134 



CONGEESS, UNITED STATES. 



lie debt and a reasonable sum to be applied in the 

 reduction of said debt, should not exceed the sum of 



sufficient to provide for the ordinary expenditures 

 of the Government, the payment of the interest of the 

 public debt, and $25,000,000 to be applied in liqui- 

 dating the principal of said debt ; and whereas it is 

 believed that the existing internal revenue system 



proportions 



by the authorities thereof, and paid into the national 

 Treasury, thereby dispensing with the _ expensive, 

 corrupting, and annoying machinery now in force for 

 that purpose ; and whereas the highest rate of duty 

 on articles of merchandise imported from foreign 

 countries into the United States should be levied 

 with a view to revenue only ; and whereas under our 

 present system there are duties levied of a prohibi- 

 tory nature, and others with the purpose and effect 

 of protecting particular classes, trades, and indi- 

 viduals at the expense of the people ; and whereas 

 there are many dutiable articles which should be en- 

 tirely free, such as salt, coal, etc., and the duties 

 upon other articles should be greatly reduced in the 

 interest of revenue and equitable taxation, such as 

 lumber, leather, pig-iron, etc. : Therefore, 



Be it resolved, That the Committee of Ways and 

 Means be directed to embody the foregoing princi- 

 ples in a bill or bills, and to report the same for 

 action at the present session. 



In the House, on December 12th, Mr. Kel- 

 ley, of Pennsylvania, offered the following reso- 

 lution on revenue reform : 



Resolved, That the true principle of revenue reform 

 points to the abolition of the internal revenue system, 

 which was created as a war measure to provide for 

 extraordinary expenses, and a continuance of which 

 involves the employment, at the cost of millions of 

 dollars annually, of an army of assessors, collectors, 

 supervisors, detectives, and other officers previously 

 unknown ; and requires the repeal, at the earliest day 

 consistent with the maintenance of the faith and credit 

 of the Government, of all stamp and other internal 

 taxes; and that properly-adjusted rates shall be re- 

 tained on distilled spirits, tobacco, and malt liquors, 

 so long as the legitimate expenses of the Government 

 require the collection of any sum from internal taxes. 



Mr. Brooks, of New York, said : I do not 

 think there is any objection to this resolution 

 on this side of the House, as we understand it. 

 If the gentleman can stand the repudiation of 

 the public debt, involved in it, we can. I for 

 one, do not mean to oppose ; I mean to vote 

 for the resolution." 



On a motion to suspend the rules for the 

 adoption of the resolution, the vote was as fol- 

 lows : 



YEAS Messrs. Allison, Ambler, Armstrong, Ar- 

 nell, Atwood, Axtell, Barry, Beaman.Beatty.Beck, 

 Benton, Bingham, Bird, Blair, Boles, Booker, Bo wen, 

 Boyd, James Brooks. Buckley, Buffinton, Burchard, 

 Burdett, Burr, Kodenck K. Butler, Calkin, Churchill, 

 William T. Clark, Sidney Clarke, Amasa Cobb, Clin- 

 ton L. Cobb, Coburn, Conger, Cook, Cowles, Crebs, 

 Cullom, Darrall, Dickinson, Nathan F. Dixon, Don- 

 ley, Dox, Duke, Duval, Eldridge, Farnsworth, Fer- 

 riss, Ferry, Fisher, Fitch, Fox, Garfield, Getz, Gib- 

 son, Gimllan, Griswold, Hamill, Hawkins, Hawley, 

 Hay, Heflin, Holmes, Ingersrll, Jenckes, Johnson, 

 Alexander H. Jones, Thomas L. Jones, Julian, Kel- 



ly, Mercur, Eliakim II. Moore, Jesse II. Moore, Wil- 

 liam Moore, Morey, Morgan, Morphis, Daniel J. 

 Morrell, Samuel P. Morrill, Morrissey, Mungen, My- 

 ers, Negley, Niblack, O'Neill, Orth, Packard, Packer, 

 Paine, Palmer, Peck, Perce, Peters, Phelps, Platt, 

 Poland, Pomeroy, Porter, Prosser, Kainey, Reeves, 

 Rice, Sanford, Sargent, Sawyer, Schenck, Schumaker, 

 Scoflcld, Shanks, Lionel A. Sheldon, Porter Sheldon, 

 Sherrod, Shober, Slocum, John A. Smith, Worthing- 

 ton C. Smith, Starkweather, Stevens, Stevenson, 

 Stiles, Stokes, Stone, Stoughton. Stradcr, Strickland, 

 Strong. Swaun, Sypher. Taffe, Tanner, Taylor, Till- 

 man, Townsend, Trimble, Upson, Van Horn, Van 

 Trump, Voorhees, Wallace, Cadwalader C. Wash- 

 burn, ^Velker, Wells, Wilkinson, Willard, Williams, 

 John T. Wilson, Witcher, Wolf, Wood, and Wood- 

 ward 166. 



NATS Messrs. Asper, Ayer, Benjamin, Cox, Fin- 

 kelnburg, and William J. Smith 6. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Adams, Ames, Archer, Bai- 

 ley, Banks, Barnum, Bennett, Biggs, George M. 

 Brooks, Buck, Benjamin F. Butler, Cake, Cessna, 

 Cleveland. Conner, Covode, Dawes, Degener, Dickey, 

 Joseph Dixon, Dockery, Dyer, Ela, Height, Halde- 

 man, Hale, Hambleton, Hamilton, Harris. Hays, Hill, 

 Hoar, Hoge, Holman, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Judd, 

 Kerr, Xash, Lawrence, Lewis, Loughridge, Marshall, 

 McCarthy, Milnes, Newsham, Potter, Kandallj Eog- 

 ers, Boots, Joseph S. Smith, Sweeney, Twichell, 

 Tyner, Van Auken, Van Wyck, Ward, William B. 

 Washburn, Wheeler, Whitmore, Eugene M. Wilson, 

 Winans, and Winchester 63. 



So the rules were suspended ; and the reso- 

 lution was adopted. 



In the Senate, on December 12th, Mr. Schurz, 

 of Missouri, offered the following resolution 

 relative to political disabilities : 



Resolved, That the disqualifications and disabilities 

 imposed upon persons lately in rebellion against the 

 Government of the United States were dictated bv 

 imperative public necessities, and not by a spirit of 

 hatred or vmdictiveness ; and that, as soon as such 

 public necessities cease, due regard for the fundamen- 

 tal principles of pur system of government, as well as 

 every consideration of sound statesmanship, demands 

 the removal of those disqualifications and disabilities. 



It was laid on the table. 



In the House, on December 14th, Mr. Butler, 

 of Massachusetts, from the select Committee 

 on Eeconstruction, reported the following bill, 

 which was read a first and second time, and 

 ordered to be engrossed. 



The bill was as follows: 



Be it enacted^ by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the United States of America in, Congress^ assem- 

 bled, That each and every person, and all and singular 

 the bodies politic and corporate and municipal, and 

 each and every of them, shall be, and by virtue and 

 authority of this act are, acquitted, exempted, re- 

 leased, discharged, and do hereby receive full and 

 perfect amnesty of and from all manner of treasons 

 and misprisions of treason, felonies, and misprision 

 thereof, treasonable and seditious words, all libels, 

 seditious and unlawful meetings ; and also of and 

 from all riots, insurrections, rebellious acts against 

 the Government, all offences, contempts, trespasses, 

 entries, wrongs, deceits, misdemeanors, forfeitures, 

 disabilities, political or other, penalties, sums of 

 money due or owing, and generally of and from all 

 other things, causes, quarrels, suits, judgments, and 

 executions not in this act hereafter excepted, which 

 may have been made, done, committed, omitted, per- 

 petrated, incurred, or forfeited, between the llth day 

 of April, in the year 1861, and the 20th da.y of August, 

 In the year 1866, in carrying on, prosecuting, aiding, 

 or interfering with the war of the rebellion, in its be- 



