Mr. SCHENCK. I am inclined to vote for this bill, and yet I would be unwilling to do so were it not in prospect of some future legislation, and that too by this Congress. The Marine corps, as some of the members of the Naval Committee have remarked, has heretofore followed the condition of the Army in relation to the forms of its organization and its pay and allowances. Now, the commandant of the Marine corps does in fact command a brigade. That corps, which was in existence during the war with Mexico, was reduced to one regiment at the close of that war. by successive increases the corps has now come to be a body of about 3000 men, equivalent to 3 regiments of the Army. As such it is commanded by an officer intended at least to have higher rank, as he has ahigher command, than the colonel of anyone of the reviments. ow, it would seem to be proper, unless the corps be abolished, as General Jackson once proposed, the marines or their equivalents to e supplied by details from the Army, that the commandant of this corps should have rank and pay equivalent to a commander of a briadein the Arm. But, as it has been said, it is difficult to determine what the pay of an Army officer is. The pay proper of an officer of the Army is but an lllCOllSl erable proportion of, the whole amount of compensation given to him. The actual compensation is increased in the aggregate by allowances for servants, for servants clothing, for rations, for fuel or commutation for the for vuarters, and for forage, now in kind, and not in cash in commutation. So that the whole allowances ofan Army Officeramounts to very much more than would up ear upon the face of any law looking only to is pay. Now, what is the compensation in the case of a brigadier general, and what would it he, therefore, in the case of the commandant of the Marine corps if he should have the same rank? That would depend very much whether the officer is sent to the field to perform active duty or whether he remains here about Washington drawing these various commutations. If he goes to the field he will receive something like 36 or 3700 dollars a year as his full pay; by no means an excessive amount, considering his rank and responsi bilities. But if he remains at Washington, and gets commutation for fuel and quarters, and various other commutations, he will receive $6.269 75. The whole policy of legislation heretofore has been in favor of those officers who remained in Washington. The whole tendency has been, under the pretext, or, in some degree, the necessity, of increasing the allowances in order to enable men to remain where their expenses are great, to give advantages to them over those actively engaged in the field. One consequence of this policy during the recent war was that the chiefof staff of ieu tenant GenlGrant, when Major General Hallcck was his chief of staff, received something like 2000 dollars more than GenlSherman or GenlSheridan or any other major general or officer of the same rank who was fig ting in the field and this prevails generally through all grades and ranks of the Arm. Yeysterday I introduced a bill, which is this moment under consideration before the ComMilAffr, and which I trust may be reported upon favorably though of that I cannot yet speak which provides for putting Army officers on the footing of naval officers and civilians and of all other persons receiving salaries from the Government. It proposes to pay them liberally, something like an equivalent or the compensation they have heretofore received, thong reducing to some extent what their aggregate receipts have been; to pay them an actual salary, so that it shall be known, as in the case of naval officers, what an officer is receiving, whatever may be his rank, as a consideration for the performance of the duties required by his ran. Now, sir, ifthe bill of which I speak should become a law, a brigadier general will receive, I think, just $5,000; not an unfair com)ensation, it a pears to me, for an officer having comman of a brigade, with all the responsi bilities of a distinct corps in the militar service of the U.S. If that bill should prevail, as I trust it may, then I should be in avor of adopting the measure now proposed by the ComNavAffrs. If this officer, however, is to be madea brigadicrgen eral, so as to add one more to the number of those who will receive between $6,000 and $7,000 annually by counting up various allow ances for commutation and otherwise, I am unwilling to see this bill passed. Supposing, however, that upon the general ppinciple of legislation, the commander of the arine co 5, like every other officer in that corps, will ollow the condition and receive the compensation, as he holds the rank, of officers of correspondin degree in the Army of the U.S. think it eminently properthat he, commanding that corps, and having an equivalent responsibility, should have the same rude. I am willing, therefore, for one to vote or this bill proposed by the ComNavAffrs, and to give this Officer what seems to me is right as compared with a like rank in the Army, by which always the measurement has been may e, trusting that this congress will pass some general law reducing, reg ulating, and fixing at specific amounts all the salaries of all the officers of the Army; and under such a law, this officer, I presume, would follow the condition of officers of correspond in rank in the Army. Mr. DARLING. If no other gentleman desires to discuss this question, I ca 1 the previous question.