main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the resolution was adopted.

GOVERNMENT RAILROAD PROPERTY.

Mr. KELLEY submitted the following resolution, and demanded the previous question on its adoption:

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to furnish to the House of Representatives a schedule of all railroad property which was in the possession of the Government on May 1, 1865; whether held by right of capture or by purchase, and if by purchase, stating the cost. Also what disposition has been made of such property; if sold, whether for cash or credit, and if for credit, under what law or authority, and whether the purchase money has been paid, or what steps have been taken to recover it.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. over, if objected to?

Does not that lie

The SPEAKER. tive information, if objected to, it lies over for one day.

Being a call for execu

Mr. FARNSWORTH objected, but subsequently withdrew his objection, when it was renewed by Mr. Ross.

Mr. STEVENS introduced a bill to enable the States lately in rebellion to regain their privileges in the Union; which was read a first and second time, ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

ABOLITION OF BREVET RANK.

Mr. SCHENCK submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of repealing all laws authorizing brevet rank in the Army of the United States; and providing that all such distinction being abolished, some other mark, badge, recognition, or reward for gallant actions or meritorious conduct shall be substituted instead; and that the committee report by bill or otherwise.

WAR OF 1812.

Mr. SPALDING submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the standing Committee on Invalid Pensions be instructed to inquire into and report. without unnecessary delay, upon the expediency of placing the surviving soldiers of the war of 1812 upon the pension-list.

REPRESENTATION OF SOUTHERN STATES. Mr. GRIDER offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That inasmuch as loyal men have been elected by the people of Tennessee as Senators and Representatives in Congress, they should be admitted to seats in the present Congress upon taking the usual oath of office.

Resolved further, That each of the States not now represented in Congress should be allowed representation upon the same terms.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I make the point of order that that goes to the committee on reconstruction.

The SPEAKER. The Chair sustains the point of order. Under the order of the House it goes to the joint committee on reconstruction.

Mr. GRIDER. Do I understand that this resolution goes to that committee and is not debatable?

The SPEAKER. It is not debatable. The

order of the House is, "that all papers which may be offered relative to the representation of the late so-called confederate States of America, or either of them, shall be referred to the joint committee of fifteen without debate." Mr. ELDRIDGE. Is not that committee discharged by the report it has made?

The SPEAKER. The resolution includes all the so-called confederate States.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. The committee has reported in full. Does not that end their service? How long do they continue?

Mr. GRIDER. Is it a standing committee or a special committee?

The SPEAKER. It is a special committee. Mr. GRIDER. And they have made a report.

The SPEAKER. They have reported at various times, and there have been matters referred to them by the House since the last report was made.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. Is not this the first matter that has been referred to them since that report?

The SPEAKER. It is not. On motion of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Ross] the address of colored citizens of Chicago was referred to the committee. If the committee had been discharged that would have revived it. Mr. ELDRIDGE. Then it is endowed with immortality. [Laughter.]

Mr. GRIDER. I want to make one word more of inquiry: whether the rule which refers matters without debate applies to any other special committee of the House?

The SPEAKER. It does not, so far as the recollection of the Chair goes.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS.

Mr. ASHLEY, of Ohio, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency and practicability of so consolidating the district courts of the United States in all States which under the representative apportionment of 1862 are entitled to no more than seven membersin the Congress of the United States into one district, and that they have leave to report by bill or otherwise.

STEAMER JENNIE HUBBS.

Mr. KERR introduced a bill to authorize the owners of the steamboat Jennie Hubbs to change the name thereof; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Commerce.

PENSIONS TO PROVOST MARSHALS.

Mr. STILWELL offered the following resolution, and demanded the previous question thereon:

Resolved, That the Committee on Invalid Pensions be, and they are hereby, instructed to report a bill extending the provisions of the pension laws to provost marshals, deputy provost marshals, and enrolling officers who have been disabled while in the line of their duty.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

Mr. PERHAM. The committee have that subject under consideration now, and have been considering it for some time. I am not particular about it, but I should prefer not to have this resolution passed.

Mr. STILWELL. I will state that there are a number of cases in our State, as I presume there are in other States, where provost marshals have been killed while in the line of their duty. Hence, I have offered this resolution, instructing the committee to report a bill placing them on the pension-roll, and I would like to take the sense of the House upon it.

Mr. PERHAM. That being the case, I have no objection that the sense of the House shall be taken in regard to it. I will say, however, that the Committee on Pensions have this matter under consideration and will report upon it.

Mr. DUMONT. I hope the resolution will be adopted.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. What is the question

before the House?

The SPEAKER. A resolution that provost

marshals and deputy provost marshals shall be placed on the pension-rolls.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. Is that resolution debatable?

The SPEAKER. It is not.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I make the point of order, then, on the gentleman from Indiana. The SPEAKER. The Chair sustains the point of order.

Mr. HARDING, of Kentucky. I suggest to the gentleman from Indiana that he make his resolution one of inquiry.

The SPEAKER. Debate is not in order. Mr. ELDRIDGE. I withdraw my objection to debate.

Mr. THAYER. I hope the gentleman from Indiana will modify his resolution so as not to give it the character of an imperative resolu tion, but to let the committee consider the subject.

Mr. STILWELL. The committee can report a bill and let the House take action on it. Mr. HARDING, of Kentucky. Is the resolution debatable?

The SPEAKER. It is not.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I demand the yeas and nays on the adoption of the resolution.

Mr. STILWELL. I modify the resolution so as to read "killed or disabled."

Mr. FARQUHAR. I desire to state one fact to the House.

The SPEAKER. Debate is not in order except by unanimous consent. Is there objection?

Mr. ELDRIDGE. We object unless we can have a chance to debate it on this side of the House. I call for tellers on the yeas and nays. Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. ELDRIDGE and STILWELL were appointed. The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes twenty-three, noes not counted. So the yeas and nays were ordered. Mr. SPALDING. I appeal to the gentleman to make his resolution one of inquiry.

The SPEAKER. Debate is not in order. The gentleman from Indiana declines to do

that.

fore vote "no."

Mr. THAYER said: My colleague, Mr.

MYERS, is unavoidably absent from the House and is paired with my colleague, Mr. JOHNSON. Before the vote was announced,

Mr. RITTER said: I was absent during the roll-call. If I had been present I should have voted in the negative.

The result of the vote having been announced as above recorded,

Mr. STILWELL moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was adopted; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

ENROLLED BILL SIGNED.

Mr. TROWBRIDGE, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that they had examined and found truly enrolled an act (H. R. No. 568) to repeal section twenty-three of chapter seventy-nine of the acts of the third session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress, relating to passports, when the Speaker signed the

same.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER ARMY.

Mr. JULIAN submitted the following resolution, upon which he called the previous question:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing a national military force in lieu of a regular or standing army, to consist of volunteer regiments mustered into the United States service for three years, and raised and organized by the different States in proportion to their population, said committee to report by bill or otherwise.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the resolution was agreed to.

Mr. JULIAN moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was agreed to; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

CONFISCATED COTTON.

Mr. BROMWELL-submitted the following resolution, upon which he called the previous question:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid before this House statements showing the amount of cotton in bales, and the value thereof, which was in the hands of the military authorities at the time of the cessation of hostilities as captured or forfeited cotton, together with all cotton which has since come into the hands of the United States authorities as property of the late so-called confederate States; also the amount of all cotton in any wise coming into the hands of the Federal authorities during the war, and under the care of what officers, and the disposition which has been made of such cotton in each State, both during and since the late war, how sold, to whom and by whom, and on what commission and for what price. The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the resolution was agreed to.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM TENNESSEE.

Mr. ROSS submitted the following resolution, upon which he called the previous question:

Resolved, That the committee on reconstruction be relieved and discharged from the further consideration of the application of Horace Maynard for a seat in this House, and that all papers upon the subject be referred to the Committee of Elections.

The SPEAKER. The application of Horace Maynard is not now before the joint committee on reconstruction. The committee made a report in relation to Representatives from Tennessee, which report was ordered to be printed and recommitted. A motion was made to reconsider the recommitment, which leaves the matter still pending before the House and not before the committec.

Mr. ROSS. Then I will modify my resolution so as to have it embrace all the delegation from Tennessee.

The SPEAKER. They are all in the same condition. The subject of the delegation from Tennessee is not before the committee on reconstruction; it is in the House on a motion to reconsider the recommitment, which motion is now pending and can be called up for consideration at any time when the House is not engaged upon any other business.

Mr. ROSS. Will it be in order for me to

modify my resolution so as to refer the papers relating to the Representatives from Tennessee to the Committee of Elections?

The SPEAKER. Those papers are connected with the motion to reconsider. The resolution of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Ross] is therefore not how in order.

GOVERNMENT SALE AND PURCHASE of gold.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa, submitted the following resolution, upon which he called the previous question :

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to report to this House how much gold belonging to the Government of the United States has been sold since the first day of January, 1866, the date and amount, by whom sold, the compensation allowed for such sales, and the premium received: also whether any gold has been bought for the Treasury since that date, and if so, the amounts and dates of such purchases, the amount of premium paid and who acted as agents in making such purchases; also whether any bonds of the United States have been bought for the Treasury since that date, the dates and amounts of such purchases, the amounts paid for the same, and the character and denomination of said bonds.

Mr. CHANLER. I object; that is a call for executive information.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. Then I give notice that after the expiration of the morning hour I shall move a suspension of the rules in order to offer this resolution.

DISTRICT PENITENTIARY.

Mr. PAINE introduced a bill to authorize the construction of a penitentiary, jail, and house of correction in the District of Columbia; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Committee for the District of Columbia, and ordered to be printed.

NATIONAL CURRENCY.

Mr. DONNELLY introduced a bill to amend section forty-one of an act to provide a national currency, &c., approved June 3, 1864; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency, and ordered to be printed.

AIR-LINE RAILROAD TO NEW YORK.

Mr. WINDOM submitted the following resolution, upon which he called the previous question:

Whereas the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company are entirely incompetent or unwilling to afford the necessary facilities to the traveling and business public; and whereas the public have long enough endured the extortions and annoyances imposed by said company: Therefore,

Resolved. That the committee on military and postal railroad from Washington to New York have leave to report at any time.

The SPEAKER. It requires unanimous consent to give a committee leave to report at any time.

Mr. PHELPS. I object.

ARCHING TIBER CREEK, WASHINGTON.

Mr. LATHAM introduced a joint resolution to provide for completing the arch of Tiber creek through the grounds of the United States Botanical Garden, in Washington city; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

EIGHT-HOUR SYSTEM OF LABOR.

Mr. WHALEY submitted the following resolution, on which he demanded the previous question:

Resolved. That the Committee on Printing be requested to report a bill limiting the hours of labor for the employés in the Government Printing Office to eight hours a day.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

The resolution was not agreed to; there being -ayes eight, noes not counted.

Mr. UPSON moved to reconsider the vote by which the House refused to agree to the resolution; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

TAX ON NOTES OF STÅTE BANKS. Mr. LYNCH, by unanimous consent, presented, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, a report stating that the committee

having had under consideration the resolution passed by the House on the 21st instant directing them to inquire into the expediency of exempting the currency of State banks outstanding on the 1st day of July next from the tax of ten per cent. now provided by law until the 1st day of July, 1867, or until some day previous thereto, had concluded to report the same back adversely, deeming it inexpedient to change the existing law upon the subject.

The SPEAKER. The committee will be discharged from the further consideration of this subject, and the report will be laid on the table.

Mr. LYNCH, by unanimous consent, from the same committee, reported adversely upon the petition of certain banks in Maine, asking for the repeal or modification of the ten per cent. tax on their issues; which was laid on the table.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

Mr. SHELLABARGER. The gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. Cook,] my colleague on the select committee upon the conduct of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau, is engaged in taking testimony connected with that investigation. I ask, therefore, that he may have leave to be absent during the sittings of the House.

Leave was granted.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. FORNEY, its Secretary, announced that the Senate had insisted on its amendments disagreed to by the House to the bill (H. R. No. 363) entitled "An act supplementary to the several acts relating to pensions," and had appointed Messrs. LANE of Indiana, VAN WINKLE, and of the Senate. DAVIS a committee of conference on the part

The message also informed the House that the Senate had passed bills of the following titles, in which he was directed to ask the concurrence of the House:

An act (S. No. 339) granting a pension to Benjamin Franklin; and

An act (S. No. 223) to revive and extend the provisions of an act granting the right of way and making a graut of land to the. States of Arkansas and Missouri to aid in the construction of a railroad from a point upon the Mississippi opposite the mouth of the Ohio river, via Little Rock, to the Texas bound ary, near Fulton, in Arkansas, with branches to Fort Smith and the Mississippi river, approved February 9, 1853, and for other purposes.

CONTESTED ELECTION.

Mr. DAWES presented papers in relation to the contested election of Boyd vs.-Kelso; which were referred to the Committee of Elections.

TAX BILL.

Mr. MORRILL. I move that the rules be suspended, and that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the special order.

The motion was agreed to.

So the rules were suspended; and the House accordingly resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. DAWES in the chair,) and resumed the consideration of the special order, being a bill of the House (No. 513) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and acts amendatory thereof.

The pending question was upon the amendment of Mr. MORRIS, as amended on motion of Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, to insert after section sixty-five the following as a new section:

And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act corn-shellers and wooden ware shall be exempt from internal tax or duty.

Mr. MORRIS. With the consent of the committee, I propose to modify my amendment by inserting the words "corn-shellers, wooden ware" after the word "separators"

in the amendment on page 135, embracing mowers, reapers, and threshing-machines. understand the Committee of Ways and Means

consent to this.

Mr. MORRILL. I have no objection, provided the words "corn-shellers" be inserted after threshing-machines" on page 89. I desire that all these may share the same fate. Mr. MORRIS. I consent to that.

The amendment, as modified, was agreed to. The Clerk read as follows:

SEC. 66. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect, where not otherwise provided, on the 1st day of July, 1866, and all provisions of any former act inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed: Provided, however, That no duty imposed by any previous act, which has become due or of which return has been or ought to be made, shall be remitted or released by this act, but the same shall be collected and paid, and all fines and penalties heretofore incurred shall be enforced and collected, and all offenses heretofore committed shall be punished as if this act had not been passed; and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, is authorized to make all necessary regulations and prescribe all necessary forms and proceedings for the collection of such taxes and the enforcement of such fines and penalties for the execution of the provisions of this

act.

Mr. THAYER. I move to insert after the word "be," page 191, line eight, the word "'assessed."

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. ANCONA. I move to go back and amend on page 58, line twelve hundred and twenty-two, after the word "annually," by inserting "exclusive of materials."

Mr. MORRILL. I must object to going back. Mr. ALLISON. I now call up an amendment which was reserved:

Page 31, section thirty, strike out from line five hundred and thirty-nine to line six hundred and fiftysix, and insert in lieu thereof as follows:

That section thirty be amended by striking out all after the enacting clase and inserting in lieu thereof the following: that in any case where sufficient goods or effects belonging to the party owing the tax and duties imposed by this act cannot be found by the said collector or deputy collector to satisfy the same, such collector or deputy collector is hereby authorized and required to collect the amount thereof from the real estate belonging to the party delinquent by feizure and sale thereof as hereinafter provided; and for that purpose the said collector or deputy collector shall summon the party whose real estate is proposed to be sold that on the first day of the next ensuing term of the United States district or circuit court, held in and for the district in which the real estate proposed to be sold, or the greater part thereof, is situated, that he be and appear before said court and the judge thereof, and show cause, if any he have. why judgment for the amount of said tax and duties should not be rendered against him, and the real estate there named sold to pay the same, together with the fees and costs growing out of the said proceedings. The said summons shall recite the amount of the tax and duties, at what time the same became due and payable, together with a description of the real estate scized and proposed to be sold, and where situate, and shall be served by leaving a copy thereof with the delinquent, or at his usual place of abode with some member of his or her family over the age of fifteen years. If the said delinquent cannot be found, nor have any place of abode within the proper collection district, then the said collector or deputy collector shall cause publication thereof to be made by at least four insertions in a newspaper published nearest the said real estate. The said collector or deputy collector shall, within five days after the service of the summons, or the completion of the publication thereof as aforesaid, transmit the same, with the time and manner of the service thereof properly certified thereon, to the clerk of the said district or circuit court, and upon the receipt thereof the said court shall be possessed of the case, and, unless cause to the contrary be shown by said delinquent, shall render judgment against the said delinquent for the amount of the tax and duties found due by him and unpaid, and decree the sale of said real estate for the payment thereof at the first term of said court, provided the same shall commence not less than twenty days from the service of the summons or the completion of the publication thereof; otherwise, at the second term, unless longer continued for good cause shown. Upon the rendition of a judgment as aforesaid, the clerk of the said court shall issue execution thereon, which shall be a special fieri facias against the real estate therein mentioned in all cases when the delinquent shall have been summoned by publication as aforesaid, and has not appeared in person or by attorney; in all other cases, if the real estate mentioned therein be not sufficient to satisfy the judgment and expenses thereon, the same may be levied on other property, real and personal, of said delinquent. The execution so issued the clerk shall transmit to the said collector or deputy collector, who shall thereupon proceed to sell the said real estate, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the said judgment, fees, and costs, to the highest bidder for cash, at the court-house of the county in which the said real estate is situate, unless

another and different place shall be specially desig

nated by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, first giving twenty days' public notice of the time and place of sale, and the property to be sold, and where situate, by advertisement in a newspaper, if there be one published in said county, and if not, by at least six hand-bills, put up in public places in said county: and upon such sale and the payment of the purchase money shall give to the purchaser a certificate of purchase, which shall set forth the real estate purchased, for whose taxes and duties the same was sold, the name of the purchaser, and the price paid therefor; and if the said real estate be not redeemed in the manner and within the time hereinafter provided, then the said collector or deputy collector shall execute to the said purchaser, upon his surrender of said certificate, a deed to the real estate purchased by him as aforesaid, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such real estate is situate, upon the subject of sales of real estate under execution, which said deed shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, and shall be considered and operate as a conveyance of all the right, title, and interest the party delinquent had in and to the real estate thus sold at the time the lien of the United States attached thereto. Any delinquent, whose estate may be proceeded against as aforesaid, shall have the right to pay the amount due, together with the costs and charges thereon, to the collector or deputy collector at any time prior to the sale thereof, and all further proceedings shall cease from the time of such payment. The owners of any real estate, sold as aforesaid, their heirs, executors, or administrators, or any person having any interest therein or a lien thereon, or any person in their behalf shall be permitted to redeem the land sold as aforesaid, or any particular tract thereof, at any time within one year after the sale thereof upon payment to the purchaser, or, in case he cannot be found in the county in which the land sought to be redeemed is situate, then to the collector, for the use of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the amount paid by the said purchaser and interest thereon at the rate of twenty per cent. per annum. It shall be the duty of every collector to keep a record of all proceedings and sales of land made by virtue of this act, whether by himself or his deputies, in which he shall enter the tax for which any such sale was made, the date of the service of the summons, the name of the party assessed, and the date thereof, the date and amount of the judgment, and all costs and fees attending the same, the advertisement and sale, the name of the purchaser, the amount paid, and for what real estate, and all material facts connected therewith, which record shall be certified to by the officer making the sale. It shall be the duty of every deputy making sale as aforesaid to return a true statement thereof to the collector within ten days from the day of sale and to certify the record thereof, and the record required herein to be kept shall be received in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, and shall be by the said collector handed over to his successor in office. When any lands thus sold shall be redeemed as hereinbefore provided, if the redemption money be paid to the purchaser thereof, the said purchaser shall deliver to the person redeeming the same the certificate of purchase aforesaid, upon which he shall acknowledge the receipt of the redemption money, from whom received, and the date thereof. Upon the return of the said certificate receipted as aforesaid to the collector, or upon the receipt of the redemption money by the collector as aforesaid, the said collector shall enter upon said record the facts attending the redemption thereof, and shall within ten days thereafter make out and certify a full copy of the record of such case, and transmit the same, together with the execution aforesaid, to the clerk of the court from which such execution issued, to be there preserved with the papers of the case. Any collector or deputy collector is hereby authorized to proceed as herein specified against the real estate of any delinquent in his district, situate in any other collection district within the State of which his district forms a part, and his proceedings in relation thereto shall be conducted in like manner and with like effect as if the same were had in his proper collection district. Whenever at any sale as aforesaid, no sum is bid for the real estate so offered for sale, or an amount insufficient to satisfy the judgment, costs, and fees, the collector or deputy collector is authorized to purchase the same for the United States, subject to redemption as herein provided; and if not redeemed, shall execute a deed as aforesaid, and deposit the same with the district attorney of the United States for the district in which the proceedings in the case were had. The sale herein authorized may be adjourned by the officer making the same for a period not exceeding five days, if he shall think it advisable to do so. The officer making the sale as aforesaid shall be allowed a fee of ten dollars, which, together with the costs of court and all other costs and charges attending the sale, shall be paid from the proceeds of such sale; and the surplus, if any, after satisfying the judgment, shall be disposed of as is provided in this act for like cases arising from the sale of personal property. In case the real estate authorized to be sold as aforesaid shall consist of several distinct tracts or parcels, the officer making sale thereof shall offer each tract or parcel for sale separately, and shall give to the purchaser a certificate of purchase for each of such tracts or parcels bought by him as aforesaid. If the amount bid for any tract authorized to be sold shall not then and there be paid by the person to whom the same is sold, the officer shall forthwith sell the same again, in the same manner and until the amount for which the same may be sold is paid, and the claim of the United States to lands sold under and by virtue of this section shall be held to have accrued at the time of the seizure thereof.

The amendment was adopted.

Mr. DUMONT. I move the following to come in as an additional section:

And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to have this act and the acts to which it is amendatory published in at least one German newspaper in each of the States of the Union where such paper may be published.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I offer the following amend

ment:

Page 98, before line twenty-two hundred and twentytwo, insert:

Provided, That any person who shall offer or expose for sale any cigars, cheroots, or cigarettes, whether the articles so offered or exposed are imported or are of foreign or domestic manufacture, shall be deemed the manufacturer thereof, and shall be subject to all the duties, liabilities, and penalties imposed by law in regard to the sale of domestic articles without the use of the proper stamp or stamps denoting the duty or tax paid thereon. And the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Seeretary of the Treasury, may prescribe such regulations for the inspection and valuation of cigars, cheroots, and cigarettes, and the collection of the tax thereon, as shall in his judgment be most effective for the prevention of inequalities and frauds in the payment of such tax: Provided, That such regulations shall not be in violation of law. And in addition to other regulations it shall be the duty of the inspector or assessor who appraises any cigars, eigarettes, or cheroots, to examine the manufacturer thereof or his agent, under oath, which oath shall be administered by the inspecting and appraising officer, and reduced to writing, and signed by such manufacturer or his agent, with a view to ascertaining whether such manufacturer has any interest, direct or indirect, in any sale that has been made, or any resale to be made of said cigars, cigarettes, or cheroots, by the concealment of which he seeks to obtain a false, fraudulent, or deceptive appraisement. The amendment was adopted.

Mr. MORRILL. Inadvertently, as the bill now stands, there is an increase of duty on apple and peach brandy. That was not the intention of the committee; and I propose to amend as follows:

Page 161, section thirty-six, line twenty-two hundred and twenty-two, after the word "paid," insert. "Provided, That brandy distilled from grapes, apples, and peaches shall be $150 per gallon: And provided further."

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. STEVENS. I offer the following amendment

Mr. HOOPER, of Massachusetts. I have an amendment to offer.

Mr. STEVENS. I yield to the gentleman. Mr. HOOPER, of Massachusetts. I move to amend, on page 126, after line twenty-nine hundred and three, by inserting the following:

That section one hundred and seventy of the act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes, approved June 30, 1864, be amended by adding thereto the following:

Provided, That for the purpose of making provision for the proper distribution of revenue stamps upon the Pacific coast there shall be allowed to the Assistant Treasurer at San Francisco a commission of one per cent. upon all stamps received and sold by him to agents or other parties to sell again.

Mr. STEVENS. I would like to understand

The CHAIRMAN. No debate is in order. Mr. FARNSWORTH. The committee do not understand it. I desire to know whether that is

The CHAIRMAN. Debate is out of order. The Clerk will report the amendment again. The Clerk read the amendment.

The question being taken, there were six votes in the affirmative.

Mr. BIDWELL demanded tellers; and the Chair appointed Messrs. BIDWELL and SPAL

DING.

The House divided; and the tellers reported -ayes four, noes not counted.

So the amendment was not agreed to. Mr. MORRILL. I move that the committee rise and report the bill to the House. Mr. WILLIAMS. I desire to offer an amendment.

Mr. MORRILL. I insist on my motion. Mr. STEVENS. The gentleman has no right to insist. I had the floor and was offering an amendment, but yielded to a member of the committee, [Mr. HOOPER.]

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair understood the gentleman from Pennsylvania to withdraw

his amendment to allow the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. HOOPER] to offer his. Technically the amendment of the gentleman from Pennsylvania was not before the committee, but it was understood that he yielded for the purpose of permitting the gentleman from Massachusetts to offer his.

Mr. STEVENS. I do not know but it is all right already; but I offer my amendment.

The Clerk read the amendment, as follows: Whenever any fraud has been or shall be charged against any person, cither in the annual, special, or other lists, or in the monthly, special, or other returns, and the person thus charged shall deny the same and demand a trial, and shall tender to the assessor good and sufficient bail to secure all the deficiency or amount of the fraud charged and costs of suit, all further proceedings shall be suspended by the assessor and collector, and the whole case reported to the United States district attorney for the district, who shall have power to proceed and collect the same in an action of debt or assumpsit, and proceed thereon to final judgment and execution: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be held to affect the proceedings by indictment or qui tam action.

Mr. GARFIELD. I ask the Clerk to read what has already passed the committee on this subject at the end of the eighteenth section. The Clerk read as follows:

And in addition to the other provisions of law, whenever fraud is alleged as to any list or return, and the party charged

Mr. STEVENS. If it stated whenever any fraud has been or shall be alleged, I would be satisfied. There are several cases suspended now for the purpose of allowing an opportu nity to amend this provision.

The CHAIRMAN. If there is no objection, the amendment made in committee will be so modified.

Mr. STEVENS accordingly withdrew his amendment.

That section ninety-seven of the act to which this is an amendment be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

I desire to have that section read.

The CHAIRMAN. It cannot be done. It is in the nature of debate, which the House has ordered to stop.

Mr. WILLIAMS. I do not ask to debate it; only to have the section proposed to be repealed read.

Mr. MORRILL. That would be in the nature of debate.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair does not understand any difference between reading a printed page and debate.

Mr. WILLIAMS. Then I will modify my amendment so as to read:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That the ninetyseventh section of the act of which this is an amendment be, and the same is hereby, repealed, to wit:

"SEC. 97. And be it further enacted, That every person, firm, or corporation, who shall have made any contract prior to the passage of this act, and without other provision therein for the payment of duties imposed by law enacted subsequent thereto, upon articles to be delivered under such contract, is hereby authorized and empowered to add to the price thereof so much money as will be equivalent to the duty so subsequently imposed on said articles, and not previously paid by the vendee, and shall be entitled by virtue hereof to be paid and to sue for and recover the same accordingly: Provided, That where the United States is the purchaser under such prior contract, the certificate of the proper officer of the Department by which the contract was made, showing, according to regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the articles so purchased by the United States, and liable to such subsequent duty, shall be taken and received, so far as the same is applicable, in discharge of such subsequent duties on articles so contracted to be delivered to the United States and actually delivered according to such contract."

The question was taken on the amendment as modified; and it was disagreed to-ayes twenty-five, noes not counted.

Mr. STEVENS. I desire again to call the attention of the committee to the amendment which the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. ALLISON] is willing to offer to the fourteenth section, striking out the word "penalties."

Mr. ALLISON. I move to strike out the word "penalties" wherever it occurs in the sixteenth section as modified.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. SHELLABARGER. I offer the following as an additional section to the bill:

SEC.. Be it further enacted, That in estimating

for taxation the value of all manufactures taxable under the provisions of this act, the actual cost to the manufacturer of all manufactured articles which have already been subjected to and paid a revenue tax, and which have entered into the said manufactures, shall be deducted from the taxable value of such manufactures.

The amendment was disagreed to.

Mr. MORRILL. I move that the committee rise and report the bill to the House with the amendments, and with the recommendation that it do pass.

Mr. ANCONA. I desire to offer an amendment.

Mr. MORRILL. I believe the bill has been read through and that I have a right to make my motion, and whether I have or not I hope gentlemen will no longer persist in offering further amendments.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman's motion is not in order as long as any member desires to offer an amendment.

Mr. ANCONA.

I move to offer the following as an additional section:

SEC. Be it further enacted, That proprietors of grist and saw mills, doing custom work for tolls, &c., shall not be held to be manufacturers under this act, or the acts to which this is an amendment, unless their receipts for such work exceed $1,000, as provided in the amendment to section seventy-nine by this act.

Mr. ROLLINS. In what part of the bill can the gentleman get in that amendment at this stage? The bill has been read through.

Mr. ANCONA. I offer it as an additional section.

amendment, and it was disagreed to. The question was taken on Mr. ANCONA'S

Mr. MORRILL. I move that the committee rise and report the bill to the House with the amendments, and with the recommendation that the bill do pass.

The motion was agreed to.

So the committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chair, Mr. DAWES reported that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union had had under consideration the Union generally, and particularly the special order, being bill of the House No. 513, to amend an act entitled "An act to provide internal revenue to support the Government, to pay interest on the public debt, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1864, and had directed him to report the same to the House with sundry amendments, and with the recommendation that it do pass.

Mr. MORRILL obtained the floor.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I trust the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MORRILL] will yield to me for a moment, to offer an amendment in pursuance to a general understanding which was agreed to in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. MORRILL. If there was such an understanding, of course I will yield; but I regret that I am obliged to do so.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I offer the following to come in as an additional section:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That all assessors, collectors, and revenue agents provided for by this act, or the several acts of which this act is amendatory, shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and the advice and consent of the Senate shall be given before any such officer shall be removed from office, unless such removal shall be for malfeasance in office during the recess of Congress. The SPEAKER. That amendment will be regarded as pending.

Mr. MORRILL. I desire to offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute for the amendment adopted in Committee of the Whole on motion of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. SCHENCK,] in relation to the tax on cigars, cheroots, and cigarettes, so that if his amendment is not concurred in the bill in that respect will remain as perfected in Committee of the Whole.

The SPEAKER. The Chair supposes the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MORRILL] desires to offer his amendment so as to have it acted upon under this rule, to be found on page 65 of Barclay's Digest:

"If the committee [of the whole] shall amend a clause, and subsequently strike out the clause as amended, the first amendment thereby falls, and cannot be reported to the House and voted on. So, too, if the committee shall amend a bill ever so much"

And the same rule applies to a section or clause of a bill—

"and subsequently adopt a substitute therefor, the bill is to be reported to the House with but a single amendment, namely, the substitute; and the House has only to choose between the original bill and substitute."

If, therefore, the amendment adopted in regard to cigars, &c., by the Committee of the Whole on motion of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. SCHENCK] should be voted down, then all the amendments which intervened would fall, and the section would stand in that respect as reported by the Committee of Ways and Means.

Mr. MORRILL. What I desire is to offer an amendment to be voted on in case the amendment moved by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. SCHENCK] should be voted down. The amendment I propose is as follows:

On cigarettes, or small cigars, made of tobacco, inclosed in a wrapper or binder, and not over three and a half inches in length, and cigars made with twisted heads, the market value of which (tax included) is not over eight dollars per thousand, a tax of two dollars per thousand; when the market value is over eight dollars and not over twelve dollars per thousand, (tax included.) and on cheroots, and cigars known as short-sixes, and on any cigars, the market value of which (tax included) is not over twelve dollars per thousand, a tax of four dollars per thousand. On all other cigars, cheroofs, and cigarettes, made wholly of tobacco, or of any substitute therefor, a tax of ten dollars per thousand.

The SPEAKER. That amendment will be regarded as pending, to be voted upon should the amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole be voted down.

Mr. MORRILL. And I offer the following amendment for a similar purpose in relation to the articles therein named:

On reapers, mowers, threshing-machines, scales, pumps, garden engines, hydraulic rams, and woodenware, a tax of three per cent. ad valorem.

The SPEAKER. That amendment will be regarded as pending, to be voted upon should the amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole be voted down.

Mr. SCHENCK. I desire to ask the Chair a question, in order to see if I understand the position of the amendment in relation to cigars, cheroots, &c. An amendment upon my motion was adopted in Committee of the Whole and has been reported to the House. chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means [Mr. MORRILL] now moves an amendment in place of the one adopted on my motion. Which question will be first taken, on his amendment or mine?

The

The SPEAKER. The House, while in Committee of the Whole, considered the clause in relation to cigars, cheroots, and cigarettes. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. SCHENCK] moved an amendment in the nature of a substitute for that clause. Pending that motion the Committee of the Whole proceeded to perfect the clause upon the recommendation of the Committee of Ways and Means, and perhaps on motion of other members. After the clause had been perfected the substitute moved by the gentleman from Ohio was adopted, striking out the clause as perfected. Now, should the amendment adopted by the Committee of the Whole, on motion of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. SCHENCK,] be voted down in the House, under the rule which has just been read the clause would be left to stand as reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, and not as perfected in Committee of the Whole before the substitute of the gentleman from Ohio was adopted.

Mr. SCHENCK. Then, if I understand the Chair, the whole matter may be simplified by the friends of this interest in the West voting down the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MORRILL] and voting to sustain the amendment adopted in Committee of the Whole on my motion.

The SPEAKER. The question will be first taken upon the proposition of the gentleman from Ohio. Should that be adopted, no further question will be taken. But if the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio should be voted down, then the question will be upon the prop

osition of the gentleman from Vermont, [Mr. MORRILL.]

Mr. STEVENS. Then, if the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. SCHENCK] should be sustained, the amendment of the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. MORRILL] would be out of the question.

The SPEAKER. Certainly.

Mr. WILLIAMS. In pursuance of the agreement made in Committee of the Whole, I offer the following amendment:

In section sixty-five strike out the words "Secretary of the Treasury" where they first occur and insert in lieu thereof the word "President;" after the word "authorized," in the second line, insert the words "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate:" strike out "his" before Department" and insert in lieu thereof the words the Treasury;" so that the clause will read:

That the President is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint an officer in the Treasury Department who shall be styled "Special Commissioner ofthe Revenue," whose office shall terminate in four years from the passage of this act.

Mr. ROSS. I desire to ask the consent of the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means to have a vote by yeas and nays on two amendments which were offered, but not agreed to, in Committee of the Whole: one amendment with reference to the drawback on cotton goods, and the other relating to the tax on whisky.

Mr. MORRILL. I cannot consent to that. I now demand the previous question on the bill and pending amendments.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

Mr. MORRILL. Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to occupy much time with any further remarks upon this bill; and I shall ask a division on those amendments only which I deem of vital consequence; and even upon those I do not propose to ask the yeas and nays if upon a fair division there shall be a decided majority one way or the other.

There are some points in reference to which I think the House, upon a "sober second thought," will come to the conclusion not to concur with the Committee of the Whole. One of these was in relation to the right of gas companies to charge over the amount of the tax to consumers. They have this right under the existing law. At the time the provision in the present law was adopted, it was very successfully defended by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. STEVENS,] the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. I find, by various letters which I have received from different parts of the country, that the amendment to the bill, if allowed to remain as reported from the Committee of the Whole, will be very oppressive upon many gas companies. I will read what is said by the president of the Gas Company at Covington, Kentucky:

"Our company has never been able at any time to declare more than four per cent. dividends on the capital actually invested in the construction of the gas works. The price to be charged for gas is fixed by legislative charter at three dollars per thousand fect for private consumers and $1 50 per thousand feet for public lamps. The cost of manufacturing gas for the year 1865 was $2 20 per thousand feet, as shown by the secretary's report for that year; so that the stockholders derive but a very small profit, without a direct tax being imposed on gas companies as proposed by the action of Congress. They are indirectly taxed fully as much as other manufacturers."

I have here also a communication from the Pittsburg Gas Company, by which it appears that they are obliged by their charter to furnish gas to private consumers at a price not exceeding $160 per thousand feet; that they are com pelled to furnish to the city twelve million five hundred thousand cubic feet free of charge, and all over that quantity at seventy-five cents per thousand feet; and that the revenue tax amounts to fifty-six per cent. on the company's net receipts. I will say, also, in relation to this article, that it is a manufacture; and I see no reason why the parties should be restricted as to their prices. The public can consume the gas or not, as they please. I do not for myself see why we should not leave these parties in precisely the same condition in which they would be without the tax being levied upon them.

The next question upon which I shall ask a separate vote is the paragraph in relation

to miners; for I see no reason why those persons engaged in a profitable branch of business should be exempted from taxation, while parties engaged in other branches of industry far less profitable are taxed.

Another question is the one in relation to reapers, threshing-machines, and mowers. Certainly it seems to me that if we are about to exempt any agricultural implements it should be those that are daily used by the common laboring man, not those used by men of large means, owning land in large parcels, and with sufficient capital to invest in expensive machinery. I trust, therefore, that the House will consent that the articles I have named shall be subjected to a tax of three per cent., and not be entirely exempt.

We have passed through the bill, and in our progress have made amendments which reduce the revenue in every direction. It may not attract much attention here, but it will be sensibly felt and known at the Treasury Department at the end of another year.

There was a provision struck out on motion of the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] that journeymen cigar-makers should make returns once a month of the cigars which they manufactured. Unless that provision is allowed to remain you will strike at a vital part of the law. That return is the only absolute check we have against fraud in the manufacture of cigars. I trust when we reach that portion of the bill the House will vote unanimously to retain it.

We now come, Mr. Speaker, to the subject of tobacco. On that subject I am aware there is a considerable sensitiveness in some por tions of the House in relation to the proper tax on smoking-tobacco and cigars. I desire to say to the House the law as it has heretofore stood has made too great a difference in favor of smoking-tobacco as against cigars, yet the Committee of the Whole have gone still further in the same direction and reduced the rate upon smoking-tobacco so that the disparity will be largely increased. The tax is now thirty-five cents per pound, and only ten is proposed. I trust we shall not allow anything of that kind to prevail. Leave the rate at twenty cents per pound as proposed by the Committee of the Whole and you will satisfy the trade and get some revenue-but not otherwise.

I am satisfied gentlemen from all parts of the country are suffering under a delusion as to the point of the grief in this whole matter. The real point of suffering is the insufficient duty on the low-priced cigars imported, and until we reach that there will be no remedy for the growers of tobacco or the manufacturers of tobacco or cigars.

Mr. SCHENCK. Our people do not apprehend there is any advantage in paying ten dollars a thousand on cheap cigars when only ten dollars is paid on high-price cigars.

Mr. MORRILL. The argument or suggestion of the gentleman from Ohio is without any. real foundation, since by one of the amend ments to the existing laws reported by the Committee of Ways and Means we have provided a rate of two dollars a thousand only on all that description of cigars which can be made out of tobacco raised in that part of the country from which the gentleman comes.

Mr. STEVENS. I ask the gentleman whether he deems it just that a cigar worth twenty dollars a thousand should pay the same tax as a cigar worth $100 a thousand.

Mr. MORRILL. It is just when the law provides for it, and when it is, perhaps, the only mode by which the tax can be enforced. But that is not the question here, however, at

all.

cles named, namely: on one thousand cigars, or say fifteen pounds, the tax is ten dollars; on fifteen pounds of chewing-tobacco, at forty cents, the tax is six dollars; while on fifteen pounds of smokingtobacco, at thirty-five cents, the tax is only $5 25, and if the tax on smoking-tobacco is further reduced, as proposed, to only ten cents per pound, the tax on fifteen pounds of the article will be only $1 50, and is a palpable injustice to the interests of our trade."

I am fully persuaded, if the recommendation of the Committee of the Whole shall be approved, we shall reduce the article of tobacco in every form to but an insignificant figure in the returns of revenue. I trust the amendments made by the Committee of the Whole will be rejected. I think the amendments of the Committee of Ways and Means, with the further amendments of the Committee of the Whole, ought to satisfy all parties, and I trust they will be assented to as just and proper on all sides of the House.

I come next to the three hundred and ninetyfifth amendment, to insert on page 124 "cordage and rigging." While cordage has some claim to exemption, so far as it enters into ship-building, if we allow the amendment to pass, as it now stands, we do not know how much would be included. It is too compre hensive and uncertain, and therefore I hope will be voted down.

Mr. Speaker, we have now, after a very faithful attention on the part of members, waded through this long bill taxing us severely now, but destined to somewhat relieve our people. I trust within a few years we shall dismiss as no longer necessary the most part of the provisions of the present bill. I hope in the course of two or three years at least we shall be able to dispense with the tax on the major part of manufactures. I congratulate the House on the near approach to the end of a weary jour ney, and upon their leaving the bill in as acceptable a shape as it is now, or as it is fair to suppose it will ultimately assume when it passes this House.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the adoption of the amendments made in committee. If there is no objection the vote will be taken on the amendments in gross except those upon which a separate vote is desired."

The first amendment upon which a separate vote was demanded by Mr. MORRILL was to strike out the following proviso on page 15:

Provided, That no appeal shall be allowed to any party after he shall have been duly assessed, and the annual list containing the assessment has been transmitted to the collector of the district.

The amendment was not agreed to.

The next amendment on which a separate vote was demanded by Mr. MORRILL was to strike out the following paragraph on page 65:

47. Miners shall pay ten dollars. Every person, firm, or company, who shall employ others in the business of mining for coal, or for gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, zinc, spelter, or other minerals, not having paid the tax therefor, as a manufacturer, and no other, shall be regarded as a miner under this act: Provided, That this shall not apply to any miner whose receipts as such shall not exceed, annually. $1,000.

The amendment was not agreed to. Mr. GRISWOLD. Mr. Speaker, the House did not understand the question.

Several MEMBERS. Too late.

Mr. GRISWOLD. The report of the committee was not confirmed by the vote of the House.

The SPEAKER. It evidently was not by a large majority. The gentleman can move to

reconsider.

Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote by which the House refused to strike out the section.

Mr. GARFIELD. I move to lay the motion to reconsider on the table.

The question being taken on the latter mɔtion, there were-ayes 59, noes 40.

Mr. BIDWELL demanded the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were not ordered. Mr. BIDWELL. I demand tellers on or dering the yeas and nays.

Tellers were refused.

Mr. BIDWELL. I demand tellers on the motion to lay on the table the motion to reconsider.