44G CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS. 



another, an observatory; a third, common schools; a fourth, 

 farming schools; a fifth, some other particular object; and 

 among the number was that proposed by the bill under con- 

 sideration. For his own part, he did not feel disposed to 

 object to any plan bearing plausibility on its face. He was 

 in favor of expending the money in some way, and upon 

 some scheme, faithfully and honestly ; but, above all, he was 

 in favor of appropriating and expending the money, whether 

 the final result should be good or not. lie wished to wipe 

 out the stain which rested on the character of this Govern- 

 ment of withholding the money because we were not able 

 to discover the best mode of expending it. Let us take one 

 step — let us do something ; and if any blunder should be 

 committed, experience would enable us to correct it. In 

 his judgment, a library was the least plausible of the 

 schemes proposed. The plan proposed in the bill was, in 

 his opinion, one of the best that had been suggested. 



The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. A. Johnson] had 

 asked whether any gentleman here would take the money 

 from the pockets of the people for this purpose. He, (Mr. 

 Rathburn,) for one, answered " yes." Let us take this 

 money which the Government had taken, and, if gentlemen 

 pleased, had squandered; let us honestly appropriate it and 

 expend it as was designed. 



He represented a constituency who would be among the 

 last in the world to withhold a fair and honest expenditure 

 of the public money, because the Government representing 

 the people had misapplied it. He had no fear of a constit- 

 uency worth}' to be represented here, for doing Avliat was 

 honest on behalf of the Government and reputable on be- 

 half of themselves. We had had the gold, as we had been 

 informed. It had been placed in the public Treasury. It 

 had not been wasted by accident. It had been applied un- 

 der the deliberate action of the Government. The Govern- 

 ment held the bonds. It might at some future day receive 

 the money for them ; but he did not believe in the propriety 

 of waiting until, by " moral suasion," or any other kind of 

 persuasion, the money was to be recovered from that im- 

 provident loan. He was ready to vote for the bill in which, 

 so far as he understood it, he could discover no objection- 

 able features. It had been digested and arranged by a 

 committee as competent in point of learning, judgment, 

 and capacity, as could be found in this or any other coun- 

 try. Some confidence must be placed in their recommenda- 

 tions, otherwise no action ever could be had on the subject. 



