784 



TAKIFF REVISION. 



As the united opposition of the Democrats 

 was anticipated to this so-called amendment 

 to the rules, it was necessary to secure a Re- 

 publican quorum to adopt it. An effort was 

 made on the 26th, but without success. Prompt- 

 ly on the following morning, however, the rule 

 was adopted by a vote of 129 to 22, most of 

 the Democrats refraining from voting. The 

 question of the constitutional right of the 

 Senate to originate revenue measures was then 

 raised. Mr. Hammond, of Georgia, offered a 

 resolution declaring that the action of the 

 Senate, in substituting for the House bill to 

 reduce internal revenue taxation, a proposition 

 imposing both import duties and internal taxa- 

 tion, was in conflict with the true intent and 

 purpose of the clause of the Constitution 

 which requires that all bills for raising reve- 

 nue shall originate in the House of Represent- 

 atives, and declaring further that the bill with 

 Senate amendments shall lie upon the table. 

 A substitute was offered by Mr. Haskell, of 

 Kansas, as follows: 



Whereas, House bill No. 5,538, entitled " An act to 

 reduce internal revenue taxation, and for other pur- 

 poses," under the form of an amendment in the Sen- 

 ate to title 33 of the Eevised Statutes, which provides 

 for duties on imports, has been so modified and changed, 

 by the introduction of new provisions, containing 

 among other things a general revision of the statutes 

 referred to, as both to increase and reduce duties on 

 imports, and in many instances to repeal and in oth- 

 ers to amend the laws imposing import duties ; and 



Whereas, In the opinion of the House, it is believed 

 that such changes and alterations are in conflict with 

 the true intent and purpose of tho Constitution, which 

 requires that all bills for raising revenue shall origi- 

 nate in the House of Eepresentatives : therefore 



Resolved, That if this bill shall be referred to a com- 

 mittee of conference it shall be the duty of the con- 

 ferees on the part of the House on said committee to 

 consider fully the constitutional objections to said bill 

 as amended by the Senate and herein referred to, and 

 to bring the same, together with the opinion of the 

 House m regard hereto ^ before said conference, and 

 if necessary, in their opinion, after having conferred 

 with the Senate conferees, said conferees on said com- 

 mittee may make report to the House in regard to the 

 objections to said bill herein referred to. 



This was adopted by a vote of 139 to 122. 

 Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, then moved to sus- 

 pend the rules, take from the Speaker's table 

 the internal revenue bill, with Senate amend- 

 ments, non-concur in those amendments, and 

 appoint a conference committee, to consist of 

 five members on the part of the House. Agreed 

 to yeas 148, nays 110. This was a party vote, 

 except that Messrs. Converse, Curtin, Ermen- 

 trout, Hardenbergh, Klotz, Ladd, Morse, Mutch- 

 ler, Phelps, Wilson, and Wise, of Pennsylvania, 

 voted with the Republicans in the affirma- 

 tive, and Messrs. Brumm, Burrows, of Missouri, 

 Campbell, and Updegraff, with the Democrats 

 in the negative. The conferees first appointed 

 on the part of the Senate were, Senators Morrill, 

 Sherman, Aldrich, Bayard, and Beck. Those 

 on the part of the House were, Kelley. McKin- 

 ley, Haskell, Randall, and Carlisle. The first 

 three in each case were Republicans, and known 

 high-tariff men. The others were Democrats, 



and, with the exception of Randall, revenue 

 reformers. On the next morning, February 

 28th, Mr. Randall asked to be relieved from 

 service on the conference committee, and the 

 request was granted. Mr. Morrison, of Illinois, 

 and Mr. Tucker, of Virginia, having succes- 

 sively declined to serve, Mr. Speer, of Georgia, 

 was appointed to the vacant place. In the 

 Senate, on the same day, in view of the con- 

 stitutional question raised in the House after 

 the conference was asked for, the following 

 resolution was adopted without a division : 



Resolved, That it is the opinion of the Senate that 

 the conference on the House bill 5,538 (the internal 

 revenue and tariff bill) should be full and free, and 

 that if the Senate conferees become advised that any 

 limitation has been placed by the House upon the ac- 

 tion of their conferees the Senate conferees shall retire 

 and report the fact to the Senate for its consideration. 



At the first conference, on the evening of 

 February 28th, the House resolution regarding 

 the Senate's right in respect to revenue bills 

 was presented, and Senators Bayard and Beck 

 took the ground that it made it necessary for 

 the Senate conferees under their instructions 

 to report without further conference. Their 

 Republican colleagues did not agree with them, 

 and on the following morning Messrs. Bayard 

 and Beck asked to be relieved from further 

 service on the committee. They were excused, 

 and Senators Voorhees and McPherson were 

 named. Mr. McPherson declined, and Mr. Har- 

 ris was named. He declined also, and then 

 Mr. Voorhees asked to be excused. Messrs. 

 Morgan and Gorman were next named, and 

 asked to be excused. The same result fol- 

 lowed with Messrs. Davis, of West Virginia, 

 and Jones, and with Messrs. Butler and Mnxey. 

 It being intimated that no Democrats could be 

 found to serve, Senators Ingalls and Mahone 

 were appointed. The former declined, as did 

 Mr. Miller, of California ; and finally Mr. Mc- 

 Dill was named, and the committee was once 

 more complete. The committee reached an 

 agreement and made a report to the two Houses 

 on the evening of the 2d of March. In the 

 Senate, after an explanation of the report by 

 Mr. Morrill, and a short debate, in which Mr. 

 Beck opposed the changes that had been made, 

 a vote was reached at 12.30 A. M. of March 3d. 

 It resulted in an acceptance of the report by a 

 vote of 32 to 31. The report was not consid- 

 ered in the House until the regular session of 

 March 3d, when Mr. Kelley made an explana- 

 tion, and a debate followed, in which Mr. Car- 

 lisle was the chief opponent of the committee's 

 work. A vote was taken at 5.30 P.M., and 

 the report was agreed to 152 to 116. Twenty 

 Democrats only voted for the bill, and 16 Re- 

 publicans voted against it. The day's session 

 continued into the morning of Sunday, March 

 4th, and before the adjournment the tariff bill 

 was signed by the President. 



The effect of the bill is a matter which it is 

 difficult to calculate in advance of any expe- 

 rience of its working, and opinions differ as to 



