Mr. HENDRICKS. The Senator says that is fair. Iask Senators if that be fair. You made a substantial grant of lands to the State of Kansas 3 years ago. The State of Kansas has transferred that grant to a railroad company. That company has commenced its enterprise by securing, through the aid of another company, 30 miles of its.roa.d, and by commencing its surveys from Lawrence in a southern direction. That company has secured the subscription of stock by counties along its line, and is going on, as I understand, to complete this great work with a view to the connection of the Missouri river and the Gulf of Mexico; and now we propose to run a competing road between that road and the State ine of Missouri. Senators can look at the map and see just how these roads will lie with re a rd to each other. We have an illustration of this kind of legislation in the State of Iowa. Any Senator taking up the map of the State of Iowa will see that that State is almost covered with railroad grants. 3 roads were contemplated by one act of Congress, and the grants lapped upon one another. If anyone or even 2 of the roads had been supported by substantial grants of lands, they would have been a success; the roads could have been built, and the stock would have been of some value in the market; but as it is, one of these roads the Mississippi and Missouri road has her stock in the market scarcely of any value after she had received a grant of land from the General Government. Why? Because at the same time we made a grant to parallel companies and roads so near to each other that the one grant lapped upon the other. Are Senators willing to indorse that policy in the State of Kansas? And after making a grant to a great road, to an important work in 1863, after that work has been commenced, after investments are made, after counties have made subscriptions to large amounts of stock to that company, is Congress willing to make a grant now, between that road and the State line of missouri, so near to it as that the one grant must la upon the other? have we so little interest in the public lands as that we will make such a grant as this? I think no man, as was said by the Senfrom Missouri, [.hIf. Hsxnsusos] can be more liberal in his views in regard to grants of land to aid in great works of improvement in the western country than I am; but I do not want to spa the system broken down and demoralized until the eastern States as the Senfrom Maine [Mr. Fesssnnsnj referred to the question the other day, can justly so that we are squandering the public lands. I 0 not choose to be charged With that. As afriend of the system which calls upon the General Government to aid in the construction of great works, I do not choose to have the system debased and broken down by a legislation such as this would be. I ask western Senators, whose States are interested in works of this sort, to stand by the integrity of the system. That system is based upon the idea that Congress ought to aid the western settlers in the development of the country by the construction of necessary works, national and important in their character, but not, in order to grasp the land, to make one grant lap upon another. Mr. President, as I understand, there are rights in the Indian country not yet secured. I understand that the Cherokee tribe have made no treaty which authorizes Congress to even contemplate the running of a road through their territory. This bill does contemplate it. When the Senfrom Kansas is little while ago said that the Senfrom Wisconsin had agreed to the support of this bill I was rather astonished at the statement. I understand that there is one tribe of Indians secured by the most solemn treaty stipulations against any invasion of their territory la the white man for any purpose; and yet is bill proposes to grant the right of way, as soon as we can get the Indian censent to it, and thus committing the Govern ment to an effort to secure the consent of the Indians, as was stated so well b the Senfrom Illinois [Mr. TRUMBULL] the other day. For the purpose of testing the sense of the Senate upon this bill, I will move to postpone its further consideration until the 1st Monday of December next. If there are any treaties to be made with these Indians in the mean time, we can know what they are; the Senate can consider the treaties, and then we can tell what is the condition of the Indian couiitr '. If this is a corporation organized in goo faith and with means to construct the railroad let it go on with its work. These 5,000 acres that lie within the limits of the State of Kansas, and all that the State of Kansas Wlll get, as the Senfrom Kansas says, will not do much to carry on the work if granted, nor will the refusal to grant it do much to retard the work unless, indeed it is to be used as a means 0 credit in the NewYork market. We can very well wait. There will be no loss resiiltin from it. These people could not go into the ndian Territory now. road into the Cherokee country if they were down there today, even if Congress said so. As a test, I move to postpone the further consideration of the bill until the 1st Monday of December next.