Mr. CONNESS. I do not care whether the Senate send for this bill, reconsider it, and act upon it properly, as the honorable Senfrom Maine would say, or not; but I cannot listen to the speech of that honorable Senator without making a few words of reply. The ComPostOffices of this body is made up not quite as well as the committee headed by the honorable Senator. It would be difficult in a body of 50 Senators to find an equal number of senators such as compose the committee he has the honor to be chairman, of equal wisdom, of equal influence in this body, and having equally the confidence of the country. But, sir, in making up the committee I give the Senator my word, having had a little to do with it, an effort was made to make it a very respectable committee, a careful committee. But the honorable Senator will bear testimony with me that, notwithstanding the care in making up that committee, it is not composed of senators that can get the ear of the Senate. When the honorable Senator brings in a bill here from his committee the Senate bows before him, and I the lowest of them all in obeisance; and any day that the Senator claims is the day of the ComFinance, any hour that the Senator claims is the hour of the ComFinance. Is it so, I ask the Senator in all can dor, with the ComPostOffices? Much business is committed to their care. They sat upon this bill long in consideration. It was deliberated on by a full committee. They considered every proposition in it, but they could not get an hour of time for its consideration by the Senate. That was found simply to be impossible. What with the bills which the honorable Senator so ably handles and he well knows that I but say what I mean getting and claiming as they do the time of the Senate, and the bills represented by the honorable chairmen of the ComMilAffrs, ComJudiciary, ComDistCol, and the bankrupt bill, and last, though not least, the Niagara ship canal bill, a bill to improve the postal laws is not heard of; not an instant of time can be obtained by the chairman of the postoffice Committee to obtain action upon it. This day we understand was to be occupied by the honorable Senator who is at the head of the ComFinance; tonight is mortgaged for the consideration of a particular bill, and tomorrow night is I understand for the consideration of special bills. When are the postal bills to be considered? I say to the Senate and I make this reply ' so that the postoffice Committee shall stand justified that they did their best in considering the bill spoken of, and they would not have asked its passage at such a time as it was passed if they could have avoided it. If the bill is now referred in the House to the comPostOffice of that body it will never be heard of again this session, for that committee will not be again called upon for reports. There is no chance of passing it there but by taking it from the Speaker's table and putting it on its passage. And yet it contains provisions of importance to the postal service, and which, as I repeat again, have been most carefully and exactly considered. But our careful Senators rise here and object lest the passage of this bill under the circumstshces be a precedent. I admit that it would be a very bad precedent, and certainly there would be no Senators less disposed to establish such a precedent than the members of the postoffice Committee of this body; and I ask again in all candor what could we have done? When could we have the bill considered? I submit to the Senate that if they desire to drag this bill back, if they desire by their action while they repudiate it by their words, to cast an imputation on the commitee composed of some of the same members who constitute the honorable Senator's committee, let them do so, and if legislation is delayed and hindered it will not be our fault. I make this statement in defense of the postoffice Committee, and as a matter of justice to them that the Senate may understand the facts.