also of the mode in which payments should hereafter be made.

Mr. HOUSTON. We not only indicate the manner in which we desire the payment to be made, but we require it, if this amendment shall be agreed to, to be made in a mode different from the one adopted by the President. I feel sure, as I said before, that one of the inducements for the adoption of that amendment is, that it shall reflect upon the Secretary of State; for, if we transfer the payment of this installment to the Secretary of the Treasury, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. BAYLY] says the Secretary of the Treasury assured him he would adopt the arrangment of the Secretary of State; then what do we accomplish, except it may be to take an unncessary responsibility, where no good can and some harm may result from our action. Both Departments are under the control and supervision of the President of the United States.

Mr. MEADE. The gentleman is mistaken. I will put him right upon this point. The question now is upon the adoption of the amendment of the gentleman from California, [Mr. MARSHALL.] That amendment does not require the Secretary of the Treasury to do anything.

Mr. HOUSTON. What does it do then? Mr. MEADE. It requires the President to so cause the payment to be made in the manner that shall be the most satisfactory to the Mexican Government.

Mr. HOUSTON. Then I understand the gentleman from Virginia not to be in favor of the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee,[Mr. JOHNSON,] and to be willing that the Secretary of State shall continue to discharge this duty, and make the payments.

Mr. MEADE. I have no objection.

Mr. HOUSTON. The gentleman has no objection to the Secretary of State continuing, but he desires that the payment shall be made according to the wishes of the Mexican Government. Now, I ask the honorable member, if he did not, in another part of his speech, admit that we had not now time to make any change in the order of things connected with the payment of the installment soon to fall due?

Mr. MEADE. I will reply to the gentleman, by saying that I made no such admission. I distinctly stated, that I believed that if we would signify to Mexico that we were willing to pay this installment in the manner which she should deem most advisable, that a contract might be made in thirty days.

Mr. HOUSTON. The gentleman, as I understood him at the time, spoke of the propriety of a change in the treaty. But there certainly is not time now for the two Governments to make a change so as to allow the payment to be made differently-according to the wishes of Mexico-and I present it to this committee: is there sufficient time between now and the 30th May next for opening a negotiation with Mexico, for a change in the terms of the treaty? I do not understand the gentleman from Virginia as saying that the Executive Government of Mexico can make any change in the time or place or manner of receiving the money to be paid to her under the twelfth article of the treaty of the 2d February, 1848, but, on the contrary, that he agrees that there can be no substantial change made in the treaty, unless it be done by a higher authority than the Executive Government of that Republic. You must have the action of the treaty-making powers, before any material change can be made in any treaty. In this case, and in my view of it, we are bound to have at least the action of the Supreme Government of Mexico in favor of the change. Even that might not do and anything short of it would surely avail us nothing. But I undertake to say that, according to my information, there is no evidence before the House, and there has been none since the meeting of this Congress-there was none before the Committee of Ways and Means-going to show that Mexico desires to draw upon this Government for this installment. Such evidence may have been before the last Congress; that is, however, denied

Mr. MEADE. There is evidence before the House now.

Mr. HOUSTON. I do not like to have my time taken up. I suppose it is General Green's circular to which the gentleman refers.

Mr. MEADE. No; it is contained in the correspondence submitted to us yesterday. Mr. HOUSTON. In the correspondence submitted to us yesterday, the Mexican Minister says he conversed with Mr. Webster about the bills which he said his Government wanted this Government to accept. Mr. Webster substantially, if not in words, denies the statement. There is an issue; and upon that issue what can we do? Is the proof sufficiently conclusive to establish the fact; and if the fact be proven, is that enough to merit a censure in the absence of any previous indication by Congress that Mexico should be consulted and permitted to change the mode and place of payment if she desired? Admit, however, that at the last Congress it would have been better to change the mode of paying this installment, still the argument can avail nothing here, for circumstances have materially changed. Then we had quite twelve months in which to operate, now we have less than four months, and we must yield to the circumstances in which we are placed-we are controlled by the circumstances that surround us-and in the discharge of our duty we must make the best of what we have.

There is another fact which I wish to notice, and it is the action of Congress heretofore in relation to these installments. I believe this bill ought to pass, and I believe it ought to pass as it is, without amendment. I believe it, from the fact that we owe the money to Mexico, and have pledged our faith to pay it on the 30th of May next. There are other circumstances coming in to corroborate that belief. This subject was acted upon in the Thirtieth Congress, and at the last session of that Congress, with almost entire unanimity, a bill passed into a law providing for the payment of two installments: the one falling due in May, 1849, and the other one falling due in May, 1850. That bill passed with only eight dissenting votes. This bill contains precisely the same provisions of that one, leaving the money to be paid by the Executive. A bill upon the same subject, and with precisely similar provisions, also passed the first session of the Thirty-first Congress with but few negative votes. So the provisions of this bill have received the sanction of the Thirtieth and the Thirty-first Congresses-voted for by all parties and very nearly by all the members. All we ask now is, that we shall pass this bill as it is, without amendment. My anxiety to defeat all amendments to the bill grows out of my view of the best mode of advancing the public interest, and not for the purpose of shielding any individual, either in public or private life; nor do I agree that Congress must under all circumstances appropriate the money and leave it under the control of the President; not

at all.

If Congress should believe the money would, for corrupt purposes or otherwise, be misapplied, it would not only be competent for Congress to control it, but it would be its duty to do

80.

The gentleman from New York [Mr. BROOKS] says that the last Congress, by passing the bill when these facts were before the country, adopted the arrangement that was pursued by the President; and if we pass this bill now, we thereby approve the course the Secretary has pursued and proposes to pursue. I take issue with the gentleman there. I intend to vote for this bill as it is. But then I repudiate entirely, for myself and for all these gentlemen around me, the idea that by so doing I indorse or approve what Mr. Webster has done or what he may do in this matter. charges of fraud, corruption, or mismanagement be presented against Mr. Webster, then will be the proper time to examine into his course, and to investigate the conduct of the Executive. Then will I be prepared to go into that investigation, I hope, with fairness to all concerned, but with an unflinching determination to discharge my entire duty.

If

Mr. Chairman, I wish to repeat, what I a few moments since stated, that, by the adoption of this bill in its present form, we only do that which we have done heretofore, and that which we usually do in regard to all other bills of like character

Mr. MEADE. I will read it, if the gentleman desires, and will give me time.

to carry out the treaty; and we by no means indorse the plan he may choose to adopt.

Mr. MEADE here made a remark inaudible to

the reporter; but he was understood to inquire if the Government of Mexico would not prefer to have the money paid here, or deposited in some bank in New York, rather than to have it paid in the city of Mexico?

Mr. HOUSTON. I will reply to the question, and I will do it frankly. I presume I am in his condition upon that point, wholly without proof. I can guess, as he can guess; that is all either of us can do. There is no evidence before Congress, nor has there been this session, showing the present wish of Mexico. But then, even admitting that the correspondence just received shows that at the last Congress Mexico desired the payment to be made by the acceptance of her bills, that while that proposition was never presented in form to this Government, the very correspondence itself also shows that even if it had been, it has been long since entirely withdrawn, and is not now before us. If that is again brought about, it is to be done anew, and we could not safely act in the absence of proper authority from Mexico. And while I am unwilling now to discuss the question of the power of Congress over treaties, I am free to repeat what I have before said, that we cannot alter this treaty as to the mode and place of payment, by any authority short of the Supreme Government of Mexico-I mean that the Congress of Mexico must legislate, and give authority to do the act. I might be willing to risk a discharge under that authority, but I would certainly accept nothing short of that; and if we pay this money in any other mode than that pointed out in the treaty itself, without such authority, I fear we would not discharge our liability. There are other remarks I would like to submit, but for fear my time may be exhausted before I get through, I wish to call the attention of the committee to the facts connected with the payments which have heretofore been made. The honorable gentleman from Virginia, [Mr. BAYLY,] who is now at the head of the Committee on Foreign Relations, was inaccurate, to some extent, in his statements in regard to the payment of some of the installments which have already been made. I find, from an examination of the books and records in the Departments, that the first paymenta payment made in cash after the treaty-was made by the President of the United States, Mr. Polk, not through the Rothschilds, as the gentleman stated, but it was, to a large extent, made through the War Department. It was arranged by the Secretary of War, all except about eight hundred thousand dollars. I have some extracts here from official documents, which I will read. Eight hundred thousand dollars of the cash payment was made by the purchase here from A. Belmont of bills upon Lionel Davidson, of the city of Mexico. Those bills, it is true, as the gentleman stated, were purchased by Mr. Walker, and paid for in Treasury notes, dollar for dollar. But those Treasury notes were not at a premium at that time, or if at a premium, it was small. These bills were purchased in March, 1848, and before this Government knew certainly whether the treaty would be ratified in due form by the treaty-making power of Mexico. I will read an extract from a letter of the Secretary of War to Major General Butler, throwing light upon this subject:

"WAR DEPARTMENT, "WASHINGTON, March 30, 1848. "SIR: Should the treaty sent out by our commissioner be ratified, it will be necessary for the United States to make immediate payment to Mexico of $3,000,000. To meet this payment, you have been invested with authority to draw for that amount on the Treasury of the United States. Apprehensions are here entertained, that by a combination among those who would be able to purchase such drafts, or from some other cause, you might not be able to raise so large a sum of money on them without a discount, perhaps an exorbitant one. It has, therefore, been thought advisable to make arrangements here, providing for a considerable part of the amount which may be wanted."

Then follow the instructions to pay the proceeds to that installment. So if there was a premium on Treasury notes at that time, that advantage was not lost, because, in the arrangement which was made by Secretary Walker in the purchase of those bills, this Government was not to pay interest upon the amount until the bills were disposed of by our commissioner in Mexico, and the proceeds applied to our debt there. So that it enabled this Government to hold itself in readiness to pay, whenever the treaty would be ratified. And that was a contingency beyond our knowledge, and one which might not happen for

Then, again, the sum of $1,151,874 16 of that cash payment was made through bills drawn by Major General Butler upon the Treasury here in favor of Nathan Clifford, then the Commissioner of the United States in Mexico. Those drafts were negotiated by Mr. Clifford, with Hargous & Co., who paid a premium The balance of that caupon them of $41,107 66. payment was made by the use of money in the military chest-military contributions and by turning over property of the army to the Government of Mexico.

[Here the Chairman's hammer fell.]

Mr. HOUSTON. I think my time has not expired. I believe I have some six minutes yet.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman's time has fully expired, and the question is upon the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee, [Mr. JOHNSON.]

Mr. DUNCAN. I have an amendment I wish to offer.

PETITIONS.

Mr. SHIELDS presented three petitions of residents of Illinois, praying the right of way and a donation of land for the construction of a railroad from Shawneetown to the Mississippi river, opposite to Saint Louis; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Also, the petition of residents of Hancock county, Illinois, praying a grant of land to the State to aid in the construction of the Warsaw and Peoria and Warsaw and Rockford railroads; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands. Also, the memorial of the Rector and Vestry of St. John's Church, Washington city, praying that a sum of money paid by that Church to the Commissioner of Public Buildings for a square of ground, which President Monroe authorized the Church to use as a burial ground, may be refunded, and that the said Commissioner may be authorized to give the Church a deed for the land; which was referred to the Committee for the District of Columbia.

Mr. DUNCAN. Can I offer an amendment to the original bill?

The CHAIRMAN. The two amendments pending are to the original bill.

Mr. HARRIS, of Tennessee. I move that the committee do now rise.

The question was then taken, and on a division there were ayes 91, noes not counted.

The committee accordingly rose, and the Speaker having resumed the chair, the Chairman of the committee [Mr. JONES] reported that the Committee of the Whole upon the state of the Union had had the state of the Union generally under consideration, and especially House bill No. 46, providing for the payment of the Mexican idemnity, and had come to no conclusion thereon.

On motion of Mr. RICHARDSON, the House then adjourned to meet on Monday next.

PETITIONS, &c.

The following petitions, memorials, &c., were presented under the rule, and referred to the appropriate committees: By Mr. KUHNS: The petition of citizens of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, praying for the establishment of a direct mail route from Greensburg to West Newton, in said county.

By Mr. McNAIR: Two petitions of citizens of Marcus Hook, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, asking for an ap propriation of $20,000 for the improvement of the piers at that place.

By Mr. HART: A petition from W. H. Scabring and others, residing in the city of New York, asking an appropriation of a sum of money to assist in detraying expenses incurred by exhibitors at the World's Fair.

By Mr. ROBBINS: The petition (with map or chart attached) of Captain Jonas P. Levy, a resident of New York city, asking Congress to grant to him the right of carrying the mail, on conditions therein set forth, from New York and New Orleans, by way of Vera Cruz, the head waters of the Alvarado and Tonto, thence to the port of Huatulco, and thence to San Francisco. The whole time from New York to San Francisco will take but twenty days.

By THOMAS M. HOWE: The petition of William Bagaly & Co., Lyon Shorb & Co., and others, praying Congress to authorize the purchase of the remaining interest of private stockholders in the Louisville and Portland Canal, and for the construction of such additional work as shall be capable of passing boats of the largest class around the Falls of the Ohio river.

IN SENATE.
MONDAY, January 26, 1852.
Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. C. M. BUTLER.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.

A message was received from the President of the United States, made in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th of March, 1851, || transmitting a report of the Secretary of War, containing information in regard to the claims of the citizens of California for services rendered and for money and property furnished in the years 1846 and 1847, in the conquest of that country; which was read and ordered to lie on the table."

The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate a communication from the Treasury Department, transmitting a list of the contracts made

Also, the memorial of Daniel Bread and other ture of three British gun-boats during the war of 1812; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Also, the petition of F. E. Hunt and other officers of the Army, stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Missouri, praying that certain recommendations of the Secretary of War in relation to rank and command in the Army, submitted to Congress, may not receive the sanction of that body; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. WADE presented a petition of citizens of Ashtabula, Ohio, praying the establishment of a telegraphic communication between Fort Independence and the Pacific ocean; which was referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Also, the proceedings of a meeting of citizens of Canton, Ohio, recommending the interposition of the Government of the United States in behalf of

the people of Hungary; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Mr. HALE presented the petition of Samuel Knox, praying bounty land for services during the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.

Also, a petition of citizens of Millsborough, Pennsylvania, praying the repeal of the late law for the delivery of fugitives from service or labor; and a petition of citizens of Millsborough, Pennsylvania, praying the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.

Ordered, That they lie on the table.

Mr. DAVIS presented the petition of the administrator of William Johonnot, deceased, praying to be allowed interest on commutation pay; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. DAVIS. I present, also, the petition of Albert Tyler and others, who represent themselves to be citizens of the county of St. Lawrence, in the State of New York. They represent, that in their opinion the construction of some artificial mode of navigation around the Sault Ste. Marie and the Falls of Niagara would be national works and of great public utility; that the country has reached in its progress a march of improvement which justifies the taking up that subject now. They believe it to be necessary, and pray that it may come under the consideration of Congress. I do not know that it is pertinent, but I will venture to suggest that inasmuch as this is a very grave work it would be worth while to appropriate some of the public lands to accomplish the great public object of getting round the Falls of Niagara. I move that the petition be referred to to the Committee on Commerce.

The petition was so referred.

Mr. GWIN presented a petition of the working men employed at the Washington navy-yard, praying that pensions may be allowed for long and faithful services, and for disability incurred in the discharge of their duty; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

Also, a joint resolution of the Legislature of

Also, the petition of Jonas P. Levy, proposing to open a communication from Vera Cruz and Alvarado, on the Gulf of Mexico, to Huatulco, on the Pacific, and to convey the mail between New York and New Orleans, and San Francisco, in twenty days; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

Mr. MASON presented the memorial of a committee of the Corporation of Georgetown, praying an appropriation to remove obstructions in the navigation of the Potomac river below said town, caused by the construction of the bridge connecting the city of Washington with the shores of Virginia; which was referred to the Committee for the District of Columbia.

Mr. ATCHISON presented the petition of Nathaniel Mothershead, praying a pension for services rendered during the last war with Great Britain; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. BORLAND presented the memorial of James D. Johnson, asking to be allowed the difference of pay between that of a master and a lieutenant in the Navy during the time he performed the duty of a lieutenant while a master on board the United States storeship "Relief;" which

was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

of Thomas C. Lewis, praying the relinquishment Mr. DOWNS presented the petition of the heirs in their favor of the title of the United States to certain lands claimed by them in the Bastrop Grant; which was referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims.

Mr. CASS presented the petition of Johnson Lykins, stating that he is the discoverer of certain tin mines, and praying the passage of an act giving him the privilege of working them for a limited time; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Also, the memorial of the widow of John Scollay, praying a pension for the services of her husband during the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Also, the petition of the widow of Ebenezer Brown, praying a pension for the services of her husband during the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. UNDERWOOD. I have the petition of Joel Hickman and some forty or fifty others. They are Kentuckians, and they pray for an ob ject which meets my cordial approbation. It is that the Congress and Government of the United States may take such steps in their relations and intercourse with foreign nations as will tend to establish a tribunal by which questions which have heretofore involved nations in war may be peacefully settled by arbitration, so as to prevent the evils resulting from war. I hope that it may be received and referred, without reading, to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. DAWSON presented the memorial of William C. Daniell, against the projected improvements of the General Government in relation to certain obstructions in the Savannah river, and recommending the construction of a ship channel across Hutchison's Island, as the most effective method of overcoming the obstructions known as "The Wrecks" in the Savannah river; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Also, the petition of John J. Sykes, praying compensation for services rendered under an appointment from the special agent of the Post Of fice Department for California; which was referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Mr. WADE presented the petition of Ira Reynolds, complaining of the rejection by the officers of the Patent Office, of his application for letters patent for certain improvements in the plough and seed drills, and praying Congress to investigate the matter, and direct the issue of patents for so much of his improvements as may be found to be new and useful inventions; which was referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office.

Mr. UPHAM presented a resolution of the Legislature of Vermont, requesting the Senators and Representatives of that State in Congress to use all proper exertions to procure the effectual suppression of the slave trade.

Ordered, That it lie on the table and be printed.

Mr. PEARCE presented a memorial of underwriters and merchants of Baltimore, Maryland, praying that the salary of the district judge of the United States at Key West may be increased; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented a memorial of John F. Gilpin and other creditors of the late Republic of Texas, praying the enactment of such a law as will enable them to obtain payment of their claims against that Republic at the Treasury of the United States; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. GWIN presented a resolution of the Legislature of California, in favor of an appropriation for compensating Nathaniel McMenafee for the relief extended by him to the destitute overland emigrants to that State; which was referred to the Committee on Finance and ordered to be printed.

Mr. MASON presented the petition of Bancroft Woodcock, praying an extension of his patent for an improvement in the construction of the plough; which was referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office.

PAPERS WITHDRAWN AND REFERRED.

On motion by Mr. McRAE, it was Ordered, That the memorial of the West Feliciana Railroad Company, on the files of the Senate, be referred to the Committee on Finance.

On motion by Mr. NORRIS, it was

Ordered, That the documents on the files of the Senate relating to the claims of the legatees of Thomas D. Anderson, be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. On motion by Mr. PEARCE, it was Ordered, That John McColgan have leave to withdraw his petition and papers.

On motion by Mr. SOULE, it was Ordered, That the petition of N. Paillet, on the files of the Senate, be referred to the Committee of Claims.

On motion by Mr. SHIELDS, it was Ordered, That the memorial of George Talcott, presented the 11th December last, be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES. Mr. FOOT, from the Committee on Pensions, to which was referred the petition of Hugh W. Dobbin, submitted an adverse report; which was read.

He also, from the same committee, to which was referred the petition of Brinton Paine, submitted an adverse report; which was read.

He also, from the same committee, to which were referred the documents in support of the claim of Samuel Crapin, submitted an adverse report; which was read.

Mr. WADE, from the Committee of Claims, to which was referred the memorial of the heirs and executors of Samuel Prioleau, submitted an adverse report; which was read.

On motion by Mr. WALKER, it was Ordered, That the Committee on Revolutionary Claims be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Martha Gray, and that it be referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. BORLAND, from the Committee on Printing, to which was referred, the 29th December, a resolution in relation to printing a geological report of Dr. D. D. Owen, reported the same with an amendment.

The Senate proceeded to consider the amendment; and in concurrence therewith, Resolved, That five thousand five hundred copies of the

report of Dr. D. D. Owen on the Geology of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, be printed, in accordance with the resolution of the Senate at its last session, requiring the same to be printed under the direction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office; and that five hundred copies of the same be for the use of the General Land Office; two hundred copies to be given to Dr. Owen, and three hundred copies to the Smithsonian Institution for distribution. Mr. BADGER, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to which was referred a bill for the relief of M. K. Warrington and C. W. J. Chubb, executors of Captain Lewis Warrington, reported the same without amendment, and submitted a report on the subject, which was ordered to be printed.

Mr. JONES, of Iowa, from the Committee on

Pensions, to which was referred the petition of Francis P. Gardiner, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill for her relief.

NOTICE OF A BILL.

Mr. CLEMENS gave notice that he should ask leave to introduce a bill to extend the benefit of the

The bill was read and passed to the second read-act to regulate intercourse with the Indian tribes, ing.

Ordered, That the report be printed.

Mr. BORLAND, from the Committee on Printing, to which was referred, on the 22d instant, a motion by Mr. HALE," that two thousand additional copies of the charges and specifications before a court of inquiry against William K. Latimer, a Captain in the Navy of the United States, and the accompanying papers," which were ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate, reported thereon.

The Senate proceeded to consider the motion;

and,

On motion by Mr. ATCHISON, it was Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until to-morrow.

Mr. ATCHISON, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill for the relief of William A. Richmond, reported it with an amendment.

Mr. BRADBURY, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill concerning the sessions of the courts of the United States in the district of Delaware, reported it without amendment.

Mr. JAMES, from the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office, to which was referred the petition of Zebulon Parker, reported a bill for his relief; which was read and passed to the second reading.

Mr. WHITCOMB, from the Committee of Claims, to which was referred the petition of

and to preserve peace on the frontiers, approved the 3d of June, 1834, to the people of the State of Texas, and others.

BILL INTRODUCED. Mr. WHITCOMB, agreeably to previous notice, asked and obtained leave to introduce a bill granting the right of way and making a grant of land to the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, in aid of the construction of a railroad from the Wabash to the Missouri river; which was read and passed to a second reading.

BRIGADIER GENERAL TALCOTT.

Mr. SHIELDS submitted the following resolution for consideration; which was agreed to:

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to transmit to the Senate a copy of a letter from Brigadier-General Talcott to Colonel B. Huger, dated November 1, 1850, the purport of which was stated in the proceedings, but the orignal letter was not found until afterwards and forwarded to the War Department by Colonel Huger.

MISSION TO EASTERN ASIA.

Mr. CLARKE submitted the following resolution for consideration; which was agreed to:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to communicate to the Senate, if not incompatible with the public interest, the report of Mr. Ballastier, late Consul at Singapore, upon his mission to Eastern Asia, together with such of his correspondence and reports, including his negotiations with the Sultan of Borneo, as may be deemed of public interest.

LAND CLAIMS IN CALIFORNIA.
Mr. GWIN submitted the following resolution

Mary B. Renher, submitted a report, accompanied for consideration; which was agreed to:
by a bill for the relief of John F. Callan, admin-
istrator of Daniel Renner, deceased.

The bill was read, and passed to the second reading.

Ordered, That the report be printed.

Mr. DOWNS, from the Committee on Private Land Claims, to which was referred the petition of T. H. McManus, reported a bill to authorize T. H. McManus to enter by preemption certain lands on the Greensbury land district, Louisiana; which was read and passed to the second reading.

Mr. BADGER, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported a bill to enforce discipline and promote good conduct in the naval service of the United States; which was read and passed to the second reading.

ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE CLERK.

The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution reported by Mr. WALKER the 22d instant, to authorize the Committee on Revolutionary Claims to employ a clerk.

Mr. WALKER. I will simply state that I reported that resolution in accordance with the unan

imous instruction of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. To that committee a clerk is absolutely necessary, in consequence of the increase of the matter that comes before them. They have much correspondence to attend to, and there is necessarily some traveling, in which they require the assistance asked for, if it is contemplated that they shall get through their business.

Mr. HALE. I want to suggest whether it would not be advisable, as a matter of economy, for the Senate to adopt the suggestion of Dr. Franklin as to the barrel of pork, and say the blessing better to introduce a general resolution? over the whole barrel at once. Would it not be

Mr. WALKER. I may make a statement by the authority of the committee. There are matters now before the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, involving about four millions and a quarter of dollars. Every case before that committee would, perhaps, if submitted to a court of justice, be an intricate and litigated lawsuit. We have to examine these matters; they involve in many instances an examination into the most minute portions of the history of the Revolution. To get papers from the departments, and have them properly certified, involves an amount of labor which I am inclined to think few committees in this body are called upon to perform. If these claims are to be reported upon in proper time, and in a proper manner, it is necessary that the committee should have a clerk. These are the considerations which have influenced the committee.

The resolution was adopted.

Resolved That the Secretary of the Interior be directed to communicate to the Senate a copy of such instructions as may have been given by the Department to the commissioners appointed pursuant to the act of Congress approved 3d March, 1851, entitled “An act to ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of California," with a copy of such instructions as may have been transmitted to the Surveyor General of California in connection with the subject.

MARY W. THOMPSON.

The Senate proceeded to consider, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill for the relief of Mary W. Thompson; and,

On motion by Mr. JONES, of lowa, it was Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed to Friday next.

NON-INTERVENTION.

The Senate proceeded to consider, as in Committee of the Whole, the resolution some time since offered by Mr. CLARKE, reaffirming the doctrine of non-intervention; and,

On motion by Mr. CLARK, it was

Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed to Wednesday, the 4th of February next, and that it be made the special order for that day.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. FORNEY, its Clerk, was read:

Mr. PRESIDENT: The Speaker of the House of Representatives having signed two enrolled bills, I am directed to bring them to the Senate for the signature of its President.

The PRESIDENT pro tem. signed the two enrolled bills this day reported to have been examined, and they were delivered to the committee to be presented to the President of the United States. They are as follows:

An act for the relief of Edward Everett, late a sergeant in the United States Army; and An act for the relief of the Virginia Woolen Company.

ENGROSSED BILLS PASSED.

The following engrossed bills and joint resolutions were severally read a third time and passed: A bill for the compensation of James W. Low and others for the capture of the British private armed schooner "Ann," during the late war with Great Britain;

A bill for the relief of the children of Captain Erastus A. Capron;

A bill granting a pension to Elizabeth Monroe; A bill to provide for the final settlement of the accounts of Jonathan Kearsley, late receiver of public moneys at Detroit, and of John Biddle, late register of the land office at that place;

A bill for the relief of James Dunning;
A bill for the relief of Julia Aiken;

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill granting the right of way and making a grant of land to the State of Iowa, in aid of the construction of certain railroads in said State.

The pending question is on the substitute reported from the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. UNDERWOOD addressed the Senate on this bill through the remainder of the day's session. His speech will be found in the Appendix. Before resuming his seat, he submitted the following amendment as an addition to the substitute:

Be it further enacted, &c., That there shall be granted to the States named in this section, for purposes of education and of internal improvement, so much of the public domain as is specified for each, that is to say: To the State of Maine, 583,040 acres; to the State of New Hampshire, 317,760 acres; to the State of Vermont, 313,920 acres ; to the State of Massachusetts, 994,240 acres; to the State of Rhode Island, 147,520 acres; to the State of Connecticut, 370,560 acres; to the State of New York, 3,097,280 acres; to the State of New Jersey, 489,280 acres; to the State of Pennsylvania, 2,311,680 acres; to the State of Delaware, 90,560 acres; to the State of Maryland, 546,880 acres; to the State of Virginia, 1,231,680 acres; to the State of North Carolina, 753,280 acres; to the State of South Carolina, 514,240 acres; to the State of Georgia, 753,280 acres ; to the State of Tennessee, 906,560 acres, and to the State of Kentucky, 897,920 acres; which land, so granted, shall be located in parcels conformably to sectional divisions and subdivisions, of not less than 320 acres in any one location, if so much can be bad, on any public land except such to which a right of preemption may have attached, or such as is or may be reserved from sale by any law of Congress, or proclamation of the President of the United States; which said locations may be made at any time after the lands shall have been surveyed according to existing laws.

And

it shall be lawful for the Governors of said States, respectively, to appoint one or more agents to locate the lands granted as aforesaid for the State of which he is the Governor. Such agents, in making their locations, shall be governed by such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may from time to time prescribe, and when the lands for each State have been located and selected, patents therefor shall be issued to the State entitled to the same.

And be it further enacted, That the lands granted to the States according to the preceding section, shall be disposed of by said States, respectively, in such manner as their respective Legislatures may direct: Provided, however, That no portion of said lands shall be sold at less than $125 per acre, until otherwise authorized by a law of the United States; and the net proceeds of the sales of said lands shall be faithfully applied to objects of internal improvement, or to purposes of education, or to both, as the Legislatures of the States, respectively, owning the lands granted may direct: Provided, further, That all roads, railways, bridges, canals, and water courses, which shall be exclusively built, constructed, or improved, by the funds arising from the disposition of said lands, shall be free for the transportation of the United States mail, and munitions of war, and for the passage of their troops, without the payment of any toll whatever.

And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the agents aforesaid, or any one of them, in selecting lands and making locations for his State, to select and locate any of the alternate sections, or any part thereof, which may have been or may hereafter be reserved from sale by any act of Congress granting lands in aid of the construction of any railroad or canal whatever: Provided, however, That in locating any such section, or part of section, the State for whose benefit it may be selected or located shall be charged with, and the quantity of land granted to such State shall be diminished by double the quantity of acres contained in the reserved section, or part of section, thus selected and located. Nothing in the three last sections contained shall authorize the location of any lands granted by thein, or either of them, within the limits of the State of California, or the Territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Oregon.

Mr. BADGER. I hope that by the unanimous consent of the Senate, an order will be made for printing the amendment of my friend from Kentucky, and that then the Senate will adjourn. The amendment was ordered to be printed; and the Senate adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
MONDAY, January 26, 1852,

The House met at twelve o'clock, m. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. BUTLER.

The Journal of Saturday was read and approved.

CLAIMS PAID BY THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.

The SPEAKER stated that the first business in order was the unfinished business of Monday last, being a motion made by the gentleman from Maine [Mr. FULLER] to suspend the rules of the House to enable him to introduce the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of War, and the Postmaster General, be, and hereby are, instructed to cause to be reported to this House, as soon as may be practicable, full and complete lists of all claims, if any, (including principal and interest, and designating each separately,) allowed and paid, by the respective Departments, or any bureaus there of, since the 4th day of March, A. D. 1849, which had been previously presented, suspended, or disallowed, in whole or in part; and specifying the character of such claims; and also, that they cause to be reported the names of all persons who at any time acted as the agents or solicitors for said claims, and the persons who received any portion thereof, or were interested therein.

Mr. CAMPBELL, of Ohio. I desire to inquire of the gentleman from Maine, whether he will not so modify his resolution as to make it go back to the 4th of March, 1845? I hope he will do so, as I would be glad to have the information. Mr. FULLER. If the gentleman desires, he can introduce another resolution to that effect. The yeas and nays were demanded and ordered.

The question was then taken, and decided in the affirmative-yeas 134, nays 36; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Charles Allen, Ashe, Averett, Thos. H. Bayly, Bartlett, Beale, Bissell, Bragg, Breckenridge, Brenton, Brooks, A. G. Brown, Geo. H. Brown, Bueil, Busby, Lewis D. Campbell, Thompson Campbell, Cartter, Clark, Clingman, Cobb, Colcock, Daniel, John G. Davis, Dawson, Dean, Dimmick, Disney, Dockery, Dpty, Dunham, Eastman, Edgerton, Faulkner, Ficklin, Fitch, Florence, Fowler, Freeman, Henry M. Fuller, Thomas J. D. Fuller, Gamble, Gaylord, Gentry, Giddings, Gilmore, Goodrich, Gorman, Green, Grow, Hall, Hamilton, Isham G. Harris, Hart, Haven, Hebard, Hendricks, Henn, Hibbard, Hillyer, Holladay, Houston, Howard, Thoms Y. How, Ives, Jackson, Jenkins, John Johnson, Daniel T. Jones, George W. Jones, J. Glancy Jones, Kurtz, Letcher, Lockhart, Mace, Mann, Mason, McCorkle, McDonald, McMullin, McNair, Meade, Miller, Millson, Molony, Morrison, Murphy, Murray, Nabers, Newton, Ólds, Orr, Andrew Parker, Samuel W. Parker, Peaslee, Penn, Phelps, Polk, Porter, Price, Richardson, Riddle, Robbins, Russell, Scurry, David L. Seymour, Origen S. Seymour, Skelton, Smart, Smith, Snow, Stanly, Benjamin Stanton, Frederick P. Stanton, Richard H. Stanton, Abraham P. Stevens, Stone, Stratton, Stuart, Sweetser, Benjamin Thompson, George W. Thompson, Thurston, Venable, Wallace, Walsh, Washburn, Watkins, Addison White, Alexander White, Wilcox, Woodward, and Yates-134.

NAYS-Messrs. Abercrombie, Allison, Barrere, Bibighaus, Briggs, Burrows, Caldwell, Chandler, Cullom, Evans, Grey, Harper, Haws, Hascall, Horsford, John W. Howe, Thomas M. Howe, James Johnson, George G. King, Kuhns, Humphrey Marshall, Martin, Morehead, Outlaw, Penniman, Schermerhorn, Schoolcraft, Schoonmaker, Scudder, Alexander H. Stephens, Taylor, Tuck, Walbridge, Ward, Welch, and Williams--36.

Mr. HAMILTON, pending the announcement of the vote, stated that his colleague, Mr. HAMMOND, was detained from the House by the severe indisposition of his family.

So the rules were suspended.

Mr. FULLER, of Maine, demanded the previous question upon the adoption of the resolution.

Mr. CAMPBELL, of Ohio. I appeal to the gentleman from Maine to withdraw the call for the previous question, that I may move to amend the resolution so as to embrace the time since the 4th of March, 1835. I desire that this investigation shall be thorough. I promise to renew the call for the previous question, if the gentleman will withdraw it.

Mr. FULLER. I suggest to the gentleman from Ohio that he will fully accomplish his object by a separate resolution.

Mr. CAMPBELL. The mode I desire will save a good deal of time, and I wish to avoid the necessity of consuming so much time as a separate resolution will require. If the gentleman is afraid of the investigation, he can persist in his refusal. The SPEAKER. Discussion is out of order.

Mr. BAYLY, of Virginia. I rise to request my friend from Maine to withdraw the call for the previous question. I wish to suggest a modi

fication of the resolution, and not to debate. After I make the suggestion, if the gentleman does not acquiesce in it, I will renew the call for the previous question.

Mr. FULLER. I will hear the suggestion.

Mr. BAYLY. The suggestion is, that the practice we are getting into of calling upon the heads of Departments for reports to this House, and thus treating, to a large extent, as independent branches of the Executive, is a very bad practice. The Executive is an unit; the President is the responsible man, and when we undertake to make these independent calls upon the heads of the Departments, we are giving them a consequence which the Constitution does not contemplate. In the early days of this Republic, they were treated as nothing but head clerks. They are now growing into a consequence, which I think is inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution. That consequence arises, to a great extent, out of the manner in which Congress treats them.

Mr. FULLER. I concur in the main with the remarks made by the gentleman from Virginia, [Mr. BAYLY;] but I do not wish, for reasons best known to myself, to concur in the proposed amendment in this case.

The question being upon seconding the demand for the previous question,

Mr. HARRIS, of Tenneesse, called for tellers; which were ordered; and Messrs. HARRIS, of Tennessee, and CHANDLER were appointed.

The question was taken, and there were-ayes 83, noes 69.

So the previous question was seconded. The question now being, Shall the main question be now put?

Mr. MILLER demanded the yeas and nays. Mr. MILLSON. I wish merely to inquire if the House should determine that the main ques tion shall not be now put, whether the question must not go over to some other day?

The SPEAKER. It will go over until Monday

next.

The question was then taken, and there wereyeas 125, nays 63; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Abercrombie, Aiken, Charles Allen, Willis Allen, Andrews, John Appleton, Ashe, Averett, Babcock, Thomas H. Bayly, Bartlett, Beale, Bissell, Bocock, Bragg, Brenton, Albert G. Brown, Buell, Busby, Thompson Campbell, Cartter, Churchwell, Clark, Cobb, Colcock, Curtis, Daniel, John G. Davis, Dawson, Dean, Dimmick, Disney, Doty, Dunham, Durkee, Eastman, Edgerton, Edmundson, Faulkner, Ficklin, Fitch, Florence, Henry M. Fuller, Thomas J. D. Fuller, Gamble, Gaylord, Gentry, Giddings, Gilmore, Gorman, Green, Grow, Hall, Hamilton, Isham G. Harris, Sampson W. Harris, Hart, Hendricks, Henn, Hibbard, Hillyer, Holladay, Houston, Howard, Thomas Y. How, Ingersoll, Ives, Jackson, Jenkins, Andrew Johnson, John Johnson, Daniel T. Jones George W. Jones, J. Glancy Jones, Kurtz, Letcher, Lockhart, Mace, Mann, Edward C. Marshall, Mason, McCorkle, McDonald, McLanahan, McMullin, McNair, Meade, Millson, Morrison, Murphy, Murray, Nabers, Olds, Orr, Andrew Parker, Peaslee, Penn, Phelps, Polk, Price, Richardson, Riddle, Robbins, Robinson, Russell, Scurry, David L. Seymour, Origen S. Seymour, Skelton, Smart, Smith, Snow, Frederick P. Stanton, Richard H. Stanton, Abraham P. Stevens, Stone, St. Martin, Stratton, Stuart, Sweetser, George W. Thompson, Thurston, Wallace, Wilcox, and Woodward-125

NAYS-Messrs. Allison, Barrere, Bell, Bibighaus, Bowie, Bowne, Briggs, Brooks, George H. Brown, Burrows, Caldwell, Lewis D. Campbell, Chandler, Clingman, Cullom, Dockery, Duncan, Evans, Fowler, Goodrich, Grey, Harper, Haws, Hascall, Haven, Hebard, Horsford, John W. Howe, Thomas M. Howe, James Johnson, Geo. G. King, Kuhns, Martin, Miller, Miner, Morehead, Newton, Outlaw, Samuel W. Parker, Penniman, Perkins, Porter, Sackett, Schermerhorn, Schoolcraft, Schoonmaker, Scudder, Stanly, Benjamin Stanton, Alexander H. Stephens, Strother, Taylor, Benjamin Thompson, Walbridge, Walsh, Ward, Washburn, Watkins, Welch, Wells, Addison White, Alexander White, Williams, and Yates-63.

So it was ordered that the main question be now put.

Mr. MEADE. I understand that the mover of the resolution is willing to accept the modification suggested by my colleague, [Mr. BAYLY,] and give the resolution a different direction, that is, instead of having it directed to the heads of the Departments respectively, to direct it to the President of the United States. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to allow of the modification. Mr. STANTON, of Ohio, objected. The question was then taken, and the resolution was adopted.

Mr. FULLER, of Maine, moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was passed, and to lay the motion to reconsider upon the table; which latter motion was agreed to.

ASSIGNABILITY OF LAND WARRANTS.

Mr. HARRIS, of Tennessee. I ask the unaninous consent of the House to consider now the motion pending, to refer the report of the select Committee, and also the bill from the Senate making bounty land warrants assignable, to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and that they be made the special order for Wednesday next, and from day to day until disposed of.

Mr. CARTTER objected.

Mr. HARRIS. I move that the rules be susended for the purpose.

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I request my colLeague [Mr. HARRIS] to make it Thursday. The Mexican indemnity bill, and the bill to pay the expenses of bringing back the American citizens who have been liberated in Spain are yet undisposed of. It is important that these bills should be acted upon without delay.

Mr. HARRIS. I will adopt the suggestion of my colleague to make it the special order for Thursday next.

The question was then taken, and the rules were suspended.

The question then recurred on the proposition to refer, and make the bills the special order for Thursday next.

Mr. JENKINS. Will a division of the question be in order?

The SPEAKER. It will, in the opinion of the Chair.

Mr. JENKINS. I then ask for such devision. Mr. HARRIS, of Tennessee, demanded the previous question; which received a second, and the main question was ordered to be put.

The SPEAKER. The question will be first upon referring the two bills specified to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

Mr. CLINGMAN. I understood the motion of the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. HARRIS] was to take up and make them the special order for next Thursday.

The SPEAKER. That question will recur after the motion to refer is disposed of.

The titles of the bills were then read as follows: Senate bill entitled "An act to make land warrants assignable and for other purposes," and the resolution of the House explanatory of an act approved September 28th, 1850, entitled "An act granting bounty land to certain officers and soldiers who have been engaged in the military service of the United States.'

Mr. ORR. I desire to inquire of the Chair if the Senate bill has received two readings in this House?

Mr. HARRIS, of Tennessee. On Saturday, the Journal will show, it was read twice, and a motion was made to refer.

The SPEAKER. By the unanimous consent of the House, it was taken up and read twice on Saturday. It was constructively so.

Mr. ORR. I only wanted to have it read twice. The question was then taken on the motion to refer, and it was agreed to.

So the bills were referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

Mr. HARRIS. Is the previous question exhausted?

The SPEAKER. It is not.

Mr. HARRIS. Was there a motion to print included in this motion?

The SPEAKER. There was not. Mr. HARRIS. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to have them printed.

The SPEAKER. The Chair hears no objection, and it will be so ordered.

The question was then taken on the second branch of the proposition, to make these bills the special order for Thnrsday next, and it was agreed

to.

So the bills were referred and made the special order for Thursday next.

Mr. HARRIS, of Tennessee, moved to reconsider the vote by which these bills were made the special order for Thursday next, and to lay the motion to reconsider upon the table; which latter motion was agreed to.

quested to furnish this House, if not incompatible with the public interest, all the correspondence between Captain Long, of the United States frigate Mississippi, and Mr. Kossuth, growing out of an alleged difficulty or misunderstanding between the said Captain Long and the said Kossuth; and, also, the collateral correspondence, including the letters of and to Cominodore Morgan and Consul Hodge, arising upon the said misunderstanding and connected there with.

Mr. BELL inquired if this was not resolution day. The SPEAKER replied that it was, but that it was also competent to suspend the rules of the House.

Mr. GIDDINGS objected to the resolution, and called for the regular order of business.

Mr. SMITH moved to suspend the rules, to enable him to introduce the resolution.

The motion was agreed to, and the rules were suspended.

The question now being upon the adoption of the resolution,

Mr. SMITH demanded the previous question. Mr. CARTTER. I wish the gentleman would alter his resolution so as to embrace the correspondence of the other officers of the Mississippi. I do not think it now embraces that correspondence. Mr. SMITH. Yes; it embraces the whole. The previous question was then seconded, and the main question ordered on the adoption of the

resolution.

And, the question being taken, the resolution was agreed to.

Mr. SMITH moved to reconsider the vote on the adoption of the resolution, and to lay the motion to reconsider upon the table; which latter motion was agreed to.

Mr. BARRERE, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported back, as correctly enrolled, an act for the relief of Edward Everett; and an act for the relief of the Virginia Woolen Company.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

Mr. HOUSTON. My purpose is to move to suspend the rules, and that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

[Cries of "Oh, no!" and "Let us have the call for resolutions!"]

Mr. HOUSTON. I wish to make a suggestion to-day. It must be very evident to every gentlein connection with the business of the House for doing we shall accomplish very little. Now, if by man here, that if we are to proceed as we are now general consent, and each member will stand to it, we can receive resolutions and bills and petitions, and let them be referred; and all that give rise to debate be rejected, I would be willing to go on with that his drawer. If the States can be called, I am wilsort of business, and let every member clear out ling to have it done; but directly I yield the floor for that purpose, some gentleman will rise and move to suspend the rules, and thus the whole day will be lost. I am perfectly willing, however, if the House will agree to it, that the States shall be called for resolutions.

PRINTING OF THE CENSUS.

Mr. GORMAN, from the Committee on Public Printing, reported the following joint resolution: Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representa

assem

tives of the States of America bled, That the joint committee on printing be directed to contract with Messrs. Donelson & Armstrong for printing and binding the Census on such terms as they may think reasonable and proper, the work to be executed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and to be paid for as it progresses by the head of the Census Bureau, with power to abate from the amount stipulated if the work when executed shall prove deficient or below the standard which my be agreed upon.

The joint resolution was read a first and second time by its title.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. KOSSUTH AND CAPTAIN LONG.

the House, the Secretary of the Interior has been a good deal annoyed by the manner in which he

has been unable to get this printing forward. The Superintendent is also exceedingly solicitous for action upon this subject. I apprehend that at first blush, gentlemen would be under the impression that this printing belonged to the public contractor; but by a reference to the acts of Congress of 1851, it will be seen that it was therein prescribed that the preparatory and preliminary printing, such as the forms and so forth, should be prepared and printed under the direction of the Census Board, and all the other printing connected with the census, as Congress may direct. So that question is not even debatable. There was not one single member of the committee, of either party, who was not clearly of the opinion that this printing does not come within the contract with the public printer.

This joint resolution is offered for the consideration of the House, for the purpose of expediting the printing of the census. It has been before the Senate, but has been postponed by that body for a week or ten days, for the reason that certain statistical and historical accounts of the several States were being given which some of the Senators conceived to be in violation of the original census law. Now, after a full investigation of the subject, I am thoroughly satisfied that the express language and letter of the law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to do precisely what he has done. It may seem strange that they should adopt something like an historical account of each county in the respective States; yet it is, in my opinion, highly proper; and I apprehend that the law clearly gives the Secretary of the Interior authority to adopt such a form as he may prescribe. It gives him a kind of blank authority, and in his annual report he has alluded to this.

It is unnecessary for me at present to add a single remark, except that gentlemen need be under no apprehension that, under the law passed by the last Congress, this order of the House, if it passes, will conflict in the slightest degree with the contract of the public printer.

Mr. ALLISON. I wish to inquire of the chairman of the Committee on Printing [Mr. GORMAN -and I have no doubt he will take pleasure in antion to the printing of the abstract of the Census, swering the inquiry-what has been done in rela

recollect that a resolution was adopted last Monday, authorizing the Committee on Printing to contract for the printing of one hundred thousand copies of the report of the Superintendent of the Census; a report which was published the 1st of January in the Globe. I desire to know what has been done in regard to that matter?

which were ordered last week? Gentlemen will

Mr. GORMAN. I will answer the gentleman. ing. I addressed a note to the public printer. I That subject was before the Committee on Printcalled upon Mr. Rives, and I also addressed a note to Donelson & Armstrong. Mr. Rives did not desire to have anything to do with the matter if it

came in the least in conflict with the contract of the public printer. Although he had it in type, he did not wish to print it, until it was directly ascertained by the Committee on Printing that it did not interfere with the contract of the public printer. The reason assigned by him was, that he did not wish to be considered as throwing any obstacle in the way of the public printer's carrying out his contract. He therefore declined for the present, until further action by the committee. Messrs. Donelson & Armstrong also declined to do the job. I shall this evening, I presume, if the other members of the committee concur with me, order the printing to be done; and the document will be furnished to the House in a few days.

Mr. EVANS. It is pretty well known in this House of Representatives that there has been no single thing in its history for many years past which has been a more fruitful source of corruption, and a more fruitful source of dissensionnothing has been so entirely covered up from the notice of members-nothing has been so wholly excluded, and yet so badly executed, as this very public printing. It has, I believe, generally been taken by both political parties as a prolific job, for the sake of supporting partisan purposes and partisan editors in the District of Columbia who had no circulation and subscription sufficient to maintain their papers. Why, I ask, are Donelson & Armstrong named in this resolution? Who are Donelson & Armstrong? Why, sir, they are two individuals, neither of whom I have ever seen or