The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-06-15
DISTRIBUTION OF THE 10TH VOLUME OF
THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Mr.. GORDON submitted the following:
"REPORT:


make the following report;
The committee was appointed, and its duties pre-
scrbed, by the following resolution:
".Rs,olO,d That select nues Of three be appoint
ed 10 inquire into the pubca ion Of tenth volume OF the
LaV Of the United states and OF the copy Of said laws
number of copies Of said volume where they can procure
the best edition, at tho lowest price"
| In conformity with the directions in the first
branch of said resolution the committee proceeded
TO inquire into the publication of tenth volume Of
the Laws Of the United States, and Of the copy of
said laws as authorized by the last Congress"
| They asceualned that nine volumes containing
the laws had been published and distributed IN all
parts of the Union by authority Of Congress, pre-
Vlous to the year 1910. That, at the first session
Of the 28lh Congress, the laws had accumulated
IN pamphlet form since the publication Of the ninth
volume, that 1t became necessary that tenth vol
ume should be compiled and the Clerk Of the
House OF Representatives was directed, by resolu-
ton OF the House, To cause tenth volume TO be
compiled and printed. In compliance with this res
oluuon, Caleb J. McNulty, then clerk Of the House
directed his chief clerk, Is. b. French, TO compile a
tenth volume of the Jaws. Mr.. French proceeded
to perform the duty thus assigned to him, and du-
ring the recess between the first aud second sessions
OF that Congress, It was faithfully performed by
compilation of the laws up TO the close Of the first
session Of the 2Sth Congress.
During the second session Of the 2sth Congress,
a resolution passed both houses, and became a
law, authorizing the Attorney General of the Uni
ted States contract with "Little & Brown for one
thousand copies Of their proposed edition Of laws
and treaties Of the United States at price not
exceeding three dollars and fifty cents vol
ume." The resolution then proceeds 20 specify win
great exactness the manner in which said edition
shall be published, and among other things provides
that the general laws are TO be contained in
ToUR OCTAVE volumes, and the private laws and
treaties IN two additional octave yolumes-maklng
Sr volumes in ALL The resolution also provides that
these volumes shall not contain less than 800 super
royal pages with very wide text, and a marginal
syllabus Of each section.
In compliance with this resolution the Attor.
ney General entered into a contract with Little d
Brown to publish the said sir volumes; but neither
the joint resolution nor the contract FIX the time to
which said publication shall be brought down, and
the inference is irresistible that IL intended
that 30 many Of the laws and treaties should be
published could be contained in six volumes
Of 800 pages each, upon such type, and in such
j form as the resolution specifies Nothing is con-
tanned IN the resolution, the contract TO give the
least "color TO the idea" that Little d Brown
tracted ", or that any monopoly of the publica-
lion OF the laws was to be granted TO them beyond
the strict letter of the law and contract.
After the joint resolution above referred to be-
came law, the House of Representatives, no doubt
under the erroneous impression that all the laws and
| treaties up to the commencement of the 18th Con-
gress would be contained in the sir polnes thus au-
thorized rescnded the resolution directing the clerk
to compile tenth volume.
The copy prepared by Mr.. French, while chief
clerk under Mr.. McNulty, was then in his hands
as clerk of the House, and was laid aside by him
as was tepaper
During the recess between the 18th and 29th Con-
crosses, Messrs. Daniel Gold and SIMON Brown, real
zing, in the course Of business, the necessity Of
r. ~ IL
animation Of the joint resolution Of Cangress, (Mr.
Brown being practical printer, and came to the
following conclusion:
| LIST. That it would not be possible for Little &
Brown to publish all the laws and treaties, to the
end Of the 2sth Congress, in sir volumes.
Cd. That, as only 1000 copies were contracted
for, and it had for many years taken l,60O copies
necessary for the United States to purchase the GOO
additional copies Of the entire edition, if tenth vol
ume Of the Bioren edition should not be published.
! 3d. That, the United States already owned
600 copies Of the nine volumes, which were dis
tributed all over the Union, and the whole legal
profession Of the United States is supplied with vol
umes Of laws conforming to the said nine volumes
Of the government edition, It would be almost inds-
pensabe that tenth volume Of that edition should
be published.
| 4th. That, az all The references in the public doc
| umens, reports OF committees in Congress, and de-
clsions of the Supreme Court Of the United States,
&c, were to Bioren's edition, it would cause great
trouble and confusion to give up that edition at
once, and supply its place with any other.
| With these views, they came to the conclusion to
compile, on their own responsibility, and as au IN
divldual enterprise, tenth volume of the laws, uni
form with the Bioren edition.
| Mr. Gold being the chief clerk in the Office of
the clerk of the House, and knowing that the copy
compiled by Mr. French was lying as waste pa.
per in the Office, asked permission to make use
| of ~ h,cb
sion granted. The compilation was completed
by Messrs. Gold and Brown, and from the matter
thus compiled a tenth volume of the laws of
the United States, containing all the laws and treaties
from 1910 to lS45, published by Messrs. j. q
G. s. Gideon, Of the city of Washington, at their
| own risk and upon their own responsibility; after
which the said copy, completed, was returned to
the clerk of the House (The committee will here
remark that the careful preservation of the Bioren edi-
ton seems indispensable to the public convenience.
Messrs. Little & Brown have already delivered
Ave octave volumes of their edition, which purports
to contain all the public statutes Of the United
States up TO the first session of the present Con-
| gress. The private laws and treaties have not been
delivered. Those contractors must necessarily over
their contract for they are bound by 1t to deliv
| err but four poittnes of public lava, one volume of
private laws, and one volume oftreaties. The com.
mttee, however, will do them the credit to say
that the typographical execution Of the work is in
all respects, SO far they have examined, in con-
'ormy with the contract, and is very creditabe to
the publishers
The committee could not shut their eyes upon
the controversy which had grown up between Lit,
tie & Brown and the publishers Of the tenth volume,
and they proceeded to inquire into all the crcum
stances attending it, and, from the best information
they have been able to obta n, they do not hesitate
to express the opinion that the publication Of the
tenth volume was undertaken without the most dis
tant idea of interfering with the contract or the
work Of Messrs. Little e. Brown; and, in justice
TO Mr.. French, the clerk of this House, the
committee will state that they have the most con-
elusive evidence that he permitted the copy com
piled by himself to be used from no motives
other than those of friendship and good will to the
gentleman who requested Of him the liberty to use
it; that he has no interest whatever in the pubca-
lion Of the tenth volume, and that the same was
published without any advice from, consultation
whatever with him, except so far as relates to the
loan Of part of the copy from which the pubica-
/ lion made