Morning journal and courier., 1881-02-17
FORTY-sIXTH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.

SENATE.-The Senate spent the entire ses- sion after 1:30 p. m. In discussion of the funding bill without acting upon any of the proposed amendments. Mr. Merrill advo- cated 33 per cent. on the ground that lower rate would cause the loan to drag and if taken it would go to large centers where money is always to be found, instead of be- coming popular loan distributed among all classes of our own people.
 Mr. Saunders believed bonds could be hoated at per cent. He thought part of the debt should be left to be paid by pos terity, and favored longer bond.
 Mir. McDonald eoncurred with the commit tee as to the time the bonds should run. He believed rate of per cent. should be tried and favored the Carlisle amendment stricken out by the committee, requiring national banks to deposit per cent. bonds as security on their circulation.
 MT. Eaton, recognizing the importance of action, would not vote for 33 per cent. unless forced to. He believed a 8 per cent. $40 bond the one that should be issued. He did not think per cent. 5-10 or 5-15 bond could be hoated, but $40 bond would sell at 8 premium, because business men and fnanciers believed the country could not pay in five or ten years.
 Mr. Blair suggested assuming that per cent. bond could be floated, that B per cent bond would command sufficient premi- um to make an equivalent for lower rate of interest.
 MT. Allison argued if bond was author ized at per cent. the depression of the mar ket by speculators or otherwise, even on one eighth of one per cent below par, would put 8 stop to funding operations. If the bonds commanded premium they could be sold at premium.
 The Senate at 4:45 p. m went into execu- tive session, previous to which MT. Bayard gave notice that he would ask the Senate to sit out the funding bill to-mofraw.
 HoUsE.-The House met at 10 o'clock in continuance of yesterdays session, and went into Committee of the Whole (Mr. Carlisle of Kentucky, in the chair) on the river and harbor bill. Several amendments offered to increase or strike out appropriations, princi- pal among which was one striking out $25,- GOO appropriated for the improvement of the Monongahela river, were rejected.
 MT. Belford, of Colorado, offered an amendment appropriating $50, 900 for sink ing artesian wells in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and said that the West had not been fairly treated in the bill, and he gave notice to the members from the East who controlled the legislation of the House that western men would make an effort to have the House organized in the interest of the West as well as of the East The amend ment was ruled out on point of order.
 6uOrIS were ultu0 IO 1ucrStSe tu0 hpprO- priation for removing obstructions from the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas rivers to $35O, GOO, the amount recommended by the Engineers department, but they were futile and the amount remains at $15O, 900.
 Amendment by My. Fort, of Illinois, that the Secretary of War negotiate with the State of New York for the enlargement of the Erie canal to accommodate steam vessels, or for the sale of tho canal to the. general covarnua0t ru1ad o11t If order
 Mir. Einstein, of New York, moved an amendment to add a proviso that no appro- priation shall be made for improvement To- cal to any State that has repudiated the pay ment of interest on it's interest bearing debt or refused to recognize the validity of any bond it has issued. The amendment was re- jected.
 When the item appropriating $1 1,OOO,O GOO for the improvement of the Mississippi river was reached point was made that the money would be used to build levees and thereby improve private property. A sub stitute by MT. Robinson, of Massachusetts, was after long discussion adopted, provid- ing that no part of the money be expended for any purpose except deepening or improv- ing the channel and that the Mississippi riv- CT commission report how the money was expended to tue Secretary of War and Congress. Messrs. Updegraf and Vanvoorhis led the obstruction and delayed the bill by moving to atrike out tho paragraphs and speaking to each motion. At 5:3O a recess was taken to 7:3o D. m. Only ten pages had
 been finished at that hour. The members of the Commerce committee said they would sit all night if necessary, to complete their bill EVENING SESSION.
 The House reassemhIed at f:30, and or motion ot Me. Price, of Iowa, took up and passed the bill to provide for the distribu. ton of unclaimed dividends among the CT ed itors of national banks.
 Mir. Wells, of Missouri, presented the re- port of the committee of eonferepce on the Indian appropriation bill. The committed aereed upon some of the amendments and disagreed upon others. The main part oi
 disagreement was with reference to the In dian peace commission, and this disagree.
 ment will necessitate new committee oi l conference. The other part of the report | was agreed to.
 MT. Atkins submitted the report of ths | conference committee on the naval appropri ation bill, and it was agreed to.
 The House then went into Committee Q. the Whole and resumed the river and har bor bill. MT. Updegraff renewed his oppo- ! sition, reading extensive extracts from the engineers report to prove why certain itemI | should be reflected. He said he had accom- plished his purpose, namely, to call the at | tention of the country to the character oi | the bill and would offer. no further factious | opposition. (Applause.)
 | Mir. Robeson offered an amendment tha
 none of the money be spent except in pur
 suanc of the ptaRs of ths engineers, ,and when tIsFs was not sufficient depth or capacity tt get the decisions of the courts as to wha constituted navigable streams; rejected l The consideration of the bill progressed
 much more rapidly after the cessation of fac tious opposition An amendment was adopt ed direetisg the Secretary of War to ascer l tain whether and to what extent within distance of five miles of the mouth of tn l Mississippi river it has filled up since tn
 construction of the Eads jetties.
 An effort to strike out the appropriation | for reservoirs on the head waters of tn Mississippi failed. All the items relating tx l rivers and harbors had been considered short l ly after midnight, when Mir. Conger movet I an appropriation for the two rivers in hi | dickrint The arlien1rnant was declaraf