CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



175 



Be it resolved, That such committee be and they 

 are hereby authorized to investigate frauds touching 

 the election aforesaid in any other State, provided 

 they have probable cause to believe that such frauds 

 existed. 



Mr. Cox, of New York : " I move to refer 

 the resolution to the special committee that 

 is charged with investigating the alleged frauds 

 in the electoral count in the presidential elec- 

 tion, and upon that motion I demand the pre- 

 vious question." 



Mr. Wilson: "I desire to give the fullest 

 and freest chance for investigation, and I wish 

 that the resolution be put upon its passage 

 now." 



The main question was then ordered, being 

 upon the motion of Mr. Cox, of New York, to 

 refer the resolution to the select committee 

 to investigate the alleged frauds in the presi- 

 dential election. 



The question was taken, and there were 

 yeas 89, nays 116, not voting 86. So the mo- 

 tion to refer the resolution was not agreed to. 



In the House, on October 31st, Mr. E wing, 

 of Ohio, reported from the Committee on Bank- 

 ing and Currency a bill to repeal the third sec- 

 tion of the act to provide for the resumption 

 of specie payments. The bill was read a first 

 and second time, and ordered to be recommit- 

 ted. This was next reconsidered. 



In the House, on November 6th, the dis- 

 cussion of the bill commenced. It was as fol- 

 lows: 



A bill to repeal the third section of the act entitled "An act to 

 provide for the resumption of specie payments." 



Beit enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

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

 bled, That the third section of the act entitled " An 

 act to provide for the resumption of specie pay- 

 ments," approved January 14, 1875, be, and the same 

 is hereby, repealed. 



Amendment proposed by Mr. Fort to the bill (H. 

 R. No. 805) to repeal the third section of the act en- 

 titled " An act to provide for the resumption of specie 

 payments," viz. : Strike out all after the enacting 

 clause and insert the following : 



That all that portion of the act approved January 

 14, 1875, entitled u An act to provide for the resump- 

 tion of specie payments," which reads as follows^ to 

 wit: " And whenever, and so often as, circulating 

 notes shall be issued to any such banking association, 

 so increasing its capital or circulating notes, or so new- 

 ly organized^ as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the 

 Secretary of the Treasury to redeem the legal-tender 

 United States notes in excess only of $300,000,000, 

 to the amount of 80 per cent, of the sum of national- 

 bank notes so issued to any such banking association 

 as aforesaid, and to continue such redemption as such 

 circulating notes are issued until there shall be out- 

 standing the sum of $300,000,000 of such legal-tender 

 United States notes, and no more. And on and after 

 the 1st day of January, A. D. 1879, the Secretary of 

 the Treasury shall redeem, in coin, the United States 

 legal-tender notes then outstanding, on their presen- 

 tation for redemption at the office of the assistant 

 treasurer of the United States in the city of New 

 York, in sums of not less than $50. And to enable the 

 Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and provide for 

 the redemption in this act authorized or required, he 

 is authorized to use any surplus revenues, from time 

 to time in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, 

 and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than 



par, in coin, either of the description of bonds of the 

 United States described in the act of Congress ap- 

 proved July 14, 1870,entitled ' An act to authorize the 

 refunding of the national debt,' with like qualities, 

 privileges, and exemptions, to the extent necessary 

 to carry this act into full effect, and to use the pro- 

 ceeds thereof for the purpose aforesaid," be, and the 

 same is hereby, repealed. 



Amend the title so as to read : " A bill to repeal 

 all that part of the act approved January 14, 1875, 

 known as the resumption act, which authorizes the 

 Secretary of the Treasury to dispose of United States 

 bonds and redeem and cancel the greenback curren- 

 cy." 



Numerous amendments were also proposed 

 which it is not necessary to mention. 



Mr.Phillips, of Kansas, said: "Mr. Speaker, I 

 was willing, even anxious, that the bill now 

 pending before the House should have pro- 

 ceeded to a vote without saying a word upon it. 

 Through all its stages I have pressed action 

 looking to an immediate issue and an im- 

 mediate vote. I think I can say for the major- 

 ity of the committee that, without attempting 

 to gag or refuse reasonable time for consider- 

 ation or debate, they have realized the impor- 

 tance of immediate action and the responsibility 

 thrust upon them by having the bill in their 

 charge. We were not insensible to the fact 

 that the bill in question was antagonized by 

 a formidable party, knit together by strong 

 interests. We also were sensible that the dis- 

 tractions of debate and insidious character of 

 amendments proposed or to be proposed might 

 lead real friends of the measure to vote for 

 plausible amendments which might commend 

 themselves to their individual views, so as to 

 load down the bill until it would not re- 

 ceive the support of a majority of this House. 

 Therefore the committee desired to demand a 

 vote, believing it was due the House to have 

 the privilege of so determining. It has other- 

 wise been ordered, and I am here to present 

 briefly on behalf of that committee the leading 

 features of the bill. 



" The third section of the resumption act, the 

 section a portion of which it is proposed now 

 to repeal by the amendment of the gentleman 

 from Illinois (Mr. Fort), which I will state here 

 has been accepted by the committee, was and 

 is a contradictory one. 



" That third section seems to have admitted of 

 many constructions and seems to have been 

 either contrived to conceal its own provisions 

 or to have been admirably successful in con- 

 founding all opinions as to what it was de- 

 signed for. The theory is that for each $100 

 of national-bank notes issued in addition to the 

 amount then in circulation, $80 of legal-tender 

 notes shall be retired. Those who wished to 

 smooth its passage through the House endeav- 

 ored to convince its opponents that the volume 

 of circulating medium would be increased by 

 20 per cent, of any additional amount of na- 

 tional-bank notes that was issued, and that 

 there would be no change if the national-bank 

 paper was not increased. 



" While the bill was pending in the Senate, 



