Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-24
BID FQR rpLD MANUSCRIPTS
Proposal to Purchase the Correspondence Of
Ex0kihister Vans Murray.
CONTAIN MUCH VALUABLE INFORMATION
Allen Keeps the CLERKS Busy-Com-
Piintion of iRrcaidcntini rroclnma-
tions-+Sopie Missing from the
department Files.

| 40 ~
! WASHINGTON, Feb. 3.-(Speclal)-Se
at.r George Of Mississippi has introduced q
bill appropriating S5 900 for the purchase
! of Ave manuscript volumes, being the letter
| books OF William Vans Murray, formerly
minister Of the United States at The Hague
and at Paris. william Vans Murray was a
prominent member OF congress and diplo-
matist during the early days of the republic
| He was born in Cambridge, Md, in 1888
and died there in 1903. He received a cas-
slcal education in this country and went. in
1888, to London. where he studied law in
| the Temple. He returned to Maryland in
1856 and practiced his profession; was in
the state legislature and in 1890 was elected
to c2ngress as federalist. serving seven
years. He was active as member
| of the lower house and inter-
ested in all legislation that
came before that body and he had few SUI
periors In crudition, eloquence and skill in
debate. At the expiration of his congress
sional service in 1897 he was appointed by
President Washington as minister to the
Netherlands. Two years later, in 1799 he
was sent as envoy by President John Adams
and In the latter mission he was associated
with oliver Ellsworth, John Davrie, the
former chief justice Of the United States.
Patrick Henry was originally nominated as
cne OF these envoys, but failing health com
PEELED him TO decline the mission. The re-
suit of the mission was treaty with the
French government. at the head Of which
was Napoleon Bonaparte, which averted
war The biographers of both Mr.. Murray
and Mr.. Ellsworth claim for the subject Of
their labors the chief credit of this success
full outcome Of their diplomacy.
On the conclusion of this special mission
Mr.. Murray returned to The Hague. where
he remained until Thomas Jefferson became
president in 1901. He then returned to his
home in Cambridge, where. in 1903, he
died Mr.. Murray published pamphlet, en-
titled "The Laws and Constitution of the
United States,' which was much commended.
The letter books which Senator Georges bill
proposes to buy possess rare historical in
terest, and may possibly have some bearing
on the Venezuelan boundary dispute with
British Guiana, for that colony at the time
of Mr.. Murray's residence at The Hague, was
colonial possession of the Netherlands.
SEEKER AFTER INFORMATION.
Senator Allen is pushing the government
ownership Of railroads idea for all 1t is
worth and 1t s.sad that he has the faculty
of making more work for department clerks
than any other man in the United States
senate. The 3other day he introduced long
resolution relativeto the Union Pacific rail
road, directed to. the secretary of the in
IN
as to the construction of the Union Pacific,
the Central Pacific, the Sioux City & Pacific
and the Kansas Pacific and even went so far
as to call upon the secretary for the names
Of the stockholders, bondholders and mort
gagees and the amount of said stocks, bonds
and mortgages held by them respectively.
There was objection to the resolution being
directed to the. secretary Of the interior
and he was finally prevailed upon to amend
1t by directing III to the committee on Pa
sails DC Al NJ 90 ia i,fn fIny,
which Senator. Allen desires is available,
but until the committee is empowered to
subpoena the coriptrollers of these various
roads ard compel them to bring in their
books, = wcu uld seem absolutely impossible
to oh the Rames of the stockholders,
bondholuers and'mortgagees and the amounts
Of their several holdings. What the com
mittee will do with that portion of the rese-
luton Is hard to tell but undoubtedly some
of these days a report will be made by
Chairman Gear that the information sought
is not obtainabe and Senator Allen will
have to be content with the information
contained in the early reports on these gov
ernment-aided railroads.
At the last session of congress a resolution
was adopted authorizing a compilation of
every presidential message, annual special
and veto, and every presidential proclamation
from the foundation Of the government to the
present day. This work was delegated to
Representative Richardson of Tennessee,
chairman Of the house printing committee
of the last congress. He has now devoted
six months to this work and he has only
reached the administration of President
Polk. The work will be in several volumes,
the first Of which will appear in about sixty
days. 1t will not include the Polk admins
tration, but will touch upon his election.
No such work has ever been printed and
none ever before authorized by this govern
ment. Indeed it is said that the British
is the only other government ever to attempt
to get out such work. These volumes will
contain steel cravings of the presidents,
their cabinets and others with whom the
messages and proclamations deal. Mr..
Richardson hopes to complete the work by
the expiration of this congress, the same day
on which this administration will also ex-
pire. There will be 6000 copies of the work
published. 1000 for the house of representa-
tives and 1000 for the senate, to be dis
tributed throughout the country by senator's
and representatives.
MADE SOME DISCOVERIES.
Mr.. Richardson discovered that not even
the State department, with all of its red
tape and love of tradition possesses either
a complete volume or full set of the
proclamations Of the presidents. He found
reference to proclamations in the stat
utes at large of which the State department
had no trace. These we're finally secured by
running through the newspaper files in the
library of congress by the aid of Librarian
Spofford. One important message was lost
from the lilies OF the State department, and
was finally found published in the National
Gazette of Philadelphia during the year
1870. The matter in the different volumes
will be arranged In chronological order.
Perhaps the most interesting of any dis
covery of Mr.. Richardson, which has never
before been published, is President Washing
toms rejoinder 10 the notification of his cleo
ton as president the first time. The secretary
of state was sent from New York, where con-
gress was then sitting, and where the first
Inauguration took place on Wall street, on
the present site efo the subtreasury, to Mt.
Vernon, with tire written notification. The
secretary made his Journey in carriage and
performed his part Of the ceremony in very
formal manner. r.UINashjngton, always
stickler for form sand ceremony, made an
equally formai57rehy in writing. Both of
these interesting historical documents will
appear in this work
In this conneetion 1t is interesting to note |
that Senator Chandler has introduced in |
the senate bill ito purchase for $4,000 |
that portion of the unpublished correspond |
ence and manuscript, of James Monroe known |
as the "Gouveneur4' collection, now in the pos |
session OF Mrs Al. sGouveneur of this city. |
If purchased they. are to be placed In the |
library of congrsfsl
President starts Duck Hunting.
WASIIINGTt,N, Feb. 23.-President Ceve-
lard left the cify al II O'Clock tonight on the /