The record-union., 1898-12-15
Nicaraguan Canal the Principal
Topic Of Debate in Senate.
Turpie's Motion TO Postpone Action TO Be
Voted Upon To-Day.
The House, for the Second Time
slider the Lodge Immigrati> n
Bi1l-An Interesting Debate on
the Rules Precipitated During
Yesterdays Session.

| the nuleS 1rec1p1Cateo OuI1nS
Yesterdays Session.
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE Mic
| araguan Canal bill held its place as
the principal subject before the Senate
again to-day. The speeches>were made
| by Messrs. Harris, Money, Stewart ard
Morgan. Money urged postponement
Of the question, in order to permit an
opportunity for negotiations with Great
Britain for a modification of the Clay
ton-Bulwer treaty and Morgan antag-
onized the proposition. An agreement
was reached to take vote on the Tur-
pie postponement motion tomorrow.
Other questions before the Senate
were the Governments pension policy
and the bill regarding the registry OF
| foreign-built vessels wrecked on the
| American coast.
| The Senate opened to-day with pro-
test upon the part of Gallinger, Chair
man of the Committee on Pensions, Of
the practice of Senators of introduc-
| ing pension bills in cases pending in
| the Pension Office. He said the COM
mittee would not consider such bills,
| ana II was uSeleSS " plSSeLAl lACiiA'
| Vest again called attention to pri-
vate pension bills, and entered a protest
| against their passage without due con-
sideration as he said the Senate was
falling into the habit of doing. IIe called
attention to the fact that notwithstand-
| ing Illinois had furnished 65,OOO more
soldiers than Indiana, the pension roll
of Indiana exceeded that Of Illinois by
! 81 100000 He accounted for this fact
| on the ground that Indiana is pivotal
| State politically, saying that it was no.
| torious that the Commissioner OF Pen
| sons, who was an eX-Union colder,
| had granted pensions to almost every
applicant in political districts which
were close.
| The Nicaragua Canal bill was taken
UP, the pending question being Turpie's
motion to postpone until January 1st.
Harris of Kansas then spoke on the
| general features of the bill He said
| that as O. boy he was attached to sur
veying party in the isthmus in 1859,
and ever since that time he had been
| the Jealous advocate of the general
| propostclon that a canal should be built
across the isthmus. Still, he did not
consider it practicable for a private
corporation to construct the canal, and
he urged Government ownership, but
the Maritime Canal Company's char
ter supplied the only open door, and the
committee in charge of the bill had de.
| termined to enter it with the under
standing that the company was to be
gotten rid Of
Harris said he considered the Panama
!
supported Berwy's amendment, relieving
| the bill Of its bond provisions, saying
it would greatly improve the measure.
! Bacon gave notice of an amendment
providing that work should not begin
on the canal until the Government Of
| Nicaragua should consent to a modifi-
cation of the treaty granting title to
the United States in perpetuity to the
canal right of way, and also eliminat-
ing Articles 53 and 81 of the concession
from that document.
AT 5:25 the Senate adjourned.
HOUSE PROCEEDINGS.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE House
to-day, for the second time during this
Congress, refused to consider the Lodge
| immigration bill. AT the last session
an attempt was made to take it from
the Speakers table, but it was defeated
| by large majority. Danforth Ohio,
| Chairman of the immigration Commit
tee, thought the bill would be strong
er after the elections were over, but
to-day, when he tried again to secure
consideration, the House declined-iOO
to 1O3-to take it up.
An interesting but brief debate on the
I a fed no
sion by Grow of Pennsylvania, during
which De Almond made a speech on the
decadence of the privilege of debate in
the House. and held Speaker Reed re-
/ sponsible for the fact that the House
| had had no opprtunity to adopt a new
system of rules at this session. The
! Speaker replied with a sarcastic speech
| in which he referred to the complaint
of John Randolph in the early days Of
| the century to show that the same
! remonstrances were made then that
were being heard to-day.
The pension appropriation bill was
reported to the House to-day, and Bar
ney (R.) Of Wisconsin gave notice that
he would call it up tomorrow.
The Senate bill to regulate The sit
ting Of the United States courts with
| in the District of South Carolina was
passed. II s,fss1
| Danforth (R.) of Ohio then called up
! the Lodge immigration bill, which was
passed by the Senate last session, and
| has been since on the Speakers desk.
| Bartholdt R.) of Missouri raised the
| question of consideration against it,
| and Danford demanded the ayes ard
nays, which were ordered
| The House refused to consider the
| bill-100 to 103-and the opponents of
| the bill applauded Justify
The consideration Of the bill to in
corporate the International American
Bank, which was a special order for
| to-day, was postponed until tomorrow.
| Some miscellaneous pension matters
were disposed Of when Grow R) of
| Pennsylvania made a short historical
| address by unanimous consent upon the
origin of the Committee of The Whole
on State Of the Union, il which there
was no limitation upon the latitude of
debate.
| Grows remarks caused Robinson D.)
| of Indiana to reproach the majority be-
cause no code of rules had been pre-
pared for this Congress. He charged
! that Henderson (R.) Of Iowa had prom