Capitol 'attic' yields records of early American Congresses. Washington, D.C., Jan. 23. Historical records dating back to early American Congresses have just been found during a house-cleaning of the attics and basement of the house wing at the Capitol. 1. Above is the original House Bill written in longhand, which declared that a state of war existed between the United States and Great Britain and dependencies. Signed by Patrick Magruder, then Clerk of the House, the Bill was delivered to the Senate and returned in the form of a 'Confidential Bill' in which a change was made to read 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof.' The first and finished draft were believed to have been lost when the Capitol was burned in 1814, 1/23/39