Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1850-05-10
into executive session. Agreed to.
The Senate spent some time in execu-
tive session, and then adjourned.
IfoUsE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

1--WE session, ana tEen adjourned.
HoUsE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Mr.. Thompson of Ky. was excused
from service on the committee to inves.
tigate the condition of the public printing
and another gentleman was appointed in
his place
Mr.. McLane asked the unanimous con
sent of the House to allow the Senate bill
on the Speakers table, amendatorv of
the act establishing the mint, to be taken
up and passed. The act, he said, mere
ly allows the Secretary of the Treasury
to dispo-e Of the money in the various
repositories by transferring it to the
mint, whercit was greatly wanted for
the purpose of purchasing the bullion
arriving from California, which was being
carried to England, because there was
not sufficient money in the mint, under
the existing laws, to make purchases.
Mr. Toombs, of Ga, objected.
On motion of Mr.. p. King, of New
York, The rules were suspended and the
House resolved itself into Committee of
the Whole on the State of the Unon.-
(Nr. Thompson, of Miss, in the Chair
census bill
Mr.. Steple ems, of Georgia, spoke an
hour in denial of the consti utional power
of the federal government to gather the
statistics, such as was provided for by this
bill
Mr.. Thompson, Of Pa. followed in re-
ply, and dcfcn ed the bill, when, after
word or two from Mr. Jones, of Tenn,
the committee of the whole referred TO
struck from the bill that relating to the
authorlsing of statistics--by ntvote of
40 in the affirm tive and 9Sin the mega
tive.
Mr. Morse spoke in favor of rejecting
the bill unless amended by dispensing
with the statistics
Nusrel GUS unimrortant propositions
to amend were male and voted down.
Then the House, at o'clock, adjourned.
Correspondence of the Charleston Courier.
WAsnINeroN, May l..
The House made some progress will,
the Census bill yesterday, and to-day
the debate i'll Committee Of the whole is
to be stopped. Mr.. Vinton has brought
, forward an important proposition in re-
ference to eapportionmcnt of RcpreSen-
tativcs under the new Census. He pro-
: poses that the number of Representa-
shall be limited to two hundred, and The
Secretary of the interior shall fix the
ratio accordingly Heretofore, the ratio
has been fixel by Congress, and the, c
has always been. a struggle between the
States with small and nearly stationary
$ population, with the more populous and
rapidly growing States. The ratio, now
seventy six thousand, will, under MIR. Vim
\ tons plan, be brought up to nearly one
$ hundred and twenty thousand. The
;. present number of Representatives is two
hundred and thirty, to which mc soon tc
be added, two or more from California
8 and two more from each Of the North
@ western Territories, soon to become
States. Mr.. Vinton's plan will fix th,
whole number of Representatives, from
. all States that may he in the Union after
> the next apportionment at two hundred
Y which will Le a considerable, and as some
j, suppose, desirable reduction. The
[ liousc Will become a more managerial,
body with a reduced number, and III,
. m. mbers elected will be perhaps, men q
Z. more weight of character. The Suutherr
i States which continue their efficient mem
bets in the House for number of year,
in succession, while the Northern and
\ Western State, change theirs every two
r or four years, will gain in influence, rath
er than lose, 6y the proposed reduction
The Senate have been again engaged
n in an animated discussion of the bill tc
y grant public lands 10 the State of Illinois
G IN aid of the construction of the Ceilra
Rail Road. The debate has involved The
question of Internal Improvement by the
general Government. and also the dispo,
sition of the public lands. We have 4
number ofland projects before Congress
and some Of them provide for the mol,
general division OF the spoil among all the
States. The older Stales put in THEN
G claim to fair share of the common D,
r perty. and not without some reason. mr.
Clay's old plan Of distributing the pro-
ceeds OF the sa'es of the public lands
among the States iSnbout 10 be revived
We learn something more definitely OF
4 fha nf ,ka ,,,...