The general anxiety to avoid an extra session of Congress brought about a compromise on nearly all the pending bills of importance before the hour of adjournment arrived. The Army Reorganisstion Bill, amended in the Senate so as to provide for 65,000 regulars and 35,000 volunteers for the next two years, but restoring the old maximum of $7,000 at the end of that period, in the absence of new legislation, was grudgingly accepted by the House. Many of its details were sharply criticised, but the desire of the Republicans to avoid an extra session, the delight of the Democrats in the Senate amendment reducing the army at the end of two years, and a feeling in both parties that a more satisfactory reorganisation could be effected after deliberate consideration by the next Congress, all operated in favour of the bill When the Navy Appropriation Bill was before the Senat", amendments were adopted reducing the number of new armoured ships from twelve to six, and providing for government construction, ownership, anil operation of armour-plate works wiles the armour-plate manufacturers reduced prices from $445 to $300 per ton. After conference between the tivo branches of Congress, however, the number of new armoured ships was restored to twelve and the provision for a Government armour-plate factory was excluded, but provision was made that no new cruisers should hig constructed unless the armour-plate could ba bought for $300 per ton. "The effect: of this is that it will be impossible to go farther than the preparing of plans for the heavy ships until this provision is amended, or withdrawn, for the armour-plate cannot be bought for $300 a ton. Meanwhile there are a number of warships already under construction that do not come within the scope of this restriction.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.