Mr. SHERMAN. I feel it but right and just that I should say afew words in regard to this amendment, because I consider myself to some extent responsible for it, and I shall therefore state the circumstances which led the ComFinance to adopt it. At the last session of Congress the 1st appropriation of this kind was made. It was made at the request of the then SecyTreasury, now a member of the body' but it was made under circumstances which compelled us either to adopt the amendment making an appropriation of $250,000 or to in ‘ crease the pay of nearly all the officers of the Treasury Dept. According to my recollection now, mbill had passed the HoRep increasing the pay, perhaps, of all the clerical force in all the Depts 20%. Other propositions of various kinds were pending to increase the ray of officers of the Treasury Dept.]'e had to choose, therefore, between either a general increase of the pay of the clerical force of all the Depts, of the Treasury Dept especially, or to appropriate a specific sum to enable the SecyTreasury to retain the most valuable of his employees. At that time Iwas acting as chairman of the ComFinance, and remember very well that the SecyTreasury applied to us for a temporary appropriation to enable him to retain those 0 ‘cers until such time as the pay of the olIicers might be properly graduated. That was toward the close of the war, when we were in reasonable hopes that the war would end; and there was an indisposition on the part of the SecyTreasury and the comFinance to enter upon the question of the increase of the pay of the different employees of the Government. Under these circumstances, as a matter of economy, as a matter of prudence, we made an appropriation of $250,000 to enable the SecyTreasu to distribute this money according to his judgment of the public exigency. This was the 1st approriation of that kind that had been made. p to that time appropriations had been made of a some what similar character, but different in amount, for extra clerical force. The 1st approriation I find made of that kind was made in 1860, before the war, which authorized the SecyTreasury to “pay for extra clerk hire, preparing and collecting information to be laid before conress, said clerks to be employed only during tie session of congress, or when indispensably necessary to enable the Dept to answer some call made by either House of Congress at one session to be answered at another; and no such extra clerk shall receive more than $3 33$ perday for the time actually and necessarily employed;” and that was paid out of the miscel lhneous fund. The next appropriation 'I find for extra services was in the year following, or rather at the special session in July, 1861, after the war had commenced. It was an appropriation “for contin ent excases, including compensation of additiona clerks who may be employed by the Secretary according to the exigencies of the public service, and additional compensation for extra labor of clerks in his office, $25,000.” The next appropriation I find was in the year following, when there was an appropriation “for compensation of additional clerks who may be employed by the Secretary according to the exigencies of the public service, $50,000.” The next appropriation was made the year following, an I will say that every year an appropriation of this kind was made from that time until the appropriation now referred to. The next appropriation was “for compensation of temporary clerks in the Treasury Dept; provided that the SecyTreasury be, and he is hereby, authorized in his discretion to classify the clerks according to the grade of their services, or assign to such of them as he shall see fit any compensation. not exceeding that of clerks of the 1st class, $200,000.H That was in 1863. In the winter of 1864 65 the appropriation now in controversy was made. It was made under the circumstances which I havementioned and I have no doubt that it was wisely made. We were compelled by the circumstances by which we were surrounded either to increase the pay of the officers in the Treasury Dept or to make this appropriation and place it in the power of the SecyTreasury to give to officers of that Dept increased pay. The only question now is in regard to the disposition of it. A portion of this money was assigned by the SecyTreasury to clerks of the higher class, and there was a good deal of complaint made by clerks of the lower grades of this distribution of the money. There was still unexpended when Congress met about 130,000 dollars of this money and the question is, what shall be done with it? If there was no further disposition made by the SecyTreasury, asa matter ofcourse it would go back into the general fund; but there was a constant pressure by persons who claimed that they were entitled to money for its distribution. In this amendment, reported from the ComFinance, we t ought that the 1st and 2nd class clerks were not entitled to this money, because they were fairly compen sated at the rates of $1, 200 and $1, 400 a yeat. At any rate, they had no peculiar claims to the money. The question was then. what should be done with the money? We concluded that it was right to give to the women employed in the Treasury Dept. whose compensation has been $600 part of the time, part of the time $720, in the nature of a gratuity, $100 each. It is true this is no more defensible than the appropriation of the whole of the money to the lower grade of clerks; but partly, perha)s, on account of the gallantry of the committee, a feeling of sympathy for the ladies, and the fact that they only got about one halfthe pay of 1st class clerks who did the same kind of duties, we unanimously, I believe, agreed to give each of them $100. That reduces the fund very materially, so that the balance on band would not be,)erhaps, more than 30 or 40,000 dollars. 1 do not know that I can tell; perhaps 50 or 60,000 dollars. At any rate, $100 each to the ladies employed in the Treasury reduced the fund ver much. Then the question was, what should e done with the balance? If distributed proraia among the clerks of the 1st and 2nd classes, it would pay them but 60 dollars apiece, according to the estimate, perhaps less than that. This was scarcely sufficient to induce an additional disbursement, and the committee concluded that it was better to let the balance lapse to the general fund as money unexpended. That is the whole history of the disposition of that $250,000. In regard to the appropriation made for temporary clerks in the Treasury Dept and for additional compensation to clerks in that Dept, I feel as strongly as anyone the objection made to allowing the SecyTreasury to distribute money among the clerks of his Dept; and at the very moment that Congress can wisely approach the question of permanent salaries for all the officers of the Government and settle that question upon a wise and just basis, this appropriation ought to cease. Indeed, before the war the appropriation did not exist. The objection made to it by the honorable Senfrom Illinois is potent and is unanswerable. It would not be wise in my judgment. to place an sum permanently at the disposal of the hen of a dept to distribute among the various classes of clerks. It is very unpleasantto the Secretary. It will make all sorts of demands upon him. The Secretary will be compelled to legislate in the distribution of this money. It is a very unpleasant dut. I do not impute an thing wrong in saying that I would myself, if had any power of this kind, desireto have it taken away from me, not that I think I would do injustice In the distribution of the money, but because I do not think that the SecyTreasury ought to be compelled to deal out bounties and gratuities to those under his employment. It takes away the sense of man liness and independence. Indeed I think that everybody emplbyed by the Governineut has a right to a fixed compensation, and a compensation fixed by law; he has a right to receive that for the honest discharge of his services. But the question is whether we are now prepared to enter into a general increase of sala ries. If we now legislate upon this subject permanently, we shall have to increase all the salaries in the Treasury Dept. Why? Because the expenses of living are so great. That is merely temporary. We know that as we gradually approach specie paymentsa different state 0 things will exist, that prices will go down, and then that probably the old salaries will be sufficient. Under these circumstances the ComFinance thought it better, as the House had proposed to continue this appropriation, but to make it $160,000 less than it was before to give that amount in the manner and in the same mode provided for by the House, for this year at least. We were not at that time, and we are not now prepared to enter upon the general question of the increase of salaries. I think. with perhaps a better knowledge of this matter than most of the Senators who only hear the discussion today, that the adjustment made by the committee is a fair and wise one, and it on ht not to be disturbed. f you should defeat the amendment and allow the House bill to stand as it is, it is much more unjust even from your own point of view, because it appropriates the same amount of money; it disposes of the whole of the balance of the $250,000; it ives it to none but clerks of the 1stand 2nd classes, and excludes the ladies entircly; so that it is not as fair and just as the Senate proposition. On the other hand if you strike out both, you may take away from the SecyTreasury the power to re t ain in his employment officers w l0 are indis pensably necessary for the management of the business of the Treasury Dept. I think, therefore, that it is better to leave the question this year to the solution made by the ComFinance, and if at any time the Senate is willing to approach the question of fixing the compensation of employees of the Treasury dept, we can do it. In the tax bill sent us y the House the other day, they have reor ganized one bureau of the Treasury Dept, giving largely increased salaries. if we are prepared to extend those same salaries to all the other officers of the Treasury Dept, it will much more than absorb your $160,000. It would take twice or 3 times that sum and if you propose now to increase the pay and give to the employees that pay which alof us admit they are fairly entite to, we must be prepared for an expenditure of a much larger sum than $160,000 placed in the power of the Secretary. I think that in a year or 2 from this time it will be much wiser and better then to settle on a permanent basis the salaries of the various officers of the Government. In regard to the political questions drawn into this controversy, I have certainly no de sire now to engage in their discussion; indeed I do not think they are pertinent. While the SecyTreasury holds that office we are bound to give him all reasonable powers to execute his duties, and we cannot, because we differ with him in opinion, cither withhold from him the ordinary powers of the Treasury Dept or deny to him those ordinary discretionary powers whichare necessary to enable him to perform his functions. In regard to one subject which has been thrown into this controversy, the disposition of the gold sold in NewYork the other day, I think if unv candid man will read the letter of Mr. Van Dyck in connection with the letter of the SecyTreasury, he will see that the action of the officer there was had without consultation with the SecyTreasury, so that the Secretary is not responsible. The action was taken under such a pres sure that it was impossible to consult with the SecyTreasury. At most, to say the worst of it, that was a simple error of judgment upon which a good deal may be said on both sides.