The bee., 1884-05-17
SUMMARY OF CONGRESS.
Senate.

Senate
Mr.. Edmunds introduced a bill in the
Senate pia ing General Cr mt on the tired
list Of The army with the full Fay of gen.
eTal. He accompanied The int -oduction W.T.
remarks in which heexIres>e ell the hope that
t1e committee on military Affairs would,
To- obvious reasons give the mat er
prompt attention. The reasons referred to.
were General Grants financial losses incurred
by the failure of tae New York firm, of which
he was a member. The bin would secure to
General Grant the pay of a gen raj, $l4, 800,
and the emoluments attachet thereto,
amounting in all ID some SIS, 900. -. The ship
ping bill was further considered.
The Senate insisted on its amendments to
the Fitz John Porter bill and the pleuro-
pneumonia bill, which were rejected b
the House. -. The committee on pensions
reported favorably, with an amend
ment. the house bill granting pensions to the
soldiers of the Mexican war. The amend
ment provides that no such officer, enlisted
man, or wi low shall be entitled TO the bene-
fits of this act unless dep n lent in whole or
in part upon his or her own labor or assist
ance from oilers for support. . ConSidera-
tion OF the shipping bill was resumed, and it
was finally pa d with amendments.
The Senate tCol up the 1niian appropria-
tion bill and Mr.. Dawes briefly recapitula-
tel its provisions. The estimates for the year,
he said. ba1 been s., S,4j6,SG9.91 The amount
of the bill as it came from the House had
been S., ,45G, ,3S9.31 The amendments pro-
Io7el by the Senate increase 4 the amount by
S157, AS. 66, making the total amount reported
to the Senate for the Indian service for the
coming year Sc 2l3, SOP 81, This amount ex-
ceeds the Indian bill of last year by $50, 147,
the chief elemen5 of which increase, Mr..
Dawes said, was the amount for Indian
schools.
The river and harbor bill was reported to
the House The total of the appropriations
is $12, ,6l9, 100. The largest appropriation is
for the Mississippi river, from its mouth to its
source, amounting to s., 400 600, and not in
Guiding the S1,000,000 appropriated hereto
fore. FIFTEEN ad iitional great rivers
of the country receive S3,4O5, ,t0l
The total amount recommended for l35
rivers and twelve channels is SS,054 900. The
appropriation for harbors, ice harbors and
breakwater is S4,05S, 100. >. Senate amend
ment 10 the House bill, repeating the iron
clad cath, was conc urred in. -. Senate amend
ments to the Fitz John Porter bill were non
concurred in
The bill appropriating 81. .0O1,009 as a loan
to the New Orleans exposition came up. Mr..
Holman strongly oppo1ed the bill, declaring
that Congress had no constitutional power to
loan money to a private corporation MIR.
Potter took similar ground. The bill was
passed 132 TO ST.. The secretary of the in
terror submitted supplementary estimate
of ST., $50 for additional clerical force in the
Office of The commissioner of pensions. A
bill re'yiving the patent laws was introduced
The House passel the bi granting So ~
to the widow of General Francis p. Blair for
he- hu stands services in organizing troops
during the war. and increasing her pension
10 so month . Most O. the day was spent
in debate on two bills. one appropriating
5000 for the relief of Willis n. Arno d, of
Henderson, Tenn, which was reported ia
v0rably by the comm ttee on war claims, the
other for the relief of Hiram johnson and
forty six other persons CT the same place.
which was reported adversely -. The House
in committee finally S b stituted the johnson
bill for TIE Arnold bill.
Mr.. Cox, of New York, introduced bill to
place General Grant on the retired list. Bills
were also introduced to reSta let the ownership
OF real estate in the Ter. itories TO citizens o.
the United Stat S; to rereal internal revenue
taxes on tobacco and brandy, and wine made
from fruit; and ID repeal pre-emp-
ton and timber culture laws. Mr..
Hewitt Introduced a bill amending the
tariff. The bill provides for simplifying
the admin ration of the custom laws. Cot
ton and cot Oh goo Is are not to pay higher
rate of duty than forty per mt ad valorem;
hemp, jute and fax. t an thirty per cent. !;
wool AMI woolens, than seventy per cent. :
carpets and carpeting, than thIrty-five per
cent. earthenware, glassware and metals,
than fifty per cent. On chemicals, wood, pro-
visions, books, sundries totEer than precious
s ones, and sugar. there shali be levied ninety
per cent of the duti IS now imposed, and to-
bacco shall pay oi ,hty per cent. of the dut ,es
now imocs1d The bill axes reduct ons in
the iron schedule an number of additions
70 fhp Tree list