•1884 ·coNGRESSIONAL .RECORD-HOUSE. MARCH 22, them, honest men may differ. One of the two Houses may decide this HOUSE OF REPRESENTAT~S. question in one way and the other House in the other way. If the matter is left to stand at that point, the vote of a State may unques­ WEDNESDAY, March 22, 1876. tionably be los:(;. By the very losing of that vote a man may be placed in the presidential ch:tir who had not a ma;jority of the elect­ The House met at twelve o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. oral votes by the people, as required by the Constitution. I. L. TOWNSE.ND. The Constitution says: The Journal of yesterday wa.s read and approved. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of tho Senate and Huuse of STEAM FOG-SIG.N.AL AT MACKINAW. Representatives, open all the certificates, and tho vote shall then be counted. ]),fr. DUNNELL, by unanimous consent, from the Committee on Not part of that vote shall be counted, but all of it. He who de­ Commerce, reported back, with a favorable recommendation, the bill sires · to s-5ick to the Constitution as closely as I lwpe I do wants to (H. R. No. 957) to appropriate money for the erection of a station and see it carried out in its letter and in its spirit. The letter and spirit steam fog-signal at Mackinaw, :Michigan; which was referred to the of the Constitution are that the votes contained in every valid cer­ Committee on Appropriations. · tificate must be counted then and there and by the authority which COZ..TTRACTS FOR SERVILE LABOR. the Constitution bas pointed out for that high duty; that high trust, Mr. LUTTRELL, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill (H. R. No. 1 will say, bec:tuse I regard it as a sacred trust. So believing, I can­ 2802) to prohibit contracts for servile labor; which was read a first not conceive that the position which has been a~sumed here is tenable, and second time, referred to the Committee on the J udioiary, and ·unless you hold out the banner and write upon it in the face of all ordered to be print-ed. mankind that we have no confidence in man, that we believe that any man who is exalted to a high position will so far forget himself, CHANGES OF REFERENCE. his oath, his honor, the confid,ence which the people have placed in Mr. WAD DELL, by unanimous consent, fi·om the Committee on the him, that he will prostitute all these, and, like J ndas Iscariot, sell his Post-Office and Post-Roads, reported back the followin~ petitions, and master for a. price. I do not believe that, and therefore I say that in the committee was discharged from the further consi<leration of the some stage of this proceeding, if we wish to carry out the will of the same; and they were referred to the Committee of Claims: people, we must trust somebody. I am willing to trust the man that The petition of H. G. Belding, of Minnesota, for relief for carrying tl:e Constitution trust-s, according to my construction of the Consti­ mails between 1858 and 1862; and tution, with the best light-s before me. For that rea-son I have offered The petition of Jeremiah Darling, asking pay for carrying United this amendment, not that it is a pet measure with me, for I have none. States mails over route No. 9497. I have done what other gentlemen here say they have been doing: I RELIEF OF STATE OF KANSAS. have been seeking light. If any Senator on this floor will point out a better and clearer plan than the one I have suggested, one that ~1r. GOODIN, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill (H. R. No. more thoroughly carries out the spirit and the letter of the Constitu­ 2813) relieving the State of Kansas from charges on account of ord­ tion, I will adopt his plan. All that I want to do is to secure to the nance stores furnished to Kansas Territory; which was read a first States of this Americ:tn Union their right beyond peradventure to and second time, and, with the accompanying papers, refen:ed to the have their vote counted in the election of President and Vice-Presi­ Committee on Military Affairs, and ordered to be printed. dent of the United States. DATE OF PENSIONS. Mr. CAMERON, of Pennsylvania. I would suggest to the Senator ~1r. RICE. I am instructed by the Committee on Invalid Pensions, from Texa.s to make a correction iu his amendment by blotting out the to whom were referred House bills Nos. 316, 394, 463, and 1162, tore­ words "as presiding officer of the two Houses." port as a substitute therefor a bill (H. R. No.2 03) to provide that all Mr. MAXEY. I will state to the Senator from Pennsylvania that pensions on account of deatb,.wouuds received, or disease contracted my attention was c:tlled to that by the Sena.tor from Vermont. I in the service of the United Stat.es since .March 4, 1861, which have think the expression" President of the Senate 'J is sufficient, and that been granted or which shall hereafter b~ granted upon applications the words" as presiding officer of the two Houses" a.re unnecessary. filed previous to January 1, 1880, shall commence from the date of I ask that that modification be made. death or discharge, and for payment of arrears of pensions-which The PRESIDENT p1·o tem]JOre. The Senator has that right. The was read a first and second time and referred to the committee, and Senator from Texas modifies his amendment, and the Secretary will to ask that the bil!z_with the accompanying report, be referred to the report the amendment as modified. Conimittee of the whole on the state of the Union, and that the con­ The CHIEF CLERK. It is proposed to insert at the end of the sec­ sideration of the same be assigned to Tuesday of week after next. ond section of the bill the following: The SPEAKER. There is already one special order for that day. But if tho two Houses fail to agree aa to which of the returns shall be counted, Mr. RUSK. Then say Wednesday. then the President of the Sent\te shall decide which is the true and valid roturn, Mr. RICE. I will say a week from next Wednesday; two weeks and the same shaH then be counted. · from to-day. The PRESIDENT pro tcrnpore. The question is on agreeing to this Mr. HAL.E. I hope the gentleman will except business of the amendment, upon which the yea-s and nays have been ordered. Committee on Appropriations. · . The Secreta.ry proceeded to Qall the roll. Mr. RICE. I agree to make that exception; and ask that the bill · Mr. DAVIS, (when his name was called.) On this question I am be considered from day to day, with that excoption, until disposed of. paired with the Senator from :M:inpesota, whom I do not see in his The SPEAKER. Is there objection to making the order requested seat, [Mr. W~DOl\I.] I shoul(l vote "nay" and he would vote" yea." by the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. RICE Y] Mr. WE'ST, (wheu his name was called.) On this question I am There was no objection, a.nd the order was made. paired with the Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. STEVENSO.N,] who CLERKS TO COMMITTEES. would vote against tho ::tmendment, and I, if at liberty, would vote .Mr. WILLIAMS, of Indiana. I ask unanimous consent to make a for it. report fTom the Committee of Accounts. I send it to the desk to be The Secretary resumed and concluded the call of the roll; which read. resulted-yeas 7, nays 38; a-s follows: The Clerk read as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Bogy, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Hamlin, Maxey, Robertson, At a regular meeting of the Committee of .Accounts, held Wednesday March 15, Sargent, anu Withers-7. at eleven o'clock a. m., the two committees mentioned herein were :i.llowell one WAYS-Messrs . .Allison, Autbon:v,Bayard, Booth, Boutwell, Burnside, Cameron clm·k jointly, to wit: the Committee on the Pacific Ra.ilroad and the Committee on of Wisconsin, Caperton, Chlistiancy, Conkling. Dawes, Dennis, Eaton, Eumunds, Revolutionary P ensions and the War of 1812, and the compensation ftxeu at $4 per English. Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Goldthwaite, Gordon. Hamilton, Howe, Ingalls, diem from tho 1st day of March, 1876. Jolinston, Jon&J of Florida, Jones of Nevada. Kelly, Key, McCreery, McDonald, Merrimon, Mitchell, Morrill of Maine, Morton, Norwood, OglOBby, Sharon, Whyte, Mr. 'VILLIAMS, of Indiana. I ask concurrence in that r port. and Wri~ht-38. · I ABSENT-Messrs. Alcorn, Broce, Clayton, Cockrell, Conover, Cooper. Cragin, Mr. HOLMAN. object. I do not mean that I object to the sub­ Davis, Dorsey, Harvey, Hitchcock, Kernan. Logan, McMillan, Monill of Vr-rmont, ject coming before the House for consideration ; I merely wish to vote Paddock, Patterson, Ra·ndolpb, R-ansom, Saulsbury, Sherman, Spencer, Stevenson, against the report. I think we are increasing the number of clerks Thurman, Wadleigh, "\Yalla.-ce, West, and Windom-28. unnecessarily. So the amendment was reject-ed. The question being taken, the report was concurred in. Mr. EDl\IUND . This question is so important and the.discussions Mr. WILLIAMS, of Indiana. I desire to present another report from of it have been so interesting, as they really hav.e, that I think fur­ the Committee of Accounts, and send it to the desk to be 1·ea«.