Mr. SCHENCK. Mr. Speaker. I will. as I promised. very briefly explain the result of this conference to the House. It will be observed that the House recedes, through its conferees, from the 2nd, 3rd and 10th amendments. The 2nd amendment is that which proposed. as an addition to the Army appropria;tion bill a provision that suits shall be brought against the Illinois Central Railroad Company to recover back what sums may have been paid for the transportation of troops and munitions of war. Sir, the House is familiar with this question. After full conference. the managers upon the part of the House became thoroughly satisfied that no appropriation bill with a provision of this kind in it could possibly pass the Senate, and that, instead of recedin in any degree from the position which has for t it: last year or more been taken by the Senate, they have only been confirmed in it by arguments drawn by the character of the approriation of lands made for canal purposes to teState of Illinois, finding that the bill granting lands to the Illinois Cen tral railroad is butatranscript of the prerisions of that canal bill. I will not, however, go into any argument upon the subject. As I said be fore, it has been fully discussed in this House and has been a point of controvers for a lou time between the Senate and the Ionse, an the managers on the part of the House were satisfied that if that provision is ever to prevail and become a law, it must be as a separate enactment and not as part of an appropriation bill. They therefore recommen the House not to keep the question open upon an approriation bill, but to recede from the amendment in the form in which it is presented us attached to an appropriation bill. The 3rd amendment from which the House recedes is an appropriation introduced by the Senate for the construction offire proof store houses at the arsenal at Philadelphia This had not been agreed to by the ComAppropriat ol the House, "nor by the House. as the conferees were satisfied, for the want of that full information of the necessity of such an appropriation which had been laid before the Senate committee, and the managers on the part of the Senate recommended that we slioul recede from that amendment. They also recede from the amendment which increases the mileage to officersof the Army to ten cents permile instead of 6 cents. '1 his they might very safely do, because the House has already twice passed upon that subject in the bill recently passed for the reorganization.of the Army, an in the bill establishin the pay of the Army. In those 2 acts the I house alhrnis ilie, very proposition which the Senate makes. The disagreement was proforma, and not becauseofany difference between the House and the Senate. The Senate recedes from its amendment by which an appropriation was made for the purchase of land near Nashville. Tennessee. It was believed that the appropriation was unnecessary at this time, and the Senate agreed to abandon the amendment which they had introduced making the appropriation. The Senate rece es from its disagreement to the amendment of the House to the 4th amendment of the Senate. That amendment was an addition to the appropriations for the Bureau of Refugees, Free men, and Abandoned Lands, providing for the cost of telegraphin. The Senate agrees to accept the House amen ment to its amendment n on that subject. It will be remembered that the House struck out from the 5th amendment of the Senate a provision in regard to giving the preference to manufactures of the States on the Pacific coast when Army supplies are advertised for. The conferecs have agreed, while the Senate accepts that amendment of the House, that there shall be inserted as a substitute for the part stricken out what I will read to the House, and which conveys its own explanation. After providing, as the Senate amendment does, that preference shall be given always to American manufactures, when Army supplies are to be obtained through the quartermaster’s dept, it is agreed these words shall be inserted in lieu of the part stricken out: And in advertising for Army suppliesthe quarter msster'sdeptshall require all articles which are to be used in the States and Territories on the Pacific coast to be delivered and inspected at the points designated in thoseStatesand Territories and the advertisements for such supplies shall be ub ishead in the newspapers of SanFrancisco and Portland. The next amendment is one which relates to the throwing open the appointment of the superintendency o the Military Academy to all branches of the Army. The House has passed upon that subject also, and the Senate has agreed to accept what the House has done. the language of the House as inserted in thuesbinilg for the reorganization of the Arm instead of the language of the Senate’s amendment. The langu of the House in the clause which was adopte is a little fuller and more precise than that of the Senate, and was preferred by the conferees both of the House and of the Senate, the 2 Houses being agreed upon the main proposition. In like manner both the House and the Senate were agreed upon of restoring the extra pay to soldiers the permopprioeyteyd outside of their regular line of duty. The Senate agreed that the language which was used for expressing this or ose in the House Army bill was better than tilie angusge which had been used in the Senate’s amendment. Retaining the principle is they ado t the language of the House. This covers althe amendments and the whole action of the conferees. I now move the previous question upon agreeing to the report of the committee of conference.