Mr. Coburn submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and, under the operation of the previous question, agreed to: Resolved, That the Committee on Public Expenditures be directed to inquire into and report to this house all the facts and circumstances concerning the contract with Wells, Fargo & Co., for carrying the United States mails between the termini of the Pacific railroads, the character of the contract, its terms, the probable cost of the service, and the manner in which the service has been and is being performed; and that said committee have power to compel the attendance of witnesses and examine them under oath, and to report at any time. Mr. Farnsworth moved that the vote by which the resolution was agreed to, be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. Holman introduced the following resolutions: Resolved, That in the present condition of the national finances no further subsidies ought to be granted by Congress, either in bonds or money, to railroad or other corporations, or to promote local enterprises, but the whole resources of the country ought to be applied to the pressing necessities of the public service in such manner as will relieve the people from the burdens of taxation. Resolved, That grants of the public lands to corporations ought to be discontinued, and the whole of such lands ought to be held as a sacred trust, to secure homesteads to actual settlers, and for no other purpose whatever. The same having been read, and the question being, Will the House agree to the resolutions? Mr. Holman moved the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered to be put; When Mr. Windom moved that the resolutions be laid on the table; which motion was disagreed to. The question recurring, Will the House agree to the resolutions? a division of the question being demanded, The Speaker put the question, Will the House agree to the first resolution? And it was decided in the affirmative, Yeas... 89 68 65 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are So the first resolution was agreed to. The question then recurring, Will the House agree to the second reso tion? Mr. H. D. Washburn moved that it be laid on the table, And the question being put, It was decided in the affirmative, SYeas.. 110 55 57 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. William B. Allison Oakes Ames J. W. Clift Mr. John T. Dewer se Oliver H. Dockery Mr. William D. Kelley Sidney Perham Mr. Green B. Raum Mr. H. D. Washburne moved that the vote by which the said resolution was laid on the tabie be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. Holman moved that the vote by which the first resolution was agreed to, be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. The morning hour having expired, the Speaker announced as the business next in order the consideration of the motion of Mr. E. B. Washburne, pending at the hour of adjournment on Monday, 11th instant, to suspend the rules to permit him to offer certain amendments to the bill of the House (H. R. 1599) making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending June 30, 1870. And the question being put, Will the House suspend the rules for that purpose? It was decided in the negative; two-thirds not voting in favor thereof. The question then recurring on agreeing to the amendments of the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union to the said bill, Mr. E. B. Washburne moved the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered to be put, and under the operation thereof the amendments were severally agreed to. Ordered, That the said bill be engrossed and read a third time. Being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed. Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that the vote by which the bill was passed be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. B. F. Butler moved that the rules be suspended in order to permit him to submit the following resolution: Resolved, That the Comptroller of the Currency be instructed to inform the House whether any and what banks have been allowed to exchange gold-bearing interest securities of the United States for six per cent. currency bonds issued to the Pacific railroad, and when and to what amount; and also whether any and what banks have relinquished their charters as national banks, and are doing business under State charters, still retaining their national bank circulation; and what means, if any, have been taken to deprive them of such circulation, together with the amount of such circulation outstanding by each bank; and also whether any banks have been instructed that the twenty-ninth section of the banking act, limiting the amount of liabilities of any one person or association to one-tenth of its capital, does not apply to endorsements on collateral securities, or to checks certified as good, where the money is not taken from the bank; and to furnish a copy of said instructions on either of said questions. And the question being put, Will the House suspend the rules for that purpose? It was decided in the affirmative, two-thirds of the members voting in favor thereof. Mr. B. F. Butler thereupon submitted the resolution, which was read, considered and agreed to. Mr. B. F. Butler moved that the vote by which the resolution was agreed to be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House, the following executive communications: I. A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting information desired by the Committee on Printing in regard to stationery contracts; which was referred to the Committee on Printing. II. A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, submitting estimates of appropriations required for fulfilling treaty stipulations with Seneca, Seneca and Shawnee, and other Indians, under treaty of 23d February, 1867; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed. III. A letter from the Secretary of the Interior relative to the condition of certain appropriations under the control of the Department; which was referred to the Committee on Military Appropriations. IV. A letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting report of the Quartermaster General, relative to the manner of reducing the expenses of the War Department at and in the vicinity of New York; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and ordered to be printed. Mr. Scofield moved to suspend the rules to permit him to report from the Committee on Appropriations a joint resolution (H. Res. 413) in relation to the lands and other property of W. W. Corcoran in the District of Columbia, used by the United States government during and since the war of the rebellion. And the question being put, It was decided in the affirmative, two-thirds voting in favor thereof. Mr. Scofield accordingly, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the said joint resolution; and the same was read a first and second time. Ordered, That it be engrossed and read a third time. Being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and under the operation of the previous question passed. Mr. Scofield moved that the vote by which the joint resolution was passed be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter was agreed to. Ordered, That the Clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in the said joint resolution. On motion of Mr. R. R. Butler, by unanimous consent, Ordered, That the Committee on Invalid Pensions be discharged from the further consideration of the bill of the House (H. R. 1579) for the relief of Captain George E. Grisham, and that the same be referred to the Committee of Claims. On motion of Mr. Churchill, by unanimous consent, Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from the further consideration of the letter of the Secretary of War, transmitting list of payments made and balances certified under the act of March 30, 1868; and that the same be referred to the Committee on the Revision of the Laws. By unanimous consent, on motion of Mr. Miller, Ordered, That leave be granted to withdraw from the files of the House the papers of Charles Maus, and to refer the same to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions and the War of 1812. Mr. Boutwell, from the Committee on Reconstruction, to which was referred the joint resolution of the Senate (S. R. 173) respecting the provisional governments of Virginia and Texas, reported the same with an amendment. And the question being, Will the House agree to the amendment? It was decided in the affirmative. So the amendment was agreed to, and the bill ordered to be read a third time. It was accordingly read the third time and passed. Mr. Boutwell moved that the vote by which the joint resolution was passed be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Ordered, That the Clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in the amendment of the House to the said joint resolution. Mr. Schenck, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Printing: Resolved, That in addition to the usual number of copies of the annual report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, together with the accompanying tables, there be printed three thousand copies for the use of the Commissioner and three thousand copies for the use of the House. Mr. W. Lawrence, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and, under a suspension of the rules, agreed to: Resolved, That the Committee on Alleged Election Frauds in New York be and is authorized to report at any time. Mr. W. Lawrence moved that the vote by which the resolution was agreed to be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union for the consideration of the special order therein, viz: A bill (H. R. 1672) making appropriations or the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the government for the year ending the 30th June, 1870. Pending which, Mr. E. B. Washburne moved to suspend the rules so as to dispense with the first reading of the bill in the committee; which was agreed to, two-thirds voting in favor thereof. Pending the motion to go into the committee, Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that when the committee shall have the said bill under consideration, general debate thereon be closed at 4 o'clock p. m. to-day; which motion was agreed to. The question recurring on the motion of Mr. E. B. Washburne to go into the committee, |
