In December, 1878, I was put on the Committee on Patents,
and remained upon it for a little while. The Committee had
to deal occasionally with special cases of applications for
extension of patents by statute, which demanded a knowledge
of the patent law, and industry and sound judgment on the
part of the Senator to whom they were committed for report.
But they were not of much public interest or importance.
In December, 1879, I was put on the Committee on the Revision
of the Laws; in December, 1883, on the Joint Committee on
the Library; in December, 1884, on the Committee of the Judiciary,
of which I have been a member ever since; in December, 1888,
on the Committee on Relations with Canada; in December, 1891,
on the Committee on Woman Suffrage; in December, 1895, on
the Committee on Rules.
I was on the Committee on Claims for ten years, from March
9, 1877, to March 4, 1887. It is impossible to establish
by the record the part any man performs, who is a member of
a deliberative body consisting of several persons, in influencing
its decisions, or in establishing the principles on which
they are based.
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