Ordered, That the Clerk acquaint the Senate therewith.

Mr. Stephen F. Wilson, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee had examined and found truly enrolled bills and joint resolutions of the following titles, viz:

H. R. 1930. An act granting a pension to Madge K. Guthrie and Robert B. Guthrie;

H. R. 1279. An act in relation to additional bounties, and for other purposes;

H. R. 1344. An act to confirm certain private land claims in the Territory of New Mexico;

H. Res. 211. Joint resolution for the relief of Henry S. Gibbons, Luther McNeal, and Seth M. Gates;

H. R. 1867. Án act for the relief of the Illinois Iron and Bolt Company. H. R. 1487. An act to declare and fix the status of the corps of judges advocate of the army;

H. R. 1327. An act to amend an act entitled "An act to exempt certain manufacturers from internal tax, and for other purposes," approved March 31, 1868;

H. R. 112. An act relating to captures made by Admiral Farragut's fleet in the Mississippi river in May, 1862;

H. Res. 438. Joint resolution relative to certain purchases by the Interior Department;

H. R. 1928. An act granting a pension to Lemuel Bartholow;

H. R. 1973. An act in reference to certifying checks by national banks;

H. R. 1879. An act for the relief of certain companies of scouts and guides organized in Alabama ;

H. R. 1989. An act for the relief of Peter McGough, collector of internal revenue and disbursing agent, twentieth district Pennsylvania; and

H. R. 425. An act for the relief of Mary A. Filler;

When

The Speaker signed the same.

The bill of the Senate (S. 753) to provide for the execution of judg ments in capital cases, was taken up and read a first and second time. Pending the question on its third reading,

Mr. Jenckes moved the previous question; which was seconded and the main question ordered, and under the operation thereof the said bill was read three times and passed.

Ordered, That the Clerk acquaint the Senate therewith.

The bill of the Senate (S. 228) for the further security of equal rights in the District of Columbia was taken up and read a first and second time.

Pending the question on its third reading,

Mr. Holman moved that it be laid on the table; which motion was disagreed to.

Ordered, That the bill be read a third time.

It was accordingly read the third time and passed.

Ordered, That the Clerk acquaint the Senate therewith.

The joint resolution of the Senate (S. R. 217) for printing the medical and surgical history of the rebellion was next taken up and read a first and second time.

Pending the question on its third reading,

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Hamlin, one of their clerks:

Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a joint resolution and bill of the following titles, viz:

S. R. 239. Joint resolution more effectually to protect the fur trade in Alaska; and

S. 863. An act relating to telegraphic communication between the United States and foreign countries;

in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of the House.

The Senate insist upon their amendments, disagreed to by the House, to the bill (H. R. 1881) regulating the reports of national banking associations, agree to the conference asked by the House thereon, and have appointed Mr. Cattell, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Conness, the conferees on their part.

The Senate have agreed to the amendment of the House to the bill of the Senate (S. 167) granting lands to the State of Oregon to aid in the construction of a military wagon road from the navigable waters of Coos bay to Roseburg bay in said State;

The Senate have also agreed to the amendment of the House to the amendment of the Senate to the bill of the House (H. R. 596) granting a pension to Mary A. Davis, widow of William P. Davis, a private in the 18th regiment of Indiana volunteers in the war of 1861;

The Senate have also passed bills of the House of the following titles, viz:

H. R. 2006. An act to establish certain post roads; and

H. R. 2009. An act to authorize the Secretary of War to place at the disposal of the National Lincoln Monument Association, at Springfield, Illinois, damaged and captured ordnance;

with amendments, in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of the House; and a joint resolution of the House of the following title, viz:

H. Res. 468. A joint resolution authorizing the Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division, to change its name to the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company;

without amendment. And then,

On motion of Mr. Scofield, at 11 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m., the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 1869.

The following memorial, petitions, and other papers, were laid upon the Clerk's table, under the rules, and referred as follows:

By Mr. Thomas D. Eliot: The petition of Charles Alney, of the State of Massachusetts, relative to the naturalization laws, to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. Goss: The petition of Elias Wall, praying for the removal of disabilities, to the Committee on Reconstruction.

By Mr. Humphrey: Resolution of the Board of Trade of Buffalo, New York, to the Committee on Commerce.

By Mr. Sypher: The memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans, Louisiana, relative to the bankrupt law, to the Committee on the Revision of the Laws.

By Mr. Phelps: The estimates from the Treasury Department, relative to appraiser's stores, Baltimore, Maryland;

By Mr.

Papers relating to the marine corps deficiency;

to the Committee on Appropriations.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. McDonald, their chief clerk:

Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed bills of the House of the following titles, viz:

H. R. 1808. An act making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870;

H. R. 1672. An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive and judicial expenses of the government for the year ending June 30, 1870;

severally with amendments, in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of the House.

On motion of Mr. Spalding, by unanimous consent, the House disagreed to the said amendments and asked conferences with the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two houses thereon.

Ordered, That the following-named members be appointed managers at the said conferences on the part of the House, viz:

On H. R. 1808: Mr. Beaman, Mr. Blaine, and Mr. Nicholson.

On H. R. 1672: Mr. Benjamin F. Butler, Mr. Kelsey, and Mr. Phelps. Ordered, That the Clerk acquaint the Senate therewith;

When

The Speaker stated that before proceeding to tender his resignation of the office of Speaker, to take effect at the election of his successor. he had asked Mr. James F. Wilson to preside as Speaker pro tempore when he should leave the chair.

The Speaker then addressed the House as follows:

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:

The opening of the legislative day at the close of which I must enter upon another sphere of duty requires me to tender to you this resignation of the office which by your kindness and confidence I have held, to take effect on the election of a Speaker for the brief remainder of this session.

The parting word among friends about to separate is always a regretful one; but the farewell which takes me from this hall, in which so many years have been spent, excites in me emotions which it would be useless to attempt to conceal.

The fourteen years during which I have been associated with the representatives of the people here have been full of eventful legislation, of exciting issues, and of grave decisions, vitally affecting the entire republic. All these, with the accompanying scenes which so often reproduced in this arena of debate the warmth of feeling of our antag onizing constituencies, have passed into the domain of history. And I but refer to them to express the joy which apparently is shared by the mass of our countrymen that the storm-cloud of war which so long darkened our national horizon has at last passed away, leaving our imperilled Union saved; and that, by the decree of the people, more powerful than Presidents or Congresses, or armies, liberty was proclaimed throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof.

But I cannot leave you without one word of rejoicing over the present position of our republic among the nations of the earth. With our military power and almost illimitable resources, exemplified by the war that developed them; with our rapidly augmenting population and the welcome at our open gates to the oppressed of all other climes; with our vast and increasing agricultural, mechanical, manufacturing, and mineral capabilities; with our frontage on the two great oceans of the globe, and our almost completed Pacific railroad uniting these opposite shores and becoming the highway of nations, the United States of America commands that respect among the powers of the world which insures the maintenance of all its national rights and the security of all its citizens from oppression or injustice abroad.

Nor is this all. The triumphant progress of free institutions here has had its potential influence beyond the sea. The right of the people to govern, based on the sacred principle of our Revolution, that all governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, is everywhere advancing, not with slow and measured steps, but with a rapidity that within a few years has been so signally illustrated in Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Prussia, Hungary, and other lands. May we not all hope that by the moral but powerful force of our example fetters may everywhere be broken, and that some of us may live to see that happy era when slavery and tyranny shall no more be known throughout the world from the rivers to the ends of the earth.

I cannot claim that in the share I have had in the deliberations and the legislation of this house, as a member and an officer, I have always done that which was wisest and best in word and act, for none of us are infallible. But that I have striven to perform faithfully every duty, and that, devoted as all know to principles that I have deemed correct, the honor and glory of our country have always been to me paramount and above all party ties, I can conscientiously assert; and that I have sought to mitigate rather than to intensify the asperities which the collisions of opposing parties so often evoke must be left to my fellowmembers to verify.

In the responsible duties of the past six years I have endeavored to administer the rules you have enacted for your guidance, both in letter and in spirit, with an impartiality uninfluenced by political associations or antagonisms. And I may be pardoned for the expression of gratifiIcation that while no decision has been reversed there has been no appeal-sometimes taken as they are by a minority as a protest against the power under the rules of a majority-which has ever been decided by a strictly party vote. If the quickness with which a presiding officer here is often compelled to rule, hour after hour, on parliamentary points, and in the performance of his duty to protect all members in their rights, to advance the progress of public business, and to preserve order, any word has fallen from my lips that has justly wounded any one, I desire to withdraw it unreservedly.

I leave this hall with no feeling of unkindness to any member with whom I have been associated in all the years of the past, having earnestly tried to practice that lesson of life which commands us to write our enmities on the sand but to engrave our friendships on the granite. But the last word cannot longer be delayed. I bid farewell to the faithful and confiding constituency whose affectionate regard has sus tained and encompassed me through all the years of my public lifefarewell to this hall, which, in its excitements and restless activities, so often seems to represent the throbbings and the intense feelings of the national heart; and finally, fellow-members and friends, with sincere

gratitude for the generous support you have always given me in the difficult and often complex duties of this chair, and with the warmest wishes for your health, happiness, and prosperity, one and all, I bid you farewell.

And thereupon,

Mr. James F. Wilson took the chair as Speaker pro tempore.

Mr. Woodward submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and unanimously agreed to, viz:

Resolved, That the retirement of Hon. Schuyler Colfax from the Speaker's chair, after a long and faithful discharge of its duties, is an event in our current history which would cause general regret were it not that the country is to have the benefit of his matured talents and experience in the higher sphere of duty to which he has been called by a majority of his countrymen. In parting from our distinguished Speaker the House records with becoming sensibility its high appreciation of his skill in parliamentary law, of his promptness in administering the rules and facilitating the business of the body, of his urbane manners, and of the dignity and impartiality with which he has presided over the deliberations of the House. He will carry with him into his new field of duty and throughout life the kind regards of every member of this Congress.

And then,

On motion of Mr. Dawes,

Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York, was unanimously declared duly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, in place of Schuyler Colfax, resigned, for the remaining term of the present Congress.

The Speaker elect having been conducted to the chair by Mr. Dawes and Mr. Woodward, after a brief address the oath of office was administered to him by Mr. Dawes, and thereupon he entered upon the duties of his office.

On motion of Mr. Woodward, by unanimous consent,

Ordered, That a copy of the resolution adopted by the House upon the retirement of Speaker Colfax be signed by the officers of the House and communicated to the late Speaker.

Mr. Dawes submitted the following resolutions; which were severally read, considered, and agreed to, viz:

Resolved, That a message be sent to the Senate informing that body that the House has elected Hon. Theodore M. Pomeroy, one of the representatives from the State of New York, Speaker, in the place of Hon. Schuyler Colfax, resigned.

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed on the part of the House to wait upon the President of the United States and inform him that the House has elected Hon. Theodore M. Pomeroy, one of the representatives from the State of New York, Speaker, in the place of Hon. Schuyler Colfax, resigned.

Ordered, That Mr. Hulburd, Mr. Cullom, and Mr. Woodward be the committee on the part of the House under the latter resolution, and that the Clerk acquaint the Senate therewith.

On motion of Mr. Phelps,

Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate requesting a copy to be furnished the House of the bill of the Senate (S. 588) for the relief of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

Mr. Boutwell, from the Committee on Reconstruction, presented a reply of Governor Bullock, of Georgia, to the Hon. Nelson Tift; which was laid on the table and ordered to be printed.

The Speaker having announced as the regular order of business the