Morning journal and courier., 1885-01-07
4sth Congress---Second Session.
WASHINGTON. Jan. 4

l | SENATE-Replies were laid before the Sen ate from the Secretary of the Interior to res | olutions calling for information as to the ap- | praisement of Cherokee lands west of the | Arkansas, and to the leases of lands by In | dians for grazing purposes on the Crow reser- vation and in the Indian territory. The re- ports and accompanying documents were of | the most voluminous character. Their gen eral purport was that thousands of cattle in Texas and Kansas had been pastured on h. dian reservations at a mere nominal compen- sation, amounting sometimes to only five cents pef head year, which had been paid to few of the Indian chiefs. By the intervention of Indian agents in some in stances ten cents per head month had been secured for the Indians. Immense quanti- ties of valuable black walnut had been cut on the Indian reservation without any compen- sation whatever The parties who had nego- tiated lease of lands for grazing purposes on the Crow reservation were Messrs Wilson & Blake of Topeka, Kan. The Secretary had declined to approve this lease till he had caused investigation to be made as to the value of the lands. Several of the Indian reservations were much larger than were required In Montana alone there were three hundred thousand acres which might be opened for settlement and still leave the Indians with ample lands to support them, if they desired 10 follow the agricultural pursuits. The Secretary enter tained various objections to allowing Indians on reservations to lease for grazing purposes only lands which were suitable for agricul- ture and which ought to be opened for actual settlement. The communications were or dered printed.
 Mir Hawley introduced bill to establish an international copyright.
 The bill to forfeit the lands granted to the Oregon Central, which was discussed before the holiday recess, was again taken up. MT. Morgan withdrew his motion to recommit the bill to Committee on Public Lands, but that the bill infringed the rights of innocent third parties. He moved an amendment conferring jurisdiction on the United States circuit court of Oregon to pass upon the titles to the lands, and in structing the United States attorney for the western district of Missouri to take proceed ings for this purpose.
 9 laid aside the unfinished business the interstate commerce bill-in order to con tinue the discussion of the Oregon forfeiture bill.
 Mr. Morgan spoke for an hour longer in support of his amendment. He said the precedent now established would have a bearing upon two or three hundred million acres of land grants. In the course of the debate it was elicited that the lands proposed to be forfeited were veritable timber lands seventy miles in length on the uncompleted portion of the road and they formed part of the security for bonds issued by the company and now held in London on the completed portion of the road.
 Mr. Blair characterized this clamor for for feiting land grants as a wild aSrarian move ment under the guise of hostility to corpora tions.
 The yeas and nays were called on Mir. Morgans amendment and it was defeated 1oi1 Mr MOroaO changed his vote before the result was an nounced so as to move a reconsideration at some future time.
 At 4:30 D. m the Senate went into execu- tive session, confirmed half a dozen minor nominations and at 4:40 p. m. adjourned.
 HoUsE-Mr Tucker, of Virginia, from the Committee on Judiciary, endeavored to have assigned a fixed day for the considera- tion of business from that committee, but MT. Holman objected.
 Mr. Ellis, of Louisiana, from the Commit tee on Appropriations, reported joint reso- lution appropriating $50, 900 for the support of destitute Indians in Montana; passed.
 The morning hour was dispensed with and the House went into Committee of the Whole on the pension appropriation bill, MT. Ro- gers, of Arkansas, ill the chair.
 Mr. Hancock, of Texas, in charge of the bill, briefly explained its provisions.
 MT. Warner, of Ohio, advocated repeal of the law allowing contracts to be made be- tween pensioners and claim agents for fee in excess of S10, and denounced in unmeas- ured terms the professional claim agents and attorneys declaring them to be wolves in sheeps' clothing robbing and despoiling the soldiers, and a disgrace to the civilization of the age.
 This suggestion gave rise to a protracted debate in which there were numerous per sonal disavowals of responsibility for the act of July 1884, increasing the fee of claimants on the part of members and of committees and into which for the third time the famous congressional contest between Messrs. War ner and J. D. Taylor of Ohio was brought.
 The reading of the bill by paragraphs for amendment was finally reached. MT. Ever hardt of Pennsy ylvania, offered an amend ment that all applicants for pensions shall be presumed to have no disability at the time of enlistment, but such presumption may be rebutted; adopted.
 Mir Rogers, of Arkansas, offered addi- tional sections bill prescribing regulations for the government of agents and attorneys prosecuting claims for pensions, arrears of pensions and for county lands. It limits the fee to S10 in all cases except under certain circumstances with the assent of the com missioner of pensions and provides that all fees shall only be paid on the allowance of the claim; forbids the transfer of claims from one agent to another and imposes pen alUleS TOT NlOldl1OH Ol CHe ElIOF1olOuS OI lIIc bill
 Mr. Warner offered an amendment limiting contract fees to residents in the same State as the claimants and excluding agents in the District of Columbia; adopted.
 MT Rogers amendment amended was then agreed to.
 Mr. O'Hara, of North Carolina, offered an amendment that hereafter the mode and manner prescribed by law for the payment of pensions to white soldiers be observed in the payment of all pensions; adopted.
 MT. Watson offered an amendment increas- ing the pension of widows to S100 per month; ruled out on point of order
 Several other amendments were offered and ruled out on points of order. The committee then rose, reported the bill to the House and the previous question was ordered. All the amendments adopted in committee were agreed to and the bill was passed; yeas 174, nays 5. The bill appropriates 59,976, 900, $24 900 less than the estimates.
 At $40 the House adjourned.