I want to use the features and functionality that the tag offers in browsers. I want to use it merely to hold a large block of information that
yes you can, but if its just scrolling use a div instead and style it like this in css:
example:
div { overflow-x:scroll; height:200px; width:200px; border:solid black 1px; }
demo: http://jsbin.com/ugusos/2/edit