670 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



the institution to throw what they had received from the 

 Government out of doors — -just put it out of doors, and let 

 it- rot — I will vote for it. It belongs to the Government. 

 It does not belong to the institution. It has no business 

 there within the terms of the trust ; none whatever. It was 

 forced upon them against their will ; as they believe, in vio- 

 lation of the trust left to us by Smithson ; and if those 

 gentleman will devise any mode to take away all these 

 specimens of natural history sent there by the Government, 

 I will vote for it cheerfully. I do not know that I would not 

 consider it incumbent upon me, for the purpose of getting 

 rid of them, if the Government will not bear the expense 

 of throwing them out of doors, to vote it out of the funds 

 of the institution. 



Mr. Cameron. I will take the Senator from Virginia at 

 his word, as fiar as I am concerned, and say let them throw 

 them out of doors. They are good for nothing there, and 

 they are good for nothing out of doors. Suppose these 

 gentlemen were to come here now asking us to appropriate 

 six or ten thousand dollars to distribute through this country 

 specimens of the finest arts the world has ever produced, 

 which they could purchase for that sum of money in Europe, 

 would not everybody vote against it ? There is not a man 

 here who would not vote against a proposition to bring the 

 finest statuary and the finest paintings — 



Mr. Mason. Will the Senator allow me to interrupt him 

 a moment ? 



Mr. Cameron. Certainly. 



Mr. Mason. The Senator says he will do it. 



Mr. Cameron. As far as I am concerned. 



Mr. Mason. The law now directs that these objects shall 

 be sent to the Smithsonian Institution. Let the Senator, 

 on his responsibility, propose to repeal that law, and I 

 will vote for it. 



Mr. Cameron. I will do that most cheerfully. 



Mr. Mason. Well, do it now. 



Mr. Cameron. Sufiicient for the day is the evil thereof. 

 I will bring in a bill to-morrow, if Senators think it proper; 

 but we are discussing this question now. Here is an appro- 

 priation of $6,000 for a most worthless purpose; and what 

 right have we to appropriate it? When we are all talking 

 about the distresses of the country ; when we do not know 

 how much country we shall have in a few days; when the 

 Treasury is empty — not a dollar to pay even members of 

 Congress, to pay laborers out of doors — we are to appropri- 



