PLATES OF FRACTIONAL CURRENCY. December 13, 1877-Senate. Mr. A. S. PADDOCK introduced a resolution (S. 10): That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and hereby is, authorized and directed to withhold from destruction and deliver to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, District of Columbia, to be held by that Institution as objects of interest, the following-described canceled plates heretofore used in the printing of United States fractional currency: One fifty-cent faceplate, fifth issue, series 1875. One twenty-five-cent faceplate, fifth issue, series 1874. Referred to Committee on Finance. Mr. PADDOCK. I will state that I have recently served on a committee appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon which both Houses of Congress were represented, to witness the counting of these plates and to examine the cancellation thereof. They are the plates upon which all the fractional currency was printed. printed. They are very elegant specimens of workmanship, and they are all to be destroyed in pursuance of law very shortly. It occurred to the committee that it might be well to preserve one of each series and have them lodged in the Smithsonian Institute as objects of interest hereafter. The Vice-President (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). The joint resolution will be referred to the Committee on Finance. Mr PADDOCK. I ask for the present consideration of the joint resolution. Mr. H. G. DAVIS, of West Virginia. I think the Senator had better let it be printed and referred. It is a matter of some importance to know just what should be done with the plates that have gone out of use in the Treasury Department. The VICE-PRESIDENT. The joint resolution will be printed under the rule. It goes over under objection. Mr. PADDOCK. It is provided by law that those destroyed, and they are all ready now for destruction. plates shall be They are to go to the navy-yard and be there melted in the furnace, and, as the work is very shortly to be completed, it seems to me it is a matter of interest which should be considered at once. Mr. H. L. DAWES. If this were only a question of interest, as suggested by the Senator from Nebraska, there would be no trouble about it; but the question of safety is so considerable that it does not seem to me that it is quite safe to pass the joint resolution without consideration. The VICE-PRESIDENT. Under objection the joint resolution has already gone over. May 28, 1878-Senate. Reported adversely by Mr. J. S. Morrill, for Committee on Finance, and postponed indefinitely. DOCUMENTS. December 15, 1877. Congress in providing for printing and distributing the “Biennial Register," ordered four copies of each issue to be delivered to the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat. XX., 13.) May 22, 1878. A joint resolution (No. 23) approved to distribute the new edition of the Revised Statutes of the United States, provided that two copies be furnished the Smithsonian Institution. (Rev. Stat., Supp., vol. 1, 2nd ed.,387.) June 7, 1878-House. The sundry civil bill as reported, included provisions relative to the public printing, among the items being "That of reports of committees of a private nature on pensions, claims, reliefs, and desertions, one copy should be sent to the Smithsonian Institution, also other documents not specifically provided for in the bill, one copy to the Smithsonian; "Of 'regular documents,' 35 sets for exchanges with foreign governments, and one set to the Smithsonian; "Of the daily edition of the Congressional Record, one copy to the Smithsonian; "Of the bound edition of the Congressional Record, one set to the Smithsonian; "Of the pamphlet laws of each session, one copy to the Smithsonian; "Of the Statutes at Large, bound in sheep, one copy to the Smithsonian; "Of the reports of the Supreme Court of the United States, one copy to the Smithsonian." [While the bill was considered in the House June 13, 1878, all the sections in regard to public printing were ruled out by the Chair as not belonging to an appropriation bill.] GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY REPORTS. June 17, 1878-House. A concurrent resolution was adopted to print of volumes 4 and 12 of the final reports of the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, in quarto form, with the necessary illustrations, 3,000 copies of each volume; 1,500 for the House, 500 for the Senate, 500 for the Survey, 500 for the Smithsonian Institution. June 18, 1878-Senate. Adopted. December 4, 1878-Senate. Mr. DAVID DAVIS, of Illinois, offered concurrent resolution to print 3,000 copies of the Report of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, relating to the geology of the Black Hills, in quarto, with the necessary illustrations and charts; 1,500 copies for the House, 500 copies the Senate, 500 copies for the Survey, 500 copies for the Smithsonian Institution. Also to print 3,000 copies of the Report of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, relating to the geology of the high plateaus of Utah, in quarto, with necessary illustrations and charts; 1,500 for the House, 500 for the Senate, 500 for the Survey, 500 for the Smithsonian Institution. Referred to Committee on Printing. December 4, 1878-House. Mr. JOHN R. EDEN submitted concurrent resolution. (Same resolution as offered by Mr. Davis in Senate, December 4, 1878.) December 18, 1878-House. Passed for Plateaus of Utah, 500 copies for Smithsonian Institution. December 20, 1878-Senate. Passed with amendments to give 375 copies to the Smithsonian Institution. January 25, 1879-House. Passed as amended. December 15, 1877. EXPOSITIONS. Paris Exposition, 1878. Joint resolution.-Whereas, the United States have been invited by the Republic of France to take part in a universal exposition of the productions of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts, to be held in Paris in 1878: Therefore, Resolved, etc., That said invitation is accepted, and that the governors of the several States and Territories be, and are hereby, requested to invite the people of their respective States and Territories to assist in the proper representation of the productions of our industry, and of the natural resources of the country, and to take such further measures as may be necessary in order to secure to their respective States and Territories the advantages to be derived from this beneficent undertaking. SEC. 2. That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a commissioner-general to represent the United States in the proposed exposition, and, under the general direction of the Secretary of State, to make all needful rules and regulations in reference to the contributions from this country, and to control the expenditures incident to the proper installation and exhi bition thereof, and to the preparation of the reports on the exposition; and that the President may also appoint twenty additional commissioners, no two of whom shall be appointed from any one State, of whom three shall be practical artisan experts, three shall be skilled representatives of commerce and manufactures, and four shall be practical agriculturalists, nine shall be scientific experts, corresponding to and specifically assigned to report upon the nine groups into which the exposition will, under the official regulations, be divided, and one who shall be assistant commissioner-general and shall perform the duties of commissioner-general in case of his death or disability, and shall report upon the exhibition at large and the general results thereof; that the allowance to said commissioner-general for salary and personal expenses shall not exceed $5,000 for his whole term of office; and the allowance of the twenty additional commissioners for salary and personal expenses shall not exceed $1,200 each, not including such clerical service as may be allowed by the commissionergeneral, which shall not exceed $15,000; and the governors of the several States may nominate and the President appoint two honorary commissioners from each of the several States, and the President may appoint twenty-four additional honorary commissioners, among whom there shall be at least one resident of each of the Territories of the United States, which said honorary commissioners may report upon such special subjects as the commissioner-general may direct, and shall serve without pay or other expense to the United States: And provided further, That in case the authorities of any State or Territory shall appoint a commissioner or commissioners to represent the interests of such State or Territory at said exhibition, said commissioner or commissioners so appointed shall have the same status in the commission as the honorary commissioners provided for herein, but shall not be entitled to either pay or compensation out of the money hereby appropriated: Provided always, That no person appointed by virtue of this resolution shall have any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in any article exhibited for competition or act as the agent for any exhibitor. And not more than one of the commissioners entitled to compensation nor more than five of the honorary commissioners shall be appointed from any one State or Territory. SEC. 3. That the President be authorized, in his discretion, to assign one or more of the public vessels to transport to and from France, free of cost, under regulations to be prescribed by the commissionergeneral, such articles as may be offered for exhibition by the citizens of the United States. SEC. 4. That in order to defray the necessary expenses above authorized, and for the proper installation of the exhibition, and the expenditures of the commissioner-general made under the direction of the Secretary of State, and with his approval, and not otherwise, there be, ana nereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $150,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for the purposes herein specified; which sum shall be expended under the direction of the Secretary of State; and out of such amount the Commissioner of Agriculture is hereby authorized to collect and prepare, as far as practicable and with as little delay as possible, suitable specimens of the agricultural productions of the several States and Territories of the Union for exhibition at the Paris Exposition. SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to transmit to Congress a detailed statement of the expenditures which may have been incurred under the provisions of this resolution, together with all reports called for under section two of this resolution, which reports shall be prepared and arranged with a view to concise statement and convenient reference. (Stat., XX, 245.) June 20, 1878. Sundry civil act for 1879. To enable the Secretary of State to defray additional expenses necessarily incurred by the Commissioner-General of the United States to the International Industrial Exposition in Paris in erecting a special building for exhibits of agricultural machinery and products, in erecting a façade, or frontage, to the space allotted to the United States in the main building, in making necessary alterations and repairs, and for transportation, $10,000, to be available immediately. (Stat., XX, 218.) February 27, 1879-Senate. Mr. H. B. ANTHONY Submitted concurrent resolution to print reports of the commissioners of the United States to the Paris Exposition of 1878. Referred to Committee on Printing. February 28, 1879—Senate. Passed. March 3, 1879-House. Passed. Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. March 3, 1879-House. The President (RUTHERFORD B. HAYES) sent a message to Congress, transmitting the final report of the United States Centennial Commis sion, and remarked: I have received from the United States Centennial Commission their final report, presenting a full exhibit of the results of the United States Centennial Celebration and Exhibition of 1876, as required by the act of June 1, 1872. In transmitting this report for the consideration of Congress, I express, I believe, the general judgment of the country, as well as my own, in assigning to this exhibi |