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that a quorum of the House of Representatives has assembled, and that Samuel J. Randall, one of the Representatives from the State of Pennsylvania, has been chosen Speaker, and that the House is now ready to proceed to business.

By Mr. Goode:

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed on the part of the House, to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait on the President of the United States and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses has assembled, and that Congress is ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make. By Mr. Bright:

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House shall, at 1 o'clock p. m. to-morrow, place in a box the name of each Member and Delegate of the House of Representatives, written upon a separate slip of paper; that he proceed, in the presence of the House, to draw from said box, one at a time, the said slips of paper; and as each is drawn he shall announce the name of each Member or Delegate upon it, who shall choose his seat for the present Congress: Provided, That before said, drawing shall commence the Speaker shall cause each seat to be vacated, and shall see that every seat continues vacant until it is selected under this order; and that every seat, after having been selected, shall be deemed forfeited if left unoccupied before the call of the roll of the House.

Mr. Bright moved to reconsider the votes last taken, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to.

Mr. Thomas Ryan, a Representative-elect from the State of Kansas, appeared and took the oath prescribed by section 1756 of the Revised Statutes.

By unanimous consent, seats were allowed to be selected by the following-named members before the general drawing for seats, viz:

Mr. Banks, Mr. Samuel S. Cox, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Patterson, Mr. Stephens, and Mr. Wood.

And then,

On motion of Mr. Clymer, at 3 o'clock and 5 minutes p. m., the House took a recess until 3 o'clock and 55 minutes p. m.

AFTER THE RECESS.

The hour of 3 o'clock and 55 minutes p. m. having arrived, the House resumed its session.

The drawing of seats was then made, in accordance with the previous order of the House.

On motion of Mr. Samuel S. Cox,

Ordered, That, until otherwise ordered, the hour of daily meeting shall be 12 o'clock m.

And then,

On motion of Mr. Luttrell, at 5 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m., the House adjourned.

The following petitions were presented at the Clerk's desk, under the rule, and referred as stated:

By Mr. Knapp: The petition of H. S. Osborne & Co. and others engaged in the milling business at Quincy, Illinois, that an investigation be made of the manner of the reissue of a patent for mill apparatus numbered 5841, and that the patent-laws be amended so as to prevent the fraudulent issue or cancellation of patents;

to the Committee on Patents, when appointed.

Also, the petition of Michael Piggott, postmaster, Lewis D. White,

mayor, and other citizens of Quincy, Illinois, for an increase of the salary of the letter-carriers of that city;

to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads, when appointed.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1877.

The following petitions and other papers were presented at the Clerk's desk, under the rule, and referred as follows, viz:

By Mr. Burchard: The petition of George W. S. Staplin, late a private in Company C, Fifteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and others, that he be granted a pension;

to the Committee on Invalid Pensions, when appointed.

By Mr. Burdick: Papers relating to the claim of the heirs of John Rice Jones, deceased, for indemnity for lands sold and otherwise appropriated by the United States, within the limits of certain confirmed private land-claims in the State of Illinois;

to the Committee on Private Land Claims, when appointed.

By Mr. Morgan: The petition of B. Hunt, B. H. Stone, J. A. Gibson, and 30 other citizens of Lawrence County, Missouri, for the remonetization of silver and the issue of 3.65 interconvertible United States bonds; to the Committee on Banking and Currency, when appointed.

By Mr. Vance: The petition of Mrs. V. S. M. Chapman, to be reimbursed for property confiscated by decree of the United States courts in the State of New York, with papers relating thereto;

to the Committee of Claims, when appointed.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Sympson, one of their clerks: Mr. Speaker: I am directed by the Senate to inform the House that a quorum of the Senate has assembled, and that the Senate is ready to proceed to business.

Mr. Hale, as a question of privilege, called up the case of James B. Belford, claiming a seat as Representative from the State of Colorado. Mr. Cox made the point of order that the question must first be taken on the case of the member first required to stand aside.

The Speaker sustained the point of order.

The Speaker thereupon stated the case of Joseph H. Rainey, of South Carolina, to be first in order;

When

Mr. Samuel S. Cox submitted the following resolution:

Resolved, That the question of the prima facie as well as the final right of J. S. Richardson and Joseph H. Rainey, contestants respectively claiming a seat in this House from the first district of South Carolina, be referred to the Committee of Elections, hereafter to be appointed; and until such committee shall have reported in the premises and the House have decided said question, neither of said contestants shall be admitted to a seat.

Pending which,

Mr. Hale submitted the following resolution as an amendment in the nature of a substitute:

Resolved, That Joseph H. Rainey be now sworn in as a Representative in Congress from the first district of the State of South Carolina. Mr. Cox demanded the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered;

And the question being put,

Will the House agree to the said amendment?

It was decided in the affirmative.

The question then recurring on the resolution as amended,
The same was agreed to.

Mr. Banks moved to reconsider the vote last taken, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to.

The said Joseph H. Rainey appeared, and, having taken the oath of office prescribed by section 1756 of the Revised Statutes, took his seat in the House.

Mr. Goode, from the committee appointed on the part of the House to wait on the President of the United States, reported that the committee had discharged the duty imposed upon them, and that the Presi dent had informed them that he would communicate a message in writing to the two Houses immediately.

A message in writing was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Rogers, his private secretary; which was handed in at the Speaker's table.

The Speaker stated the case next in order to be tht of Richard H. Cain, of South Carolina;

When

Mr. Clarke submitted the following resolution:

Resolved, That the question of the prima facie as well as the right of M. P. O'Connor, against Richard H. Cain, contestants, respectively, claiming a seat in this House from the second district of South Carolina, be referred to the Committee of Elections, hereafter to be ap pointed; and until such committee shall have reported in the premises and the House has decided such question, neither of said contestants shall be admitted to a seat.

Pending which,

Mr. Hale submitted the following resolution as an amendment in the nature of a substitute:

Resolved, That Richard H. Cain be now sworn in as a Representative in this Congress from the second district of the State of South Carolina. Mr. Clarke demanded the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered;

And the question being put,

Will the House agree to the said amendment?

It was decided in the affirmative,

....

SYeas
Nays...
Not voting

181

89

19

The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are

Mr. William Aldrich

William J. Bacon
George A Bagley
John H. Baker
William H. Baker
Latimer W. Ballon
Nathaniel P. Banks
Henry B. Banning
Thomas M. Bayne
George M. Beebe
Horatio Bisbee, jr.
Henry W. Blair
Archibald M Bliss
Gabriel Bouck
Thomas A. Boyd
Edward S. Bragg
Lorenzo Brentano
Mark S. Brewer
James F. Briggs
Curtis H. Brogden
Thomas M. Browne
Aylett H. Buckner
Solomon Bundy
Horatio C. Burchard
Theodore W. Burdick
Benjamin F. Butler

Mr. William H. Calkins Mr Russell Errett

John H. Camp
Jacob M. Canipbell
Milton A. Candler
Joseph G. Cannon
Lucien B. Caswell
Simeon B. Chittenden
William Claflin
Alvah A. Clark
Rush Clark
Nathan Cole
Omar D. Conger
Jacob D. Cox
William W. Crapo
H. J. B. Cummings
Augustus W. Cutler
Lorenzo Danford
Horace Davis
Nathaniel C. Deering
Dudley C. Denison
Beverly B. Douglas
Mark H. Dunnell
Jeremiah W. Dwight
Benjamin T. Eames
E. John Ellis
Charles C. Ellsworth

I. Newton Evans
James L. Evans
William H. Felton
Walbridge A. Field
Charles Foster
Chapman Freeman
William P. Frye
Benoni S. Fuller
Mills Gardner
James A. Garfield
John M. Glover
Thomas M. Gunter
Eugene Hale
John Hanna
Aug. A. Hardenbergh
Alfred C. Harmer
Benjamin W. Harris
Henry R. Harris
Carter H. Harrison
E. Kirke Hart
Julian Hartridge
Robert A. Hatcher
Philip C. Hayes
Geo. C. Hazelton
George W. Hendee

Mr. Thomas J. Henderson

Frank Hiscock
John F. House
Jay A. Hubbell
Morton C. Hunter
H. L. Humphrey
John N. Hungerford
Anthony Ittner
Amaziah B. James
John S. Jones
Charles H. Joyce
J. Warren Keifer

Edwin W. Keightley
William D. Kelley
John H. Ketcham
John W. Killinger
George M. Landers
Elbridge G. Lapham
William Lathrop
J. E. Leonard
Stephen D. Lindsey
George B. Loring
William Pitt Lynde
Benjamin F. Marsh
Anson G. McCook
J. H. McGowan

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was agreed to.

Mr. John T. Wait

William Walsh
William Ward
Levi Warner
Lewis F. Watson
Frank Welch
Harry White
Michael D. White
Edwin Willets
Alpheus S. Williams
Andrew Williams
Charles G. Williams
James Williams
Richard Williams
Benjamin A. Willis
Fernando Wood
Thomas Wren
Hendrick B. Wright
Jesse J. Yeates.

Mr. Terrence J. Quinn
John H. Reagan
James B. Reilly
Americus V. Rice
Haywood Y. Riddle
Miles Ross

Alfred M. Scales
Charles M. Shelley
William E. Smith
Milton I. Southard
William A. J. Sparks
William M. Springer
Walter L. Steele

Thomas Swann

Richd. W. Townshend

Thomas Turner

William D. Veeder
Gilbert C. Walker
W. C. Whitthorne
Jeremiah N. Williams
Albert S. Willis
Benjamin Wilson.

Mr. E. W. Robertson
Otho R. Singleton
Alex. H. Stephens
John R. Tucker
Casey Young.

resolution as amended, the same

The said Richard H. Cain appeared, and, having taken the oath of office prescribed by section 1756 of the Revised Statutes, took his seat in the House.

Mr. Samuel S. Cox, by unanimous consent, presented certain papers in the contested-election case of Richardson vs. Rainey; which were referred to the Committee of Elections, when appointed.

Mr. Clarke, by unanimous consent, presented certain papers in the contested election case of O'Connor vs. Cain; which were referred to the Committee of Elections, when appointed.

The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House the following message, received this day, viz:

Fellow citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

The adjournment of the last Congress without making appropriations for the support of the Army for the present fiscal year has rendered necessary a suspension of payments to the officers and men of the sums due them for services rendered after the 30th day of June last. The Army exists by virtue of statutes, which prescribe its numbers, regulate its organization and employment, and which fix the pay of its officers and men, and declare their right to receive the same at stated periods.

These statutes, however, do not authorize the payment of the troops in the absence of specific appropriations therefor. The Constitution has wisely provided that "no money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law;" and it has also been declared by statute that "no Department of the Government shall expend in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that fiscal year." We have, therefore, an Army in serv ice, authorized by law and entitled to be paid, but no funds available for that purpose.

It may also be said, as an additional incentive to prompt action by Congress, that, since the commencement of the fiscal year, the Army, though without pay, has been constantly and actively employed in arduous and dangerous service, in the performance of which both offi cers and men have discharged their duty with fidelity and courage, and without complaint. These circumstances, in my judgment, constitute an extraordinary occasion, requiring that Congress be convened in advance of the time prescribed by law for your meeting in regular session. The importance of speedy action upon this subject on the part of Congress is so manifest that I venture to suggest the propriety of mak. ing the necessary appropriations for the support of the Army for the current year, at its present maximum numerical strength of twenty-five thousand men; leaving for future consideration all questions relating to an increase or decrease of the number of enlisted men. In the event of the reduction of the Army by subsequent legislation during the fiscal year, the excess of the appropriation could not be expended; and in the event of its enlargement, the additional sum required for the payment of the extra force could be provided in due time. It would be unjust to the troops now in service, and whose pay is already largely in arrears, if payment to them should be further postponed until after Congress shall have considered all the questions likely to arise in the effort to fix the proper limit to the strength of the Army.

Estimates of appropriations for the support of the military establishment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, were transmitted to Congress by the former Secretary of the Treasury at the opening of its session in December last. These estimates, modified by the present Secretary, so as to conform to present requirements, are now renewedamounting to $32,436,764.98-and, having been transmitted to both houses of Congress, are submitted for your consideration.

There is also required by the Navy Department $2,003,861.27. This sum is made up of $1,446,688.16 due to officers and enlisted men for the last quarter of the last fiscal year; $311,953.50 due for advances made by the fiscal agent of the Government in London for the support of the foreign service; $50,000 due to the naval-hospital fund; $150,000 due for arrearages of pay to officers; and $45,219.58 for the support of the Marine Corps.

There will also be needed an appropriation of $262,535.22 to defray the unsettled expenses of the United States courts for the fiscal year ending June 30 last, now due to attorneys, clerks, commissioners, and marshals, and for rent of court-rooms, the support of prisoners, and other deficiencies.

A part of the building of the Interior Department was destroyed by fire on the 24th of last month. Some immediate repairs and temporary structures have in consequence become necessary, estimates for which will be transmitted to Congress immediately, and an appropriation of the requisite funds is respectfully recommended.

The Secretary of the Treasury will communicate to Congress, in con

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