made the spcial order of business now, as many of us have been waiting for three days now for it?

CHAIRMAN. Does the house wish to take up the Magazine now, or to finish with the By-Laws?

A MEMBER. Was not the Magazine made the special order for half-past two?

CHAIRMAN. The Chair remembers distinctly that that was made the special order of business, or that it was brought up. The Chair remembers now that it was not voted on. The amendment is in order, Miss Desha.

Miss DESHA. Amendment to Article V, Section 5, adding the words, "And no Chapter Regent shall participate in its deliberations for more than five consecutive years," reading this way: "All honorary and ex-officers of the National Society may attend the meetings of the Continental Congress but shall not participate in its deliberations; and no Chapter Regent shall participate in its deliberations for more than five consecutive years."

CHAIRMAN. Will the ladies resume their seats, in order that we may proceed with business? The Chair has just recognized the lady at the foot of the platform.

Mrs. COBB, of Vermont. A matter was on the program for yesterday afternoon with regard to the markers for the graves of Revolutonary soldiers.

CHAIRMAN. The Chair cannot recognize that, as that is not an amendment, unless the house wishes to set the order of business aside.

Miss MILLER. I was going to question an amendment that was offered here.

CHAIRMAN. This is not the time, I think, to question that; that will be questioned next year.

Miss MILLER. I did not know we could consider it a legal amendment next year.

CHAIRMAN. Any notice can be given, the question to be considered next year, not this year.

Miss PIKE. I move an amendment to the Constitution that any amendment which has been voted down in three successive Congresses shall not be offered again. [Applause.]

Mrs. SELDEN. I move to amend the Constitution by substituting the word "biennial" for "annual" wherever the word. "annual" occurs in the Constitution in reference to the Continental Congress.

Mrs. SHIELDS. Have I your permission to offer a little word in preamble, only a word?

CHAIRMAN. The Chair cannot allow that, Mrs. Shields; it is out of order at this time.

Mrs. SHIELDS. This is in regard to Magazine, Madam Chairman. I ask to introduce the following motion first of all. CHAIRMAN. A motion is not in order.

Mrs. SHIELDS. It will be a By-Law; it can be made so. I would like the Congress to take it up at once.

CHAIRMAN. We can't do that, Mrs. Shields; the Chair will have to rule that out of order. The Congress has decided that all its own rules for government must be held under consideration.

Mrs. BELDEN. An amendment to Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution: Insert after the words "One member of the National Society" the words to "whom the applicant is personally well known." It will then read: "Every applicant for membership must be endorsed by at least one member of the National Society, to whom the applicant is personally well known."

Mrs. BROCKETT. In Article XII, after "shall be," insert "two inches in place of "one and seven-eighths of an inch." Article XIV, after "to be worn" insert "suspended from one bar and loop ribbon," leaving out "on ceremonial occasions upon a bow of ribbon."

CHAIRMAN. Are there any further amendments? If not, we will proceed with the order of the day, and proceed to the report of the Committee on Insignia. Is the Committee ready to report? If not, the report on Prison Ships. It will facilitate this reading by perfect quiet and the Chair will rap whenever she hears a whisper in any part of the house and stop the reading until there is perfect quiet in the house.

Mrs. AVERY:

Madam President and Members of the Eighth Continental Congress: Your committee appointed on the Prison Ships planned to do great

things this year just past. We planned to collect the unpublished names of the prison ship heroes from private chronicles and torn and parish records with brief accounts of services and vital statistics. We planned to identify as many as possible of the 8,000 names printed by the old Brooklynites and to give to each one the record of his services. We planned to obtain by various means contributions toward the building of a monument. We planned to print and send to every Chapter the letter left by the sufferers in which they plead their right to a monument far better than we can plead it. We planned to obtain through our Minister to England a knowledge of what yet remained unknown in the British archives relating to these brave men and to devise some way of having these records. copied. We planned to prepare the manuscript for a pamphlet which should contain a brief of the record and services of these men. This we hoped to present to this Congress and ask leave to print, provided we did it without expense to the Society. We only asked leave to print. This is a bold outline of our plan which we hoped would meet with your approval. What have we done? Only this: We have had collected and had typewritten the names and records of about 200 prison ship heroes, hitherto unknown to fortune and to fame. A small ending for so brave a beginning you will say. It seems best to state what has been done toward a monument by one of your committee.

Our committee asks again the coöperation of all the 27,000 Daughters of the American Revolution, not only in their Chapters but among the children.

The past year we have all had to let the dead past bury its dead and to live in the living present, heart within and God o'er head. New occasions bring new duties. We gave all our energies, all cur time, all our thoughts to the brave men who were preparing for the conflict at Chickamauga and Atlanta, at Tampa and at Lakeland, or who were fighting our battles in Cuba or Manila. We knew the heroes of '76 would bid us care for the heroes of '98 before we tried to rescue their names from oblivion. We have cared for the heroes of '98 untiringly, devotedly. Madam President and members of the Congress, we offer this statement, not as an apology-we feel that we need no apology; but as a reason why we have so feebly done the work committed to our charge.

Those of you who were here four years ago will remember that Mrs. S. V. White, of Brooklyn, was given the privilege of the floor and made a strong appeal for a monument to these heroes who suffered on the prison ships during the War of the Revolution. She had already begun the work and collected a considerable sum of money. She has continued her efforts, always urging other patriotic men and women to join hands with her in rescuing from oblivion the names of these brave men who suffered death rather than turn traitor to his country. She has persevered through many discourage

ments and collected on her own subscription books over $9,000. From interest and other sources $1,000 more, so that there is $10,027.51, a substantial beginning for the monument.

Last spring an association was formed called the Prison-Ship Martyrs' Monument Association of the United States, Elijah R. Kennedy, President; Mrs. S. V. White, Vice-President; Felix Campbell, Treasurer, 172 Montague street, Brooklyn; Mrs. Horatio C. King. Secretary, 46 Willow street. This association is formed from representatives of all the prominent patriotic societies of revolutionary interest. Only the organization was secured. The breaking our of the war with Spain put a stop for the time to any progress in this direction.

Yesterday a prize of life membership in the Mary Washington Memorial Association, with the golden star as an accompaniment, was offered to that member of the Children's Society, which should secure most money for the monument during the coming year. [Applause.]

This is eminently proper, for our records show that more than a score of boys were incarcerated in these vile prisons, one of whom was only twelve years old and died calling for his mother.

The last contribution of $100 was recently contributed by Fort Greene Chapter, which was organized by Mrs. White two years ago. I will ask that Mrs. Edwards, if she is in the house, will kindly read the appeal left by the prison-ship martyrs. [Applause.]

MRS. AVERY, Ohio, Chairman,

MRS. FITZWILLIAMS, Illinois,
MRS. SLOCUM, Colorado,

MRS. AMBLER, Folida,

MRS. BURROws, Michigan,

MRS. DRAPER, District of Columbia,

MRS. DEPUE, New Jersey,

MRS. WHITE, New York,

MRS. FOSTER, Indiana,

MRS. HULL, Iowa,

MRS. EDWARDS, Michigan,

MRS. MCMILLAN, Michigan,

MRS. ATKINS, South Carolina,

MRS. MAIN, District of Columbia,

Prison Ships Committee.

Mrs. EDWARDS. This appeal needs no comment. It is in the records of the Historical Society of Brooklyn. The men have left it to posterity. "If we are victorious, and our country emerges free and independent from the contest in which she is now engaged, but the end of which we are not permitted to see, bury us in her soil, and engrave our names on the monument you shall erect over our bones, as victims who willingly surrendered their lives as the portion of the price paid for your

liberty; and our departed spirits will never murmur nor regret the sacrifice made to obtain for you the blessings you enjoy."

Mrs. AVERY. I would state that I have a few pamphlets with me, which give a brief record of some of their sufferings, which I shall be glad to distribute to those who desire.

CHAIRMAN. What will you do with this report?
A MEMBER. I move it be accepted.

Seconded.

CHAIRMAN. It is moved and seconded that this report be accepted. Are you ready for the question? All in favor of the acceptance of this report

Mrs. MCCARTNEY. I have this to say to this house. It is not that a command to this Society to help to erect a monument over the martyrs of the prison-ships? That is all I had to say in reference to it.

CHAIRMAN. Any further discussion, ladies, any further remarks on this report? All in favor of accepting this report will please signify it by saying "aye;" contrary, "no." The "ayes" seem to have it. The "ayes" have it. It is carried. The next report to be presented is that on the certificate plate. Is the chairman of that committee ready to report?

Miss FORSYTH. Yes, Madam Chairman, but it may be remembered that an earlier report was not accepted, that no action was taken, as has been suggested recently, from the house, regarding the report of the Committee on the Magazine. Is it the will of the house that that should precede the other, in view of the requests that have been made about it?

CHAIRMAN. The Chair would rule that that does precede. I am sure that this meets with the approval of the house, therefore we will have the report of the Magazine Committee first. The Chair will ask for perfect quiet in the house and on the stage.

Miss FORSYTH. Does the house desire to hear the report repeated as given?

CHAIRMAN. It has been read but not accepted. What is the will of the house? Will the house accept this report without reading, or does it wish it re-read?

(Cries of "Read it.")

CHAIRMAN. It has been read once, ladies, the report was