MERCANTILE MARINE.

Mr. CHANLER. I ask unanimous consent to present and have printed and referred a protest of the Ship-owners' Association of New York city against the passage of the bill in relation to the mercantile marine of the United States, which provides for the appointment of marine boards, with power to supervise the construction, equipment, repairs, &c., of vessels of the merchant marine.

Mr. COBB. I think this petition had better take the ordinary course, and be handed to the Journal Clerk under the rules.

IMMIGRANT SHIPS.

Mr. ELIOT, I call for the regular order. The SPEAKER. The first business in order is the consideration of House bill No. 1100, to amend an act entitled "An act to regulate the|| carriage of passengers in steamships and other vessels, and for other purposes," upon which the previous question has been ordered, and which was pending at the time of adjournment yesterday. The question is upon the third reading of the bill.

The bill was then read the third time. The question was upon the passage of the bill.

Mr. O'NEILL. Upon that question I call the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the bill was passed.

Mr. CHANLER moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The question was taken; and upon a division, there were-ayes seventy-two, noes not counted. So the motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has now commenced, and the first business in order, to day being Friday, is the reporting of bills of a private nature, commencing with the Committee on Patents, where the call rested at the expiration of the morning hour on Saturday last,

WOOD-SCREW PATENTS.

The SPEAKER. The pending bill is House bill No. 810, for the relief of the widow and heirs of Thomas W. Harvey, deceased, reported from the Committee on Patents by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. MYERS.] The pending question is upon the motion of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. STEVENS,] that the bill be laid on the table. The question was taken upon that motion on Saturday last, but before the result was announced the morning hour expired.

Mr. MYERS. I understand that my colleague [Mr. STEVENS] will not press his motion.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] is not present, and therefore his motion must be acted upon, and cannot be withdrawn.

Mr. GARFIELD. I desire to say that if it was withdrawn I would renew it.

The

The SPEAKER. The question is upon the motion that the bill be laid on the table. bill will be again read.

The bill was read at length. It authorizes the Committee on Patents to hear the application of the widow and heirs of Thomas W. Harvey, deceased, for a reëxtension of the patent heretofore granted to the said Harvey, on the 30th of May, 1846, for an improvement in machinery for cutting screws, and reissued on the 28th of December, 1858; and also the application of the heirs of Thomas W. Harvey for the reëxtension of the patent heretofore granted to said Harvey, on the 18th of August, 1846, for improvement in machinery for dressing screw-heads, and reissued on the 4th of January, 1859, and to grant the extension of said patents for the period of seven years, respectively, from the 30th of May, 1867, and the 18th of August, 1867, when said patents by law expired; provided that the patents shall

be extended only for the benefit of the widow and legal heirs of said Harvey, and that these extensions shall not be valid for the use and benefit of any corporation or person claiming any right or interest in either of the said patents by virtue of any alleged agreement, transfer, or assignment heretofore executed by the said heirs, or any arbitration or award heretofore made between the said heirs and any other person or corporation; and if at any time said extended letters-patent shall become in whole or in part the property of the company which owned said patents at the time when they were about to expire, or of their successors, then this act shall at once thereafter become void and of no effect; and provided, also, that all rights in law or equity of the persons legally in possession of machines covered by said patents shall be fully protected in all cases from the said extensions of letters-patent; provided said Commissioner, after full hearing, upon due notice to all persons desiring to contest said extensions, shall be of opinion that said patents should be so extended.

The question was then taken upon the motion to lay the bill upon the table; and upon a division there were-ayes 36, noes 50; no quorum voting.

Mr. TROWBRIDGE, Mr. FARNSWORTH, Mr. BEAMAN, and Mr. WASHBURN of Massachusetts, called for the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was then taken; and it was decided in the negative-yeas 49, nays 81, not voting 59; as follows:

Perhaps it may be as well to state in the outset that in the last Congress a bill was reported, and that this is substantially the same, with the exception that it remedies some of the objections then urged against it. The bill failed in the last Congress by a small majority, because a fraudulent paper was introduced upon this floor, not so intended, I will say, by the hon. orable gentleman from Massachusetts, who presented it. The statement was then made that the patent would not inure to the benefit of the widow and heirs who now claim it.

As soon as opportunity was afforded, but too late for a remedy then, the paper was found to be a manufactured one. The assignment did not inure beyond the extended term for seven years. I have all the papers and proofs before me on this point, and if necessary I will have them read to the House.

Such having been ascertained to be the fact, the Committee on Patents felt it to be its duty to report a bill again. It is shown that the inventor never received a dollar for the inven tions secured by the letters-patent and now sought to be extended, of vast utility as they are, and which have cheapened the articles made by them all over the United States. It has brought countless benefits to those who use it. If they knew to whom they were indebted for them they would, by common consent, agree that this patent should be extended.

Before this invention of machinery for the manufacture of wood screws they were manufactured by hand. By these automatic machines and previous machines of his invention, now become public, they can be made better,

to the people is as undisputed as in the Blanchard, Woodworth, and other cases, where Congress extended the patents.

NAYS-Messrs. Adams, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Beck, Benton, Blair, Broomall, Cake, Chanler, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Cullom, Dixon, Donnelly, Eggleston, Ferriss, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Halsey. Hawkins, Higby, Hill, Holman, Hotchkiss, Hulburd, Humphrey, Jenckes. Johnson, Judd, Kerr, Ketcham, Knott, Koontz, Lincoln, Loan, Logan, Lynch, Mallory, Marvin, Maynard, McClurg, McCormick, McCullough, Mercur, Miller, Moore. Morrell, Mullins, Mungen, Myers, Newcomb, Niblack, Nicholson, O'Neill, Orth, Peters, Phelps, Pile, Polsley, Robertson, Robinson, Scofield, Thaddeus Stevens, Stewart, Stokes, Taber, John Trimble, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Trump, Ward, John T. Wilson, Windom. Woodbridge, and Woodward-81.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Archer, Arnell, James M. Ashley, Axtell, Barnes, Barnum, Benjamin, Bingham, Blaine, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Burr, Cary, Delano, Dodge, Driggs, Eckley, Eldridge, Finney, Fox, Gravely, Haight, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jones, Kelley, Kelsey, Laflin, William Lawrence, Marshall, Morrissey, Nunn, Perham, Pike, Poland, Pomeroy, Pruyn, Ross, Sawyer, Selye. Shanks, Sitgreaves, Aaron F. Stevens, Stone, Taffe, Taylor, Thomas, Lawrence S. Trimble, Twichell, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Elihu B.Washburne, Stephen F. Wilson, and Wood-59.

So the House refused to lay the bill on the table.

The question then recurred on seconding the demand for the previous question.

Mr. MYERS. I withdraw the demand for the previous question, in order to answer the expectations of the House that a brief explanation shall be made in regard to the bill now before us. It is a bill I am instructed by the unanimous vote of the Committee on Patents to report. I am also authorized to assert that this bill has, perhaps, more merits than any bill we have hitherto reported, and we report very few.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, rose. Mr. MYERS. I deeline to yield at the present moment. The gentleman has done his best to kill this bill; but I will yield to him at the proper time. I can satisfy the House this measure is right, or I do not desire its passage. At present I desire to submit my own statement, in order that the case may be put before the House intelligibly.

It was stated the other day that this was the same old bill resuscitated over and over again.

When this bill was last up it was met with a new device. The honorable gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. BUTLER] then spoke as follows:

"I am informed this is a fact, and I wish to know whether it came before the committee. Mr. Harvey some years ago sold to a large iron proprietor in Massachusetts the right to manufacture screws under his patent, and gave a bond in the sum of $10,000 that this manufacturer should enjoy that privilege. But afterward, and while the machinery was being set up to manufacture these screws, Mr. Harvey sold his patent to this Providence company for $125,000, and then came forward and paid the $10,000 bond rather than carry out his contract with the Massachusetts manufacturer. That, I am informed, is the fact, and it may explain why Massachusetts is not in faver of paying any more money as a royalty to this Rhode Island company."

This statement, and a similar one made by one of his colleagues quietly to members, defeated the bill, although by a large majority the House had just refused to lay it on the table, and defeated it would have remained so far as the action of the Patent Committee was concerned; but on the Monday following gentlemen arose in their places, each saying

"Thou can'st not say I did it”— each one anxious that the fault should not be placed on him of making what was an erroneous statement. When this occurred the committee asked as their privilege to have the case referred back to them to take the testimony of the iron proprietor and member referred to. This was done, and it was found that the facts were not as represented, but that the transactions referred to were ten years before these patents were issued to Mr. Harvey, and the whole story was exploded.

With the exception of one particular the bill before the House is the same bill that was previously reported. In its present shape it is very reasonable, and should be acceptable to the House. We provide that this monopoly which has had the benefit of these patents, this great company which is so much dreaded, shall never have the benefit of this extension. does become the owner or part owner the patent shall become void. That is a sufficient answer to any one who pretends that this American Screw Company are to have the

benefit of the extension.

If it

And now I claim the attention of the House to the proof that the inventor never received

a dollar out of these inventions, except that at one time while he was perfecting them he received a salary of $100 a month. I have the affidavits here to that fact. After inventing various machines for the perfection of the manufacture of wood screws, all of which have gone to the benefit of the public-six of them are in public use and can be used to manufacture many of the screws in ordinary use. After the invention of those the idea of perfecting the machine came into the inventor's mind. He had received from various other inventions, to which I referred on a former occasion, $100,000. But it required an enor mous number of machines for making the dif ferent sizes of screws. In perfecting these machines he spent $100,000, and had to borrow $70,000 of Charles Ely, of New York city, to whom he gave as security an assignment of the first term of the patent, fourteen years. Therefore he never received one dollar out of the first term. Not only that, but he was unable to pay the $70,000 out of the profits of the first term, and arbitrators were selected to award the value of the seven years' term, to be extended by the Commissioner of Patents. They said it was worth, I think, $35,000. There were $40,000 then due to Mr. Ely. Mr. Harvey died, and Mr. Ely held the extension to repay himself the balance due, but it never did repay him. He sold it under the decree of the arbitrators to this American Screw Company, a company which has four thousand machines, and which makes seven ninths of all the wood screws in the United States, and which, through its various emissaries and in manifold ways, seeks to obtain these patents. If extended, this widow and these heirs will have the right to the machines, and they can compete with this great company which even now has a right to run its own machines whether you extend this patent or not. If not extended, they have the monopoly, and instead of the prices being lessened they will be increased. These are the facts mainly exhibited under oath to the committee. Now, before calling the previous question, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

I

corporations to-day, I ask the gentleman? Why the corporation in my own district have appeared here and said these individuals have made arrangements with us, and it is better for us to have this extension granted than it is not to have it, and so far as we are concerned we prefer that you would not oppose the extension of this patent. The Union Screw Company of Providence, Rhode Island, which appeared here and did everything in its power to prevent the extension, do not appear here to-day. Why not? I have some other facts to read here, and I ask the gentleman who reports this bill to gainsay or dispute them if he can. The bill extending this patent was rejected on the 5th day of February, and on the 18th day of March, after the bill was rejected, and after the Union Screw Company and these other corporations had. appeared against it, it seems that the American Screw Company, the very company that the Committee on Patents claims has no interest

Mr. MYERS. I want the House to hear the gentleman, but I want the gentleman to confine himself to a certain amount of time.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. Well, give me ten minutes.

Mr. MYERS. I will give you ten minutes in all.

Mr. DAWES. I rise to a question of order. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has no right to limit my colleague. My colleague took the floor himself without any limitation.

The SPEAKER. The Chair overrules the point of order. The floor was assigned to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and he yielded it to the gentleman from Massachusetts. He has a right under the usage of the House to resume the floor whenever he sees fit.

Mr. DAWES. I understood him to surren der the floor.

The SPEAKER. He did not.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. was saying that this extension was denied on the 5th of February. On the 18th day of March the American Screw Company went to the Union Screw Company of Providence, who had appeared here and opposed this extension, and made an agreement with them that they would purchase all their interest, and there are a few conditions in that agreement to which I wish to call attention. The agreement was that the American Screw Company should purchase all the interest of the Union Serew Com

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. have but a few facts to state in reference to this case, if I can have the attention of the House. The gentleman says I have made an effort to prevent the extension of this monop oly. I am free to say that I have made such an effort, and I am ready to renew it to-day.pany, and here is one of the conditions: But do not desire to do it on any unfair ground, or on anything else than a fair statement of facts. As I said when this question was up before, that if I had been misinformed, if the American screw monopoly was not at the foundation of this whole proceeding, if it was not to perpetuate a monopoly in this business, then I had been very much deceived.

Now, I wish to state a few facts to the House, and if gentlemen will listen to them I think they will come to the same conclusion that I do in this case. When this patent was first reported by the committee, in January, 1867, and an effort was made to have it extended, facts were presented which, on the 5th of February, 1867, led this House to reject its extension. It was claimed at that time that the American Screw Company was to receive the benefit of this extension.

Mr. MYERS. By whom?

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Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. claimed that they were, but the Committee on Patents and the gentleman from Pennsylvania said that they had no interest directly or indirectly in that extension. What is the state of the facts? When the question was then before the House a corporation in my own district with $500,000 capital invested in the manufacture of screws appeared here by their attorneys and desired that this monopoly might not be extended further, and did all in their power to prevent the extension. The Union Screw Company of Providence, Rhode Island, appeared here with their attorney and did everything in their power to prevent the extension of the monopoly. Where are those

"And that said Union Screw Company, its officers and agents, acting in its behalf, shall at once discontinue all opposition in its behalf of the extension of the Harvey patents, so called, now pending before the Congress of the United States."

That was on the 18th of March, after the Union Screw Company had appeared here and opposed the extension, and it had been rejected. The American Screw Company make an agreemeut to buy out that company, and bind them not to continue their opposition to the extension of the patent.

Mr. MYERS. Will the gentleman state what he is reading from?

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. The agreement of the American Screw Company to buy out the Union Serew Company. I ask the Clerk to read what I have marked, and which I send to his desk.

The Clerk read as follows:

"And said party of the second part hereby agrees to discontinue and hereafter refrain from all opposition to the extension of the Harvey patents before Congress in its behalf; and said party of the first part hereby agrees to and with the party of the second part to guaranty and secure to the party of the second part, until the party of the first part shall have fully carried out in good faith all the agreements herein on its part, the same interest and rights in every particular that they would have or be entitled to if the so-called Harvey patents, application for the extension of which is now pending before the Congress of the United States, should not be extended, but should be allowed to expire, provided, said party of the second part carry out their agreement herein on their part in good faith."

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. This agreement was carried out, and $161,510 was paid to the Union Serew Company. Now, if the American Screw Company had no

interest in this extension, why did they enter into an agreement with these corporations to cease all their opposition to this extension? I put this question to an individual who has known all about its proceedings, who has acted as counsel for this company, the Harvey heirs and the American Screw Company. He admitted that it was the expectation of the Amer. ican Screw Company to derive the benefits of this reëxtension.

What I wish to state to the House is this: there is not a corporation that appears here to oppose this extension; but all have been either bought up or been arranged with not to oppose the extension of this monopoly. This American Screw Company, as is known to those who have examined this matter, have made it the greatest monopoly that ever existed in this country. And not less than from fifty to seventy five per cent. of profit has been put upon every gross of screws they manufacture. And when there was danger that screws would be imported from abroad, they came here and succeeded in getting a tariff put on screws which amounted almost to a prohibition. Then they manufactured screws and scattered them all over the country in vast amounts, with profits to the extent of millions of dollars, all of it coming out of those who use them.

My position in regard to this extension is this: scattered throughout my district, and throughout this country are thousands of manufacturers; furniture manufacturers, chair manufacturers, piano-forte manufacturers, carriage manufacturers, manufacturers of every rank and class, who are using these articles to a great extent. They come forward and say that this great monopoly has applied to them to pay an enormous price for these screws; and now they ask, that having guarantied to the patentee this monopoly for twenty-one years, it shall now be thrown open to the public. They say, "You talk about relieving us from the burdens of taxation; yet, while you relieve us from the burden of taxation to the extent of removing the five per cent. tax, do not press upon us this monopoly of the screw manufacture, which enters into all our manufactures to so great an extent." There is hardly a man. ufacturer or hardware dealer or merchant of any kind in my district who has not besought me to do what I can to oppose the extension of this monopoly.

[Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. MYERS. I have listened to my friend from Massachusetts, [ Mr. WASHBURN,] and I have no doubt he has great interest in these screw companies. Yet while he is perpetually defending what must be to their interest, he apparently agrees with me that the American Screw Company is one of the greatest monopo lies that has ever existed in this country. Fail to extend this, and they have by their four thou sand machines and great capital the monopoly and the profit of this invention, and widow and heirs of the inventor will not get a dollar. Extend it, and, while the Treasury loses not a dollar, you do a great justice to the memory and representatives of an American inventor, such as the American people have never failed to

sanction.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. I hope the gentleman will not misrepresent me. Mr. MYERS. I will not.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. The gentleman knows there is not one of these corporations but is here in favor of this extension.

Mr. MYERS. The gentleman is mistaken. Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. Will the gentleman mention one of them?

Mr. MYERS. I will answer the gentleman in spite of his interjections and objections. I supposed that at the last minute some new paper would be read. It is the third time this expedient has been resorted to. - It is practiced in the interest of somebody. It is not prac ticed in the interest of this widow and these heirs. It is not practiced in the interest of this manufacturer. Who does the gentleman represent? And what is the reason of his intense

activity and feeling against the bill? The parties, by our direction, gave notice all over the United States, and we received no protests; but we did see the requests of two hundred hardware men, who ask for this extension. I should like to know whose interest it is. The gentleman says it is in the interests of his constituents. I honor and esteem the gentleman from Massachusetts for protecting the interests of his constituents. I have nothing to say against him on that ground. But, sir, let me answer him, and "mark how plain a tale will put him down." This bill provides that if ever the American Screw Company shall become the possessor of this patent then it shall become null and void. That sets at nought all agreements between these companies who wish to rob this widow of her rights. I now demand the previous question.

Mr. GARFIELD. If this bill is to pass, I ask my friend whether he will not accept an amendment to pay out of the Treasury the money these heirs are said to have lost instead of taxing our mechanics in the country?

Mr. MYERS. Two or three times I have already stated to, this House, upon my knowl; edge of the facts and proofs in this case, that this extension does not tax the people. I can prove that this is so. I have already fully done so. The people of my district are as much interested in it as the people of any other district in the United States. I have shown how it has been a blessing and not a tax to the people.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has pledged himself to the House that he would mention some manufacturing company which was against this extension. With the exception of the American Screw Company, not one of them has made opposition to this monopoly. Put your finger upon one of them.

Mr. MYERS. They appear somewhere in this House. They appeared by counsel before the committee. They have advocates on this floor. We find no agreement like that referred to. Who gave it to the gentleman? They are invisible, but their influence is as perceptible as the atmosphere we breathe, and the president of one of them, the Boston Screw Company, caused the insertion in the Post of the article once before read here against the bill. I must now insist on the demand for the previous question.

I

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. hope the demand for the previous question will not be seconded.

Mr. MYERS. If the gentleman wishes to make any more speeches he can print them, and not make them out of order across the floor, [Laughter.] I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. SHELLABARGER. I understood the gentleman to say there were no remonstrances against this extension presented to the committee, but there were petitions the other way. I wish to say this in behalf of my district, that in reference to no extension pending before Congress have I received such a number of remonstrances, earnest and vigorous, and I think reasonable, as I have against this.

Mr. MYERS. I decline to yield further, and insist on the demand for the previous question.

The House divided; and there were-ayes 44, noes 45; no quorum voting.

The SPEAKER ordered tellers; and ap pointed Mr. MYERS, and Mr. WASHBURN of Massachusetts.

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

So the previous question was seconded. The main question was then ordered; and under the operation thereof, the bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and it was accordingly read the third time.

I

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts. ask the yeas and nays on the passage of the bill. Let the country see who are in favor of extending this monopoly.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

40TH CONG. 2D SESS.-No. 207. .

The question was taken; and it was decided in the negative—yeas 65, nays-71, not voting 53; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Adams, Anderson, Archer, Axtell, Banks, Beck, Blair, Cake, Chanler, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cornell, Dixon, Donnelly, Eldridge, Ferriss, Getz, Golladay, Gravely, Grover, Haight, Halsey, Higby, Hill, Holman, Hotchkiss, IIumphrey, Jenckes, Johnson, Kerr, Ketcham. Knott, Koontz, Lincoln, Logan, Mallory, Marvin, Maynard, McClurg, McCullough, Mercur, Miller, Moore, Morrell, Mullins, Myers. Newcomb, Niblack, Nicholson, O'Neill, Peters, Polsley, Pomeroy, Robertson, Robinson, Scofield, Stewart, Stokes, Taber, John Trimble, Van Aernam, Van Trump, Ward, Windom, and Woodbridge--65. NAYS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Delos R. Ashley, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Beaman, Beatty, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Boutwell, Buckland, Butler, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Delano, Eckley, Eggleston, Ela, Eliot, Farnsworth, Fields, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Harding. Hooper, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Judd, Julian, Kelsey, George V. Lawrence, Loughridge, Lynch, McCarthy, Moorhead, Orth, Phelps, Pike, Pile, Plants, Price, Randall, Raum, Sawyer, Schenck, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather. Aaron F. Stevens, Stone, Taylor, Trowbridge. Twichell, Van Wyck, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, and Woodward-71.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Arnell, James M. Ashley, Barnes, Barnum, Blaine, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Broomall, Burr, Cary, Dodge, Driggs, Ferry, Finney, Fox, Griswold, Hawkins, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. IIubbard, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jones, Kelley, Kitchen, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Marshall, McCormick, Morrissey. Mungen, Nunn, Paine, Perham, Poland, Pruyn, Ross, Selye, Shanks, Sitgreaves, Thaddeus Stevens, Taffe, Thomas, Lawrence S. Trimble, Upson, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Elihu B. Washburne, Stephen F. Wilson, and Wood-53.

So the bill was rejected.

Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was rejected; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

THOMAS CROSSLEY.

Mr. MYERS, from the Committee on Patents, reported back a bill (S. No. 426) for the relief of Thomas Crossley, with a recommendation that it do pass.

The SPEAKER.

The morning hour has expired, and the bill goes over till to-morrow in the morning hour.

REMOVAL OF DISABILITIES.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I rise to a privileged question. I submit the following report:

The committee of conference of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (II. R. No. 1059) to relieve certain citizens of North Carolina of disabilities, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend, and do recommend to their respective Houses, as follows:

That the House recede from their disagreement to the amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with the following amendments:

Strike out George S. Houston, of Alabama," and "George W. Jones, of Tennessee."

Strike out and Tennessee," where it first occurs in section four, and insert" and " after "Arkansas" where it first occurs in section four.

Also, strike out "Robert Austin," of North Carolina, and insert "Robert H. Austin."

Strike out Wiley D. Jones," of North Carolina, and insert "Willie Jones.'

Strike out Eugene Grisson," of North Carolina, and insert "Eugene Grissom. Strike out John D. Ashmond," of South Carolina, and insert "J. D. Ashmore." Strike out "John M. Rusty [or Burtz."] J. F. FARNSWORTH, H. E. PAINE,

Managers on the part of the House.
WILLIAM STEWART,
HENRY WILSON,
JOHN SHERMAN.
Managers on the part of the Senate.

I do not desire to detain the House. The amendments are most of them verbal, with the exception of the dropping of two names which the Senate had inserted in the bill. Before calling the previous question, I yield to my colleague on the committee from Kentucky, [Mr. BECK.]

Mr. BECK. Mr. Speaker, I only desire to state why I failed to sign the report of the conference committee of which I was a member, not to argue the principles contained in it which make it so objectionable to me. I have done that on a former occasion, and am only more and more confirmed in my opinions by what is transpiring now. That pardon is an executive and not a legislative function is too clear for argument;

that this is a usurpation of the pardoning power is equally evident. That it is converted into a mere party machine, by which the worst men in the country are whitewashed and made clean before the law if they will only make up in party servility what they lack in integrity and honesty, is too apparent to need even exposure; and that the best and truest men in the country, those to whose honor, integrity, and devotion to principle the restoration of these now disjointed States to their proper relations could most safely be intrusted, are to be kept under perpetual ostracism unless they will abandon, or pretend to abandon, all their principles, and bow the knee to the idol which Radicalism has set up and seems determined to maintain, is perfectly plain. The aptest illustration of the truth of what I say is to be found in the report now before the House. We sent the names of many hundreds of men residing in North Carolina, admitted rebels, to the Senate, asking concurrence in the removal of their political disabilities because they had joined the Radical party and had voted for the adventurers who had taken possession of that State. Whether they were honest or not, whether they were men of character or not, no man in this House knew, except in a few instances. It was simply the carrying out of a contract with the Radical leaders in the State, that if these men would prove false to their race and people, give the negro and carpet bag concern respectability and a show of acquiescence by the people of the State, so it could be carried, and the positions of Governor, Senators, and members of this House secured to the Radical provost marshals and bureau agents, the political disabilities of the persons so selling their manhood and their birthright should be removed by the dominant majority here, and the people of the North would be told that the white men of the South were in great numbers aiding in reconstruction, only obstinate and persistent rebels refusing.

The Senate added several hundred more to the list, making no objection to any of those sent there by us. Among those so added, and whose character, integrity, and high position was vouched for by every Senator who spoke of them, were George W. Jones, of Tennessee, and George Houston, of Alabama; and they were included in the bill, and their disabilities removed by a vote 37 to 3; every Republican Senator present voting for the bill. This House disagreed, without inquiry into the cause of the disagreement, and the committee of conference, whose report has just been read, was the result. The Senate managers receded from their amendment on the demand of the House so far as to strike out the names of Jones and Houston. Mr. Jones seemed to be the special object of attack; perhaps he lives in a district in Tennessee that would return him to this House, and thereby remove whoever now represents it. I do not know what district he lives in, nor who represents it, and therefore make no personal allusions; but the avowed fact is that the Tennessee delegation in this House are united and determined in their opposition to him, and that opposition has controlled and changed the vote of the SenMr. Jones, honest, upright, intelligent, resisting the secession of his State as long as resistance was possible, as honorable Senators asserted on their personal responsibility, is sacrificed because he will not bow the knee to Baal; does not believe that a military despotism is a better government than that provided for in the Constitution; does not believe that the negro is superior to the white race; and will not prostitute himself and his principles even for the sake of being relieved from the onerous and galling ostracism under which he and thousands of others (Senator WILSON says fifty thousand) are now struggling.

ate.

It is for this House to again assert before the country, as I have no doubt it will, that honesty, integrity, capacity, faithfulness to trusts, and unsullied honor constitute no test or guarantee for the removal of disabilities. Nothing but blind and unquestioning obse

kings, as monarchs and whip masters, to drive the negro and all who did not own them to lick the hand that lashed their backs. They went on in this dreadful war of death, the most inhuman one that has ever been visited upon any country, the Indian savage in his rude state to the contrary notwithstanding. [Laughter.] Nakedness exposed to the lash of the rod in the hands of rebels, and that upon the bare backs of the females, the loyal wives of the husbands of the South. They have run on for four long, dreadful, bloody years; they have strewn the South with human graves; and the loyal bones of the men of the North lie rotting upon the hills of the South without Christian burial to-day. And while they were thus running riot in blood and in triumph over the sacrifice of human life and assailing the stars and stripes, and civil, political, and religious governments, they were overtaken and crushed out.

And now, when

they have been crushed out, they come up and state what? That we surrendered; we surrendered. That is not the term now. They said they submitted. They never surrendered only when they were captured by the mighty armies of the Republic that were for the perpetuation of the Government of our fathers and sought to perpetuate the right of all beings to stand before the burning eye of God, accountable to Hin who died for them, that the will of man should be free. That is the power that brought them down; that power that stood here under the stars and stripes that waved over the bloody fields of 1776 and rode the storm against the British lion. [Laughter.] It met the southern Anak and negro god and made it bow-the Democratic party as its figure-head-that had been reveling in blood, that had plundered the public Treasury of the United States and beggared it, that ravaged the public arsenals and carried away the arms, and had captured the whole sea-coast and every vessel in every harbor. And now, after having done that, "Let us alone," they say, while we are pulling the apples from the tree; do not you throw rocks at us;" [laughter,] "just let us alone." We used some few gentle words and they only defied us and mocked at us.

Now, we came in council together and took to our bosom an old man called Abraham. [Laughter.] Ay, and he looked into that pit, and he saw there Dives who had driven the negro Lazarus from his table and would not give him even the crumbs. And he saw a figure coming up with its garments dyed in blood. "Who is that I see on the black horse, with the sword drawn against the rainbow of hope and promise of the world, the stars and stripes?" [Laughter.] "It is Death, riding under the ensign of the Democratic party of the South, in open war against human liberty and human rights." Then, oh, my soul, look down and wonder at them coming up now as doves, holy, and never having imbrued their hands in blood! [Laughter.] Now, we ask to be forgiven. Oh, yes.

[Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. MULLINS. Give me two minutes longer.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I will yield the gentleman five minutes longer.

Mr. MULLINS. Why, Mr. Speaker, I had to some extent forgotten that I was limited, for I was speaking on an illimitable subject, one that is as broad as the canopy of heaven spread over the civilized world; one, too, which not only shook the continent of America, but hurled in deep weeds of mourning all the people of the eastern world that look out for the coming of a promised land, for fear that it was to be smitten down, that it was to hang its head and become a despotism instead of the asylum of all the oppressed. Nevertheless, under the ægis of the goddess of American liberty and the Federal flag we have met the diseases of the swamps; we have met every pestilence that walketh in darkness or wasteth at noon-day; we have lain under the burning sun of the South upon our arms. What to do? To catch and capture in a human way, but at the point of the

bayonet, the Democratic party headed by John C. Calhoun at first, and then by Breckinridge, and Toombs, and Rhett, and Cheves, and the whole gang.

And when we have caught them and got them they say, Oh, now, look you here! you are breaking the Constitution into a thousand pieces." Why?"Why, you have taken my negroes and set them free, and such a thing never was known before in all the Israel of God." [Laughter.]

Why did we set them free? Why did we do it? You began the fight. You were killing your own children to protect human slavery. We thought we had better set them free, and if we had compromised on that we never could have saved the nest. To save the nest we had to break the eggs, and in breaking the eggs we thereby struck the snake-this mighty copperhead-a death wound, which even reached its vitals. [Laughter.] What was the very element that prompted you to go into rebellion? Human slavery. We struck at it, and when we reached that step, under the lead of that old monarch-that old monarch, did I say? I take that back; that old patriarch, Abraham of old, or Abraham of modern times, and under his lead we lifted our banner and said seven times seven we will march around the walls of this Babylon-this Democratic Babylon-like Joshua of old, and with our rams' horns give a great blast. [Laughter.] Finally we gave them the last blast. Sherman run through like a dose of salts, [laughter,] like a flying, fiery eagle, and Grant, like a mighty anaconda, [laughter,] stretched round and with his right hand took Sherman by the left, and Sherman with his right took Grant by the left, and they said, "Now a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether,' fell the bottom of the rebellion, [laughter;] every hoop broke loose, and they were turned out upon the common plain of civilization and human rights loose, like the poor fellow's milk. [Laughter.] Then we told them, "Go home and mind your business; do not take up arms any more against us; and, look here, above all things obey the laws of your land, and you shall be protected in all your rights, personal and pecuniary." But we never at any time said, you shall have political rights; that never has been recorded.

"and out

One thing I declare now, that that obligation has never been released, Andrew Johnson to the contrary notwithstanding, and they are prisoners of war to-day. Now they come up to be pardoned. Every one of them was engaged in this unholy rebellion. They drove away from the State the loyal men of the State, from their homes and their families, unless they happened to own twenty negroes, when they could be allowed to remain as overseers. If they did not own that many negroes then the conscript officers came along. If they were dodged, what next? Why, the bloodhounds raised in the South to run down negroes were used by the conscript officers to run down these men. They did that in my own district; so help me God that was so. And now they say there was no crime in it. What are the facts? I want to enumerate them.

[Here the hammer fell.] Several MEMBERS. Let his time be extended.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Very well; I will yield for another five minutes.

Mr. MULLINS. Now about the bloodhounds around my own door. I was driven out because I loved the flag of my country, and never bowed the knee to Baal. I went out and we conquered these men. What next? We undertook to start a civil government there, and I undertake to say that ninety-nine out of every hundred of the rebels were against it. We brought many of them in, though they had been in the rebellion; and then no sooner do they get inside of the fortifications than they turn their backs upon us.

Now, here is George W. Jones, with whom I have been personally acquainted over forty

years. He is personally a gentleman; he was raised a mechanic, learning the saddlers' trade,

As

I believe. He won his way up gradually. If he had not owned a negro he would not have voted in the southern confederacy. He was an elector on the Douglas ticket. soon as the election was over the State was voted out of the Union by between forty-one and forty-two thousand. Mr. Jones bowed his head and went out with the State, and accepted a position in the confederate Congress at Richmond, as confederate representative from my congressional district. When he came home, and we attempted to set up a civil government, he never attempted to help us in any shape or form that I ever heard of. I know him personally; he has been in my house and I have been in his. I was sheriff for six years in succession, and every year he was there. He did not attempt to aid in setting up a civil government; had he done so, the franchise bill of Tennessee to-day would have admitted him to the ballot-box. But he is without the camp.

Now, without petitioning for it himself, or doing anything of the sort, he seeks to be relieved of his disabilities. Why? For the same reason, I fear, that so many are asking for it; because by the bad doings of this dreadful rebellion they have taken such an emetic that it vomits them out on the figure-head of the Democratic platform. He comes and asks pardon, not through himself, but through a friend. If he would help us set up a civil government I would go in for it. But the Ku-Klux-Klan broke in the windows of the post office, and he sat there[Here the hammer fell.]

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

Mr. HOLMAN, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that they had examined and found truly enrolled bills and joint resolutions of the following titles; when the Speaker signed the same:

An act (H. R. No. 867) for the relief of Jonathan Jessup, postmaster at York, Pennsylvania;

An act (H. R. No. 1120) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to change the names of certain vessels ;

An act (H. R. No.1218) appropriating money to sustain the Indian commission and carry out treaties made thereby ;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 246) directing the Secretary of State to present to George Wright, master of the British brig J. and G. Wright, a gold chronometer, in appreciation of his personal services in saving the lives of three American seamen, wrecked at sea on board of the American schooner Lizzie F. Choate, of Massachusetts;

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 268) for the relief of Robert L. Lindsay; and

Joint resolution (H. R. No. 295) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to remit the duties on certain articles contributed to the National Association of American Sharpshooters.

REMOVAL OF POLITICAL DISABILITIES.

The House resumed the consideration of the bill for the removal of political disabilities; upon which Mr. FARNSWORTH was entitled to the floor.

Mr. BROOKS. Will the gentleman yield to me for a short time?

Mr. FARNSWORTH. For how long? Mr. BROOKS. For five or ten minutes. Mr. FARNSWORTH. I will yield to my colleague on the Committee on Reconstruction for five minutes.

Mr. BROOKS. I had intended to reply to the honorable gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. FARNSWORTH.] But the interposition of the very eloquent speech of the very eloquent gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. MULLINS] has quite disarmed me of saying what I had intended to say. And I would say to my friend from Ohio, who usually sits near me, [Mr. BINGHAM,] that if he does not look out for his laurels he will soon find out that in all respects as regards eloquence and poetical beauty the star of Tennessee will outshine the star of Ohio.

This bill should be carefully looked at in