THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 479 



municating the annual report of the Board of Regents of said Institu- 

 tion ordered to lie on the table. 



On motion by Mr. J. A. PEARCE that it be printed, and that 2,000 

 extra copies thereof be printed, the motion was referred to the Com- 

 mittee on Printing. 

 March 7, 1851 Senate. 



On motion by Mr. SOLON BORLAND, the report of the Board of Regents 

 of the Smithsonian Institution was ordered to be printed. 



Mr. BORLAND. I now move that 3,000 extra copies of that report be 

 printed. 



Mr. J. W. BRADBURY. 1 hope we will let the matter of printing 

 documents lie over until we meet for the transaction of ordinary legis- 

 lative business, and not undertake enterprises of this kind at thistime. 



Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. I can not see how the print- 

 ing of a report made to Congress can properly be termed an enterprise. 



Mr. R. B. RHETT. Who is to print it? 



Mr. DAVIS. The public printer. 



Mr. RHETT. He says he can not do it. 



Mr. BORLAND. That is the old contractor. This goes to the new 

 contractor. 



Mr. DAVIS. 1 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 benefit of mankind; and this is the report of the board so consti- 

 tuted by Congress. If there be anything more than another which we 

 should circulate 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 any committee 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 Congress, and it 

 would be questionable whether the Senate should print extra copies of 

 a report of one of its committees; 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 Regents. As to the value 

 of the information I will express no opinion. 



Mr. RHETT. I would ask my friend from Mississippi why the 

 Smithsonian Institution itself does not print its own proceedings? 



Mr. DAVIS, of Mississippi. I said, I think, that this was a report to 

 Congress. The Smithsonian Institution does print its contributions to 



