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SUBSTANCE OF REMARKS I OF HON. JAMES L. OUR, ok south carolina, Jit Ihe House of Representatives, ' Saturday, September 28, 1850, On the proposition to release the present Contractors for the Public Printing. Mr. Our said: Mr. Chairman; I propose to sub-1 mit a few observations on the subject now under discussion, and commence by stating* some facts, elicited by I he investigating committee on the pub Jic printing. 1 do this more readily, since tho Mouse this morning re ft is- i cd to allow that committee the privilege of reporting, and thus bringing ; the result of their labors officially be-; fore it. Tho testimony taken (level- i opes a series of facts which the Ilouse cught to know, before deciding upon this proposition. The< facts I am resolved shall not he stiffled, when disclosed, if the House takes tlie responsibility of not only relieving the present contractors, but of paying them a bonus for the nonI?erlormance of their contract in conformity with written s ipulations, be it so;our constituents will be prepared to pass the proper judgment on our votes. Until lSlQthe printing for Congress was executed bv urinters elected bv the respective Houses, and I he compensation was fixed by the joint resolution of 1819. The great improvements and discoveries in the art of printing, made the prices paid by the i resolution of 1811) enormous|y high, ' for several years passed. The rapid development of the country and its augmented legislation, requited a con siderable increase of printed matter, ! and the heavy expenditure in that department directed the attention of Congress to the necessity ol some radical reform* * * * It will he teen that the annual expenditure for printing was swelled from $-10,000 in 1830, to $200,000 in 1S-10. To remedy this growing abuse, Congress, by a joint resolution } iissed in August, 1850, established the contract system. l>y this resolution, the public printing of the (wo fJouses of Congress was to he executed by the lowest bidder. The contract for the Thirtieth Congress! was assigned to Wendall &, Van Benthuysen, and for the Thirty-first 1 (the present) Congress, one class was assigned to John IVenhDlm, three > class to William M. Belt, and one j class to John T. Towers. The con i tracts of Trenholm and J3elt have been transferred to Thomas Ritchie, it is alleged, for his protection, he being one of the sureties to the bonds of these contractors, respectively, for the faithlul and prompt execution of the work. At this point, 1 wish to correct a mistake into which the gen. tlcnian from Maryland [Mr. McLanel has fallen. l ie appealed elouuemly to the sympathy o! the House 4. i:i.. u_ !?: _l_: _ . r . i , I iw rcimvu iTxr. ixuciue 01 uu; losses he lias sustained as surely. Hut il is , a fact which cannot be dejuedk-Vhril j the contragt.jvc^e--taken originally : H'Uh assent, and for the benefit of Mr. Ritchie. By referring to the j memorial which the contractors had printed and laid uponAour tables sonic months past, praying relief, a letter from Mr. Ritchie, dated March 18-11), addressed to Mr. Dickins, may be seen, written only a few days after the contracts were declared, in which he acknowledges that he was is principally interested in the contracts.? Mr. Ritchie's friends cannot, there- j fore, claim that sympathy which the j world is usually ready to extend to a ' surety suffering loss by the failure of his principal. lie acknowledged himself I lie principal before the exe-i cution of the work was commenced, or could be commenced- He lias , proceeded in the execution of the eontiact, and now comes in the; names of Trenholm and Bell, to Congress, and a^ks to be relieved from it. Nay, more, sir: not satisfied with relief without loss, his friends demand for him a net profit of ten per cent, on the \v jle oi the investment, as a gratuity, I presume, for the non-performance ot his con1 ! ?/> WV.VV The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. McCIcrland] bases the application lor relief ana compensation cn anolh-, er and very different ground. He assumes thatx Congress has \iola?ed the written contract, by taking the printing of the census vet urns from Mr. Ritchie, and for that reason Mr.! 11. is entitled, as a matter of justice, to be relieved. 1 think the gentle-; man from Illinois is in error hero.? i The printing of the census returns i does not constitute a part of the printing of the two Houses of Con- j i* r_n i .? i , . i i on. 11 iuji? miner \ne neati 01 ?e . pari men t printing. In 1839 Con*! grcss direct the then Secretary of State to contract with the printers to j the next Congress for the printing of these returns, and in conformity with that act the census printing was ex* edited bythe prijtirr Congress, and not ex officio. So "-much, then, for his right to claim the census printing ox officio. But, sir,J have examined th'- p oposals am) contract? of.Tren* ' N holm and licit, and it the work al- i ready executed has subjected Mr. R. [ to loss, 1 have no hesitation in giving the opinion that a just and fair con- j struction of these contracts would impose a still greater loss had he been required to exccute the census printing under these contracts. The work is rule and figure, brevier, and there is no clause i:"; either of the class embraced in Air. Ritchie's conthat would render such an enormous profit as it is insisted he would have realised by the job. If 1 am correct in this opirion, then Mr Ritchie I has not been injured by the action of (.< ingress, instructing the Secretary of Interior to contract at his discretion, for the printing of the census returns. J5ut, sir, there are other consider- ( ations why these contracts should j not be abrogated, or if abrogated. ! why we should not pay supposed los-; i ti 1 IIIIU ^lUlUIIUUd U1U1II9* JL II v I U I can be no question, tliat at the time j the bids were made, these contract-1 ors, as well as Mr, Ritchie, know that 1 the work could not be performed | without loss. The declarations of I Messrs. Trenholm and Ritchie, made j only a few days after the contracts j were declared, are conclusive of the ; point. They conceded that they had taken (lie conuuets too low, out umt they would go ou and execute them, and rely upon Congress to make up all losses. Mr. Trenholm, when interrogated why he had taken the contracts at such low rates, replied, that it was expected there would be j a Democratic majority in the present i Congress, and if so, they would be relieved by Congress, the contract *111 11*1 1 1 A T system wouia ne auousnea, ana iur. Ritchie would then he elected public printer at former prices. Now, with all these facts known to us, with what grace can they come to this house and ask to he relieved? They cannot, truly, plead any misfortue. Mr. Trenholm has the reputation of ranking among the best and one of the most intelligent printers in the city; he was a good judge of the work having been many years connected with it, and knew well what prices would remunerate. The contractors were in ither over-reached, de-1 cetved nor defrauded. They all knew Wendall & Van Benthuysen, their! predecessors, and the first con true-; tors under the new system, hadsus tamed a heavy pecuniary loss., rendered more oppressive from I he fact they were compelled lo fit up and furnish all the materials; types, presses, &c., necessary to commence and carry on llie work. And notwithstanding all this, they contracted, de- i liberately, to do the work at less prices than those paid Wendall Van Benthuysen. J'lie contract of the latter firm, being the first, was a mere j experiment; and if you relieve the j present contractors, who had the! benefit of their experience, and who ! voluntarily plaocu themselves in a j position where loss may ensue, you ran no longer, injustice, refuse torefund every dollar, with interest there- j1 mi. in AT Wnndnll ?' Van U r?n- 1 thuysen. Do you propose to establish the principle that all contractors in the employ of the (ioVernment, who, from want of judgment or through folly, selfishness, or oilier cause, involve Ihemselves in difficulty and are threatened with loss by carrying out faithfully the stipulationsof their con- j tracts, are to he thus summarily re-: lieved by Congress; if so, you will soon destroy all fidelty in your contractors and bankrupt yourTrea>ury. But, sir, the lo-s in ill's ca?e is greatly magnified. Mr. Ritchie understands the philosophy of taking care of himself as well as most men, and whilst I should regret the serious less his friends anticipate, I shall show that lie 1ms made some profit on some j1 brandies of ihe contract, which will fro a great to supply what has been ost on other branches* For printing ten thousand copies of the opinions ' of the opinions of the Judges of the Supreme Court in the case of the i City Council of Boston vs. Norris, making a pamphlet or volume of 1S1 pages, he has actually received $12,500. But this payment has been made, as I believe, under a most ex- I traordinary and illegal construction j of the contract. The actual value j of the work is, perhaps, not more j than ,000, and a proper construc-1 tion of the contract, in my judgment, would not have given Jinn mors than that sum. In addition to this, Mr. Ritchie realizes some five or six thousand dollars clear profit on binding con gressional documents. boon alter the. beginning of tlie present session a resolution passed orderirg all heavy document to be bound* The Joint committee on Printing gave the contract to Tranholm, Mr. Ritchie's foreman, and doubtless for Mr R. s benefit, at 12 1-2 cents per volume. The contract has been re-let by him at a nett profit of 10 per cent., which is $1/250 for every 100-000 docu| meats. The number ordered will probably amount to 500,(XX) volumns; : this gives to Mr. R., without trouble, | and with very little responsibility, & i profit of ?0,000. ] Tho gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. McClermiuKj with some emphasis; > boosts that it has not been pretended ! t that the present contractors have not! executed their contract strictly ao-j b cording to its terms. Well, sir, I ," take issue with him upon that point,. a and charge that the contractors have c signally tailed to execute the work according to their stipulations. I do not mean to be understood as including Mr. Towers: he 1 as executed j faithfully his contract, and has not | sent in a petition to he relieved from s its terms, or ;o be allowed a greater compensation than he stipulated to do (lie work in his class foi\ * When the Secretary of Senate and ' Clerk of the House of Represent a- 1 tives advertised for proposals for doing the public printing ior the present Congress, they exhibited to the bid-' dors us a sample of paper which they announced as the standard for paper for all the work. By comparing the sample with the paper used ; by the present contractors, for the greater nartof the documents, it will j he founet thai the latter is greatly in-: ferior to the sample. The regular number are printed on good paper, which arc about twenty-six hundred copies of each document, including those placed cn the tables of the mem- : hers, but all "extra 1 numbers, which j embraces the documents we send | home to our const ituo::!s, constituting j the great bulk of the contract, is j printed on paper of an interior qual-' ity. If the contractors gQ on and ex-! ecute HI the work now ordered and to be ordered by this Congress, and ; continue to print all the extra copies, j as they have heretofore done, on paper of inferior qua'ify, they will save some twenty thousand dollars, whi'h would uot be saved if the contract was executed according to its stipulations. It was urged as an excuse lor mis departure from ilie contract, i f that it has been the custom hereto- j fore to print all extra numbers on in- j j ferior paper. It is of but fcttle con- j t sequence what custom prevailed pre-; h vious to the establishment of the i on- j * tract system in 1846/ The reply con-; I elusive againt the plea of custom is I this: The written contract requires g that all the pape.i to be used shall we'gh thirty-eight pound per ream, and the paper used for all the extra copies weighs but thity pounds: the former is worth $4 75 per ream, and the latter $3 30per ream. The contractors pocket (>y their non-compliance willi the written stipulations 81 45 per rerm on every ream thus imnrnnrtl' V licn<l luln^li ii/twin anrivi-n. ,,w. j .....V.., ...FVM gated, will ('all but little if any short f of twenty thousand dollars. It this t a faithiui compliance with the terms of the contract? If it is not, then I have sustained myself iu the issue c made with my friend from Illinois, P [Mr. ErtClei laud.] c There is auo her feature, which I shall not pass by in silence. The j public printing has not been urged forward with sufficient industry and f puergy. The first part of the Patent j Office report for 1849, is still in the c printers' hands. We have not beeu c able to send a single copy to our con- f stituenfs; and as io the second part of the same report, for l&ll). it is . doubtful whether it has been commenccd. I will no! charge the contractors now with drying the work \ for the purpose of forcing Congress f lo pay bettor prices, but it is appa- ' rent lo all tha* 'ho prirtting is far behind what it should be. If the con- ! traetorS had increased the numl)cr of ii their workmen, and run their presses fa night and day, as other printer* have a heretofore done when the e^i^ency required it, we should have had much 1 less reason to complain of the harras- ' sing de'avs with which we have t been so seriously afflicted at the pre- r sent session. 1 To conclude, then, the contractors have no legal or equ'table claim to c he relieved from a contract which 1 they have voluntarily madet witn I full knowledge of all the facts at the | I time of entering into it. If the House I j rl(>)nrmint><> tr> iv'inOn tlmm liv nmnil- I ling the contract, their liberality should step there. If it is determined to pay them actual cost *br all their work and materials, it will be making a free use of the money of our constituents; but if it should be determined to refund all losses and then pay ten per cent net profy on the whole investment, it will ne Culpable and inexcusable profligacy. Richprfl P. Robinson.?This person, of Helen Jewett notoriety, was in Ne w York city a few weeks since. He looked remarkablv woli andre ports himself as one ofthe happiest of i old fashioned married men, in the i possession ofa fond wife and Ihe cbil- , dren, all snugly provided for in the fertile valley of Texas. He main tains his entire inno( < nee of the aw* ful crime for whiah W was tried and j acquitted.?JV Y> Day Book. ttlpucopal Cm vent ion.?All 9 the bishops of the Episcopal church in this country are in attendance at Cincinnati, except Bifehop Southgnte late missionary to Turkey* uVQxn KEOWEE COURIER iatnrdiy, Uctobcr HO IHilO, With a view of accommodating cur Su cribers who lire at a distance, the following entlemen are authorized and requested tc ct as agents in receiving and forwarding Sul riptons to tho Keowke Counts*, vi?: Maj. W. S. Orisiiau, at West Union. Gdvaxd Hranits, K?q.", " Home Shoe. 12. P. Vkhnkb, Esq.t " Bacholor'? Retreat M. F. Mitchell, Esq.. " I'ickensvillo. J. K. IIaoo*d, " Twelve Mile. J. T. Wkbd. for Anderson District. This Number. Owing lo n change in the mail arrangements, wc lave been forced lo alter temporari y our publication day. Abolition i.v the Sotth.?There ire in the upper Districts of our Slate a few persons, the most ol whom arc located Yankee pedl!ers, who believe, or affect to believe hat the poor in our country would do greatly benefited by negro emancipation. To stir up and foster such i belief, and to excite to discontent hat portion of our population which Iocs not own slaves, has been one >f the darling objects of the thousand ibolition associations of the North md West. For this purpose the nails have been loaded wilhincendi iry papers, and our country overrun jy spies and emissaries of unprineijled societies, who have stolen from lamlet lo hamlet, breathing in the mrsof the simpie, words of bitterness md sedition. Every nerve has been itrained, every means has been tried o make a division among our peo)le, so I hat our house, being divided igainst itself, might fall. The poor of our country have been old to look upon the owners ol laves as their natural enemies, and he institution itself as a perpetual )ar to their prosperity. They have Ken told (hat, by the abolition of ilnvery their condition would be imnensely improved, that land would be ome cheap and labor high, that an mtire revolution would take place in Southern society, by mens cfwhich he humble shall be lifted up, and he exalted brought low; in short, all neans have been employed which ngenuity cqjpld invent or wickedness >racticc, to deceive the simple and minformed. But, thank Heaven, ill these efforts have been in vain, md to-day a truer and a braver peo>lethan the yeomanry of the South lo not breathe God's vital air. The poorest man in South Ca^o ma has too much intelligence not 10 ee that his interest is indissolubly oincd to ihe interest of his slaveholliug neighbors, and tl.it whatever (fleets the one, whether for good or or? vil, efTeets in a corresponding raio the other. Tims, when the slave uterest is prospering, wag?s are li.^h and provisions arc cheap, but hen that interest suffers, labor cihvr starves or begs. The truth is he interest of the rich and of the >oor. of all classes in society arc so ndissolubly united, that it isimpossi?lc to t'flcct one without effecting tti. Aii over the world the poor nust Jive off of the rich, for they must >e by the rich employed; whatever, herefore, impoverishes the rich, nust starve the poor. It is impossi)lc to live even in the neighborhood >f wealth without being benefited >y it, for wealth does not prey upon, >ut creates the means of comfort.? Ant mrtfo rtoimotollir %jr V'^wmil J y Ml VIII Iliu JJCVill iar i.ature of the very institution vhich is sought to be destroyed, are he rich and poor of the South united n interest. In all communities* nc natter uhat may be the character ol heir political $ institutions, from the rety naUire of things, thertrnustfc ico clatter, one class which enjoys ?nd one which server, the one lord ng it with all the pride 01 employers lrul the other subject to all the odiurr which will attach to menial and sla lish offices. In all countries whert he institution of slavery does npt ex. st, as in the free States of this tliiion ihese classes are made up of the whit* population?there, there are whiU masters and wh its servants. Bin t hen these two classes are represented bj two distinct races: Caueurfioa matf , 1 4 f II * .? lcrs nuci airman sinves. jrcere, mei ail menial nnd degrading' ?fltaes beint performed by slaves, the whites livi together on terms of the most pet feet equality, sitting down and ri sing up together as brethren, and ii ?r*' South Carolina, every vvliite man is by Inw a master, and every white' woman ti intitrcss, who would scorn to serve even kingly masters.- But! let the Yankees free our slaves, and ( | at once this happy equality and proud > independence is forever at an end;? 1 the white population, if not driven from the country, will he forced to divide itself info these two grade?, and the poor will be compelled by their own necessities to take the place the negrbes now occupy, and minister to the with slavish servitude. > For fear of tiring our readers, we will not pursue this subject further at! present, in our next issue we propose ! to examine it further. THE ELECTION. pi The following tfib'c contains the ' election returns for Pendleton District: FOR CpXGKESS. Orr 2,823 FOR THE SENATE. Evans * 1501 Hagood 953 rjckens 840 FOR THE HOUSE. Garvin * 2,300 Reed * 2,325 Cunningham * 2,245 Easley * 2 237 Harrison * 2,100 Alexander * 1,914 Whitefield * 1,758 Ci'aijj 1 Scott 1,125 i Hunter 1,571 Bryco 055 Southerland Oil Trotter ' 2 For Commissioners of the Poor, for Pickens District; Ivirksey, Towers, Lewis, ITendrirks and Mclvinney. * Elected. t Rain.?After mnny weeks of dry. and some of warm weal her, we had ; on yesterday a refresh'!)#shower, an 1 now our people may look out for frost. FOREIGN NEWS. Baltimore, Cict. 11. After a careful perusal of the paf)ers brought by the Europa, the poitical news was found to be quite uninteresting. i England and Franco are in a per! fectly quiet state. Denmark and the j : Duchies continue to be disturbed, but I nothing definite had Uen don#? The National Assembly of Trance had refused the immediate revision of j the Constitution. The President j I threatens io appeal lo the people, and a change of Ministers was anticipa- , i ted. The report of Lord Howard having refused to dine wiih ihe French Assembly is contradicted. Prussia proposes to sc'tle her difficulty With Ilesse Cassel by arbitration. Fancy Ball at Jsrtisvillc.?The Jjouisvitle Courier lias a Ion# notionnt of the grand fancy ball given on the 25th uRm bv Mrs. Robert J. Ward. ; the lady who figured so conspicu cusly in the .Lawrence divorce correspondence. 'the following descrip lion of the anpearimce of the late Mrs. Bigclcw Lawrence will interest ] the ladies: Miss Sallie Ward, as usual, was the centre of attraction. She* p,' ear ed during the evening in.twosplen did costumes, each of which was peculiarly becoming. Before supper she was Nourmahal, the light oil he Harem. H e wore a j ink sa in 1 skirt, with silver {atoms over it, and a boddire embroidered with silver nnd studded with diamonds; her oriental sleeves were of white adorned with silver and gold, and her Irons1 ers of satin, spangled with glittering , gold; her hair was braided wit h nearls and covered with a beautiful Greek cap, and her tiny pi k slippers were ( gorgeously embroidered with silver. ' l'he splendid jewels profuscd over ! this magnificent costume threw back ? the light which fell upon them as > if in sneer disdain of interior oltul- J ( uence. Iler second appearance was | | Nourmahal nt tho feast of Roses.? j Her dress was white illusion, dotted with silver, white silvered Veil, I >> wreath of whito rosc*?, white silk . boots'with suveKjBmklet s; and ahe ; bore the charmed lute. In this latter l character #he wan truly a beauiful exemplification oft he poetical thought ' she represented. Always t weet and 5 imi'? un? jovciy ana i>euutiiul,;,Klie I was, if possible, more so during that * evening, and her different characters , were sustained incomparably excel* y ,'UWiiJ ttj rfi iOU ti ??f iLf'J ' "">? k A picture of Washington for the - California Senate,;. painted by Miss i- Stuart from the oritf.nal bwhorfath? eft now in New *orMo be forwar ded to its destination* " | Fashion* Platks and Ladies1 W aists.?Mrs. Swisshelm, in a savage article again the magazine Fash- j ion Plates, bays: Wo know women now who are * dying, dying by their own hand, and piously saying their prayers every day, and for iheir death die Magazine publishers are account able at the bar of the Eternal. They are murdering themselves as truly ns ever David slew Uriah by the sword of Amcleities. No human agency can teach these victims of fashion plate monger that the long whalenones sticking down into their sides, the tight strings tied around the ... II 1' >1 I * 1 - " f- iuu ui u.e uucK, unci weigni 01 sixirts dragging on them, are crush ng their hvc> out, and drawing them to their graves. They will not believe they aiecnlaining misery and disease and death upon their children: But yet, many of them do know it, and with all their vaunted love for their offspring, would ra her see their little ones suffer ten thousand deaths, than they themse ves shou;d tail to look "like Prometheus iu my picture here. ?a long sided funnel set on a jug. Ameuican Grvve-yard in Mexico.?In the Army Appropriation b;:l we notice one item that sianhs strangely contrasted with the general fnjilnms n\ llu? mnn?.nm. 'I lw>?*? arc few among our reader* whose metnor cs wijl not I e stirred w.th mournful a >ocint;ons l>y its perusal It is as follows: "For purchasing, walling and ditching a piece of land near the ciiy of Mexico, for a oemeteiy or buriaiground for such of tlie <v Dicers and soldiers of our late war with Mexico, as tell in daTHIe, or died in and arornd said city, and for the interment of American citizen# who l.avr died or may die in taid city to 1 e expended under iho direction b! ti e President of the I niled Stales ijn thousand dollars." The elections ill Pennsylvania have r< suited in layor of the Democrats, who have elected 15 members of Congresi1, and the \\ lugs U. Both brun -iies of the Legislature aie Democratic. [C/tar. Cxiricr. Ohio Election.?-The ejections for members of'-Congressin (his State have iesu led in the choice of u ne WJiigs and n ne Democrats. Giddings, the Fieesoiler, Townsond, About.onist, ami Johnson, Independent, have been returned. [Ibid. MaRKIF.1), on Thursday ovnn'njr last, by W. D. Steele, Esq., Mr. Nathan Newton to Miss JerUsha A. McCay, all of this District. BOUNTY LANDS Officers and Soldiers (or their surviving widows or children) who served in any of the late wars, are entitled to iiounty Lands. I will attend promptly to claims olthat character, or to PENSION CL\IM3; And (latter myself (hut heveral years experience in th s business,'attended with gteal success, will he asufiic:ent guaranty to thotc having claims, to entrust them to my hands. M ill NrtBT/W Pickens C. II., Oc'. 16, 1S50. M tf . f ! CITATION. Wm. M. J6ne? having applied to me for Letters of Administration on iho Estat.i ofF. M. lleid. lute of Pickens District, dec d-, the Kindred and Creditors are cited to appear be* fore ine n the 28ih in.-st. to &hqw cause it any they can why said Letters should noi be granted. Given under my hair' and seal, 14th October, 1860. \V. D. STEELE, O.P. P. ADMINISTRAI OR S SALEv Will be sold at the Iftte residenc# of Daniel Chapman, dvJYi., on the 5ili day of November, all the persb* nal p ropery belonging to his estate, consisting of stork caije, hogs, bug* gy, waggon, crop of corn, 0 or fcOOQ pounds aced cotton, household furniture, farming utensils, &c. Sold on l5i months credit. P. N. GARVIN, Adm r. Oct. 18. 1850. VZ-Ads ^ j ADMINISTRATOR S SA^E. Will be sold ut /be late residence o| Wen jam ij J Gh^uian, due (J, on the 7lh day ofNovtiir.ber next, all of tb? porsonaOr^iPj belong n# to his ontaic, consisting of slock of a)i kitute waggon, farming utensils, wheat, com, oalf-', lu.u cliol'.l an ! k'tchon furniture, and sundry other arUejos. i