Debate was had theron. Mr. E. B. Washburne moved to amend the bill by adding thereto a proviso. Pending which, Mr. Garfield moved the previous question on the pending amendment and on the engrossment of the bill. The House having refused to second the demand for the previous question, Mr. Wood moved that the said bill be recommitted to the Committee on Military Affairs with instructions to report a general bill comprehending similar claims of all the States, and the provisions of a substitute submitted by Mr. Pruyn and accepted by Mr. Wood. Pending which, The morning hour expired. On motion of Mr. Garfield, by unanimous consent, Ordered, That the bill of the House H. R. 1491 be printed, together with the report of the Committee on Military Affairs thereon, the amendment pending to said bill, an amendment proposed to be offered by Mr. Mullins, and the proposition of Mr. Wood to refer to the Committee on Appropriations. The Speaker announced as the select committee under the resolution of Mr. W. Lawrence adopted yesterday to investigate certain alleged election frauds in the State of New York: Mr. William Lawrence, of Ohio; Henry L. Dawes, of Massachusetts; Austin Blair, of Michigan; Oliver J. Dickey, of Pennsylvania; Benjamin F. Hopkins, of Wisconsin; Samuel S. Marshall, of Illinois; Richard D. Hubbard, of Connecticut. The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House the following executive communications. I. A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting letters from the Commissioners of Pensions and Patents, relative to the need of greater accommodations for their respective offices, and recommending the purchase of a building suitable for the purpose contiguous to the department; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations. II. A letter from the Secretary of War, relative to the amount disbursed by that department from June 30, 1865, to June 30, 1868; which was referred to the Committee on the Expenditures of the War Department, and ordered to be printed. The Speaker also, by unanimous consent, laid before the House a report of receipts and expenditures of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb from June, 1857, to July 1, 1868; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Moorhead moved that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill of the House (H. R. 1349) to increase the revenue from duties on imports, and tending to equalize exports and imports. And the question being put, It was decided in the affirmative, The yeas and nays being desired Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Oakes Ames Samuel M. Arnell Mr. John Beatty Jacob Benton Mr. C. C. Bowen Nathaniel Boyden Mr. Henry L. Cake John B. Callis John Coburn The House accordingly resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Dawes reported that the committee having had, according to order, the state of the Union generally under consideration, and particularly the bill of the House (H. R. 1349) to increase the revenue from duties on imports, and tending to equalize exports and imports, had come to no resolution thereon. Mr. Moorhead moved that the House again resolve itself into the Com. mittee of the Whole on the state of the Union. Pending which, Mr. Moorhead moved that when the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union shall again have under consideration the bill of the House H. R. 1349, all general debate thereon be closed in one hour; which motion was disagreed to. Pending the motion of Mr. Moorhead, A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. Hamlin, one of their clerks: Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a resolution as follows: Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Ordnance, appointed at the first session of the present Congress, and continued at the last session, be, and the same is hereby, continued during the present session. Ordered, That Mr. Howard, Mr. Cameron, and Mr. Drake, be the committee on the part of the Senate; in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of the House. The question then recurring on the motion of Mr. Moorhead that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, was put, The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are The House accordingly resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Dawes reported that the committee having had, according to order, the state of the Union generally under consideration, and particularly the bill of the House (H. R. 1349) to increase the revenue from duties on imports, and tending to equalize exports and imports, had come to no resolution thereon. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Hamlin, one of their clerks : Mr. Speaker: I am directed by the Senate to return to the House of Representatives, pursuant to its request, the joint resolution of the House (H. Res. 332) authorizing the appointment of examiners to examine and report upon the expediency of discontinuing the navy yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and uniting the same with the yard at Kittery, Maine. The following additional members appeared at the session of to day, viz: From the State of New Jersey, George A. Halsey. From the State of California, James A. Johnson. From the State of New York, Lewis Selye. And then, On motion of Mr. Allison, at 4 o'clock p. m., the House adjourned. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1868. The following petitions and memorials were laid upon the Clerk's table, under the rules: By the Speaker: The petition of Peter Breuner, praying for a pension. By Mr. McCarthy: The memorial of Thankful Sheffield, praying for a pension. By Mr. Covode: The memorial of Mary Whaley, praying for a pension. By Mr. Bingham: The memorial of Mrs. Catharine Luke, praying for a pension. By Mr. Perham: The memorial of Walter Abbott, praying for arrears of pension. Ordered, That the said petition and memorials be referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. The petition of A. F. Cochron, of the State of Massachusetts, praying for relief; which was referred to the Committee of Claims. By Mr. Hulburd: The petition of citizens of the State of New York, relative to the tax on distilled spirits and tobacco. By Mr. Upson: Petition of similar import from citizens of the State of Michigan. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. By Mr. Miller: The memorial of Catharine Webb, praying for a pension; Also, the memorial of Mary A. Holden, praying for a pension; Also, the memorial of Alvoez Mazett, praying for a pension; Also, the memorial of James H. Knotts, praying for a pension; Also, the memorial of John W. Rhen, praying for a pension. Ordered, That the said memorials be referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. Mr. Poland, by unanimous consent, from the Joint Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the United States, reported the following resolu tion; which was read, considered, and agreed to: Resolved, That the Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the United States be authorized to employ a clerk, who shall be allowed the same compensation as the clerk of the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Poland moved to reconsider the vote agreeing to the said resolution, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. Pile, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to: Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to furnish this house with any report made by officers of the engineer department, with reference to the bridge across the Missouri river at Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Eliot, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill (H. R. 1554) prohibiting the carriage as freight in passenger vessels, of nitro-glycerine, petroleum, and other explosive substances; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Committee on Commerce, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Paine, from the Committee on Reconstruction, reported a bill (H. R. 1556) to relieve Andrew Ramsey, W. L. Herriots, A. McDaniels, James Harrison, John H. Goodwin, Johnson J. Knox, J. J. Klein, John W. Burbridge, Charles B. Farmer, and George Burst, from all political disabilities imposed by the XIVth Article of the Constitution of the United States; which was read a first and second time. The question being on its engrossment, Mr. Farnsworth moved to amend the said bill by inserting the name of "Dewitt C. Senter, of Granger county, Tennessee;" which motion was agreed to. Mr. Paine moved the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered, and under the operation thereof the bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. Being engrossed, It was accordingly read the third time and passed, two-thirds of the members voting in favor thereof. By unanimous consent, the title of the said bill was amended so as to read as follows: "A bill to relieve certain persons of all political disabilities imposed by the XIVth Article of the Constitution of the United States." Ordered, That the Clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in the passage of the said bill. Mr. Paine, from the Committee on Reconstruction, reported back the bill of the House (H. R. 1537) to repeal certain provisions of section six of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867. The question being on its engrossment, Mr. Paine moved the previous question; which was seconded, and the main question ordered, and under the operation thereof the bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. |