UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

"
ayes
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258 APPENDIX.
est coincideswith that of the African race ; but discovered,as he intended and would pledgehimself
the extension of slaveryis not to be considered in to show. He said they referred to the number of
thatlightprincipally ; it is entirely a system of insane,blind, "c, among the colored population.
Christian education,and evangelization of This had been made the
one
subject of a pamphleton the
annexation of
race by another. Left
Texas,
to himself,Quashy and of goes
a speechby a gentleman
right back into heathenism. His very body deteriorates
from Mississippi (Mr. Hammett), which had been refuted
; he becomes idiotic, insane,deaf,dumb,
on this floor. The United States were at this
everything that can be time
thoughtof. " Is
placed in a condition very littleshort of war with
blind," Great Britain,as well as Mexico, on the foundation
this an actual fact?" asks some incredulous Congress
man, as innocent as Mrs. Partington. "0
of these very errors. It was important țherefore,
that the true state of facts should be made to appear.
yes ! for "only look ; here are the statistics.Just The Speakerremarked that whether errors existed
see ; here in the town of Kittery, in Maine, are or not would be matter of investigationỊn the
twenty-seven insane and idiotic black people, and opinion of the chair, there was no error of the journal,
down here in the town of DitteryȘouth Carolina, because it contained onlya faithful transcript of
not a single one. Some simple-minded Kitterythe communication made by the Secretaryof State.
man, who overhears this conversation in the Mr. Adams persisted in his motion. It was (he
lobby,perhapsopens his eyes, and reflects with said) the most extraordinarycommunication ever
wonder that he never knew that there
made from the State Department. He would pledge
were so
many
black peoplein the town. But the Congress
himself to produce documents to prove that gross
errors did exist. He would produce
man shows it to him in the census, and he
such proofas no
man would be able to contradict.
concludes to look for them when he goes home, as The House refused to amend the journal.
"
figurescannot lie."
"
House of Representatives. May 16,1844. Mr.
On the census of 1840 conclusionsinnumerable Adams wished to present a memorial from certain
as to the capacity of the colored race to subsistin citizens in relationto errors which theysay have been
freedom have been based. It has been the very committed in compilingand printing the last census
beetle,sledge-hammer and broad-axe ; and when of the United States.
all other means foil țhe objector,with a triumphantObjectionbeing
made, he moved to suspend the
flourish, exclaims, " There,sir,what do rules' for the purpose of offering the resolution, and
you think of the census of 1840 1 You see, sir, moving to refer it to a committee of five members.
the thing's been tried,and it's no go." We The yeas and nays were ordered,and, beingtaken,
poor common folks cannot tellwhat to think. the rules were not suspended, 96, nays
"
49,
less
Some of us suppose
that wo know that there than two-thirds votingin the affirmative.
were
"
House of Representatives. Dec. 10, 1844. Mr.
more insane and idiotic and variously dilapidated
Adams
negroes reported in certain etates than their
presented a petition from the American Statistical
Society, in relation to certain errors in the last
.entire negro populationḄut, of course, as it's
or sixth census.
down in the census, and as "figuresnever lie,"
we must believeour own eyes. We Mr. Adams said a petition
this subjectat the last
can onlysay session was referred to a select committee, and he
what some people have thought.
hoped this petition would take the same direction.
That most inconvenient and pertinacious man, He moved the appointment of a select committee of
John QuincyAdams, made a gooddeal of trouble nine members, and that the memorial be printed.
in Congressabout this same matter. At no less The speakerannounced that a majority had decided
than five different times did this in very persistent
favor of a select committee. The motion to print
old gentleman rise in Congress, with the statement
was laid on the table.
that the returns of the been House of Representatives. Dec. 13, 1844. " The
census^had
notoriously and grossly falsifiedin this followingis the Select Committee appointed,
respect;
on the
and that he was prepared, if leave motion of Mr. Adams, to consider the petition were given,
from
to present before the House the most the American StatisticalSocietyin relation to the
complete,
errors in the sixth census: Messrs. Adams, Rhett,
direct,and overwhelming evidence to this effect,
Rayner, Stiles,Maclay, Brengle,Foster,Sheppard,
The followingis an account of Mr. Adams' endeavors
Cary,and Caleb B. Smith.
on this subject,collected from the Congressional
Globe, and'Niks' s Register :
This was the end of the affairin Congress Ṭhe
falsereturns stand to this day in the statistical
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. tablesof the census, to convince all cavillersof the
unfitness of
House of Representatives. February 26, 1844.
the negro
for freedom. That the
reader
-Mr. Adams, on leave,offered the followingresolution
may know what kind of evidence Mr. Adams
:
Resolved, That the Secretary of State be directedft"
inform this House whether any gross errors have American Almanac for 1845, p.
we append, as a specimen,
an extract from the
156.
ibeen discovered in the "Sixth Census, or Enumeration
The "American StatisticalAssociation," established
of the Inhabitants of the United States,as corrected
at the Department of State in 1841," and, if
in Boston,Mass., sent a memorial to Congress
-so, how these errors originated, what they are, and during the pastwinter,drawn up by Messrs. William
what, if any, measures have been taken to rectifyBrigham, Edward Jarvis, and J. W. Thornton, in
which, though they"confined their investigations to
them.
"
House of Representatives. May 6,1844. The
the reportsrespecting education and nosology,"they
journalhaving been read, Mr. Adams moved a correction
exposedan extraordinary mass of errors in the census.
We can find room
of the same by strikingout from the onlyfor a few extracts from
communication
of the Secretaryof State (in answer to this memorial.
a
* * * *****
resolution of this House inquiringwhether any gross
"
errors had been discovered in the printing of the Sixth The most glaring and remarkable errors are found
Census),as copiedupon the journalțhe followingin the statements respecting
words : " That no such errors had been discovered." of insanity, blindness,deafness and dumbness, among
Mr. Adams accompaniedhis motion with some remarks.
the peopleof this nation.
It coaM not possibly(Mr. Adams said) "
be a The undersigned have comparedthese statements
" cerrect represeutation, as very gross errors had been with information obtained from other more reliable
had with which to sustain his allegations,
nosology țhe prevalence