Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-08-06
CONGRESSREVIEWED
THE WORK OF THE SESSION yusT
CLOSED.
TIE Humber Of Bills introduced The
Number Passed and Num-
Der Vetoed.
IBy telegraph to the Dispatoh.l

10y tttcSIbbn W tuc Dtsi1sHst
WASHINGTON, August 5.-The first
session Of the Forty.ninth Congress,
which ended to-day, began Monday,
December Z, 1885, and covered pc
Rod of seven months aud twenty-sight
days, or 241 days, exclusive OF Sim
days. OF this time the Senate was In
session 100 days and the House 1876
days. During that time there were 10
troduced in the two houses l3, 202 mea-
sures, of which 1904 were House
bills and ga House joint resolutions,
and 1881 bills and SO joint resolutions
Of the Senate. The measures pro-
posed for. enactment into laws
exceeded in number by 2,949
those introduced O. the first session
Of the Forty-eighth Congress, which sat
for seven months and four days, or l65
days Of actual working time. They
covered ell sorts OF subjects, from the
payment of laboTers at the Capitol for
extra services to complex questions Of
tariff legislation and legislation with
respect 10 national finances. or the
entire number comparatively few were
Of what may be termed national I'M
portsnce. A greater number were
measures Of private nature and mere
" Of local Importance, such as rslief
and pension bills, bills for the erection
Of public buildings, for bridging rivers.
for granting right Of way to railroads
through military or Indian reservations,
Tor the removal of political disabilities,
fer changing Judicial districts, for
establishing pew land-offices, for
changing the names or location OF
Increasing the capital stock Of
national banks, and for printing
public documents. A very small
percentage of the whole number Of bills
introduced, Of either general or pri-
ya,e nature, became laws. A CON-
psratively small number succeeded in
getting through the committees to which
they were referred and reaching the
calendars of their respective houses;
some secured passage in the house in
which they originated, but failed OF
action in the other branch, and very
large number still remain unconsidered
by the committee to which they were
referred. The total number Of mes-
sures that passed both houses was
l,I0l, being Oil Senate measures and
SEQ bills which originated in the House.
Of this total SOC became laws with the
Presidents approval; Isl became laws
by Limitation, the President fail
ing either to approve or disapproye'
them within ten days after
their presentation to him; lib
we've vetoed, and l failed by
reason Of adjournment without &C.
lion by the President. OF now laws
74G were House measures and al
Senate measures. The laws that be-
came such by limitation were, with two
exceptions, private pension and relic!
bills. The exceptions we're the bill to
authorize the Kansas City, Fort Scot.
and Cult railway to construct a rail-
way through the Indian Territory, and
that to retire Lieutenant Randall. OF
measures vetoed by the President &c were
Senate bills and II bills of the House.
Twenty eight of the Senate bills vetoed
were private pension bills; were for
the erection ofpublic buildings at Day
ION, o., Sioux City, Ia, and Zanes-
vile, o.; ] was to grant to q railroad
right of way through the Indian reser-
walton in Northern Montana ] to make
Springfield, Mass, pert Of delivery; ]
to provide that the bodies Of paupers,
criminals, and strangers dying within
the District Of Columbia unclaimed
within Q specified time after death
shall be turned over to the medical
colleges, and | to quiet the title to
settlers on the Les Moines river lands,
and / to provide for the construction
of bridge over Lake Champlain. OF
the House bills disspproved By the
President "a were private pension
bills and 3 were for the cree
ton of public buildings. These
proposed public buildings were
for Asheville, n. c., Duluth, Mimi,
end Springfield, DO. The number of
measures vetoed during the session was
four more than have been vetoed from
the foundation Of the Government to
the beginning Of the session just closed.
While nearly all Of the vetoed bills
of the Senate were reported back
from committees with the recon-
mendation that they pass notwithstand-
ing the Presidents objection, and while
similar action was taken on some OF the
House bills, only one, that granting
tension to Jacob Romiser, was passed
by the two houses over the veto. The
Des Moines river bill passed the Senate
over the veto, but failed to receive the
requisite two-thirds vote in the House.
Motions to pass bills TO gran. pensions
TO Mary Anderson and Andrew j. Will
ron over the Presidents veto were de-
fes;ed in the House. The consideration
Of other veto messages has been post
..I1 ,oco,np