The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-08-25

and he l. hereby directed TO submit 70 TINS house,
,hs commencement Of the neIt session, an esl'n-
of a sum OF money which may be necessary 70 os"ay
he expenses Of collecting the public rssenos va,
a. l..ve given. Mr.. MOORE, Of La, oaerrd the
s,lIoy,ing resolution which was adopted
p..ogr<a That the Committee the Post once
"a Pea Roads be instructed 10 inquire into Inc e.F
dieney Of changing the route between NatchsL, "h
sissipo. and HaIrsonburg, Louisiana, 90 A. 70 iu,
once week by Waterproof Landing ana Ssen ~ =.
~ and once week by Flowery Mound ana inhi-
.nd also Of establishing post route on Inc "es'
.ide Of the river Mississippi in the Stale Of
from Port Adams 10 Lake Providence ris 'iuAA'
Richmond, and MIiken's Bend
On leave given, Mr.. COWEN offered the follow
ing resolution, which. giving rise TO depAie' was %
defed 10 lie over
RssoIrsd by the Senate and House Of RePrsssnsa-
tirss Of ne United Safes II America an tong1ess
assembIed That the President Of the United STATES
he and he hereby IL, requested TO cause suen ipfui
ries and examinations to be made as ne may oee e.
redient to enable Congress TO ascertain inc mos'
sbe situation for the establishment OF western ar
mor, in the Western and Southwestern States, and
communicate the information collected by said nqui
- and ex Nominations 10 Congress al the melt session
thereof and that the of five thousand dollars e
and that the same Is hereby, appropriated TO deiray
the expenses of such inquiries and EXAMINATIONS, 70
be paid out Of any money in the Treasury not o'hef
M. BOARLMAN, from the Committee on Pub
lie Buildings and Grounds, made the following re-
pou;
The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds,
10 whom was referred the petition Of the soDecntters
and other workmen on the public buildings at Wash
ington praying appropriation for the continuance
Of said buildings report That, agreeabiy 10 order
they have had said petition under consideration and
are opinion that the prayer thereof ought not TO be
granted The Comm ttee satisfied that the pe'i-
suba al
no, deemed advisable grant them the relief asked,
because the designs for the works spoken OF 10 the Pc
tition are completed and approved nor the mate
rial Of which they are 10 be constructed determined
on nor l. is probable they will be during the present
session. the rules Of proceeding Of this House prom
biting the Committee from entering upon The console
ration these subjects al present because u those
designs and plans were perfected and approved anu
the material determined on, the COMMITTEE are deei1
dedy OF opinion that the construction should be made
by contract much the hes, plan which has been or
can be devised for the construction OF public buildings
Ii nsures their completion at much earlier period and
at much Lees expenditure Of the public treasure The
Committee ask to be discharged from the further con-
sideration Of the petition.
The report laid an the table and ordered to be
printed
Mr. SAUNDERS, from the Committee on the Ju-
dietary whom had been referred the joint resolution
from the Senate providing for the distribution OF the
printed returns OF the sixth census reported the
pies which was concuned in
The amendment ordered 10 be engrossed
And the bill having been ordered to third read
ing at this time was read third time and passed.
Mr.. BIDLACk suggested TO the chairman of the
Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads Mr..
Bnggs) to move 10 90 into Committee Of the w hole
on ofthe Union, for the purpose of taking up
the bill making appropriations Tor the Post Ohce De-
partment. He Mr.. Bidlack) did not feel exactly au-
Ihorized submit that motion though he felt inclined
IN do 1 tho IN no
On motion Of Mr.. TlLLlNGHAST, the House
resolved itself into Committee of the Whole on the
state of the Union, MIR Everett of Vermont, in the
chair
Mr.. TlLLINGHAsT moved that the Committee
take up the joint resolution providing for the dstrbu-
ton OF The Digest of Patents.
Mr.. BRIGGS moved that the Committee take up
the bill making appropriations for the Post Office De-
partment.
Mr. GILMER moved that the Committee take up
the bill providing Tor placing the statue of Washing
ton IN the Rotundo of the Capitol
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
The motion Of Mr. BRIeos having prevailed, the
committee proceeded the consideration of House bill
No. 80, which is as follows
A BILL to make appropriations for the Post Office
Department.
Be ii enacted by the Senate and House Of Repre-
sentatires Of the United States Of America in Com
gress assembled, That the sum of four hundred and
dollars be- and the is hereby appropriated out Of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated
TO enable the Post Office Department to meet its
gageinens and pay It's debts, to be accounted for In
the manner prescribed in the second section of the
8 10 change the organization OF the Post Office
Department, and 10 provide more eifectually for the
settlement of the accounts thereof, PASSED July 2,
1886
The bill having been read
MIR. BRIGGS (from data before him, not in the
possession of the Reporter) explained the condition of
the Department and the necessity with reference to
it, Of granting this appropriation upwards of two hun
d led and sixty thousand dollars of which had
fallen due prior TO and within the quarter ending
March 3ist, beyond any means in the power of the
Department to meet the demand.
This Mr.. Il believed, the first time in the his
tory of the Department when such appropriation
had been called for He did not know, however, but
that such bill Ito. an amount not heard by the Re
porter had been reported some years ago. As prin-
cple he thought that the Post Office Department
should defray its expenses, and should not,
matter of principle, draw money from the common
Treasury To charge the expenses of the Depart
ment upon the general Treasury would he believed,
be dangerous principle. But this was not proposed
to he done
The Department from time 10 time since its organi-
zation had paid into the common Treasury one million
one hundred and three thousand and sixty three dol
lars, without having drawn cent from II that,
at this time, the Treasury Of the United States was
actually indebted TO the Post Office Department in
that amount a portion of which amount was now call
ed for to relieve the Department and enable il TO meet
its immediate necessities.
II any gentleman had scruples as to voting for this
bill on the ground that The principle was new, he could
propose an amendment either providing that the De-
partment should account for this loan cut of its own
funds or from the funds heretofore paid by into
the Treasury Of the United States, out Of its own
receipts
The facts which he had stated would be sufficient
he tn meet any wi ich mi he
urged Yet even this appropriation he would
make but for the pressing nature of the case
and for the gross injustice done to the creditors Of this
Department. For these reasons, Mr.. b. strongly