Departments of
the Government, and a better class of agents would be secured, and the
loss by defaulters would be much lessened.

The enormous increase of the expenditures of the General Government
might, by the same process, be prevented. How does it happen that in a
time of peace these expenses have risen from twenty-three millions of
dollars up to seventy or eighty millions? In the same proportion, the
sum to which they will reach in another decade will be frightful! It
is high time that a stop was put to this lavish expenditure, and
especially to the losses by dishonest agents. The plan here proposed
will give you a starting point. The proceeds of the vast domain of the
public lands are now so mingled with the other expenditures of the
Government, that no one can tell what becomes of them. They are now
common plunder. Divide them among the States, and they will be
saved--they will be applied to some worthy object, and you will have
adopted a principle which, after a little time, under any honest
administration, will be applied to the other Departments of the
Government. I trust the whole amendment may be adopted. As the
amendment may be divided into two parts--one relating to appointments
to office, and the other to the public domain--I would ask that the
vote may be taken upon each proposition separately.

The vote was then taken upon the first portion of the amendment
proposed by Mr. SEDDON, with the following result:

AYES.--Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and
Missouri--5.

NOES.--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and
Iowa--14.

And the amendment was rejected.

Mr. JOHNSON:--I cannot concur in the vote just given by Maryland. I
desire to have my dissent recorded.

Mr. CRISFIELD:--I dissent, also, from the vote of Maryland.

President TYLER:--The last part of the amendment will be considered as
withdrawn.

Mr. McCURDY:--I move to amend the substitute proposed by Mr. FRANKLIN,
by adding thereto the following words:

"_Provided_, That nothing in this article contained shall be
so construed as to carry any law of involuntary servitude
into such Territory."

Mr. GUTHRIE:--I hope we shall reject all such amendments. I consider
this simply procrastination.

Mr. JOHNSON, of Missouri:--I wish to raise a point, a question of
order. This