The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1886-01-23
NUMBER 2l,
continue in mercantile pursuits aud to
avoid Office holding.


strike out the provision to compel husband
Or wife to testify against each other was
rejected, and that provision was retained.
Mr.. Morgan did not think Congress had
authority to appoint trustees to manage q
church business. He characterized such
trustees as mugwump Mormons. They
would be occupied necessarily, he said, in
promoting Mormonism-as he interpreted
the bill under consideration-for they were
to exercise all the powers granted by the
territorial government laws creating the
corporation, Mr.. Edmunds replied that
| they had nothing whatever to do with
church matters Or matters of faith, but
only with property; to see that the church
moneys, (which were enormous, were not
applied to the propagation of polygamy.
Not one quarter of the Mormons, as Mr..
) Edmunds understood, believed in polyg-
! amy.
! At a meeting of the Senate Committee
ON Coast Defenses the two bills introduced
| by Senator Cameron to encourage the man-
/ ufacture of. steel for modern ordnance,
armor and other military and naval pur-
poses, and to provide heavy ordnance
adapted to modern army and naval war
fare, were taken up, and after BONE con-
| sideration, were referred to Senator Haw-
! ley as a SUBJ committee.
| Senator Harrison will report back favor
| ably from the Committee on Territories
| the bill for the admission of Dakota. It
will be accompanied by long report en-
bodying the constitution of the proposed
State and other papers, and will be called
| up for consideration as soon as possible af-
| ter the report is printed. The present in
dications in the Senate are that the division
| upon this question will not be marked by
strict party lines.
The President aud Miss Cleveland find
their round of social entertainments at the
White House mournfully interrupted at
the very outset by the death of the eldest
daughter of the Secretary of State. The
fact that this household must remain in
mourning for o long time to come will be
serious drawback i'll every way to the en-
tainments at the White House, for Mrs.
Bayard and her daughters were necessarily
expected to take very prominent part in
all the entertainments given there.
The fable about row between the Pres
ident and the Senate over the reasons for
the suspension of Republican officials has
furnished sensational correspondents q
good deal of labor, but is only repetition
of the story of tue mountain and the mouse.
The situation has not changed. The whole
| controversy arose over mistake that was
made III the terms used in inquiries made
of the Treasury Department by the Senate
Committee on Finance, which asked for
| the = reasons The ~other committees
simply asked for the information" in
| the possession of the several departments.
! The Senate does not assume the right to
call upon the President for .s reasous.''
The older men of that body all admit that
| Mr.. Morrlil's form was not the proper one,
On the other hand, the President does not
deny the right of the Senate to call for
information" and it has been and will
be furnished as fast as the clerks can pre-
pare it for transmission. The papers have
| already been forwarded in several hundred
cases, but the answers which have been
given to the Committee on Finance have
contained a single sentence which says that
the department is not in possession of the
"reasons !" for the Presidents acts
The Eads lobby is here in full force and
the bill they are advocating is to furnish d
guarantee from the Government of the
construction bonds of the Tehuantepec
Ship Railway. There is 4 provision that
this work is completed, and the railway in
operation within a given time, and is not to
hold unless tho plan comes up to the prom
ises of its protector. In other words, Cap
tain Eads asks that i'll case he builds the
an examination by board of engineers,
one from the Navy, one from the Army
and one from civil life, the Government.
shall stand sponsor for the payment of the
interest and principal of the money invested
in it's construction.
The opinion that this,will be lively SER
sion of Congress, despite the fact that it
opened tamely, prevails Among pubic men
of all shades of political opinion. The in-
coming of Democratic administration af-
ter nearly quarter of century's exclusion
from executive power, with the changes it
naturally brings i'll the public offices, and
in the policy of government generally, is
cited as reason enough to expect animated
proceedings i'll Congress. As the Repub-
icans retain control of the Senate that
body is looked to to protect and promote
the political interests of that party. Some
of the brightest men and abiest leaders OF
the Republican party are in the Senate, and
it goes without saying that they will keep
vigilant eye upon their party's interests.
Those who are anxiously inquiring why
American ship building has fallen away
may study with advantage the statistics of
the same industry III Great Britain. II
| there is country where this branch should
flourish it is IN England, but the figures are
almost appalling. In 1888 shipping to the
extent of 1,25O, 600 tons was launched, in 1884
this total fell to 750 GOO tons, aud from that
again in 1885 to $4,000 tons. Nor is this
all, for it will be found, on further exami-
nation, that SO anxious were the yards to
secure contracts that what work was done
gave little Or no profit.
TIE bill of Undertaken Merritt for the
Grant funeral expenses has at last been
paid, requisition for the amount, Si4, l63,-