Morning journal and courier., 1886-06-16
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
WASHINGTON, June 15, 1886.

SEEATE.-After routine business MT. Beck said that owing to the submission yesterday of MT. Edmunds' resolution, which would admit of debate, on a motion to reconsider he (Mr. Beck) would await the report of tht Committee on Rules to that resolution before calling up the Hawley motion to re consider the vote the bill prohibiting l members of Congress from becoming attor neys of railroad companies.
 On motion of MT. Dolph the Northern Pa cifc forfeiture bill was taken up and MT George resumed his speech. He entered or an elaborate legal argument to show that tho company was not entitled to any lands not earned strictly within the terms of the grant,
 MT. Van Wyck's amendment was agreed to; yeas 24, nays IS. Nine Republicans voted yea; three Democrats voted in the neg. ative. Otherwise the affirmative votes were Democratic and the nays Republican. The amendment declares the forfeiture of the
 land coterminus with the uncompleted DOT ton of the Cascade branch at the date on which the bill was passed. .s Mir. Eustis submitted an amendment pro. posing to forfeit all lands coterminus with
 such portions of the road as were not com
 pleted on July 4, 1879, excepting the right of
 way and the lands included in village, town
 or city sites and proposing further to con-
 firm the titles of actual settlers.
 After long debate Mr. Eustis' amend
 ment was rejected; yeas 12, nays 32
 MT. Van Wyck offered an amendment,
 which as agreed to, repeating the clause of
 the granting act which made the right of way
 exempt from taxation in the territories.
 Mr. Blair offered an amendment providing
 that land grant roads that had not completed
 their lines within the time allowed, and
 which had since proceeded in good faith and
 with reasonable diligence to complete it,
 shall be allowed five years to complete it's
 road, but requiring that the lands should be disposed of to private in dividual owners inside of ten years from the passage of this act, in tracts not exceeding 320 acres to any one individual, all lands not so disposed of with in that term to be forfeited. MT. Blair spoke in support of his motion.
 On motion of MT. Mitchell, of Oregon, this amendment was laid on the table. The bill being brought to a vote was passed; yeas AZ, nays (Mr. Blair.)
 On motion of MT. Dolph the bill repeal ing the pre-emption timber culture and des- ert land acts was then brought before the Senate and is the unfinished business for te- morrow.
 At 6:15 p. m. the Senate adjourned.
 HousE.-Mr. Frederick of Iowa reported back with amendments the Senate bill for the relief of soldiers of the late war honora- bly, discharged after three months service and who are disabled and dependent on their own labor for support; Committee of the Whole.
 the Whole on the legislative appropriation bill. The pending amendment was that of fered by MT. O'Neill, of Missouri, restoring the salary of the assistant treasurer at St. Louis to $4, 800, the amount appropriated by the bill being $4,000. MT. Randall op- posed the amendment and MT. Hiscock took occasion to make statement relative to the
 faI of government. The substance of his statement was that the total estimated revenue for the current year, exclusive of postal revenue, would amount to $330, ,000, 900, while the e1- penditures, exclusive of postal expenditures, would aggregate about $344, 767, 900, leaving 8 deficit for the year of more than s14, ,oOo,- 900.
 Mr. Randall accounted for the large in crease in expenditures during the current year by stating that $15, ,750, 900 more had been expended on account of pension this year than was expended for that purpose last year. Another cause of the increase, he said, was the $15,25O,000 appropriated by the river and harbor bill. He thought, however, that the figures given by the gentleman from New York were too high. In his Randall'sljudgmentt the appropriation would about equal the estimated revenue MT. Randall urged the House to keep the ex- penditure down to the recommendations of the various committees which had submitted the appropriation bills.
 Mir. O'Neills amendment was then agreed to, as was also amendment offered by Mr. Felton, of California, increasing to 5000 the salary of the assistant treasurer at San Francisco, and another by MT. Woodburn, ,'of Nevada, making provision for the Carson City mint.
 The salary of the superintendent of the New York assay office was, on motion of MT. Hewitt, increased from $4, 900 to $4 800. An making provision for the pay of officers and employees in the assay office at St. Louis and one increasing the salary of the assayer of the Denver office from $2, 250 to $2, 500 were agreed to.
 MT. Laird, of Missouri, moved to strike out the clause making appropriations for the pay of inspectors and clerks of the general land office engaged in Investigating fraudu- lent land entries. In support MT. Laird Be- verely criticised the order of Commissioner Sparks in which he suspended final action on land entries A lively debate ensued. Messrs SpEnger and McAdoo defended MT. Sparks and Messrs. Perkins, of Kansas, and Reed, of Maine, criticised his action. Messrs. Bayne and Weaver thought the commissioner was sincere in his endeavors to prevent fraud. Finally the motion to strike out the clause was rejected.
 On motion of MT. Throckmorton the salary of commissioner of pensions was fixed at $4, 900.
 The House at 5 pm. adjourned.