New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-01-23

SENATOR CAsE-THE AIRLINE RAILROAD
BILL TO COME UP TO-DAY.
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUsE.l
WASHINGTON, Jan. %, 1871.
There are only thirty-six working days
counting Saturdays, as such, left for the present
Congress, during which TO act upon the great
number OF bills, etc., now upon the calendars'
The Senate general .Orders show total OF S25
bills and resolutions waiting action, some OF
which have been hanging since 1.-THE first session IN
1862 or the general ORDERS G2 private and personal
bills, such pensions, relieving accounting officers
claims, &c. There sixteen Railroad land grant
bills, and seven for grants in aid OF canals
and irrigation bitches. Five other bills are railroad IN
corporations extensions, nine relate TO postal OF
telegraph projects and ten bills are for steamship
subsidies Besides these score Of other measures
asking incorporation for various projects, n0innaly De-
longing in this District The Territories, in the
case of one bill, the Tehuanepec Railroad and snip
Canal carry ont project In foreign territory Beside
these 1926 bills and resolutions, there are half dozen
special orders, and Ii resolutions reported from Com
mttees.
On the House calendar there are u reports Of Com
mtees including three election cases Judge Hoar's Ma
tional Education b Buffers Amnesty bill, and reports
from the Public Lands Committee OF bills defining swamp
and oyerlowed lands and reseryng the remaining pub
lie domain for homestead and preGmpton purposes only
There Is resolution abolishlDg the Income tax, which,
or cognate proposition, is likely 10 create spirited de-
bate Among the reports is billl fixing uniform day
FOR holding Congress elections. which is likely 70 pass
when reached. There ~ bills on the Speakers table,
q Of which land grant railroad measures already
passed by the Senate. Besides these there are RprlN
lcge questions pending being EMOTIONS to reconsider ana
liable therefore, to be called up when the originator OF
the motion shall deem proper TO do Among the most
important OF these motions is that the appOrtionment
The calendars do not give any real idea OF the business
pending the bills referred to committees are Of course
! not included
| The Apportionment bill win be- the occasion Of
very sharp light in the House. Tho Western members
are determined TO press an amendment authorizing the
election of additional representatives. next Fa In States
which have now less than the number they will be enti-
tied by the apportonmont They Say that they
cansent increase in the number OF members OF the
House. so that the Eastern States shall not be deprived OF
any part their present representation, the members
from those States ought to be willing to agree 10 the de-
mand OF tie Western States for the representation
their population entities them 10. The question has
important bearing than upon the HLIId Congress
for If the appOrtionment does not go into effect until
1873 after the Presidential election the Electoral College
will be chosen under the present apport0nment while
the States are represented in the College according to
their present population the result of the election might
not same, that the peoples Will, in the choice
OF President might be defeated by the refusal OF Con
gress the apportonment operative at once
The Senate Judiciary Committee having completed Its
labors in connection with the Georgia Senatorial Contest
viii make its report tomorrow. The majority OF the
Committee hold that the only question 10 be decided is
the legal status Of the Legislature which elected Messrs
| Hill and Miller. They say that il there were in that
| body at a time a sufficient number Of legally chosen
members 20 form quorum the fact that others who had
no right there occupied seats does not inyaldle
| thing which 1T might do. That there was such n
| quorum they say is admitted and add that the
Senate cannot so behind that fact to ascertain how any
persons voted in the election To prove that the lcgs
Ie WIS legal body, the Comuitteo VII cite tho fact
that after it had expelled the cOOred members IL elect
ed State officers, confirmed nominations made by the
Governor and passed laws. No has over questioned
the legality Of this action. Congress, II will be argued
also virtually recognized this Legislature when IL re-
durod it TO purge itself OF its Illegal members The ma
jorty will therefore, report that Joshua III IS entitled
to his seat DR.. Miller, tho other gentleman elected at
the same time served in the Rebel army as surgeon
but never having held ofece his does not come
under the provisions Of the XVIII Amendment He
cannot the OATH however, and cannet therefore
qualify unless he s relieved by Congress, as Rodcrck r.
Butler and others have BEEN The minority OF the Com
mee Stewart and Rice, viii dissent the ground that
gia having been reconstructed at the time the
first election was held, had right % elect Senators,
and that Messrs Welye and Farrow are the only ones
legally chosen. To this the majority reply that 1t has
been the universal custom OF territories about TO become
States to their Senators before they have been adj
mtted and that Southern states Gcconsructed) have
done the same thing. has ever questioned tho
| legality of such elections.
The New-York and Washington Airline Railroad bill
will come up again the tomorrow morning hut
its opponents will probably prevent action on it by ILL
clustering This bin will be the regular order during the
morning hour on Mondays until the end Of the session.
| unless disposed Of.
The Naval Appropriation bin, which Is special order
for Tuesday next, approprates l933 % for the sup
port OF the Navy for the fiscal year ending June 80,
1872. This is an increase OF s599G9i is over
| the appropriations for the current year. The
| item of pay alone amounts TO tl,5O0OO, which
| is more than half the pay OF the army,
although the number Of officers and men belonging to
the navy Less than onehaf the number which make
up the Military establishment This is accounted for by
the great disproporton which exists between the mum
Der Of officers and OF seamen in the navy, and the pre-
pondcrance Of high ranks. Fully bird % tho naval
officers have comma ds anc no duties with the eA
ccpon Of mere nominal duties shore, given them 10
enable them TO draw duty pay while there are admras
and commanders enough under pay to command navy
as large as that OF Great Britain Although the high
grades in the army had been reduced by law, Congress
cannot touch the navy because che Naval Committees
Of the two Houses consi Ter report meas
| ure OF reduction.
The Sub Committee lof the HouGe Committee on Com
merce. Messrs Sawyer, stouchtcn, and 9inkclnburg,
have nearly completed the River and Harbor bill. The
amount asked for s8i2i5O but the bill viii give about
the same amount as that appropriated for the current
| fiscal year-S,935,i00.
Mr. Julian has the privilege and will soon call up for
action, three bills reported by the Committee on Pubic
Lands The first in order il extending tbs laws ana
authority of General Land Office over the Territory
of Alaska This is believed TO be necessary Ia prevent
stripping OF coal and timber lands along the coast OF
which complaint made The other bills are those
defining swamp lands, and reserying The public domain
for homestead and presumption purposes only The Dill
denn ne swamp lands declares that no lands not pcrna
neny subject 10 overflow, and only tooe redeemed "
subdraning ditching and dykes shall be embraced III
| hat