unwise as to go against it. And it is not until some man prejudiced against it starts out to find reason why it should not be paid that any ground can be found upon which he can make a specious argument, however great his ability.

Sir, this is a plain case.

The Government

of the United States took this land for its own purposes. The Government exchanged this land for four million acres of land beyond Lake Superior, and it has that land now. We must yield this land to settlers. We are bound by treaty to do so, and this appropriation is to be paid only when we have done so.

This is a just claim; and I appeal once more to the justice of this House to stand by the friends of the Government, and to stand by the faith of the Government. [Here the hammer fell.] The SPEAKER. Debate is exhausted on the amendment of the Senate.

Mr. STEVENS, of Pennsylvania. I withdraw my amendment to the amendment.

Mr. PETERS. I would inquire of the Chair whether, if we vote to concur in this amendment of the Senate, we do not vote to sustain the report of the Committee on Appropriations?

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I will tell the gentleman.

Mr. PETERS. I asked the Speaker; not the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. WASHBURNE.]

The SPEAKER. The Committee on Appropriations recommend concurrence in this amendment.

The question recurred upon concurring in the amendment of the Senate, to add to the bill the following:

SEC.. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of executing the fourth article of the treaty of Washington, concluded on the 9th day of August, 1842, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to pay to the State of Maine for ninety-one thousand one hundred and twenty-five acres of land assigned by said State to settlers under said article, a sum equal to $1 25 per acre; and to the commonwealth of Massachusetts for twenty-six thousand one hundred and fifty acres of land a sum equal to $125 per acre: Provided, That before said sums are paid the States of Maine and Massachusetts shall agree with the United States that the settlers upon their public lands in the late disputed territory in Maine entitled to be quieted in their possessions, as ascertained by commissions heretofore instituted by said States, shall have been or shall be quicted by a release of the title of the said States.

The question was then taken upon concurring in the amendment of the Senate; and upon a division there were-ayes 57, noes 43 Before the result was announced,

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, called for the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was again taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 64, nays 47, not voting 87; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnell Delos R. Ashley, Bailey, Baldwin, Banks, Benton' Boles, Boutwell, Benjamin F. Butler, Chanler' Churchill, Dawes, Deweese, Donnelly, Eckley, Ela, Eliot, Ferriss, Garfield, Griswold, Hamilton, Higby, Hinds, Hooper, Hopkins, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Hunter, Jenckes, Alexander H. Jones, Julian, Kelsey, George V. Lawrence, Loan, Lynch, Marvin, McClurg, Miller, Nicholson, O'Neill, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Sawyer, Smith, Starkweather, Aaron F. Stevens, Stokes, Stone, Taffe, Twichell, Robert T. Van Horn, Cadwalader C. Washburn, William B. Washburn, James F. Wilson, Windom, and Woodbridge-64.

NAYS-Messrs. Axtell, Baker, Beatty, Beck, Blair, Bromwell, Cary, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cullom, Delano, Farnsworth, Ferry, French, Golladay, Gravely, Grover, Hawkins, Hill, Holman, Judd, Kitchen, Knott, Koontz, William Lawrence, Loughridge, Maynard, McCarthy, McCormick, Mercur, Moore, Moorhead, Mullins, Nunn, Orth, Phelps, Poland, Shanks, Spalding, Thaddeus Stevens, Taber, Thomas, Trowbridge, Elihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, and John T. Wilson-47.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Adams, Archer, James M. Ashley, Barnes, Barnum, Beaman, Benjamin, Bingham, Blaine, Boyer, Brooks, Broomall, Buckland, Burr, Roderick R. Butler, Cake, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cornell, Covode, Dixon, Dodge, Driggs, Eggleston, Eldridge, Fields, Finney, Fox, Getz, Glossbrenner, Haight, Halsey, Harding, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Thomas L. Jones, Kelley, Kerr, Ketcham, Laflin. Lincoln, Logan, Mallory, Marshall, McCullough, McKee, Morrell, Morrissey, Mungen, Myers, Newcomb, Niblack, Pile, Polsley, Prayn, Randall, Raam, Robertson, Robinson, Roots, Ross,

Schenck Scofield, Selye, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves,
Stewart, Taylor, John Trimble, Lawrence S. Trimble,
Upson, Van Aernam, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn,
Van Trump, Van Wyck, Ward, Welker, Thomas
Williams, William Williams, Stephen F. Wilson,
Wood, and Woodward-87.

So the amendment was concurred in.
Sixty-seventh amendment:

Add to the bill the following as a new section: SEC.. And be it further enacted, That the Sectary of the Interior, in his discretion, is authorized to expend the appropriation heretofore made for the purpose of erecting a penitentiary for the Territory of Colorado, on the site belonging to and provided by the said Territory for the purpose.

The Committee on Appropriations recommend non-concurrence.

The amend ment was non-concurred in. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, obtained the floor.

Mr. MAYNARD. I ask the gentleman from Illinois to yield to allow a motion to be made to reconsider the vote by which the amendment making an appropriation for the custom-house at Nashville was rejected. It is desired that a brief explanation upon that point may be made. The amendment was voted upon without attracting the attention of those more particularly interested in the

matter.

Mr. MULLINS. I hope the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. WASHBURNE] will give us a little time to discuss that matter.

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. I hope there will be no objection to allowing the motion to reconsider to be made.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I yield to allow the motion to be made.

Mr. ARNELL. I move to reconsider the vote by which the House non-concurred in the twenty-first amendment of the Senate.

The SPEAKER. The amendment will be real.

The Clerk read as follows:

Insert after line two hundred and forty-two the following new paragraph:

To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to enlarge the lot in the city of Nashville for the erection of a custom-house, $25,000.

Mr. ARNELL. Mr. Speaker, I feel sure that if the House understood the facts in regard to this amendment of the Senate they would concur in it. By act of August 18, 1856, an appropriation was made to this effect:

"At Nashville, Tennessee, for the accommodation of the custom-house, post office, United States courts, and steamboat inspectors, a building of like materials, eighty-five feet long by sixty deep and sixty feet high, to cost not more than $95,000."

An additional appropriation was afterward made of $20,000 to buy a site for this building. The lot was purchased in a very desirable and suitable part of the city of Nashville. Owing to various reasons, the war among others, the erection of the building was prevented. The ground purchased is much too small for the proposed custom-house, which is greatly needed. One hundred and twenty-four thousand five hundred dollars has been appropriated, but, as I understand, it cannot be used for the purchase of additional ground. In the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for 1861-62, I find the following tabular statement :

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I move to reconsider the votes on concurring in the various Senate amendments; and also move that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I move that the House ask the appointment of a committe of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on this bill.

The motion was agreed to.

SECURITY OF PASSENGERS ON STEAMBOATS.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, from the Committee on Commerce, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1372) for the better security of life on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, and for other purposes; which was read a first and second time, ordered, with the accompanying papers, to be printed, and recommitted.

THOMAS W. WARD.

Mr. ELIOT. I want to report back from the Committee on Commerce Senate bill No. 542, for the relief of Thomas W. Ward, collector of customs at Corpus Christi, Texas.

Several MEMBERS. Let us hear the bill first.

The bill was read. It proposes to direct the proper accounting officers of the Treasury to settle the accounts of Thomas W. Ward, late collector of customs for the district of Corpus Christi, Texas, from March 5, 1867, to July 31, 1867, and to allow him the same compensation and emoluments as if he had been legally collector of customs for that district for that period. It further proposes to recognize the deputy collector appointed by Thomas W. Ward on the 7th of March, 1867, as the legal deputy collector of the district, and the accounting officers are to settle his accounts in the same manner as if he had been legally appointed and all his acts were legal.

Mr. MULLINS. I do not understand that. I should like to know upon what ground this is proposed to be done for this gentleman?

Mr. BENJAMIN. I object, and call for the regular order of business.

The SPEAKER. Then the bill is not before the House.

REMOVAL OF POLITICAL DISABILITIES.

The SPEAKER stated the regular order of business to be the consideration of House bill No. 1853, for the removal of certain disabilities from the persons therein named, reported yesterday from the Committee on Reconstruction by the gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. BOUTWELL.]

The bill was read. It provides (two thirds of each House concurring. therein) that the several persons hereinafter named shall be severally relieved from all disabilities imposed upon them, or either of them, by the act passed March 2, 1867, entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," and the acts supplementary thereto, and the amendment of the Constitution of the United States known as article fourteen:

Jacob Kibler, Henry Summer, John P. Kinard, E. P. Luke, and W. W. Houseal, of Newberry county; H. P. Hammond, Greenville; Elihu Moore, Lancaster: S. B. Clowney, Fairfield; Lewis Dial, Laurens; H. H. Kinnard, Newberry: J. C. Miller, Charleston; A. P. Kinnard, Newberry; H. Beatic, Greenville; S. W. Maurice, Williamsburg; D. L. Thomas, Beaufort; F. C. Gowen, H. C. Markley,

Thomas Cox, and John D. Ashmore, of Greenville; William B. Johnson, Richland; Metts Williams and G. W. Williams, of York; R. M. Wallace, Richland; John Twitly, Lancaster; Matthew McDonald, Abbeville; A. G. Baskin and E. B. Miller, of Richland: C. R. Rutland, J. Botton Smith, and Daniel Burton, of York: Walter W. Herbert and Thomas Jordan, of Fairfield; Thomas E. Dudley, Bennetsville; Alexander McBee, Greenville; J. B. Tolleson and B. F. Bates, of Spartanburg; William M. Thomas, Greenville; James A. Black, Abbeville; Willis Allen, Spartanburg; John S. Green, Sumter; Elijah U. Horner, Edgefield; II. W. Lawson, Abbeville; Doctor Robert Lebby, Charleston; James Gibbs, Columbia, all of South Carolina.

Jacob Keichler, San Antonio; Jacob Eliot, Navarro county; Jacob Schmitz, Comal county; Richard W. Davis, Goliad; John Blair, Houston county, and Thomas Ochiltree, all of Texas.

P. M. B. Young, Cartersville; R. W. Bell, Banks County: II. H. Took, Thomas county; Walter Brock, thirty-eighth congressional district: W. C. Daniel, Savannah; William T. Martin, Banks county; John W. II. Underwood, Augustus Wright; Charles E. Broyles. Dalton, all of Georgia.

John F. Conoley, Dallas county; Henry C. Sanford, Cherokee county, all of Alabaina.

Zenon Labauve; John E. Frudean, parish of Jefferson; Theodule Drouet and Rufus King Howel, of New Orleans; Wade H. Hough, W. W. Handlin, all of Louisiana.

George W. Marshall, Lafayette, Tennessee. Robert H. Gamble, Tallahassee; Thomas T. Long, Lake City; Josiah E. Lee, Sumterville; A. C. Blount, Pensacola; Benjamin Neal, Marion, all of Florida. Charles W. Heim, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Mr. BOUTWELL. Mr. Speaker, that bill provides for the removal of political disabilities from about seventy-four men from Florida. South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, and one from Kansas. We have given in the report for the purpose of placing in the records of the House the recommendations in each case. Most of the persons named in this bill are members-elect of State governments in these States. P. M. B. Young, elected to this House from Georgia, is, I understand, a Democrat. He has been recommended by General Grant, General Meade, and others of the Union Army. He was a colonel of cavalry in the rebel army. He is engaged at present in helping forward reconstruction. I know no other name to be found in this bill which it is necessary to call particular attention to, that is to say, there is nothing to distinguish them from those heretofore reported. I move to amend by inserting the names of William M. Moore, of Yancey county, and Leonidas C. Edwards, of Oxford, Alabama. I yield now to my colleague on the committee.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I observe in this bill the name of John D. Ashmore, of South Carolina.

The SPEAKER. The Chair was about to state the fact that he has been already relieved. His name was in the other bill. If there be no objection, it will be stricken out.

There was no objection, and it was ordered accordingly.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I move to insert the names of James L. Seward, of Thomas county, Georgia, and Edward Cropland, of Graves county, Kentucky.

Mr. PAINE. I move to add the name of William E. Vaughn, of North Carolina. I send to the desk a letter which I have on the subject, the writer of which is well known by reputation. The gentleman from the first district of North Carolina,[Mr. FRENCH, ] I believe, understands something about the merits of this individual, and will state to the House what he knows on the subject.

Mr. MULLINS. Who proves this?

Mr. PAINE. In the first place the writer of this letter, in the next place the gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. FRENCH,] who, I believe, is not now in his seat. I will ask when he comes in that he have an opportunity to state the facts.

Mr. MULLINS. Has the gentleman related all the evidence he has received why this gen. tleman should be relieved?

Mr. PAINE. I have not related anything yet. I propose to have the letter read by and by.

Mr. MULLINS. Are you acquainted with the gentleman who writes this letter?

Mr. PAINE. The gentleman from North

Carolina [Mr. FRENCH] knows this gentleman by reputation or personally, and will inform the House about him as soon as he comes in?

Mr. MULLINS. You do not want the name acted upon then now?

Mr. BOUTWELL. I ask that a vote be taken on the several amendments already proposed. I shall allow some to be offered but I do not like to have the bill complicated with various amendments.

Mr. MULLINS. Before the question is put I desire to ask who is the gentleman from Tennessee that you propose now to relieve. Mr. BOUTWELL. George W. Marshall, of Lafayette, Tennessee.

Mr. MULLINS. I do not know him. Mr. BOUTWELL. But your colleague recommends him.

Mr. STOKES. I state to my colleague that I know the man and those who recommended him. He is a worthy man.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I call the previous question on the amendment to insert the names of William M. Moore and Leonidas C. Edwards. The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I now call for a vote on the amendment of the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. FARNSWORTH,] to insert the names of James L. Seward and Edward Cropland.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. I desire to say that Mr. Seward is known to several members here, and I have no hesitation in vouching for him myself. I know him well, and have seen him recently, as have many members of the House. He is a fit and proper person to be taken into the church. As for Mr. Cropland, his petition was presented to the House this morning, and he is youched for by the gentleman from Kentucky, [Mr. MCKEE.]

Mr. BOUTWELL. I call the previous ques

tion on the amendment.

Mr. BANKS. I wish to say a word in favor of placing the name of Mr. Seward, of Georgia, on the list. I agree with what the gentleman from Illinois has said in regard to him.

Mr. LAWRENCE, of Ohio. These names had better go the committee and be examined. It may be the opinion of the gentleman from Illinois and the gentleman from Massachusetts that these men ought to be relieved, but we are called upon to act simply upon the individual opinion of gentlemen who assign no reason; and when the House knows nothing about the particular cases at all. I shall not vote to relieve any man upon the simple opin ion of one member of this House without any facts upon which to act. I think these cases ought to go to the committee for examination, and I hope the House will vote down all these names that are sent in with some letter written by somebody about whom we know nothing vouching for the parties. It will be a very cheap pardon if rebels can come in and have a bill passed for their relief merely because some gentleman at the South writes a letter saying that they are worthy gentlemen.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I now yield to the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. CULLOM.]

Mr. CULLOM. I wish to inquire of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. BourWELL] if the Committee on Reconstruction know anything about the history of Charles W. Helm, of Leavenworth, Kansas? I understand that he is a northern man, who voluntarily went South and got on Bragg's staff, and is now one of the worst rebels in the South. Mr. BOUTWELL. We know nothing except what is in the report.

Mr. CULLOM. I hope, then, that his name will be stricken out of this bill. I make that motion.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I now call the previous question on the amendments of the two gentlemen from Illinois, [Mr. FARNSWORTH and Mr. CULLOM.]

Mr. JÚDD. Will the gentleman allow me to present a name in connection with those already offered?

The next question was upon the amendment of Mr. CULLOM, to strike out Charles W. Helm, of Leavenworth, Kansas." The amendment was agreed to.

The next question was upon the amendment of Mr. PAINE, to insert William E. Vaughan, of Pasquotank county, North Carolina."

Mr. PAINE. When I moved that amend. ment I stated that when the Representative from the first North Carolina district [Mr. FRENCH] should appear on the floor I would ask to have a letter read by the Clerk, and that then I would ask that gentleman to state to the House what he knows about Mr. Vaughan; for I have no knowledge of him except what I have obtained from this letter and from the honorable gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. FRENCH.] He, however, is not here; but another member from North Carolina is here, [Mr. DEWEESE,] who can state about this man. I now ask the Clerk to read the letter I send to him.

The Clerk read as follows:

ELIZABETH CITY, N. C., June 30, 1868. DEAR SIR: In looking over a printed list of North Carolinians whose disabilities have been removed, I discover that the name of William E. Vaughan, of Pasquotank county, is omitted. His name was included in the list sent up by the constitutional convention, and in addition we had sent previously a petition numerously signed by Republicans, asking a removal in Mr. Vaughan's individual case. He has recently been elected (first choice in nomination) to the most responsible office in the county. He has been constantly loyal and extremely Radical. At his request I drop you this, hoping that you will be able to do something for him soon.

Yours, &c.,

C. L. COBB.

Hon. R. C. SCHENCK, Washington, D. C.
Mr. PAINE. I now ask the gentleman from
North Carolina [Mr. DEWEESE] to make a
statement to the House.

Mr. DEWEESE. I know very well, indeed, the gentleman referred to in the letter just read by the Clerk. He has been a good, quiet citizen and a loyal man ever since I first obtained a residence in the State, now well on to three years. I have always heard Mr. Vaughan spoken of as a man who was bitterly opposed to the rebellion, and who did everything he could to break down Jeff. Davis and his oli

garchy. I know he warmly supported the reconstruction measures of Congress, and did everything in his power to assist in carrying them out. He was a Radical candidate upon the Republican ticket in the late election in North Carolina, and did good service in carrying the election. He was elected to the office of clerk of the superior court.

Mr. MILLER. What part did he take in the rebellion?

Mr. DEWEESE. He was holding a civil office when the war broke out, and continued to hold it for some time afterward.

Mr. MILLER. Did he take the oath to sup port the confederate government?

Mr. DEWEESE. I do not know whether he did or not; perhaps he did. The office of magistrate, which was the one he held, carries no emoluments with it.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I now call the previous question on the amendment of the gentleman from Wisconsin, [Mr. PAINE.]

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

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. I move to insert the name of John F. Alexander, of Cleaveland county, North Carolina. He is a man well known to me. He has never held any office, does not seek any office now, and is quietly at home attending to his business. He

is fully and thoroughly in favor of the Union, and as a man of probity and honesty of character, I know of no superior to him. He is under the employ of a northern company, carrying on a large business to their great satisfaction, enjoying their entire confidence.

Mr. MULLINS. If the gentleman knows, will he please state what part this man took in the rebellion, making it necessary that disabilities shall be removed from him now?

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. He was in the rebel army in some capacity.

Mr. MULLINS. As an officer?

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. He was, I believe, at first_conscripted, and afterward held an office, as I remember it.

Mr. MULLINS. What evidence has the gentleman, beyond what he has stated, of this man's returning sense of crime and of his penitence therefor? [Laughter.]

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. I know from letters from him, and from the report of a gentleman formerly a member of this House, who has spent some time with him, that he is thoroughly "reconstructed."

Mr. MULLINS. Well, if he is thoroughly reconstructed, no act of ours can give him any further relief.

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. Oh, yes; for he is technically under disability.

Mr. DEWEESE. Will the gentleman give us the name of the ex-member of this body who recommended Mr. Alexander?

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. General Marston, of New Hampshire, who is one of the company employing Mr. Alexander.

Mr. DEWEESE. If there is in North Carolina any man named Alexander who is loyal we have never been able to discover the fact. [Laughter.]

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. The gentleman may probably know this man when I state that he is a resident of the town of Selby.

Mr. DEWEESE. I have no acquaintance with him; but so far as I have been able to understand, there is no loyal man in North Carolina named Alexander. On the contrary a by-word with us is, "You are as disloyal as the Alexander family." [Laughter.]

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. I think I can relieve the difficulty of my friend from North Carolina. This gentleman went from Virginia to North Carolina to take the superintendency of a business in the latter State.

Mr. DEWEESE. Virginia is a very bad State to come from. [Laughter.] And I will say that while I am willing to go as far as any man in this House to relieve the political disabilities of men deserving such relief, I do not want to see the gate thrown open so that all these rebels whose hands are red with the blood of my fellow-soldiers shall be brought in. If this thing is to be carried to such an extent that every man who can get a letter written for him is to be relieved from political disabilities we might as well adopt at once a sweeping resolution relieving all the unrepentant rebels of the South.

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. Does the gentleman know this man at all?

I do.

Mr. DEWEESE. No, sir. Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. Mr. DEWEESE. If I have the evidence that this man is loyal I will vote for his relief; if I have not such evidence, I will vote against relieving him or any other man.

Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts. I wish simply to say that I know this gentleman; he has been in the employ of a company with which I am connected. I know him as well as I can know any man. He is as loyal as any gentleman in North Carolina or out of it. I think I have not given any evidence of being so forgiving to these people that I cannot be trusted to distinguish a rebel from a Union man. If I did not know this man, or if my friend from North Carolina [Mr. DEWEESE] knew him and declared him an improper per son to be relieved, I would not say a word in favor of such relief. But I do know him.

Mr. MULLINS. I do not; and I have been asking for information

Mr. BOUTWELL. 1 think the disposition of the House is to go no further in the way of receiving amendments. I must therefore decline to give way for any further amendments. I am willing that a vote shall be taken on the amendment of my colleague, [Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts.] I call the previous question.

The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the amendment of Mr. BUTLER, of Massachusetts, was agreed to, there beingayes 56, noes 45.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I find that I promised the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. JUDD] to allow him to propose an amendment. I yield to him for that purpose.

Mr. JUDD. I move to amend by inserting the name of A. J. Yorke, of Concord, Cabarrus county, North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I desire to say this gentleman is a personal acquaintance of mine. He is a merchant of high standing, and a man of high character. Under the old government and under the government existing there at the time of the rebellion he held the position of a justice of the peace. For that reason it is necessary he shall be relieved from political disability.

Mr. MAYNARD. We have a delegation now upon this floor from North Carolina, and it seems to me if there are any applications from that State they had better come backed by that delegation. The gentleman from Illinois will pardon me for saying so. I intend no reflection upon any member of the House. I intend to state a general proposition for myself. They have better local information than any one else.

Mr. JUDD. I will simply remind the gen tleman how recently North Carolina has been represented in any manner upon this floor. Bills were pending before the House for the purpose of removing political disabilities long before that State was represented upon this floor. The particular district in which this gentleman resides is not yet represented upon this floor. I made his acquaintance when I was in North Carolina for five or six weeks, and my colleague will indorse all I have stated in his behalf. He has favored the congressional policy of reconstruction. He is a man of high standing and character. He addressed a note to me on the subject of his relief. I also received a letter from persons as thoroughly radical as any can be, stating if there was ever any one entitled to be relieved of disability it is this gentleman. That is the reason for presenting his name for insertion in

this bill.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. The case is exactly as my colleague says.

Mr. BOUTWELL demanded the previous question on the amendment.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the opera· tion thereof the amendment was adopted.

Mr. MAYNARD. I notice names from Texas, which is not yet reconstructed, while there are none from Virginia or Mississippi.

Mr. PAINE. I have not yet brought up the bill for the relief of the citizens of Mississippi, as there was no necessity for immediate action for the purposes of the State government. The bill is ready.

Mr. BOUTWELL. I will say that, with the exception of a very few names of citizens of Texas, and one in Tennessee, and one in Kansas, which has been stricken out, this bill embraces only the names of those who are connected with offices in the States about to be reorganized and admitted to representation. We act upon the general principle that from time to time bills should be reported relieving persons from disability in order to carry on these State governments. I believe I cannot yield for further amendment. I now demand the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the opera tion thereof the bill was ordered to be engrossed

and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time.

Mr. BOUTWELL demanded the yeas and nays on the passage of the bill.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 77, nays 29, not voting 92; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, Bailey, Baker, Beatty, Benjamin, Benton, Blair, Boles, Boutwell, Benjamin F. Butler, Cake,Churchill, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Deweese, Donnelly, Driggs, Ela, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, French, Garfield, Griswold, Higby, Hinds, Hooper, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Jenekes, Alexander H. Jones, Judd, Kelsey, Kitchen, Koontz, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loughridge, Lynch, Mallory, Marvin, McCarthy, McClurg, Moore, Moorhead, Morrell, Myers, O'Neill, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pile, Plants, Poland, Pomeroy, Roots. Schenck, Scofield, Selye, Smith, Stewart, Stokes, Taylor, Thomas, Twichell, Upson, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, John T. Wilson, and Windom-77.

NAYS-Messrs. Arnell, Bromwell, Cary, Chanler, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Golladay, Hamilton, Hawkins, Holman, Hopkins, Hunter, Julian, Loan, McCormick, Mercur, Miller, Mullins, Nicholson, Orth, Price, Sawyer, Shanks, Spalding, Starkweather, Aaron F. Stevens, Taber, and Taffe-29.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Adams, Ames, Archer, James M. Ashley. Axtell, Baldwin, Banks, Barnes, Barnum, Beaman, Beck, Bingham, Blaine, Boyer, Brooks, Broomall, Buckland, Burr, Roderick R. Butler, Reader W. Clarke, Cornell, Covode, Delano, Dixon, Dodge, Eckley, Eggleston, Eldridge, Fields, Finney, Fox, Getz, Glossbrenner, Gravely, Grover. Haight, Halsey, Harding, Hill, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Thomas L. Jones, Kelley, Kerr, Ketcham, Knott, Laflin, Lincoln. Logan, Marshall, Maynard, McCullough, McKee, Morrissey, Mungen, Newcomb, Niblack, Nunn, Phelps, Pike, Polsley, Pruyn, Randall, Raum, Robertson, Robinson, Ross, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Thaddeus Stevens, Stone, John Trimble, Lawrence S. Trimble, Trowbridge, Van Aernam, Van Auken, Van Trump, Van Wyck, Ward, Elihu B. Washburne, Welker, Thomas Williams. William Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Wood, Woodbridge, and Woodward-92 So (two thirds voting in the affirmative) the bill was passed.

During the roll call,

Mr. KELSEY said that Mr. WIlliams, of Indiana, was confined to his room by sickness. The vote having been announced as above recorded,

Mr. BOUTWELL 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 latter motion was agreed to.
ORDER OF BUSINESS.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has now commenced, unless the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. POLAND] calls up the election case of which he has given notice.

Mr. POLAND. I said I would call it up after the morning hour. I supposed, however, the morning hour would be in the morning. [Laughter.]

The SPEAKER. The Chair understands the gentleman to decline to call it up.

Mr. POLAND. I yield for the morning hour.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. GORHAM, its Secretary, informed the House that the Senate had passed, without amendment, a bill (H. R. No. 1156) authorizing the Commissioner of the General Land Office to issue a patent to F. N. Blake for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Kansas.

The message further announced that the Senate had indefinitely postponed the following bills of the House:

An act (H. R. No. 1313) granting an increase of pension to Sarah Hackleman, widow of Brigadier General Pleasant A. Hackleman;

An act (H. R. No. 293) to regulate and limit the admiralty jurisdiction of the district courts of the United States;

An act (H. R. No. 90) to authorize and require the administration of oaths in certain cases, and to punish perjury in connection therewith; and

An act (H. R. No. 1194) to provide for the inauguration of State officers in Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana,

Georgia, and Alabama, and for the meetings of the Legislatures of said States.

The message further announced that the Senate had passed a bill (S. No. 49) to revive and continue in force the act of the 29th July, 1850, and the act amendatory thereof of the 2d of April, 1852; in which the concurrence of the House was requested.

STEAMER WAMPANOAG.

Mr. PIKE. I ask unanimous consent to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be directed to furnish this House with a copy of his order of the 13th of April, 1868, directing a trial of the United States steamer Wampanoag, together with the reports of the trial of said vessel made previous or subsequent to said order, and such other information as the Department possesses relative to the efficiency or non-efficiency of that particular vessel or that class of vessels.

Mr. PIKE. To get at information about that class of vessels.

Mr. CHANLER. I have no doubt of that; but who owns this vessel?

Mr. PIKE. The Government.

Mr. CHANLER. Is she for sale?

Mr. PIKE. She is not.

Mr. CHANLER. What is the specific object?

Mr. PIKE. To learn the efficiency of this class of vessels.

Mr. CHANLER. Is she an isolated instance? Mr. PIKE. She is a steamer of about three thousand tons, and made a trial trip the other day. We want information in relation to that trial trip. That is all there is of it.

Mr. CHANLER. All right.
The resolution was agreed to.

GOVERNMENT OF THE ARMY.

Mr. GARFIELD, by unanimous consent, reported from the Committee on Military Affairs a bill (H. R. No. 1373) establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States; which was read a first and second time, ordered to be printed, and recom. mitted to the committee.

On motion of Mr. GARFIELD, by unanimous consent, the foregoing bill, together with other bills reported from the Committee on Military Affairs, were allowed to be considered at the evening session ordered by the House on Friday next.

Mr. GARFIELD moved to reconsider the vote just taken; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEES. Mr. LAWRENCE, of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be and is directed to furnish to this House as soon as practicable the appraisments of lands made in pursuance of the treaty of July 19, 1866, between the United States and the Cherokee nation of Indians. Mr. VAN HORN, of Missouri. I object.

CITIZENSHIP OF INDIANS, ETC.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has now commenced, and the regular order is the call of the committees for reports. If there are no further reports from the Committee on Manufactures, the Committee on Indian Affairs is next in order.

Mr. WINDOM, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported back the petition of J. G. Olney, and others of New York, in reference to extending the rights of citizenship to Indians; also, the petition of the Peace Society of Pennsylvania for more peaceful relations with the Indians; also, fifteen other petitions on the same subject; all of which were laid on the table, and the committee was discharged from their further consideration.

SAMUEL KELLY.

Mr. MILLER moved that the Committee on Invalid Pensions be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Samuel Kelly for an increase of an invalid pension under the act of June 6, 1866, and that the

same be referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions and of the War of 1812. The motion was agreed to.

SARAH A. BRIGGS.

Mr. MILLER also moved that the Committee on Invalid Pensions be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Sarah A. Briggs for an increase of pension,

and that the same be referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions and of the War of 1812.

The motion was agreed to.

DENT, VANTINE & CO.

Mr. WINDOM, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1374) for the relief of Dent, Vantine & Co., for provisions furnished to the Indians of California during the years 1851 and 1852; which was read a first and second time.

The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Dent, Vantine & Co., for provisions furnished to the Indians of California during the years 1851 and 1852, the sum of $25,327 30, the same to be appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Mr. CULLOM. I make the point of order that this is an appropriation bill, and must receive its first consideration in the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. WINDOM. I hope the gentleman will not insist upon his point of order. Mr. CULLOM. This is an old claim; I insist upon my point of order.

Mr. WINDOM. Because this is an old claim, and these parties have been kept out of what was justly due them all this time, that is no reason why they should not now be paid. Mr. CULLOM. I insist upon my point of order.

The bill was accordingly referred to the Committee of the Whole.

CONTROL OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.

Mr. WINDOM, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, also reported a bill (H. R. No. 1375) to transfer to the Department of the Interior certain powers and duties now exercised by the Secretary of the Treasury in connection with Indian affairs; which was read a first and second time.

The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill, which was read, provides that the powers and duties devolving upon the Secretary of the Treasury, under and by virtue of the fourth section of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian department, and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with the various Indian tribes, for the year ending June 30, 1849, and for other purposes," approved July 29, 1848, and the powers and duties devolved upon him under and by virtue of the laws relating to the investment of moneys in behalf of the Cherokee Indians from the sales of land under the treaties concluded at Pontotoc, October 20, 1832, and at Washington city, May 24, 1834, as also all other supervisory and appellate powers and duties in regard to Indian affairs which may now by law be vested in the Secretary of the Treasury, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be exercised and performed by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Mr. CHANLER.

I would inquire of the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. WINDOM] in what stage is the present condition of these Indian affairs, whether in the hands of the military power or the civil power, and whether this bill relates in any way to the struggle about this matter now going on between those two powers?

Mr. WINDOM. I will state all there is in this bill as I understand it, and I think I fully understand it. By some anomaly the Secretary of the Treasury now has charge of about fif teen hundred Indians in North Carolina, while

the Secretary of the Interior has charge of all the Indians in every other portion of the United States. I hold in my hand a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, asking that these Indians in North Carolina may be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. Those two Cabinet officers have drawn up a bill for the purpose of accomplishing that result, which bill I have simply copied, and now report to the House by the direction of the Committee on Indian Affairs, who have examined it, and think it should pass.

Mr. ALLISON. As this bill was read I noticed something in it in reference to an investment of the Cherokee trust fund. I would ask the gentleman to give the House some explanation of that matter.

Mr. WINDOM. At the time the Cherokees were removed from North Carolinia a provision was made that those who remained behind should have fifty-three dollars each set apart to them as a permanent fund, the interest of which was to be paid annually. About fifteen hundred of them remained behind, and they have been under the charge of the Secretary of the Treasury, who has been paying to them the interest on that fund of fifty-three dollars each. The desire on the part of both the Interior and the Treasury Department is that these Indians shall be transferred to where the others are.

Mr. ALLISON. How are those funds invested? Mr. WINDOM. They are simply in the Treasury of the United States; they are not inWe make no provision

vested in bonds at all. with reference to that.

Mr. ALLISON. I would like to ask the

gentleman another question-whether or not the Secretary of the Interior can draw upon this fund under this bill except through the Secretary of the Treasury? How can he reach this fund which is set apart?

Mr. WINDOM. He can reach it, I suppose, as he reaches all other funds that are in the Treasury of the United States.

Mr. ALLISON. By requisition?
Mr. WINDOM. By requisition.

Mr. MULLINS. Mr. Speaker, it seems that this treaty was made twenty or thirty years ago with these Cherokee Indians; and by the action of the Government of the United States, certain funds were allowed to remain in the Treasury subject to the order of the Secretary of the Treasury. This is not a fund to be now created anew, but it is, as I understand, proposed to draw from the fund that has already been appropriated years ago for this object. It seems to be now the determination of those Indians to remove, and to reside with their fellow Indians who have gone to the country allotted them in the Indian territory. These Indians who remained in North Carolina have been the victims of the most atrocious swindling. Agents have come here pretending to represent them. One gentleman by the name of Thomas came here years ago and drew the amount due to each Indian and bought some fifty thousand acres of land and held it in his own name; and these Indians are now deprived of every dollar of the interest upon that money, the property being now levied upon to be sold for the individual indebtedness of Thomas. The man has been deranged for two or three years, and is now, or was recently, in a lunatic asylum. These Indians do not ask for reimbursement of that money; but they ask this expenditure out of the interest due to them upon the appropriation heretofore made, which, under the contract by the Government, was to inure to their benefit if they remained in North Carolina, and they have remained there. I will say further, that during this dreadful and bloody rebellion, which is costing this House so many days of labor in pardoning the men who were engaged in it, those Indians were under the stars and stripes of the United States; and now they come up as the wards of this Government and ask that this allowance shall be granted to them out of the original fund, so

that they may go and reside with their fellow Indians.

Mr. WINDOM. Gentlemen misapprehend, to some extent, this bill. It contains nothing with reference to the payment of this money. The Secretary of the Treasury can now pay it just as the Secretary of the Interior could do; but the Indian department is not under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury, and he has no means of managing properly this money. It is, therefore, desired that these Indians shall be placed with the other Indians. It may be said that there may be abuses under the provision now proposed; but there can be no worse abuses than those which we have heretofore had; and these Indians had better all go together. I call the previous question.

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

Mr. WINDOM 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 latter motion was agreed to.

Mr. WINDOM. I now yield to the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. SCHENCK,] upon the condition that the business which he may introduce shall give rise to no debate.

REMISSION OF DUTY.

Mr. SCHENCK, from the Committee of Ways and Means, reported a joint resolution (H. R. No. 327) authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to remit the duty on certain meridian circles; which was read a first and second time.

The joint resolution directs the Secretary of the Treasury to remit the duties on a meridian circle imported for the Observatory at Cambridge, State of Massachusetts, and on a meridian circle imported for the Observatory connected with the Chicago University, at Chicago, State of Illinois.

The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being en grossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and passed.

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

The latter motion was agreed to.

LOYAL CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW INDIANS.

Mr. WINDOM, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported a bill (H. R. No. 1376) for the relief of the loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians; which was read a first and sec ond time.

The bill was read as follows:

A bill for the relief of the loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, authorized and directed to adopt and ratify the compromise and agreements entered into and executed on the 20th and 21st of April, 1868, between the legally-authorized representatives of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indians, and the legally-authorized representatives of the loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, claimants under the forty-ninth article of the treaty of April 28, 1866, between the United States and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, as a full and final settlement of all claims under the aforesaid article of said treaty. And the amounts, as stipulated in the aforesaid agreement, to be paid to the loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw claimants, to wit: To the Choctaw claimants the sum of $109,742 08, and to the Chickasaw claimants the sum of $234,000 [$150,000] shall be paid by the Secretary of the Interior to said claimants, out of any moneys in the Treasury of the United States belonging to or held in trust for said nations of Indians; but in case there is not a sufficient amount of money in the Treasury of the United States belonging to or held in trust for said nations of Indians to discharge their respective obligations to the loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, claimants, or in case [the representatives of] the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indians shall request it, then the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to sell such bonds or other securities held in trust by the United States for the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indians as may be necessary to discharge their respective obligations to the aforesaid loyal Choctaw and Chickasaw claimants, as

stipulated in the aforesaid compromise and agreements: Provided, That no bonds or securities shall be sold for less than par.

Mr. SHANKS. I wish to file a minority report in this case.

Mr. KELSEY. I make the point of order that this bill, under the rules, must go to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, as it appropriates money.

The SPEAKER. The Chair decides this is not an appropriation bill. It provides for the sale of bonds or other securities of these Indian nations for a certain purpose. An appropriation bill is to appropriate money of the United States out of the Treasury of the United States, and the rules require that such a bill should have its first consideration in Committee of the Whole, so that every person representing the people of the United States may have an opportunity to debate it.

Mr. WINDOM. I wish the House to understand this bill. It does not appropriate any money out of the Treasury of the United States belonging to the United States. It does ap propriate money belonging to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, but is no charge upon the Treasury of the United States. Mr. Speaker, in 1866 a treaty was made with these Indians. By one of the articles of that treaty it was agreed that a commission, to consist of a person or persons to be appointed by the President of the United States, shall be appointed immediately on the ratification of the treaty, who shall take into consideration and determine the claim of such Choctaws and Chickasaws as allege that they have been driven during the late rebellion from their homes in the Chocktaw and Chickasaw nations on account of their adhesion to the United States, for damages, with power to make such award as may be consistent with equity and good conscience, taking into view the circumstances; and their report, when ratified by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be final, and authorize the payment of the amount from any moneys of said nations in the hands of the United States as said commission may award. At the time this treaty was made there were certain claims of persons denominated as loyal Choctaws and Chickasaws presented against the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. The treaty provided this commission to ascertain the amount of damage due them. That commission went into the Indian Territory, examined witnesses, and reported a certain amount due to these parties for damages committed by the disloyal Indians during the war upon those who were our friends, stood by us, and fought manfully for the stars and stripes. I believe I have had occasion heretofore to refer to some of the sufferings which these people endured when they were driven out of the Indian country into Kansas. Many of them were frozen to death. The Choctaw and Cherokee nations have a considerable fund, amounting to about five hundred thousand dol lars, I think, in the Treasury, upon which we pay them interest annually. They have also certain bonds which we hold in trust for them. A MEMBER. To what amount?

Mr. WINDOM. I do not remember; but enough, at all events, to cover this bill. After the report of the commission finding a certain amount due to these loyal Indians had been made, it was found that there were certain persons in the nation opposing it, and it was difficult to get the ratification of the Secretary of the Interior. The attorney of the loyal claimants being present, and a delegation from the Choctaws and Cherokees properly authorized to make a settlement, being in this city, they met together and made an agreement, which I hold in my hand, in regard to the amount which should be paid. As I said in the outset, it is not a sum of money to be paid out of the Treasury, but simply a sum to be paid by the nation of Indians to certain individuals among themselves. These loyal Indians have agreed, and the nation has agreed by their delegates here in this city, upon a contract which is now ratified by the Secretary of

satisfied.

Mr. CHANLER. I desire to ask the gentleman this question: whether this does not divert from the specific purpose to which these funds which are now in bonds were appropriated by express law of this Government; whether, instead of appropriating the money which was given by the United States for educational purposes you are not taking this money and converting it to settle a question of contract, agreement, or treaty, whatever it may be, and not for the purpose originally specified when the money was appropriated?

Mr. WINDOM. I believe a portion of these funds was set aside for school purposes; not by treaty, however, but by simple act of Congress. But the nation, by its properly authorized delegate, Mr. Pitchlin, acting in its behalf, desire this thing to be done.

Mr. CHANLER. How can this Government be a party to the violation of a trust? How can we as trustees of these wards violate the law by diverting this property from the purpose originally designated by the Government to some new purpose?

Mr. WINDOM. I suppose if the parties in interest agree to it we have no right to object.

Mr. CHANLER. I do not profess to be aware of the exact relation of those Indians to this Government. But as I understand it, from what I have read in the books, certainly as held by Chancellor Kent and other excellent authorities-I think Story in his Commentaries holds the same-an Indian is a ward of this Government. Now, I hold that it does not become the Government of the United States to violate a trust, when the Government is the trustee and those Indians are our wards. It looks to me as if this matter should be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary before the House passes upon it.

Mr. PETERS. Will the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. WINDOM] allow me to ask him a question?

Mr. WINDOM. Certainly.

Mr. PETERS. I would inquire of the gentleman whether all the treaties which protected these tribes were not lost by their declaring war against the Government of the United States; and whether there has not been a new treaty made with them since the rebellion; and whether there is not a clause in that treaty compelling these Indian nations to pay the loyal Chickasaws and Choctaws what they lost by reason of the rebellion.

Mr. WINDOM. The gentleman has stated the facts in the case.

Mr. CHANLER. Then I would ask the gentleman another question.

Mr. WINDOM. Very well.

Mr. CHANLER. Are the Indians themselves to be the recipients of this money, or the Indian traders? This is in relation to the destruction of the propertyf a citizen of the United States.

Mr. WINDOM. The gentleman is referring to another bill which has not yet been reported, but which will be soon reported.

Mr. CHANLER. Very well. Then I would ask the gentleman in what relation the Indians embraced in this treaty stand to the Government of the United States?

Mr. WINDOM. I have not time now to go at length into that question, because the Committee on Indian Affairs have several reports yet to make. But in reply to what has been said by the gentleman from New York, [Mr. CHANLER,] in relation to these Indians being the wards of the Government, I will say that these Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indions are very nearly as intelligent as white people. They have their own governments, their Legislatures, their printed statutes and laws; their governors, their attorney general, who is here in this city to-day-they have all