Committee on Public Lands.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

Mr. ALLISON. Mr. President, I desire to call attention to a statement which I find on page 4360 of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, being the RECORD of to-day, which states that the joint commission have made a report respecting the condition of the Geological Survey, which purports to accompany a bill restricting the work and publications of that survey. I wish to say that the statement is an error. The commission have made no such report, and have not authorized the making of any such report; and any report that has been made on the subject anywhere is the individual judgment of single members of the commission, and not the judgment of the commission.

Mr. EDMUNDS. If any has been made at all.

Mr. ALLISON. If any has been made anywhere.

Mr. MORGAN. I have observed the same matter in the RECORD to which the Senator from Iowa has called attention. The commission authorized the reporting of a bill, the same, I have no doubt, which has been reported to the other House. Two members of the commission, Mr. HERBERT, of Alabama, and myself, united in the statement of our reasons for supporting that bill, which the other members of the commission did not agree to; and I have no doubt that that gentleman, who is very careful, has been put in perhaps an improper attitude toward this matter by some mistake either of the reporters or the printers. Surely he never intended to make a representation that the entire commission had joined in any written report in support of the propositions contained in that bill.

Mr. ALLISON. I did not intend to impute any improper motive to any person connected with the commission, or to any one indeed, but only to make a statement that no report has been authorized by a majority of the commission or by the commission itself, except the report of the bill.

BILLS RELATIVE TO CHINESE.

Mr. SHERMAN. I call up the resolution which I submitted yesterday and which went over under objection.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. WILSON, of Iowa, in the chair). The Chair lays before the Senate the resolution submitted yesterday by the Senator from Ohio.

The resolution was read, as follows:

*Ordered,* That Senate bill 1991, entitled a bill supplementary to and amending of "An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese," approved May 6, 1882, &c., reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, and Senate bill 2225, to indemnify certain subjects of the Chinese Empire for losses sustained by violence of a mob at Rock Springs, &c., be, and hereby are, made special orders for Monday the 10th day of May, at 2 o'clock p. m.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the adoption of the resolution.

Mr. PLATT. I wish to make an inquiry as to the effect of this order if it be adopted. I have supposed it was understood that certain specified subjects were to be taken up in regular order, one of which is the pension bill which the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. BLAIR] has in charge. That bill is not a special order, and some of the other matters which I supposed were arranged for are not special orders. I wish to inquire, if the bills referred to in the resolution be made a special order for the 10th of May and the other matters which it has been understood by general consent were to be taken up in a certain order should not be all finished, whether this order would displace them? I have no objection to the adoption of the pending order if we can have the understanding which was arrived at in regard to other measures carried out.

A bill (H. R. 4229) granting a pension to Charlotte Algies, widow of Samuel Algies; and

A bill (H. R. 3198) granting a pension to Mrs. Mary Hastings.

Mr. MILLER, from the Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. Res. 125) in recognition of the services of Joseph Francis, reported it without amendment.

Mr. WALTHALL, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 392) declaring forfeited certain grants of land made to certain States in aid of the construction of railroads, reported it with amendments, and submitted a report thereon.

Mr. BLAIR, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom were referred the following bills, reported them severally without amendment, and submitted reports thereon:

A bill (H. R. 2803) granting a pension to John H. Snyder;

A bill (H. R. 1100) granting a pension to Jane W. Devereux;

A bill (H. R. 6389) granting a pension to Francis M. Moore;

A bill (H. R. 4539) granting a pension to Ann Little;

A bill (H. R. 1651) for the relief of Rosina Heineman;

A bill (H. R. 1889) granting a pension to Isaac Carleton; and

A bill (S. 2217) for the relief of Andrew T. McReynolds.

Mr. HAWLEY. I am directed by the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 849) to authorize the Rio Grande, Mexico and Pacific Railroad Company to purchase 10 acres of land on the Fort Cummings military reservation in Mexico, to report it back adversely. The report is unanimously adverse, and I move that the bill be indefinitely postponed.

The motion was agreed to.

## ADDITIONAL CLERK TO THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.

Mr. JONES, of Nevada. I am instructed by the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate, to whom was referred the resolution submitted by the Senator from Vermont [Mr. EDMUNDS] on the 27th of April last, to report it favorably without amendment. I ask for its present consideration.

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to; as follows:

*Resolved,* That the Committee on the Judiciary be, and it hereby is, authorized to employ an assistant clerk for the residue of this present session of the Senate only, at a salary of $8 per day, and that the Secretary of the Senate be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to pay the said salary out of the appropriation for miscellaneous items of the contingent fund of the Senate.

## MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. CLARK, its Clerk, announced that the House had passed the following bills; in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. 5866) to construct a road to the national cemetery at Knoxville, Tenn.; and

A bill (H. R. 5951) granting a pension to John M. Mattingly.

## BILLS INTRODUCED.

Mr. McMILLAN introduced a bill (S. 2363) granting an increase of pension to Marcel Gagnon; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. SAWYER introduced a bill (S. 2364) granting a pension to Betsy Gardner; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. JONES, of Nevada, introduced a bill (S. 2365) for the relief of

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WASHINGTON D. C., May 27.1986.

Dear Professor Marsh,

Yours of the 25th at hand enclosing check for tracks. They clearly belong to you for having paid the actual cost of obtaining them. They have no connection in the remotest way to the Survey, if such had been the case of course I would have turned them over to the Survey instead of sending them to you, and they belong to you just as fully as the check did which you sent, and no possible question can arise as to the propriety and correctness of the transaction, I only hope however that they may be worth to you scientifically what they have cost of this I am no judge.

The Survey is getting along very well, Prof. Powell was before the sub-Committee on Appropriations a few evenings since. Mr. Ryan, of Kansas, Forney, of Alabama, and Randall being present; the Major had quite a long talk and explained everything in connection with the Survey including the increased amount of $150,000 which he is asking for the coming year. Everything seemed very pleasant and favorable certainly judging

2

from the character of the Committee; we have no reason to
feel uneasy, Mr. Randall does not seem inclined to freely grant
the increased of $150,000 but it is my impression that he will
even do this. Mr. Randall read many statements in Herberts
report all of which were clearly and satisfactorily contradict-
ed by Major Powell on the spot. Before the session closed,
however, Mr. Randall stated that he would delay matters still
further in regard to our appropriation until he got the report
of the full Commission but as it then stood he either had to
have data with which to refute Mr. Herberts statements otherwise
he would have to take them into consideration. In a few days
Mr. Allison will have the majority report of the Commission to
be submitted to the appropriations Committee which will be a
very full and clear refutation of MR. Herberts report, at the
same time the majority report of the Commission will absolutely
and wholly ignore both the bill and report made by Mr. Herbert
which I am sure will set the matter as clearly and fully before
both the Appropriations Committee and Congress as it is pos-
sible to do. Ex-secretary Teller told me this morning that he
had just had a long talk with Mr. Allison who has not finished
up his majority report. Mr. Allison told him that we would