Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-03-13
WEDNESDAY, MARCH TO, 1852.
IN SENATE.

Mr.. DOWNS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to
which referred the message of the President of the
United States communicating report from the Secretary
of the Interior respecting the delay and difficulty in max
ing the apporonment among the several States of the
Representatives in the Thirty Congress- required
by the act of 23d May, 1885, in consequence of full
suggesting the necessity for remedial legislation, submit
ted the following report which ordered to be printed
The of the failure to receive full returns from
California and the difficulty in making the apportionment
thus stated by the Secretary OF the Interior in his
report to the President:
Full returns have been received from the agents engaged
in taking the in all the States except California Com
pete have been received from nineteen counties in
that State and partial returns from five Others viz Butte
cramento San Joaquin, Trinity and Tuolumne From the
remaining four counties viz Klamath Santa Clara Contra
Costa and San Francisco, whatever have been
ceved Information has been communicated to the Depart
the effect that the Of these counties duly
taken but that the schedules destroyed by Of the
conagraon which laid great part the city Of San Fran
cisco in ashes No copies Of these schedules preserved
and there is no legal means of supplying the loss occa
stoned by their destruction.
The power vested in the Secretary the Interior to make
the apportonnent is entirely ministerial He act only
after full returns shall have been received and he must act
upon the whole subject at He only act the
Official returns and he resort TO secondary evidence TO
ascertain the population Of any State 1t is obvious there
FORE that an nsuperabe obstacle performance
the duty devoved upon this Department and win be for the
wisdom Of Congress to devise the remedy"
And he suggests the following the modes in which
this difficulty may be obvated:
In rejecting upon the subject three modes Of overcoming
the difficulty have presented themselves to my mind The
first Is for Congress to decide itself upon the best
ence which IL can obtain the probable population
California the LIST Of june $780, and to direct the
be made that basis secondly authorize this
Department 10 secondary testimony prove the
tents nearly may be practicable Of the schedules which
have been destroyed thirdly the which
have been received final
All these modes are practicable and think il probable
that substantial justice might be done by either Of the two first
named"
The first mode here suggested it is thought is pract-
he ed ouf in N do ;pa.
tice TO the two States California and South Carona)
interested and be in compliance with the provisions
of the constitution and the act of 1850, providing
for taking the census, document No. y and the
report above quoted shows that returns have been recev
ed from all the counties Of California except fourContra
Costa Klamath San Francisco, and Santa Clara. The
committee conclude, from the documents before them,
that it mistake in Document No. to state that
Klamath was, at the time the was taken, one
of the counties of California No such county
in the list Of counties taken from the printed journals OF
the State Doe No. in the tables and list Of coun-
ties and population from the Census Bureau TO
the Senate from California the 18th February, 1852
doc No. 50 This is Of the many discrepancies in
the statements from the Census Bureau which have much
perplexed and added to the labors of the committee
there be, then but three counties from which there
returns sent 10 the Secretary Of the Interior the popu
laton Of these counties be ascertaned and have
deed been asceraned by evdence which may not only be
relied on, but is official and authentic and in strict
formiy TO the act Of 1850 for taking the That
act provides, Sec 81 in defining the duties Of the
shas in returning the statements Of their deputies He
shall dispose Of the two sets Of returns required from
the assistant marshsls hereinafter provided for
follows One set he sha transmit forthwith to the Sec
rotary of the Interior and the other copy thereof he
shall transmit to the Office of the Secretary Of the State
or Territory 70 which his district belongs" Such
turn as is here required by the marshal
agent Of California the Secretary Of State Of that
State in April 1851 before thelosrcturns destroyed
by fire. doc No 6.) In this return the population of
the three counties from which returns were sent 70
Washington we're stated rs follows;
San Francisco 21 900
Contra Costa . 100
Santa Clara 1902