Mr. CONNESS. This amendment has been recommended with unanimity by the Commit. tee on Mines and Mining. It is no new pro position. I supposed that no Senator woulii accept it more readil than the honorable Senfrom Maine. Ivthink that the Senator, when occupying the high position of SecyTreasury, with so much distinction as he did, must have felt the importance of the information proposed to be collected. Iudeed I know he did. for I remember very distinctly that in one of his annual reports (I have it not before me now) he confessed that so far as the mining interests, the productiveness, and the management of the mines of the great West were concerned, it was to the Dept of which he was the head the term incognito of the U.S. He confessed that he did not understand it or know anything about it; and the present SecyTreasury has again an again felt the necessity and the value of such information to that dept. Icannot propose to occupy the time of the Senate by showing that this proposition is just; but it occurs to me that this ought not to be looked upon as looselegislation, or a mere call for the expenditure of money, but as a proposition to collect data of the most important kind to the Government for its uses with reference toits policies, to its measures, to taxation, to be inteliigently applied. There are no statistics on this subject at the present time. It is time to begin to collect them. Why, sir, in the colony of Australia the British Government have already a system the most exact and comprehensive for the collection of information and statistics. I was very innch surprised within the last year to find the elaborateness and com‘ pleteness with which the English Government are proceeding there in this very direction. Within the last few years, I wish to say to the honorable Senator and the Senate, the Emperor of France has sent a commission into the States of California and Nevada, and kept them there for nearly an entire year investigating this whole subject, and the fortheomin report from that commission I have no dou twill be one of great interest and value. But in regard to our own country we have not taken the' 1st step; we have not initiated the 1st proceeding to collect a sin is fact. Mr. Presicut, during the present session of Congress I was in receipt 0 a communication from the honorable SecyState, Mr. Seward, inclosing a letter from a distinguished English gentleman about to publish a hook in the city of London in regard to the resources of our country; not Sir Morton Peto, I will say, but a very distinguished author. He had written to the State Dept to be supplied with material which e could lay before the European world concerning the resources of the States and Territories lying west of the Rock mountains. The SecyState in close the communication to myself and asked me to supply him with the information to furnish to this author. Of course Iwas not in possession of any. I referred him to the In terior Dept; but I undertake to say, as I suggested to him, that there was very little there that was obtainable. This is an appropriation of a like amount with one that has Iieeu made for cars to continue investigations from the Lan Office, and which, at the suestion of the honorable Senfrom Neva a iP'Mr. STEWART] and myself, has been remitted or the last 2 years because we believed, nay, we knew, there was no corresponding bene‘lit from the Outlay; and when that appro. printion was proposed we so advised the Senate, and it has not recently been made. Now we propose to resume the collection of exact information and data upon a subject I think of such a degree of consequence that all will at once admit it.