Congressional News

■Washington City, Feb. 16. -Bills were ! leported to tbe senate Wednesday to reward, Esquimaux Indians for aid to castaway saü-. ors and providiug íor an international mari-! time conference to consider safety oL lifeat. sea; also a bilí to promote the progresa oíAmericah uations. Beck iotroduced a bilí to re-iinburethe states for moúeys expended iu. i suppressing the rebellion. The Blair educa-; tional bilí was then taken up and aftorspeeches liy Hale in oppositiou to it and , olhers briefly pro and con, Blair' closed the debate and a. vote was: taken resultinz in its passage - yeas, 39; nays, 29. Several amendinents-, were defeated, one being to distribute thei money in proportion to population insteadoü' illiteracy, and another (by Berry) to pay no; money for the rnaintenance of mixed (white J and negro) schools. Berry voted aye on the; passage of tho bill in accordance with the; wishes of his constituents, bat against his own judgrnent. A secret session waa thenj beid, Marsliall McDonald, as fish commis-I sioner, confirmod, ral tbe senate adjourned. , ïhe vote in detail on the educational bill was as foüows: Yeas - Allisoa, Berry, Blair, Bowen, Brown, Cali, Cameron, Chandler, Colquitt, CuUom, Dan-, el, Dawes, Dolph, Eustis, Evar.e, George, Harap-'. ton, Hearst, Hoar, Jones of Arkansas, Manderson, Mi cbell. Morrill, Palmer, Pasco, Payne, ■ Platt, Pugh, Quay, Ransom, Riddleberger, Sawyer, Stanfoi-d, Stevvart, Stockbridge, Teller,' Vanee, WalinaU, Wilson of Iowa- 89. Nays- Aldrich, Bate, Beck.Blackburn, Blods;ett, . Butler, Coke, Davis, Farwell, Faulkner, Frye, ' Gry, Hale, HarriR, Hawley, Hiscock, Injails, . Jones of Nevada, Kenna, Morgan, Plumb, Regan, Sabiu, Saulsbury, Spooner, Turpie, Vest, V oorhees. Vt'ilsGu of Maryland- 9. Gibson, Edmunds, Sherman, and Paddock, who would have. voted for the biil, were paired with Chace, Coc'tre 1, Gorman, and McPherson, who would havo voted against it. . 'Ïhe house adopted a resolutiou to appoint a committee to investígate the cause of delay in constructing the new library building.and then went into committee on the deficiency bilt Randall complaiued that the depart-, ment of justice estirnates were unrellable, and he suggested some sort of legislation to improve mattere. An amenduient was adopted making appropriations for the eorapletion of pubUc buildings in over thirty. cities, where the original estimates have been exceeded. Pending further action the committee rose and the house adjourned, Washington City. Feb. 17.- Bills were reported to tbe senate ïhurslay authorizing bridges across the Missouri river at Sioux City and the Mu?kingum river in Ohio; also' to regúlate the importation of foreign merchandis. A bill was infroduced toauthorize G. A. R. membars to wear badges. The resolution for an inquiry into the alleged inufficiency of the mail service was agreed to. Teller advocated the public eonsideration of nomina tions to office by the senate, and spoke generally against the secret session except in particular cases, as debates ontreaties. Private pension bilis were then taken upand 108 passed, aftor which an executive session was held, and at. its closd the senate adjourned until Monday. An adverse report was made to the house on the bill to cbange the meeting day of congress to the firet Monday in October. The senate amendments to the bill providing for eleven diviBion superintendente oí the railway mail service were concurred in, and the housa went into committee of the whole on the deficieney bill. The debate, as usual, was 8witched off, and Kerr of Iowa, Randall and others advocated repeal of the internal revenue laws. Without final action the house took receS3 until 8 p. m., and upon assernbling in evening session debated the Pacific railway telegraph bill until adjournmenu Washington City, Feb. 18. - A memorial from the authorities of Biuffton, Ind., was presented to the house Friday, asking that public buildings be built in every town of 3.00J inhabitant,and over, at the rate of cost of $2,000 for each 1,000 inhabitants, the money to be prov ided in a general appropriation bill The Blair educitioual bill was referred to the education committee. The deficiency bill then came up, aud after amending it so as to require the public printer to rigidly enforce the eight-hour law in his office, the bill was passed. The bill for the relief of Nathaniel McKay and others was passed. A warm fight then took place over adjournment, and af ter much disorder and an avalanche of parliamentary questions that nearly overwhelmed the speaker pro tem., McMillan, the house adjourned u ïtil Monday. Washington City, Feb. aS.- A petition with 15,000 names was presented in the senate Monday asking legislation to protect women and girls from rape; also several Prohibition petitions. It was agreed that on Wednesday after the morning business the chairinan read Washington's farewell address. A debate on the Washington Electric railway bill resulted in an amendment requiring the rails to be of American manufacture. The bil! was laid aside and a bill reported to establish a bureau of animal indmtry. After an executive session the senate adjourned. The reply of the secretary of war to Boutelle's battle flag resolution was l&id before the house. It is to tbe effect that no flags have been disposed of contrary to law, and none returned to ex-rebels. Bills were iutroduced: regulating the classification and pay of postmasters; apportioning on the basis of ilhteracy $05,003,000 for educational purposes; a resoiu'ion directing the education committee to report back the Blair bill before Maren 20; limiting homestead entries to eighty acres instead of 110, and to American citizens only; constitutional amendment extendlng the presidential term to eight years; lor the erection of public buildings at Sterling, III.; South Beud, Ind.; Burlington, Ia.; Cantón, O.; Sheboygan, Green Bay and Manitoba, Wis.; Tankton, D. T., and Oberlin, Kn. A motion to suspend tbe rules aud pass the resolution proposing a constilutional amendment making April 30 inauguratioa day, and extenling the Fiftieth congreas to April 30, 1889, was defeated- yjas, 129; nays, Iz8- not the necessary twethirds, aud the house adjournei. Washington City, Feb. 23.- Invitations were received by the senate Tuesday for tüe partic pation of the United States in the Internation at Geodetic association to meet at Berlin, and from tbe Belgian government (or our participation in the International Exposition of Science and Industry at Brussels. The Washington City street railwuy charter was then considered without final actiou and the senate, alter rofusing to adjoura until Thursday, went into executivo session and when the doors reopened adjourned. The bill to refuad the direct tax was reported to the house, after which, in committee of the whole bilis appropriating in the aggregate Í375.000 for public buildings at Charleston, S. C, and Lancaster acd Allentown, Pa., were passed. Tne house then adj' urued xniil Tnursday.