Mr. SUMNER. Some evenings ago, sir, I made an attempt to secure an appropriation of $10,000 in behalf of worthy public servants in one of the Depts of this government. In presenting that case it was my duty to exhibit something of their necessities. Ishowed you how this money was needed to enable them to meet the expenses of living, which, as we all know, have been constantly increasing, while the value of money has been decreasing. I showed you also that they had earned this money by the work they had done. After ample discussion, running over several evenings, the Senate chose to vote down that proposition and refused to appropriate $10,000 to be distributed among ub ic servants who, as I insisted, had some it by faithful labor. In refusing it you acted on a sentiment of economy. It was urged that at this time the Treasury was so much drawn upon that we could not make or should not be justified in making any such apro riation, and that if it was made, then we s on d be obliged to make it in other cases, and there would be no end to the drain upon the Treasury. You all remember the argument on that occasion, and also the result. The proposition was voted down. Now, sir, a proposition is brought forward to appropriate that identical sum of $10,000 to be applied to the production of a work of art. I speak of it now in the most general way. If there was any assurance that the work in question could e worthy of so large a sum, it there was any reason to imagine that the favorite who is to be the beneficiary under this resolution, was really competent to execute such a work, still, at this time and under circumstances by which we are surrounded, I might well object to its passage simply on reasons of economy; surely this argument is not out of place. I present as my 1st objection to this reposition the consideration of economy.)0 not, sir, wastefully, inconsid crately, lieedlessly give away so large a sum of money. If you are in the mood of apro printion on this scale, select some of those public servants who have been discharging their laborious duties on an inadequate compensation, and bestow it upon them. Be just iefore you are generous. 0 that rather than become at this hour patrons of art. I hope that I do' not treat this question too gravely. You treated the proposition to augment the compensation of public servants in the State Dept very gravely. I but follow your example. But, sir, there is another aspect of this question to which you will pardon me if I allude. I enter upon it with great reluctance. I am unwilling to utter a word that would hear hard upon anyone, least of all upon a youthful artist whore seximposes reserve, if not. on her part, at least on mine; but when a proposition like this is brought forward I am bound to meet it frankl. Each Senator of course must act on his own judgment and the evidence before him. Each must be responsible to his own conscience for the vote that he gives. Now, sir, with the little knowledge that I have of such things, with the small opportunities that I have enjoyed of observing works of art, and with the mo erate acquaintance that I have enjoyed with art ists, I am bound to express my opinion that this candidate is not competent to produce the work which you propose to order. You might as well place her on the staff of GenlGrant, or put GenlGrant aside and place her on iorseback in his stead. She cannot do it. She might as well contract to furnish an epic poem, or the draft of a bankrupt bill. I am pained to be constrained to say what I do, but, when you press this to a vote you leave me no alternative. Admit that she may make a statue, she cannot make one that you will be justified in placing in this national Capitol. romise is not performance, but what she has done thus far comes under the 1st head rather than the latter. Surely this edifice, so beautiful and interesting, should not be 0 ened to the experiments of untried talent. On y the finished artists should be invited to its ornamentation. Sir, I doubt if you consider enough the character of this edifice in which we are now assem bled. Possessing the advantage of an incom parable situation, it is one of the 1st class structures in the world. Surrounded by an amphitheater of hill, with the Potomac at its feet, it resembles the ca itol in Rome, surrounded by the Alban hil s, with the Tiber at its feet. But the situation is grander than that of the Roman capitol. The edifice itself is worthy of the situation. It has beant of form and sublimity in proportions, even i it lacks originalit in conception. In itself itisawork of art. t ought not to receive in the way of ornamentation anything which is not a work of art. Unhappily this rule has not always prevailed, or there would not be so few pictures and marbles about us worthy of the place they occup. But bad pictures and ordinary mar bles should warn us against adding to their number. Pardon me if I call our attention for one moment to the few wor sof art in the Capitol which we might care to preserve. Beginning with the VEEP’s room, which is near est to us, we find an excellent and finished por trait of Washington by Peale. This is much less known than the familiar portrait by Stuart, but it is well worthy to be cherished. I never enter the room where it is without feeling its presence. Traversing the corridors, we find ourselves in the spacious Rotunda, where are 4 pictures by Trumbull, truly historic in character, in which the great scenes they ortray live again before us. These pictures have a merit of their own which will always justify for them the place they now occupy. Mr. Ran (101 h, with an ignorant le'vity, once characterized) that which represents the signing of the Declaration ofludependence as a “ shin piece. ” He should have known that there is probably no picture, having so many portraits, less obnoxious to such a ibe. If these pictures do not belong to the highest forms of art, they can never fail to be regarded with interest by the patriot citizen, if not by the artist. There is one other picture in the Rotunda which is not without merit; I refer to the Landing of the Pilgrims by Weir, where there is a certain beauty of color and a religious sentiment; but this picture has always seemed to me too exag gerated to be natural: Passing from the Ito tunda to the Hall of the HoRep we stand before a picture, which, as a work of art, is perhaps the choicest of all in the Capitol. It is the portrait of LaFayette, by that consummate artist, who was one of the glories of France, Airy Scheffer. He sympa thized with our institutions; and this portrait of the early friend of our country was a present from the artist to the people of the U.S. Few who look at it y the side of The SPEAKER’s chair are aware that it is the production of the rare genius which gave to art the Christus Consolator and the Francesca da Rimini. If we turn from painting to sculpture, we shall find further reason for caution. The les son is taught especially by that work of the Italian Persieo in the front of the Capitol, called by him Columbus, who is represented with a globe in his hand, but sometimes called by others, “a man rolling nine pins.” Near to this is a remarkable group by Greenough, where the early settler is struggling with the savage, while opposite in the yard is the statue of Washington by the same artist, which has found little favor because it is nude, but which shows a great mastery of art. There also are the works of Crawford the alto relievo which fills the pediment over the great door of the Senate Chamber, and the statue of Liberty which looks down from the to of the dome attesting a genius that must a ways command admiration. There are other statues in the building by a living artist. Then there are the bronze doors by Rogers, on which he labored long and well. They belong to a class of which there are only a few specimens in the world, and [have some times t iought they might vie with those famous doors at Florence, which Michael Angelo said were worthy to be the doors of Paradise. Our artist has represented the whole life of Colum bus in bronze, while the portraits of contem porary princes, and of the authors who have illustrated the life of the great discoverer add to the completeness of this work of art. Now, sir, the doors of this Capitol are to open again for the reception of a work of art. It is to be a statue of our martyred President. He deserves a statue, and it should be here in Washington. But you cannot expect to have, even of him more than one statue here in Washington. such a repetition or reduplication would be out of place. It would be too much. There is one statue of Washington. There is also a statue of Jefferson. I refer to the bronze statue in front of the Executive vMansion by the French sculptor David. There is also one stame of Jackson. It is now proposed to add a statue of Lincoln. I suppose you do not contemplate 2 statues or 3 statues, but only one statue. Who now shall make that statue which shall find a place in the national Capitol? Surely whoever under takes that work must be of ripe genius, with ample knowledge of art and of unquestioned capacity the whole informed and inspired by a prevailing sympathy with the subset and the cause for which he lived and die. Are you satisfied that this youthful candidate, without ripeness of genius or ample knowledge of art or unquestioned capacity, and not so situated as to fee the inspiration of his life and character, should receive this remarkable trust? She has never made a statue in her life. Shall she experiment on the historic dead and place her experiment under this dome? I am unwilling. When the statue of that beloved President is set 11 here, where we shall look upon it daily, I wish it to beawork of art in truth and reality, where the living features shall be preserved animated by the living soul, so that we shall all hail it as the inanimmortal by his life, now doubly immortal through art. Anything short of this, even if it finds a transient resting place here, will be removed whenever acorrect taste asserts its just prerogatives. Therefore, sir, for the sake of economy, that you may not licedlcssly lavish the national treasure; for the sake of this Capitol, itself a work of art, that it may not have anythingr in the way of ornamental which is not a work of art; for the sake of our martyred President, whose statue should be by a finished art ist; and for the sake of art throughout the whole country, that we may not set a bad example, I ask you not to pass this resolution. When I speak for art generally I open a tempting theme, but I forbear. Suffice it to say that art throughout the whole country must suffer if congress crownsyith its patronage anything which is not truly artistic. By such patronage you will discourage where you ought to encourage. Mr. President, I make these remarks with sin cere reluctance. I am pained to feel obliged to make them, but such an appropriation as this, engineered so vigorously, and having in its support such a concerted strength, must be met plainly and directly. Do not condemn the frankness which you compel. If you wish to bestow a charity or a gift, do it openly, without pretense of any patronage of art or hom age to a deceased President. Bring forward your resolution appropriating $10,000, to this youthful candidate. 'Iliis I can deal with. I can listen to. your argument for charity, and I can assure you that I shall never be insensible to it. But when you propose to pay this large sum for a work of art to be placed in the national Capitol in memory of the illustrious dead, I am obliged to consider the character of the artist you select. I wish it were otherwise, but I cannot be] it.