518 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



American storms, and experimental problems in electricity, light, etc. 

 To this may be added the publication of reports on the new discoveries 

 of science of a character highly useful and practical. 



It has been supposed, sir, that the true interpretation of this act 

 could be found by going outside of the law. Mr. Choate has inti- 

 mated in his letter that if we look at its parliamentary history we shall 

 see what is its true interpretation. I understand to what he refers. 

 The original bill was introduced into the House of Representatives; a 

 substitute was offered for the bill reported by the committee; that 

 substitute was amended by striking out some of its provisions and 

 inserting one or two others, which do not affect this question. The 

 intimation is that if we look to the proceedings of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives (not of the Senate, because in the Senate there was no dis- 

 cussion of the bill, and the amendments offered and rejected do not 

 furnish evidence of the construction given to it by that body) we shall 

 find that such amendments were made as are inconsistent with the con- 

 struction which the Regents now give to the act. Principally they 

 were two. There was a specific provision requiring professors and 

 lecturers to be employed. That was stricken out. Very true; but 

 then there was left in the bill the provision for lecture rooms, which 

 I think I have shown imperatively required that there should be lec- 

 tures and of course authorized the employment of persons to lecture. 



Then there was a provision in regard to researches and publica- 

 tions that was stricken out too, but 1 think I have shown that the 

 duty of the Regents was to institute researches and make publications 

 under the law as it stands. And when we look at the circumstances 

 attending the striking out of those provisions we find this to be the 

 fact. The provision in regard to researches and publications author- 

 ized Congress to call upon the Regents at any time to cause those 

 publications to be printed and supplied to members of Congress to be 

 distributed as public documents. Now it may very well have been 

 that those who voted to strike out this provision were induced to do 

 so by the single item of it which I have just mentioned, or they may 

 have thought these provisions superfluous, being well supplied by the 

 large discretionary powers given in the ninth section, which I have 

 quoted. It is, however, neither according to legal rules nor right 

 reason to look to the speeches and proceedings of the legislature for 

 the construction of a statute which is itself the embodiment of the 

 legislative will, and furnishes copious sources of construction by the 

 examination and comparison of its various provisions and the admitted 

 purpose of its enactment. Certain it is that the striking out of those 

 specific provisions can not invalidate the general grants of power, and 

 the necessary implications from those grants, which I have mentioned. 



Now, we have a library of 15,000 volumes, for the most part com- 



