St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-12-22
NATIONAL CAPITAL NOTES.
The Senate Committees Decided on in eau.
cus-Proposed Legislation i'll the INTER-
est of Settlers on Public Lands.

and adjourned to Thursday to consider the
subject of electing officers. Arson B. Nc
Cook, of New York, and Mr.. Mcpherson.
Clerk of the last House, are candidates for
Secretary, the former especially having
quite number of warm advocates. Cana
dy, of North Carolina, is gaining ground
on Colonel Geo. W. Hooker, under the lead
ership of Sherman, Logan and Conger.
In the construction of the committees,
Miller, of California, takes WINDOWS place
as Chairman of Foreign Affairs, displacing
Edmunds, who was next in order for the
position, but he preferred to retain the Jul
dietary. The only new Senator on this
committee is Wilson, of Iowa. The only
change in the Committee on Finance was tc
add Miller, of New York, Mr.. Morrill, re.
naming Chairman. The Committee on
Appropriation remains the same, Mr.. ALI
son at it's head, with the addition of Call, of
Florida, in place of Davis, of West Vir-
gjnia. Several of the new Senators have
places on the Committee on Manufactures,
Riddleberger, of Virginia, being Chairman.
Sabin, Dolph and CoIquitt being among his
Malone as Chairman of the Committee on
Agriculture. The only change in the Com
mIttee GU Military Affairs, OF which Logan
is Chairman, is to add Camden in place of
Grover, Cameron, of Pennsylvania, was
left at the head of the Committee on Naval
Affairs, with Anthony second. Mr.. Hale,
the third on the Committee. will be de facto
Chairman. HILL of Colorado, takes the head
of the Post-office and Post Roads Com
mittee, Senator Ferry's old place. To
this committee Palmer and Wilson, the
new Senators from Michigan and Iowa, are
added. Plumb continues at the head of the
Committee on Public Lands, Henderson, Of
Nebraska, is placed on the Committee on
Private Land Claims, Territories and
Transportation Routes to the Seaboard.
Dawes keeps Indian Affairs, and Mitchell
gets Pensions, on which are Cullom and
Sabin. Mcmillan is on Revolutionary
Claims, and is Chairman of the Committee
on Commerce, Cameron, Of Wisconsin,. is
Chairman of the Committee on Claims, and
ingalls, is Chairman of the Committee on
the District of Columbia, with Palmer and
Riddleberger among his colleagues. Platt
has Patents and Harrison Territories. Saw
yer is Chairman of the Committee on Rail-
roads, on which are Cullom and Sabin.
Wilson is Chairman of the Committee on
Mines and Mining, and Conger on the Re-,
vision of the Laws. Blair keeps Education
and Labor, and Hawley Civil Service and
Retrenchment. Van Wyck is Chairman of
the Committee on the Improvement of the
Mississippi River, and Aldrich succeeds
Harrison at the head of Transportation
Routes to the Seahoard. Cullom is Chair
man of the committee to examine several
branches of the civil service. The Demo-
Gratis are given the Chairmanships of the
Committees on Private Land Claims, Rev
dictionary Claims, Engrossed Bills, Epi-
demic Diseases, Claims Against Nicaragua,
Potomac Flats and Library. Malone has
the Craftsmanship of Public Buildings and
Grounds, a very important place. OF the
new Republican Senators, Sabin, Palmer,
Henderson, Bowen and Pike were not given
chairmanships.
The Democratic caucus made the follow
ing assignments: Private Land Claims,
Bayard Engrossed Bills, Salisbury; Epi-
demic Diseases, Harris; Revolutionary
Claims, Jones of Florida; Nicaragua
Claims, Maxey; Library, Voorhees,. Jonas
replaces Barrow on Elections. Vance and
Brown succeed Johnston and Call on For
gein Affairs. Call replaces Davis OF West
Virginia on finance.
The bill of Mr.. Washburne, of Minnesota,
to be introduced in the House tomorrow, is
important to would-be settlers on public
land, and will no doubt receive great deal
of attention in Congress, the text of it is as
follows:
SECTION That the prescription laws,
| together with all laws authorizing the filing
| of declararory statements for entering pub
lie lands by agent or attorney, be, and the
same are hereby, repealed; provided, how.
| ever, that this repeal shall not affect the
| disposal of the lands under treaty stipuls.-
| ton with Indian tribes, nor be deemed TO
| impair any legal rights heretofore acquired
under laws hereby repealed, but all exist
| ing settlements, entries or. filings may he
perfected upon proper proof of lawful and
| bona fide character of said claims, and OF
due compliance with the provisions and
| requirements of the laws under which SUCH
| settlement or filings were made; provided.
| further, that any person who has not here
| to: ore had the benefit of the presumption
| laws, and who failed from any cause to
| perfect ii lie to tract of land heretofore
| entered by him under the homestead laws,
may make second homestead entry IN
lieu of presumption privilege hereby re-
| pealed. - .sse.5s55
SEC. 9. That no person who has made or
hereafter shall make homestead entry of
/ public lands shall be entitled to avail him
| self of the provisions of section 2,301 of the
| Revised Statutes of the United States until
| he shall have resided upon, cultivated and
made actual improvement on the land EN-.
braced in such entry for the full period of
/ thirty months, and IL shall be the duty OF
/ the General Land Office to require evidence
| of actual compliance with the requirements
| of the law in respect to settlement, resi-.
/ dence Improvement and cultivation in all
4 cases in which title now is or may hereaf-
/ ter be claimed under homestead or other
| settlement or improvement laws of the
/ United States.
Sec. 8. That any person applying for the
1 benefits of timber-culture laws shall make
| his entry in person at the proper local land
/ Office, and shall make affidavit that he is an
! actual resident of the State or Territory in
/ which the land is situated, and that he has
| entered into no contract or agreement to
| relinuuish the entry he may make, and that
| he has no present or prospective purpose
/ to make such REIMBURSEMENT; and the of
4 feririg for sale as matter of traffic, specu-
Iation or REIMBURSEMENT Of public land en-
4 tries shall be deemed prima facie evidence
tive purposes and not in good faith, DIS re-
uuired by law, and such entries shall there
| upon be repealed and cancelled by the
| Commissioner of the General Land Office,
and the land covered thereby shall be
deemed subject to entry by the, first legal
applicant. The first section of the act of