trolling on the vote of any member of this
body, like the opinion of the bench of Judges in the House of Lords;
but its members are chosen in consideration of their high professional
ability, their long experience, and well-known standing as jurists, in
order that their report upon constitutional questions may be entitled
to the highest consideration. And, sir, if you look into the
organization of the Judiciary Committee appointed by the Senate at the
present session, what is it? There is the Senator from Illinois, [Mr.
Trumbull], for years Judge of the Supreme Court of that State before
he entered this body, who, for ten years and more, has been a
faithful, laborious, distinguished member of that committee, and for
the last four years its chairman. And there sits my honorable friend
from New York [Mr. Harris], for twenty years before he came here known
and distinguished among the able jurists and judges of that great
State. And there is the honorable Senator from Vermont [Mr. Poland].
He has, it is true, just entered this body, but his reputation as a
jurist preceded his coming, and he comes here to fill the place in
this chamber, and is put upon this Judiciary Committee to fill the
place of him of whom I will say, without disparagement to any, that he
was the ablest jurist of us all--the late distinguished Senator from
Vermont [Mr. Collamer]. And there is the Senator from New Hampshire
[Mr. Clark], from the far East, and the Senator from Nevada [Mr.
Stewart], from the Pacific coast, and the Senator from Indiana [Mr.
Hendricks], from the central region, each of whom stands eminent in
the profession in the State which he represents, and all of whom are
recognized here among the ablest jurists of this body."

Some of the great political questions destined to engage the attention
of the Thirty-ninth Congress invested the _Committee on the District
of Columbia_ with a national interest, although its duties pertained
chiefly to the local concerns of the immediate neighborhood of the
capital. Its chairman, Mr. Morrill, of Maine, as well as its members,
among whom were Wade, Sumner, and Yates, gave it character and
ability, and afforded assurance that the great questions involved
would be calmly met and honestly answered.

[Illustration: Thaddeus Stevens, representative from Pennsylvania.]

In the House of Representatives, the _Committee of Ways and Means_ has
ever been regarded of first importance, and its chairman has bee