Arkansas true Democrat., 1858-04-13

"oo O a'iSation concealed from view, and never iouhd out, except by some wreck. until ,heir exact position had been indicated and fixed ny the operations of the coast survey. All these discoveries are immediately made knowr through these skeleton maps, and the sm.l, quantitv-of text which accompanies tbo,, a.1 which make up the coast survey renort T trust, therefore, that the resolution u;ll no. l.. passed.
 MT. HAMLTN. I am myself satisfied Mr. President, from the information which we bave recelved, that there is an expenditure in pr;,t Ing which Is not justified bv any inst wants of the country, and will cheerfullv % with tho | chiurmah of the committee on printing to cor 1 rect any ot the evils which may exist in that cepartment. l have some knowledge of the question: l served long upon that committee. l Know the manner in which that printing has accumulated uponus. Notwithstanding all that SIT. regard this as the last document nrntad hy the Senate at which the ax should he laid - hold. Tn importance, if is not equaled bv any other document that emanates from Coporess-
 Mir. JOHNSON, of Arkansas The Senator | VIII allow me, as we wish to get along with this subject, to say that the utility of the publication IS not questioned bv the committee. If the Senator wishes to bring that point into the de- pate thlnk he will find many here who are disposed to abridge this whole bureau. There are torty-hve thusand dollars to be expended TOT printing this report alone. if we adopt the resolution as introduced in the first place. but the utility of the work is not brought in mestion by the committee. They have hropoht in l question no more than the meth0d'of dis+rib,- ton, and the number of documents to be nript- ed. '''''-
 MT. HAMLIN. did not understand from the report of the committee that the utilitv wac brought in question. but it was as to the nnmber which It Is proposed to print that was sneak Ing; and the importance ofthe thing is certainly avery good reason why the usual number should | ne printed. l, with the honorable Senator from Maryland, would not abridge this work in nnm Der; would not change the mode of distrihu. lon. II, however it is wiser and better to al low any department of the government to dis tribute either the number reported or any other number which shall be ordered. then the Senate can so order. would prefer, if there are five thousand printed, that portion of them should be appropriated to Senators. In all the Atlan JIG States more perhaps at the north where is moStof navigation, but in all the Atlantic States ar least, there is no work published hy Congress whlch measures in importance with this.
 bnt. SIT II the report of the committee should oe adopted as to the number, then object to taking the distribution from Professor Bache. ana transferrlngi 1t to the secretary of the treas nry It Is reversing the order in which we have always proceeded; and in my judgment. if is not necessary to be adopted at this time. know 1t is suggested that we have a right 10 hold the secretary of the treasury to an accoun tablllty, and that a subordinate officer is not within our control. That is all very true: but when this matter goes to the secretary of the | treasury, It passes from the hands of the serrp- | tarv into the hands of a subordinate clerk who has no interest, who has no feeling perhans. be- l vond that which Is measured bv the simple 1 consideration of his compensation How is it with Professor Brche? I is the work of his hte-lt is the pride of his life. He and his em pioyees are all along the coast; they are better ac | qnainted with the commercial m en: they are better acquainted with the points where the work may be appropriately distributed, than any oth | CT men m the country, save those who live in such localities. say this iS proposition revers- ing the usual order. We dir ect a large number of the patent office reports 10 be printed, and out of that number we appropriate a certain quantity for the of the commissioner of pa tents. Why not divert them, for the same req son, to the secretary of the interior?
 Mir. JOHNSON, of Arkansas. will say to the Senator that that is the intention of the committee; and 1 am instructed 10 make that report.
 Mir. HAMLIN. Very well. I only say this proposes to change the usual course and to take the dstr button of this work away from man who has the deepest interest and the best knowl- edge on the subject, and transfer it to clerk who has no interest in it al all So in relation to the land office report; ad litional numbers are ordered, and they go to the commissioner of the general land office. All these things are al,pro- priate; they are best; in my judgment they are wisest, becanse the person into whose hands they % IS the head of that bureau. which has the ! best knowledge of the m amer in which they should be distributed, and will direct them in those channels where they will do the most good
 Now sir, hope, first, that the Senate will not conclude to abridge the number. and hone secondly that they will not change tho mo ie of diStrbution; and that they will appropriate of whatever number they may print, a portion to the members of the Senate for distribution by them. 1 know very well-I am sensible that to the commercial and Atlantic States this | report IS more important than to the interior States; l graut that. IL is also true of almost ! any and every document you print that vou may find some locality of the country to which 1t is more appropriate, in which deeper interest is felt in the question to which it relates. than in others; but still because that may be the case, l infer there are no Senator's on this floor who do not find many of their constituents who are interested directly in this work, and num- Der vastly beyond that which they can supply. My fNend from New York MT. Kingl sugs sests that 1t should go to colleges and universities a containing scientific information, to be preserved in their libraries. They want portion of that information as much in the interior as they do in | hn 1 tic I bop c;r tno .l . in its wisdom will not adopt this report.
 Mir. JOHNSON of Arkansas The S.nator from Maine and the Senator from Maryland have spoken in opposition to the report of the committee. l submit to the Senate that each ofthose gentlemen may be very excellent agents for the distribution of the works of this charac- ter; do not pretend to odiSpute f; hut can say for myself-and tn are are many Senators around me who, presume will frankly acknowledge the same thing for tn emSeves-that am whol " unfit to make any distribution of this docu- ment; and, if I were fit to make distribution of it, 1 know have no~phce within my s ate to which could transmit it profitablv, unless to a college oi some institution of learning. This, undeniaby, is the general feeling pf the Senate l know it is so and gentlemen utter it around me as 1 stanl here speak ng to vou. It is a fact; yet, to enable the Senate from Maine, and my HOllOIdDie HleHu lrOln M arNl land, ana lew other gentlemen, to distribute, out of the five thousand, what would be their proportion- eighty copies each--ihere are five thousand to be printed, the great mass of which will be wasted
 Mir. PEARCE. Will the Senator allow me to interrupt him fora moment?
 MT. JOHNSON of Arkansas. Certainly
 MT. PEARCE. So far as am concerned, do not care about five thousand copies being printed for the use of the Sc ate. 1 wish ten thousand printed, because l think the navga ting and commercial interests of the country re- qulre that many to be printed. think the vast number of vessels, to all of which these coast survey reports are of great value because of the maps they contain, are so many that ten thou sand will by no means overstock them; but I am perfectly willing to reduce the number print ed for the use of the Senate. A thousand or fifteen hundred would be enou yh, so far as I ,+ T,t.. l.l-