BRENT 
 
 Letters on the 
 National Institute 
 
 Q 
 
 11 
 
 S64B7
 
 LETTERS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NATIONAL INSTITUTE, SMITHSONIAN LEGACY, 
 
 THE FINE ARTS, 
 
 AND OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE INTERESTS OF THE 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 
 BY JOHN CARROLL BRENT. 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 J. & G . S . GIDEON. 
 
 1844.
 
 ENTERED, according to act of Congress, in the District Court of the District of Columbia, 
 this let June, 1844, by JOHN CAKHOLL BHEXT.
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 JUHBAJBA 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 This republication of the Letters recently inserted in the columns 
 of the National Intelligencer, is dedicated to the Members of the 
 National Institute, as a tribute of respect, by their fellow member 
 and obedient servant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 WASHINGTON, June 1, 1844.
 
 LETT E R S . 
 
 SUBJECTS OF LETTERS STATED. 
 LETTER No. I. 
 
 WASHINGTON, December 6, 1843. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : It has appeared to me that the publication in your 
 widely circulated journal of a series of articles on the National Institute, 
 Smithsonian Legacy, and other matters connected with the interests of 
 the District of Columbia, might be a desideratum at present, and cal- 
 culated to do good here and elsewhere. 
 
 Fortunately for my project, which I have had in contemplation for 
 some time past, and the execution of which I postponed until the 
 meeting of Congress, the present President of the United States, in his 
 last Message, has called the serious and favorable attention of Congress 
 to the interests of this District. This appeal in our behalf has elicited 
 from you the following well-deserved and appropriate remarks : 
 
 "We cannot dismiss the Message to-day, however, without expressing our gratification 
 at the liberal terms in which the President has introduced into it the affairs of the District 
 of Columbia, for which he is entitled to the sincere thanks of his fellow-citizens whose lot 
 is cast within its limits. Let us hope that, in the exhibition of thoughtfulness and liberality 
 towards this disfranchised District, the two Houses of Congress will not suffer themselves 
 to be outdone by the Chief Magistrate." 
 
 The portion of the Message which called forth these remarks is as 
 follows : 
 
 " I cannot close this communication, gentlemen, without recommending to your most 
 favorable consideration the interests of this District. Appointed by the Constitution its 
 exclusive legislators, and forming, in this particular, the only anomaly in our system of 
 Government of the legislative body being elected by others than those for whose advantage 
 they are to legislate, you will feel a superadded obligation to look well into their condition, 
 and to leave no cause for complaint or regret." 
 
 That this warm and generous appeal may go to the heart of every 
 member of the National Councils, to be followed by the desired results, 
 should be the aspiration of ever)' citizen of the District and true lover 
 of his country. 
 
 Believing, then, that the present is the proper time for inviting and 
 urging the attention of Congress and the public in general to the sub- 
 ject, and with such valuable recommendations as the foregoing, I deem 
 it my duty, though an humble citizen of the District, to do my best in 
 the good cause.
 
 I propose, therefore, with your approbation, to devote a brief space 
 to the History of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, 
 with such reflections as may be suggested by the treatment of the sub- 
 ject ; to enter into some detail in relation to the National Observatory, 
 under the superintendence of Lieutenant Gillis, of our Navy, and that 
 of Georgetown College, assigned to the care of the Rev. Mr. Curley, 
 both in course of construction ; to urge the necessity, justice, and policy 
 of some final and prompt action on the part of Congress in the matter 
 of the Smithsonian Bequest, recommended especially by the President 
 to that body, and the propriety and expediency of entrusting, under 
 proper control, the execution of that sacred legacy to the National In- 
 stil ute ; to show that the inhabitants of this District, if alive to their 
 own interests and desirous of doing good to the community at large, 
 should support and foster, by pecuniary and other aid, the said associa- 
 tion, and throw their weight into any effort which may be made to 
 obtain for it the life-giving notice of Congress. 
 
 Having treated these matters as fully as I may deem it necessary 
 and appropriate, I shall then proceed to the discussion of other inci- 
 dental subjects interesting to the District and the country. 
 
 In the performance of this duty it shall be my study to refrain from 
 any remarks calculated to give reasonable offence in any quarter, and I 
 shall carefully abstain from any allusion to the local or general politics 
 now agitating the people. 
 
 I trust to be able to prove that a liberal policy towards this District, 
 on the part of the Representatives of the Republic, will result in a per- 
 manent and real advantage to the whole nation ; and that the outlay 
 of money and fostering care asked for by our public spirited Chief 
 Magistrate will redound to its honor as well as profit. 
 
 It is, therefore, from the impression that it is important for the people 
 at large to have their notice attracted to the subject, and from the kind- 
 ness and liberality with which you have opened your columns to scien- 
 tific, literary, and general topics, that I have applied to you to aid me 
 in the performance of my task. But, as your journal will be crowded 
 with matter during the session, I shall take care to make my articles 
 brief and to the point. 
 
 With this hasty sketch of my plan, I shall conclude for the present 
 by observing that my next article will be devoted to a condensed notice 
 of the National Institute ; the examination of the expediency of its 
 being entrusted with the execution of the Smithsonian Bequest, and
 
 references to the excellent views of Messrs. Duponceau, Rush, Poin- 
 sett, and Preston on that particular point ; and to the able and impor- 
 tant correspondence of such men as Messrs. Adams, Wheaton, Cushing, 
 Hodgson, &c., on scientific, historical, and general subjects. 
 I remain, respectfully, yours, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
 LETTEH No. II. 
 
 WASHINGTON, December 16, 1843. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : In my last letter of the 6th instant, after having given 
 a programme of the course I have determined to adopt in the treatment 
 of the important subjects therein mentioned, I proposed to devote the 
 succeeding number to a brief sketch of the National Institute, and the 
 propriety, wisdom, and expediency of making that institution the agent 
 for the execution of the objects contemplated in the bequest of Mr. 
 Smithson. I now, therefore, in succinct terms, proceed to comply with 
 my promise. 
 
 The National Institute for the Promotion of Science has now been 
 in existence upwards of three years, having been founded in this city in 
 the month of May, 1840, and incorporated by Congress in July, 1842. 
 In order to give some idea of its progress and extension, I will content 
 myself for the present with stating that it now embraces upwards of 
 one thousand members, distributed as follows : 287 resident, 20 honor- 
 ary, 32 paying corresponding, and 754 corresponding members. The 
 Institute has upon its lists 17 corresponding American and 141 Foreign 
 Societies ; and all Governors of States, and diplomatic, consular, and 
 commercial agents, who are not otherwise connected with the Institute, 
 are considered as corresponding members ex officio. 
 
 The constitution of the Institute has divided the departments into 
 eight : first, Chemistry ; second, Geology and Mineralogy ; third, Ge- 
 ography, Astronomy, and Natural Philosophy; fourth, Natural His- 
 tory; fifth, the Application of Science to the Useful Arts; sixth, 
 American History and Antiquities ; seventh, Agriculture ; eighth, Lit- 
 erature and the Fine Arts. 
 
 The Institute, ever since its foundation, whilst gradually adding to 
 the number of its members at home and abroad, has, in proportion, 
 widened the circle of its operations and made friends in every section
 
 8 
 
 of the world. In America, North and South, Europe, Asia, and Africa, 
 it can point to distinguished names and ardent co-operators in the dif- 
 fusion of human knowledge. Its library is swelling rapidly into im- 
 portance; its cabinet is increasing daily in interest, and growing so 
 rapidly as to preclude all possibility as yet of assorting and uniting the 
 articles in one place ; its bulletins, of which two have been published, 
 give promise of great usefulness and increasing value ; the correspon- 
 dence embraced in those bulletins, and that which has found its way 
 to the reading public for a long time through your columns, is becom- 
 ing daily more extensive, interesting, and important. In a word, with 
 but a limited means, and a small share, as yet, of that public confidence 
 and support which it is so well calculated to secure, the Institute has 
 succeeded in gaining an available reputation in this country, and in 
 spreading its name to the four quarters of the habitable globe. 
 
 I find the words used by that distinguished scholar and statesman, 
 the Hon. ABEL P. UPSHUR, our present able Secretary of State, in his 
 circular, whilst head of the Navy Department, under date of June 28, 
 1842, so well suited to the subject that I feel called upon to insert them. 
 Speaking of the National Institute, and recommending to our naval 
 officers an active co-operation with its laudable objects, he says : " The 
 
 * design of the institution is to extend and diffuse all useful knowledge 
 ' among men. In its character, it is national ; in its objects, it embraces 
 ' the whole circle of science and of the arts ; and in its purpose, it looks 
 { to the civilization and improvement, and consequently to the happi- 
 ' ness, of man wherever found. A design at once so comprehensive 
 
 * and liberal entitles it to the respect of the civilized world, and claims 
 ' for it in a particular manner the fostering care and assistance of our 
 1 own people." 
 
 If it be then, as it is in fact, in character, national in its objects ; em- 
 bracing the whole circle of science and of the arts in its scope ; in a 
 word, so vast and extensive, why should not the Institute, in a particu- 
 lar degree, be endeared to every lover of his kind, every true citizen of 
 the Republic? Free from the charge of political bias and control, its 
 members belonging to all the parties dividing the country possessing 
 the advantage of having in its ranks many if not most of the leading 
 statesmen, scholars, and artists of the land connected closely through 
 its non-resident members with many of the first scientific and literary 
 institutions in this country and abroad, and in correspondence with some 
 of the most distinguished and influential men in Europe and Asia, no
 
 association of public spirited gentlemen, for such good end, offers bet- 
 ter inducements and fitter subject for popular favor and support. Ex- 
 amine every circular, bulletin, or other official publication of the Society; 
 attend its regular and extraordinary meetings ; investigate all its plans, 
 proposals, and operations, and I venture to assert that a spirit of true 
 patriotism and a strong desire of extending the limits and blessings of 
 human knowledge and improvement, will be found to prevail amongst 
 its members individually and collectively. As in the course of human 
 events and the constant changes daily occurring in the views and for- 
 tunes of its members, a concurrent alteration is ever going on in those 
 who are annually elected to preside over the destinies of the National 
 Institute, no reasonable fear should ever possess the public mind that 
 any permanent or serious abuse of power or trust could happen in the 
 administration of its concerns. The officers of one year are often not 
 those of the succeeding. An unceasing supervision is exercised over 
 the acts of the Society by those members who are on the spot; and it 
 is not at all probable that among so many highly respectable and disin- 
 terested individuals, not one of whom have any thing to gain or hope 
 for, in a pecuniary point of view, by any impulse to the prosperity of 
 the Institute, any set of men should be found to dream of putting their 
 privileges or power to bad use. The hope and the wish of each mem- 
 ber is, or ought to be, if he be worthy of the honor, to aid as far as in 
 him lies in winning for his country a reputation for liberality in the pat- 
 ronage of the arts and sciences, and for a laudable ambition and success 
 in the march of mind. He believes, or ought to believe, that every step 
 taken in the onward path of civilization and refinement, is so much 
 added to the strength and salutary operation of republican institutions. 
 He desires to aid in erecting a neutral platform on which the citizens of 
 of ther epublic may meet as friends and rivals in the intellectual struggle 
 only, having cast from them as a load those political animosities which 
 keep them so much estranged in the public arena. In a word, every 
 member longs to make of his Institute a republic of letters, where the 
 genial influence of an enlarged and liberal spirit shall reign supreme, and 
 prove the assertion false of those who say that the muses, the sciences, 
 and the arts cannot flourish under the sway of popular institutions. 
 
 It will be indeed a sad mistake, and cause for future regret and re- 
 morse, if we suffer such a noble institution as that which exists in our 
 midst to pine away for want, of notice and support. Now is the fit 
 time for a well informed and intelligent community to come to the 
 2
 
 10 
 
 rescue, and to redeem their character from the charge of indifference 
 and neglect. A prompt and simultaneous combination in its behalf on 
 the part of the citizens of the District in particular, and a responsive 
 liberality in Congress to our appeal, would rescue the Institute from the 
 embarrassed condition it is in at present, and enable it to enlarge the 
 circle of its usefulness. That condition of pecuniaiy difficulty has been 
 mainly produced by the desire of its members to make it better known 
 and more generally felt. The scattered residences of those whose names 
 are on its list, and the consequent difficulty, if not impossibility, of ob- 
 taining the amount of their subscriptions, have made it a hard matter 
 for the Treasurer to meet the numerous and heavy demands upon him 
 for the current expenses of the Institute. Must it then be said that an 
 association, honored with the names, influence, and approbation of some 
 of the best men in the country, the objects of which are so national and 
 important the constitution so liberal and appropriate the operations 
 so extensive and improving, shall not meet with the affectionate pat- 
 ronage of the people, for whose benefit it was established ? Will the 
 citizens of this District be so dead to their own interests and to the 
 promptings of an honorable spirit, as to stand with their arms folded 
 when so much is to be done, and so good an agent is presented? Will 
 Congress, the honored servant of the people, refuse the small pittance 
 we ask at its hands, and reject a course of action which must redound to 
 the credit and advantage of the whole country ? We most sincerely pray 
 and trust that none of these things will come to pass ; but that, support- 
 ed by the influence of the people among whom it is established 
 cheered on by the approbation and good will of the country at large, 
 and favorably received by the National Legislature, our young but 
 public spirited Institute may realize the hopes of its most sanguine 
 friends, and become what it was intended it should be, a national bless- 
 ing, and an honor to the Republic at home and abroad. 
 
 In my next I shall dwell upon the proposed alliance of the Institute 
 and the Smithsonian bequest, and until then I am, gentleman, respect- 
 fully yours, J. c. B. 
 
 ON THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
 LETTER No. III. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 1843. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : In my article, published in your paper last Monday, 
 I gave a brief notice and eulogium of the National Institute. I shall
 
 have occasion soon to return to that subject, in order to show that 
 many great and prominent men in this country entertain a high opinion 
 of its merits. 
 
 I propose devoting the present number to the notice of recommenda- 
 tions of several of our departed Presidents to Congress, on the subject 
 of a National University, from General WASHINGTON inclusively ; and 
 take the occasion of thanking a valued friend, the author of an able 
 article in answer to a speech on the Smithsonian Bequest, made (he 
 24th February, 1839, by Mr. CALHOUN, in the Senate of the United 
 States, for the valuable facts and arguments which assist me so much 
 in my present purpose. The article, signed " Common Sense," ap- 
 peared in your paper of May 16th, 1839, and I would advise such of 
 your readers as may feel disposed to examine the subject, to consult that 
 essay as one full of interest and correct information. 
 
 In calling to my assistance such venerable and powerful names as 
 WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON, and MADISON, I shall make but little 
 comment upon their writings, being convinced that what they have said 
 on the subject of a National University must necessarily carry far 
 greater force and persuasion to the public mind than any reasoning of 
 mine. With these remarks I take up our first President, and find him 
 discoursing as follows in his speech of 8th January, 1790, to Congress : 
 " Nor am I less persuaded that you will agree with me in opinion that 
 ' there is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the pro- 
 ' motion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the 
 ' surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of Gov- 
 1 ernment receive their impression so immediately from the sense of the 
 * community as in ours, it is proportionably essential. To the security 
 1 of a free constitution it contributes in various ways; by convincing 
 ' those who are entrusted with the public administration that every 
 ' valuable end of Government is best answered by the enlightened con- 
 ' fidence' of the People ; and by teaching the people themselves to 
 ' know and to value their own rights ; to discern and provide against 
 ' invasions of them ; to distinguish between oppression and the neces- 
 ' sury exercise of authority ; between burdens arising from a disregard 
 1 to their convenience, and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies 
 ' of society ; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentious- 
 ' ness cherishing the first and avoiding the last and uniting a speedy 
 ' but temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable 
 ' respect for the laws.
 
 " Whether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording 
 4 aids to seminaries of learning already established, by the institution 
 1 of a National University, or by other expedients, will be well worthy 
 4 of a place in the deliberations of the Legislature." 
 
 To this speech, so worthy of the wise and good man who deemed 
 education essential to the existence and operation of republican institu- 
 tions, the Senate made the following answer : " Literature and science 
 4 are essential to the preservation of a free Constitution ; the measures 
 4 of Government should therefore be calculated to strengthen the confi- 
 4 dence that is due to that important truth." 
 
 President WASHINGTON again dwells upon his favorite subject, in 
 his speech to the two Houses on the 7th December, 1796, and thus 
 eloquently urges it on their attention : 
 
 " I have heretofore proposed to the consideration of Congress the 
 4 expediency of establishing a National University, and also a Military 
 4 Academy. The desirableness of both these institutions has so con- 
 4 stantly increased with every new view I have taken of the subject, 
 4 that I cannot omit the opportunity of once for all recalling your atten- 
 4 lion to them. The assembly to which I address myself is too en- 
 4 lightened not to be fully sensible how much a flourishing state of the 
 4 arts and sciences contributes to national prosperity and reputation. 
 4 True it is, that our country, much to its honor, contains many semi- 
 4 naries of learning highly respectable and useful ; but the funds upon 
 4 which they rest are too narrow to command the ablest professors in 
 4 the different departments of liberal knowledge for the Institution con- 
 4 templated, though they would be excellent as auxiliaries. 
 
 44 Amongst the motives to such an Institution, the assimilation of the 
 1 principles, opinions, and manners of our countrymen, by the common 
 4 education of a portion of our youth from every quarter, well deserves 
 4 attention. The more homogeneous our citizens can be made in 
 4 tfiese particulars, the greater will be our prospect of permanent 
 4 union ; and a primary object of such a National Institution should 
 4 be the education of our youth in the science of Government. In a 
 4 Republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? 
 4 And what duty more pressing on its Legislature than to patronize 
 ' a plan for communicating it to those ivho are to be the future guar- 
 4 dians of the liberties of the country ?" 
 
 " Common Sense" says that a memorial signed by GUSTAVUS SCOTT, 
 4 WILLIAM THORNTON, and ALEXANDER WHITE, Commissioners of the
 
 13 
 
 
 
 City of Washington, was presented to Congress, praying for authority 
 to accept donations for the establishment of a National University, and 
 stating that the President had appropriated a square of ground in the 
 new city, containing near twenty acres, for that object, and had himself 
 offered a donation of fifty shares of stock, then supposed to be valuable, 
 and which had cost him the sum of five thousand pounds sterling, to 
 aid in the attempt. Mr. MADISON, chairman of a committee of three, 
 reported on the 21st December, 1796, as follows: " That it is expe- 
 ' dient, at present, the authority be given, as prayed for by said memo- 
 ' rial, to proper persons to receive and hold in trust pecuniary dona 
 ' tions, in aid of the appropriations already made, towards the establish 
 ' ment of a University in the District of Columbia." 
 
 If it was expedient at so early a period of our Government, when the 
 people were less divided by sectional feelings than now, to establish a 
 National University at Washington, how much stronger the induce- 
 ment and necessity at present, having at hand a large sum of money 
 bequeathed for that very purpose, costing the Government not one 
 cent, to the execution of which trust its honor is pledged, and which 
 comes with such patriotic, wise, and irresistible arguments as those of 
 the " Pater Patiia? !" 
 
 " Common Sense" observes that various causes, the state of our rela- 
 tions with France, and the excited state of the public mind on many 
 subjects of domestic policy, prevented the agitation of the subject during 
 the short administration of JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 But we find President JEFFERSON using the following cogent and 
 impressive language in his message of the 2d December, 1806. He 
 thus speaks to Congress : 
 
 " Education is here placed among the articles of public care ; not 
 ' that it would be proposed to take its ordinary branches out of the 
 ' hands of private enterprise, which manages so much better all the 
 i concerns to which it is equal ; but a public institution can alone sup- 
 i ply those sciences which, though rarely called f or ^ are yet necessary to 
 ' complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improve- 
 1 ment of the country, and some of them to its preservation. The 
 ' subject is now proposed for the consideration of Congress, because, if 
 * approved, by the time the State Legislatures shall have deliberated 
 ' on this extension of the Federal trusts, and the laws shall be passed 
 ' and other arrangements made for their execution, the necessary funds 
 v will be on hand arid without employment. I suppose an amend
 
 14 
 
 ( ment to the Constitution, by consent of the States, necessary, because 
 4 the objects uo\v recommended are not among those enumerated in the 
 ' Constitution, and to which it permits the public moneys to be applied. 
 
 " The present consideration of a national establishment for education 
 ' particularly is rendered proper by this circumstance also : that if Con- 
 ' gress, approving the proposition, shall yet think it more eligible to 
 ' fund it on a donation of lands, they have it now in their power to en- 
 ' dow it with those which will be among the earliest to produce the 
 ' necessary income. The foundation would have the advantage of 
 ' being independent on war, which may suspend other improvements 
 ' by requiring for its own purposes the resources destined for them." 
 
 The attack on the Chesapeake, the embargo, non-importation, and 
 non-intercourse acts, and the existing serious differences with Great 
 Britain, forbade any legislative action, or any further attention to the 
 subject on the part of Mr. JEFFERSON. But his warm recommenda- 
 tion of a National University confirms the high reputation he enjoyed 
 as the friend of education, and should have great weight with every 
 member of our National Council and every citizen of the Republic. 
 
 JAMES MADISON, a man, as we all w r ell know, of enlarged and most 
 liberal views in matters both private and public, though a strict con- 
 structionist of the Constitution, revived the question in his first message 
 to Congress. He says : " Whilst it is universally admitted that a well- 
 ' instructed people alone can be permanently a free people, and whilst 
 ' it is evident that the means of diffusing and improving knowledge 
 ' form so small a proportion of the expenditures for national purposes, 
 ' I cannot presume it to be unreasonable to invite your attention to the 
 ' advantages of super adding to the means of education, provided by 
 1 the several States, a seminary of learning, instituted by the Na- 
 1 tional Legislature within the limits of their exclusive jurisdiction, 
 ' the expense of which might be defrayed or reimbursed out of the 
 ' vacant grounds which have accrued to the nation within those limits. 
 
 " Such an institution, though local in its character, would be univer- 
 ' sal in its beneficial effects. By enlightening the opinions, by expand 
 1 ing the patriotism, and by assimilating the principles, the sentiments, 
 1 and the manners of those who might resort to this temple of science, 
 1 to be re-distributed in due time through every part of the community, 
 ' sources of jealousy and prejudice would be diminished, the features 
 ( of national character would be multiplied, and greater extent given 
 c to social harmony. But above all, a well-conatiiutcd seminary, in
 
 ' the centre of the nation, is recommended by the consideration that 
 
 the additional instruction emanating from it would contribute not 
 ' less to strengthen the foundation than to adorn the structure of our 
 1 free and happy system of Government" 
 
 Again, in his message of December 5th, 1816, Mr. MADISON observes: 
 
 " The present is a favorable season for bringing again into view the 
 
 1 establishment of a National Seminary of learning within the District 
 
 ' of Columbia, and with means drawn from the property therein, sub- 
 
 * ject to the authority of the General Government. Such an institu- 
 1 tion claims the patronage of Congress, as a monument of their 
 ' solicitude for the advancement of knowledge, without which the 
 ' blessings of liberty cannot be fully enjoyed or long preserved ; as a 
 ' model instructive in the formation of the seminaries ; as a nursery of 
 1 enlightened preceptors-, as a central resort of youth and genius from 
 L every part of their country, diffusing on their return examples of 
 ' those national feelings, those liberal sentiments, and those congenial 
 ' manners which contribute cement to our Union, and strength to the 
 ' political fabric of which that is the foundation." 
 
 I have been free with italics, because I consider those parts so mark- 
 ed peculiarly appropriate and important. And I must remark that I 
 cannot conceive how any public man can be so presumptuous as to assert 
 and support doctrines opposed to the opinions of such patriots as WASH- 
 INGTON, JEFFERSON, and MADISON. I conceive that the extracts I 
 have made ftom the Presidential messages in question are conclusive 
 in the case, and I will not do the present Congress the injustice to sup- 
 pose for a moment that, when the subject is properly brought to their 
 notice, as it has been, to some extent, by our actual President, a prompt 
 and satisfactory action will not be the consequence. 
 
 I shall continue in my next the discussion of the point I am now 
 endeavoring to press upon the attention of the public, and will endea- 
 vor to prove that there should be no more delay on the part of Congress 
 in complying with the trust of Mr. SMITHSON, and that the National 
 Institute deserves its special and favorable attention in this matter as in 
 others. I remain yours, respectfully, 
 
 J. C. &,
 
 16 
 
 THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 
 LETTER No. IV. 
 
 WASHINGTON, December 30, 1843. 
 
 MESSRS. EDITORS : Having shown in may last number by extracts 
 from the speeches and messages of Washington, Jefferson, and Madi- 
 son, that those illustrious men gave to education the importance allow- 
 ed it by all intelligent citizens, and entertained no serious constitutional 
 scruples of the power of Congress to establish a National University in 
 this District, I trust such testimony will prevent any one at this late 
 day from being so bold as to enter the list with them, and convince the 
 public that the subject is worthy their most serious attention. Strong, 
 then, in the enthusiasm of such patriots as our three best Presidents, 
 and incited by the hope of being able to aid, in some small degree, the 
 cause of knowledge and education, I proceed in a few words on the 
 subject of the Smithsonian Bequest, " for the diffusion of knowledge 
 among men," trusting that the nation and Congress will alike be im- 
 pressed with the urgency of the case, and the necessity of redeeming 
 the national honor from a reproach which has been allowed to last 
 too long. 
 
 I shall commence the subject by a brief statement of some of the 
 facts attending the management and progress of this claim, finally de- 
 cided in the Court of Chancery in favor of the United States, by which 
 this Government became the trustee to carry out the purposes of Mr. 
 Smithson's bequest. This decision was communicated to the Hon. 
 John Forsyth, then Secretary of State, under date of May 12, 1838, by 
 the Hon. Richard Rush, the special agent of the United States in Lon- 
 don for the Smithsonian legacy, with the following remarks : " On the 
 
 * whole, I ask leave to congratulate the President and yourself on the 
 
 * result. A suit of higher interest and dignity has rarely, perhaps, been 
 ' before the tribunals of a nation. If the trust created by the testator's 
 ' will be successfully carried into effect by the enlightened legislation 
 
 * of Congress, benefits may flow to the United States and to the human 
 
 * family not easy to be estimated, because operating silently and gradu- 
 
 * ally throughout time, yet operating not the less effectually. Not to 
 4 speak of the inappreciable value of letters to individual and social 
 ' man, die monuments which they raise to a nation's glory often last 
 ' when others perish, and seem especially appropriate to the glory of a 
 ' Republic whose foundations are laid in the presumed intelligence of
 
 17 
 
 * its citizens, and can only be strengthened and perpetuated as that 
 
 * improves." 
 
 The amount paid by Mr. Rush into the Treasury in September, 
 1838, was 1 04,960 8s. 6rf., equal to $508,318 46; and the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, under date of December 3, 1838, reported to the Presi- 
 dent, that " in compliance with the provisions of the 6th section of the 
 ' act of Congress for the support of the Military Academy of the United 
 ' States, and for other purposes, approved 6th July, 1838, the sum of 
 
 * $499,500 has been expended in the purchase of five hundred bonds of 
 ' the State of Arkansas for $1,000 each, bearing 6 per cent, interest, 
 
 * payable semi-annually, on the first day of January and July in each 
 
 * year, from the fourth day of September last, (the period of their pur- 
 < chase.) The further sum of $8,270 67 has been applied to the pur- 
 ' chase of eight bonds of the State of Michigan, bearing 6 per cent, in- 
 
 * terest, payable semi-annually hereafter, on the first Mondays in Janu- 
 
 * ary and July, from the first May last," leaving in the Treasury the 
 sum of $547 79, which was not then, but would be, as soon as a favor- 
 able opportunity offered, invested. 
 
 It is a matter of no importance, so far as the public here and abroad 
 are concerned, whether the two States in question pay the interest on 
 the above sum or not. The Government of the United States having 
 accepted the trust created by the will of James Smithson, bearing date 
 the 23d of October, 1826, by a solemn act of 1st July, 1836, stand re- 
 sponsible in the face of the whole world for the prompt and full per- 
 formance of said trust, and to that Government alone are we to look for 
 the forthcoming of the money when the plan shall have been agreed 
 upon by Congress for carrying the bequest into execution. 
 
 That the fit time has arrived for carrying that bequest into execution, 
 and for redeeming the national honor from the reproach of indifference 
 to a solemn obligation voluntarily incurred, our present President asserts, 
 when, in the paragraph of his last message wherein he so warmly recom- 
 mends the interests of this District to the paternal care of Congress, he 
 says : " In connexion with its other interests, as well as those of the 
 ' whole country, I recommend that at your present session you adopt 
 ' such measures, in order to carry into effect the Smithsonian bequest, 
 ' as in your judgment will be best calculated to consummate the liberal 
 ' intent of the testator." 
 
 The subject, therefore, being thus officially before the Congress of 
 the United States, and as it is to be hoped that the recommendation of 
 3
 
 18 
 
 the President will meet with prompt and serious attention at the hands 
 of the members, I deem it highly important to urge the public to give 
 particular notice to the progress of this interesting business as one of the 
 utmost importance to the Republic. 
 
 ' Being, then, of opinion that during the present session Congress may 
 be pursuaded to take the matter in hand, and do justice to themselves 
 and the nation, I shall allude to some few of the plans proposed by 
 several of the most eminent men in this country for the execution of 
 the will of Mr. Smithson. 
 
 The Hon. John Quincy Adams having been applied to, in conse- 
 quence of the desire of the then President to consult the views of per- 
 sons versed in science and in matters relating to public education, as to 
 the modes of applying the Smithsonian bequest, by the Hon. Johu 
 Foray th, Secretary of State, by letter dated July 19, 1838, answered 
 October 6th, of same year, as follows : 
 
 " This, (the investment in State stocks, which he disapproved of,) 
 ' however, was a temporary investment of the fund, which I was wil- 
 
 * ling to hope would, under no consideration, be made permanent. In 
 
 * the report of the committee to the House of Representatives, accom- 
 1 panying the bill which authorized the President to take the necessary 
 4 measures for recovering the fund, I had set forth in very explicit lan- 
 ' guage my sense of the duties which devolved upon the Government 
 
 * of the United States by their acceptance, in behalf of the nation, of 
 
 < this bequest; and with the same views I introduced into the bill a 
 1 pledge of the faith of the United States that the fund should be 
 1 applied to the generous purpose of the testator." 
 
 Mr. Adams then goes on to suggest that annual courses on the 
 principal sciences, physical and mathematical, moral, political, and lit- 
 erary, to be delivered not by permanent professors, but by persons an- 
 nually appointed, with a liberal compensation for each course, were 
 among the means well adapted to the end of increasing and diffusing 
 knowledge among men. 
 
 " But the great object of my solicitude," he continues, "would be to 
 1 guard against the canker of almost all charitable foundations jobbing 
 ' for parasites and sops for hungry incapacity. For the economical 
 ' management of the fund, and the periodical application of it to appro- 
 
 < priate expenditures, it should be invested in a board of trustees, to 
 ' consist partly of both Houses of Congress, with the Secretaries of the 
 
 * Departments, the Attorney General, the Mayor of the city of Wash-
 
 19 
 
 * ington, and one or more inhabitants of the District of Columbia, to be 
 ' incorporated as trustees of the Smithsonian fund, with a secretary and 
 c treasurer in one person, and to be the only salaried person of the 
 ' board ; to be appointed for four years, and be capable of reappoint- 
 < ment, but removable for adequate cause by a majority of the Board." 
 
 The letter concludes with the recommendation of a National Obser- 
 vatory as a part of the plan proposed, with which, I am sorry to say, I 
 do not agree, (meaning to express my difference from the venerable 
 writer in all deference,) and for the reason that, as the National Depot 
 of Charts and Instruments, or National Observatory, and the observatory 
 at Georgetown College, both of which will be soon ready for use, will 
 answer the wants of the community in astronomy and the sciences 
 therewith connected, I do not see why the fund should be taken from 
 other important objects by any appropriation of the kind. I trust, how- 
 ever, that Mr. Adams has changed his views on this point since the 
 establishment of the two above mentioned institutions in this District. 
 
 Professor Way land, who was also applied to on the subject at the 
 same time, in his letter of October 2, 1838, proposed a "National Uni- 
 versity," occupying the space between the close of a collegiate educa- 
 tion and a professional school ; that there should be public lectures on 
 Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and the Oriental languages; that all the modern 
 languages of any use to the scholar should be taught; astronomy, engi- 
 neering, civil and military ; the art of war, beginning where it is left off 
 at West Point; chemistry, geology, mining, music, and poetry; politi- 
 cal economy, intellectual philosophy, physiology, vegetable and animal ; 
 anatomy, human, comparative ; history, the laws of nations and the 
 general principles of law, the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 The young men to provide for themselves board and lodging, and 
 the professors to be responsible only for their education. The funds to 
 be devoted as follows : 
 
 1st. A part to the creation of a library, cabinets, and furnishing ap- 
 paratus necessary to the instructors. 
 
 2d. A part to the erection of buildings for the above purposes, together 
 with buildings for professors' houses. 
 
 3d. A fund should be established for the endowment of professor- 
 ships, giving to each so much as may form a portion, say one-third or 
 one-half of his living, and the rest to be provided for by the sale of the 
 tickets to his course. 
 
 For the other details of this valuable letter, I refer the reader to the 
 document itself.
 
 20 
 
 I shall close the present article, as I promised in the beginning not 
 to occupy too much space in your columns, by quoting some of the 
 most prominent suggestions of the Hon. Richard Rush to the appeal of 
 the Secretary. And before doing this, I deem it due to justice to say 
 that I most sincerely believe the thanks of this nation and of the whole 
 civilized world are his right, for the very able, faithful, and efficient 
 manner in v/hich he executed the delicate and important duties of spe- 
 cial agent for the Smithsonian bequest, and the interesting communica- 
 tions he has since made on the same subject through the channel of the 
 National Institute. 
 
 The suggestions of the letter, dated November 6, 1838, are as follows : 
 That officers of the army and navy, consuls and ministers of the United 
 States, might be employed in aiding in the objects of the Smithsonian 
 university; the erection of a building at Washington, with accommoda- 
 tions for the business of the institution, and ground to be attached suffi- 
 cient to produce seeds and plants. 
 
 The officers to consist of Director, Secretary, Librarian, and Treasu- 
 rer, and persons under them to take care of grounds, &c., all to be ap- 
 pointed by the President and Senate. The Director to make an annual 
 report, or more frequently, if necessary. Affairs to be subject to the 
 visitation of the President, aided by a standing Board, to consist of the 
 chief officers of the Government. The institution to have a press, or 
 authority to employ one ; nothing to be printed but under the sanction 
 of the Director and standing Board of Visiters. And for the good gov- 
 ernment of the institution, the standing Board may call in the assistance 
 of three or more scientific or literary persons unconnected with it ; the 
 profit of all publications to go in aid of the funds, &c. Lectureships to 
 be established, with apparatus for the different branches. 
 
 I would refer the reader for particulars to the source itself, from 
 which I have made these extracts, being document No. 11, 25th Con- 
 gress, House of Representatives, where he will also find interesting let- 
 ters on the same subject from Professors Cooper and Chapin. 
 
 I may be allowed to express, in conclusion, my satisfaction in finding 
 that an able co-laborer is out in your columns in behalf of the Smith- 
 sonian bequest, over the signature of " W.," and trust that other pens 
 may be employed in the same creditable manner. 
 
 I shall continue the discussion of the present question in my next, 
 and, in the mean time, am respectfully, yours, 
 
 J. C. B.
 
 21 
 
 THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 
 
 LETTER No. V. 
 
 WASHINGTON, January 6, 1844. 
 
 MESSRS. EDITORS : Having referred in my last number to several 
 plans, proposed in consequence of the request of the President, convey- 
 ed through the then Secretary of State, the late Mr. Forsyth, in relation 
 to the mode in which the Smithson Fund should be employed " for 
 the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," before I proceed 
 to the quotation of different portions of the Report of the Hon. John 
 Quincy Adams, from the Select Committee to whom the subject was 
 referred in 1842, it will not be amiss to give a brief account of the gen- 
 erous testator to whose liberality we owe such a legacy, and whose 
 memory, therefore, should be endeared to every citizen of this Republic. 
 
 The Hon. Richard Rush, in his letter of May 12th, 1838, from which 
 I have made extracts in my last, informs the Secretary of State that 
 James Smithson was the natural son of the Duke of Northumberland; 
 that his mother was a Mrs. Macie, of an ancient family of Wiltshire, of 
 the name of Hungerford ; that he was educated at Oxford, where he 
 took an honorary degree in 1 786 ; that he took the name of James 
 Lewis Macie, until a few years after he had left the University, when 
 he changed it for Smithson ; and that he does not appear to have had 
 any fixed home, living in lodgings when in London, and occasionally 
 a year or two at a time in the cities on the Continent, as Paris, Berlin, 
 Florence, and Genoa, at which last place he died ; and that the ample 
 provision made for him by the Duke of Northumberland, with retired 
 and simple habits, enabled him to accumulate the fortune which passed 
 to the United States. 
 
 Mr. Adams, from the Select Committee above mentioned, speaks as 
 follows : " The testator, James Smithson, a subject of Great Britain, 
 ' declares himself, in the caption to the will, a descendant in blood from 
 ' the Percies and Seymours, two of the most illustrious historical names 
 * of the British Islands. Nearly two centuries since, in 1660, the an- 
 ' cestor of his own name, Hugh Smithson, immediately after the resto- 
 1 radon of the royal family of the Stuarts, received from Charles the 
 ' Second, as a reward for his eminent services to that house during the 
 ' civil wars, the dignity of Baronet of England a dignity still held by 
 ' the Dukes of Northumberland as descendants from the same Hugh 
 i Smithson. The father of the testator, by his marriage with the Lady
 
 22 
 
 Elizabeth Seymour, who was descended by a female line from the 
 ' ancient Percies, and by the subsequent creation of George the Third 
 
 * in 1766, became the first Duke of Northumberland. His son and 
 1 successor, the brother of the testator, known in the history of our Rev- 
 1 olutionary war by the name of Lord Percy, was present, as a British 
 ' officer, at the sanguinary opening scene of our Revolutionary war at 
 ' Lexington, and at the battle of Bunker Hill; and was the bearer to 
 
 * the British Government of the despatches from the commander-in-chief 
 
 * of the Royal forces announcing the event of that memorable day : and 
 
 * the present Duke of Northumberland, the testator's nephew, was the 
 
 * ambassador extraordinary of Great Britain sent to assist at the corona- 
 ' tion of the late King of France, Charles the Tenth, a few months only 
 ' before the date of this bequest from his relative to the United States 
 ' of America." 
 
 Is it not rather a strange coincidence, that, from a near relative of the 
 man who first drew sword against the liberties of this country, should 
 proceed the means of perpetuating and consolidating those liberties by 
 the diffusion of education, that main pillar and foundation of republican 
 institutions? Let us, on our side, then, obey this striking interference 
 and dispensation of an all-wise Providence, and lose no more precious 
 time in carrying such noble intentions into salutary operation. 
 
 The venerable and eloquent reporter continues in the following 
 beautiful strain : " The father of the testator, upon forming his alliance 
 
 * with the heiress of the family of the Percies, assumed by an act of 
 1 the British Parliament that name, and under it became Duke of Nor- 
 ' thumberland. But, renowned as is the name of Percy in the histori- 
 ' cal annals of England ; resounding as it does from the summit of the 
 
 * Cheviot Hills to the ears of our children, in the ballad of Chevy chase, 
 ' with the classical commentary of Addison ; freshened and renovated 
 
 in our memory as it has recently been, from the purest fountain of 
 poetical inspiration, in the loftier strain of Alnwick castle, tuned by a 
 bard of our own native land, (Fitz Greene Halleck;) doubly immor- 
 talized as it is in the deathless dramas of Shakespeare ; ' confident 
 against the world in arms,' as it may have been in ages long past, and 
 may still be in the virtues of its present possessors by inheritance, let 
 the trust of James Smithson to the United States of America be 
 faithfully executed by their Representatives in Congress let the 
 result accomplish his object, ' the increase and diffusion of knowledge 
 among men/ and a wreath of more unfading virtue shall entwine
 
 23 
 
 ' itself in the lapse of future ages around the name of Smilhson than 
 i the united hands of tradition, history, and poetry have braided around 
 ' the name of Percy, through the long perspective in ages past of a 
 ' thousand years." 
 
 To this well-deserved and glowing eulogy of a man who has proved 
 himself a true philanthropist and lover of mankind, there should be 
 but one response, and that of approbation. To his high opinion of 
 republican institutions, and his remembrance of the great ends he 
 adopted in his will, we should afford an efficient and prompt attention, 
 this being the very best of all methods to show to the world that we are 
 worthy of the sublime compliment paid to our country. 
 
 In the words of the report, " of all the foundations of establishments 
 ' for pious or charitable uses, which ever signalized the spirit of the 
 ( age, or the comprehensive beneficence of the founder, none can be 
 
 * named more deserving of the approbation of mankind than this 
 ' Should it be faithfully carried into effect, with an earnestness and sa- 
 
 * gacity of application, and a steady perseverance of pursuit, propor- 
 c tioned to the means furnished by the will of the founder, and to the 
 { greatness and simplicity of his design, as by himself declared, * the 
 ' increase and diffusion of knowledge among men/ it is no extrava- 
 ' gance of anticipation to declare that his name will be hereafter enrolled 
 ' among the eminent benefactors of mankind." 
 
 The report goes on then to enforce the sacred nature of the charge 
 entrusted to the Government of the United States, and to insist upon 
 the necessity of a faithful compliance with the conditions of the will, 
 and a judicious employment of the fund so received in trust. "In the 
 ' commission of every trust," says the chairman, " there is an implied 
 { tribute of the soul to the integrity and intelligence of the trustee ; and 
 ' there is also an implied call for the faithful exercise of those proper- 
 ' ties to the fulfilment of the purpose of the trust. The tribute and the 
 ' call acquire additional force and energy when the trust is committed 
 ' for performance after the decease of him by whom it is granted when 
 ' he no longer exists to witness or to constrain the effective fulfilment 
 ' of his design. The magnitude of the trust, and the extent of con- 
 1 fidence bestowed on the committal of it, do but enlarge and aggravate 
 
 * the pressure of the obligation which it carries with it. The weight of 
 ' the duty imposed, is proportioned to the honor conferred by confidence 
 ' without reserve. Your committee are fully persuaded, therefore, that, 
 ' with a grateful sense of the honor conferred by the testator upon the
 
 political institutions of this Union, the Congress of the United States, 
 in accepting the bequest, will feel, in all its power and plenitude, the 
 obligation of responding to the confidence reposed by him with all the 
 fidelity, disinterestedness, and perseverance of exertion which may 
 carry into effective execution the noble purpose of an endowment for 
 ' the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." 
 
 Before leaving this able and interesting report, (see Rep. No. 587, 
 27th Congress, 2d Session,) I may state, that from it it appears that 
 subsequent to the investment in the stocks of Arkansas and Michigan, 
 mentioned in my last, $3,800 of the stocks of the State of Arkansas, 
 $3,600 of the State of Illinois, $1,800 of the State of Ohio, have .been 
 invested, as also the sum of $1,291 86, at the rate of 5| per cent, by 
 the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Eight years have elapsed sincethe fact of the Smithsonian Bequest 
 was communicated to Congress by the President of the United States. 
 The said bequest was solemnly accepted by Congress on the 1st of July, 
 1836, and the faith of the United States was by that act expressly 
 pledged for the faithful performance of the trust assumed by the accep- 
 tance of the bequest. An agent was appointed by virtue of this act, 
 who, by decree of chancery, recovered a sum, which, on the 1st of 
 September, 1838, was deposited in gold at the United States Mint at 
 Philadelphia, amounting to $508,318 46. The duty of Congress to 
 comply with the terms of the trust thus created has been urged by Presi- 
 dential Messages at various times. Committees have been appointed 
 on the part of both Houses of Congress, the result of which has been 
 merely the report of the select committee referred to, which has never 
 been acted upon by the House, and a resolution of the 20th February, 
 1839, from the Senator who had been the chairman of the joint com- 
 mittee in question, which on the 1st of March following was laid on 
 the table by the Senate. Our present President has finally brought the 
 subject again before Congress in his late message, and a committee, I 
 believe, has been appointed in the Senate to take the matter into con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Thus this long space of time has been allowed to elapse without any 
 efficient action on the part of the trustee under this humane and noble 
 bequest. Whenever the subject has been brought up for discussion it 
 has been met with indifference, or the constitutional scruples of hair- 
 splitting politicians. And how long, if another and a more worthy 
 spirit do not stir up and animate our Congress, public men, and the
 
 25 
 
 community than has hitherto been the case, this disreputable disregard 
 to our solemn pledge and sense of duty shall endure and be tolerated, 
 is beyond my means of imagining. 
 
 I write advisedly and calmly when I assert that this neglect of trust 
 on the part of our Government is a national disgrace, and should not be 
 allowed to soil .our name one hour longer than is absolutely necessaiy. 
 I say to the members of both Houses, why waste precious days in the 
 discussion of local and abstract questions, whereof the large proportion 
 can produce no good fruit, when a subject of deep interest, not to these 
 States merely, nor to this continent, but to the whole civilized world, is 
 at your doors asking for admission, and clamorous for action? Why 
 spend your time in the rabid contest of factions, the debating of ques- 
 tions which must be confined in their operations, and little calculated 
 to add to the durable fame of those who discuss them, when you here 
 have a subject which, if settled without further delay, and that in a 
 spirit of liberality, judgment, and an intelligent intendment of the 
 wishes of the testator, will distinguish the present Congress among its 
 fellows, as the honest performer of a solemn trust and the friend and 
 patron of education, that best and most enduring bulwark and support 
 of republican institutions? I envy no man who raises himself to tem- 
 porary, and but too often undeserved, popularity, by identifying himself 
 with some local and insignificant subject, of little or no interest to the 
 public at large ; but I do envy that servant of the people who, adopting 
 and carrying into practice the opinions of such great and true patriots as 
 Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and John Q-uincy Adams, in relation 
 to education and science, soars far above paltry questions, and estab 
 lishes his claim to the gratitude of posterity by enlarged views and 
 generous acts. That the present Congress have it in their power to do 
 a just and honorable act, in carrying out as soon as practicable the 
 Smithsonian bequest, is a high and an enviable privilege, which they 
 ought not, if they be wise and patriotic, to lose by neglect. That they 
 will take speedy steps to redeem the national honor from the reproach 
 which for so many long years has clung to it, I do not allow myself to 
 doubt ; and I believe that the following motion of the Hon. JOHN 
 Q.UINCY ADAMS, in the House of Representatives last Wednesday, is a 
 premonitory symptom of such a laudable intention on the part of that 
 body to redeem the plighted faith of the nation : 
 
 " Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to report to this House the 
 present state and condition of the funds bequeathed by James Smithson to the United 
 States, for the establishment, at the city of Washington, of an institution for the increase 
 
 4
 
 26 
 
 and diffusion of knowledge among men ; with a statement of what payments of interest 
 have been received, and what, if any, have been refused or withheld on the State stocks 
 in which the said funds were invested ; the amounts of interest so withheld or refused to 
 be paid, and what measures have been taken by the Secretary to recover the same. Also, 
 by whose agency the said investments were made ; with copies of any correspondence of 
 the Treasury Department with such agents relating thereto." 
 
 This looks very much like action ; and no person is better fitted to 
 conduct the matter than the distinguished Ex-President, the fast friend 
 to the objects of the Smithsonian Fund. 
 
 I shall, in my next, gentlemen, devote some space to the recent sug- 
 gestions in relation to the employment of the Smithsonian Fund, of 
 Messrs. Rush, and Duponceau, and Preston, and their proposals to 
 place it under the management of the National Institute, and to the 
 development of some of my own private views on the same subject. 
 Yours, respectfully, J. C. B. 
 
 NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
 
 LETTER No. VI. 
 
 WASHINGTON, January 13, 1844. 
 
 MESSRS. EDITORS : Having in my last made divers brief quotations 
 from the report of the select committee to which the subject of the 
 Smithsonian Bequest was referred, proposing a plan for carrying it into 
 execution, and urging a prompt attention to the same on the part of 
 Congress and the nati6n, I now proceed to show that Messrs. Rush, 
 Duponceau, Preston, and Maxcy were of opinion that the said bequest 
 might be judiciously entrusted to the management of the National In- 
 stitute in this city. 
 
 The first named gentleman, whose acquaintance with the subject 
 and deep interest in the matter every one must admire and concede, in 
 his letter of March 4, 1842, to Francis Markoe, Esq., Corresponding 
 Secretary of the National Institute, among other reflections and argu- 
 ments, observes : 
 
 " Let, then, this precious fund (the Smithsonian) no longer be idle. 
 1 Let it be made to yield, without more delay, those moral blessings for 
 { which it was sent to this hemisphere. Let Congress take your Insti- 
 1 tution as a foundation. In the contrariety of opinion as to any other 
 { plan, the much longer postponement, if not entire frustration of the 
 c benign intentions of the donor, is too much to be feared.
 
 27 
 
 " Being yourselves but trustees for diffusing knowledge among your 
 ' fellow men, and seeking nothing selfish, there could be no objection 
 ' to your asking Congress to invest you,' under its own guards and 
 ' sanctions, with the fund. By my estimate of duty, you owe it to 
 < science and your country to take that step on the broadest grounds of 
 1 utility to both. In your ministration, with the aid of so rich an in- 
 ' vestment, to the mental wants of the community, much might be 
 ' hoped from salutary influences in calming the too intense and exclu- 
 ' sive excitements at Washington, where only a slender population is 
 ' concentrated. By bringing to that seat of official power other excite- 
 ' ments in diversified objects of intellectual curiosity and attention, a 
 ' change might be witnessed that would act usefully upon the spirit of 
 
 * legislation itself, producing good effects to the whole Union. These 
 1 are not irrational hopes. Knowledge is strengthened by its alliance 
 
 * with power. Power is raised and purified in its aims and chastened 
 
 * in its exercise by the influence of knowledge. Every day's delay in 
 ' improving the Smithsonian Fund to its intended and stipulated uses, 
 ' is an injury to the present and future race of men. It is a wrong, 
 1 silent in its operation, but not the less a wrong. Let me even say 
 ' that one of the incidental uses of the fund, when in activity at the 
 
 * seat of Government, will be to shed a benign aid towards the perma- 
 ' nency of the Union itself, by that community of mind and feeling 
 ' which science and literature, well endowed and cultivated at the me- 
 4 tropolis, will in time help to engender and diffuse." 
 
 In his letter to the National Institute of November, 1840, Mr. Du- 
 ponceau recommends that association as a fit agent for carrying into 
 effect the objects of the Smithsonian Bequest in these terms : " I have 
 ' always been of opinion that it was such an institution as yours at the 
 ' seat of Government that Mr. Smithson had in view when he made 
 ' his munificent legacy to the United States. He could not mean, in 
 ' my opinion, that his money should be applied to the promotion of any 
 ' specific branch of knowledge, much less to the formation of a school 
 ( or academy. His views were more extensive. He wished to promote 
 ' science in all its branches and departments, and therefore he wished 
 1 his institution to be fixed at the seat of Government ; from whence, as 
 ' from a centre, the rays of science might be diffused throughout the 
 ' whole country. And, therefore, Congress cannot find a better oppor- 
 1 tunity to execute the will of that beneficent testator than by laying 
 ' hold of your institution and making it its own."
 
 Mr. Duponceau again writes to Mr. Markoe on the same subject 
 under date of April, 1842, urging the same point as in the foregoing in 
 the following manner : " I find from Mr. Rush's letter, which you have 
 ' communicated to me, that I was not the only one to whom that sug- 
 ' gestion occurred." (The idea of applying the Smithsonian Bequest to 
 the National Institute.) " Since that time, it appears to have struck 
 ' the mind of many of the most respectable friends of science, and it 
 i appears to have agreed with the opinion expressed by your distin- 
 < guished President, Mr. Poinsett, in his inaugural address. I see with 
 
 * pleasure that Mr. Rush entertains the same opinion. No one has had 
 ' a better opportunity to know the real intentions of the testator ; and his 
 ' opinion on that and many other accounts is entitled to the greatest 
 ' respect." 
 
 I need scarcely observe that the opinions of men so distinguished as 
 Messrs. Poinsett, Rush, and Duponceau, not only in the political, but 
 in the scientific meaning of the word, should be respectfully received 
 and well considered. When persons so rich in experience and sound 
 in judgment develope their views on matters with which they are fa- 
 miliar, they should have due weight with every reflecting and intelligent 
 mind. 
 
 The Hon. W. C. Preston, so justly celebrated as a statesman, a 
 scholar, and an orator, in his letter of April, 1843, to the Corresponding 
 Secretary of the National Institute, expresses his opinion in the matter 
 as follows : " Our Government is peculiarly incapable of a proper su- 
 ' perintendence of scientific institutions. In the first place, it may be 
 
 * said, that it has no constitutional power ; and, if it had, the tenure of 
 
 * office is so liable to change that in a department so removed from 
 ' interests of intense excitement, negligence and decay would soon 
 
 * creep in." Thus indicating, by implication, an institution like that 
 of which he is so useful and prized a member as the proper agent for 
 the superintendence of the Smithsonian Fund. 
 
 Our public spirited and able ex- Charge d'Affaires at Brussels, Virgil 
 Maxcy, Esq., uses this strong and well- expressed language in his letter 
 to Mr. Markoe, dated in that city December 29, 1840. I consider that 
 letter so interesting and well- written that I flatter myself my readers 
 will pardon me for quoting it entire : " It affords me the highest grati- 
 
 * fication as an American citizen, and as the representative of our Re- 
 ' public to a foreign country, to learn that the National Institution, 
 ' recently founded at Washington, has been so favorably received by
 
 29 
 
 ( our men of science ; and I cannot but indulge a hope that the public 
 ' generally will lend it a generous confidence and cordial co-operation 
 1 and thus supply what has long been to us, who occupy so high a rank 
 ' in the scale of civilization, no little reproach ; the want of some so- 
 ' ciety or institution which may -compare with those of other nations, 
 and sustain the reputation of our Republic in the great cause of scien- 
 tific investigation, in which no country can feel a deeper and more 
 abiding interest than our own, as every day discloses some new fact 
 illustrative of the extraordinary skill, energy, and ingenuity of our 
 citizens qualities in which they are equalled by few and surpassed 
 by no other people. If such be the case in our not very advanced 
 state of science, what important results might not be anticipated with 
 more extensive practical experiment and greater knowledge of abstract 
 science, and the collection and diffusion of minute economical in- 
 formation in connexion with the useful arts ?" 
 
 But the following and concluding part of the letter refers directly to 
 the point under discussion, and deserves much respect and weight as 
 the expression of opinion on the part of an intelligent and liberal public 
 man. He continues : " While indulging in the patriotic sentiments, 
 ' which I believe are common to us all, it has occurred to me that per- 
 
 * haps no better disposition could be made of the munificent bequest 
 
 * to the United States by an enlightened foreigner for the establishment 
 1 of an institution at Washington for the f diffusion of knowledge among 
 ' men' than to place it under the direction of a society which has been 
 
 * organized for the express purpose of carrying into effect similar, 
 ' and indeed I may add, identical views with those contemplated by the 
 ' philanthropical and philosophical testator. One among many reasons 
 '. that might be urged for this arrangement would be the securing in it3 
 
 * favor the general, and, perhaps, universal influence of scientific men, 
 ' whose patriotic labors would thus be brought into active co-operation 
 
 * with the Smithsonian Institution, whose funds would enable the So- 
 ' ciety to collect and diffuse throughout the United States a vast amount 
 ' of diversified and valuable information." 
 
 Although the opinions and arguments, of which I have given select 
 fragments in the foregoing lines, would seem to render any further ob- 
 servation on my part almost an act of supererogation, yet such is the 
 deep interest I feel in the subject, and so strong rny conviction that the 
 speedy and faithful performance of the trust created under the Smith- 
 sonian bequest, and the confiding of the same to the partial control of
 
 80 
 
 the National Institute, are matters of great moment for the public at 
 large, that I cannot resist the inclination which urges me to the task, 
 and cheers me with the hope that I may do some little good. I had 
 hoped to have been able to enter upon the discussion in this number ; 
 but having been induced by their cogency and merit to quote more of 
 the opinions and reasoning of the distinguished men with whom I am 
 proud to agree than I had first intended, I find that the limits which I 
 have prescribed for the length of these hasty essays will prevent me 
 from doing so at present. In my next I will, therefore, continue the 
 discussion, with a statement of my own views on the subject. 
 
 I may be allowed to state, in conclusion, as connected with the ques- 
 tion, that a friend in this city has informed me that Mr. Rush has been 
 so good as to approve of the object and spirit of these letters, and to 
 express his warm hope that Congress will act efficiently in the matter 
 of the Smithsonian Bequest this session, and connect it, as proposed by 
 him already, with the National Institute. May his views and aspira- 
 tions be soon gratified and secured ! 
 
 Yours, respectfully, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 
 
 LETTJSB No. VII. 
 
 WASHINGTON, January 20, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : I flatter myself that the distinguished witnesses I have 
 called before the tribunal of public opinion in my preceding numbers 
 will be deemed more than sufficient to prove that it was the pride and 
 policy of several of our most venerated Presidents to inculcate and fos- 
 ter education and the diffusion of knowledge ; that many of our most 
 prominent and patriotic statesmen and scholars attach great importance 
 to the subject of the Smithsonian Bequest, and several of them desire 
 its union with the National Institute, under certain conditions ; and that 
 they all agree in the opinion that the neglect on the part of this Go- 
 vernment to comply with the terms of the trust in question is a great 
 public wrong, and disreputable to the country at large. The following 
 extract, from a recent public journal, may be adduced as additional 
 proof, if proof be needed, to show how much injury a similar neglect, 
 or rather malfeasance in a city corporation, is working in the community. 
 It is termed " A consequence of violating Guard's will. Francis S,
 
 31 
 
 * Rowan died at Pittsburg on Monday last. He left by will a large sum 
 * some say $80,000 for endowing a hospital in Paris, a bequest 
 
 * which would have been used for some charitable purpose in thiscoun- 
 ' try, had not Philadelphia used Girard's trust contrary to his direction." 
 Will this Government continue to encourage other alienations of private 
 beneficence from objects of charity in this hemisphere, by neglecting 
 any longer to comply with their solemnly pledged faith ? I hope, for 
 the honor of the country, that it will not. It is because I entertain this 
 hope, that I have ventured upon the discussion of the subject, and shall 
 proceed, in brief terms, to give my own private views in the matter. 
 
 The intention of the testator being " the increase and diffusion of 
 knowledge among men," by the foundation of an institution at Wash- 
 ington, it seems to me that the widest latitude of interpretation should 
 be applied to the construction of the will. It should be the study of 
 those who are called upon to establish that construction and to carry the 
 objects of the bequest into execution, to indulge in the most enlarged 
 and enlightened views, consistent with the practical benefit we all desire 
 that it should secure. And as no country, in proportion to its means 
 and opportunities, devotes more time and attention to primary instruc- 
 tion, so as to render the people fit, in some degree, for the high privi- 
 leges which, as American citizens, they enjoy, and as colleges and aca- 
 demies are established and well encouraged in every section of the land, 
 the only desideratum we stand in need of at present is some public in- 
 stitution similar to the one intended by the Smithsonian Bequest, where 
 those higher branches, which neither the time, opportunities, minds, nor 
 dispositions of the mass will allow them to attend to, may be placed, 
 on the most liberal and economical terms, within the reach of those 
 whose tastes, intellects, or ambition would induce them to devote them- 
 selves to the task. The best way to effect this desirable result is to found 
 public lectures, as already proposed by Messrs. Adams, Wayland, Rush, 
 &c., and to begin the instruction where it is finished in our universities. 
 These lectures should, of course, embrace all the higher branches of 
 human knowledge, be delivered by the best informed men the country 
 produces, be illustrated by proper apparatus, experiments, and drawings, 
 and open, like those of Paris and elsewhere on the continent, to the 
 public without charge and discrimination. The branches proper to be 
 taught in such an institution are so well and fully enumerated by the 
 learned gentlemen from whom I have quoted in my preceding letters, 
 that I shall not intrude upon the time of my readers with a repetition.
 
 I shall confine myself to some few points which I deem to be the most 
 important and proper for me to dwell upon. 
 
 It being, then, my opinion, agreeing to a considerable extent with the 
 opinions of Messrs. Adams, Rush, Wayland,Duponceau, Preston, &c., 
 that the more general and the more public the oral or other instruction 
 proposed to be so delivered, commencing with the close of an academic 
 education, can be made, the better and more salutary will be the results, 
 I think the location and mode of construction for the Smithsonian In- 
 stitution matters well worth a serious discussion. It happens, fortu- 
 nately, that an extensive and well adapted space of open ground, called 
 the Mall, stretching from the base of the Capitol to the banks of the 
 Potomac, seems to invite Congress to place the institution there, and to 
 improve and ornament it in a tasty and judicious manner. There could 
 be no fitter position, one more convenient to the citizens and strangers, 
 grounds more easily put into a state of improvement, and better calcu- 
 lated to ornament this metropolis, and make it worthy of being the 
 headquarters of learning, as well as Government, for these free and grow- 
 ing States. The buildings for the accommodation of the lecturers and 
 their hearers, whilst neat and ornamental, should be erected with a due 
 regard to economy, because the fund is comparatively a small one, and 
 it is much more important to secure men of talent as professors, and to 
 devote more money to the diffusion of knowledge by their means, than 
 to raise imposing edifices or stately monuments of architecture. If re- 
 fined taste is to be exerted, which I most sincerely hope may be the case, 
 let it be exhibited in the adaptation of the structures to the uses for which 
 they may be intended, and in the preparation and arrangement of the 
 grounds. Let the fund be used sparingly and judiciously, but by no 
 means in a spirit of false economy, which is so much the fashion of the 
 day. And, my word for it, if proper professors be selected, fit instru- 
 ments and apparatus be procured, appropriate rooms be erected, and 
 political favoritism be banished, as an unclean thing, from the sacred 
 precincts of our great University if an intelligent man be appointed to 
 lay out the Mall, with an eye to the union of the English Park and 
 Continental garden styles in the arrangement of the grounds, and com- 
 petent and attentive gardeners be placed over them when finished, whose 
 duty it shall be to keep them in good order, my word for it, I say, that 
 this country will have cause to bless the day when the philanthropic 
 Smithson entrusted the execution of his wishes to a Government which 
 must not, cannot prove recreant to the trust. Every one who has stood
 
 33 
 
 upon the terrace of the Capitol, and gazed upon the wide and imposing 
 landscape before his eyes, must have grieved that such a fine tract of 
 land as that embraced within the public reservation called the Mall, 
 should remain so long unattended to, an eyesore and a standing re- 
 proach to the good sense and taste of the nation. To do away with this 
 reproach, and in order to persuade Congress that now is the time to aid 
 in extending the usefulness and efficacy of the Smithsonian Fund, do I 
 propose that at the same moment when an action is had by them upon 
 that subject, an adequate sum shall also be appropriated for the improve- 
 ment and ornament of that reservation, so that the buildings of the 
 University, proposed by said bequest, may be surrounded by grounds 
 worthy of the nation and of the great institution they are called upon 
 to establish. It being public property, and for the benefit of the whole 
 nation, there can certainly be no constitutional scruples on that score, 
 nor any impolicy or impropriety in voting the necessary funds. The 
 Mall is so well prepared already for the purpose, its level surface requir- 
 ing but little graduation or excavation, and the cost attendant upon the 
 planting of trees in avenues, as in the London parks, the construction 
 of roads and paths for equestrians and pedestrians, and a good and suf- 
 ficient enclosure, so insignificant, that I am sure the public would be 
 greatly surprised upon discovering with what little pains, time, and ex- 
 pense the result could be effected. When, therefore, spacious and level 
 avenues and walks are made, shaded by fine and spreading trees, the 
 greensward well fashioned, and the desolate spot converted into a smiling 
 and verdant garden, what prouder monuments could we desire to be 
 placed there than the well-constructed and well-regulated institution of 
 the philanthropic testator, and the monumental tribute which several of 
 our public-spirited citizens, who have united together under the name 
 of " The Washington Monument Society," wish to erect to the memory 
 of the " Pater Patriai" in the metropolis of the country which owes 
 him so much? I would therefore suggest, that the gentlemen who have 
 the honor of initiating the patriotic project of erecting a monument to 
 that great and good man, should apply again, not discouraged by the 
 rude and unmerited reception they met with some few years back, to 
 Congress for a spot on the Mall for that purpose. The money which 
 they have collected, about $40,000, will be sufficient for the erection of 
 a handsome monument ; and, as they must have abandoned before this 
 all idea of making further collections, I think it the duty of the board 
 to make all due efforts to carry the original intention into execution, ac- 
 cording to their present means. I need hardly dilute upon the imme- 
 diate advantages for this city and District if a plan similar to the one of 
 5
 
 34 
 
 which I have given the outlines thus briefly be carried into effect. 1 
 trust that the people at large will be equally convinced, that the national 
 honor and advantage will be thereby most signally consulted ; for I 
 consider this District as belonging to the whole nation, and as having 
 peculiar claims on the generosity and kindness of Congress, and that 
 every thing done for our benefit, in a public point of view, redounds to 
 the credit, if not positive benefit, of the whole Republic. 
 
 By the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, the laying out 
 and improvement of the Mall, and the permission for the National 
 Monument Society to errect a handsome structure to the memory of 
 Washington within its precincts, in conjunction with the salutary ope- 
 ration of the National Institute, upon science, belles-lettres, and the fine 
 arts, and of the two Observatories, now in the course of construction in 
 this District, on astronomical research, it must strike the most obtuse 
 mind, that benefits of a rare nature must flow upon the community, 
 and make this too-much neglected city a fit residence for our Govern- 
 ment, an ennobled place of sojourn for the National Legislature, and a 
 source of honest pride to every true lover of his native land. It is not 
 my province, nor do my limits allow me to enter upon minute details 
 on the subject. My desire and intention is simply to attract public at- 
 tention to a matter which I deem to be pregnant with much good for 
 the country, and in serving my native city, to reflect the credit and ad- 
 vantage throughout the breadth and length of the land. I leave to 
 others better fitted for the task to demand a due share of notice for the 
 exact sciences in the establishment of the Smithsonian Bequest. For, 
 although no one is more alive than myself to the necessity and benefit 
 of devoting much time to severe studies, yet, inasmuch as science has 
 abundant champions already, who must be heard sooner or later, I shall, 
 to avoid repetition, dwell more particularly upon the wisdom and expe- 
 diency of giving also a due share of notice to the Fine Arts, which I 
 deem to be clearly embraced in the expression of Smithson's will, " the 
 increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." If it be true, as it 
 is most undoubtedly, that the nature of the Fine Arts is to refine the taste, 
 improve the head and heart, and to render man more polished and hu- 
 mane, I suppose that no one will be so bold or silly as to assert, that 
 this branch of human knowledge should be excluded from the benefit 
 of the fund in question, or from any institution which pretends to in- 
 struct and benefit mankind. Without wasting words, however, upon a 
 point which few or none will be found to contest, I would suggest, that
 
 35 
 
 among the apartments constructed for the use of the Smithsonian Uni- 
 versity, a large, properly built, and handsome hall shall be appropriated, 
 on a plan somewhat similar to those of the Apollo Association of New 
 York, or of the "Exposition" which takes place annually in the gal- 
 leries of the Louvre at Paris, to the collection and exhibition of the 
 works of native and foreign artists in paintings, sculpture, and engrav- 
 ings. Situated as this city is, within comparatively easy journeys from 
 every section of the country, and a place where the talent, riches, fash- 
 ion, and merit of the land yearly congregate, and which few or no for- 
 eign travellers pass by without a visit, it seems tome that no more suitable 
 rendezvous could be named for genius and ambition to select as the field 
 of their operations. In the furtherance of this laudable undertaking, it 
 is to be hoped that the sister establishment, the National Institute, will 
 not be found wanting. It can akl very materially in the good work, 
 without withdrawing any of its attention from science or education, and 
 particularly if there be the proposed union between it and the Smith- 
 sonian Institution. 
 
 I shall continue the discussion of this subject in my next, and until 
 then, I am yours, respectfully, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 WASHINGTON, January 20, 1844. 
 
 THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 
 LETTER No. VIII. 
 
 GENTLEMEN: The concluding part of my last communication was 
 devoted to the suggestion of some plan that might secure for the fine 
 arts a portion of that attention and encouragement which every civilized 
 nation ought to feel proud to have it in its power to bestow. I flatter 
 myself that the plan so suggested will be found efficient and economi- 
 cal, and well suited to enable the artists of this and other countries to 
 bring their works before the public, and thus disseminate the principles 
 of taste among the people. 
 
 The following extract from a letter of the Hon. JOSEPH R. INGER- 
 SOLL, of Philadelphia, dated December 13, 1841, and addressed to the 
 Corresponding Secretary of the National Institute, will give my readers 
 some idea of the opinions of that distinguished gentleman on the sub- 
 ject. Recommending to the Institute the establishment of a Depart- 
 ment of Taste and the Fine Arts, he says :
 
 " At the same time that science is effectually promoted, it is confi- 
 ' clently believed that principles may be cultivated and diffused which 
 ' will refine, liberalize, and give grace to public sentiment, and make 
 1 our country no longer dependent upon the schools of foreign nations 
 ' for the instruction of her gifted sons in the elements of those elegant 
 1 accomplishments in which, when their tastes are cultivated, they are so 
 * able to excel." 
 
 The erection of a hall or gallery connected with the buildings of the 
 Smithsonian Bequest, wherein may be deposited for exhibition the works 
 of painters, sculptors, architects, and engravers, leaving a part for the 
 use of a permanent exposition of such as this Government or individ- 
 uals, from time to time, may be induced to purchase, will be the very 
 best means, in my opinion, to produce the desirable results alluded to 
 by the liberal writer from whom I have just quoted. 
 
 I would, therefore, respectfully propose that the gallery in question 
 be composed of two grand divisions. The first to be divided into four 
 departments : No. 1, for oil paintings ; No. 2, water colors ; No. 3, en- 
 gravings ; and No. 4, sculpture and architecture. Let this first grand 
 division be devoted exclusively to living artists, native and foreign. A 
 standing committee should be appointed by Congress, (its members to be 
 selected from persons best fitted to the task,) who shall decide whether 
 the pieces sent to the gallery for exhibition are to be received or rejected. 
 The works so exhibited to have the names of the respective artists at- 
 tached, with their prices, and the public to be allowed full privilege to 
 purchase at will. 
 
 We shall thus establish an annual exhibition of the productions of 
 native and foreign genius at the metropolis of this Republic, enlarging 
 its influence, increasing its attractions, adding to its reputation as the head- 
 quarters of science, literature, and the fine arts, and giving a salutary 
 impetus to the public taste throughout the country. 
 
 The second grand division should be appropriated to the exhibition of 
 such works of the old masters, in painting or sculpture, as may come 
 into the possession of Government or individuals, either as presents or 
 purchases ; and artists should be allowed to study and copy freely those 
 models, as in the European galleries. 
 
 It happens most fortunately that a gentleman of taste and leisure has 
 made a valuable collection of old paintings in Europe, and has brought 
 them on to this city for exhibition. I understand that this collection is 
 offered to the Government for a very moderate price by the proprietor.
 
 37 
 
 Many of your readers have had an opportunity of judging for them- 
 selves of the merits of those paintings. Having visited several of the 
 best European galleries myself, and studied some of their best pieces, I 
 may be allowed to observe, that I consider several of the collection as 
 works of rare merit, and, if not actual originals, at least most excellent 
 copies. It is to be hoped that this Government will not lose this occa- 
 sion of procuring, at a price far below their real value, a large number 
 of paintings, such as are but seldom if ever seen in this part of the 
 world. They will form an appropriate nucleus and beginning for the 
 great Smithsonian gallery, and should not be allowed to be lost to the 
 public by passing into private hands under the sacrificing and desecrat- 
 ing hammer of an auctioneer. 
 
 I do not know whether any of your readers will have been struck with 
 the reflection that, although this city is regularly visited by artists and 
 amateurs, there is no fit place for the exhibition of their paintings. The 
 Rotundo is almost completely occupied by the large pieces which orna- 
 ment its walls, and by the empty panels which await those of Inman 
 and Vanderlyn, thus leaving but a very small space indeed for the ex- 
 position of any others, and forcing the owners to place them on the floor, 
 or in such positions as to prevent amateurs from viewing them in their 
 best lights, and thus appreciating their beauties. The hall of the Patent 
 Office, whither I am told the collection lately exhibited in the Rotunda 
 has been transported, is too much crowded with the cabinets of the Ex- 
 ploring Expedition and the National Institute, and receives the light in 
 too imperfect and irregular a manner, to permit it to be considered for a 
 moment a suitable locale for a public exhibition of the kind. No one 
 will presume, I imagine, to assert that any one of the Departments is 
 a fit place for such exhibition. So that the expediency and necessity 
 of erecting some structure suited to the purpose must be evident to every 
 mind. 
 
 But let us suppose, by way of argument, that Congress shall not see 
 fit to devote a part of the Smithsonian buildings to a hall for the per- 
 manent and annual exposition of works of art, what prevents them 
 from adopting some other mode of supplying the desideratum I deem 
 so desirable and important? 
 
 I would suggest that an appropriation sufficient for the purpose be 
 promptly made to erect a proper building within the Capitol grounds, 
 where that masterpiece of American skill, Greenough's WASHINGTON, 
 and the long-expected works of Persico, whereof report speaks in flatter-
 
 38 
 
 ing terms, shall be deposited, and protected against, the severe climate of 
 these latitudes. The structure should be built upon a plan best adapted 
 to the particular objects in view, and sufficiently capacious to afford 
 room for a public exhibition similar to the one I have proposed for the 
 Smithsonian Institution. If my suggestion be listened to, or thought 
 practicable, by those whom it concerns, we shall then possess in our 
 midst a great public temple of the fine arts, devoted to their encourage- 
 ment, by the purchase of paintings and sculpture commemorative of our 
 Revolutionary and subsequent history, and the reproduction upon can- 
 vass of the features of our own varied and picturesque land. Already 
 a respectable sum of money has been voted, and part of the same paid 
 over, to the several artists for the perpetuation of scenes connected with 
 the early history of this Republic. What, then, prevents Congress 
 from continuing this praiseworthy patronage of the arts, so that events 
 still more interesting to this generation, if possible, shall find men to 
 give them "a local habitation and a name?" What has once been 
 done may be done again ; and shame on the man who would be silly 
 and niggard enough to raise a hue and cry about the employment of 
 the people's money on works of taste and for the benefit of native 
 talent, when not an hour goes by but thousands are wasted upon 
 "things as light as air," and from which the gulled people get no kind 
 of benefit whatever. We do not ask you to erect a costly and magnifi- 
 cent structure, but simply to furnish the necessary funds for the con- 
 struction of a modest though tasty gallery, which may prove a decent 
 refuge for the statue of the Father of his Country and the works of Per- 
 sico, around which shall be grouped, from time to time, the busts and 
 statues of our national celebrities, dead and living, while on its walls 
 shall be suspended the productions of native and foreign artists. If 
 Congress only take this subject seriously and understandingly in hand, 
 my word for it, plans enough will be presented to allow them abundant 
 choice, and room to consult a wise economy, without violating the rules 
 of taste. But do, gentlemen, at all events, rescue our WASHINGTON 
 from his present ugly and unseemly place of concealment, if you wish 
 to claim any credit for good sense and good taste, and to deserve well 
 of the Republic ! 
 
 By this public and private patronage of taste and genius, the so oft- 
 repeated and affecting story of the sufferings of their devotees will be at 
 least rendered less applicable to this country. Within the genial atmos. 
 phere of that generous encouragement, worthy successors and rivals of
 
 39 
 
 our Allstons, Coles, Vanderlyns, Doughtys, Creenoughs, and Powers 
 will live and flourish, and the melancholy fate of many a Clevenger be 
 avoided, by a proper appreciation of his merits when living, and not by 
 those posthumous tributes which reach not the poor artist in his early 
 grave. That gifted son of the West has gone down to the tomb, with 
 all his capacities and unsated aspirations about him. And now, alas ! 
 too late, subscriptions are being made up for the benefit of the bereaved 
 widow and her children, and to secure for his own country the creations 
 of his magic chisel. I wish not to reflect upon the acts or motives of 
 those charitable gentlemen, nor to detract one iota from the credit which 
 is due them for their liberality; but I want this instance of too tardy 
 justice and encouragement to prove a warning to the community, so 
 that another case of similar neglect may not sit upon their consciences. 
 An ounce of patronage when the artist is alive, or endeavoring to live, 
 is worth a pound of such as poor Clevenger encountered, and it is too 
 much the fashion of the day to apply when the broken-hearted and 
 starved son of genius has gone " to that bourne from whence no traveller 
 returns." 
 
 I know that we are yet a young people, intent on providing for our 
 animal wants and propensities ; that the time for general refinement is 
 not yet arrived ; and that individual fortunes are too small and uncertain 
 in their tenure to allow much individual patronage of belles-lettres and 
 the fine arts. I know that in the roar and explosion of political excite- 
 ment, the mercenary struggles for place, and President making, it is 
 difficult to be heard on any other subject, and harder still to produce 
 much effect. I know and confess all these things, and still I say, if ye be 
 wise men, men possessed of hearts and minds, men capable of sympathy 
 and feeling, loving your own country and desiring that it be honored, 
 spare a little of your superfluous time and means to the- encouragement 
 of intellectual pursuits. Do in a body what you cannot as individu- 
 als. Tell your Representatives that you do not consider money so 
 employed as thrown away. Tell them that the best way to encourage 
 patriotism and a right public spirit is to place before your eyes graphic 
 scenes of great national events and statues of patriotic men ; that no 
 eloquence of language or description, no force of argument and example, 
 speaks more directly to the head and heart than the creations of the 
 artist who pours upon his canvass the light and glory of his genius, 
 gives existence to the memory of departed worth, and perpetuates living 
 merit by the magic touches of his chisel.
 
 It is not enthusiasm alone that directs my pen, or causes me to in- 
 dulge in dreams almost too glorious to be realized, but a sober and 
 abiding conviction that the humble efforts I am now making to direct 
 the stream of public and private patronage towards the parched regions 
 of the arts will not be made in vain. Sooner or later fruit will be pro- 
 duced. Reforms and revolutions are not the creatures of a day, nor 
 great undertakings to be earned out without great patience, strong en- 
 thusiasm, and an ardent conviction of the justice of one's cause. If it 
 be my good luck to assist, however slightly, in bringing about the desired 
 results, I shall be indeed most happy, and shall feel that I have not 
 lived in vain. 
 
 I shall, gentlemen, after having devoted some hasty remarks as to the 
 expediency of embracing practical agriculture and gardening within the 
 scope of the Smithsonian Fund, return in my next to the subject of the 
 National Institute, from which I have been forced to wander so long 
 and unwillingly. 
 
 Yours, truly, J. C. B. 
 
 THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 
 LETTER No. IX. 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 4, 1844. 
 
 MESSRS. EDITORS : My last letter was devoted to the subject of the 
 Fine Ails, and to the suggestion of a plan for embracing their encourage- 
 ment within the scope of the Smithsonian Fund, by the erection of a 
 public gallery within the mall, forming a portion of the Smithsonian 
 buildings, for the exhibition of paintings, statues, engravings, and archi- 
 tectural works. I also proposed a substitute, in case such plan should 
 not be deemed practicable or suited to the purpose; that is, the building 
 of a National Temple in the Capitol grounds, where the statue of 
 Washington by Greenough might be placed, after having been rescued 
 from its present ignoble hiding box, as also the statuary of Persicc, 
 which are now nearly ready for delivery, to be surrounded by the pro- 
 ductions of native and foreign artists in every branch of that profession. 
 I sincerely trust that this appeal may not be made in vain, and that 
 Congress and the people may spare a little time in order to turn their 
 attention to a subject which 1 deem highly important and interesting. 
 
 Before proceeding to the discussion of the propriety of embracing also 
 within the operation of the Smithsonian Bequest the branch of practical
 
 agriculture, I deem it well to notice an informal meeting of several 
 members of the National Institute held on last Monday evening, the 
 object of their proceedings being matter of public interest, at which I 
 had the pleasure of being present. The readers of your columns will 
 probably remember that on the 23d of last month there was a large 
 meeting at the office of the Secretary of State, for the purpose of laying 
 before Congress and the public a statement of the present condition of 
 the National Institute, its operations, wants, and claims, arid of making 
 a strong appeal in its behalf for public patronage, aid, and support. 
 The subject, also, of the proposed general meeting, under the auspices 
 of the Institute, of scientific and literary men in this city next April was 
 also discussed, and the committee, already created for the purpose of 
 making the necessary arrangements for that interesting occasion, instructed 
 to take prompt and efficient steps to that effect. The meeting of Monday 
 last was therefore simply a reunion of that committee, with the addition 
 of several other gentlemen, members of the Institute. The Hon. John 
 Q,uincy Adams took the chair; and, after some brief but interesting re- 
 marks from that venerable gentleman, who is ever active when the 
 march of mind is in question, we were favored with several reflections 
 and suggestions by the Hon. Messrs. Choate, Spencer, and J. R. Inger- 
 soll, and Colonels Abert and Totten, on the subject of those arrange- 
 ments. I have, therefore, the pleasure to inform the public that there 
 is every probability a large and respectable gathering of learned and in- 
 genious men will take place in this city in the month already mention- 
 ed, and that the discourses, lectures, and proceedings on that occasion 
 will prove of general interest throughout the country. I need scarcely 
 dwell upon the good effects which must ensue from this communion of 
 minds, and reunion of public spirited citizens for such good and salu- 
 tary objects. I need scarcely observe how much it is to be desired that 
 those who devote themselves to intellectual pursuits should become ac- 
 quainted with each other, and compare notes, so that, from this mental 
 friction, light may be struck for the benefit of the Republic, and a spirit 
 of honorable emulation be aroused and encouraged. The citizens of 
 this District, members of Congress, and those who are sojourners 
 amongst us, or transient visitors ought to feel much gratified at the an- 
 nouncement of this proposed scientific reunion. There is no place in 
 this country which affords greater advantages, in proportion to its size, 
 for men such as those who are especially invited to attend no city 
 where a week or so can be spent with more pleasure and profit than 
 6
 
 ours. That it is the interest, in every point of view, of our citizens to 
 encourage and facilitate this meeting, by theii immediate countenance 
 and support and hospitality towards these visitors, there can be no doubt 
 whatever. And, inasmuch as we have high and influential names 
 pledged to the execution of the project, and able pens enlisted in the 
 cause, there is every reason to anticipate a favorable issue, not as having 
 any very great or important effect upon the onward march of mind, but 
 as establishing a precedent, and beginning in a course which I trust 
 will not be abandoned without good cause. As the committee appoint- 
 ed at the meeting of December last for the purpose of memorializing 
 Congress and appealing to the public in behalf of the National Institute 
 are well fitted for the task, and their appeal will be published in due 
 course of time, I shall not dwell any longer on the subject for the pres- 
 ent, but pass on to my other points, with the expression of a hope that 
 Congress will, as far as lies in its power, favor and encourage the pro- 
 jected meeting of next April , and that the public will give it their patron- 
 age and support. 
 
 Upon the subject of embracing practical agriculture within the opera- 
 tion of the Smithsonian bequest, I find, fortunately, to my hand, a very 
 interesting and valuable memorial of Charles Lewis Fleischrnann, of this 
 city, in which he urges the utility and importance of establishing an 
 agricultural school at the seat of Government connected with the above 
 bequest. My readers, who may wish to inform themselves about the 
 plan of that gentleman in detail, can do so by referring to Doc. No. 70 
 of 25th Congress, 3d session. The date of the memorial is December 
 8, 1838. 
 
 The memorialist presented a plan of such an institution, with designs 
 for the buildings and estimates for all the requisites, and concludes with 
 the following words: " Such an institution, being the first in the United 
 ' States, would be the nursery of scientific agriculturists for the whole 
 ' Union. Their education should be as perfect as possible, to enable 
 ' them to qualify themselves to serve as directors, professors, and super- 
 ' intendents for similar establishments. This institution is calculated for 
 ' one hundred pupils, and the number should be increased, by degrees, 
 ' from the profit of the farm. The lectures should be free, and the 
 1 price of board moderate, as half of the number of the pupils should be 
 ' practically employed every day on the farm." 
 
 There is no intelligent man in this country who does not admit the 
 importance of agricultural pursuits. There is no one who will deny
 
 43 
 
 that the farmers of this country are the bone and sinew of the land, and 
 (hat the agricultural interests and iniluence are gaining in weight and 
 importance with the onward march of this Republic. Therefore it is 
 essential and discreet to encourage every plan that affords a prospect of 
 improving the cultivation of the soil and the condition of the cultivators. 
 And 1 will be bold enough to assert that the plan above alluded to, of 
 uniting an agricultural institution with that of the Smithsonian Bequest, 
 is admirably calculated to produce the results desired, and to ameliorate 
 and render more comfortable and secure the condition of the farmer 
 and planter. 
 
 From the halls of this agricultural establishment will be annually 
 scattered throughout the land a large number of active, industrious, 
 and well-educated youths, who will, in their turn, disseminate the 
 results of their studies, industry, and experience far and near, 
 amongst the community where their lots shall be cast. The lights 
 of science will be brought to bear upon the subject, and a new era 
 will dawn for American agriculturists, who will be forced to im- 
 prove their minds and acquire new stores of knowledge, in order to 
 keep pace with the improvements which learned and practical men 
 are constantly inventing and introducing into use. I need hardly 
 insist upon the immense advantages resulting from this intellectu- 
 alizing a piofession, which has been charged, unjustly in most in- 
 stances, with being manual and mechanical, beside the actual and 
 pecuniary benefit for agriculturists, by teaching them how to grow 
 better and more productive grains, to enrich their soil, and improve- 
 their stock and utensils, which must necessarily be the case upon 
 the adoption of the plan of Mr. Fleischmann, or something of the 
 kind. 
 
 In one of my preceding letters, whilst upon the subject of the 
 improvement of the Mall, in connexion with the Smithsonian Be- 
 quest, I suggested that a choice botanical garden, similar to that of 
 the " Jardin des Plantes " at Paris, should be established and placed 
 under competent management. Our ministers, consuls, and foreign 
 agents, officers of the army and navy, should be directed to make 
 collections of plants and seeds, and our citizens be requested to do 
 the same, for the use of that garden, and the Smithsonian Fund be 
 held ready to pay for their purchase and cost of transportation, &c, 
 The collection of plants, &c., of the Exploring Expedition, now 
 within the grounds of the Patent Office, should be joined to the
 
 44 
 
 Smithsonian botanical garden when established, and the public be 
 invited to send specimens to the same at the cost of the Institution. 
 Thus will be gradually established a nursery for that important 
 branch of agriculture, and the liberality of Government and indi- 
 viduals redound to the general advantage and credit of the country. 
 I would suggest that this Government should endeavor to purchase 
 Mount Vernon as a model farm for the Smithsonian Institution. It 
 is within a convenient distance of Washington, is capable of im- 
 provement, and, under the cultivation of the pupils of the agricul- 
 tural school in this city, must pay for itself within a certain time, 
 and will afterwards, most probably, meet the expenses of the estab- 
 lishment. The consideration, also, that the Government thus be- 
 comes proprietor of a spot hallowed in the eyes of every true Amer- 
 ican as having been the residence of the Father of his Country, and 
 will have it in its power to open to the public a place now neces- 
 sarily closed to them, in a great measure, by its being private prop- 
 erty, ought to render Congress well disposed to take the matter 
 into favorable consideration, and the community at large anxious 
 for -the acquisition. How appropriate is it, and how grateful we 
 may fancy it will be to the spirit of that great man, who was a prac- 
 tical tiller of the earth, that the land by him cultivated so long 
 should pass into the hands of the public, for whose good he ever 
 labored, and, through the instrumentality of the bequest of the phi- 
 lanthrophic Smithson, that that branch of knowledge and source of 
 national wealth and prosperity, of which, when living, he was so 
 devoted a follower and ornament, may be yet made to add to the 
 honor, if possible, which has immortalized his memory, and to the 
 advantage of the agricultural interests of the land. 
 
 I merely throw out this suggestion as one which may have some 
 claim to a serious consideration; and, being a mere tyro myself in 
 the subject to which I have devoted these few lines, I make it with 
 all due diffidence and deference to the opinions of others better in- 
 formed than I am. 
 
 I trust, however, that this reference to the memorial in question, 
 and the few reflections which I have hurriedly indulged in on this 
 occasion, may induce some minds to think upon the matter, and 
 aid in effecting something, in the way thus pointed out, for the 
 benefit of (he agricultural interests of this country. 
 
 Yours, respectfully, J. C. B.
 
 45 
 THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
 
 LETTER No. X. 
 
 HHfe WASHINGTON, February 10, 1844. 
 
 MESSRS. EDITORS : Those of your readers who honor my lucubra- 
 tions with a perusal, by reference to my second letter will find that 
 I then dwelt briefly upon the history of the National Institute, and 
 urged its claims upon public notice and encouragement. I now 
 return to the subject, and shall devote the present number to a 
 further discussion of this important and interesting question. 
 
 The habitual readers of your columns cannot fail being struck 
 with the frequent and often very able and instructive articles to 
 which you give admittance, under the head of " National Institute 
 Papers," containing correspondence from every section of the globe, 
 and accompanying valuable and interesting donations to the cabi- 
 net of the association. This fact speaks for itself. It proves that 
 its members are active in the march of improvement, and that the 
 Institute is proud of being the channel through which so much in- 
 formation is given to the public. That these contributions to 
 knowledge will go on increasing, with the increase and prosperity 
 of the Institute, cannot be doubted. That its means of instruction 
 and usefulness may be so increased and enlarged should be the 
 wish of every intelligent citizen, and with that wish should be ex- 
 hibited an active co-operation and efficient assistance, in the cause 
 of science and human knowledge, of which the Institute now stands 
 so much in need. 
 
 Let us lend an ear and our favorable attention to the strong and 
 eloquent appeal of the Hon. JOSEPH R. INGERSOLL, of Philadelphia, 
 who, in his preamble to the proceedings of the Board of Manage- 
 ment of the National Institute, held at the office of the Secretary 
 of State, on the 23d December of the last year, uses the following 
 words: " A monthly record of contributions reflects honor upon the 
 ' kindness and public spirit of the donors, whose numbers are daily 
 ' increasing, and whose good will knows no bounds. But the proof 
 ' of their taste and kind feeling are imperfectly provided for, and 
 ' sometimes altogether neglected, from the narrow fortunes of the 
 ' infant establishment. There is no ascertained place of permanent 
 ' or even secure deposite. There is no fund from which supplies, 
 ' in any degree proportioned to daily necessities, can be derived. A
 
 4 few voluntary contributors to a precarious and inadequate treasury 
 have furnished, as they might be able, a portion of the expenses 
 4 which are required, and have in many instances received into 
 their care, for the moment, objects of interest which could not be 
 
 * provided for elsewhere. It never was expected that a national 
 
 < establishment could subsist upon individual bounty alone. When 
 4 it shall have derived dignity and confidence from the permanent 
 encouragement of the Congress of the United States, it may well 
 ' be hoped that private munificence will frequently pour out its 
 
 < stores, and that a laudable pride will be felt in mingling personal 
 1 associations and favors with the steady support contiibuted by the 
 ' Government. A period has now arrived when legislative assist- 
 ' ance may be expected without arrogance, and sought without pre- 
 
 * sumption." 
 
 It thus being asserted by a distinguished member of the House of 
 Representatives, that the present is the fit time for urging the claims 
 of the National Institute before Congress, or, in his own words, 
 *' that the period has now arrived when legislative assistance may 
 be expected without arrogance, and sought without presumption," 
 I may be allowed to suggest a way for that desirable action to be 
 rendered efficient, and to express the hope that the gentleman him- 
 self, from whom I have just quoted, may be induced to take the 
 matter in hand, and to associate his name, already so well known 
 and respected, with an enterprise of the utmost public interest and 
 importance. 
 
 I find, by reference to the 8th volume of the Laws of the United 
 States, that, on the 14th July, 1832, lots to the value of $25,000, 
 within the city of Washington, were voted to the Columbian Col- 
 lege ; that, on the same day, lots to the amount of $20,000 were 
 appropriated, in equal proportions, to the two charitable institu- 
 tions, Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum and the Washington City 
 Orphan Asylum ; and, finally, that $25,000 worth of lots were also 
 voted, by act approved 2d March, 1833, to Georgetown College. 
 Your readers who may wish to consult these acts, will find those of 
 July, 1832, in vol. 8 of said laws, pages 713, 714, and that referring 
 to Georgetown College, same volume, page 832. 
 
 Now, I take it, that these appropriations, which do honor to the 
 Congress by whom they were passed, were so voted because the 
 establishments receiving the said bounty were devoted to the diffu-
 
 47 
 
 sion of knowledge and to the holy cause of charity. They had no 
 other claim on the liberality of that body, than the deep interest 
 which all intelligent and humane men should feel in such matters. 
 That such liberality, when humanity and the cause of science plead 
 for a favorable hearing, will ever meet with the approbation of the 
 People, when they are made aware of the urgency and justice of 
 the case, I feel exceeding sure. Then, why should not Congress 
 now, when an appeal is made to them in behalf of an institution 
 which claims to be national, and therefore embracing the whole 
 country within its scope and influence, and devotes itself exclu- 
 sively to the diffusion of knowledge among mankind, imitate the 
 noble example thus set them in 1832 and '33, and place at the dis- 
 posal of our Institute property or money equal at least to the amount 
 voted to the two meritorious colleges above mentioned 7 The very 
 same reasons that prevailed upon their predecessors, and even still 
 stronger ones, should induce the members now legislating in the 
 Capitol to behave handsomely in the present emergency, and, by 
 an appropriate, liberal, and timely assistance, rescue the infant in- 
 stitute from its actual troubles and embarrassments. If it was con- 
 stitutional, lawful, and expedient to vote money, or its equivalent, 
 for establishments of public charity and education in 1832, it is cer- 
 tainly equally constitutional, lawful, and expedient to do so in 1844. 
 If it be proper and wise in one year to encourage the instructors of 
 our youth, it is certainly equally imperative, if not more so, to con- 
 tinue that encouragement as the Republic grows older, larger, and 
 more able to contribute to an undertaking so replete with public 
 and private blessings. 
 
 I say, then, to the members of the present Congress, that the pre- 
 cedents thus exhibited in support of the claim which the National 
 Institute is about to make officially, and I trust promptly, for assis- 
 tance at their hands, should and must have great weight in their 
 minds, and force them, as it were, to make another appropriation 
 of the kind for the benefit of an association thus devoted to the 
 cause of knowledge and improvement. The Institute has a right 
 to claim assistance, and will be satisfied, I suppose, with being 
 placed on a similar footing with the Georgetown and Columbian 
 Colleges. But, as the public property within the precincts of the 
 city has lost much of its value since the time of said grants, it is 
 but just that Congress (if persuaded to act favorably in the case)
 
 should see that the Institute actually receives a gum equal to those 
 received by the before mentioned seminaries of education. This 
 assistance, if given promptly, will be sufficient to snatch the Insti- 
 tute from the perils and difficulties with which it is surrounded, and 
 give it the means and spirit to go on with accelerated pace in the 
 path of honor and usefulness. It thus being clearly a right in the 
 National Institute to have the same justice at least meted out to it 
 as was the case in the preceding instances, I would advise the gen- 
 tlemen (if the idea shall not have already presented itself to their 
 minds) who compose the committee detailed to draught a memorial 
 to Congress in behalf of the association they represent, to adopt 
 these acts as precedents and vouchers, and to bring the matter in 
 the proper shape strongly and warmly before our National Councils, 
 thus called upon to assist and encourage a national establishment. 
 
 The urgency of the case the past services of the National Insti- 
 tute in the march of intellect the materials collected from every 
 quarter of the globe for giving additional impulse to that onward 
 march of mind the numerous influential, well-informed, and scien- 
 tific men who have the honor of calling themselves members, and 
 their daily contributions to the stores of human knowledge and 
 the pressing necessities of the infant establishment all these con- 
 siderations, which will, beyond doubt, be feelingly and ably urged 
 in the forthcoming memorial, must, it is to be sincerely hoped, pro- 
 duce the desired effect upon the minds and hearts of those under 
 whose care the National Treasury is placed, and convince them 
 that justice, policy, humanity, and good sense all unite in instruct- 
 ing them how they should act in a case having such strong and irre- 
 sistible claims upon their kind attention and liberality. 
 
 I have the honorable member from Philadelphia as my endorser 
 when I state, that the contributions to the cabinets of the National 
 Institute are valuable and numerous; that, unfortunately, there is 
 no place where the boxes can be deposited, or their contents be seen 
 or preserved; so that rare and most interesting specimens from far- 
 off countries are actually going to decay, and lie hidden in out-of- 
 the-way corners and cellars, for want of the adequate means to 
 procure a fit place for their safe-keeping and exhibition. I have 
 myself received the assurances of gentlemen, whose word cannot 
 be doubted, and who have personal knowledge in the matter, that 
 the importance, size, number, and value of the collections now
 
 49 
 
 scattered about at the Departments, in private rooms, garrets, and 
 cellars, (and all belonging to the National Institute,) would astonish 
 the public if a list and examination could be made. Is it not then 
 a pity that all these treasures, which are as yet for the most part 
 concealed from the public eye, should rot away in unknown places, 
 whilst the collections of the Exploring Expedition are snugly 
 stowed in proper cases, and open to the inspection of the curious ? 
 If Congress hesitated not to use the public moneys for the benefit of 
 an expedition which was in a great degree scientific, and the re- 
 sults of which I doubt not will be of general interest and advan- 
 tage, why should it now pause when an institution, whose object is 
 also scientific, whose collections do not yield, as I am informed, in 
 value, variety, number, and interest to those just referred to, ap- 
 plies to it for assistance and for the means of preserving those col- 
 lections from destruction ? In making this remark, I do not want 
 to be understood as casting any reflection upon the Exploring Ex- 
 pedition. I am well disposed to believe that it was well conducted, 
 and that its results are valuable. I merely wish, in speaking of it 
 in conjunction with the collections of the National Institute, to ob- 
 serve, that the same reason which induced the Government to give 
 those of that expedition so fit a place for exhibition, ought, to a 
 certain degree, to induce Congress to make some provision for the 
 safe-keeping of the cabinets and library of the Institute, which are 
 intended for the use and benefit of the nation at large. Besides 
 the collections formerly deposited at the different Departments, 
 consisting of presents to this Government, or its Ministers, Secre- 
 taries, or foreign agents, from other Governments or Potentates, 
 pictures, treaties, &c., have been placed under the care of the Na- 
 tional Institute, and are now exhibited in the hall of the Patent 
 Office, devoted principally to the cabinets of the Exploring Expe- 
 dition. Thus a union has been established between the Govern- 
 ment of the United States and the Institute, which is employed as 
 its agent and trustee to the above extent. It seems to me, there- 
 fore, that, in addition to the claims which that society has upon 
 Governmental support and patronage, based upon the precedents 
 before alluded to, the fact of this trusteeship and the services so ren- 
 dered, should put it upon the footing of an actual and bona fide 
 possessor of a vested right upon the liberality and justice of Con- 
 gress. By enabling the Institute, in the manner designated, to pre- 
 7
 
 50 
 
 serve and exhibit its cabinets of curiosities, this Government will 
 add to the interest which attaches to the collections so entrusted to 
 its keeping, and make it the interest of the guardian to attend to 
 their proper exhibition and preservation. I know that a small sum 
 of money was appropriated on the occasion of ihe transfer of the 
 articles in question, but, inasmuch as this is not merely a subject 
 for the discussion of positive and actual vested rights, but one that 
 appeals to public sympathy and liberality, I trust this employment 
 of the Institute by the Government may be considered as a prece- 
 dent to show that there are honest and expedient ways of meeting 
 and avoiding the constitutional objections, which so often unluckily 
 arrest and retard the cause of public education and improvement. 
 At all events, I most devoutly hope that even if these suggestions 
 of mine be found impracticable, (but for which I ask at least a fail- 
 hearing and trial,) some expedient may be discovered for saving a 
 meritorious and useful institution from ruin and decay some way 
 for rescuing its valuable collections from destruction. 
 
 In my next I shall continue the discussion of this subject, and 
 dwell awhile upon the question of exchanges ; and, until then, I 
 am yours, respectfully, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 LETTEB No. XI. 
 
 ON THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC 
 EXCHANGES. 
 
 FEBRUARY 17, 1844. 
 
 Since the publication of my last number, a strong appeal has 
 been made through your columns to Congress and the public at 
 large for aid in defraying the expenses of the meeting of the Na- 
 tional Institute in this city, on the first Monday of April next, and 
 the printing of the proceedings, &c., on that interesting occasion. 
 The appeal gives a melancholy account of the present condition of 
 the Institute, its inability to make provision for the exhibition of its 
 large and valuable collections, and the rare and important presents 
 lately received from ALEXANDRE VATTEMARE, of Paris. The pe- 
 cuniary and other aid of the citizens and friends of knowledge is 
 earnestly requested, and the appeal is perfectly authorized by the 
 unusual interest of this great scientific reunion, and by the fact that 
 ?ome of our most able and well informed men of learning are under
 
 51 
 
 promise to deliver lectures or send papers to be read. It is with a 
 rational hope that the citizens of this District in particular, in view of 
 the interest of the proposed meeting-, will not turn a deaf ear to this 
 warm and well-worded appeal, that the National Institute presents 
 itself to public notice and support under its existing difficulties. 
 
 You will remember that I urged the claims of the Institute upon 
 the favorable notice of Congress as at least equal, although in fact 
 they are superior, to those which called forth the appropriations 
 in 1831 and 1832 for the benefit of the District colleges, and that, 
 whilst insisting upon the right of that association to expect public 
 support, it recommends itself in a peculiar manner to the patronage 
 of Government. It is to be hoped that the committee of the Insti- 
 tute, appointed to memorialize Congress at the present session, will 
 soon make their appeal, and that the two Houses will be found dis- 
 posed to give them a fair and impartial hearing and a liberal con- 
 sideration of their case. I flatter myself that public attention here 
 and elsewhere has been attracted to the condition, means, services, 
 and future career of usefulness of the Institute, and that the present 
 is the fit time for bringing before Congress and the people such ap- 
 peals and statements as may give them correct information on the 
 subject and enlist their attention and sympathy. I feel that the 
 hour is not far distant when the community will be made alive to 
 the importance of this subject, and the current of popular approba- 
 tion turned towards a too long neglected institution. This hope and 
 belief have induced me to devote my pen to a brief account of the 
 operations, plans, and services of the National Institute, and to an 
 appeal to the citizens of this Republic in its behalf. 
 
 I have before me an interesting letter from Mr. VATTEMARE, dated 
 Paris, the 10th December last, and addressed to the Corresponding 
 Secretary of the National Institute, extracts from which were pub- 
 lished in your paper of the 12th ultimo. That letter announced 
 the transmission of a variety of interesting articles for the Institute, 
 and that a still larger number remained in his hands awaiting fur- 
 ther instructions from Washington, and the means to defray the ex- 
 penses to be incurred on the occasion. It is well known in this 
 country that Mr. VATTEMARE has devoted his time, money, talents, 
 and perseverance to the subject of Exchanges, and that the atten- 
 tion of well-informed men in Europe and in America has been 
 gradually more and more attracted to the progress of this praise-
 
 52 
 
 worthy enterprise. If he succeeds in carrying his plans into opera- 
 tion, a new era will dawn for the march of intelligence and mind. 
 The multiplication and the increasing cheapness of the communica- 
 tions between the Old and New Worlds, will aid very materially in 
 deed in the full realization of his hopes. The two hemispheres will 
 thus be brought close together by the bonds of mutual benefits ; and, 
 as nothing serves more to the preservation and perpetuity of good 
 will between nations than the interchange of their intellectual pro- 
 ductions, upon a well regulated system of national reciprocity, Mr. 
 VATTEMARE, and all those who co-operate with him on the subject 
 of Exchanges, will have discovered the very best and most practical 
 means of preserving the influence of peace in the civilized world, 
 and of aiding in the diffusion of knowledge among men. I am thus 
 emphatic in my allusion to the writer of the letter in question be- 
 cause I consider this move of his as the first in that great impulse 
 which I wish the National Institute to initiate in this continent. I 
 feel perfectly authorized in asserting, from the value of the books, 
 engravings, charts, &c., a part whereof have been received in this 
 city and are waiting for public assistance, so that they and the other 
 collections of the Institute may be exhibited for public instruction 
 and amusement, that the announcement of the fact that there is so 
 philanthropic an individual as VATTEMARE in the great metropolis 
 of France, who has collected, and is still collecting valuable ma- 
 terials for the benefit of this country, ought to interest every citizen 
 who has the least pretension to information or education. It will 
 be seen by the recent publications on the part of the National In- 
 stitute, that it cannot afford to pay the required expenses on a fur- 
 ther transmission from Paris ; and I trust that the discredit of that 
 want of ability to take the necessary steps in this matter will not 
 be allowed to rest at the door of the American people, who are thus 
 called upon to assist in carrying out an enterprise which concerns, 
 and is sure to benefit them most materially. The way whereby that 
 pecuniary assistance may be made to reach the destination where 
 good may be effected, has been, over and over again, plainly indi- 
 cated. The will is all that is requisite, and that will I hope exists 
 among the people. Whilst thus endeavoring to aid in the realiza- 
 tion of the plan of International Exchanges, by our co-operation 
 and pecuniary assistance, through which our colleges, academies, 
 Federal and State Governments, municipal corporations, scientific
 
 53 
 
 and other institutions, &c., will receive the mental treasures of the 
 Old World, it is exceedingly important and advisable that the sys- 
 tem of domestic exchanges should be fostered and rendered efficient. 
 The subject is, indeed, a vast and interesting one. The benefits to 
 flow from the judicious operation of that system, extending, like 
 the circulation of the blood in the human body, throughout the land, 
 will be felt and made abundant in every section of the country. 
 There is no public or private institution in the United States which 
 makes it a part of its business to make collections in history, belles 
 lettres, the fine arts, the exact sciences, agriculture, geology, mine- 
 ralogy, astronomy, &c., that will not gain by adopting and carry- 
 ing into effect a system of Exchanges with the National Institute. 
 In return for the duplicates which that association may thus receive 
 at different times, it will be enabled, from the size, value, and abun- 
 dance of its own collections, to make a return in some article of 
 interest which the person or persons so sending will be very much 
 gratified to get in hand. It is an ascertained fact, that there are 
 articles of rare value and interest, lying concealed and idle in the 
 hands of individuals, which, if once transmitted to an institution 
 where they might be brought to light and properly exhibited and 
 taken care of, would aid much in the diffusion of general informa- 
 tion, and afford much gratification to the public. Already has the 
 Institute called upon persons possessing such articles, and invited 
 them to transmit the same for the use of its cabinets, and I am 
 happy to say the appeal has met with a prompt and flattering re- 
 sponse. But much remains undone. It is absolutely necessary that 
 some well-conceived and well-ordered plan should be adopted, 
 whereby public institutions and private persons shall be sure of re- 
 ceiving equivalents and being honorably mentioned for their liber- 
 ality. This can be best effected by making Washington the head- 
 quarters of Domestic Exchanges, and the National Institute the 
 agent and receiver. 
 
 If the appeal which has been just made to the public, and that 
 which is soon to go before Congress, produce the fruit which we all 
 desire and anticipate, then will that association have it in its power 
 to defray all the expenses attendant upon the operation of the 
 system, and to provide a proper and convenient place for a public 
 exhibition of the specimens and articles which it may receive in 
 exchange for those which can be spared from its collections.
 
 54 
 
 Every person, and all collections of individuals, whether lay or 
 clerical, scientific or artistical, mechanical or agricultural, political 
 or municipal, should feel immediately interested in this matter. 
 By sending their superfluities to the National Institute in the way 
 of exchange, they are clearly the gainers in every sense of the 
 phrase. They part with that which they can easily spare, and 
 receive that which they have not. This reciprocity becomes soon 
 the means of spreading knowledge far and wide, and those who are 
 desirous of being benefactors of their race are amply provided with 
 all the materials required for their great and philanthropic purpose. 
 We are in an age when knowledge is power. The gigantic strides 
 of man in the march of mind are waxing more wonderful and ac- 
 celerated with every passing year. It is emphatically an age of 
 experiments and daring undertakings. Steam has almost annihi- 
 lated distance, and the pen has nearly superseded the sword in the 
 settlement of questions between nations. Space is becoming a 
 word of no meaning before the startling results of the application 
 of electro magnetism, and the day is not remote when those who 
 are now severed by deserts, mountains, and vast oceans, will be 
 made neighbors by communications, almost miraculous and incre- 
 dible for their frequenc}^, economy, safety, and celerity. All these 
 being either facts or events highly probable, (for they cast their 
 shadows before,) it becomes every man, who wishes to escape the 
 charge of being a sluggard, and indifferent to what is transpiring 
 around him, to gird his loins for the race and to store his mind for 
 the encounter. But as knowledge is the fruit of study and expe- 
 rience, it is necessary that we should have those two important 
 elements at our command ; and not one method more piactical and 
 advantageous can be discovered than the association of men ac- 
 tuated by a laudable thirst after instruction, who together do that 
 which as individuals it would be vain for them to attempt. Among 
 the numerous associations for intellectual purposes established in 
 this country, the National Institute has taken a highly respectable 
 position, and has exercised a great and salutary influence upon the 
 public mind. Having proved their sincere devotion to the good 
 cause which they are pledged to advance and support by every 
 honorable means, the members of the Institute have deemed the 
 subject of National and Domestic Exchanges worthy of a most stren- 
 uous effort to carry it into operation, and for that purpose earnestly
 
 55 
 
 invite the co-operation of the public by pecuniary and other assis- 
 tance. Again do I say, let not their expectations be disappointed, 
 and a new era will dawn upon this hemisphere, aud a new con- 
 solidation be added to the weakened bonds of our glorious Union. 
 
 I would therefore suggest that the duplicates of books, charts, 
 documents, geological and other specimens, which may be in the 
 possession of the Executive, Congress, colleges, public and private 
 academies, mercantile, agricultural, mechanical, literary, and other 
 associations, should be laid aside, under the care of some compe- 
 tent individual, to be transmitted to the National Institute, as soon 
 as it is able to defray the expenses of transportation, and posses- 
 ses a proper place for exhibition. 1 would recommend that indi- 
 viduals who take an interest in such matters make their collections 
 and distributions for a like purpose and in like manner; and that 
 the National Institute inform Mr. VATTEMARE that it is making all 
 possible efforts to induce Congress and the people to aid and co- 
 operate in his honorable and philanthropic project. I would also 
 suggest that the National-Institute, so soon as it shall have collect- 
 ed a sufficient sum for the purpose, open, through a committee 
 appointed for that special purpose, a correspondence with Govern- 
 ment, the heads of public and private colleges and institutions, 
 and such of our citizens or foreigners who may be interested in the 
 matter, inviting again their assistance, indicating the means of 
 transmission, promising to defray the necessary expenses, and to 
 provide a place for their preservation and exhibition. 
 
 The Institute will be thus materially assisted in the plan of es- 
 tablishing a great national gallery of curiosities, learning, litera- 
 ture, and the fine arts, at the metropolis of this Republic, and the 
 people be convinced that its progress and success are deeply inter- 
 esting to the country, and highly important for the advance of 
 knowledge and education. 
 
 I would advise such of my readers as feel interested in the sub- 
 ject, to read a very interesting article entitled " A Plan of Ex- 
 changes," by Dr. E. FOREMAN, of the Washington University of 
 Baltimore, dated December 10, 1841. and published in the second 
 Bulletin of the National Institute, p. 168. 
 
 My next shall be devoted to a brief account of the origin, pro- 
 gress, and present state of the Depot of Charts and Instruments, or 
 National Observatory, in this city, under the superintendence of
 
 Lieut. J. M. GILLIS, of our navy, and the Observatory at George- 
 town College, assigned to the care of the Rev. JAMES CURLEY. 
 Until then, I remain yours, respectfully, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 LETTER No. XII. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC EXCHANGES; DEPOT OF CHARTS 
 AND INSTRUMENTS, AND GEORGETOWN COLLEGE OBSERVATORY. 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 9, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : Having committed the oversight in my last of over- 
 looking a very interesting report by Mr. MARKOE, of a Committee 
 on Exchanges, to the National Institute, consisting of Col. AEERT, 
 Mr. MARKOE, Mr. DAYTON, and Dr. KING, on the 13th December, 
 1841, and which has received the sanction of that body, (see 2d 
 Bulletin, pp. 162, and 164,) before proceeding to the immediate 
 topics of this number, I take the occasion of referring my readers 
 to that paper as one well worthy a perusal. 
 
 The committee recommend : 1st. That a system of exchanges 
 be entered upon without delay. 2d. That the curator and assist- 
 ants be directed, for this purpose, to separate all duplicates, except 
 those from the Exploring Expedition ; and that they select and 
 label such specimens as are to be sent to individuals or societies. 
 3d. That the first step taken be to discharge the obligations of ex- 
 change already incurred by the Institution. 4th. That a commit- 
 tee be appointed, to whom the curator shall submit all sets of 
 specimens thus set aside for any given exchanges, who shall decide 
 upon the equivalency before said specimens shall be boxed up and 
 sent off. 5th. That in all cases of difficulty which may arise, ref- 
 erence must be made to the President or Vice President of the In- 
 stitution for decision, who will, if they conceive it necessary, sub- 
 mit the question to the Institution. 6th. That a book be kept by 
 the curator, subject at all times to the inspection of the committee, 
 in which must be noted the contents of each box or package, lists 
 of the articles for which they are the equivalents, the name and 
 place of the society or individual to whom one set is to be sent and 
 from whom the other has been received. 
 
 The support, co-operation, and patronage of the public are all 
 that is wanting to enable the Institute to carry a proper plan of In-
 
 57 
 
 ternational and Domestic Exchanges into successful operation, and 
 it is to be hoped that the community will be awakened and inter- 
 ested in this highly important subject. 
 
 I cannot better enter upon the discussion of the grand and sub- 
 lime topic of astronomy than by prefixing the eloquent language 
 of the Hon. JOHN QUTNCY ADAMS, in his report to Congress on the 
 Smithsonian Fund, made on the 26th January, 1839, and from 
 which I have already quoted. (See report No. 857, 27th Congress, 
 2d session.) The venerable chairman remarks : 
 
 II The express object of an observatory is the increase of know- 
 4 ledge by new discovery. The physical relations between the fir- 
 c rnanent of heaven and the globe allotted by the Creator of all to 
 ' be the abode of man are discoverable only by the organ of the eye. 
 ' Many of these relations are indispensable to the existence of hu- 
 ' man life, and perhaps of the earth itself. Who can conceive the 
 
 * idea of a world without a sun, but must connect it with the ex- 
 
 * tinctions of light and heat, of all animal life, of all vegetation and 
 ' production ; leaving the lifeless clod of matter to return to the 
 1 primitive state of chaos, or to be consumed by elemental fire ? 
 ' The influence of the moon of the planets, our next door neigh- 
 ' bors of the solar system of the fixed stars scattered over the 
 1 blue expanse in multitudes exceeding the power of human com- 
 
 * putation, and at distances of which imagination herself can form 
 4 no distinct conception ; the influence of all these upon the globe 
 1 which we inhabit, and upon the condition of man, its dying and 
 
 * deathless inhabitant, is great and mysterious, and, in the search 
 ' for final causes, to a great degree inscrutable to his finite and 
 i limited faculties. The extent to which they are discoverable is 
 ' and must remain unknown ; but to the vigilance of a sleepless 
 ' eye, to the toil of a tireless hand, and to the meditations of a 
 ' thinking, combining, and analyzing mind, secrets are successively 
 ' revealed not only of the deepest import to the welfare of man in 
 4 his earthly career, but which seem to lift him from the earth to 
 ' the threshold of his eternal abode ; to lead him blindfold up to 
 ' the council chamber of Omnipotence ; and there, stripping the 
 ' bandage from his eyes, bid him look undazzled at the throne of 
 ' God." 
 
 The study of the heavens, and all the phenomena connected 
 therewith, is one which has occupied mankind from the earliest 
 8
 
 ages of the world. Its importance, interest, value, and necessity 
 have been too well and often asserted and conceded for me to in- 
 dulge in a disquisition on the subject, even did time and space 
 allow me to dilate upon a topic so well suited to exercise the reason, 
 delight the fancy, improve the heart, and give scope to the play of 
 imagination. Our own fair land, thank God, is not a sluggard in 
 the matter. Public attention has been attracted to the necessity of 
 constructing observatories and creating a body of scientific and 
 practical men, who may make that study a profession. The Go- 
 vernment of this Republic, amongst others, has deemed the subject , 
 worthy its most serious notice, and a bill to erect a small observa- 
 tory, in connexion with the Depot of Charts and Instruments which 
 was established in 1830, was introduced by the Committee on Naval 
 Affairs, through Mr. MALLORY, its chairman, on the 15th of March, 
 1842, and to which the observatory now in course of construction 
 under the superintendence of Lieut. J. M. GILLISS owes its exist- 
 ence. (See report No. 449, 27th Congress, second session.) It is 
 due to justice to state, and it is a fact of which I have personal 
 knowledge, that the passage of the bill in question was owing in a 
 great degree to the exertions and perseverance of that officer, to 
 whose care the edifice alluded to has been very properly confided. 
 Having been sent by the Secretary of the Navy to Europe, for the 
 purpose of visiting most of the prominent observatories of the old 
 world, of consulting with the most distinguished men of science 
 and astronomical knowledge, and procuring good and suitable in- 
 struments, Mr. GILLISS returned several months afterwards to this 
 country, and soon set about the construction of the depot ; that is, 
 in the month of April last, upon that fine and commanding site 
 called Univeisity Square. 
 
 As the report of Lieut. GILLISS to the Secretary of the Navy, 
 dated Washington, November 23d, of the last year, may not have 
 met the eyes of some of my readers, who would like to learn some 
 details on the subject, I quote from that paper, as the best and most 
 condensed account that could be offered. 
 
 The report states that the principal part of the new Depot is upon 
 the line of D street north, and is ninety-five feet above ordinary 
 high-water mark; that the central house is fifty feet square, two 
 stories and a basement high, and surmounted by a hemispherical 
 revolving dome, resting on circular walls, elevated eight feet above
 
 59 
 
 the roof. The height from the ground to the top of the balustrade 
 surrounding the house is thirty-three feet, and to the top of the 
 dome is fifty-four feet. It has three wings : the eastern and the 
 western twenty-six feet three inches long, twenty-one wide, and 
 eighteen feet high ; the southern twenty feet long, and same width 
 and height as the others ; a passage-way ten feet square divides it 
 from the house. The masonry for the foundations of the walls and 
 piers is of the most massive and durable kind the greater portion 
 of that for the piers and circular wall being laid with the best hy- 
 draulic cement. The piers of granite were all erected in July, and 
 the brick-work completed early in October last; the roofs have 
 been sheathed, and the coppering will be finished in a few days; 
 a part of the floors has been laid, the furnace for heating the build- 
 ing put up, the cast iron work for the revolving dome fitted, and 
 plastering commenced. Mr. GILLISS expects to complete the work 
 during the month of May next. 
 
 The magnetic observatory is ninety feet to the southwest of the 
 preceding, and is, with its entrance-way, entirely below the ground, 
 the roof of the former being rather more than four feet from the 
 surface ; the entrance to it is from the basement, through a subter- 
 ranean passage ninety-three feet long. This observatory is in the 
 foim of a cross; is seventy feet long in each direction, ten feet 
 wide, and ten feet high. It is built entirely of heavy North Caro- 
 lina heart pine, secured throughout with wood pins and copper 
 nails, on dry-powdered clay, rammed hard around the outer plank- 
 ing, and is so constructed that any piece may be taken out for 
 repair. An inside sheathing permits the air to circulate freely 
 around it, to prevent internal dampness ; and an octagonal dome 
 in the centre, fitted with double windows, admits sufficient light for 
 ordinary purposes, while the volume of air between the windows 
 is such as will prevent sudden changes of temperature. This 
 building was covered over early in August, and is completed, ex- 
 cept a little paint-work. The range of temperature within it, since 
 fitting the door and windows, as shown by self-registering ther- 
 mometers, has been from 55 to 58| Fahrenheit, equal 3^. 
 
 The great telescope and the comet-searcher will be completed within 
 the specified time at Munich, viz. January 1st, 1844; the mural 
 circle will probably be shipped from London about the 1st of De- 
 cember ; the transit for prime vertical, made by PISTOR, at Berlin,
 
 under the supervision of ENCKE, was shipped from Hamburgh Oc- 
 tober 18th ; the transit for meridian made by ERTELS, at Munich, 
 is doubtless on its way to the United States. In case no delay 
 occurs in the receipt of these instruments, he expects to have them 
 all mounted and ready for use about the 1st of July next. The 
 magnetic instruments were received about ten days before date of 
 report, and vveie then in course of adjustment in the Observatory; 
 the meteorological instruments were received last May and are safely 
 preserved, the erection of the registering anemometer being delayed 
 until the completion of a superintendent's house. 
 
 Having allowed Mr. GILLISS to explain in his own words all that 
 had been done, up to the date of his report, for carrying into effect 
 the design of Congress, I will now proceed to take a brief notice of 
 the sister observatory of Georgetown College, which owes its ex- 
 istence to private liberality, and, whilst it does great credit to the 
 most worthy Professor, the Rev. JAMES CURLEY, under whose im- 
 mediate care it is placed, at the same time is another proof, if such 
 were needed, of the love of knowledge which characterizes most 
 eminently the distinguished order of which he is a member. 
 
 The donation to which the College Observatory owes its con- 
 struction was made in 1841. In 1842 a plan was agreed upon, and 
 a correspondence opened with European artists, and some of the 
 instruments ordered. The building, was commenced in the sum- 
 mer of 1843, and is nearly finished. The edifice is about four hun- 
 dred yards west by north of the College, on a rising ground, and 
 commands a free view of the Government Depot or Observatory 
 just referred to, which is about 1|- miles to the southeast. The 
 building is sixty feet long, east and west, and about thirty feet 
 wide, and has three rooms on the ground floor. The eastern and 
 western rooms are fifteen feet high, and are intended for the me- 
 ridian instruments. The middle part of the building is thirty feet 
 square and about thirty high, with a balustrade all around, as is the 
 case with the walls of the meridian rooms. A third story of frame- 
 work is constructed within the balustrade of the middle building. 
 It is thirty feet squaie, with a rotary hemispherical dome twenty 
 feet in diameter. This dome rests upon twenty conical eight-inch 
 rollers ; there is a footway three feet wide all around between the 
 dome and balustrade. A solid piece of mason-work is constructed, 
 the top of which passes through the floor of the room formed by
 
 the dome, and upon which is to be placed an equatorial refracting 
 telescope. 
 
 The principal instruments for this Observatory, are, 1st, an equa- 
 torial refractor, with a 7 inch object-glass, and ten feet focal 
 length, having eleven eye-pieces, six of which are adapted to a 
 position micrometer ; this instrument is being made by GAMBIER, in 
 Paris, and will be finished in June next ; 2d, a forty-six inch me- 
 ridian circle, from SIMMS, of London ; 3d, a transit instrument or 
 meridian telescope of the best construction. This instrument has 
 an object-glass of 4^ inches diameter and 76 inches focal length, 
 was made by ESTEL and SON, of Munich, in 1843, has been sent, 
 but not yet received at the College. Several smaller and necessary 
 instruments with time-pieces have been received from London and 
 Munich. Another sidereal clock (a present from T. ROBERT JEN- 
 KINS, Esq., of Baltimore) is expected from London. 
 
 The College intend to collect an astronomical library, and with 
 that view have on a hand number of excellent works upon the 
 subject. 
 
 I feel peculiarly happy in having it in my power to give some 
 information about two Institutions which are not as well and gen- 
 erally known as they deserve to be, and to congratulate the people 
 of this District in particular, and the country at large, that we pos- 
 sess in our midst such interesting and valuable agents in the diffu- 
 sion of knowledge among men, as well as ornamental specimens 
 of architecture. 
 
 I shall not here insist upon the practical benefits likely to follow 
 upon the successful operation of these two Observatories. I think 
 such an attempt would be a reflection upon the intelligence and 
 good sense of my readers. Let the subject speak for itself. Time, 
 experience, the common consent of all learned and sensible men, 
 .and the public interest felt in every civilized country in the matter, 
 prove, more than words of mine could do, that astronomy, and its 
 co-ordinate branches, have been deemed, in every age, clime, and 
 Government, as of the greatest importance and value. 
 
 Let it then be the pride, as it is the duty and interest of our Gov- 
 ernment and the people, to co-operate in carrying out the wishes 
 and expectations of learned men on the subject; so that those who 
 devote themselves to high and useful studies may enjoy that as- 
 sistance, appreciation, and notice which should ever attend upon
 
 merit, and our Republic assume by such instrumentality a respecta- 
 ble position among those nations who have distinguished them- 
 selves by their attention to intellectual pursuits. 
 
 Those who may wish to obtain more details in relation to the 
 Depot of Charts and Instruments will do well to consult the de- 
 scription of the buildings and instruments furnished for the Army 
 and Navy Chronicle by Lieut. Gilliss. It was published, with an 
 engraving of the Observatory, in the Chronicle of June 1, 1843. 
 Yours, respectfully, J. C. B. 
 
 THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, AND WASHINGTON MONU- 
 MENTRECAPITULATIONCONGRESS AND THE CITY OF WASH- 
 INGTON. 
 
 LETTER No. XIII. 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 23, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : Since the appearance of my last number I have 
 observed by the papers that certain moves have been made in Con- 
 gress, which, from their importance and the immediate bearing on 
 some of the subjects upon which I have dilated for several months 
 past, call for due notice at my hands. 
 
 I allude to the report of Mr. Pratt, of New York, from the Com- 
 mittee on Public Buildings, made the 7th of the present month, 
 and published in your paper of Monday last, and the bill proposed 
 by the same public-spirited gentleman for the erection of a National 
 Monument in this city. 
 
 The report in question, after stating that the Capitol and the 
 grounds are in a good condition, and that the former requires but 
 slight alterations and repairs in the roof and a general coat of paint 
 on its exterior, recommends improvements in the jets d'eau and 
 fountains, as also some trifling ones for the President's House, such 
 as painting the exterior, sundry repairs to its offices, &c. After re- 
 marking that the State and Treasury Departments need but a few 
 unimportant repairs and improvements, it goes on to recommend 
 the erection of an additional, substantial, and fire-proof building 
 on the ground south of the Navy Department, and ranging as near 
 as possible therewith. This building is to be of brick, with a mar- 
 ble portico of six columns, the floors to be of brick, stairways, door 
 jambs, window frames, sash, and shutters to be of iron, and the 
 whole estimated to cost $119,774. The committee recommend an
 
 63 
 
 appropriation of $28,275 to purchase certain lots and buildings 
 necessary to the complete arrangement of the General Post Office, 
 as also the erection of one of the wings to the main building of the 
 Patent Office, as contemplated in the original plan, the same to be 
 constructed of granite, and state that the office has on hand a fund 
 which is very nearly sufficient to defray the expense attending the 
 building in question. An appropriation (sum not named) is also 
 recommended for the enlargement of the conservatory for the cul. 
 tivation and preservation of the rare and curious plants of the 
 Exploring Expedition. It is also recommended that the Mall be 
 fenced in and planted. 
 
 The bill referred to proposes to erect a monument of three sto- 
 ries, the crypt or basement to contain the Statue of Washington 
 by Greenough, (now lodged in a mere shed and which is an eye- 
 sore in the Capitol grounds,) with niches for the busts of the 
 Presidents of the United States ; the second story niches for statues 
 of the illustrious men of the country ; and the third to be a gallery 
 for paintings, historical and national. The monument is to be 120 
 feet high, of the same size as the Rotundo, (100 feet in diameter,) 
 the whole to be completed in eighteen months, cost $100,000. It 
 is proposed to call upon the Washington Monument Society of this 
 city for an appropriation of the funds collected and on hand (say 
 $48,000) to aid in this work. I have seen the sketch made by Mr. 
 Strickland, of Philadelphia, and consider it well adapted to the 
 great national object in view. His name is a sufficient warranty in 
 the matter. 
 
 I am particularly delighted to find that a move has been made 
 in this last mentioned matter, as it confirms and agrees with the 
 suggestion which I had the honor of making in my letter number 
 VIII, and of urging upon the attention of Congress and the people 
 as one of the utmost importance and practicability. I congratulate 
 the country that it has in the legislative councils of the nation a man 
 who, amid the storms and tumult of political and party excitement, 
 has the patriotism and good taste to direct his attention to matters 
 so interesting and important. It reflects equal honor upon his head 
 and heart. The people of the whole country should feel interest- 
 ed in a prompt action on the subject-matter of the report and bill 
 in question, and the inhabitants in this District ought, whilst ex- 
 pressing their gratitude for this attention to their immediate wants
 
 and interests, to make their voice heard in suppoit of this proposed 
 public-spirited legislation. 
 
 I shall watch the progress of these two bills with great interest and 
 anxiety, and trust that we may have in due course of time the great 
 satisfaction of hailing their passage through both Houses, and en- 
 joying the excellent effects likely to ensue upon their execution. 
 
 I have thus, gentlemen, complied so far with the promise I made 
 through your columns the 6th of December last, by discussing in a 
 hasty manner the interesting topics which presented themselves to 
 my mind as matters of public concern. For the kind indulgence 
 with which you have so long given me no small space in your 
 crowded journal, you have my warmest thanks. That indulgence 
 I will have to claim for some numbers more, deeming it important 
 that I should enter upon the examination of certain other topics of 
 much moment to the people of this Republic, and to this commu- 
 nity in particular. 
 
 I have, therefore, in compliance with the engagement I entered 
 into with my readers, given a sketch of the rise and progress of the 
 National Institute. I have endeavored to show that its birth was 
 auspicious, its motives and ends pure and practicable, its operations 
 of general benefit. I have strived to prove that, being purely 
 National and American, the Institute had a claim on the notice and 
 patronage of Government and the people ; that it has received the 
 approbation of some of the first men at home and abroad, and that 
 it contains within itself all the elements of usefulness if fostered 
 and allowed a theatre for their operation. I have brought the best 
 evidence of the present precarious and needy state of that Institu- 
 tion, and indicated a feasible and easy way of giving the assistance 
 it so imperiously requires and so richly deserves. I have written 
 on the subject of the Smithsonian Bequest, given its history and its 
 present discreditable and neglected condition. The opinions of 
 distinguished men have been cited to show that this neglect of a 
 solemn duty on the part of the great trustee, our National Legisla- 
 ture, is a reproach to the country, and a stain that should be wiped 
 off without delay. I have referred those whose duty it is to do 
 something in the matter to Rush, Adams, Wayiand, Preston, &c., 
 for the mode of carrying out the will of the testator, and ventured 
 upon sundry suggestions of my own, which can be seen by refe- 
 rence to my letters. I have endeavored to draw the attention of
 
 Congress to the subject of providing a proper place for the statue 
 of Washington, and of encouraging the fine arts by connecting 
 with it a national gallery for paintings, statuary, and architectural 
 designing. 
 
 I have urged the expediency and policy of rescuing the Mall 
 from its present state of degradation, and of ornamenting it at least 
 with the different trees of this countiy, and protecting it with a 
 decent enclosure. This would be performing a part at least of the 
 duties which Congress owe to the people at large and this city, in 
 the matter of the public grounds and buildings. And although I 
 trust the day is not far distant when that beautiful reservation will 
 be made a worthy ornament of the national metropolis by the erec- 
 tion of statues, the digging of reservoirs, the construction of foun- 
 tains, and making of avenues and walks, yet we would be content 
 for the present with the provisions on the subject in Mr. Pratt's re- 
 port first referred to. Having given facts and indulged in specula- 
 tion on all these interesting subjects, I concluded my last letter by 
 brief sketches of the Depot of Charts and Instruments, and the 
 Observatory at Georgetown College, both of which establishments 
 are in the highest degree worthy of public notice and support, and 
 add so much to the attractions of the District. 
 
 I hope that the discussion of these matters has not been found 
 unnecessarily protracted, and that some light has been cast by my 
 humble instrumentality upon topics which should interest more or 
 less every intelligent and patriotic citizen of the Republic. If I 
 have succeeded in giving any information or pleasure in aiding the 
 march of mind, it matters not how little, I have been more than 
 rewarded. My object has been purely to suggest something which 
 might benefit my native city, and thus be of service ultimately to 
 the country. My hopes are not great, my expectations by no 
 means sanguine. But I know that truth is powerful and must pre- 
 vail. I bide my time, and cast my bread upon the waters, having 
 no other interest in the subject than that which every true citizen 
 should feel. 1 feel that the realization of my hopes is not so quix- 
 otical or improbable as at first I was induced to imagine. Public 
 men, in high places, are moving in the matter, and I please myself 
 with the anticipation of the time when most of these things shall 
 come to pass, and Washington be made what it was intended to be 
 9
 
 by the Father of the Republic, and its great founder and namesake, 
 the pride and glory of a great Republic. 
 
 What a contrast to the indifference exhibited by our own Govern- 
 ment on the subject of learning and intellectual improvement is the 
 liberal conduct of one which we are taught to look upon as barba- 
 rian ! 
 
 " Education," says the author of l The Chinese as they are,' 
 u from what has been already said as forming the only path to dis- 
 tinction and eminence, and as inculcated in all their works, it wil* 
 readily be supposed, is an object of primary importance among the 
 Chinese. Nor is it limited or confined to one class, but is generally 
 extended. Its importance was recognised, and was so well known 
 in China, that a work written before the Christian era speaks of the 
 'ancient system of instruction,' which required that every town and 
 village, down to a few families, should have a common school. 
 Jlnd it is worthy of remark how the general peace and prosperity of 
 China has been promoted by the diffusion of intelligence and edu- 
 cation throughout all classes. 
 
 " Strict examinations, regulated by a fixed code of laws, have 
 been instituted, designed solely to elicit this * true talent.' At 
 these examinations, which are open for all, it is decided who shall 
 rise to distinction, and confer honor on himself and his descendants, 
 and who shall live on and be forgotten. 
 
 " At the close of the second trial seventy-two are selected of the 
 most intelligent out of the 10,000 assembled from the province, 
 (speaking of Canton,) and an equal number from each of the other 
 provinces, making in all about 1,300 for the whole empire. The 
 fortunate persons are then publicly announced, and handbills are 
 circulated far and wide, not only for the information of the candi- 
 dates themselves, but also of their parents and kindred, who re- 
 ceive titles and honors in common with these favored relatives. 
 Presents are then made to the triumphant scholars, and splendid 
 apparel provided for them, so that they soon become rich and 
 great. To-day they are dwelling in an humble cottage, and to- 
 morrow they are introduced to the palaces of the powerful, and 
 every where received with the greatest honor. 
 
 ''- The advantages of this system are evident. Caste is by this 
 means abolished. No privileged order is tolerated ; wealth and ranL 
 are unavailing to procure advancement, and the poor are enabled by
 
 exertion to obtain the highest distinctions. Each etrains for the praise 
 which is thus accessible. They say of Shan, who was raised to 
 the throne by his talents and virtues : c Shan was a man ; I also 
 am a man; if 1 do but exert myself I may be as great as he.' 
 The stimulus thus given to energetic perseverance is immense, and 
 the effect in encouraging learning incalculable. 
 
 " One of the most remarkable national peculiarities of the Chi- 
 nese, observes Sir George Stanton, ' is their extraordinary addic- 
 tion to letters, the general prevalence of literary habits, and the 
 honorable pre-emption which, from the most remote period, has 
 been universally conceded to that class exclusively devoted to lite- 
 rary pursuits.' 
 
 " Even now, 2,300 years after the death of Confucius, several 
 individuals recognised as the actual heirs and representatives of the 
 sage are decorated with honorary distinction, and maintained in a 
 state of respectable independence at the public charge." 
 
 My readers will, I trust, excuse me for the length of this extract. 
 I deemed it so pertinent to the points which I have so ardently 
 urged upon the public attention, so rich in interest and instruction, 
 that I ventured upon quoting more than the length or nature of my 
 letters might seem to allow. Although it is neither asked nor ex- 
 pected that our Government or people should imitate the example 
 thus set them by a nation which we cannot contend with in such 
 matters, yet some lessons may be learned from the spectacle of this 
 glorious republic of letters in that old and curious empire, with 
 which we are now beginning an intercourse calculated to benefit us 
 in other ways than commercially. 
 
 I propose, gentlemen, to discuss the following points in my en- 
 suing numbers : I will endeavor to show, 1st. That the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States, and the acts of Congress in virtue and 
 pursuance thereof have made this District the permanent seat of 
 the Federal Government, and therefore nothing but an alteration 
 to that effect in the Constitution can change it. 2d. That so far 
 from having done too much for this city, Congress have not exer- 
 cised that full liberality and justice which policy and the rights of 
 its inhabitants demand. 3d. That this city being the metropolis of 
 the nation, and therefore national property, the people of this 
 country should feel directly interested in its improvement. And, 
 4th. To insist, therefore, upon a change of policy in its legislation
 
 towards this city and District on the part of the great council of 
 the nation, every member of which should consider himself our 
 immediate representative. 
 
 For the present I remain, yours, truly, 
 
 J. C. B, 
 
 THE DUTIES AND RELATIONS OF CONGRESS TO THE CITY OF 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 LKTTER No. XIV. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Jipril 15, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : I announced in my last my intention to discuss 
 the folio-wing- points: 1st. That the Constitution of the United 
 States, and the act of Congress in pursuance thereof, made this 
 District the permanent seat of the Federal Government,- and, there- 
 fore, nothing but an alteration to that effect in the Constitution can 
 change it. 2d. That so far from having done too much for this 
 city, Congress have not exercised that full liberality and justice 
 which policy and the rights of ils inhabitants demand. 3d. That 
 this city being the metropolis of the nation, and therefore, to a cer- 
 tain extent, national property, the people of this country should 
 feel directly interested in its improvement. And, in the fourth 
 place, to insist upon a change of policy in its legislation towards 
 this city and District, on the part of the Great Council of the nation, 
 every member of which should consider himself our immediate 
 representative, and bound, therefore, to watch over and foster our 
 interests. 
 
 In the discussion o-f these interesting and important topics, I 
 shall endeavor to be as brief as the nature of the subject will admit. 
 Before proceeding to that discussion I would observe, that it is 
 not because I entertain any apprehension- o-f any existing intention 
 on ike part of Congress or the people to have the seat of Govern- 
 ment removed, or because, if such intention' actually did exist, 
 there could be any reasonable anticipation of its being successful, 
 that I venture into the arena, but inasmuch as attempts have been 
 made at divers times, from motives more or less local and selfish, 
 to have such a change carried into effect, I deem it well, in view 
 of any similar attempts of the kind for the future, to throw together 
 a few desultory and hurried observations on this important subject,
 
 69 
 
 and to warn those whom it concerns against the bad results of such 
 an action. 
 
 The authority under which Congress subsequently designated 
 and accepted these ten miles square as the seat of the Federal Gov- 
 ernment of the United States, is to be found in section 8, 1st article 
 of the Constitution, and reads as follows: " Congress shall have 
 
 * power 'to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, 
 1 over such District^ (not exceeding ten miles square,} as may, by ces- 
 ( sion of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become 
 ' the seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like 
 
 * authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legisla- 
 1 ture of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of 
 1 forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other useful buildings,' 
 1 and 'to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
 
 * carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other pow- 
 ' ers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United 
 ' States, or in any department or officer thereof.' " 
 
 Maryland having, by act passed 23d December, 1788, authorized 
 her representatives in Congress to cede to the United States, for the 
 seat of Government, any district in the State not exceeding ten 
 miles square; and Virginia, imitating the example, by act of 3d 
 December, 1789, the Congress of the United States, in pursuance 
 of the foregoing section of the Constitution, signified its acceptance 
 of the said cession, by act passed 16th July, 1790, entitled "An act 
 for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of Government 
 of the United States," the 1st section whereof reads as follows : 
 " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 ' United States in Congress assembled, That a district of territory not 
 ' exceeding ten miles square, to be located as hereafter directed on 
 c the river Potomac, at some space between the mouths of the 
 ' Eastern Branch and Conogocheague, be, and the same is hereby, 
 c accepted for the permanent seat of the Government of the United 
 1 States." The final cession of her portion of this District by Mary- 
 land was made by act passed 19th December, 1791. 
 
 It may be well to remark, before proceeding further, that the 
 word "temporary" in the title of the act, refers to Philadelphia, 
 whither the Government was to be removed from New York, where 
 it then was located, there to sojourn until the first Monday of No- 
 vember, 1800, when it was to be transported to the District so
 
 70 
 
 selected. To this consecutive action, then, of the Constitution, the 
 States of Maryland and Virginia, and the Congress of the United 
 States, this growing" and well located metropolis of a great nation 
 owes its existence. 
 
 I shall now proceed to inquire whether Congress have it in their 
 power, by the operation of a simple majority, and by summary pro- 
 cess, to transfer the seat of Government thus called into being by the 
 Constitution. An attempt which, independent of a direct violation 
 of that instrument, would inevitably arouse and fan into a flame 
 those sectional and local feelings, against the direful effects of which 
 the country has been so touchingly and wisely cautioned by the 
 farewell address of the "Pater Patriffi." 
 
 I contend that Congress was merely employed as the agent 
 through which the negotiation between the States and the Federal 
 Government should first be carried on, and the selection and ar- 
 rangements for its permanent residence should be afterwards effect- 
 ed; that all the power to be exercised under the section just quoted, 
 being derived from the same and no other quarter whatever, it is 
 necessarily restrained, limited, and explained thereby, and by 
 nothing else ; and, lastly, that the authority vested in the premises 
 ceased and died when the object contemplated by the Constitution 
 was carried into execution, the territory selected, and the Govern- 
 ment actually established. It follows, from all this, that no act of 
 Congress can bring back life into a measure which has worked out 
 its mission, thus usurping creative powers belonging exclusively to 
 a higher authority the Constitution ; that instrument merely as- 
 signed to its agent the task of accepting the necessary territory, of 
 establishing its location, metes, and boundaries, and of exercising 
 exclusive jurisdiction over the tract so ceded; and not one word in 
 that section will authorize the conclusion that Congress, by the act 
 of a mere majority, can frustrate the original designs of the Fathers 
 of the Republic, by removing the metropolis so solemnly establish- 
 ed and protected. 
 
 It is evident that whenever one individual receives a certain 
 commission from another, the party so undertaking to execute the 
 same is bound, if he be honest, competent, and faithful, to follow 
 the instructions that may have been given for his guidance. Apply 
 this rule to the present case, and it is equally evident that the duties 
 assigned by the Constitution to Congress are clear, positive, and re-
 
 strictive. Certain powers were given, certain acts required, and 
 Congress, in the execution of this commission, was confined within 
 fixed limits, was to accept a specified amount of territory, and by 
 the acceptance, and the act establishing a permanent seat of Gov- 
 ernment, in accordance with the requisitions of the Constitution, 
 bound itself to that instrument, to Maryland and Virginia, the own- 
 ers, purchasers, and inhabitants of the District in question, and the 
 people at large, by a positive engagement, to make the metropolis 
 of the Union durable and unchangeable. Besides these evident 
 facts, that Congress was, is, and must be restricted by the article 
 under and by virtue whereof the powers, capacity, and acts neces- 
 sary in the premises are vested and exercised, that so far as the 
 selection of a seat of Government was concerned, its power ceased 
 with the execution of the agency, and cannot be revived other 
 than by the original creator, the Constitution ; and that the obliga- 
 tions incurred with the two grantors aforesaid, and the original 
 proprietors, purchasers, and inhabitants, are sacred and binding, 
 the following reflection is worthy of consideration. The introduc- 
 tion of the word "permanent" in the act of 16th July, 1790, in 
 contradistinction to " temporary" in the caption of said act, is, in 
 my opinion, to be considered and rendered as conclusive against 
 any further action for removing the present seat of Government on 
 the part of that body. We learn from lexicographers that the word 
 "permanent" means durable; not decaying unchanged; li per- 
 manency," " continuance in the same state;" " temporary," on the 
 other hand, is rendered as u lasting only for a limited time." Now, 
 Congress, by the aforesaid act, made Philadelphia an intermediate 
 stage for a limited sojourn of ten years, until the ultimate, durable, 
 and unchanging residence contemplated for the Government should 
 be prepared and ready to receive it. The distinction made between 
 Philadelphia and the District of Columbia, shows us at once the 
 "animus" of those who legislated at New York those who were 
 concerned in passing the act of 1790, knew the English language 
 as well, at least, as legislators of the present day. Their intentions 
 are to be inferred from the language they used, and that language 
 admits of no misconception or misrepresentation; they meant what 
 they said ; and not having vested in Congress the right to remove 
 the Government at will, by any word or hint to be found in the 
 article in question, of course it was never intended that they should
 
 so exercise it. The absence of such permission necessarily excludes 
 the power to change. The injunction by law to do anything, as a 
 matter of course implies that the contrary is forbidden. If Congress 
 have the privilege of originating any measure having in view a 
 change in the seat of Government, that power either comes from 
 the Constitution or from themselves; but, if from the Constitution, 
 it would appear in that instrument, which is not the case; therefore 
 the power is not derived from the Constitution. If Congress get 
 the power from themselves, then they are superior to the Constitu- 
 tion and paramount in the land. But the Constitution is received 
 as the law of the land, and in certain limits is undeniably para- 
 mount, as in the present case ; therefore Congress do not receive 
 the power from themselves. If, then, it be the fact, as it undenia- 
 bly is, that the Constitution created the power exhausted by the 
 selection of the proper site, &c., (that of legislation still existing 
 and exercised,) and that the great Council of the nation is restricted 
 in its operations in the premises, it follows that there is no possible 
 mode of changing the section in question than by the constitutional 
 means prescribed by that instrument itself. 
 
 It was their reliance and confidence in the solemn engagements 
 of Congress, as set forth in the act of 1790, and in the protecting 
 aegis of the Constitution, that induced the States of Maryland and 
 Virginia to make the liberal cession and donations whereby this 
 District was to some extent created. It was from the same motives 
 and inducements that the original proprietors stripped themselves 
 of their land, and proved themselves men of high public spirit and 
 generosity. It was this confidence that persuaded people to come 
 hither, and invest their labor and money, to stand or fall with the 
 progress or misfortunes of their new homes. Had the States, pro- 
 prietors, and purchasers been aware that the important subject of a 
 change of the seat of Government would be considered a question 
 "sub judice," an open question for the experiments of selfish and 
 ill-judging politicians, I feel assured that no such alacrity and lib- 
 erality would have been evinced, but that instead of willing par- 
 ties, Congress would have found them reluctant and difficult of 
 persuasion. If the growth of this metropolis and the interests of 
 this District have been retarded, the cause, it seems to me, is, to a 
 considerable extent, to be discovered in the attempts made at 
 several times to remove the seat of Government, and to a certain
 
 degree of apprehension now prevailing here and elsewhere that 
 such attempts may be repeated. 
 
 I want this subject laid at rest, and that the people at large 
 should feel convinced of the following points : 1st. That the Con- 
 stitution gave Congress limited powers in the premises, and that 
 body, as a mere agent, is bound by instructions and limitations, 
 and can, under no circumstances, exercise more authority than is 
 given to that effect by the Constitution. 2d. That a change of the 
 seat of Government would be a violation of the implied contra c 
 between the Federal Government and the States of Maryland and 
 Virginia, which never would have made the necessary grants had 
 notpermanencybeen guarantied by solemnact of Congress. 3d. That 
 the rights and reasonable expectations of the original proprietors, 
 the purchasers, and inhabitants of this District would be trifled 
 with and destroyed by such a move, towards transferring the me- 
 tropolis elsewhere, on the part of those who falsely imagine them- 
 selves clothed with the necessary power and capacity. 
 
 In my next, gentlemen, I shall say a few words on the expedi- 
 ency and policy of keeping the seat of Government where it now 
 is, and ever should be, and then endeavor to show that, so far from 
 having done too much for this city, Congress have not exercised 
 that full liberality and justice which policy and the rights of the 
 inhabitants demand. 
 
 Until then I remain, as usual, yours, truly, 
 
 J. C. B. 
 
 THE DUTIES AND RELATIONS OF CONGRESS TO THE CITY OF 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 LETTER No. XV. 
 
 WASHINGTON, dpril 29, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN: I trust that I have succeeded in establishing the 
 points I made in my last number : 1st. That the Constitution and 
 the acts of Congress, in pursuance of the privileges and directions 
 thereby given and prescribed, completely protect the present seat 
 of Government, and forbid any interference, direct or indirect, with 
 the subject, except by the usual mode for altering an article of that 
 Constitution. 2d. That the implied engagements between the 
 Federal Government and the States of Virginia and Maryland; the 
 10
 
 74 
 
 meaning 1 and established acceptation of the word (( permanent," 
 used by the act of Congress referred to, and the understanding with 
 the original proprietors, in the first place, and the subsequent and 
 still existing obligations of the Government with the citizens of the 
 District, in the second, all serve, in the most positive and clear 
 manner, to show that the foundations of this metropolis must be 
 durable and unchanging. If I have been so fortunate as to sustain 
 my propositions, it follows that it is idle, inexpedient, impolitic, 
 and unconstitutional, even to broach the subject in Congress, the 
 matter not being within the jurisdiction of that body. All the at- 
 tempts, therefore, that have been made to effect a removal, were 
 in opposition to the words and meaning of the Constitution, and 
 the unwarrantable interference of persons having no concern or 
 power in the premises. If, then, it be the fact that such was the 
 character of attempts of the kind in past times, it follows, of 
 course, that the same objections must attach to any move of that 
 description for the future. 
 
 If the subject of removal be fenced round and protected, even 
 from discussion in Congress, by the Constitution, and the other 
 reasons I have hurriedly proposed, it is equally clear that any at- 
 tempt at retrocession is open to the same objections. It being esta- 
 blished that no other power than the Constitution can effect a 
 removal, it must strike every reflecting mind that Congress should 
 not, and cannot, alienate any portion of the District; for the Con- 
 stitution protects the whole, and forbids any action whatever in the 
 matter, except by its direction, or by a change made constitutionally 
 in the- article calling this District into being. But no such direction 
 having been given, nor such change made, it follows that neither 
 Congress, nor any other power than that of the Constitution, can 
 effect such retrocession, in part or in whole. Those who have de- 
 sired, or who may desire, a removal of the seat of Government or a 
 retrocession, do not, and cannot, go to the Constitution for their 
 power. They think that a mere act of Congress is sufficient for the 
 purpose, without appealing to the means provided for by that glo- 
 rious charter of our freedom, when it is attempted to change any 
 of its articles or stipulations. And I ask, in all fairness, whether 
 such a course is respectful to the Constitution, justice to the people, 
 or a good precedent to set in a matter of so much public interest 
 and importance, as the unealled for intermeddling with constitu
 
 75 
 
 tional pledges, injunctions, and guaranties? If it be wrong to re- 
 transfer the whole District to the original owners, Maiyland and 
 Virginia, and to remove the seat of Government, I ask can it be 
 less wrong and unconstitutional to cede back a portion? If the sub- 
 ject be, as it is, protected against the unwarranted interference of 
 Congress, by the Constitution and the act of Congress itself, I should 
 like to know, how can the right be asserted of being authorized to 
 fritter a\vay the District; thus doing by piece-meal what cannot be 
 effected by the whole? 
 
 But even granting, by way of argument, that Congress may, and 
 can, of its own power and innate capacity in this matter, originate 
 and carry into effect an act for the removal of the seat of Govern- 
 ment, I ask whether it be consistent with the Constitution, or a re- 
 publican form of administration, to take advantage of the fact that 
 the citizens of this District are not directly represented in Congress, 
 and transfer them to and fro without their consent, and even against 
 their wishes and interests? If such be the case, then I understand 
 liberty, the representative system, the checks, and advantages of a 
 republican form of Government, and the Constitution by which we 
 live and have our being, in a manner too large and liberal even for 
 this liberal country of ours. If I have been taught aright, I have 
 learned that the principal cause of the separation of the then 
 colonies from the mother country, is to be found in reasoning the 
 very reverse to that urged by these friends of Congressional om- 
 nipotence. Our fathers asserted, and in support of that assertion 
 pledged their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor," that taxes and 
 burdens imposed upon them by a Parliament where they had no 
 voice or influence, were illegal and oppressive. That those great, 
 wise, and good men who achieved our freedom did right, I suppose 
 no one, at least who lives under the institutions they wrote, fought, 
 and bled for, will dare to deny. Now I ask you, members of Con- 
 gress, and fellow-citizens, are you ready to act in the matter of the 
 removal or retrocession of the District, or a part thereof, as did the 
 bad men who in the last century directed the destinies of Great 
 Britain? Are you prepared to violate the Constitution, trille with 
 the pledged faith of the nation, do an injury to Maryland and Vir_ 
 ginia, and set at defiance the protests, wishes, and prayers of those 
 who have settled in these Ten Miles Square, confiding in the pro- 
 tection of that sacred instrument and the good failh of the Govern-
 
 76 
 
 menl? If so, then let the issue be joined at once. I am half in- 
 clined to believe it better to have the subject decided, even although 
 we be the victims of such gross injustice, than to keep Congres- 
 sional omnipotency in the premises, suspended over our devoted 
 heads, like the sword of Damocles, by a hair. Suspense is always 
 painful uncertainty always a check upon enterprise, and a barrier 
 to .improvement. The citizens of this much neglected and abused 
 District have a right to ask that you will respect the Constitution, 
 and confess, candidly and at once, that the matter has been ex- 
 pressly put by that instrument beyond the control and jurisdiction 
 of the Representatives of the people at the Capitol. My word for 
 it, if once it be established that no process, other than that pre- 
 scribed by the Constitution, can remove the seat of Government 
 from this District, a new impetus will be given to its progress and 
 prosperity a new era will dawn upon its fortunes. 
 
 The remarks of*the editor of the National Intelligencer in 1814, 
 when the subject of a temporary removal of the seat of Government 
 was before Congress, apply with so much more force to any attempt 
 at a permanent one, that I feel myself called upon to appropriate 
 them in the present case. He says: "To circumscribe this ques- 
 ' tion by the narrow limits of this city, or of these Ten Miles Square, 
 
 * to consider it only in relation to its injurious, if not ruinous, influ- 
 < ence on the people of this city and District, or even on the ad- 
 
 * joining population of Maryland and Virginia, is to place it in the 
 1 most obscure and feeble light in which it can be viewed. The 
 1 interests of the Union are involved in it; it was a question as in- 
 
 * teresting to the Province of Maine as to the State of Georgia. 
 1 The seat of Government was solemnly located with a view to its 
 
 * central position, and to other circumstances intimately connected 
 4 with certain early acts of the Government which entered into the 
 ( compact or compromise in consequence of which the seat of Go- 
 f vernment was settled heie. To remove it now, would be almost 
 1 to deracinate the principle of several of the most important of the 
 1 first acts of the Government, and would have warranted their ab- 
 ( rogation, if a majority could be found so regardless of the honor 
 
 * and good faith of the nation as to have sanctioned it." 
 
 The remarks of Governeur Morris, whose authority in such mat- 
 ters must'be respected as of great weight, apply also so directly to 
 the subject I am treating, that I will make use of them for my pur-
 
 77 
 
 poses. Speaking on the repeal of the Judiciary act, he observes : 
 "When you have by law created apolitical existence, can you, by 
 
 * repealing the law, dissolve the corporation you had made? No; 
 1 when you make a contract, you are bound by it. When you make 
 
 * a promise you must perform it ; the Constitution says you shall 
 
 * make no ex post facto law." 
 
 Now the seat of Government is a political existence, therefore it 
 cannot be dissolved. There are contracts with Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia, the people of the United States, the original proprietors, and 
 the citizens of this District, therefore the country and Congress are 
 bound by them. No ex post facto law can be constitutionally pass- 
 ed; but a removal of the metropolis or a retrocession would be 
 ex post facto, therefore no such act can be passed without violating 
 the Constitution. 
 
 I believe with that fast friend of this District, the late much re- 
 gretted Hon. Joseph Pearson, of North Carolina, jvhen he exclaim- 
 ed on the floor of Congress, "the Fathers of the Republic intended 
 1 the seat of the Government of the United States should, when 
 1 established, be as perpetual as the union of these States, as dura- 
 i ble as the Constitution itself." 
 
 In proving the unconstitutionality, illegality, and injustice of any 
 attempt at a removal or retrocession of this District, in part or in 
 whole, I have almost rendered any remarks on the subject of inex- 
 pediency superfluous. But let a few suffice. If the people of 
 heathen Athens barkened to the advice of Aristides, when he ex- 
 claimed, speaking of a certain measure, that "it was expedient but 
 nothing more unjust," I cannot for a moment suppose that in a 
 Christian country expediency will be preferred to justice. 
 
 Let those who have the might, but not the right, be cautious 
 how they desecrate the spot hallowed by the choice and the name 
 of the father of his country! Let those who, from sinister or other 
 motives, desire a removal reflect, that here, centuries ago, an im- 
 aginative pioneer of civilization recalled the old world, and the 
 glories of ancient Rome, by giving this region the name of the seven- 
 hilled city, and christening the small stream which flows in our 
 midst the Tiber. Let no rash man presume to disturb this happy 
 omen, for the finger of Providence is visible in the case. Let us, 
 on the contrary, fondly hope that the greatness and the power of 
 the old mistress of the world, without its crimes, will descend as an
 
 78 
 
 inheritance on the spot honored with the name of Washington, 
 where its former glories are recalled by a Capitol, a Senate of Con- 
 script Fathers, and by the existence of a Republic far purer and 
 more enduring than the offspring of the wolf-nursed children of 
 Rhea (1.) 
 
 It would be highly impolitic and unwise, in my opinion, to excite 
 a political storm in the country by the agitation of the subject, and 
 it is to aid in preventing such a contingency that I warn my fellow 
 citizens against the danger. It would be calling into existence all 
 the worst feelings of human nature, and would add fresh fuel to the 
 flames of sectional interests, personal considerations, and party 
 zeal. And even did Congress actually agree upon a removal, how 
 could it possibly be settled where it should be transferred 1 ? Is it to 
 be imagined that the west, the east, the north, and the south will 
 not all be anxious for the prize'? Will it not, therefore, be a strug- 
 gle of the worst and most direful character 1 Better let well alone, 
 than flee to ills we know not of. We have a seat of Government 
 selected and located by solemn act of Congress, under and by virtue 
 of powers vested for the purpose by the Constitution. The District 
 so selected has been ever since growing in importance, wealth, and 
 population. The Government has erected buildings for its own 
 accommodation at great expense, and has many more still to con- 
 struct. Railroads, steamboats, and the electro-magnetic telegraph, 
 (which is now nearly completed as far as Baltimore, and for which 
 magnificent application of a wonderful power in nature the thanks 
 of this country and the world are due to Professor Morse, its inge- 
 nious and able inventor,) have brought, and will bring still more, 
 this city within easy journeys of every section of the Union, and 
 thus make mere distance a matter of little moment. The city of 
 Washington is within convenient distance from the seaboard, and 
 therefore well suited for the supervision and management of our 
 navy and foreign relations. The District is protected from the 
 dangers of an improper popular influence on the debates of Con- 
 gress by the vicinity of a dense and growing population, an evil 
 foreseen and guarded against by the Constitution when it gave to 
 Congress exclusive jurisdiction over these Ten Miles Square. The 
 tl Star of Empire," the tide of emigration westward takes its way; 
 and if we have a regard for the stability of our institutions, the lo- 
 cation of the metropolis of the Republic will be ever kept at a
 
 79 
 
 distance from the chances of popular excitement and control. The 
 improvements in internal communications, whereby the expense 
 and duration of travel from every quarter of the Union are dimin- 
 ished almost to an incredible extent, more than counterbalance the 
 enlargement of the limits of population, and confirm the assertion 
 of Dr. Patterson, of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia, in his 
 interesting- address on the "Centre of Population," before the late 
 Scientific and Literary Convention of the National Institute in this 
 city, that " the choice of Washington as the Capitol of the Union 
 was judiciously made." Such being the case, such the advantages 
 resulting from that judicious selection, let us be cautious how we 
 disturb the subject, and raise a storm difficult, to allay. Let the 
 spot hallowed by the name of Washington, and foreshadowed as 
 the seat of Government for the Great Republic of the West by its 
 primitive names of Rome and Tiber, be deemed a holy thing, pro- 
 tected against political pollution by all the best feelings of our 
 nature as lovers of liberty and order. 
 
 Yours, truly, &c., J. C. B. 
 
 (1.) The survey here referred to being deemed of sufficient interest 
 to be inserted, I have thought it proper to give an authentic copy 
 made from the original manuscript in the Mayor's office at the City 
 Hall. It is as follows : 
 
 The following is an authentic copy of the original manuscript in the Mayor's office, 
 being the survey thus referred to : 
 
 JUNK 5th, 1663. Laid out for Francis Pope, of this Province, gentleman, a parcel of 
 land in Charles county called Room, lying on the east side of the Anacostia river, beginning 
 with a marked oak standing by the river side, the bounded tree of Capt. Robert Troop, and 
 running north by the river for breadth and length 200 ps., to a bounded oak standing at the 
 mouth of a bay or inlet called Tiber; bounding on the north by the said belt, and line drawn 
 east for the length of 320 ps., to a bounded tree standing in the woods; on the east, with a 
 line drawn south from the end of the former line, until you meet with the exterior bounded 
 tree of Robt. Troop, called Scotland Yard ; on the south, with the said land ; on the west, 
 with the said river, containing, and now laid out for, 400 acres, more or less. 
 
 JUNE 5th, 1663. Laid out for Cap. Robt. Troop, of this province, a parcel of land in 
 Charles county called Scotland Yard, lying on the east side of the Anacostia river, begin- 
 ning at a bounded hickory standing by the river side, and running north by the river for 
 breadth the length of 250 ps., to a bounded oak ; bounding on the north with a line drawn 
 east into the woods for the length of 320 ps., to a bounded oak ; on the east, with a line 
 drawn south from the end of the former line, until you intersect a parallel line drawn from 
 the first bounded hickory ; on the south, with the said parallel ; on the west, with said 
 river, containing, and now laid out for, 500 acres, more or less. 
 
 Below is written : Valuable and ancient documents in relation to the taking up of the 
 tract of land called Rome, on the site of which now stands the city of Washington, respect- 
 fully presented to the Mayor and Councils of the city by 
 
 ROB. Y. BRENT. 
 
 APRIL 26, 1837.
 
 80 
 
 THE DUTIES AND RELATIONS OF CONGRESS TO THE CITY OF WASH- 
 INGTON. PERSICO'S STATUES. 
 
 LETTER No. XVL 
 
 WASHINGTON, May 20, 1844. 
 GENTLEMEN : In order to show that Congress have exercised but 
 little liberality in their legislation towards this District and city, I 
 beg leave to suggest the following points : In the 1st place, Gov- 
 ernment, by an understanding between the parties, engaged to ap- 
 ply the proceeds of sales of the public lots towards making streets, 
 bridges, and other improvements, but has almost entirely failed to 
 comply with said agreement. 2dly. Government, in addition to 
 the violation of this understanding, has paid no taxes on its prop- 
 erty, amounting to upwards of $7,000,000, and scarcely contributed 
 any thing towards District and city improvements, but has left, al- 
 though receiving as a gift from the original proprietors four-fifths of 
 the land covered by the 'plan of the city, about 30 miles of streets 
 and bridges, and 2,000,000 feet of paved way, to be paid by self- 
 taxation by its citizens. 3dly. The plan of the city, made by Gov- 
 ernment without consultation with the settlers, creating avenues 
 and streets 100 to 160 feet wideband embracing an area of 7,134 
 acres, necessarily forced upon the inhabitants the necessity of sup- 
 porting great burdens. Of these 7,134 acres, Government retained 
 as reservations 4,118 for streets, avenues, &c. ; and of these 7,134 
 acres, paid the proprietors but for 512, at the rate of 25 per acre, 
 and returned to them half of the building lots, (1,058 acres,) thus 
 keeping 5,114 acres as a free gift. 4thly. Government having the 
 right of soil and exclusive jurisdiction in the premises, was and is 
 bound in consequence to make all necessary improvements, and in 
 so doing, places this city under no particular pecuniary obligations, 
 but simply complies with the dictates of duty equal benefits create 
 equal burdens and expenditures. 5thly. As no private efforts or 
 means could create sufficient accommodations for Government and 
 Congress, by making roads, avenues, streets, bridges, lighting 
 streets, &c. 3 &c., the duty did and does devolve upon Congress 
 and the nation. 6thly. The sum of $3,638,505 has been raised 
 from and expended by this city, in the benefits whereof the Gov- 
 ernment has had a large share. 7thly. Had Government paid taxes 
 in due proportion from the establishment of the Metropolis to the
 
 81 
 
 present time, the amount so disbursed would be nearly $3,000,000. 
 This sum has gone into the public Treasury, almost entire, with 
 the exception of the $10,000 expended on macademising Pennsyl- 
 vania avenue, and paving in front of, and enclosing its own property. 
 Sthly. Although Government has relieved the city, to some extent, 
 by taking off its hands the principal of the Holland debt, upon the 
 hypothecation of the stock subscribed by the Corporation in the 
 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, to the amount of $1,000,000, which 
 stock Government now holds as security, still it evinced its confi- 
 dence in said investment by having taken a large amount previ_ 
 ously, and, at the time of receiving the transfer of the corporation 
 stock, was considered to have got at least an equivalent and good 
 security for the advance in question. It must also be borne in mind, 
 that the interest paid by the Washington city corporation, up to 
 the time of said transfer, must be considered as so much lost, as 
 also the interest paid on the money borrowed to pay that interest, 
 amounting to $700,000. 9thly. In addition to what Government 
 has received from the original proprietors, and the large extent of 
 ground it still holds for public purposes, as a free gift, and besides 
 the $800,000, proceeds of sales of the building lots given by their 
 owners for the improvement of the city, it has also accepted 
 $120,000 from Virginia, and $72,000 from Maryland; the money so 
 given, the sums collected since, and taxes remitted, &c., have all 
 been spent for the benefit of distant sections of the country, and 
 scarcely any portion of the proceeds has been disbursed for that of 
 this city. lOthly. The appropriations for public buildings and 
 learned and charitable institutions within the District, should not 
 be charged to the account of the city, for all these improvements 
 were for the accommodation of the public authorities, and therefore 
 of national concern ; and the philanthropic acts of Congress, for 
 the benefit of the nation at large, ought not to be made a burden 
 upon the District. 
 
 My readers will and must conclude, from the simple enumeration 
 of the foregoing facts which are matters of statistical and historical 
 accuracy and truth, that upon the settlement of the account be- 
 tween the General Government and this District, a large balance 
 will be found due to the latter ; thus contradicting most clearly the 
 assertion of its enemies in Congress and out, who desire to place 
 its inhabitants in the attitude of mendicants and suitors for national 
 11
 
 charity and support. To make the position I have taken still 
 stronger, that the people of this District ask but for what is strictly 
 and justly due them, and that the charge of mendicity is false and 
 libellous, I beg the serious and impartial attention of the public to 
 the following synopsis of the able report made by the late Mr. 
 Southard, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the District of 
 Columbia, on the memorial of the corporate authorities and inhab- 
 itants of the city of Washington, and that of Georgetown. The 
 date of the report is February 2, 1835, vide 23d Congress, 2d 
 session (97.) 
 
 The committee reported, that the embarrassment of the city was 
 not caused by the imprudence or extravagance of the inhabitants 
 and city authorities to the extent anticipated, and that the views by 
 which they were governed were of a liberal and public spirited 
 character. That neither the Government nor the proprietors con- 
 templated that the whole or even a large proportion of the burden 
 should be thrown upon the inhabitants, of the city. That the Gov- 
 ernment is bound by every principle of equal right and justice, to 
 pay a proportion of the expense incurred in this matter equal to 
 the amount of the property which it held, and which was to be in- 
 creased in value and benefitted by it, and this would have been 
 greatly more than one-half. That it was anticipated, at the date 
 of the contract, that the property acquired by Government would 
 become immensely productive, enabling it to secure a perfect ac- 
 commodation for itself, and "insure a considerable surplus to the 
 city to be employed in its improvement ;" the city therefore ought 
 not to be regarded as inexcusably importunate when it asks for their 
 alleviation. That the city may have gone further in this matter 
 than the necessities or convenience of the Government may for the 
 time being have required ; but the expenditures were made with 
 the generous purpose of increasing the public accommodation, and 
 rendering the capitol of the country what it ought to be, as well to 
 augment the property held by individuals, and by the Government 
 itself, and the improvements which it has made have greatly en- 
 hanced both. That in several States of the Union, where the Gov- 
 ernment holds landed estate, it has paid taxes on it, whilst in the 
 city of Washington it has not. That, although in the acts of in- 
 corporation, which gave the city partial control and regulation over 
 the streets, there is no exemption of the property of the Govern-
 
 83 
 
 ment from taxation, thereby leaving it to be inferred that Congress 
 did not intend that it should be exempted, but that it should be 
 equally subject to those burdens necessary for the common benefit 
 of the whole ; the corporate authorities, with prudence and pro- 
 priety, abstained from levying taxes upon it, and laid the whole 
 weight upon that part of the property which belonged to individ- 
 uals. That the only appropriation which appears to have been 
 made exclusively for the city, was that of $100,000 for the canal 
 which unites the Potomac and Eastern Branch ; and yet even this 
 was a concern originally belonging to the Government, which it 
 directed, and over which its commissioners had control both as to 
 its location and execution. The committee united in a recommenda- 
 tion that Congress should transfer their private building lots to the 
 city, making thus all taxable alike. 
 
 The report concludes with this impressive language : " In the in- 
 ' vestigation of the subject committed to them, and of the relief 
 
 * proposed, the committee have been unable to separate the inter- 
 
 * ests of the District from the interests of the United States. They 
 
 * regard it as the child of the Union as the creation of the Union 
 
 * for its own purposes. The design of the Constitution and its foun- 
 ' ders was, to create a residence for the Government where they 
 
 * should have absolute and unlimited control. In accomplishing 
 ' their object, the Union undertook the guardianship of the District, 
 1 deprived its inhabitants of the right of self-government, and of 
 the elective franchise, and made them dependent upon the will 
 
 * of the Representatives of the States, to whom alone they can look 
 1 for relief. But the committee do not propose, in the present in- 
 < stance, to offer to the Senate a project for the relief of the embar- 
 ' rassments by which this city is now afflicted, which will call upon 
 1 the Union foi the expenditure of any of the treasure which has 
 < been drawn from the p'ockets of its citizens, but only for a part of 
 
 * the funds which were obtained by the agreement to locate the sea^ 
 1 of Government here, and which are not necessary to replenish the 
 
 * Treasury of a nation, rich, free from debt, and competent to the 
 
 * most abundant provision for the accommodation of its public au- 
 1 thorities." 
 
 If the facts and conclusions, thus succinctly stated, do not clear- 
 ly establish the positions that the people of this District have a 
 peculiar and strong claim upon the protection and liberality of the
 
 Government ; that so far but a very small modicum of the notice 
 and aid to which they have so just a right has been their lot, and 
 great injustice done by accusing- them of being importunate suitors 
 and mendicants, then human language must be weak and unintel- 
 ligible, indeed, and I have read and construed the statistics relating 
 to the affairs of these Ten Miles Square, and the opinions of the 
 committee from which I have quoted, with a mind blinded by par- 
 tiality and prejudice. But such is not the case. I defy any per- 
 son, at all open to reason and conviction, or free from prejudices, 
 to rise from the perusal of such information as has been accumu- 
 lated on the subject, without being struck by the fact, that the me- 
 tropolis of the Union has had unfair play; that its history is, with 
 slight exceptions, but the narrative of unkind and unmerited Con- 
 gressional neglect, or positive hostility and insult, and a heavy ba- 
 lance is yet due upon account between it and the public authorities 
 who seem to be so careless and indifferent, to speak most charitably, 
 in a matter which appeals most particularly to their sympathies, 
 consciences, and feelings. Would that the District had ever such 
 friends as Campbell, of South Carolina, Pratt, of New York, Bay- 
 ard, of Delaware, Causin, of Maryland, and Chilton, of Virginia ! 
 Then would the public be spared the painful spectacle of seeing a 
 suffering community trifled with, insulted, and rebuffed by selfish 
 politicians, when they ask for charters for their banks, improve- 
 ments on the public grounds and buildings, repairs for their dusty 
 and worn out streets and avenues, and appropriations for humane 
 and charitable institutions. Then would the good old spirit of the 
 Fathers of the Republic be once more evoked to bless and cheer 
 us in our disfranchised and helpless condition; and the city which 
 Washington founded and so dearly loved and cherished which a 
 Jefferson, an Adams, a Madison, and a Monroe so watched over 
 and cared for once again lift its bowed head from the melancholy 
 attitude of a mourner, and be rewarded for years of trouble and 
 neglect by a return of that friendly and liberal legislation and 
 Government protection to which it has been so long a stranger. 
 
 Before bringing these hasty essays to a close, I deem it my duty, 
 as it is my pleasure, to take brief notice of a masterpiece of sculp- 
 ture lately elevated to its position on the eastern portico of the 
 Capitol. In the execution of his task, Persico has succeeded most 
 triumphantly. No one who has a heart to feel> a taste to guide, or
 
 a head to judge, can gaze upon the imposing and beautiful statues 
 of Columbus and the Indian Girl, without emotions of admiration 
 and delight. The artist has conveyed most happily in stone the 
 attributes o dignity, enthusiasm, firmness, and genius, with which 
 we associate the character and person of the Great Navigator. 
 He has completed the poetical and historical eloquence of the group 
 by lending to the face, figure, and position of the admiring, shrink- 
 ing, curious, and artless inhabitant of the newly discovered world, 
 an expression in lineament, limb, and attitude, which cannot be 
 surpassed in felicity and beauty. I leave to others, who have more 
 time and space than myself, to venture upon a detailed criticism of 
 this chef d'ceuvre, and shall be content for the present with con- 
 gratulating the country that we possess at the metropolis of the 
 Union sculpture so superior and beautiful as the productions of 
 Persico and Greenough. May this be but the beginning of a well 
 sustained and directed patronage of artists, native and foreign, on 
 the part of our Government, and merit, such as that of the two 
 distinguished sculptors alluded to particularly, meet with flattering 
 and honorable reward! 
 
 Before I take my final leave of the public, I may be excused for 
 inserting a compliment to the resident inhabitants of the metropo- 
 lis, which will, I trust, fall pleasantly and gratefully on the ears of 
 those in honor of whom it was penned, and make them ambitious 
 of ever proving themselves worthy of the flattering tribute of the 
 writer : " It may be fashionable," says the correspondent of the 
 New York Aurora, " nay, it may be excellent republican taste, to 
 i jeer and deride our National Capital, a city consecrated to Liberty 
 i and hallowed by the name of ' the Father of his Country,' but 
 
 * to me Washington has a thousand charms. I love its people. It 
 
 * is true they are not rich, neither are they numerous ; but they 
 
 * have the frank, hospitable character of their noble Maryland and 
 
 * Virginia ancestors ; and though at times, and at all times, the vice 
 ' and pollution, the heartlessness and villany, the turpitude and 
 ' sycophancy of all the rest of the Union, pour into it in immeasu- 
 
 * rable streams, still, in despite of all this, the native and resident po- 
 1 pulation of Washington, on the score of public and private mo- 
 ' rals, may safely challenge competition with the proudest and 
 
 * most lauded cities of America and the world." 
 
 I have now done, and if perchance these lucubrations produce
 
 86 
 
 even a very small portion of the effect they are intended to bring 
 about, I shall be most delighted and well rewarded as a citizen of 
 the District, and as an American who asks and wishes for naught 
 that is not a national blessing and advantage. 
 
 Yours, respectfully, J. C. B. 
 
 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL 
 INSTTUTE. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 WASHINGTON, May 25, 1844. 
 
 GENTLEMEN: There has been no event, in my opinion, for a long 
 time past, that ought to be deemed more interesting and important, 
 by the scientific and intelligent portions of the community, than 
 the late Convention of the National Institute, which commenced 
 its sessions in this city on Monday, the 1st of April of the present 
 year. 
 
 The reunion for good and useful purposes, under the auspices, 
 and at the invitation of an association devoted to intellectual pur- 
 suits, of those of our fellow-citizens who direct the powers of their 
 minds to the improvement of their species, is well fitted to bring 
 forth fruit of the best and most useful description. That a large 
 number of men should have been found willing to leave their avo- 
 cations and families, and for no other end than to indulge in the 
 communion of mind, and to aim at something for the benefit of 
 their common country, should have journeyed hither from great 
 distances, at no small expense and sacrifice, argues well for their 
 zeal and enthusiasm, and is sufficient proof of the existence amongst 
 us of a body most respectable and progressing, as to size, patriot- 
 ism, and attainments. That the proceedings of the Convention 
 gave satisfaction to the community who honored the sessions by 
 a regular and select attendance, and afforded proof to the pub- 
 lic that the addresses and papers were of no common merit and in- 
 terest, is what no one who has had an opportunity of judging will 
 presume to deny. Honored by the presence of many of the first 
 savans and intellectual men in the land rendered attractive and 
 instructive by the selection and distribution of the matters then dis- 
 cussed characterized throughout by the cordial and agreeable inter- 
 course of the guests and their flattered hosts, it is no idle assertion to
 
 87 
 
 remark, that the late scientific and literary meeting, of the proceed- 
 ings whereof I give the following synopsis, will be considered an 
 epoch in the intellectual history of this country, if its objects be 
 carried out by a publication of the essays here enumerated, and 
 this be established as the first of a series of successful and well ar- 
 ranged annual reunions, under the auspices of the National Insti- 
 tute at the seat of Government. 
 
 FIRST DAY. 
 
 The first session of the literary and scientific Convention of the 
 National Institute took place at Washington city, on Monday, the 
 1st April, 1844, and was opened by a short, but clear and interest- 
 ing statement of the objects of the meeting, by his excellency John 
 Tyler, President of the United States, followed by an able and elo- 
 quent address of the Hon. Mr. Walker, " on the progress, improve- 
 ments, and present condition of American science in all its branch- 
 es." The exercises were closed by Professor Draper, of New York, 
 by a paper " on the physical constitution of the rays of the Sun, ;> 
 and by Professor Loomis, of Ohio, "on the late comet." 
 
 2d DAY. TUESDAY, APRIL 2d. Hon. Levi Woodbury in the 
 chair. Dr. H. Humphreys, President of St. John's college, Anna- 
 polis, read a paper "on the economy of science in relation to our 
 Government." Professor Benjamin Hallowell, of Alexandria, D. 
 C., " on the liberation of caloric, in some chemical changes, that 
 are attended with an enlargement of bulk." Lieut. M. F. Maury, 
 U. S. N., "on the Gulf stream, and the currents of the ocean;" 
 and Professor George Tucker, of the University of Virginia, " on 
 the dangers most to be guarded against in the future progress of the 
 United States." 
 
 3d DAY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3d Morning Session. Dr. Hum- 
 phreys in the chair. Professor J. G. Morris, of Baltimore, delivered 
 an essay "on the past and present state of entomology in the 
 United States;" Professor R. M. McCulloch, late of Jefferson col- 
 lege, Pennsylvania, a paper " on the attraction of a planet upon a 
 material point in space;" William B. Hodgson, of Georgia, "on 
 the Megatherioid fossils of the Atlantic coast of Georgia ;" Profes- 
 sor Morris read a paper written by Professor E. Foreman, of Balti- 
 more, " on domestic exchanges in Natural History and Geology;" 
 Captain A. Mordecai, U. S. ordnance corps, closed with an article
 
 88 
 
 explanatory "of a ballistic pendulum, constructed at the Washing- 
 ton arsenal for experiments in gunnery." 
 
 4th MEETING. WEDNESDAY EVENING. Hon. John C. Spencer, 
 Secretary of the Treasury, in the chair. The proceedings were 
 opened by an essay of Professor A. D. Bache, superintendent of the 
 United States coast survey, "on the history of science in Europe 
 and the United States;" Professor Jacobs, of Gettysburg, Pennsyl- 
 vania, followed with a paper "on the Indian Summer;" Dr. A. D. 
 Challoner, of Philadelphia, with one "on the petrified forest near 
 Cairo, in Egypt, discovered by Linant, chief engineer and hydro- 
 grapher to the Pacha." 
 
 5th DAY. 5th MEETING, THURSDAY, APRIL 4th Morning Session. 
 Hon R. J. Walker in the chair. Peter A. Browne opened exer- 
 cises by a paper " on improved method of teaching the natural 
 sciences;" Professor W. W. Mather, of Ohio, "on the physical 
 geography of the United States;" Professor C. Gill, of Flushing, 
 New York, concluded the proceedings by an essay "on the im- 
 provement of mathematical science, and the consequent advance- 
 ment of the natural sciences." 
 
 6th MEETING. THURSDAY Evening Session. -Honorable John 
 C. Spencer in the chair. Dr. Nott, President of Union college, 
 Schenectady, New York, delivered an essay " on the origin, dura- 
 tion, and end of the world;" Professor J. H. Agnew, of New York, 
 " on the Glacier system, or period of Agassez." 
 
 7th MEETING. FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 5th. The Hon. B. F- 
 Butler, of New York, in the chair. Professor Locke, of Cincinnati, 
 commenced this day's exercises with a paper "on the meteorology, 
 magnetism, topography, scenery, geology, &c., of Lake Superior, 
 and its vicinity ;"^ Professor W. A. Norton, of Newark, Delaware, 
 read one "on the Nebular hypothesis;" Captain W. H. Swift, U. 
 S. topographical engineers, " a description of the base line of Long 
 Island, measured in the year 1843, for the survey of the coast of 
 the United States ;" and Dr. Sewall, of Washington, " an essay on 
 the design and utility of the Medical Department of the National 
 Institute." 
 
 8th MEETING. SATURDAY, APRIL 6th Morning Session. Hon. 
 JOSEPH R. INGERSOLL, of Philadelphia, in the Chair. 
 
 F. J. GRUND, of Philadelphia, read an essay " on the modern 
 historical schools of France and Germany, and the philosophy of
 
 89 
 
 the United States." Professor W. R. JOHNSON, of Philadelphia, " on 
 the scientific character and researches of the late James Smithson." 
 Professor BACHE read paper written by the Rev. JAMES CURLEY, of 
 Georgetown College, entitled " description of a meridian circle for 
 the College Observatory." Dr. W. H. VAN BUREN, U. S. A., " on 
 the effects of Quinine on the human body, as a remedial agent.'* 
 Dr. J. R. W. DUNBAR, of Baltimore, finished proceedings " on the 
 importance of Physiology as a branch of general education." 
 
 9th MEETING. MONDAY, 8th APRIL Morning Session. The 
 Hon. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, upon taking the Chair, delivered a 
 short and pertinent address, for which I refer my readers to the 
 National Intelligencer of Tuesday, April 9th. 
 
 The Corresponding Secretary, FRANCIS MARKOE, esq., announced 
 the names of the delegates appointed by the societies and colleges 
 of the United States, and read the following papers, some only by 
 their titles, and others in full : " Letter from the Hon. Levi Wood- 
 bury, highly approving the purposes of the National Institute ; 
 from Rev. Dr. Wayland, of Brown University, Providence, sug- 
 gesting the communication to the National Institute of observa- 
 tions on the atmosphere, to be made by the captains of packets 
 and other vessels; from Dr. Foreman, of Baltimore, communicat- 
 ing a recommendation that Messrs. Torrey and Gray, authors of the 
 Flora Americana, should be invited to prepare for the next annual 
 meeting of the Institute a summary account of what has been done 
 in this country in the promotion of botanical knowledge, with 
 biographical sketches, &c. Letters from Professor Johnson, of 
 Middletown, Connecticut, and Professor Tutmiller, of Lagrange 
 College, Alabama, containing useful suggestions; and from George 
 R. Chase, U. S. Top. Engs., of Pensacola, on " method of settling 
 the orthography and orthoepy of the English language ;" from 
 Professor G. S. Haldeman, of the Franklin Institute, of Philadel- 
 phia, J< on the necessity of a National Institution for the encourage- 
 ment of science ;" from Francis Lieber, L. L. D., of Columbia, 
 South Carolina, containing "remarks on public executions, &c.;" 
 from Professor James Hamilton, of the University of Nashville, Ten- 
 nessee, " on certain meteorological facts observed at Nashville ;" 
 and from the Hon. Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, "on the Smith- 
 sonian Bequest." Professor Espy submitted some remarks " on Me- 
 teorology." Professor Bache read a communication from Dr. Robert 
 Hare, of the University of Pennsylvania, calling for observations 
 12
 
 90 
 
 on the late storm, and a paper of his own on " magnetic and me- 
 teorological observations made, under direction of the War Depart- 
 ment, at the Observatory of Philadelphia." He then laid before 
 the meeting, by authority of the Treasury Department, "proof im- 
 pressions of five sheets of the map of New York bay and harbour, 
 surveyed under the superintendence of F. R. Hassler, late superin- 
 tendent of the United Stales coast survey, and forming part of the 
 survey of the coast." Francis Markoe then read a paper from J. 
 C. Pickett, U. S. Charge d'Affaires at Lima, giving an account of 
 some remarkable ruins in the Provinces of Chachapoyas, Peru. 
 John Tyler, jr., delivered an essay "in support of the theory of an 
 electric fluid, by an explanation of the phenomena of the repulsion 
 of pith balls negatively electrified." 
 
 The 10th and last meeting took place on Monday evening, 8th 
 April, the Hon. J. C. SPENCER in the Chair. 
 
 Dr. Patterson, -of the United States Mint, Philadelphia, delivered 
 a discourse " on the centre of population of the United States," and 
 was followed by the Hon. A. H. Everett, " on the moral tendency 
 of the science and learning of the past and present centuries." 
 
 The proceedings of the First Annual Convention of the National 
 .Institute were then closed by an able address from the Chairman, 
 the Hon. John C. Spencer. 
 
 If such meetings be deemed useful and interesting, it becomes, 
 then, the duty and interest of the learned men of this country to 
 support and encourage the National Institute, and of the intelligent 
 portion of the community to give it countenance and assistance. 
 For upon such support and countenance depends the contingency, 
 whether there shall ever be another convention of the kind, and 
 whether the Institute will be enabled to carry into operation its 
 laudable and enterprizing intentions. We say, then, to those who 
 feel a direct interest in such matters, that the resident members of 
 the Institute hope, if Congress give a favorable hearing to the me- 
 morial now before them, to make the next convention, should one 
 be held here, of still greater attraction and importance. 1 trust, 
 then, that, for one, I shall again have the pleasure of attending, 
 before a twelve-month goes by, another meeting of the kind, and 
 of seeing a still greater number of learned delegates gathered in 
 our city in communion so delightful and instructive. 
 
 Yours, respectfully, J. C. B. 
 
 [Letters 14, 15, 16, and 17, were not published in the Intelligencer.]