TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 369 



ing expedition. These could not be taken care of without considerable 

 expense. It would also be recollected that it was a part of General 

 Washington's plan in laying out this city to extend the public grounds 

 from the Capitol to the President's House. These grounds embraced 

 more than 100 acres, and should they be embellished and improved 

 according to the original design the expense would be very great. All 

 these expenses were to be defrayed by the Smithsonian Institution. 

 All that was asked was the ordinary interest of 6 per cent, which the 

 Government had recently been obliged to pay. 



In regard to the ninth section of the bill, he would be glad if the 

 objections of the gentleman from Ohio should prove to be good, and 

 that there should be such an overflow of applications for admission into 

 the Institution as to render any restrictions necessary. He apprehended 

 that there would be no necessity for such restrictions, for we did not 

 propose, as at the West Point Academy, to pay any expenses of the 

 students. In case of such a rush for admission as the gentleman antici- 

 pated, he would admit that the students ought to be divided among 

 all the States and Territories. He would agree to vote for the amend- 

 ment, but he apprehended that the chief difficulty would be in getting 

 a sufficient number of persons to come. 



Mr. D. P. KING said he had proposed such a modification of the 

 plan as would enable students to pay their board by laboring on the 

 farm of the Institution. 



Mr. OWEN said that this point was before the committee, and it 

 was agreed that young men might be employed as managers and 

 laborers, if they were willing, while they were pursuing their studies. 



Mr. SAWYER remarked that it had been suggested that the ninth 

 section already provided for this object. But he must insist upon it 

 that it did not, and to prove it he would read the section, as follows: 



That the said board of managers shall also make rules and regulations for the 

 admission of students into the various departments of the Institution, and their con- 

 duct and deportment while they remain therein. 



The same provision applied to officers of the Institution, but the 

 managers were not instructed to distribute among the several States 

 and Territories all the students applying for admission. 



Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS said that so far as the Government was con- 

 cerned the bill conferred no powers on it. All objections on that 

 score were unfounded. He was afraid that the benches of the Institu- 

 tion would not be filled to overflowing, and that no restriction would 

 be necessary on that score. The ninth section might stand as it was 

 for the present, and when necessary Congress could amend the act in 

 order to meet any circumstances that might arise. In the meantime 

 he would throw open the door to all, whether for a single lecture or 

 for a whole course, and he regarded lectures as the greatest means 

 of extending knowledge which had been adopted in modern times. It 

 was second only to the invention of the art of printing. 

 H. Doc. 732- 24 



