The New York herald., 1871-03-04


strategtic Importance is considered It will be
readily admitted that Germany has reaped the
full fruits of her triumph. She now holds all
the passes Of the vosges, and should the
French in days to come resolve on the invasion
Of Germany they will find formidable obsta-
cles in their way to such an undertaking.
Resume Of the Forty first Consress-Its Sins
Of Omission and OonmissiOn-Yestcrday's US
Proceedings.
The Forty-irst Congress expires at noon
to-day. The verdict upon 1t will be that 1t
has lamentably failed to come up to the
standard Of the people. None Of the great
measures which it was expected to mature
and perfect into acts Of legislation have been
accomplished. All of them have remained in
the condition OF mere projects. The General
Amnesty bill, which would have restored to
all the people Of the South those political
rights which many Of the best Of them tor
feited by rebellion, and which would have
been attended with the best results, socially
and politically was allowed to sleep in the
unfriendly embrace Of the Reconstruction Com
mittee.
The several bills reported from the Commit
tee of Ways and Means to repeal the income
tax. to abolish the duty on coal and to reduce
the duty on salt were strangled in the House.
Various propositions to reduce the tariff and
internal taxes were smothered in committee
and never permitted to see the light. The
IF ;u,I
nearly concerns the existence of our political
institutions, was the theme Of much useless
discussion in the Senate; but no practical
measure of reform was proposed or could be
carried out The proposition 10 incorporate a
company for the building Of an air line rail-
road between this city and Washington was
stopped in the House by parliamentary
bubble, and never could get over the i'm
pedim ent; and as to the revisal of our
commercial and shipping interests, the move
ment in that direction was limited to the ap-
pointment of special committee, which took
evidence that exposed the paralysis and decay
which had seized upon those great elements of
national prosperity, but stopped there and
prescribed no remedy for the evil. And now
Congress expires to-day, having performed no
to the people for an endorsement of its wis.,
dom or ability.
On the other hand, what schemes Of private
jobs did 1t not foster and promote? Let the
reckless manner in which the public domain
was voted away to great railroad corporations
answer. Let the peculiar legislation by
which the securities of the Union
Pacific Railroad Company were appre-
ciated at the expense of the national
Treasury answer. Let those projects for
making the people of the United States pay
for the losses incurred by the South in the
rebellion answer. These schemes, together
with political measures to keep alive rancor
between the sections, and to establish fede-
raj police to control elections in the States,
occupied the time of Congress to the exclusion
of these useful and necessary measures of
legislation to which we first referred In a
word, the expiring Congress may, with its last
breath, repeat that confessional phrase of the
Episcopal liturgy, "We have done those
things that we ought not to have done, and
we have left undone those things that we
ought to have done, and there is no health
in us.
The proceedings yesterday were for the
most part confined to the completing of gen.
eral appropriation bills through the action of
committees Of conference. Outside of these
appropriation bills the only other important
measure passed upon was the Southern Pacific
Railroad bill. A compromise was effected be-
tween the two houses, in which each house
yielded some of its positions, and under which
provision Is made, in addition to the grant Of
thirteen million acres for the main trunk line,
for two branch lines-one from New Orleans to
San Francisco to the western terminus of the
line, or to connect with it on the thirty-ifth
parallel at or near the Colorado river. The
additional quantity of land given to subsidize
these branch lines is loosely estimated at be-
tween four and six millions of acres. We
suppose, however, that if we set down this
land grant of yesterday at twenty million acres
we will not be very wide Of the mark. 1t GER
tainly cannot be said that, If Congress is re-
gardless Of our ocean commerce, it shows any
lack of care or liberality toward inland COM
merce, as represented by great railroad cor
pOrations.
An effort was made in the House to take up
and pass the Senate bill increasing all the
pensions to disabled soldiers and widows
and orphans twenty per cent-an increase
which, according to Mr.. Dawes, would have
taken seven millions year out of the Trea-
sury; but it failed. there not being enough of
it's supporters In the House to order the yeas
and nays upon it. If there had been the re-
suit might have been different, because the
anxiety of members to have a good record
among their constituents is naturally very
a..