Mr. MORRILL. Mr. President, when the Pacific Railroad Company was chartered ori ginally I took some general interest, nothing but a general interest, in the matter, and have none but a general interest now. I am not certain thatI understand the bearings of this bill so Well as ought to excite any interest in my own mind. Still I have an apprehension that if this bill passes it cannot fail to be fraught with difficulties, and I therefore propose to submit to the Senate the difficuties aboring in my own mind. I know that we started in, 1862, when this great Pacific railway was chartered, to build a continuous line of railway to the Pacific, the grandest enterprise probably that any nation ever engaged in under the circumstances in which this nation was then involved. I know there was infinite difficulty in fixing the point of departure in the East, and that it grew out of local interests almost entirely, in deciding at what parallel of latitude we should take the departure for the Pacific coast; and in settling that question there was a variety of local interests. There were the Omaha and the Sioux City and the Leavenworth and some other roads, I believe 4 or 5 in all, all striving to be the point of departure. How was it settle ‘I We who took only a general interest of course were not disposed to be influenced by these local considerations. The great object which the bulk of the Senate had was the extension'of the road to the pay cific coast and to fix upon a point of dearture which should best subserve that genera interest, and we tried to overlook the interests and feelings ’which were peculiar and natural to those who represented, and very properly, those local interests. What did we agree upon? We agreed that there should be a fixed point somewhere from which this road should depart on its way to the Pacific coast, and from which there should be no divergence, and there should be no 2 interests. We agreed that however these conflictin interests were on this side of the 100th meridian of longitude, there should be no conflict of interests beyond. That was the great point in the case. I remember the discussion; I remember the difficulties in agreeing upon it; but it was the solemn judgment of the Senate that the Governmentought not to grant its aid to a multiplicity of roads beyond the meridian of 100 degrees of longitude, but that all these conflicting interests should be made to harmonize and unite on that point to the end that when we reached that point there should be strength enough in what there was behind to put that one main road through tb the Pacific. That was the general idea; that was the general interest. Now, how is it today? Is this bill in bar mony with that plan? f it iIs, am for it. I have some little doubt on that point. If this bill is in harmony with the general plan, if it strengthens this enterprise by dividing at the 100th deree, then I am in favor of it, because I am or pushing the road to the Pacific coast as fast as possible and in the best possible manner. I have no doubt I agree in the general purpose of the committee, and it may be that I am entirely wron in m apprehensions; but let us look a litt e at the effect of this bill. It certainly contemplates a departure from the general plan, because it is agreed on all hands that instead of one road after you reach the parallel of 100 degrees you absolutely license two; you authorize 2 to a certain extent, and we shall see whether or not to the whole extent. Do the comffmittee contemplate 2 roads instead of one