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��CONGRESSIONAL PAPERS. NO. I— THE HOUSE.
��the twelve bills alluded to contain from thirty to eighty-five printed pages each. The preparation of these bills involves a vast amount of labor, 'and the greatest care, in order that no " steals " shall be inserted, and no legitimate appropriation left out. After being shaped in commit- tee they are printed, and considered in " Committee of the Whole," as are all bills involving money appropriations of a public nature. When the House goes into the " Committee of the Whole" the Speaker vacates the chair and gives place to some regular member of the committee, who officiates as the presid- ing officer of the House for the time be- ing. An appropriation bill is taken up, read line by line by the reading clerks, debated pro and con, amended, if a ma- jority so decide, and finally put upon its passage. It-is subject to many vicissi- tudes before it becomes a law. After its passage by the House it is "engrossed," or copied, on large sheets of paper, at- tested by the Clerk of the House, and by that officer carried to the Senate and de- livered to that body while in open session, with an accompanying official announce- ment of the action of the House. The Senate receives it, refers it to its Appro- • priation committee, where it is consid- ered very carefully, and quite likely ameuded. Half of the appropriation bills are liable to receive from thirty to a thousand amendments each. Especially is this true if the Senate and House hap- pen to be of different political complex- ion. A House appropriation bill once amended by the Senate, immediately be- comes a shuttlecock to be batted back and forth by the opposing bodies. The House originates all appropriation bills; the Senate, perhaps, amends : the bill is returned to the House; the latter may agree, or disagree. If the former, the bill is "enrolled " or copied, on parch- ment, and sent to the President for ap- proval ; if the latter, it is again sent to the Senate. Then the Senate may recede from its ammenments, or it may " insist " upon them. If the former, it passes the House bill as originally reported; if the latter, it is again sent back to the House, with a parliamentary intimation that the Senate thinks it knows its own business.
��Back in the House once more, that nu- merous, noisy body, may " recede " from its disagreement, and accept the Senate amendments, or it may " insisit " upon its disagreement. If the latter, back it goes to the Senate again, and the Senate may back down, or grow more contuma- cious and " still further insist " upon its amendments. At this point, however, each branch of Congress being convinced that it alone is right, and having manu- factured the proper amount of buncombe to prove to an admiring country that it has got a backbone, and cannot be bullied or frightened, the matter begins to as- sume a business-like attitude, and the belligerent branches halt to take breath. The Senate virtually says: "My dear House, we know that our amendments are needed, and we have ' insisted ' and ' still fnrther insisted,' but rather than have any fuss about it we will talk the matter over with you." The Senate then asks a " committee of conference," and names three Srnators to act as the " con- ferrees " to represent its views. The House says : " My dear Senate, we knew you were only trying to ' bluff' us, and you can't doit; but we are willing to have a big talk, and see if we can agree." Then the House appoints three managers, and the six constitute the committee of " conference." They meet, and after a full and free discussion, report the result of their deliberations to their respective houses. If they have agreed, after mu- tual concessions, their report is usually adopted, and the original bill, more or less amended, finally gets through both Houses. But both houses may conclude to be "ugly," and vote to " adhere," in which case the bill falls dead between the two opposing legislative bodies, and things remain as if it had never been considered.
The " enrolling " of the bills, when they have been subject to numerous amendments, and amendments to amend- ments, and after being slashed and inter- lined by one or more " conference" com- mittees, is a process requiring very great care and the utmost exactness. The misplacing or omission of a single word or letter, or punctuation mark, will sometimes change the character of
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