lic questions on their own merits, making their party divisions on those questions; and that they value the interests they have in common with other parts of the Union above those which they have thought to be peculiar to the South,—the question of political power, as between the North and the South, will no longer have any force. When the South ceases to assert itself as a distinct section, different from others, the North will necessarily have to do the same thing; and sectionalism will be at an end. It is to be hoped that patriotic men, North and South, will work together to that effect; and I am sure that the enlightened people of Massachusetts have, on many occasions, shown their cheerful willingness to do so.
As to the character and efficiency of the Government in its different branches, something has been tried, and I think something has been accomplished, in the way of improvement. I highly value the compliment paid me by your chairman for my efforts in that direction; but more remains to be done. In the administration of the Interior Department I have become convinced, more strongly than I ever was, that a thorough and systematic reform of our civil service in the methods of appointment, tenure, and removal is not only necessary, but also practicable. I am convinced that as our National Government grows with the growth of the country; that as the questions it is to deal with become larger and more complicated,—the organization of the ad-
