292 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



Appropriations to report back the bill sent to 

 us from the House with the amendments added 

 by the Committee on Appropriations; but I 

 am not authorized by the committee to offer 

 the amendment which I propose to offer as a 

 substitute for it. I desire to say before the 

 bill is read, if the Senate will allow me, that 

 the Committee on Appropriations of the House, 

 instead of pursuing the usual form of present- 

 ing a detailed bill, thought it best to send 

 House bill No. 2251, which makes this provi- 

 sion as its principal operative clause : 



" That for the purpose of providing for the legisla- 

 tive, executive, and judicial expenses of the Govern- 

 ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, there is 

 hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Trea- 

 sury not otherwise appropriated, the same sums of 

 money and for the like purposes (and continuing the 

 same provisions relating thereto), as were appropnated 

 for the service of the fiscal year ending June 30 ? 1879, 

 by the act entitled ' An Act making appropriations 

 for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 

 the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1879, and for other purposes,' approved June 19, 1878 

 except as hereinafter declared), subject to all the lim- 

 itations and conditions in respect to the disbursement 

 of the appropriations hereby made that were imposed 

 by said act, and the other laws of the United States 

 upon or in respect to the appropriations made by said 

 act. 



" Then follow first a number of exceptions, 

 from line 20 to line 46 ; then from line 47 to 

 line 57 are provisions affirmatively changing 

 the act of June 19, 1878, saying that no more 

 than the sums stated respectively are appro- 

 priated ; and from line 58 down to the close 

 of section 1, on line 121, are amendments to 

 that act. Section 2 provides for the salary of 

 certain offices created by acts of 1879, and for 

 matters provided for in other acts, and for the 

 mints and assay offices, and ' the following 

 additional sum* are hereby appropriated ' ; 

 then follows a list of them running through 

 each of the departments, with two other sec- 

 tions at the end making general provisions. 



" Therefore, Mr. President, as I was directed 

 to take charge of this bill and present it to the 

 Senate, I desire to say to Senators, first, that 

 before they can understand the bill intelli- 

 gently they will have to obtain the act ap- 

 proved June 19, 1878, being public act No. 

 135 of the second session of the Forty-fifth 

 Congress, which I suppose can be obtained in 

 the document-room ; at least I obtained a few 

 copies there. As that is the act which the 

 House has reenacted in substance, without 

 that act no Senator can very well know what 

 he is doing or what he is voting for in the 

 House bill now before us. 



" I have endeavored in the amendment I 

 offered to present the bill of the current year 

 as now amended in a form to be easily under- 

 stood. Therefore it was that I thought the 

 House bill as amended by the Committee on 

 Appropriations of the Senate ought to be read 

 at length, with my amendment in the hands 

 of Senators, as it differs in its form so essen- 

 tially from the bills ordinarily presented." 



A discussion ensued, during which some 

 amendments were made to the bill, and it was 

 passed. 



The House disagreed to the amendments of 

 the Senate. The result of this disagreement 

 was a conference between the two Houses, at 

 which the differences were adjusted and ap- 

 proved by each House, and the bill became a 

 law. 



In the House, on June 10th, the judicial ap- 

 propriation bill was considered. 



Mr. McMahon said : " I desire to make a 

 privileged report from the Committee on Ap- 

 propriations. I report back the bill (II. R. No. 

 2252) making appropriations for certain judi- 

 cial expenses, and I ask for its consideration 

 now." 



The bill was read. 



Mr. McMahon: "Mr. Chairman, I desire to 

 make a short statement to the Committee in 

 regard to this bill. The bill which we now 

 present for consideration has heretofore been a 

 part of the sundry civil bill. The amount ap- 

 propriated by. this bill has generally been appro- 

 priated in one sum, the sum of $2,500,000, some 

 years, $2,600,000, $2,700,000, and $2,800,000, 

 in other years, and sometimes $3,000,000, but 

 always in one sum and undivided as to its uses. 

 The Committee have thought it proper to have 

 this large sum itemized. We have required the 

 Department of Justice to estimate to the Com- 

 mittee the appropriations needed for the several 

 different purposes, and we have followed the 

 estimates sent to us except as to three different 

 items. We have reduced the appropriation for 

 the pay of district attorneys and their assist- 

 ants $50,000 below the estimates. We have also 

 reduced the pay of United States marshals and 

 their deputies $50,000. We have reduced the 

 pay of jurors $190,000, because we have in- 

 corporated into the bill a provision reducing 

 their compensation from three to two dollars a 

 day, and we have the authority of the At- 

 torney-General himself that such a reduction 

 will enable us to dispense with $200,000 of the 

 appropriations. The fees of witnesses we have 

 left according to the estimate of the Depart- 

 ment of Justice; so also for the support of 

 United States prisoners ; so also for the rent of 

 United States court-rooms, and for certain 

 miscellaneous purposes, such as fuel, lights, 

 stationery, furniture, sweepers, etc., a total ap- 

 propriation of $280,000, which amount may 

 seem very large, but it covers a very large and 

 uncertain contingent ground. The entire 

 amount appropriated for all purposes is $2,690, 

 000 for the next fiscal year. I think the ap- 

 propriations will be found amply sufficient for 

 the purpose. 



" In answer to numerous inquiries I desire 

 to call attention to one clause of this bill, and 

 to state that no money is appropriated for the 

 payment of deputy marshals, 'special' deputy 

 marshals as they are sometimes called, for ser- 



