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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



period of the existence of this House there has 

 not been a single breach of legislative decorum. 

 That noble respect born of generous rivalry in 

 a common good cause has softened all asperi- 

 ties. 



" I feel that mere words are inadequate to 

 thank fully this House for its resolution of ap- 

 proval of the manner in which I have dis- 

 charged the duties of Speaker, always 'respon- 

 sible and onerous, and often most delicate and 

 difficult. I have done my best. 



" Long service here has taught me that hate 

 or vengeance has never raised any cause to en- 

 during honor, while, on the contrary, justice 

 and mutual regard have often given the weak- 

 er side an easy victory. With two great par- 

 ties dividing the people, each holding an im- 

 portant share in government, with strict ac- 

 countability on the part of public servants and 

 vigilant eyes watching all, with reviving busi- 

 ness and restored confidence, may we not look 

 hopefully to the early dawn of a new era of 

 increased prosperity and greater happiness for 

 the country ? Such is my fervent prayer. 



" To each and every Representative here I 

 desire to tender my heartfelt acknowledgment 

 for the kindly forbearance extended to me as 

 Presiding Officer of this House, and to say that 

 I "shall ever gratefully cherish the tfonor of 

 which I have been the recipient. 



" With the expression of the wish that you 

 all may return safely and in health to your 

 homes, it only remains for me to declare that, 

 in accordance with the Constitution of the 

 United States, this House stands adjourned 

 without day." 



In the Senate, on March 3d, the above con- 

 clusions of the conference committees were 

 submitted by Mr. Windom of Minnesota, who 

 said: "Mr. President, the conference would 

 have been able to agree on all the items of ap- 

 propriation in the bill ; the point of disagree- 

 ment was the legislative provisions, those (to 

 state them very briefly) relating to the test oath 

 of jurors and the election laws or the appoint- 

 ment of deputy marshals and supervisors. 

 With reference to these legislative propositions 

 contained in the bill, the conference was unable 

 to agree, the conferees on the part of the House 

 taking the position that the only condition 

 upon which an agreement could be had was 

 that the conferees on the part of the Senate 

 should recede from all of its disagreeing votes 

 on those points. The conferees on the part of 

 the Senate could not accept those conditions. 



" I will say, with reference to the condition 

 of the public business so far as the appropria- 

 tion bills are concerned, that all the bills have 

 now been agreed to and passed by both Houses 

 except the legislative bill, now pending, and 

 the army bill." 



Mr. Beck of Kentucky: "Mr. President, I 

 was one of the conferees on the legislative, ex- 

 ecutive, and judicial appropriation bill when 

 two earnest efforts were made to agree, but 



we found it impossible. The Senator from 

 Minnesota has stated correctly that, upon all 

 questions pertaining to the appropriations, the 

 great probability is that we could have agreed, 

 though I believe we did not finally agree even 

 as to them. He is also correct in stating that 

 the House conferees insisted upon retaining 

 that portion of the bill to which he has al- 

 luded, but it was also equally certain that the 

 majority of tlie Senate conferees with equal 

 pertinacity insisted upon the Senate amend- 

 ments, and maintained that each and all the pro- 

 visions inserted by the House should be strick- 

 en out. There was no attempt at any division 

 of the subjects, and no proposition looking to 

 any modification was considered. Not desir- 

 ing to revive any political animosities or any 

 discussion at this late hour, I will only state 

 very briefly what seemed to be the condition 

 of things : the House insisted that the armed 

 soldiers of the United States should not be al- 

 lowed to approach the polls for the mere pur- 

 pose of keeping the peace, that there should 

 be an honest jury obtained in the courts of the 

 United States in all cases where the rights and 

 liberties of citizens were involved, and that 

 the States should be allowed to conduct their 

 own elections in their own way, free from all 

 Federal interference, and the Democratic con- 

 ferees on the part of the House seemed deter- 

 mined that unless those rights were secured to 

 the people in the bills sent to the Senate they 

 would refuse, under their constitutional right 

 to make appropriations, to carry on the Gov- 

 ernment if the dominant majority in the Senate 

 insisted upon the maintenance of these laws 

 and refused to consent to their repeal. 



" They seemed further to agree, and I agreed 

 with them, that if an extra session must be 

 called, much as it is to be regretted, the very 

 moment it is called the committees of both 

 Houses would be organized and separate bills 

 would be framed and passed as soon as possible 

 asking the President of the United States to 

 agree with the representatives of the States 

 and people in repealing all laws that authorize 

 the soldiers of the Republic to be sent by any 

 authority whatever to the polls at State elec- 

 tions under the pretense of keeping the peace, 

 and in repealing all laws that prevent men who 

 are by intelligence and interest in the public 

 welfare fit and competent to do justice between 

 citizens and between the United States and 

 citizens in the jury-box from exercising that 

 right, thus depriving the courts the benefit of 

 fair jurors, and they will promptly pass an- 

 other bill declaring that the United States shall 

 not, either through supervisors, marshals, or 

 deputy marshals, interfere with the States in 

 conducting the elections held within the States. 

 We insist that those matters pertain solely to 

 the States and are part of their absolute right, 

 and that they are perfectly competent to at- 

 tend to them fairly and honestly. When these 

 three laws are submitted to the President for 

 his approval, as they will be, and are approved 



