TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-47. 443 



trine promul^^ated by a distinguished President of the Uni- 

 ted States, of erecting light-houses in the skies, had grown 

 into popular favor, he should presume that the gentleman 

 would find no difficulty as to the question of power. 



Mr. Adams said he was very glad to hear that it had 

 grown into popular favor. The appropriation for this astro- 

 nomical observatory, he repeated, had been clandestinely 

 smuggled into the law, under the head of a depot for charts, 

 when a short time before a provision had been inserted in a 

 bill passed, that no appropriation should be applied to an 

 astronomical observator}'. He claimed no merit for the 

 erection of the astronomical observatory ; but in the course 

 of his whole life, no conferring of honor, of interest, of 

 office, had given him more delight than the belief that he 

 had contributed, in some small degree, to produce these 

 astronomical observatories, both here and elsewhere. He 

 no longer wished any portion of this fund applied to an 

 astronomical observatory. 



Nor did he think it important to the people that any pro- 

 vision of this bill should be carried into effisct immediately, 

 but rather that measures should be taken to induce the 

 States to pay the interest on their bonds, and then let the 

 money be appropriated to any purpose on which Congress 

 could agree more unanimously than on this bill. 



He noticed among the objections made, that against mak- 

 ing of this institution an incorporation. He urged that it 

 was indispensably necessary to form the board into an in- 

 corporation ; that unless it were done, the funds would be 

 wasted in five years ; that there would be no power in the 

 institution, not even the power of succession ; that it would 

 fall into the hands of a joint committee of Congress, who 

 would dispose of it as faction, party spirit, or caprice should 

 dictate. He scouted the idea of the unconstitutionality of 

 the establishment, by Congress, of the corporations in the 

 District of Columbia, as in contravention of the uniform 

 legislation of the country, in the corporation of colleges, 

 benevolent societies, the National Institute, &c. 



In conclusion, believing that they could not agree very 

 well on this bill, and that, by the time we got this money of 

 Arkansas and the other States, they could agree better, he 

 sent up to the clerk's table, where it was again read, the 

 amendment of which he gave notice last week. 



On the faith (he said) of observations of the gentleman 

 from Michigan, that Michigan had regularly paid the in- 

 terest on her bonds, he modified his amendment, by striking 

 out the word " Michigan," wherever it occun-ed therein. 



