TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-47. 415 



power of the general Governmeut to bestow. I would not, 

 therefore, exclude them from the plan of a great national 

 institution for the promotion of all good learning ; but I 

 desire to assign them their true place in the scale of human 

 knowledge, and I must be permitted to express my dissent 

 from the doctrine implied by the bill, as originally framed 

 and referred to the special committee, which confines all 

 knowledge, all science, to the numerical and quantitative 

 values of material things. Researches in such branches as 

 were the favored objects of that bill, have in general little 

 of a really scientific character. Geology, mineralog}', even 

 chemistry, are but assemblages of apparent facts, empiri- 

 cally established ; and this must alwa^^s be true, to a great 

 extent, of every study which rests upon observation and 

 experiment alone. True science is the classification and 

 arrangement of necessary primary truths, according to their 

 relations with each other, and in reference to the logical 

 deductions which may be made from them. Such science, 

 the only absolute knowledge^ is the highest and worthiest 

 object of human inquiry, and must be drawn from deeper 

 sources than the crucible and the retort. 



The bill provides for the construction of buildings, with 

 suitable apartments for a library, and for collections in the 

 various branches of natural knowledge and of art, and di- 

 rects the annual expenditure of a sum " not exceeding an 

 average of ten thousand dollars, for the gradual formation 

 of a library composed of valuable works pertaining to all 

 departments of human knowledge." As I have already 

 indicated, I consider this the most valuable feature of the 

 plan, though I think the amount unwisely restricted ; and 

 I shall confine the few observations I design to submit 

 respecting the bill chiefly to the consideration of this single 

 provision. I had originally purposed to examine the sub- 

 ject from quite a difl:erent point of view, but the eloquent 

 remarks of the chairman of the special committee, (Mr. 

 Owen,) which seem to be intended as an argument rather 

 against this provision than in favor of the bill, and as a 

 reply to the able and brilliant speech of a distinguished 

 member of another branch of Congress, upon a former 

 occasion, (Mr. Choate,) has induced me to take a somewhat 

 narrower range than I should otherwise have done. I 

 wish, sir, that Senator were here to rejoin, in his own 

 proper person, to the beautiful speech of the gentleman 

 from Indiana, who seems rather to admire the rhetoric, 

 than to be convinced by the logic, of the eloquent orator to 

 whom I refer. In that case, sir, I think my friend from 



