The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 292
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302
CONGRESSIONAL GLOBt.
in a ruinous condition, and an unfit place for the
transaction of the business of the custom house; and
that it must be either repaired, or another lot par-
chased, and a new building erected thereon; they
urge the purchase, by the government, as a fit build-
ing for a custom-house, of the Bank of the United
States, which, they say, can be had very cheap:
referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Mr. WOODBRIDGE presented a memorial from
a number of citizens of Branch county, Michigan,
praying a reduction of the rates of postage, espe-
cially on letters going the greatest distance, (which
they recommend be reduced to 10 cents,) and for
the abolition of the franking privilege.
Mr. W. made some remarks, to show the pro-
priety of reducing the postage on letters to 10 cents
for any distance, and the impropriety of abolishing
the franking privilege. The memorial was then
referred to the Committee on the Post Office and
Post Roads.
Mr. BENTON presented a memorial from Wheel-
ing, Virginia, signed by B. Fallour and numerous
other citizens of the United States, praying Con-
gress to pass a law giving to each of them ten years'
credit on one section of land, to be located m the
southern part of the State of Missouri, and northern
part of the State of Arkansas: referred to the Com-
mittee on Public Lands.
Also a petition from Lewis Davis, of Tennessee,
praying a pension for services rendered in two cam-
paigns in the last war: referred to the Committee on
Pensions.
Mr. ALLEN presented a memorial from Horace
Steele and other citizens of Lake county, Ohio,
praying _ the passage of a law restoring to widows
the pensions to which they were heretofore entitled
under a law of Congress, which will expire this
year: referred to the Committee on Pensions.
Also, a memorial from citizens of the county of
Erie, Ohio, praying that an act may pass granting
every white male inhabitant of the United States who
is entitled to vote, one hundred acres of land, on
condition that he will occupy and improve the
same for a period of six years: referred to the Com-
mittee on Public Lands.
Also, another petition from citizens of Muskin-
gum county, Ohio, asking for reform in the post
office system: referred to the Committee on the
Post Office and Post Roads.
Mr. ARCHER, from the Committee on Foreign
Relations, to which was referred the memorial of
Robert Greenhow upon the subject, reported a bill
for the purchase of certain copies of the History of
Oregon, California, and other territories on the
nortlnyest const of North America; which was read,
and the question being, shall it be ordered to a sec-
ond reading?
Mr. BENTON denounced the bill (which appro-
priates $3,000 for the purchase of 1,500 copies of
this work) as another attempt to enter into the book
printing business; which he had hoped an effectual
stop had been put to.
The bill, he said, not only proposed to make the
purchase, amounting to $3,000, but to distribute the
books to members of Congress. From what he had
seen on such subjects, he thought it was time to stop.
If this bill was passed, it would not stop here; for year
after year they would have propositions of the same
kind, proposing to distribute to members of Congress
who would come after them, (that they might be
on a footing with other members of Congress,) copies
of this work, until hundreds of thousands of dollars
would be drawn from the treasury. This practice
of printing books for distribution among members
of Congress he denounced as one of the most iniqui-
tous and most scandalous which had grown up in
Congress or the country. He then alluded to the
practice which had grown up under former distribu-
tutions of books. A Mr. Templeman, a seller of
congressional books and documents, he said, had been
in the habit of purchasing from members of Congress,
for the sum of §10, their chances for a copy of a work
which will cost Congress, when completed, some four
hundred thousand dollars. There were members
of the Senate [Messrs. Kmc? and Calhoun] so ut-
terly averse to the practice of distribution, that they
would not touch a copy of the works to be distribu-
ted. For himself, he utterly refused to receive a
copy of those books; and he should continue to re-
fuse. He hoped the thing would stop. The gentle-
man who prepared this work did it when he was
librarian m one of the departments under the gov-
ernment: and at the time he was receiving a salary
of«, 1.500 per annum from the government. He
compiled it from our own books. He knew it was
not usual to say anything on bills at the stage in
which the bill then was; but the enormity of the
practice of printing books for distribution was so
great, that he could not refrain from expressing his
abhorrence of it; and he gave notice to the senator
who reported the bill, that he would fight it
foot by foot, to the last stage of action upon it. Mr.
B. continued to denounce the practice which the bill
proposed to revive. So'much had he been opposed
to it, that he refused to receive a copy of the Madi-
son papers, authorized to be distributed to members
of Congress, as much as he stood in need of that
work. He purchased a copy for himself. He re-
iterated his determination to oppose the hill, inch by
inch.
Mr. ARCHER said that the honorable senator
from Missouri [Mr. Benton] had no need to give
to him or the senate notice of the mode in which
he intended to conduct any opposition to measures
coming before that body. It was the mode in which
he [Mr. Benton] fought this measure, and in which
he fought all measures which were not agreeable to
his political predilections. He (Mr. A.) hoped the
Senate would draw the inference from this, that the
senator [Mr. Benton] was not to be regarded as an
impartial arbiter on the merits of the book, a proposi-
tion for the publication of which was now submit-
ted to the consideration of the Senate. He agreed
that the practice of purchasing books for the use of
Congress had been abused. As a general rule, it
was the safest plan to avoid making these purchases.
But were there not cases of exception to this rule?
The Committee on Foreign Relations had thought
the present an exception, because it was expected
that within a few days a negotiation between this
government and Great Britain, in relation to the
territory of which this book gave a descrip-
tion, would be commenced. The senator
from Missouri [Mr. Benton] was known to be
intimate with the history and topography of that
territory; but how many members of either
house of Congress were so well informed upon the
subject? It might be necessary to go back hundreds
of years to investigate the Spanish title and the
claims of Great Britain. Were members prepared
for this? Had they time, or were they in a position
which would enable them to make researches them-
selves, which were here presented to them in a clear
and distinct form? The book was of essential im-
portance to Congress and to the country, though not
to the honorable senators on the other side of the
house, who had prejudged the matter, and declared
against any further negotiation between the two
governments, when it was our government that in-
vited the negotiation. This mode of attacking a bill
was unusual; and he hoped the Senate would re-
fuse to concur with the honorable Senator [Mr. Ben-
ton] in arresting the bill in its present state. When
it came up for its third reading, he thought he would
be able to sustain the propositions which he had
thrown out; till that time, he should refrain from
any further discussion on the subject; but would then
take the occasion to reply to the remarks of the
senator, [Mr. Benton.]
Mr. BENTON replied; and in doing which, stated
that the "work, if it was a valuable one, could be
purchased by the Library Committee, and placed
m the library for the use of the members, not on-
ly of the present Congress, but all those who might
follow them. There was an annual appropriation
of §5,000 under the charge of that committee, for
the purchase of books which they deemed useful.
He inquired of Mr. Tappan how much of that fund
was on hand.
Mr. TAPPAN replied, some four or five thou-
sand dollars.
Mr. CHOATE remarked, that there were out-
standing contracts which would absorb nearly, if
not quite, that amount.
Mr. BENTON remarked, that if the balance on
hand was not four or five thousand dollars as repre-
sented by the chairman of the Library Committee, the
annual appropriation of $5,000 would be soon made,
and such portion of that amount as was required
could be used by that committee in purchasing
this work to be placed in the library, if they
deemed it proper. If purchased by that committee,
they would be placed in the library, where they
would remain at all times for the use of members
of Congress, and others who may desire to read
them. "Mr. B. continued at some length to point
out the evils of the book-distributing system.
Mr. BUCHANAN said he happened to be a
member of this unfortunate Committee on Foreign
Relations; and, without having concurred in that
part of the. bill (for he had not . seen the bill be-
fore it was reported) giving to each member of Con-
gress one of those books, he most heartily con-
curred in the proposition to purchase a certain num-
ber of copies of this work. He was as strong an
advocate for our title to the Oregon Territory, and
should resist the alienation of a foot of that territo-
ry to any foreign power on earth, with as much en-
ergy and determination, as his friend from Mis-
souri, [Mr. Benton.]
[Mr. Benton from his seat: That's right, that's
right.] But in order to present our claim properly
before Congress and the country, it was ne-
cessary to have a compilation, such as that
contained in this book of Mr. Greenhow.
It was necessary to have it for the security
of our title to that country, and to relieve us
from the difficulties in which we had been involved
by our diplomacy, and by speeches on this floor.
If this government claimed by contiguity of terri-
tory, we were confined to the 49th parallel of lati-
tude; if it claimed under the treaty of Utrecht, we
were confined to the 49th parallel of latitude; if it
claimed under the discovery of the mouth of the
Columbia river, we were confined to the valley of
the Columbia. The only mode by which this gov-
ernment could make its title good to the whole terri-
tory of Oregon, up to 54° 40' of north latitude, was
to claim under the old and good Spanish title. He be-
lieved he had read every speech which had been
made on that subject. He had examined every
document he could find; and he undertook to say
that, by the indefatigable perseverance and industry
of Mr. Greenhow, copies of old Spanish documents,
and journals of voyages bearing strongly in fav^r
of our title, which had never yet been presented in
a distinct or strong form, by the people of the United
States to the world, had been collected and embodied
in the work. It was utterly impossible that a work
of this character, containing a large and minute
compilation of facts and dates, comprising centuries,
could be published at the expense of Mr. Green-
how. He (Mr. G.) had already, as he had been
informed, and as there was no reason to doubt,
expended a great part of his means in making this
compilation. It had been very skilfully arranged,
and it was a book highly creditable to Mr. Green-
how. At this particular crisis, when a treaty was
under negotiation on this question of title, was the
information contained in this book, which it was
poposed to place in the public libraries, and lay be-
fore the people of the United States, to be denied by
Congress? That Mr. Greenhow could not afford
to publish the book at his own individual expense,
was perfectly clear. He (Mr. B.) would not take a
book to be paid for by the government.
He would buy the book himself. He would not
accept any such work at the expense of Congress.
[Here Mr. BENTON said from his seat: The
right hand of good fellowship to you for that.]
He would vote for copies of the book to be placed
in the library of Congress and distributed amongst
the public libraries and people of the States in such
a manner as will afford the most extensive informa-
tion. He should never consent that this man should
suffer, in consequence of his able and successful
exertions to sustain the right of his country to the
Oregon Territory. He repeated, that this work, in
his opinion, fully established the validity of the old
Spanish title to the whole northwest coast of Amer-
ica between 42° and 54° 40' north latitude; and
this title we had acquired from Spain under the
treaty of 1819. It had extricated that portion of this
territory north of forty-nine degrees from the em-
barrassed position in which it had been placed by the
blundering diplomacy of our negotiators and the
blundering speeches of our statesmen.
He had not expected that the second reading of
this bill, which was generally a mere matter of
course, would be opposed. He was one of those
who had always stood up against the purchase of
books, to be given to members of Congress; but
when a great work like this of science and historical
research, not calculated for general sale, or for gen-
eral use, and which demonstrated our title to the
Oregon Territory, waspresented, he would make^ucli
a case an exception from his general rule against
subscribing for any books. The object to be ac-
complished was one of vast importance; the whole
expense to be incurred was §3000 for the pur-
chase of fifteen hundred copies of the work. He,
at least, was willing by his vote to subscribe thfc
amount out of the public treasury, for the purpose
of disseminating information among the people, on
a subject of vital importance to their interest and
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2367/m1/316/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.