The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-02-12
CONGRESS.

Congress is mainly busted ia getting through
the appropriation bills, but two Of the -
Having "a yet become laws Half dozen ut
!, Others are in the hands of conference commit
tees, while the rest still hang in one house or
the other The senate is AT wor, on the post
office bill, and the house on Thursday finally
got to work on the river and harbor bill We
notice us reported by the committee, il gives
but So, 900 TO the improvement uf the lllionis
river
The Joint rule in reference to the prcsdon,
Itial count, known rs the Ingalls, resolution,
mentioned as having passed the senate last
week, was adopted by the house, and under it
the count on Wednesday was made. 1t sim
Iply lodged the question of the VICE presidents
power to count and in the case Of Georgia
made him say, "lf Georgia be counted, the
vote stands so and so, and If not, so and SO
but in either case the result Is the same and
| G. rficld and Arthur are elected" The demo
Gratis in the senate however also passed the
Morgan resolution, denying the vice prcsi'
dents righ, to make the count, and Allison,
Blaine Booth, Conkling and Jones voted with
the democrats in its favor, The other rcpubll-
cans lodged.
The Presidential count was made on We'd
nesday in the usual way, the two houses meet
ing in convention in the hall of the house, the
vice president presiding
The appor,ionmcnt bill moves slowly. An
attempt was made by the stalwarts to precipi
tate an angry sectional debate on it over a
proposition to cut down southern representa-
ton on the ground of restraints upon the mig
gers right to vote But when the same rule |
was proposed IN regard to foreign suffrage in |
Rhode Island, the educational qualification in
Massachusetts, the taxation qualification IN
Pennsylvania, &c. the matter was dropped.
The house committee on interoCeaDic canals !
made an important report to the house on
Thursday, arguing-iu regard to the I.csseps .
scheme that an investment of foreign capital |
under Il foreign charter car not be d>CunncCt. /
cd from an assertion of foreign power and that
the Panama route offers to our commerce no
advantages over that Of other nations. The
committee expresses the opinion that De Les
scpss scheme would cos. S300O00OOO, and
would not be completed IN less than twenty
years. The Nicaragua route Gen. Grants
,Chcmcl is held to be not free from objection,
and inferior in advantages to Tchuantcpcc
The pracucabiity of Eads' ship railway has
been proven, ana it can be constructed at one
fourth the cost of canal with locks and com
petcd in five years. The committee therefore
recommend the guarantee asked by Fades Of
"a per cent. dividend on Sj0,0OO000 of his
stock for 30 years, under certain restrictions
The senate has passed 4 bill approprialing
$t75,00O to fit out vessel 10 hunt up the arc,
tic exploring steamer Jeanette.
The blll inviting the French people, and es-
pcCially the descendants Of Lafayette to par
ticipate III the Yorktown celebration next Oc-
tobcr and approprialng $4,000 topay cxpen
SEES has prssed the senate,
The house ways and means committee have
agreed on n bill TO repeal the export tax on
tobacco; also the the tax on matches, p.oprle.
tary medicines, perfumery, bank checks and
bank deposits.
Senator Blair has resolution before the
senate 10 amend the constitution so us to make
he Maine an i-liQuor law national after \. d.
1909
The senate still postponcs action on the nom
nation of Stanley Matthews for Supreme
Judge and his confirmation is very doubtful.