On motion by Mr. MASON, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of Executive business; and after some time spent therein, the doors were reopened.

PRINTING OF A REPORT ON COMMERCE.

When the doors were reopened the Senate was engaged in the consideration of a resolution reported by Mr. DODGE, of Iowa, from the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate, to which a resolution had been referred directing it to report whether the compensation and expenses of the agent employed to procure and compile the information called for by the resolution of the Senate of March 8, 1851, is payable out of the appropriation for the contingent expenses of the Senate, and if not, how the same should be paid. The resolution reported from the committee is as follows:

Resolved, That the committee be discharged from the further consideration of the resolution, and that it be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Mr. HAMLIN. I would inquire if the Sectetary of the Treasury would, under the resolution, be authorized to make any payment? What appropriation is there out of which it could be made?

Mr. BRIGHT. The appropriation asked for is for services in collecting statistical information under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. The committee have come to the conclusion that if the contingent fund provided for his Department cannot be applied to the purpose, certainly the contingent fund of the Senate ought not to be applied to the payment of this claim, amounting as it does to $12,000. It should be provided for properly, in an appropriation bill, under the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury. The Committee on Contingent Expenses could not consent that such a claim, and one of such size, should be paid out of our contingent fund.

Mr. HAMLIN. I know something about this matter, and I agree fully with the Senator from Indiana, that it is a case in which an estimate should have been furnished by the Department, and there should have been an appropriation made for it in a regular appropriation bill. I think there was an estimate, or something resembling one, furnished to the chairman of the Committee on Finance, at a late hour of the last session-so late an hour that he was not able to give it that investigation which it demanded, and no appropriation was made. Mr. Andrews has collected a mass of facts which will be valuable to the country in its commercial relations. He has presented a statement of the commerce of the surrounding colonies and the domestic commerce of some portions of this country, together with a statement of the productions of some of the southern sections of the country, which will render his work very valuable; and it is clearly right that he should receive his pay. He was employed by the late Secretary of the Treasury. I have no objection to his being paid out of the contingent fund of the Treasury Department. I think it would be somewhat more proper; but inasmuch as it was purely an oversight that an appropriation was not made for it, and as the Senate has taken the document and printed it, I think we should pay some portion of the expense out of the contingent fund which could be reimbursed at another session. However, if the payment can be made in the way suggested by the report of the committee, I have no objection; but I would much rather pay a portion of the claim out of the contingent fund than allow the man to go unpaid entirely.

Mr. DODGE, of Iowa. I agree with the Senator from Maine, that the work is a valuable one. I think, however, that this is not a charge that ought to be made on, and not one cent should be paid out of our contingent fund. If we establish the precedent it will add very greatly to the embarrassments which are now occasioned by calls upon that fund, and originate claims the extent of which we cannot foresee. Another reason why

Special Session-Mexican Boundary.

we should not pay it out of the contingent fund is, that the committee has not investigated it. Having decided primarily that it was not proper to be paid out of the contingent fund, we did not investigate it all, and are, therefore, not able to pronounce what the amount ought to be, or what portion of it the Senate should pay. The work was done entirely under the direction of the Treasury Department. The instructions issued from it. The report was made to it, and it is therefore proper that it should be paid for there and not here. It should, in my judgment, be provided for by an appropriation at the next session of Congress.

Mr. BRIGHT. The resolution under which the services were performed was introduced into the Senate by the late Senator from New Hampshire, [Mr. HALE,] and was adopted on the 8th of March, 1851, and is as follows:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to communicate to the Senate as early as possible at the next session, full and complete statements of the trade and commerce of the British North American Colonies with the United States and other parts of the world, inland and by sea, for the years 1850 and 1851, with such other information as can be procured of the trade of the great lakes."

That shows clearly that the work should be paid for either out of the contingent fund of the Treasury Department, or by an appropriation specially made for the purpose. It is evident to my mind that it should be paid by an appropriation from the Treasury, for the reason that the account, as any one will see by referring to it, is made up of various sums, such as postages and miscellaneous items generally; and referring it to the Committee on Contingent Expenses would be nothing more nor less than giving them power to pass a law authorizing the payment of the several items. But the Senate is already aware that there is some prejudice existing in consequence of the amount of expenditures from our contingent fund, which has gone up to an amount over $300,000 per annum. The object of the committee is to rule out every claim which is not legitimate and proper to be paid out of that fund; and this is clearly such a claim.

The question was taken on the resolution, and it was agreed to.

OPEN EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.

Mr. CHASE submitted the following resolution for consideration:

Resolved, That all sessions and all proceedings of the Senate shall be public and open, except when matters communicated in confidence by the President, shall be received and considered, and in such other cases as the Senate by resolution from time to time shall specially order; and so much of the 38th, 39th, and 40th rules as may be inconsistent with this rule is hereby rescinded.

CHARGES AGAINST GOVERNOR RAMSAY.

Mr. SEBASTIAN submitted the following resolution; which was considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby, requested to cause to be investigated the charges of fraud and misconduct in office alleged against Alexander Ramsay, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Minnesota, and which were referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs by a res olution of the 10th January last, and to report the results of such investigation to the Senate at the next session of Congress, and that the record of the proceedings of said committee under said resolution be referred to the President, and be subject to such order as he may make therein.

THE MEXICAN BOUNDARY.

The Senate proceeded to consider the following resolution, submitted by Mr. HOUSTON on the 30th ultimo:

"Resolved, That John R. Bartlett, late Commissioner, and A. B. Gray, late United States Surveyor of the Mexican Boundary, be authorized to furnish a report and plans to the Senate of the explorations made by them and by others connected with the Commission under them, on the topography, geography, and natural history of the regions adjacent to the line, with such information as was collected relative to the Indian tribes through Texas, California, and New Mexico; and that the work be executed under the supervision of the Department of the Interior in a style and form corresponding with the publication of "The History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes" of H. R. Schoolcraft, now in course of publication, and Owen's Report on the Geology of Lake Superior: Provided, That the same shall not exceed two volumes: That one thousand copies be published for the use of the Senate, at as early a period as practicable, and the Secretary of the Senate is hereby authorized to contract for the publication thereof, and to defray the expenses out of the contingent fund."

Mr. HUNTER. This is an important matter. I hope we shall not go into it now, There is no

SENATE.

It is a proposi

pressing necessity for doing so. tion to print another very expensive book. I do not know how far it comes in conflict with the provision of the deficiency bill passed at the last session in regard to the distribution of books. I should like to look to that. I hope it will be laid over, and I will look into it by to-morrow.

Mr. HOUSTON. I do not know that the expense is a matter of any great importance if the information is important, as I think it is. The gentlemen referred to in the resolution are both scientific men. They have had a long time to make their observations. They have had an opportunity of digesting and putting them in the best form for presentation to the world. I think that the character of the information proposed is as important as any that can come before the Senate, and there is no other opportunity of obtaining it. The American people are interested in it; and if some expense shall be the consequence of it, I do not see that that is any particular objection to it. I hope the resolution will be adopted. I would not call for the information unless I believed it of importance, and unless I was convinced that there was no other way of obtaining it. If there is another way of obtaining it, and gentlemen are satisfied that it can be obtained in a better way, I will accede to anything they propose. But if there is no other plan proposed, I shall certainly insist upon this plan, on the ground that the information is important, needful, and necessary.

Mr. BORLAND. I would suggest that we should pursue the plan in this case which is usually pursued. I believe a person engaged in an exploration is to report to the Department, and if the Department, upon examining the report, deems it of public interest and value, it can be sent to either House of Congress with a recommendation for its publication, and the mode in which it is to be published can then be determined. That I think is the usual mode; and it would be better for us to pursue that mode in this case; for when we come to look at the expense which this work will involve, and our experience in publishing books of this kind, we will find that the contingent fund of the Senate would not be one fourth large enough to publish it. The cost of the publication alone of the work of Schoolcraft, to which the resolution refers, was something like $100,000. We have got three volumes, and they have not cost less than that amount. And Dr. Owen's book, which is a very valuable one, I think cost over $30,000, and it is perhaps the cheapest book ever published by Congress. It was published under the supervision of the General Land Office, and Dr. Owen has been permitted to supervise it and make all the contracts; and to my astonishment he has reduced the cost to less than four dollars per volume, as he informs me; but he has done it by pursuing a course which nobody else has ever done He has gone in person to examine the engraving establishments, so as to procure the engravings and wood-cuts on the best terms, and in the best manner, and made contracts lower than anybody else has ever done. Then if we look at the publication of Mr. Wilkes's book, which has been in progress for some ten or twelve years-I say look at the cost, not at the book, for I believe very few have an opportunity to see the work at all-we have been paying $25,000 or $30,000 for that. I mention this, I wish the Senator from Maryland to understand, not to assail the work or its character, but as an instance of the expense of publication. It will, however, be understood that these have been in the form of reports made, and then it has been a matter of discretion with the Departments and with Congress as to the mode of publication. I think that will be the better course to pursue in this case.

Mr. PEARCE. I think this resolution had better not be passed now. The Commission on the Mexican Boundary has not yet closed its labors, and a large amount of information can probably be obtained which has not yet been reported; and I suppose a large amount will be included in the report of the Commission. I think it better in every point of view to get all the information we can, if we are to make the publication, and that therefore it will be better to postpone it until the whole survey shall be completed. We shall then have the labors of all the different officers together with the probable amount of the

32D CONG.....3D SESS.

expense of the publication, and shall be enabled to act with more light upon the subject. I therefore think it inexpedient to act now.

Mr. BRIGHT. Before I vote upon the resolution, I should like to know from the honorable Senator from California, [Mr. WELLER,] who was formerly the Commissioner on the Boundary, whether he has not in contemplation for publication a work also? I should not like to give a vote in conflict with his wishes, and I therefore should like to hear from him. [Laughter.]

Mr. MASON. I agree entirely with the suggestions made by the Senator from Arkansas in regard to the plan adopted for the publication of works of this description. We should at least have some notice in advance of what is to be published. Now, the Commissioner and the Surveyor on the Boundary Commission were responsible to the Department of the Interior, and it was their duty to make a report to that Department of all the official matters committed to their charge. The duty prescribed by law was simply to run and mark the boundary line between the United States and Mexico; but I see by the instructions from the Department, which perhaps were very proper, they were instructed further to make as far as they could an examination of the natural history of the country, its productions, &c. How far those gentlemen were competent for the discharge of this incidental duty, is a matter which I would be very sorry in my place in the Senate to determine, unless the work is first submitted to us, and we have some information about it. As has been said, and properly said, by the Senator from Maryland, [Mr. PEARCE,] this work is unfinished; and the action that has been taken on the work of the late Commissioner is of a character, I should think, very little to recommend it to the confidence of the Senate. We were obliged to withhold the appropriation for the continuance of the Commission because, in the judgment of the Senate, the Commissioner had departed from his proper duties in fixing the boundary line; and I am informed from an official source, since that Commission has been broken down and returned home, that the Surveyor, Mr. Emory, who was there conducting the survey, never had the pleasure of an interview with the Commissioner during the whole time he held office-more than twelve months. He was in the line of his duty prosecuting the survey while the Commissioner was, God knows where, exploring I suppose the interior of Mexico and finding the materials for this work. I want information on all these subjects before I can sanction anything done by that gentleman. I do not mean to prejudge him. I have no information to enable me to do it. But let him make his report to the Department of the Interior, and then if the work is of sufficient merit, after bringing it along side of, and collating it with the works of his predecessor and successor, let them be published as a whole; but I should regret extremely to take any step now to publish it when I do not know what it is.

Mr. HOUSTON. I think the remarks of the honorable Senator from Virginia strengthens the position which I have taken. He says that the Commissioner was absent from the particular duty of running the line God knows where in Mexico I have no doubt in the world that he has collected and collated some very interesting facts which will make a very interesting work, if we had all the minutia which he would be enabled to give. It appears to me that it more strongly the resolution than what I had said before. I urges think it very important that we should have it. Mr. MASON. I will ask the honorable Senator a question. The resolution requires the officers to report to the Senate. Now, I will ask the Senator if he has any information why the officers have not reported to the Department of the Interior?

Special Session-Mexican Boundary.

may be suppressed for years, and not brought forth to the world. I have reason to believe that the facts are very important, and that the country will be materially benefited by them; and we will better understand the subject of our future action, not only in the Senate, but in the House of Representatives; and it will be understood throughout the whole country. We are all interested in our western frontier-the country connecting California with the Atlantic coast. We are interested in all these things. For that reason, I urge the adoption of the resolution. I have no particular interest in regard to it. It seems to me to be very reasonable. We are in the habit of spending money on other subjects, and I do not see why we should not be making books, for I find a great demand for them, and I am told the demand is increasing every day. I have heard that when gentlemen have transmitted Owen's Report from here to their various localities, those reports did not get half way. They are stolen out of the mails. That proves the great value of the works, and the great anxiety of the people for intelligence, [laughter,] and urges the necessity of getting a bountiful supply of books by the Senate. I have been so well guarded, that I have ordered all that I have received to be boxed up, and it will cost me two or three thousand dollars to get them home for distribution in Texas. [Laughter.] I am not afraid of the mails being robbed there. They can be distributed there. But I cannot take the risk of mailing them here. Now, Mr. President, I insist that the vote shall be taken on the resolution.

Mr. BUTLER. We are called upon to edit a book the contents of which not one Senator here knows anything about. We are required to edit a book of geology, mineralogy, entomology, biography, astronomy-an encyclopedia containing materials furnished by whom? I want to know something of this book from some other source than Mr. Bartlett or Mr. Gray. The resolution would imply that they are the only two authors of the book; but there are others to whom credit should be given. I take the liberty of mentioning the name of one-Colonel Graham. I will answer for it that he made a larger contribution than almost any other gentleman.

A SENATOR. And Major Emory.

Mr. BUTLER. Yes, sir, and Major Emory. Those gentlemen ought to be consulted. It seems to me entirely premature to take a book in the gross in this way without the indorsement of some literary person who has examined it. The best way, I suppose, is to edit the book, and then look ,I at it, for that is the proposition.

One word upon these books which are so much praised. I would like to know how so many of them get into the bookstores? I would like to know how so many of the documents published by the authority of the Senate get into the bakers' shops, to wrap up the bread with? [Laughter.] How many books are sold by the pound in many shops and stores of this District? Sir, they do not even go to the mail. They leave the hands of members of Congress and go into those shops, or into the bookstores. How they get there I cannot tell; but that they are there everybody knows; whether they are purloined by some subordinate or the members of Congress are indifferent to them, and let them be distributed in that way. I suppose the honorable Senator from Texas when he spoke of the books being stolen out of the mail, did not allude to the mail that goes south, and did not suppose that they would be purloined in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi. I hardly know in what portion of the country through which the mail runs, there is such a literary mania. It may be on the road to Texas itself. [Laughter.]

Mr. HOUSTON. I certainly intended to cast no reflection on Carolina, North or South, but I do not know that their general character for literature might not justify me in representing them to have such a desire for books. [Laughter.] I certainly did not intend to impute the purloining to Carolina, because where the mails are sent in cars or steamboats they have not time or a good oppor

But I am furnished by the Senator from South Carolina, with an argument in favor of the resolution. He says the proposition is to print a book which not one Senator knows anything about.

SENATE.

That is my reason for wanting the book. I want to know something about it. I cannot see that there will be any danger in printing it, under the circumstances. The surveyor, who is to assist in making the report, is one of Virginia's brightest sons in his sphere of action. He is one of the most intelligent, able, enlightened, sagacious, industrious young men that I know anywhere in the United States. He was engaged on the Maine boundary, and on the boundary line between Texas and the United States; and I am sure, in point of capacity, he has no superior in a young man of his age. In point of observation, firmness, integrity, and everything that ought to commend him to consideration, no man is more reliable, more truthful than Mr. Gray, and for these reasons I wish to see his production. I do not, to be sure, agree with Mr. Bartlett in relation to the fixing of the initial point for the running of the boundary line between Texas and Mexico, but still I would like to know his general information; and if he was peregrinating throughout Mexico, when he ought to have been engaged in something else, we shall find out the reason of his absence, and the result may be something very interesting and amusing. The report will inform us of various matters connected with Mexico, about which I would like to know something; but I am perfectly willing to submit to the decision of the Senate. I am not a great reader of books. In the reading of documents published by order of the Senate, I have confined myself pretty much to the Patent Office Report. [Laughter.] I have obtained a great deal of useful information from itleaving out of view the mechanical branch of it, for I do not understand that. [Laughter.]

The PRESIDENT. The question is on postponing the further consideration of the resolution until to-morrow.

Mr. HUNTER. Since it has been taken up, I think it had better be disposed of. I believe that this habit of printing books for the purpose of gratifying the personal desire, of individuals or officers connected with the Government, for distinction, has led to a great deal of mischief. I am not surprised that persons should desire to obtain for nothing books printed at the public expense. The Senator from Texas says that the demand for books is increasing. Of course it is; and we shall not be able to satisfy it, if we go on in this manner printing any book which any public officer may choose to write for the purpose of placing his name favorably before the public. We not only give him an advantage over all other literary men, but we produce a demand for books which will not be satisfied, and this demand is to be met out of the contingent fund of the Senate. I ask again as I asked the other day, how long can we expect the House of Representatives to be satisfied with our separate and single control of that fund, if we saddle it with such expenses as this?

Again, as has been properly remarked by the Senator from Arkansas, and my colleague, who knows anything about this book? Has the Senator from Texas examined it? Has he read it? Does he know anything of the materials which compose it? Have we any opinion passed upon it from any source upon which we can rely? Has it been examined by any Department of the Government, or by any committee of this body? Who can say what it is to cost; of how many volumes it is to consist; under whose direction it is to be executed? Are we to publish whatever Mr. Bartlett or Mr. Gray may choose to write and ask to have published at the public expense, and make a book which is likely to be so costly, as one of this sort containing costly engravings? It seems to me that this is such a proposition as has never been presented here before. We have already gone too far; and it is asking us to go further than we have ever done before. I move that the resolution lie upon the table.

Mr. HOUSTON. I hope the Senator will withdraw that motion for a moment to let me say a few words.

Mr. HUNTER. I withdraw it.

Mr. HOUSTON. My friend from Virginia asks me if I have read the work? Sir, I desire to see it in print that I may read it. I do not like to read manuscript. [Laughter.] It ought to be printed, so that I and the Senate and the country may see it.

32D CONG.....3D SESS.

Mr. HUNTER. I will ask the Senator if the book has been written?

with it, but the Secretary of the Senate is to pay for it out of the contingent fund. I am satisfied,

Mr. HUNTER. I desire to dispose of the resolution as it is up. We can dispose of it now, as well as to-morrow; and I hope my motion will be a test question.

Mr. HOUSTON. We may have nothing else to do to-morrow, and it will be a very profitable subject to talk upon. [Laughter.] I do not care much about the book. I am as little fond of books as anybody; but I have no doubt that this work will contain a great deal of valuable information. As to the amount of expense, I think that very inconsiderable. I do not think the book ought to be regarded in the light in which some gentlemen seem to look at it. It will be a book of great value. We are to have an interesting and important relation hereafter to the section of country to which it refers; and if it referred to no other subject than the topography of the country, and the condition of the Indians, their numbers, &c., it would be a matter of great importance.

Mr. HUNTER. I am informed by gentlemen who are likely to know, that the Senator from Texas is perhaps mistaken as to this book having been written. The report has not been written. The resolution will merely give authority to the officers to write as much as they choose. The Senator from California, who is acquainted with these matters, thinks it is not written. So does the Senator from Maryland.

Mr. HOUSTON. If the Senate will postpone the resolution until to-morrow, I will ascertain that fact. If it is not written, I shall not insist upon the resolution. Unless it has been prepared as an official document in relation to this particular subject, under the instructions given to them by the Department for the prosecution of their work, I shall not insist upon it.

Mr. PEARCE. If this report is written, it has been done since the 4th of March last. I know efforts were made about that time to get hold of materials for writing it. I suppose it has hardly been prepared since that time.

Mr. HAMLIN. From what I know of this subject I am inclined to agree with the Senator from Maryland. I think that the report, or book, or whatever you call it, has not been written. I think the language of the resolution is against that. It does not speak of it as a thing completed, but it is an invitation to those two officers to prepare a report, or I choose rather to say, to write a book; and it is, in my sober judgment, for the benefit of a certain publishing house in a city not a great many miles distant from this. We have, in my judgment on many occasions, gone too far, much too far in the publication of what are really books, which did not relate to the commercial, agricultural, or manufacturing interests of the country. A scientific gentleman in the Army or Navy gets attached to some expedition and he writes a report. He makes that report to some one of the Departments-the Department under which he may have been sent out; and in that way every individual who has been desirous of publishing a book, if he could get attached to a survey of any kind, had the opportunity of publishing it at the expense of the contingent fund of the Senate. Now, sir, this resolution proposes to go one step further. There has been no report even made to the Department; but the resolution is an invitation to the two officers to prepare a report which may or may not have been collected in the proper sphere of their duties, and which is to be, if made, a book relating to various subjects specified in the resolution, but which had no legitimate connection with their duties on the survey. If we should take this step, I do not know why we should not go into any subject in science. I believe that we should dispose of this matter now. I see that Senators are desirous of going into Executive session, and as the matter has been fully discussed, I move as a test question that the resolution do lie upon the table.

source from which I have derived my information that it will be a valuable work, and that has induced me to offer this resolution. I am satisfied that it has no object to promote the interest of any bookseller or bookmaker; and the individual from whom it emanates is as far from doing a thing indirectly as any man in America. It was Mr. Gray, who has been suppressed in the expression of his intelligence, that suggested this; and it was for the purpose, not only of vindicating himself against the imputation of having been discharged for disobedience of orders, but for the purpose of showing on what ground he acted; the amount of

information that he obtained and the labor that he

performed; and at the same time that he was engaged in this during the extremest hardships, while the Department here was preparing to dishonor and disgrace him, after he had signed an instrument in violation of his conscience and his conviction of propriety; and he has never had the opportunity of showing what his conduct had been up to that time; what labor he performed, and what information he had obtained. I do not know whether Mr. Bartlett knows anything about the resolution. I, of course, did not wish to take any advantage of him. I did not wish to preclude him from the advantage of making a report also. I did not wish to bring an ex parte matter before the Senate. I wish them to have the opportunity of comparing information derived from both sources, and see whether it is worth anything; and if it is worth anything, that the whole country may be possessed of it; but if it is worthless, I would be very sorry to urge the adoption of the resolution here. I am very well satisfied, from the characters of one party, and the opportunities of the other, that it must contain, not only on one part, but on the part of both, useful information, and therefore I desire to obtain it.

Mr. BORLAND. In the remarks which I made, I did not intend to say anything about the character of this book. I know nothing of it, and of course I could say nothing as to its value or want of value. I am not acquainted with Mr. Gray, and have but a slight acquaintance with Mr. Bartlett. But I would suggest that we have during the last Congress changed our system of public printing. We have now, I think, a very good system. It is operating remarkably well. The printing is done well; and when that is the case I can see no propriety in our going abroad to have our printing done. If this be a report which has been made to the Department of the Interior, as it surely was the duty of the individuals to make it, if they had it to make-we can by a simple resolution call upon the Secretary to send it to us, and then it will be for the Senate, through its proper committee, to determine whether to print it or not; and it can be turned over under the law which now exists and be printed as a public document in the regular way, so that it will be under our control, and in my opinion, it will not cost as much as if it was published in another

way.

I am satisfied that the report has not been prepared for publication. The materials are on hand out of which the gentleman proposed to make it. As to Mr. Bartlett's connection with it, I know nothing further than this: that he called upon me with a part of the manuscript which I did not have time to examine, and told me that his object was to show me a part of the materials, and expressed his solicitude for its publication. I do not know what Mr. Gray has to do with it; but Mr. Bartlett is not only cognizant of what is proposed to to be done, but he is making the most pressing solicitations to have it done; and I understand that he is a book publisher; certainly it was represented at the time he was appointed Commissioner that he was a bookseller and book publish

er.

I take it for granted, seeing the anxiety which he exhibits to have the work printed, that he expects to have the job, because the terms of the resolution leaves it entirely discretionary with them-no committee is to have anything to do

Mr. MASON. I move to postpor⚫ the further consideration of the resolution until to-morrow, for the purpose of going into Executive session.

Mr. DOUGLAS. I think we had better put an end to this discussion, and I shall therefore move that the resolution lie upon the table. I will, however, make one remark before I submit the motion. It is probable that when this report shall have been

made to the Senate, and a motion shall have been made to print it, and that motion shall have been referred to the Committee on Printing and received a favorable report from that committee, I may be able to go for the printing of it; but I cannot go

for it without that action. I cannot do it before I know what the report is. I therefore move that the resolution lie upon the table. If they desire the report to be printed, let it be submitted to the Department, laid before the Senate, referred to the Committee on Printing, and favorably reported upon.

The motion to lay upon the table was agreed to.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

On motion by Mr. MASON, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of Executive business; and after some time spent therein, the doors were reopened, and the Senate adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1853.

Prayer by the Rev. J. G. BUTLer.

The PRESIDENT laid before the Senate two

copies of the laws of New Mexico, which were

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

DIFFICULTIES AT SAN JUAN.

Mr. SEWARD submitted the following resolution; which was considered by unanimous con

sent:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested, if in his opinion it shall be compatible with the public interest, to communicate to the Senate such official information as he may have received touching the recent transactions between Captain Hollins of the sloop of war Cyane and the authorities of Greytown or San Juan de Nicaragua, together with the orders and instructions which have been given to Captain Hollins in relation to the affairs at that place.

Mr. DOUGLAS. I hope the Senator will modify the resolution by striking out "Greytown or." I dislike to recognize that English name. The place was never known as Greytown, but always as San Juan, from the first discovery of the continent up to the 8th of February, 1848, when it was seized by the British, and the name changed.

Mr. SEWARD. I accept the modification.
The resolution, as modified, was agreed to.

DEBATES IN THE SENATE.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the resolution submitted by Mr. HAMLIN in relation to the purchase of thirty-seven extra copies of the Congressional Globe and Appendix for each Senator, the pending question being on the amendment of Mr. GWIN.

On motion by Mr. HAMLIN, the further consideration of the subject was postponed until the first Monday in December next.

The PRESIDENT. The next resolution in order is the following, which was submitted by the Senator from North Carolina [Mr. BADGER] on the 10th ultimo:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate have published in the Daily National Intelligencer, the full debates and proceedings of the Senate for the late legislative session, and pay the same compensation therefor as is allowed to the Union and Globe, and pro rata for what has been reported and published in the Intelligencer during the present Congress."

Mr. GWIN. I hope that will be postponed. Mr. BORLAND. I think it had better be considered and disposed of. It is a proposition which in my opinion should not be agreed to, and we had better lay it on the table or reject it at once. We can have no better time to act upon it than the present.

1853.]

32D CONG.....3D SESS.

Mr. BRODHEAD. I would be quite willing to pay the Intelligencer for the matter which has been published, and I think the resolution should be so modified. It had, therefore, perhaps better go over until to-morrow morning.

Mr. BORLAND. I would suggest to my friend from Pennsylvania, that the resolution had better be disposed of now. I have a very few remarks to make upon it; and I think I can satisfy him and the Senate that we ought not to pay for what has been published. There is good reason for it. There is no reason why we should pay for publishing hereafter in that paper what has taken place which has not yet been published. If the resolution goes over at all, I should like it to go over until the next session; but if it is disposed of at this session, it had better be done now. I hope the resolution will not be taken up, but if it is under consideration, I will say in a few words what I have to say upon the subject. I shall make no speech.

Mr. GWIN. I hope the resolution will not be taken up. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive business.

The PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Arkansas withdraw his motion to lay the resolution upon the table?

Mr. GWIN. Is the resolution before the Senate?

The PRESIDENT. It is.

Mr. BORLAND. Then I will say what I have to say in a very few words. This is a proposition to pay the National Intelligencer for what it has published, during the last Congress, of the proceedings and debates of this body; and to pay also for publishing after this time that which it omitted to publish during the last Congress. I am opposed to both propositions, and for this reason: The National Intelligencer had a contract on the same terms as the Union, to publish the proceedings and debates of the Senate. Its editors came forward and relinquished that contract. I thought it was generally understood why that was done; and that which followed confirmed me in what I supposed was the general understanding. It was considered that it made the Intelligencer a neutral paper in politics to publish the debates of the Senate, because it had to publish Democratic as well as Whig speeches, which left but little room for editorials; and inasmuch as the Democrats were in a majority in the Senate, and perhaps more speeches were made on the Democratic than on the other side, it gave the paper rather a Democratic tendency by throwing Democratic doctrines before the country. The presidential election was coming on, and it was deemed important that the Intelligencer should be a thoroughly Whig paper. To make it so, and to avoid the publication of Democratic speeches in the debates of the Senate, it relinquished its contract; and we found that it afterwards confined itself almost exclusively to the publication of Whig speeches delivered here, which might be useful in the political canvass. Of course I had no objection to that. It was within the option of the editors to publish what they pleased for political purposes. But the proposition involved here is that we shall pay the editors of that paper seven dollars and fifty cents a column for doing that when they published at their own option a party paper, and relinquished the contract which required them to publish the speeches on both sides of the Chamber. I am disposed to be as liberal in party matters as most men; but it is really asking me, as a Democrat, to go further than propriety requires me to go, to comply with this proposition. I would have no objection to pay for the publication of Whig speeches, provided the Democratic speeches went along with them; but I am unwilling to give a party paper the privilege of selecting what speeches it chooses to publish for political effect, and recognize that as the regular proceedings and debates of this body, and pay for it at the public expense. I cannot do that.

The next proposition is what? To pay the paper for going back and publishing now what we did during the last Congress.

Mr. SEWARD. The last Congress or the last session?

Mr. BORLAND. The last Congress as I understand, or if it is the last session, it is the same thing in principle.

Special Session-Debates in the Senate.

The PRESIDENT. It is the last Congress. Mr. BORLAND. Now I should like to know if there would be enough of public interest in the proceedings of the last Congress to lead the people to go back and read them all over again, if the newspapers should publish them subsequent to this time? It is a good policy on the part of the National Intelligencer. It threw out all these things when it wanted to occupy its columns with party matter for the purpose of affecting the presidential election. It was a very good party move; and now, when the excitement has passed away, and persons care very little about the political character and aspect of the paper, the Intelligencer, which, during the excitement that attended the presidential election, did not publish full debates, wants to publish now what nobody will read and the public do not want. Appeals have been made to me by gentlemen outside of the Chamber that the National Intelligencer cannot get along without some patronage. Very well. I like the National Intelligencer as a Whig paper; but if it cannot get along without such patronage, I am unwilling, as a Democratic Senator, to bestow it. I do not think we have any right to do it; and if we had the power, I do not think this would be the proper purpose for which, or the proper occasion upon which, to exercise it. This is my understanding of the proposition now before us; and for these reasons I shall vote against the resolution. Unless some one wishes to offer views on the other side, I move that it lie upon the table. If any gentleman wishes to say anything, I will withdraw it.

Mr. HAMLIN. I submitted the original resolution to increase the subscription for the number of the Congressional Globe and Appendix with which Senators are now furnished, upon the ground that while we expended so much money for the preparation of the debates in that form, I thought|| it advisable that Senators should have as many copies for distribution, or a greater number than is furnished to members of the House.

Mr. BORLAND. Will the Senator permit me to say that I concur with him fully? My remarks had no reference to his proposition.

Mr. HAMLIN. I understand. I was saying that these were the reasons which operated with me in offering the original resolution. The amendment offered by the Senator from California, I am aware, embraces other propositions than that contained in the resolution which I offered.

Mr. BORLAND. The resolution offered by the Senator in relation to the Congressional Globe and Appendix is not up for consideration. Mr. HAMLIN. What is up? Let the resolution be read.

Mr. GWIN. I will state to the Senator that his resolution was postponed until the next session.

Mr. HAMLIN. Then I was hanging a speech in the wrong place and on the wrong subject, though I do not know but that it would apply just as well. [Laughter.] I will therefore say nothing further.

Mr. GWIN. I have a few words to say in regard to the remarks of the Senator from Arkansas. I think he is mistaken in regard to the object of the resolution. I think that the portion of the debates which is proposed to be paid for, which were published during the last session, are the running current debates which were published daily. That portion of the debates which went extensively into the questions before the Senate, is not embraced in the resolution, if I understand it. The National Intelligencer published a very accurate daily report of the proceedings of the Senate; and I acknowledge that it is important to the country that such a report should be published in that paper. It is concise, leaving out a great deal of immaterial matter which passes here; but still I thought it useful. It is for that portion, which the resolution proposes to pay the editors. What follows is the official report as made out by the Globe and Union. That is to be published hereafter. The remarks made by the Senator to the effect that in the debates published by the Intelligencer during the last session, there were more Whig speeches than Democratic, are entirely outside of the proposition. It is now proposed that the debates which have heretofore been published in the Union and the Globe, shall be republished

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in the Intelligencer for which it shall get so much per column. It is to publish them just as they were reported in those papers; and it is to be paid for what it had reported; that is a succinct account of the proceedings of the Senate, in which, it seems to me, there was no reference to the political discussion further than was necessary in the publication of the debates that occurred in the Senate.

Mr. BRODHEAD. Some valuable speeches were published in the Intelligencer during the last session, and published too without reference to party character. I think all the leading speeches on the important questions at the last session which were delivered on both sides of the Chamber appeared in the Intelligencer. Such is my recollection. Now, sir, in my opinion, its editors abandoned the contract, which was similar to the one under which the Union has been reporting our proceedings, because it did not pay. They had a right to do that; but in view of the fact that the succinct publication of the proceedings of the Senate has been useful, I am willing to pay them for it. I am unwilling to go back and publish all the speeches which have been made during the last

session. I do not think that it was with a view to benefit the Whig party that the Intelligencer abandoned the contract which it had with the Senate for the publication of the debates at large. I differ from my friend from Arkansas on that point. The editors distinctly stated in their communication to the Senate that they asked to be released from their contract because it did not compensate them. I am therefore quite willing to pay them for what work they have done, but I am unwilling to go back and pay them for the publication now of all the speeches that were delivered during the last Congress.

Mr. MASON. The resolution in regard to an increase of the subscription for the Congressional Globe and Appendix, has been postponed until the next session. This, as I understand, is a proposition to publish the debates in the National Intelligencer. I recollect very distinctly that when our present system of publishing the debates as the expenses of the Senate originated, great doubts were generally expressed as to the propriety of such a system. There was then a contract made with the leading paper of each great political party at the seat of Government-the Union and the Intelligencer-to publish at a stated price per column, the entire debates of the Senate as fast as they were delivered. According to my impression, the contracts were complied with by both papers. They kept up the publication of the current debates, and did lay them before their readers generally the next day after they occurred-seldom later than the day after. At the close of the short session two years ago, the editors of the National Intelligencer informed the Senate that it was too onerous for that paper to continue the contract; that it did not compensate them. They therefore relinquished it, and voluntarily disconnected themselves from the Senate as one of our official reporters. Now the proposition as I understand it, is to authorize them again to publish the debates on the same terms, and pay them for what they have already published. I would have no objection, if gentlemen desire it, to continue the publication of the current debates in the Intelligencer, but I think there is no reason in the world either for ordering the publication of what has passed, or for paying them for what they have voluntarily published. That paper is one of the oldest papers at the seat of Government, and I have every reason to believe that it enjoys a most extensive general circulation not in this country only, but abroad. It is a paper conducted with great ability and it has remained for many years in very able hands. It is, as all papers in this country must be, a party paper, although it is conducted, I am free to say, with great decorum and courtesy to the opposing party. At the same time it is conducted with an exclusive eye to the interests of its party. I feel no party hostility towards it whatever. I believe that our country will not continue to be a republic, certainly not a republic in a sound and healthy condition, unless there are two parties-parties not having a tendency to degenerate into the party in power, and the party in opposition, but two parties such as constituted the dividing parties in this country half a century ago or less-parties opposed to each other upon