Mr. BROOKS. The gentleman must let me answer in my own way. Iy mind is notlegally constructed as the gentlemans mind is, and therefore I must approach the inquiry in the way that best suits my abilit. The constitution of the U.S. gives this House the right to take testimony at any time. It can go on now, and take all the testimony in the case anew. This House can order the whole testimony to be taken over again. Now, sir as the gentleman chooses to confine me to the aw, I desire to call the attention of the House to the statute, forihave literally and strictly complied with it. If anybody is in fault in this case it is the judge, or the judges, against whom the wrath of the House should be directed. The statute provides “The testimony of the witnesses, togetherwith the questionsproposedby the parties or their agents. the said magistrate” Not the sitting member “is hereby authorized and required to cause to be reducedto writing in his presence" Not to. send to the ComElections t"o be printed and the presenceof the parties or their agents. if attending and to be duly attested by the Witnesses respectively and certified by the judges.” All of which has been done; there is no disute whatever about that fact. If these formal ities have not all been correctly observed the ComElections will attend to that, and will take care to throw out the testimony. “After which hc" Not the sitting member or his attorney, but the magistrate "shall immediately transmit by mail the said testimony, duly certified under his hand and seal. up to the Clerk of the HoRep for the time DOlDB. Now the contestant in this case says that this package was transmittedto the Clerk of the House on the 24th of January, and he arrives atthat fact by a certificate from the Adams express. Well, I will admit that the Adams express has brought on this season 2 things for Inc1st a pair of boots, and 2nd, the testimony in regard to this contested election; but whether this certificate relates to the boots or the testimony is not stated in the certificate. I will, however, admit the fact to be as the contestant has assumed. I was not here when that testimony came to the hotel where I am boarding; but op the very day on which it come into my possession, I brought it to the Clerk of this House and deposited it With him, as the law requires me to do, subject to the order of the ComElections. In that way, I discharged my whole duty. I never have seen an iota of that testimony Since last April; and I have no more idea than the contestant, not half so much, perhaps, in reiereneeto the contents of that testimony. He and his attorneys have looked over it again and again; but I uve left the matter to my attorneys and do not know what there is in it, except so far as I heard it in March last. The gentleman seeks to hold me to a strict accountability to the law, because, as he says, I seek to hold hiui to such an accountability. Who began this matter of insisting on a strict accountability to law 7 The gentlemaningen iously contrived to issne his notice to commence taking testimony in this contested election on the 20th of last February. I was then here as a member of this House. A most important session was then drawnig to its close. The measures then pending, among. them the internalrevenue bill and the tariff bill, of great interest to the (people of newYork, so largely taxed, require my presence here. But the contestant so arranaged his case that his testimony could not be taken until the 20th of February, so that Iliad presented to me the alternative of neglecting the important interests which I represented here, or going to the city of NewYork to attend to my contested election. I chose to attend to my duty here and to attend to my constituents With regard to this contested election; and in order to obtain the sanction for or against it of the ComElections and of its chairman, I addressed a letter to him at that time, and that letter is appended to these documents, asking that chair inan to state to me, in order to lay before the judge and Mr. Dodge himself, what was the practice in this case when a man was member of Congress, and what ought to be the action of Mr. Dodge and the House. I ask the Clerk to read this letter to show who it is who 1st took these sharp pomts.