CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



139 



the country above the age of twenty-one. We 

 have now masses of voters so enormous in 

 numbers as that it seems to be almost beyond 

 the power of the law to execute the purposes 

 of the elective franchise with justice, with pro- 

 priety, and without crime. How much would 

 these difficulties and these intrinsic troubles be 

 increased if we should raise the number of 

 voters from ten to twenty million in the United 

 States ! That would be the direct and imme- 

 diate effect of conferring the franchise upon 

 the women. What would be the next effect 

 of such an extension of the suffrage ? 



" Gentlemen come here into the Senate of 

 the United States and make long speeches 

 urging upon the States the necessity of se- 

 curing a full, free, fair, and unabridged right 

 on the part of negroes to vote everywhere, 

 and scolding and vituperating the States in re- 

 spect of their conduct, when they themselves, 

 after having given to the negroes the right of 

 suffrage in the District of Columbia, took it 

 away because they could not stand it in their 

 own persons and in reference to their own 

 property. If there had not been a Republican 

 in the United States who owned any property 

 in the District of Columbia, the negroes to-day 

 would have been voters in this District ; but 

 when it was found that negro suffrage was to 

 control Republican property and Republican 

 administration of local affairs in the District 

 of Columbia, then with one broad swoop they 

 dismissed the negro and the white man and 

 the woman from all opportunities of exercising 

 the power to vote. Let it not any more be 

 thrown at us that we have denied any people 

 the right of suffrage, that we have abridged or 

 in any way restrained any persons in the ex- 

 ercise of this right, when the men who have 

 had such immense majorities in both branches 

 of Congress have absolutely sponged out the 

 right of the white and the black both to vote, 

 merely to get rid of negro suffrage." 



The President pro tempore: "The question 

 is on the adoption of the resolution." 



The roll-call having been concluded, the re- 

 sult was announced, as follows : 



YEAS Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, Blair, Cameron 

 of Pennsylvania, Cameron of Wisconsin, Conger, Da- 

 vis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, Ferry, Frye, Harri- 

 son, Hawley, Hijl of Colorado, Hoar, Jones of Florida, 

 Jones of Nevada, Kellogg, Lapham, Logan, McDill, 

 McMillan, Miller of California, Mitchell, Morrill, 

 Platt, Plumb, Ransom, Rollins, Saunders, Sawyer, 

 Sewell, Sherman, Windom 35. 



NAYS Bayard, Beck, Brown, Butler, Camden, 

 Cockrell, Coke, Davis of West Virginia, Fair, Farley, 

 Garland, Hampton, Hill of Georgia, Jackson, Jonas, 

 McPherson, Maxev, Saulsbury, Slater, Vance, Vest, 

 Walker, Williams 23. 



ABSENT Call, George, Gorman, Groome, Grover, 

 Hale, Harris, Ingalls, Johnston, Lamar, Mahone, 

 Miller of New York, Morgan, Pendleton, Pugh, Teller, 

 Van Wyck, Voorhees-18. 



So the resolution was agreed to. 



THE TARIFF COMMISSION. In the House, on 

 March 28th, the following bill was considered : 



Be it enacted, etc., That a commission is hereby 

 created to be called the " tariff commission," to con- 

 sist of nine members. 



SECTION 2. That the President of the United States 

 shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 

 ate, appoint nine commissioners from civil life, one of 

 whonij the first named, shall be the president of the 

 commission. The commissioners shall receive as 

 compensation for their services each at the rate of 

 ten dollars per day when engaged in active duty, and 

 actual traveling and other necessary expenses. The 

 commission shall have power to employ a stenog- 

 rapher and a messenger ; and the foregoing compen- 

 sation and expenses to be audited and paid by the 

 Secretary of the Treasury out of any moneys in the 

 Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 



SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of said commission 

 to take into consideration and to thoroughly investi- 

 gate all the various questions relating to the agricult- 

 ural, commercial, mercantile, manufacturing, mining, 

 and industrial interests of the United States, so far as 

 the same may be necessary to the establishment of a 

 judicious tariif, or a revision of the existing tariff, and 

 the existing system of internal revenue laws, upon a 

 scale of justice to all interests ; and for the purpose of 

 fully examining the matters which may come before 

 it, said commission, in the prosecution of its inquiries, 

 is empowered to visit such different portions and sec- 

 tions of the country as it may deem advisable. 



SEC. 4. That the commission shall report to Con- 

 gress the results of their investigation, and the testi- 

 mony taken in the course of the same, from time to 

 time, and make their final report not later than the 

 first Monday in January, 1883. 



Mr. Kasson, of Iowa: "Mr. Chairman, the 

 bill presented for the consideration of the 

 House is not new either to the House or to 

 the country. It contains but few provisions, 

 and they are easily comprehended, and may be 

 simply stated. 



" The theory, as I understand it, of its pro- 

 visions is that this commission shall take up a 

 given subject, for example the question of iron 

 and its advanced products, proceed with this 

 investigation, and so soon as the examination 

 shall be rounded up and concluded, their re- 

 port on that subject, and the facts ascertained 

 by them, shall be immediately distributed for 

 the consideration of Senators and members of 

 the House. Then, another subject, wool and 

 woolens, silks, agricultural products, and so 

 on, so far as it shall be found necessary to 

 consult the material interests of this country, 

 and to consider their relations to each other. 

 By another provision of the bill their report 

 shall be submitted to Congress, the entire re- 

 port, at the first meeting of Congress in De- 

 cember next, that action may be taken on it 

 at that session. These are, simply stated, the 

 provisions of the bill. The first question, I 

 apprehend, that the members of this House 

 would desire to be satisfied upon, is whether a 

 revision of the present tariff is necessary ; 

 whether the present system, in its character, 

 scope, and details, is or ought to be satisfac- 

 tory to the country. 



" This proposition, Mr. Chairman, needs but 

 very little debate. I know of very few people 

 in the United States who admit they have no 

 complaint to make against some part of the 

 details of the present tariff. Whether you ar-e 

 free-traders or prohibitory tariff men, protect- 



