Mr. BOUTWELL. I move to amend the amendment by adding thereto the following:

And each member of Congress shall appoint a board of three competent persons, who shall examine all candidates for admission, and the candidate approved by said examiners shall be nominated by the member of Congress.

Mr. SPALDING. I think the gentleman had better put this provision in a separate joint resolution.

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I prefer to have it in this bill.

Mr. BOUTWELL. Mr. Chairman, I do not wish to detain the committee by discussing my amendment. I think the country is entitled to the services in the Army and Navy of the most promising young men who can be brought into these branches of the public service. I dare say that every member of this Congress would exercise a sound discretion in the selection of cadets for the Naval Academy, but possibly as much cannot be assumed for our successors. I am, therefore, in favor of a board of examination in in each district who shall select a competent person. If I may be allowed to refer to Massachusetts we have there for many years had in our colleges forty-eight open scholarships. Our board of education from year to year examine all candidates for admission without reference to anything but moral and intellectual qualifications. The results have been that we have not only educated a class of competent persons for the highest domestic and public duties of the country, but we are also elevating the colleges themselves by introducing into them a set of aspiring and competent, and moral young men.

Now, I believe the fact would be somewhat the same if we were to admit to the Academy at West Point and to the Naval Academy only those young men who, upon examination, appear to be best qualified for the places, and I submit that no member of Congress representing the people ought to exercise this high trust for his individual or political benefit. It is a trust which he should exercise in the service of the country for the benefit of the country, and the best way of exercising that trust is through an examination by competent men, and then let the place be given to the young man who appears to be best qualified.

Mr. STEVENS. I am opposed to the amendment of the gentleman from Massachusetts. If the law gives me the authority to make these nominations I propose to exercise it myself, and not leave it to anybody else. Moreover, there is one of the strictest boards ever constituted anywhere which examines the candidates for admission to this Naval Academy. •

Mr. GANSON. I was about to remark that these young men are now subjected to a rigid examination. I dare say the gentleman from Massachusetts has had some candidates rejected whom he had recommended, because the examination

Mr. PIKE. I move to amend the clause in relation to the Naval Observatory by striking out the words:

And there is hereby authorized to be appointed in said office one additional aid, at an annual salary of $1,333 33, and said amount is hereby appropriated therefor.

Last year there were four aids in the Naval Observatory receiving salaries of $1,000 each. It was said then that they could do the business with three aids, and they proposed to divide the $4,000 between the three aids, and we assented to that proposition.

Now, it appears from this provision that it is proposed to increase the salaries of these gentlemen. I think it is a kind of indirect way of raising salaries that should not be encouraged, and for that reason I make the motion to strike out.

Mr. STEVENS. This provision is one which comes recommended by the Naval Department. I am not a very good astronomer myself; perhaps the gentleman from Maine is more capable of judging of such matters as this than I am; but still I prefer to trust the Department, who know more about this whole subject than either of us. Mr. PIKE. I will say in reply that I do not act upon my own knowledge at all, for I should defer to the superior knowledge of the gentleman from Pennsylvania or the conductors of this Naval Observatory. I merely repeat the statement

which they made last year that they could do the business with three aids.

The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. HOLMAN. I raise a point of order on the following clauses of the bill:

For pay of clerks in the Ordnance department at the several navy-yards, in lieu of the present per diem pay, viz: For salary of one clerk at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, navy-yard, $1,200.

For salary of one clerk at $1,200, and one at $1,000 per annun, at Boston navy-yard, $2,200.

For salary of one clerk at $1,200 per annum, and one clerk at $1,000 per annum, at the New York navy-yard, $2,200.

For salary of one clerk at the Philadelphia navy-yard, $1,200.

For salary of one clerk at $1,400, one clerk at $1,000, one draughtsman at $1,600, one analytical chemist at $2,500, one assistant pyrotechnist at $1,400, and one keeper of magazine at $480 per annum, at the Washington navyyard, $15,180.

It seems to me that they are changes of law, rather than appropriations to carry out law.

The CHAIRMAN. (Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, in the chair.) The Chair sustains the point of order, and holds that it is independent legislation in an appropriation bill.

Mr. STEVENS. I do not know that these clauses increase the pay of the employés referred to. They merely fix their pay and make their positions permanent instead of being temporary.

Mr. WILSON. I would like to ask the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means what the per diem of temporary clerks is now? Mr. STEVENS. My impression is that it is $3 50.

Mr. WILSON. If this be for giving them the same pay only, I presume it is better to let it remain as it is, instead of making these clerkships permanent clerkships at fixed salaries.

The CHAIRMAN. The point of order is sustained.

Mr. STEVENS. As that completes the bill I move that the committee rise and report the bill to the House.

Mr. DAVIS, of Maryland. Before that motion is put I offer the following amendment, to come in as additional sections at the end of the bill:

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a Board of Admiralty, which shall consist of the vice admiral and one rear admiral, one commodore, one captain, one commander, and one lieutenant commander, over which the Secretary of the Navy or the officer highest in rank present shall preside; and when the subject under consideration shall appertain to the duties of any bureau in the Navy Department, the chief of such bureau shall be a member of the board, and entitled to sit and vote on the consideration of the subject.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the board sha!! deliberate in common and advise the Secretary on any matters submitted by him relating to naval organization, naval legislation, the construction, equipment, and armament of vessels, navy-yards, and other naval establishments, and the direction, employment, and disposition of the naval forces in time of war. All such opinions shall be recorded.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no vessel-of-war shall be built or materially altered, nor any guns of new construction ordered or adopted, nor any engine for any vessel-of-war adopted or ordered, nor any permanent structure for naval service executed, until the plans, estimates, proposals, and contracts for the same shall have been sub mitted to the board, and its opinion and advice thereon communicated in writing to the Secretary; nor shall any patented invention be bought or adopted for the naval service without first the opinion of the board thereon having been taken; and all experiments decided to test inventions and naval plans and structures shall be conducted under the inspection of the board, or members thereof named by the Secretary, and submitted to the board for its opinion thereon.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all invitations for plans or proposals for any of the works above mentioned shall be prepared by the board, subject to the approval of the Secretary; and all bids or offers or proposals for the same shall be opened in the presence of the board, and the award made by it, subject to the approval of the Secretary. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary may add to the board, from time to time, other officers of the Navy eligible to the position of chief of bureau, not exceeding three, at any time, for consultation on any of the above subjects. The board may take the opinion of eminent practical engineers, mechanics, machinists, and architects, in their respective branches of art or industry, when in their opinion the public service will be promoted by it, and pay them such reasonable compensation as the Secretary may approve.

Mr. WILSON. I make the point of order that this is independent legislation, and is not in order as an amendment to an appropriation bill. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair sustains the point of order.

as a proviso to the bill-as a limitation on the appropriations granted. I take it that, in that point of view, it is perfectly in order.

Mr. WILSON. I make the same point of order. The CHAIRMAN, The Chair sustains the point of order. The Chair does not think that the amendment proposed is, properly speaking, a limitation on the appropriations made in the bill.

Mr. DAVIS, of Maryland. Then I move the following as an express limitation:

Provided, That no money appropriated for the naval service shall be expended otherwise than in accordance with the following provision, so far as it is applicable; that is to say, that the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a Board of Admiralty, which shall consist, &c.

Mr. SPALDING. Mr. Chairman, if that amendment is considered in order, I wish, before the committee proceed to act upon it, to say a word. A bill similar in substance to that amendment was introduced into the House and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, and is now undergoing investigation before that committee. I hope the House will not act upon the subject until that committee shall have made its report. Mr. WILSON. I make the point of order that the amendment proposes independent legislation and is not in order.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair sustains the point of order. The Chair does not think that this can be regarded, under the rules, as a proviso limiting the appropriations.

Mr. DAVIS, of Maryland. I appeal from the decision of the Chair. Is the appeal debatable?

The CHAIRMAN. It is not. The gentleman from Maryland offers an amendment to the bill. The Chair decides that the amendment is not in order, as being independent legislation in an appropriation bill. From that decision the gentleman from Maryland appeals. The question Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the committee?

The CHAIRMAN ordered tellers; and appointed Mr. DAVIS of Maryland, and Mr. STEELE of New York.

The committee divided; and the tellers reported-ayes 45, noes 41; no quorum voting.

The CHAIRMAN. No quorum voting, the Clerk will call the roll.

Mr. STEVENS. I ask that there be a recount. There being no objection, the tellers resumed their places.

The committee again divided; and the tellers reported-ayes 45, noes 50.

So the decision of the Chair was overruled, and the amendment decided to be in order.

Mr. DAVIS, of Maryland. I desire, Mr. Chairman, to make some remarks explanatory of the amendment which I have offered. If the committee have patience to hear me at this hour in the evening, I am ready to go on. But it is impossible that a measure of this importance can be passed over without due consideration when I am charged with it.

Mr. BLAINE. Will the gentleman from Maryland allow me to make a suggestion? It is now four o'clock; and the gentleman is not to-day in a favorable physical condition for speaking. Therefore, out of courtesy to him, and for the convenience of all of us, I move that the committee rise. The motion was agreed to.

So the committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chair, Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, reported that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union had had under consideration as a special order, the bill (H. R. No. 676) making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending 30th June, 1866, and had come to no resolution thereon.

RAILROAD TO NEW YORK.

Mr. GARFIELD, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to provide for the construction of a line of railway communication between the cities of Washington and New York, and to constitute the same a public highway and a military road and postal route of the United States; which was read a first and second time, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

NAVAL PAINTING BY W. II. POWELL. Mr. SCHENCK. I ask unanimous consent to introduce a joint resolution authorizing a contract with William H. Powell for a picture for the

The SPEAKER. The resolution will be reported at length, after which the Chair will ask for objections, if any.

The Clerk read the joint resolution, as follows: Be it resolved, &c., That the Joint Committee on the Library be, and they are hereby, directed to enter into a contract with William H. Powell, of the State of Ohio, to paint a picture for the United States, to be placed at the head of one of the grand staircases in the Capitol, illustrative of some naval victory, the particular subject of the painting to be agreed on by the committee and the artist: Provided, That the entire expense of said picture shall not exceed $25,000; and $2,000 shall be paid to said William H. Powell in advance, to enable him to prepare for the work, the remainder of sald sum in installments at intervals of not less than one year, the last installment to be retained until the picture is completed and put up.

Mr. PRUYN. I suggest to the gentleman from Ohio to modify his resolution by striking out "directed" and inserting "authorized."

Mr. SCHENCK. I have no objection to that. 1 modify the resolution in that way.

The SPEAKER. Is there any objection to the introduction of the joint resolution?

Several MEMBERS objected.

Mr. SCHENCK. I move to suspend the rules in order to introduce the joint resolution.

The question being taken on the motion, there were, on a division-ayes thirty-two, noes not counted.

Mr. SCHENCK demanded tellers.

Tellers were ordered; and Messrs. SCHENCK and ANCONA were appointed.

The House divided, and the tellers reportedayes 31, noes 54; no quorum voting.

Mr. STEVENS moved that the House adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; and (at ten minutes past four o'clock, p. m.) the House adjourned.

IN SENATE. TUESDAY, January 31, 1865. Prayer by Rev. B. H. NADAL, D. D., of Washington, District of Columbia.

The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

UNEMPLOYED GENERALS.

Mr. WADE. I notice, Mr. President, that the Secretary of War, in his return to a resolution of the Senate asking for information concerning the employment of our generals, has made a mistake in one particular that I wish to have rectified. He says, among other things, that "Generals Banks and Lee are before the committee on the conduct of the war." That is a mistake, and a mistake which I wish to have rectified, because it seems to be a standing mistake, and I do not know but that it may interfere with the disposition that the Executive wishes to make of those generals. Now, to set the matter right, I will read our communication with General Banks on the subject:

COMMITTEE-ROOM CONDUCT OF THE WAR,
WASHINGTON, D. C., December 13, 1864.

SIR: I am instructed by the committee on the conduct of the war to inform you that they will meet you to-morrow at ten o'clock, a. m., for the purpose of taking your testimony in relation to the Red river expedition, provided you are to remain in the city and are not otherwise occupied. We do not wish to detain you, or to have our request complied with, if it conflicts at all with your instructions from the President or Secretary of War. I remain, &c., B. F. WADE, Chairman. Major General N. P. BANKS, U. S. A.

On the 14th of December, according to this request, General Banks came in and he gave his deposition, which probably took him two hours. Then he was dismissed by us; we did not want him any longer, and had nothing to do with detaining him beyond that. We dismissed him as we do all other witnesses who have given their testimony; but having taken other testimony, about a month after, finding that he was still in the city, we sent for him on the 13th of January to make a little explanation, and he came in and I think it took him about ten minutes. We have not detained him at all except when we took his deposition, and that, as I have said, probably lasted two hours. He seems to have been here from the 13th of December until yesterday, when the War Department reported that we were detaining him here. It is no such thing. We have detained him no more than we have any other witness who has given testimony.

As for General Lee, he appeared before the committee on the 11th of January and gave his testimony, which I suppose took him two hours,

and he was discharged by us and I have not seen him since. I wish it to be understood that neither General Banks nor General Lee nor any other general is detained by us a moment after he comes and testifies.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

(S. R. No. 106) providing for the compilation of a Congressional Directory at each session, was read twice by its title, and considered as in Committee of the Whole. It provides for the compilation of a Congressional Directory, under the direction of the Joint Committee on Public Printing, to be published by the Superintendent of Public Printing, the first edition for each session to be ready for distribution within one week after the commencement thereof.

Mr. CLARK presented the memorial of Frank Pugsley, praying compensation for services rendered the United States as a private soldier from October 17, 1861, to October 24, 1862, being the time which elapsed from the date of his discharge until he had notice of the same; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.

Mr. HARLAN presented a petition of citizens of Washington city, District of Columbia, praying the repeal of all laws making it unlawful for county constables to arrest parties charged with crime against the United States; which was referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Mr. HARRIS presented a petition of ministers of the gospel and pastors of the churches at Belvidere, New Jersey, praying that ministers of the gospel may be exempt from military duty; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

Mr. COLLAMER presented the petition of Lemuel Abbott, praying payment of bounty claimed to be due his son, John J. Abbott, drummer of company I, sixteenth regiment Vermont volunteers; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION.

The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a communication from the Treasurer of the United States, transmitting his adjusted accounts of receipts and expenditures for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1864; which was ordered to lie on the table.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. SUMNER, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the memorial of B. A. Froiseth, praying for further legislation to encourage foreign immigration, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that it be referred to the Committee on Finance; which was agreed to.

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred the message from the President of the United States transmitting a copy of two treaties between the United States and the King of the Belgians, in relation to the Scheldt dues, reported a bill (S. No. 420) to carry into execution a convention between the United States and Belgium for the extinction of the Scheldt dues; which was read, and passed to a second reading.

Mr. NESMITH, from the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, to whom was referred the petition of Mrs. Aria M. Roblas y Robaldo, widow of F. Robaldo, asking to be paid for certain property destroyed by American troops in Mexico, by order of their commanding officer, in the late war with Mexico, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that it be referred to the Committee on Claims; which was agreed to.

Mr. DIXON, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. No. 411) to amend an act entitled " 'An act to incorporate the Metropolitan Railroad Company in the District of Columbia," reported it with amendments.

CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY.

Mr. ANTHONY. The Committee on Printing, to whom was referred a resolution of the Senate directing the committee to inquire into the expediency of ordering a Congressional Directory to be compiled and furnished to Congress at the commencement of each session, have directed me to report a joint resolution on the subject, and to ask for its present consideration.

There being no objection, the joint resolution

Mr. ANTHONY. I will state that the ConPostmaster of the House of Representatives, whose traditional perquisite it is. It has been sold to the Senate at fifty cents a copy; I believe now at seventy-five cents. It only reached us last week, full of errors. Another edition is to be printed, which I suppose we shall have in about a week, at the close of the session, when it will be of no use to us. According to the estimate of the Superintendent of Public Printing, it will cost, if printed at the Government Printing Office, about twenty-five cents a copy for the first thousand, and ten cents a copy for each subsequent thousand. At the short session of 1862 the amount paid for the Congressional Directory out of the contingent fund of the two Houses was $1,132. At the present price of the Directory, which I understand is fifty per cent. higher, that would be $1,698. The Superintendent of Public Printing estimates that it will cost $400 if printed by him, and would doubtless be accurate; and he says he can lay the first edition before us in the first week of the session. The committee did not propose this resolution on economical grounds, although they are certainly worth considering, but with a view to have a Directory, which is absolutely indispensable for the transaction of business here, that should be accurate and be presented to Congress within a reasonable time. It appears also that it can be done at one fourth the cost we now pay for it.

Mr. COLLAMER. Permit me to ask the gentleman out of what fund it is now paid for? Is it out of the contingent fund?

Mr. ANTHONY. Yes, sir, out of the contingent fund of the two Houses. The Government pays for it now. If this resolution should be passed, the Government hereafter will pay about one fourth of the present price.

Mr. COLLAMER. I will remark that the particular value of it for our use is the location of the members, where they are staying in Washington; but they do not get their places of settlement, especially those who have families, until after the holidays, in January.

Mr. ANTHONY. The idea of the Superintendent of Public Printing is, that in the first week of the session he will furnish a Directory with the temporary residence of Senators and Representatives, and, as soon as they establish permanent residences, another edition containing their permanent residences; but as many members of both Houses take their permanent residence in the beginning of the session, they can be marked as permanent, and the others as temporary. At all events, we shall get the Directory in a reasonable time and at a reasonable price. I may be wrong in stating that the present price is seventy-five cents; I have heard so; it was fifty cents before, I know.

Mr. MORRILL. I should like to inquire of the Senator whether the order applies to the present session.

Mr. ANTHONY. No, sir, not to the present session. It is prospective.

Mr. MORRILL. I was going to state the fact, which I have occasion to know, that an application has been made for payment for the present session.

The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

BILLS INTRODUCED.

Mr. DIXON asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 421) to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the Columbia Institution for the instruction of the deaf, and the dumb, and the blind," approved February 16, 1857; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Mr. ANTHONY asked, and by unanimous

consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 422) relating to the mail service between New York and the Pacific coast; which was read twice by its title.

Mr. ANTHONY. I desire to state that I introduce this bill by request. I know nothing of the prices that ought to be paid; but I presume the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads does. I move its reference to that committee. The motion was agreed to.

PEACE MISSIONS TO RICHMOND. Mr. SUMNER. I offer the following resolution; and I ask for its immediate consideration:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested, if in his opinion not incompatible with the public interests, to furnish to the Senate any information in his power concerning any recent personal communications with the rebel Jefferson Davis, said to have been under executive sanction; and also copies of any correspondence relating thereto.

Mr. CONNESS. I suggest whether it would not be better to so shape the verbiage of the resolution as to refer to the mission of Mr. Blair.

Mr. SUMNER. I beg the Senator's pardon; I prefer it in its general form.

Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there any objection to the present consideration of the resolution? That is the first question.

Mr. JOHNSON. None on my part. I send to the Chair a resolution on the same subject, which, perhaps, the Senator may think more comprehensive.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The resolution will be read for the information of the body. The Secretary read, as follows:

Resolved, That the President of the United States is requested, if he shall not deem it inconsistent with the public interest, to inform the Senate if any person, and if any, what person, has, with his authority or assent, been in Richmond to negotiate with the president of the so-called confederate States, or with any other person or persons in authority under such States, in relation to a termination of the present war, or with a view to ascertain from such president or persons in authority on what terms or conditions, if any, he or they would be willing to have the said war terminated; and if so, also to inform the Senate what information he has obtained from such agent or person; and he is also requested to inform the Senate, if such person was in Richmond as aforesaid, whether he was authorized or permitted by the President to represent to the confederate authorities on what terms or conditions the President was willing to negotiate in relation to peace, and if so, what such terms and conditions were.

Mr. SUMNER. I call for information. Mr. JOHNSON. Information as to what? I want to know, in the order of time, first, whether there has been a messenger sent there by the Government or going there with the permission of the Government, to hold any communication with the president of the confederate States, or with any person in authority under such States, in order to ascertain upon what terms they are willing to make peace; and if it is so, whether those terms have been stated to the agent and have been since made known to the President, and that he tell us what those terms are. But I want also to know, and perhaps my friend from Massachusetts will not get that by his call-if that agent has been authorized to state upon what conditions the President of the United States is willing to enter into a negotiation for the termination of the war. Now, as to the criticism of my friend from Massachusetts upon what the Senator from California calls the "verbiage" of my resolution, that I call the authorities at Richmond "the confederate authorities,"I have not the slightest objection to call them "rebel authorities." They have been called "the confederate authorities" over and over again.

Mr. CONNESS. thorities.'

"So-called confederate au

Mr. JOHNSON. Yes "so called;" but I will strike that out, and say "the rebel authorities,' for, speaking on the floor of the Senate, I have called them nothing but rebels, and shall continue to call them so until they prove themselves able to establish their independence.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Maryland submit his proposition as an amendment to the resolution of the Senator from Massachusetts ?

Mr. JOHNSON. I would rather have it as I offered it, as an amendment for that reason.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question then is on amending the resolution by striking out the words of the original resolution and substituting the words contained in the resolution of the Senator from Maryland.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. This may be an important matter, and it may be important in what form the resolution should be adopted. For myself, I prefer that the resolution and amendment should be printed, and come up to-morrow morning.

Mr. JOHNSON.' I have no objection to that. Mr. DOOLITTLE. Then we can see them both.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I think so, and let them be printed.

Mr. SUMNER. But I want the information at once. I should like to have the information to-morrow morning.

Mr. SUMNER. The resolution which I offer, as the Senate will observe, is much briefer and simpler than that of the Senator from Maryland. Mr. SUMNER. Is it advisable to let the resIn that respect I think that my own is preferable.olutions go over until to-morrow morning? There are some words employed by the Senator that I should not like to see the Senate adopt in a resolution. The resolution of the Senate speaks of the "confederate authorities:" to my mind they are always the "rebel authorities." In my resolution I characterize the head of the rebellion as "the rebel Jefferson Davis;" and I call upon the President for information relating to any personal communications with "the rebel Jefferson Davis said to have been had recently by executive sanction." It strikes me that the resolution introduced by me covers the whole case, and I doubt the expediency of going into details. I should like to have my resolution read again.

The VICE PRESIDENT. It will be read, if there be no objection.

The Secretary read the resolution.

Mr. JOHNSON. I have no objection to the resolution proposed by the Senator from Massachusetts, except, perhaps, that I am not sure that it would accomplish his purpose and my purpose and what I supposed to be the purpose of the Senate. It is very desirable that the information asked for by either resolution should be given to the public at the earliest day possible. The report which has gone all over the country that such a negotiation in some form or other has been going on, has caused a good deal of solicitude and a good deal of speculation. If there is no foundation for it, the sooner we know it the better; if there is, the sooner we know it the better. The only objection I have to the resolution offered by my friend from Massachusetts, is that I doubt very much whether he will by it get the information. I do not know that there is any spondence" upon the subject; I doubt very much whether there is any "correspondence" on the subject; and if you call only for "correspondence'

66 corre

Mr. DOOLITTLE. We may not be able to get it by to-morrow morning.

Mr. SUMNER. If Senators desire that the matter shall be postponed until to-morrow morning I shall not press it now

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there any motion submitted?

Mr. HALE. I move to postpone the further consideration of the resolution until to-morrow, and that in the mean time the resolutions and the amendment be printed.

The motion was agreed to.

CONDUCT OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT. Mr. HALE. I have a resolution which I wish

to present to the Senate:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be instructed to inform the Senate whether the argument of the judges advocate on the trial of Franklin W. Smith has been printed by order of the Navy Department, or any officer of that branch of the service, and whether the same has been done at the expense of the Treasury of the United States; how large an addition of the same has been published, and what use has been made of the copies thus published. Also, whether any commissioners, agents, or detectives have been employed by the said Navy Department, or any officer thereof, since July 1, 1864; if so, how many, what sum or sums have been paid them, what instructions were given to them verbally or in writing, either by the Secretary of the Navy or the Assistant Secretary; and especially whether any instructions were given to said detectives or agents, or either of them, by said Secretary or Assistant Secretary, or by any one else for them, or with the knowledge, advice, or consent of either of them, to inquire into the conduct or business transactions of any member of either House of Congress; and, also, how much expense has been incurred by such examination, the particulars thereof, the fund from which they have been paid, and the law authorizing the

same.

I ask that it be considered now.

Mr. CONNESS. I think that resolution should lie over until the chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs is present.

The VICE PRESIDENT. If objected to, it must lie over until to-morrow.

Mr. HALE. I move, then, that it be printed. The motion to print was agreed to.

BARRACKS FOR CLERKS.

Mr. WILSON submitted the following resolution; which was considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to furnish the Senate with such information as he may possess relative to the barracks proposed to be erected in Washington for the accommodation of the clerks on detached service, an estimate of the probable cost of the same, and such other statements and suggestions as he may deein proper.

BILLS BECOME LAWS.

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr.NICOLAY, his Secretary, announced that he had approved and signed the following bills:

A bill (S. No. 384) to amend an act entitled "An act to amend and extend the charter of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company," approved the 2d of March, 1838; and

A bill (S. No. 363) to amend the charter of the Washington Gas-Light Company.

COMMITTEE SERVICE.

At the suggestion of Mr. HARLAN, by unanimous consent, the Vice President was authorized to appoint a member of the Committee on Public Lands in the absence of Mr. HARDING.

COMMITTEE ON CORRUPTIONS.

Mr. POWELL. I move to suspend all prior orders for the purpose of taking up the bill (S. No. 392) supplementary to the act approved July 14, 1862, entitled "An act to establish certain post roads." The object of the bill is to authorize the construction of a railway bridge over the Ohio river at the head of the falls.

Mr. HALE. I hope that will not be taken up. I hope the Senator from Kentucky will not press it now. When the morning hour expired yesterday, the Senate had under consideration a resolution introduced by his colleague, [Mr. DAVIS,] upon which I had the floor, and I was addressing the Senate and was interrupted by the expiration of the morning hour. It is my desire to proceed with the consideration of that resolution at this time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I suggest to the Senator from New Hampshire, as he has entered into a discussion that may probably call for some remarks from other Senators, that it would be better to fix that question for some time besides the morning hour. We have only fifteen minutes of the morning hour now left, and he cannot finish in that time, certainly. I would propose that that subject be fixed for some particular day.

Mr. HALE. I will take the time that is left this morning, if I can.

Mr. POWELL. I do not wish to prevent the Senator from New Hampshire from finishing his remarks; but the bill to which I have called attention is one of great importance, and it is important that it should be acted upon quickly. If the Senate will now take it up, I shall propose to make it the special order for some early day. The Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. CowAN] desires some little postponement of it; and I propose to make it the special order for some day in the latter part of the week, if the Senate will take it up.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on the motion of the Senator from Kentucky to take up the bill indicated by him.

The motion was not agreed to.

Mr. HALE. Inow move that the Senate take up the resolution of the Senator from Kentucky, [Mr. DAVIS.]

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution, which had been modified to read as follows:

Resolved, That the special rule of the Senate No. 34 be amended by adding thereto these words:

A committee for the investigation of the transactions of the Government in all its departments and offices, to consist of five members, which committee shall be appointed by the Presiding Officer of the Senate. Whenever there is a party political opposition to the executive administration of the Government in the Senate, the chairman and a majority of the committee shall be selected from the Sen

ators in such opposition. And said committee shall have power to continue its investigations during the recess of the Senate, and to send for persons and papers, and to adjourn from time to time and day to day.

Mr. HALE. My honorable friend from Kentucky wants to have a committee of frauds generally, a standing committee. I am opposed to it, as I stated before, and I stated one of the reasons why I was opposed to it. It was that I thought a few of the frauds which had been discovered and brought to light ought to be dealt with before we went hunting for any more. I hold in my hand a report made to the House of Representatives a few years ago by a very distinguished gentleman, then a member of the House, John Sherman, of Ohio. I do not violate any rule, sir, in mentioning his name, because I am not speaking of a member of the Senate, but of a man who was a member of the House of Representatives some years ago. [Laughter.] That gentleman discharged his duties upon that committee with great fidelity, and submitted, as the result of his investigation, certain resolutions to the House which I will read. It should be remembered that that House in 1859 was about evenly divided; it was difficult to say what party had a majority; it was not more than one or two either way; but the House, by a very decided vote, passed these resolutions, a vote of nearly two thirds. I will read them:

"In conclusion, the undersigned recommend the adoption of the following resolutions:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy,"That was not this Secretary of the Navy; it was another Connecticut man

"with the sanction of the President,"―

I believe that President was Mr. Buchanan"abused his discretionary power in the selection of a coal agent and in the purchase of fuel for the Government.

"Resolved, That the contract made by the Secretary of the Navy, under date of September 23, 1858, with Mr. W. C. N. Swift, for the delivery of live-oak timber, was made in violation of law, and in a manner unusual, improper, and injurious to the public service.

"Resolved, That the distribution by the Secretary of the Navy of the patronage in the navy-yards among members of Congress was destructive of discipline, corrupting in its influence, and highly injurious to the public service.

"Resolved, That the President and the Secretary of the Navy, by receiving and considering the party relations of bidders for contracts with the United States, and the effect of awarding contracts upon pending elections, have set an example dangerous to the public safety, and deserving the reproof of this House.

Resolved, That the appointment by the Secretary of the Navy of Daniel B. Martin, chief engineer, as a member of a board of engineers to report upon proposals for constructing machinery for the United States (the said Martin at the time being pecuniarily interested in some of said proposals) is hereby censured by this House."

Those resolutions were passed in the House of Representatives, as I said, by a majority of two thirds, some of them falling a fraction short of two thirds, and some of them going over that. One of the contracts that was thus censured was of a very gross, outrageous character, to wit, the contract for live oak made by John Lenthall; and the excuse that Mr. Lenthall, on oath, gave for this violation of duty for which the House censured the Secretary, was that he was commanded to do it by the Secretary; and he had the advantage of that excuse. When the Senate committee of last session sat, they did not censure the Secretary, but they took the individual men who had committed the frauds and put their hands upon them. It seems, however, that it cannot be done either way; the right person cannot be hit. Lenthall excused himself under oath in his examination in 1859 by saying that he was ordered by the Secretary to do what he did, and he did it; and in the language of the House of Representatives," the contract made by the Secretary of the Navy, under date of September 23, 1858, with Mr. W. C. N. Swift, for the delivery of liveoak timber, was made in violation of law and in a manner unusual, improper, and injurious to the public service." How was Lenthall ever dealt with for that gross violation of law? I will tell you. The first opportunity that presented he was promoted and made chief of the Bureau of Construction. The odium that was thrown upon his official character by this report, and by the action of the House of Representatives upon it, was such that he was not confirmed at the first session that his name was sent in, and the nomination was laid over; but still it was insisted upon, and he was renominated as chief of this new bureau that was created, and the nomination was finally con

firmed by the Senate. The perpetrator of that fraud, thus exposed through the vigilance and faithfulness of the committee of the House of Representatives, and brought to light, instead of being punished, was rewarded, and promoted, and put into a place where he might do, and as I contend has done, the same thing over again substantially.

Mr. DAVIS. By what Secretary was he promoted?

in his clerks. When his attention is called to it, and this enormous and glaring fraud is pointed out, by which $5,000 might have been taken out of the Treasury in a single article, he then admits that it is so, that it was fraudulently done, but still it does not shake his confidence in his clerks! Now, sir, it is worth while to look at this. This alteration, as I contend and as the committee believed, was made after Scofield knew the state of the bids. Remember, this bid then stood with an erroneous footing by which it was $1,000 less than it ought to have been; but after he saw the next highest bid he could raise his bid $5,000 and still be the lowest bidder. The alteration was made, and then the error of the erroneous computation to the extent of $1,000 was discovered, and by the discovery of that mistake this fraud was prevented from being successful.

I mention that circumstance to show the folly of having any more committees of investigation to hunt after frauds. Now, sir, I am going to give you some more. When the committee of the Senate examined some of the bids in the several bureaus-for Lenthall is not alone; there is no one bureau that we examined which can claim any exemption over another-they took up a very extraordinary bid made in the Bureau of Yards and Docks. I will read what it was:

"The attention of the committee was also called to a bid in the Bureau of Yards and Docks, which is of so extraor dinary a character that it seems to demand a passing notice. This is for class seven, ship-chandlery, at the New York navy-yard. It was awarded to a Mr. Bingham, at $17,778 23. C. W. Scofield was a bidder at $13,053 90. The original footing of Scofield's bid was $12,053 90: an error of $1,000 was discovered in the bureau after the bid was handed in, so that it should have footed $13,053 90, after the correc tion of this error. Without the correction of this error this bid would have been $5,724 33 below the next bid, Mr. Bingham's. Such being the state of these two bids as they were originally made, Mr. Scofield's bid is raised by the sum of $5,000 in one single article, and your committee do not find there was any other alteration made. This alteration of Scofield's bid, by which the aggregate was so largely increased, was effected by putting a unit to the left of the figures 65, which was the sum bid for hickory buts each, and there being five thousand of them wanted, the addition of a dollar apiece for them would make the amount of $5,000, and Scofield's bid would still have been the low est, and he would have got the contract after this amount was thus added, had not an error been discovered in his original computation, which, being subsequently corrected, and the $5,000 being added, made his bid higher than Mr. Bingham's, and he thus failed of realizing anything by this fraud."

Rear Admiral Smith, the head of that bureau, had his attention called to these bids, and was asked if there was any fraud in them, and he replied generally, as the rest of them did, that there was none. I will read what he said:

"Mr. Smith, chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, makes no general declaration of the kind made by Mr. Lenthall and Mr. Isherwood, but confines himself, while speaking of an erroneous computation discovered by Mr. Smith and brought to public notice in his pamphlet, to the assertion that he is confident that no collusion or erroneous exhibit was intended by the clerks. I have the utmost confidence in the honesty and fidelity of those gentlemen.""

This was so gross, so glaring-a 1 inserted on the left hand of 65 in that bid for five thousand articles, so that the bid was raised $5,000 in amount by this single alteration-that I addressed a note to Mr. Smith, not willing to let him stand on the record as this paper put him, and called his attention to this particular case, and he wrote to the committee as follows:

“I have examined the testimony of Mr. Bronaugh, and the original bids for class T-ship-chandlery for ordnance department at the New York navy-yard. It is evident to ine that the original price charged in Scofield's bid for the hickory buts was sixty-five cents, and the aggregate was carried out accordingly; that the figure 1 in the column of dollars was added subsequently, but the aggregate was not altered. It is also evident to me that the alteration in price, the aggregate of the class as written in words, and Scofield's signature, were all written by the same hand and with the same ink, and I am perfectly satisfied that this was all done before the bid came to this office."

Of course he was satisfied. Before his attention was called to it he was satisfied that there was no alteration at all; he had perfect confidence

If Senators had read this report, if the keen appetite of the Senator from Kentucky had permitted him to give half an hour before breakfast to reading the report, he would have found that the history of these bureaus was full, full to over

ever there was but one bidder, his bid was increased before the opening to the extent of one or two hundred per cent., and exactly in the same way that this was done. Let me call attention to one case of that kind particularly, because I do not speak without the book upon this matter:

"This bid, which was rejected under advertisement of February 13, 1863, was class thirty-three, for hardware for Brooklyn yard, and was at least one hundred per cent. above the market price.

"This bid came to the bureau, as is alleged, with an ag gregate footing of the prices of $15,797, the correct footing of which was $22,585 40."

That is a very successful dodge of fraudulent contractors, because they think the bureau will just look at the footings; so they make an erroneous footing.

"This was the bid of Joseph L. Savage, and he was the only bidder for this class at the Brooklyn yard at this letting. As this bid is one characteristic of a large class, your committee propose to call attention to some things about it which to them, to say the least, appear exceedingly strange and unaccountable by any theory consistent with the integrity of those acting for the Government in this matter.

"The aggregate of this bid as originally made out and written down at length, was $6,725 40. That was the state of that bid when it was completed, and by subsequent alterations and erasures and additions It was increased to $22,585 40, thus, by this means, increasing the aggregate of the bid more than two hundred per cent. The chief clerk of the bureau, who appeared before the committee and was examined by them, swears that the bid as it now is is just as it was when it was opened. This evidence should be weighed and considered along with the other evidence in the case in determining how the fact is. In the first place, the clerk does not appear to have, nor does he mean that he has, any particular recollection of the precise facts of this identical bid, but swears from a general belief that such was or should have been the fact in all cases. Against this statement there is presented this question, arising on the face of the paper, namely: Does it appear credible or even possible that the honest correction of mistakes or erroneous estimates of prices by a merchant in a bid deliberately made should carry prices from $6,725 40, to $22,585 40more than two hundred per cent.?

"This question appears the more significant when we look at the mode by which this result has been reached. "In one article of brass screws, of which there were to be purchased 1,000 gross, originally bid for at $3 a gross, and carried out correctly, $3,000, the 3 was subsequently altered to 9, making the amount $9,000, instead of $3,000, as it originally was, and by this single operation raising the price $6,000.

"Another item of 75 yards iron jack-chain, originally bid for at 41 cents, and carried out correctly $30 75, has a fig. ure 1 inserted before 41, thus making the bid 141, instead of 41, and making another item by which the bid is increased $75. It appears strange to your committee that the honest correction of a mistake should require the addition of a dollar to a bid which must be supposed to have been understandingly made at 41 cents originally.

"Another correction of this kind is found of 50 dozen scutcheons, thread brass, assorted, originally bid for at 30 cents, subsequently changed to $1 30, the original carrying out of the price being $15, which is correct, and the addition of $1 making an increase of the price to the amount of $50, and the aggregate $65 instead of $15. These alterations appear to have been made with different ink from that originally used in making the bid.

"Another correction of a similar character is where 100 pairs brass butt hinges, originally bid for at 75 cents a pair, had a figure 1 subsequently inserted before the 75, making the bid $175 a pair instead of 75 cents a pair, as originally bid.

"Another instance of the similar correction of a mistake in this extraordinary bid is where 400 pairs of brass butt hinges, originally bid for at 30 cents a pair, and carried out in the aggregate correctly at $120, has by the same process had a figure 1 inserted before the 30, making the bid $1 30 a pair, instead of 30 cents, as it originally was, and the aggregate $520; making a difference against the Government In this article alone of $400.

"Your committee forbear to pursue this particular branch of inquiry in regard to this bid any further, satisfied that from

the cases referred to enough is shown to enable any one disposed to pursue the inquiry honestly, and to give to established and unquestionable facts their just consideration, to come to a fair solution of any question which the facts raise. "In the first place, were these alterations, thus exhibited, honestly made, and the fair correction of errors in prices at first inadvertently made, and upon subsequent reflection honestly corrected? To that question, in the minds of your committee, there is and can be but one answer, and that a decided negative."

The VICE PRESIDENT. The morning hour has expired.

Mr. HALE. I bow to that, of course; but I would suggest that it-is rather inconvenient to be making these speeches at such little short hitches, and I would be glad if the suggestion of the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. DOOLITTLE] should be complied with, and that if we intend to look this up, (for I am interested about this committee question,) we assign some day for its consideration.

Mr. WILSON. Say the day after to-morrow. Mr. HALE. I move that the resolution be postponed until the day after to-morrow, (Thursday,) and made the special order for one o'clock of that day.

The motion was agreed to by a two-thirds vote. MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the House had passed a joint resolution (H. R. No. 126) declaring certain States not entitled to representation in the Electoral College.

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The special order assigned for this day is a bill (S. No. 359) to reimburse the State of Missouri for moneys expended for the United States; but that is superseded by the unfinished business of yesterday (S. R. No. 97) advising retaliation for the cruel treatment of prisoners by the insurgents.

Mr. HENDERSON. I desire to state to the Senate that the bill which was made the special order for to-day is a bill of very great importance to my State, and unless it is passed promptly in this body, I fear that there will not be sufficient time left to secure for it the consideration of the House of Representatives, and I desire very much to have it passed by Congress at this session. It has been postponed to enable Senators to examiné the report made in the case by the Military Committee, unanimously, as I understand. I desire that it shall be taken up to-day, and not lose its place. I therefore move that all prior orders be postponed, and that the bill be now considered. I think it will take but a few moments.

The motion was agreed to; and the Secretary commenced to read the bill.

Mr. WADE. Before that is read, I move to proceed to the order of the day; I see no reason for superseding that order.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The order of the day is before the Senate.

Mr. WADE. I know it is before the Senate, but I move to supersede it by taking up the unfinished business of yesterday.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The measure to which the Senator from Ohio refers was before the Senate a few moments since, and the Senate has just postponed it.

Mr. WADE. That is so; but I suppose it is in order at this time to move to lay this bill aside and take up that. I was deceived in what was up, or I should have resisted that motion. I was told that what was proposed was what I wanted, or I should certainly have opposed it, for I would not consent to quit the regular order and take up other business at this time.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senator from Ohio moves to postpone the pending order for the of proceeding with the consideration of purpose Senate joint resolution No. 97.

Mr. HENDERSON. I sincerely hope the Senator from Ohio will not insist upon that motion. This bill was called up some ten days ago, and was postponed to and made the special order for

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1865.

to-day. It was supposed then that this would be the last day we could possibly have, in order to allow time for the proper consideration of the bills in the House of Representatives. It is a bill of very deep importance to my State. I do not desire to antagonize it with the measure of which the Senator from Ohio has charge; but it was made the special order for to-day at one o'clock, and I want action on it. I do not ask to have it taken up so as to get rid of the Senator's resolution, but so that it may be disposed of at once. There is a lengthy report accompanying the bill, a full report of all the circumstances attending this claim on the part of the State, and Senators have no doubt thoroughly examined it. I hope the Senator from Ohio will postpone for a little while his desire to have his resolution considered this morning, and let me have this bill disposed of. If it provokes any discussion, I shall be willing to let it be postponed and made the special order for to-morrow, or the next day, or some other very early day. I do not desire to conflict with the consideration of the question that he is now urging; but in view of the very great importance of this bill to my State and the possibility of the results which may follow its defeat, I must beg the Senate to indulge me by early disposing of the bill.

Probably Senators will remember that at the close of the last session I undertook to get a bill of this character passed, and then stated to the Senate that unless it was done our State would be overrun by Price and his men." Since then that very thing has occurred. I desire now to state to the Senate that, in my opinion, unless something of this sort is done, we shall be subjected to the very same treatment that we have been subjected to there for the last three or four years. By failing to act here last year, the people of Missouri lost twenty millions of property in consequence of that raid of Price.

It is a matter of very great importance to my State. Financially it is overthrown, and without something to sustain and uphold the finances of the

State, we have no ability to oppose ourselves to these frequent inroads. We have to-day fiftynine thousand men down in the army of the Tennessee. They have been doing duty there. Our men are sent out of the State just so soon as they enter the service, and we are left to defend ourselves by our enrolled militia. The military commanders of the United States, being also major generals of the enrolled militia, have called it out year after year, and the State of Missouri has been compelled to pay them; if the State does not pay, nobody pays. The Senate will remember the condition of my State; it is not in a condition to meet these demands upon its treasury. I sincerely hope, inasmuch as this bill was ten days ago made the special order for to-day, that the Senate will agree to have it now considered.

Mr. WADE. I will not consent that the regular order of the day shall be superseded by any pecuniary interest whatever. In my judgment it is a measure that ought not to be delayed an hour; and when the gentleman seeks to antagonize with it a bill which he says is of deep pecuniary interest to his State, involving a large sum of money, I suppose, I know enough of the Senate to know that it will be debated perhaps for a long time; and I cannot consent to allow this great measure, which the Senate have had so long under consideration, to be superseded by any other measure that Senators can get up. Of course, if the Senate see fit to pass it by, they will do so, but never with my consent. I hope the Senate will proceed with the regular order of the day, and finish it to-day.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on the motion of the Senator from Ohio. Mr. WADE called for the yeas and they were ordered.. Mr. HENDRICKS. I understand the proposition is to postpone the consideration of the bill that the Senator from Missouri has called up, in order to go on with the resolution of the Senator from Ohio.

NEW SERIES.....No. 33.

The VICE PRESIDENT. That is the question. Now I desire merely

Mr. HENDERSON. to state to the Senate, before the vote is taken, that this bill was ten days ago made the special order for to-day at one o' o'clock.

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll, and Mr. ANTHONY responded to his name.

Mr. HENDERSON. Senators seem not to understand the question

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is not open to debate, the call of the roll having commenced and one Senator having answered to his name.

Mr. HENDERSON. Senators seem not to understand the question, and I desire at least to have it stated again.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair will state the question again, if there be no objection. Senate joint resolution No. 97, relating to retaliation, was before the Senate as the unfinished business of yesterday. The Senator from Missouri moved to postpone that for the purpose of taking up the bill which was made the special or der for to-day. That motion was put and declared to be agreed to. The Secretary was proceeding to read that bill, when the Senator from Ohio moved to postpone it for the purpose of taking up the unfinished business of yesterday; and that is the question now before the Senate.

Mr. JOHNSON. The question is on postponing the Missouri bill?

The VICE PRESIDENT. Yes, for the purpose of taking up the unfinished business of yesterday.

Mr. HARLAN. I desire to state that my colleague [Mr. GRIMES] has been detained for sev eral days from his seat on account of sickness, and is still detained for the same reason.

The calling of the roll having been concluded, the result was announced-yeas 20, nays 18; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Conness, Dixon, Doolittle, Farwell, Foot, Foster, Harlan, Howard, flowe, Lane of Indiana, Morrill, Ramsey, Teu Eyck, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wilson-20.

NAYS-Messrs. Buckalew, Carlile, Davis, Hale, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Nesmith, Powell, Richardson, Saulsbury, Sprague, Sumner, Van Winkle, Willey, and Wright-18.

ABSENT-Messrs. Brown, Cowan, Grimes, Harding, Harris, Hicks, McDougall, Pomeroy, Riddle, Sherman, and Trumbull-11.

So the motion was agreed to.

RETALIATION ON REBEL PRISONERS. The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, accordingly resumed the consideration of the joint resolution (S. R. No. 97) advising retaliation for the cruel treatment of prisoners by the insurgents.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The pending question is on the motion of the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. WILSON] to recommit the resolution with all the amendments and proposed amendments to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

Mr. WADE. That was withdrawn.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Upon that question the yeas and nays were ordered, and it could not be withdrawn without unanimous consent, which was refused.

Mr. HENDRICKS. Mr. President, I did not expect to say another word upon this subject, and would not now except for some of the arguments made yesterday by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. WADE] and the Senator from Michigan, [Mr. CHANDLER,] and more particularly because of an editorial which I find in the Republican organ of the State of Indiana, which I received this morning, and parts of which I will read:

"In a recent discussion in the United States Senate on the subject of retaliation upon the rebels for their inhuman treatment of our prisoners of war, the telegraph reports Mr. HENDRICKS as having said that he was in favor of no retaliation. That was not a principle of Christianity. He stated upon the authority of Captain Flinn, a released prisoner from Indiana, that the prisoners at Andersonville were treated as well as the rebel guards.' On being questioned by Mr. HOWARD in reference to his position, Mr. HENDRICKS replied that he did not know only what he had stated upon the authority of a returned prisoner;"