TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 415 



ordinary cases was not bound, if he was authorized to use his discre- 

 tion, as to the mode of investing the fund intrusted to him. But the 

 Government of the United States had no such discretion in this case. 

 There was no power given by the will of Smithson to invest the money 

 in any special mariner, and the Government invested it at its own 

 hazard. 



If, of his own accord, and without authority, a trustee made an 

 investment, he was responsible for it. Thus the United States stood 

 in relation to this matter, and to this extent they were responsible, if 

 at all. If his wishes had been consulted, the burden of this trust would 

 never have been accepted by the Government. But we did accept the 

 trust, and the national faith would be tarnished should it not be exe- 

 cuted. Had he been here at the time he would have voted against it. 

 He knew that the Government had no constitutional power to establish 

 a college of itself. The power was not granted in the Constitution; 

 but it might be admitted that the Government had the power to accept 

 a trust for the purpose. He had always advocated a strict construc- 

 tion of the Constitution, but he believed that the Government might 

 accept the trust. We had accepted the trust, and it was our duty to 

 execute it. 



Mr. A. D. SIMS made some remarks on the constitutional question. 



Mr. G. W. JONES asked whether, if the money should be given by 

 will for the establishment of a national bank, the Government would be 

 bound to execute the trust or have power to accept it? 



Mr. WICK replied that he would vote against the acceptance of such 

 a trust, 



Mr. WASHINGTON HUNT entirely concurred with the gentleman from 

 Indiana [Mr. Wick] in his view of this subject. It appeared to him 

 that it was a reproach to the Government to delay carrying out the 

 purposes of this trust. 



The committee proceeded to vote. 



The first question was on the following amendment of Mr. Andrew 

 Johnson to the first section : 



Strike out all after the word "next," in the eleventh line, to the word "be," in 

 the fourteenth line, and insert the following: "And actually paid into the Treasury 

 of the United States by the States which have borrowed and used said fund." 



Mr. R. D. OWEN inquired of the mover of the amendment whether, 

 if this amendment was carried, it would apply to any moneys that 

 have been paid into the Treasury of the United States as interest and 

 have been reinvested in State stocks? 



No answer being returned. 



Mr. OWEN said he hoped the amendment would not prevail. 



The question being taken, the amendment was rejected without a 

 division. 



The second section being under consideration, 



