Mr. TRUMBULL. I have looked at the law of 1836, and I will read it: “Be it enacted That the SecyWar be and he is hereby. Authorized and require to establish a pensiOnagencyat Pulaski. in the State of Tennessee. for the payment of all pensionersof the U.S. residentin the countiesof Lincoln. Giles. Law rence and Wayne. in said State: Pmeided. That the establishment of such a ency can be madewithout any charge to the U.S. ” How that can be construed to authorize the SecyWar to appoint as many agents as he pleases I do not know; and although the powers of the SecyWar in this respect iavelicen transferred td the SecyInterior, how it have him that authority I cannot conceive. o show that such was not the intention of Congress, I will read another not passed in 1838: “Be it mooted. annual the SecyWar be and be herebyis, authorize and empoweredto establish a pension agency at Tuscalopsa. in thostate ofAlabam a or the payment of pensionersof the U.S. csident in the counties of Pickens Sumter. Greene. srenzo. Perry. Bibb, Tuscaloosa. Jelerson. Walker. Fayotto. Bhelbv. Rnndolph and Talliidega. in theState of Alabama: Prumrled. That no additional expense shall beyincurredin the establishment of said pension agency. Is it to be believed that the Congress of the U.S. went on year after year authorizing the establishment of a pension agency at each place where it was nee ed, while all the time the SecyWar had authorito apoint as many agents as he pleased an where he pleased? I undertake to say that there is no statute authorizing the appointment of these pension agents adlibitum. Now, I wish to ask of the Senfrom Indiana another question. He says that it makes no differeuce to the U.S. how many pension agents there are, because they are aid y fees or by a %age. Is it so that or is no limit to the amount of ay that these officers may receive? After this at war, when the number of our pensioners has been multi plied 100 fol, and the aiuount of money necessary to pay them has swelled from 100s of 1,000s to millions of dollars each year, is it so that these agents receive a%age of one, 2, or 3%, amounting perhaps to ten, 20, or 50,000 dollars? If there be a limit, the Senate will readily perceive that it is a matter of material consequence how many pension agents you have; for ifonc pension agentdoes the business and cannot receive more than a certain amount for his pay, say $6,000, or $5,000, or whatever may be the limit, he would pay all the pensioners within a given district, and would receive no more than that sum, no matter what the erceutage might amount to beyond it; while itpthere were half a dozen pension agencieswithin the somedistrict and each received his $6,000, or whatever might be the sum fixed, it would cost the Government 6 times as much to pay the pensioners. I desire to know whether there is not a limit on the amount of parentthat a pension agent may receive under the law as it now stands.