Mr. TltUMBUIzL. I was notaware of that limitation. This is a provision now to establish a Solicitor in the State Dept. In my opposition to it I am lgoverned entirely by general considerations. think that the AttGens Dept should be an independent Dept of the Government and the construction of the laws to govern all the Executive Depts, the Interior, the Treasury, the War, the postoffice, the State, the Navy, should be the same and should come from the AttyGens office. If the AttyGen me not now sufficient force in his office give him one, 2, or halfa dozen assts, 1 care not how many, so that the public service requires them, and let one of those assts, if you please, attend to business that peculiarly pertains to the War Dept, or pertains to the State Dept. y having them all together and all under one head you will have one construction of the laws. That is not the case now. A member of the Senate stated to me the other day I think the Senfrom Nevada; some Senator, I know that he had been around from one Dept to another and had found conflicting constructions of statutes which subjected parties doing business with the Government to a great deal of difficulty, expense, and uncertainty. This on ht not to be. There should be a head to the GLaw Dept of the government as well as to every other. I will state here that I have had some consultation with the AttyGen on this subject, and that a bill can e prepared which shall place this whole matter under one head. I thin it very improper to be making a Solicitor for each one of the Depts. If we are to go on with that system we might as well abolish the AttyGens Office; we do not need it at all. Instead of doing this, let as increase the force of the AttyGens office as much as may be necessary to give all the advice that is needed in the construction of laws to the various Depts. I would not interfere with the Solicitor of the Treasury Dept because, as was stated by the Senfrom Maryland, he is not placed therefor the purpose of construing statutes and fixing the rules by which the Depts of the Government are to be governed, but rather to attend to the collection of claims and that Dept may need such an O car. I suppose, from the fact that the office was establised there a long time ago, that it is necessary; but the Government having for 80 years been able to get along without a Solicitor in the State Dept, and having been able to get along through the war without such an officer, it can, I think, continue to get along without such an officer now, if there is a law officer to whom the State Dept can apply for the construction of laws applicable to that Dept. I hope the Senate will consent to strike out this 2nd section, and let us have some uniform rule in reference to these Depts.