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The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The name will be stricken out at the suggestion of the Senator, if there be no objection.

The bill was reported to the Senate as amended; the amendment was concurred in. Mr. GRIMES. I will inquire what committee reported this bill.

Mr. POMEROY. The Committee on the District of Columbia.

Mr. GRIMES. I ask that question with a view of inquiring whether or not this bill is drawn in accordance with the usual acts of incorporations of this description. I understand that it exempts the property of this church to any extent that they may own property in the District from taxation.

Mr. POMEROY. The exemption from taxation is limited to sufficient property to enable them to sustain religious worship."

Mr. JOHNSON. How much will be sufficient for that purpose?

Mr. GRIMES. All I desire is, that they shall stand on the same footing with other religious denominations. I do not know whether this bill is in accordance with the practice in granting these acts of incorporation or not.

Mr. POMEROY. The bill was reported from the Committee on the District of Columbia, and the Senator from Maine, [Mr. MORRILL,] who had charge of it, is out of the Chamber at this moment.

Mr. RIDDLE. I will state that this bill was thoroughly examined by the committee, and it is in accordance with the other bills incorporating these churches, and is not excessive at all. It is the intention of the committee at some future day to draw up a general bill allowing religious societies to come in and be incorporated as is customary in the States.

Mr. POMEROY. I did not draw the bill, but I understand it is copied from the bill incorporating the Presbyterian churches in this city.

Mr. JOHNSON. Does it limit the amount of the property?

Mr. POMEROY.
Mr. JOHNSON. Is it limited by feet and

Not in dollars and cents.

acres?

Mr. GRIMES. There is no limit in the bill, as I understand it.

Mr. JOHNSON. There ought to be a limit, certainly.

Mr. POMEROY. The bill authorizes them "to purchase, hold, and convey real and personal estate, make contracts," &c., to such an extent "as to enable them to sustain religious worship in Washington, in the District of Columbia, and to erect and maintain edifices for that purpose, and parsonages; and said society shall be exempt from any taxes to be assessed upon their property, under the authority of Congress or of the District of Columbia or of the city or county of Washington."

Mr. JOHNSON. That is a departure, if my friend will permit me to say so, from the policy that Maryland has always adopted, and the policy which I think has been adopted by most of the States. We limit the amount of property that these corporations shall hold by constitutional provision, subject only to the qualification that the Legislature may authorize a larger amount to be held than the constitution by its terms authorizes. Under this bill, it would be exceedingly difficult to limit the quantity or value of real estate which this corporation may hold.

Mr. GRIMES. Say "not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars."

Mr. POMEROY. I have no objection to that. I will move to add as a proviso to the first section, the following:

Provided, That the amount of the value of real estate shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. That proviso will be added by common consent to the bill, if there be no objection.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

PACIFIC RAILROAD, EASTERN DIVISION. The Senate proceeded to consider the amendment of the House of Representatives to the joint resolution (S. R. No. 80) extending the time for the completion of the Union Pacific railway, eastern division, which was to add the following as an additional section:

SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the time for commencing and completing the Northern Pacific railroad, and all its several sections, is extended for the term of two years.

Mr. POMEROY. I move that the Senate concur in that amendment.

The motion was agreed to.

UNIFORM MILITIA.

Mr. WILSON. I desire to take up for consideration the bill (S. No. 262) to provide for the national defense by establishing a uniform militia and organizing an active volunteer militia force throughout the United States. With the permission of the Senate, I desire to say a single word before the motion is put on taking up the bill.

The bill has been prepared with the greatest possible care. The first nine sections of the bill take the place of the act of 1792, which is not at all applicable to our present militia system, and to which very little attention is paid. The residue of the bill, eleven sections, provides for the organization of an active militia force, which, if full, would make a force of about two hundred and forty thousand men in the whole country. The bill was submitted to several eminent officers of the Army, to General Grant, General Sherman, General Meade, and General Thomas, who examined it very carefully, made one or two slight suggestions, and stated that the bill would accomplish the object desired, to have a small, effective, well-organized, active militia force in the country, and recommended it very strongly. Several of the most eminent men connected with the Army and the militia of the country have indorsed it.

The present is a good time, as we are just at the end of a war, to bring into the militia many officers of eminence who have distinguished themselves during the war. The bill allows the establishment in each State of a number of regiments, containing from six hundred to a thousand men, equal to the number of Representatives in Congress of that State; so that the number of regiments in the country will be equal to the number of Representatives in the Congress of the United States. It seems to me that we require such a volunteer militia force; and I should like to take the bill up now and put it on its passage. The bill is so carefully and well prepared that I see that the Committee on the Militia of the House of Representatives have adopted it as their own, with two or three amendments upon it. They have killed and it seems to me this much we ought, at any the Army bill in the House of Representatives, rate, to do. I know that there is a desire to go into executive session early to-day, and that there is a large amount of business in executive session, but I should like to have this bill taken up now and call attention to it that Senators may be willing to take some little time to act upon it. I therefore move to take it up for consideration at the present time.

Mr. GRIMES. I will not undertake to controvert the many merits which the Senator has suggested as being embodied in his militia bill, but I think most of the Senators present will agree with me that whether it be meritorious or not, now is not the proper time to proceed to the consideration of so important a bill when there are not more than ten or a dozen members present. It is true that the House of Representatives have killed their Army bill, as the Senator has said, and I congratulate the House and the country upon the fact. If they will now only kill the Army bill we sent to them they will have accomplished an object equally as great and good, I think, for we have now a large Army, fifty thousand men, being one half more than we can keep full, and I know of no necessity for increasing the Army. If it be in

order I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business. Mr. POLAND. Before that is done I hope the Senator will allow me to make a motion to reconsider.

Mr. GRIMES. I withdraw the motion for the present in order to enable the Senator from Vermont to make his motion.

POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. POLAND. On my motion yesterday the vote by which the Post Office appropriation bill was passed was reconsidered. I desire now to move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment to the bill offered by the Senator from Illinois [Mr. TRUMBULL] was adopted, so as to bring the whole subject before the Senate. Mr. CLARK. I suggest to the Senator not to take up that matter now.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is moved that the Senate reconsider its vote adopting the amendment offered by the Senator from Illinois to the bill indicated by the Senator from Vermont.

Mr. POLAND. I do not ask that the motion be considered now; I desire only to have it entered.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The motion to reconsider will be entered.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. MCPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the House had agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (H. R. No. 238) to amend an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March 3, 1863.

The message further announced that the House of Representatives had passed the following bills and joint resolutions, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 391) to create the office of surveyor general in Idaho Territory;

A bill (H. R. No. 555) for the relief of Charles Brewer & Co.;

A bill (H. R. No. 556) to authorize the issuing of a military land-warrant to Frederick Berlin, assignee of the heirs of Peter Hess, deceased;

A bill (H. R. No. 557) to quiet the title to certain lands within the corporate limits of the city of Benicia ;

A bill (H. R. No. 558) to amend the charter of the Washington Gas-Light Company;

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 77) for the relief of Ambrose L. Goodrich and Nathan Cornish, for carrying the United States mail from Boise City to Idaho City, in the Territory of Idaho; and

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 133) relative to the attempted assassination of the Emperor of Russia.

HOUSE BILLS REFERRED.

The following bills and joint resolutions from the House of Representatives were severally read twice by their titles and referred as indicated below:

A bill (H. R. No. 391) to create the office of surveyor general in Idaho Territory-to the Committee on Public Lands.

A bill (H. R. No. 555) for the relief of Charles Brewer & Co.-to the Committee on Commerce.

A bill (H. R. No. 556) to authorize the issuing of a military land-warrant to Frederick Berlin, assignee of the heirs of Peter Hess, deceased-to the Committee on Public Lands.

A bill (H. R. No. 557) to quiet the title to certain lands within the corporate limits of the city of Benicia-to the Committee on Public Lands.

A bill (H. R. No. 558) to amend the charter of the Washington Gas-Light Company-to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 77) for the relief of Ambrose L. Goodrich and Nathan Cornish for carrying the United States mails from Boise City to Idaho City-to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

A joint resolution (H. R. No. 133) relative to the attempted assassination of the Emperor of Russia-to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

EXECUTIVE SESSION,

Mr. GRIMES. Inow renew the motion that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business.

The motion was agreed to; and after two hours spent in executive session, the doors were reopened, and the Senate adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
FRIDAY, May 4, 1866.

The House met at twelve o'clock m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. C. B. BOYNTON. The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

CORRECTION.

Mr. UPSON. I rise to a correction of the Journal of Wednesday, as well as of the Globe. I find myself recorded on the passage of the Army bill as absent and not voting. I was present and voted in the negative. I have just learned of the error, or would have asked to have the correction made yesterday.

The Journal was corrected accordingly.

EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.

Mr. STEVENS. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to introduce a joint resolution relative to the recent attempted assassination of the Emperor of Russia.

The resolution was read, and is as follows: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress of the United States of America has learned with deep regret the attempt made upon the life of the Emperor of Russia by an enemy of emancipation. The Congress send their greeting to his Imperial Majesty and to the Russian nation, and congratulate the twenty million serfs upon the providential escape from danger of the sovereign to whose head and heart they owe the blessings of their freedom. There was no objection.

The joint resolution was read a first and second time, ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time.

Mr. STEVENS demanded the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

Mr. GRINNELL demanded the yeas and

nays.

The House divided; and there were-ayes 17, noes 43.

Mr. ANCONA demanded tellers. Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. GRINNELL and ANCONA were appointed.

The House was again divided; and the tellers reported-ayes twenty-nine, more than one fifth of those present.

So the yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 124, nays 0, not voting 59; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ancona, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Chanler, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coffroth, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawson, Defrees, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eldridge, Eliot, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Grinnell, Griswold, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Le Blond, Longyear, Lynch, Marshall, Marston, MeClurg, McCullough, McKee, MeRuer, Mercur, Miller, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Alexander II. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Ross, Rousseau, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Smith, Spalding, Stevens, Stilwell, Strouse, Taylor, Francis Thomas, Thornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Ilorn, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Elihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, Welker, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, and Winfield-124. NAYS-0.

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Ames. Bergen, Blaine, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Delano, Dumont, Eggleston, Farnsworth, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Harris, Hayes, Hill, Hogan, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell,

Hulbard, James M. Humphrey, Jenckes, Johnson, Jones, Kelso, Kerr, Loan, Marvin, McIndoe, Moorhead, Myers, Newell, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Patterson, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, William H. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Schenck, Shanklin, Sloan, Starr, Taber, Thayer, John L. Thomas, Trimble, Ward, William B. Washburn, Wentworth, Whaley, Woodbridge, and Wright-59.

So the joint resolution was passed unanimously.

During the roll-call,

Mr. ANCONA stated that, in deference to wishes of friends, he would change his vote, and vote in the affirmative, although against his own conviction of propriety.

The vote was then announced as above recorded.

Mr. STEVENS moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

INTERNAL REVENUE BILL.

Mr. MORRILL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the internal revenue bill, as modified by the Committee of Ways and Means, with additions including further subjects, and with errors corrected, may be ordered to be reprinted, and that as reprinted, it shall be taken up on Monday next.

It was ordered accordingly.

Mr. ANCONA. I would inquire whether this will include the extra copies ordered some days since; if not, whether the same number of copies of the corrections should not be printed.

Mr. MORRILL. It will not extend to the extra copies, because those are already printed.

Mr. ANCONA. But a small portion of them, I believe. I suggest an amendment, that it embrace the extra copies remaining that have not been printed.

Mr. MORRILL. I think they have all been printed, but I see no objection.

Mr. CHANLER. I move that the same number of extra copies of the corrected bill be issued. It is very necessary that this bill should be distributed among our constituents.

The SPEAKER. That goes to the Committee on Printing under the law.

MILITARY AND NAVAL APPOINTMENTS. Mr. PAINE. I ask unanimous consent to introduce for present action a joint resolution which I am sure will commend itself to the justice of every member of the House so that there will be no objection. It is in relation to the ages at which young men who have served in the Army or Navy during the late rebellion shall be eligible to appointment to the Military and Naval Academies. A provision relating to the Military Academy was embodied in the Army bill which has recently been before the House. I awaited the result of the action of the House on that bill before offering this resolution. But inasmuch as it may be some time before final action is had on that measure, and cases are arising daily, and many must arise before the 1st of July next, so that this meas. ure will be of practical importance to the country, I sincerely hope the House will now take action upon it.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I will object to it if it gives rise to discussion, not otherwise.

The joint resolution was read. It provides that those who have performed meritorious service in the United States Army as officers or enlisted men, for a period of not less than two years during the late rebellion, shall be eligible to appointment to the United States Military Academy until twenty-four years of age, and to the Naval Academy until twenty-one years of age; and all persons who have performed such service for a period of less than two years shall be eligible to appointment to the Military Academy until twenty-three years of age, and to the Naval Academy until twenty years of

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CORRECTIONS OF THE JOURNAL.

Mr. ALLISON. I see by reference to the Globe that my name is not recorded upon the final vote on the bill to admit the State of Colorado. I voted in the negative. I ask to have the Journal corrected accordingly.

The SPEAKER. The correction will be made.

Mr. VAN HORN, of New York. I am recorded as not having voted on the admission of Colorado. I voted in the affirmative.

The SPEAKER. The Journal will be corrected accordingly.

Mr. PERHAM. I am also recorded as not voting on the passage of that bill. I voted in the negative.

The SPEAKER. The correction will be made.

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT. Mr. BANKS, by unanimous consent, submitted certain correspondence of the Secretary of State with the British minister, on the subject of the claim of Thomas Miller and William Fisher, British subjects, on account of alleged illegal arrest; which was ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also a letter from the Secretary of State, transmitting a correspondence relative to the claim of Charles Allen, a British subject, for compensation for injury done to his property near Vicksburg, received April 27, 1866; which was ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

CHANGE OF REFERENCE.

On motion of Mr. INGERSOLL, by unani mous consent, the Committee for the District of Columbia was discharged from the further consideration of bill of the House No. 404, to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the Guardian Society, and provide for reforming juvenile offenders in the District of Columbia; also, an act entitled "An act granting certain privileges to the Guardian Society of the District of Columbia ;" and the same were referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

HABEAS CORPUS.

Mr. COOK. I am instructed by the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the habeas corpus bill to make a report, which I ask to have read.

The report was read, and is as follows:

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses of Congress on the amend ments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. No. 238) to amend an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases,' approved March 3, 1863, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend, and do recommend, to their respective Houses as follows:

That the House of Representatives concur in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and seventh amend

ments of the Senate.

That the House of Representatives concur in the sixth amendment of the Senate, with an amendment, as follows: strike out all after the word "act" in tho fourth line of said amendment.

DANIEL CLARK,
LYMAN TRUMBULL,
Managers on the part of the Senate,

BURTON C. COOK,
SAMUEL MCKEE,

Managers on the part of the House. Mr. COOK. I demand the previous question on the report.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered.

Mr. ELDRIDGE demanded the yeas and nays on the adoption of the report. Mr. ANCONA called for tellers on the yeas and nays.

Tellers were not ordered.

The yeas and nays were not ordered. The report of the committee of conference was agreed to.

Mr. COOK moved to reconsider the vote by which the report was agreed to; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

the

Mr. TROWBRIDGE, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee

had examined and found truly enrolled bills of the following titles; when the Speaker signed

the same:

An act for the admission of the State of Colorado into the Union;

An act to encourage telegraphic communication between the United States and the island of Cuba and the other West India islands, and the Bahamas; and

An act concerning the boundaries of the State of Nevada.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I demand the regular order of business.

CHARLES BREWER AND COMPANY.

The House resumed, as the regular order of business, the consideration of a bill for the relief of Charles Brewer & Co., which was pending at the expiration of the morning hour on Friday last.

The bill, which was read, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Charles Brewer & Co., of Boston, Massachusetts, the sum of $3,520, in full for the passage in the Hawaiian bark Kamehameha, of sixty-eight destitute seamen belonging to American vessels which were burned by the Anglo-confederate pirate Shenandoah, from the island of Ascension to Honolulu.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

HEIRS OF PETER HESS, DECEASED. Mr. ECKLEY, from the Committee on Public Lands, reported a bill to authorize the issuing of a military land-warrant to Frederick Berlin, assignee of the heirs of Peter Hess, deceased.

The bill was read a first and second time.

It directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue to Frederick Berlin, as the assignee of the heirs-at-law of Peter Hess, deceased, a military land-warrant for forty acres of land in lieu of military land-warrant No. 17,308, heretofore issued to Peter Hess, deceased, in his life-time, but which was not located.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. ECKLEY moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

SURVEYOR GENERAL FOR IDAHO.

Mr. ECKLEY, from the Committee on Public Lands, reported back House bill No. 391, to create the office of surveyor general in Idaho Territory.

The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill was read. It provides that the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be authorized to appoint a surveyor general for the Territory of Idaho, who shall be allowed an annual salary of $3,000, with the same power, authority, and duties as those provided by law for the surveyor general of Oregon; and to have a proper allowance for clerk hire, office rent, and fuel, not exceeding that allowed by law to the surveyor general of Oregon, the office to be. located at Boise City, Idaho Territory.

Mr. UPSON. I would inquire of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. ECKLEY,] what is the ordinary salary of a surveyor general of a new Territory?

Mr. ECKLEY. The salary of the surveyor general of each of the two districts out of which this is made is $3,000 a year.

Mr. UPSON. I know that the salary of the surveyor general of the Territory of Dakota was $2,000 a year; whether there was or not much land there capable of being surveyed.

Mr. ECKLEY. I do not know how that 39TH CONG. 1ST SESS.-No. 150.

is. The surveyor general does not survey the lands.

The bill was then ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. ECKLEY moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

SOSCOL RANCHI, CALIFORNIA.

Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on Public Lands, reported back House bill No. 260, to amend an act of Congress entitled "An act to grant the right of preemption to certain pur chasers on the Soscol ranch, in California,' with a recommendation that it do not pass; and moved that the same be laid on the table. The motion was agreed to.

ISSUING OF LAND PATENTS.

Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on Public Lands, also reported back House bill No. 67, to authorize the issue of patents for lands in certain cases, with a recommendation that it do not pass; and moved that the same be laid on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

LAND TITLES IN BENICIA, CALIFORNIA. Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on Public Lands, also reported a bill to quiet the title to certain lands within the corporate limits of the city of Benicia, California.

The bill was read a first and second time. The question was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.

The bill was read in full. It provides that the right and title of the United States to the lands situated within the corporate limits of the ty of Benicia, California, as defined in the act incorporating said city, passed by the Legislature of the State of California April 24, 1851, shall be relinquished and granted to that city upon trust that so much of said lands as is in the bona fide occupancy of parties by themselves or their assignees upon the passage of this act shall be conveyed to such parties by the city; provided that this relinquishment and grant shall not extend to lands occupied by the United States as a military depot, or to lands heretofore reserved by the United States for public purposes; that this grant shall not interfere with or prejudice any valid adverse right or claim, if such exist, to any part of said land, or preclude a judicial examination and adjustment thereof; and provided further, that said city shall pay into the Treasury of the United States, at the office of the sub-Treasurer at San Francisco, for the land the title to which is hereby granted and relinquished, at the rate of $125 per acre, within one year of the return to the General Land Office at Washington of an approved plat of the exterior limits of said city in connection with the lines of the public

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Mr. McRUER. I will state to the gentleman from New York [Mr. CHANLER] that the city of Benicia was built upon what was considered private land. It was upon what is termed the Soscol ranch, the title to which was confirmed by the land commissioners appointed by Congress to examine land claims in California. That decision was afterward confirmed by the United States district court of California. But after a succession of years, upon an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, the decision was reversed, and the original Mexican grant rejected upon what are considered to be technical grounds. Therefore the parties who seek the right to purchase this land from the United States at $1 25 per acre, have already paid various prices for it, some of them perhaps as high as $1,000 per acre, and even higher. These individuals have made purchases in good faith, and have paid a valuable consideration. upon the belief that

the property purchased was private property; and it is deemed an act of justice that they should have the right to enter their lands at the rate of $125 per acre, and get a title from the United States.

I think there can be no objection to the passage of the bill, and I demand the previous question.

Mr. ECKLEY. I trust the gentleman will withdraw for one moment the call for the previous question, as I desire to strike out the last proviso of the bill.

Mr. BIDWELL. I trust that that amendment will be made.

Mr. McRUER. I withdraw the call for the previous question, and yield to the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. ECKLEY.]

Mr. ECKLEY. I move to amend by striking out the following:

And provided further, That the said city shall pay into the Treasury of the United States, at the office of the sub-Treasurer at San Francisco, for the land the title to which is hereby granted and relinquished, at the rate of $1 25 per acre within one year of the return to the General Land Office at Washington of a private plat of the exterior limits of said city, in connection with the lines of the public surveys.

Mr. McRUER. I have no objection to that, if there is no opposition to it on the part of the House. I consider it an act of equity to the residents of the city of Benicia ; but I desire that the passage of the bill shall not be prejudiced for the sake of this small sum of money.

Mr. ECKLEY. I think there will be no objection to the amendment.

Mr. BIDWELL. I trust there will be no opposition to the amendment.

Mr. McRUER. I now renew the demand for the previous question.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the oper ation thereof the amendment of Mr. ECKLEY was agreed to.

The bill, as amended, was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. McRUER moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

BENICIA, CALIFORNIA.

Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on Public Lands, reported back House bill No. 269, entitled "An act for the relief of citizens of Benicia, in Solano county, State of California," with a recommendation that it do not pass; and moved that the same be laid on the table. The motion was agreed to.

A. L. GOODRICH AND N. CORNISH. Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, reported back a joint resolution (H. R. No. 77) for the relief of Ambrose L. Goodrich and Nathan Cornish,

The joint resolution, which was read, provides that the Postmaster General be authorized to audit and settle, as to him may appear just and equitable, the demand of Ambrose L. Goodrich and Nathan Cornish for carrying the United States mail on route 16001, from Boise

City to Idaho City, in the Territory of Idaho, from the 5th day of July, 1864, until the 1st day of July, 1865.

The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. McRUER moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider bo laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

WELLINGTON AND DORSEY.

Mr. McRUER, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, reported back Senate bill No. 210, for the relief of Wellington & Dorsey, with a recommendation that it do not pass; and moved that the same be laid on the table.

The motion was agreed to.

SANITARY CONDITION OF WASHINGTON. Mr. INGERSOLL. By direction of the Committee for the District of Columbia, I de sire to move that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union be discharged from the further consideration of the joint resolution (H. R. No. 121) to place funds in the hands of the Commissioner of Public Buildings for sanitary purposes, and that the House proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution at the present time.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. My colleague, [Mr. INGERSOLL,] I believe, proposes to make some amendments to the bill.

Mr. INGERSOLL. I did; but upon inquiry, I find that the city of Washington has appropriated more money for the purpose of cleaning the streets and alleys than this resolution proposes to appropriate; that the city corporation

1859, pages 612 and 613) it is laid down, with a number of illustrations, that bills relating to London only are private bills, while those relating to the whole metropolis "have been dealt with as public bills; the large area, the number of parishes, the vast population, and the variety of interests concerned constituted them measures of public policy rather than of local interest. "" Bills establishing a police

force in the city of London, improving Smithfield market, &c., were regarded as private bills, while the metropolitan cattle market and a metropolitan police were legislated on as public bills.

From these illustrations it is evident that while bills relative to and confined in their

operation to the city of London are held in the British Parliament to be private bills, those embracing in their sphere the whole metropolis, including Lambeth, Mary-le-bone, Southwark,

Mr. McCULLOUGH moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

HOWARD INSTITUTE AND HOME.

Mr. INGERSOLL, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back House bill No. 482, to incorporate the Howard Institute and Home of the District of Columbia, with a recommendation that it pass.

The bill was read. It constitutes James M. Edmunds, and others, a body-politic for the establishment of the said Institute for the instruction of freedmen, and fit them for independent support, furnishing also a temporary home for the sick.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was

has done its full share toward putting the city and Finsbury, with their millions of inhabitants accordingly read the third time and passed.

in a proper sanitary condition, and that the sum proposed to be appropriated by the joint resolution is no more than will be required for putting the avenues in a proper condition. I do not therefore propose any amendment. If my colleague proposes any I am ready to hear it.

Mr. BEAMAN. Is the motion of the gentleman from Illinois in order now?

The SPEAKER. It is not, except by unani

mous consent.

Mr. BEAMAN. I object.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT.

A message in writing was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. EDWARD COOPER, his Private Secretary, who also announced that the President had approved and signed an act to provide for the better organization of the pay department of the Navy.

BALTIMORE AND POTOMAC RAILROAD COMPANY.

Mr. McCULLOUGH, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back House bill No. 388, to authorize the extension, construction, and use of a lateral branch of the Baltimore and Potomac railroad into and within the District of Columbia, with amend

ments.

The Clerk proceeded to read the bill. Mr. BEAMAN. Is that a private bill? I raise the point of order that it is not.

The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks that it is a private bill. And as this raises entirely a new point, the Chair will ask to be indulged in explaining it.

There is no decision in Barclay's Digest as to what are private bills as distingnished from public bills. It does not appear that there has ever been an appeal from the decision of the Chair on that point. On examination, it has been found that the ruling of the Chair as to whether a bill was a private or a public bill has uniformly been acquiesced in.

It is evident that appropriation bills, Army bills, bankrupt bills, and other bills of that character, are public bills, while pension bills, claims for damages, claims of incorporated companies, and all bills of every kind from the Court of Claims, are, under the rule, private bills; but there is a middle ground between these bills where the character of the

bill depends upon usage. A number of years ago Mr. Speaker Cobb decided that a bill granting lands to a railroad in Georgia was a private bill, but that decision has not been followed by any of those who have followed him as Presiding Officer of this House. It has been correctly held that railroad land grants were public bills.

Bills in reference to the District of Columbia have been reported both as public and private. The Statutes-at-Large are full of them under the heading of private bills, which is of course collateral evidence. As there is no decision in our own Digest, the Chair has examined into the parliamentary practice of Great Britain, where there is a marked distinction, growing out of the fact that fees have to be paid upon private while none are paid upon public bills.

In May's Parliamentary Practice (edition of

and their vast area, are considered public.

There is also a decision in the second volume

of Hatsell, which the Chair has not here at this moment, made by the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1607, that a bill for amending the highways of three counties was a private bill, because, as the Speaker said, it being "only" for three counties it was by all former precedents not a public bill.

The usage has been here that bills confined strictly in their operation to the District of Columbia can be reported as private or as public bills. The bill reported a few weeks ago for the incorporation of an ice company in this District was clearly a public bill, because it authorized agencies and the transaction of business in other places outside of the limits of this District. This bill appears to be confined to the District of Columbia, and can therefore be reported as a private bill this day.

Mr. GARFIELD. Would a bill in reference to suffrage in this District be a private bill?

The SPEAKER. It would not. Private bills relate generally to individuals or corporations. The same volume of May's Parliamentary Practice states that private bills "are for the interest of an individual, a public company or corporation, a parish, a city, a county, or other locality." It must not be a general bill in its enactments, but "a bill for the particular interest or benefit of a person or persons." As an illustration, a pension bill for the relief of a soldier's widow is a private bill, but a general bill granting pensions to any class of such persons as a class instead of as individuals is a public bill. So far as the reading has progressed, the Chair infers the pending bill is confined to this District.

The Clerk then concluded the reading of the bill.

The amendments of the committee were read and adopted, as follows:

On page 3, line six, add "necessary for the construction of said road," and in line sixteen strike out the word "inhabitants" and insert citizens."

On page 5, line forty-nine, at the end of the section, insert, "which courts shall have the same jurisdiction and powers over the subject-matter as the said circuit courts have under the act aforesaid,"

64

On page 7, line four, strike out "sixteen" and insert twelve," and in line fourteen, same page, after the word "and" insert the word "any." Mr. McCULLOUGH. By the act of incorporation this company have a right to make lateral roads, provided they do not extend beyond the limit of twenty miles. This bill gives them a right to make from some point twelve miles below Washington a lateral road into the city of Washington.

Mr. ROSS. I move as an amendment to strike out "four years" and insert "two years," and also to strike out "six years" and insert "four years." I think they should be limited to two years to commence and four years to finish the work.

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill, as amended, was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. INGERSOLL moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF MUSIC. Mr. INGERSOLL, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back House bill No. 510, to incorporate the Academy of Music of Washington city, with a recommendation that it pass.

The bill was read. It constitutes Max Strakosch, and others, corporators, and fixes the capital at $500,000, in shares of fifty dollars each.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. INGERSOLL moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

WASHINGTON GAS-LIGHT COMPANY.

Mr. INGERSOLL, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back a bill to amend the charter of the Washington GasLight Company, recommending its passage.

The bill was read. It increases the stock of the company $500,000.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. INGERSOLL moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay that motion on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

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On motion of Mr. INGERSOLL, the Committee for the District of Columbia was discharged from the further consideration of the papers relating to the claim of J. W. Nye, assignee, &c.; and the same were referred to the Committee of Claims.

NATIONAL THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.

Mr. WELKER, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back House bill No. 352, to incorporate the National Associa tion to Éducate Colored Men for the Christian Ministry, with a substitute, recommending that the substitute be adopted.

The substitute was read. It creates Abraham D. Gillette, and others, a body-politic for the establishment of a national theological institute to educate persons for the Christian ministry. It provides that no person shall be excluded from the institute on account of theological belief.

The substitute was agreed to. The bill, as amended, was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time; and being

engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

On motion of Mr. WELKER, the title was amended so as to read, "An act to incorporate the National Theological Institute."

Mr.WELKER moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed and the title amended; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

LEVY COURT OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. Mr. INGERSOLL, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back bill of the Senate No 90, enlarging the powers of the levy court of the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia, with the recommendation that it do pass.

The bill empowers the levy court of the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia, to declare and locate as public highways such roads known and used as "military roads" in the District of Columbia during the rebellion, as the court may deem advisable.

It provides further, that the damages which the owners of land may sustain shall be assessed as provided for in section three of the act of Congress approved July 1, 1812, "conferring certain powers on the levy court for the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia.

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I would ask the gentleman from Illinois what provision the law of 1812 makes for the payment of the damages when assessed.

Mr. INGERSOLL. It makes provision that the damages be assessed by a jury of twelve citizens of the vicinage, and the money is to be paid before the use of the road is entered on. Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. From what source do they get the fund from which to pay the damages?

Mr. INGERSOLL. From the fund raised by the county taxes out of the county treasury. No part of it comes out of the Government funds.

The bill was ordered to a third reading; and it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Mr. INGERSOLL moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

The latter motion was agreed to.

REFORM SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mr. BALDWIN, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported back, with sundry amendments, bill of the House No. 379, to establish in the District of Columbia a reform school for boys.

The bill was read.

The SPEAKER. The morning hour has expired, and the bill goes over.

MILITARY ACADEMY APPOINTMENTS. Mr. PAINE. I have so modified the joint resolution which I offered this morning that the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. RANDALL] has withdrawn his objection, and I now ask unanimous consent to introduce it.

The joint resolution, as modified, was read, as follows:

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, &c.. That all persons who have performed meritorious services as officers or enlisted men in the Army of the United States for a period of not less than two years during the late rebellion, shall, if possessing the other qualifications now preser bed law, be eligible to be appointed to the Military Academy of the United States until twenty-four years of age; and all persons who have performed such services for a period of less than two years shall, if possessing the other qualifications now prescribed by law, be eligible to appointment to said Military Academy until twenty-three years of age.

No objection being made, the joint resolution was received and read a first and second time.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move that the joint resolution be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. I like it as far as it goes, but I think it ought to go further.

Mr. PAINE. The only objection I have to the reference is, that unless this joint resolu tion is soon passed, candidates who are best

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qualified of all may be ineligible for the appointments to be made before the 1st of next July on account of age. A case of that kind may occur in my own district.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I suggest to my friend that he ask leave for the committee to report at any time.

Mr. SCHENCK. I promise him that it shall be reported back within three days, if the House will allow.

Mr. GARFIELD. The appointments are not to be made until the 1st of July.

Mr. SCHENCK's motion was agreed to; and the joint resolution was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

By unanimous consent, leave was granted to the committee to report it back at any time.

BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD.

by the committee decreases very materially the pay provided by the bill originally referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. It makes the pay of general but $130 per month, or $1,560 per year, more than that of lieutenant general; and if the gentleman had waited a few moments he would have heard the explanation of all the provisions of the bill which I propose to give the House.

Mr. LE BLOND. I should be glad to hear the reasons for the increase of pay.

Mr. DEMING. I call the previous question, upon the amendment of the Committee on Military Affairs.

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof the amendment was agreed to.

The question was upon ordering the bill, as amended, to be engrossed and read a third time. Mr. STEVENS. Will the gentleman permit me to offer an amendment?

Mr. DEMING. I will hear it read.
Mr. STEVENS. I desire to offer the follow-

Mr. McCULLOUGH, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to authorize the extension, construction, and use by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company of a railroad from between Knoxville and the Monocacy Junction into anding as a proviso: within the District of Columbia; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee for the District of Columbia.

GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

Mr. DEMING called for the regular order of business.

The SPEAKER. The first business in order is the consideration of House bill No. 3, reported back from the Committee on Military Affairs with an amendment, ordered to be printed, and the further consideration postponed to Tuesday, the 17th day of April, and made a special order after the morning hour.

The bill was read. The first section provides that the grade of "General of the Army of the United States" be, and the same is hereby, revived; and the President is hereby authorized, whenever he shall deem it expedient, to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a General of the Army of the United States, to be selected from among those officers in the military service of the United States most distinguished for courage, skill, and ability, who being commissioned as General may be authorized, under the direction and during the pleasure of the President, to command the armies of the United States.

The second section provides that the pay and emoluments of the General commissioned as hereinbefore provided shall be increased one half in amount, whether in money or in kind, over and above the amount allowed to a lieutenant general; and the said General may appoint upon his staff such number of aids, not exceeding six, as he may judge proper, who shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry; and the chief of staff to the Lieutenant General shall, during the existence of this act, be the chief of staff to the General.

The third section provides that whenever any general shall have been appointed and commissioned under the provisions of this act, if thereafter the office shall become vacant, this act shall thereupon expire and remain no longer

in force.

The amendment reported by the Committee on Military Affairs was read, as follows:

Strike out all of section two, after the enacting clause, and the whole of section three, and insert the following in lieu thereof:

That the pay proper of the General shall be $400 per month, and his allowances in all other respects shall be the same as were allowed to the Lieutenant General by the second section of the act approved February 29, 1864, entitled "An act reviving the grade of lieutenant general in the United States Army," and the said General may select for his chief of staff a brigadier general from among the officers of the Army holding that rank; and may appoint upon his staff such number of aids, not exceeding six, as he may judge proper, who shall each have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry.

The question was upon agreeing to the amend

ment.

Mr. LE BLOND. I would inquire of the gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. DEMING] whether the amendment proposed by the Military Committee increases the pay of the officers of the Army above what it was during the war.

Mr. DEMING. The amendment proposed

Provided, That whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of lieutenant general, by promotion or otherwise, the vacancy shall not be filled until after the death or resignation of Lieutenant General Winfield Scott; and thereafter there shall be but one lieutenant general.

Mr. DEMING. I think the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. STEVENS] will tend very seriously to embarrass this bill. And as he can have an opportunity of offering that same amendment to another military bill which will provide for the office of lieutenant general, I would prefer that

he reserve it until then.

Mr. STEVENS. If I thought for a moment that the amendment I propose would tend to

embarrass this bill, I would not offer it. But it is for the purpose of making the bill more likely to satisfy the House that I have offered it.

Mr. DEMING. Very well; I am perfectly willing that the sense of the House shall be taken upon the amendment.

The question was upon the amendment proposed by Mr. STEVENS. Mr. DEMING. Mr. Speaker, the bill, as amended upon recommendation of the Committee on Military Affairs, is so plain in its provisions and in its purpose that it hardly requires a formal explanation, and I certainly should not enter into one on this occasion except for certain objections made to me in private conversation which indicate that members inisapprehend not only the limitations of this amended bill but also the previous legislation of Congress upon the grade of general.

The bill, as amended, creates the grade of general as a permanent part of the military establishment of this country. It provides also for his allowances, his staff, and his pay. The allowances in this bill to a general and the staff are precisely those which are provided in the bill creating the grade of lieutenant general. The pay proper, that is to say, the money pay, of the General is increased by this bill over that of a lieutenant general from $270 per month, which is now the pay of a lieutenant general, to $400 per month; thereby increasing the pay of a general over that of a lieutenant general $130 per month, or $1,560 per year.

The monthly receipts of the Lieutenant General now, from all sources under the act creating the office, are $1,340. The monthly receipts of the General from all sources under this bill will be $1,470-making the increased pay of the General over that of the Lieutenant General, as I have already stated, $130 per month. The yearly receipts of the Lieutenant General from all sources, including allowances, commutations, rations, forage, and every thing, are $16,080 per annum. The yearly receipts of the General from all sources, under this bill, will be $17,640, an increase of $1,560 per annum in favor of the General over the Lieutenant General. And this is the sole increase of pay or emoluments or allowances or rations or any thing else proposed by the bill which I am instructed to report.

In the second session of the Fifth Congress,

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