Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. Mr. Chair man, I do not propose to occupy any very considerable portion of the time of the committee in replying to the oration delivered on yesterday my distinished friendfrom Massachusetts [Mr. BANKS upon the ioint resolution now under consideration. In eed, I do not expect to obtain the attention of the committee to anything that I may say in reply to the remarks of that gentleman, for his eloquent accents have not et died away upon our ears; and I presume at the committee is unprepared to consider any plain and stubborn facts thatl may advance in Opposition to this measure. But if I should have the good fortune to obtain the attention of the committee, I am certain it will not be from anything that Imay say, but from the fact that the Gentfrom Massachusetts paid me the distinguished honor to say that had it not been for the earnest opposition that I had indicated to this measure he would not have spoken at all and hence the members of this committee are indebted to this supposed and humble opposition of mine for his very eloquent, elaborate, and well prepared speech of yesterday, to which we all istened with so much pleasure and with so much profit. Sir, the gentieman was not mistaken in his supposition that I am opposed to this measure. I am opposed to it. it is my fortune whether good or ill fortune must be determined by others to oppose almost all measures of this character, 100ing to appropriations of the public money for the benefit of particular and special interests, in which the masses of the people, who have to foot the bills. can have no participation and no man knows better than I do the responsibility which any member of this House takes upon himself when he attempts here to thwart the projects of private individuals, of corporations, and of monopolies, who undertake t rough our legislation to get money out of the public Treasury. No man, as you i know, Mr. Chairman, [Mr. wH.SON, oflowa] can do this without being loaded with oppro brium and with denunciations for the position which he might deem it his duty to take on this i question of appropriations. Iain aware that l ii I am generally in the minority. It is vastly easier to float with the current and let the money go than it is to hold resolutely to the purse strings. But I can say, as my distinguished friendfrom NewYork gMr. RAY MOND] said the other dav when he ound himself in a minority, that there is a luxury some times in being in a minority. If so. then I ouglI1t to thrive on that kind of luxury. [Laughter.I saw it stated in the papers notion ago that I was the only member of this House who voted against the proposition of my distinguished friendfrom Massachusetts, [Mr. Basss] which he broughtin here sometime gone by, which involve the eXpenditure of some 200,000 dollars of the peoples money, as I have been informed, for the benefit of a private telegraph company whose stock I am told is worth 200%. premium. Sir, I believe I was the only man that voted against it, and I shall vote against all such measures, whetherivote “sol itary and alone" or in company with others. However, all this makes but little difference to me. Conscious of the rectitude of my motives I can stand agood deal. I think I can act independently and justly upon these questions which come before us, with no interest to subserve but the interests of that common country which, I trust, we all love so well, with no objects to obtain which are not consistent with the public good. Seeking no longer a contin quance in public life when my constituents shall become willing or desirous to relieve me, it is a matter of no personal concern to me, snc cessful orunsuccessful, triumphant or defeated, in my efforts to prevent unnecessary and improperappropriations, as long as I have the consciousness of a duty to my constituents and to the country faithfully discharged. Standing in that position, I think I can afford to do justice to the public and justice to the Government. “ Fiat iustitis.ruat cmlum." If there is anything that could awaken the attention of our constituents, of the constituents of all of us country members who sit on the back seats, it would be a measure of the character of the one now before us and could they come hero themen who are behind us, the men from the field, the worksho, and the mart of business, the men who do the voting, the tax paying and the fighting as well look down upon us from the galleries for; we put them in the lleries, and only let the lob y members on the floor they might ask us some questions in regard to this JtResolution, and what we as their trusted Representatives propose to do about it. They would tell us that when we sought their votes we had accents of economy upon our lips, but that when we got. into our cushioned seats here we had extrava gance and recklesness in our hearts and in our votes. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we were all for economy and retrenchment before the people; but after they have committed to us the charge of holding the purse strings of the Treasury so as to reduce the burdens upon them, they find that we have “reasons as thick as blackber ries" for voting outrageous and extravagant appropriations. Sir, this bill proposes to open a new era in legislation, and no man can tell to what extent it may lead us in the future. Let me call at tention to the fact that when exhibitions simi lar to this were held in London in 1851 and in Paris in 1855, when our Treasury was over flowing and our people prosperous, no man had the impudence to come into Congress and ask that an appropriation of the peoples money should be made for the benefit of a few particularly interested individuals, who wanted to make a market for their tent rights and their gimeracks and exhibit themselves in the courts and palaces of Europe. But now, sir, with a debt of $3, OUU.0O0.000. when our constituIl cuts are groaning under such taxation as was scarcely ever before borne by any (people; when theingenuit of my distinguished friendfrom Vermont [Mr. MoRBILL] has been taxed to the uttermost to discover every little article that could bear taxation, we are asked by the Gentfrom Massachusetts, [Mr. BANKS] in words of glowing eloquence, in “ thoughts that breathe and words that burn, ” to appropriate $400,000 of the peoples money; and when he closed his speech last evening, and the committee rose, everybody seemed converted, and honorable members seemed impatient to get this amount of money out of the Treasury with the least possible expenditure of time. Sir, I speak by the record when I say that the expense of this undertaking will be $400,000 and I ask gentlemen here who propose to vote for this measure, how they can justify to their constituents such a vote at this time when we have such a vast debt upon us,and such grinding taxation to pay the interest, when there are no man meritorious objects for which we could vote this money. If we have got this money to spare, let us vote it in the way of additional pensions to the widows and orphans of the heroes who gave up their lives to save the republic. Let something be voted, if we have so much money to spare, to improve the dilapi dated harbors of the country, to clear out and improve the channels of the magnificent rivers o“f the West, so that our commerce can float unvexed to the sea.” These are objects in which all the people are interested. Why, sir, let me tell my friends from the Northwest, let me tell my friendfrom the Cleveland district of Ohio, Mr. who as I am surprised to see is a chSaPmApLDioInNGO, 2 this measure, that at the last Congress we could only appropriate $250,000 for all the harbors in the country, including those upon the bean tiful lakes which lave our northwestern shores, and among others the harbor of his own beau tiful city, which sits roudly like a queen on Lake Erie. Yet he is willing to come here and join in the clamor for this appropriation of $150,000 more than the whole sum we could afford to appropriate in the last Congress for all the harbors in the country for the benefit of the commerce of the country. Now, sir, what is the necessity for the large expenditure now proposed? What reasons can gentlemen give for voting away money for such an object? As I have remarked, sir, we did not makcany appropriations for the Exhibitions of 18.3land 1855 and 1862; yet, sir, I believe we got along very well. I had the honor to represent the State of Illinois in the Industrial Exhibition at Paris in 1855; and I paid my own expenses. I did nor ask any money from the State of Illinois; and the State of Illinois did not come begging to Congress to have me or anybody else naid.