Mr. MORRILL. With the permission of the Senfrom Illinois, I will state to the Senate the position of this question before the committee. I agree with the Senfrom Illinois that the question is novel, that this particular legislation is new to the Senate; and the committee had some doubts aboutit. But the Senate will remember that on a former occasion, when a bill of a similar type, entitled “A bill to incorporate the National Mutual Protection Homestead Company, " was before the Senate, I took occasion to state distinctly what the views of the committee were iipon the subject. I then stated fully, as the Senatorffom Illinois will remember, that I felt bound to say that the committee was in some doubt about the propriety of the measure which was presented at that as a great many bills had been referre by the Senate to the committee for its consideration, we concluded to report the measures back to the Senate for the action of the body; and on that occasion, as the organ of the committee, I stated particularly the new feature of that bill, that it wasa bill to charter a company here, some of the parties living here and some in the States, when the theater of action was to be in the States. It was ereatin an artificial person, so to speak, within the DistCol, with the right to exercise certain powers with the permission of the States where they contemplated to set up operations. That was a bill not unlike this in some of its feat ures. It wasa bill where the parties proposed to go into the southern States, and purchase an occupy and sell and lease and improve lar' e quantities of the unoccupied lands. We ha ase before us a bill at a similar type, which proposed to associate wealth iuthis way to engagein the raising of cotton and the other products of the southern States. So far aswe invest them with any authority here, it is simply the authority with which they would be invested by any State’ Legislature. There is no authority in any of these bills to do an act in those States not in harmony with the policy of the States. But that, I know, does not reach the objection which the Senfrom Illinois raises, that it is not desirable that we should enter it on this class of legislation; that it does not egitiinately and procrly belong to the Government: that we shall be burdened with it if we inau mate it. I desire as much as he does, and I now the committee concur with me in desiring an expression of the Senate, whether they propose to give countenance to this class of bills. If they do, we are in the way of our duty in reporting them. We did report them, and we did say when they were reported that it was entering upon a new species of legislation; but the committee are of opinion, so far as authority is concerned, that there does not seem to be any authority against it, because we do not invest these parties with any power to not outside of the DistCol, except in submission to the authority, State or Federal, wherever they go.