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Mr. FOOT. I desire to ask the indulgence of the Senate this morning to allow me to call up the bill making a grant of public lands to the several States and Territories of the Union for the benefit of indigent insane persons. I desire to remark that this bill was referred, at an early day of the Session, to the Committee on Public Lands, and early reported by that committee and it stands upon the general orders in advance of all other bills making appropriations of public lands.. I should be entirely willing to allow it to be taken up in the order in which it stands on the calendar, if the practice of the Senate would allow it, to be reached in that order; but the practice as our experience has taught us, is that bills standing in the rear of it are from day to day taken up, and made special orders in advance of it. I therefore desire to have this bill taken up at the present time.

I may remark, however, that if any Senator present shall express his determination or desire to discuss the bill, I will not ask the Senate to proceed with its consideration at this time. I do not desire to interpose this or any other question in the way of the consideration of the pending special order; neither do I desire that when this bill shall be taken up and presented to the consideration of the Senate, if it shall elicit discussion, that that discussion shall be interrupted, but that it may proceed until the action of the Senate be finally had upon the bill. Therefore, if any Senator shall express a desire to debate the measure, I will only, move that it be made the special order for some early day, with the understanding that the Senate on that I day, if it shall not be in the way of any other special order, will take it up, debate it, act upon it, and finally dispose of it.

The motion was agreed to, and the Senate proceeded, as in Committee of the Whole, to consider the bill.

Mr. ADAMS. I understood the Senator to say that if there were objections to the bill, he desired to fix a day for its consideration. With that understanding I did not object to taking it up, but for one, I never can consent to vest the title of lands in one State for any purpose in other States. An important principle is involved in the bill and I shall certainly object to its passage.

Mr. FOOT. What I said, Mr. President, was, that if any Senator present desired to debate the bill, to occupy any time in the discussion of it, I would agree to make it the special order for some early day, and would not press its consideration at the present time; but if there be no objection, causing delay in the action of the Senate on the bill, I should desire to have a vote now.

The amendment to the bill, reported from the committee, in the form of a substitute for the whole bill, was read by the Secretary.

Mr. PETTIT. I propose to discuss the bill when it shall come up fully before us for action. I now desire to offer an amendment to it. I am not prepared, from the reading of the bill, to say in what section it should be inserted. It can, however, be inserted in the proper place. The object of the amendment is to confine the grant of lands to the States in which the public lands lie. It is as follows:

Provided, that all the grants of lands provided for by this act shall be confined to such States as have public lands in them equal to the amount hereby granted to such State.

Mr. FOOT. That amendment is, of course, entirely inconsistent with all the provisions of the bill. Inasmuch as the Senator from Indiana expresses his determination to discuss the bill, I will move, agreeably to the announcement with which I called it up, that its further consideration be postponed until Monday next, and made the special order for that day.

Several SENATORS objected to the day as being too early.

Mr. ROOT. I will modify the motion, and name Monday week.

The motion was agreed to.