Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-25
PASSENGERS CoMING WEST nY RAIL
MISCELLANEOUS FOREIGN NEWS ITEMS.
Further Regarding Grants Reception at
the City Of Mexico.
Etc
DOMESTIC NEWS,
Analrs at The National Cepit.I.

Il
days session of the Senate Mr.. Eaton, of the
Committee on Foreign Relations, reported
back the joint resolution introduced last
May by Cockreil of Missouri, by which it
was proposed to request the President to me-
gotiate reciprocity commercial treaty with
France, and for this purpose to appoint if ne
deemed it avisable, three Commissioners, etc
Senator Eaton, in two sentences, informed
the Senate that the committee were of the
opinion that the matter belonged to another
branch of the Government, and that they
therefore asked to be discharged from further
consideration of the subject, and that the Joint
resolution be indefinitely postponed. The
Vice-President thereupon stated the motion
for an indefinite postponement, and in the
absence of objection proceeded to announce
that the motion was agreed to, and the joint
resolution was accordingly postponed in
definitely, and thus killed. The whole pro-
ceedings occupied only q minute or two, and
in the confusion of the morning hour business
attracted no attention; but they were not
the less final for this session of Congress, aud
MIR. Chotteau's hopes of obtaining initiative
assistance for his project at the hands of
either house of the Forty-sixth Congress are
now unquestionably destroyed, although he
will doubtless continue his efforts in
other directions, and take the risk OF
obtaining Congressional concurrence in any
steps that may possibly be taken by the
President and the State Department. 1t is
learned that the vote of the Committee on
Foreign Relations authorizing the adverse
report to-day was unanimous, the members
alleging that if the President desired advice
on any such subject it should be asked for
and not proffered in advance of the sub
mission of treaty for ratification. 1t is also
ascertained that several of the members of
the Foreign Relations Committee have abb
sorbed the arguments of MIR: Wetmore and
others. sent here from California, and are OPP
posed to the Chotteau project on its merits. In
this connection, it may be of interest to re-
mark that the request made by the House of
Representatives last April for the President
to consider the expediency Of negotiating a
commercial treaty with France was in the
form of a simple resolution, and not joint
or concurrent resolution. Consequently to-
days action completely disposes of the mat
ter in the Senate. 1t should be also remem-
bered that last April's action of the House
on the subject was fully offset by the recent
adoption of Judge Kelley's resolution, de-
clarlng that any attempt to change the tariff
rates by treaty negotiation would be an inva
sion of the House of Representatives of con-
stitutional prerogatives.
Representative Willis, of Missouri, has in
troduced bill imposing an internal revenue
tax of twenty cents per bottle on all spark
ling wines made by the carbonic gas process
This bill, which apparently is inimical to a
portion of the California wine producers, has
been referred by the Ways and Means Com
mittee to Morrison of Illinois as a sub-com-
mittee, and he promises the California Con-
gressmen that it shall not be reported if they
consider it Injurious to California native
wine interests.
Representative Davis to-day presented a
memorial of the California State Grange Of
the Patrons of Husbandry, praying for the
establishment of special Bureau of Agricult-
ure for the Pacific coast, in charge of an
assistant Commissioner, who shall possess a
wide acquaintance with the present systems
of local agricultural practice, the agencies
employed and the general conditions under
which it is carried on. The memorial also
asks the establishment of at least three exper-
mental stations on the Pacific coast. The
memorial was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, which has already been in
structed by Davis resolution to take action
in the same direction.
Representative Page has obtained from the
various Executive Departments, and to-day
furnished to the House Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, a series of statements
showing the amounts of money collected by
the Federal officers at Sacramento during the
last fiscal year, from which it appears that
the internal revenue receipts were S306, lis /;
pc toffice receipts, $50, 1874; total, 1886, 297.
Page also writes to the committee that the
annual expenditure for the rent of those
offices is between $4,000 and 81, 900, and that
additional expenditures for postoffice accom-
modations will be required as the postal bust
ness increases.
The Democratic members of the Senate
Committee on Elections deny that there
has been any decision to let the
Kellogg case sleep until after the Presi-
Dental election, for fear that an attempt to
GUST him may hurt the partys prospects, and
they also estimate that report adverse to
kelloge's right to his seat is already in course
OF preparation.
The Democratic leaders of the House are
hopeful of getting through the discussion of
the new rules tomorrow. The House will
then proceed with the appropriation bills
and strong effort will be made to pass them
rapidly, there being manifest disposition on
the part of leading Democrats to have Con-
7gress adjourn before the holding of either Of
the Presidential Conventions.
Public Lands Commission Report.
New YORK, February 24th.-The forth
coming report of the Public Lands Commits
sion will recommend that swamp and pastur-
age lands hereafter be surveyed and patented
by townships; that better provisions be made
for making boundaries of surveyed tracts {;
that the system of letting public surveys and
boundaries between States and Territories be
hereafter made under the direction Of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1t will ALSO
probably, recommend that the office of Re-
ceiver to each local Land Office be abolished
There are about ninety-6ve of these officers.
1t will also recommend the chasing of
public lands into FIVE general classes-arable.
irrigable, pasturage, timber and mineral. 1t
will also recommend the repeal of the pre-
emption law, or the ground that its chief
use now is to increase large individual hold.
ings. The Commission will probably supple
ment it by another, making arabic public
lands disposable under the homestead laws
The Commission will probably recommend
that no limit be placed Upon amounts of irri-
gable land which any one person may buy
that the land be sold at twenty-five cents per
acre, one fifth to be paid down and the bal
ance at the end of three years, and that no
patent to such lands be issued until it is
shown that specified sum per acre, say 80,
has been expended on its reclamation. Lands
classed as pasturage will comprise untimbered
and non mineral lands, not arabic or capable
Of irrigation.
Inc OoIuDicoiou Will Probably recommend
that the quantity one person may buy be
not limited, and that the price be graduated
az follows: All lands sold prior to January.
1866. be at the rate of 81 % an acre, and ali
lands sold from the latter date to January.
1890, to be at the rate Of 81 an acre. After
the iast-named date all lands remaining be
sold at 70 cents an acre, with reduction OF
III cents per acre every three years until the
minimum price of 125 cents is reached Pas
turage lands shall be open to homestead set
Element, no one entry to comprise more than
2. $50 acres. 1t will probably recommend
that colonies of twenty or more families NAV
enter homesteads either on arabic. irrigable or
pasturage lands, and lay out village in the
center Of the tract.
Radical changes will be recommended in
the mineral land laws, among them the fol-
lowing: That the time during which pros
hector or discoverer shall be able to hold his
claim by possessory title shall be fixed aud
limited by law; that all local organizations
and regulations respecting mining titles shall
be abolished and the sole jurisdiction
of all questions relating thereto be reserved
bv the United States that the "lode loca-
ton" which permits the discoverer to
follow lode any distance, in any direc-
ton, whether within the boundaries of his
surface location or not, be repealed; that
hereafter every mining claim shall comprise a
certain number of feet, breadth and length
on the surface, and that subterranean prop
erty rights shall not extend beyond the sur
60 90 boundaries TINS fixed TT IL unite r,rol,