Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1856-04-19
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, March 80.

Tor the scene OF their operations. blf. Sherman,
Chairman, is in Ohio. Mr.. Howard goes by the
way of Detroit, his residence, where he will spend
a week, and then meet Mr.. S. at Chicago. Mr..
Oliver has gone home, among the ssborder ruff
fans, +" and will join his colleagues at Leaven-
worth, about the middle of April. It is not ex-
pcctcd that the labors of the committee will b
completed before the first or middle of June, and
reports-for there will of course be majority
and minority report-can hardly be looked for
before the middle of July; and until these are
made, debate upon this subject seems to be some
what out Of time and metre, as it would be like
arguing case before jury, ere the witnesses
had been examined and the DISPOSITIONS read
Still. however, as this is the one great subject
and cause of political controversy and agitation,
it will not be laid wholly aside.
Mr.. Havlin, of Iowa, made his maiden speech
in the Senate on this subject on Thursday, and
Mr.. Collamer, the author Of the minority report
of the Committee On Territories, in reply to
Douglas majority report, will reply to Douglas
speech ON Monday.
The Deficiency bill has been under considera-
ton in the Senate during the past week. and has
been the means Of exposing or bringing to light
some of the enormous extravagancies and abuses
in the expenditure of the public money in print
ing.
Mr.. Hunter having moved, as he was instruct
ed to do by the Committee on Finance, an amend
ment to the bill to appropriate $4,000 to mako
up deficiencies in printing certain books, Gillin's
Report on Chill, the Pacific R. r. Report and
Com. Perry's Japan Expedition report, and Mr..
Willer having also moved to insert $40 200 for
the purpose of engraving and printing the maps
and surveys accompanying the Pacific R. r. re-
ports, the Senate was naturally struck with as
constituent at the call for these large sums as
mere deficiencies, and inquiries were made which
brought out much useful information and is like
ly to lead to the adoption of some stringent
measures of an economical character.
Mr.. Bell stated that the printing, paper. en-
craving, &C., cost the government now from ST.
100000 to 100000 a year! more than the
whole cost of the government under Washington!
That saving of six or eight thousand dollars a
year might easily be made and that amount thus
saved be appropriated to the purposes of i'm
proving the navigation of our rivers and the i'm
prov ement of our harbors. Mr.. Clayton said he
had just been informed by the Superintendent of
Public Printing, that the publication of Captain
Wilkes book relating to the Exploring Expedi-
ton had cost tho government near a million and
quarter of dollars and that the publication Of
Commodore Perry's Japan book, which was to
contain many beautiful pictures of birds, snakes,
and other flying and creeping things, would cost
$20O,000.
Several Senators expressed a determination to
hereafter curtail their expenses of printing by re-
f.,,:, h. H.
which the Senate has heretofore, for some years
past, carried on upon a magnificent scale, and at
q most extravagant cost.
The exposure of the enormous amount that has
been, and is being expended in printing will ma
teriallY affect the profits of the present Public
Printers for tho Senate and House, as well as the
binders, all of whom have obtained their posi-
tons they least know how. But it is rumored
here, that the House printer, Wendell, who was
elected by House having a very large majority
Of members opposed to him, and Of course, by
some extraordinary influences, now 'srepudiates,"
don't remember, cannot reecollect, ignores GER
tain conversations, promises and agreements said
to have happened, taken place, and been made
and entered into previous to his election, with
certain individuals, whose aid, assistance and in
auence he then thought it important to secure
All right, just MS it should be; when man is
willing to do a mean, contemplate, dishonora-
BILE act for 'thirty pieces Of silver" he deserves
to lose the silver, and with it what little charao-
ter he may have had.
a sharp conflict has been going on between tho
Americans and anti-Americansin the House, over
bill regulating and defining the rights Of vo-
tiers and commissioners of election in this city, the
passage of which would place the municipal power
of the city in the hands of the Pierce Admnstra-
tionb of the foreign votes at their control,
nearly all those employed upon the public works
here, Of whom there are two or three thousand,
being foreigners and mere temporary sojourners,
who have no interest here whatever, and are the
mere instrum ents Of the government.
Thus far the Americans have been able to car
ry their points, but by very close votes, in ono
instance by the casting vote of the Speaker, and
in another by a majority of one only. These
votes, however show that the American party in
the House is really stronger than the anti Ncbras-
ka party proper. As the bill has been recon-
mitted to the committee on the District of Colum-
bia, it will be again reported and sgsin como up
before the House when another struggle will
tako plbCcs
The National committee Of the Republican
party has been in session here, and has adopted
address to the people Of the United Statos, Jun
derstood to be from the pen of Francis P. Blair.
A synopsis Of it is given in the N. Y. Evening
Pest.
Thatcrazy, rattle-braiued, punch and, judy gov
ernor, Henry A. Wise, lately wrote letter in
which he spoke Of the three parties, Democrat,
American and Republican, a. tho white, the
mulatto, and the black parties, and in which he
also spoke disparagingly of Mr.. Fillmore, deny
ing that he ever spoke well Of his administration,
has been caught and pinned to the wall. 1t has
been shown BY an extract from the Richmond
Enquirer, that in 1852, he, in speech in that
city, paid high compliment to Mr.. Fillmore
for his patriotic course, and said that ssthe man
who could act thus disiDteressedly, he consider
ed entitled to SWELL DONE, MOST FAITH
Full SERVANT )" and it 10 said that it will
soon be proven that in speech at Winchester,
last spring, he spoke Of Mr. FiIImore's admins
tration Is "Washington-like." But it matters
little whether he said 30 o. not 10 has said
some good things in his strange, inconsistent,
erratic,vagsry sort Of life but many extravagant,
out of -the-way, absurd and ridiculous things
The vagsries Of John Randolph, whom Wise
strives to initiate, were seasoned with attic salt,
II 49, -