Mr. FESSENDEN. I merely give that as an illustration of what reliance is to be placed on the statements of gentlemen as to what these things cost. They make them recklessly; they make them carelessly; I will not say they make them regardless whether they be true or not so that they accomplish their purpose; but the result is inevitable; it is always to burden the Treasur more or less. I ne’er knew it to fail yet, an so it will be in this case as in others. Now, sir, I should be exceedingly glad to have this road made. I believed originally that it was the best route, not perhaps for business purposes, but the best route to make a railroad over, because I paid some attention to the reports that were made, those great big volumes of which we have heard so much, an I came to the conclusion that the northern route was the best route. I had no idea that the road would go there, because there were not interests enough to carry it in that direction, and perhaps in a businessfpoint of view, as we were to build but one roa, it was right to select a central line. I will not undertake to decide a question of that importance., the charter was given to this company the statements were made and the arguments were addressed to Senators that they wanted no money, that land was all they asked. That was 2 years ago, and now comes in this proosition that the Government in fact shall bui d the road, and in my judgment if this bill passes the road will be wholly built upon our credit, and a very handsome surplus Wlll be left to be divided among the projectors and the men interested, because it is enormous. in amount and enor mous in character. I read the bill with perfect astonishment, my attention being calle to it, and my astonishment has not ceased to grow the more I have considered it. The time will come undoubtedly when in the progress of this nation this road will be built; butI beg gentlemen to consider this: it is an old saying that Rome was not built in a day; but it seems to be the idea of Congress nowadays that this country is to be built in uday, thatnothing is to be left for the future, that we are to go on into every place wherewe imagine a thing ought to be done, without reference to the population without reference to the actual necessities o the country, plunge Ourselves in debt to any amount asked for to carry on great public works. Why should they not be gra nated according to our means? Now that we have such an immense debt upon us and so many obligations, why should we be in such a hurry, in advance of the interests of the country, in advance of anything that is demanded by the Government itself for its own purposes, to increase these burdens? Why should we increase our responsibilities so that the men who look at us wnth reference to financial matters will be alarmed at the character of our legislation? If we do an unwise thing today, men of sense will say that we may do an equally unwise thing tomorrow. If with a debt of $3,000,000,000 upon us we shall recklessly and without any necessity add 3 or 400 millions more to that debt, as is proposed by the legislation of this Congress taking it alto gether, it is to be expected that we shall do the same the next sessionI and the next, and the next; and men will be likely to say that we are apt to (hit whenever schemes are brought in. I know from experience that any word I could say in reference to these matters is of no avail at all. When I talk about the public money and the necessityof looking out or our 0 33838 THE common angular. July! '16, public credit and for the Treasury, if there is a thing to be done that gentlemen want done, they are not content to efer to the condition of the Treasury. They differ from me, as they have a right to do. I shall be happy to know, if these things are done, that they are done right, and that I have been behind the age, old fogied, not up to the requirements of the time, and really was mistaken in the views that I entertained; but I fear that it may not be so. If it turns out to be so, it will be like some other things in Our country; because this is a country of great surprises; it disappoints everybody; everything seems to turn out here differently from common experience the world over, owing to our energy and our power and the peculiarities that are connected with us. I hope it may be so in this case, but I fear, and while I fear as much as I do in reference to this matter I cannot consent to vote for a bill of this kind. Nothing but necessity, the belief of a necessity, would ever induce me to vote to connect the Government with speculations of this sort. I think our Government was not made for any such purpose. It was made more for the purpoSe of developing the energies of the men who are in it, so far as it had anything of that sort to do, than of aiding to do it by money, letting them alone and letting private enterprise, guided by intelligence such as we have, go ahead and open the resources of the country. I believe that we shall do more harm than we shall good, as a Generalrule, and that the money will be wasted, when we undertake to take all this business out of the hands of the people and apply the funds of the Government, pai in by the people for other purposes, to projects of this escription, unless the are at the time necessaryfor the purposes of the government itself. For these reasons I shall vote against this bill, either at this session or any other until, I was about to say, a sufficient time has elapsed to render it necessary; but when that time arrives I shall not be here. FREEDMEN’S BUREAU VETO MESSAGE. The following message was received from the HoRep, by Mr. McPERSON, its Clerk: Mr. President, I am directedto inform the Senate that the POTUS having returned to the HoRepin which it originated the bill (H.R.No. 613)entitled “ An act to continue in forceand to end an act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of ilficedmen and Refugees and for other purposes.”with his objections thereto. the HoRep proceededin pursuance of the Constitution to reconsider the same, and have passedsaid bill by a vote of 2/3rds of the House.