The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-07-16

III
Of sch notes. bonds tickets issued by such party
within the term of year from and after the last
day of December next and annually thereafter.
And the said oath affirmation shall be ad mister
I'd by such collector attorney, and the entry shall
subscribed, in Duplicate by the person making the
same.
Sec 81. find be it further enacted, That it shall be
The duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to establish
rules and regulations to secure just and faithful col
lection OF the said duties ahd that the existing laws
Tor collecting the mpost duties and for the recovery
collection, distribution, and remission OF all nnes,
penalties, and forfeitures shall extend to and be IN
force for the collection Of said duties, as fully ana
ehecually if they had been inserted in and re-en-
acted by this act.
Mr.. CUSHING moved to strike out the twenty
nfth section Itself. On this motion leers were
'rdered-when 70 voted in the affirmative and
los in the negative.
Mr.. ROOSEVELT moved TO slrke from the 25th
section the words the propiso to the sixth Sec
ZION Of so as TO repeal not merely the proviso
ia the Distribution act, but the whole act. The
motion was negalived.
Mr.. JOHNSON, of Maryland, offered an amend
ment curing an annual statement OF the
number of officers employed in he collection of
the customs, and directing that their salaries
should be paid directly from the Treasury.
When the bill had been read through, the
committee rose.
and without taking vote the House adj
journed.
In the Sc ate, the PRESIDENT pro tenn laid be-
fore the body communication from the War Depart
nent y compliance with resolution of the 5Ih in
5tan enclosing Information relation TO the survey
of Lake Erie
Mr. CALHOUN presented memorial from ct-
of Florida praying for the admission of that Ter
rtory into The Union, and donations of land TO armed
settlers; which referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Mr.. SMITH, from the Committee on Public
Lands to which had been referred the opinion of the
Secretary Of War that the lead mines in the State of
Illinois and the Territories Of Iowa and Wisconsin
could be sold under existing laws other public
lands, and to whom were also referred various memo
rails relative the sale of the mineral lands said
State and Territories, reported bill upon the sub
ect He said that majority Of the Committee con-
sidered it very doubtful TO say the least, whether any
such authority existed by law at this tlme main
tanned by the Secretary of War; and they all
Cured fully in the opinion that no sale should take
place under doubtful powers. The committee had
nstruc ed him report bill provide for asceraining
and disposing of the mineral lands. He not
that would prove satisfactory to the Senate,
but it imbodied the views of ma ority Of the
mittee. The subject had been found to be diffcu
one and, when the bill up for action he should
call the especial attention Of the body to its provis
ions in the meantime it would be printed, and Sem
nifty of giving to it their deliberate consideration.
The bill to confirm claims to lands in the district
between Rio Grande and Sabine river was engrossed
for third reading.
The bill directing an edition of the laws of the
United States to be compiled and printed, and for
the distribution thereof taken up for considera-
ton.
Mr.. KING thought that they could get along very
well with the laws at present printed, and there
fore, in his opinion, the bill had better lie over unless
Senators were anxious to discuss it.
Mr.. TAPPAN urged the Importance of the bill
it extremely difficult, if at all possible, for
persons wishing to obtain complete sets of the laws
of the United States to procure them.
MIR. BERRIEN followed upon the same side.
Mr.. ALLEN thought that the laws ought to be re-
vsed and condensed, brought to half their pre-
sent FORM and made Ineligible to the people. AS
they now were, it was impossible for professional
men to understand them properly. One law referred
to another the second to third, third to fourth
and fourth to fifth, and so fIom the first to the
last.
Mr.. BERRIEN said that the report accompanying
the bill had in view revision and compilation OF the
laws heretofore published, with the exception Of
character.
The report was then read.
MIR. ALLEN resumed his remarks, in the course
of which h. said that compilation of the fag ends of
laws would still leave the construction Of them
ter Of equvocation and doubt. His desire was to
imbody all the laws relating to subject into one
law, to be enacted and passed upon by Congress-
SO that they might be rendered plain and explicit
Mr.. BEKRlEN remarked that the object of the
resolution heretofore submitted by the Senator from
OHIO (Mr. Tappan) which the Committee on
the Judiciary had brought in the bill for that purpose
was to procure the compilation and printing of the
laws for the benefit of those who were required
to execute and to obey them But if the plan of the
Senator (Mr. Alen) should be adopt d, it would take
years for its completion.
Mr. ALLEN had asked whether it would not he
better not TO incur the expense of npiling and
printing the laws as now proposed, and to wait until
they could be revised in the manner which he had
suggested. He inquired Of the Chairman of the
committee what the expense would be according to
the bill now before them.
MIR. BERRIEN read portion of the report, from
which it appeared that the cost would be 81 50
page for six hundred copies, and ~ cents page for
all copies above that number Suppose there were
500 copies the cost would be about thousand dol
lars exclusive of the expenses of compiling and bind
ing TIE cost Of which, probably would be s., $50 in
all The work would make perhaps two volumes,
but if it should be increased to three vo umes, the
expense would, of course, be augmented. The plan
suggested by the Senator from Ohio would involve
expense of from ten to twelve thousand dollars
MIR. BUCHANAN said that he had used Gordon's
Digest of the Laws of the United States and had al
ways found without the slightest difficulty, in that
one vo ume all that he desired He agreed with the
Senator from Alabama, that they could get along
nv we'll until the next session of Congress, with the
laws as they were now to be found and therefore,
he moved to lay the bill upon the table.
On the question belng taken, the motion dis
agreed to.
Mr. TAPPAN moved to amend the bill by striking
out several sections in relation to the printing, and in
serting clause that it shall be given out by contract
to the lowest bidder; and the amendment was
adopted.
Mr. KING submitted few remarks in opposition
to the bi l. and the printing of books for distribution
among members Of Congress.
Mr. BERRIEN replied and
Messrs WOODBRIDGE and PORTER spoke in
favor of printing fifteen hundred copies of the work
proposed
The bill was then fra led as TO provide for print