The Grand Orient of France has issued an appeal to all the lodges of freemasons in the world asking a renewal of unity between the Grand Orient and all other branches of the masonic rite.
The situation in Tonquin effectually ties the hands of France. The announcement of the blocking of Canton harbor is the only important event of the week in the Franco-Chinese struggle.
Dr. Tanner, the famous faster, is practicing medicine in Jamestown, N. Y. The physicians of that city have made a fruitless attempt to secure his indictment by the grand jury as an illegal practitioner.
The French press are advocating an organized effort against the prohibition of the importation of American pork. The prohibition, it is estimated, will cost the French ports 100,000,000 francs, and deprive the working people, besides, of cheap and wholesome food.
Articles of incorporation were filed at Springfield, Saturday, for the building of a railroad from a point within five miles of the northeast corner of Cook county to a point in Rock Island county, on the Mississippi, opposite Muscatine, Iowa. The capital is $3,000,000, and among the incorporators are Joseph R. Reynolds, Edgar Terhune Holden, and Josiah Browne, of Chicago.
CONGRESSIONAL.
Senator Edmunds has again been chosen president pro tem of the Senate. Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, declares himself too ill to perform the duties of the position. On Monday nearly 500 bills were introduced into the House. The total number of bills introduced and referred since the session began, reaches nearly 4,000. There are many important measures among them, while there are more that are of somewhat doubtful import, especially those which look to a still further increase of the pension appropriations. There are bills for the regulation of banks and banking; several new bankruptcy acts; one reducing the fees on patents as follows: The fee upon filing original application for a patent is reduced from $15 to $5. The minimum fees for a design patent shall be $5 instead of $10 and the minimum term for which granted shall be five instead of three and a half years; a bill to reorganize the infantry branch of the army; for reorganizing and increasing the navy; several to revise the tariff; to look after the forfeiture of land grants; to restrict importation of foreign adulterated goods; to stamp out contagious diseases of animals; to establish a department of commerce; to repeal the act prohibiting ex-confederate officers from serving in the United States army; to relieve Fitz John Porter, and hundreds of bills for the relief or benefit of individuals in different parts of the country. There are also bills for the regulation of transportation companies and for the establishment of a system of government telegraph. As yet no appropriation bills have been reported and the Ways and Means committee has but recently organized into subcommittees and has not begun the consideration of any subject. There is already business enough before this Congress to keep it in continuous session for years.
