Mr. SHERMAN. It came from the Pacific Railroad Committee; but that committee was divided about it. I thought a majority of the committee was‘ against it, but I am not prepared to say that. Perhaps I ought not to say anything about the committee; but it is a fact that the Pacific Railroad Committee is divided on the bill. I am a member of this committee, and I am certainly opposed to the bill. It seems to me that the passage of this bill, or of any bill of a kindred character, at this session of Congress, will tend to impair the public credit. The readiness with which, now being scarcely over a great civilWar with a debt of $3,000,000,000 upon our should ers, we embark in new enterprises before we have got to the hard pan of specie payments; the readiness with which we contract now upon the basis of an inflated currency, when every dollar of this money will have to be paid in gold and silver, does tend to destroy t a public credit. Men who are prudent and careful will look upon reckless legislation of this kind, as I declare this to be, as tending more than anything else to impair the public credit. This world was not created in a day. Our generation is not to be expected to complete all the roads to the Pacific and all the works of internal improvement which may be devised by man. And when we are now less able to contract debt than ever before, when the debts we now contract are n on the basis of paper money, but must be fulfilled upon the basis of gold, we seem to be willing to embark in all sorts of enterprises. It is proposed that we shall cm bark in building a ship canal in opposition to the canal of NewYork. It is proposed new that we shall build a.2nd line of railroad to the Pacific. If we pass this bill, with what right, with what show of justice or manliness can you refuse to build the Southern Pacific railroad? When the southern representatives come here, and demand aid for building a railroad through Texas and along the southern border, and say to you that you not only have a great Central Pacific railroad which accomplislies the national purpose of connecting the Pacific with the At antic, but that you have availed yourselves of their absence to appropriate $120,000,000 to“ build a northern border road along the British 'possessionahow can you refuse tobuildnSouthern Pacific railroad, or to give the same aid for it? You cannot do it. The very spirit of man iiness and fair play will demand of Congress similar grants to that road. In my j iidgment, prudence, a reasonable caution, a reasonable common sense requires us to confine ourselves now to the contracts we have already entered into. It is manifest that if the thing was to be done over again we should not build any of the branches provided for the present Pacific railroad, but we should confine the aid'of the Government to building one cat line of railroad from some point in the est to the Pacific. All these branches have been constant sources of trouble and annoyance, demanding constant changes in legislation. If we were to do the thing over a aing it is admit ted, I believe, on all hands, that it would he wisest and best to build one great line of railroad thfOll"f1 to the Pacific ocean; but now it is propose, in addition to the 3 eastern branches already provided for, to build another railroad stretching along our northern border with a gratuity of $122,000,000 given to it and 47 million acres of the public lands. I trust that the Senate will vote down this measure, or at least give us a little time for its consideration. This bill was never submitted to the ComPacificRR until within the last month. We never held, when I was present at least, more than one session of the committee to considerits provisions. There are no guards or guarantees thrown around this bill. The decliiration was made in the committee that only last winter the grant of land of 47 million acres was about to be transferred to a foreign company and to be controlled by a foreign company. The only guard in this bill against the transfer of these public lands and of this large sum: of money to a foreign corporation is the simple clause that 3/4ths of the directors shall be citizens of the U.S. flow easy would it be to have men of straw, citizens of the U.S., made directors of this great and powful corporation, and have the whole control of it in British hands! You havenoguard against the very danger that these men once endeavored to defeat, and perhaps did defeat for the time being, except the simple provision that 3/4ths of the directors shall be American citizens. How easy would it be for British interests, controlling our trade for a hostile purpose, to get control of the board of directors by owning the stock, and compel the U.S.A. to pour into its coffers $122,000,000, enough, in my judgment, to build the road, and ngrant of 47 million acres of lands. Foreign capitalists may take the charter, use our money to build the road, and control the charter and the road foi foreign purposes. Sir, I do not wish, at this period of the session and under the intense heat which we are now suffering, to enter further into the discussion of the easure. At the next session, if it should b postponed after debate, I will exnniine the subject more carefully. No one can say of me that I am hostile to any portion of the country through which this road passes. On the contrary, my reading of the reports has tended to convince me that the Northern pacific route is a feasible route; that the fall in the spurs of the mountains along the 40 seveiiih and 48th parallels may make it comparutively easy to build the road; and if the riends of the road are to be believed, they can build it for less than 100 million dollars in gold. I have heard men who have traversed along this route as that there would be no trouble in building t 'e road for about 100 million dollars upon a gold basis. If so, the grant we have a ready given of 47 million acres of land ought to be enough aid, because, after all, the U.S. get no benefit from this road except the effect it has upon the improvement of the country. All the profits, all the tolls, all the charges for transportation and for passengers go into private ands. The Government takes all the risk, gives all the money, grants all the land, and receives in return what? A mortgage of 1/2 its own lands and a promise to pay over 1/4th of the net proceeds of the road after it is fully completed. That is, the builders of the road receive 47 million acres of land and give us 23 millions of them; they take 3/4ths of the net earnings and we take 1/4th ! That is the proposition contained in this bill. It seems to me the mere statement of it is sufficient to at us on our guard, at least against any hurrie passage of the bill.