Mr. HOWARD. I think such a measure will meet the entire concurrence of the American people, certainly of that portion of them who are loyal and who have been loyal, and especially that numerous and magnificent part who elected him to oliice and who sustainc him through his arduous and difficult Administrtrtion. If we are to have a statue of Mr. Lincoln and surely no President since Washington is more deserving of that honor itbecomes a mere matter of business, a simple business transaction, as to whom we shall employ to execute the work. Shall we seek out and employ an artist who is known to possess high talent, one in whom we have confidence, and as to the result of whose labors there is no doubt and no risk; or shall we, as prudent business men, intrust this task to a person who is not known as a high and distinguished artist and who we have not much reason to suppose will or ever can become eminent as a sculptor? It is simply, as I said before, a question of business. If it were foryou or me to contract for the making of a statue for a deceased friend, what should we do, supposing we had the means for the eXccution ofone worthy of our friend? Should we take any such risk as gentlemen urge us to take upon this occasion ‘I Should we not be sureto apply toand employ a person who was undoubtedly compotent to execute the task. Sir we should. We shouldrnn no risk whatever, if we could avoid it; and that is precisely this case. I know, perhaps, as much of the ability of the young lady to whom it is re osed to give this job as most members of this body. I have met her frequently, as other members of this body have done, and surely she has shown no lack of that peculiar talent known commonly us "lobbying" in pressing forward her enterprise and bringing it to the attention of Senators. I have seen her models of Mr. Lincoln; I have seen and examined the one, especially, to which reference is most frequently had; and although I do not pretend to be a connoisseur in this kind of art, I am prepared to say that I never was satisfied with that model. To me it is monotonous and without meaning and without it irit. I maybe entirely mistaken on account 0 my want of skill and judgment in such matters; but according to my ideas the model is an imperfect model, failing in expression, failing in life, fiiiling in very many qualities which I should expect in a 1st rate model. Now, sir, I am willing to vote the sum of $10,000 for the purpose of securing a good statue of Abraham Lincoln; but I am not willing to vote that sum or any other sum to this person and take the risk of an entire failure in the end. If this country in its history has ever reduced it statesman, and a great man deserving to be mcmorialized in its annals, not only upon the page of history but in the works of art, it is Abraham Lincoln. And, sir, it is our duty, if we undertake to carry forward this work and secure a statue of that great man, to do it in the best manner possible, and to cm ploy the most skillful artist in our own country or even abroad, if it shall turn out upon inquiry that we have not an artist of competency among ourselves; and I expect, Iconfcss, having in view the youth and inexperience of Miss Ream, and I will go further, and say, having in view her sex, I shall expect acomplete failure in the execution of this work. I would as soon think of a lady writing the Iliad of Homer; I should as soon think of placing at the head of an army a woman for the conduct of a rent campaign.