Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1888 — CONGRESSIONAL. [ARTICLE]

CONGRESSIONAL.

Work of the Senate and House of Representatives. An amendment to the sundry-civil bill, appropriating *250,000 for the purpose of investigating the extent to which the arid region of the United States can be redeemed by irrigating was offered in the Senate the 30th by Mr. Bowen. By arid lands is meant all land that isinon-productive without irrigation, and this classification embraces the eastern portions of California, Oregon, Washington Territory, and nearly the whole of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wjoming, and Montana, while western portions of Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas are, in some seasons, seriously affected by drought. The amendment with the following amendment was agreed to: “And all the lands which may be designated for reservoirs and canals fer irrigation shall be reserved as the property of the United States and shall not be subject to entry or settlement until hereafter provided for by law." The nomination of Surveyor-General Irish, of Nevada, was again before the Senate in secret session. The Hou*9 Committee on Manufactures submitted its report on the trust investigation, and it was ordered printed. The committee savs it has been unable to complete its investigation, which has been mainly devoted to the sugar and Standard oil trusts. The House devoted considerabletime to the consideration of the deficiency appropriation bill in committee of the whole. The only amendment was one appropriating *120,(D0 for the completion of the Port Townsend (W. T.> public building.

When the Senate resumed consideration of thesundry civil bill the olst, Mr. Beck made the point of order on Mr. Spooner's amendment appropriating *75,000 for a public building at Atchison, Kas., that the Senate had no right to attach Sublic appropriations to the bill. After a long iscussion the point of order was withdrawn by Mr. Beck and a yea and nay vote taken on theproposition itself as a test qcestiou affecting all the other public buildings. The amendment was rejected—yeas, 21:. nays, 23. An amendment was agreed to appropriating *3,017 to repay the city of Omaha for paving the Court House and Postoffice ; also one providing that no part of the appropriations in the bill shall be used in the investigation of any case or in the prosecution of any person in the mining region for cutting formining or domestic purposes any short or scrubby timber unfit to be sawed or hewed intolumber of commercial value. The Senateagreed to Mr. Hoar’s resolution providing for the appointment of a committee of five Senators to investigate the relations of commerce and trade between the United States and the British North American possessions, including the effect upon the commerce and carrying trade of the United States of the Canadian system of railways and canals, and the prospect of the displacement of any existing industries of the United States by industries established there ; also, whether the obligations of existing treaties and of international law are and havebeen observed by such dependencies toward thepe p)e of the United States, and as to the number, amount, and character of existing claims against Great Britain by reason of the violation of such obligations toward tho people of theUnited States in such dependencies. The House postponed consideration of the deficiency bill and went into committee of the whole ou theSenate amendments to the armv appropriation bill.

Senator Pdgh presented to the Senate the Ist the minority report in the case of the Jackson (Miss.) election investigation. The report is. signed by Senators Pugh, Coke, Vest, and George. The minority says the hearings were held with closed doors' and in Washington, more than one thousand miles irom the locality of the transaction. Hence the members of the committee had no opportunity of examining the great mass of witnesses who were on the ground. “How unsatisfactory and misleading such a course is,” says the report, “wid be evident to those who carefully examine the reported evidence.” A lengthy discussion was nad in relation to Mr. Calls amendment to the' sundry civil bill appropriating $10,039 ior the recovery of property of tne late Confederate States, now held in adverse possession, to the government. The bill was tauled. Tne bill wag then reported back to the senate and passed, all the amendments , eing concurred in except that appiopriatiug $50,00j for the widow of Prof. Baiid. Among the House bills taken up by unanimous consent and passed by the Senate were the following: For a public building at Jackson, Mich., witn an amendment incr jasing the appropriation from $50,000 to $75,000; to authoiize the Win’ona and Southwestern Railway Company to build a bridge• across the Mississippi at Winona, Minn.; to protect purchasers of lands lying in the vicinity of Denver, Col., h retofore withdrawn by the exec-- * utive department of the Government as lying within the limits of certain raiiroad grants and afterward held to lie without such limits ; to provide for the disposal of the Fort Wallace military reservation in Kansas. The House in committee of the whole voted to non-concur in the> Senate amendments to the army appropriation bill and to ask for a conference. The action of the committee, as far as the minor amend-’' ments were concerned, was indorsed by the full House. After the transaction of some routine business the Senate, the 2d, by a strictly party vote, determined to take up the fisheries treaty, the question being on'Mr. Morgan’s motion to postpone its further consideration till December next, and a lengthy and heated debate followed.. The following bills were taken irom the calendar and passed by the Senate: The House bill, establishing alditional aids to navigation at the mouth of the Mississippi River; the Senate bill providing for an additional Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Wyoming. Senator Dawes introduced a bill to ratify the agreement made by the Northwestern Indian Commission with the Cceur d’Alene tribe > of Indians in Idaho. After some routine work the House went into.committee of the whole on the deficiency appropriation bill. Speaking to a formal amendment, Mr. - Hovey of Indiana precipitated a long political debate by some criticism of Mr. Matson’s speech published in tHe Record, but not delivered. This led to a long debate as to the relative claims of the parties to the title of “The Soldier’s Friend,” and the rebel flag incident came in for a shareof attention. The consideration of the bill was then resumed and for some time ran smoothly until Mr. Dockery of Missouri precipitated a brief tariff debate by a few remarks on the subject of the surplus. After a short discussion the committee arose. Tne Houso voted to non-con-cur in the Senate amendments to the army appropriation bill and ordered a conference. Mr. Cullom offered a resolution in the Senate-, on the 3d instructing the Committee on Interstate Commerce to make full investigation, into the relations of the Canadian railroads with the transportation across the continent of commerce which naturally belongs to the United States. The resolution instructed the Committee on Iniorstate Commerce to ascertain and report whether any United States railroad lines are owned, operated or controlled by the Grand Trunk for the Canadian Pacific or any other Canadian railroad; also ■ whether commerce originating in the United States is diverted from American to Canadian lines, to what extent and in what manner. Also whether any discrimination is practiced in thecharges for tolls against American vessels in the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals ; also to inquire into the question of the regulation of commerce carried on by railroad or waterways between the United States and Canada. The resolution was adopted, after much discussion, without a division. TheSpeaker laid before the House a letter from Gov.. Green of New Jersey, presenting to tha Congress, in the name of the State of New Jersey, statues of Richard Siockton and Philip Kearney,, to be placed in Statuary Hall in the Capitol. A resolution was adopted as igning Tuesday, Aug.. 21, for the consideration of a concurrent resolution accepting the statues and returning thanks to the State of New Jersey therefor. The bill loaning tents and equipage to Sam Reid Post, Grand Army of the Republic of lowa, was, favorably reported to the House. Private business having then been dispense 1 with, the House went into committee of the whole on the deficiency appropriation bill. The evening session was devoted to the consideration of private, pension bills. Galileo, in 1564, discovered the pressure of air to be about fifteen pounds to the square inch, and this was demonstrated by Torricelli (the inventor of the barometer) about 1643.