House, Congress as a rule following their recommendations where no political question is involved. In addition to an immense mass of measures coming under the classes enumerated, the Senate Committee on Commerce, during Mr. Chandler's connection with it, considered and reported bills to admit ship-building material free of duty, to prevent the extermination of the fur-bearing seals of Alaska, authorizing the appointment of shipping commissioners, and defining a gross of matches. All these facts are recited to show the great variety of questions that are referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce--greater than are sent to any other Congressional committee. No particular changes took place in the _personnel_ of this committee as already given until in the last year of Buchanan's administration. At the closing session of the Thirty-sixth Congress it consisted of C. C. Clay, chairman, Bigler, Toombs, Clingman, Saulsbury, Hamlin, and Chandler. Senator Hamlin having been elected Vice-President, resigned (in January, 1861) his Senatorship, and Mr. Baker of Oregon was appointed to fill the vacancy thus caused on this committee. In the middle of January Mr. Clay resigned to join the rebellion, and A. 0. P. Nicholson of Tennessee was made a member of the committee in his place. On the 24th of January, 1861, by the unanimous consent of the Senate, the Vice-President filled all the vacancies on the standing committees caused by the retiring of the Southern Senators, and the Committee on Commerce then, as re-constituted, consisted of Senators Bigler, chairman, Clingman, Saulsbury, Chandler, Baker, and Nicholson.