Mr. Brown u ward of 6,000 do lars perannum for t ie use of horses, by which our mails are delivered I have the bills upon my table and that we pay a 'portion of the expense of keeping the horses besides? IJbeg the Senfrom Illinois to remember that this committee have given some slight attention to this subject. 'Ihcy have not any pique against Mr. Brown. They have desired to reconcile the difficulties that are existing between our various servants on this subject, and they thought that the safest and best way was to select a new man and confer upon him the authority to make these purchases. I should not have alluded to Mr. Brown if it had not been for the effort thatI knew the Senfrom Illinois was making through his friends here to confer upon him the exclusive power to make all the purchases for the Senate, and I did not think that that power should be united with the duties which e is called upon and should properly perform for the Senate. I say that we should have a man perfectly independent of the executive officer of this body; that a new man should be selected. The Senator says that the Senfrom Iowa wants to select some friend. I wish he would name him. I wish the Senfrom Iowa had some friend to designate for the place, if such a place is to be created. I can tell the senator that the name'of no friend of mine ever entered into my mind. I am prepared, if this duty is conferred upon me as one of the members of the Contingent Expense Committee, to not perfectly independently, and to accept the man selected and nominated to me by the Senfrom Illinois if he will present a man whom I believe to be worthy and capable of discharing the duties. There is no man from my State in this city or about it that I would consent to appoint to that place who I believe would desire to take it, or who would be likely to come; nor is there any man here who has been mentioned to me that I have the slightest desire to fill any such place. Mr. President, I certainly and I think I need not say it here I have had no feeling in this matter. I have had no desire to attack Mr. Brown. I have told Mr. Brown himself exactly what I thought about his occupying his place here. I have told him that it was not his business to be running over this city, or to be sitting up in the Sergeant at Arms’s room. I told him that there were complaints against him because of his not occupying his seat in the Senate; that his predecessor was invaria bly to be found in it and the Senfrom Illinois knows it. I have been told by men who have been here for 30 and 40 years about the Senate that that seat was no more frequently vacant than was the seat of the Presidin Officer of this body. I did desire that we 5100“) return to the old tradition on this subject; that the Scrgeant at Arins should perform the duties thathe was originally selected to perform; and I told Mr. Brown so. I have onllj' repeated here in the presence of the Senate what I told to him privately in the comContingent Expenses. I have no purpose to accomlish in connection with this subject. It has been an exceedingly disagreeable position for me to occupy on this ComContingent Expenses. I think that my colleagues have found it about equally disagreeable, and“ I think my prede cessor, the Senfrom Maine [Mix Moa mi.i.] found it about as disagreeable as we find it. There has been and is now a constant collision on this subject of purchases. We wanted to get rid of it. We did not know any better way to settle it than to appoiiitan agent to make these purchases. The committee disagreed and Itink I am permitted to say thatas to the manner in which this agent should be selected. I was overruled on that subject. I am prepared to act with the committee in their suggestion if the Senate see fit to adopt it.