124 



COXGBESS, UNITED STATES. 



with a view of asking the Senate to take up 

 the bill for the removal of political disabili- 

 ties." 



The Yice-President : "The Senator from 

 Illinois moves that the pending resolution, 

 with the amendment and the amendment to 

 the amendment, be laid on the table for the 

 purpose indicated by him in his remarks." 



The yeas and nays were ordered; and, being 

 taken, resulted as follows : 



YEAS Messrs. Alcorn, Bayard, Cooper ? Davis of 

 West Virginia, Fentori, Ferry of Connecticut, Ham- 

 ilton of Maryland, Hill, Johnston, Lewis, Merrill 

 of Vermont, Eice, Kobertson, Saulsbury, Sawyer, 

 Schurz, Stockton, Simmer, Tnurman, Tipton, Vick- 

 ers, and Wilson 22. 



NAYS Messrs. Ames, Anthony, Boreman, Brown- 

 low, Buckingham, Caldwell, Carpenter, Chandler. 

 Clayton, 'Conkling, Corbett, Edmunds, Ferry of 

 Michigan, Flanagan, Frelinghuysen, Gilbert, Ham- 

 ilton of Texas, Hamlin, Ilarlan, Hitchcock, Kellogg, 

 Morrill of Maine, Morton, Nye, Patterson, Pomeroy, 

 Pratt, Eamsey, Scott, Stewart, and Wright 31. 



ABSENT Messrs. Blair, Cameron, Casserly, Cole, 

 Cragin, Davis of Kentucky, Howe, Kelly, Logan, 

 Osborn, Pool, Sherman, Spencer, Sprague, Steven- 

 son, Trumbull, West, and Windom 18. 



So the motion was not agreed to. 



The Vice-President: "The question recurs 

 on the amendment to the amendment pro- 

 posed by the Senator from Missouri." 



The Senate proceeded to the consideration 

 of executive business, without final action on 

 the amendments. 



In the Senate, on December 7th, Mr. Trum- 

 bull, of Illinois, said: "I offer for adoption 

 the following resolution : " 



Resolved (the House of Representatives concur- 

 ring), That a joint select committee on retrench- 

 ment, consisting of four members of the Senate and 

 seven members of the House, be appointed by the 

 Presiding Officers of the two Houses, and that said 

 committee be instructed to inquire into the expendi- 

 tures in all the branches of the service of the United 

 States, and to report whether any, and what, offices 

 ought to be abolished ; whether any, and what, sal- 

 aries or allowances ought to be reduced ; what are 

 the methods of procuring accountability in public 

 officers or agents in the care and disbursement of 

 public moneys ; whether moneys have been paid out 

 illegally- whether any officers or agents or other 

 persons nave been or are employed in the service 

 without authority of law, or unnecessarily ; and gen- 

 erally how, and to what extent, the expenses of the 

 service of the country may and ought to be curtailed. 

 And also to consider the expediency of so amending 

 the laws under which appointments to the public 

 service are now made as to provide for the selection 

 of subordinate officers after due examination by 

 proper boards; their continuance in office during 

 specified terms, unless dismissed upon charges pre- 

 ferred and sustained before tribunals designated for 

 that purpose; and for withdrawing the public ser- 

 vice from being used as an instrument of political or 

 party patronage. That said committee be authorized 

 to sit during the recess of Congress, to send for per- 

 sons and papers, and to report by bill or otherwise ; 

 and that said committee may appoint a clerk for the 

 term of six months, and no mor3. 



The Presiding Officer: "Objection being 

 made, the resolution will lie over under the 

 rules. 



In the House, on December llth, Mr. "Wood, 

 of Xew York, asked unanimous consent to in- 

 troduced the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the Eepublican party, having a 

 large majority in both Houses of Congress, and the 

 President, and those possessing ample power, should 

 at once take measures to provide for the immediate 

 reduction of direct taxation and of import duties to 

 a strictly revenue standard; to provide for the im- 

 mediate reduction of public expenditures in all the 

 Departments of the Government ; to abolish all sine- 

 cure offices and the system of collecting the revenue 

 by secret informers and spies ; to restore to the peo- 

 ple of the States and their local governments the 

 rights originally possessed by them under the Con- 

 stitution ; to abolish governmental paper money and 

 to restore the only constitutional money gold and 

 silver ; to reduce the Army to a peace footing, and 

 abolish a system^ recently established^ of employing 

 military officers in the discharge of civil duties ; to 

 provide against the accumulation and retention of 

 large sums of money in the public Treasury, by which 

 the interests of the people are subordinated to Gov- 

 ernment influence, and made dependent upon the 

 caprice and personal views of the head of that De- 

 partment ; to prevent the purchase and sale of the 

 public credit by the Secretary of the Treasury, at his x 

 own option, with no other control than his individ- 

 ual and personal will ; to bring the President and his 

 Cabinet advisers under the authority of law, making 

 them obedient to its provisions, and, alike with 

 others, subject to its penalties; to restore to the 

 Southern States and people peace, prosperity, and 

 contentment, which^can only be accomplished by a 

 cessation of vindictive legislation and military in- 

 terference and a recognition of their equal rights, 

 including self-government and political equality with 

 the other States and peoples of the Union ; to revive 

 American commerce ; to restore American credit ; to 

 reinaugurate American republican simplicity in the 

 administration of public affairs ; and to aid by all 

 proper legal and constitutional authority in the full 

 development of the agricultural, mineral, and com- 

 mercial resources of the country. 



He then moved to suspend the rules in or- 

 der to pass the resolution, which was refused, 

 and the resolution lost by the following vote : 



YEAS Messrs. Acker, Adams, Archer, Arthur, 

 Bell, Biggs, Bird, James G. Blair, Braxton, Bright, 

 Caldwell, Campbell, Carroll, Comingo, Conner, Cox, 

 Crebs, Crossland, Davis, Dox, DuBose, Duke, El- 

 dridge, Garrett, Getz, Golladay, Haldeman, Hancock, 

 Handley, Hanks, Harper, John T. Harris, Hereford, 

 Hibbard, Holman, Kerr, King, Lamison, Leach, 

 Lewis, Manson, Marshall, McCormick, McHenry, 

 McKinney, McNeely, Benjamin F. Meyers, Mitchell, 

 Morgan, Niblack, Hosea W. Parker, Eli Perry, Pot- 

 ter, Price, Eead, Edward Y. Eice, John M. Eice, 

 Eitchie, William E. Eoberts, Eobinson, Sherwood, 

 Shober, Slocum, Sloss, Storm, Swann, Terry, Tut- 

 hill, Van Trump, Vaughan, Waddell, Wells, Whit- 

 thorne, Williams of New York, Winchester, Wood, 

 and Young 77. 



NAYS Messrs. Ambler, Ames, Averill, Banks, 

 Barber, Barry, Beatty, Beveridge, Bigby, Bingham, 

 Austin Blair, George M. Brooks, Buffinton, Bur- 

 chard, Burdett, Roderick E. Butler, Clarke, Cobb, 

 Coburn, Conger, Cotton, Coghlan, Darrall, Dawes, 

 Dickey, Donnan, Duell, Dunnell, Eames, Elliott, 

 Farnsworth. Farwell, Finkelnburg, Charles Foster, 

 Henry D. Foster, Wilder D. Foster, Fryc, Garfield, 

 Goodrich, Griffith, Hale, Harmer, George E. Hams, 

 Havens, Hawley, Gerry W. Hazleton, John W. 

 Hazleton, Hoar, Hooper, Kelley, Kellogg, Ketcham, 

 Killinger, Lamport, Lansing, Lowe, Lynch, May- 

 nard, McClelland, McCrary, McGrew, McKee, Mer- 

 cur, Merriam, Monroe, Moore, Morphis, Leonard 



