Congressional

By tbo bilí reported frotu the house oommitteo to extend the time for oompleting the Northorn Pacific railway, it is proposed to change the main liue of that great highway in Oregon to the south side of the Columbia river, f rom Portland to Umatilla. By thia change, the maiu liue would be greatly reduced in length, and the important commercial city of Portland would be made the true Pacific terminus. It' a practicable pass could be found through the Bitter Boot mountains, ainong the head streams of the Clearwater river, a further enormous saving of the distance could be made by avoiding the long northward detour around Lake Pen d'Oioüe. By such a saving, the northern route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, would be a great deal shorter than any other which the geography and topography of the country render possible. One of the conditions of the extensión of time is that the company shall complete at least 100 miles of additional track each year, of which at least twenty-five miles shall be weat of the mountains. This condition the company are quite prepared to fulfill. Indeed, it is their intuution, upon the passage of the bilí granting an extensión of time, to put some two hundred miles ot road, bet ween Biamarck and the Yello wstone, imrnediately under contract. " Four boat were got out, and one of tbom was found to be useless. " The wind was blowiug a half hurricane, the steamship iSmily B. Souder was sinkin, land was many miles distaut. The only hope for safely was in boats. Men, women, and children gathered to get into them, and at the critical moment one boat was " found to be useless. " Then they were short of boats. Unfortunately, the second boat was capsized in launchiug, and two boats only remained. They were filled with passengers and crew, and they drifted away, leaving eleven persons in the sinking vessel - eleven who had scarcely a chance of esoaping. And why? Because there was not enough boats. Of these eleven four are certainly drowned, and five more are probably lost, for they floatod away froiu the ship on a raft into the waves and the storm, and have not been heard froin. Those who embarked in the two boats may be alive, inay be dead. If they reach land in safety they will further attest the company's criminal negligence respecting thenumber of boats on board the wrecked ship. The first cargo of American whea ever sold in Barcelona, Spain, reachec there a few.daysago. It was Minnesota wheat, 72,000 bushels, carried by anEng lish steamer, whose freight charges were 118.000. The Spanish firma which ex iimined it were so well pleased that they iinaiediately ordered three more f uil carsoes, and chartered steamers to carry them. It is thought that thirty-five jargoes will be taken within amonth or lix weeks. Barcelona is the great wheat port of Spain, and fifteen cargoes o: wheat f rom Southern Russia were on the v:iy there the day the America i cargo arrived. A HOT fight is going on in Toledo Ohio, between Christians and Jews over a little girl. J. Cooper Price, a wtal thy Christian philanthropist, was tok that a child had been abandoned to cok and hunger in a hovel. He went to the placeand took away the child - a bright, pretty Jewish girl. Subsequently he adopted her as his own, and had her baptized, all with the written consent of her mother. Kabbi Eger was determined to prevent the turning of the girl from the religión of her people. He sought out her father, and through hiin sued to get the girl. Religious feeling runs high on both sides. TlIEKE never was a bigger fraud perpetrated upou the colored people than the establishment of the Freednien's bureau. Guileless and saving, they placed thcir mean in the hands of sup posed political friends, only to be cheated in the most high handed manuur Loud complaints come up over the cost of closing up the Freedmen'a bank in Washington, a coinmiasion for this purpose having paid themselves $40,000 from its slender assets. The politics of many of the Statos are heir-looms, like unto the royal desceut in the east. Siiaou Cameron whose expulsión from Lincoln 's cabiuet is fresh in mind, and who releases his hold upon the Eepublican party of Pennsylvania simply because of oíd age, has bequeathed his right and title to said party to his aon iTon. Don is engaged in looking after re-election as Senator, and will doubtless succeed. Secretaky Sherman don't want to run for Governor of Ohio, but will if the Republicana of that State insist. His preference very naturally is to reinain in thé Cabiuet and let some other leader tako the hard blows in next year's oainpaign. " A bird in the hand is woith two in the bush " is the motto ; but perhaps will construe civil service reform ho as to permit him to make the campaign while still Secretary. Now that resumption has come, thore is a large increase in the orders at the Treasury for standard sil ver dollars. Why this should be so is a puzzle ; but Secretary Sherman says that it is so. He hopes that the demand will continue, as tbe vaults of the Treasury hold large quantities of silver which it is desirable to have go into circulation. Somehow or other the financial ofiicer of the Senate has procured $10,000 for the use of that Blaine investigating committee (on which Blaine wouldn't serve). Chairman Teller and Messrs. Cameron, Kirkwood, Bailey and Garland go to Charleston and New Orleans as a sub-committee. Monday, three hundred and six thousand dollars in greenbacks were paid out at the United States Treasury to persons who were entitled to receive gold, but asked for greenbacks in preérence. ünly one man of all who visted the Treasury that day wanted gold. - The newspaper that hasn't wished happy new year to ita readeru failüd to reach this office.