TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 139 



to the United States. By reading the terms in which the bequest was 

 made, it was impossible to conceive otherwise. The bequest was ' ' to 

 the United States of America, for the purpose of establishing, at the 

 city of Washington, an institution for the increase of knowledge 

 among men." Now, take out the words "the city of Washington," 

 and the donation was clearly to the United States. The words "the 

 city of Washington " were only used to designate the place where the 

 university was to be established, and not by any stretch of the mean- 

 ing of language to be considered as making the donation to the city. 

 He understood the Senators on all hands to agree that it was not in 

 the power of Congress to establish a national university, and they all 

 agreed that they could establish a university in the District of Columbia. 

 Now, on this principle, they could not receive the bequest, for the 

 District of Columbia was not even named in it, the city of Washington 

 being only designated as the place where the university was to be 

 established, and the bequest being expressly made to the United 

 States. He thought that acting under this legacy would be as much 

 the establishment of a national university as if they appropriated 

 money for the purpose; and he would indeed much rather appro- 

 priate the money, for he thought it was beneath the dignity of the 

 United States to receive presents of this kind from anyone. He, 

 could never pass through the Rotunda of the Capitol without having 

 his feelings outraged bj'^ seeing that statue of Mr. Jefferson which had 

 been placed there contrary to their consent. 



Mr. S. L. Southard said that the Senator from South Corolina was 

 mistaken in saying that every Senator agreed that it was not in the 

 power of Congress to establish a national universit3^ He, for one, 

 believed that Congress had the unquestionable right to do so. This, 

 however, did not involve the constitutionality of the question before 

 them, as, in his opinion, the most rigid construction of the Constitu- 

 tion would not be adverse to the bill. Congress had the same right to 

 establish this university as they had to charter a college in George- 

 town or Alexandria. 



Mr. James Buchanan believed that Congress had the power to 

 receive and apply this mone}^ to the purposes intended by the testator, 

 without involving the question whether they had the power to estab- 

 lish a national university or not. There was no question but that 

 James Smithson, in his lifetime, had a right to establish a university 

 at the city of Washington, and to call it the Smithsonian University; 

 or a national university, if he pleased; and Congress, by receiving 

 and applying this bequest, would only act as the trustee of the city of 

 Washington, for whose benefit it was made. 



Mr. R. J. Walker would not discuss the question whether this was 

 a national university, because he believed that question was not 

 involved. But he should vote for the bill on the ground that Con- 



