ADAMS; THE ((WIKOI. OF THF. FURSK. 211 



involved was what is usually called the Blair educational bill. Mr. 

 Hurd, Mr. Hammond and Mr. Reed discussed the resolution. All 

 three of these gentlemen had been upon the House Judiciary commit- 

 tee of 1 88 1, a majority of which had decided the question in favor of 

 the Senate, and now each took the same position as formerly.* The 

 vote came upon a motion to lay Mr. Hurd's resolution on the table, 

 which was carried by 128 yeas to 123 nays. The House itself had 

 thus conceded in a measure the Senate's right. On the other hand it 

 may well be claimed that there were so many selfish interests at stake 

 in case of failure of the Blair bill that the vote could not be regarded 

 as an index of House feeling. 



The evidence that the Senate did not regard this vote in the House 

 as decisive is found in the fact that th -■ Senate has never originated 

 the general appropriation bills. Upon one more occasion the upper 

 house incidentally fell into debate over its constitutional right, and 

 the sentiment seemed to prevail that while the Senate's right to origi- 

 nate appropriation bills was undoubted, permission from the House 

 to go so far as to take the initiative in general appropriation bills was 

 most improbable. The debate f arose May 15, 1888, on a proposed 

 amendment to a pension appropriation bill, and indicated that the 

 Senate was still disposed to originate general appropriation bills, yet 

 did not quite dare to do so. Mr. Edmundsj again argued the ques- 

 tion at length. Mr. Hoar, who had been advanced to the Senate and 

 who, while he was a member of the House, had attacked so vigorously 

 the encroachment of the Senate, now defended the House. His most 

 important reuiark was "Gentlemen get up once in three or four years 

 and think that the Senate ought to assert its rights; and that it can 

 assert its rights. The Senate cannot assert its rights. As Mr. Web- 

 ster originally declared it is a question which must be settled by the 

 House of Representatives, and it has been settled and is settled, and 

 will remain settled by the House of Representatives. It is utterly 

 idle to treat it as otherwise. "§ This is the view generally taken at 

 present. So long, however, as the Senate has the right to originate 

 bills, not general appropriation bills, but still appropriation bills, 

 debate will from time to time arise in House or in Senate or between 

 House and Senate on the interpretation of the constitutional 

 restriction. 



In reviewing this sketch of debates in Congress it is certain that 

 the interpretation of the constitutional restriction was by no means al- 

 ways the same. The interpretation generally regarded as accepted by 



♦Cong. Record, 48 Cong., 2 Sess., pt. II, pp. 948-9()l. 

 tibid., 50 Cong., 1 Sess.. pt. V, p. 4151 seq. 

 ilbid., p. 4152. 

 S Ibid., p. 4155. 



