Mr. WILSON. I desire, before this debate closes, to say a word in reply to the remarks made by the Senfrom Indiana. Among the objections that I made to this amendment was, that I did not choose, in the present state of affairs, to give this discretionary power to the SecyTreasury. I cast no imputation upon his motives or his conduct; but, sir, I must be permitted to say, as that senator has thought it to be his duty to call the attention of the Senate to my remarks, that there are a great many things in the avowals and acts of the SecyTreasury that have not met the approval of large masses of men in this countr. I think that no discretionary power should be intrusted to him, or to any other of these Secretaries, that can be avoided, new that we have passed through the crisis of the war, and we have time enough to frame the proper laws and to hold all the Depts responsible for their adminis tration. It is well known that we have a very impor‘ tant law upon the statute book the oath of office. It is a well known fact that the SecyTreasury persistently for months, an in spite of the earnest remonstrances of the leading men of this country, continued to violate the law of the land, and to defend his violation of the law of the land when remon strated with. He assumed to understand the public judgment of the country better than those who reminded him of his duty to obey the law, and told us that Congress would re peal the law; that there would be a majority in Congress to sustain the views that he Qnter tained. Events have shown that he knew but little of the public sentiment of Congress or of the country. After a struggle, after months of violation of law, he comes here with a bill and asks us to pass an act to pay these persons whom he has unlawfully put into 0 cc, because he now intends to put them out and to obey the law. I think that a public officer acting as he has acted in regardto that matter ought not to have discretionary powers thrust upon him. I have no disosition to criticise any of his public acts. ‘here are those in the country who do. I have here now a letter from one of the most eminent merchants in NewYork in which he says: "Since Janna. 1885.the SecyTreasury hassold in ewYork seine 70 millio dollars gold: and the amountof the commissionspaid to P. M. Myers. a broker in Wall street and a no how of the Secretarv, cannot be lessthan;about 150,000 dollars. This is all wrong: the Government has all the machinery in motion here in its Asst Treasurer, Mr. Van Dyck, for selling gold without onedollar lor commission. The old has to becounted out over the counter of the asst Treasurer and paid for there and thesales can be madeat the counter of thesub Treasury much better than by the nephew of the SecyTreasury. This P. M. Myers is a purchaser for the SecyTreasury of sue Government securities us he wishesto purchase, and there must be a commission paid for this." I believe that the present SecyTreasury, after the position he has taken should be held, as other public officers should be held, to a strict accountability to the laws; that the law ought to be clear and definite. The effect of it will be to create ill will and complaint in the Dept. I have heard over and over again since this provision was 1st passed of complaints made in regard to it and it cannot be otherwise. 1 thin it ten s to favoritism on the one hand, and on the other to a subserviency that ought not to exist. I think these clerks ought to have their defined salaries. There is no disguising another matter, and I think we have a right to meet it, and for one, I choose to do it now, here and everywhere, although I have ceased to have any anxieties about the result, and I do not think anybody now has much doubt about the result in the country. There is no man living in America who began so early, who has been so dogmatic, domineering, and defiant in regard to the best and holiest sentiments of the mass of the men who brought this Administration into power as the SecyTreasury. He has gone beyond any other public man in maintaining a policy that 99 out of every 100 of the men who brought the Administration into power always have opposed, and are oppose to today. As was said a moment ago y the Senfrom Michigan, when others were retreating, when there were signs from various quarters of coming down, and acknowl eding that there was a Congress of the U.S., and a people and Congress together, that there was a powerin the country, the SecyTreasury rose here in this city, and in aseech which I will not characterize, assailed the Congress of the U.S. Under such circumstances, I, for one, do not choose to put uncalled for discretionary powers in such an officer’s hands to use to build up a class of Dept clerks who get tocether and denounce Congress for its acts. I do not want to encourage and reward that set of men. Let the SecyTreasury act under authority of law well defined; and let every man that fills an office under him, whether he be a friend or foe, have his fixed salary.