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Show FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS. The Senate. Washington, December 18. Frye presented present-ed a petition of certain persons of Maine protesting against any arrangement with Great Britain by which Canadian fish might be admitted free of duty. Mitchell, from the Committee on Pensions, reported favorably the bill granting a pension pen-sion to the widow of General Grant. The bill was at once passed without debate. Hampton introduced a bill making it unlawful un-lawful for Senators or Representatives to recommend or solicit appointments to office. Ha wley inquired of the Chair whether this bill was retroactive in its operations. Laughter. The Chair replied that in his opinion it was not. Renewed laughter. Butler called up his resolution of inquiry relating to the alleged organization of the Territory of Dakota into a State. Vest, said the Senate by its record now stood committed to the fact that there was such a thing in existence as the State of Dakota, Da-kota, the papers heretofore presented by Harrison and read from the desk having borne the words, "State of Dakota." The body of gentlemen coming representing Dakota, Da-kota, style themselves the executive committee com-mittee of the State of Dakota, the chairman of it being Hugh J Campbell, who was not unknown to fame since Hayes' administration, ad-ministration, for the zealous and not overscrupulous over-scrupulous political assistance to that administration. ad-ministration. This person, as Vest saw by the newspapers, was to receive an ovation for having received the recognition of the United States Senate for "The Statehood of the State of Dakota." Plumb thought Mr. . Vest was giving Campbell a good deal of gratuitous adver tising. . i Vest said Campbell was welcome to it. He (Vest) as a lawyer regarded this Dakota organization as revolutionary. He had no doubt that the intent of the men concerned was to organize a Stite government in .case this Congress should adjourn without'recog-nizing without'recog-nizing their so-called State. In reply to a remark by Vest as to the conditions con-ditions under which the Territory might be admitted to the Union, Harrison said there was no such thing as breaking into or breaking break-ing out of this Union. Vest said we were not talking of "breaking "break-ing out" we had settled that. Harrison Then there could have been no point to the Senator's remark. Vest I am not leaving this matter to the Senator from Indiana. Heaven help me if he had the decision of this question. Vest argued the question of admission from a legal point of view, and insisted that under the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in former cases of admission, the recent action in Dakota was revolutionary. revolution-ary. He cited Judge Cooley . and other authorities to the effect that an enabling act was necessary as a preliminary to the admission ad-mission of a Territory as a State, and asked what more outrageous insult could be offered to the sovereignty of the United States than the action of the men responsible responsi-ble for the recent developments in Dakota. He offered as independent of the resolution of Butler, a resolution to the effect that the memorial from the persons calling themselves them-selves the State Executive Committee of Dakota be considered as coming only from private individuals of Dakota. The resolution resolu-tion was laid over and ordered printed. Logan inquired if it was revolutionary for citizens of a Territory to get together and present their claims to be admitted as a State, they taking care to provide in their new constitution that they seould not be a State till Congress should approve their constitution. He thought it unfair for Senators Sen-ators to regard the action in Dakota as revolutionary. revo-lutionary. Until they should set up as a State and undertake to perfornTthe functions func-tions of a State and the powers of Statehood, State-hood, they .were not revolutionists. Butler said he had misapprehended what constituted a State if the eleationof Senators Sena-tors and judges was not exercising Statehood. Ilonse. Washington, December 18. Tho consideration consid-eration of the report of the committee on rules was resumed, the pending amendment being that offered by Springer, of Illinois, to abolish the various committees of expenditures expendi-tures in the various departments, and to concentrate their duties in one committee, consisting of fifteen members. In advocating advo-cating the amendment, Springer stated that during the past ten years the clerks of these committees had been paid $250,C30, while as far as he could remember but two of them had made reports the committee on expenditures expen-ditures in the War Department, in the Forty-fourth Congress, and the committee on expenditures in the Department of Justice, Jus-tice, in the Forty-eighth Congress. ' .' Morrison thought much good had resulted from the work done bv these two committees..'-During committees..'-During the late campaign he had -heard it proclaimed everywhere in Democratic speeches that the Democratic party wanted to see the books. Now thatit had the opportunity, oppor-tunity, he hoped it would not close its eves. " Hope you won't," remarked Brown, of Indiana In-diana ; "You will have some books of your own in a few years." ' ' ! Herbert, of Alabama, opposed the amendment, amend-ment, asserting that the House should always stand ready to investigate abuses which had grown up in the administration of the gov-eminent. gov-eminent. He did not think that the Republican Repub-lican members could afford to vote to abolish the committees. Houk, of Tennessee, stated that' the Republicans Re-publicans would not vote to abolish them. It was true that when the Republicans were in power there was little necessity for them, but the prospect was that they would be very useful in the future. Laughter. j After further debate, the amendment was : rejected. . j |