Morning journal and courier., 1883-02-20

M The House Commerce committee to,nigl Zcomplsted the river and harbor bill and vi Ereport it to the House tomorrow.
 sa Secretary Lincoln on Saturday addresss second letter to Chief Signal Officer Haxel A in which he again declined to ask for Col 2gressional investigation of the signal oft szR affairs and intimated that unless court S inquiry was asked for to investigate matter
 impugnine the official fidelity of officers eI
 Jagged in the signal bureau he would feel ; his duty to advise the President to appoint court for that purpose. General Hagen tc
 day addressed another letter to th
 Secretary of War insisting uI
 on Congressional investigation
 alleging as the reason for his preference fo
 this mode of inquiry that 1t would be nor Hthorough and would touch phases of the cas
 not within the compass of military coul
 martial. It is thought the Secretary of Wa
 will adhere to his original intention and rec
 ommend an investigation by military oour
 of inquiry.
 Mr. Deuster, of Wisconsin, this morning
 Introduced in the House bill to amend tn
 naturalization laws so as to provide that ehil
 dren of persons who have enlisted or ma,
 enlist in the military service of the Unitet
 States, and have been or may be hereafte
 honorably discharged therefron, or who dieC
 in said service, shall if dwelling in the Uni
 ted States, be considered citizens thereof
 The bill is intended to cover large class O
 foreign born descendants of fathers wht
 died in the service.
 2 The Postoffics department is informed tha
 through mails between the East and Wes
 are now running on schedule time.
 The Secretary of the Interior has requested Congress to appropriate $4, 900 for the salary ; of 8 solicitor for the Indian bureau. The
 Indian bureau is informed that the Indiar
 boarding school at Devils Lake agency, hr7r ad fo ha
 Loss $1o, 900. All the children were saved. petition from the owners of all steam ships running into New York harbor asking z for the establishment of light at Romer Shoals in the lower bay was laid before the 5 House by the Speaker to day. It came through the Secretary of the Treasury.
 From the House committee on Postofices land Post Roads today Mir. Bingham intro duced bill to adjust the salaries of post masters after the two cent postage goes into Eeffect Salaries at the offices of the first class are graduated from $8, 900 to $6, GOO as the receipts of the office vary from $40, ,OOo Ito $1Oe,O ,O0C; second class salaries from 3$2, ,0oO to $2,900 as receipts vary from $1O,- boo to $4O,OOO; third class salaries from H$1 ,O00 to $1, 300 as receipts vary from 3D. boo to $1O,O0O; fourth class to be paid upon the basis of box rental and cancelled stamps and stambs sold.
 In 1876 the government took all the arms and ponies in possession of the Red Cloud and Red Leaf bands of Sioux Indians. who were sympathizing with Sitting Bull. To day the Secretary of the Interior transmitted Ito the Senate communication recommend ling an appropriation of $14, 100 for 75O po- nies and arms so taken.
 In regard to the recent trouble among the Fsimpscan Indians at Mettakathla British Columbia, Captain Louis A. Sfodder, com mander of the revenue marine cruiser Vol hoc inf hn aV,t that at the request of Robert Beaver, premier of the province of British Columbia, by authority of this government The proceeded to Mettakathla with the Vol .cott and found the Indians in great state of excitement, having torn down buildings and assaulted the bishop of Caledonia. Tie In Idians asked Captain Stodder to take the bishop away. He of course refused and re- |mained until good order had been restored. The English authorities are willing to pay all pilot expenses incurred during the trip and lthe mess bill of the officers, but |Captain Stodder does not think it advisable Ito have them pay the bill account, |inasmuch as this government did not pay for the coal consumed by the British man -of-war Osprey when she went to the re- lief of Sitka in 1879. The report says the "trip was conducive of much good, as the In .dians now realize that assistance is always at hand when the lives of white people are threatened. The Dominion has passed a series of thanks to this government for the timely assistance of the Wolcott. The Treasury department reports that during last week half a million of new nickel pieces were coined at the Philadelphia mint, also TO, GOO pennies and 21O,O dimes The demand for new five cent pieces is very heavy. The secret service officers are Investigating Ia dangerous counterfeit fifty cent piece of lofn f6n weight of the genuine coin and has a clear metallic sound when tested. The authorities think it consists largely of German silver.
 DOrsey's Appeal for the Sake Of HIS
 Wife and Ch51dreE.
 WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-The twelfth week of the Star route trial opened this morning with Rerdell on the stand. He continued his alleged confession of the Star route conspira- cy. The witness, after correcting his printed evidence in some immaterial points, detailed a conversation he overheard between S. w. Dorsey and W. Moore at the house of the former in this city in the spring of 1878. The conversation had reference to mail let tings ia California and Oregon. tabular statement the witness saw was produced with the number of the routes the terminus, the and one column was marked |: CT. J. B., percentage B 1-3 per cent.'' The witness then said he went to New York after the books containing the statement at the request of Postmaster General James, and when he met Senator Dorsey there he was called a traitor. The Senator was very excited, and the witness said ile, too went of in huff and proceeding to Mir. Dorsey's office took a book. He went to Jersey City and telegraphed Senator Dorsey as follows |: t The affidavit story is lie. Confidence be- tion and will turn everything over to anyone you designate.' The following was erased, ''To this moment | have been faithful to every trust" In reply to this witness received two telegrams while on the train returning to Washington After his return to this city the witness said he received letter from Senator Dorsey re- calling the interview at the Albermarle Hotel in New York in which letter Senator Dorsey pleaded for the ''sake of my wife and chil l dren and the sacred relations that existed between us to do nothing'' and for God 's sake take step until you hear from me. 'I Later the witness had an interview with Sen ator Dorsey here and he said would make an| affidavit retracting his MacVeagh- James affi
  taken to the President by Colonel Ingersoll, Senator Dorsey and the witness. After al long wrangle between counsel as to whether| Rerdell had not acknowledged himself per jurer, and was therefore an incompetent wit | ness, Judge Wylie held that he was compe-I tent, and that the jury was to judge whatI weight to attach to his testimony.
 The government soon after wards called fora the production of tho stub check book of S. w. Dorsey. Colonel Ingersoll raised theE point that in criminal case the government could not compel the defense to produce any books or papers. The court ruled that theI prosecution could not compel the producticnI of the books, but that the contents of themE could be proven by oral testimony. RerdellE resumed his testimony for a short time, whenE the court adjourned
 FOrty-Seventh Congress.