Show I THE NAVAL BILL I I It Passes With Its Numerous Provisions for Attack and Defense The Pacific Railway Inquiry lUll Goes to the President The Bridge in Honor Grant and Lincoln The Salaries of Judges of the Unite < < States District CourtsFIrst Cousins Barred Out = The House WASHINGTON March 3 Blount of Georgia presented a conference report on the Postolfice Appropriation bill announo ing the inability of the oonferees to agree Ion I-on a bill He moved that the House insist in-sist on its disagreement and ask a further conference Agreed toyeas 138 nays 107 Crisp of Georgie submitted the conference con-ference report on the joint resolution now a bill for the investigation of the accounts ac-counts of the Pacific railroads and it was agreed to Trigg of Virginia submitted a conference confer-ence report on the bill compensating Albert H Emery for the construction of an iron and steel testing machine for the United States The bill as it passed the Senate appropriated 200000 This sum the House reduced to 63000 The conference report fixes the sum at 100000 The conference report was adopted yeas 137 nays 98 EVENING SESSION After the recess Mr Hatch of Missouri presented the conference report on the Agricultural Appropriation bill There were two important amendments placed upon the bill as reported by the Conference Committee one appropriating 50000 to enable the Commissioner of Agriculture to continue to experiment in the manufacture of sugar from sorghum and sugar cane and the other increasing from 100000 to 500 000 the appropriation for carrying out the 3rovisions of the act establishing the Uurean of Animal Industry authorizing the Commissioner to use any part of this sum deemed necessary to prevent the spread of pleuropneuinonia and in the purchase and destruction of diseased or exposed animals ani-mals whenever his judgment is essential to prevent the spread of pleuropnenmonia from one State into another There was much opposition to both of those amendments amend-ments but the conference report was agreed toyeas 147 nays 43 Mr Belmont of New Yorkt presented a conference report on the Diplomatic and Consular Appropriation bill The report was agreed to A score of members rushed into the space in front of the Clerks desk and waving their bills wildly in the air vociferously claimed recognition The uproar was great and for a time business had to be suspended Mr Barksdale of Mississippi was finally successful and under a suspension of the rules he secured the passage of the bill for the printing of the report of the Commission of Labor A CONGLOMERATE DILL Mr Dingley of Maine moved to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill with the substitute therefor to secure statistics ajid to protect the vessels of the United States engaged in the fisheries to provide for the taking of testimony relative to the injuries inflicted by the British on citizens of the United States engaged in the fisheries ando and-o amend the shipping act of June 19 1886 The substitute is composed of the substance of several bills pending in the House and was characterized by Mr Buchanan of New Jersey as a conglomerate mass of heterogeneous hetero-geneous incongruities The motion to suspend the rules was lost Randall of Pennsylvania submitted a conference report on the Sundry Civil Appropriation ropriation bill In their statement accom mnying the report the conferees say that ho Senate made 292 amendments increas ng the aggregate appropriation 4048647 over the amount of the bill that passed the House Of this sum the Senate conferees have yielded 1693216 The bill as it passed the Senate aggregated 23792049 The House when it considered the Senate amendments added the bill 195648 and in conference 12000 was yielded being for the public building at Portsmouth Ohio and 100000 was added on account of the public buildings at Augusta Ga and Chattanooga Chat-tanooga Tenn The bill therefore asa as-a eed upon in conference aggregated 22 382490 being 2623 078 in excess of the bills bill-s it passed the House and 279819 less than the law for the current year and 9158371 less than the estimates The coast survey is left as was last year the House provision for reorganization being stricken out The report was agreed to without dis oussion The Senate amendments to the Naval Ap ropriation bill were nonconcurred in and JeBsrs Herbert Sayers and Thomas of Illinois were appointed conferees A number of joint resolutions were passed for printing various public documents The Senate The Senate proceeded to the consideration tion of theNaval Appropriation bill An amendment was inserted in the item for the Bureau of Steam Engineering providing viding that no part of the appropriation shall be applied to replace engines and machinery ma-chinery of wooden ships where the stated cost of repairs shall exceed twenty per cent of the cost of new engines and machinery of the same character and power Under the head of increase of the navy the committee recommends striking out the House provisions for two swift double bottomed steel cruisers and for four gunboats gun-boats and to cost exclusive of armament not more than 4950000 and the substitution substitu-tion of two new sections providing six protected pro-tected steel cruisers with a speed not less than twenty knots to cost exclusive of armament not more than 9000000 and appropriating that amount also appropriating appropriat-ing for the armament of such vessels 2 880000 also appropriating 6000000 for heavily armored vessels or floating batteries or rams for coast and harbor defense also appropriating 720000 for a lightdraft gunboat also appropriating 600000 for torpedo boats and 600000 for torpedoes and 1800000 for the armament of these vessels Gray questioned the policy of the provision provi-sion requiring one of the six steel cruisers to be built on or near the coast of the Pacific ocean and two of them on or near the ooase of the Gulf of Mexico This was only trammeling the Secretary of the Navy and interfering with the general objects proposed He was in favor of the accomplishment accom-plishment of what the section proposed namely the erection of six swift available and efficient cruisers and therefore he I I moved to strike out that provision I Hale who has charge of the bill stated I I that when the ten cruiser bill was up some ion had been weeks ago a similar provision adopted after a full discussion on the motion mo-tion of the Senator from Alabama Morgan He had believed then and believed now that one or two of these vessels could be built and built speedily thePaoifio Coast Appropriations had embodied Committee on The these features in this amendment bodied the proportionate number as the I I taking and instead whole number had been out down m stead of giving two to the Pacific Coast had and instead of ravine three to the given Gulf of one Mexico had given two leaving three Atlantic Coast to the modified his motion so as to make the Gray clause read that if it shall appear to > the President that the vessels cannot be con I structed at a fair cost on the Pacific or Gulf i Coast he may consider and accept bids for building said vessels at other places in stead of suspending their construction until the forther action of Congress Maxey said there should be at least one great navy yard established on the Gulf Coast where the best iron steel liveoak and longleaved pine were at hand The question was then taken on Grays amendment as modified and it was rejected Plumb moved to strike out the item of 6000000 for heavy armored vessels or rams for coast defenses Hale opposed the striking out of the item Dawes said he had just received a telegram from New York signed Ambrose Snow chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Committee on Coast Defenses and President of the Board of Trade and Transportation That telegram was in these words The whole commercial community anxiously hopes that some agreement providing adequate ade-quate immediate coast defense will be had If not public opinion will compel an extra session which the business men would dread I send duplicates hereof toy utfcl low conferees Dawes said if Congress adjourned without this provision and it was intimated in the i telegram which he had read that public opinion was going to force an extra session of Congress to make this adequate provision the fault did not lie at the door of the Senate Sen-ate or of the Senate conferees Pending further discussion the Senate went inty secret session and soon took a recess re-cess till 8 oclock EVENING SESSION Consideration of the Naval Appropriation bill was resumed the question being on Plumbs amendment to strike out the amendment amend-ment appropriating 6000000 for heavily armored vessels used for coast and harbor defense The amendment was rejected without division di-vision The amendment recommended by the committee was then adopted without division di-vision It strikes out the House provision for two and four gunboats all to cost exclusive of armament not more than 4950000 and inserts in lieu thereof the section providing for the construction by contract of six protected pro-tected steel cruisers with suitable arma ment and a speed of not loss than twenty knots the cost of all the cruisers not to exceed 9000000 Additional appropriations are made for machinery and armament One of the vessels is to be built on the Pacific coast and two on or near the Gulf of Mexico Fer every quarter of a knot of speed over twenty knots the contractor iso is-o receive 50000 and for every quarter of a knot under twenty knots 50000 will be deducted from the contract price Further appropriations are made as follows For the construction of heavily armored vessels or armored floating batteries to be used for coast and harbor defense 6000 000 for the construction of eight draught gunboats suitable for interior water ways and canal service 720000 for the construction construc-tion of torpedo boats of the highest attainable attain-able speed and efficiency 600000 for torpedoes tor-pedoes and other explosives and torpedo appliances ap-pliances to be operated from naval vessels floating batteries or rams 600000 of which sum 50000 shall be immediately available for the armament of these vessels 1800 000 These appropriations to be available during five years The next material amendment reported by the Committee on Appropriations and igreed to by the Senate was the following For the purchase by the Secretary of the Navy if he shall deem thepurchase advisable advisa-ble of the Destroyer a screw steam vessel of iron designed and built by Captain John Ericsson 112000t Mr Aldrich offered an amendment appro mating 25000 for the purchase of the stiletto to be used as a torpedo boat for experimental purposes Agreed to The bill and amendments were then reported re-ported to the Senate the former proceedings proceed-ings being supposed to have been in Committee Com-mittee of the Whole Mr Edmunds called for the yeas and nays on the amendment for the six cruisers etc Mr Plumb moved to amend the amendment amend-ment by making the last paragraph read rhat the material used in all the naval structures provided for in this act and the amendment of the same shall be so far as practicable of American production and shall be furnished and manufactured in the United States etc Agreed to A vote was then taken on the committees amendment and it was decided in the affirmativeyeas 42 nays 9 The negative vote was as follows Perry Cookrell Coke Harris Plumb Vance Van Wyck Vest and Wilson of Maryland The next amendment the insertion of the item of 112000 for the purchase of the Ericsson vessel the Destroyer It was agreed to The bill as amended was then passed without division Mr Hoar from the Conference Committee on the Pacific Railroad Inquiry bill made a report which was agreed to The bill now Roes to the President VABIOUS On motion of Mahone the Senate bill for the erection of a National memorial bridge over the Potomac from Washington to Arlington was taken up and passed It appropriates 500000 for the construction of E a bridge which is to be erected in honor of Lincoln and Grant The vote was yeas 30 nays 18 The conference report on the Agrioul tural Appropriation bill was made and agreed to On motion of Wilson of Iowa the House bill to amend the act of March 3 1875 to determine termine the jurisdiction the United States circuit courts and to regulate the removal of cases from the State courts was taken from the calendar The committee amendments were concurred con-curred in Mr Cullom proposed an amendment pro riding that the salaries of Judges of District Dis-trict Courts of the United States including Judges of the Supreme Court of the District Dis-trict of Columbia shall be 5000 per annum and that no persons related to any Justice or Judge of any of the United States Courts within the degree of first cousin shall hereafter be appointed to any office of the court of which such Justice or Judge is a member Agreed to The bill passed 44 toO Senator Allison from the Committee on Appropriations reported the Legislative Executive and Judicial bill with sundry amendments and gave notice that ho should call it up early today The aggregate of the approprition bill has been very slightly increased over the amount fixed by the House Among the increases creases are the following 17000 for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to enable the granting of annual leaves to em J2loyes as provided the House bill and I 125000 for the Pension Examiners in the field fifteen additional clerks were given to the Secretary of the Interior in eluding five law clerks and one additional Board of Pension Examiners was provided for forThe Senate then at 1120 took a recess till 10 a m today |