who inaugurated it, and in its interpretation by the courts, that the distinction which I insist upon has been recognized in every department of the Government; that there is a commerce foreign and among the States, and there is commerce of the States and in the States which is peculiar to the States and with which the Government of the United States has nothing to do, and upon which it cannot trench. That is the doctrine. The point I shall undertake to establish to-day, if I succeed in collecting myself sufficiently to make reference to the books, is, that this bill is unauthorized by the Constitution, because it trenches on the reserved rights of the States to regulate that

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