DECEMBER, 1846.] Admission of Iowa into the Union. mote the return of Santa Anna to Mexico; and if | so, who was the officer or agent, what were his instructions, and when was he sent on such a mission; also that he inform the Senate by what means, and through what channel, Santa Anna was informed that an order was issued to the com mander of our naval forces in the Gulf directing said commander not to obstruct his (Santa Anna's return to Mexico; and also that he transmit to the Senate copies of any correspondence in possession of the Government relative to the terms or conditions on which Santa Anna was permitted to pass through our blockading squadron, or in any manner relating to the subject of Santa Anna's return to Mexico. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. MONDAY, December 21. Admission of Iowa into the Union. The pending question was on the engrossment of the bill. Mr. DOUGLAS, from the Committee on Territories, explained its provisions.. The first section merely declared that the State, having complied with the conditions required by a law of Congress passed last session for her admission, was admitted into the Union. The second section re-enacted the same provisions which had been contained in the bill passed last year, which was supplemental to a former law. The people of the State having refused to accept the boundaries prescribed in the law of last session, it was deemed to follow that the law admitting the State with those boundaries of course fell with them; and it became necessary that the enactments should be revived and applied to the State as bounded in the present bill. Mr. SIMS, of South Carolina, observed that before the bill should be ordered to its third reading, he wished to call the attention of the Delegate from Iowa to a clause contained in the tenth article of the State constitution, set forth in the bill, taken in connection with one of the sections of the law of 1841. According to the present bill, the donation from the United States of five hundred thousand acres of public land to each new State to be admitted into the Union should, when received, be applied to purposes of education; but, by the law of 1841, it was required that these lands should be applied to purposes of internal improve ment. Mr. S. thought it proper to bring before Congress and before the Delegate from Iowa this discrepancy, with a view to obviate doubt or difficulty hereafter from the idea that it had escaped notice. Mr. S. approved of the alteration, and had no doubt it would be the duty of the land officers to govern themselves by the provision of the present law as modifying that of the law of 1841. The discrepancy was mani [29TH CONG. fest, and it should not exist without the knowledge and notice of the House, so that if the new application of the land fund was to be made, it should be done with the knowledge and approbation of Congress. Mr. DODGE said it was very true that the constitution approved by the people of Iowa did make that application of the proceeds of the public lands received from the United States which had been stated by the gentleman from South Carolina; but Mr. SIMS here said, before the gentleman proceeded, he wished it distinctly to be understood by that gentleman, by the House, and the country, that he was in favor of the admission of Iowa with her constitution thus modified. He approved of the change entirely; he had referred to it not by way of objection to her reception, but merely because he thought it due to all parties that the fact should be known and understood. Mr. DODGE proceeded to say that the people of Iowa, in accepting the constitution in its present form, considered the five hundred thousand acres of land received from the General Government as a paternal gift which they had a right to apply in any manner they might deem most conducive to their own good. They supposed that the trust had been applied to a proper and praiseworthy object, and that this House would concur in that opinion. They regarded it as the gift of a parent to the child, and that the recipient might lawfully apply it to any proper purpose. He trusted that no difficulty would grow out of the fact which had been brought to the notice of the House. Mr. DOUGLAS stated that all that had been done under the first law had been rendered null and of no effect by the people's refusal of their first constitution. The boundaries were then altered by a second law; these the people had agreed to; and, under this last law they came, presented their constitution, and asked to be admitted into the Union. This was the first time they had asked it; and, if admitted, they would be admitted by the present law. And this brought him to notice the objection of the gentleman from South Carolina. Mr. SIMS said he again protested against its being understood that he was opposed to the bill. He had raised no objection to it: he should, on the contrary, vote for the admission of the State under the constitution as it stood: all he desired was, that the true state of the fact should be clearly understood. Mr. DOUGLAS, resuming, said the gentleman seemed to have got hold of the old constitution of 1845. It was possible the same article might be in the present constitution, but if it was he was not aware of it: if it was wrong, he was willing it should be altered As to the second section of the bill, it was necessary, in order to establish Federal courts within the new State. The provision of the former law to that effect having become inoperative, the same had been inserted in the present bill. Mr. DODGE said it was only necessary to state what had been the understanding of the people of Iowa in this matter. They supposed that when the former constitution was rejected, the act proposing the rejected boundaries fell of course, for it was on condition of their acceptance, and this they refused. A second convention, therefore, was held in January, 1846, under the law passed in 1845. The eighth section of that law showed the necessity of a new act. By the former act the proclamation of the President of the United States was required: in this act no such requirement was contained. [DECEMBER, 1846. such volumes shall be octavo, and substantially bound in leather, and not less than five hundred pages each, and shall be compiled by some suitable person, at the expense of Mrs. Hamilton, and to be by her selected and chosen, with the approval of the Committee on the Library; and that the writings of General Hamilton which are of a such five volumes shall embrace substantially all public and important character." The question being on ordering the bill to be engrossed for a third reading Mr. CHALMERS suggested that the bill should be passed over informally, the chairman of the Committee on the Library, (Mr. PEARCE,) who reported the bill, not being in his seat. Mr. TURNEY called for the yeas and nays on the engrossment. Mr. SIMS entirely concurred with the gentleMr. CHALMERS again rose and said he had man from Ohio (Mr. THURMAN) as to the effect desired, as the Senator from Maryland who of all trusts imposed upon States, but he wholly reported this bill was not in his seat this morndissented from the inference that it was there-ing, that the bill might be passed over infore indifferent whether they were expressed in the State constitution or not. This amounted to saying that Congress never would trust a State, because no State was trustworthy. On the contrary, he thought States eminently worthy of trust, because whatever their legal inefficacy, they created a moral obligation which he hoped no State would disregard. Mr. THURMAN disclaimed having meant to insinuate any thing to the contrary. He admitted trusts created a moral obligation on a State; but it was moral only, and never could be enforced. And he meant to say that he would not limit the State constitution without sufficient reason. Mr. SIMS repeated his willingness to admit the State and his hope that the bill would pass. Mr. THOMPSON, of Pennsylvania, asked the yeas and nays; but the House refused to order them. And thereupon the bill was read a third time and passed. formally. If too late, however, for a postponement, or the Senate was unwilling to postpone, he desired to make a few remarks in explanation. At the last session, this subject was fully examined by the committee which reported this bill, and it passed the Senate by a large majority. The works which were proposed to be published were furnished to the committee at that time for examination, and he became satisfied of their very great importance in regard to the subject of which they treat. They relate to all the important transactions during the revolutionary war, and to inany subjects and occurrences subsequent to that war, when General Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury. He could conceive of no papers more valuable or more desirable to preserve with the archives of the country than those which were offered to them by Mrs. Hamilton. The cost of these papers was not more than they were really worth; and he thought it would be becoming in, nay, that it was the duty of this Government, to obtain possession of these documents, over and above any disposition they might feel to render to the widow of so distinguished a man so small a service. He should feel that the Senate, in rejecting this bill, was not only doing an injustice to the widow of Alexander Hamilton, but was not fulfilling its duty to the Government. He hoped the bill would pass, as at the last session, by a large majority. Mr. SEMPLE had voted for this bill at the last session, and should do so again; still, he would not object to the postponement of this bill to next week, if desired by Senators, until the Senator from Maryland should return to his seat. He believed these books would be valuable to the country, and therefore he hoped the bill would pass. "That the Treasurer of the United States be, and be is hereby, directed to pay to Elizabeth Hamilton, widow of Alexander Hamilton, out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of twenty thousand dollars, whenever the said Elizabeth Hamilton shall deliver to the librarian of Congress one thousand copies of each of the five volumes which she proposes to publish of the writings of General Hamilton, and shall also deliver to said librarian the entire manuscripts, to be deposited and remain forever among the ar- YEAS.-Messrs. Archer, Atchinson, Badger, chives of the Government: Provided, always, That | Bagby, Chalmers, John M. Clayton, Thomas Clay The question was then taken on ordering the bill to be engrossed for a third reading, and it was decided in the affirmative, as follows: DECEMBER, 1846.] Yulee-26. ton, Corwin, Crittenden, Davis, Evans, Greene, | leagues of the other House of Congress, and a Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson of Louisiana, Man- similar resolution will now be offered on this gum, Morehead, Phelps, Semple, Sevier, Simmons, melancholy occasion. In less than three years, Speight, Sturgeon, Upham, Woodbridge, and two Senators and two Representatives in Conto their fathers. The death of my late colleague gress from the same State have been gathered was the most unexpected; for he was not only in the vigor of life, but he possessed a strong constitution. NAYS.-Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atherton, Breese, Bright, Butler, Calhoun, Dix, Fairfield, Niles, Turney, and Westcott-12. On motion of Mr. SPEIGHT, the bill was read a third time, and, by unanimous consent, was passed. On motion of Mr. CHALMERS, the title of the bill was changed to "A bill to purchase the Papers of the late Alexander Hamilton.” WEDNESDAY, December 30. On motion of Mr. HUNTINGTON, the reading of the Journal was dispensed with; whenMr. JOHNSON, of Louisiana, rose and addressed the Senate as follows: The ways of Providence are indeed inscrutable. It may with truth be said, that "whilst in life we are in death." Of Mr. BARROW's early history I know but little. He was a native of Tennessee, and was, I am told, about forty-five years of age. His family and connections are of the highest respectability, and have been long distinguished for their talents and patriotism. After having completed his education, Mr. BARROW studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Tennessee; immediately after which, I believe, he removed to Louisiana, where he pursued his profession for some time with success; and, had he remained at the bar, would have attained the highest distinction. Being independent in his circumstances, and fond of agricultural pursuits, after a few years' practice, he retired from the bar, and became a successful planter, and has since devoted his attention mainly to the cultivation of the earth. his adopted State, by whom his character and services will ever be held in grateful remembrance. The news of his death will produce throughout the State, as it has produced here, the deepest emotions of sorrow. Mr. BARROW served, however, repeatedly in the Legislature of Louisiana with reputation, Mr. President: Louisiana has to mourn the and was regarded as a distinguished member; loss of another of her distinguished sons! It and he received from the people of the State is with unfeigned sorrow I announce to the many other proofs of their highest respect and Senate the death of my late friend and col- confidence. His election to the Senate of the league, the Hon. ALEXANDER BARROW, who United States, under circumstances the most died at Baltimore yesterday morning at five flattering, is the best evidence of the high estio'clock, after a short and violent attack of ill-mation in which he was held by the people of ness, which would not yield to the best medical skill. All the relief that medical science and skill could accomplish was applied in vain. He left this city on the 24th instant, on a short visit to Baltimore, apparently in perfect health, and I only heard of his illness the day before his death. Indeed, so sudden and unexpected was the shock produced by the annunciation of the sad event yesterday, that I cannot yet hardly realize the fact, and do not feel sufficiently composed to do justice to the memory of the deceased in the few remarks I propose to make. The deep anxiety felt here not only by the members of both Houses of Congress, but by all classes of the community, when his dangerous situation became known through the telegraph, is now dispelled by the melancholy gloom spread over the whole city. It is, indeed, but too true that ALEXANDER BARROW, the pure patriot and enlightened statesman, is no more. Mr. BARROW was distinguished for his bland and courteous manners, for his frank and manly deportment, and for his many generous and noble traits of character. No man, in fact, had more sincere and devoted friends whilst living, and no one has died more lamented. He performed his duties here with zeal and ability, and, at the same time, in the most frank and conciliatory spirit; and I am sure that it is no exaggeration to say, that in his intercourse with his brother Senators, his deportment on all occasions was such as to command the respect and confidence of every member of this body. He has now closed his earthly career, but he has gone, I hope, to a better and happier world. Three years have not passed away since Mr. Although he expired far from his home, and BARROW announced in appropriate and eloquent from the cherished partner of his bosom, it terms the death of his late distinguished col- must be a source of some consolation to her, league; and since then it has devolved on me and to her orphan children, to learn that he to present the ordinary resolutions as a mark was surrounded at that awful moment by deof respect to the memory of two of my col-voted friends, from whom he received every 2D SESS.] Death of Senator Barrow. [DECEMBER, 1846. attention which friendship could bestow, and | he has so well presented; but, in contemplating that he died as he had lived, without fear and the rich and full portrait of the high qualities without reproach, relying upon the mercy of of the head and heart which he has presented, his Redeemer. And what shall be said of their suffer me to look for an instant to the source, bereavement? There is a silence which is the fountain, from which flowed the full stream more expressive than language. We forbear, of generous and noble actions which distinin humble submission to the will of Heaven-guished the entire life of our deceased brother in grateful recollection, that "He who strikes Senator. I speak of the heart-the noble heart has power to heal." -of ALEXANDER BARROW. Honor, courage, The character of the deceased was indeed, patriotism, friendship, generosity-fidelity to sir, of the highest order As a Senator, a citi- his friend and his country-the social affections zen, and a gentleman-indeed, in all the rela--devotion to the wife of his bosom, and the tions of public and private life-he was children of their love: all-all, were there! esteemed and beloved. As a patriot, a firm and never, not once, did any cold, or selfish, and uncompromising friend of his country and or timid calculation come from his manly of her constitution, he had no superior. Brave, head to check or balk the noble impulses of his ardent, and chivalrous in his temperament, and generous heart. A quick, clear, and strong devoted to the principles of civil and religious judgment found nothing to restrain in these liberty, had he lived in the days of the early impulses; and in all the wide circle of his pubstruggles for English freedom, he would have lic and private relations-in all the words and bled by the side of Hampden in the field, or acts of his life-it was the heart that moved died with Sidney on the scaffold. Yet, sir- first; and always so true to honor that judg"His life was gentle, ment had nothing to do but to approve the impulsion. From that fountain flowed the stream of the actions of his life; and now what we all deplore what so many will join in deploring-is, that such a fountain, so unexpectedly, in the full tide of its flow, should have been so suddenly dried up. He was one of the younger members of this body, and in all the hope and vigor of meridian manhood. Time was ripening and maturing his faculties. He seemed to have a right to look forward to many years of usefulness to his country and to his family. With qualities evidently fitted for the field as well as for the Senate, a brilliant future was before him, ready, as I know he was, to serve his country in any way that honor and duty should require. And the elements so mixed in him, And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN.''' The Senator from Louisiana (Mr. JOHNSON) has performed the office of duty and of friendship to his deceased friend and colleague. Justly, truly, and feelingly has he performed it. With deep and heartfelt emotion he has portrayed the virtues, and sketched the qualities, which constituted the manly and lofty character of ALEXANDER BARROW. He has given us a picture as faithful as it is honorable, and it does not become me to dilate upon what Mr. BREESE next arose, and spoke as follows: Mr. President: It is not in my power to add any thing to the eulogies already so eloquently pronounced by the more particular friends of the deceased, in the beautiful language of sincerity and truth. Be it my humble purpose to fling but one flower upon his grave-to add but one slight tribute, among more valued offerings, to his acknowledged worth; a tribute, sir, although slight, perhaps not altogether valueless, coming as it does from a political opponent as ardent and as decided in the support of his principles as he whom we all mourn was known to be in the cause he espoused. It was not my fortune, Mr. President, to know intimately the deceased until after the close of the last long and laborious session of Congress. We met in our journey to our distant homes, at the Falls of Niagara, and proceeded thence through our vast ocean lakes quite to Illinoishe pursuing his way by the rivers to his, and I overland my route to my home. In this intercourse, so cordial and friendly as it was, there were daily developed the most amiable points of his character, winning my regard, and advancing us speedily from mere acquaintances DECEMBER, 1846.] Death of Senator Barrow. to intimate friends. This I know, sir, from the Has sought the grave, to sleep forever there." Ardently and sincerely devoted as he was to his party and its principles, it was his good fortune, Mr. President, I take it upon myself to say, to enjoy in the highest degree the unbounded respect of his opponents, and of all his associates here; no matter how amiable, sincere, or kind they may be, he alone, perhaps, of all of them, could say, "I have no personal enemy." Nor could he have; for a kinder or a manlier heart never beat within a human bosom. But now he is no more! Though but in his meridian, life's evening shadows have fallen, and the portals of the tomb will soon close upon him forever! Gone from among us and forever, and from all he loved, is that manly form we delighted to look upon; quenched is the fire and spirit of that eye that so often beamed in kindness; pulseless is now that heart whose every throb was in unison with friendship, fidelity, and with all the generous and captivating qualities that adorn man's best nature. Faults he had-let the grave hide them. The memory of his many virtues will be preserved, if not in brass or marble, upon a more valued and more durable material-the hearts of his friends and his countrymen. I join, Mr. President, with melancholy satisfaction in assent to such resolutions as may be offered, appropriate to the occasion. Mr. HANNEGAN remarked: I also desire, with a mournful heart, to add my feeble but sincere testimony to the exalted worth, and noble and manly and generous spirit which in life adorned, and now, as he lies cold and shrouded, sanctify the memory of ALEXANDER BARROW. Come when it may in our midst, Mr. President, death never fails to make its impress upon those who survey its work. There are none so careless, none so indifferent, as to defy its impressions, when even a casual acquaintance falls. But the feeling of awe and of gloom which pervades this chamber to-day is far beyond the usual and ordinary feeling. One of us-one who has long occupied a high place here, in his country's highest place, has been suddenly, and almost without warning, stricken down. But a day or two since-to me it seems but an hour-and he was here, beloved and respected by all; in all the pride of intellect, and in all the royalty of the most vigorous and athletic manhood. Where, sir, shall we look to find a more manly, commanding, and symmetrical form? Where shall we seek a nobler and a more majestic | | [29TH CONG. front? Where are we to seek and where to find a loftier nature, a soul more elevated, or a heart more kind, more generous, and more gentle? I know not one-not one. Heaven had blessed him with that high nature which knows no disguise, and scorns all unmanly concealment. He knew no art; dissimulation, with its fell train of poisons, had no home in his bosom. In all his bearings here, from the hour in which my eyes first rested upon him, I have known nothing of him but what became, proudly became an American Senator. Brave, generous, manly, and highly gifted, he discharged his duties here as a proud representative of a proud people. And how beautifully, how happily were all the elements of our nature commingled in him! He had "a heart formed for pity, and a hand open as day to melting charity." That heart-that heart is cold, and that hand is still, and BARROW— BARROW, the name so often uttered in this chamber, and never but in tones of kindness— BARROW, with his elastic step, with his joyous look, his noble presence, and his winning virtues-BARROW sits with us here no more; yon vacant chair tells the stern reality-BARROW will be with us no more. Strange and mysterious Providence! The most robust of all our number-he who but a week since stood here fit model for an ancient hero or a demigod—he is the first to be gathered to dust, and that, too, before his noon of life was reached, and long, long before the harvest to our eyes seemed ready for the reaper. It was my happy fortune to contract an acquaintance with him shortly after I entered the Senate, which gradually ripened into a most intimate friendship. I knew him well-I knew him well-I loved him dearly; and, Mr. President, I will say that in private, as in his public life, I found him ever distinguished by the same lofty characteristics, the same scrupulous regard for honor and propriety, the same rare endowment of remarkable common sense, the same sound discriminating judgment, and a perception unusually, singularly clear, quick, and correct. The delight of the social circle, ALEXANDER BARROW was master of all the social virtues. He won all hearts that approached him as with a spell. The last time that I saw him, Mr. President, he came to visit me in my sick room. It was but a few days since, not ten; we were alone for some time; the conversation turned upon home-upon our own homes-and we spoke of distant and dearly beloved friends; and, sir, I shall never forget how his eye lighted up as he talked of his approaching retirement from public life, and dwelt upon his future career of tranquil happiness, when, engaged only in domestic pursuits, he should be surrounded daily and hourly by those endearments which he fondly-but alas! how vainly-fancied were reserved for him through many, many long years at home. He dwelt upon his home, and those who were there-of her, its light, its joy-his wife. He spoke, as |