The honorable Benjamin F. Wade, President pro tempore, resumed the chair. The President pro tempore presented the credentials of George F. Edmunds, elected a senator by the legislature of the State of Vermont for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March, 1869; which were read. The President pro tempore presented a communication from Rufus B. Bullock, provisional governor of the State of Georgia, representing that the reconstruction laws under which that State was to have been admitted to representation in Congress have not been executed, and asking the attention of Congress to the subject; which was read. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Sherman presented the credentials of Joshua Hill, elected a senator by the general assembly of the State of Georgia for the unexpired portion of the term commencing on the 4th day of March, 1867; which were read. Mr. Drake moved that the said credentials be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, when said committee shall have been appointed. Pending debate, Mr. Wilson presented a memorial of the representatives of the colored voters of the State of Georgia, in convention assembled, in relation to the action of the legislature of that State in expelling 29 colored members from the said legislature; which was read, and After further debate, On motion by Mr. Sherman, Ordered, That the credentials of Mr. Joshua Hill lie on the table. A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPherson, its Clerk: Mr. President: I am directed to inform the Senate that a quorum of the House of Representatives is assembled, and that the House is ready to proceed to business. The House of Representatives has passed a resolution for the appointment of a committee on its part, to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait upon the President of the United States and to inform him that a quorum of the two houses is now in session, and that Congress is ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make; and it has appointed Mr. Ellihu B. Washburne, Mr. Garfield, and Mr. Brooks the committee on its part. On motion by Mr. Morgan, Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate has assembled, and that the Senate is ready to proceed to business. Mr. Dixon submitted the following resolution; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to: Resolved, That a committee consisting of two members be appointed to join such committee as may be appointed by the House of Representatives to wait upon the President of the United States and inform him that a quorum of each house is assembled, and that Congress is ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make. Ordered, That the committee be appointed by the President pro tempore; and The President pro tempore appointed Mr. Dixon and Mr. Hendricks. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives thereof. On motion by Mr. Anthony, Ordered, That the hour of the daily meeting of the Senate be 12 o'clock meridian until otherwise ordered. Mr. Wilson presented a petition of citizens of Virginia, remonstrating against the discontinuance of the Freedmen's Bureau. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Pomeroy presented a petition of citizens of the State of Missouri; petition of citizens of Watertown, New York; a petition of citizens of Waterloo City, Indiana; a petition of women of Neoga, Illinois; a petition of women of Rockland, Maine; a petition of women of Mount Vernon, New York; a petition of citizens of the District of Columbia; a petition of citizens of Massachusetts; a petition of women of Portage, Wisconsin; a petition of citizens of Ellsworth, Maine; a petition of citizens of Hounsfield, New York, and a petition of citizens of Faribault, Minnesota, praying that the right of suffrage may be extended to women in the District of Columbia. Ordered, That they lie on the table. Mr. Ramsey presented the petition of Frank C. Darling, of Douglas county, Minnesota, praying to be compensated for the destruction of his property by Indians in 1867. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Ramsey presented a petition of citizens of Minnesota, praying the establishment of a mail route from Yellow Medicine to some point in township No. 114, of range No. 41 of the 5th principal meridian. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Sumner asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 649) to provide for the resumption of specie payments on the 4th July, 1869; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Sumner asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 650) to enforce the several provisions of the Constitution abolishing slavery, declaring the immunities of citizens and guaranteeing a republican form of government by securing the elective franchise to citizens deprived of it by reason of race, color, or previous condition; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Yates asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 651) to establish a uniform rule of naturalization and to repeal the acts heretofore passed upon that subject; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Rice asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 652) to provide for the issue of arms for the use of the militia in certain States lately in rebellion; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Morrill, of Maine, asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 653) to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a uniform system of naturalization," approved April 14, 1802, and to repeal all acts inconsistent therewith; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Frelinghuysen asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (S. 654) to regulate proceedings for the naturalization of aliens; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Sumner asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a joint resolution (S. 178) tendering sympathy and best wishes to the people of Spain; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Cragin asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a joint resolution (S. 179) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Pomeroy asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a joint resolution (S. 180) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Drake asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a joint resolution (S. 181) in relation to the grades of general and lieutenant general in the army and admiral and vice-admiral in the navy; which was read the first and second times, by unanimous consent, and ordered to printed. Mr. Sumner submitted the following resolution for consideration; which was ordered to be printed: Whereas the inland postage on a letter throughout the United States is three cents, while the ocean postage on a similar letter to Great Britain, under a recent convention, is 12 cents, and on a letter to France is 30 cents, being a burdensome tax amounting often to a prohibition of foreign correspondence, yet letters can be carried at less cost on sea than on land; and whereas by increasing correspondence, and also by bring ing into the mails mailable matter often now clandestinely conveyed, cheap ocean postage would become self-supporting; and whereas cheap ocean postage would tend to quicken commerce, to diffuse knowledge, to promote the intercourse of families and friends separated by the ocean, to multiply the bonds of peace and good will among men and nations, to advance the progress of liberal ideas, and thus, while important to every citizen, it would become the active ally of the merchant, the emigrant, the philanthropist, and the friend of liberty: Therefore, Be it resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to open negotiations with the European powers, particularly with Great Britain, France, and Germany, for the establishment of cheap ocean postage. On motion by Mr. Anthony, at 1 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m., After which, Mr. Dixon, from the joint committee appointed to wait upon the President of the United States and inform him that a quorum of each house has assembled, and that Congress is ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make, reported that the committee had performed the duty assigned them, and that they had been instructed by the President to say that he would make a communication to each house by a message in writing on Wednesday next at 1 o'clock. On motion by Mr. Harlan, The Senate adjourned. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1868. Mr. Orris S. Ferry, from the State of Connecticut, Mr. James A. Bayard, from the State of Delaware, Mr. James R. Doolittle, from the State of Wisconsin, and Mr. Thomas W. Tipton, from the State of Nebraska, attended. The President pro tempore laid before the Senate a letter of the chief clerk of the Court of Claims, communicating, in obedience to law, a statement of the judgments of the Court of Claims rendered by the court for the past year; which was read. Ordered, That it lie on the table. The President pro tempore laid before the Senate a letter of the Secretary of the Interior, communicating correspondence in relation to the destitute condition of the Yankton Sioux Indians in Dakota; which was read. Ordered, That it lie on the table. The President pro tempore laid before the Senate a letter of the Commissioner of Patents, communicating, in obedience to law, a statement showing the amount of expenditures in the Patent Office from the 20th of July to the 30th of November, 1868, inclusive, and a statement of moneys received from the 1st day of July to the 30th day of November, 1868, inclusive; which was read. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Ramsey presented a petition of citizens of Minnesota, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Glencoe, McLeod county, via Silver Lake, to a point near Lake Howard, on the St. Paul and Pacific railroad. Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Fessenden presented the petition of J. C. Mayberry, praying the passage of a law providing for the election of President and Vice-President of the United States by ballot. |