The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-03-18
Wednesday, March 10, 1853.
SENATE.

Public Schools of Was6ington.-Mr. Brown
from the Committee on the District of Colum
bia, to which were referred the memorial of the
Trustees of the Public Schools of Washington
and other memorials relating to the came sub.
ject, submitted report, accompanied by bill
for the benefit of public schools in the city OF
Washington.
The bill thus reported proposes to surrender
to the school fund of Washington, for the pur.
pose of building permanent school houses, the
fines and forfeitures hereafter to be collected in
the District of Columbia, and which now accrue
90 the United States, until the same reach the
sum of $4,000 and it also proposes to appro-
pirate $40, 900 per annum from the National
Treasury, to continue for FIVE years, and no
longer, on condition that the property holders
of the city submit to a tax of ten cents on each
one hundred dollars worth of taxable property
in the corporate limits of the city. This tax
to be applied to the advancement Of the public
school system in the CITY,.
Expenses of Public Printing.-Mr johnson,
of Arkansas, called up for consideration the
resolution reported by the Committee on Print
ing, for 10000 copies in addition to the usual
number of the report of the Commissioner of
Patents, $1,000 for the use of the Senate, and
1000 for the use of the Department of the In.
terror, for official distribution.)
Mr.. j. explained the object the Committee on
Printing had in view in making the proposed
change as to the number of the documents and
of the mode of distributing them.
discussion sprang up, in which q general
determination was shown to reform the printing
abuse, and the resolution was at last adopted.
Kansas.-The Senate then resumed the
consideration of the special order, being the
bill for the admission of the State of Kansas
into the Union.
Mr.. Hamlin, in further reply to the imputs
tons cast by Mr.. Hammond, of South Carolina,
on the character of " hireling manual laborers I"
at the North, argued that the invidious discrim.
ination made by that Senator between the
poorer and richer classes of society was found
ed on a dogma discarded by the founders of
free Government in this country. The North
recognised no distinction between those who
labor with the hand, and those who toll with
the brain. Both dispose of their labor by con-
tract, and in this sense are equally "hirelings"
and Slaves" Hynegro slaves were the mud
of the North occupied no such position, and
might rather be hkened to pillars in the social
edi6ce which they strengthen and adorn.
He thought Mr.. Hammond had fallen into a
politicoeconomical fallacy in the argument by
which it was sought to show that the annual
surplus expectations of the South indicated the
amount of its annually accruing wealth. This
would depend altogether upon the fact whether
or not that surplus was employed to defray the
cost of what the South consumed. If this sur.
plus production was swallowed up by the con.
sumption of indispensable articles imported
from abroad, it did not stand as the index Of
90 much wealth the balance of the account
might rather bring the South into debt, as he
believed the facts and figures would show.
Mr.. Hamlin then cited q statement from the
work of q Southern author, to the effect that the
South was in reality growing annually poorer
and poorer, rather than richer and richer.
But, in addition to the comparative exports
and imports of the two sections. there were
other induces of national wealth which might
be used as a touchstone in trying the relative
prosperity of the North and Of the South.
These were: l. Public shoots; g. Growth of
population 8. Agricultural improvements in
land and machinery; 4. Manufactures; S. Ships
and commerce 6. Railroads; Z. Capacity for
war. All these great enterprises demanded
surplus wealth for their establishment and
successful prosecution. 1t remained to show
which of the two sections, when tried by these
standards, seemed TO be the more prosperous.
Mr.. Hamlin then made citations from the last
census under each of these heads, for the pur-
pose of showing the superiority of the Northern
over the Southern States 10 the elements of
wealth and social Improvement. He said that
he engaged uuwilingly in this style of argu.
ment and would have avoided it but for the
injurious, and, as he thought, erroneous state
ments of Mr.. Hammond. he respected his
Southern brethren, and rejoicsd that their coun.