The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-06-02


mittee and previously to doing So he wouldread the
resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be- and
he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ a
corps of Reporters not exceeding five in number, Tor
The residue of the present session. and at tie COM
mencement Of each succeeding session of Congress,
to report the proceedings and substance of the de-
bates of the Senate, who shall be sworn affirmed
faithfully to discharge the duties of their Office, and
shall be allowed compensation, to be paid out OF
the fund for contingent expenses not exceeding sixty
dollars per week for the principal Reporter and fifty
dollars per week for each of the Others. The bus-
of reporting shall be conducted that the en-
tire report of the proceedings and debates of each
day, SHALL within three hours after the adjournment
be placed in the hands of the printer The Pubica-
ton of the report shall be committed to publish
ers of such one of the daily papers, as will engage
free from all charge, first to publish the entire report
in their daily paper secondly to furnish proof slips
thereof to any other paper in the District Of Column
ba and, thirdly, to furnish two copies of the report
for the of each member of the Senate by nine
o'clock on the ensuing morning.
Resolved, That seat on the floor of the Senate
shall be assigned to the Reporter actually duty by
the President of the Senate.
Mr. b. proposed to amend the first resolution to the
effect that five copies of the reports shall be furnished
for the Office of the Secretary of the Senate.
The amendment was agreed to; and the question
stated agreeing to the resolutions, as amended
when
Mr.. SMITH, of Indiana, said that he decided
y opposed to the scheme in all its lorms, and therefore
he would ask for the yeas and nays.
Mr. KING said that he was in favor of employing
corps of Reporters that the proceedings of the Sc
nate might be fairly presented to the country but II
the resolution in its present form should be adopted,
there would be some disadvantages attending the con-
summation Of the object which they had in view. 1t
appeared to him that the Chairman had not looked
into the subject properly In the first place. five Re-
porters were to be appointed by the Secretary
There individual responsibility, but each was
left to act for himself In his opinion, it would be
better that principal Reporter should be employed,
with the privilege of employing four five others,
to be under his superintendence and thus the whole
matter would be regulated by an individual in whom
could be placed the greatest confidence The object
TO make the reports of the proceedings public !;
but if there printer here to do So the whole
matter would fall to the ground after ncurring the
expense of employing Reporters.
Mr.. BAYARD would remark that there would be
want of the responsibility which the Senator from
Alabama apprehended. The resolution proposed the
employment of principal Reporter, who, in some
measure, would overlook the others but this was a
matter of detail. The Secretary to that the
duties be properly performed and he might employ
principal and leave the principal to employ the Others
any Senator should not be satisfied with the reports
of one of the assists ants then let him give infor-
quent could be discharged at any moment The Re-
porter was to hold his Office from day to day, or
from week to week, the duration of his employment
depending on the appointing officer. II was not
necessary. in resolutions of this kind, to enter
into details in its practical bearing the respon-
sbility was included The Secretary was RESPONSE
BILE for efficient corps of reporters and of course
the corps would be responsible to him. With re-
gard to other matters the committee would not have
ventured to make report on mere conjecture, but
L \ IL Al ouk H.
sition suggested in July, l841, by Messrs. Gales &
Seaton, who submitted this very projects and after
considering this as well the project of Mr. Jona-
than Elliott the committee concluded that this
the best mode in which the object desired could be
attained. 1t very manifest, as his friend (Mr.
King) said, that it would be useless to employ
corps of reporters unless the reports published
Their publication by the Senate would involve an ex
pense double that which now contemplated, but
the proposition made former occasion by
Messrs. Blair and Rives would relieve the Senate
from that difficulty; and the project is in these
words:
a. The Senate to select, by ballot or otherwise,
FIVE reporters, who shall be sworn to give faithful re-
portsof the proceedings ofhe Senate and the remarks
Of the Senators; g. They will take notes in success
sion, and when their turn is completed, shall retire
from the Senate Chamber, and prepare their copy for
the printer that the copy for the whole days pro-
ceedings may be in his hands within three hours after
the adjournment"
Mr.. B. said it would thus be seen that Blair and
Rives, practical men, considered the object feasible
The reporters could each be employed twenty lhir
ty fSen twenty, fory or y-ive minutes, taking
IN succession and writing out his notes when he
retired and by this all the copy could be
placed in the hands of the printer short time after
The adjournment of the Senate. The report goes on
to say thai
Blair & Rives will engage to publish the entire
debates of the sessions of the present (21th) Con-
gress as handed to them by the Senate reporters, in
their daily paper. They will engage that the paper
shall be put to press within an hour and half from
the period that the last copy furnished ard in five
hours from the time of adjournment, one hundred
and four copies of the paper will be ready 10 be de-
lvered the order Of the Secretary of the Senate
or they will be delivered by nine O'Clock in the morn
ing, at the Senate Chamber free of all charge to the
Senate. The proceedings will be subsequently pub
lished, unconnected with any other matter tut Con-
gressiona proceedings, in quarto form, suitable for
binding, and such Senators prefer it, may have
equivalent for their daily copies in that FORM
:" Blair & Rves will also engage to furnish the
proof slips Of the proceedings to any paper in this
District which will enter into agreement to publish
them entire"
Senate, which would enable full and faithful report
of their proceedings to be published the evening
of the day in which they occurred and Of two copies
of the paper containing them to each Senator, would
be $3.50 per week; $3,250 per session Of three
months; $500 per session of six months or an ave-
rage of $4,875 per session. or per annum.''
Mr.. SMITH, of Indiana said that he would modi-
fly the motion which he had made. AS no good could
grow cut of the adoption of the resolutions he would
by way of test VOTE move to lay them the table
and he called for the yeas and nays, which we're or
dered
Mr.. BUCHANAN would just say that he would
vote for the proposition to lay the resolutions the
table, not because he was opposed to them, but be-
cause he anxious that the Senate should proceed
to the orders Of the day.
Mr.. KING said that he would vote to lay the re-
solutions the table but as they merely required
some notification the proper course was topass them
over informally until tomorrow.
Mr.. BAYARD remarked that he would be per-
fecty satisfied if the resolutions should be laid on the
table until tomorrow.
The question was then taken on the motion of Mr..