Mr. ROGERS. General ragg was never SecyWar. The only man who ever held the office of SecyWar, from the commencement of our political existence, who advocated this system of pay, was JeffersonDavis. Braxton Bragg did recommend it, but he was never the SecyWar of the U.S. And, sir, during the late rebellion, in the bellious States, where nobody will deny thin great army was marshaled, although in a bad cause, JeffersonDavis and Braxton Bragg, who was a general under him, both advocated the same system of pay that we have had in force since the organization of the Army in 1795; and our whole experience through several generations, and even the experience of England for several 100 years before the revolutionary war, demonstrate the fact that no substantial change can be made in the pay system but what would interfere with the morale and efficiency of the American Army. I am opposed to anything that interferes with the pay of the officers of the regular Arm, because I believe the nation owes them a det of gratitude, equally with the volunteers, that they can never pay. I remember that when 1 despotism reigned in this country, when men were arrested and dragged from their beds at midnight for their Opinions, no general of the l regular Army countenanced or sanctioned such, proceedings. Sir, the officers of' the regular“ Army have been men who have ever stood by the Constitution and the flag. They were the men who led the Army against the British in 1812; they were the men who fought the Mexicans in the Mexican war, who waged battle against the rebellion from the commencement to the end. Many of them were killed and left orphans behind them. And it is now too late a period in the history of this country, when the day of magnanimity has come, to take one single cent or farthing from the pay and emol uments of the WestPoint officers who led our regular Army through the conflicts of the last 4 or 5 years. It cannot be denied, and the fact will 0 down to future generations as a proof of the utility of the regular Army, that during the late war the greatest military talent was shown by those who had been educated at WestPoint. When the flag of the country was almost trailing in the dust, and the hosts of secession were driving by bayonet charges into the ranks of the brave volunteers and regulars, the brave General McClellan, educated at WestPoint, led them to victory and turned the tide of battle., Sir, I believe that the stability, the erpe tuity, and the glory of the country (lepen upon sustaining this class of men, who have given their time and influence and shed their blood in defense of the Union. The Constitution of the U.S. makes special provision for Congress to raise a regular army. It makes provision for the Army whose organization is now under consideration. The Army, as thus organized. has been true to the country. When the foreign fee has invaded our soil it has buckled on its armor in defense of the Union. These officers of the regular Army have spent years in lone camps or in fortifications on the frontier, drawn away from the luxuries of life, and cut off from that association with their f'ellow‘citizens which is common to us all. That. sacrifice they make. I never knew an officer of the regular Army who left anything but alegacy oflove and honor to his children. Ispeak today in behalf of the allant and brave men who belong to the regudar Army, as well as the volunteer soldiers and officers. I say nothing in disparagcment of those officers who belong to the volunteer service; butl do say that but for the gallantry, the bravery the knowledge, the skill, and the military judgment of the hero of Antietam (General McClellan) the Capitol of this countri would have been taken possession of by re cls, and the flag of rebeldom would have floated from its dome.