THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-51. 517 



The President re-appointed the Hon. Jefferson Davis and 

 the Hon. James M. Mason, as Regents of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



Senate, March 7, 1851. 



On motion by Mr. Borland, the report of the Board of 

 Regents of the Smithsonian Institution was ordered to be 

 printed. 



Mr. Borland. I now move that three thousand extra 

 copies of that report be printed. 



Mr. Bradbury. I hope we will let the matter of printing 

 documents lie over until we meet for the transaction of or- 

 dinary legislative business ; and not undertake enterprises 

 of this kind at this time. 



Mr. Davis, of Mississippi. I cannot see how the printing 

 of a report made to Congress can properly be termed an 

 enterprise. 



Mr. Rhett. Who is to print it ? 



Mr. Davis, of Mississippi. The public printer. 



Mr. Rhett. He says he cannot do it. 



Mr. Borland. That is the old contractor. This goes to 

 the new contractor. 



Mr. Davis, of Mississippi. I was surprised to hear the 

 few remarks which were made on this question. Surely 

 Senators forget that the United States have accepted the 

 bequest made by a foreigner to found an institution at 

 Washington, and that Congress have organized a Board of 

 Regents, and given them the charge of the fund so left to 

 the United States for the beneiit of mankind ; and this is 

 the report of the board so constituted by Congress. If 

 there be anything more than another which we should cir- 

 culate freely throughout the United States, it is the knowl- 

 edge of the manner in which we discharge this holy trust 

 which we have taken upon ourselves. The report of the 

 Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution is made to 

 Congress by authority as high as the report of an}- commit- 

 tee of Congress. If it be said that you ought not to print 

 extra copies of this, to that I would reply that a report 

 made by a committee of Congress is for the action of Con- 

 gress, and it would be questionable whether the Senate 

 should print extra copies of a report of one of its commit- 

 tees ; but it is clear that if you have authority to print for 

 circulation and distribution at all, it belongs to such a 

 document as this, relating to a trust-fund bequeathed to the 

 United States, taken charge of by the United States, and 

 which we are now administering through a Board of Re- 



