Mr. SHERMAN. I will say, in reply to the Senfrom Kentucky, that whenever he or any other Scuatormakcs specific charges a inst any agent of the Government employed in the purchase of cotton, and those charges are not immediately and promptly examined, or fairly dealt with by the Treasury Dept, I will vote fora committee of this body at once to investigate them, and I believe that is the feeling here. Now; the Senator says that seine body, whom he does not name, tells him there is not an honest cotton agent in the U.S., whether a military or civil officer. That is a very broad declaration, probably involving one or 2000 officers, because nearly all the officers in the southern States have had more or less to do with the operations of the Government in cotton. A charge of that kind, made so broad and sweeping, affecting the character of so many men, is a very peculiar one. I have heard the SecyIreasury state that he has found the most clamor to be made against the most honest agents, and that some times, where a vigorous examination has been made into the alleged conduct of the agents, it was found that the only conduct complained of on the part of the agent was a faithful observance of the law and a strict discharge of his duty; and the more strictly an officer discharges his duty, the more clamorous will be the noise made about it. I say again, that if the Senfrom Kentucky can arraign any Officer of this Government for fraud and peculation connected vnth cotton transactions, he can have today and immediately a prompt and fair examination. Let him give the allegations and the names of the accused. It will 1st be the duty of the Treasury Dept to examine into the conduct of the agent, and if they fail or ne lect for a reasonable time to make that examination, there will be no difficulty in the Senfrom Kentucky having the examination made here. Until that is done, it seems to me, these general allegations against a whole class of officers, including civil and miltury agents of the Government, ought notvto be made.