Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-12-12
WASHINGTON c., FRIDAY. DECEMBER
The District in Congress

The District i'm Congress-.
| RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY.
| The following resolution, introduced by Mr.
Neal of Ohio, is pending before the House Dis
trict committee: Resolred, That the Commits
! sioners of the District of Columbia be and they
are directed to transmit to the House the follow
| ing specific information, VIZ: The amount as
sessed for the special improvement of The
various streets and avenues in the cities Of
Washington and Georgetown against the several
street railways in said cities, giving the number
| OF streets and avenues over which the railways
are OF have been run, the number of square
| yards occupied by each railway and the amount
! assessed in each street or avenue; likewise the
| amount actually paid by each OF the said street
| railways and the amount charged per square
| yard thereto on account Of such assessments;
| and likewise whether any compromise has been
made with any Of said railways, with respect
| to such assessment and the terms of such COM
| promise, the date thereof, If any such were
| made, and the amounts paid by such railways
hereunder, and how many of the said COMMITS
| sioners were parties thereto, and whether any
OF said commissioners are now or were hereto
| fore stockholders in any of the said railways,
| and If so, who. Also whether any person who
has held heretofore the Office of Commissioner of
the District Of Columbia has been StOckhOlder
In said street railways and also whether a less
sum per square yard along the line of any such
street railway has been charged to any of the
said street railways than to private citizens of
the two cities.
THE PROPOSED NEW MUNICIPAL CODE
The subcommittee of the House District COM
mjttee preparing new code for the District are
now engaged in revising the building regula-
tions of the District.
JUDGE McCRARY, ex-Secretary of War, left
the city this morning at $50 a. m. for St. Louis
on special car with Secretary Thompson.
THE PRESIDENT SIGNED to-day the commission
of Lucien B. Crooker to be collector of internal
revenue for the second district of Illinois, and of
Alfred NJ. Jones to be collector of internal reve-
hue for the third district of Illinois,
AT TIE WHITE HOUSE. - Vice President
Wheeler, Senators Teller and Cameron (Pa), and
Representatives Updegraff, Mitchell, Wells,
Robinson, Aldrich Qll) Ballou, Houk, Hum
phrey. Kelly, MaginniS and Pound called ON the
President to-day.
THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE had a long
meeting to-day but took no action upon any
measure of importance except to postpone the
consideration of the Warner silver bill, the
trade dollar bill, and the Bayard resolution con-
cern1ng greenbackS, until after Christmas
recess of Congress, this order being made in
each instance upon the ground that the subject
required fuller discussion than could be given to
it by the committee before the holiday adjourn
ment
the President and Mrs. Hayes last evening.
The Cabinet officers and their wives were
present.
FIRST LIEUTENANT p. p. BARNARD, 5th cavalry.
having been found incapacitated for active ser
vice, is granted indefinite leave of absence from
January 1St next.
The KEARsAGE sailed from Port Royal on the
sth instant for the Central American coast.
Col. GRANVILLE o. HALLER, U. s. army, hav-
ing been restored to the army as colonel of in
fantry, under the Joint resolution of March Sd
last. he is assigned to the 23d infantry vice Col
jefferson G. Davis, deceased, and will report
for duty with his regiment in Missouri.
SWISS WATCHEs.-The acting q. s. consul at
Basle, Switzerland, in his annual report to the
Department of State, says of the watch trade
From Pruntrut, at the northwest coast of Swift
zerland, to the lower extremity OF Lake Leman,
river Doubs down to the Jura lakes, and still
farther, the watch manufacture was once the
most important branch Of Swiss industry. Iii
1sG0-10 impure elements got mixed up In this
quality were brought into market At the Phil
adelphia Exhibition, in 1876, it seemed from the
compet1t1oU of American watches, in quality,
that the Swiss manufacture would be DESTROYED
But the position which Swiss watches took at
the Paris Exhibition gave new encouragement
!He geller SiaSS OF manufacturers have con-
ferIed together and resolved to maintain the
fQrrEer good reputation of Swiss watches.
BRITISH GRAIN MARKETs.-The q. s. CONNER
cial agent at Gloucester, England, in dispatch
to the Department of State, dated Nov. 12, 1879,
describes at some length and detail the Bristol
channel and its ports. The Bristol channel is a
larger receiver and distributor Of grain than
either the st. Georges or the Mersey. Three
fourths Of the vessels billed for "Cork or mar
ket,' &C, find their way to one OF the ports in
this channel AS much as IS per cent. may be
saved by shipping produce from the United
States direct to some port in the channel For
at least twelve months to come every district
and every county will need food from America.
The law of demand and supply will open ports
and make REV narborS Milford, Hannelly,
Swansea, Port Meath, Newport, Bridgewater,
and other places are named, possessing advan-
tageS as SeapOrtS and markets for American
produce.
SECRETARY THOMPSON left the city this morn
ing for his home, in Indiana, in company with
Miss Virginia Thompson and Mr.. Harry Thomp-
son. They will not return until after the holi-
days. During the Secretary;S absence Com
modore Jeffers, chief OF the bureau of ordnance,
will be Acting Secretary of the Navy.
No BILL has yet been presented to either
House to make Gen. Grant captain general;
nor does the Congressman yet turn up who indi-
Gates desire to champion the bill.
WHAT Mr.. BUCHANAN THoUGHr.-Now that
the views of the public men of the last twenty
years are being quoted upon the legal-tender
question, the following extract from a letter to
Hon. Horatio King from EX-President Buchanan
dated Wheatland, 10th December, 1857 will be
Oh interest: - WISH ndQ SOlneUullg 10 WT1te
you about which might interest you; but my
life glideS Oh so smoothly that should scarcely
know how time passes were it not for the ter
rible condition OF the country. l never expected
to see the day when the Federal government
would assume the power of issuing paper cur
rency, much less of making it a legal tender"
SECRETARY OF WAR RAMSEY arrived in the city
last evening from Philadelphia. He appeared
at the War department this morning for the first
time in his official capacity. After remaining a
short time he left and took the oath of office
before Judge Cartier, chief justice of the Dis
trict court. He then returned to the depart
ment and received quite number of calls. He
attended his first Cabinet meeting this after
noon. He has taken the CYesswell house,
corner of 18th and 1 streets His family will
arrive in the city tomorrow. The new
Secretary Of War is portly gentleman, and
looks very good-natured. He has gray hair and
wears gold-rimmed spectacleS THE STAR re-
porter was among those who called to pay their
respects. The reporter mentioned the fact that
in the East the new Secretary was generally
understood to be ''down on the Indian" Secre-
tary Ramsey replied that his section was by no
means hostile to the Indians, or disposed to act
with malignant feelings towards them. They
had suffered a great deal by the Indians, but
were always disposed to deal with them fairly.
1t was true that they might regard the red man
in somewhat different light than the people OF
Tocf hit f1.nr