Mr. CATTELL. The chairman of the ComFinance has given a very plain statement of the course of this resolution before that committee. I desire to state, as one of the members of that committee, that I was opposed to both these provisos, and that the coininittee, in the 1st instance, agreed to report the resolution without either proviso, and that at the meeting of the committee when the amendment was agreed upon, including the 2 provisos, I was not Present, and consequently I am not responsible for their appearance here. I state this fact simply because I not only voted for striking out the 1st proviso, but I propose to vote for striking out l. 2nd. In my judgment if there is any error in regard to the sum which was given to the SecyTreasury for distribution among the clerks in his Dept it was the error of the Congress of the U.S. that placed the fund in his hands. In regard to its distri bution I hold that there were, and are now, in the service of the Government men of the highest ability whose salaries were fixed years ago, when a dollar was certainly equal to a dollar and a half now; and it was intended to provide for the fact that in order to retain the valuable services of this class of men in the service of the Government it became necessary in some form or other to provide additional compensation for them. It was not thought proper to enter into a revision of the whole system of pay in the Executive Depts of the Government, and Congress in its wisdom chose to adopt this plan of placing a sum in the hands of the SecyTreasury for distribution in accordance with his judgment among the most worthy in the service. Now, I take the Around that the distribution of this money by the SecyTreasury, if done with judgment, was pay for absolute extra valuable services rendered by the gentlemen to whom the compensation went; that it was for services done and rendered up to that time; that it was a compensation absolutely due to them for the faithfulness and ability with which they had performed their duty. I hold, therefore, that having paid these individuals compensation for extra, faithful service which they had performed, when we come to decide the question whether extra compensation shall be given to the entire cler ical force you are not to take back from them what you once gave them for services actually performed. I stated before the committee, as an illustration of this position, that it was the habit of the board of directors of the bank over which I have the honor to Preside, during this period, when everything in the way of living has been so expensive, to vote an appropriation to be placed in my hands, as President, for distribution among the most faithful and deserving of the clerks of the bank. I sought out such of them as had families and were faithful, and whom I knew the salaries were scarcely adequate to maintain in comfort and independence. But when we came, as is our practice at Christmas day, to make an addition of some% age to the salary of all the clerks in the bank, we did not stop to inquire how much the President had given to this one or to that one for his extra faithful services; but, disposed to do a generous and a proper thing, we adopted a resolution to giye each the same % age upon his salary; and I never yet among the clerks in that establishment, hear a single murmur from any of them that the pay which others had received for their extra, faithful service should be deducted out of the% age which was given to all of them. I hope that if this resolution is passed at all, if the Congress of the U.S. want to do a just and generous thing, they will not stop to inquire whether