The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-12-19

for a cerian amount, to report in full, and PRINT,
aud publish daily, the proceedings of that branch
OF the legislature, has attracted good deal OF
attention, not only In the House of Representa-
tives, but among the newspaper press throughout
the country. The subject however, seems but
very imperfectly understood by the newspaper pro-
prietors and editors without the limits of Wash
ington and New York After little further con-
sheraton and discussion of its merits, we have
no doubt but its advantages will be fully appre-
ciated IN all quarters, and that some preliminary
action will be taken upon 1t, during the pre-
sent session, even if nothing positive should be
accomplished.
In the mean time, the proprletors of other papers
have also made proposals to the House of Repre-
sentatves, OF a similar nature. Among these we
perceive that the propretors of the Morning Er-
press of this city, have entered the lstswhich bid
has brought out the Evening Post, with consider
able violence, in Remuneration of the whole pro-
ject. The following well reasoned reply we give
at length from our contemporary, the Express, of
yesterday
The Erening Post, noticing bid of the CO partner
Of the Express newspaper for printing the debates Of
Congress, takes occasion to say
Orc Of this firm and Erastus Brooks
he Psuds s slni dv Ss nssns ten thou
ms '''''a 'n'' the p'''
The member elect" knew nothing Of the bid till
not member of this Congress, he could mpro-
priey in making the bid II there to be such
from public offer in It We do not, however, concur
with the Post nor with many other papers in lectur
string to have full and accurate reports OF the doinss
Of the House Of Representative when they
be had in Washington, unless they are paid for No
newspaper there and where unless sustained
by q large commercial patronage, can undertake to
report and print in fu the and .Deeches
of reporting ia great but the cost Of printing yet
grester:-and the two combined will sink any paper
in Washington, unless largely supported BY the public
Thatit is Of Importance to members OF Congress,
pse record Of every thing said and done in both
houfes Of Congress, no rejecting man we'll doubt.
The city of Washington is but small city, and the
attendance Of strangers upon Congress is small
and the country at large therefore learn nothing
of what is done there but through the public press.
is needed but only in psrtfor what is really want
ed is not the spirit alone but the record Of
great body Of the people; but it is not what such
country ours is entitled to. All other attempted
fiopal exceptions when extraordinary been
made have bee but caricstures in the main disowned
by ell the parties represented In them Members of
Congress, then naturally enough demand that they be
fairly fully represented before the public and the
only way in which it be done, Is for Congress to
recty paying in printing jobs fastened the public
trea.ury and what it has saved by putting the public
printing out to contract, will ten times pay the
| reporting Of congressional proceedings.
In making contract for reporting congressional
proceedings, Congress ought to guard against impoN
which the printer is at liberty to publish or not such
messages to Congress from the Presden ought not
to be paid for 'heud members of Congress be per-
mtted, after Congress adiourns, to publish such
speeches Mr. Benton published against Gen. Kear-
contract ought compel the publication of all the
speeches the morning after their delivery or else leave
the speech makers to pay for the publication at their
own expe nee.
The view presented here, and the reasoning of
our contemporary, appear very fair In reference to
the general object of reporting. We concur in the
material portion of this article IN reply to the
Epcning Post, and we hope that the members Of
the House of Representatives will give it that at.
ton which 1t merits. The Ne,c York Herald and
New York Express are, thus far, the only COMPETE
tors that have made any proposals of this kind to
the House of Representatives. OF course, In
making selection as to the organ best calculated
to carry out the object IN view, the Printing Com
mittee will naturally decide according to the cir
culatlon, capabilities, and reputation OF the two
journas and we are perfectly ga tisfied that legal
evidence, on oath, should be demanded by the
committee on these points, and quite willing to
abide the result of their decision. This is the
system now adopted by the Post Office Department
IN advertising letters which have not been called
for; and in pursuance of it, the Ne,c York Herald
and another paper, were, In consequence Of their
large circulation, appointed the official organs of
the Post Office Department. To be the official
organ, however, 70 reporting the debates of Con-
gress is very different thing from advertising un-
called tor letters. 1t requires corps of we-traned
and intellectual men, In various departments, and
the most powerful physical agencies and appli-
ances, to execute such an undertaking with that
efficiency which will give satisfaction to the ho-
norable body in whose service they may be engag-
ed, and meet the requirements and expectations,
not only of the intelligent population of this great
republic, but the earnest and anxious enquiries of
the struggling nations Of Europe and the world.
Ability, however, to do this in an efficient and
satisfactory manner, is not the only requisite
There must also be the means to circulate and ex-
tend these reports, so as to make them accessible
to the great bulk of our own people, and foreign
nations. Now, on this point, our respected coenl-
porary, the Erwess in an article intended as ex-
ceedingy severe against us, wishes the public to
believe that its circulation reaches nearly ii 900,
implying, no doubt, that 1t reaches that amount,
including its daily, seml-weekly and weekly issue.
That may or may not be the We did not
make such general statement. We confined our
selves merely to Its daily circulation; and ree-
rate what we stated before, that this ranges from
three to five thousand, more or ess-but averaging
about 800. IT, however, we take the general Is
sue Of the Express, as tie number claimed by our
contemporary, and estimate the daily and the weekly
circulation IN the same way, we shall have, even
without a semi-weekly paper, which-we do not
issue, and which our contemporary does-an amount
exceeding 10000 copies, and sometimes reaching
nearly $4,000. Our daily issue, at present, and
for long time past averages 81 600 % 900, and
not unlrequently the daily issue nearly reaches
10000