Mr. FESSENDEN. But not to the same amount; this is rather larger than was appropriated then. There has always been a small appropriation to be used at the discretion of the Secretary for temporary clerks. Then there would seem to be no objection to this, and all the terrible shaking ague fit of my friendfrom Illinois upon that subject is really without any occasion in the atmosphere. But, sir, it seems there is a wonderful difficulty about the sum of money which there is in the Treasury. Does the honorable Senator know that the SecyTreasury cannot draw from the Treasury a dollar on his own signature at any time except after the warrant on which it is drawn has gone through all the formalities required and, has gone through the hands of all the accounting officers of the Treasury? The SecyTreas: ury cannot take out a 6pence in any way: The ordinary business of the Treasury; I should think, must be pretty well understood here. A claim comes in, a disbursement, something to be done according to a law of Congress. That claim goes through the hands of the auditors and comptrollers, is thoroughly examined, and then a warrant is drawn, certified by all to be correct, and on that warrant thus drawn and these certificates the SecyTreasury can draw the money for that specific purpose, to pay that specific debt, to meet that specific affair, and in no other way. The SecyTreasury cannot sit down and make his draft and take a 6pence out of the Treasury any more than any Senator can; and no Treas: urer would pay such a draft; if he did, he would be responsible on his bond. The Secretary has no more power over the money in the Treasury, excepting in the way I speak of, that everything must have his signature before it is drawn, than we have or anyone of us has, not a particle. It seems this money has swelled up to $140,000,000. It has been varying. Did not the Senfrom Illinois help to pass the laws which brought this money into the Treasury? Did he not vote for the internalrevenue act? Did he not vote for the tariff bills passed before the last one we had up? Is he not in favor of raising internalrevenue? Is he not in favor of raising customs revenue to meet the wants of the Government? If he is, and if he has voted for these bills, he is responsible, and not the SecyTreasury or the POTUS Congress is responsible for that. How is the SecyTreasury to dispose of the money he gets i2n All he can do is to pay debts, pay the interest, pay the expenses of the Government; and if there is a balance in the Treasury that is not called for at a particular moment he cannot help it. What does the Senator want him to do with it? He has no power to lend it. He cannot. off the public with it until the public debt becomes payable. He cannot pay the com: pound interest notes until their time is out and they are Presented. He cannot pay bonds because the bonds are on time and are not yet due. All he can do is to pay the interest and the ordinary expenses of the Government. she responsible for the money? What does the Senator wish him to do? Does he wish him to put the gold up at auction and sell what gold there is in the Treasury? Of course he cannot sell the bills. Why, sir, the Senator or his friends from that section of the country particularly are absolutely protesting against taking up all that the Secretary has power to take up, namely, the greenbacks. They are protesting against him paying them off and retaining them in the Treasury. They say he must put them out again, except the $4,000,000 a month which the law authorizes him to retire; and the vote even of the other House calls for the repeal of that provision, and they say he shall not do even that. How can he help the accumulation of money in the Treasury? It will all be needed. If it is not needed at this particular moment, it will be. What remedy does the Senator propose? It is not enough to get up here and say, “This is all wrong; this is a vast power; this is a tre mendous discretion; the liberties of this peole are in danger.” Why not find some way in which to protect the liberties of this people? Why not propose a remedy? It is very easy to complain, but it requires a different power to provide a remedy.. I should like to have the Senator put hisingenuity to work upon that, and see what he would do. Now, sir, I am unwilling to stand under this kind of imputation, because I conceive that it attacks me as well as others. I have reported bills to raise revenue, internalrevenue bills and tariff bills and other bills, and I have done what I could to pass them. In that course I have been sustained by the Senate almost unanimously, and have ordinarily had the support on those bills of the honorable Senfrom Illinois, he voting for them. The country required them. The necessities of the da made it absolutely essential that we should pass them. We had vast responsibilities to meet; we must keep the public faith firm; we must sustain the Government. And, sir, because in doing this it happens that on an occasion there are rather a few more millions in the Treasury than at another time, and perhaps more than can be used at the Present hour, and yet all of which will be needed to meet our obligations, are we to be told that this is an immense danger against which the country is to be warned? The money must be somewhere, under the control of some body; and our institutions are such as require that there should be a head of the Dept of the U.S., and that in his hands in one sense that is, under his control should be the money that hap ens to be on hand in order to meet the exigencies of the Government. Now, sir, I do not see the danger. I do not think that the Senator can find anything particularly alarming about it. I see nothing of that kind. I am very glad that we have so much power to meet our obligations; I hope it will continue, but I fear that too soon the Senator will find that the Government will need all its resources.