better. It was alla miserable farce; for long before they were sent out from there, they were printed and reprinted, and circulated all over the country. As it had been customary to accede to the proposition to print an extra number of copies of any document asked for by an honorable Senator, he would not deny the Senator from Missouri the printing of the extra number of copies of this document; but he requested that the question as to printing, and as to the distribution of the copies when printed, might be taken separately. Mr. BENTON replied to the gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. DAVIS,] who had spoken of the large appropriations of the last year; but the gentleman had forgotten to mention two things, which would have spoiled the face of the large sum which he presented: first, that fourteen or fifteen millions of this sum were extraordinaries growing out of Indian wars and Indian treaties; and, next, that fourteen and a half millions more were appropriated at so late a day that they could not be expended. Mr. B. knew that these large appropriations were to figure in speeches out of Congress, as well as in it, and, therefore, took care before the rise of the last session of Congress to have a document prepared at the Treasury to show each object of appropriation, so that the extraordinaries might be seen, and no one deceived by the exhibition of the large amount appropriated. That document nullified the cry of extravagance, so incontinently set up just before the presidential election; and this document that he now asked for would nullify, in like manner, the idea of the unavoidable surplus for which Government had no use, if he should be so fortunate as to get it printed and distributed through the States. The great error of the party to which the gentleman belonged was in acting upon a certain notion which possessed all their heads, namely, that the said party possessed all the learning, all the talents, all the wit, all the genius, all the religion, morality, civility, decency, and politeness, now exiant in our America; for, in acting on this notion, they necessarily considered the people as having none of those valuable qualities, as they themselves possessed all; and, therefore, they could pass off any thing they pleased upon the Baotian multitude. This error, though comfortable in itself, and so well calculated to keep a man on the best of terms with himself, had been the source of innumerable miscarriages to the gentleman's party, and would be the source of several more: This surplus conception would be one of them. All the work of the last session to create the surplus was distinclly seen by the country; every body knew that every branch of the public service was suffering for money, and clerks raising money at usurious interest to live on, and officers raising money on their own credit, while the two Houses of Congress resounded with the cry of surplus millions, and so many labored to stave off, cut down, and defeat appropriations, in order to create surpluses for distribution. Another great error was to suppose that immense popularity was to be gained now by pushing the system of annual distributions, and endeavoring to out-run, out-leap, and out-jump one another in the glorious race of making and dividing surpluses. But the people saw through it all, and despised it all, and went for a reduction of taxes, and no surplus. They knew that the whole business was unconstitutional, corrupt, and demoralizing; and had no idea of seeing it kept up, and a regular attempt made to pension the States as paupers upon the Federal Government. They knew the absurdity and insanity of raising money one year to be paid back the next; they knew, without having read it in a book, that the famous phrase put into the mouth of Queen Elizabeth by Lord Treasurer Burleigh, and which he himself took from Demosthenes, contains all the wisdom which can be taught on this head, namely, that the "pockets of the people are the cheapest and [DEC. 28, 1836. safest treasuries for keeping surplus moneys which the Government can have." They know this, and the squab. bles, intrigues, collusions, and bargains, which they will soon see, for enabling the few to handle these surpluses, and the doubtful or political objects to which they will be applied, will soon disgust them with the whole scheme; and if this document can be printed, they will see in it, the people of each State will see in it, objects as meritorious, and as near and as dear to them, as any that can be devised for the application of the moneys in their own Legislatures. Mr. KING, of Alabama, said, of all the extraordinary discussions he had ever heard in that body, that of this morning was the most extraordinary. He would ask the Senator from Missouri what object, what aim, and what end, he proposed to accomplish by the motion he had made, and the speech he had delivered? If, said Mr. K., it is designed to operate on the deposite bill of the last session, it is a matter that has gone by, and is now before the country for good or for evil. For himself, he felt no reluctance in submitting to the judgment the country will pass on the measure. If it be to victimize those who, at the last session, took a view of that subject different from that taken by the honorable Senator, then his motion was properly accompanied by the remarks we have just heard; for, said Mr. K., the Sena tor from Missouri and myself differed as widely at the last session as we appear to do now. He entertained the opinion then, that there would be a large, very large, amount of money in the Treasury, which could not be appropriated, without resorting to such extravagant expenditures as no administration could even ap. proach and retain the confidence of the country. He believed, in common with many others that he saw around him, and with whom he felt proud to act, that it was their duty to devise some plan by which the Treasury could be relieved from the excess of revenue, and those who administered the Government freed from the suspicion that it would be used to effect improper purposes. Well, sir, (said Mr. K.,) we believed that the best mode to effect those objects would be to deposite it with the people of the States from whom it had been unnecessa rily drawn. We believed that, by this course, the friends of the administration were not only subserving the great interests of the country, but freeing it from the possibility of censure. Who will venture to assert (said Mr. K.) that the placing this money in the treasuries of the several States, to be used as, in the discretion of the State Governments, was best calclated to advance their interests, and subject to be returned whenever wanted for national purposes, was not a better and safer deposite for it, than to leave it with the deposite banks? Sir, said Mr. K., the bill passed, and passed with the strenuous opposition of the Senator from Missouri, who, no doubt, acted from the purest motives, and honestly believed that the money would be wanted to meet the expendi tures of the General Government. Whether the Senator was right or wrong, I leave to the country to deter mine; but, (said Mr. K.,) while I am ready to give him credit for the purest motives in opposing the deposite bill, I will not consent to be held up to the American people as so unwise, so impolitic, and so unjust, as to lend myself to a system of distribution. Nor, sir, can it be charged upon me, or the political friends with whom I acted on that occasion, with the slightest semblance of correctness, that we endeavored to create a surplus for distribution, by delaying or withholding the necessary appropriations. Far from it; far from it. Sir, our appropriations nearly doubled the estimates from the various Departments at the commencement of the session. We knew that there was an overflowing Treasury, and we gave liberally; in most instances, more than could be expended; but the Senator complains loudly that this was produced by delaying the appropriations. He would not stop to inquire whether such delay, if it did take place, resulted from the course pursued by the opponents of the administration, or from the various schemes (some of them certainly of a most extravagant character) which were pressed upon the attention of Congress. When was it ever known that all the appropriation bills were passed through both Houses at an ear. ly period of the session? But we are told that, not having passed bills in time to meet the expenditures of West Point, Harper's Ferry, and to pay the salaries of the clerks in the public offices, was evidence of a determination to create a surplus. Delays of this kind have fre quently occurred since he had been a member of the Senate, and have, no doubt, always produced serious inconvenience to those whose pittance was thus withheld; but did any one ever before hear it gravely charged upon Congress that the object of this delay was to create a surplus? He (Mr. K.) would repeat that he had given his support to the most liberal appropriations; but, at the same time, had withheld his assent to propositions for squandering the revenue, based upon repeated calls to ascertain the maximum of expenditure. What was necessary to meet the proper and economical expenditures of the Government, he would never withhold; more he would not give, even at the risk of being charged with a design to create a surplus. Sir, said Mr. K., the repub. lican doctrine, as he understood it, was to draw no more money from the pockets of the people than was required to meet the judicious expenditures of the Government; and if the revenue proved too great, reduce the taxes. Upon what principle, by what constitutional right, do you tax the people, and draw money into the Treasury not required to carry on the operations of the Government? He held there was no such legitimate power, and the exercise of it was a gross usurpation. But we may be told that the compromise bill, as it has been termed, stands in the way of reduction. He (Mr. K.) had voted for that bill, but imposed upon himself no obligation to hold sacred its provisions. He had so declared in his place. He had voted for it under a species of duresse, arising from the peculiar situation in which a portion of our country was then placed. He had believed that it did not do justice to the extent we had a right to demand, but it was all which could then be obtained, and he had accepted it; nor would he now lightly disturb it. He believed that, by a reasonable reduction on such articles as would not affect the manufacturing industry of the country, and by confining the sales of your public lands to those who purchase for actual settlement, you will go far to reduce the receipts of the Treasury to an amount, little, if any, exceeding the wants of the Government. Let us try these reductions, and if even then a surplus should be found, we may cast about for some useful and constitutional mode for its disposition. But under no circumstances could he ever consent to the prospective legislation proposed by the Senator from South Carolina; a resort to such a system of distribution or deposite, call it which you will, would, in his judgment, be one of the greatest misfortunes which could befall the States; and all who regarded their rights should array themselves against such a project. We are told by the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. DAVIS] that the appropriations of the last session had been extravagant beyond measure. They were liberal, sir, not extravagant. There was an overflowing Treasury, and the state of the country rendered them proper. The Indian appropriations had been great; but for them he gave his most cordial support, from policy, from jus tice, from humanity. The policy of their removal was the only sure policy; the only earthly mode by which that unfortunate race can be preserved as a people. Sir, my constituents felt this, and were prepared to jus VOL. XIII.-11 [SENATE. tify expenditures which otherwise might appear extravagant, to effect objects so desirable. Mr. K. said he was extremely sorry that it was necessary to enter into a discussion as to the effect of the deposite law of the last session. That effect was yet to be seen, and the States themselves had the responsibility of making a proper disposition of the money intrusted with them. Whether we, (said Mr. K.,) in our ignorance, have deposited more money with them than we can spare, so that a portion of it will have to be called back for the necessary expenses of the Government, was another question. But such he did not understand would be the case. The argument of the Senator from Missouri did not put it on that footing. There was no Sen. ator, he believed, who was not satisfied that the five millions left in the Treasury by the provisions of the depos ite act, with the receipts of the year, would be amply sufficient to meet all the appropriations as they were wanted. If, however, it should, by a bare possibility, turn out otherwise, there was not a State in the Union that would hesitate for a moment in answering any call on it that might be made by the Secretary of the Treas ury. He was not disposed (Mr. K. said) to complain of the course taken by the Senator from Missouri. If the ob ject of the gentleman was to oppose a prospective distribution, it appeared to him that it would have been as well to have waited until the bill for such an object came before them. With regard to the manner in which that bill had been treated by the Committee on Finance, he believed that, as a reduction of the revenue was contemplated by them, they preferred to let it lie until it was found what could be done on that subject, without making a formal report. I go (said Mr. K.) for a reduction of the revenue down to the wants of the Government, and then we shall hear no more about deposite acts. I hold that you have no right to create a surplus and then distribute it; and that, on the contrary, you ought to reduce the taxes. I hold it my duty to oppose, as far as my little influence extends, any prospective plan for a distribution of the surplus, and will be unwil ling to act on any such bill until it shall be found that it is impossible to reduce the revenue by either of the two modes proposed. Mr. K. said he felt himself bound to make this explanation, in consequence of the course the debate had taken, as he had voted for the deposite law of the last session, believing that in doing so he was making the safest and least objectionable disposition of the vast sum accumulating in the Treasury. He should vote against the mode proposed by the Senator from Missouri, of distributing the extra copies of the document before them, because such distribution would be unusual, was calculated to give erroneous information, could do no good, and, by attaching an unnecessary Importance to it, mislead those to whom it should be sent. Mr. CALHOUN observed that if the document was to be printed, it had better be done in the form in which it already was, for that was by far the most accurate. But he did not see the slightest necessity for printing it, and hoped it would not be printed. Mr. NILES said that he would make a single remark. He had, in the course of the debate, heard but one rea son assigned for sending this document to the States, which appeared to him to be entitled to any consideration: this was, that the information it contained might be useful to the Legislatures of the States, in giving a wise and prudent direction to their legislation in regard to the money they were about to receive under the provisions of the deposite act. This, he considered, was a legitimate, fair, and, he would add, important object. There was too much reason to fear, be thought, that the States, or many of them, might make an unwise disposi• tion of this fund, and perhaps such a disposition as would not be altogether consistent with the principles and spirit of the deposite law. Did he believe that this document contained information calculated to enlighten their course, and that it embraced all the information necessary and proper for that purpose, he might be willing to vote for so unusual and extraordinary a measure as that proposed by the Senator from Missouri, [Mr. BENTON] He doubted, however, whether this document would answer any useful purpose. It did not contain all the information necessary, and he learned it would be more likely to mislead than to enlighten the action of the States. If any document could set public opinion right on this subject, he thought the message of the President was best adapted to do it. But he despaired of attaining this object: public opinion had taken its course, and settled down under peculiar circumstances, and cannot be changed by any document we can send to the States, or among the people. So far as it is wrong, it must work its own cure. [DEC. 28, 1836. thrown it on the States; we have sent the golden apple of discord among them, and it remains to be known whether it will be used for good or for evil-whether it will be a blessing or a curse. The Legislature of his own State was now in session, and he was informed were distracted with the disposition of their share of the surplus. There were many schemes for disposing of it, and which would prevail he could not say; but presumed that the erroneous impressions to which he had alluded would have their effect, and that the distribution principle would triumph, and that the fund would be divided and subdivided, he could not say to what extent. It was proposed to divide it up among the towns; and whether the distribution principle would stop there, or be followed out, might be doubtful; for so strong had this principle taken hold of public sentiment every where, that he should hardly be surprised to hear that a more thorough distribution had been made, and that the whole fund had been divided up per capita, among every man, woman, and child, in the State, for safe keeping. He hoped the fund would prove bend ficial to the State, although for a time it may distract its There were those, however, who regarded the evil as greater than the benefit. A letter he had this day received from a friend on the spot, says, "For God's sake send no more money among us." The conduct of many in regard to the deposite act had been very strange; they condemn the principle of distribution, they condemn the deposite bill, they condemn those who voted for it, yet they are willing to receive the money; nay, they seize upon it with the keenest avidity, and seem determined to follow out the principle of distribution, which they condemn, and determine to distribute, divide, and re-divide the fund, until they can get a share of it into ther own pockets. These are some of the first fiuits of dividing up surpluses among the people. Sir, (said Mr. N.,) perhaps no law ever enacted by Congress has had so strange a destiny as the deposite act of last session. Its true character had been misrep-councils. resented, grossly misrepresented, both by friends and foes, by all parties throughout the whole Union. During its long and arduous struggle in this hall, it was treated, by all who supported it at least, simply as a deposite bill. But the moment the question was finally decided, and before the bill had got really out of the Senate, what did we hear? Why, one voice was raiseda voice of triumph-calculated to give to the law a false character. And what did we witness afterwards? The friends of the measure, he meant the original friends, those who claimed its paternity, all united, in every way and form, through their organs, the press, and in every other way, in giving a false character to the act. It was declared to be a distribution bill, a law for dividing the surplus revenue among the States. But this was not all, nor the worst. The opponents of the measure united and made common cause with its friends, its original friends, in misleading the public and giving a false char acter to this law. Among them, his distinguished friend from Missouri [Mr. BENTON] had lent the influence of his great name and fame, the extent of which no one knew better than himself, to give a character to this act. He had no doubt the gentleman supposed he gave it its true character; yet some of us, (said Mr. N.,) who had felt it a duty to support it, although as much opposed to the principle of distribution as that Senator himself, thought he gave it a false character. He declared it to be a distribution act, and the triumph of the scheme of dividing surpluses among the States. Under such circumstances it had been found of no use to attempt to present to the public the true character of this measure. If we held up the act, and pointed the public mind to its plain letter and distinct provisions, which declare that the money is to be deposited with the States in trust for safe keeping, and to be returned when demanded, we were told: "It is of no use, every body knows that this is a distribution of the surplus, and that the money will never be called for." Such were the circumstances under which public opinion had been formed, and it was in vain to think to change it by send. ing documents to the State Legislatures at this time. Nothing short of a voice from Heaven could satisfy a large portion of the people that this money does not belong to the States, and it will be received and disposed of under these false and erroneous views. In regard to the benefits or the evils of handing this surplus over to the States, they yet remained to be known. Of the dangers and difficulties which it will be likely to occasion, he was as sensible as any one. We have removed the burden from our own shoulders, and But great as he considered the danger from sending this money among the States, he regarded the evils of its remaining in your Treasury, and deposite banks, as still greater. Our act did not create the evils from this surplus, although it may have transferred them from this Government to the States. But the danger and the evil existed: it was here, it was upon Congress, tempting us to extravagant expenditures; it was upon the deposite banks, inflating and blowing up our whole paper system. Whatever else might follow, one thing was certain: we had removed the evil from Congress; we had thrown off a burden which had rested heavily upon us, and which he considered was more than we could bear; he felt relieved, and rejoiced to get clear of the difficulties which surrounded Congress the last session. The only legitimate object of sending this document to the States could not be accomplished; they had already taken their course, and must be permitted to go on. If the Senator from Missouri wished-which he presumed he did not-to send this paper to the States, to persuade them or the people that Congress had done wrong at the last session, that the money they were about to receive was wanted for the legitimate purposes of this Government, he could not aid him in that course; he could see no good that was to result from it, and it did not appear to be exactly just towards those who had voted for the deposite act, although disapproving of the principle of distribution. It would be presumption in him to attempt to advise so distinguished and experienced a Senator as the gentleman from Missouri. But he might be permitted to say what would be his own course, and what appeared to him to be the course dictated by wisdom and policy. He would not revive the contentions of the last session; he would not unnecessarily fight our battles over again. Sufficient for the year are the cvils thereof. Instead of attempting to use this unexpended balance fourteen and a half millions as an argument against the act of last session, he would make use of it to oppose the extension of the distribution principle, to resist the distribution scheme of the present session. The war is not over; all the projects of last session are revived: we have the land bill, and the bill for distributing surpluses to the States, already before us. Let us now make a stand, fortify our camp, and not uselessly waste our ammunition. We shall want the unexpended balance of last year's appropriations, and all other facts and arguments which we can bring to our aid, successfully to resist powerful efforts which are to be made to follow up the distribution of surpluses annually, until the system shall be fixed upon us as the settled policy of the Government. This appeared to him the wiser and better course; he could not, therefore, vote for the gentleman's motion. [SENATE. the finances would show what would be the probable condition of the public Treasury at the close of the year 1837. There could be no mistake about this matter; making the ordinary appropriations, and calculating only upon a receipt of five millions from the sale of the public lands, instead of their being deficit in the sum of fourteen millions, there would not be a deficit of over two or three millions, upon the showing of the Secretary himself. The document, he again repeated, was calculated to mislead; and unless it could be accompanied with an official statement of what would be the means of the Treasury on the 1st day of October, 1837, when the deposite bill will have been executed, to meet all claims upon the Treasury, he should be opposed to sending it to the State Legislatures. He was entirely willing to give alldesirable information; he would withhold nothing from them which could be useful; but the document, printed as it is proposed to print it, independent of the other offi cial reports upon the state of the finances, would, it seemed to him, afford no useful information. He would venture to predict that, during the next fiscal year, there would not be any period when the Treasury would feel embarrassed from having deposited with the States the sum actually found in the Treasury on the 1st day of January. So far from it, in his belief, there would be found, at the close of the year, means sufficient to meet all claims upon the Treasury. He would, however, express the hope that the Committee on Finance would be able to bring forward some measure, which, in effect, would leave hereafter in the pockets of the people, not absolutely be required for the use of the Govern ment. Such a measure he should support. He would again, in conclusion, repeat his former request, that the Senator from Missouri would so amend his motion as to have the document printed for the use of the Senate. He had no objections to printing an extra number, but he had objections to sending this document, under the authority of the Senate, to the State Legislatures, as a document designed to aid them in their action, which, he believed, was calculated to produce a contrary effect. Mr. HUBBARD said that, when he was up before, he had expressed a wish that the Senator from Missouri would so amend his motion as to confine the printing of the document for the use of the Senate; and, after the discussion which had taken place, he felt confirmed in the propriety of that suggestion. The Senator had stated, as a reason for wishing to send this document to the State Legislatures, that the question as to the manner of disposing of the deposite fund was now pending before them, and that the document was intended to inform them that Congress had been apportioning money to the States for deposite; the sum of fourteen millions of dollars, which was an unexpended balance of appropria-"the best depositories of the public money," what will tions which had actually been made, intending thereby to make the impression that this balance of appropria tions must be had; and, in order to supply the Treasury with the necessary moneys, a part of the money which would be deposited with the States after the 1st of January, in pursuance of the deposite bill of the last session, would necessarily have to be returned to the Treasury, and intending also to produce an influence upon the action of the Legislature upon this subject, and moreover to hold up those who were the avowed friends of this bill to the odium of their constituents, for sending among them money required for the use of the Government. He was so unfortunate as to have differed from the Senator from Missouri, as to the propriety and policy of passing that deposite bill. He gave it his support. He had seen no cause to regret that vote. He then believed it right and proper, and demanded from a just regard to the public interest. He still believed the same; and, under the same circumstances, he should not hesitate to give a similar vote upon the same subject. He had voted for the bill, and he had also voted for the appropriation bills which are enumerated in the document proposed to be printed. He well understood the effect of his vote; and he, for one, was then entirely satisfied that the whole amount of those appropriations could not be expended before the 1st day of January next; and yet that fact, of itself, had no influence upon his mind, to deter him from giving his support to the deposite bill. The whole history of our legislation, since the foundation of the Government, will show an unexpended balance of former appropriations remaining in the Treasury at the commencement of each succeeding year. The unexpended balance on the coming 1st day of January will undoubtedly be larger than usual; but, after deducting the five millions left in the Treasury, according to the provisions of the deposite bill, the sum will be reduced to about the usual unexpended amount of appropriations. But the document, unaccompanied with any other fiscal statement, as he had before remarked, would certainly give wrong impressions, and tend to darken, rather than enlighten, the public mind as to the true condition of the Treasury. A reference to the Secretary's report upon Mr. STRANGE rose and said that he was but young in the Senate, and therefore it would be rash in him to lay down any rule for its action. But he might venture to say that on this, as on every future occasion, he would vote in favor of printing any paper which was calculated to give information to the people. He understood there were very few gentlemen in this body who objected to the proposition of the Senator from Missouri to have the document in question printed; but the objection was to its being sent to the Governors and Legislatures of the several States; and he (Mr. S.) concurred in that objection. He confessed that he was somewhat surprised to see the Senate thrown into a tumult from a mere proposition to print a document; but when he recollected how Senators were situated with regard to a measure adopted at the last session, his wonder ceased. He could not vote to send a document out, upon the grounds urged by the honorable Senator from Missouri. He was opposed to sending copies to the Legislatures and Governors of the States. And he was opposed to the proposition on another ground: the effect which it might seem it was intended to produce on the Governors and Legislatures. On the document reaching them, the natural inquiry would be, what was the object to be accomplished by sending us this document? It certainly was designed to have some effect. Is it to operate on the Legislature? What right has Congress, or any portion of Congress, to dictate to us or to either branch of our Legislature? Upon this matter (concluded Mr. S.) we are supreme, and have no superior. We judge for ourselves, and think no man or body of men have a right to interfere. I therefore unite with the Senator from New Hampshire SENATE.] Election of Chaplain--Admission of Michigan. [Mr. HUBBARD] in praying the Senator from Missouri to call to his recollection the fable of the boy and the filberts, and strike out that part of his proposition relative to sending copies of the document to the Governors and Legislatures of the several States. Mr. BENTON accepted the suggestion of the Senator from North Carolina, and modified his motion accordingly, so that one thousand extra copies were ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate. ELECTION OF CHAPLAIN. The Senate then proceeded to the election of a chaplain; when, the ballots being counted, it appeared that the Rev. Mr. Goodman, having received 22 votes, was duly elected. Several bills received from the House received their first and second reading, and were appropriately referred; when The Senate adjourned. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29. Mr. GRUNDY, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported a bill for the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union; which was, by consent, read twice. Mr. GRUNDY moved that the bill now receive its third reading: it was but short; the facts of the case were well known; and if any Senator wished further information, he stood ready to give it, so far as it was in possession of the committee. Mr. EWING objected to the bill's receiving its third reading at this time. It was far too important in its character to be hurried through the Senate in this manner, without time to look at or consider it. Mr. CALHOUN joined in the objection. He had not, he said, looked much at the question involved in the bill, nor was he acquainted with the facts of the case; but, assuming them to be as had been stated in the President's message, this was one of the very gravest questions ever submitted to the Senate. It was certainly one which required to be maturely considered, and carefully weighed. He wished more time for reflection: first, that he might more accurately ascertain what the facts were; and, secondly, that he might weigh them in his mind with the care they demanded. He presumed others were of like mind; and, with a view to ascertain the wishes of the Senate, he would move that the further consideration of the bill be postponed, and that it be ade the order of the day for that day week. Mr. GRUNDY did not object to allowing gentlemen a reasonable time, but thought the day named too distant. There was one good reason why the bill should receive an earlier consideration: the distribution of the deposites was to take place soon after the 1st day of January next, and it was desirable, if the bill was to pass at all, that it passed early enough to admit the State of Michigan to receive, with her sisters of the confederacy, her due proportion of the public moneys; but if the whole subject was put off, as had been moved, the passage of the bill might be so far delayed as to render this impossible. This, surely, was a strong argument for as early an attention to the subject as possible. As to the facts of the case, they were detailed in the President's message, and in the documents which had been reported with the bill: he was fully aware that they presented a case, in regard to which the judgments of gentlemen might widely differ; but the facts themselves were few, and might soon be told. In June last, Congress had passed a bill declaring that, on certain conditions therein set forth, the new State of Michigan should be received into the Union: one of which was, that certain boundary lines should be assigned to the State; and another, that a [DEC. 29, 1836. convention of the people of Michigan, convened for the express purpose, should express their assent to these conditions, and agree to come into the confederacy on the terms prescribed. The act contained no directions as to the manner in which such convention should be called. A convention was ordered by the Legislature of Michigan; which met, and concluded to reject the conditions of admission, and communicated such dissent to the President of the United States. On farther reflection, however, without any particular form of legislation, the people themselves had since spontaneously met in their primary assemblies, and called a second convention, by which body it had been agreed to accept the conditions of the law, and thus to enter the confederacy. It was since ascertained that from 5,000 to 6,000 votes for this latter convention had been cast for the same members who had formerly decided to refuse the terms of admission, and from 8,000 to 9,000 in favor of men of a different opinion. This, he believed, was about as correct a statement of the facts of the case as could be obtained by greater delay. The question was certainly open as to the validity of the acts of this latter convention, on which, no doubt, there would be a diversity of opinion; but as to the facts there could be no dispute. It would appear, on examination, that although a majority of the people of Michigan had, at the date of the first convention, heen opposed to accepting the terms of admission, yet, at the time the last was held, an overflowing majority had been in favor of the measure. When these facts should be found and admitted to be as stated, Mr. G. should give his views as to what ought to be the consequence. But he was anxious that the law should be passed in time for Michigan to get her proportion of the public money. The Secretary could not make the distribution on the first of the month, as all the returns would not then be in, but he might probably be in circumstances to do so within ten days thereafter. Mr. CALHOUN said that no Senator was more anxious that the new State of Michigan should be received into the confederacy than himself, or could be more willing that she should obtain her due proportion of the public money placed in deposite with the several States. He desired to interpose no unnecessary delay, and would vary his motion so as to propose that this bill be made the order for Tuesday next. (Monday, he presumed, would scarcely be a business day, and many of the members might be absent.) According, however, to the statement given by the gentleman himself, there was at the bottom of this subject one of the gravest, the very gravest, questions which could be agitated; so grave, indeed, that important as he conceived the deposite act to be, he could almost prefer that their respective proportions of the surplus fund should be withheld from all the States, than that a bill like this should rashly be passed. He wished, he repeated it, more time for reflection. Mr. MORRIS said that although he was one of the committee who had reported the bill, yet he did not concur in the preamble as reported. He did not, indeed, doubt that Michigan ought to be admitted into the Union, and should rejoice at her admission. But, as the chairman had correctly stated the act of Congress, providing for her admission, made it conditional, and required her previous assent to the condition, that assent was to be made known to the President of the United States. Now, the assent of the people of Michigan had not yet reached the President at the date of his last communication, and therefore Congress did not officially know the fact. The first question was, whether the Senate was competent to declare the act of the last convention a valid act. The law required that a convention should be called for the express object of expressing assent or dissent to the conditions of reception. Now, |