Mr. HENDRICKS. Mr. President, I undertook to show the other day that the State of Kansas has no claim upon the Government for any further grants of public lands to aid in the construction of railroads, and I will ask the attention of the Senate nowto the last report of the ComrGLO, from which it appears that the 2 roads to which there was a rant made in 1863, and their branches, would receive, accordin to his estimate, 2,500,000 acres of land; and then in addition to that there has been the grant to the Pacific railroad. The amount of land granted for that road within the State of Kansas I cannot estimate, for the Commissioner does not make a.separate estimate of it; but in all to one of the roads it is 35 million acres, not all, of course, in the State of Kansas, but a very large amount of land goes in the State of Kansas to that work. Of course, whatever lands are used within the limits of the State of Kansas for the construction of the Pacific railroad is to be charged against that State as a grant to her, because it is a portion of her lands goin to construct a very important work within her limits; so that it is impossible to estimate accurately the amount of ands already granted to the State of Kansas for railroad purposes. But, as I said the other day, some notion of it can be gathered by looking at the map of the surveys of that State that accompanies the last report. Here is one road, starting at Atchison, run ning in a southwesterly direction across the State. Here is another road, here is another, and here is another, [pointing out the various roads] so that nearly the entire surface of the State is covered by grants already; and the present bill is to put a' road between a road to which a grant has been already made and the Missouri boundary line, to put another road in there, in which, I say to the Senate, there is not. room to locate a grant. This present proposed grant will lap on the grant made in 1863 for a number of miles. The greatest distance between this proosed road and the road to which a grant has a ready been made, from Lawrence south to the State line, is 36 miles as shown by the surveys; 6 townships, 36 miles. That is a grant of alternate sections for ten miles on each side of the road, and then outside of that ten miles for a distance to make up whatever may have been sold within that ten miles; so that there will be but i a few miles within which you can locate a road and makes grant of lands; and that entire portion of the State will be without a single acre of land which a settler can occupy at $1 25 an acre. It will be all carried up either to railroad prices orto $2 60fixed by the laws. I said that it was not right, in view of the fact that we had made such enormous grants to the State of Kansas, to grant the balance of the land lying nearest.to the Missouri bor der lines. I think it is preposterous. Was it the purpose of Congressto aid in the construction of this road from Lawrence, in asouthern direction, to Galveston bay? If so, will Congress now grant lands to a road running par, allcl with it? The greatest distance they are apart is at the starting points 36 miles and they must of course a preach each other until they meet at the southern boundary line of the State. Senators will have to examine the map to see the exact direction of these 2 roads. I cannot, in an argument to the Sens ate, explain it. I said, in the 2nd place, that it was not right now to make a grant to a competing road the tendency of which will be to defeat the grant made 2 or 3 years ago. Here was a grant to construct a road from Leavenworth by Lawrence to the southern line of the State of Kansas, in the direction of Galveston bay. The purpose of Congress was to encourage the construction of a great road from the Missouri river to the Gulf of Mexico. Now it is proposed to make another grant between that and the State line, which will be a competin road, which will at least, impair the credit of the road to which we have already made a grant. Is that the policy of Congress? Is Congress disposed to grant lands to a railroad enterprise simply because a road can be located there? Would Senators be willing to at their own money in a road to compete with another one, running, at the greatest distance, but 36 miles apart and‘coming to ether at the southern line ofithe State, an for very much of their length running at the distance of from ten to 12 miles from each other? Senators would not put their own money into an enter prise of that sort. Is it right to put the lands of the Government into such an enterprise? The Senfrom' Illinois, [Mia Tavnnoi.i.] the other day, when a billwas before this body, asked the question whether that proposed bill interfered.with the rights of the Indians. 1 call the attention of that Senator, as he is on the ComIndAffrs, to the provisions of this bill. This bill contemplates the extension of this road south of the Kansas line and into and through the Indian country, as the Senator will find, commencin at the 10th line of the 1st section of the ill, “with a view of its extension, so as to effect ajunction at Red river with a railroad now being constructed from Galveston to Red river at or near Preston, in Texas, ” contemplating, and, so far as congress can, now making the grant through the ndian country. I also call the attention of the Senfrom Illinois to the 11th section of the bill. That section provides, in great detail, how the land in the Indian country is to be disposed of. I believe we have not at any time undertaken to dispose of the Indian lands where those lands have been secured to the Indians by solemn treaty. The lauds lying between the , State of Kansas and the State of Texas have been secured to various Indian tribes by treaties securing them, by the most emphatic language possible, from every invasion of the white man. I believe the lands are given to them in fee simple; and a provision is found in some of the treaties, as understand, that the white man shall for no purpose come within their country. This bill contemplates the extinguishment of the Indian title and provides in advance for the extension of the railroads and the railroad grants through the Indian country. I intend, before the bill is disposed of, to T move either that it be laid upon the table or postponed until the next session; but for the)fQSClll, with a view of testing the question cfore the Senate whether, in the absence of a treaty authorizing it, we shall contemplate the extension of a railroad through the Indian country and a grant of lands through that country, I will move to strike out, and I close my remarks by making the motion, the following words, commencing in the 10th line of the 1st section: I With a view of its extension. so as to effeeta Junction at Red river with a railroad now being constructedfrom Galveston to Red river at or near Preston.