Mr. FESSENDEN. I withdrew the objection to its present consideration at the request of several gentlemen who said that, whichever way it might be decided, it was important to them that it should be decided at once; but I did not withdraw or intend to withdraw my objection to the passage of the resolution. I cannot flatter myself for a moment that any objection that I may make with reference to it will be of any avail, for since I have been in the Senate I have found that there is no use in trying to resist a motion to adjourn over the holidays and the holidays have been increasing ever, since I have been a member; they began with the old regular holidays, and they have now got to be a fortnight or 3 weeks because the motion is one that takes prece dence of all others, I have found, and is considered of infinitely more importance than any other that can possibly come before the senate. Under these circumstances I can do no more than enter a protest against it. If gentlemen flatter themselves that there is nothing to do, or wish to convey the idea to the country that there is nothing to do, all I have to say, in the way of answer, is to appeal I withdraw the objec to what has been witnessed here today a contest of an hour in the morning to ascertain which of 2 bills should be taken up and considered on account of the immediate and pressing importance of both of them: one of them a very long bill, the bankrupt bill, which will involve a great deal of debate, the other a bill which seemed to be launched also on something of a troubled sea. In addition to those, there is a bill lying on your table, which came from the House very early in the session, cal culated to limit or to take away a certain power which was granted to the President with regard to issuing pardons, and many gentlemen considered that bill of such pressing necessity that they wished it to be taken up at once and not even referred to a committee; and I believe I was denounced privately by some members of the Senate as obstructing the course of justice and of public business by daring to suggest that it ought to go to a committee for consideration. We have several other bills on the same subject, or at least on similar subjects, which are considered to be exceedingly neces. sary on this side of the Chamber, to say the least of it, on your table; and yet here is a motion at this short session to crowd every thing pretty much that we have to do into the time that will be left after the 1st of January. It may be replied some gentlemen have in conversation replied to me “it is probable that the bill will pass calling the next Congress together on the 4th of March, and we can then finish up what rentains to be done.” Every body knows that it is not designed to do any. thing at that session except simply to organize. the 2 Houses of Congress; and if we should undertake to do something at that session we have got to begin anew. Business does not go over from this Congress to that. We must go through all the forms of reporting the measures again. I desire to say these things to justify myself for the vote which I shall give against this adjournment from Thursday next, which I believe will be the 20th, until some time in the month of January. I wish to put myself on record with regard to it, and for that purpose I ask for the yeas&nays on the resolution. The yeas&nays were ordered.