Arizona silver belt., 1884-03-22
ROBES RAMBLEs.


 In the house committee on public lands, if you remember, the vote of forfeiture was unanimous, and in the house itself it stood 260 to 1.-the one being Barr of Pennsylvania, who was a great friend of the late Tom Scott. In the senate committee on public lands the vote was almost unanimous in favor of forfeiture, and in the sen ate itself there will not be a bakers dozen with courage enough to stand up and do battle for Huntington's $ steal. l was not present when Mir, Evarts made his argument in favor of the s. P. before the senate com mittee, but sent statement with pas sages in Hamilton's book, relating to the value of the land, marked. -It was used by the committee. MT. George, of Dennison, Texas, also sent a writ ten protest against an acknowledg- ment of the claim. Mir. Evarts, I am informed, made gross misstatements of the law, and was corrected by Sen ator Hill, of Colorado. MT. Hunting ton, the ready letter writer" ad- dressed the committee, and said that ''the whole claim was not worth $5,000,0O0." A senator said, Suppose you relinquish your claim, and let the five millions go to your credit on the claim of the government against the Central Pacitic;" but Huntington couldn't see it. Gall it six millions" said the senator; but the great Cali fornian's eyesight was too defective for that; and the committee had quiet laugh at his expense. It is considered the most obnoxious of all the land claims. Before congress rises, this land will all be returned to the public domain.
 The tobacco rebate bill will soon be- come a law, and the sharks in this city are getting ready to gobble up the percentages for collection. Fortunes have been made by "claim agents" here in the past, and they expect to add to them through this rebate. The new aristocracy in Washington, will have emblazoned upon their escutch- cons, a background of wounded sol diers, with the charred remains of a settlers home, and a package of "solace' tobacco weeping nicotine tears beside 1t.
 The Mexican veterans pension bill will pass the senate, as it has the house, this session. It was weighted down for time with pension for the survivors of the Seminole and Black Hawk wars attached to 1t; but those features have been abandoned, and it is now a Mexican veterans bill pure and simple.
 A bill has been introduced to give brevet rank to officers who have dis tinguished themselves in Indian wars. If it were "extinguished," Crook could claim the benefit of the act. Talking about Crook, reminds me-this morn- ing l was informed by a member of the senate committee on Indian affairs that "the officers of the army, in Ari- zona, protested against the segrega- tion of the Deer Creek coal fields from inc White Mountain reservation. Gen. Crook and his understrappers seem more anxious to prevent the de- velopment of the country, than to punish Indian murderers.
 No appointment has been made, thus far, to give the Territory a new chief justice, or reappoint the old one. The delay has been caused by the earnest efforts of Judge French's friends, who want him reappointed. The Florence lawyer still fingers here, but his chances are not promising.
 The tariff is the absorbing question now, and all minor considerations sink before it. Ohio is divided against Ono, one section against another, and one interest againt another. There is no state wholly free-trade. The free traders yell, "save the farmers" and the farmers themselves say not word. Thus far the protectionists are in the lead. The Morrison bill can only pass through about fifty demo- cratic congressman getting an entire change of heart. O.. ....-..- -..
 Nearly six thousand bills have been introduced in the house, and only thlrty-two have been passed. It's cold day for the lobbyists.
 There will not be any legislation affecting the territories done this year, it seems, unless, indeed, the bill in re- gard to the Deer Creek coal fields should pass-,that seems probable, now.
 The weather is cold here, and social fires have been put out by the waves of religious sentiment which came in