President than a bureau connected with either executive Department.

I may also say that those members of our conference committee who could not so fully agree to the provisions of the bill as to sign the report of the committee were of the belief that any bill would be more probably effective and useful if disconnected from the Treasury or the War Department.

The bill, as it is reported, received very critical and careful examination. Every section and every provision was discussed. I believe that it is carefully guarded, and calculated to effect the wishes of those who desired action and who believe that we are called upon to legislate in behalf of those whose recently bestowed freedom finds them unused to self-reliance and dependent for a season somewhat upon our sympathy and aid. Now, sir, this bill presents to the House no new proposition. Substantially, every provision contained there will be found, I believe, either in the provisions of the House bill or in the provisions of the Senate bill. Many of them are combinations of features of both bills; and if gentlemen will give me their attention, I will explain what are the differences.

The first section of the bill creates a department of freedmen and abandoned lands, and the formal part of this bill and of the other sections of the bill are similar to those contained in the law creating the Department of Agriculture. That act was drawn with a great deal of care, and upon an examination of it it was found that, so far as its provisions could be made applicable here, it was desirable to adopt them. The precedent seemed to be a good one, and the language of the act commended itself to the committee.

The department is established at the seat of Government; and the first section of the bill puts under the care of the department the lands and other property falling to the national Government in the rebel States, and not heretofore appropriated to other uses. The Commissioner is to be appointed by the President. The salary is to be $4,000, the same as was assigned to that office before; and I will say here that under this bill no greater expense is to be incurred than was contemplated in the bill which the House passed at the last session.

The Commissioner, in the second section of the bill, is authorized to appoint his subordinate officers. The first of these is the chief clerk, with a salary of $2,000, who shall be a disbursing officer, as was provided in the bill which was passed by the House. In the absence of the Commissioner, he is called up to discharge the duties of the Commissioner, as is provided in the act establishing the Department of Agriculture. The clerks to be appointed are of the same class and the same number as were provided by the bill passed by the House. The Commissioner and the other officers are required to take the oath of allegiance prescribed by the act of Congress. The Commissioner is to give bond in the sum of $100,000; and the chief clerk and the assistant commissioners afterward provided for are required to give bond in the sum of $10,000.

think it will be seen that this is an improvement upon either of the bills before presented, securing high order of ability and excluding applications for these higher offices by some who might think themselves qualified to discharge the duties.

The third section of the bill is a modification of the fourth section of the bill which was passed by the House, and is substantially the second section of the bill as it passed the Senate. It provides that the Commissioner, under the care of the President, shall create districts of freedmen, not exceeding two in each State so far as they may be brought under the military power of the United States. That each district shall be under the supervision of an assistant commissioner, his salary being fixed at the same amount as in the bill passed by the House last year. These assistant commissioners are required to give bonds. They have power to appoint local superintendents as may be needed, not however exceeding four in each district, which is the limitation on the number as contained in the bill passed by the Senate, at a compensation not exceeding $1,500 each.

The fourth section of the bill will be found in the third section of the House bill and the fourth • section of the Senate bill. It is a combination of shem both. Gentlemen have had them on their

tables in print for months. It provides that the Commissioner shall have general supervision of the freedmen throughout the several districts, watching over the execution of the laws, proclamations, and military orders concerning them, making regulations from time to time, and causing them to be enforced for their needful and judicious treatment, and protecting them in the enjoyment of their rights.

The fifth section is a material modification of the fifth section of the Senate bill, and contains some of the provisions of the fourth section of the House bill. It provides that the assistant commissioners shall, within their departments or districts, take possession of abandoned real estate belonging to disloyal persons, and all real estate to which the United States have title, or of which they have possession, and which have not been heretofore appropriated to Government

Mr. GANSON. Pask the gentleman from Massachusetts whether, under that clause of his bill, this bureau would not have authority to take possession and lease all the mineral lands of the Government? I would like to have that clause of the bill read.

Mr. ELIOT. The gentleman will find it in print. I will read it from the substitute:

That the assistant commissioners, under the direction of the Commissioner, and within their respective districts,

shall take possession of all abandoned real estate belonging to all disloyal persons, and all real estate to which the United States have title, or of which the United States have possession, and not already appropriated to Government uses, and all property found on and belonging to such estate; and shall rent or lease such real estate or any portions thereof to freedmen, or permit the same to be cultivated, used, or occupied by them on such terms and under such regulations as the assistant commissioner and such freedmen may agree.

Mr. GANSON. I do not find in that clause

it.

it provides that the leases shall not continue be yond one year; and it will operate now upon very few. It was deemed advisable to report this section, in the first place, because it was right to do It had been the subject of examination last winter, and there seemed to be no objection to adopting it from the Senate bill. It contains no other legislation than that, but it fomires that when this department goes into operation all the agents who have charge of those affairs in the Treasury Department shall transfer their papers and property to this department.

The eighth section of the bill provides, as the fourth section of the House bill and as the eighth section of the Senate bill do, for the application of the proceeds. It declares that the Commissioner shall apply the proceeds accruing under this act to defraying the expenses of this department, so that it shall, as soon as possible, be self-sustaining; and it provides that any proceeds above those expenses shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States.

The ninth section is one which was originally offered during the debate upon this bill in the Senate, and provides simply that whenever the Commissioner cannot otherwise employ any of the freedmen who may come under his charge, he shall, so far as he may, make provision for them with humane and suitable persons at a fair and reasonable compensation. It was offered originally, I believe, by the honorable Senator from West Virginia.

The tenth section in its present form is new, because of the fact that the department is not connected with the War Department. It provides that the President of the United States shall furnish the military and other support needful to carry this act into effect, and any military officer

partment.

Mr. ELIOT. It is confined to lands in the rebel States.

Mr. GANSON. That clause seems to draw a distinction between lands properly belonging to disloyal people and lands the title to which are invested in the United States. It seems to include all such lands.

Mr. ELIOT. I think that the gentleman is mistaken, and will find that his criticism is not well founded. The property taken possession of is rented or leased according to the terms of the bill heretofore passed. The contracts are provided for and limited to one year. No contract is to be for more than twelve months. There is a provision contained in this section which, as I recollect the history of the case, was introduced as an amendment by an honorable Senator from Pennsylvania, which will not be objected to by gentlemen on the other side. It is as follows:

But nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the due execution of process against the real estate or property above named issued in due course of law from any court of competent jurisdiction, but the possession of such real estate or property by any purchaser thereofat a judicial sale shall be postponed until the termination of any outstanding contract duly made and executed under the provisions of this act.

act without increasing his salary. That section was prepared with care. There are gentlemen who, I have no doubt, will still think that this bureau had better be a bureau of the War Department; but it is believed that under the provision of this section it will be pe entirely practicable to make the department effective and operatire, and to provide for it all the needful and military aid, and to give to it all the support which will be needed at this time, and which the Government can supply.

The eleventh section of the bill is drawn from the second and fourth sections of the House bill, and is a combination of the ninth and tenth sections of the Senate bill-all the provisions, however, being found in those two bills. It provides that the Commissioner, before the commencement of each session of Congress, shall make a report of his proceedings, with exhibits showing the state of his accounts, to the President of the United States, who will communicate them to Congress, and that the assistant commissioners shall make quarterly returns to the Commissioner, and more frequent reports if the Commissioner shall desire. And it is made the duty of the officers, military and civil, charged with the execu tion of any law, or proclamation, or order concerning freedmen, to make returns to the Commissioner of their doings. Those provisions have all been acted upon by the House heretofore.

The twelfth section of the bill is a section which was offered in the Senate, and which is intended to prevent the commission of crime and to provide for its punishment. It provides that the assistant commissioners and superintendents and clerks under this bill shall be deemed to be in the mili

The seventh section is substantially the same that was introduced in a bill in the House by the honorable gentleman from Missouri, [Mr. BLOW.) It was referred by him to the committee on the rebellious States. Whether reported by them or not I do not remember. It is, however, the same section which will be found in the Senate bill as section seven; and it provides simply that certain leases which were made under the direction of the Treasury Department, and under authority of Order No. 331 from the War Department, dated October 9, 1863, in accordance with the regulation of the Treasury Department, shall have the same effect as if those leases had been made by the assistant commissioners under this act, But

ble to trial by courts-martial to be ordered by the commanding general of the military department. The section goes on to provide that for all offenses amounting to felony, for acts of embezzlement, for the willful misappropriation of property, either public or private, for willful acts of oppression of freedmen or loyal inhabitants, for the act of taking or receiving money or things of value, for acts done or omitted to be done officially, or being interested in the purchase of coffee, sugar, or tobacco, or any other article produced upon the lands within the charge of this department, or any other willful violation of official duty, there shall be punishment by imprisonment and by fine. I will say here that upon careful deliberation our committee were persuaded that for the protection of all parties it was desirable to adopt this provision as contained in the Senate bill; and with igan, [Mr. HoWARD,] one of the ablest and soundest lawyers in the Senate, attached to this report, I think no gentleman need be apprehensive that any constitutional provision is violated by this section.

The thirteenth section of the bill is a section repealing the last clause of the joint resolution explanatory of "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862. It simply provides for the repeal of that clause of the joint resolution.

Mr. KERNAN. I desire to make some suggestions upon this question at some time or other, and if the gentleman from Massachusetts will allow me, I can do it now by way of inquiry.

Mr. ELIOT. I will say to the gentleman from New York that I propose in the discharge of my duty, when I have finished making the statement that I desire to make, to call for the previous question. If the House shall second the previous question it will give me pleasure to allow to the gentleman from New York such time as I understand from him he would desire to explain his views in reference to this section or to other sections of the bill. If the House shall decline to second the previous question I shall have done my duty, and the whole matter will then be within the control of the House.

Mr. WILSON. I merely desire to state, in order that the gentleman from New York and others may hear it, that after the gentleman from Massachusetts shall have concluded his explanation of the bill, I intend to move to postpone this subject for one week from to-day, so that the bill may be printed, in order that we may all examine it.

Mr. KERNAN. If the gentleman from Massachusetts would allow me to occupy a few minutes of his time at the conclusion of his remarks, I should be much obliged to him.

Mr. ELIOT. I will say frankly to the gentleman from New York that if the House are disposed to have this bill acted on now he shall have a portion of the time to which I shall be entitled after the previous question is sustained; but if the House prefers, under the circumstances, to have this matter postponed in order that the bill may be printed, then I submit that his remarks had better be postponed also.

Mr. KERNAN. It may be that I shall not be here at the time to which the bill will be postponed, and I should therefore like to call the attention of the House to the subject now. I ask the gentleman, for this reason, to allow me a few minutes when he has finished his statement.

Mr. ELIOT. How many minutes?
Mr. KERNAN. Ten or fifteen.

Mr. ELIOT. That is a kind of request that I

am unwilling to say no to.

Mr. CHANLER. I suggest to the gentleman from Massachusetts that he allow this bill to be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. ELIOT. Well, sir, I cannot agree to that. Mr. CHANLER. If the gentleman will allow me, at the proper time I think I can suggest sufficient reasons for pursuing that course.

Mr. KERNAN. Will the gentleman from Massachusetts allow me a few moments now? I will be very brief.

Mr. ELIOT. I am not quite through yet. Mr. SCHENCK. I will state to the gentleman from Massachusetts that a resolution was passed by the House on the 5th of January last, referring the matter of refugees to the Committee on Military Affairs. After deliberating upon the subject, the committee reported House bill No. 698 "for the relief of refugees and freedmen," which was recommitted, and I have had it ready for some time in my drawer to report back to the House with two proposed amendments.

Now, I desire to be heard upon this subject in zonnection with the report made by the committee of conference, but if we are to have the previous question put upon us, and are not to be permitted to see this bill in print, which is a long one, of many sections, and neither the House bill nor the Senate bill, but a new bill made in the committee of conference, before the previous question is sustained I should like to interject a few remarks, as a gentleman from Illinois said the

SON] has given notice, if he shall have an opportunity of making it, to postpone the bill for one week, and have it printed, so that we may know what it is that we are considering. I ask the gentleman from Massachusetts, if that does not take place, if he will permit me also to have a few moments of his time?

Mr. ELIOT. I will with a great deal of

pleasure. re

Mr. SMITH. I desire to ask the gentleman if the previous question, which he proposes to call, cal will cut off all amendments or any substitute that might be offered ?

Mr. ELIOT. I will say to the gentleman that under the rules of the House there can be no amendment offered, for it is the report of a committee of conference, and must be adopted as it is or rejected as it is. There can be no alteration made in it.

Mr. SMITH. Then no substitute can be of fered for it?

Mr. ELIOT. No, sir. I am not disposed to say a word upon this thirteenth section which repeals the last clause of the confiscation resolution. The House has more than once expressed its judgment on the subject, and I am content to let it remain where it stands without

comment.

The fourteenth section is simply a repealing section of inconsistent acts.

Now, it will be seen that the effect of this bill will be to take away from the Treasury Department and from the Treasury agents and employés the lands and property which have been heretofore placed under their charge, and the whole will be confided to the Commissioner and the officers appointed under him in this department. I want to say that there has been a very loud call from all portions of the country that some legislation should be had upon this subject. There has recently been a convention in this city, attended by delegates from all sections of the North, the Northwest, and the East, and they have united in calling upon us to delay no longer our action in behalf of these freedmen. Whether it goes to the War Department or to the Treasury, their prayer is, give us some bill under the provisions of which the Government may act. The time has come when it is necessary that this action should be had. I cannot but feel that we have done wrong in not having long before now extended to these people a hand of welcome and of support. They have well deserved it. They have been faithful to us in fort and camp and field. Many lives have been lost and much suffering endured while we have delayed action. Now Now, sir, whether it is done to-day or next week is not a matter of importance, excepting so far as that every day's delay makes the suffering greater on the part of these freedmen, and it is because I have felt that, and because of the instructions I have from the committee, that I shall ask the House to pass now upon the report. But if they think that it had better be postponed, we shall have no other objection to it than the one which I have named. And now, sir, for the purpose of having the House determine whether this matter shall be passed upon now or delayed, I call the previous question. Mr. KERNAN. Will the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. ELIOT] withdraw that motion for a few moments?

Mr. ELIOT. I will withdraw the motion for the previous question, and yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from New York (Mr. KERNAN] if he will renew the motion when he has concluded his remarks.

Mr. KERNAN. I will do so. Mr.SCHENCK. What becomes of my share of the time by this arrangement?

Mr. ELIOT. I will yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from New York (Mr. KERNAN] with the understanding that he gives a portion of it to the gentleman from, Ohio [Mr. SCHENCK.]

The SPEAKER. The Chair understands the motion for the previous question operates at the end of the hour.

Mr. ELIOT. That is my motion; I yield the remainder of the hour to the gentleman from New York [Mr. KERNAN] and the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. SCHENCK.

Mr. KERNAN. Even if I had the time I

the details of this bill. I appreciate the benevo lent efforts of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. ELIOT] to alleviate in some way the sufferings of this class of persons and promote their welfare. From all the accounts we have, they are suffering wherever they have come within the lines of our armies. But in my judgment experience shows that the policy proposed to be inaugurated by this bill will not accomplish the benevolent intentions of its promoters toward these people. They are a very numerous class of persons; and the policy of this bill seems to be to regulate, control, and govern this large class of persons by a code of laws, under the name of regulations, which regulations are to be made and administered by an appointee of the President and the Senate called a Comtaissioner. Lands are to be assigned and leased to them. There are to be superintendents to regulate their employment and wages, decide their controversies, and pay the surplus of their earnings, over and above expenses, into the Treasury of the United States. In my judgment this policy will not work out satisfactorily any such social problem as that presented by the colored population of the southern States. You will not be able to really benefit this class of persons by placing them by the hundred thousand under the guardianship and subject to the control of a Commissioner who is to make regulations for their government, and by his agents manage and control them. Some other mode of dealing with this question must be devised, if there is to be any effectual, benevolent, or economical action in reference to this class of persons. Again, where and to what consequences will this policy lead? According to this bill the Government, by a bureau like that of Agriculture, is to take charge of people by the hundred thousand in States of this Union, and become their guardians, and regulate them by special provisions and regulations to be made by an appointee of the President. Does any man believe that we will succeed in benefiting this really suffering class by any such measure as this?

But I particularly desire to call the attention of the House to the twelfth section of the bill, which, if this bill is to pass, I trust will be stricken out. I earnestly hope there will be no further legislation by Congress to subject civilians to trial and punishment by military commissions.

This twelfth section provides that the superintendents, clerks, and all others connected with this proposed bureau shall be tried for all sorts of alleged offenses by military commissions. Where do we get the power to pass any such law? The Constitution declares that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger; that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; and that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right of a trial by an impartial jury. Does any one believe that we can constitutionally subject a class of civilians to the jurisdiction of these military tribunals by declaring, as this twelfth section does, that they shall be deemed to belong to the Army or Navy of the United States, or engaged in its military or naval service? As well might we take the right of trial by jury from any other class of citizens as from the class subjected to trial and punishment by military tribunals under this twelfth section. They can in no sense be correctly said to belong to the Army or Navy. They are civilians, employed in purely civil affairs. If we can do this, we can take away the right of any class of civilians by saying that they shall be deemed to be in the military service of the United States, when we know that all their duties are duties of civilians.

Sir, I submit that the experience of the last few years must have made it apparent to every gentleman here that these military commissions are characterized by a want of certainty as to the conviction of the guilty and the certainty of frequently convicting the innocent. Acts of Congress have been passed declaring that certain contractors and other parties should be deemed to be in the military service and subject to trial by these commissions; and you have had military commissions sitting in this city and elsewhere in the loyal States, trying men who never were of the class mentioned in the

the House shall be brought to a direct vote at as early a period as possible upon the bill for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan shipcanal. It has been discussed repeatedly in this House; it has been the subject of various reports of committees; the bill has been printed and laid upon members' desks for a long period of time, and therefore I do not propose, on behalf of the bill, to occupy the time of the House.

Before demanding the previous question I will yield to the gentleman from Iowa, who desires to offer an amendment.

Mr. ALLISON. I move to amend the substitute by adding thereto what I send to the Clerk's

desk.

The amendment was read, as follows:

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three commissioners to improve the Upper rapids and Lower or Des Moines rapids of the Mississippi river.

SEC. 4. And he it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall forthwith make a careful examination of said Upper and Lower rapids of said river, and determine upon a suitable plan for the improvement aforementioned, which plan shall provide for the construction of a canal around each of said rapids to a width of not less than one hundred feet, with locks of not less than two hundred and seventy-five feet in length, and not less than seventy feet in width. Which improvements shall be made so as to insure a safe and uninterrupted water navigation, at all tines during the season of navigation, of steamboats and other vessels drawing four feet of water. Which plan shall be submitted to the President of the United States for approval.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That upon the approval by the President of the United States of the plan of said improvement aforesaid, the said commissioners are hereby authorized to construct said canals according to said plan, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, and to prosecute the same to completion with such dispatch as the nature of the work and the funds appropriated by Congress for that purpose shall permit. And the said commissioners shall make a report annually to the Secretary of the Treasury on the progress of said work.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall have the exclusive control and management of said canal, and shall have power to establish all needful rules and regulations concerning the use and navigation thereof, and to fix, alter, and modify the rates of toil upon said canals, and shall employ such surveyors, collectors, and agents as may be necessary to collect said tolls.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners shall have power to employ such surveyors, agents, and other persons as they may judge necessary to perform the work hereby committed to them, with full power to enter upon, appropriate, use, and condemu any lands, waters, streams, and materials of any description necessary for the prosecution of the improvement contemplated by this bill: Provided, That when private property shall be taken for stich purpose, the same shall be condemned and compensation made therefor in the manner provided by the Jaws of the State of Iowa, or of the State of Illinois, as the case may be. And it shall be the duty of said commissioners to cause all the work done upon said canals to be let to the lowest responsible bidder, at public lettings, of which sufficient public notice by advertisement in the public newspapers shall be given.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the revenues derived from said canal, over and above the expenses of management and of repairs, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, and a separate account shall be kept of such receipts.

SEC.9. And be it further enacted, That the Government of the United States shall issue the sum of $2,000,000 in bonds of the United States, to be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, redeemable twenty years from date, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually, for the purpose of constructing said canals; the said interest to be payable, and the said bonds to be redeemable, out of moneys to be hereafter appropriated by Congress; and the said principal and interest to be reimbursed to the Treasury of the United States from the tolls and revenues of said canals.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said bonds shall be issued, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, in such sums as may be required from time to time in the prosecution of said work. And said commissioners shall furnish vouchers and proofs in duplicate of the work done and materials furnished, at such times, under such regulations, as the said Secretary may prescribe.

SEC. 11. And he it further enacted, That said commissioners shall each receive such salary, not exceeding $2,500, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall, with respect to their respective duties and services, determine. And said commissioners shall respectively give bonds for the faithful performance of their duties, in such amounts and upon such conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. Their duties shall cease upon the completion of said canal.

Mr. ALLISON. I now demand, in accordance with my understanding with the gentleman from Illinois, the previous question upon the bill and pending amendments.

DEFICIENCY BILL.

Mr. STEVENS. I ask the gentleman nan to allow me to take from the Speaker's table the deficiency bill, returned from the Senate with an amend ment, in order to non-concur, and ask a committee of conference.

Mr. HOLMAN. I suppose it is in order to move to concur in the Senate amendment?

The SPEAKER. If the gentleman makes that motion the Chair will entertain it.

Mr. HOLMAN. I desire to make that motion. Mr. STEVENS. Then I shall have to with draw my motion. We have voted already upon this question three or four times. I think the bill had better go to a committee of conference and we can get through with it.

Mr. HOLMAN. I object unless I can make the motion that the House concur.

PENSIONS.

On motion of Mr. WASHBURN, of Massachusetts, by unanimous consent, bill of the Senate No. 365, an act in relation to pensions, was taken from the Speaker's table, read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

ILLINOIS SHIP-CANAL.

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. I rise to a point of order. At the time when this bill was postponed at the former session of Congress it was postponed under an understanding that there was to be a discussion on the merits of the bill. 1 know that my own name was down on the Speaker's list as one of those who were to speak on this subject. When the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. ARNOLD,] pending the Niagara canal bill, offered his amendment, it was understood that I should not speak on the subject then unless that amendment was actually accepted, and then I was to speak upon the merits of the bill. I insist that this bill, having been set down for a particular time, with the understanding to which I allude, it cannot now be taken up and passed under the previous question, thus refusing to those who are opposed to it all chance of pointing out the gross corruptions that exist in its pro

visions.

The SPEAKER. The Chair can scarcely regard that as a point of order upon which he can rule. It may be an argument to the majority of the House not to second the previous question. But the motion for the previous question is a legitimate motion, and unless there be unanimous consent reserving to some gentleman the right to speak, the Chair cannot refuse to entertain the motion.

Mr. ARNOLD. I will say to the gentleman from Wisconsin that after the previous question has been sustained I will yield him the floor to speak at least half an hour, and I presume that I shall not desire to make any reply.

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. That half hour is certainly better than nothing; but this is a measure involving an appropriation of unnumbered millions of dollars, as I propose to show.

The SPEAKER. Debate is not in order, the previous question having been demanded.

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

Tellers were ordered on seconding the demand for the previous question; and Messrs. ARNOLD, and BROWN of Wisconsin, were appointed. The House divided, and the tellers reportedayes 60, noes 41.

So the previous question was seconded. Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin, demanded the yeas and nays on ordering the main question. The yeas and nays were not ordered. The main question was ordered to be now put. The SPEAKER. The Chair understands that the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. ARNOLD,] who is entitled to one hour, under the rules, to close the debate, proposes to yield half of that time to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. ARNOLD. I yield to the gentleman for half an hour.

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, Mark Tapley, according to Dickens, upon a certain occasion stated that he had lost the power of being astonished; and I must confess that since I have been in this House I have seen so many odd things happen, that so far as any measure

which recklessly plunges us into debt is concerned, I too have lost the power of being astonished at the action of the House.

We have heard gentlemen upon the other side of the House urging taxation. We have seen the call echoed and reechoed from partisan newspaper to partisan newspaper, "tax, tax." We have been told that our people, whose shoulders are bowing under the weight of taxation, must bend still further, because the very life of the nation is in danger, and that the money which they earn by their toil and labor and sweat is needed to sustain us in this war in which our existence as a nation is at stake. And now these gentlemen, who in the way of taxation are turning the screws upon the people, these gentlemen (who, even after we have overburdened labor until it can scarcely stand up under the weight, are clamoring still further for taxation) ask us to enter into a scheme of internal improvements, whose results, whether they be beneficial or no, can never be realized for the next five years; they ask us to enter into such a system, and to squander the credit of the Government and the money of the people in favor of local interests.

But during the entire session I have seen nothing that more completely illustrates the strange temper of the times than does the proposition now before the House. In the very magnitude of the sums which we are daily voting, in the enormous extent of expenditure demanded by our exhausting civil war, the minds of our citizens seem to have been mazed, and the ordinary power of arithmetical calculation to be lost.

Gentlemen seem not to remember that we have a national indebtedness already ascertained of over $1,700,000,000; that our bonds payable in gold are at a discount in the market, as compared with gold, of over fifty per cent.; that our legaltender notes, which we force citizens to take in lieu of money, are at a like discount; that to an untold extent we have State, county, and municipal indebtedness created to aid enlistments; and that an annual expenditure of over $700,000,000 is required to carry on the war. Yawning before us is that abyss of national bankruptcy, from whose depths, when once precipitated there, no nation ever escapes. Wise men are pondering over the means of avoiding such catastrophe, patriots are contributing of their substance, women are giving the labor of their hands, and children are presenting their offerings, in aid of the struggling country.

Mr. Speaker, from the explanations which I have heard here, I do not think that gentlemen of this House fully understand what is proposed by this bill. In the first place, it provides that the President shall or may construct this canal drawing six feet of water. It then provides that we appropriate $5,000,000, which the President may give for the purposes of this canal if the State of Illinois shall assume, at her own expense, to complete the canal so that gunboats drawing six feet can pass through its entire length.

Now, the first difficulty that meets us is this: that in the constitution of the State of Illinois there is a provision by which she cannot contract a debt beyond $50,000, and consequently that portion of this bill amounts to nothing. It is a bill to appropriate $5,000,000 to this canal for the purpose of enabling gunboats, which could not live for a single hour on Lake Michigan, to pass over it. The first part of the bill is the only part of it upon which gentlemen who sustain it can rely. That part of the bill pledges the credit of this country to an unlimited extent for the completion of an enterprise which I shall endeavor to show is utterly impossible and impracticable through the obstacles which nature has placed in its way.

By the bill the President has the power to proceed at once and let contracts to complete this work, no matter what it costs, five, ten, fifty, a hundred millions, or even an amount greater than the debt which is now weighing upon the country. I propose to show that no five or ten or twenty or forty or even sixty million dollars will be sufficient to complete this work. And I propose to prove that from a work which was drawn up for the purpose of showing how the city of. Chicago could be benefited by the completion of a portion only of the canal. I hold in my hand the report of the sewerage commission of Chicago. For the purpose of ascertaining how cheaply the city might by this means have drainage, they com

missioned the chief engineer to ascertain and make an estimate of the cost. Now, sir, the object which they wished to accomplish was simply the enlarging and deepening of the canal from Chicago to Peru, the easiest, the sligthest, the most un• important portion of the work, so far as the public is concerned. For the purpose, then, of showing the cost of this work, according to the estimate of their own engineer, I will ask the Clerk to read the portion of that report which I have marked. The Clerk read, as follows:

Two other projects have been talked of for enlarging the canal, so as to make it navigable for steamboats; one with a channel two hundred feet wide and six feet deep, and the other with a channel of the same width, but twelve and a half feet deep.

"The probable cost of constructing the former of these has been estimated by Mr. Gooding at $10,000,000, and of the latter at $20,000,000; but of course he does not consider those sums as anything more than a rude approximation, and they are not intended to include the probable cost of locks and other necessary works at and below Lockport.

"There does not appear to be reasonable probability of an enlarged canal, either six or twelve and a half feet deep, being undertaken at present or very soon; but the demands of the city and State for greater facilities of transporting the grain, luinber, and other products of this region a generation hence, if the future development of our country is to be at all in proportion to the past, must eventually cause such a work to be commenced."

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. From this, Mr. Speaker, the House will perceive that the estimate for this small portion of the work was $10,000,000, provided the canal should be only six feet deep; which for all purposes of commercial enterprise, which, as the gentleman claims, gives this scheme its value, is utterly worthless. And it was $20,000,000 if the canal should be made twelve feet deep, deep enough to allow the passage of boats that can ride the waters of Lake Michigan. Such is the estimate of their own engineer of that unimportant portion of this work.

And we find further that in the year 1860 the sewerage commission of Chicago, anxious for this work, and desiring to rid that city of the nuisances, attendant upon inefficient drainage, pronounced this to be an enterprise not now to be contemplated, but which might perhaps be called for in another generation. Alas! the flight of four years has almost created another generation. Where is now that respect for constitutional laws; the desire to limit the expenditure of the money of the people; the desire to relieve the producing classes of the enormous public burdens? Gentlemen now present to this House a proposition which five years ago, ay, a little over four years ago, in 1860, would have aroused the country from one end to the other; and now, as a part of the current expenditures of the Government, during a time when we need every dollar of the treasure of the United States, they propose to throw away this amount of money.

What will it cost to carry out this scheme? The distance of the work on the Illinois and Des Plains rivers is, I think, more than one hundred and fifty, if not two hundred miles. If I am wrong in my recollection, gentlemen will correct me. That entire distance is to be rendered navigable at all seasons of the year. Even if the permanent improvement of the Illinois river as proposed is a possible thing, (and I shall give my reasons for thinking it extremely difficult,) the excess of cost may be many times greater than $10,000,000. The construction of the canal from Chicago to the Illinois river is an expensive undertaking, but can doubtless be accomplished; and any experienced engineer, making allowance for the increased cost of materials and labor, and ascertaining the value of land to be taken, can give an approximate estimate of the cost. But the chief difficulty arises with the Illinois river. Running almost the entire length of the State, it drains nearly all the prairies of Illinois; the depth of its waters, therefore, vary from a few inches in dry seasons to from ten to twenty feet in wet, rainy seasons; the banks are low and almost entirely alluvial, except for the few miles near the Mississippi river; and with the last exception, in high stages of water it overflows its banks and widens almost to a lake. The bars impeding navigation in one sense, but, damming up the water and preventing its rapid flow, aiding navigation in another sense, are naturally shifting; each new torrent that swells the river changes them. If the river were always to remain at its lowest stage, the task of removing bars and constructing enor

mous locks not less than three hundred and fifty feet in length would be an expensive but still a simple operation. These, however, would be swept out of existence in the higher stages of water. In the East, with your rocky river bottoms and banks, presenting a solid mass against and on which dams and other water obstructions may be constructed, the science of water-courses is a simple one; give your works strength enough and it will stand.

But this is not true on the alluvial and gravel bottoms of the West. Even in the simple operation of constructing dams for milling purposes the greatest difficulty is experienced. The water works under the dam, it carries away the bank on which the dam abuts, and in many ways not common in streams with a rocky foundation it destroys and removes the impediment to its course. Dams constructed of the trees and underbrush have been found the most effective; but even on ordinary streams they are not altogether safe. Nearly every river of the West shows in its course that slight obstructions have been sufficient altogether to change its channel and induce it to break through its feeble barrier of light earth confining it and seek a new route. Now let us suppose that you have removed old sand-bars and constructed locks at various points along the line of the river; this will be well enough until the flood comes. But when the torrent gathers from all parts of Illinois, rushes along the course of the river, covering with its waters, not the river banks only, but the locks which you have made, what will become of your slight creations? Lock after lock will give way, and the temporary

obstacles will only enable the flood to bear additional ruin and disaster in its course. Then the damage must be paid for, new sand-bars must be removed, and new locks built to share the same fate at the next season.

And here I would call the attention of the House to the enormous damage that must be done from the causes described to the property along the banks of the river; and for this damage the United States would be liable to pay. The honorable gentleman from Illinois has not proposed to indemnify the Government against this. Any one of ordinary practical knowledge will at once appreciate the force of the facts alluded to. And

found it necessary to question me on this point. The gentleman has heard of such an instrument as the Ordinance of 1787 by which that whole northwestern territory was organized. He has heard of the provision of that ordinance under which all the highways leading into the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence were to be free; and, as if anticipating that at some future time some legislative body might attempt such legislation as this, the framers of that act have in section four of that ordinance (Illinois Revised Statutes of 1858, page 24) provided that

"The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence shall be common highways and forever free as well to the inhabitants of the United States as those of the territory and of the several States to be thereafter admitted, without tax, impost, or duty."

This ordinance, as a form of government, was superseded by the State constitutions, (as the Supreme Court correctly decided;) but all rights acquired under the ordinance remain intact. And from abundance of caution this principle was confirmed by the act of Congress providing for the admission of Illinois into the Union, (same, page 1, section 4, of act of 1818,) and by express reference to the Ordinance of 1787 in the preamble to the constitution of that State; and, again, by the resolution of Congress of December 3, 1818, admitting Illinois into the Union. Similar precautions have been taken in regard to all, or nearly all, the States formed from the northwest territory. As no compact can be changed without the consent of all parties to it, in order to be enabled to levy tolls upon the Illinois river, you must not only have an act of Congress, but must change the constitution of Illinois, and have the consentas well of each pur

chaser of lands on the banks of the river as of the various other States formed from that territory; this compact was between the United States and each of the northwest States, as it was admitted, and extended to all the waters of the territory. The United States cannot, therefore, collect tolls on that river either from the construction or maintenance of locks. So far from that, each person actually impeded in the navigation of the river by locks, could remove them, and claim compensation for loss and detention.

Mr. INGERSOLL. Will the gentleman allow me to say a word? If I understood him cor

the advocates of this bill are precluded from deny-rectly, he stated that the first obstacle to the execuing the conclusions, because, had they not themselves so believed, their first step would have been to have asked a preliminary survey by Government engineers, whose standing would be too high to admit the idea of their being influenced to make a false report. No State government, no private corporation, no other Government of any kind on the face of the earth-as I believe-even when having money to squander, ever entered upon an enterprise of this kind without a preliminary survey by engineers responsible to the party which

tion of this enterprise is a provision in the constitution of the State of Illinois which provides that the Legislature of that State shall not make any appropriation or contract any debt for a sum exceeding $50,000. I think the gentleman is incorrect in that statement, and I ask him to have read the thirty-seventh section of the third article of the constitution of Illinois, if that is the section to which he refers.

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. I have it here. I looked over it a momentago; and the very next

must advance the money. If in his private busi-section provides that the State of Illinois shall not

ness any man should so act, he would be deprived of all power over his property by a commission for lunacy or imbecility; yet here honorable members would vote away the heritage of the nation, having no excuse save politics and

contracts.

But as the thirty minutes allowed to me are not sufficient for full description, I must hasten on to another point. By the original bill it is proposed that the Government should give $13,000,000 to this work, and be reimbursed by toll. The idea embraced in this bill, and urged upon the House, is, that if the Government constructs this work, it shall be repaid for its outlay by the tolls collected. I see some Representatives from Illinois, some Democrats, who in olden times paid some little respect to constitutional law, and who now propose to support this measure.

Mr. W. J. ALLEN. I desire to ask the gentleman whether he maintains that there is no constitutional power to pass this bill.

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. I was coming to that point. I believe that there can be no greater abuse on the part of the Government of its power to expend the money of the people than to devote the money wrung from the people of one portion of the country to the local benefit of another portion. Mr. W.J. ALLEN. Is that a question of constitutional power?

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. If the gentleman had waited a moment, he would not have

lend its credit to any individual, association, or corporation. The two sections go together.

Mr. INGERSOLL. Will the gentleman allow those two sections to be read for the information of the House?

Mr. BROWN, of Wisconsin. If the time consumed in reading is not to come out of my time, I consent.

Several MEMBERS. It shall not.
The Clerk read, as follows:

"SEC. 37. Each General Assembly shall provide for all the appropriations necessary for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the government until the adjournment of the next regular session, the aggregate amount of which shall not be increased without a vote of two thirds of each House, nor exceed the amount of revenue authorized by law to be raised in such time: Provided, The State may, to meet casual deficits or failures in revenues, contract debts never to exceed in the aggregate $50,000; and the moneys thus borrowed shall be applied to the purpose for which they were obtained, or to repay the debt thus made, and to no other purpose; and no other debt except for the purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, or defending the State in war, (for payment of which the faith of the State shall be pledged,) shall be contracted, unless the law authorizing the same shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people, and have received a majority of all the votes cast for members of the General Assembly at such election. The General Assembly shall provide for the publication of said law for three months at least before the vote of the people shall be taken upon the same; and provision shall be made, at the time, for the payment of the interest annually, as it shall accrue, by a tax levied for the purpose, or from other sources of revenue; which law, providing for the payment of such interest by such tax, shall be irrepealable until such debt be paid: And provided further, That the law levying the tax