ACCESSION
SHELF NO.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The present series, entitled "Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec-
tions," 1 is intended to embrace all the publications issued directly by
the Smithsonian Institution in octavo form; those in quarto constitut-
ing the "Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1 ' The quarto
series includes memoirs, embracing the records of extended original
investigations and researches, resulting in what are believed to be new
truths, and constituting positive additions to the sum of human knowl-
edge. The octavo series is designed to contain reports on the present
state of our knowledge of particular branches of science; instructions
for collecting and digesting facts and materials for research; lists and
synopses of species of the organic and inorganic world; museum cata-
logues; reports of explorations; aids to bibliographical investigations,
etc., generally prepared at the express request of the Institution, and
at its expense.
In the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, as w r ell as in the
present series, each article is separately paged and indexed, and the
actual date of its publication is that given on its special title-page, and
not that of the volume in which it is placed. In many cases works
have been published and largely distributed, years before their com-
bination into volumes.
S. P. LANGLEY,
S, -notary S. L
in
THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO ITS ORIGIN
AND HISTORY.
1835-1899.
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
JOHSTES
IN TWO VOLUMES.
Yol. 11835-1887.
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS TO FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1901.
Resolved by the Senate (the Home of Representative* concurring], That
there be printed of "The Smithsonian Institution: Documents Rela-
tive to its Origin and History," 7,000 copies, of which 1,500 copies
shall be for the use of the Senate, 3,000 copies for the use of the
House of Representatives, and 2,500 copies for the use of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Passed the Senate April 26, 1900.
Passed the House May 11, 1900.
(Stat., XXXI, concurrent resolutions, p. 10.)
ADVERTISEMENT.
The Smithsonian Institution is an establishment based upon the pri-
vate foundation of James Smithson, a British subject, which was
accepted by the United States in trust. This establishment was created
by an act of Congress, under which act, with one or two unimportant
modifications, it has since been governed. The United States Govern-
ment has, from time to time, assigned to it important functions, and
Congress has passed laws and made appropriations in support of these.
While, therefore, it is a private foundation, of which the Government
is trustee, it has in itself an extensive legislative history.
The Board of Regents in January, 1878, requested the Secretary to
prepare and publish a history of the origin and progress of the insti-
tution, and, in accordance with this, a volume was published in 1879
under the title "The Smithsonian Institution: Documents Relative to
its Origin and History," in which were contained the will of James
Smithson, the proceedings in Congress relative to the acceptance of the
bequest, the organization of the Institution, and various matters rela-
tive to its operations from 1835 to 1877.
A second volume relating to the history of the Institution was pub-
lished in 1879, under the title "The Smithsonian Institution: Journals
of the Board of Regents, Reports of Committees, Statistics, etc.,"
edited by William J. Rhees.
At the conclusion of the first half century of the Institution, in 1896,
a volume was published under the editorial supervision of the late
Dr. G. Brown Goode, giving an account of the history, achievements,
and present condition of the Institution, prepared by the Secretary and
members of the staff of the Institution, to which were added chapters
in appreciation of the work of the Institution in the several branches
of knowledge.
The present volume has been undertaken to bring down to date the
first historical volume mentioned, namely, the relations of the Institu-
tion to Congress, debates on its management, appropriations neces-
sary for operations intrusted to its care, etc. , which can be found only
in the volumes of the Congressional Globe and Congressional Record,
the journals of the Senate and House, and the Statutes at Large.
The compilation and editing of the present work has been performed
under my direction by Mr. William J. Rhees, the keeper of archives,
and for many years chief clerk of the Institution.
S. P. LANGLEY,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution,
PREFACE.
The present volume is undertaken in continuation of a volume bear-
ing the title "The Smithsonian Institution: Documents Relative to its
Origin and History," prepared by the editor of the present volume,
which, besides other matters, gives the legislative history of the Smith-
sonian Institution to 1877. Prefixed to this will be found a selection
of the documents which passed between the United States and the
attorneys in England, antecedent to the actual reception of the bequest
of James Smithson, a British subject, who gave his fortune to the
United States of America "to found at Washington, under the name
of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men."
This fact was communicated through the United States legation at
London to the Secretary of State, and was made the subject of a
special message to Congress by President Tyler on December 17, 1835.
The message was referred to committees, and it was at last agreed
that, although there was some doubt as to the propriety of accepting
it, the bequest should be obtained, if possible, and the Honorable
Richard Rush was sent to England in July, 1836, as a special agent of
the United States, with power of attorney from the President to prose-
cute the claim in the chancery court. The fund was brought to this
country in 1838, and after eight years of debate, including consul-
tation with all the leading educators of the United States at that
time, a law was finally framed on August 10, 1846, "to establish the
Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men." Under this act. with a few amendments, the operations
of the Institution have been carried on to the present time, and a
detailed account of the legislation by Congress, as well as of proposed
action, from 1835 to March 3, 1899, is given in this work. The leg-
islation fulry accomplished is shown by acts and joint resolutions,
followed in all cases by references to the volumes and pages of the
Statutes at Large from which they were quoted.
Concurrent resolutions of the Senate and House and separate reso-
lutions of either branch of Congress are referred to by the dates of
action.
An account is also given of action or discussion relative to objects
intrusted by Congress to the care of the Institution, and of some of
VT PREFACE.
the operations of the Government with which it has had direct or inci-
dental connection.
The proceedings of each Congress are given successively, the first
volume containing those of the Twenty-fourth Congress to the Forty-
ninth and the second volume those of the Fiftieth to the Fifty-fifth
Congress.
Under each Congress the subjects are arranged according to the
date of their introduction, all action in that Congress on each subject
following in chronological order, excepting that estimates and appro-
priations are placed at the end of each subject.
In the preparation of this work an examination was made of every
page of the Congressional Globe and Congressional Record, of the
journals of the Senate and House, the Statutes at Large, the Con-
gressional documents and reports from 1835 to 1899, together with
other printed and manuscript material in the Institution and elsewhere;
and the table of contents and index are as comprehensive and minute
as possible the latter being alphabetical, analytical, and chronological.
The formal details of legislation in most cases are abbreviated, and
the quotations from the statutes giving dates and amounts appropri-
ated are always given in figures and not in words.
Thanks are due to the intelligent and efficient aid of Miss Helen
.Munroe and Mr. Edward L. Springer, of the Smithsonian Institution.
WILLIAM J. RHEES.
WASHINGTON, D. C., May, 1901.
CONTENTS OF VOLUMES I AND II.
VOLUME I.
Page.
Resolution to print n
Advertisement in
Preface v
Contents vn
Act of organization of the Institution and amendments, etc. to March 3, 1899. . xxi
Acts and joint resolutions of Congress referred to in this work xxvn
PART I.
Will of James Smithson (made October 23, 1826; proved June 27, 1829) 5
Correspondence l)etween attorneys in England, the Department of State,
ilichard Rush, etc., relative to the bequest of Smithson (July 21, 1835-
December 3, 1838 ) 7-111
The case of the United States Government against the English Government in
the court of chancery to obtain the bequest , 13
Opinion of the English counsel 14
Decree in chancery awarding Smithson's bequest to the United States, May
12, 1 838 56
Account of costs of the suit " ', 70
Account of expenses of Richard Rush 96
Schedule of the personal effects of Smithson 98
Smithson bequest paid into the Treasury of the United States 109
Residuary bequest of Smithson (May 16, 1861-February 22, 1867) 112
Increase of the Smithson fund:
Hamilton fund (February 24, 1874) 120
Habelfund (March 15, 1880) 120
Hodgkins fund (October 22, 1891-May 19, 1894) 120
Other bequests and gifts to the Institution:
Avery fund ( 1894) 121
Kidder bequest (1889) 121
Bell gift ( 1891 ) 121
PART II.
Legislation relative to the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, 1835-
1847 '. 123
Twenty-fourth Congress, 1835-1837:
Message of President Jackson, December 17, 1835 125
Report of Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Leigh) 135
Report of House select committee (Adams) 130
Debates on acceptance of the bequest 136
Act to authorize and enable the President to prosecute the claim for the
Smithson bequest 142
VIII CONTKNTS.
Twenty-fifth Congress, 1 837-1 839: p ftge .
Bequest considered 143
Meaage of President Van Buren, Decemln-r 6, 1 888 145
Memorial of Prof. Walter R. Johnson 146
Memorial of Charles Lewis Fleischmann 155
Speeches on application of the l>equest 163, 173
Bill for disposition of the l>equest (Robbins) 171
Debate on establishment of the Smithsonian Institution 173
Twenty-sixth Congress, 1839-1841:
Bill offered for disposition of the Inquest (Adams) 184
Estimates of cost of an astronomical observatory 206
Statement of investment of Smithson bequest in State stocks : 215
Bill for disposition of the bequest (Linn) 215
Incorporation of the National Institution 217
Bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution ( Preston ) 219
Care of Government collections 219
International exchanges 220
Twenty-seventh Congress, 1841-1843:
Repeal of act to invest Smithson fund in State stocks 220
Message of President Tyler, December 7, 1 841 225
Report of House select committee (Adams) 226
Copies of State bonds procured from Smithson fund 229
Statement of stocks in which the fund was invested 235
Bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution (Adams) 235
United States exploring expedition 239
Twenty-eighth Congress, 1843-1845:
Message of President Tyler, December 5, 1 843 241
Condition of the Smithson fund, January, 1844 243
Bonds and stocks purchased from Smithsonian Institution 245
Interest on stocks 246
Correspondence relative to purchase of stocks 250
Bill to establish the Institution (Tappan) 266
Report from House select committee (Adams) . 268
Bill to establish the Institution (Adams) 273
Bill to establish the Institution (Tappan) 276
Debate on bills to establish the Institution 280
Exploring expedition .' 320
Twenty-ninth Congress, 1845-1847:
Bill to establish the Institution (Owen) 321
Debate in House on establishment of Institution 333
Bill to establish the Institution (Morse) 388
Bill to establish the Institution (Hough), passed 423
Act to establish the Institution, approved August 1 0, 1 846 429
International exchanges 434
Exploring expedition 435
Catlin Indian gallery 435
Appointment of Regents 436
Purchase of city hall for Smithsonian Institution (proposed) 438
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 439
PART III.
Legislation relative to the Institution and its dependencies, 1847-1899 441
Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849:
Committee on the Smithsonian Institution . . 443
CONTENTS. IX
Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849 Continued. Pa ge.
Appointment of Regents 463
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 464
Amendment to act of organization 466
International exchanges 466
Exploring expedition 467
Thirty-first Congress, 1849-1851 :
Exploring expedition 468
Care of Government collections 470
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 477
International exchanges 480
Increase of Smithson fund 481
Appointment of Regents 482, 1838
Thirty-second Congress, 1851-1853:
Appropriations for Smithsonian grounds 484
Increase of Smithson fund 484
Free postage 485
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 485
Appointment of Regents 486
Documents ." 487
Exploring expedition 487
International exchanges 487
Meteorology, James P. Espy 487
Thirty-third Congress, 1853-1855:
Smithson fund 488
Free postage , 500
Appointment of Regents 502
Documents 503
International exchanges 503
Care of Government collections 503
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 505
Meteorology, James P. Espy 507
Exploring expedition 511
Resignation of Rufus Choate as Regent . _. 511
Policy of the Institution 511
Investigation 511
Armory Building 599
Thirty-fourth Congress, 1855-1857:
Operations of the Smithsonian Institution 599
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 600
Appointment of Regents 601
International exchanges 603
Exploring expedition 603
Care of Government collections 603
Meteorology, James P. Espy 603
Thirty-fifth Congress, 1857-1859:
Appointment of Regents 604
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 604
Care of Government collections 607
Meteorology, James P. Espy 608
Exploring expedition 608
Act of organization amended. Copyrights 608
Thirty-sixth Congress, 1859-1861 :
Appointment of Regents 609
X CONTENTS.
Thirty-sixth Congress, 1859-1861 Continued. Fa K e -
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 610
Free use of telegraph by the Smithsonian Institution 610
Care of Government collections 611
Exploring expedition 627
Thirty-seventh Congress, 1861-1863:
Appointment of Regents 627
Care of Government collections 633
Exploring expedition '. 637
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 637
Expositions, London 1838
Thirty -eighth Congress, 1863-1865:
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 638
Care of Government col lections 639
Amendment to act of organization of Smithsonian Institution 639
Fire at Smithsonian Institution 641
Interest on Smithson fund 645
Appointment of Regents 657
Thirty-ninth Congress, 1865-1867:
Paris Exposition 658
Transfer of Smithsonian library 660
Care of Government collections 662
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 663
Exploring expedition 664
Amendment to act of organization of Smithsonian Institution 664
International exchanges 668
Appointment of Regents 667, 1838
Fortieth Congress, 1867-1869:
Expositions, Paris 667
Havre 668
Appointment of Regents 669, 1839
Care of Government collections 670
Exploring expedftion ^ 678
Report of Smithsonian Institution 678
Powell's exploration ^ 679
Washington canal 680
Smithson fund 680
International exchanges 680
Forty-first Congress, 1869-1871:
Appointment of Regents 681
Report of Smithsonian Institution 682
International exchanges 683
Corcoran Gallery of Art 684
Zoological Society 685
Stanley Indian paintings 686
Powell's exploration 686
Care of Government collections 686
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition 687
Forty-second Congress, 1871-1873:
Amendment to act of organization of Smithsonian Institution 688
Report of Smithsonian Institution 689
Decoration for Prof, Joseph Henry 692
Exploring expedition 692
International exchanges 692
Care of Government collections . . 693
CONTENTS. XI
Forty-second Congress, 1871-1873 Continued. Page.
Expositions, Philadelphia Centennial 694
Vienna .' 698
Free postage 699
Powell's exploration 699
Appointment of Regents 699
Forty-third Congress, 1873-1875:
Expositions, Philadelphia Centennial 700
Vienna 705
Appointment of Regents 705
Report of Smithsonian Institution 718
International exchanges .. 724
Documents 724
Act of organization of Smithsonian Institution. Revised Statutes 724
Public printing 728
Polaris expedition 728
National Museum, estimates 728
appropriations 729
Regents to have use of Library of Congress 730
Forty-fourth Congress, 1875-1877:
Report of Smithsonian Institution 1839
Restoration of the original Declaration of Independence. 730
International exchanges . : 731
Indian statistics and history 731
National Museum, building 731
estimates , 739
appropriations 742
Philadelphia Centennial 743
Government exhibit 746
Act of organization of Smithsonian Institution amended 767
Free postage , 767
Appointment of Regents 1839
Forty-fifth Congress, 1877-1879:
National Museum, building required for Government collections 768
Government collections to be deposited in 779
estimates 779
appropriations 782
Appointment of Regents 783
Fire protection for public buildings 784
Order of Saint Olaf for S. F. Baird 788
Woodruff Scientific Expedition 789
Plates of fractional currency 790
Documents 791
Geological and Geographical Survey reports 791
Expositions, Paris j. 792
Philadelphia Centennial 794
Howgate Arctic expedition 795
Ventilation of Hall of House of Representatives 796
Report of Smithsonian Institution 799
International exchanges, appropriations 799
The Smithsonian Institution, a corporation ? 800
Joseph Henry, death and memorial services of 801
memorial volume 805
services of, to the Government 806
Acting Secretary of Smithsonian Institution 809
XII CONTENTS.
Forty-fifth Congress, 1877-1879 Continued. Pag.
Protection of public libraries 810
Scientific surveys'. 810
Ethnology, contributions 811
Land Office Museum 811
Glover entomological plates 812
Ethnology, estimates 818
appropriations 818
Free postage 818
Forty-sixth Congress, 1879-1881:
Appointment of Regents 819
Joseph Henry, portrait for memorial volume 820
statue 821
portrait for the Institution 823
Land Office Museum 823
Expositions, Sydney and Melbourne 823
Philadelphia Centennial 824
Berlin Fishery 824
Berlin Fishery, Baird prize 825
Philadelphia Sheep and Wool 827
New York 827
National Museum, transportation 828
use of building 828
Sunday and night opening 829
building 830
street railroad to 835
estimates 835
appropriations 840
Library of Congress, new building 842
Standard weights and measures 843
Ethnology, contributions *-. 843
report 844
Smithson fund ' 845
Report of Smithsonian Institution 845
International exchanges 851
French exchanges 854
International exchanges, estimates 855
appropriations 855
Smithsonian Institution a corporation ? 856
Ethnology, estimates 857
appropriations 859
Emil Bessels' scientific report 865
reimbursement of 866
Documents 869
Forty-seventh Congress, 1881-1883:
Appointment of Regents 869
Ethnology, estimates 870
appropriations 870
Thomson Siamese deposit 871
Expositions, Atlanta 872
Denver 872
London Fishery 872
Boston .' 883
Philadelphia Centennial 883
CONTENTS. XIII
Forty-seventh Congress, 1881-1883 Continued. Page.
Expositions, New Orleans 887
Philadelphia Electrical 890
Louisville 890
Fireproofing Smithsonian building 891
Lectures 893
Geological Survey building 895
International exchanges 895
estimates 905
appropriations 906
Forest preservation 907
Glover entomological plates 907
Ethnology, contributions and reports 908
bulletins 909
National Museum, employees 909
estimates 910
appropriations '. 913
Documents 917
Statue of Joseph Henry 918
Turner's and Nelson's reports on Alaska 923
Reports of Smithsonian Institution and National Museum 924
Report of Smithsonian Institution 928
Illustrations of the reports 929
Army Medical Library and Museum 929
Forty-eighth Congress, 1883-1885:
Smithsonian building, estimates 930
appropriations 932
Ethnology, estimates 932
appropriations 932
International exchanges, estimates 933
appropriations 933
Army Medical Library and Museum 934
Appointment of Regents 938
University of Medicine 939
Ethnology, reports 940
National Museum, Sunday opening 944
transportation 944
report 944
estimates 944
appropriations 947
Bureau of Fine Arts 949
Privilege of floor of Senate 949
Acting Secretary of Smithsonian Institution 952
Neumann's silk flag 953
Expositions, New Orleans 953
Cincinnati 957
Louisville 957
London Fishery 957
Report of Smithsonian Institution 957
. Ventilation of Hall of House of Representatives 959
Free postage 961
Public printing and binding 962
Henry statue 962
Grant relics... 962
XIV CONTENTS.
Forty-eighth Congress, 1883-1885 Continued. Page.
Documents '. 968
Department of Agriculture, entomology, ornithology 968
Forty-ninth Congress, 1885-1887:
Appointment of Regents 970
International exchanges 974, 1840
estimates 978
appropriations 979
Smithsonian building, estimates 980
appropriations 981
Bureau of Ethnology, estimates 981
appropriations 981
Bureau of Fine Arts 981
Nelson's report on Alaska 982
Turner's report on Alaska - 983
Report of the Smithsonian Institution 986
Capron Japanese collection 988
Ethnology, bulletins 1002
Grant relics 1009
National Museum, Government collections 1011
Sunday opening , 1014
section of transportation 1014
estimates 1018
appropriations 1022
Manuscripts commission 1032
Expositions, Centennial celebration of the Constitution 1033
Minneapolis 1039
Rock Creek Park 1040
Neumann's silk flag 1041
Smithsonian fund 1042
Public printing and binding 1042
Smithsonian grounds 1043
School of Research and Medicine 1043
Army Medical Museum and Library 1043
Reid's sword 1044
VOLUME II.
Fiftieth Congress, 1887-1889:
Bureau of Ethnology, estimates 1045
appropriations 1045
Spencer F. Baird, services of 1045
statue of 1104
Bureau of Fine Arts 1105
G. Brown Goode, Fish Commissioner 1106
Rock Creek National Park 1106
Appointment of Regents 1109
Capron Japanese collection 1110
Army Medical Museum and Library 111'?
Semon Bache & Co 1112
Expositions, Washington 1113
Melbourne 1113
Barcelona 1114
Paris 1114
Brussels 1119
Cincinnati 1119
Marietta... . 1122
CONTENTS. XV
Fiftieth Congress, 1887-1889 Continued. Page-
Ethnology, bulletins 1122
reports 1 1124
Gen. James Shields' swords 1124
Report of Smithsonian Institution 1129
National art commission 1 131
Neumann's silk flag 1132
Privilege of floor of the House of Representatives 1 132
Stanley Indian paintings 1132
Methods of Government work '. .1133
Statue of Robert Dale Owen 1136
International exchanges 1137
estimates 1145
appropriations 1146
National Zoological Park 1149
American Historical Association 1219
Fireproofing Smithsonian building .* 1224
Vail telegraph ic instrument : 1225
Documents 1225
National Museum, new building 1226
Armory building 1231
classified service .- 1238
living animals 1242
estimates 1247
appropriations 1249
Military and Naval Museum 1259
Detailed statement of expenditures required 1267
Government publications restricted to public business 1268
Geological Survey building 1268
Astrophysical Observatory 1271
Fifty-first Congress, 1889-1891 :
Appointments of Regents 1272
Fireproofing Smithsonian building 1274
Bureau of Fine Arts 1279
Vail original telegraphic receiver 1279
Capron Japanese collection .- 1279
Report of Smithsonian Institution 1291
Rock Creek Park 1292
Statue of Christopher Columbus 1307
National Military and Naval Museum 1307
Geological Survey building 1308
National Museum, evening opening 1309
armory building 1310
new building 1311
basement 1321
estimates 1321
appropriations 1325
Report on expenditures 1328
Reid's sword 1328
Baird statue 1332
National Zoological Park, appropriations 1333
report of commission 1333
organization 1343
estimates... . 1488
XVI CONTENTS.
Fifty-First Congress, 1889-1891 Continued. Page.
International exchanges 1492
estimates 1496
appropriations 1497
Stanley Indian paintings 1500
Christopher Columbus memorial 1501
Expositions, Chicago 1501
St. Louis 1514
Louisville 1514
Heirs of Joseph Henry . 1514
Society of Sons of the American Revolution 1527
University of the United States 1530
American University 1531
American Historical Association Report 1534
Owen statue 1537
Bureau of Ethnology 1539
estimates 1541
appropriations 1541
Perkins collection of copper implements 1543
Printing reports from Executive Department* 1544
Astrophysical Observatory, estimates 1544
appropriations 1545
Ethnology, report 1546
Fifty-second Congress, 1891-1893:
Smithsonian building, estimates 1547
appropriations 1547
International exchanges, estimates 1548
appropriations 1549
Ethnology, estimates 1551
appropriation^ 1551
Astrophysical Observatory, estimates 1551
appropriations 1552
Owen statue 1552
Appointment of Regents 1553
Statue of Spencer F. Baird 1557
Geographic names 1557
Report on expenditures 1558
Vail original telegraphic receiver 1559
Ethnology, reports 1559
Colonial Dames of America. 1560
National Zoological Park, Zoo street railway 1561
report on expenditures 1562
estimates 1562
appropriations 1567
National Museum, night opening 1574
new building 1575
estimates 1575
appropriations 1581
Expositions, Madrid 1582
Chicago 1584, 1840
Philadelphia Centennial 1595
Use of Government collections in Washington by students, etc 1595
List of employees 1596
Astrophysical Observatory 1597
CONTENTS. XVII
Fifty-second Congress, 1891-1893 Continued. Page.
List of employees, International exchanges 1597
National Zoological Park 1597
National Museum 1598
Daughters of the American Revolution 1600
Select committee on the Smithsonian Institution 1600
Perkins collection of copper implements 1600
Appropriations discussed 1601
National Society of Colonial Dames of America 1623
American Historical Association Report 1624
Report of Smithsonian Institution 1625
Public printing and binding 1628
University of the United States 1629
National Historical Society 1632
Public buildings 1632
Fifty-third Congress, 1893-1895:
Appointment of Regents 1632
Free exchange of documents 1635
Expositions, San Francisco 1635
Chicago 1636
Antwerp 1639
Tacoma 1639
Atlanta 1640
Paris ' 1643
Portland 1643
Barcelona 1644
Ethnology, report 1644
University of the United States 1654
National Historical Society 1661
National Museum, armory building 1661
new building 1661
Sunday and evening opening 1662
estimates 1662
appropriations 1668
Documents for the Smithsonian Institution 1670
Contracts for supplies 1670
Report of Smithsonian Institution 1672
Report on expenditures 1672
International exchanges, estimates 1673
appropriations 1674
Bureau of Ethnology, estimates 1675
appropriations 1676
Astrophysieal Observatory, estimates 1676
appropriations 1677
Objects of the Smithsonian Institution. Letter to President of the United
States : 1677
Amendment to act of organization of Smithsonian Institution 1680
Deposit of securities in the Treasury vaults _* 1685
Permanent appropriations, Smithsonian fund 1687
American Historical Association 1687
Owen statue 1688
Objects of the Smithsonian Institution. Circular by Secretary Langley .. 1688
H. Doc. 732 ii
International exchanges, estimates
appropriations
Bureau of American Ethnology, estimates
appropriations
Astrophysical Observatory, estimates
appropriations .
Smithsonian deposit in Library of Congress
Owen statue
University of America
National Museum, new building
Nicaraguan collection of pottery
estimates
appropriations
XVIII CONTENTS.
Fifty-third Congress, 1893-1895 Continued. Pa c -
National Zoological Park, entrance 1690
report on expenses. . .
estimates 1692
appropriations 1694
Act for public printing and binding and distribution of public documents. 1695
Appropriations debated 1697
Weighing coal and measuring wood for public service. . . 1698
Arrears of business in public offices 1699
Bonds of disbursing officers 1700
Fifty-fourth Congress, 1895-1897:
700
707
709
709
709
710
710
710
710
711
726
727
732
Appointment of Regents 1 736
National Zoological Park, improvement of thoroughfare near park 1738
Mount Pleasant and Zoo Gravity Railway Com-
pany 1738
* estimates 1738
appropriations 1739
International Permanent Exhibition Company, New York 1739
National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution 1740
Anacostia statue of George Washington 1 745
Report on expenditures 1 746
Smithsonian mail matter not limited 1 746
Expositions, Chicago 1746
Nashville 1748
Atlanta 1751
Omaha 1751
Brussels 1754
New York Gas Apparatus 1 754
Settlement between the United States and State of Arkansas 1755
Sociological I nstitution 1761
National Society of Colonial Dames of America and Society of Colonial
Dames of America 1763
Fur-seal investigation 1766
Smithsonian bureaus under civil service 1767
International catalogue of scientific literature 1769
Government of Library of Congress 1773
Fifty-fifth Congress, 1897-1899:
Appointment of Regents 1775
Settlement between the United States and State of Arkansas 1779
Astrophysical Observatory, annals 1 787
estimates 1787
appropriations 1788
CONTENTS. XIX
Fifty-fifth Congress, 1897-1899 Continued. Page.
Expositions, Omaha . . . ! ,. 1789, 1841
Paris 1792
Bergen Fisheries 1795
Cayuga Island or Buffalo 1796
Toledo 1801
Chicago 1841
Philadelphia Export 1842, 1844
Owen statue 1805
International catalogue of scientific literature 1806
Kock Creek Park ; 1807
International exchanges, estimates 1809
appropriations 1810
Bureau of American Ethnology, estimates 1812
appropriations 1813
Report on expenditures 1813
National Museum, Sunday opening 1814
printing bulletins and proceedings 1814
estimates 1814
appropriations 1820
University of the United States 1823
Leaves of absence to public employees 1825
Steiner Indian collection 1826
Preservation of game in the District of Columbia 1826
Purchase of books to be specifically provided for 1829
Quarterly reports on condition of business -. 1829
National Zoological Park, exchange of lands 1829
studio for artists 1831
readjustment of boundaries 1832
grading street 1834
estimates 1835
appropriations 1836
Daughters of the American Revolution 1837
Report of salaries of officers and employees required 1837
ADDENDA 1838
PART IV.
List of members of the " Establishment" of the Institution 1847
Presidents of the United States 1847
Vice-Presidents 1847
Secretaries of State 1847
Secretaries of the Treasury 1847
Secretaries of War 1848
Secretaries of the Navy 1848
Postmasters-General 1848
Attorneys-General 1849
Chief Justices 1849
Commissioners of the Patent Office 1849
Commissioners of Patents 1849
Mayors of the city of Washington 1849
Governors of the District of Columbia 1850
Secretaries of the Interior 1850
Secretaries of Agriculture 1850
Honorary members 1850
List of members of the Board of Regents of the Institution 1851
Vice-Presidents of the United States... . 1851
XX CONTENTS.
List of members of the Board of Uegents of the Institution Continued. Page.
Presidents pro teinpore of the Senate 1852
Chief Justices 1852
Mayors of the city of Washington 1852
Governors of the District of Columbia 1852
Senators 1852
Representatives 1853
Citizens from States 1 853
Citizens from Washington City 1854
List of Regents according to residence 1854
List of officers of the Institution 1856
CORRIGENDA... . 1857
ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION.
Ii7^ X
August 10, 1846, with amendments to March 3, 1899.
PREAMBLE. James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the kingdom of
Great Britain, having by his last will and testament given the
whole of his property to the United States of America, to found,
at Washington, under the name of the "Smithsonian Institution,"
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men; and the United States having, by an act of Congress, received
said property and accepted said trust; therefore, for the faithful
execution of said trust, according to the will of the liberal and
enlightened donor,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled:
SEC. 5579. That the President, the Vice-President, the Chief
Justice, and the heads of Executive Departments are herebj T consti-
tuted an establishment by the name of the Smithsonian Institution for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, and by that name
shall be known and have perpetual succession with the powers, limi-
tations, and restrictions hereinafter contained, and no other.
SEC. 5580. .The business of the Institution shall be conducted at the
city of Washington by a Board of Regents, named the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, to be composed of the Vice-President,
the Chief Justice of the United States, and three members of the
Senate and three members of the House of Representatives; together
with six other persons, other than members of Congress, two of whom
shall be resident in the city of Washington; and the other four shall
be inhabitants of some State, but no two of them of the same State.
SEC. 5581. The regents to be selected shall be appointed as follows:
The members of the Senate by the President thereof: the members of
the House by the Speaker thereof; and the six other persons by joint
XXII ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives. The members
of the House so appointed shall serve for the term of two years; and
on every alternate fourth Wednesday of December a like number shall
be appointed in the same manner, to serve until the fourth Wednes-
day in December, in the second year succeeding their appointment.
The Senators so appointed shall serve during the term for which they
shall hold, without re-election, their office as Senators. Vacancies,
occasioned by death, resignation, or. otherwise, shall be filled as vacan-
cies in committees are filled. The regular term of service for the
other six members shall be six years; and new elections thereof shall
be made by joint resolutions of Congress. Vacancies occasioned by
death, resignation, or otherwise may be filled in like manner by joint
resolution of Congress.
SEC. 5582. The regents shall meet in the city of Washington and
elect one of their number as chancellor, who shall be the presiding
officer of the Board of Regents, and called the chancellor of the Smith-
sonian Institution, and a suitable person as Secretary of the Institu-
tion,* who shall also be the secretar}^ of the Board of Regents. The
board shall also elect three of their own body as an executive commit-
tee, and the regents shall fix on the time for the regular meetings of
the board; and, on application of any three of the regents to the Sec-
retary of the institution, it shall be his duty to appoint a special meet-
ing of the Board of Regents, of which he shall give notice, by letter,
to each of the members; and, at any meeting of the board, five shall
constitute a quorum to do business. Each member of the board shall
be paid his necessary traveling and other actual expenses, in attending
meetings of the board, which shall be audited by the executive com-
mittee, and recorded by the Secretary of the board; bin; his service as
regent shall be gratuitous.
SEC. 5583. The Secretary of the Board of Regents shall take charge
of the building and property of the institution, and shall, under their
direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to
* Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. "Be it enacted, etc., ThattheChari-
cellor of the Smithsonian Institution may, by an instrument in writing filed in the
office of the Secretary thereof, designate and appoint a suitable person to act as Sec-
retary of the Institution when there shall be a vacancy in said office, and whenever
the Secretary shall be unable from illness, absence, or other cause to perform the
duties of his office; and in such case the person so appointed may perform all the
duties imposed on the Secretary by law until the vacancy shall be filled or such
inability shall cease. The said Chancellor may change such designation and appoint-
ment from time to time as the interests of the Institution may in his judgment
require." (May 13, 1884. Statutes, XXIII, 21.)
ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. XXIII
be preserved in the institution; and shall also discharge the duties of
librarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of
the Board of Regents, employ assistants.
SEC. 558-i. The Secretary and his assistants shall, respectively,
receive for their services such sum as may be allowed by the Board of
Regents, to be paid semi-annually on the first day of January and
July; and shall be removable by the Board of Regents whenever, in
their judgment, the interests of the institution require such removal.
SEC. 5585. The members and honorary members of the institution
may hold stated and special meetings, for the supervision of the affairs
of the institution and the advice and instruction of the Board of
Regents, to be called in the manner provided for in the by-laws of the
institution, at which the President, and in his absence the Vice-Presi-
dent, shall preside.
SEC. 5586. Whenever suitable arrangements can be made from time
to time for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious
research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and
mineralogical specimens belonging to the United States, which may be
in the city of Washington, in whosesoever custody they may be, shall
be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the Board of
Regents to receive them, and shall be so arranged and classified in the
building erected for the institution as best to facilitate the examination
and study of them; and whenever new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy are obtained for the museum of the institu-
tion, by exchanges of duplicate specimens, which the regents may
in their discretion make, or by donation, which they may receive, or
otherwise, the regents shall cause such new specimens to be appro-
priately classed and arranged. The minerals, books, manuscripts, and
other property of James Smithson, which have been received by the
Government of the United States, shall be preserved separate and
apart from other property of the institution.
SEC. 5587. The regents shall make, from the interest of the fund,
an appropriation, not exceeding an average of twenty five thousand
dollars annually, for the gradual formation of a library composed of
valuable works pertaining to all departments of human knowledge.*
* The Smithsonian library was transferred to the Library of Congress under act of
April 5, 1866:
"Be it enacted, etc., That the library collected by the Smithsonian Institution under
the provisions of an act approved, August 10, 1846, shall be removed from the build-
ing of said Institution, with the consent of the Regents thereof, to the new fireproof
XXIV ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
SEC. 5588. The site and lands selected for buildings for the Smith-
sonian Institution shall be deemed appropriated to the institution, and
the record of the description of such site and lands, or a copy thereof,
certified by the chancellor and Secretary of the Board of Regents,
shall be received as evidence in all courts of the extent and boundaries
of the lands appropriated to the institution.
SEC. 5589. All laws for the protection of public property in the city
of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the protection of
the lands, buildings, and other property of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. All moneys recovered by or accruing to, the institution shall be
paid into the Treasury of the United States, to the credit of the Smith-
sonian bequest, and separately accounted for.
SEC. 5590. So much of the propert} T of James Smithson as has been
received in money, and paid into the Treasury of the United States,
being the sum of five hundred and forty-one thousand three hundred
and seventy-nine dollars and sixty-three cents, shall be lent to the
United States Treasury, at six per centum per annum interest; and
six per centum interest on the trust-fund and residuaiT legacy received
into the United States Treasury, payable in half-yearl} payments, on
the first of January and July in each year, is hereby appropriated for
the perpetual maintenance and support of the Smithsonian Institution;
and all expenditures and appropriations to be made, from time to time,
to the purposes of the institution shall be exclusively from the accru-
ing interest, and not from the principal of the fund. All the moneys
extension of the Library of Congress, upon completion of a sufficient portion thereof
for its accommodation, and shall, while there deposited, be subject to the same regu-
lations as the Library of Congress, except as hereinafter provided.
"Ssc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Smithsonian Institution, through its
Secretary, shall have the use of the library of Congress, subject to the same regula-
tions as Senators or Representatives." (Statutes, XIV, 13.)
By act of April 5, 1866, as given in Revised Statutes, 1875:
" SEC. 99. The library collected by the Smithsonian Institution under the provi-
sions of the act of August 10, 184(5, chapter 25, and removed from the building of that
Institution, with the consent of the Regents thereof, to the Library of Congress, shall,
while there deposited, be subject to the same regulations as the Library of Congress,
except as hereinafter provided.
"SEC. 100. The Smithsonian Institution shall have the use thereof in like manner
as before its removal, and the public; shall have access thereto for purposes of con-
sultation on every ordinary week-day, except during one month of each year, in the
recess of Congress, when it may be closed for renovation. All the books, maps, and
charts of the Smithsonian Library shall be properly cared for and preserved in like
manner as are those of the Congressional Library; from which the Smithsonian library
shall not l>e removed except on reimbursement by the Smithsonian Institution to the
Treasury of the United States of expenses incurred in binding and in taking care of
the same, or upon such terms and conditions as shall be mutually agreed upon by
Congress and the Regents of the Institution." (Statutes, XVIII, pt. 1, 1875, 16.)
ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. XXV
and stocks which have been, or may hereafter be, received into the
Treasury of the United States, on account of the fund bequeathed by
James Smithson, are hereby pledged to refund to the Treasury of the
United States the sums hereby appropriated.
SEC. 5591. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed
to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest
of James Smithson, such sums as the regents may, from time to time,
see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with the original bequest, the sum of
one million dollars.
Provided, That this shall not operate as a limitation on the power
of the Smithsonian Institution to receive monej' or other property by
gift, bequest, or devise, and to hold and dispose of the same in promo-
tion of the purposes thereof.
SEC. 5592. The regents are authorized to make such disposal of any
other moneys which have accrued, or shall hereafter accrue, as interest
upon the Smithsonian fund, not herein appropriated, or not required
for the purposes herein provided, as they shall deem best suited for
the promotion of the purposes of the testator.
SEC. 5593. Whenever money is required for the payment of the debts
or performance of the contracts of the institution, incurred or entered
into in conformity with the provisions of this Title, or for making the
purchases and executing the objects authorized by this Title, the Board
of Regents, or the executive committee thereof, ma} T certify to the
chancellor and Secretary of the board that such sum of money is
required, whereupon they shall examine the same, and, if they shall
approve thereof, shall certif y the same to the proper officer of the
Treasury for payment. The board shall submit to Congress,* at each
session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition
of the Institution.
*" The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall submit to Congress at its
next session a detailed statement of the expenditures of the fiscal year, under appro-
priations for ' International Exchanges,' ' North American Ethnology,' and the
' National Museum,' and annually thereafter a detailed statement of expenditures
under said appropriations shall be submitted to Congress at the beginning of each
regular session thereof." (October 2, 1888. Statutes, XXV, 529.)
"A report in detail of the expenses on account of the National Zoological Park
shall be made to Congress at the beginning of each regular session." (August 5,
1892. Statutes, XXVII, 360. )
"The annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution shall be hereafter printed at
the Government Printing Office, in the same manner as the annual reports of the
heads of Departments are now printed, for submission in print to the two Houses of
Congress." (March 3, 1885. Statutes, XXIII, 520. )
FULL TITLES OF ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CON-
GRESS, 1835-1899, REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK.
July 1, 1836: Page.
An act to authorize and enable the President to assert and prosecute with
effect the claim of the United States to the legacy bequeathed to them
by James Smithson, late of London, deceased, to found at Washington,
under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. (Stat., V, 64) ... 142
October 16, 1837:
An act making further appropriations for the year 1837. (Stat., V, 207) . 144
July 7, 1838:
An act to provide for the support of the Military Academy of the United
States for the year 1838, and for other purposes. (Stat. , V, 264) 145
March 3, 1839:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year 1839. (Stat., V, 339) 182
July 20, 1840:
An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year
1840. (Stat., V, 404) '. 2iy
July 20, 1840:
Joint resolution for the exchange of books and public documents for for-
eign publications. (Stat., V, 409) 220
March 3, 1841:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year 1841.
(Stat., V, 419) 220
September 4, 1841:
An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of public lands, and to grant
preemption rights. (Stat., V, 453) 221
September 11, 1841:
An act to repeal a part of the sixth section of the act entitled "An act to
provide.for the support of the Military Academy of the United States
for the year 1838, and for other purposes," passed July 7, 1838. (Stat.,
V, 465) 224
August 4, 1842:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year 1842.
(Stat., V, 500) 239
August 26, 1842:
An act to provide for publishing an account of the discoveries made by
the Exploring Expedition, under the command of Lieutenant Wilkes,
of the United States Navy. (Stat., V, 534) 240
December 24, 1842:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the half calendar year ending the 30th day of June,
1843. (Stat., V,586) 240
XXX ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
March 3, 1843: Page.
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the fiscal year ending the 30th day of June, 1844.
( Stat, V, 630)... 240
March 3, 1843:
An act for the relief of Richard Rush. (Stat., VI, 892) 239
June 17, 1844:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the fiscal year ending the 30th day of June, 1845. and
for other purposes. (Stat., V, 681 ) 320
February 20, 1845:
A resolution for distributing the work on the exploring expedition.
(Stat,, V, 797) 320
March 3, 1845:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the
Government for the year ending the 30th June, 1846, and for other pur-
poses. (Stat., V, 752) 321
March 3, 1845:
A joint resolution directing the Secretary of the Treasury, whenever any
State shall have been or may be in default for the payment of interest
or principal on investments in its stocks or bonds held by the United
States in trust, to retain certain moneys to which such State is entitled
for the purposes therein named. (Stat., V, 801) 319
March 4, 1846:
A resolution to authorize the transmission and presentation of books to
the minister of justice of France, in exchange for books received from
him. (Stat,, IX, 109) 434
July 15, 1846:
A resolution, supplementary to the resolution of February 20, 1845, for
distributing the works of the exploring expedition. (Stat., IX, 111) .. 435
August 10, 184-6:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th day of June, 1847, and for
other purposes. (Stat., IX, 85) 435
August 10, 1846:
An act to establish the "Smithsonian Institution," for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men. (Stat., IX, 102) 429
August 10, 1846:
A resolution appointing Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat,
IX, 1 15) 438
March 3, 1847:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th day of June, 1848, and for
other purposes. (Stat, IX, 155) 435
June 26, 1848:
An act to regulate the exchange of certain documents and other publica-
tions of Congress. (Stat., IX, 240) 466
June 30, 1848:
A resolution authorizing the presentation to the Government of France of
a series of the standard weights and measures of the United States, and
for other purposes. (Stat., IX, 336) 467
Augus-t 12, 1848:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th day of June, 1849, and for
other purposes. ( Stat, , IX, 284) 467
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XXXI
December 19, 1848: Page.
A resolution for the appointment of Regents in the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. (Stat., IX, 417) 464
February 1, 1849:
An act for the relief of the forward officers of the late Exploring Expedi-
tion. (Stat,, IX, 344) ----- 467
March 2, 1849:
Joint resolution directing that the Government of Russia be supplied with
certain volumes of the narrative of the Exploring Expedition, in lieu of
those which were lost at sea, and for other purposes. (Stat., IX, 418). 468
March 3, 1849:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1850, and for other
purposes. (Stat., IX, 354) 468
February 20, 1850:
Joint resolution to supply the Territories of Oregon and Minnesota with
the narrative of the Exploring Expedition. (Stat., IX, 561) 468
September 30, 1850:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1851, and for other
purposes. (Stat., IX, 523) 468,480
December 24, 1850:
A resolution for the appointment of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. (Stat., IX, 646) 483
February 27, 1851 :
A resolution directing the distribution of the works of Alexander Hamil-
ton, and for other purposes. (Stat., IX, 646) 480
March 3, 1851:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1852, and for other
purposes. (Stat, IX; 598) 470, 480
March 3, 1851:
An art making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending
the 30th of June, 1852. (Stat., IX, 621) 470
August 31, 1852:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1853, and for other
purposes. (Stat., X, 76) 487
August 31, 1852:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending
the 30th of June, 1853. (Stat., X, 100) ; 487
January 13, 1853:
A resolution for the appointment of Regents in the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. (Stat, X, 261) 486
March 3, 1853:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1854. (Stat., X, 189) . 487
March 3, 1853:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending
the 30th of June, 1854. (Stat, X, 220) 487
July 20, 1854:
A resolution providing for the distribution of the works of Thomas Jeffer-
son. (Stat, X, 594) 503
August 4, 1854:
An act making apppropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1855, and for other
purposes. (Stat, X,~546) 505,511
XXXII ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
August 5, 1864: PERC.
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending
the 30th of June, 1855. (Stat., X, 583) 510
December 27, 1854:
A resolution for the appointment of Regents in the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. (Stat., X, 722) 503
March 3, 1855:
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1856, and for other
purposes. (Stat., X, 643) 511, 599
March 3, 1855:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the
30th of June, 1856. (Stat., X, 675) 511
March 3, 1855:
An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Depart-
ment during the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1856. (Stat.,
X, 683 ) 501
February 27, 1856:
A resolution for the appointment of regents to fill the vacancies in the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XI, 142) 602
August 18, 1856:
An act making appropriations for certain civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending the 30th of June, 1857. (Stat., XI, 81) 603
August 18, 1856:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1857.
(Stat., XI, 102) 603
January 28, 1857:
A resolution for the appointment of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. (Stat., XI, 253) 602
March 3, 1857:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1858.
(Stat,, XI, 206) 603, 604
June 2, 1858:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1859.
(Stat, XI, 295) ." 607
June 12, 1858:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the
30th of June, 1859. (Stat., XI, 314) 608
January 17, 1859:
A resolution for the appointment of two Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. (Stat., XI, 440) 604
February 5, 1859:
An act providing for keeping and distributing all public documents.
(Stat., XI, 379) 608
March 3, 1859:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending the 30th of June, 1860. (Stat., XI, 425) 607, 608
June 15, 1860:
A resolution in relation to the works of the Exploring Expedition. (Stat.,
XII, 116) 627
June 16, 1860:
An act to facilitate communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States
by electric telegraph. (Stat., XII, 41 ) 610
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XXXIII
June 25, 1860: Page.
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending the 30th of Jane, 1861. (Stat., XII, 104) 611
February 20, 1861:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending the 30th of June,
1862. (Stat, XII, 133) 627
March 2, 1861:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending June 30, 1862. (Stat., XII,214) 627
March 2, 1861:
A resolution for the appointment of regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
(Stat. , XII, 251 ) 610
July 27, 1861:
A resolution relative to the exhibition of the industry of all nations, to be
holden in London in the year 1862. ( Stat. , XII, 328) 1838
March 1, 1862:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending the 30th of June, 1863, and additional appropria-
tions for the year ending the 30th of June, 1862. (Stat, XII, 348) .... 636
March 15, 1862:
A resolution providing for the custody of the letter and gifts from the
King of Siam. (Stat, XII, 616) 636
April 2, 1862:
Joint resolution for the appointment of Theodore D. Woolsey, of Connecti-
cut, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in place of Cornelius C.
Felton, deceased. (Stat., XII, 617) 630
April 24, 1862:
Joint resolution to supply the Smithsonian Institutiofn with volumes of
Wilkes's Exploring Expedition. (Stat., XII, 618) 637
February 21, 1863:
A resolution expelling George E. Badger from the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, and appointing Louis Agassiz in his place.
(Stat, XII, 825) 632
March 3, 1863:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the year ending June 30, 1864, and for the year ending the
30[th] of June, 1863, and for other purposes. (Stat., XII, 744) 636
July 2, 1864:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the year ending the 30th of June 1865, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XIII, 344) 639
January 10, 1865:
An act to repeal the provision of law requiring certain Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution to be members of the National Institute. (Stat.,
XIII, 420) 640
February 14, 1865:
A resolution appointing General Richard Delafield to be a Regent of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat. , XIII, 569) 658
January 15, 1866:
Joint resolution in relation to the Industrial Exposition at Paris, France.
( Stat. , XIV, 347 ) 658
April 5, 1866:
An act to provide for the transfer of the custody of the library of the
Smithsonian Institute to the Library of Congress. (Stat, XI V, 13) 661
H. Doc. 732 in
XXXIV ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
April 7, 1866: Page.
An act making additional appropriations, and to supply the deficiencies
in the appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for
the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 186(5, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XIV, 14) 062
July 5, 1866:
Joint resolution to enable the people of the United States to participate
in the advantages of the Universal Exhibition at Paris in 1867. (Stat.,
XIV, 362) 658
July 26, 1866:
A resolution to authorize the use of certain plates of the United States
Exploring Expedition by the Navy Department. (Stat., XIV, 366) 664
July 28, 1866:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expense* of the Govern-
ment for the year ending June 30, 1867, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XIV, 310) 662
January 11, 1867:
A resolution to provide for the exhibition of the cereal productions of the
United States at the Paris Exposition in April next, (Stat, XIV, 563) . 660
February 8, 1867:
An act authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to receive into the Treas-
ury the residuary legacy of James Smithson, to authorize the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution to apply the income of the said legacy, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XIV, 391) 866
March 2, 1867:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1868,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XIV, 440) 663
March 2, 1867:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the year ending June 30, 1868, and 'for other purposes. (Stat.,
XIV, 457) 663
March 2, 1867:
A resolution to provide for the exchange of certain public document?.
(Stat., XIV, 573) 667
March 12, 1867:
A resolution supplementary to other joint resolutions to enable the people
of the United States to participate in the advantages of the Universal
Exhibition at Paris in 1867. (Stat., XV, 19) 667
January 11, 1868:
A resolution for the appointment of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. (Stat, XV, 246) '. 669
February 28, 1868:
A resolution directing that the Government of Great Britain be supplied
with certain volumes of the narrative of the exploring expedition.
(Stat., XV, 248) 678
March 12, 1868:
A resolution providing for the representation of the United States at the
International Maritime Exhibition, to be held at Havre. (Stat, XV,
249) 668
June 11, 1868:
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of War to furnish supplies to an
exploring expedition. (Stat., XV, 253) 679
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XXXV
July 20, 1868: Page.
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the year ending June 30, 1869, and for other purposes. (Stat., XV, '
110) 674
July 20, 1868:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1869. (Stat.,
XV, 92) 680
July 25, 1868:
A resolution to carry into effect the resolution approved March 2, 1867,
providing for the exchange of certain public documents. ( Stat. , X V, 260) 680
March 3, 1869:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1870.
(Stat., XV, 283) 681
March 3, 1869:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the year ending June 30, 1870, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XV, 301) 678
March 3, 1869:
A resolution reappointing Louis Agassiz a Regent of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. (Stat, XV, 349) 670
May 5, 1870:
A resolution for the transfer of an unexpended balance of appropriation to
the book fund of the Library of Congress. ( Stat. , XVI, 375) , 683
May 24, 1870:
An act to incorporate the trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XVI, 139) 684
June 21, 1870:
An act to incorporate a Zoological Society in the city of Washington, Dis-
trict of Columbia. (Stat., XVI, 157) 685
June 23, 1870:
A resolution to admit free of duty certain printed chromos. (Stat., XVI,
668) 686
July 12, 1870:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending the 30th of June, 1871.
(Stat., XVI, 230) 683,686
July 15, 1870:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the year ending June 30, 1871, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XVI, 291) 686
February 2, 1871:
A resolution for the appointment of General William T. Sherman a Regent
of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XVI, 593) 682
March 3, 1871:
An act to provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of Ameri-
can independence by holding an international exhibition of arts, manu-
factures, and products of the soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia
and State of Pennsylvania, in the year 1876. (Stat., XVI, 470) 687
March 3, 1871:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1872. (Stat.,
XVI, 475) .__......,,...._ 684
XXXVI ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899,
March 3, 1871: . Page.
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1872, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XVI, 495) 686,687
March 20, 1871:
An act to amend "An act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," approved August 10,
184(5. (Stat., XVII, 1) 689
April 20, 1871:
Joint resolution giving the consent of Congress to Professor Joseph Henry,
secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to accept the title and regalia
of a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf, conferred
upon him by the King of Sweden and Norway, grand master of said
order. (Stat,, XVII, 643) 692
March 2, 1872:
An act granting to James D. Dana the use of certain plates. (Stat., XVII,
646) 692
May 8, 1872:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1873, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XVII, 61) 692
May 18, 1872:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1872, and for former years, and for other purposes. (Stat., XVII, 122) . . 693
May 23, 1872:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending
June 30, 1873, and for other purposes. (Stat., XVII, 145) 692
June 1, 1872:
An act relative to the Centennial International Exhibition, to be held in
the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, in the year 1876. (Stat.,
XVII, 203) 694
June 8, 1872:
An act to revise, consolidate, and amend the statutes relating to the Post-
Office Department. (Stat., XVII, 283) 699
June 10, 1872:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1873, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XVII, 347 ) 692, 693, 699
February 14, 1873:
Joint resolution to enable the people of the United States to participate
in the advantages of the International Exposition to be held at Vienna
in 1873. (Stat., XVII, 637) 698
March 3, 1873:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1874, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XVII, 485) 693
March 3, 1873:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XVII, 510) , 694,699
January 19, 1874:
Joint resolution filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 285) 717
June 5, 1874:
An act in relation to the Centennial Exhibition. (Stat, XVIII, pt. 3, 53) . 703
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XXXVII
June 16, 1874: Page.
An act to authorize medals commemorating the one hundredth anniver-
sary of the first meeting of the Continental Congress and of the Declara-
tion of Independence. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 76) 703
June 18, 1874:
An act to admit free of duty articles intended for the International Exhi-
bition of 1876. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 82) 703
June 20, 1874:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1875, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 85) 724,729
June 20, 1874:
An act providing for publication of the Revised Statutes and the laws
of the United States. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 113) 724
June 22, 1874:
Title LXXIII. The Smithsonian Institution. (Revised Stat. 1875, 1088). 724
June 22, 1874:
Title IV. Provisions applicable to all the Executive Departments.
(Revised Stat., 2d ed., 1878, 26) 728
June 23, 1874:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 204) 729
June 23, 1874:
An act for the relief of Mercy Ann Hall, widow of Captain Charles F.
Hall. (Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 614) 728
December 28, 1874:
Joint resolution filling an existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat, XVIII, pt. 3, 523) 718
March 3, 1875:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1876, and for
other purposes.. (Stat,XVIII, pt. 3,343) 724,729
March 3, 1875:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XVIII, pt. 3, 371) 704,729
March 3. 1875:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for fiscal years ending June 30, 1875, and prior years, and for other pur-
N poses. ( Stat, XVIII, pt. 3,402) 705,728
March 3, 1875:
An act extending the privilege of the Library of Congress to the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XVIII, pt 3, 512) 730
February 16, 1876:
An act relating to the centennial celebration of American independence.
(Stat, XIX, 3) 743
April 17, 1876:
An act to provide for the expenses of admission of foreign goods to the
centennial exhibition at Philadelphia. ( Stat. , XIX, 34 ) 745
May 1, 1876:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1876, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XIX, 41) 745
XXXVIII ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
July 20, 1870: Page.
Joint resolution to amend the act approved June 18, 1874, relating to the
admission of articles intended for the International Exhibition of 1876.
(Stat, XIX, 214) 745
July 31, 1876:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XIX, 102) 742
August 3, 1876:
Joint resolution providing for the restoration of the original Declaration of
Independence. (Stat., XIX, 216) 730
August 15, 1876:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1877, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XIX, 143) 731, 742
August 15, 1876:
An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of
the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various
Indian tribes for the year ending June 30, 1877, and for other purposes.
(Stat,, XIX, 176) 731
March 3, 1877:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1878, and for
other purposes. (Stat. , XIX, 294) 731
March 3, 1877:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, and for other purposes.
(Stat. , XIX, 344) 743
March 3, 1877:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, and prior years, and for other
purposes. (Stat., XIX, 363) 743
December 15, 1877:
An act providing for the printing and distribution of the Biennial Regis-
ter. (Stat. , XX, 13) 791
December 15, 1877:
Joint resolution in relation to the International Industrial Exposition to
be held in Paris in 1878. (Stat. , XX, 245 ) 792
January 26, 1878:
Joint resolution filling an existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat, XX, 247) 783
March 23, 1878:
An act to authorize the granting of an American register to a foreign-built
ship, for the purpose of the Woodruff Scientific Expedition around the
world. (Stat., XX, 31) 789
March 25, 1878:
Joint resolution filling an existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XX, 249) 784
May 22, 1878:
Joint resolution providing for the distribution and sale of the new edition
of the Revised Statutes of the United States. (Stat. , XX, 251 ) 791
June 14, 1878:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, and prior years, and for those
heretofore treated as permanent, for reappropriations, and for other pur-
(Stat., XX, 115) 800
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XXXIX
June 19, 1878: Page.
An act to protect public libraries in the District of Columbia, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XX, 171) .* 810
June 19, 1878:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XX, 178) 800
June 20. 1878:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XX, 206) 782, 794, 809, 810
June 20, 1878:
An act to authorize Spencer F. Baird, assistant secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, to receive from the King of Sweden a diploma and
medal constituting him a member of the Norwegian order of St. Olaf,
the same being a literary and scientific organization. (Stat. , XX, 584) . 789
December 13, 1878:
An act to aid in the protection of the public buildings and property against
loss and damage by fire. (Stat., XX, 257) 788
January 24, 1879:
An act authorizing the Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution to
appoint an Acting Secretary in certain cases. (Stat, , XX, 264) 810
March 3, 1879:
An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Depart-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XX, 355) 818
March 3, 1879:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XX, 377) ... 778,779,783,788,818
March 3, 1879:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, and for prior years, and for
those heretofore treated as permanent, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XX, 410) 783
April 18, 1879:
Joint resolution authorizing the printing of a portrait of the late Joseph
Henry, to accompany the memorial volume heretofore ordered. (Stat.,
XXI, 48) 821
June 10, 1879:
Joint resolution in relation to the international exhibitions to be held at
Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in 1879 and 1880. (Stat, XXI, 49) . 823
June 20, 1879:
Joint resolution to print 5,000 copies of the final reports of the United
States Centennial Commission upon the International Exhibition and
Centennial Celebration of 1876. (Stat, XXI, 50) 824
June 21, 1879:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and- judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880,
and for other purposes. (Stat, XXI, 23) 855
June 27, 1879:
Joint resolution to provide for the purchase of the stereotype plates of the
final reports of the Centennial Commission upon the Centennial Exhibi-
tion of 1876. (Stat., XXI, 53) 824
XL AOT8 AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
December 19, 1879: Page.
Joint resolution filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat, XXI, 299) 820
February 16, 1880:
Joint resolution concerning an international fishery exhibition to be held
in Berlin, Germany, in April, 1880. (Stat., XXI, 301) 824
April 1, 1880:
An act to authorize and direct the Commissioner of Agriculture to attend,
in person or by deputy, the international sheep and wool show to be
held in the Centennial buildings, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in Sep-
tember, A. D. 1880, and to make a full and complete report of the same,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI, 70) 827
April 23, 1880:
An act to provide for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the
treaty of peace and the recognition of American Independence by hold-
ing an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and the products
of the soil and mine in the city of New York, in the State of New York,
in the year 1883. (Stat., XXI, 77) 827
May 3, 1880:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1881, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI, 82) 856
June 1, 1880:
An act for the erection of a bronze statue of Joseph Henry, late Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XXI, 154) 823
June 7, 1880:
Joint resolution to provide for the publication and distribution of a sup-
plement to the Revised Statutes. (Stat. , XXI, 308) 869
June 15, 1880:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI, 210) 856
June 16, 1880:
ATI act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, and prior years, and for those
certified as due by the accounting officers of the Treasury in accordance
with section 4 of the act of June 14, 1878, heretofore paid from per-
manent appropriations, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI,, 238) . . . 823, 866
June 16, 1880:
An act making appropriations for the sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXI., 259) 824, 841, 856, 863
June 16, 1880:
An act making appropriations for the Agricultural Department of the Gov-
ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, and for other. purposes.
(Stat., XXI, 292) 827
February 9, 1881:
An act making an appropriation for the flooring of the National Museum.
(Stat, XXI, 324) 834
February 21, 1881:
An act to provide for remitting the duties on the object of art awarded by
the Berlin International Fishery Commission to Prof. Spencer F. Baird.
(Stat, XXI, 608) 827
February 23, 1881:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1882, and for other purposes. (Stat, XXI, 331) 856
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XLI
March 1, 1881: Page.
Joint resolution in relation to the international exhibition of 1883. (Stat.,
XXI, 520) 1 . 828
.March 3, 1881:
An act making appropriations for the Agricultural Department of the Gov-
ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and for other pur-
poses. (Stat., XXI, 381) 827
March 3, 1881:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI, 385) 856
March 3, 1881:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, and for prior years, and for those
certified as due by the accounting officers of the Treasury in accordance
with section 4 of the act of June 14, 1878, heretofore paid from perma-
nent appropriations, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXI, 414) . . 824, 842, 868
March 3, 1881:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXI, 435) 842, 856, 865
March 3, 1881:
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to furnish States,
for the use of agricultural colleges, one set of standard weights and
measures, and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXI, 521 ) 843
February 13, 1882:
An act to appropriate $5,000 for packing, transporting, and arranging cer-
tain agricultural and mineral specimens. (Stat., XXII, 3) 872
March 6, 1882:
An act to provide for certain of the most urgent deficiencies in the appro-
priations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XXII, 7) 913
April 7, 1882:
An act to admit free of duty articles intended for exhibition at the national
mining and industrial exposition to be held in the city of Denver in
the year 1882. (Stat., XXII, 41 ) 872
June 28, 1882:
An act to admit free of duty articles intended for the exhibition of art and
industry to be held at Boston, Mass., during the year 1883. (Stat.,
XXII, 116) 883
July 18, 1882:
Joint resolution concerning an International Fishery Exhibition to be held
at London in May, 1883. (Stat., XXII, 387) 881
Augusts, 1882:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXII, 219) t .906
August 5, 1882:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and for prior years, and for
those certified as due by the accounting officers of the Treasury in
accordance with section 4 of the act of June 14, 1878, heretofore. paid
from permanent appropriations, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXII,
257) 915
XLIT ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS,, 1835-1899.
August 7, 1882: Page.
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XXII.302).. 871,900,908,915
August 8, 1882:
An a<-t for the relief of Mary E. Thomson. (Stat., XXII, 738) 871
February 10, 1883:
An act to encourage the holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Cen-
tennial Exposition in the year 1884. (Stat., XXII, 413) 887
February 24, 1883:
Joint resolution accepting the invitation of the regents of the Smithsonian
Institute to attend the inauguration of the statue of Joseph Henry.
(Stat,, XXII, 639) i 920
February 26, 1883:
Joint resolution to provide for admission free of duty of articles intended
for a special exhibition of machinery, tools, implements, apparatus, and
so forth, for the generation and application of electricity, to be held at
Philadelphia, by the Franklin Institute. (Stat., XXII, 639) 890
March 3, 1883:
An act to admit free of duty articles intended for the National Mining and
Industrial Exposition to be held at Denver, in the State of Colorado,
during the year 1883. (Stat., XXII, 481) 872
March 3, 1883:
An act relative to the Southern Exposition to be held in the city of Louis-
ville, State of Kentucky, in the year 1883. (Stat,, XXII, 481) 890
March 3, 1883:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884,
and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXII, 531 ) 907
March 3, 1883:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, and for prior years, and for those
certified an due by the accounting officers of the Treasury in accordance
with section 4 of the act of June 14, 1878, heretofore paid from perma-
nent appropriations, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXII, 582) 917
March 3, 1883:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and for other purposes.
(Stat,, XXII, 603) 871, 883, 893, 907, 916
March 3, 1883:
Joint resolution to print 5,000 copies of the report of the Board on behalf
of the United States Executive Departments at the International Exhi-
bition of 1876. (Stat., XXII, 640) 887
March 3, 1884:
Joint resolution filling an existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XXIII, 269) 939
May 13, 1884:
An act to provide for the appointment of an Acting Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution. (Stat., XXIII, 21) 952
May 13, 1884:
Joint resolution filling an existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat. , XXIII, 272) 939
May 21, 1884:
An act to make a loan to aid in the celebration of the World's Industrial
and Cotton Centennial Exposition. (Stat. , XXIII, 28) 953
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XLTII
June 26, 1884: Page.
Joint resolution for printing the annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnol-
ogy. (Stat., XXIII, 275) 942
July 5, 1884:
An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1885, and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXIII, 107 ).. 944
July 5, 1884:
An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Depart-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXIII, 156) 961
July 7, 1884:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXIII, 159) 933
July 7, 1884:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXIII, 194) 932, 933, 944, 947, 955, 957, 962
July 7, 1884:
An act making appropriations for the consular and diplomatic service of
the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and for other
purposes. (Stat., XXIII, 227)". 933
July 7, 1884:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and for prior years, and for
those certified as due by the accounting officers of the Treasury in
accordance with section 4 of the act of June 14, 1878, heretofore paid
from permanent appropriations, and for other purposes. (Stat., XXIII,
236) 948,957,962
February 9, 1885:
Joint resolution providing for the printing and distribution of the Descrip-
tive Catalogue of Government Publications. (Stat. , XXIII, 516) 968
March 2, 1885:
An act providing for the erection of a building to contain the records,
library, and museum of the Medical Department, United States Army.
(Stat., XXIII, 339) 938
March 3, 1885:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXIII, 388) 934
March 3, 1885:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXIII, 446) 948,956
March 3, 1885:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XXIII, 478) 932,933,948,956
March 3, 1885:
Joint resolution to provide for printing the annual reports of the Smith-
sonian Institution. (Stat., XXIII, 520) 959
December 26, 1885:
Joint resolution filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XXIV, 339) 972
XLIV ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 18:15-1899.
July 31, 1886: Page.
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXIV, 172) 979
August 4, 1886:
An act making appropriations for the sundry civil expenses of the Gov-
ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXIV, 222) 979, 981, 1031, 1042
August 4, 1886:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat, XXIV, 256) 1032
August 5, 1886:
Joint resolution accepting from Julia Dent Grant and William H. Vaiider-
bilt objects of value and art presented by various foreign governments
to the late Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. (Stat., XXIV, 348) 1011
August 5, 1886:
Joint resolution to print the annual bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology.
(Stat., XXIV, 349) 1008
January 19, 1887:
Joint resolution appointing James B. Angell a member of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XXIV, 644) 973
March 3, 1887:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXIV, 509) 979, 980, 981, 1031, 1033
March 3, 1887:
An act relative to the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition, to be held annu-
ally in the city of Minneapolis, State of Minnesota. (Stat., XXIV,
560) 1039
March 3, 1887:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888,
and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXIV, 594) 980, 1840
March 3, 1887:
Joint resolution authorizing the several Executive Departments of the
Government to loan to the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition certain
articles for exhibit. (Stat., XXIV, 648) 1040
February 1, 1888:
Relating to the invitation of the British Government to the Government of
the United States to participate in the international exhibition at Mel-
bourne to celebrate the founding of New South Wales. (Stat., XXV, 617) . 1113
February 15, 1888:
Joint resolution appointing Andrew D. White a member of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. (Stat., XXV, 617) 1110
March 30, 1888:
An act to provide for certain of the most urgent deficiencies in the appro-
priations for the service of the Government for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1 888, and for other purposes. ( Stat. ,XXV,47) 1045
April 11, 1888:
Joint resolution appropriating $25,000 for the international exhibition in
Barcelona, Spain. (Stat., XXV, 620) 1114
April 19, 1888:
An act to purchase of the widow and children of the late Gen. James Shields
certain swords. (Stat., XXV, 86) . 1128 '
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XLV
May 10, 1888: Page.
Joint resolution accepting the invitation of the French Republic to take
part in an international exposition to be held in Paris in 1889. (Stat.,
XXV, 620) 1114
May 11, 1888:
Joint resolution appropriating $30,000 for the International Exhibition in
Brussels, Belgium. (Stat., XXV, 622) 1119
May 28, 1888:
An act making an appropriation to enable the several Executive Depart-
ments of the Government and the Bureau of Agriculture and the Smith-
sonian Institution, including the National Museum and Commission of
Fish and Fisheries, to participate in the Centennial Exposition of the
Ohio Valley and Central States, to be held at Cincinnati, Ohio, from
July 4 to October 27, 1888. (Stat., XXV, 159) 1119
July 11, 1888:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1889, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXV, 256) 1146
July 16, 1888:
Joint resolution declaring the true intent and meaning of the act approved
May 28, 1888. (Stat, XXV, 626) 1121
September 26, 1888:
An act for the relief of Semon Bache & Co. (Stat., XXV, 1190) 11 13
October 2, 1888:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1889, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXV, 505) 1045, 1104, 1148, 1236, 1258, 1267, 1268
October 19, 1888:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXV, 565) 1258
October 20, 1888:
Joint resolution authorizing the exhibits made by the Government at the
Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Central States at Cincin-
nati, Ohio, to remain at said Exposition until and including the 15th day
of November, 1888. (Stat., XXV, 634) 1122
January 4, 1889:
An act to incorporate the American Historical Association. (Stat., XXV,
640) 1223
February 26, 1889:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXV, 705) 1149
March 2, 1889:
An act making appropriations to provide for the expenses of the govern-
ment of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXV, 793) 1219
March 2, 1889:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1889, and for prior years, and for other
purposes. (Stat., XXV, 905) 1258
March 2, 1889:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXV, 939) 1045, 1149, 1238, 1258
XLVI ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS. 1835-1899.
April 15, 1890: Page.
An act to admit free of duty articles intended for the St. Louis Exposition
in 1890, which may be imported from the Republic; of Mexico and other
American Republics and the Dominion of Canada. ( Stat. , XXVI , 55) . . 15 14
April 25, 1890:
An act to provide for celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of America by Christopher Columbus by holding an interna-
tional exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the product of
the soil, mine, and sea in the city of Chicago, in the State of Illinois.
(Stat., XXVI, 62) " 1506
May 22, 1890:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution. (Stat., XXVI, 673) 1274
June 18, 1890:
An act for the relief of the Southern Exposition at Louisville, Ky. (Stat.,
XXVI, 162) 1514
July 11, 1890:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXVI, 228) 1497
August 30, 1890:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXVI, 371) 1278, 1327, 1499, 1542, 1544
September 27, 1890:
An act authorizing the establishing of a public park in the District of
Columbia. (Stat., XXVI, 492) 1303
September 30, 1890:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXVI, 504) 1327, 1499, 1544
March 3, 1891:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXVI, 862) .". 1327, 1499
March 3, 1891:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXVI, 908) 1500
March 3, 1891:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XXVI, 948)' 1291,1328,1333,1500,1513,1527,1542,1546
January 26, 1892:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution. (Stat., XXVII, 393) 1555
March 8, 1892:
An act making appropriations to supply a deficiency in the appropriation
for the expenses of the Eleventh Census, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XXVII, 5) 1570
March 18, 1892:
An act ratifying the act of the sixteenth territorial legislative assembly of
Arizona, approved March 19, 1891, making appropriation in aid of Ari-
zona's exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat., XXVII, 7). 1584
March 24, 1892:
Joint resolution authorizing the Librarian of Congress to exhibit certain
documents at the World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat, XXVII, 394) . 1584
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XLVII
April 6, 1892: Page.
An act to protect foreign exhibitors at the World's Columbian Exposition
from prosecution for exhibiting wares protected by American patents
and trade-marks. (Stat., XXVII, 14) 1585
April 12, 1892.
Joint resolution to encourage the establishment and endowment of insti-
tutions of learning at the national capital by defining the policy of the
Government with reference to the use of its literary and scientific col-
lections by students. (Stat. , XXVII, 395) 1595
May 12, 1892:
An act to authorize a national bank at Chicago, 111., to establish a branch
office upon the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat.,
XXVII, 33) 1585
May 13, 1892:
An act to provide for certain of the most urgent deficiencies in the appro-
priations for the service of the Government for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1892, and for other purposes. ( Stat. , XXVII, 33 ). 1583
June 6, 1892:
An act to enable the Centennial Board of Finance, incorporated by an act
approved June 1, 1872, to close its affairs, and dissolving said corpora-
tion. (Stat, XXVII, 45) 1595
July 13, 1892:
An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-office Depart-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1893. (Stat, XXVII, 145) ... 1585
July 16, 1892:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30^ 1893,
and for other purposes. (Stat, XXVII, 183) 1549
July 19, 1892:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1893, and for other purposes. (Stat, XXVII, 236) 1585
July 23, 1892:
Joint resolution requesting the loan of certain articles for the World's
Columbian Exposition. (Stat, XXVII, 399) 1586
July 26, 1892:
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and
send to the World's Columbian Exposition models, drawings, etc., pre-
pared or invented by women. (Stat, XXVII, 400) 1586
July 28, 1892:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXVII, 282) "... 1549, 1572, 1581
August 4, 1892:
An act changing the date for the dedication of the buildings of the
World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat, XXVII, 347) 1586
August 5, 1892:
An a'ct making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1893, and for other purposes. (Stat,
XXVII, 349) 1549, 1551, 1552, 1572, 1581, 1584, 1586, 1628
August 5, 1892:
An act to aid in carrying out the act of Congress, approved April 25, 1890,
entitled " An act to provide for celebrating the four hundredth anni-
versary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, by hold-
ing an international exposition of arts, industries, manufactures, and
products of the soil, mine, and sea, in the city of Chicago, in the State
of Illinois," and appropriating money therefor. (Stat, XXVII, 389) .. 1588
XLVIIT ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
August 5, 1892: Page.
Joint resolution extending an invitation to the King and Queen of Spain
and the descendants of Columbus to participate in the World's Colum-
bian Exposition. (Stat., XXVII, 401) 1590
August 5, 1892:
Joint resolution authorizing foreign exhibitors At the World's Columbian
Exposition to bring to this country foreign laborers from their respec-
tive countries for the purpose of preparing for and making their
exhibits. (Stat., XXVII, 402) 1590
January 9, 1893:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithso-
nian Institution. (Stat., XXVII, 752) 1557
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, and for other purposes.
(Stat. , XXVII, 572) 1547, 1550, 1551, 1552, 1562, 1574, 1582, 1592
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations for current and contingent expenses, and
fulfilling treaty stipulations with Indian tribes, for fiscal year ending
June 30, 1894. (Stat, XXVII, 612) 1594
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1893, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXVII, 646) 1550, 1582
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894,
and for other purposes. (Stat, XXVII, 675) 1550, 1632
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1894; and for other purposes. (Stat., XXVII, 715) . . 1840
March 3, 1893:
An act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894. (Stat., XXVII, 732) 1594
March 3, 1893:
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
to send articles illustrative of the life and development of the indus-
tries of women to the World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat,
XXVII, 757) 1584
March 3, 1893:
Joint resolution authorizing the loan, for exhibition at the World's Colum-
bian Exposition, of certain paintings therein stated. (Stat, XXVII,
757) 1595
September 1, 1893:
An act in aid of the California Midwinter International Exposition. (Stat,
XXVIII, 1) 1635
October 28, 1893:
Joint resolution that the acknowledgments of the Government and people
of the United States be tendered to various foreign governments of the
world who have participated in commemoration of the discovery of
America by Christopher Columbus. (Stat., XXVIII, 13) 1636
Novembers, 1893:
Joint resolution to amend the act, approved April 25, 1890, relating to the
admission of articles intended for the World's Columbian Exposition.
(Stat, XXVIII, 13) . 1636
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. XLIX
November 3, 1893: Page.
Joint resolution transferring the exhibit of the Navy Department, known
as the model battle ship Illinois, to the State of Illinois, as a naval
armory for the use of the naval militia of the State of Illinois, on the
termination of the World's Columbian Exposition. (Stat., XXVIII, 14) . 1636
December 15, 1893:
Joint resolution conferring diplomas upon designers, inventors, and expert
artisans. (Stat., XXVIII, 575) 1636
December 21, 1893:
An act making appropriations to supply further urgent deficiencies in the
appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, and for prior
years, and for other purposes. (Stat,, XXVIII, 16) 1661
January 27, 1894:
An act to amend section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, relating to contracts
for supplies in the Departments at Washington. (Stat., XXVIII, 33) . . 1671
March 12, 1894:
An act to amend an act entitled "An act to establish the Smithsonian
Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,"
being Title LXXIII of the Revised Statutes. (Stat, XXVIII, 41) 1685
March 12, 1894:
An act ii aking appropriations to supply further urgent deficiencies in the
appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, and for prior
years, and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXVIII, 41 ) 1668
March 12, 1894:
Joint resolution providing for the appointment of a commission to the
Antwerp International Exposition. (Stat, XXVIII, 578) 1639
March 19, 1894:
Joint resolution to fill a vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution. (Stat., XXVIII, 579) 1633
July 31, 1894:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXVIII, 162) 1674
August 3, 1894:
An act to exempt the articles of foreign exhibitors at the interstate fair at
Tacoma, Wash., from the payment of duties. (Stat, XXVIII, 224) . . . 1639
August 7, 1894:
An act making appropriations to provide for the expenses of the Govern-
ment of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1895, and for other purposes. (Stat. , XXVIII, 243) 1690
August 18, 1894:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, and for other purposes.
(Stat, XXVIII, 372) 1637,1641,1668,1674,1676,1677,1692,1694
August 23, 1894:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXVIII, 424) 1643, 1669, 1694
January 8, 1895:
An act to exempt the articles of foreign exhibitors at the Portland Uni-
versal Exposition, at Portland, Oregon, from the payment of duties.
(Stat, XXVIII, 600) ". 1643
H. Doc. 732 iv
L ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
January 12, 1895: Page.
An act providing for the public printing and binding and the distribution
of public documents. (Stat., XXVIII, 601) 1695
January 21, 1895:
Joint resolution authorizing foreign exhibitors at the Cotton States and
International Exposition, to be held in Atlanta, Ga., in 1895, to bring to
this country foreign laborers from their respective countries for the pur-
pose of preparing for and making their exhibits. (Stat., XXVIII, 967) . 1642
February 27, 1895:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution. (Stat., XX VIII, 972) 1634
March 2, 1895:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXVIII, 764) 1675
March 2, 1895:
An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1896, and for other purposes. (Stat,, XXVIII, 825) 1638
March 2, 1895:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat. , XXVIII, 843) 1638
March 2, 1895:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXVIII, 910) 1638, 1644, 1669, 1674, 1676, 1677, 1691, 1694
January 14, 1896:
Joint resolution for filling vacancy on Board of Regents, Smithsonian Insti-
tution. (Stat., XXIX, 461) 1738
February 20, 1896:
An act to incorporate The National Society of the Daughters of the Ameri-
can Revolution. (Stat, XXIX, 8) 1742
February 26, 1896:
An act making appropriations to supply urgent deficiencies in the appro-
priations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896, and for prior years,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXIX, 17) ." 1746
Marcli 13, 1896:
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to distribute the
medals and diplomas awarded by the World's Columbian Commission
to the exhibitors entitled thereto. (Stat., XXIX, 466) 1747
May 18, 1896:
Joint resolution authorizing foreign exhibitors at the Tennessee Centen-
nial Exposition, to be held in Nashville, Tenn., in 1897, to bring to this
country foreign laborers from their respective countries for the purpose
of preparing for and making their exhibits, and allowing articles imported
from foreign countries for the sole purpose of exhibition at said exposi-
tion to be imported free of duty, under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of the Treasury. (Stat., XXIX, 473) 1748
May 28,1896:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXIX, 140) 1707
June 8, 1896:
An act to regulate mail matter of the fourth class. (Stat., XXIX, 262) . . 1746
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. LI
June 8, 1896: Page.
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896, and for prior years, and for other
purposes. (Stat, XXIX, 267) 1709, 1727, 1739, 1748, 1751
June 8, 1896:
Joint resolution to authorize a scientific investigation of the fur-seal fisher-
ies. (Stat, XXIX, 475) 1766
June 10, 1896:
An act to authorize and encourage the holding of a trans-Mississippi and
international exposition at the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska,
in the year 1898. (Stat., XXIX,382) 1751
June 11, 1896:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXIX, 413) 1708, 1709, 1710, 1735, 1739, 1751, 1754
December 22, 1896:
An act to aid and encourage the holding of the Tennessee Centennial Expo-
sition, at Nashville, Tenn., in the year 1897, and making an appropria-
tion therefor. (Stat., XXIX, 477) 1748
January 21, 1897:
Joint resolution providing for the erection of a Government building at
the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. ( Stat. , XXIX, 698) 1 751
February 19, 1897:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, and
for other purposes. (Stat., XXIX, 538) 1708
June 4, 1897:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, and for other purposes. (Stat.,
XXX, 11) 1788,1789,1810,1813,1820,1836
June 30, 1897:
Joint resolution authorizing foreign exhibitors at the Trans-Mississippi and
International Exposition, to be held in the city of Omaha, in the State
of Nebraska, during the year 1898, to bring to the United States foreign
laborers from their countries, respectively, for the purpose of preparing
for and making exhibits. (Stat., XXX, 222) 1789
July 19, 1897:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, and for prior years, and for other
purposes. (Stat., XXX, 105) '.... 1792, 1810, 1821, 1841
December 18, 1897:
Joint resolution extending limit of cost of the Government building or
buildings at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, at Omaha,
Nebraska, and reducing cost of Government exhibit. (Stat., XXX,
732) 1790
January 24, 1898:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithson-
ian Institution. (Stat., XXX, 733) 1778
January 28, 1898:
An act making appropriations to supply urgent deficiencies in the appro-
priations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, and for prior years,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXX, 234) 1791, 1810
LIT ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899.
February 17, 1898: Page.
Joint resolution accepting the invitation of the Government of Norway to
take part in an International Fisheries Exposition to be held at the city
of Bergen, Norway, from May to September, anno Domini 1898. (Stat.,
XXX, 734) 1795
March 15, 1898:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXX, 277) 1810, 1829
April 29, 1898:
An act to approve a compromise and settlement between the United States
and the State of Arkansas. (Stat., XXX, 367) 1786
May 18, 1898.
Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to rent lighting
apparatus for Government building at Trans-Mississippi and Interna-
national Exposition. (Stat., XXX, 743) 1791
July 1, 1898:
An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of
the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various
Indian tribes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, and for other pur-
poses. (Stat., XXX, 571) 1841
July 1, 1898:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXX, 597) 1788,1792,1811,1813,1821,1834,1836
July 7, 1898:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXX, 652) 1788,1796,1806,1813,1826
July 8, 1898:
Joint resolution regarding the holding of a Pan-American Exposition in
the year 1901 upon Cayuga Island, between the cities of Buffalo and
Niagara Falls, in the State of New York, to illustrate the development
of the Western Hemisphere during the nineteenth century. (Stat.,
XXX, 752) 1796
December 21, 1898:
An act providing for a national exposition of American products and man-
ufactures at the city of Philadelphia for the encouragement of the export
trade. (Stat., XXX, 768) 1842
January 24, 1899:
Joint resolution to fill vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution. (Stat,, XXX, 1387) 177S
February 24, 1899:
An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900,
and for other purposes. (Stat., XXX, 846) 1811
March 1, 1899:
Joint resolution authorizing foreign exhibitors at the Commercial Exposi-
tion to be held in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1899, to bring to this country
foreign laborers from their respective countries for the purpose of pre-
paring for and making their exhibits under regulations prescribed by
the Secretary of the Treasury. (Stat., XXX, 1390) 1844
March 3, 1899:
An act for the protection of birds, preservation of game, and for the pre-
vention of its sale during certain closed seasons in the District of Colum-
bia. (Stat, XXX, 1012) 1826
ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1835-1899. LIII
March 3, 1899: Page.
An act to encourage the holding of a Pan-American Exposition on the
^Niagara frontier, within the county of Erie or Kiagara, in the State of
New York, in the year 1901. (Stat, XXX, 1022) 1797
March 3, 1899:
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900, and for other purposes.
(Stat., XXX, 1074) 1788, 1794, 1811, 1813, 1822, 1836, 1837
March 3, 1899:
An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, and for prior years, and for
other purposes. (Stat., XXX, 1214) 1812
March 3, 1899:
An act to encourage the holding of the Ohio Centennial and Northwest
Territory Exposition at the city of Toledo, Ohio. (Stat., XXX, 1346) .. 1802
H. Doc. 732 Y
THE ORIGIN AND THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FROM 1835 TO 1899.
I.
WILL OF JAMES SMITHSON- CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.,
RELATIVE TO THE BEQUEST.
THE WILL OF JAMES SMITHSON.
I JAMES SMITHSON Son to Hugh, first Duke of Northumberland, &
Elizabeth, Heiress of the Hungerfords of Studley, & Niece to Charles
the proud Duke of Somerset, now residing in Bentinck Street, Caven-
dish Square, do this twenty -third day of October, one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-six, make this my last Will and Testament:
I bequeath the whole of my property of every nature & kind soever
to my bankers, Messrs. Drummonds of Charing Cross, in trust, to be
disposed of in the following manner, and I desire of my said Execu-
tors to put my property under the management of the Court of
Chancery.
To John Fitall, formerly my Servant, but now employed in the
London Docks, and residing at No. 27, Jubilee Place, North Mile end,
old town, in consideration of his attachment & fidelity to me, & the
long & great care he has taken of my effects, & my having done but
very little for him, I give and bequeath the Annuity or annual sum of
One hundred pounds sterling for his life, to be paid to him quarterly,
free of legacy duty & all other deductions, the first payment to be
made to him at the expiration of three months after my death. I have
at divers times lent sums of money to Henry Honore Sailly, formerly
my Servant, but now keeping the Hungerford Hotel, in the rue Cau-
martin at Paris, & for which sums of money I have undated bills or
bonds signed by him. Now, I will & direct that if he desires it, these
sums of money be let remain in his hands at an Interest of five per
cent, for five years after the date of the present Will.
To Henry James Hungerford, my Nephew, heretofore called Henry
James Dickinson, son to my late brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry
Louis Dickinson, now residing with Mr. Auboin, at Bourg la Reine,
near Paris, I give and bequeath for his life the whole of the income
arising from my property of every nature & kind whatever, after the
payment of the above Annuity, & after the death of John Fitall, that
Annuity likewise, the payments to be made to him at the time of the
interest or dividends becomes due on the Stocks or other property
from which the income arises.
Should the said Henry James Hungerford have a child or children,
legitimate or illegitimate, I leave to such child or children, his or their
heirs, executors, & assigns, after the death of his, or her, or their Father,
6 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
the whole of my property of every kind absolutely & forever, to be
divided between them, if there is more than one, in the manner their
father shall judge proper, or, in case of his omitting to decide this, as
the Lord Chancellor shall judge proper.
Should my said Nephew, Henry James Hungerford, marry, I em-
power him to make a jointure.
In the case of the death of my said Nephew without leaving a child
or children, or the death of the child or children he may have had
under the age of twenty-one years or intestate, I then bequeath the
whole of my property, subject to the Annuity of One hundred pounds
to John Fitall, & for the security & payment of which I mean Stock
to remain in this Country, to the United States of America, to found
at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an
Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.
I think it proper here to state, that all the money which will be
standing in the French five per cents, at my death in the names of the
father of my above mentioned Nephew, Henry James Hungerford, &
all that in my names, is the property of my said Nephew, being what
he inherited from his father, or what I have laid up for him from the
savings upon his income.
JAMES SMITHSON. [L. s.]
CORRESPONDENCE.
Clarke, Fynmore (& Fladgate to A. Vail, Charge d? Affaires of the
United States, London.
CRAVEN STREET, STRAND [LONDON], July %1, 1835.
SIR: We send you, inclosed, the copy of a will of Mr. Smithson,
on the subject of which we yesterday did ourselves the pleasure of
waiting upon you, and we avail ourselves of the opportunity to
repeat, in writing, what we verbally communicated.
Pursuant to the instructions contained in the will, an amicable suit
was, on the death of the testator, instituted in chancery by Mr. Hun-
gerford against Messrs. Drummond, the executors, under which suit
the assets were realized. They were very considerable; and there is
now standing, in the name of the accountant-general of the court of
chancery, on the trusts of the will, stock amounting in value to about
100,000. During Mr. Hungerford's life he received the income
arising from this property; but news has just reached England that
Mr. Hungerford has died abroad, leaving no child surviving him.
It now becomes necessary that measures should be taken for the
purpose of getting the decision of the court of chancery as to the
further disposition of the property. On reference to the will it will
appear that it is not very clearly denned to whom, on behalf of the
United States, the property should be paid or transferred; indeed,
there is so much doubt that we apprehend that the attorney -general
must, on behalf of the Crown of England, be joined in the proceed-
ings which it is requisite that the United Stages should institute.
We act in this matter for Messrs. Drummond, the bankers, who are
mere stakeholders, and who are ready to do all in their power to
facilitate getting the decision of the court and carrying into effect the
testator's intentions.
We shall therefore be happy to communicate with such professional
advisers as your Government may think fit to appoint to act for them
in this country. In the meantime we may perhaps be permitted to
add that it is perfectly competent for us to carry on the proceedings
on behalf of the United States, and possibly some expense and delay
may be avoided by our so doing.
Having thus briefly stated the nature of the business, we at present
abstain from making any suggestions as to the party in whose name
7
8 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
proceedings should be adopted, considering the point should be deter-
mined by our counsel here, after the opinion of the proper law officers
in the States has been taken on the subject.
Any further information you may require we shall be happy to give
you, and are, sir, your most obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
A. VAIL, Esq., 4$ York Terrace.
A. Vail to John Forsyth.
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, July 8, 1835.
SIR: The papers which I have the honor herewith to communicate
to you will acquaint 3 T ou with the particulars of a bequest of property
to a large amount left to the United States by a Mr. James Smithson,
for the purpose, as stated in the will, of founding at Washington an
institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
* * * The letter of Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate, the
solicitors, by whom I was apprised of the existence of the will, together
with the inquiries I have made, leave no doubt of its having been
established and its dispositions recognized by the court of chancery,
the first legatee under it having for several years and to the time of
his death received the income of the property, which is stated to have
amounted to upward of 4,000 per annum.
According to the view taken of the case by the solicitors, it is now
for the United States, in the event of their accepting the bequest and
the trust coupled with if, to come forward by their representative and
make themselves parties to an amicable suit before the lord chancel-
lor for the purpose of legally establishing the fact of the demise of
the first legatee without children and intestate, prove their claim to
the benefit of the will, and obtain a decree in chancery awarding them
the proceeds of the estate. Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate
are willing to undertake the management of the suit on the part of the
United States and, from what I have learned of their standing, may
safely be confided in. Not being acquainted with the exact structure
of our institutions, they are not able to point out the exact manner in
which the United States should be represented in the contemplated
suit, but they believe that their diplomatic agent here, if constituted
for that purpose the legal representative of the President, would be
recognized by the court of chancery as the proper organ of the United
States for all the purposes of the will.
Should it be thought unnecessary to await the action of Congress to
authorize the institution of the requisite legal proceedings, and should
the course suggested by the solicitors meet the views of the President,
his power of attorney authorizing the diplomatic agent here to act in
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 9
his name will, I apprehend, be necessary; and as the suit will involve
some expense not connected with the contingent fund of the legation,
your instructions upon this branch of the subject will likewise be
desirable.
1 am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
A. VAIL.
JOHN FORSYTH, Esq.,
Secretary of State of the United States, Washington.
John Forsyth to Aaron Vail.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 26, 1835.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch
of July 28 last (No. 197), relative to a bequest of property to a large
amount left to the United States by Mr. James Smithson for the
purpose of founding at Washington an institution "for the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men," and to inform you that your
letter and the papers which accompanied it have been submitted to
the President, who has determined to lay the subject before Congress
at its next session. The result of its deliberations, when obtained,
shall be communicated to you, with the necessary instructions.
Of the course intended to be pursued in relation to this matter, as
above explained, you will take occasion to acquaint the solicitors who
apprised you of the existence of Mr. Smithson's will.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
AARON VAIL, Esq.,
Charge d 1 Affaires of the United States, London.
John Forsyth to RicJiard Rush.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, July 11, 1836.
SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the President, in pur-
suance of an act of Congress passed at their recent session, has been
pleased to appoint you the agent of the United States to assert and
prosecute their claim to the legacy bequeathed to them by James
Smithson, late of London, deceased. Your power of attorney or
commission is herewith remitted, with an authenticated copy of the
act referred to annexed to it. It is the wish of the President that
you should, in the event of your acceptance of this trust, embark for
London without unnecessary loss of time, to enter on the duties of
the appointment. Previously to leaving the United States, however,
it will be necessary, in compliance with the provisions of the accom-
10 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
panying act of Congress, to execute to and deposit with the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, with good and sufficient securities to his
satisfaction, a bond or bonds, in the penal sum of $500,000, for the
proper performance of those duties and for the faithful remittance to
the Treasury of the United States of such sum or sums of money or
other funds as you may receive in virtue of said bequest.
The compensation to be allowed you for your services in this capac-
ity will be at the rate of $3,000 per annum for your personal services
and at the rate of $2,000 for all contingencies except the law expenses,
compensation to begin from the day you report yourself ready to
enter on the duties of the office. An account of the law expenses,
with vouchers, will be required.
A letter of credit on M, de Rothschild, the banker of the United
States at London, authorizing him to pay your drafts for compensa-
tion and for the necessary expenses actually incurred in the prosecution
of this claim, is also inclosed, limited to $10,000, being the whole
amount appropriated by Congress for that object.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq., etc.
Richard Rush to Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgcute,
PORTLAND HOTEL, GREAT PORTLAND STREET,
LONDON, September 14, 1836.
GENTLEMEN: Referring to your correspondence with the charge
d'affaires of the United States in Juty, 1835, on the Smithsonian bequest
to the United States, 1 beg leave to inform you that I have arrived here
with full power from the President, founded on an act of Congress, to
assert the right of the United States to that bequest and receive the
money. I should be happy to have an interview with you on this sub-
ject, to which end I ask the favor of you to call upon me on Friday
morning at 11 o'clock, or, should that be inconvenient to you, at such
other time, near at hand, as you will have the goodness to name.
I remain your most obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Messrs. CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE,
Solicitors, Craven Street, Strand.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, September %4, 1836.
SIR: I had the honor to inform you on the 31st of August of my
arrival at Liverpool, having embarked in the first ship that sailed
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 11
from New York after my letter of the 1st of August informing you
that I was ready.
I reached this city the early part of the present month, and as soon
.as circumstances would permit entered upon the duty which the
President's power of attorney devolves upon me.
Towards asserting and prosecuting with effect before the legal
tribunals of England the claim of the United States to the legac} 7
bequeathed to them by James Smithson, of London, to found at
Washington an institution " for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men," the first consideration which seemed to present
itself was the selection of fit legal characters here, through whose aid
and instrumentality the incipient steps could alone be judiciously
marked out or adopted. In a country where the profession of the law
is known to be so subdivided as in this, I regarded it important that
not only the counsel whose services it may ultimately become neces-
sary to engage, but the solicitors to be approached in the first instance,
should have a standing suited to the nature of the case and the dignity
of the constituent 1 represent. The letter addressed you in July, 1835,
by the late charge d'affaires of the United States at this court, left
little doubt, indeed, that Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate were
proper solicitors; yet, as the President's power to me and your
instructions appeared to place the whole subject anew in my hands,
some previous inquiry into their standing seemed necessary on my
part. This I set on foot, and am glad to say that it ended to my sat-
isfaction, the more as their connection with the case in its origin
naturally pointed to their selection, other grounds continuing to
justify it.
Accordingly, on the 14th instant, I addressed a note to these solici-
tors informing them that 1 had arrived in this country with full power
from the President, founded upon an act of Congress, to assert the
right of the United States to the Smithsonian bequest and receive
the money, and requesting that they would call upon me on the
16th. A copy of my note is inclosed. This is a season of the
year when professional and official business of every kind is much
at a pause in London, and those who conduct it dispersed. It was
not until the 20th that I was enabled to command an interview with
these gentlemen, when two of them, Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate,
waited upon me, the latter having previously called, after receiv-
ing my note, to mention the absence of his associates from town.
With these two I had the preliminary conversation suited to a first
interview. They chiefly went over the grounds stated in their note
of the 21st of July to our charge d'affaires, Mr. Vail, in some points
enlarging them and giving new particulars. They said that James
Smithson, the testator, died in June. 1829: that his will was proved in
the prerogative court of Canterbury by Mr. Charles Drummond, one
12 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
of the executors and one of the banking house of that name in Lon-
don; that Henry James Hungerford, the testator's nephew, to whom
was bequeathed the whole of his property for life, subject to a small
annuity to another person, brought an amicable suit in chancery against-
Messrs. Drunimond, the executors, for the purpose of having the tes-
tator's assets administered under the direction of the lord chancellor,
in the course of which suit the usual orders and decrees were made,
and by its issue assets ascertained and realized to the value of about
one hundred thousand pounds sterling; that Mr. Hungerford, who
resided out of England, received, up to the time of his death, the div-
idends arising from the property, which consisted of stock in the pub-
lic funds, and that he died at Pisa, on the 5th of June, 1835, of full
age, though still young, without having been married, and, as far as
is yet known, without illegitimate child or children; that the assets of
the estate are now invested in the name of the accountant general
of the court of chancery, subject to the further disposition of the
court; that the will of Mr. Smithson having made the United States
the final legatee on Mr. Hungerford's death without child or children,
legitimate or illegitimate, the facts seem to have happened under
which their right will attach; but the solicitors continue to think that
a suit or legal proceedings of some nature, to which the United States
must be a party, will have to be instituted in the court of chancery in
order to make valid their right and enable them to get possession of
the fund, now in the hands of the court and subject to its judgment.
The foregoing formed the main purport of their communication.
They added that the mother of Henry James Hungerford, who is still
living and married to a Frenchman of the name of De la Batut, has
put in a claim to a part of the property; but as the claim is small, and
not likely to come to much, the mother of Mr. Hungerford not having
been married to his father, it is scarcely necessary at this time to detail
the circumstances.
I asked at what time from the present the earliest sitting of the
court of chancery would be held. They replied in November. It will
be my object to get the fund for the United States without a lawsuit
in chancery of any kind, if this be practicable; and toward an end so
desirable my further reflections and measures will, for a while, be
directed, taking care that I do not lose the advantage of all proper
applications at the first term of the court for whatever form of suit
or other legal proceedings may be found indispensable.
I have nothing further of any importance to communicate at this
juncture. I delivered to the minister of the United States, Mr. Steven-
son, the letter from the Acting Secretary of State of July 27, request-
ing his good offices in behalf of the public object with which I am
charged, should they be needed: and I can not close this letter with-
out adding that I have already received cooperation from him that has
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 13
been useful, and which gives earnest of the zealous interposition of
his further aid, should it be required.
1 have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
THE CASE STATED BY MR. RUSH.
The testator died at Genoa on the 27th day of June, 1829, and on
the 4th of November in that year the will was proved in the prerog-
ative court of Canterbury by Mr. Charles Drummond, one of the
banking house of that firm, mentioned in the will.
Soon after his death, an amicable suit was instituted in the court of
chancery by Henry James Hungerford, his nephew, against Mr.
Charles Drummond, as executor, for the purpose of having his assets
administered under the direction of that court. The usual orders and
decrees were made in the suit, and assets realized to the amount of
about one hundred thousand pounds sterling in value, which are now
invested in the public funds, and are standing in the name of the
accountant-general of the court of chancery, to the credit of the
cause of Hungerford v. Drummond, and applicable to the trusts of
the will.
Mr. Hungerford, who resided out of England, received the income
arising from the testator's property up to the time of his death. This
took place on the 5th of June, 1835, at Pisa.
He was never married, and died without leaving any illegitimate
children or child.
The events have therefore happened, by which the right of the
United States of America is considered to have attached, as the
residuary or final legatee under this will.
In July 1835, their charge d'affaires at this court imparted official
information to the Secretary of State, at Washington, of the preced-
ing facts, who laid them before the President, with a copy of the will
and other papers that were transmitted.
The President not having authority under his general executive
powers to take any steps for accepting the trust or obtaining the fund,
communicated the papers to Congress on the 17th of December of that
year, with a view to such measures as that body might deem necessary.
Congress, acting on the ground that the bequest to the United
States was valid, and that it would not be incompatible with their
dignity to accept the fund as trustees, for an institution to be founded
ut Washington, for a purpose so broad and benevolent, passed, on the
14 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
1st of July last, an act authorizing the President to appoint an agent
to assert and prosecute their right to the bequest, in such form, and
before such tribunal or tribunals in England, as might be proper; and
to receive and grant full acquittances for all such moneys or other
funds as might be adjudged to them on account of it.
In pursuance of the authority given by this act, the President has
appointed a citizen of the United States, in the person of the under-
signed, to perform on their behalf the duty which it enjoins; and he is
here, their representative and attorney in the matter set forth.
His full power from the President, and a copy, under seal of the
Department of State, of the law on which it is founded, are ready to
be filed in the court of chancery, or otherwise made known to the
lord chancellor, at whatever time and in whatever manner may be
thought proper.
The United States having acceded to the bequest, the first duty of
the undersigned is to obtain, for his high constituent, possession of
the fund without any delay that can be avoided.
His questions for the opinion of counsel in England are:
First. Can possession of it be obtained without a suit?
Second. If not, what is the form of suit or other legal proceeding
which, by the laws of England, will give promise of putting the
United States in possession of the fund in the most effectual and
prompt manner?
RICHARD RUSH.
LONDON, October 1, 1836.
OPINION OF COUNSEL.
First. We are of opinion that the possession of the fund can not be
obtained without a suit.
Second. We think that the best course will be that a bill in the
nature of a supplemental bill should be filed in the name of the Presi-
dent of toe United States of America, against the executors of Mr.
Sm.ith.son, praying that the United States may be entitled to the fund
upon trust for the purposes expressed in the will; and that upon
obtaining a decree to that effect a petition should be presented, in the
name of the President and Mr. Rush, praying that the fund may be
transferred to the latter, as the agent of the United States, appointed
under the act of Congress.
As we understand that the testator, Smithson, was illegitimate, we
think that it will be advisable to make the Attorney-General a party
to the suit in order that he may represent before the court any claim
which the Crown may have, either by reason of the question of the
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 15
validity of the limitation to the United States, after a limitation to
illegitimate children, or by reason of any part of the property con-
sisting- of interests in land.
THOMAS PEMBERTON.
EDWARD JACOB.
LINCOLN'S INN, November 2, 1836.
Richard Hush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, November 5, 1836.
I am following up the Smithsonian business, as you will take for
granted. This week I had an interview with the counsel; but nothing
has transpired calling for an official letter to you since the one I wrote
on the 24th of September.
RICHARD RUSH.
John Forsyth to Richard Rush.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, Novembet* 1
SIR: You will receive inclosed the copy of an account presented to
Daniel Brent, esq., consul of the United States at Paris, by M. Cas-
taignet, a French attorney, of certain fees charged by him for services
rendered in relation to the effects of Mr. James Henry Dickinson,
deceased, alias de la Batut, alias Hungerf ord, nephew of the late James
Smithson, of London. Copies of Mr. Brent's letters of 23d October,
1835, and 14th August, 1836, explanatory of the subject, are also sent.
As the whole amount of the fund appropriated by the act of Congress
of 1st July, 1830, for defraying the expenses incident to the prosecu-
tion of the claim of the United States to the Smithsonian bequest are
in your hands, and as the bill, if correct, is properly chargeable to
that fund, I have the honor to request that you will examine this
account; and if you shall deem it just, and the amount reasonable,
transmit to Mr. Brent the sum necessary to discharge the claim.
It may be proper also to allow to Mr. Delagrange, the attorney
consulted in this case by Mr. Brent, a fee for his advice. You will
perceive, however, that, before such an allowance can be made, it will
be requisite to obtain -from the latter precise information as to the
amount of the charge.
1 am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq., London.
16 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Richard Rush to John Forxyth.
LONDON, November %%, 1836.
SIR: After my letter to you of the 24th of September, desirous as I
felt of falling upon some mode by which the United States might get
possession of the Smithsonian bequest, without the delays and diffi-
culties apt to attend upon suits in chancery, prosecuted in the ordinary
form, I found myself unable to do so. At one time it occurred to me,
considering the peculiar nature and national aspect of the case, that
perhaps an indirect appeal to the British Government, through the
channel of our minister, might be justified; not, indeed, that an influ-
ence was to be brought to bear upon the judicial tribunals in any
objectionable sense, but simply with, a view to obtain some expression
or intimation of its favorable dispositions towards the trust I bear from
the President, as far as the laws of England might be in unison with
it. But obstacles presented themselves to the actual pursuit of such a
course, although I knew how ready Mr. Stevenson would have been to
second it as far as in his power, that led me to turn from it, at least as
an" incipient step; without, however, losing sight of it, if it may seem
practicable and advisable at any subsequent stage of the proceedings.
That course no longer looked to, it appeared to me that the first step,
on my part, had better be to draw up a statement of the case for the
opinion of counsel, submitting to them, as one of the questions,
whether possession of the fund might not be obtained without a suit.
The solicitors, I was aware, had said that it could not; but, on a pre-
liminary point so important, I did not think that it would be proper to
rest on them alone, but take the opinion of eminent counsel. On the
1st of October, I accordingly drew up a statement of the case, setting
out a copy of the whole will, as obtained for my use from the-registry
of the prerogative court of Canterbury, adding the facts necessary to
show what was believed to be the present right of the United States to
the legacy, and my authority to receive it on their behalf. A copy of
the statement is inclosed marked "A."
The next step was to select the counsel. Here little deliberation was
requisite, it being only necessary to ascertain the most eminent. I
thought it would be advisable to consult two. I found it pretty gen-
erally agreed that Mr. Pemberton was at the head of the chancery bar,
and therefore designated him as one. Mr. Jacob being in the first class
of eminence, next to Mr. Pemberton, and of high reputation for learn-
ing in the profession, I took him as the other. Although using all the
means I could to get their opinion, after drawing up the case, it was
not until the 8th of this month that I succeeded; which was owing to
the absence of Mr. Pemberton from town nearly the whole of October.
I had an interview with them before their opinion was given, and set
before them all the lights I was able to afford on the nature of the case,
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 17
and wishes of the President for its early decision. Their opinion is
subjoined to the statement inclosed.
It will be seen that they regard a suit as indispensable.
Next, as to the mode of proceeding. It appears that they think a
bill should be filed, in the name of the President, against the testator's
executors, praying that the United States may be declared entitled to
the fund, and that, on obtaining a decree to that effect, a petition
should be presented for the actual payment of the money. They add
that it would be advisable to make the Attorney-General a party to
the proceedings, in case the Crown should have any claim under the
will, b\ T reason of "the limitation to the United States, after a limita-
tion to illegitimate children," or in case any part of the property
should consist of interest in land. The opinion is dated on the
2d instant, but I did not receive it until the 8th, as mentioned.
Although I drew up the case, the usages of the profession here
required that it should pass to the counsel, through the hands of the
solicitors, to which I made no objections; the less, as the latter claim,
under all common circumstances, to state the case themselves, as well
as hold interviews with the counsel, instead of the party holding
them. The same usages and subdivisions require that a junior coun-
sel of the chancery bar should * * * draw the bill suggested by
the senior counsel, to which I have, in like manner, consented; and
Mr. Shadwell, a son of the vice-chancellor, has been designated for
that duty, under assurances I have had that he will perform it satis-
factorily, and with an understanding, moreover, that the bill is to
have the revision and sanction of the senior counsel before it is filed.
The whole course of proceeding may now therefore be considered as
in regular train, and shall be followed up with all the dispatch and
care which my superintendence can impart to it.
Should the intervals between my letters be longer than might at
first seem compatible with my desire and duty to keep you informed
of what is going on, I hope it will not be inferred that there are relax-
ations in either; since it is very likely to happen, as has been the case
since the date of my last letter, that whilst I am doing all in my power
to expedite arrangements and results, nothing may transpire to lay a
basis for written communications in any degree definite or satisfactory.
Legal proceedings, in general, imply these intervals of apparent inac-
tion, and a suit in chancery in England is not likely to form the excep-
tion. When occasions of writing to you may arise, the duty shall
never be omitted.
This letter would have been written immediately after I received
the opinion, but that I wished some explanations, as it was not argu-
mentative, a form which counsel here do not give to opinions. It
being recommended that the bill should be in the name of the Presi-
dent, I deemed it right to mention that there was a possibility in law
H. Doc. 732 2
18 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
of a temporary vacuum occurring in the Executive power under our
Constitution, in order that they might judge how far that considera-
tion would affect the name or style to be used in bringing the suit.
As they further advise that the Attorney-General be made a party, I
wished to ascertain, as far as I might, what weight they attached to
the point that seemed the main inducement to that course, as well as
the reason for suggesting it in advance. I doubted not their good
reason for such a course, but thought it desirable to learn it from
themselves, that I might impart it from that source for the President's
information.
They have informed me that the legal possibility to which I drew
their attention under our Constitution does not alter their opinion as
to the name proper to be used in bringing the suit, and they do not
think it would answer to bring it in the name of the United States
alone, whatever the provisions of our Constitution under this head.
I, of course, put before them the act of Congress of the 1st of July,
1836, which authorizes the suit. As to the point of law, whether a
bequest can be sustained after a limitation to illegitimate children,
they replied that they do not at present attach any decisive, perhaps
any great weight to it, but think it one that may be made; and as to
its suggestion in advance, they suppose that the United States would
not desire to take the bequest through any oversight in the court or
Attorney-General, admitting either to be possible in a case of this pub-
licity, but only if the laws of England would warrant in all respects
an adjudication in their favor a sentiment in which I naturally and
fully concurred.
I was not able to command an interview with the counsel for the sake
of these explanations until yesterday, owing to their constant engage-
ments, although I sought it repeatedly since the 8th of the month, by
personal calls as well as notes desiring to have a time fixed.
If there have been these delays that 1 have been unable to prevent, I
am glad to add that no time has been lost in reference to the Novem-
ber term of the court, the first that has been held since I came here.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forxyth.
LONDON, December W, 1836.
SIR: I was yesterday honored with your letter of the 17th of No-
vember, inclosing the account forwarded to the Department by the
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 19
consul of the United States at Paris, of M. Castaignet, a French attorney,
for certain fees charged by him for services rendered in relation to
the effects of Mr. James Henry Dickinson, deceased, alias de la Batut,
alias Hungerford, nephew of the late James Smithson, of London, and
requesting that I will examine it with a view to its payment out of the
Smithsonian fund in my hands, if deemed just, and the amount reason-
able; and mentioning also that it may be proper to allow Mr. Dela-
grange, the attorney consulted by Mr. Brent, a fee, after obtaining
from the latter precise information as to the amount of the charge.
Copies of Mr. Brent's explanatory letters of the 23d of October, 1835,
and 14th of August, 1836, also came inclosed in your letter, and I beg
leave to say that the whole subject shall have from me full attention.
The Smithsonian case continues in proper train here with every
advantage 1 have found myself yet able to give it, according to the
statement and explanations transmitted with my No. 4; but it has not
yet come to its first hearing before the court of chancery.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rmh to John Forsyth.
LONDON, January 9, 1837.
I have already had the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 17th November, inclosing the account of Mr. Castaignet,
the French attorney, for certain services in relation to the effects of
Hemy James Dickinson, deceased, alias de la Batut, alias Hungerford.
I have given to this subject the proper attention, and, for the better
understanding of it, now beg leave to state:
That Henry James Hungerford was the natural son of Henry Louis
Dickinson, deceased, brother of Mr. Smithson, by a Mrs. Coates. . The
latter is still living and married to a Frenchman named de la Batut.
Hungerford lived with her and took her name, whilst bearing which
he died, having also passed under that of Dickinson. It is understood
that, as long as he lived, he made her an ample allowance; but his
death put an end to it, and, as far as the will of Mr. Smithson is con-
cerned (the will which creates a right in the United States), she can claim
nothing. This I understand to be agreed by counsel on all hands here.
Her claim, if she has any, is under the will of Henry Louis Dickin-
son, made at Paris July, 1819, by which he left all his property to his
brother, Smithson, in trust for his (Dickinson's) son Hungerford, alias
Dickinson, alias la Batut. Half the income of it, however, was to go
to this Mrs. Coates, alias Madame la Batut, during her life.
20 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
But whether the property which Dickinson thus left, and which is
supposed to be the fund which Mr. Brent naturally desired, through
the instrumentality of the French attorneys, to secure for the United
States in Paris, now constitutes any part of the Smithsonian fund in
the English court of chancery and awaiting its decision, or whether
the former fund has not all been dissipated, and if so, how much of it
got into the hands of Madame la Batut, and has already, principal as
well as income, been applied to her use and benefit, are, I understand,
points still unsettled.
I made a first mention of this la Batut claim in my No. 4 in Septem-
ber. Under the facts presented by this further explanation it does
not clearly seem that the account of the French attorney, M. Castaig-
net, or the fee to M. Delagrange can, for the present, be a charge upon
the Smithsonian fund in my hands. Perhaps it may be a question how
far the act of Congress of the 1st of July, 1836, creating and appro-
priating that fund, will sustain any charge upon it other than for
expenses in prosecuting the right of the United States to the Smith-
sonian bequest before the tribunals here in England, where alone, by
what I now communicate, it may turn out that the entire fund
bequeathed by Mr. Smithson exists. In weighing all the circum-
stances, I have come to the conclusion, at all events, not to pay the
above account or fee until the issue of the proceedings in chancery on
the whole case here is known; unless, .after this communication, I
should receive your instructions to the contrary. We must hope that
the bequest of Mr. Smithson will ultimately be adjudged to the United
States; but there is a complication of illegitimacy in the matter, and
we dare not with confidence affirm that the decision will be favorable
prior to its taking place.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant, -
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Ruxh to John Forsyth.
LONDON, F&ruary 2, 1837.
SIR: The Smithsonian case was brought to a first hearing in the
court of chancery yesterday, and it is satisfactory to me to be able to
say that results, so far, are favorable to the establishment of the claim
of the United States.
The hearing was before Lord Langdale, master of the rolls; this
court and the court of the vice-chancellor being the two branches of
the English chancery system, before which suitw are brought in the
first instance.
The bill was in the name of the President of the United States of
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 21
America against Drummond, as recommended by counsel, in their
opinion transmitted with my letter No. 4, of the 22d of November.
The case was fully opened, on behalf of the United States, by Mr.
Pemberton.
The attorney -general was not personally present in court; but Mr.
Wray, a member of the bar and King's counsel, acted as his represent-
ative on the occasion. I am glad to state that he abandoned, in effect,
all opposition on the part of the Crown. No question, therefore, will
be raised as to whether a bequest can be sustained after a limitation to
illegitimate children; or any other obstacle interposed under the doc-
trine of escheats, or any other, by the legal representatives of the
Crown. These officers, I am given to understand, have had the whole
case under consideration, and will do nothing more than exercise that
general superintendence which the Crown, through its law officers, is
bound to exercise where questions may arise connected with public
charities, the rules respecting which are considered applicable to this
case.
The court, after the hearing, decreed that the case be referred to
one of the masters in chancery, the proper officer for the duty, to
make the requisite inquiries as to the facts on the happening of which
the United States becomes entitled to the fund bequeathed by Mr.
Smithson. The claim of Madame la Batut having been brought before
the court by counsel representing it, his lordship also decreed that the
validity of that claim be inquired into, with a view to ascertain if it be
a proper charge upon the fund.
The inquiries will be proceeded with in the usual and regular man-
ner, and with all the expedition that my superintendence can impart
to them. When brought to a close, the cause will come on for the
further order and decree of the court.
Having heretofore mentioned, and in my last letter explained
more particularly, the claim of Madame la Batut, I need say no more
about it at present. It extends only td an annuity of about 100, pay-
able during her life; so that, even if sustained, it will form, in the
end, no material deduction from the fund. But I have of course
directed that it be properly scrutinized, in order that nothing be taken
from the United States to which they are rightfully entitled.
Counsel also appeared for Messrs. Drummond, and made a little
show of opposition; but as their clients are, in fact, nothing more than
stakeholders, they will offer, in the further progress of the case, as I
have reason to believe, no serious opposition. They said on this occa-
sion that the bill, in giving title to the suit, ought to have named Gen-
eral Jackson as President; on which Mr. Pemberton remarked that
in that case it must have been amended on the 4th of March, by sub-
stituting the name of Mr. Van Buren. On the other hand, the King's
representative, Mr. Wray, expressed his concurrence with Mr. Pem-
berton, that the title of the suit was good as it stood.
22 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Our professional advisers thought that the President ought to be
named, as in the title, with a view to a technical responsibility on the
record for costs, although no such question of fact would arise in this
case, and because he was otherwise the organ of intercourse and busi-
ness between the United States and foreign nations. I told them
that his name was not thus introduced in suits in the United States;
.but they had before them the act of Congress of July 1, 1836, direct-
ing that this suit might be brought in the name of the United States,
"or otherwise, as may be advisable," and formed their opinion accord-
ingly.
The master of the rolls, not having then seen the act of Congress,
intimated his impression to be that the suit should follow in this respect
the forms in the United States, adding that he considered this part
of the case as nothing but matter of form, and would give leave to
amend forthwith, if necessary; so that the point is of no consequence.
I think I am justified in saying, from all that is known at present,
that the case is in a safe train in all respects, with every promise of a
successful issue. Reports of what took place in court have appeared
in the newspapers here, but are not to be relied upon, as I am enabled
to say, my duty having made it proper that I should myself be present
in court all the while.
In my letter of the 22d of November it is intimated that I might,
perhaps, at a subsequent stage of the case, have deemed some appeal
to this Government advisable in relation to it. The contingency I had
in view was that of the attorney -general interposing a claim for the
Crown, under the law of escheats. In that event I had contemplated
drawing up a counter representation on behalf of the United States,
founded on the public objects of Mr. Smithson's will, to be brought to
the notice of this Government, through the channel of our minister.
All necessity for acting upon this intention is now at an end, by the
course which the law officers of the Crown have pursued; and I can
discern no other ground for an application to this Government. Nor,
I am happy to add, does any such application appear at present to be
needed, either for the purpose of justice or expedition.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Ricliard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, February 10, 1837.
SIR: After what I communicated in my last letter, it is proper for
me to state that the court finally determined, before the minutes of its
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 23
proceedings on the 1st instant were made up, that the title of the suit,
as originally advised by our counsel, was the proper title, viz: ' k The
President of the United States of America versus Drummond." It
therefore stands so without alteration.
It will have been observed from my last that the court had not seen
the act of Congress in the proceedings of record up to the 1st instant.
The reason it did not then appear on the face of the bill will be found
in the nature of the counsel's opinion. I put a copy of the act into
their hands, as a necessary accompaniment to my statement of the case
drawn up for their consideration. On referring to their opinion,
transmitted with my No. 4, it will be seen that they recommend that
a bill be first filed, praying that the United States might " be declared
entitled to the fund, upon trust, for the purposes expressed in the
will; " and, next, that when a decree to that effect was obtained, a
petition should be presented, in the name of the President and the
agent, praying that the fund be transferred to the latter, as authorized
by the President under the act of Congress to receive it. The counsel
thought that the proper time for setting forth the act would have
arrived when the petition was presented, and not before; but the court,
under its first impression, inclining to think it ought to be added to
the bill, gave leave to make the addition forthwith, and it was done
accordingly. The case therefore now stands, on all points, as could
be desired, without any delay having intervened through matters of
form. Our professional advisers are disposed to regard this with
satisfaction, considering the case as one of the first impression here,
the United States having never before appeared as suitor in an English
court.
Having selected counsel of distinguished character and abilities in
the court of chancery to conduct the proceedings on the part of the
United States, I feel that it is not my province to guide but to follow
their opinions in matters of English law and practice. Yet I feel it a
duty to understand theirs, and offer mine to their consideration when-
ever there may seem any likelihood of its being serviceable to the
claim of the United States, and will frankly own that I saw no objec-
tion to their withholding the act of Congress from the record until
actual payment of the fund was asked of the court, who have the pres-
ent custody of it. The United States, it is true, had never before sued
in an English court. But there were precedents of other nations hav-
ing done so by their executive head, as, for example, the King of
France, the King of Denmark, and, I believe, other sovereign and inde-
pendent States. It was not understood that any legislative act of those
countries had been considered necessary, and was therefore inferred
that the United States might in like manner enter the courts here, as
of common usage, to establish the validity of a testamentary bequest
made to them by a subject of Britain. The act of Congress may have
24 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
been necessary, quoad the United States themselves. The bequest, it
may be, could not have been accepted otherwise, or a suit been brought
on their behalf; but no act of Congress was required for such ends
before an English court. The will itself, showing a prima facie right
in the United States, was enough to open an English court to their
suit, and perhaps their dignity would best be consulted by not exhib-
iting the special act until indispensably necessary. The validity of
the bequest being established on general grounds by a decree of the
court, then, before payment could have been made to anyone demand-
ing possession of the fund for the United States, adequate authority
from the proper source there must be shown; and at this epoch the
act must have been filed, as well as the agent's power. This was the
reasoning of our counsel, as I understood it. It appeared to me good,
as did their reasons for bringing the suit by its present title. How
far the master of the rolls might have dispensed with the filing of the
act of Congress until the time indicated by our counsel as that alone
when it was necessary, had the latter pressed the point to an argument,
is not for me to say. They yielded to his lordship's first impression,
and filed it at once, as it caused no delay, and must have been done
under their own intentions at a future day, if a favorable decree be
obtained on the main question, now so reasonably to be anticipated.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Ricfuird Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, March 25, 1837.
SIR: In mj 7 No. 7 1 had the honor to inform you that the court, after
the hearing on the 1st of February, decreed that the case be referred
to a master in chancery, to make the requisite inquiries as to the facts,
on the happening of which the United States became entitled to the
fund bequeathed by Mr. Smithson.
The facts specially directed to be inquired into, and which must be
judicially and technically settled, are, first, whether Henry James
Hungerford, named in the pleadings, be living or dead; second, if
dead, when he died; third, whether he was married or unmarried at
the time of his death; fourth, if married, whether he left any and what
children and child, and the age or ages of them, if any. It is further
to be ascertained whether John Fitall, mentioned in the pleadings, be
living or dead, and, if dead, when he died; and the said master is finally
to inquire whether Madame de la Batut has any claim on the testator's
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. . 25
estate, and to make report on all the several matters so referred to
him.
These inquiries are now all duly and regularly in progress. Adver-
tisements, of which I annex copies, designed as one means of obtaining
information under the four heads first specified, and the last, have been
inserted in three of the London newspapers of the present month, viz:
The Times, Morning Herald, and Standard. Copies of them, trans-
lated into French and Italian, have also been inserted in newspapers
at Paris and Port Louis, in France; the latter being the place where
Madame de la Batut resides; and at Leghorn, in Italy, it being under-
stood that there is no newspaper published at Pisa, where it is believed
Hungerford died.
It was by my direction that the advertisements have been framed
with all the brevity compatible with the essential object of the court's
decree. I have caused to be carefully kept from them any mention of
the amount of property bequeathed, and everything else respecting
the nature of Mr. Smithson's will. This course seems best adapted to
guard against the risk of raising up spurious claimants or combina-
tions in France, Italy, or this country to battle with the right of the
United States, whereby, although their ultimate recovery of the fund
might not be prevented, great delays might be interposed.
Whether John Fitall be living or dead, the remaining branch of
inquiry, is a fact to be ascertained without difliculty here in London.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient ser-
vant.
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
(1)
Whereas by a Decree of the High Court of Chancery in England, made in a cause
wherein the President of the United States of America is plaintiff and Charles Drum-
mond and His Majesty's Attorney-General are defendants, it is amongst other
things referred to Nassau William Senior, Esq.,- one of the Masters of the said Court,
to inquire and state to the Court whether Henry James Hungerford (who formerly
resided at Paris, in the Kingdom of France, and is alleged to have died at Pisa, in the
kingdom of Naples, in the month of June, 1835) , is living or dead, and if dead when
he died, and whether he was married or unmarried at the time of his decease, and
if married whether he left any and what children or child him surviving, and the
ages of such children, if more than one: therefore, any person who can give informa-
tion touching the said Henry James Hungerford is requested, on or before the 1st
day of June next, to furnish the same to Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore, and Fladgate, 43
Craven street, Strand, London.
26 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
(2)
Whereas, by a Decree of the High Court of Chancery in England, made in a cer-
tain cause wherein the President of the United States of America is plaintiff and
Charles Drnmmond and His Majesty's Attorney-General are defendants, it is amongst
other things referred to Nassau William Senior, esq., one of the Masters of the said
Court, to inquire and state to the Court whether Madame de la BATUT, who lately
resided at Port Louis, in the kingdom of France, has any CLAIM on the ESTATE of
JAMES SMITHSON (who died at Genoa, in the kingdom of Naples, in the year 1829),
the testator in the pleadings of the said cause named: therefore, the said Madame de
la Batut is, on or before the 1st day of May next, to come in before the said Master,
at his chambers in Southampton buildings, Chancery lane, London, and make out
her claim on the estate of the said testator, James Smithson; or, in default thereof,
she will be excluded the benefit of the said decree.
RicJiard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, April, 88, 1837.
SIR: In inclosing a duplicate of my last letter (sent with the origi-
nal of this), I have to supply an omission in not stating that the
advertisements were inserted in the London Gazette, in addition to
the other London newspapers mentioned. It is the more necessary I
should state this, as when the bills for legal disbursements are all
finally rendered it will be seen that the item for advertising in this
country forms no inconsiderable one. It was my wish to avoid these
advertisements altogether, not simply on account of expense, which
would have been a good reason of itself, but for the more important
one hinted in my last, viz, their possible tendency to raise up ficti-
tious claimants; but my wish could not prevail against the express
order of the court of chancery under which they were inserted.
In regard to the legal expenses, generally, of this agency, I will
take this occasion of barely remarking, that whilst I have kept a con-
stant watch over them all, endeavoring to confine them within limits
as moderate as possible, they are proverbially heavy in English chan-
cery proceedings. It seems that something is to be paid for every
step taken, every line written, and almost every word spoken by
counsel, senior and junior, solicitors, clerks, and everybody connected
with the courts, and officers attached to them, under the extremely
artificial and complicated judiciary systems that exist here.
Perhaps I ought also to have mentioned in my last that there is no
doubt whatever of the fact of John FitalPs death. It only remains for
the court to know it through regular evidence, easily attainable, as
before remarked, in London, where he died.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 27
Daniel Brent to Richard Rush.
UNITED STATES CONSULATE,
Paris, May 3, 1837.
SIR: On the 7th of August last I made known to the Secretary of
the State the amount of expenses that had been incurred by me in this
city in taking precautionary steps to secure to the United States, as
legatee of James Smithson, of London, the possession of property
then supposed to constitute a portion of his estate, and now have the
honor of transmitting to you, in consequence of a letter recently
received from the Department, receipts for the amount of these
expenses, as follows, viz:
Francs.
Receipts of the M. Castaignet for his services 226. 25
Do. avocat, M. Delagrange for his services 40. 00
My own receipt for postages 6.00
Total -. 372.25
I would feel obliged to you if you would have the goodness to pro-
vide, at as early a day as may suit your convenience, for my reim-
bursement, by furnishing me with a bill on Paris for their amount;
and, in the meantime, I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient,
humble servant,
DANIEL BRENT.
RICHARD RUSH, etc., London.
Richard Rush to Daniel Brent.
LONDON, PORTLAND HOTEL,
Great Portland Street, May 10, 1837.
SIR: I received your letter of the 3d instant transmitting receipts
for sums expended by you in Paris, amounting to 272.25 francs for
precautionary steps taken on your part to secure possession of prop-
erty then supposed to constitute a portion of the property bequeathed
to the United States by Mr. Smithson. You state that you transmit
these receipts to me in consequence of a letter recently received from
the Department of State, and request I will provide for your reim-
bursement by a bill on Paris for the amount.
I received from the Secretary of State in December last copies of
the same account, with a request that I would examine it and if I
deemed it just and the amount reasonable transmit to you the sum
necessary to discharge it, his letter remarking that the account, if cor-
rect, was properly chargeable on the Smithsonian fund in my hands,
created by the act of Congress of July 1, 1836, for defraying expenses
incidental to the prosecution of the claim of the United States to the
bequest of Mr. Smithson.
28 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Iii reply, 1 had the honor to inform the Secretary, by letter dated
the 9th of January, that it was still a point unsettled whether the
property which, with a commendable zeal, you had aimed at securing
for the United States, ndw constituted any part of the Smithsonian
fund in the English court of chancery, awaiting its decision; that noth-
ing had yet been adjudged to the United States; that perhaps it might
be doubtful, under these and other circumstances I stated, all of which
could not have been known when the Secretary's letter to me was writ-
ten, how far the act of July the 1st would sustain the charge in ques-
tion; and that at all events I had come to the conclusion not to pay the
account until the issue of the proceedings in chancery on the whole
case here was known, unless I should receive the Secretary's instruc-
tions to pay it, after what I thus wrote.
I have received none; and unless the letter from the Secretary,
which you have received, were written after the receipt of mine of the
9th of January, and contains an express direction to me to pay, I
should not feel at liberty to do so; the less, as everything remains
undecided here, and a new fact is interposed. Congress at the late
session omitted to make any further appropriation for the full prose-
cution and recovery of the Smithsonian bequest; and it is certain, in
my belief, that the sum allotted by the act of July 1, 1836, will be
exhausted by the unavoidable expenses in London before any new
appropriation can come from the next Congress.
I have the honor to remain, very faithfully, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
DANIEL BRENT, Esq.,
Camul of tJie United States, Parw.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, May 18, 1837.
SIR: I have received a letter from Mr. Brent, consul at Paris, trans-
mitting his account and the receipts for moneys expended by him in
that city, with a view to obtain for the United States some property,
then supposed to be a part of that which was bequeathed by Mr.
Smithson. It is the same account that was forwarded to me with your
instructions of the 17th of November last. To these I had the honor
of replying in my No. 6, in which the nature of the account was
explained and reasons assigned for suspending payment, your instruc-
tions appearing to have left me a discretion over the subject. I trans-
mit a copy of Mr. Brent's letter dated the 3d instant, with a copy of
my answer dated the 10th. My reasons will be seen in the latter for
still withholding payment, Mr. Brent's letter, as I read it, not con-
veying to me your direction to pay. If I have erred in this particu-
lar, 1 shall await your further instructions, and obey them. My letter
SMITHSONIAN BEQUF8T. 29
to Mr. Brent, besides bringing into view the former reasons, mentions
a new one.
Under one of the advertisements transmitted with my No. 9, viz,
the one returnable on the 1st of this month, the husband of Madame
la Batut has come over here from France to make out the claim of
his wife upon the estate of Mr. Smithson. He has written me notes
and called upon me, though as yet I have not seen him. I deem it
unnecessary to transmit to you his representations, as I do not act
upon them in any way, abstaining as well through my own judgment
as that of our professional advisers. To the latter I say, if Monsieur
la Batut has a just claim on the part of his wife it ought to be allowed,
if not, no authority but that of Congress could award him anything
out of the Smithsonian bequest, should it be finally adjudged to the
United States. To this they assent, with the further concurrence
between us that the court must decide upon the claim, for establish-
ing which, if it can be established, he will now have every opportu-
nity before a master in chancery, the officer regularly appointed by
the court for that purpose. The solicitors advise me that he is a
troublesome person, and seems to have unreasonable expectations,
which, however, will be carefully scrutinized and properly controlled.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FOESYTH,
Secretary of State.
Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate, to Richard Rush.
No. 43 CRAVEN STREET, June 9, 1837.
SIR: We think it right to inform you that we have lately had
several interviews with M. de la Batut, who married the mother of
the deceased Henry James Hungerford, and who we thought might
be induced to furnish us with every proof we wanted touching the
deceased. His object was to press upon our consideration the moral
claims which he supposes his wife and her and his children have upon
the United States, in consequence of their succeeding to the fortune,
to the income of which Hungerford was entitled for his life. We
allude to these moral claims to distinguish them from the rights
which Madame de la Batut may have under the will of Colonel Dick-
inson, Hungerford's father, which are the subject of inquiry before
the master. To show, in part, the nature of these moral claims, we
may mention that as the fund is left to the United States to found an
institution for promoting knowledge he considers, notwithstanding
that the institution is to be founded in America, that his and Madame
de la Batut's children in France should have an allowance until the age
of .22 for their education, and he considers that the income derived
30 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
from the fund since the testator's death should be allowed to Madame
de la Batut.
We do not think it necessary to go further into these requisitions,
or into a detail of M. de la Batut's arguments in support of them.
We may, however, advert more particularly to the following point,
which may have some claim to consideration: M. de la Batut urges
that young Hungerford, who lived up to his income, left behind him
nothing to pay debts and funeral expenses; that had Mr. Smithson's
will come into operation now, instead of seven years back, he would,
in consequence of a modern alteration in the law, have been entitled
to a portion of the accruing half year's income up to his death; but
that, as the modern alteration does not apply to the case, he is deprived
even of that, and can not be said to have enjoyed the income of the
property during his whole life; and thus burdens are thrown upon his
relations, which their circumstances do not enable them to bear. We
may here observe that the law on this subject is clear; he was not
entitled to any portion of the half year's income. We answered him
by stating that neither you nor ourselves could give any opinion on
the subject, still less undertake that anything should be done for him
by the United States; and we informed him that if he considered he
had any moral claims, he must himself apply to the proper authorities,
which he stated his intention to do. We further informed him that
we were in search of evidence which was completely within his knowl-
edge; and we offered, if he would furnish us with and depose to the
particulars relating to Hungerford known to him, we would so far
support any application he might make to the proper authorities as to
certify that in our inquiries and proofs we were under material obli-
gations to him; and he at length consented to make the necessary
depositions. These depositions we drew up in proper form, but upon
requesting him to make an appointment to swear to them, he refused
to do so unless he had a pledge from you that you would do all in
your power to support his claims, in addition to the recommendation
of Mr. Drummond to the consideration of the United States. The
recommendation of Mr. Drummond we might have promised him, but
the pledge required from you we knew to be out of the question; and
as in the meantime we have received from Italy documents which we
trust will obviate the necessity of again applying to him for assistance,
we felt no hesitation in at once declining to make terms with an indi-
vidual whose style of conduct would hardly justify any strong recom-
mendation in his favor. He then positively refused to assist us any
further, and has left us in considerable anger; and he has expressed
his determination to make an application to the President through
another channel. It will, we conceive, be entitled to little favor.
We remain, etc.,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLA DO ATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 31
J''ij)uix>r<' cfc Fladgate to Richard Rush.
No. 43 CRAVEN STREET, June 22, 1837.
SIR: Mr. Drummond has written to us to inform you that M. de la
Batut has submitted to him a memorial which, on the part of Madame
de la Batut, he proposes to address to the President of the United
States. Not having been acquainted personally with Mr. Smithson,
Mr. Drummond can not vouch for any of the facts stated in the
memorial, but, as Mr. Smithson's executor, he feels disposed to
recommend to the consideration of the United States any application
coming from the mother of the deceased Hungerford, who, so far as
he has the means of knowing, is left by her son's death in reduced cir-
cumstances. Nevertheless, we must here add that the attention paid
to such application must of course depend upon the conduct of the
parties making it.
We are, etc., CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
Richard Rush to John fortsyth.
LONDON, June %4, 1837.
SIR: I inclose copies of .two letters received from our solicitors,
dated the 9th and 22d instant, relating to the conduct of Monsieur la
Batut in reference to the supposed claim of his wife upon the Smith-
sonian fund.
My No. 6, of January 9, will have made known who the wife is.
Nothing is more clear than that she has no claim under the will of Mr.
Smithson. Her claim, if any, can only be made out, as mentioned in
my No. 6, under the will of Henry Louis Dickinson, and for its estab-
lishment the court of chancery has pointed out the proper means, and
Monsieur la Batut has full liberty to adopt them, that justice may be
done. I said in my No. 7 that the claim extended only to about 100
a year; but, on better information, I find that it would amount, if
sustained, to 240 a year during the life of Madame la Batut.
But Monsieur de la Batut is little satisfied with putting forward this
claim, which, it may be, the court will allow if he can bring forward
proof to substantiate it. He makes a sweeping moral claim, as he
calls it, upon the United States, should the Smithsonian fund be
adjudged to them. The letter from the solicitors, of the 9th instant,
gives, in part, the ground of this moral claim. He thinks that, as the
Smithsonian fund is to be applied to found an institution at Washing-
ton for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, his chil-
dren in France have a claim to be educated out of it; and he even
considers that his wife has a claim to the * * * income of the
fund since Mr. Smithson's death. This, at a rough estimate, might be
perhaps set down at upward of 20,000.
32 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
I can not wonder that the solicitors deemed it unnecessary to detail to
me the "arguments" by which Monsieur de la Batut sought to sup-
port these, his "requisitions." His attempt at coercion, by withhold-
ing evidence within his power, unless on a previous pledge from me
to support his requisitions, thereby showing a disposition to prevent
the United States recovering anything, will probably gain him little
favor in their eyes. Fortunately there is now other evidence, as the
solicitors state in their letter, and have since told me verbally, which,
it is believed, will place the United States beyond his reach. The
part of their letter that I read with regret was that in which they inti-
mated to him that, as neither they nor I could engage that anything
should be done for him by the United States, he must himself apply
to the proper authorities. I called upon them immediately, to express
my wish that no such encouragement be in future held out to him; but
it seems that he had already taken his course; their letter of the 22d
instant gives me to understand that he proposes to address a memorial
to the President through the auspices of Mr. Drummond, the defend-
ant in the suit. That he would have done so on his own motion in the
end, without any hint from the solicitors, is probable enough; but I
was sorry it had been given to him. For myself, I have invariably
discountenanced all his pretensions, deeming it my duty to do so most
unequivocally. I have refused to see him, unless in presence of the
solicitors, lest he should misunderstand, or forget, or pervert what I
might say; and the latter told me they could perceive no advantage in
my seeing him. If the United States recover the legacy bequeathed
by Mr. Smithson, I should naturally regard the whole of it as a trust
fund in their hands, not to be in any wise diminished or touched but by
the same legislative power that accepted it for the purposes specially
set forth in the act of Congress of the 1st of July, 1836. Not only,
therefore, do I disclaim all authority for yielding in the slightest
degree to Monsieur la Batut's demands or giving him the least hope
that any of them are ultimately to be allowed by the United States,
but I should have thought it not justifiable in me to refer him to the
President.
Not being sure that I rightly understood what the solicitors mean
in their letter of the 9th about an alteration in the law ? I sought an
explanation from them. It appears that by an act of Parliament,
passed in 1834, whenever a person entitled to the annual proceeds of
any fund or property for his life, under a will coming into operation
after the passing of the act, dies between the points of time assigned
for the periodical payments, his representatives become entitled to a
proportionate part of the accruing proceeds up to the day of his
death. Before this act there was no such apportionment; and as Mr.
Smithson's will came into operation before it was passed, Hungerford's
representatives have no claim to any of the dividend that accrued after
Ihe last dividend day that happened previously to his decease. I
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 33
asked how this would stand with the case I drew up for the opinion of
counsel, as transmitted with my No. 4, in which, among other things, I
stated under the sanction of the solicitors that "Mr. Hungerford
received the income arising from the testator's property up to the
time of his death." They replied that this was nevertheless correct;
he did receive all that had accrued up to that time, but there was a
dividend in progress which, as it had not actually arisen and could not
have been claimed by Hungerford in his lifetime, his representative
has no claim to it after his death. Such was their explanation.
It is not for me to say how far this lends any equity to any fraction
of Monsieur la Batut's claims or requisitions. It is a familiar maxim,
that those who ask equity should do equity. The United States will
succeed to all that the law of England gives them, as the lord chan-
cellor may expound and apply that law to their special predicament
under the will, having due reference, no doubt, to the rights of all
other parties before the court; and whatever may be the amount
adjudged in their favor, my uniform declaration is that Congress alone
would have the power to reduce it. I add, as explicitly, that to no one
can I give the remotest encouragement or hope that it would be reduced,
and least of all to one so unreasonable, so exacting, and apparently
so bent upon thwarting the rights of the United States as Monsieur de
la Batut.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to Clarke, Fyninore <& Fladgate.
PORTLAND HOTEL, GREAT PORTLAND STREET,
July 21, 1837.
GENTLEMEN: Having at all times made known my wishes for a
speedy decision of the case you have in hand for the United States, I
need not here repeat them, but as the time approaches when the court
of chancery will adjourn over to November, I must ask you to inform
me what seem the prospects.
Remaining your obedient servant, RICHARD RUSH.
Messrs. CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
Clarke, Fynmore <& Fladgate to Richard Rush.
43 -CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,
July 22, 1837.
DEAR SIR: In answer to your letter of yesterday, on the subject of
Mr. Smithson's bequest to the United States, we beg leave to inform
H. Doc. 732 3
34 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
you that we have used all the means in our power to bring the matter
to a close, but we are still unable to state any definite period at which
you might expect to receive the funds.
Our inquiries in Italy have, we trust, put us in possession of such
evidence as will fully establish the fact of Mr. Hungerford's death,
without having been married; but however important it may be to do
this, still there is another point to be settled before the funds will be
available to the United States. This point is the claim of Madame de
la Batut, under the will of Colonel Dickinson (whose executor Mr.
Smithson was), under which will she is entitled for her life to half the
Colonel's property.
The outline of this claim is that Mr. Smithson possessed himself of
all Colonel Dickinson's estate, and never rendered to Madame de la
Batut any account of it, and that, not having done so, she has now a
right to call upon Mr. Smithson's executor to do that which he in his
lifetime ought to have done. Mr. Drummond has no means of ren-
dering this account; but until the claim is set at rest the court could
not, of course, order the funds forming part of Smithson's estate to
be paid over to the United States. As for anything that appears to
the contrary, the greater portion of these funds might have arisen
from the property of Colonel Dickinson. Our object now, therefore,
is to induce Madame de la Batut to come in and establish some claim
in the present suit (the amount, however, of which we seek, as much
as possible consistently with justice, to reduce), so as to bind her by
the present suit and make it conclusive upon the subject.
Her advisers have but little evidence to offer in support of her case,
and have, in consequence, very much delayed the necessary proceed-
ings. We pressed them as much as possible, and, indeed, threatened
to bar them by getting the master to report against them; but, in
reply to this, they intimated that if we did so, they should give notice
to Mr. Drummond to hold the funds, and file a bill against him, as
executor of Smithson, for an account. As this would be attended
with more delay and expense than it is likely there will be in the pres-
ent proceedings in the master's office, we are induced to afford every
indulgence, urging only all possible dispatch, which, as fortunately
Madame de la Batut's solicitors are persons of the highest respecta-
bility, we are sure they will use.
We are, your very obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMOBE & FLADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
fiichard Rush to John Forvytk.
LONDON, July 28, 1837.
SIR: I received on the 26th instant, from our minister, Mr. Steven-
son, a petition addressed to the President by M. de la Batut, now it
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 35
seems in France, on the subject of his claims, which had been sent to
Mr. S. by Mr. Anderson, charge d'affaires of the United States at
Paris. The nature of these claims is sufficiently stated in my letter
of the 2-ith of last month, and I need not therefore repeat that, accord-
ing to the view I take of them, they are altogether unreasonable. In
writing to Mr. Anderson upon the subject, which I did yesterday, I
informed him that Monsieur de la Batut had been in London, urging
them upon those who are charged with conducting and superintending
the case of the United States before the court of chancery in the mat-
ter of the Smithsonian bequest, and that our Government had been
apprised of them through my communications to you; that as they
were adverse to the interests of the United States, and had been pur-
sued in an adverse manner by M. de la Batut when here, it was not
for me to aid in transmitting his paper to the President; but that as
he might wish to have it again, to make his own use of it, I was at a
loss how to dispose of it otherwise than by returning it to him (Mr.
Anderson), which I therefore felt myself obliged to do, with the expla-
nation here given. Mr. Anderson was probably not before acquainted
with any of the circumstances I stated.
1 have deemed it right to inform you of the step thus taken in
regard to this petition, and hope it will appear to have been proper.
I ought to mention, whilst on the subject, that on the first arrival of
M. de la Batut in London I caused him to be informed that, although
in no event was I authorized to promise him anything from the United
States, yet if he promptly afforded the facilities to their suit in chan-
cery, which he justly might, by stating facts within his immediate and
full knowledge respecting young Hungerford, he would naturally
stand well with our Government; and that, as far as the expression of
any favorable opinion of mine towards him was concerned, he would
necessarily earn it. Far from listening to what was so unobjection-
able, he refused, as made known in one of the letters enclosed with
my last, to give any evidence whatever for the United States, except
on condition of a previous pledge from me to support all his claims, not
perceiving, though so informed that such a pledge, had I even made
it, could have availed him nothing.
It may be proper to mention here, also, that it never was my intention,
and so I instructed our professional advisers, to raise any captious
objections to Monsieur la Batut's claim in right of his wife, so long as
he kept it within the limit of the bequest made to her by the will of
Henry Louis Dickinson, as explained in my No. 6. The bequest may
amount, as I now understand the case, to 240 sterling a^year, at
the utmost, during the life of the wife. All I demanded was, that
this claim should be substantiated by fair proof, and be adjudged by
the court, as I had no authority to give an independent assent to any-
thing that might diminish the fund bequeathed to the United States
by Mr. Smithson.
36 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
But to suggestions like these he was alike insensible, preferring
to take the course and put forward the extravagant claims I have
described. I have no fears that the court will allow them; but there
is ground for apprehending that he may be able to cause future, as he
has past, delays. There is no hope of bringing the case to a conclusion
during the present term of the court. It ends next month, and the
next term does not commence until November. The master in chan-
cery has not yet made his reports on any of the references made to
him by the court, as explained in my No. 9, although I have urged
them on by all the means I could use, and will not fail to continue my
efforts whilst the present term lasts. Had it not been for the obstruc-
tions created by Monsieur de la Batut, this part of the case would have
been expedited, and a door the sooner opened by which the United
States might have got possession of the fund.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FOKSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John ForsytJi.
LONDON, August 1, 1837.
SIR: I transmit, herewith, a copy of my account for the year ending
yesterday. I also send a list of my drafts upon the bankers of the
United States within the same period as authorized by your letter to
the late N. M. de Rothschild of July the llth, 1836.
The only bill I have yet paid, because the only one I have been able
to get in, for legal expenses actually incurred, was one of two hun-
dred pounds four shillings, on the 8th of April, as shown by my draft
upon the bankers of that date. For this a voucher is enclosed, with a
full statement of the account. More expense, considerably, has been
incurred under this head, but no second account has hitherto been
rendered to me, although I have asked for and been desirous of
obtaining it, the solicitors saying that the items going to make it up
are, many of them, still dependent upon services outstanding and
incomplete. The heaviest legal expenses will, I apprehend, come in
at the final close of the suit. When this will be I dare not promise,
since none of our professional advisers will undertake to inform me
precisely, although none, I believe, can exceed them in diligence and
fidelity, and although they are urged by my reiterated instructions to
use all the expedition practicable. The necessity of a reform in the
court of chancery was the subject of a special recommendation from
the Throne to Parliament, at the session before the last. Its business
is very much in arrears. Mr. Pemberton, the leading counsel of the
United States, who is also a member of the House of Commons, stated
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 37
hi his place in that body, in February last, that the arrears amounted
to between 300 and 400 cases two years before, but that they had
grown to upwards of 800 at the time he was speaking. The cases, in
a large proportion, are also of great magnitude.
The Attorney-General on the same occasion remarked that whilst
throughout a long course of time the population of England had been
increasing sixfold and her wealth twentyfold, the judicial establish-
ments had remained nearly the same, so as to amount almost to a denial
of justice. There are only eleven masters in chancery, whilst there are
those who think that double the number would scarcely be sufficient
for the wants of the court in all the different departments of its busi-
ness at the present epoch. In the midst of such discouragements, and
I am bound to state them as truly such, I still do not despair of having
the case of the United States brought to a final and successful close in
the course of the ensuing winter or spring; it shall be sooner, if pos-
sible, as all obstructions that might once have been thought to imply
serious difficulty or danger are, I think, overcome. Nevertheless, no
assurance can be given that it will be finished as soon as the latest
period mentioned. Should it last even through the winter, and my
last letter will have informed you that the next term of the court (the
present drawing to a close) will not be held until November, there is
reason to believe that the fund created by the act of Congress of the
1st of July, 1836, will, through the accruing legal charges and drafts,
to which the fund is otherwise liable under your instructions, be
exhausted.
In regard to the first legal account, now inclosed, I can only say that
I believe it to be reasonable, judged by the standard of similar charges
in this country. I felt myself to be an incompetent judge of all the
minute items, filling fourteen pages, folio, of an account founded upon
the multifarious and artificial proceedings in an English court of chan-
cery; but I went over the whole, judging as well as I could of each,
and obtained explanations from the solicitors where I found them
necessar3 T . I also sought other aid; I resorted to a citizen of the
United States now here, intelligent and trustworthy, and conversant
with such accounts from having superintended several suits in which
American interests were at stake in English courts. His opinion was
decidedly favorable to the justice and even general moderation of the
items, tried by the precedents of which he had knowledge. These
precautions, added to the fair character of the solicitors, and their
verification, severally, by my request, of the whole account, in the
special manner that will be noticed at the foot of it, afforded the only
guaranties I could command for its correctness.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
38 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Clarke, Fynmare t& Fladgate to Richard Rush.
43 CRAVEN STREET, August 18, 1837.
DEAR SIR: The court having now risen for the long vacation, we
deem it our duty to report to you briefly the state of the cause to
which the President of the United States and Mr. Drummond are
parties, instituted for the purpose of enabling the President to receive
the legacy given by the will of Mr. Smithson.
Pursuant to your constant instructions to bring the matter to a
termination with all practicable dispatch, we have been actively occu-
pied in satisfying the inquiries directed to be made by the decree of
the 1st of February last, and, although the master's report touching
these inquiries is not yet made, we have been so far successful as to
induce us to hope that we should satisfy him upon all points, and
obtain early in the next term such a report as will insure the speedy
receipt by you, on behalf of the President, of the funds in question.
You will remember that these inquiries were threefold: (1) As to
Fitall, the annuitant under the will of Smithson. (2) As to Hunger-
ford's death, unmarried and without issue. (3) As to the alleged
claim of Madame de la Batut.
On the first point we have no difficulty, having obtained a certificate
of the death of Fitall, whose annuity was paid up to the time of his
death, except only the last quarter, which his widow will now receive.
2. As to Hungerford's death without issue, we have obtained a cer-
tificate of the death of one Henri de la Batut, under which name we
found that he had died, and we have also obtained a certificate, identi-
fying de la Batut with Henry James Hungerford. We have, as
directed by the decree, advertised in the newspapers here, in France,
and in Italy, touching any wife and children, and these advertise-
ments have produced no claimants. We have obtained from France
other confirmatory evidence on these points, among the rest, Monsieur
de la Batut's statement (which however, you will remember he refused
to confirm on oath), and we have little doubt, as above observed, that
the evidence obtained will be such as to satisfy the master upon the
subject.
These inquiries have of course consumed much time, but we should
have had the report before this had it not been for the remaining
point, the claim of Madame de la Batut. As stated in our letter
addressed to you on the 22d of July, it is most important that the
claim should be disposed of in the present suit; and we are happy to
say that the claim has now been formally made, and, we trust, in such
a shape as will, if it be sustained by the court at all, bar any ulterior
proceedings. The evidence in support of it is not strong, and, for
the purpose of strengthening it, interrogatories for the examination
of Mr. Drummond have. been brought into the master's office; which,
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 39
however, will not have the desired effect. These interrogatories were
exhibited by Madame de la Batut, after much pressing on our part,
and we are now employed in answering them. Having done that, we
shall proceed to get the claim settled, if possible, by the allowance of
some small sum, and every difficulty will then be at an end.
You may rely on our utmost exertions in bringing the matter to a
close; and we are, your very obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
To RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, August 19, 1837.
SIR: Desiring, before the court of chancery rose, some opinion in
writing from the solicitors as to the prospects of a decision of the
case, I addressed a few lines to them on the 21st of last month, as by
inclosure No. 1. and received an answer the day following, a copy of
which (No. 2) is also inclosed. I did not send it to you at that time,
or with either of my letters written since, because, although I went to
them in person several times, in the hope of verbal explanations that
might render it more definite, 1 found that there was no probability
of obtaining any to that effect until after the court had actually
risen, at which time I requested they would furnish me with a further
communication. The court rose a few days ago, and I yesterday
received from them the report, a copy of which (No. 3) is now also
transmitted, as the suitable accompaniment to their letter of the 22d
of July.
I am happy to find it more satisfactory than that letter; the letter
left it doubtful when the obstructing claim of Madame de la Batut, an
outline of which is given in their letter, would be put into a proper
shape for examination and settlement. Nor could I urge any longer the
expediency of a report by the master, during the existence of the term,
under reiterated assurances from our solicitors of what is stated in their
letter, viz, that to do so might have led to a course, on the part of the
solicitors of Madame de la Batut, productive of more delay and expense
than are likely to flow from the master's report being withheld until
the next term.
The solicitors' report to me, dated yesterday, besides embodying a
succinct statement of the steps taken in the cause since the decree in
February, shows that the la Batut claim is at length placed upon a
footing to be met and decided upon by the court, which it has been my
constant aim to see effected; and although they write with caution as
to am r precise time when a final and favorable decision of the cause on
all its points ma}' be expected, their report is encouraging. I can only
40 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
add, that nothing shall be omitted by me when the court recommences,
or during the vacation, toward securing as prompt an issue to the whole
proceedings as may be found practicable.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient serv-
ant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, October 18, 1837.
SIR: Since transmitting the duplicate of my No. 15, nothing material
has occurred for your information. The long autumnal vacation has
been going on, and is not yet expired. The business of the court of
chancery has therefore been at a pause, and no further proceedings
have been had in the suit of the United States.
But I have from time to time called upon the solicitors, and am able
to report that they have not been idle during this interval. They have
been employed in preparing answers to certain interrogatories exhibited
on the part of Madame la Batut, with a view to establish her claim;
and the strict and careful inquiries they have instituted, and will con-
tinue to pursue, assure me, although no facts are yet ripe for com-
munication, that the interest of the United States will be well guarded
in relation to it. The court will sit again next month, when the steps
which the solicitors have been taking, in anticipation of its recom-
mencement, will in due time, I trust, be productive of the proper
results. The claim in question has been so vexatiously urged, that
my directions have been given for the closest scrutiny into its merits
at all points.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, October 27, 1837.
SIR: The court of chancery will resume its sittings next week, and
I have this week been in conference with our solicitors, urging them
to act expeditiously. Evidence obtained on the la Batut claim, and
on other points, now only waits a few forms to go before the master,
from whose office a report may be anticipated, as I am confident^ 7
told, at a day not distant after the meeting of the court. I trust that
this will be the case, and that the report may be satisfactory.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 41
At our conferences, the point of a new power to me from the Presi-
dent, similar to my former one, has been touched upon. It is not con-
sidered certain that one will be required; but is deemed to be safest,
1 find, that I should be armed with one, as the court might possibly
ask for it, in the event of a favorable decree, prior to the final order
for delivering the fund to the United States, even should the defend-
ant's counsel or the Attorney-General not raise the objection. I will
therefore ask the favor of such a power; and as I am at present san-
guine in the expectation of a favorable as well as early decision, should
nothing unforeseen arise, its transmission as soon as convenient after
this request gets to hand might prove desirable.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant.
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Jotin Forsyth to Richard Rush.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, November 13, 1837.
SIR: The account heretofore rendered by Mr. Brent, our consul at
Paris, for moneys expended by him in precautionary measures to
obtain for the United States certain properties supposed to belong to
the estate of the late Mr. Smithson, of London, and which formed the
subject of a letter of instructions to you, dated the 17th of November
last, has been again presented to this department for consideration.
After a proper examination the President deems it just that the charge
for the professional services of Messrs. Castaignet and Delagrange
should be allowed and paid. You are accordingly authorized and
requested to discharge Mr. Brent's bill amounting to 272.25 francs,
without unnecessary delay. In the final settlement of your account
this item may be debited to the Smithsonian legacy, if recovered, and
if not to the appropriation for prosecuting the claim of the United
States to the said legacy.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq., etc.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON. December 16, 1837.
SIR: The court of chancery met on the 2d of last month, and con-
tinues in full session. It was the commencement of the Michaelmas
term.
42 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
If I have not written to you since the sittings of the court were
resumed it is because I have had heretofore no special matter to com-
municate, although doing all in my power to accelerate the progress
of the suit committed to my superintendence, and endeavoring espe-
cially to hasten the report of the master on all the matters referred to
him by the court's decree of the 1st of February. I mentioned in one
of my letters that there were upward of 800 suits in arrear in this
court, some of which it might have been added involve in their issue
sums exceeding in amount the sum claimed by the United States.
From this cause, which naturally overburdens with business the
offices of the masters, it has in part arisen that the master's report in
the suit of the United States has not hitherto been made.
But at length, this week, it was in readiness to go in, and would
have embraced, among other things, a favorable report on the claim
of Madame la Batut to the amount of about 150 a year, to be paid to
her out of the Smithsonian fund during her life. It will be seen how
large a reduction has thus been effected of the demands put forth on
her behalf, as my past letters have made them all known to you. Our
solicitors have rather a confident opinion that there is a prospect of
disproving this demand by further evidence yet attainable in France,
and I have consequently directed them to take the proper steps for
procuring it with all dispatch. It is not believed that more than a
month will be required for procuring it, and the master's report will
be withheld in the meantime. When it arrives, it will be my province
to look well to its nature and probable effect, that on the one hand
nothing may be lost to which the United States may seem justly enti-
tled, and on the other that the great result of the suit be not put in
jeopardy or injurious delays risked by doubtful contests for fractional
sums.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rwh to John forsyth.
LONDON, December 21, 1837.
SIR: 1 had the honor to receive on the 18th instant your instruc-
tions of the 13th of November, authorizing and requesting me to pay
an account amounting to 272.25 francs, forwarded to the Department
by Mr. Brent, our consul at Paris, the subject-matter of which was
formerly made known to me in your letter of the 17th of November,
1836, to which I replied in my No. 6, on the 9th of January follow-
ing; and I beg leave to say that on the 19th instant I accordingly
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 43
remitted to Mr. Brent the above sum, to be debited, as your letter
indicates, to the Smithsonian legacy, if recovered, * * * an( j jf
not, to the appropriation for prosecuting the claim of the United
States to the said legacy.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
of State.
John Forsyth to Richard Rush.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, December 87, 1837.
SIR: Your dispatches to No. 17, inclusive, have been received. In
compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 27th of
October last, and subsequently urged in your private letter of the 31st
of the same month, I transmit to you, inclosed, a new power from the
President to provide for the contingency, which you think probable,
of such instrument being demanded either by the court, the attorney-
general, or the defendant's counsel.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq., etc.
Ricliard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, January 30, 1838.
SIR: I had yesterday the honor to receive your letter of the 27th
December, inclosing the President's renewal of my power to prosecute
the Smithsonian claim, and receive the money for the United States
whenever the same may be adjudged. It remains uncertain, as inti-
mated in my communication of the 27th of October, whether the exhi-
bition of the new power will be eventually demanded; but even if not,
I trust the President will think it has been erring on the safe side,
after what passed, to have it in my possession.
After my letter of the 16th of December, I had fully hoped that the
evidence of which it makes mention would have been obtained from
France before this time; but it seems that the French attorneys, who
were written to upon the subject by our solicitors, mistook some of
their instructions at first, which led to delay. They are now in expec-
tation of receiving it daily.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
44 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Richard Rwsh to Clarke, Fyninure cfe Fladga&e.
FEBRUARY 3, 1838.
GENTLEMEN: I understood, when with you on Wednesday, that the
evidence obtained from France would not, in your opinion, be found
sufficient to prevent the master's report embracing an allowance in
Madame de la Batut's favor of about 150 a year during her life, with
some arrearages calculated on that basis; and the evidence, as you
exhibited and otherwise made it known to me, certainly led my mind
to the same conclusion.
You added that, by sending out a commission from the court of chan-
cery to Paris (a process not yet resorted to), you thought that evidence
might still be obtained to defeat her claim; on which subject I should
be glad to receive answers to the following inquiries, as far as in your
power to give them to me:
First. What would be the probable expense of that process?
Second. How long before its full execution and return might be
expected ?
Third. Assuming that the evidence, when so obtained, struck your
minds, our counsel's, and my own, as sufficient to defeat the claim,
yet as it might not happen that the legal advisers of Madame de la
Batut would take the same view of it, and thence contest its validity
before the court, what further delays might such a turn in the case be
likely, under all the circumstances, to lead to?
As I have so repeatedly made known to you my desire for the speed-
iest decision of the case that may be practicable consistently with justice
to the United States, I make no apology for asking a reply to these
inquiries at as early a day as may be convenient.
I remain, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Messrs. CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
Clarke, Fynmore <& Fladgate to Richard J?^A.
43 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,
February 8, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the
3d instant, containing certain queries touching the measures which
may be adopted in respect of the claim of Madame de la Batut.
In reply, we beg to state that, so long as proceedings in the English
court of chancery are conducted as amicable suits, when both parties
unite in a wish to obtain the direction of the court, without unneces-
sary delay, it is a matter of no great difficulty to calculate their prob-
able duration; but circumstances sometimes arise, even in such suits,
that prove the calculations fallacious. When once, however, a suit
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 45
to be so conducted, and parties come in whose interest it is to
throw impediments in the way of a decision, any calculation as to
either delay or expense must be a matter of little better than guess.
So many unforeseen points may arise, and the practice of the courts
affords such facilities for a hostile party to obstruct the course of jus-
tice, that the most experienced lawyers hesitate before they attempt
to give an opinion upon the subject. If in the present case Madame
de la Batut's claim be further resisted, the suit will become one to
which these observations apply; or Madame de la Batut might perhaps
abandon the claim now brought in, and try to impede us by filing an
original bill for its establishment. We do not think this likely, but
it is not impossible.
Having said thus much, we will proceed to answer the queries.
We think that within three months evidence might be obtained of
the facts necessary to defeat Madame de la Batut's claim, and that
such evidence might be procured either by sending over -a commission
to Paris, for the examination of witnesses, or by bringing interroga-
tories into the master's office for the personal examination of Madame
de la Batut and her husband. We now know so much of the case that
Madame de la Batut would hardly venture to deny any of the neces-
sary facts; but this is not quite certain.
We think that the expense of a commission to examine witnesses
would not exceed 150. The expense of interrogatories for the
examination of Madame de la Batut would be trifling; probably 30
or 40.
Assuming that the requisite evidence were obtained, we are inclined
to think that, notwithstanding Madame de la Batut's resistance, the
suit might be wound up before the rising of the court for the long
vacation; but, after the observations we have thought it our duty to
make in the early part of this letter, you will be able to judge how far
this opinion can be relied on.
You will bear in mind that the decision of the master is not final.
Exceptions may be taken to his report and argued before the court;
and even an appeal may be brought against the decision of the vice-
chancellor, or master of the rolls, and the cause might be taken to the
House of Lords. The delay under such circumstances would be very
great.
We are your very faithful and obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
Richard Rush to Clarke, Fynnwre < Fladgate.
FEBRUARY 9, 1838.
GENTLEMEN: Your communication of yesterday's date was received,
and is satisfactoiy by its fullness and candor.
46 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Under its rcprcsentation.s, 1 determine not to seek further evidence,
by a commission to Paris or otherwise, for the purpose of further
reducing the claim of Madame de la Batut.
Let the master's report in this respect be, therefore, made in the
state I understood it to have been settled by him; and, now that I
take this determination, I trust that it will be made at a very early
day.
I need scarcely reiterate to you my most earnest wishes for a speedy
decision of the case, or my instructions that you will urge it on with
all the expedition in your power.
In the hope that the decision will be in all things favorable, as well
as speed}', I remain your faithful and obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Messrs. CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
Richa/rd Rush to John forsyth.
LONDON, February 12, 1838.
SIR: The day after my last number was sent off, I received informa-
tion from the solicitors that some of the evidence expected from
France had arrived, but that it was not of validity to repel the claim
of Madame de la Batut. From as much, however, as it disclosed, they
pronounced a strong opinion that if a formal commission issued from
the court, evidence might finally be had that would defeat it.
On fully weighing what they said, I wrote them a note on the 3d
instant, requesting answers to the following inquiries:
1. What would be the probable expense of a commission?
2. How much time would be required for its execution and return?
3. Supposing the evidence obtained under it to be sufficient in their
opinion, our counsel's, and my own, to defeat the claim; yet, as the
legal advisers of Madame de la Batut might not take the same view of
it, and thence contest it, what further delays might such a turn in the
case become the means of producing? (I inclose a copy of my note.)
I received an answer from them dated the 8th, a copy of which is
also inclosed.
Referring specifically to my inquiries, it will be seen -
1. That they estimate the expense of a commission at 150.
2. That they think it might be executed and returned within three
months.
3. That, assuming the requisite evidence to be obtained, they incline
to think the suit might be wound up before the rising of the court for
the long vacation (which means in August next); but after the intro-
ductory observations of their note, which advert to the uncertainty of
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 47
all previous calculations as to the duration of suits in chancery, they
leave me to judge how far this opinion of theirs is to be relied upon;
and they conclude with an intimation that the case might, in the end,
be taken before the House of Lords on appeal; in which event the
delay, they add, would be "very great."
I have determined, under these circumstances, not to seek further
evidence by a commission to France or otherwise for defeating the
claim, and accordingly wrote to them, on the 9th instant, to proceed
with all expedition in bringing the suit to a close without it. A copy
of this note is also inclosed. As to bringing interrogatories into the
master's office for the personal examination of Madame de la Batut
and her husband, as adverted to in the answer from the solicitors, I
say nothing of the objections to that mode of getting at more evidence,
the solicitors themselves forestalling me by an admission that they
could not be certain of its success.
I hope that the determination to which I have come will be approved
as judicious. This claim has been already, by full scrutiny and resist-
ance, greatly cut down from its original injustice and extravagance, as
a reference to my No. 12 of the 24th of last June will show. That it
might be wholly defeated by going on to pursue measures within our
power, I incline to believe. The solicitors tell me that they think so
decidedly, and their letter is to the same effect. But it is now neces-
sary to balance the advantage to be gained by doing so against the
time and money it would cost. The report in favor of the claimant,
as the master has determined to make it in the state of the evidence as
now before him, will not, by the information I have received and here-
tofore communicated, be likely to exceed 150 a year, payable during
her life; to which will have to be added a few years of arrears, calcu-
lated on the basis of whatever may be the precise amount of the annu-
ity allowed. The claimant, as far as I can learn, is about sixty years
old. Hence, supposing that measures necessary for the total defeat of
her claim occupied only another twelvemonth, it seems probable that
the very cost of the agency for going on with them, added to all unfore-
seen legal fees and expenses, might prove more than the annuity is
worth. That the suit would be lengthened out another twelvemonth
by going into the measures in question can scarcely, I think, be deemed
a strained inference from all that the solicitors say in their letter, not
to dwell upon contingencies coming within its scope that might make
the time longer. Should the suit reach the House of Lords, for exam-
ple, bj r appeal, it would not be easy to assign a limit to its duration.
I trust, therefore, it will be thought that I exercise a proper discre-
tion as representing the interests of the United States in determin-
ing not to expose myself to any of these hazards and new ones that
might even chance to spring out of them as time was opened for their
operation. It seems to me, conclusively, that I should henceforth
48 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
rather strive to obtain a decision of their suit as speedily as possible,
regardless of the small and temporary diminution of the fund, should
it be finally adjudged in their favor, which the foregoing payments to
Madame de la Batut would occasion. Opposition has been effectively
made to the claim up to the point, it is believed, that duty enjoined
and prudence would sanction; to go farther seems not reconcilable
with the latter, under the certain and contingent delays and dangers I
set forth.
The occasion may be a fit one for remarking that when this claim
first assumed a vexatious aspect last summer, my immediate wish and
suggestions were to get a decree in favor of the United States for the
general fund, leaving such fractional portion of it sub judice as would
have been sufficient to satisfy the claim if established; thus cutting
short delay from this source by which this agency might have had the
chance to be closed the sooner, and the bulk of the fund secured to the
United States at the earliest possible -day. The last I hold an object
of pressing importance, encompassed, as all lawsuits more or less are
(to say nothing of the peculiar nature of this), by hidden risks. But
it was part of the vexation of the claim that our legal advisers found
the course I desired to pursue impracticable for the reason mentioned
in the letter of the solicitors of the 22d of July, a copy of which was
forwarded with my No. 15 on the 19th of August.
Now that this obstruction is removed from my path by the determi-
nation I have taken in regard to it, I indulge the hope that no new one
will be thrown across it; and can only repeat the assurance that noth-
ing within my power shall be left undone toward accelerating the
suit, anxiously desiring, on all public and personal accounts (if I may
speak in the latter sense), to see it terminated.
In the continued hope that the decision when it comes may be favor-
able, I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
The HON. JOHN FORSYTH,
/Secretary of State.
S. Pleasantoii to John Fon^syth.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
FIFTH AUDITOR'S OFFICE,
March 14, 1838.
SIR: In reply to your letter of this morning, I have the honor to
inform you that the amount of the appropriation made by the act of
Congress of July 1, 1836, for the expenses of prosecuting the claim
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 49
of the United States to the Smithsonian legacy, was remitted to their
bankers in London, on the 16th of the same month $10,000.
Of which sum the said bankers have paid to the order of Richard Rush,
the agent appointed under that act, from August 1, 1836, to December
31, 1837 $8, 493. 11
Applied as follows, viz:
Agent's salary for one year, ending July 31, 1837 $3, 000. 00
Personal and other expenses (excepting law expenses) same
period 2,000.00
Paid Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate, solicitors, at London, for
various professional services in relation to the legacy 889. 77
Credited to Mr. Rush on accounts rendered by him 5, 889. 77
At the above rates of salary and expenses, the agent will be
entitled to credit up to December 31, 1837, exclusive of law
expenses for one-half year, ending w T ith that date 2, 500. 00
8, 389. 77
Leaving a balance, to be accounted for by him, of 103. 3*1
The balance remaining unexpended by the bankers, of the appro-
priation in question, on the 31st of December last, was, as will be
perceived from the above statement, $1,506.89.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your obedient
servant,
S. PLEASANTON.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Bush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, March 28, 1838.
SIR: Since the date of my last letter, the report of the master has
been duly made, and yesterda} T it was confirmed.
This is a step forward in the case which 1 am at length happy to
announce. It is second in importance only to the decree of the court
on the whole merits, and has laid the best foundation for speedily
obtaining that decree.
The precise sum that the report allows to Madame de la Batut is
150 9s., to be paid to her annually during her life, with a payment of
arrears, to be calculated on this basis, from some period in 1834; the
exact date of which I have not at this moment, but will mention when
1 next write.
The court takes a recess next week for the Easter holidays; these
will last until the 17th or 20th of April. The case will be set down
for another hearing before the court at as early a day as I can com-
mand after it reassembles. A decree, I am informed, will be pro-
H. Doc. 732 4
50 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
nounced after this hearing on all the facts as settled by the master
a favorable one, as I hope, for the United States.
By the determination I took respecting the claim of Madame de la
Batut, as announced in my last, her professional advisers, knowing
that she can now get no more than the report allows her, are interested
in cooperating with me towards a prompt decision, instead of resort-
ing to adverse proceedings to prolong or thwart it a course which
they have been more or less pursuing hitherto.
On better grounds than ever I think I may, therefore, flatter myself
that the case approaches its conclusion; and I will only add that its
remaining stages shall be watched by me with a care proportioned to
the auspicious results that I believe to be near at hand.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTII,
Secretary of State.
Riclmrd Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, April 24, 1838.
SIR: The court reassembled last week, since which I have been
doing all that is practicable, by personal calls upon the solicitors and
otherwise, to urge on the case, and shall continue this course.
Judging by all they say to me, and my own knowledge of the pres-
ent situation of the case, I have a confident and, I trust, well-founded
belief that May will not elapse without its being brought to a hearing.
Referring to my No. 22, I now beg leave to state that the 22d of
September, 1834, is the date from which the annuity allowed by the
master's report to Madame de la Batut was to commence; and that the
arrears to be paid to her, in the event of a decision in favor of the
United States, were to be computed from that time to the 22d of
March last. This makes three years and six months, so that the sum
due on an annuity of 150 9s. would be 526 11s. 6d.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTII,
Secretary of State.
Riclmrd Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, May 3, 1838.
SIR: I am glad to say that the confidence expressed in my last that
a hearing of the case was near at hand has been justified, even sooner
than I expected, for it was heard on the 1st of this month, and I am
now to have the honor of reporting to you the nature of the hearing.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 51
Mr. Pcmberton, our leading counsel, rose, and after recapitulating
the general nature of the case, as formerly heard by the court, pro-
ceeded to state that the reference to the master as ordered by the
decree in February, 1837, had duly taken place, and that all the requi-
site evidence had been obtained in England and from Italy and France,
as to the facts on the happening of which the United States were to
become entitled to the fund bequeathed by Mr. Smithson for the pur-
pose mentioned in his will. These facts 1 need not here repeat, being
already set forth specially in my No. 9, of the 25th of March, 1837.
Overlooking a volume of matter merely technical in the evidence
and report, or now become immaterial to the main points, it will be
sufficient to say that it was satisfactorily established by the former
that Henry James Hungerford, named in the pleadings, was dead;
that he died at Pisa, in the summer of 1835; that he was not married
at the time of his death, nor at any time; and that he died childless.
It was not found how old he was at the time of his death; nor is that
material to any of the issues. As to John Fitall, it was found that he
died in London in June, 1834; and as to Madame de la Batut, the
mother of Henry James Hungerford, the master, on the evidence
before him, found her to have a claim on the estate of Mr. Smithson
to the amount of 150 9s. a year, payable as long as she lives, and for
the arrears of this annual allowance from the 22d of September, 1834,
to the 23d of last March.
The establishment of all the foregoing facts will be found to meet
the essential inquiries to which the master's attention was directed by
the court's first decree, as reported in my No. 9. Mr. Smithson's will
having provided, among other things, that on the death of his nephew,
Henry James Hungerford, "without leaving child or children," the
whole of his property should go to the United States; and this primary
fact being now incontestably established in due and legal form under
the authority of the court, and all other proof required by the plead-
ings obtained, Mr. Pemberton asked for a decree declaring the United
States entitled to the property. The representative of the Attorney-
General, who was present in court, said that he believed everything
had been established, as stated, and that the rules relating to public
charities, as applicable to this case, calling for no objection on the part
of the Crown, none would be interposed a course that falls in with
what was said by the same officer on the occasion of the first decree,
as reported in my No. 7.
The counsel of the defendants, Messieurs Drummond, agreed also to
what was stated, and had nothing to allege in opposition to the claim
of the United States.
The counsel of Madame de la Batut were also content; the course I
took, as made known in my No. 21, having put an end to opposition
from that quarter.
All essential facts being at length fully and formally established, and
52 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
opposition from all quarters quieted by the measures I have directed,
there seemed no reason why a decree in favor of the United States
should not at once be pronounced; but Mr. Pemberton having stated
that, in the end, a petition would have to be presented for a transfer of
the fund to me, as representing the United States, the master of the
rolls said that he would pause upon his final decision until that petition
was presented.
It is thus that the case now stands. It will come on again one day
next week, and I have every ground for believing that my next com-
munication will inform you of a decree having passed declaring the
United States entitled to the fund.
Should the forms of chancery require any authentication of my
power to receive the fund that Mr. Stevenson can give, he will be
ready at any moment to give it, as he has assured me; and should his
important aid be otherwise needed in any way before the suit is closed,
I shall not scruple to call upon him, knowing how zealously he would
afford it.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, May 12, 1838.
SIR: I have great satisfaction in announcing to you, for the Presi-
dent's information, that the case came on to be heard again on the
9th instant, when a decree was solemnly pronounced adjudging the
Smithsonian bequest to the United States.
Both my powers had been previously lodged with the court, not
one only, as stated in newspaper reports of the case, and no question
was raised as to my full authority to receive the money on behalf of
the United States, without calling for any further authentication of
my powers.
The suit is therefore ended without fear of more delays, nothing
but a few forms remaining to put me in actual possession of the fund.
These, I have the hope, may be completed within the present month.
The fund is invested in the stocks of this country, of which I shall
in due time have an exact account. The largest portion is in the
3 per cent annuities. The entire aggregate amounts to fully .100,000,
and this, according to my present information, exclusive of about
5,000 to he reserved by the court to meet the annual charge in favor
of Madame la Batut during her life, the sum producing it to revert to
the United States when she dies.
As soon as the decree is formally made up, the accountant general of
the court will transfer all the stock to me, under its sanction, except
the small sum to be reserved as above.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 53
Having no special instructions as to what 1 am to do with it, my
present intention is to sell the whole at the best time and for the best
prices to be commanded, and bring it over in gold for delivery to the
Treasurer of the United States, in fulfillment of the trust with which
I am charged. But I will reflect further upon the mode of bringing it
home, and adopt that which, under all circumstances, may seem best.
The result I announce will, 1 trust, justify, in the President's eyes,
the determination I took to let the allowance made to Madame la Batut
by the master's report stand without attempting to overset it, whatever
might have been the prospect or assurance of ultimate success. The
longer the suit lasted the greater were the risks to which it was exposed.
A large sum of money the whole mentioned above was to go out of
the kingdom unless an heir could be found to a wandering young
Englishman, who had died in Italy at eight or nine and twenty, 1 and
whose mother, never lawfully married, still lives in France. Here
was basis enough for the artful and dishonest to fabricate stories of
heirship on allegations of this young Englishman having been married.
That fact assumed, the main stumbling-block to their devices would
have disappeared. Fabrications to this effect might have been made
to wear the semblance of truth by offers in the market of perjury of
Italy, France, and England incidents like these being familiar to his-
tory, whether we take public annals or those of families; and although
the combinations, however craftily set on foot, might have been
defeated in the end, it is easy to perceive that time and expense would
have been required to defeat them. The possibility of their being
formed (never to be regarded as very remote while the suit remained
open) made it my first anxiety, as it was always my first dut}^ to have
it decided as soon as possible and to take care even that it moved on
during its pendency with no more of publicity to its peculiar circum-
stances than could be avoided. I trust that both these feelings have
boon discernible in the general current of my letters to you, reporting
all the steps I have taken in it from my first arrival.
Need I add, as a further incentive to dispatch, had further been
wanting, that events bearing unfavorably upon the public affairs of
this country, above all upon the harmony or stability of its foreign
relations, would not have failed to operate inauspiciously upon the
suit, if in nothing else, by causing stocks to fall. They did begin to
fall on the first news of the rebellion in Canada, not recovering until
the accounts of its suppression arrived. The case is now beyond the
reach of accident, whether from political causes or others inherent
in its nature; and that its final decision thus early has been brought
about by the course adopted in February, I am no longer permitted to
doubt. Early may at first seem a word little applicable, after one
entire year and the best part of a second have been devoted to getting
'Believed to be the age of Henry .Tame- Hungerford, though not found in the
master's report.
54 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
the decision; but when the proverbial delays of chancery are consid-
ered (and they could hardly have become a proverb without some
foundation), it may not, perhaps, be thought wholly out of place.
Although neither the counsel nor solicitors gave their previous advice
to the course, it being a point of conduct for my decision rather than
of law for theirs, it is yet satisfactory to be able to state that they
approved it afterwards. They regarded it as best consulting the inter-
ests of the United States, on every broad view of a case where a great
moral object, higher than the pecuniary one, was at stake, enhancing
the motives for rescuing it, at the earliest fit moment, from all the
unavoidable risks and uncertainties of the future. A fortnight has
not elapsed since it was said in the House of Commons by an able
member that "a chancery suit was a thing that might begin with a
man's life and its termination be his epitaph."
On the whole, I ask leave to congratulate the President and your-
self 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 enlight-
ened legislation of Congress, benefits may flow to the United States
and to the human family not easy to be estimated, because operating
silently and gradually throughout time, yet operating not the less
effectually. Not to speak of the inappreciable value of letters to indi-
vidual and social man, the 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 its citizens, and can only be strengthened and per-
petuated as that improves. May I also claim to share in the pleasure
that attends on relieved anxiety now that the suit is ended?
I have made inquiries from time to time in the hope of finding out
something of the man, personally a stranger to our people, who has
sought to benefit distant ages by founding, in the capital of the Ameri-
can Union, an institution (to describe it in his own simple and com-
prehensive language) " for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men." I have not heard a great deal. What I have, heard and
may confide in amounts to this: That he was, in fact, the natural son of
the Duke of Northumberland; that his mother was a Mrs. Macie, 1 of
1 His mother was Elizabeth llungerford Keate Macie, being at the time of his birth,
in 1765, the widow of James Macie, a country gentleman of an old family resident
at Weston, near Bath. She was of the Hungerfords of Studley, a great grandniece
of Charles, Duke of Somerset, through whom she was lineally descended from
Henry the Seventh, and was cousin of that Elizabeth Percy who married Hugh
Smithson ( who later became Duke of Northumberland, and by act of Parliament
took the name of Percy) .
She inherited the property of the Hungerfords of Studley in 1766, on the death
of her brother, Lumley Hungerford Keate, a matter of interest as indicating the
probable source of a considerable portion of the Smithson bequest. (S. P. Langley,
The Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1896, History f its First Half Century, 1897.)
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 55
an ancient family in Wiltshire of the name of Hungerford; that he was
educated at Oxford, where he took an honorary degree in 1786; that
he went under the name of James Lewis Macie until a few years after
he had left the university, when he took that of Smithson, 1 ever after
signing only James Smithson, as in his will; that he does not appear to
have had any fixed home, lived in lodgings when in London, and occa-
sionally staying a year or two at a time in cities on the Continent, as
Paris, Berlin, Florence, Genoa, at which last 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
now passes to the United States. 2 I have inquired if his political
opinions or bias were supposed to be of a nature that led him to
select the United States as the great trustee of his enlarged and
philanthropic views. The reply has been that his opinions, as far as
known or inferred, were thought to favor monarchical rather than
popular institutions; 3 but that he interested himself little in questions
of government, being devoted to science, and chiefly chemistry; that
1 It was only under circumstances which showed that he had no right to the
name of Macie (which seems to have first been imposed upon him under circum-
stances which left him free to change it), that he in later life had that of Smithson,
to which he had every moral right, legally confirmed to him. (S. P. Langley, op. tit. )
2 The property disposed of by the will is believed to have been received chiefly
from Col. Henry Louis Dickinson, a son of his mother by a former marriage,
though he is known to have received a legacy of 3,000 from Dorothy Percy, his
half-sister on his father's side; but unless through this, it is proper to state that there
is no indication that any portion whatever of the Smithson bequest was derived from
the Northumberland family. (S. P. Langley, op. tit. )
3 The Smithsonian Institution received in 1884 abundant proof that Smithson was
imbued with republican notions by a letter he wrote at Paris, May 9, 1792, to his
friend Da vies Gilbert, of the Royal Society, in which he says:
"Well! things are going on! Qa ira is growing the song of England, of Europe, as
well as of France. Men of every rank are joining in the chorus. Stupidity and
guilt have had a long reign, and it begins, indeed, to be time for justice and common
sense to have their turn. * ' Every Englishman I converse with, almost
every Englishman I see or hear of, appears to be of the democratic .party. Mr.
Davis, high sheriff for Dorsetshire, left this town to-day and takes with him, it
seems, a quantity of tricolor ribbon to deck his men with the French national cock-
ades, and I do not think this example unworthy of imitation by those whose prin-
ciples lead them to consider with indifference and contempt the frowns of the court
party, to whom, doubtless, the mixture of red, white, and blue is an object of horror.
* * * Mr. Louis Bourbon is still at Paris, and the office of king is not yet abol-
ished, but they daily feel the inutility, or rather great inconvenience, of continuing
it, and its duration will probably not be long. May other nations, at the time of
their reforms, be wise enough to cast off, at first, the contemptible incumbrance. I
consider a nation with a king as a man who takes a lion as a guard-dog if he knocks
out his teeth he renders him useless, while if he leaves the lion his teeth the lion
eats him.
"I remain, dear sir, yours, very sincerely,
"JAMES L. MACIE."
(Smithsonian Report, 1894.)
56 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
this had introduced him to the society of Cavendish, Wollaston, and
others advantageously known to the Royal Society in London, of
which body he was a member, and to the archives of which he made
contributions; and that he also became acquainted, through his visits
to the Continent, with eminent chemists in France, Italy, and Germany.
Finally, that he was a gentleman of feeble health, but always of cour-
teous though reserved manners and conversation.
Such I learn to have been some of the characteristics of the man
whom generations to come may see cause to bless, and whose will may
enroll his name with the benefactors of mankind.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
"A."
IN CHANCERY, MAY 12, 1838.
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
v.
DRUMMOND.
Order on further directions.
AT THE ROLLS,
Master of the Rolls 3 10s. 76.
Between the President of the United
States of America, plaintiff,
and
Charles Drummond and Her Majesty's
attorney-general, defendants.
Saturday, the 12th day of May, in the
first year of the reign of Her Majesty
Queen Victoria, 1838.
This cause coming on the 1st day of February, 1837, to be heard and debated before
the right honorable the master of the rolls, in the presence of counsel learned on
both sides, his lordship did order that the plaintiff's bill should be amended by
stating the act of Congress passed in the year 1836; and the said bill being amended
in court accordingly, upon hearing the same act of Congress, and also the power of
attorney granted to Richard Rush, esq., mentioned in the said bill as amended, read,
his lordship did order that it should be referred to the master to whom the cause of
Hungerford v. Drummond stood transferred, to carry on the account directed by the
decree of the 15th day of December, 1829; and it was ordered that the said master
should inquire whether John Fitall, in the pleadings of this cause named, was living
or dead; and if the said master should find that the said John Fitall was dead, then
it was ordered that he should inquire and state when he died. And it was ordered
that the said master should inquire whether Henry James Hungerford, in the plead-
ings also named, was living or dead; and if the said master should find that the
said Henry James Hungerford was dead, then it was ordered that he should inquire
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 57
and state when he died, and whether he was married or unmarried at the time of
his decease; and if married, whether he left any, and what, children or child him sur-
viving; and the said master was to inquire and state the ages of such children, respec-
tively, if more than one. And it was ordered that the said master should inquire
and state to the court whether Madame de la Batut had any claim on the said testa-
tor Smithson's estate; and for the better discovery of the matters aforesaid the usual
directions were given, and his lordship did reserve the consideration of all further
directions and of the costs of this suit until after the said master should have made
his report. That in pursuance of the said decree the said master made his report,
dated the 23d day of March, 1838, which stands absolutely confirmed by an order
dated the 27th day of March, 1838, and thereby certified he found that the sum of
fifty-three pounds seven shillings sixpence was justly due and owing to Messrs. Thomas
Clark & Co., the solicitors for the defendant Charles Drummond, from the estate of
the said testator, and he found that the said John Fitall was dead, and that he died
at Bush House, Wanstead, in the county of Essex, on the 14th day of June, 1834; and
he found that the said Henry James Hungerford assumed the name of De la Batut,
and was known as Baron Eunice de la Batut and died at the Royal Hotel, called the
Donzelle, situate at Pisa, on or about the 5th day of June, 1835, without ever having been
married, and without leaving any issue. And the said master certified that he was
of opinion and did find that the said Mary Ann de la Batut, in her right, was entitled
to a claim on the estate of the said testator, James Smithson, for an interest during
the life of the said Mary Ann de la Batut, in a moiety of the annual income or sum
of seven thousand six hundred and seventy -three livres de rentes, in the report men-
tioned, amounting in value to the annual sum of one hundred and fifty pounds nine
shillings sterling money of Great Britain and Ireland, calculated at the current rate
of exchange in the city of London, on the 8th day of March, 1838; and he found
that the income arising from the said French stock or fund called livres de rentes
was payable and paid half-yearly by the French Government on or about the 22d
day of March and the 22d day of September in each year; and he also found that
there was due and owing to the said Mary Ann de la Batut (or the said Theodore
de la Batut, in her right) from the estate of the said testator, James Smithson, the
sum of thirteen thousand four hundred and twenty-seven francs and seventy-five
centimes for arrears of the said annuity from the 22d day of September, 1834, to the
22d day of March, 1838, amounting in value to five hundred and twenty-six pounds
eleven shillings and sixpence sterling money of Great Britain and Ireland, calculated
at the current rate of exchange in the said city of London as aforesaid; and he found
that the annual income or annuity to which the said Mary Ann de la Batut (or the
said Theodore de la Batut, in her right) was entitled for her life out of the estate of
the said testator, James Smithson, amounting to one hundred and fifty pounds and
nine shillings sterling money of Great Britain and Ireland as aforesaid. And whereas
the above-named plaintiff and Richard Rush did, on the 3d day of May, 1838, prefer
their petition unto the right honorable the master of the rolls, setting forth as therein
set forth and praying that the residue of the several stocks, funds and securities, and
cash, respectively, standing in the name of the accountant-general of this court in
trust in the cause of Hungerford v. Drummond and in trust in this cause which
should remain after providing for and satisfying the annual and other payments
directed by the will of the said testator and the costs and charges to which the estate
of the said testator had been rendered liable by virtue of the several proceedings
and measures aforesaid, or any of them, might be respectively transferred (the
amount thereof to be verified by affidavit) in the books of the governor and company
of the Bank of England and paid to the petitioner, Richard Rush, and that the boxes
and packages mentioned in the said master's report might be delivered into the cus-
tody of the petitioner, Richard Rush. Whereupon all parties concerned were ordered
to attend his lordship on the matter of the said petition when this cause should coine
58 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
on to be heard for further directions; and this cause coming on this present day to
l>e heard before the right honorable the master of the rolls for further directions on
the said master's said report, and as to the measure of costs reserved in the said
decree, in the presence of counsel learned on both sides: upon opening and debate
of the measure, and hearing the said decree, the said report, the said order dated the
27th day of March, the said petition, and the accountant general's certificates read,
and what was alleged by the counsel on all sides, his lordship doth declare that the
plaintiff is entitled to the residue of the several stocks, and securities, and cash,
respectively, standing in the name of the accountant general of this court, in trust in
this cause, and also in trust in a certain other cause of Hungerford against Drummond,
in the master's report mentioned, and the other property of James Smithson, the
testator, in the pleadings in this cause named, after providing for the payment
hereinafter directed; and it is ordered that the sixty -two thousand seven hundred
and thirty-nine pounds nineteen shillings and two pence bank three pounds per cent
annuities, twelve thousand pounds reduced annuities, and sixteen thousand one
hundred pounds bank stock, respectively, standing in the name of the said accountant
general, in trust hi the cause of Hungerford v. Drummond, and the sum of one
thousand seven hundred and sixty-five pounds two shillings cash in the bank,
remaining on the credit of the said cause, be respectively carried over in trust in and
to the credit of this cause; and the said accountant general is to declare the trust of
the said several sums of stock, accordingly, subject to the further order of this court;
and out of the said sum of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five pounds two
shillings cash, when so carried over, and the sum of two hundred and four pounds
six shillings and eight pence cash in the bank, on the credit of this cause, it is ordered
that the sum of fifty-three pounds seven shillings and six pence be paid to Mr.
Thomas George Fynniore; and thereout, also, it is ordered that the sum of five
hundred and twenty-six pounds eleven shillings and six pence be carried over,
with the privity of the said accountant general, and placed to the credit of this
cause, to an account to be entitled "The account of the annuitant Mary Ann
de la Batut;" and thereout, also, it is ordered that the sum of twenty-five pounds
be paid to Mrs. Elizabeth Fitall (as executrix of John Fitall, deceased) ; and it is
ordered that it be referred to the master to whom this cause stands referred, to
tax all parties their costs of this suit, and relating thereto, properly incurred;
the costs of the plaintiff, and of the defendant Charles Drummond, to be taxed
as between solicitor and client; and it is ordered that the amount of such costs, when
taxed, be paid out of one thousand three hundred and sixty-four pounds nine shil-
lings and eight pence cash, which will then l>e remaining on the credit of this
cause, after the several l)efore-mentioned payments, in manner following, that is to
say: The costs of the said plaintiff to Mr. Thomas Clark, his solicitor; and the costs
of the defendant Charles Drummond to Mr. Thomas George Fynmore, his solicitor;
and the costs of Her Majesty's attorney-general, to Mr. George Maule, her solicitor.
It is ordered that five thousand and fifteen pounds bank three pounds per cent
annuities, part of the six thousand eight hundred and ten pounds nineteen shillings
and seven pence, like annuities, standing in the name of said accountant general, in
trust in this cause, and any interest which may accrue on the said sum of five thou-
sand and fifteen pounds bank three pounds per cent annuities, previous to the carry-
ing over hereby directed, be, in like manner, carried over in trust, in this cause, to
the separate account of Mary Ann de la Batut, entitled "The account of the annui-
tant Mary Ann de la Batut," and the said accountant general is to declare the trust
thereof accordingly, subject to the further order of this court. And it is ordered
that the interest and dividends thereof, which shall accrue during the life of the said
Mary Ann de la Batut, be paid to her during her life, or until the further order of
this court, for her separate use, and on her sole receipt, by equal half-yearly pay-
ments, on the 22d day of September and the 22d day of March in every year; the
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 59
first payment thereof to be made on the 22d day of September next. And it is
ordered that the said sixty-two thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine pounds
nineteen shillings and two pence bank three pounds per cent annuities, twelve
thousand pounds reduced annuities, and sixteen thousand one hundred pounds bank
stock, when so respectively carried over, and one thousand seven hundred and
ninety-five pounds nineteen shillings and seven pence three pounds per cent annui-
ties, residue of the said six thousand eight hundred and ten pounds nineteen shil-
lings and seven pence, like annuities, after such carrying over of part thereof as
aforesaid, and the residue of the said sum of one thousand three hundred and sixty-
four pounds nine shillings and eight pence cash, after the payments thereout herein-
before directed (the amount of such residue to be verified by affidavit) , be transferred
and paid to Mr. Richard Rush, in the plaintiff's bill named. And it is ordered that
the boxes and packages in the master's report of the twenty-eighth day of June, one
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, in the said cause of Hungerford v. Drum-
mond mentioned, be delivered into the custody of the said Richard Rush, as attorney
or otherwise for the plaintiff; and, for the purposes aforesaid, the said accountant
general is to draw on the bank, according to the fonn prescribed by the act of Parlia-
ment, and the general rules and orders of this court in that case made and provided ;
and any of the parties are to be at liberty to apply to this court as they may be
advised.
Entered: H. H.
E. R.
Ricliard Rush to Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate.
MAY 31, 1838.
GENTLEMEN: I need scarcely again make known to you what I have
so frequently urged in person since the decision on the 9th instant,
viz: my anxiety to have the necessary document from the proper office
of the court, by which the Smithsonian fund adjudged to the United
States may be placed at my disposal. But, whatever the past obsta-
cles which you may not have been able to prevent, I must ask the
favor of your renewed and best exertions for causing me to be put in
possession of it at the earliest possible day; the more so, as we are
now at the end of the month, and my being invested with the requi-
site authority is an indispensable preliminary to arrangements for sell-
ing the stock advantageously in June, prior to my embarkation with
the fund for the United States. Your past attention to the case is a
pledge to me that you will do all in your power to fulfill my wishes;
in which assurance I remain,
Your obedient servant, RICHARD RUSH.
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, June 5, 1838.
SIR: With all my exertions to have the forms necessary for putting
me in possession of the Smithsonian fund completed in May, it will
60 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
be seen, from the inclosed copy of a letter to me from the solicitors,
in reply to one I wrote them on the last of May (a cop3 T of which is
also inclosed), that it is only to-day that all the forms have been finally
and fully completed.
After getting this information, I went immediately to the proper
department of the accountant-general of the court of chancery at the
Bank of England, and find that there has been transferred to me the
following stock, viz:
1. Sixty-four thousand five hundred and thirty-five pounds eighteen
shillings and nine pence in the consolidated 3 per cent annuities, com-
monly called consols by abbreviation.
2. Twelve thousand pounds in reduced 3 per cent annuities.
3. Sixteen thousand one hundred pounds in bank stock.
The books at the bank show the above stock to have been regularly
transferred to me under the authority of the court of chancery by the
accountant-general, as the proper officer of the court, in virtue of the
decree reported in my last, and I have accepted the same on the books,
on behalf of the United States, by signing my name to a form of
acceptance drawn out under each transfer.
The above stock constitutes, with the exception of 5,015, the
whole property left by Mr. Smithson to the United States, and now
recovered for them, with the further exception of some small sum in
cash, to which the solicitors refer as still to come from the accountant-
general, but of which I have as yet no statement.
The sum of 5,015 in consols, it has been decreed by the court, is to
be reserved and set apart to answer the annuity payable to Madame la
Batut, the principal to revert to the United States on the death of the
annuitant.
I have taken care to instruct the solicitors to see that there is due
proof at all times of the annuitant being in full life as the half-yearly
payments are made to her.
Although the aggregate of the stock transferred as above is under
100,000 in its nominal amount, there is no doubt whatever but that
the sale of it will yield more than that sum.
The transfer by the accountant-general was made to me only to-day,
:ind this is so far fortunate as that it could not otherwise have been
effected as to the principal part of the stock (viz, the 3 per cent annui-
ties) until the 17th of July, the books closing after to-day for the
transfer of this species of stock until the date I mention.
The important operation of selling the stock now remains to be
conducted, and shall claim my careful attention. I design to go into
the city to-morrow with a view to adopting the earliest measures for
this purpose, taking advice, in aid of my own judgment, for so man-
aging the sales as best to promote the interests of the United States.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 61
I continue to think that the best mode of bringing home the money
will be in gold in English sovereigns. Exchange is low, and so will
insurance be at this season; and on all accounts it seems to me the
preferable mode in which to realize the fund and deliver it over to the
Treasurer of the United States on my arrival, in final discharge of the
trust confided to me.
I shall hope to make some report of my steps by the next packet;
and in the meantime have the honor to remain, with great respect,
your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate to Richard Rush.
43 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND, June 5, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We beg to assure you, in answer to your favor of the
31st of May, that our endeavors to get through the forms necessary
for winding up the suit and putting you into possession of the Smith-
sonian fund have not been less urgent and unremitting than have been
your applications to ourselves upon the subject. The circumstance
of the shutting of the offices of the court of chancery for the holidays,
at a period when they are ordinarily open, and some other petty diffi-
culties not within our control, have, however, prevented our getting
through all the forms in the month of May, as we hoped to have been
able to do.
We have now, however, the satisfaction to announce to you that
everything is complete, and that the accountant-general of the court
of chancery has transferred into your name the several sums following:
64,535 18s. 9d., consols; 12,000 reduced annuities; 16,100 bank
stock.
These sums are entirely at your disposal, free from the control of
the court of chancery.
There will be, in addition, a small cash balance, which in the course
of a few days you will be able to receive of the accountant-general.
We are, very faithfully, your obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, June 13, 1838.
SIR: I am glad to be able to report to you that the sales of the stock
are going on well.
62 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
The whole of the consols have been sold, and part of the bank stock.
A portion of the consols, viz, .4,535 18s. 9d., was sold on the 6th
instant for cash at 94f . This was considered a high price; more could
not have been obtained for cash.
My first desire was to sell all the stock for cash, and immediately,
that I might the sooner close the whole operation and get away, but
such a course I soon found, on the best information and advice, would
have been injudicious.
To have attempted a sale of the bank stock, for example, all at once
would probably have depressed the market for this particular species
of security and occasioned a loss of several hundred pounds. The
reason is that the dealings in it, contradistinguished from those in the
great national stocks, are limited, and confined to a very few persons
on the stock exchange. The course which prudence dictated was to
sell it out in small parcels under careful instructions to the broker
on each day of the sale.
As it thus became necessary, in order to guard against loss, that I
should allow myself some little latitude as to time in selling the bank
stock, it opened a door the more properly for disposing of the other
stock on time at a short interval, the more especially if by that mode
it could be made to produce a larger sum.
Accordingly, on the same day that I disposed of a portion of the
consols for cash, which served also as a feeler to ascertain the cash
price, I caused the whole of what remained of this stock, viz, 60,000,
to be sold on time for the 6th of July, that being the day after divi-
dend day, which falls on the 5th of July.
It gives me great satisfaction to state that this sale was effected at 95.
Up to the day when it was effected, consols had not brought so high
a price, as far as I have yet been able to examine the London Mercan-
tile Price Current, for nearly eight years before.
Two sales have been made of the bank stock, viz, one of 3,000, the
other of 5,000; the former at 2041, the latter at 204f ; both sales
being for the 30th instant, the money pa}'able and stock to be delivered
on that day. Should the remainder be sold at these rates, or near
them, it will be seen that the bank stock, though in nominal amount
only 16,100. as stated in my last, will yield upward of 30,000.
In the important operations of selling the stock I am receiving the
most beneficial aid from the constant advice and active daily coopera-
tion in all ways of our consul, Colonel Aspinwall, whose long residence
in London and ample opportunities of knowing the mysteries of its
great stock market, and the minute details of doing business in it, have
given him the ability to aid me. It is thus that I am selling to every
advantage.
None of the 3 per cent reduced annuities have yet been sold. We
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 63
are watching the market with a view to the most favorable moment
for disposing of this part of the stock.
The fortunate point of time was hit for selling out the consols. They
have now sunk a little and, with the exception of momentary intervals,
would not have brought as much since the 6th instant as I obtained.
From the sales made it is now, I think, certain that the whole stock
will yield from 103,000 to 105,000, apart from the 5,015 to be
retained here during the life of Madame la Batut.
From the successful manner in which they are proceeding, it seems
clear also at the present time that the fund, independent of the accu-
mulations of interest, will be richer in the state in which I shall deliver
it over to the United States than it was in the summer of 1835, when
their right to it first attached by the death of Henry James Hunger-
ford.
Left to myself to make the most of the fund after recovering it from
chancery, which depended so much on the sale of the stock, it has
not been without full consideration that I did not call on the Messrs.
Rothschild to sell it all, for which their experience and situation here,
besides being the bankers of the United States, might have seemed to
point them out. But, first, they would, I take for granted, have
charged a commission of 1 per cent, to which I could not have objected,
as it is allowed here, apart from the broker's commission, and by the
chamber of commerce at New York on effecting sales of stock; whilst
Colonel Aspinwall charges me no such commission, and I much
desired to save the amount of it to the fund, if, with his efficient aid,
I could conduct the sales confidently and advantageously myself. But,
secondly, if the former, as the bankers of the United States, would
have performed the task without charge, I should not have been the
less disinclined to place it in their hands, having had no instructions
to do so, and, being without these, I could only exercise my best dis-
cretion. They are, as I in common with others here suppose, very
large dealers in stock on their own account, as occasion may serve;
and hence may naturally be supposed to desire sometimes a rise, some-
times a fall, in these everfluctuating things. With more than a hun-
dred thousand pounds to throw upon the market, I therefore thought it
best, acting on a general rule of prudence in all business, to keep the
operation of selling entirely clear of every quarter where any insen-
sible bias might, by possibility even, exist to a course other than that
which would regard alone the Smithsonian fund.
I design to leave no sale outstanding after the 6th of July. The
subsequent steps, however, for obtaining the gold, and those neces-
sary in various ways for shipping it, will render it impracticable for
me to embark with it in the packet which sails from Portsmouth on
the 10th of July, that packet leaving London always on the 7th. But
64 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
I will follow in the succeeding one of the 20th of July, which leaves
this port on the 17th, before which time I trust that everything will
have been fully and satisfactorily closed, as far as the trust can be
closed here.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Riisk to John Forxyth.
LONDON, June 26, 1838.
SIR: Since my No. 27, the sales of the stock have been going on from
time to time, and at length are finally closed.
They have all been good perhaps T may say fortunate. The prices
have been high, as compared with the state of the stock market for
several years past; and I am confidently informed that, from the time
the stock came under my control until I sold it all, no higher prices
were obtained by any private seller than I obtained.
The whole of the reduced 3 per cent annuities (12.000) sold at 94.
This description of stock is never as high as consols, but 94 is reputed
nearly, if not quite, as good a price, in proportion to its general value
in the English stock market, as the 95 I obtained for the consols.
Of the bank stock unsold at the date of my last (viz, 8,100), I
obtained 205 for 5,000, and 205i for the remaining 3,100. Both
these prices, it will be perceived, are higher than the former ones I
obtained for this stock.
The entire amount of sales has more than realized the anticipations
held out in my No. 27, having yielded an aggregate of rather more
than 105,000, as will be seen when I come to render a more particu-
lar statement. The two days on which I am to make all the transfers
are the 30th of this month and 6th of July. The money will all be
received simultaneously.
Immediately afterwards I shall take measures for converting the
whole into English gold coin, having finally determined that this is
the proper mode in which to bring the money to the United States,
under the trust I have in hand. It appears to me the right course in
itself, independent of any question of exchange, considering the pe-
culiar object and terms of the law of Congress of the 1st of July, 1836,
under which I am acting. But by the rate of exchange, as quoted at
New York under the last dates, there would be a gain to the United
States, by the best calculations I can now make (though I am aware
how exchange is ever liable to fluctuate), of upward of 1,000 on
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 65
bringing over the money in gold rather than remitting it in bills.
This would help to cover the commissions on shipping the former,
effecting insurance upon it, and paying the premium of insurance, as
well as charges for freight and those that have been incurred on selling
the stock.
All these operations demand mercantile agencies and assistance, to
which I am inadequate in my own person, beyond superintending them
and seeing that they are rendered justly. I will take care that these
expenses are kept within limits as moderate as possible, consistently
with having the business regularly done according to mercantile usage
in operations of the same nature, so that the fund, in bearing its own
unavoidable expenses, may be encroached upon as little as possible.
I have not yet been able to get from the solicitors a statement of the
costs of the suit, but will not fail to obtain it before I embark. The
final payments under this head, and those I shall be called upon to make
for services enumerated above, can scarcely be completed but at the
last moments of my stay; hence I may not be able to transmit an
account of them to you until I arrive at New York, where also the
freight will have to be paid.
In reporting to you the final decision of the court, I omitted to men-
tion some particulars not at first accurately known to me, but neces-
sary to be now stated, viz: 526 11s. 6d. were decreed to be paid out
of the fund to Madame la Batut, as her arrears; 25 as arrears found
to be due to John Fitall-, the annuitant under the will; and, lastly,
53 7s. 6d. as due for the use of certain warehouse rooms in London.
The two first items explain themselves, after all I have written. The
third has reference to some personal property left by the testator, con
tained, as I understand, in thirteen boxes or trunks deposited in the
warehouse rooms specified. I have had no opportunity as yet of ex-
amining the contents of these boxes, but am informed that they consist
chiefly of books unbound, manuscripts, specimens of minerals, some
philosophical or chemical instruments, and a few articles of table fur-
niture. The contents of the whole are supposed to be of little intrinsic
value, though parts may be otherwise curious. As all now belong to
the United States, under the decree of the court, I shall think it proper
to have them shipped when the gold is shipped, paying all reasonable
charges.
Having more than once spoken of the possibility of fictitious claim-
ants starting up for the Smithsonian bequest, perhaps I may here be
allowed to mention what the solicitors have informed me of, viz, that
since the decision two claimants have presented themselves at their
office, neither having any connection with the other. When the deci-
sion was pronounced, the sum recovered was also proclaimed in the
London newspapers, which had probably awakened these claimants
H. Doc. 732 5
66 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
into life. The .solicitors add that one of them desired, somewhat
importunately, to know if the case could not he reheard in court. It
is needless to remark that he was told he was a little too late in his
application.
1 will use this opportunity the last I may perhaps have of writing
to you before I embark, from the engagements likely to press upon me
in getting the fund ready for shipment and clearing off all necessary
expenses to say a word of our professional advisers. Of the counsel
I selected it is unnecessary for me to speak, their established reputa-
tion in the highest department of their profession putting them above
any testimonial from me. But of the solicitors, as they move in one
of its less conspicuous fields, I will barely take the liberty of saying
that more attention, diligence, discretion, and integrity could not, I
believe, have been exerted by any persons than they have shown
throughout the whole suit from first to last. Could they ever have
forgotten what was due to the United States and to themselves in the
desire to eke out a job, nothing is plainer to me, from what has been
passing under my observation of the entanglements and dcla} T s natural
to a heavy suit in the English court of chancery, than they might have
found opportunities in abundance of making this suit last for years
yet to come.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Clarke, Fynmore <& Fladgate to Richard Rush.
CRAVEN STREET, July 5, 1838.
DEAR SIR: At the time of the decease of the late Henry James
Hungerford, esq., which happened on the 5th of June, 1835, there
was standing in the name of the accountant-general of the court of
chancery to the credit of the cause Hungerford r. Drummond the sev-
eral sums following, viz: 62,739 19s. 2d. bank 3 per cent annuities,
12,000 3 per cent reduced annuities, 16,100 bank stock.
And if these several funds had then been sold they would have real-
ized the sum of 102,991, or thereabouts, but owing to the proceedings
which were necessary to be instituted in the court of chancery, the
funds were not transferred into your name until the 5th of June, 1838.
We are happy to inform you that, notwithstanding this delay, no loss
has been occasioned to the United States, as, according to the market
prices of the funds on the last-mentioned day, the funds were then
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 67
worth 103,888, being an excess of =897 beyond the value on the 5th
of June, 1835, the date of Mr Hungerford's death.
The whole of the costs of the chancery suit amounted to 723 7s. lid.,
so that the increase in the value of the funds was sufficient to pay the
whole of these costs and leave a surplus of 173 12s. Id.
In making out the above statement, the dividends upon the funds
have not been taken into account, but the United States receive them
in addition to the original fund.
The United States do not, however, receive the whole amount of
such dividends now, as a portion of them was invested in stock, of
which 5,015 has been appropriated to answer an annuity of 150 9s.
to Madame de la Batut, upon whose decease the same will become the
property of the United States.
The sums in court, at the last hearing of the cause, were as follows,
viz:
s. d.
62, 739 19 2 bank 3 per cent annuities.
6, 810 19 7 like annuities.
12, 000 reduced annuities.
16,100 bank stock.
1,765 2 cash.
204 6 8 cash.
These sums have been appropriated as follows, viz:
s. d.
62, 739 19 2 bank 3 per cent annuities.
1, 795 19 7 part of 6,810 19s. 7d. like annuities.
64, 535 18 9 bank 3 per cent annuities.
Transferred into the name
of Richard Rush, esq.
12, 000 reduced annuities.
16,100 bank stock.
5,015 reduced bank annuities, residue of 6,810 19s. 7d. retained in
court to answer annuity to Madame de la Batut.
406 3 paid to plaintiff's solicitors for their costs.
162 15 5 paid to defendants' solicitors for costs.
53 7 6 paid to plaintiff's solicitors for warehouse room, paid by them to
Messrs. Deacon.
526 11 6 paid to Madame de la Batut for arrears of her annuity.
25 paid to Mrs. Fitall for arrears of annuity.
70 7 8 paid to solicitor for defendant, the attorney-general, for costs.
725 3 7 balance of cash paid to R. Rush, esq.
Herewith we send you a complete copy of our bill of costs, amount-
ing altogether to 490 4s. lOd. ; and we have received the following
sums on account of costs, viz:
S.
April 10, 1837, of Richard Rush, esq 200 4
June 11, 1838, of accountant-general, for plaintiff's taxed costs 406 3
Total.. .. 606 7
68 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
The latter sum exceeding our hill of costs by .116 2s. 2d., leaves us
in debt to the United States to that amount, for which we beg leave to
inclose our check.
We may here remind you of the information on the subject of costs
which we had before given you verbally, viz, that the court allows
against the fund certain ordinary costs; and such costs have been
received by us from the accountant-general, as before stated. In con-
sequence, however, of the line of conduct adopted by us, under your
own directions, to insure a speedy and successful termination of the
suit, some small extra costs have been incurred beyond what are con-
sidered ordinary costs.
We have, as you requested, had a lock placed upon the trunk 1 in our
possession, having previously deposited therein the several articles of
plate and other matters, which we mentioned to you as being in our
possession, and of which articles we inclose you a list.
We are, dear sir, your faithful and obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMOKE & RLADGATE.
P. S. We also return to you the memoranda which you left with us
as to the stock.
Cl&Tke, Fymnore cfc Fladgate to Richard
CRAVEN STREET, July 11, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We have made the affidavit w r hich you required to verify
the bill of costs, and which we now return to you.
We also send }^ou the original order on further directions, under
which the several transfers of the funds have been made into your
name. This order has the initials of the registrar, as also of the enter-
ing clerk, placed at the foot of it; this being the mode adopted in the
court of chancery to show the authenticity of their orders.
We also send you a transcript from the books of the accountant-
general, certified by Mr. Lewis to be a true copy, Mr. Lewis being
the clerk whose duty it is to make such transcript. The sum of
.70 7s. 8d., appearing still to remain on the general credit of the cause,
is reserved for the costs of the attorney-general, and will be paid over
to his solicitor upon his applying for the amount; and the cash stand-
ing to the account of Mrs. de la Batut is for the arrears of her annuit}',
and will be paid to her.
We have seen Mr. Deacon upon the subject of his charge for ware-
house room beyond the 24th ultimo, and have paid him for the same
2; and we have also paid 4s. 6d. for swearing to our bill of costs,
which is the whole of our demand against you.
the 14 mentioned in my dispatch No,
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 69
Mr. Deacon informed us when we saw him that he had in his pos-
session a painting belonging to the estate, and which he promised
should be sent over to your house, and which we presume he has done;
but should he not have done so, perhaps you will be good enough to
apply to him for it.
We will thank you to send us an acknowledgment for the different
boxes we have handed you.
We are, dear sir, your veiy faithful servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FLADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
70
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72 SMITHSONIAN UEQUEST.
IN CHANCERY.
Between the President of the United States of America, plaintiff, and Charles Prnm-
ijiond and Her Majesty's attorney-general, defendants.
The bill of costs of the above-named plaintiff' in thin suit and incidental thereto.
. s. d.
Sejrt. 16, 1836. Mr. Fladgate's attendance on Mr. Rush, on the part of the
United States, at the Portland Hotel, by appointment, when Mr. Rush
requested that two of the firm should at least attend 6 8
Writing to Mr. Rush, fixing appointment for conference with him on
Tuesday at 11 o'clock 5
Sept. 20. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate's attendance on Mr. Rush, fully
explaining to him the course which it appeared to us should be taken on
the part of the executors to bring the claim of the United States under
consideration, and also the necessity of making Madame de la Batut and
the attorney-general parties; and reading to him the case laid before Mr.
Stuart, and his opinion, of which he wished to have a copy 1 8
Copy case and opinion for him 1
Attending him therewith 6 8
Oct. :?. Writing to Mr. Rush, in reply to letter from him 5
Oct. 7. Writing to Mr. Rush, to fix appointment for conference on Thurs-
day next 5
Oct. 10. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate's attendance on Mr. Rush, by
appointment, to peruse case drawn out by him for counsel to advise the
American Government as to course to be pursued to obtain payment of
the fund in court, and advising as to the counsel to be retained, and
received directions to submit case to Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Jacob 1 6 8
Paid coach hire 1 6
Oct. 11. Looking through the papers in our possession, to compare them
with statement in Mr. Rush's case, and altering the latter in one or two
particulars, engaged two hours 1 1
Two copies of case for counsel, four sheets each 1 6 8
Two copies of act of American Congress, to accompany same, three sheets
each 1
One copy of order on further directions in the cause of Hungerford v. Drum-
mond, also to accompany case, to show the precise position of the funds
in court 1 1
Attending at Doctor's Commons to bespeak an office-copy will of Mr. Smith-
son for Mr. Rush, at his request 6 8
Attending afterwards to examine and procure same 6 8
Paid for same 6 4
Oct. 13. Writing to Madame de la Batut, as to her demands, and requesting
her to appoint a solicitor here to act in the suit about to be instituted by
the United States 5
Attending Mr. Rush with the fair copies of cases for his perusal and signa-
tures, and we also returned him his authority, and handed him office-
copy will 13 4
Attending Mr. Pemberton with case 6 8
Fee to him therewith, and clerk 11 6
Fee to him for conference with Mr. Jacob, and clerk 296
Attending to get same appointed 6 8
Fee to Mr. Jacob with case, and clerk 815
Attending him therewith and thereon 6 8
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 73
s. d.
Fee to him for conference, and clerk 246
Attending to inform him of time appointed 6 8
Nov. 2. Attending consultation, Mr. Rush being present, when the course
to be pursued on behalf of the United States was very fully considered,
and it was determined that a supplemental bill should be filed in the
name of the President of the United States of America, and the attorney-
general made a defendant, and counsel promised to write their opinion. . 220
Nov. 5. Copy of opinion for Mr. Rush 5
Writing to him, with same 5
Noi\ 14. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate's attendance upon Mr. Rush, as to
the bill proposed to be filed, and his suggestions as to the possibility of
an abatement from the want of a plaintiff, and explaining the course of
practice to him 1 6 8
MICHAELMAS TERM, 1836.
Instructions for bill 13 4
Drawing same, folios 30 1 10
Paid fee to Mr. Shadwell to settle and sign, and clerk 246
Attending him 6 8
Attending Mr. Shadwell, advising hereon and as to Madame de la Batut's
claim, and explaining the same fully to him, and conferring on several
points arising, and particularly on the nature of the property left by Mr.
Smithson 6 8
Fair copy bill for Mr. Pemberton to peruse and finally settle, folios 30 10
Fee to him and clerk 246
Attending him 6 8
Attending Mr. Pemberton, appointing a conference hereon at Westminster. 6 8
Paid fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk thereon 296
The like to Mr. Shadwell and clerk 136
Attending him 6 8
Writing to Mr. Rush informing him thereon 5
Attending consultation (Mr. Rush being present) at Westminster, when it
was determined not to make Madame de la Batut a party to suit 1 6 8
Paid for room 5
Attending Mr. Shadwell afterwards to procure draft bill as settled 6 8
Engrossing bill 15
Paid for parchment ". . 10
Paid filing bill 7 4
Attending, bespeaking, and afterwards for office-copy bill to serve on the
attorney-general 6 8
Paid for same 1 5
Attending the attorney-general therewith 6 8
Drawing pnecipe for subpoena against defendant, Charles Drummond, and
attending to bespeak, and for same 6 8
Paid for subpoena and making copy to serve 5 10
Fee on obtaining and undertaking to appear for defendant, Drummond. . . 6 8
Nov. 20. Attending Mr. Wray to press for answer of attorney-general and
explaining to tim the reason of our urging the same, when he promised
to prepare answer immediately, Mr. Rush's invariable direction to us
being to use all practicable speed touching every point of the proceedings. 6 8
The defendant, Charles Drummond, wishing his answer to be taken with-
out oath or signature, the solicitor's fee thereon 6 8
Drawing and engrossing petition for same 4
74 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
B. d.
Attending the defendant' a clerk in court and obtaining his consent thereto. 6 8
Attending to present the same 6 8
Paid answering, and for order and entering 7
Copy and service of order 2
Writing to Mr. Rush to inform him when it was likely the cause would be
heard 5
Paid for office-copy answer of defendant, Charles Drummond, folios 16 13 4
Close copy 5 4
Attending Messrs. Derby and Raven to inform them answer of defendant,
Drummond, was filed, and to request them to lose no time in putting in
answer of attorney-general 6 8
January, 18S7. Several attendances upon Messrs. Derby and Raven and
Mr.Wray to urge the filing of the attorney-general's answer, which was
at length done 13 4
Paid for office-copy answer of attorney-general, folios 4 3 4
Close copy 1 4
Term fee clerk in court and solicitor 16 8
Letters and messengers 5
Abbreviating bill and answer, folios 50 in all 16 8
Making two briefs of pleadings, 5 sheets each 1 13 4
Paid for certificate of pleadings 3 4
Attending for same 6 8
Paid for setting down cause and attending 1 5 8
Drawing praecipe for subpoena to hear judgment and attending for same... 6 8
Paid for same and copy 5 10
Service on the clerks in court 5
HILARY TERM, 1837.
Affidavit of service, etc 3 4
Oath 1 6
Paid filing affidavit 6 2
Copy title and prayer of bill for judge 2 6
Attending to bespeak, and afterwards for certificate of funds in court in orig-
inal suit 6 8
Drawing observations to annex to plaintiff's briefs, 4 brief sheets 1 6 8
Two briefs copies thereof 168
Two copies order on further directions in original suit, to accompany briefs,
7 sheets each 268
Attending Mr. Rush on his handing us the act of Congress authorizing him
to act, and on his instructing us to let a copy of the same accompany the
briefs 6 8
Two brief copies same, 3 sheets each 100
Drawing proposed minutes of orders 5
Fee to Mr. Shadwell, to settle same 136
Attending him 6 8
Two fair copies minutes to annex to briefs 5
Two fair copies minutes to annex to briefs, for defendants 5
Attending them therewith and thereon 6 8
Attending the defendant's solicitors; obtaining their consent to have cause
heard short 13 4
Attending Mr. Shadwell, and obtaining his certificate thereof 6 8
Attending registrar therewith, and getting cause marked short, and put in
the next short-cause paper 6 8
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 75
s. d.
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk, with brief 5 10
Attending him 6 8
The like to Mr. Shadwell and clerk 356
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk, on conference as to the practicability of
having cause short 160
Attending him 13 4
Attending appointing consultation 6 8
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk 296
Attending him' 6 8
Like to Mr. Shadwell and clerk 1 3 6
Attending him 6 8
Writing Mr. Rush, informing him thereof 5
Attending consultation at Westminster, Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate 1 6 8
Paid for room and cab-hire 7 6
Attending, ascertaining if the several articles mentioned in the master's
report in the original cause were safe, and comparing same with the sched-
ule 13 4
Two brief copies schedules to annex to brief, at Mr. Rush's request 10
Attending bespeaking transcript of the account in original suit 6 8
Paidforsame 140
Writing Mr. Rush, informing him when cause would be in the paper 50
Mr. Clarke and Mr. Fladgate attending court, cause heard and decreed ac-
cording to minutes agreed on, with liberty for plaintiff to amend his bill
by adding the act of Congress 220
Paid court fees 13
Attending Mr. Rush afterwards, and explaining proceedings to him 13 4
Drawing petition to amend bill 4
Attending to present same 6 8
Paid answering, and for order and entering 7
Two copies and services of order 5
Instructions to amend 13 4
Drawing amendments, folios 6 6 8
Fee to Mr. Shadwell and clerk, to settle and sign 1 3 6
Attending him 6 8
Engrossing amended bill, folios 36 18
Paid for parchment 10
Paid filing 7 4
Abbreviating amended bill, folios 36 12
Two brief copies of amendments for counsel 10
Paid for office-copy of amended bill, to serve on the attorney-general,
folios36 1 10
Attending Messrs. Derby & Co. , therewith and thereon 6 8
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk, with amended bill 2 4 6
Attending him 6 8
The like to Mr. Shadwell and clerk 136
Attending him 6 8
Drawing pnecipe for subpoena, and attending to bespeak same 6 8
Paid for same, and making copy to serve 5 10
Service on clerk in court 5
Attending registrar and getting cause put in the paper 6 8
Writing to solicitors for the defendants, informing, them thereof 10
Attending court order made 168
Paid court fees ... 130
76 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
Instructions for petitions to lay out 6,172 9s. , cash accumulated in Hunger-
ford v. Drummond 6 8
Drawing same, folios 40 200
Fee to Mr. Shadwell and clerk, to peruse and settle same 246
Attending him 6 8
Engrossing petition to present, as settled, folios 30 10
Copy for the master of the rolls 10
Attending to present same 6 8
Paid answering 11
Two copies petition to serve 1
Attending serving same 4
Two brief copies for counsel, 3 brief-sheets each 1
Drawing observations to annex to brief petition, 2 sheets 13 4
Two fair copies 13 4
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of service of petition 4 10
Paid oath 1 2
Paid filing and for office copy 6 6
Fee to Mr. Shadwell and clerk therewith 246
Attending him 6 8
Attending accountant-general for, and obtaining certificate 6 8
Attending court petition heard, and ordered as prayed 13 4
Paid court fees 13
Writing Mr. Rush, at his request, a report of the proceedings in court 50
Paid for minutes of order 2
Close copy 1
Attending settling 6
Paid for order 2
Attending passing 6 8
Paid entering 4
Drawing request to accountant-general 2 6
Attending bespeaking investment 6 8
Paid 4
Paid for copy of minutes of decree 3
Close copy 1 6
Attending settling 13 4
Copy of minutes for Mr. Rush and writing him therewith and thereon 66
Paid for decree 4 10
Attending passing 13 4
Paid entering 4
Attending 6 8
Attending at the public office to obtain the name of the master in the orig-
inal cause 6 8
Paid master's clerk 1
Making copy title and ordering part of decree for the master 5
Warrant to consider decree, two copies, and services 6
Writing Mr. Rush, informing him thereof in order to insure his attendance. 5
Attending warrant when master ordered the usual advertisement to be
issued and a state of facts, etc., to be brought in as to Madame Batut'a
claim, and stated that he could not direct inquiries to be made at Pisa as
to the death of Mr. Hungerford, but would allow the costs thereon if
instituted 13 4
Attending at Stepney Church to search for burial of John Fitall, but found
he was not buried there... .110
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 77
Paid ex'arch and coach hire ............................................ 2 6
Attending Mrs. Fitall, but she declined giving any information, as the last
quarterly payment had not been made ................................ 6 8
Attending at various places in the neighborhood to inquire where he was
buried, when some persons said in the country, others at Fletcher's
Chapel, and others at St. George's in the East, and ultimately discovered
a relative, who informed us that he was buried at Shad well ............ 13 4
Attending at Shad well Church; clergyman and clerk both out and could
not search .......................................................... 13 4
Paid coach hire ....................................................... 5
Attending bespeaking advertisement as to Mr. Hungerford's death ....... 6 8
Paid master's clerk .................................................... 110
Attending bespeaking advertisement as to Madame de la Batut's claim ____ 68
Paid master's clerk .................................................... 1 1
Attending at Shadwell, searching for and obtaining certificate of Mr. Fitall's
death ............................................................... 1 1
Paid for certificate and omnibus hire ................................... 5
Instructions for affidavit verifying extract ............................... 6 8
Drawing same, folios 8 ................................................. 8
Engrossing same ...................................................... 2 8
Attending swearing .................................................... 6 8
Paid oath and exhibit ................................................. 4
Drawing and fair copy state of facts as to Fitall's death, folios 12 .......... 8
Warrant on leaving same, copy, and service ............................. 6
Attending Mr. Cullington, Mrs. FitalPs solicitor, as to identity of John
Fitall, when he promised to see his client thereon and let us know the
result ............................................................... 6 8
Attending at the Gazette office to get advertisements as to Mr. Hungerford's
death inserted ...................................................... 6 8
Paid, and for Gazette ........................... . ...................... 182
Attending at the Gazette office to get advertisement as to Mrs. Batut's claim
inserted ............................................................ 6 8
Paid for insertion ..................................................... 110
Copy of advertisement as to Hungerford's death for Times newspaper ..... 26
Attending inserting same .............................................. 6 8
Paid insertion ......................................................... 16 5
The like for Morning Herald ........................................... 9 2
Paid insertion, etc ..................................................... 16 5
The like for Standard .................................................. 9 2
Paid insertion, etc ..................................................... 16 5
Copy of advertisement as to Mrs. Batut's claim, for the Times newspaper. 2 6
Attending inserting same ............................ . ................. 6 8
Paid insertion ......................................................... 16
The like for Morning Herald ........................................... 9 2
Paid insertion, etc ..................................................... 16
The like for Standard .................................................. 9 2
Paid for insertion, etc ................................................. 16
Several attendances in the city as to the best mode of inserting the adver-
tisement in foreign papers, and as to getting same translated, etc ........ 1 1
Making copies of advertisements to get translated into French and Italian. 5
Attending translation therewith, and afterwards for same ................ 13 4
Paid them ................................................ . ........... 266
Making twelve copies for insertion in foreign papers ..................... 1 10
78 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
B. d.
Attending Mr. Deacon, the newspaper agent, therewith and instructing
him thereon 13 4
Paid for foreign advertisements 12 2 11
Attending paying same, and for receipt 6 8
The proprietors of the Times newspaper having made an error in the name
of Mr. Hungerford, attending at their office and rectifying same and giv-
ing instruction for another insertion 6 8
Attending Mr. Deacon to ascertain if he had correspondent at Leghorn to
whom we could forward instructions to obtain the information of Mr.
Hungerford' s death, and obtaining the direction of same 6 8
Writing very long and special letter to Madame Batut as to her claim on
the estate and requiring the necessary proof, and requesting information
as to her son's death, etc 7 6
Copy same to keep as evidence 5
Writing Mr. Rush, with Mrs. Batut' s answer 5
Attending at Gazette office to get advertisements as to Mr. Hungerford' s
death inserted second time 6 8
Paid for Gazette and insertion . 1 8 2
Copy advertisement for Times newspaper 2 6
Attending inserting same 6 8
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
Attending at Gazette office to get advertisement as to claim of Madame de
la Batut inserted a second time 6 8
Paid for insertion 1 1
Copy advertisement for Times newspaper 2 6
Attending inserting same 6 8
Paid insertion 16
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid for insertion, etc 16
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid for insertion, etc 16
Termfee 1 1 8
EASTER TERM, 1837.
Attending Mr. Cullington to know if he could identify Mr. Fitall, which he
declined doing unless the arrears of the annuity were paid 6 8
Attending bespeaking peremptory advertisement as to Hungerford's death. 6 8
Paid master's clerk 1 1
The like charges as to Madame Batut' s claim 178
Attending Mr. Rush with Madame de la Batut' s letter, and conferring
thereon, when he agreed with us in thinking that she had abandoned all
claim under the estate 6 8
Attending at Gazette office to get peremptory advertisement inserted as to
Mr. Hungerford's death 6 8
Paid for Gazette and insertion 1 8 2
Copy advertisement for Times newspaper 2 6
Attending inserting the same 6 8
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 79
s. d.
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
Attending at Gazette office to get peremptory advertisement as to claim of
Madame de la Batut inserted 6 8
Paid insertion 110
Copy of advertisement for Times newspaper 2 6
Attending inserting same 6 8
Paid insertion 16
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid insertion 16
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid insertion 16
Attending at Gazette office to get peremptory advertisement inserted a
second time as to death of Mr. Hungerford 6 8
Paid for Gazette and insertion 182
Copy advertisement for Times 2 6
Attending inserting same 6 8
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid insertion, etc 16 5
Attending at the Gazette office to insert the peremptory advertisement a
second time as to claim of Madame de la Batut 6 8
Paid for insertion and Gazette 110
Copy advertisement for Times 2 6
Paid insertion 16
The like for Morning Herald 9 2
Paid insertion 16
The like for Standard 9 2
Paid for insertion ]H
Attending at Mr. Deacon's to ascertain if any of the foreign papers had
arrived, when he handed us three of the French papers which he had
only received that morning 6 8
Perusing and examining same, and ascertaining they were full of errors;
attending Mr. Deacon again, and correcting same, and requesting him to
get same correctly inserted 13 4
Writing Madame de la Batut, in answer to her last letter, and requesting
any information she could give as to the death of Mr. Hungerford 50
Making two copies of peremptory advertisement to get translated into
French and Italian 5
Attending translators therewith, and afterwards for same 13 4
Paid them 2 6 6
Making 12 copies for insertion in the foreign papers 1 10
Attending Mr. Deacon therewith, and instructing him thereon 13 4
Paid for foreign advertisements 12 3
Writing long letter to Mrs. Batut, in answer 5
Attending paying for foreign advertisements and for receipts 6 8
Attending Mr. Batut in very long conference, when he urged the claim of
Madame de la Batut; but we informed him we had no discretion to
apply the funds except under the direction of the court, and told him
to carry in a claim before the master; when he stated "he would submit
certain documents of evidence material to the plaintiffs case, for an
inspection at 10:30 o'clock next day " 13 4
80 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Paid for oaths of Messrs. Clarke, Fynniore, and Fladgate to three copies of
bill delivered to Mr. Rush IS 6
April 29. Attending Mr. Batut for upwards of two hours, when he
appeared desirous of making terms as to the information he could give
relative to the death of Mr. Hungerford without children, which he
assured us we could not obtain elsewhere; and informing him we could
communicate with plaintiff thereon, and requesting him to put any legal
claims he might have into the hands of his solicitors, and we promised to
represent to Mr. Rush his statement 1 1
Writing to Mr. Rush on the above subject, and requesting appointment to
meet him 5
May 1. Attending Mr. Gardner in long conference as to the claims of
Madame Batut, which we thought were much larger than would be
allowed her on proof before the master; and we postponed a final deter-
mination until we had again looked through the papers 13 4
May 2. Attending at Mr. Rush's in long conference as to the application
of Mr. Batut, when it was decided that we could not offer any pledge
that attention would be paid to his application, but that we must pro-
cure from him such information as he could give, and, if it appeared that
he had any just claim, we would offer no technical or unnecessary delay
to it 13 4
May 4- Attending Mr. Gardner, conferring very fully again hereon; when
he stated that Mr. .Smithson possessed himself of the property of the late
Mr. Dickinson, and never rendered an account; and that he (Mr. Gard-
ner) considered that a bill should now be filed against the defendant
(Drummond), as executor of the testator in this cause, for such account;
and that it was expected a larger sum would be found to have been
received; but that at all events a claim would be established to a life inter-
est in a sum equal to that stated in the will to be the nephew's property,
viz, 260 per annum, which, in point of fact, had been the amount of
allowances made to Mrs. Batut by the testator, as she could prove; and
we urged that filing a bill would be useless, as it was impossible to
furnish an account, but would search through all the documents in the
plaintiff's custody or power, and give them every facility to settle the
matter in the master's office 13 4
May 5. Attending Mons. Batut for upward of two hours, when we told
him the only chance for his obtaining any remuneration from the plaintiff
was to furnish him with every information in his power relative to the
death of Mr. Hungerford, which he seemed very unwilling to do, without
a pledge that something should be done, and we assured him that no
party here could give such pledge, and that if he was really disposed to sell
his information, he must put his terms into writing, when he stated that
he would consider the course to adopt, and advising him to give us the
information, and informing him if he did not we should resist Madame
Batut's claim in every possible way 1 1
May 6. Attending at Mr. Deacon's; going through and perusing the docu-
ments deposited in the boxes, etc.; to answer Mr. Gardner's inquiry, but
could find nothing; engaged several hours 1 i
May 11. Attending Mr. Gardner as to Mr. Batut's claim, when he required
to be furnished with an account of the payments made by Mr. Smithson
in his lifetime to Madame de la Batut, which we promised to procure, as
evidence of the fund she might claim under the will of Dickinson 13 4
Attending Mr. Deacon, making inquiry as to the foreign papers, when he
handed us several French ones, and promised to write for the Italian 6 8
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 81
s. d.
May 18. Attending Mr. Batut on his furnishing us with the required
information, when it appeared that Mr. Hungerford was buried at a
Dominican convent, at Pisa, under the name of Baron de la Batut, on the
5th of June, 1835, and that a stone was raised to his memory; but that
his servant, Leo Ferna, could not be found, and he urged his claim upon
the consideration of the plaintiff, when we informed him that we could
not entertain such claim, but referred him at once to Mr. Rush, or to the
American Government 13 4
Attending Mr. Rush afterwards, conferring on Mr. Batut' s information and
application, when it was determined that a meeting should take place in
our presence between Mr. Rush and Mr. Batut 13 4
Attending Mr. Gardner to confer as to appointment with Monsieur Batut,
but he was out of town; writing Mr. Rush thereon 5
Term, fee, etc 118
TRINITY TERM, 1837.
Attending at Messrs. Drummond, going through their books to ascertain
whether any drafts had been drawn upon them by the testator, which
would tally with the claim brought forward by Mrs. Batut, but found it
was the testator's habit to draw only for large sums, and his account
proved nothing 13 4
May 30. Paid for copy charge of Mrs. Batut' s, folios 36 4 6
Attending warrant to proceed thereon, when the master directed interroga-
tories to be exhibited for the examination of Mr. Drummond G
June 1. Paid for copy charge of Mrs. Fitall, folios 12 1 6
June 2. Attending Mr. Batut further as to his alleged claim, and the infor-
mation he still withheld and promised to afford us 6 8
June 5. Attending him again on the above subject, and asking him what
he required ; when he promised to consider our request and see us thereon
next day 6 8
Attending Messrs. Pemberton, advising them what had taken place, and
requesting them to attend the next day with Mr. Batut 6 8
June 6. Attending warrant on Mrs. Fitall 's charge when the master directed
an affidavit in support verifying when he died 6 8
June 6. Attending Mr. Batut, and afterwards Mr. Rush, when Mr. Batut
stated that he would make the requisite affidavit, and taking full instruc-
tions for same; but on our application for an appointment to swear same,
he changed his mind, and stated that he would not make the affidavit
unless he had a pledge from Mr. Rush that he would support his claim
in America, which he did not feel justified in giving, and therefore ih ( >
treaty was broken off; engaged upward of two hours 1 1
Instructions for affidavit 6 8
Drawing same, folios 14 14
Attending Messrs. Pemberton thereon, and urging them to get affidavit
made, and to bring in same evidence in support of their state of facts (J 8
June 9. Writing Mr. Rush very fully thereon : 5
June 10. Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference on Mr. Batut's con-
duct, and informing him of the nature of the evidence sent us from Italy,
which we thought was quite sufficient 13 4
Attending Mr. Cullington, pressing him to leave in the master's office
his affidavit, required in support of charge as to Fitall's annuity, when
he promised to see his client thereon and to proceed with the charge
forthwith , . . 6 8
H. Doc. 732 6
82 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
K. d.
Paid postage of foreign letter from Mr. Berri 4 1
June 16. Attending Mr. Gardner to press him to bring in the particulars
of proof of Mrs. Batnt's claim, and conferring on claim 6 8
June 19. Paid for copy affidavit in support of charge of Mrs. Fitall, folios 8. 1
June 20. Attending warrant to proceed on charge of Mrs. Fitall' s, same
allowed 6 8
Paid for warrant for Mrs. Batut to bring in evidence in support of charge,
otherwise it would be disallowed, copy and service (no clerk in court) . . 56
Writing Mr. Rush as to Fitall's annuity 5
June 23. Writing Mr. Rush, at defendant Drummond's request, touching
an application made to him by Mr. Batut, and requiring his instructions
thereon 5
Having received from Leghorn an official certificate of the death of Mr.
Ilungerford, authenticated by Mr. Falconer (the consul), attending at
the Foreign Office, to ascertain what gentleman connected with the office
could verify the signature, and found Mr. Hertslet was known to him,
but he was from town 6 8
June 23. Attending Messrs. Pemberton & Co., on their stating they were
preparing instructions for the interrogatories, but previous to completing
them, they were anxious to examine some papers belonging to the testa-
tor, in a black trunk in our possession going through same with him
but they afforded him no information; engaged two hours 13 4
June 26. Attending Mr. Gardner this morning, upward of two hours, on
the subject of Mrs. Batut' s claim, endeavoring to come to some arrange-
ment and to ascertain if her claim was really founded in justice 13 4
June 29. The master having required evidence of the insertion of the for-
eign advertisements and as to their correctness, instructions for affi-
davits 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copies; folios 14 14
Fair copy for perusal 4 8
Attending Mr. Deacon and Mr. Whittaker, severally, therewith, and finally
settling same 13 4
Engrossing same 4 8
Attending Mr. Deacon to the public office to get sworn to the same; Mr.
Whittaker could not attend 6 8
Paid two oaths 3
July 1. Attending Mr. Whittaker to get sworn (> 8
Paid oath 1 6
Paid Mr. Whittaker and Mr. Deacon for loss of time and trouble '2 2
Attending paying same and keeping receipt 6 8
Warrant on leaving two copies, and services (>
Attending Mr. Gardner, pressing him to support a claim of Mrs. Batut's;
informing him, if not done forthwith, we should exclude her altogether
from the report; when he informed us, if we did, he should immediately
file a bill <> 8
Attending warrant as to Mrs. Batut's evidence in support of her charge,
when Mr. Gardner undertook to have interrogatories on the following day. (> 8
Paid for copy of interrogatories for twelve close copies 1 6
Carriage of parcel from Pisa 4
Inclosing certificate 7 8
Having received the above certificate of the death of Mr. Hungerford, attend-
ing Mr. Whittaker to get same translated 6 8
Paid his charges 2 14
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 80
a d.
Attending warrant to settle interrogatories as to Mrs. Batut's claim, when
the master allowed same, subject to any objections the defendant might
make to the exhibits which were not left in the office 16 8
Warrants for Mrs. Batut to bring in exhibits, copy, and service: not in
cause 5 6
July 17. Attending counsel, in long conference, as to these interrogatories
and exhibits 1.'} 4
Paid his fee, and clerk 1 (>
Attending 6 8
Attending to Mr. Rush, in very long conference on the state of the suit, and
advising with him as to incurring any extra expense in the inquiries
after Mr. Hungerford's death 13 4
Writing Messrs. Pemberton on the proposed exhibits, and copy 5
Writing to Mr. Rush very fully, in answer to a letter received from him as
to probable time suit would take 7 (>
Drawing request to accountant-general to invest dividends 2 (>
Attending him thereon 6 8
Paid his fee 4
Attending Mr. Rush, informing him of the impossibility of obtaining report
before office closed, and explaining the necessity of giving Madame Batut
the means of establishing her claim rather than file a bill 6 8
Attending warrant to proceed on Mrs. Batut's claim when exhibits were
left in support thereof 6 8
Paid for copy examined, folios 28 3 (>
Close copy . 9 4
July 25. Attending warrant and interrogatories when the same were
finally settled, the solicitors for Madame de la Batut having brought in
exhibits 6 8
Drawing and fair copy state of facts as to the death of Henry Hungerford,
folios 48 1 12
Warrant on leaving same, two copies and services : 6
Instructions for affidavits in support 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copy, folios 4 4
Attending Mr. Hertslet several times to endeavor to get him to appoint a
time to swear, but could not 6 8
Attending at the master's office to examine exhibits with the copies, and
engaged comparing same, but found one missing G 8
Attending Mr. Rush in a very long conference on the subject of this suit. . 13 4
Aug. 14. Attending at the foreign office and conferring on the affidavit
with Mr. Hertslet, when he requested us to leave the report, certificates,
.and affidavits with him, and he would appoint a time to swear affidavit. 13 4
Engrossing affidavit, folios 4 2
Attending Mr. Hertslet to be sworn 6 8
Paid oath and exhibit 4
Paid his charges 1 1
Warrant on leaving copy and service 6
Postage of letter to Mr. Tannin, in answer to his letter relative to death of
Mr. Hungerford 1 8
Writing very long letter to Mr. Rush, informing him of what had taken
place '. 5
Instructions for further affidavits in support 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copy, folios 20 1
Engrossing same ,.,. 6 8
84 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
Writing Mr. Rush, stating the result of our inquiries touching the property
formerly belonging to Mr. Dickinson, under whose will Mrs. Batut
claimed 5
Sept. 2. Attending Mr. Rush, conferring and explaining the position of
Mrs. Batut's claim, and the effect of the information received from
France, from which it would appe r that such claim was fraudulent 13 4
Instructions for affidavit of Mr. Whittaker as to verification of translated
copy of report from Pisa 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copy, folios 4 4
Copy report to annex as exhibit 10
Attending Mr. AVhittaker, conferring thereon, and getting him to settle
same 8
Engrossing same, folios 4 1 4
Attending him to be sworn 6 8
Paid oaths and exhibits 4
Warrant and leaving copy and service 8 6
Paid him for loss of time 1 1
Attending swearing further affidavits in support of plaintiff's facts 6 8
Paid oath, etc 4
Term fee and letters 1 1 8
MICHAELMAS TERM, 1837.
Warrant on leaving same, copy and service 6
Warrant to proceed on Mrs. Batut's charge, copy and service 8 6
Attending warrant, and proceeding thereon 6 8
Instructions for affidavit for Mr. Curdy, verifying translation of notarial
act made at Paris after the decease of Mr. Hungerford 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copy, folios 4 4
Copy translation, to annex as an exhibit 8
Engrossing affidavit, folios 4 1 4
Attending to be sworn 6 8
Paid oath, etc 4
AVarrant on leaving two copies and service 6
Warrant on leaving further evidence 6
Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference on the progress of, and advis-
ing on, this suit, and taking his instructions thereon 13 4
Paid for transcript of account 4
Attending bespeaking, and afterwards for same 6 8
Drawing request to accountant-general to invest dividends 2 6
Attending bespeaking investment of dividends 6 8
Paid fee 4 .0
Instructions for affidavit of Mr. Hertslet, verifying notarial act as to death
of Mr. Hungerford 6 8
Drawing same, and fair copy, folios 4 4
Attending him to peruse and settle same 6 8
Engrossing same 1 4
Attending him to be sworn 6 8
Paid oath and exhibit 4
Paid his charge 1 1
Warrant on leaving two copies and services 6
Warrant to proceed on state of facts, and charge of plaintiff, as to death of
Mr. Hungerford, copy and service 6
Attending warrant, same proceeded with and allowed, and warrant ordered
to be issued on Mrs. Batut's charge 6 8
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 85
s. d.
Warrant to proceed on state of facts, and charge of Mrs. Batut's, copy and
service 8 6
Attending bespeaking transcript in original cause, and afterwards for same. 6 8
Paid 4
Sept. 29. -Attending Mr. Rush, reporting and advising on the progress of
the proceedings in the master's office 6 8
Dec. 4. Attending warrant and proceeding on facts and charge of Mrs. Ba-
tut, when the master directed another warrant to issue 6 8
Warrant to proceed, three copies and service 8 6
Attending warrant when the master said he thought she had established a
claim to half of the income of the French fund, but would give us leave
to inquire and prove, if we could, that it had been already satisfied and
he directed us to obtain an order to state special circumstances in regard
to her claim, the words of the decree not being sufficient 6 8
Writing Mr. Rush very fully thereon 5
Attending Mr. Rush in a very long conference, and advising with him on
the expediency of opposing Mrs. Batut's claim, as it would cause much
delay, and stop the order on further directions; and explaining same fully
to him, when he promised to consider the same, and see us again thereon. 13 4
Dec. 14- Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference as to Mrs. Batut, on
his having duly considered the subject; when he instructed us to write
to Paris to obtain such evidence as we could, and lay same before coun-
sel, to advise on the expediency of opposing Mrs. Batut's claim, we being
of opinion that evidence might be obtained that would repel her claim. . 13 4
Dec. 19. Attending at the foreign office to make inquiry touching the
swearing of affidavits abroad before a proper tribunal, and found that
they could be sworn before the British consul 6 8
Instructions for affidavit to be sworn by the stockbroker who transferred
same 6 8
Drawing same and fair copy, folios 6, and fair copy to send to Paris 6
Instructions for affidavit of a notary as to some documents in his possession
relative to the transfer 6 8
Drawing same and fair copy, folios 8 8
Fair copy to send to Paris 2 8
Writing Mr. Truftant therewith and fully thereon, and urging him to get
affidavits sworn if possible in their present shape, but if not, to advise
with some English solicitor at Paris 7 6
Dec. 29. Postage letter from Mr. Truftant requiring further instruction 1 2
Writing to him very fully thereon 7 6
Instructions to amend decree 13 4
Drawing notice of motion to amend decree 2
Copy and service 2
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of service 6
Attending swearing 6 8
Paid oath 1 6
Attending filing and for office copy 6 8
Paid 6
Drawing brief for counsel to move 10
Paid him and clerk 136
Attending him 6 8
Jan. 8, 1838. Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference on the progress
of the cause, etc 13 4
Term fee, etc 1 1 8
86 SMITHSONIAN
HILARY TERM, 1838.
s. d.
Jan. 11. Attending court, motion made and ordered accordingly 13 4
Postage of letter to Mr. Truftant, requesting to be furnished with a copy of
Mrs. Batut's claim 1 2
Copy same, to send, folios 36 12
Writing him very fully therewith and thereon 7 6
Paid for copy minutes 2
Close copy 1
Attending settling 6 8
Paid for order 100
Attending register to draw up and pass order 6 8
Paid entering 1
Attending to enter same 6 8
Jan. 23. Postage of a letter from Mr. Truftant, containing a certificate,
signed by the charge^ d'affaires, which, from his letter, appeared the best
evidence he could procure for us 2 4
Writing him that same was not sufficient, and requesting to know, per
return, whether or not the stockbroker could make an affidavit as to the
fact of instructing him thereon, and if he could not procure such affida-
vit, to make one himself 7 6
Jan. 30. Postage letter from Mr. Truftant 5
Jan. 31. Attending Mr. Rush, fully conferring as to the inquiries touching
Mrs. Batut's claim, when he stated he would consider same, and decide
whether to proceed or not 13 4
Feb. 5. Attending Mr. Rush on his wishing to know the result of the pro-
ceedings if the claim of Mrs. Batut were resisted, and to what extent the
proceedings might be carried by her, and explaining same very fully to
him, when he wished us to write a letter to him thereon 13 4
Writing letter and copy 5
Ft'h. 6. Attending counsel in long conference on the evidence obtained
from Paris, and as to the expediency of bringing same into the master's
office 13 4
Fee to him and clerk thereon 1 6
Attending him 6 8
Copy of Mr. Truftant's affidavit, to keep 2 8
Warrant on leaving three copies, and services 8 6
Warrant to proceed on claim, three copies, and services 8 6
Feb. 19. Attending warrant and proceeding on state of facts and affidavits
in opposition to Mrs. Batut's claim, when claim allowed ". 6 8
Warrant to show cause why warrant on preparing draft report should not
issue, three copies, and services 8 6
Feb. ^.Attending warrant, no cause shown 8
Warrant, on preparing three copies, and services 8 6
Copy will of testator for the master, folios 8 2 8
Paid for copy draft report, folios 48
Close copy 16
Mar. 1. Warrant to settle, three copies, and services 8 6
Attending same 6 8
Attending Messrs. Pemberton, conferring very fully on the draft report
and the several inaccuracies therein, and calculating amount of arrears,
etc., due 6 8
Attending warrant on charge of Messrs. Clarke & Co., when same allowed. 6 8
Paid for copy same, folios 6 9
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 87
s. d.
Close copy 2
Paid for copy affidavit in support, folios 4 6
Close copy 1 4
Another warrant to settle report, three copies, and services 8 6
Attending warrant and settling report; but the master directed many addi-
tions to be made thereto, and an affidavit to be obtained from a broker
in the city as to the amount of exchange 6 8
Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference thereon before, at, and after
the above warrant, when he directed us to obtain the order on further
directions as soon as possible 13 4
Mar. 9. Attending Mr. Rush again, conferring fully herein 13 4
Mar. 12. Attending Messrs. Pemberton as to the cause of delay in obtain-
ing the necessary affidavit, when they promised to bring same in in a few
days 6 8
Paid for copy of affidavit of Mr. I>oyd, folios G 9
Close copy 2
Mar. 17. Attending warrant and proceeding on state of facts 6 8
Mar. 20. Paid for fresh copy report, folios 44 5 6
Close copy 14 8
Warrant to sign, three copies, and service.! 8 6
Attending same 6 8
Paid for drawing, signing, and transcribing report 3 9 6
Paid filing and for office copy 1 16 10
Attending to file 6 8
Drawing and engrossing petition to confirm report absolute in the first
instance 4
Attending getting consents 6 8
Attending to present 6 8
Paid answer and for order 7
Two copies and services on clerks in court _ 4
Draft on Peml >erton 2 6
Drawing and engrossing petition, to set down cause on further directions
and costs 4
Attending to present _ 6 8
Paid answer and setting down cause, etc 19
Two copies, and services, order on clerks in court 4
Draft on Messrs. Pemberton 2 G
Attending defendant's solicitor for consent to hear cause immediately 13 4
Making copy decree for the master of the rolls, four sides 2 8
Making report, folios 48 1G
Attending to leave same 6 8
Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference, explaining that the report
had been confirmed, and giving him extracts of all the dates and pro-
ceedings, etc., and advising him as to the future proceedings, etc 13 4
Drawing and engrossing copy affidavit of service of order to set cause down. 3 4
Attending to l>e sworn 6 8
Paid oath 1 6
Attending filing and afterwards for same 6 8
Paid filing and for office copy 3 4
Attending Mr. Rush, informing him cause was set down and would be
heard in Easter term, and conferring thereon 13 4
Instructions for petition 6 8
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
Drawing and fair copy petition to be heard with the cause, on further
directions, folios 88 480
Attending Mr. Rush, conferring thereon, when he wished counsel to be
advised with thereon 13 4
Attending conferring with Mr. Shadwell thereon, when he advised cause
to be set down and petition to be presented afterwards 13 4
Paid his fee and clerk 1
Attending him 8
Drawing proposed minutes, folios 12 12
Fair copy for Mr. Shadwell 4
Attending him in conference and settling same 13 4
Paid his fee and clerk 1
Attending him 8
Two copies minutes for defendants 6 8
Attending them therewith and thereon, and fmaliy agreeing to same 13 4
Drawing brief on further directions, 7 brief sheets 2 6 8
Two fair copies for counsel 2 6 8
Drawing observations for plaintiff, 2 brief sheets 13 4
Two fair copies f< >r counsel 13 4
Attending Messrs. Pemberton on their requesting some information in
order to draw their petition, and giving them same, engaged some time,
term fee, etc ] 1 8
EASTER TERM, 1838.
Attending to l>espeak and afterwards for certificate of funds in court in this
cause 6 8
The like in original cause 6 8
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk with brief 510
Attending him (3 8
Fee to Mr. Shad well and clerk 3 f> 6
Attending him ( 8
Attending Mr. Shadwell, obtaining his certificate for cause to IHJ heard
short 6 8
Attending register therewith, and getting cause put in the paper for next
short cause day 6 8
Attending Mr. Pemberton to appoint a consultation at Westminster 6 8
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk thereon 296
The like, Mr. Shadwell 1 3 6
Attending him 6 8
Writing to Mr. Rush informing him of consultation 5
Attending consultation when Mr. Pemberton expressed his regret that the
petition had not been presented, and directed Mr. Shadwell to draw same
immediately 13 4
Paid for room 5
May 1. Mr. Clarke and Fladgate's attending court; cause heard and ordered
as per minutes, agreed, but the order to stand over for petition to come
on as to funds being paid to Mr. Rush 2 2
Paid court fees 1 13
Attending Mr. Rush in very long conference, explaining to him fully what
had taken place, and he directed us to use all expedition 13 4
Perusing and considering former petition, and altering same in many
respects 1 1
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 89
s. d.
Fee to Mr. Shadwell to peruse and settle 3 5 6
Attending him 6 8
Engrossing same and paper, folios 77 1 8 8
Copy for the master of the rolls 1 8 8
Attending presenting petition, when the secretary directed that it l>e taken
to Westminster to be answered by a certain day 6 8
Attending Mr. Pemberton, instructing him to get day appointed accord-
ingly 6 8
Attending court when Mr. Pemberton mentioned it to the court, and it
was ordered to be answered for Tuesday next 6 8
Attending his lordship's secretary, and getting same answered accordingly. 6 8
Paid answering 6 6
Two copies petition for service, folios 77, each ; 217 4
Attending serving the same on clerks in court 4
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of service 3 4
Attending to be sworn 6 8
Paid oath. 1 6
Attending to file and for office copy 6 8
Paid for office copy 3 4
Tvv< > 1 >rief copies petition, 8 brief sheets, each 213 4
Drawing observations to accompany 2 brief sheets 13 4
Two brief copies for counsel 13 4
Attending Mr. Rush again hereon, conferring and advising very fully hereon . 134
Attending register to get original decree altered, as directed by the court, and
after some trouble getting same altered accordingly 13 4
Attending to enter and afterwards for same 6 8
Paid at entering seat for alteration 1
Fee to Mr. Pemberton and clerk with brief petition 2 4 6
Attending him 6 8
Fee to Mr. Shadwell and clerk 1 3 6
Attending him 6 8
Writing Mr. Rush that the court would not sit on Tuesday, and that petition
would be in on Wednesday 5
Attending court, petition heard and ordered as prayed 13 4
Paid court fees 7
Attending Mr. Rush on the amount of funds in the cause, and writing him
out full particulars thereof, and taking his instructions to expedite the
transfer and payment to him 13 4
Writing to Mr. Truftant as to his charges and expenses, etc 5
Paid postage letter inclosing same 2 4
Paid same to his agents 10
Attending paying same and for receipt 6 8
Writing Mr. Rush, at his request, with full particulars of what took place
at the hearing of the cause and also of the petition, and generally on the
cause 7 6
Attending Mr. Hussey to draw up minutes, when he said the registrar, Mr.
Callis, who was in court on the petition, ought to draw them up; attending
on Mr. Callis and with him to Mr. Hussey, and arguing same, when it was
finally determined that Mr. Hussey should draw xip the minutes, and date
them the 12th engaged upward of an hour 13 4
Paid for copy minutes of decree 10
Close copy thereof 5
90 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
Several attendances upon the registrar, to procure him to pass onler, which
was at length done 1 (> 8
Paid for order on further directions .310
Paid expenditure 10
Terinfee,etc 1 J 8
TRINITY TERM, l&JS.
Attending passing same 13 4
Paid entering same 6 6
Attending 6 8
Making copy ordering part of the decree for tae master 2 6
Drawing this bill of costs, and fair copy for the master, folios 180 6
Warrant on leaving same, copy and service 4 6
May 8. Warrants to tax copies and services 1 16
Attending same 213 4
Paid clerk in court 2 13 4
Warrant for defendants to bring in their costs, two copies and services 60
Paid for copy defendant Drummond's costs, folios 72 9
Attending three warrants, taxing same 1
Paid clerk in court 1
Paid for copy attorney-general's costs, folios 16 2
Attending warrant, taxing same 6 8
Paid clerk in court 6 8
Paid for certificate of costs and transcribing I 6
Attending to file 6 8
Paid filing same 3 10
Attending accountant-general's, bespeaking clerks 6 8
Paid entering clerk for costs 2 4
Attending bespeaking carrying over of the funds and cash from Hungerford
v. Drummond to this cause 6 8
Paid 5
Attending bespeaking carrying over of 5,015, bank <3 percents to Mrs.
Batut's account, paid (> 8
Attending bespeaking direction for transfer of all the funds to Mr. Rush in
the 3 percent annuities (> 8
Paid 2 6
The like on reduced annuities 9 2
The like on bank stock 9 2
Attending bespeaking transfer to Mr. R. Rush 13 4
Paid 1 4
Paid messenger 1 6
Instructions for affidavit as to residue of cash 6 8
Drawing and fair copy affidavit 6 8
Attending to be sworn 6 8
Paid oath 1 6
Paid for office copy 4 8
Attending bespeaking check of residue of cash 6 8
Paid clerks for their trouble 5 5
Attending to identify Mr. Rush 6 8
Paid entering check 2 4
Term fee, etc 1 1 8
Letters, messengers, etc 1 10
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 91
For various attendance, not hereinbefore enumerated, on Messrs. Derby and
Raven, the solicitors for the attorney-general; Messrs. Pemberton; Crow-
ley, and Gardner, the solicitors forMr.de la Batut, and Mr. Cullington,
the solicitor for Mr. Fitall, to urge their proceeding in the several matters
connected with the suit with all possible expedition, it being the earnest
wish of Mr. Rush that the suit should be brought to a final conclusion
with the least possible delay 5 5
May 25. Attending Mr. Rush; conferring very fully with him as to the
several matters remaining to be done to wind up the suit 13 4
June2. Attending Mr. Rush in a long conference as to winding up the
suit, and the difficulties we had to encounter in the accountant-general's
office 13 4
Attending in the city to make inquiries as to the transfer of stock, and
found it would not be made until Tuesday, but that Mr. Rush could sell
it out the same day 13 4
Writing to Mr. Rush to inform him thereof and special messenger with
letter 7 6
Attending Mr. Rush afterwards, informing him what arrangement we
should suggest to him as to selling the stock 6 8
June 4- Attending Mr. Rush again this day, conferring on the transfer of
stock and as to winding up the suit; and he requested us to write him an
official letter announcing the transfer of the funds 13 4
Attending at the accountant-general's to learn if the stocks were trans-
ferred, which we found was done 6 8
Writing an official letter to Mr. Rush to inform him thereof, according to
his request 5
June 5. Attending Mr. Rush, conferring very fully in what remained to be
done and as to the steps to be taken by him to realize the funds 13 4
June 6. Attending Mr. Rush on the subject of the residue of cash in court,
which was to be paid to him, and explaining that we could procure same
out of court by Saturday; and he requested to be furnished with a copy
of the list of articles deposited with Mr. Deacon 13 4
Copy list for him (schedule marked " F ") , one trunk only (see list) 2 6
June 8. Attending the accountant-general's to learn if check was ready for
Mr. Rush, and found it was and would be signed this day 6 8
Writing to Mr. Rush to inform him thereof and to make an appointment
for hun to attend and receive same 5
June 12. Attending Mr. Deacon to ascertain if the boxes could be sent to
our office; and he not being home writing to him thereon 6 8
June 18. Attending Mr. Deacon to make appointment for Mr. Rush to
attend to inspect contents of boxes 6 8
Writing to Mr. Rush to inform him 5
June 20. Attending at Mr. Deacon's, 31 Upper Norton street, to meet Mr.
Rush to inspect the contents of boxes, etc. ; but the boxes being more
numerous than he expected, he deferred the close examination of them
for the present 13 4
June 30. Attending Mr. Rush, conferring on what remained to be done and
making arrangements with him as to sending the box we had here,
together with the plate and other articles, to Mr. Deacon's, where we
should meet him and Colonel Aspinwall, the consul, and seal all the
1 >< >xen up 13 4
Making list of the plate and other articles 5
92 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
Mr. Rush wishing to know what the several funds would have realized if
they could have been sold immediately upon the death of Mr. Hunger-
ford, attending at Messrs. Drummond's to learn what the prices of the
several stocks then were and making a calculation accordingly; and draw-
ing out a statement for Mr. Rush, from which it appeared that after
deducting all the costs the funds had realized 173 12s. Id. more now than
they would have done if the funds had all been sold immediately upon
the decease of Mr. Hungerford 2 2
Paid for a new lock to box 5
July 6. Attending at Mr. Deacon's to meet Mr. Rush and Colonel Aspin-
wall, when the several boxes were sealed up and directions given for
their transmission to the wharf ] 1
Attending at the accountant-general's to bespeak a transcript of account . . 68
Paid for same 8
Attending to procure same 6 8
Several other attendances upon Mr. Rush, furnishing him with all such
further information as he required previous to his leaving this country
for America 3 3
Letters and messengers, coach hire, and various incidental expenses 15
490 4 10
IN CHANCERY.
Between the President of the United States of America, plaintiff, and Charles Drum-
mond, esq., and Her Majesty's attorney-general, defendants.
Thomas Clarke, Thomas George Fynmore, and William Mark Fladgate, of Craven
street, Strand, in the county of Middlesex, solicitors and copartners, severally make
oath and say that the several disbursements contained in the aforegoing account have
been duly made, and that the several charges therein contained are just and true, to
the best of these deponents' knowledge and belief.
THOMAS CLARKE.
THOMAS G. FYNMORE.
WM. M. FLADGATE.
Sworn by all the deponents, at the public office, Southampton Buildings, in the
county of Middlesex, the llth day of July, 1838, before me.
E. WlNGFIELD.
Clarke, Fynmore t& Fladgate to Richa
43 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND, July 13, 1838.
DEAR SIR: With reference to the gun, a few pieces of china, and a
few other articles of a miscellaneous nature, which are mentioned in
the schedule of property formerly belonging to Mr. Smithson (of which
schedule we furnished to you a copy), and which articles do not now
appear to be among the property lately under the charge of Messrs.
Deacon, we beg to state that the schedule in question was a schedule
prepared at the time of Mr. Smithson's death, now several years back,
and that we have no doubt that the articles (which appear to have been
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 93
such a.s would be used personally by Mr. Smithson) were handed to
Mr. Hungerford, who, indeed, had he thought fit to apply for them,
would, under the direction of the court, have obtained possession of
all the property lodged with Messrs. Deacon, and which is now handed
over to you as representative of the United States.
We are, dear sir, your very obedient servants,
CLARKE, FYNMORE & FL.ADGATE.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
LONDON, July 14, 1838.
SIR: All the transfers of stock were made on the proper days; all
the money was received, and arrangements are now in daily progress
for obtaining, insuring, and shipping the gold. It will be on board
the New York packet Mediator', Captain Champlin, by or before the
17th instant, in which ship I have taken my passage, intending to
embark on that day. The costs of suit have been paid, but the other
expenses, arising out of the sale of the stock and shipment of the pro-
ceeds, can not be examined and settled until immediately before I
embark, as the whole of the operations can not be completed until
then. It will hence not be in my power to make a statement of all
these expenses until I arrive at New York or Washington, when it
shall be rendered in a manner that I trust will be satisfactory. I can
only repeat that my best exertions have not been spared to keep them
all within a compass as moderate as possible.
I received at the Bank of England, day before yesterday, 900, being
the interest on 60,000 of consols sold on the 6th of June. It will be
remembered (see my No. 27) that this amount of the consols was sold
on time, the stock not being deliverable until the 6th of July, which
was the day after the dividends for the last six months fell due, by
which I became entitled to receive for the United States the above
sum of 900.
The boxes and trunk mentioned in my last are to go on shipboard
to-day. Before knowing anything of their contents, I thought proper
to have them opened and examined in the presence of our consul and
two other persons. A large portion of the contents proved to be
unimportant; nevertheless, all will be delivered over on my arrival as
I received them, except to have them better packed for a sea voyage,
and so as to prevent further injury to that which time and bad packing
have already done to them.
I design to leave this letter behind me, to be forwarded by the
British steamer Great Western, which, although not to sail until after
the Mediator, may be expected to arrive first at New York. My going
\)4 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
in the Great Western has been precluded by the fact of her accommo-
dations for passengers having all been engaged long before I knew the
time when I should be able to close the business in my hands, and have
the gold ready for shipment.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
RlCHAltl) RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTII,
Secretary of State.
Account of Thomas Axphiwall.
I, Thomas Aspinwall, of London, being duly sworn on the Holy
Evangelists, do declare and depose that the within account is just and
true, and that the services therein referred to and specified in the
vouchers of said account, signed by me, and marked, respectively, No.
1, No. 2, were duly and actually performed.
THOS. ASPINW T ALL.
Sworn this 17th day of July, 1838, at London, before me.
J. COWAN, Mayor.
Thf. JI(m. Richard Jtuxh, atjetdfor tlir Smithsonian fund, in account current irith Thulium
Aspinwall.
DR. CK.
1838. I 1838. *-. <l.
July 10. To amount of invoice of j July 16. By rash received from him. 106,370 7 3
sovereigns, procured and
shipped on board the Me-
diator, as per copy here- *. d.
with 105, 565 12 5
To commission for various
services, as per account
No. 1, herewith 7U7 15 6
To charges on 1-1 packages,
shipped on board the Me-
diator, as per account
No. 2, herewith 6 19 4
106,370
THUS. A.spixwAi.i..
LONDON, July 17, 1838.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 95
No. 1.
The Hon. Richard Rush in account with the Smithsonian fund, to Thomas Aspinmill, Dr.
For service* rendered throughout the month of June and up to this date,
in July; in attending your acceptance of all the stocks transferred to you
by the accountant-general of the court of chancery; advising, negoti-
ating, and completing, under your directions, and realizing the proceeds
of various contracts for the sale of the same stocks, consisting of consols,
bank stock, and 3 per cent reduced annuities, sold at different periods
and in different parcels; attending payment and receipt of balances, divi-
dend, and the respective transfers to the various purchasers of the same;
obtaining, verifying, arranging, packing, and securing for shipment
104,960 sovereigns, being the amount of proceeds of the Smithsonian
fund (less premiums of insurance, charges, and expenses) ; contracting for
freight; entering and clearing at the custom-house; shipping and effect-
ing insurance at the five principal offices, and with thirty-two private s. d.
underwriters at Lloyds. Commission at three-fourths per cent 797 15 6
THOMAS ASPINWALL.
LONDON, July 17, 1838,
LONDON, July 17, 1838.
Received of the honorable Richard Rush the within-mentioned sum, seven hundred
and ninety-seven pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence sterling (797 15s. 6d. ), for
which I have credited in my accounts and also signed this and a duplicate receipt
of the same tenor and date.
797 15s. 6d. THOMAS ASPINWALL.
LONDON, July 13, 1838.
The Honorable Richard Rush to William Broum.
f. s. d
To unpacking and repacking 14 packages, at 2s. 6d 1 15
cord and nails for mending do ,. 3 6
] 18 6
Paid 14th July, 1838.
WILLIAM BROWN.
A true copy, original in Thomas Aspinwall's account.
JAM us M. CURLEY.
No. 5?.
JULY 13, 1838.
Account of charges on 14 packages, marked "the United States," Xos. 1 to 14, shipped on
board tiie ship Mediator, Christopher H. Champlin, master, by order of the Honorable
Richard Rush, for account and risk of the Government of the United States.
s. d.
Cartage and porterage 1 6
Duty and entry 1 2 6
Dock dues 1510
Bills of lading 3 6
U6 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
s. d.
1 packing case ( No. 14) 3 6
Shipping, entering, and clearing 14 packages, at 2.s. (kl 1 15
Cord and nails for mending do 3 6
Unpacking and repacking do., and cording, mending, ami securing, at 2s.
6d. each l . .. . 1 15
(i ]) 4
Received the above amount in 'account with Mr. Rush.
THOMAS ASPIN \VAI.I,.
Mediator, Champlin, New York.
T. ASIM NVVAI.L.
British coin for and on account. Entry, 5s. 6d.
THOMAS TANNER.
Witness :
JAMES M. CURLEY.
JULY 17, 1838.
When paid to be immediately exhibited at the Department, where this bill has
been made out; by which business will be materially expedited.
[St. Catharine Docks, No. 1872, wharfage book, outwards.]
Mr. Aspinwall, Dr., to the <S'. Cathurine Dock Company.
N. B. The amount of these charges to be paid to the collector, who is the only
officer authorized to receive money on account of the company.
1838. Per Mediator :
July 17. [A] 1 to 10, wharfage and shipping, 10 cases, at 2s
11, do. do. 1 case, at Is
110
(One pound one shilling.)
JULY 17, 1838.
Received.
H. WHAKTON, VollrHor.
Witness :
JAMES M. CURLEY.
(Entered schedule.)
The invoice having necessarily been made up before the cases were actually shipped
on board, the usual charge of ten shillings was inserted therein ; and it was not ascer-
tained until after they were shipped that a difference wa-s made with respect to bul-
lion; amounting, in this instance, to eleven shillings, which has not been paid by Mr.
Rush, but by Thomas Aspinwall, and by him relinquished.
1 In consequence of the very loose and careless manner in which the boxes were originally packed,
and of the damaged state of the packages, this charge was unavoidably incurred to prevent the con-
tents from being ground to pieces and lost on the passage to the United States.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 97
T. Aspinwall, eso. , to bullion mrrters, Dr.
1838. s . d .
July 16. 11 boxes and packing sovereigns, at 3s. 6d 1 18 6
105 bags for sovereigns, at 6d 2 12 6
For packing and marking 2 6
4 13 6
Paid.
C. HARDINGHAM.
Witness:
JAMES M. CURLEY.
Colonel Aspinwall to Mrs. Clark, Dr.
1838. g. d .
July 17. For cartage and porterage of eleven boxes of bullion from the
bank to the St. Catharine's dock 8
Received.
HENRY X POTTER.
Witness:
JAMES M. CURLEY.
Invoice of eleven boxes of gold coin, shipped on board the ship Mediator, of New York,
Christopher H. Champlin, master, bound to New York, by order of the Hon. Richard
Rush, and for the account and risk of the United States.
s. d.
Alto 10. Ten boxes, each containing 10,000 (sovereigns) 100,000
A 11. One box containing 4, 960 8 7
104,960 8 7
CHARGES.
s. d.
105 bags, at 6d. each 212 6
11 boxes, at 3s. 6d. each 1 18 6
Packing and marking 2 6
Porterage and cart hire 8
Bills of lading 3 6
Entry, 5s. 6d. ; dock charges, 10s 15 6
606
Insurance on 106,400, at J per cent 532
Policies and stamp duties 67 3 4
599 3 4
105,565 12 5
THOMAS ASPINWALL.
Policy and duty.
s. d.
Insured with the Indemnity 30,000forl50 1815
Insured with the London Insurance 10, 000 for 50 650
Insurance with the Alliance 20, 000 for 100 12 10
Insured with the Royal Exchange 15, 000 for 75 976
Insured with the Marine Insurance 10, 000 for 50 650
Insured at Lloyd's 21, 400 for 107 14 010
106,400 532 67 3 4
MEMORANDUM. The sovereigns are packed in bags of 1,C.OO each, with the excep-
tion of one, in case No. 11, which contains 960 sovereigns and 8 shillings and 7 pence
wrapped in paper, each case being sealed with two seals.
JULY 16, 1838.
H. Doc. 732 7
98
DR.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Richard Rush in account with Smithsonian fund.
OR.
For the following stocks transferred to
him by a decree of the high court of
chancery, and sold as follows, viz:
s. d.
4,535 18 9 3 per cent consols, sold
at 94}
s. d.
4,297 16
By commission
paid for various
services, as per
account No. 1
herewith
By charges paid
s.d.
797 156
s. d.
Transfer 060
Brokerage.. 5 13 6
s. d.
on 14 packages
shipped on board
the Mediator, as
n ftnn A n t i M
4 291 17 6
per account No.
, IAW U U a pt Ct t ,
6 19 4
5of ex. dividend
12,000 00 Spercent reduced, at 94...
56, 175
11,280
By amount of in-
voice of specie
s. d.
Transfer 200
Brokerage ... 90
67,455
92
board the Medi-
ator, as per copy
herewith
105,565 12 5
5, 000 00 bank stock , sold at 204} ....
3,000 00 bank stock, sold at 204|....
5, 000 bank stock, sold at 205
3, 100 00 bank stock, sold at 205*.. . .
10,237 10
6, 146 5
10,250
6, 362 15
16,100
s. d.
Stamps for trans-
fer 1 16
32,996 10
Transfer fees ... 76
Brokerage 20 26
To balance of cash received from the
accountant-general of the court of
chancery . .
725 3 7
To amount returned by the solicitors
(excess of costs)
116 2 2
To amount of dividend received on
60,000 3 per cent consols
900
106,370 7 3
106,370 7 3
Schedule of tne personal effects of James Smithson referred to in the bill of costs.
Large trunk.
Box containing sundry specimens of min-
erals, marked E.
Brass instrument.
Box of minerals, marked F.
Box of chemical glasses, marked G.
Packet of minerals, marked H.
Glass vinegar cruet.
Stone mortar.
Pair of silver-plated candlesticks and
branches.
Pair of silver-plated candlesticks, no
branches.
Hone in a mahogany case.
Plated wire flower basket.
Plated coffeepot.
Plated small one.
Pair of wine coolers.
Pair small candlesticks.
Two pairs of saltcellars.
Breadbasket.
Two pair of vegetable dishes and covers.
Large round waiter.
Large oval waiter; two small waiters.
Two plate warmers.
Reading shade.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 99
SUNDRY ARTICLES IN PACKET AND IN TRUNK.
(a) Gun.
(a) Mahogany cabinet.
(a) Two portraits, in oval frames.
CHINA TEA SERVICE.
(a) Two dishes.
(a) Landscape in a gilt frame.
(a) Derby spa vase.
(a) China tub.
(a) Piece of fluor.
(a) Pair of glass candlesticks.
Marble bust.
(a) Twelve cups and saucers.
(a) Six coffee cups.
(a) Teapot.
(a) Slop basin.
(a) Sugar basin and lid.
(a) Two plates.
() Milk jug.
(a) Tea canister.
Sundry pamphlets on philosophical subjects, in packet marked A.
The like, marked B.
Struggles Through Life.
Bibliotheca Parisiana.
La Platina 1'Or Blanc.
Contorides des Indiens.
Sundry pamphlets on philosophical subjects, marked C.
Weld's Travels in North America, 2 volumes.
Bray's Derbyshire.
Twenty-three numbers of Nicholson's Journal of Natural Philosophy, in a case (D).
Memoire d'un Voyageur qui le repose.
Hamilton in Antrim.
Londres et de ses Environs.
Stew on Solids.
Essais de Jean Key.
Mon Bonnet de Nuit.
Domestic Cookery.
Catalogue de Fossils des Roches.
The Monthly Review, 78 numbers.
The Monthly Review, 26 volumes.
Philosophical Transactions for the year 1826.
Anthologies et Fragments Philosophiques, 4 volumes.
Two large boxes filled with specimens of minerals and manuscript treatises, appar-
ently in the testator's handwriting, on various philosophical subjects, particularly
chemistry and mineralogy.
Eight cases and one trunk filled with the like.
Those articles to which this mark (a) is prefixed were not in the trunk No. 13
when it was first opened in the consulate of the United States in our presence.
All the linen in trunk No. 13 was transferred from case 7, and sundry articles of
plated ware and philosophical instruments, etc. , were transferred from case 12. Sun-
dry books, which were tied together, were also put in this case.
100 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
HARBOR OF NEW YORK, August 28, 1838.
SIR: I have the honor to report to you my arrival here in the ship
Mediator, with the amount in gold of the Smithsonian bequest recov-
ered for the United States.
The expenses of every kind incurred by closing the business in Lon-
don and shipping the gold were paid there; but I have still to pay
freight here and primage, and also some other small charges incurred
on bringing over the Smithsonian boxes and trunks heretofore men-
tioned. When everything is fully paid, there will be left in my hands,
as well as I can now compute the amount, upward of 104,500; the
whole is in sovereigns packed in boxes.
The money being consigned to no one here, I must continue to hold
it in my custody until I can receive your instructions to whom to deliver
it, as provided for by the act of Congress of the 1st of July, 1836.
I have the honor to remain, in the meantime, your most faithful and
obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
NEW YORK, August 29, 1838.
SIR: On landing from the ship yesterday morning I received the
official letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the 20th of July,
which had been waiting my arrival here, instructing me to transfer
the Smithsonian fund to Philadelphia, to be deposited with the treasurer
of the mint to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States, taking
duplicate receipts from the former, one of which to be transmitted to
the latter.
The ship has not yet got into the dock, but the gold shall be sent
on to Philadelphia as soon as practicable in the eleven boxes in which
it was packed at the Bank of England, according to the instructions I
have thus received from the Secretary of the Treasury.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of
John Forsyth to Richard Rush.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, August 30, 1838.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch
No. 30 of the 28th instant, announcing your arrival in the harbor of
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 101
New York with the Smithsonian bequest in gold. With regard to
the disposition to be made by you of these funds, you no doubt will
have learned upon landing that your request had been anticipated by
instructions to you from the Treasury Department, intrusted to the
care of Mr. George Newbold, president of the Bank of America.
Tendering to you my congratulations on the success of your mission,
and on your safe return to your country, I am, sir, respectfully, your
obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
RICHARD RUSH, Esq., JVew York.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
PHILADELPHIA, September 4, 1838.
SIR: I was yesterday honored with your letter of the 30th of August,
acknowledging my No. 30 from the harbor of New York, and tender
my thanks for your kind congratulations on my return to my own
country and on the success of the public business confided to me.
Your letter went on to New York, as directed, but was returned, and
I received it at my home near the city.
My No. 31, written after I had landed, will have informed you that
I had then received the instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury
to which your letter refers, and I have since been in correspondence
with him. Owing to the delay in getting the ship into the dock, I was
not able to leave New York with the gold until the first of this month,
when I arrived with it, accompanied by two agents from the Bank of
America, that institution having, at the request of the Secretary of the
Treasury, obligingly afforded me every facility in its power towards
the business I had in hand. I did not, however, feel at liberty to
withdraw my own personal superintendence from the operation of
transferring the gold until I saw it deposited at the mint. Thither I
immediately had it conveyed on reaching this city on the 1st instant,
the director and treasurer of the mint having been in readiness to
receive it under the previous information of its intended transfer,
which I had requested the bank to transmit. The entire sum contained
in the eleven boxes which I delivered to those two officers of the mint
on Saturday was 104,960 8s. 6d. the whole in English sovereigns,
except the change; and I have now the satisfaction of informing you
that official receipts of this amount from my hands have been for-
warded to the Treasury Department.
The excess of this sum over that which I had computed in my No.
30 as the probable amount to be left in my hands, arises from the
president of the bank having undertaken, at my suggestion, to pay the
freight and other shipping charges due at New York; the bank to be
102 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
repaid by the Treasury. The freight was three-eighths of one per
cent this being the usual charge in the packet-ships and came to
393 12s. Primage was 19 13s. 8d. ; and the charges on bringing
the Smithsonian boxes (left in the custody of the collector, from
whom I had every facility on landing) were to have been 3 8s. 5d. or
thereabouts. 1
It seemed to me that it would be best for the bank to pay all these
charges, as the most convenient mode of settling without delay with
the shipowners, to whom I had become responsible by my engage-
ments with the captain in London; and I have the hope that this course
will meet the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury and }'our-
self. It left the gold, as secured in boxes at the Bank of England,
untouched at New York; and I had caused the seal of our consul at
London to be affixed to each of them.
Somewhat worn down by fatigue since coming on shore, after an
uncomfortable voyage of squalls, gales, and head winds, I venture to
ask a little repose at my home, before proceeding to Washington, for
the purpose of making out and rendering to you an account of all
expenses that have attended the final recovery of this fund, of which
the United States, by the information I give you in this letter, are now
in possession. In the course of the next week I shall hope to proceed
to Washington with the view stated, and in order that, my account
of the expenses being found satisfactory, which I presume to hope
will be the case, I may ask to be discharged from all further responsi-
bility under the trust 1 have been performing. The net amount, in
dollars, of the fund as I delivered it over to the United States at the
mint, was found to be $508,318.46, as specified in the receipt given to
me for it by the treasurer of the mint.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
/Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
PHILADELPHIA, September 11, 1838.
SIR: I yesterday received a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury,
dated the 7th instant, stating it to be desirable that the expenses
attending the transfer of the Smithsonian fund to this country and its
deposit at the mint should be ascertained as early as practicable,
that the accounts in relation to it may be adjusted with a view to the
1 There proved to be fourteen of these boxes, the additional one containing a picture,
of which I had not heard at the date of my No. 28.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 103
investment of the balance, and asking my attention to the subject at
my earliest convenience.
In reply, I had the honor to inform the Secretary that I could not
make out a statement of the expenses as far as then incurred before
embarking at London with the gold, the documents relating to them
not being obtainable until the last moments of my stay; besides that,
the whole operations of selling the stock in the English funds, in
which Mr. Smithson's fortune was invested, and afterwards shipping
the gold, required and had my constant supervision until I saw the
latter finally deposited at our mint, in fulfillment of his instructions;
that, having suffered greatly from sea sickness during the voyage,
added to fatigue after landing in a weak state at New York, where the
care of the gold still required my personal superintendence, I had
been unable hitherto to prepare a statement of the expenses in question,
but that I was now regaining strength and intended to set out for
Washington on Saturday, at farthest, if then able, as at present I had
reason to hope would be the case. I added that I supposed a settle-
ment of my account could be effected more satisfactorily and promptly
by my presence with the accounting officers at Washington than by
any attempt to make it out here and transmit it by letter, which, it
may be, might lead to writing backwards and forwards before a final
adjustment took place; of which correspondence I have the honor to
inform you, and to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
Richard Rush to John Forsyth.
WASHINGTON, September 15, 1838.
SIR: I am now to give you a statement of all the expenses that
attended the recovery of the Smithsonian bequest for the United
States.
It may be in order first to mention the whole amount of stock and
money that came into my hands from the court of chancery, or
otherwise.
I received of English Government stock 64,535 18s. 9d. in consols,
12,000 in reduced 3 per cent annuities, and 16,100 in bank stock of
the Bank of England, as heretofore mentioned in my No. 26, and will
now be seen by the original order or decree of the court, which I inclose
(marked A). This document I could not obtain until the llth of July,
when 1 received it with the letter of the solicitors of that date, also
inclosed (marked B).
104 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
On the llth of June I received from the accountant-general of the
court of chancery 725 3s. 7d. This was the sum remaining to be
paid to me, after previous payments to others, out of cash in hand
appertaining to the Smithsonian fund whilst in the custody of the
court, as will be seen in the concluding part of the decree. That this
was the exact residue coming to me will be further seen by an explana-
tory letter from the solicitors of the 5th of Juty, also inclosed (marked
C), and more authoritatively by a document (marked D) from the
books of the accountant-general of the court, sent to me by the solic-
itors with their letter of the llth of July. This document, besides
verifying in its own forms the amount of stock and money 1 have
otherwise stated myself to have received, also verifies the statements
in my Nos. 26 and 28 as to the sums awarded to Madame de la Batut,
the arrears to John Fitall, and the money decreed as warehouse rent
for the boxes containing the personal effects of Mr. Smithson, which
I brought over and delivered into the custody of the collector at New
York. It is a document founded on the decree of the court itself, and
shows in more detail how its judgments were fulfilled.
I received on the 12th of July 900 at the Bank of England, being
the dividend due on the consols I had sold, as mentioned in my No. 29;
and, lastly, I received from the solicitors 116 2s. 2d., being money
returned by them out of what I had paid them for costs on the 8th day
or April, 1837, viz, 200 4s., as reported in my No. 14. The follow-
ing is the explanation of this item: When I paid them this sum, I fully
expected to pay all further costs out of the same fund, then in my hands,
that Congress had appropriated for that purpose; but it appears that,
on the termination of the suit in favor of the United States, the costs
of all parties were paid out of the corpus of the fund; nor would the
court award the fund to the United States, as may be seen by the decree,
until all costs were accordingly first taken out of it, which the court
judged it proper the fund itself should bear. I knew not of such a rule
which the solicitors advert to in their letter of July the 5th, until a
short time before the decree was pronounced. The total amount of
their costs, as made known to me in the same letter, and set out in
detail in a voluminous bill, which I inclose (marked E), and to which I
caused their affidavits to be annexed, was 490 4s. lOd. The court
adjudged 406 3s. of this sum to be paid to them out of the fund, as
their taxed costs, which, added to what I had previously paid them,
made 606 7s. The difference between this and 490 4s. lOd. being
116 2s. 2d.,they refunded the latter sum to me. Their total bill
(considering that it included all fees paid by them under my direction
to the counsel, and all costs and charges of every description from the
beginning to the end of the suit, with some small extra charges, to
which their letter refers, which I also authorized, to insure a speedy
and successful termination of the suit), and considering the magnitude
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 105
of the suit, was, in my judgment, and in that of others better informed,
to whom I submitted its amount, extremely moderate. 1 hope it will
be thought to show care on my part to keep all those charges low, that
often are run up to amounts so enormous in English chancery pro-
ceedings; and, let me add, as in justice I am bound to do, to show more
strongly that the solicitors I had to deal with were honorable and
just men.
I did not consider these refunded costs as belonging to the legacy
fund recovered, but I threw them into it when the general gold was
obtained that all might be safely kept together and come under one
insurance.
The gross amount yielded by all the stock I sold, including the 900
I received as the dividend on the consols, was 105,649 6s.
For the prices at which I sold the different parcels and kinds I beg
to refer to my Nos. 27 and 28, which detail the commencement, prog-
ress, and conclusion of the sales. This sum, added to the 725 3s. 7d.
received from the accountant-general of the court of chancery and the
116 2s. 2d. returned to me by the solicitors, will show that the entire
sum that came into my hands was 106,490 11s. 9d.
I am next to inform you of the expenses that attended the sales of
the stock and shipping and bringing over the gold to this country.
After I had finally recovered the legacy from the court of chanct. ry
it did not seem to me prudent that I should, by myself alone, under-
take the sales of the stock awarded and delivered to me by its decree
any more than the shipment of the gold into which the money was
afterwards to be converted, these ulterior operations being usually
conducted through mercantile agencies and being of a nature not to
be advantageously, if safety, conducted without them. Feeling inade-
quate in my own person merely to the management of such operations,
my first intention was that the sales of the stock, as a highty important
part of them, should be put under the direction of some experienced
mercantile or banking house in London familiar with the modes of
doing business on its great stock exchange and self-confident in the
measures to be taken. But I found that to put this operation into
such hands would incur a commission of 1 per cent on the entire fund,
as mentioned in my No. 27, in addition to brokerage and other charges,
such as the expenses on transfers and stamps; besides that, 1 should
have had to part with the possession of the stock to such mercantile or
banking house whilst the sales were going on. I was also given to
understand that this latter step would probably lay a foundation for a
further mercantile commission on receiving and paying.
Weighing all these circumstances, I came to the conclusion to keep
the operation of selling the stock in my own hands. Nevertheless, I
felt, as already intimated, that 1 could conduct it with neither skill
nor safety unless under the counsel and cooperation of a person well
106 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
informed in these matters and trustworthy. To the consul of the
United States in London I applied as to such a person, and received
from him, as my No. 27 informed you, this aid and cooperation in the
fullest and most efficient manner, daily, throughout the months of
June and July, until all the sales we're effected; and effected, I may be
allowed to add, with favorable results not to have been surpassed, as
I have already reported to you, and as the public records of the London
stock market on each of the days that I sold will attest. Into his hands
I also put the other mercantile business necessary to the shipment of
the gold. These included the obtaining, verifying, arranging, packing,
and securing it for shipment, contracting for freight, entering and
clearing at the custom-house, effecting insurance (which was done at
five principal offices and with thirty-two private underwriters), and,
finally, shipping the gold. For these services, of whatever kind (and
I had many incidental ones from him not here enumerated), I allowed
and paid him a commission of three-fourths of one per cent, which
amounted to 797 15s. 6d.
I speak from good information when expressing a belief that an
equal amount of assistance and services to me, under all the heads
rendered, could not have been commanded through the usual agency
of banking and commercial houses on so heavy and responsible a
moneyed operation at a less charge to the fund than a commission of
from two to two and a half per cent on the whole amount of it; and
that this falls below rather than goes beyond what it might be expected
to have been.
I inclose the consul's account, signed T. Aspinwall, together with
his voucher for a charge of 6 19s. 4d. for expenses paid by him on
shipping the fourteen Smithsonian boxes.
The premium for insurance was one-half of one per cent, and
amounted, with the expense of stamps and policies, to 599 3s. 4d.
The statement of this, as paid for me by the consul, will be seen in the
inclosure (marked Invoice), on which are also certain items, as dock
charges, charges for bills of lading, and some other things, amounting
in all to 6 6d., accompanied by vouchers. I also inclose the policies
of insurance. 1 The insurance covered all commissions and charges
paid in London, so as to have made the United States entirely whole
in case of loss. This I directed, thinking it most prudent.
The expenses on selling the stock, viz, brokerage, charges on the
transfers, and charges for stamps, were 120 4s. 6d. These will be
seen in my account, marked among the inclosures R. R.
The several expenses above enumerated, viz:
(1) The consul's commission of 797 15s. 6d., and charges 6 19s. 4d. ;
"It has been deemed unnecessary, at the Department of State, to communicate
copies of the several policies of insurance above referred to.
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 107
(2) The premium of insurance, stamps, and policies, viz, 599 3s.
4d., with the charges 6 6d.; and
(3) The expense of selling the stock (120 4s. 6d.), deducted from
the gross amount of moneys that came into my hands (106,490 11s.
9d.), will leave 104,960 8s. 7d., which was the precise sum in gold I
brought over in the eleven boxes and, under instructions from the
Secretary of the Treasury, deposited at the mint in Philadelphia on
the 1st instant to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States.
The foregoing is the statement I have to make of the expenses. I
presume to hope that they will not be thought objectionable, but, on
the contrary, moderate under all the heads. If I have been somewhat
minute in explaining them it is for the better understanding of the
different accounts and documents inclosed, trusting that this will be
my excuse when about to surrender up a trust where so much pecun-
iary responsibility has devolved upon me.
In regard to the fourteen boxes containing the personal effects of
Mr. Smithson, it will be perceived that the letter of the solicitors of
the 5th July mentions that they had sent me a list of them. They did
so, and I inclose it (marked F). It is proper to remark that this list
refers to but one of the boxes, or rather to a trunk, as their letter
specifies, and it proved to be erroneous. I preferred that all these
boxes and the trunk should be first opened at the consulate, in pres-
ence of the consul and others who might aid me in ascertaining their
contents. When the trunk was opened several of the articles down
upon the list were not in it. I mentioned this to the solicitors, and it
produced the explanatory letter from them of the 13th of July, which
I inclose (marked G). All the rest of the boxes were filled with things
of little intrinsic value, as far as a mere superficial inspection of them,
pressed upon me on the eve of my embarkation, could determine.
They seemed to be chiefly old books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and
some philosophical or chemical instruments. Of the whole contents
(such as they were) all were left as we found them, except to have
been repacked with the aid of the consul and his assistants and put in
a better state for crossing the sea than they were when delivered to
me. When first opened it was evident that time, mold, and careless
packing in the first instance had nearly destroyed many of the articles.
The freight payable on the gold was not paid in London, not being
due until the arrival of the ship at New York; but the consul agreed
with the captain for three-eighths of one per cent, which brought the
amount to 393 12s. Primage was 19 13s. 8d., and the freight and
primage on the fourteen Smithsonian boxes was to have been 3 8s. 5d.
These several charges I was necessarily obliged to assume for the
United States, and engaged to pay them when the ship got to New York.
On arriving there I received the instructions of the Secretary of the
Treasury of the 20th of July, directing me to transfer the gold to the
108 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
mint at Philadelphia as soon as practicable; it being added that the
president of the Bank of America at New York had been requested to
render me any facilities in his power. The captain of the ship being
content to take the bank as payment for these last-mentioned charges,
I thought I should best consult the spirit of the Secretary's instruc-
tions by leaving the bank to pay them, which its president expressed an
immediate readiness to do. I supposed it could make no difference to
the Government in the end, whilst it saved the necessity of opening
one of the boxes of the gold at New York, out of which fund alone I
could have made the payment if demanded of me under the engage-
ment I had contracted. The bank may have further charges to make
for its aid to me otherwise in removing the gold to the mint, but I
know nothing of them in detail.
Referring therefore to that part of the Secretary's letter to me of
the 7th instant, which I mentioned in my No. 33, asking a statement
of expenses attending the transportation of the gold after its actual
shipment at London, and its transfer to the mint at Philadelphia after
its arrival at New York, I beg to offer the above explanation, having
paid nothing myself.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
RICHARD RUSH.
Hon. JOHN FORSYTH,
Secretary of State.
John Forsyth to Levi Woodbury.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 18, 1838.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith two letters from Mr.
Richard Rush, Nos. 34 and 35, with the papers which accompanied
them, in relation to the amount recovered of the Smithsonian legacy,
and the expenses attending the recovery and the transmission of the
proceeds to this country.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTH.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Sewetary of the Treasury.
Edward Stitbbs to Stephen Pleasanton.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 24, 1838.
SIR: I am directed to transmit to you, for settlement, the inclosed
account of Mr. Richard Rush, and a letter from him (No. 36) accom-
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 109
panying it. The balance which may be found due to Mr. Rush he
wishes to have remitted to him. The compensation and allowance for
expenses are to be up to the period charged in the account (the 20tn
instant).
It is presumed that the amount repaid to Mr. Rush by the solicitors
in London, mentioned in his letter (116 2s. 2d.), which was paid into
the Treasury, together with the avails of the Smithsonian legacy, will
be brought to the credit of the appropriation from which it was origi-
nally taken, and thus form a fund from which the balance due to
Mr. Rush can be paid. The papers explanatory of this circumstance
have been transmitted, together with the account of the legacy, to the
Treasury Department.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
EDWARD STUBBS, Agent.
STEPHEN PLEASANTON, Esq. , Fifth Auditor.
Levi Woodbury to the President.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
December 3, 1838.
SIR: I have the honor to report to you that, under the act of Congress
approved July 1, 1836, in relation to the legacy bequeathed to the
United States by James Smithson, the sum of $508,318.46 has been
received and paid into the Treasury of the United States.
In compliance with the provisions of the sixth section of the act of
Congress for the support of the Military Academy of the United States
and for other purposes, approved July 7, 1838, the sum of $499,500
has been expended in the purchase of 500 bonds of the State of Arkan-
sas for $1,000 each, bearing 6 per cent interest, payable semiannually
on the first days of January and July in each year from the 4th day
of September last (the period of their purchase). The further sum of
$8,270.67 has been applied to the purchase of 8 bonds of the State of
Michigan, bearing 6 per cent interest, payable semiannually hereafter
on the first Mondays in January and July from the 1st of May last.
The interest on all these bonds is payable at the city of New York.
There is still left in the Treasury the sum of $547.79 which has not
yet been invested, but will be as soon as a favorable opportunity offers.
The amount received in London by the agent of the United States
under the decree of the court of chancery of England was the gross
sum of 106,490 11s. 9d., including the sum of 116 2s. 2d. for costs
refunded. This was reduced by the payment of commissions, insur-
ances, etc., to the sum of 104,960 8s. 9d., which was brought into the
United States in gold and produced at the Mint the sum of $508,318.46
before mentioned.
110 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
This Department, having doubts as to what constituted the amount
of the Smithsonian fund, consulted the Attorney-General, and he has
given his opinion (hereto annexed, A) that the proper construction to
be given to the legislation of Congress on this subject requires that
the gross amount of the payment made to the agent of the United States,
after deducting the costs refunded as before stated, shall constitute the
fund, "and all expenses of whatever kind or nature should be paid out
of the appropriation made by Congress." That appropriation, how-
ever, not being sufficient, an estimate will accordingly be submitted to
the House of Representatives to enable the Department to comply with
the acts of Congress referred to, in accordance with the construction
thus given to them by the Attorney-General.
The estimate to be submitted is for $10,000. Of this the sum of
$128.24 will be required to make good a deficiency in the former
appropriation. The sum of $6,848.12 will be required to be added to
the fund, on the principles laid down by the Attorney-General. This
sum is estimated on the same ratio as upon the amount produced in
the United States on the remittance which has been received. The
balance, $3,023.64, will be required to pay the freight, etc., of the
remittance, amounting to $2,235.63, and such expenses as may be
incurred in disposing of the personal effects of Mr. Smithson, which
have been brought to the United States, for the sale of which I would
suggest that provision should be made by Congress.
This report is submitted to you in compliance with the resolution
of the House of Representatives, which you referred to this Depart-
ment for the necessary information that its archives would furnish in
relation to the call thus made upon you.
Respectfully submitted.
LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of tlie Treasury.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A.
Felix Grundy to Levi Woodbury.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE, November 16, 1S38.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the llth of October
last, requesting my opinion upon various points in relation to the Smithsonian legacy.
A separate answer to each of your inquiries is deemed unnecessary, as the opinion I
entertain, and am about to express in general terms, will be found to cover most of
them.
James Smithson, of London, on the 23d of October, 1826, executed his last will
and testament, by which, upon the happening of certain contingencies, he bequeathed
to the United States of America all his property, to found at Washington, under the
name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. Ill
of knowledge among men. The Congress of the United States, by an act passed 1st
of July, 1836, accepted the bequest, and directed the President to appoint an agent
to assert and prosecute the claim, and by said act pledged the faith of the United
States to apply the moneys and other funds which might be received to carry into
effect the provisions of said will; and, by the fourth section of said act, it is provided,
' ' that to the end that the claim to said bequest may be prosecuted with effect, and
the necessary expenses in prosecuting the same be defrayed, the President of the
United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to apply to that purpose any sum not
exceeding $10, 000," etc.
From these provisions it appears to me that Congress intended that there should
be no diminution of the funds bequeathed for the purpose specified in said will, but
that the whole, whatever they might amount to, should be applied to carry into
effect the intention of the testator; and when the object of the bequest is consid-
ered, it can not be supposed that Congress would act in any other than a liberal
spirit.
My opinion, therefore, is that the amount of the whole money and other funds
received by the agent of the United States, under the act of July 1 , 1836, without
reduction, constitute the Smithsonian fund, for the purposes specified in said Smith-
son's will; and that the whole expenses of prosecuting said claim, receiving, and
transporting the same to this country, including any additional expenses which may
have been incurred here, ought to be defrayed out of the appropriation made by
Congress.
It appears that cash and stocks, which, when converted into money, amounted to
106,49011s. 9d., were decreed to the United States, as the amount of the legacy
and bequest in said will. This sum, after deducting 116 2s. 2d., the amount of costs
refunded, is the amount which should be paid to the Treasurer of the United States,
to be kept and disposed of according to the provisions of the act of July 1, 1836, and
the sixth section of the act of July 7, 1838; and all expenses, of whatever kind or
nature, should be paid out of the appropriation made by Congress.
In relation to the disposition of the other personal effects of Mr. Smithson, which
have been transferred to this country by the agent of the United States, my opinion
is that Congress should direct the disposition of them.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
FELIX GKUNDY.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of tfie Treasury.
RESIDUARY BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
From Report of the Secretary for the year 1861,
Information has been received from London of the death, at an
advanced age, of Madame de la Batut, the mother of the nephew of
James Smithson, to whom an annuity was conceded as a compromise
by the Hon. Richard Rush, with a view to the more expeditious realiza-
tion of the Smithsonian legacy. The principal of this annuity, amount-
ing to 5,015 (about $25,000), will now be added to the bequest of
Smithson, of which it originally formed a part.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, May 1, 1862.
The Secretary gave an account of the circumstances connected with
the money left in England by Hon. Richard Rush, as principal of an
annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson, and presented the
following communications from Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, of London:
40 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,
London, W. C., May 16, 1861.
SIR: We had the honor, in the year 1838, of acting professionally for the President
of the United States in the suit in the English court of chancery, under which the
funds for the foundation of the Institution (of which we address you as manager)
were decreed to be paid over to him for the purpose of establishing the Institution.
We have now to make to you, as the manager thereof, the following communication:
On referring to the papers connected with the Institution you will find that a sum of
5,015 three per cent consols, part of the estate of Smithson, the founder, were retained
in the court of chancery to answer a claim of one Madame de la Batut, That person
was, in fact, entitled to a life interest in the fund, and at her death it was to revert
to the President as an additional fund for the purposes of the Institution.
Madame de la Batut is now dead, so that the fund has become transferable to the
President, and it will be requisite for him, or some person duly authorized by him,
to take the necessary steps to obtain a transfer.
We have had some communication with the solicitor of the lady's family, who
writes as follows:
"My client, Mr. La Batut, upon taking out administration to his late mother,
Madame La Batut, to whom Lieut. Col. Henry Lewis Dickinson, by his will dated
17th July, 1819, gave half of the income of his property for her life, will be entitled
to an apportioned part of such income from the last payment, on the 22d March, 1858,
to 10th September, in the same year, which would amount to about 70.
" The property originally consisted of French 5 per cent rentes, payable 22d March
and 22d September, but by order of the court a sum of 5,015 three per cent consols
was invested in the name of the accountant-general in this suit, to the separate
112
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 113
account of Mary Ann de la Batut, the annuitant, to meet the payments of the life
income. By the law of France, the life income is apportionable and payable up to
the time of death, and Lieutenant-Colonel Dickinson having been domiciled in
France at the time of his death, that law will apply to this case.
' ' Will you be good enough, under these circumstances, to obtain the consent of
your client in presenting a petition as to the 5,015 and the arrears of dividends due
thereon, to ask for the payment to my client of the apportioned sum out of such
arrears, without obliging him to go to the expense of proving the law of France upon
this subject? I will hand you the necessary proof of death, the expense of which
can be included in the necessary costs of the application."
We should recommend that the request contained in this letter be complied with.
We have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servants,
FLADGATE, CLARKE & FINCH.
The SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, United States.
40 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,
London, W. C., October 26, 1861.
SIR: Your letter of the 14th August reached us in the long vacation which has just
terminated, and we hasten to reply to it.
All that will be requisite to be done in the first instance is that we should have
the authority of the President of the United States to present a petition for an order
to have the fund paid to him. On our obtaining this order, a power of attorney
will be sent out to the President authorizing some person here to receive from the
court of chancery, and transmit to him, or to the managers of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, the fund in question.
Having in the suit had the honor of acting for the President, it might be within
our functions to present the petition even without an express authority, but we did
not deem it right to do so without some communication with the President or with
the managers of the Institution.
Of course, although the order might be obtained without, the fund can only be
dealt with on the signature of the President,
We have the honor to be, sir, your very obedient servants,
FLADGATE, CLARKE & FINCH.
JOSEPH HENRY, Esq.,
SmitJisonian Institution, Washington.
On motion of Mr. Trumbull, it was
Resolved, That the Secretary and executive committee consult with
the President of the United States and take such action as may be
necessary for obtaining the money referred to in the communication
from the solicitors in London.
From Report of tJie Secretary for the year 1862.
A power of attorney has been forwarded from the President of the
United States to Messrs. Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, of London, author-
izing them to collect the remainder of the Smithsonian fund, which
was left by the Hon. Mr. Rush as the principal of an annuity to the
H. Doc. 732 8
114 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
mother of the nephew of Smithson. The power of attorney was for-
warded to the care of Hon. Charles F. Adams, American minister to
England, and the money, when collected, will be deposited with
George Peabody & Co., bankers, London, subject to the order of the
Institution.
From Report of the Secretary for the year 1863.
A part of the original bequest, amounting to 5,015, was left by
Mr. Rush in England as the principal of an annuity to be paid to the
mother of the nephew of Smithson. The annuitant having died, a
power of attorney was sent, in November, 1862, to Messrs. Fladgate,
Clarke & Finch to collect the money; but it has not yet been received.
Although the whole legacy was awarded to Mr. Rush in behalf of the
United States, after an amicable suit in chancery, various objections
have been raised to allowing the small remainder to be sent to this
country. These objections appear to be principally of a technical
character and are scarcely compatible with an equitable interpretation
of the facts of the case. There should be no prejudice in England in
regard to the construction placed upon the terms of the bequest and
the policy which has been adopted, since 169 institutions in Great
Britain and Ireland are recipients of the Smithsonian publications and
specimens of natural history, and have enjoyed the advantages of its
system of international exchange.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, January 25, 1864..
The Secretary called attention to the unexpected delays and em-
barrassments which had occurred in obtaining the remainder of the
original bequest of Smithson left in England as the principal of an
annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson, and read the cor-
respondence on the subject with the attorneys, and also a letter from
Hon. C. F. Adams, the American minister to England.
On motion it was
Resolved, That a committee be appointed, consisting of the Secretary,
Mr. Henry Winter Davis, and Professor Bache, to confer with the
Secretary of State and the British minister relative to the action of
the English authorities in regard to the money due the Smithsonian
Institution.
From Report of the Secretary for the year 186 '4-
It was mentioned in the last report that a part of the original
bequest, amounting to .5,015, was left by Mr. Rush in England as
the principal to secure an annuity payable to the mother of Smithson's
nephew. The annuitant having died, a power of attorney was sent in
November, 1863, to Messrs. Fladgate, Clarke & Finch (the same firm
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 115
originally employed by Mr. Rush) to collect the money. After a
considerable delay, arising principally from technical difficulties, the
money was obtained and deposited to the order of the Institution, with
George Peabody & Co., bankers, London. It was subsequently drawn
through the agency of the Secretary of the Treasury, and, in accord-
ance with the law of Congress directing that the money of the Smith-
sonian bequest should be invested in United States securities, it was
expended in the purchase of Government bonds, bearing interest at
the rate of 7.3 per cent. The amount realized in bonds of this denom-
ination at par was $54,150. It was at first supposed that this money,
or at least the interest upon it, could immediately be applied to the
uses of the Institution, but from a critical examination of the enact-
ments of Congress in reference to the Smithsonian fund, it was found
that the appropriation of the bequest by the act organizing the estab-
lishment in 1846, related only to that part of the bequest which had
already been received, and made no provision for the disposition of
the residuary legacy which has just become available. It can scarcely
be doubted, however, but that Congress intended to appropriate the
whole of the bequest to the maintenance of the establishment. Still,
for this purpose, a special act will be required, and it is desirable that
the sum recently received be deposited in the Treasury on the same
condition with the amount originally obtained that the interest alone
shall be subject to expenditure. In this connection it is proper to
remark that Mr. Peabody, who received the deposit of the fund, so
far from claiming the usual commission allowed 4 per cent on the
money while it remained in his hands.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, February 2, 1865.
Professor Henry presented the question as to the disposition of the
residuary legacy of Smithson which had been received from England,
and was now on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States.
On motion of Hon. J. W. Patterson, it was
Resolved, That the Secretary be instructed to invest the money now
on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States derived from the
residuary legacy of James Smithson in United States bonds bearing
7.3 per cent interest.
From Report of the Secretary for the year 1865.
It has been mentioned in the two preceding reports that a part of
the original bequest had been left in England as the principal of an
annuity payable to the mother of Smithson's nephew. The annuitant
having died, a power of attorney signed by Abraham Lincoln, Presi-
dent of the United States, was sent to Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, solici-
116 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
tors in England, authorizing them to collect the money and pay it to
the order of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The pro-
ceeds from this, deducting the expenses of collection, were 5,262 3d.,
which were temporarily deposited with George Peabody & Co., who
not only transacted the business without charge, but allowed 4 per
cent interest on the money while it remained in their hands. The
total amount of this residuary legacy received by the Institution,
including the interest, 153 19s. 4d., was $26,210.63 in gold, which
being sold at the current premium (about 107), yielded $54,165.38 in
United States currency. This sum was invested in Government bonds
bearing interest at 7.3 per cent, and deposited for safe-keeping with
General Spinner, the Treasurer of the United States.
From Report of the Executive Committee for the year 1865.
It appears from the statement of the Secretary and the accounts
rendered by Riggs & Co., bankers of the Institution, that the remain
der of the legacy of Suiithson, which amounted to $26,210.63 in gold,
was sold at a premium from 105 to 107i per cent, yielding, after
deducting the cost of sale and United States tax, $54,165.38. This
amount was expended in the purchase of United States bonds bearing
7.3 per cent interest at par.
The following is a detailed statement of the whole transaction:
1864.
June 11. The amount received from Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, attor-
neys, London, as the residuary legacy of James Smithson, s. d.
was 5,262 3
This amount was deposited with George Peabody & Co.,
bankers, London, who allowed interest on it to the 5th of
March, 1865 153 19 4
5,415 19 7
This amount was equivalent to $26,210.63 in gold, which was sold
by Riggs & Co. , under the direction of the Secretary of the Insti-
tution, as follows:
$10, 000. 00 at 207i $20, 725. 00
15, 000. 00 at 206| 31, 031. 25
1 , 000. 00 at 207 2, 070. 00
21 0.63 at 205... 431.79
26, 210. 63 54, 258. 04
Less brokerage, one-fourth $65. 53
Less United States tax, one-twentieth 27. 13
92. 66
Net amount realized from sale of gold $54, 165. 38
1865.
Feb. 17. United States bonds bearing 7.3 per cent interest were purchaoed
at par for 54, 150. 00
Balance, which could not be invested on account of there
being no bonds for less than $50 15. 38
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 117
After the Secretary had purchased these bonds and deposited them
for safe-keeping with the Treasurer of the United States, it was
claimed by the Secretary of the Treasury that this money was not
under the control of the Regents of the Institution, inasmuch as the
original act of Congress of 1846, establishing the Institution, referred
to only so much of the bequest of Smithson as was then in the Treas-
ury of the United States, and that a special act of Congress would be
required to apply this money, or the interest on it, to the uses of the
Institution. The executive committee would therefore recommend
that an application be made to Congress for such a disposition of this
money.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, March &, 1866.
The subject of the disposition of the money in possession of the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, resulting from the residuary legacy of Smith-
son, was next considered. The Secretary suggested that so much of
this sum as was received from England, independent of the premium
on the coin, viz, $26,210.63, should be added to the amount originally
deposited in the Treasury of the United States by Mr. Rush, making
$541,379.63 as the total bequest of Smithson, and that the premium
and the interest since accrued be applied to the current uses of the
Institution, and to assist in defraying the cost of the restoration of the
building. By this arrangement the interesting fact could be stated
that, after all the Institution has done in the way of increasing and
diffusing knowledge, the entire sum derived from the bequest of
Smithson is still undiminished in the Treasury of the United States.
The Chancellor recommended that the sum thus added to the money
now in the Treasury of the United States should be sufficient to make
up the amount to $550,000.
On motion of Mr. Wallach, it was
Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to apply to Congress for
an act by which the residuary legacy of James Smithson, now in the
possession of the Secretary of the Treasury, amounting to $26,210.63,
be added to the sum originally received; and that also from the income
of the above-mentioned residuary legacy the further sum of $8,620.37
be added, making the total amount deposited in the Treasury of the
United States $550,000 as the trust fund, the interest on which alone
is to be applied to the maintenance and uses of the institution; and
further, that the Regents be authorized to apply the remainder of the
income of the residuary legacy to the current expenses of the Institu-
tion and the reconstruction of the building.
118 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, January 28, 1867.
On motion of Mr. Wallach, the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to present a
memorial to Congress in behalf of the Board of Regents, requesting
the passage of an act authorizing the Treasurer of the United States
to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest,
the residuary legacy of James Smithson, now in United States bonds
in the hands of said Treasurer, namely, $26,210.63, together with such
other sums as the Regents may from time to time see fit to deposit, not
exceeding, with the original bequest, the sum of $1,000,000; and that
the income which has accrued or which may accrue from said residuary
legacy be applied in the same manner as the interest on the original
bequest.
The Chancellor appointed Mr. Garret Davis, Mr. J. W. Patterson,
and Mr. J. A. Garfield as the committee.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, February 1, 1867.
The Secretary presented the following memorial which had been
offered to Congress by the special committee:
To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:
The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have directed the under-
signed to transmit to your honorable body the resolution herewith appended, and to
solicit the passage of an act in accordance therewith.
It is known to your honorable body that the original sum received into the United
States Treasury from the bequest of James Smithson, of England, was $515,167,
which was considered a trust fund, the interest alone to be applied to carrying out
the purpose of the testator, viz, "The increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men."
This, however, was not the whole of the Smithsonian bequest, the sum of 5,015
having been left by Hon. R. Rush, the agent of the United States, as the principal of
an annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson.
The annuitant having died, the sum of $26,210.63 has been received from this
source, and is now in charge of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States,
and no provision having been made in the act of August 10, 1846, establishing the
Institution, for the disposition of this remainder of the legacy, your memorialists, in
behalf of the Board of Regents, now ask that it be added to the original bequest on
the same terms, and that the increase which has arisen from interest or otherwise on
the sum before mentioned, also in the hands of the Treasury Department of the
United States, be transferred to the Board of Regents for assisting to defray the
expense of the reconstruction of the building and for other objects of the Institution.
And your memorialists would further ask that the Board of Regents be allowed to
place in the Treasury of the United States, on the same terms as the original bequest,
such sums of money as may accrue from savings of income and from other sources,
provided the whole amount thus received into the Treasury shall not exceed
$1,000,000.
. SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 119
The sole object of this request is the permanent investment and perpetual security
of the entire Smithsonian bequest and such other sums as may be accumulated from
savings of accrued interest, legacies, etc.
And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.
S. P. CHASE,
Chancellor.
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Resolved, by tlie Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, That an application
be made to Congress for an act authorizing the Treasurer of the United States to
receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest, the residuary
legacy of James Smithson, now in United States bonds in the hands of said Treas-
urer, namely, $26,210.63, together with such other sums as the Regents may from
time to time see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with the original bequest, the sum of
$1,000,000, and that the income which has accrued or may accrue from said residuary
legacy be applied in the same manner as the interest on the original bequest.
Mr. Patterson stated that in behalf of the committee he had pre-
sented the memorial to the House of Representatives, with a bill in
accordance therewith, which had passed unanimously that day and
been transmitted to the Senate.
Mr. Trumbull stated that this bill had also unanimously passed the
Senate, and only awaited the signature of the President to become
a law.
From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, February 22, 1867.
The Secretary presented the following copy of the act of Congress
relative to the increase of the trust fund, referred to at the last meet-
ing of the board, and a statement of what had been done in accordance
with it:
An act authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to receive into the Treasury the residuary legacy
of James Smithson, to authorize the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to apply the income of
the said legacy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized
and directed to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest,
the residuary legacy of James Smithson, now in United States bonds in the hands of
said Secretary, namely, twenty-six thousand two hundred and ten dollars and sixty-
three cents, together with such other sums as the Regents may from time to time see
fit to deposit, not exceeding with the original bequest the sum of one million dollars.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the increase which has accrued or which
may hereafter accrue, from said residuary legacy, shall be applied by the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in the same manner as the interest on the
original bequest, in accordance with the provisions of the act of August tenth, eighteen
hundred and forty -six, establishing said Institution.
Approved February 8, 1867.
The Secretary stated that in accordance with the directions of the
Board of Regents, and the authority conferred by the above act, he
had increased the amount of the Smithsonian fund in the Treasury of
120 SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST.
tbe United States on the 19th of February, 1867, to $550,000, in the
following manner:
The interest at 7.3 per cent, due for two years, to February 15, 1867, on
the $54,150 United States bonds, was collected, viz $7, 905. 90
$25,400 of the bonds were taken by the Treasury Department
at 6 per cent premium, yielding:
Bonds $25,400.00
Premium.. 1,524.00
- 26,924.00
Interest from February 15-19, four days 20. 32
Amount realized '. 34, 850. 22
Amount placed in the United States Treasury, to l)e added to the original
trust fund, $515,169 (making it $550,000) 34, 831. 00
Leaving a balance in cash of 19. 22
This balance was deposited with Riggs & Co. to the credit of the
Smithsonian account.
INCREASE OF THE SMITHSON FUND.
Hamilton fund. The first addition to the Smithson fund by bequest
was that of $1,000 from James Hamilton, of Carlisle, Pa., "the inter-
est to be appropriated biennially by the secretaries, either in money
or a medal, for such contribution, paper, or lecture on any scientific
or useful subject as said secretaries may direct." His will was dated
November 20, 1871, and the amount of the bequest was received Febru-
ary 24, 1874, and deposited in the United States Treasury.
Hdbel fund. The second bequest to the Institution was made by
Dr. Simeon Habel, of New York, an Austrian physician, of $402.59,
which was increased by the Institution to $500, to be known as the
"Habel fund," which was deposited on the loth of March, 1880, in the
United States Treasury.
Hodgkins fund. In May, 1891, Mr. Thomas George Hodgkins, of
Setauket, Long Island, New York, proposed to make a gift to the
Institution, and after visits from the Secretary, Mr. Langley, and the
Assistant Secretary, Mr. Goode, Mr. Hodgkins presented, on Sep-
tember 22, 1891, the sum of $200,000, the interest of $100,000 of
which was to be used for general purposes in the "increase and diffu-
sion of knowledge among men," provided that the interest of the other
$100,000 should be used in the investigation of the properties of
atmospheric air considered in its very widest relationship to all
branches of science. This gift was formally accepted by the Board
of Regents on the 21st of October, 1891. Mr. Hodgkins died on the
25th of November, 1892, at the age of nearly 90 3 r ears. Subsequent
to his death, in 1894, an additional sum of $8,000 was received from
the estate and added to the Smithson fund, and $42,000 was also
SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST. 121
received by the Institution in West Shore Railroad 4 per cent bonds
from his estate, making the total gift of about a quarter of a million
dollars.
The permanent Smithson fund January, 1900, deposited in the
United States Treasury consists of
Aug. 10, 1846. Smithson's original bequest $515, 169. 00
Feb. 19, 1867. Smithson's residuary legacy 26, 210. 63
From savings, etc . . . , 108, 620. 37
Feb. 24, 1874. Bequest of James Hamilton 1, 000. 00
Mar. 15, 1880. Bequest of Dr. Simeon Habel 500. 00
Feb. 21, 1881. Proceeds of sale of Virginia bonds 51, 500. 00
Oct. 22, 1891. Gift of Thomas G. Hodgkins 200, 000. 00
May 19, 1894. Gift of Thomas G. Hodgkins 8, 000. 00
Jan. 28, 1895. Interest on the Hamilton fund 1, 000. 00
912, 000. 00
OTHER BEQUESTS AND GIFTS TO THE INSTITUTION.
fund. In 1894 a bequest was received from Mr. Robert
Stanton Avery, of Washington City, consisting of real estate valued
at $28,931 and railroad stocks, etc., valued at about $6,000.
As litigation ensued on the part of some of the heirs at law, no
addition has yet been made from this source to the permanent Smith-
son fund.
In 1889 a bequest of $5,000 was received from Dr. Jerome Henry
Kidder, of Washington City, to be used for the promotion of physi-
cal research.
In 1891 Prof. Alexander Graham Bell presented the sum of $5,000
for scientific research by the secretary, Mr. Langley.
A full account of these bequests will be found in the annual reports
of the Institution.
n.
LEGISLATION RELATIVE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: 1835 TO 1847.
123
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837.
BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
Message from the President of the United States.
WASHINGTON, December 17, 1835.
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:
I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, accom-
panying copies of certain papers l relating to a bequest to the United
States by Mr. James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of found-
ing at Washington an establishment, under the name of the Smith-
sonian Institution, "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men." The Executive having no authority to take any steps for
accepting the trust and obtaining the funds, the papers are communi-
cated with a view to such measures as Congress may deem necessary.
ANDREW JACKSON.
December 21, 1835 Senate.
The message of the President was read, and referred to Committee
on the Judiciary.
December 21, 1835 House.
The message of the President was received and read.
Referred to a select committee, and Mr. John Quincy Adams, Mr.
Francis Thomas, Mr. James Garland of Virginia, Mr. Dutee J.
Pearce of Rhode Island, Mr. Jesse Speight, Mr. Thomas M. T.
McKennan, Mr. Edw. A. Hannegan, Mr. Rice Garland of Louisiana,
and Mr. Graham H. Chapin were appointed said committee.
January 5, 1836 Senate.
Mr. B. F. LEIGH, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to wnoin
was referred the message of the President of the United States of
the 21st ultimo, relative to the bequest of the late James Smithson,
of London, made a report, accompanied by a joint resolution.
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the message
of the President of the 17th December last, transmitting to Congress
I a report of the Secretary of State, accompanying copies of certain
papers relating to a bequest to the United States by Mr. James
Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding, at Washington,
1 For these papers see Correspondence, page 3.
125
126 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
an establishment under the name of "The Smithsonian Institution
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," respect-
fully report:
That it appears that Mr. James Smithson, late of London, deceased,
by his last will and testament bequeathed the whole of his property to
his bankers, Messrs. Drummonds, of Charing Cross, London, in trust,
to be disposed of in the manner therein provided and directed, and
desired his said executors to put his property under the management
of the court of chancery; and then (after bequeathing an annuity of
100 to John Fitall for life) he bequeathed and provided as follows:
To Henry James Hungerford, my nephew, I give and bequeath, for his life, the whole
of the income arising from my property of every nature and kind whatever, after pay-
ment of the above annuity, and after the death of John Fitall that annuity likewise;
the payments to be made to him at the time interest or dividends become due on the
stocks or other property from which the income arises. Should the said Henry
James Hungerford have a child or children, legitimate or illegitimate, I leave to such
child or children, his or their heirs, executors, and assigns, the whole of my property
of every kind, absolutely and forever, to be divided between them, if more than one,
in the manner their father shall judge proper; and in case of his omitting to decide
this, as the lord chancellor shall judge proper. Should my said nephew, Henry
James Hungerford, marry, I empower him to make a jointure. In case of the death
of my said nephew without leaving a child or children, or of the death of the child
or children he may have had, under the age of 21 years, or intestate, I then bequeath
the whole of my property (subject to the annuity of 100 to John Fitall, and for the
security and payment of which I mean stock to remain in this country) to the United
States of America, to found, at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian
Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
It further appears, from a letter of Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore &
Fladgate, solicitors to Mr. Vail, charge d'affaires of the United States
at London, dated the 21st July last, communicated by Mr. Vail to the
Secretary of State, that pursuant to the instructions contained in Mr.
Smithson's will, an amicable suit was, on the death of that testator,
brought in the court of chancery of England, by the legatee, Mr.
Hungerford, against the Messrs. Drummonds, the executors, in which
suit the assets were realized; that these were very considerable; that
there is now standing in the name of the accountant-general of the
court of chancery, on the trusts of the will, stock amounting in value
to about 100,000; that Mr. Hungerford, during his life, had received
the income arising from this property; but that news had reached
England that Mr. Hungerford had died abroad, leaving no child sur-
viving him; so that the event has happened on which the executory
bequest of this large property was made by the testator, Mr. Smith-
son, to the United States, to found, at Washington, under the name of
"The Smithsonian Institution," an establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men. Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore &
Fladgate also inform Mr. Vail that it has now become necessary that
measures should be taken for the purpose of getting the decision of the
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 127
court of chancery as to the further disposition of the property; that
it is not clearly defined in Mr. Smithson's will to whom, on behalf of the
United States, the property should be paid or transferred; and indeed
there is so much doubt that they apprehend the attorney -general on
behalf of the Crown of England must be joined in the proceedings which
it may be requisite the United States should institute; that they act
in this matter for Messrs. Drummonds, the bankers, who are mere
stakeholders, and are ready to do all in their power to facilitate get-
ting the decision of the court of chancery and carrying the testator's
intentions into effect; and that they will be happy to communicate
with such professional advisers as the Government of the United
States shall think fit to appoint to act for them in England. And
having thus stated the nature of the business, they add that the}'
abstain from making any suggestion as to the party in whose name
proceedings should be adopted, considering that the point should be
determined by counsel in England, after the opinion of the proper law
officers in the United States shall have been taken on the subject.
In a letter of Mr. Vail to the Secretary of State of the 28th July
last, communicating a copy of Mr. Smithson's will and the letter of
Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate to him, he says that that letter
and the inquiries he has made leave no doubt of the will of Mr. Smith-
son having been established and its dispositions recognized by the
court of chancery of England; that, according to the view taken of
the case by the solicitors, the United States, in the event of their
accepting the legacy and the trust coupled with it, should come for-
ward, by their representative, and make themselves parties to an ami-
cable suit before the lord chancellor of England, for the purpose of
legally establishing the fact of the demise of Mr. Hungerford, the
legatee for life, without children and intestate, proving their claim to
the benefit of the will, and obtaining a decree in chancery awarding
to them the proceeds of the estate; that Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore &
Fladgate are willing to undertake the management of the suit on the
part of the United States, and that, from what he has learned of their
standing, they may safely be confided in. And Mr. Vail suggests,
upon the advice of those gentlemen, a method of proceeding to assert
the claim of the United States to the legacy, without further delay, in
case it should be thought unnecessary to await the action of Congress
to authorize the institution of the requisite legal proceedings.
The Secretary of State submitted the letter of Mr. Vail and the
papers therewith communicated to the President, who determined
to lay the subject before Congress at its next session, and of this
determination the Secretary of State apprised Mr. Vail in a letter of
the 26th September last.
The President in his message of the 17th December transmits to
Congress all the correspondence and information relating to the sub-
128 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ject as the same had been reported to him by the Secretary of State,
and adds that "the Executive having no authority to take any steps
for accepting the trust and obtaining the funds, the papers are com-
municated, with a view to such measures as Congress may deem nec-
essary."
The committee concur in the opinion of the President, that it belongs
to the Legislature to devise and prescribe the measures, if any, proper
to be adopted on this occasion and to provide for such expenses as
may be incurred in the prosecution of them.
Judging from the letters of Mr. Vail to the Secretary of State and
of Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore & Fladgate to Mr. Vail, as well as from
the information which the committee themselves have been able to
gather as to the course of adjudication of the court of chancery of
England in such cases, the committee suppose it unquestionable that
the executory bequest contained in Mr. Smithson's will, of his whole
property to the United States, in the event that has occurred, for the
purpose of founding at Washington, under the name of the Smith-
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men, is by the law of England a valid bequest; that
the United States will be entertained in the court of chancery of Eng-
land to assert their claim to the fund as trustees, for the purpose of
founding the charitable institution at Washington to which it is des-
tined by the donor, and that that court will decree that the fund shall
be paid and transferred to the United States, or their lawfully author-
ized agent, leaving it to the United States to apply the property to the
foundation of the intended charity at Washington and to provide for
the due administration of the fund, so as to accomplish the purpose of
the donor. The committee are sensible, however, that these are points
which can only be determined and settled by the judicial authorit} r of
England.
In the opinion of the committee the questions which it behooves
Congress to consider are whether it is competent to the United States,
whether it comports with their dignity, whether (all circumstances
considered) it is expedient and proper that the United States should
appear as suitors in the courts of justice of England to assert their
claim to the legacy in question as trustees for the intended charitable
institution to be founded at Washington.
It might be a question of much doubt and difficulty whether it
would be within the competency of the Government of the United
States to appropriate any part of the general revenue collected from
the nation at large to the foundation and endowment of a literary or
any other charitable institution in the District of Columbia; but, in
the opinion of the committee, no such question is involved in the con-
sideration of the present subject. The fund given to the United
States by Mr. Smithson's will is nowise and never can become part of
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 129
their revenue. They can not claim or take it for their own benefit.
They can only take it as trustees, to apply to the charitable purpose
for which it was intended by the donor.
The committee can see no reason to doubt that the United States
must be regarded as the parens patriot of the District of Columbia;
that in that character they have a right and they are in duty bound to
assert a claim to any property given to them for the purpose of found-
ing a charitable institution of any kind within the District and to pro-
vide for the due application and administration of such a fund when
they have obtained possession of it; that the rights and duties of the
United States as parens patrice of the District in such a case are the
same, whether the charitable donation be made by the subject of a
foreign nation or by a citizen, or whether the claim to the bounty is
to be asserted before a domestic court of justice or before a foreign
tribunal, which by the comity of nations or the laws of its own coun-
try is bound to entertain the claim and to adjudge the property to the
United States if they are by law entitled to it. If a foreign tribunal
decreeing such property to the United States should think proper to
impose any conditions incompatible with the constitutional powers of
this Government or with its duties or its dignity, the United States
may then decline to accept the property and the trust, but no diffi-
culty of that kind is apprehended.
The committee are also of the opinion that the United States, in
prosecuting a claim to property given to them for the purpose of
founding a charitable institution within the District of Columbia, and
which they are entitled to claim, and take, and regulate the adminis-
tration of, as the parens patrice of the District, may properly appro-
priate, out of their general revenue, such sums as may be necessary to
prosecute the claim with effect since the United States have no other
pecuniary means to defray the expenses that may be incurred in exer-
cising their powers, or in performing their duties, as parens patrice of
the District, but such as are afforded by their general revenue.
Upon the whole, the committee are of opinion that it is within the
competency of the Government of the United States, that it well com-
ports with its dignity, that, indeed, it is its duty to assert in the courts
of justice of England the claim of the United States to the legacy
bequeathed to them by Mr. Smithson's will, for the purpose of found-
ing at Washington, under the name of "The Smithsonian Institution,"
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men, and that provision ought to be made by Congress to enable the
Executive to assert and prosecute the claim with effect.
Therefore the committee recommend the adoption of a joint resolu
tion authorizing the President to take measures for recovering the
said legacy.
H. Doc. 732 9
130 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 19, 1836. House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, from the committee appointed on the
message of the President of the United States of the 17th of Decem-
ber ultimo, and which was laid before the House on the 21st, com-
municating information in relation to a bequest made by James Smith-
son, late of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, deceased, to the
United States, for the purpose of establishing a seminary of learning,
reported (by leave) a bill (H. No. 187) to authorize the President of
the United States to assert and prosecute with effect the right of the
United States to the bequest of James Smithson, late of London,
deceased, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian
Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men, accompanied by a report in writing; which bill was
read the first and second time and committed to the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union.
The following is the report:
The select committee to which was referred the message of the Presi-
dent of the United States of the 17th of December last, with docu-
ments relating to the bequest of James Smithson, of London, to the
United States of America, for the purpose of founding at Washing-
ton an establishment, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, respectfully
report:
That, from the papers transmitted to Congress with the message of
the President, it appears that James Smithson, a foreigner, of noble
family and of affluent fortune, did, by his last will and testament, made
in the year 1826, bequeath, under certain contingencies, which have
since been realized, and with certain exceptions, for which provision
was made by the same will, the whole of his property, of an amount
exceeding four hundred thousand dollars, to the United States of
America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian
Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.
To the acceptance of this bequest, and to the assumption and fulfill-
ment of the high and honorable duties involved in the performance of
the trust committed with it, the Congress of the United States, in their
legislative capacity, are alone competent. Your committee believe
not only that they are thus competent, but that it is enjoined upon
them by considerations of the most imperious and indispensable obliga-
tion. The first steps necessary to be taken for carrying into effect the
benevolent intentions of the testator must be to obtain the possession
of the funds, now held by the Messrs. Drummonds, bankers in London,
executors of Mr. Smithson's will, and subject to the superintendence,
custody, and adjudication of the lord chancellor of England. To
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 131
enable the President of the United States to effect this object the
committee report herewith a bill.
But your committee think they would imperfectly discharge their
duty to this House, to their country, to the world of mankind, or to
the donor of this most munificent bequest were they to withhold a few
brief reflections which have occurred to them in the consideration of
the subject referred to them by the House, reflections arising from the
condition of the testator, from the nature of the bequest, and from
the character of the trustee to whom this great and solemn charge
has been confided.
The testator, James Smithson, a subject of Great Britain, declares
himself, in the caption of the will, a descendant in blood from the
Percys and the Seymours, two of the most illustrious historical names
of the British islands. Nearly two centuries since, in 1660, the ances-
tor of his own name, Hugh Smithson, immediately after the restora-
tion 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 a baronet of England, a dignity still held
by the Dukes of Northumberland as descendants from the same Hugh
Smithson. The father of the testator, by his marriage with the Lady
Elizabeth Seymour, who was descended by a female line from the
ancient Percys, and by the subsequent creation of George the Third,
in 1766, became the first Duke of Northumberland. His son and suc-
cessor, the brother of the testator, was known in the history of our
Revolutionary war by the name of Lord Percy; was present as a Brit-
ish 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 dispatches 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 coronation 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.
The suggestions which present themselves to the mind by the asso-
ciation of these historical recollections with the condition of the tes-
tator derive additional interest from the nature of the bequest the
devotion of a large estate to an institution for the increase and diffu-
sion of knowledge among men.
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 sagacity of application and a steady
perseverance of pursuit proportioned to the means furnished by the
132 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
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 extravagance of anticipation to declare that his
name will be hereafter enrolled among the eminent benefactors of
mankind.
The attainment of knowledge is the high and exclusive attribute of
man, among the numberless myriads of animated beings, inhabitants
of the terrestial globe. On him alone is bestowed, by the bounty of
the Creator of the universe, the power and the capacity of acquiring
knowledge. Knowledge is the attribute of his nature, which at once
enables him to improve his condition upon earth and to prepare him
for the enjoyment of a happier existence hereafter. It is by this
attribute that man discovers his own nature as the link between earth
and heaven; as the partaker of an immortal spirit; as created for a
higher and more durable end than the countless tribes of beings which
people the earth, the ocean, and the air, alternately instinct with life,
and melting into vapor or moldering into dust.
To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is therefore the
greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs
life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence. The earth was given
to man for cultivation, to the improvement of his own condition.
Whoever increases his knowledge multiplies the uses to which he is
enabled to turn the gift of his Creator to his own benefit and partakes
in some degree of that goodness which is the highest attribute of
Omnipotence itself.
If, then, the Smithsonian Institution, under the smile of an approv-
ing Providence, and by the faithful and permanent application of the
means furnished by its founder, to the purpose for which he has
bestowed them, should prove effective to their promotion; if they
should contribute essentially to the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men, to what higher or nobler object could this generous
and splendid donation have been devoted?
The father of the testator, upon forming his alliance with the heiress
of the family of the Percys, assumed, by an act of the British Parlia-
ment, that name, and under it became Duke of Northumberland. But,
renowned as is the name of Percy in the historical 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 com-
mentary 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; 1 doubly immortalized 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
1 Fitz-Greene Halleck.
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 133
possessors by inheritance, let the trust of James Smithson to the
United States of America be faithfully executed by their represent-
atives in Congress; let the result accomplish his object, "the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men," and a wreath of more unfad-
ing verdure shall entwine itself in the lapse of future ages around the
name of Smithson than 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.
It is, then, a high and solemn trust which the testator has committed
to the United States of America, and its execution devolves upon their
representatives in Congress duties of no ordinary importance. The
location of the Institution at Washington, prescribed by the testator,
gives to Congress the free exercise of all the powers relating to this
subject with which they are by the Constitution invested as the local
legislature for the District of Columbia. In adverting to the char-
acter of the trustee selected by the testator for the fulfillment of his
intentions, your committee deem it no indulgence of unreasonable
pride to mark it as a signal manifestation of the moral effect of our
political institutions upon the opinions and upon the consequent action
of the wise and the good of other regions and of distant climes; even
upon that nation from whom we generally boast of our descent, but
whom from the period of our Revolution we have had too often reason
to consider as a jealous and envious rival. How different are the
sensations which should swell in our bosoms with the acceptance of
this bequest! James Smithson, an Englishman, in the exercise of his
rights as a free born Briton, desirous of dedicating his ample fortune
to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, constitutes for
his trustees, to accomplish that object, the United States of America,
and fixes upon their seat of Government as the spot where the Institu-
tion, of which he is the founder, shall be located.
The Revolution which resulted in the independence of these United
States was commenced, conducted, and consummated under a mere
union of confederated States. Subsequently to that period a more
perfect union was formed, combining in one system the principle of
confederate sovereignties with that of a government by popular rep-
resentation, with legislative, executive, and judicial powers, all limited,
but coextensive with the whole confederation.
Under this Government, a new experiment in the history of man-
kind is now drawing to the close of half a century, during which the
territory and number of States in the Union have nearly doubled,
while their population, wealth, and power have been multiplied more
than fourfold. In the process of this experiment they have gone
through the vicissitudes of peace and war, amidst bitter and ardent
party collisions, and the unceasing changes of popular elections to the
legislative and executive offices, both of the general confederacy and
134 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of the separate States, without a single execution for treason, or a
single proscription for a political offense. The whole Government,
under the continual superintendence of the whole people, has been
holding a steady course of prosperity, unexampled in the contempo-
i-ary history of other nations, not less than in the annals of ages past.
During this period our country has been freely visited by observers
from other lands, and often in no friendly spirit by travelers from the
native land of Mr. Smithson. Their reports of the prevailing man-
ners, opinions, and social intercourse of the people of this Union have
inhibited no flattering or complacent pictures. All the infirmities and
vices of our civil and political condition have been conned and noted,
and displayed with no forbearance of severe satirical comment to set
them off; yet, after all this, a British subject, of noble birth and ample
fortune, desiring to bequeath his whole estate to the purpose of increas-
ing and diffusing knowledge throughout the whole community of civi-
lized man, selects for the depositaries of his trust, with confidence
unqualified with reserve, the Congress of the United States of America.
In the commission of every trust there is an implied tribute of the
hOul to the integrity and intelligence of the trustee; and there is also
an implied call for the faithful exercise of those properties to the ful-
fillment of the purpose of the trust. The tribute and the call acquire
additional force and energy when the trust is committed for perform-
ance after the decease of him by whom it is granted, when he no longer
exists to witness or to constrain the effective fulfillment of his design.
The magnitude of the trust, and the extent of confidence bestowed in
the committal of it, do but enlarge and aggravate the pressure of the
obligation which it carries with it. The weight of duty imposed is
proportioned to the honor conferred by confidence without reserve.
Your committee are fully persuaded, therefore, that, with a grateful
nense of the honor conferred by the testator upon the political institu-
tions of this Union, the Congress of the United States, in accepting
the bequest, will feel, in all its power and plentitude, the obligation
of responding to the confidence reposed by him with all the fidelity,
lisinterestedness, 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.
January 19, 1836 House.
A motion was made by Mr. G. H. CHAPIN, that 5,000 additional
copies be printed of the message of the President, and the papers
which accompanied the same, in relation to the bequest of James
Smithson, together with the report and bill that day submitted by
Mr. John Quincy Adams, from the committee to which the same was
referred: which motion was laid on the table one day under the rule.
January 20, 1836. House.
Mr. G. H. CHAPIN moved to consider the motion, which he submit-
ted on the previous day, for printing 5,000 copies of the report
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 135
submitted on the same date by Mr. J. Q. Adams from a select com-
mittee, together with the President's message, correspondence, and
will, relating to the bequest of James Smithson, late of London,
deceased.
Objection being made,
Mr. ABIJAH MANN, Jr., of New York, said the report was in reference
to a subject of considerable interest, not only to the House, but to the
country generally. As the report was in the hands of the printer, it
was proper that, if an extra number of copies was ordered, it should
be done at this time. He moved te suspend the rule for the purpose
of entertaining the motion to print, which was agreed to ayes 107,
noes 46.
Mr. B. C. HOWARD desired to know from some member of the
committee the purport of the report, and what disposition was pro-
posed to be made of the bequest. He was entirely ignorant on the
subject.
Mr. CHAPIN, of New York, said he would, as a member of the com-
mittee to which the subject of the Smithsonian bequest had been
referred, answer the inquiry of the honorable gentleman from Mary-
land (Mr. Howard). It was not proposed either by the report or bill
which the honorable chairman of the select committee (Mr. Adams)
had submitted, to indicate the plan or organization of the institution
to be founded. At present it would be entirely premature to do so,
because the first step was to obtain the funds, leaving the application
of them to future legislation. The bill provides that the President of
the United States shall appoint an agent to prosecute the claim in the
court of chancery in England, where the funds are locked up, in behalf
of the United States, and on the receipt of them to give the proper dis-
charge or acquittance for the same.
Sir, the bequest of James Smithson, amounting to nearly half a
million of dollars, is among the most liberal benefactions upon record.
Coming, too, as it does, from a citizen of Great Britain, who is not
known to have visited the United States, or to have had any friends
residing here, it may be regarded as a distinguished tribute of respect
paid by a foreigner and stranger to the free institutions of our coun-
try. It is due to the memory and character of the donor that suitable
publicity should be given to this noble and generous act of public
munificence; it is due, also, as the acknowledgment of the grateful
sense of Congress, in behalf of the people of the United States, for
whose benefit the bequest was made; and it is in an especial manner
necessary in order to call the attention of men distinguished for learn-
ing and talents in all parts of the Union to the subject, for the purpose
of obtaining an expression of their views and opinions in regard to the
plan and organization of the institution proposed to be established.
This splendid benefaction confers immortality upon the individual
by whom it was bestowed, and does honor to the age in which we live.
136 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. CHAPIN concluded by expressing the hope that the motion to
print would be adopted by the House without a dissenting voice.
Mr. JAMES H. PARKER said the House had not entirely got out of a
debate which had arisen upon a bill which was intended to provide for
their own pay, in reference to the alleged excessive expenditures of
the contingent fund of the House for the item of printing. A great
deal of complaint was made on the occasion alluded to, because of the
number of President's messages ordered to be printed by the House.
He was so case-hardened that he would upon a like occasion do the
same thing again. He was, however, not prepared to vote for the
proposition before the House. The report was doubtless an able one,
but he could see no reason why five times the number which were nec-
essary for the information of the House should be printed. It would
be recollected that a report had been made in the Senate on this sub-
ject which had been published in all the newspapers he had seen.
They would not be called upon to make any disposition of these funds,
because the} 7 had not yet received them, and if they ever did it would
perhaps be fifteen or twenty years first. Upon the whole he did not
consider it at all important that an extra number of this report should
be published.
The motion to print 5,000 extra copies of the report was then
agreed to.
February 5, 1836. Senate.
The resolution to authorize and enable the President to assert and
prosecute with effect the claim of the United States to the legacy
bequeathed to them by James Smithson, was considered as in Com-
mittee of the Whole; and,
On motion by Mr. WILLIAM C. PRESTON,
Laid on the table.
April 30, 1836. Senate.
On motion of Mr. WILLIAM C. PRESTON, the Senate took up the reso-
lution authorizing the President of the United States to appoint an agent
or agents to prosecute and receive from the British court of chancery
the legacy bequeathed to the United States by the late James Smithson
of London, for the purpose of establishing at Washington city an
institution for the increase of knowledge among men, to be called the
Smithsonian University.
Mr. PRESTON said that by this will it was intended that this Gov-
ernment should become the beneficiaries of this legacy, and contended
that if they had not the competence to receive it by the Constitution,
the act of no individual could confer the power on them to do so. He
claimed that they had not the power to receive the money for national
objects, and if so, the expending of it for another object was a still higher
power. He controverted the position that if they could not receive it
as the beneficiary legatee, they might receive it as the fiduciary agent.
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 137
If they had not the power to establish a university without the power
conferred on them by a grant, they could not have it with the grant;
or what they could not exercise directly, they could not exercise as
trustee. He referred to a report made by Mr. Adams in the House
of Representatives, in which the genealogy of Mr. Smithson was given
and traced through the line of the illustrious Percys and Seymours of
England. He thought this donation had been partly made with a
view to immortalize the donor, and that it was too cheap a way of
conferring immortality. There was danger of their imaginations
being run away with by the associations of Chevy Chase ballads, etc.,
and he had no idea of this District being used as a fulcrum to raise
foreigners to immortality by getting Congress as the parens patrice of
the District of Columbia to accept donations from them.
The committee had misconceived the facts; the bequest was to the
United States of America to found a university in the District of
Columbia, under the title of the "Smithsonian University," and the
execution of the terms of the legacy was to redound to the purposes
of the donation, which was for the benefit of all mankind. It was
general in its terms, and not limited to the District of Columbia; it
was for the benefit of the United States, and could not be received by
Congress.
Mr. B. F. LEIGH said he would thank the gentleman to inform the
Senate that the report he had referred to was made in the House of Rep-
resentatives, and not by a committee of the Senate. The report of the
Senate's committee was simply a statement of matters of fact. Mr.
Leigh explained the provisions of the will, which were simply these:
The testator, James Smithson, bequeathed to his nephew, James Henry
Hungerford, a legacy of 100,000, providing that if Mr. Hungerford
should die without children the legacy should inure to the United
States, for the purpose of founding at the city of Washington an
institution for the increase of knowledge among men, to be called the
Smithsonian University; and the Government had received informa-
tion from the American consul at London that Mr. Hungerford had
lately died without ever having been married and without leaving any
children. It now became necessary, Mr. Leigh said, for Congress to
determine whether it was competent for the United States to receive
this money, and, if they should receive it, to take measures for carry-
ing the intentions of the testator into effect. The committee to whom
this subject had been referred were all of opinion, with the exception
of the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Preston), that it was
proper for the United States to receive this money. They had not
considered the question at all, whether it was in the power of Con-
gress to establish a national university, nor was it necessary they
should do so. They looked upon this bequest as having been made
simply for the benefit of one of the cities of the District of Columbia,
138 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of which Congress was the constitutional guardian, and could receive
and apply the money in that form. Congress was the jiarens patrice
of the District of Columbia, in the sense laid down by Blackstone, a
power which necessarily belonged to every government, and could
therefore very properly receive this trust for a charitable purpose in
the District of Columbia. Congress had, in fact, exercised this power
of parens patrice of the District in the establishment of an orphans'
court, in the erection and support of a penitentiary, and could create
an establishment to take care of lunatics; and indeed, if it did not pos-
sess this power, in what a deplorable condition would this District be.
The States of Maryland and Virginia undoubtedly possessed this
power, and of course Congress derived it as to the District from their
deeds of cession. He did not look upon this legacy to be for the
benefit of the United States, but for the benefit of one of the cities of
the District, over which Congress was guardian, and he had therefore
no difficulty in voting for the bill.
Mr. PRESTON was aware of the decision of the Supreme Court cited
by the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Leigh), that the people of this
District might be taxed without representation, and he had no doubt
that these corporations could exercise a trust; but this was not a trust
to the city of Washington. The United States was the cestui qui trust,
and not the city of Washington. The corporation of the city of
Washington could not enforce this claim in a court of chancery in
England. If an institution of the kind was desired, he would prefer
it to be established out of our own funds, and not have Congress
pander to the paltry vanity of an individual. If they accepted this
donation, every whippersnapper vagabond that had been traducing
our country might think proper to have his name distinguished in the
same way. It was not consistent with the dignity of the country to
accept even the grant of a man of noble birth or lineage.
Mr. J. M. CLAYTON said the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Cal-
houn) had considered this as a donation to the United States. It was
not so. The United States was merely named in the will as the trustee,
and was to receive no benefit whatever. It was merely a charitable
object to establish an university in the District of Columbia. They
had established similar institutions within the District of Columbia
by acts of Congress, and no one doubted the power to permit persons
from other places to be educated in them.
Mr. J. C. CALHOUN said, if his memory served him, there was oppo-
sition made to the passage of those acts.
Mr. CLAYTON said he believed there was some objection made to the
policy, but not to the power of making the donation. It was to be
located in the city of Washington, and persons in the city would be
more benefited by it than any others.
Mr. CALHOUN was of opinion that this donation was made expressly
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 139
to the United States. By reading the terms in which the bequest was
made, it was impossible to conceive otherwise. The bequest was "to
the United States of America, for the purpose of establishing, at the
city of Washington, an institution for the increase of knowledge
among men." Now, take out the words "the city of Washington,"
and the donation was clearly to the United States. The words "the
city of Washington " were only used to designate the place where the
university was to be established, and not by any stretch of the mean-
ing of language to be considered as making the donation to the city.
He understood the Senators on all hands to agree that it was not in
the power of Congress to establish a national university, and they all
agreed that they could establish a university in the District of Columbia.
Now, on this principle, they could not receive the bequest, for the
District of Columbia was not even named in it, the city of Washington
being only designated as the place where the university was to be
established, and the bequest being expressly made to the United
States. He thought that acting under this legacy would be as much
the establishment of a national university as if they appropriated
money for the purpose; and he would indeed much rather appro-
priate the money, for he thought it was beneath the dignity of the
United States to receive presents of this kind from anyone. He
could never pass through the Rotunda of the Capitol without having
his feelings outraged by seeing that statue of Mr. Jefferson which had
been placed there contrary to their consent.
Mr. S. L. SOUTHARD said that the Senator from South Corolina was
mistaken in saying that every Senator agreed that it was not in the
power of Congress to establish a national university. He, for one,
believed that Congress had the unquestionable right to do so. This,
however, did not involve the constitutionality of the question before
them, as, in his opinion, the most rigid construction of the Constitu-
tion would not be adverse to the bill. Congress had the same right to
establish this university as they had to charter a college in George-
town or Alexandria.
Mr. JAMES BUCHANAN believed that Congress had the power to
receive and apply this money to the purposes intended by the testator,
without involving the question whether they had the power to estab-
lish a national university or not. There was no question but that
James Smithson, in his lifetime, had a right to establish a university
at the city of Washington, and to call it the Smithsonian University;
or a national university, if he pleased; and Congress, by receiving
and applying this bequest, would only act as the trustee of the city of
Washington, for whose benefit it was made.
Mr. R. J. WALKER would not discuss the question whether this was
a national university, because he believed that question was not
involved. But he should vote for the bill on the ground that Con-
140 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
gross would bo doing manifest injustice to the citizens of the city of
Washington by refusing to accept the donation. It was true that it
operated for the benefit of all mankind, but not more so than a uni-
versity established at Princeton or any other place. The Senator from
South Carolina [Mr. Calhoun] had said they ought to read the will as
if the words "at Washington" were left out. He [Mr. Walker] did
not think so. They ought to read it just as it was in connection with
the whole, and give it its true construction, which was that the United
States was only designated as the trustee, and the people of the city
of Washington had a right to call upon Congress, as the representa-
tives of the United States, to execute the trust.
Mr. JOHN DAVIS said this man Smithson, it was said, had devised
100,000 for the establishment of a university in the city of Washing-
ton to diffuse knowledge among men. It seemed to be taken for
granted that it was for the establishment of a university, although he
believed the word university was not to be found in the will. He
could not infer why it was so construed, as there were other means of
diffusing knowledge among men besides doing it through the medium
of universities, and he therefore thought the discussion as to the par-
ticular design of the gift premature. He did not regard it as a gift
or bequest to the Government. If he did, he would have all the feel-
ings evinced by the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Preston]. The
testator had not specified what special purpose it was to be applied to,
nor when the fund was to be used, and Congress might defer using it
until it became large enough to be used advantageously to the purposes
of diffusing knowledge among mankind. If they denied the right to
establish a university, they denied the right to establish all institutions
of charity. The same question involved in this was also involved in
the incorporation of institutions which had been incorporated by them
in this District. The only question now under consideration was
whether they should receive this money. He would vote for it, and
if they could not devise some appropriate disposition of it after it
was received, he would be willing to send it back by the first return
packet.
Mr. CALHOUN asked the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Davis]
what construction he would put upon the will if the words "at
Washington" had been left out of it?
Mr. DAVIS replied that he would put the same construction on it
then as he did now. His first inquiry would be whether it was for a
charitable purpose, and if there was no power to establish the institu-
tion in any of the States, he would establish it in the District of
Columbia; and if the power to establish it there was doubted, he would
establish it in one of the Territories. He deemed the establishment of
institutions for the diffusion of knowledge a vital principle of a repub-
lican government. They might as well say that delivering lectures in
any of the sciences was a national institution as to call this one.
TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 141
Mr. PRESTON said the declaration of the Senator from New Jersey
[Mr. Southard] had satisfied him that this was a national university.
There was no difference between a university in the District of Co-
lumbia for the benefit of all mankind and a national university. That
Senator had not distinguished between the power of erecting build-
ings and the use to which the}' are appropriated. They had the power
to erect buildings in loco parentis patrim for the benefit of the District
of Columbia; they might erect buildings for the maintenance of pau-
pers of the District; but if the people of the District, in this case,
were to have any benefit peculiar to the place, it was in the erection of
the buildings alone. He asked if the buildings of the Post-Office
Department were erected by Congress as theparenspatrice of the Dis-
trict of Columbia? Had they the right, asparens patrim of the Dis-
trict of Columbia, to erect this building for the benefit humani generis
of this District, when it was, in fact, a general charity to mankind,
including the confederacy, and not confined to the District of Colum-
bia \ He was against the power, and would be against the policy, if
they had the power.
After some further remarks from Mr. LEIGH and Mr. PRESTON, the
question was taken on ordering the resolution to be engrossed for a
third reading, and decided in the affirmative yeas 31, nays 7, as
follows:
Yeas. Messrs. Benton, Black, Buchanan, Clay, Clayton, Crittenden, Cuthbert,
Davis, Ewing of Ohio, Goldsboro, Grundy, Hendricks, Hubbard, Kent, King of
Alabama, Knight, Leigh, Linn, Mangum, Moore, Naudain, Nicholas, Porter, Pren-
tiss, Rives, Robbing, Southard, Swift, Tallmadge, Tomlinson, Walker 31.
Nays. Messrs. Calhoun, Ewing of Illinois, Hill, King of Georgia, Preston, Rob-
inson, White 7.
May 2, 1836 Senate.
Resolution passed.
May 10, 1836 House.
The resolution (S. No. 4) from the Senate was committed to the
Committee of the Whole.
A motion was made by Mr. J. QUINCY ADAMS that the rule be sus-
pended to enable him to make a motion that said resolution be the
special order of the day on Tuesday, the 17th instant, from 11 o'clock
a. m. to 1 p. m. ; which motion to suspend was disagreed to by the
House.
June 25, 1836 House.
In Committee of the Whole, Senate resolution No. 4 was considered
and amended.
The amendments made in Committee of the Whole, one of which
amendments changed the Senate resolution into the form of a bill to
authorize the President of the United States to assert and prosecute
the right of the United States to the legacy of James Smithson, late
of London, were reported to the House, and were concurred in.
The bill was passed.
142 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
June 25, 1836 Senate.
The Senate concurred in the amendments made by the House in
Senate resolution No. 4.
July 1, 1836
An act to authorize and enable the President to assert and prosecute with effect the
claim of the United States to the legacy bequeathed to them by James Smithson,
late of London, deceased, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smith-
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President
of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to constitute and
appoint an agent or agents to assert and prosecute for and in behalf
of the United States, and in their name or otherwise, as may be advis-
able, in the court of chancery, or other proper tribunal of England,
the right of the United States to the legacy bequeathed to them by the
last will and testament of James Smithson, late of London, deceased,
for the purpose of founding at Washington, under the name of the
Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men, and to empower such agent or agents so
appointed to receive and grant acquittances for all such sum or sums
of money, or other funds, as may or shall be decreed or adjudged to
the United States for or on account of said legacy.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said agent or agents
shall, before receiving any part of said legacy, give a bond or bonds,
in the penal sum of $500,000, to the Treasurer of the United States,
and his successors in office, with good and sufficient securities, to the
satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the faithful per-
formance of the duties of the said agency and for the faithful remit-
tance to the Treasurer of the United States of all and every sum or
sums of money or other funds which he or they may receive for pay-
ment in whole or in part of the said legacy. And the Treasurer of
the United States is hereby authorized and required to keep safely
all sums of money or other funds which may be received by him in
virtue of the said bequest, and to account therefor separately from
all other accounts of his office, and subject to such further disposal
thereof as may be hereafter provided by Congress.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That any and all sums of money
and other funds which shall be received for or on account of the said
legacy shall be -applied, in such manner as Congress may hereafter
direct, to the purpose of founding and endowing at Washington, under
the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; to which application
of the said moneys and other funds the faith of the United States is
hereby pledged.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That to the end that the claim to
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 143
the said bequest may be prosecuted with effect, and the necessary
expenses in prosecuting the same be defrayed, the President of the
United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to apply to that purpose
any sum not exceeding $10,000 out of any moneys in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated.
(Stat, V, 64.)
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 1837-1839.
BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
September, 1837 House.
The sum of $10,000 provided in the act of July 1, 1836, having
proved insufficient, the Secretary of State asked an additional appro-
priation by Congress.
John Farsyth to C. C. Cambreleng.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 14, 18S7.
SIR: It will be seen by the annexed statement that of the appropriation made in
the year 1836 to prosecute the claim of the United States to the legacy bequeathed
by James Smithson, of London, there remained unexpended on the 31st day of July
last but $4,000. As that sum will not probably be sufficient to meet the necessary
expenditures until an appropriation could be made at the next session of Congress
and placed in London, I have the honor to submit to the Committee of Ways and
Means the necessity of providing for them by an appropriation at this session.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FORSYTE.
Hon. C. C. CAMBRELENG,
Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means,
House of Representatives.
STATEMENT OF THE SMITHSONIAN FUND.
Amount of appropriation made in 1836 $10, 000
Mr. Rush's account for salary for one year, to the 31st of July, 1837. . $3, 000
Mr. Rush's account for incidental and contingent expenses for the
same period 2, 000
Amount of solicitor's bill, 200 4s., say 1, 000
6,000
Amount remaining of the appropriation of 1836 4, 000
[Same to Mr. Silas Wright, Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Senate.
John Forsyth to C. C. Cambreleng.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, September 19, 1837.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose a letter received at this Department from Mr.
Richard Rush, agent of the United States in London for the prosecution of their
claim to the property bequeathed by the late James Smithson, together with the bill
pf Messrs. Clarke, Fynmore, and Flaclgate, solicitors, paid by him.
144 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
I also inclose a letter from Mr. Daniel Brent, consul of the United States at Paris,
in relation to payments made by him in endeavoring to secure property supposed by
him to constitute a part of that bequeathed by Mr. Smithson, with a copy of Mr.
Rush's answer to his application for reimbursement. I would suggest $10,000 as the
amount necessary to be appropriated for the continuation of the prosecution of the
claim of the United States, and that it is of urgent necessity that it be made at this
session, in order that funds may be transmitted to the bankers of the United States
in London to meet the drafts that may necessarily be made upon them for the
expenses to be incurred therein. *
I have to request that the papers inclosed may be shown to the chairman of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate and that they may be returned to this Depart-
ment.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
JOHN FOESYTH.
Hon. C. C. CAMBRELENG,
Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means,
House of Representatives.
October 16, 1837.
An act making further appropriations for the year 1837.
For defraying the expenses attending the prosecution of the claim
of the United States to the legacy bequeathed by the late James
Smithson, of London, $5,000.
(Stat, V, 207.)
March 5, 1838 House.
On motion of Mr. TIMOTHY CHILDS,
Resolved, That the President be requested to communicate to this House (if the
same can be done without prejudice to the public service) all the documents and
information in his possession relative to the prosecution of the claim to the Smith-
sonian bequest; also, what duty has been performed, and remains to be performed,
by the agent employed at London in reference to said claim, and how the money
heretofore appropriated by Congress has been applied.
May 21, 1838 House.
Memorial of Walter R. Johnson relative to the Smithson bequest
presented. (See p. 146.)
June 28, 1838 House.
Mr. ABRAHAM RENCHER submitted resolution:
Resolved, That the Committee of Ways and Means inquire into the expediency of
authorizing a temporary investment of the Smithsonian legacy, as soon as it shall be
received by the President of the United States.
Agreed to.
July 2, 1838 House.
Mr. C. C. CAMBRELENG, from the Committee of Ways and Means,
reported:
[H. No. 863.]
A bill to provide for the investment of money received under the will of the late James Smithson,
of London.
Be it enacted, etc,., That all money arising from the bequest of the late James
Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in this District, an
institution to be denominated the Smithsonian Institution, shall be paid into the
TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS. 1837-1839. 145
Treasury, and invested by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of
the President of the United States, in stock of the United States, to be created for
that purpose, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable
annually; that the certificates for said stock shall be issued by the Secretary of the
Treasury to the President, who shall hold the same in trust for the uses specified in
the last will and testament of said Smithson, until provision is made by law for
carrying the purpose of said bequest into effect; and that the annual interest
accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in like manner invested for the benefit of
said Institution.
July 7, 1838.
The following section providing for the investment of the Smith-
sonian fund became a law:
An act to provide for the support of the Military Academy of the United [States for the year 1838,
and tor other purposes.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all the money arising from the bequest of
the late James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in
this District, an institution to be denominated the Smithsonian Institution, which
may be paid into the Treasury, is hereby appropriated, and shall be invested by
the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President of United
States, in stocks of States, bearing interest at the rate of not less than five per centum
per annum, which said stocks shall be held by the said Secretary in trust for the
uses specified in the last will and testament of said Smithson, until provision is
made by law for carrying the purpose of said bequest into effect; and that the
annual interest accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in like manner invested for
the benefit of said Institution.
(Stat, V, 267.)
July 9, 1838 House.
Mr. W. B. CALHOUN, of Massachusetts, submitted resolution:
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid
before the House during the first week of the next session of Congress all such
communications, papers, documents, etc., now La the possession of the Executive,
or which can be obtained, as shall elucidate the origin and object of the Smithsonian
bequest, and the origin, progress, and consummation of the process by which that
bequest has been recovered, and whatever may be connected with the subject.
Agreed to.
December 10, 1838 Senate.
Message from the President of the United States.
WASHINGTON, December 6, 1838.
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:
The act of the 1st July, 1836, to enable the Executive to assert and
prosecute with effect the claim of the United States to the legacy
bequeathed to them by James Smithson, late of London, having
received its entire execution, and the amount recovered and paid into
the Treasury having, agreeably to an act of the last session, been
invested in State stocks, I deem it proper to invite the attention of
Congress to the obligation now devolving upon the United States to
fulfill the object of the bequest. In order to obtain such information
H. Doc. 732 10
146 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sis might serve to facilitate its attainment, the Secretary of State was
directed in July last to apply to persons versed in science and familiar
with the subject of public education for their views as to the mode of
disposing of the fund best calculated to meet the intentions of the
testator and prove most beneficial to mankind. Copies of the circular
letter written in compliance with these directions and of the answers '
to it received at the Department of State are herewith communicated
for the consideration of Congress.
M. VAN BUREN.
Ordered to be printed with the accompanying documents.
December 10, 1838 House.
Two messages from the President of the United States.
To the House of Representatives of tlie United States:
I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives reports from
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, with accom-
panying documents, in answer to the resolution of the House of the
9th of July last.
M. VAN BUREN.
WASHINGTON, December 7, 1838.
Referred to a select committee.
Mr. John Q. Adams, Mr. F. O. J. Smith, Mr. Charles Ogle, Mr.
Charles Shepard, of North Carolina, Mr. Orrin Holt, Mr. Waddy
Thompson, Mr. Wm. H. Hunter, of Ohio, Mr. John P. Kennedy, and
Mr. James Garland, of Virginia, were appointed said select committee.
For second message see Senate proceedings, December 10.
Referred to the select committee last appointed.
December 20, 1838 House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS presented a memorial of Charles Lewis
Fleischmann, a citizen of the United States, showing the importance
of and the benefits which may arise from the establishment of a
national agricultural school as a branch of the Smithsonian Institution;
which memorial was referred to the select committee appointed on
two messages from the President in relation to the Smithsonian
bequest. (See p. 155.)
On motion of Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
Ordered, That the memorial of Walter R. Johnson for an institution for experi-
ments in physical sciences, presented May 21, 1838, be referred to the select committee
appointed on two messages from the President in relation to the Smithsonian bequest.
Memorial of Prof. Walter R. Johnson:
The memorial of the undersigned, a citizen of the United States, respectfully
represents
That, having been for many years devoted to the investigation and elucidation of
those departments of science which pertain to the practice of the useful arts; and
having, as he conceives, witnessed on various occasions the serious detriment which
1 Printed in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections No. 328, p. 837.
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 147
the public interest has suffered from the want of a national institution to encourage
and facilitate the cultivation of those departments of knowledge on which these arts
are founded, he has at this time ventured to present himself as a memorialist before
your honorable bodies, and to ask permission to set forth the importance and necessity
of such an institution to the country, and its claims to the countenance of the Gov-
ernment of the United States.
In a clear comprehension of the internal resources of the country the whole nation
possesses a deep and a growing interest, and in those vast portions of territory con-
stituting the public domain the Government has a stake of immense magnitude.
But great as these interests are, and much as they demand the services of men pro-
fessionally devoted to their elucidation, the United States as yet possess no institu-
tion appropriated to the formation of those habits and the acquisition of thatjekill
which might insure the success of such researches.
The want of an institution for these purposes is daily rendered more striking, in
proportion as the enterprise of our citizens is enlarged, and as a reliance on our own re-
sources becomes the more obviously necessary. But the determination of the value
of the natural resources of the country is far from being the only motive for the estab-
lishment of an institution for prosecuting researches in physical science. Those
resources require to be applied and improved, as well as discovered and described.
A further purpose, therefore, to be effected by such an institution is the enlarging
of those resources by the introduction of improvements in agriculture and by natu-
ralizing the productions of other climates to the soil of our widely extended territory,
the encouraging of those arts which are essential to our national prosperity and inde-
pendence, the diffusing of important information respecting the commercial value of
our different resources, the examining of questions in every department of physical
research connected with the public service, and the preventing of those impostures
to which both individuals and the public are liable while important physical truths
remain unexplained.
Motives of higher import are not wanting; inducements drawn from an exalted
patriotism might be presented in favor of such measures as might place our national
resources, institutions, and arms of defense above a dependence on the science of
foreign nations.
In recognizing the important truth that the power, freedom, and happiness of
nations are essentially connected with a comprehension of their own natural advan-
tages, not less than with the wisdom, firmness, and prudence of those who are exalted
to civil authority, we discover at once the vast magnitude of the obligation imposed
on the people of this Union to become thoroughly acquainted with the resources of
their country.
It is said, and said truly, that every freeman should understand the civil constitu-
tions of the country which secure his rights; and is it less imperative to understand
its physical constitution, which secures his existence?
Whoever loves his country would see her great, powerful loved at home and
respected abroad. And what element in her greatness, her power, her loveliness, her
respectability is more sure to win the affections than the rich abundance of her
natural advantages and the ability of her citizens to comprehend, to develop, and
enjoy them?
It is a mark of a meek colonial dependence to remain ignorant of all but the most
obvious features and productions of a country, and it is an evidence of something
worse than colonial dependence for a nation professing to be independent to receive
from foreigners all the knowledge that they ever acquire of the natural features and
resources of the country, and of their application to useful purposes. Why need we
cite the examples of antiquity? Why go to India, to Africa, to New Holland to seek
illustrations of this truth? What is the condition of the colonies still remaining on
this continent in regard to a knowledge of their respective territories? With what
148 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
jealousy did the courts of Madrid and Lisbon spread for three centuries a midnight
of ignorance with regard to the arts over the fairest portions of the globe!
And what was the state of the useful arts in those countries at the moment when
they at last greeted the uncertain dawn of a questionable liberty? What is their
degree of weakness and irresolution, even at this day, superinduced by an habitual
neglect of the bounties of nature and the achievements of art? How utterly at the
mercy of strangers, how little competent to assert the dignity of any national charac-
ter are most of the Spanish- American republics! It is not pretended that ignorance
of their resources is the only cause of this degradation, but that the former may at
least be considered a fair index to mark and measure the latter.
But it may be asked, What great national interests will be benefited by an insti-
tution like that now proposed? The reply is easy.
Wherever, in prosecuting his designs, man has occasion to call to his aid the ener-
gies of nature, there will researches in physical science find an appropriate sphere
of action; and wherever any national interest involves the production or use of
material objects, there must the energies of nature be more or less constantly put in
requisition.
Among the prominent interests affected by the existence and operation of an insti-
tution for physical researches are those of agriculture, of the Army, the Navy, the
public domain, engineering and topography; architecture civil, military, and naval;
the mining industry of the country and its interests in the success of the inventive
genius of its citizens. To these must be added commerce and manufactures.
That all these subjects are regarded as public interests is, perhaps, sufficiently
evinced by the fact that in the distribution of the subjects of legislation in Congress
each, with the exception of mining, is deemed of sufficient importance to merit the
attention of a separate standing committee of each House. Thus there is in each
House a committee on agricuture, on military affairs, on naval affairs, on the public
lands, on roads and canals, on public buildings, on patents and the patent office, on
commerce, and on manufactures.
The foregoing statement is made in order to show that, in asking the attention of
the national authorities to this subject, there is no design to obtrude upon their
notice matters not already within the acknowledged and long conceded sphere of
constitutional action ; that there is no attempt to introduce a course of legislation on
concerns foreign to those great interests of the nation for the protection of which
the fundamental law has invested the legislature with ample powers.
1. In no department of industry is the need of experimental science more evident
than in that of agriculture. The labor of research and observation in this depart-
ment belongs alike to the botanist, the zoologist, and the chemist. The first should
investigate the physiology and habitudes of all those vegetable productions which
constitute so large a portion of the products of farming operations, together with the
accidents, blights, and diseases to which they are liable, the insects by which their
growth or usefulness may be affected, and the method of securing and reducing to a
merchantable form the crops of each vegetable when matured. The introduction of
exotic plants and the treatment which may insure their success in our climate, with
the method of regulating and varying the succession of crops to avoid the exhaus-
tion of soils, would appropriately fall under the same branch of the agricultural
department.
The practicability and the proper methods of cultivating the vine, the olive, the
mulberry, the sugar beet, the sisal and Manila hemp, the New Zealand flax, and
other fibrous vegetables fit to furnish textures and cordage, would also appropriately
fall under the botanical division of agricultural science.
The collections in this department would exhibit samples of not only the ordinary
and the rare specimens of each plant, but also the diseased individuals and the vege-
table monsters of each class, displaying, when practicable, the cause of such disease
TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 149
or monstrosity. Under the botanical division is necessarily included, also, whatever
pertains to horticulture and the management of fruit in all its varieties.
Zoology applied to agricultural purposes would make known the rearing and
treatment of every species of useful domestic animals, whether bird or quadruped;
the kinds of labor to which any of them may be applied while living; the diseases,
contagious or otherwise, to which they may be liable; the value and uses of their
living products, as milk, wool, hair, or feathers, and the importance to man of their
flesh, sinews, bones, horns, and pelage, when slaughtered.
The best methods of domesticating or naturalizing desirable species of animals not
now in use in this country, and improving the breeds of all such as may be suscep-
tible of melioration, would likewise come under the cognizance of this department.
To the same would pertain an examination of such of the inferior races of animals
which are either useful, as the bee and the silkworm, or noxious and destructive, as
the Hessian fly, the locust, the weevil, and the canker worm, as well as of those
parasitic insects which often prove so annoying and destructive to the larger animals,
together with the methods of their extermination. In short, an agricultural study
of animal beings must deal with the physiology and structure of each race in every
stage of its existence. How wide is this field of inquiry, and how momentous to the
interests of agriculture, needs not to be demonstrated.
But to the chemist is assigned, in connection with agriculture, a branch of duty
not less important, and, if anything, more difficult, than to either of the preceding.
To him belongs not only the duty of ascertaining the constituents of every soil, and
the ingredients which render it either barren or fertile, which adapt it to peculiar
productions, which cause it to require more or less labor in the tillage, but also that
of determining the nature of the dressing which may restore it w r hen exhausted,
whether the same should consist of animal, vegetable, or mineral substances, and in
what proportions. He must also examine the constituents, immediate and ultimate,
of each vegetable, and trace the relation between the character of a soil and that of
the vegetable substances which it is capable of producing.
In various parts of our country it is well known that shell and other limestones,
marl, gypsum, and alluvial deposits of various kinds are resorted to for furnishing
the dressings of worn-out or barren soils; and yet it is equally well known that not
every soil is alike benefited by the same dressing. Even among the marls, some
produce an effect absolutely injurious on the very soils which others would fertilize
in a high degree. Hence the importance of designating, by means of chemical
analysis, the fertilizing or nonfertilizing properties of every compost used in the
dressing of land, its adaptation to each soil, and its utility as applied to each produc-
tion which that soil is designed to yield.
Though almost unknown in our country, and unapplied to its industry, the subject
of agricultural chemistry has not been deemed unworthy to engage the best talents
of European chemists. In proof of this, we need only recur to the names of Henry
and Ure and the immortal Davy.
The three branches of agricultural science above described would in their several
collections present an exhibition of exceeding interest, and one every way worthy to
fix the attention of the multitudes of citizens who annually visit the seat of Govern-
ment, as well as of the assembled representatives of the people.
Stored in appropriate receptacles would be found the botanical treasures of every
portion of our Territory and the useful products of every foreign clime; so that,
while our conservatory of arts and trades, now rising with increased splendor from
the ashes of its late conflagration, shall receive the monuments of inventive genius,
the contemplated depository of our natural riches would soon vie with it in curiosi-
ties and in usefulness.
2. Of the importance to the military interests of the country of an institution like
that herein proposed no doubt can be entertained when we take into view the great
150 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
number of practical subjects which, in that service, it is necessary to determine by
actual experiment. Questions relating to the form, construction, and efficiency of
ordnance and arms of every description, the effect of projectiles as related to their
weight, bulk, and velocity and to the charges by which they are projected, or to the
length, weight, windage and other circumstances of the guns employed to the dura-
bility of the latter as dependent on the quality of metal used in their fabrication,
or on the method of casting and subsequent preparation for service, are often pre-
sented for solution.
In connection with the products of a national foundry, should such an establish-
ment be authorized the prosecution of experiments would be of the utmost conse-
quence, and they certainly can not be less important when the ordnance for our Army
and Navy is manufactured entirely by contract. Much of that skill which is required
in the fabrication of small arms is dependent on a just application of scientific prin-
ciples, and careful researches into the nature of the materials and the best methods
of working them is often demanded. Nor are inquiries for this department of public
service confined to one or a few materials. Iron, copper, and zinc, brass, and many
other alloys; materials for tents, clothing, and accouterments; the whole range of
substances employed in pyrotechny; the materials for constructing fortifications,
whether on the seaboard or in the interior; for gun carriages and other vehicles; for
portable bridges, and for every species of camp equipage, are among the objects of
attention in this connection. Nor must the influence of heat, moisture, and other
causes in destroying the various materials employed in the military service or the
means of preventing their injurious effects be omitted.
The interests of the Army then require many series of experimental inquiries.
And though for the purposes of educating youth to the profession of arms it is
admitted that we have an institution which has received many high encomiums for
excellence, yet it is certain that original investigations of physical truth are not the
objects contemplated or mainly pursued in that establishment. Consequently its
existence in full activity and usefulness does not diminish the necessity of a national
institution for the purposes now proposed.
3. To the naval service of the country the subject offers a great variety of impor-
tant considerations. The whole business of navigation, whether for commercial or
for warlike purposes, ought to be founded on the most accurate scientific principles;
and every motive which should impel the mechanic or engineer to guide his practice
by the lights of science is equally or more urgent on the mariner. In the prosecution
of his adventurous enterprise the latter must encounter every element of nature.
Taking, as we now do, steam navigation into the account, we find him engaged at
the same moment in a conflict between fire, air, earth, water, light, heat, electricity,
galvanism, magnetism, chemical action, and the gravitating forces of the earth, the
ocean, and the atmosphere.
To enable him to contend successfully against these various forces, he must, in
addition to the principles of the art of navigation, with no mean modicum of astron-
omy, bring to his aid an extensive range of physical sciences. Not that a staunch,
well-equipped vessel must necessarily require in him who directs her course all these
qualifications; the above remarks are intended to apply to nautical science and prac-
tice as a whole, embracing whatever belongs to the naval profession. This requires
investigations to be made into the good qualities and the defects of different species
of timber, the influence of the season of cutting on the durability of its various
kinds, and the most effective and economical methods of preventing decay.
Among other materials for naval use requiring attention are those of cordage, in
all their varieties, from the rigid hempen ropes of our own manufactories to the
rude coir cable of the east, buoyant and elastic, floating clear of a rocky bottom,
where the heavier hempen line would be chafed and destroyed; and from the deli-
cate production of Manila to the stouter staple of the sisal hemp of Yucatan.
Far from being distinctly known and their several qualities clearly discriminated,
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGEESS, 1837-1839. 151
these different materials have hitherto been scarcely distinguished by their proper
names, even among our mariners and merchants. And the names, characters, and
habitudes of the plants which produce the textile fibers have, if possible, been less
clearly understood than the peculiar properties of the cordage itself. Thus the name
"sea grass" is sometimes applied to the fibers of a fleshy perennial plant of the
agave genus, which grows on dry, rocky hills, far in the interior of the country. The
influence of heat and moisture on all the different materials employed for either
cordage, sails, hammocks, bags, or clothing presents a wide field for useful research.
The relative strength and durability of tarred and white cordage has already engaged
attention in Europe, but further inquiries spring up as new materials are introduced.
Not less important than either of the preceding topics is that of the strength and
other properties of iron, as applicable to the fabrication of chain cables and smaller
chains for standing or running rigging (the latter particularly for steam vessels), and
of bolts and anchors for all the various sea and river craft. Not only the strength
and elasticity but the chemical purity also of this material and its power to resist
corrosion are objects of deep interest.
The naval and commercial marine interests are alike involved in an inquiry into
the possibility of obtaining an economical substitute for copper for the sheathing of
vessels, and whether that material itself may yet be defended from the corrosion
which now causes so heavy a charge on the Government as well as on the private
shipowner. A movable galvanic armature has been suggested for this purpose, but
awaits a trial of its efficacy.
Other subjects of inquiry likewise press upon the attention, such as the most effi-
cient and economical forms of pumps and the best methods of working them; the
best modes of heating, ventilating, and disinfecting vessels at sea, and of freeing
them from vermin; of preserving every species of provision on long voyages; the
practicability of obtaining fresh water by any convenient apparatus for distillation
on shipboard; and the most effective means of securing ships from electrical dis-
charges. Time would fail us to enumerate all the beneficial results of an enlightened
application of science to the operations of dock yards, to the construction and use of
dry docks, screw docks, floating docks, and marine railways.
To show that the importance of science to the naval interest is not herein overrated,
it may not be amiss to mention that a single division of science applicable to this
service of naval construction, that of the influence of form on the flotation and motion
of solid bodies in liquids, has not been thought unworthy to occupy the attention of
some of the ablest philosophers and experimenters of France, Sweden, and England.
The names of Bossut, of Lagherjelm, and of Beaufort are vouchers for the truth of
this assertion. The labor of the last-named author, in which it appears that hia
wife was a frequent participator, was truly herculean; and the splendid publication
and gratuitous distribution by their son of the thirty years' scientific labors of his
parents is a method of building a monument as novel and touching as it is liberal
and affectionate, while the monument itself is more honorable, perhaps, than any
which the pencils, burins, and chisels of Britain have ever produced.
4. If from the public defense, both military and naval, we pass to the public rev-
enues, especially to that part which is derived from the sale of the public domain,
we readily find ample reason to sustain a call for scientific investigations.
The agricultural value, the geological structure, the mineral resources, the botani-
cal productions, the supplies of water for manufacturing purposes, the true geo-
graphical position, and the force and present direction of terrestrial magnetism in the
regions where the public lands are situated are circumstances to be attentively
examined in prosecuting a survey of those lands.
The analytical chemist will decide the value, for mining purposes, of those regions,
which the geologist and mineralogist shall have explored; while the engineer will
note whatever advantages and facilities may be offered for internal communications.
The formation of a geological and [mineralogical collection would result, of course,
152 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
from the surveys and examinations contemplated in the foregoing remarks. And
none, surely, can doubt the ability of our country to furnish collections which may
stand in competition with the richest and most celebrated in Europe. Though it is
true that mineralogical exploration, the art of mining, and the chemical analysis of
minerals are almost in their infancy amongst us, and though it will be remembered
that even geological inquiries in this country have not surpassed the time of a single
human life, since the father 1 of American geology is still among the living; and
though, as a natural consequence, we yet know comparatively little respecting the
treasures of our mountains and forests and prairies, still, enough is already known
to warrant the brightest anticipations for the future.
As it regards mineral fuel, the American continent appears to be peculiarly dis-
tinguished. In one or another of its varieties that material is found in Nova Scotia,
in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri; on the Yellowstone River on the
eastern, and the Columbia on the western, side of the Rocky Mountains; in the
Province of Durango, in Mexico; in the island of Cuba; on the lofty Andes of Peru;
at the Cerro di Pasco and Huallanca, bordering on perpetual snow, and near the
level of the sea at the city of Concepcion, on the coast of Chile. But in the Central
and Western States of this Union the greatest abundance and variety of this fuel has
hitherto been discovered. It is hardly more than thirty years since so little was
known of the coal of Pennsylvania that a wealthy and enterprising citizen who had
caused a wagonload of excellent anthracite to be transported from the valley of
Wyoming to Philadelphia at an expense of $50 a ton, and had parceled it out for
trial among 'his friends, was soon beset by the latter with rebuke and ridicule for
having, as they alleged, attempted to palm upon them a heap of black stones, under
pretense of their being coal, while in fact they could no more ignite them than if
they had been so much granite. A fortunate occurrence at length dissipated their
incredulity and saved the credit of the worthy citizen; and the results of that interest
which was thus awakened on the subject have led to a knowledge of the mineral
resources of that State far more accurate than had ever previously existed.
A view of the map of Pennsylvania presents us with nearly the form of a parallelo-
gram, of which the eastern end is replaced by the irregular line traced by the course
of the Delaware River. If lines were drawn parallel to the western boundary of the
State, running north and south, 1 mile apart, so as to divide the whole State into
strips 1 mile wide, proceeding eastward and ending with the first of those lines which
should strike the Delaware River, every one of those belts would, it is confidently
believed, contain some portion of a coal field; and if these dividing lines were crossed
by others a mile apart, running east and west, dividing the State throughout its
whole breadth into similar strips, every one of the latter, except perhaps a few on
the northern border, would also contain more or less coal; and we could scarcely
draw over the surface of that State, in any direction, a straight line equal in length
to the breadth of the State without traversing a bed of iron ore, or of limestone, or
of both. It is not doubted that equally interesting proofs of the prodigality of nature
toward our country may be found in other States and Territories of the Union, nor
is it necessary to dwell on the importance of obtaining accurate information respect-
ing them.
In regard to our extensive lead mines, the value of such information will be readily
perceived by comparing the present abundant supply of that article with the condi-
tion of things when it was obtained only by importation, and when organ tubes of
that metal were taken from the churches to yield a scanty supply of bullets to Wash-
ington's little army at Cambridge.
'William Maclure, esq., author of Geology of the United States, resident in the
city of Mexico; April, 1838.
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 153
It is unnecessary to dwell on the importance of obtaining accurate information
respecting the metals employed for coin. Whatever materials the financial wisdom
of the nation shall at length decide to render current as the medium of exchange
and the standard of value, our mines of the precious metals, their nature, extent, and
richness, must ever remain objects of deep interest, both to individuals and to the
public.
The value to be attached to our materials for architectural constructions and other
ornamental purposes yet remains to be fully developed. Enough, however, is known
to assure us that we have among our marbles for massive structures those which may
vie with the Pentelicum of Greece; for ornamental furniture, with the variegated
species of Egypt; and for beautiful statuary, with the snow-white Cararra of Italy.
With lithographic limestone we need no longer call on Germany to supply us. Our
mineral colors, hydraulic cements, and fire clays need only be better understood in
order to supersede entirely similar* articles from abroad.
A patriotic resolution of one branch of the National Legislature has recently decreed
that the bust of one of our most eminent revolutionary statesmen shall henceforth
rest on a massive fragment of that iron mountain found in the rich and productive
region which, by a bloodless and honorable purchase, his sagacious counsels annexed
to our beloved country. Would that our thirty years of possession had taught us
other uses of that ore than to lie in unshaped masses as pedestals for our patriots.
Then might we boast some greater share of that real national independence, to the
attainment of which the whole life of our Jefferson was devoted.
5. Passing to the interests of the country, as involved in her internal improve-
ments, we find much to occupy the attention of scientific inquirers; and as the reve-
nues of the nation are more or less directly benefited by those improvements, it is
perhaps but reasonable that the science to design and the skill to execute those works
should be supplied by means of a national institution. To a limited extent our prac-
tice has sanctioned this course. Surveyors and engineers in the service of the Gov-
ernment have, in a few cases, been placed at the disposal of the State authorities.
For reasons sufficiently obvious, however, no permanent reliance can be placed on
such a diversion of military officers from the peculiar duties for which the Govern-
ment has caused them to be educated.
Incidental to the subject of internal commerce is that of locomotion, whether on
land or on water, embracing every inquiry relative to steam navigation, the causes
of explosions, and the methods proposed for insuring safety.
Another incident to this division of the subject is the introduction into our mining
and metallurgic processes of those improvements which may free our country from a
dependence on foreign skill, foreign shipping, foreign insurance, commission, and
brokerage for every yard of railroad iron which is laid throughout the length and
breadth of the land. Over our very richest beds of iron ore and coal and limestone
are laid bars of foreign iron, extending far away and crossing each other in various
directions, while through their gratings the country looks out at an importunate cred-
itor beyond the Atlantic. No small portion of the hundred millions which have
been borrowed from Europe for the purposes of internal improvement have been
applied to the procuring of this article an article which it requires no very daring
spirit of prophecy to assure us will one day be exported in immense quantities from
the United States.
6. In reference to the subject of architecture and public buildings, the acquisition
of information by experiment would often prove a most economical investment of a
moderate portion of the means devoted to such constructions. Besides all the inter-
esting inquiries relating to the form, strength, and durability of materials, the per-
manency of foundations, and the adhesion of mortars and cements, we have various
questions concerning the influence of temperature in the expansion of building ma-
terials and of the proper forces to be opposed to such expansions, as well as to other
154 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
disturbing causes which might endanger the stability of large structures. A compe-
tent knowledge of these various subjects would enable our architects to insure the
permanency of their works without involving the expenditure of enormous sums, either
to replace ill-constructed, tottering edifices or to surmount imaginary impossibilities.
Other subjects of inquiry, incidental to the department of art now referred to,
would also merit attention. An understanding of the laws which regulate the motions
and reverberations of sound would not be found unprofitable to those who construct
halls for the sessions of legislative and judicial bodies. Exemplifications of this
statement are but too well known at the seat of government.
Many of the truths which experimental research might develop would be equally
applicable to every species of architecture, whether civil, military, or naval. Many
would have reference chiefly to buildings on land, while others would pertain exclu-
sively to submarine constructions, such as the foundations of piers and docks, sea
walls, and breakwaters.
7. That the country has such an interest in the inventive genius of its citizens as
would authorize the establishment of an institution capable of testing the value, as
well as of proving the novelty, of any invention seems to have been fully admitted
by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Several appropriations have, indeed, already been made for special purposes of
this nature, and others have been recently asked for objects highly deserving of con-
sideration, as connected with the welfare and safety of the public. The advantages
to be expected from this particular application of scientific labor are not limited to
any one great interest. In every branch of the public service inventions and improve-
ments may be found beneficial, and in all of them may investigations be deemed
necessary before an impartial decision can be anticipated.
8. The bearing of numerous investigations on the vast and complicated interests of
commerce is, perhaps, too obvious to require even the slightest elucidation. What-
ever facilitates navigation, such as improvements in steamboats or other vessels;
whatever diminishes the risks attendant on its prosecution, as improvements in
charts, beacons, light-houses, telegraphs, and lifeboats, and whatever transmits
rapidly information, or funds, or persons, or merchandise, is essentially interwoven
with the prosperity of commerce.
9. And since all the facilities and improvements in commerce, all the elements and
productions and moving forces of nature, all the inventions of ingenuity, all the
obscure movements of mining industry, all the skill of the architect, all the science
of the engineer, and all the productions of the agriculturist are directly or indirectly
conducive to the manufacturing and mechanical interests of the country, there can
not exist a doubt of the value to those interests of an institution for researches in
practical science.
It is by no means supposed by your memorialist that all the ramifications of each
of the great interests, which have now been shown to have a stake in the advance-
ment of useful knowledge, would come simultaneously under investigation.
Researches in each would naturally follow in the order of its relative importance
and of the facilities for its examination. To obtain these facilities would be a pri-
mary step in the operations of the establishment.
The foundation of an institution for practical science is, in itself, no novel project
for the enlightened government of a civilized nation to entertain. What an intelli-
gent stranger might, perhaps, consider more remarkable in the case is the fact that
so long a period has been allowed to elapse without witnessing an attempt to erect
in our country such an institution. If examples were required, we might find them
in England, in her Royal Institution and Society of Arts; in Scotland, in the Ander-
sonian Institution, at Glasgow; in France, in her Polytechnic School and School of
Mines; and in Prussia, in her " Gewerbverein," at Berlin. To these might be added
some local establishments in our own country. But even if no precedent existed, it
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 155
would be no valid argument against a measure prompted by reason, recommended
by utility, sanctioned by our national position, and demanded by so many important
public interests.
For the accomplishment of an object so comprehensive in its design, a considerable
amount of means would doubtless be required; and your memorialist would have
hesitated tp offer at this time his views on a plan for augmenting the public expend-
itures had such been deemed a necessary consequence. And though firmly per-
suaded that, either for the public or for individuals, no fund is more safe or productive
than that of useful knowledge, and that in none other could a more judicious invest-
ment be made, yet it is believed that even the admission of these truths is not
required in order to obtain means applicable to the purposes now contemplated.
A considerable fund has been represented as likely to be soon forthcoming, through
the hands of an agent specially delegated to Europe, under provision of law for that
service, to obtain a legacy left to the United States for the express purpose of found-
ing an institution for the "increased diffusion of knowledge among men." While,
therefore, your memorialist would solicit your honorable bodies to establish by law
an institution for the purposes herein contemplated, he would also respectfully sub-
mit the propriety of inquiring whether such purposes be not the most appropriate
to which the Smithsonian legacy can be devoted, whenever the same shall have
been received in the United States; and should this be determined in the affirmative,
then to apply said legacy to the carrying into execution of said law and to the pro-
motion of the several objects herein set forth.
Respectfully submitted.
WALTER R. JOHNSON.
January 9, 1839 House.
On motion of Mr. JOHN QUTNCY ADAMS, from the select committee
appointed on two messages of the President of the United States in
relation to the Smithsonian bequest, it was
Ordered, That the memorial of Charles Lewis Fleischmann be printed, and that
the drawings accompanying the same be lithographed.
PATENT OFFICE, Washington, December 8, 1838.
The Senate and House of Representatives:
The memorial of Charles Lewis Fleischmann, a citizen of the United States,
respectfully represents:
That your memorialist had the honor of laying before Congress, at their last ses-
sion (see document of the House of Representatives, Twenty -fifth Congress, second
session, No. 334), a memorial on the subject of agriculture, in which he endeavored
to show the utility and importance of establishing an agricultural school at the seat
of government; while at the same time he entertained doubts whether Congress
were constitutionally empowered to effect so desirable an object. This object, how-
ever, can now be attained without involving any constitutional questions, as Congress
has come into the possession of the Smithsonian legacy, for ' ' the diffusion of knowl-
edge among mankind," a bequest bestowed in terms so general that it can not fail
to embrace the object of this memorial, and it is left solely to the wisdom of Congress
to designate the particular branch of knowledge which they may please to select for
the purpose of carrying into effect the intention of the testator, and thus attain the
end of his enlightened philanthropy and accomplish the object of his munificent
benefaction.
As the Government are annually adding vast tracts of valuable lands to the public
domain, Congress will doubtless regard the consideration of agriculture as among its
first duties, as well as one of the most important means of promoting the welfare and
prosperity of the country a country blessed beyond all others by the bounty of
156 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
nature and the patriotism of its citizens, and surpassed in the freedom of her
institutions only hy the diversity and fertility of her soil.
It is a self-evident proposition that agriculture is the basis of civilization as well as
l>opulation. A neglect of this great truth has doomed the aborigines of this country
again to the desert, and dwindled down their countless hosts to a few feeble tribes
a few solitary and starving stragglers roaming at large like the beasts of prey they
once pursued in the chase.
The Romans, though a warlike nation, considered agriculture as one of the chief
sources of their wealth and welfare, and regarded its systematical pursuit as both
honorable and patriotic. Cincinnatus was twice called from his plow to the consul-
ship, and once to the dictatorship, returning each time again to his plow.
The American Cincinnatus, who has so well earned the title of " Father of his
Country," resembled the Roman patriot not less in his principles and pursuits than
his fortunes and honors. Twice called to the Chief Magistracy of his country, and
once to the chieftaincy of her armies, he returned again and again to his plow.
The governments of Europe in the eighth century, to save the soil from deteriora-
tion and prevent emigration, were obliged to establish by law the "three-field sys-
tem," viz, fallow, wheat or rye, and barley or oats, which may still be traced in
France and Germany. To this law Europe owes her advanced state of civilization.
As the population became more dense a higher degree of knowledge in agriculture
was required, and several efforts were made to accomplish it, among others the
establishing of professorships in universities to teach agriculture to statesmen, law-
yers, theologians, and physicians. This gave rise to the perfection of agriculture as
a science, but as universities are not calculated, in many respects, to educate agri-
culturists, agricultural schools were established to illustrate theory by practice,
which had the desired effect.
This brief historical sketch shows the gradual rise of European agriculture, which
the science of chemistry and physiology is now bringing to the greatest perfection.
Let us now compare the general system of agriculture of this country with that of
Europe, and we shall find that the one adopted here is the system of deterioration
and emigration.
That the effect of such a system will and must have a very injurious influence on
the prosperity of a country is obvious. Unfortunately the cause does not arise alone
from the insufficient knowledge of agriculture, but also from the passion for wealth.
Wealth has always been the object of the ambition of individuals as well as of
nations, notwithstanding the sound arguments of moralists. This passion, however,
kept in proper limits, gives impulse to prosperity; but as soon as it degenerates into
wild speculations it is then the greatest obstacle to the liberty, independence, and
prosperity of mankind.
But when wealth is produced by agriculture it banishes idleness and the vices con-
nected with it; it renders the greatest portion of the population strong, healthy, and
industrious; it is the source of domestic happiness and contentment, and of all the
other social virtues; it renders nations powerful; it attaches its citizens to their native
soil, and the success of the national affairs is their highest interest.
To direct the besetting passion for wealth properly, and to promote the prosperity
of every individual as well as of the whole nation, it is necessary to teach the great
mass of the population (the agricultural class) how to gain the greatest clear and
annual profit, under all existing circumstances, from agriculture; and what will be
the most efficient means of checking the rapidly increasing evil of exhausting and
abandoning the soil.
The prosperity of the whole Union has not hitherto, it seems, suffered by this
system of unsteadiness; but that is no proof of the welfare of the separate States, for,
in proportion as the far West improves and prospers, the Atlantic States are declin-
ing; and it shows that the welfare of a State depends on the stability of its cultivators,
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 157
contented with their portion, and manifesting a determination to identify themselves
with the land of their fathers (not thirsting after supposed fairylands, cultivated
without labor), a living example of which is to be found in the wealthy sons of the
Keystone State, Pennsylvania.
It would be ridiculous to suggest the improvement of agriculture in this country by
laws among a free, independent, and enlightened people, who are already aware of
the want of instruction and are seeking for it. The different State governments,
the agricultural societies, and the agricultural journals have all signally promoted
the interests of different branches of agriculture. It wants only the knowledge of the
means of putting the improved parts of this great and useful machine together, so
that every part may operate according to the law of science to produce the desired
effect.
A beginning only is wanted, and the science of agriculture will spread over the
whole Union, like all useful improvements. Congress, always acting wisely for the
welfare of their country, will doubtless apply a portion of the Smithsonian legacy to
the promotion of agriculture by establishing an agricultural institution, which would
be an enduring monument in honor of the testator.
Your memorialist, therefore, presents a plan of such an institution, with designs
for the buildings and estimates for all the requisites.
Such an institution, being the first in the United States, would be the nursery of
scientific agriculturists for the whole Union ; their education should therefore be as
perfect as possible, to enable them to qualify themselves to serve as directors, profes-
sors, and superintendents for similar establishments.
This institution is calculated for 100 pupils; and the number should be increased
by degrees, from the profits of the farm.
The lectures should be free and the price of board moderate, as half of the num-
ber of the pupils should be practically employed every day on the farm.
For the convenience of medical attendance in cases of sickness, together with the
facility for attendance at divine worship, this institution should be located within the
boundary of the city of Washington.
AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTION.
The object of such an institution should be to show how to gain .the highest clear
and permanent profit from agriculture, under any circumstances.
That such results are not effected by the mere imitation of a certain tillage in every
climate, of different soils and localities, is obvious; it needs, therefore, rules and laws
founded on experience and science. To design such rules and laws, it requires scien-
tific and practical knowledge. Therefore the institution of an agricultural school
must be theoretical and practical. The theoretical instruction has to extend not
only to the principal and secondary departments, but also to all the auxiliary sciences
which influence agriculture, directly or indirectly, viz:
PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENT.
I. Agronomy, the science which treats of the different primitive earths and other
substances of which the soil is composed, viz, silex, alumen, lime, magnesia, iron,
vegetable matter, etc.
The naming of the soils, from the mixture of the primitive earths, and their value,
as resulting from this mixture.
II. Agriculture, the science teaching the cultivation of the respective soils in such
manner as to produce the most perfect crops. This is divided into two parts:
1. Chemical agriculture, treating of
(a) Manures in general.
(b) Vegetable manures.
(c) Mineral manures.
158 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
2. Mechanical agriculture, treating of
(a) Agricultural implements.
(b) Modes of plowing.
(c) The cultivation of new land.
(d) Fencing.
(e) Draining.
(/) Irrigation.
(g) Culture of meadows.
(h) Culture of pasture lands.
III. Vegetable productions, teaching the culture of
(a) Cereal grasses.
(b) Leguminous field plants.
(c) Plants cultivated for their roots.
(d) Herbage plants.
(e) Grasses.
(/) Plants used in arts and manufactures; such as flax, tinctorial plants,
oleaginous plants, hops, tobacco, medicinal plants, etc.
(g) The vine.
(h) The mulberry.
(i) Fruit trees.
IV. Animals used or reared by the agriculturist
(a) Horses.
(b) Mules.
(c) Cattle
1. Dairy.
2. Fattening.
(d) Sheep, and particularly the knowledge of the different kinds of wool.
(e) Breeding and rearing swine.
(/) Fowls.
(g) Silkworms. '
(h) Bees.
V. Economy, or the manner of arranging and conducting a farm, treating of
(o,) Labor in general.
(6) Labor with horses and oxen.
(c) Labor performed by men.
(d) Conducting a farm.
(e) Bookkeeping.
(/) The arrangement of a farm; the nature and quantity of manure required
for a certain system of rotation of crops.
(g) Change of system.
(h) The different systems of rotations.
SECONDARY DEPARTMENT.
1. Veterinary.
2. Technological agriculture, such as the making of sugar from beets, making
cider, burning lime, etc.
3. Culture of forest trees.
4. Agricultural architecture, and
5. Civil engineering as connected with agriculture.
AUXILIARY SCIENCES.
1. Chemistry.
2. Natural philosophy.
3. Mineralogy and geology.
4. Botany and physiology of plants.
5. Zoology.
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 159
6. Study of the properties of the atmosphere.
7. Mathematical sciences
(a) Arithmetic.
(6) Theoretical and practical geometry.
(c) Mechanics.
8. Drawing of machines, animals, plants, and landscapes.
To illustrate the sciences there should be
1. An extensive farm, with a field for experiments, workshops, beet-sugar manu-
factory, mill, etc.
2. A botanical garden.
3. A collection of the best and most approved implements or models of them.
4. A library.
5. A collection of minerals, properly arranged according to their chemical charac-
ters and with relation to their different soils.
6. An apparatus for mathematical and physical instruction.
7. A collection of skeletons of domestic animals for the study of comparative anat-
omy and the veterinary art,
8. A collection of insects.
9. A collection of seeds.
10. A laboratory, with apparatus for chemical experiments.
THE FARM.
The farm serves for the practical accomplishment of the theory. It is of the
greatest importance to give a practical illustration of all the objects and manipula-
tions treated of in the course of the lectures and according to the different periods
and seasons.
The husbandry of such an institution must therefore be extensive and complicated,
so as to show all branches of agriculture in their full extent. The operations which
are not possible to be shown on a large scale should be exhibited on the experimen-
tal field. It should contain
Six hundred and forty acres of land for cultivation, which should be divided in two
equal portions to show two different systems of rotations. First, a system which
has for its object to gain as many different products as possible and to procure the
manure by stall feeding, a system which is favorable where labor and capital are
plenty, land valuable, and a ready market for the vegetable and animal products.
Rotation for the above-mentioned system, viz: 1, sugar beet, potatoes, turnips, etc.,
with manure; 2, barley; 3, clover; 4, wheat; 5, indian corn, with manure; 6, wheat;
7, tares and oats; 8, rye.
The second system, favorable when labor and capital are scarce, land plenty, and
the object a grazing farm. The rotation of crops for this system would be, viz: 1,
indian corn, with manure; 2, barley; 3, clover; 4, wheat; 5, grass; 6, grass; 7, grass;
8, oats.
As rotation of crops depends upon the soil, climate, and many other circumstances,
two rotations are given here, for illustration, to enable us to estimate the probable
want of cattle, etc.
One hundred acres of meadow, to show how natural meadows can be improved by
draining, irrigation, manuring, etc.
Eighty acres pasturage, to show the difference between artificial and natural pas-
ture and the manner of improving it.
A vineyard' of 4 acres, for the culture of the indigenous and foreign vine; the man-
ner of making wine.
A hop garden of 4 acres, to show the culture of the best kinds; the manner of tak-
ing the crop, drying, and bagging.
For experimental fields, 40 acres, to show the culture of all plants useful in agricul-
160 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ture; to try new kinds; and also for experiments on manure, rotation of crops, and
new agricultural implements.
A vegetable garden, 6 acres, for the supply of the institution, and to show the dif-
ferent varieties of vegetables useful in husbandry and the best culture of them.
A mulberry plantation of 6 acres, which should contain all the varieties of the
mulberry, to show the culture of them, and would serve also to supply the cocoonery
with leaves.
An orchard and nursery of 20 acres. The greatest portion of this area should be
destined for a nursery to show the manner of raising and improving fruit trees. The
fruits of the orchard should supply the establishment and show the process of
making cider.
Five hundred acres of woodland, to supply the establishment with fuel, and to show
the culture of forest trees (a knowledge very much wanted in the United States), the
manner of burning charcoal, etc.
A lx)tanical garden of 3 acres should contain all indigenous plants which might
be probably useful and introduced in agriculture; also, the imported plants and seeds
from foreign countries, by our navy officers, consuls, etc. ; the medical plants for hus-
bandry, etc.
A BEET-SUGAR MANUFACTORY.
The recent improvement in extracting sugar from the beet root has so much sim-
plified the process that it will undoubtedly become a general business, so that every
farmer will produce his own sugar, or at least raise and dry the beet for market.
The object of this institution should be to diffuse the knowledge of so important a
discovery, and therefore it should have a manufactory for extracting the sugar from
the root, raised for that purpose by the institution and neighborhood.
A large institution of this description should grind its own flour and corn meal;
consequently it becomes necessary to erect a mill, with two pairs of stones, which
will also serve to show the pupils the management and construction of mills.
WORKSHOPS.
To give the pupils a knowledge of the manner of constructing agricultural imple-
ments, as well as to enable them to estimate the costs of machines, buildings, etc.,
and to apply the acquired theoretical principles of mechanics practically, there
should be five workshops, viz: Machine shop, wagon maker's shop, blacksmith's
shop, cooper's shop, and carpenter's shop.
Each of these shops should be conducted by a skillful mechanic, who could attend
to the work required by the establishment as well as teach the pupils the use of tools.
The pupils should learn how to forge, to shoe a horse, to make a wheel or wagon,
to stock a plow, and to build outhouses. It is not intended to make them masters of
these trades, but to enable them in case of necessity to construct anything belonging
to a farm.
STEAM ENGINE.
The mill, the apparatus of the sugar-beet manufactory, the straw-cutter, the
thrashing machine, the machinery of the workshops, and the pump which supplies
through a reservoir the whole establishment with water should be put in operation
by an engine of 12 horsepower.
BUILDINGS.
The buildings for such an object should be substantial, plain, and economical.
To this establishment would be required, viz: an institute or main building. (See plan
Nos. 1 and 2.) The annexed plan (No. 3) shows: (a) horse stable, (b) ox stable,
TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 161
(c) calf stable, (d) hospital stable, (e) cowhouse, (/) dairy, root, and steaming house,
(y) piggeries and poultry house, (h) sheep shed, (i) barn and stack yard, (k) gran-
ary and cart shed, (/) shed for the gristmill, straw cutter, and threshing machine,
( m ) workshops, (ri) beet-sugar manufactory, (o) engine with reservoir and pump,
(p) bee house and cocoonery.
LIVE STOCK.
Working cattle. Should the two given rotations of crops be adopted for 640 acres
of land under cultivation, 14 horses and 24 oxen would be required to perform the
necessary work.
For procuring the necessary manure for the two systems already mentioned, and
to show the breeding, rearing, and fattening of live stock, extensively, there should
be 2 stud horses (for light and heavy breeds), 16 breeding mares (exclusive of the
working horses), 160 neat cattle, 1,200 sheep, 50 swine.
The live stock should consist of the most choice foreign and native breeds.
IMPLEMENTS.
A collection of the most important and approved implements should be at hand,
viz: swing and wheel ploughs, cultivators, horse hoes, sowing machine, harrows,
rollers, horse rakes, reaping and mowing machine, carts and wagons, straw cutter,
threshing machine, corn sheller, root chopper, harnesses, &c.
PERSONS REQUISITE TO MANAGE THIS INSTITUTION.
A director, who should have the entire control over the whole establishment.
A treasurer and two clerks, to keep the accounts and attend to all the transactions
of the institution.
For the tuition of the pupils, there should be five professors, and a teacher for the
lower branches, exclusive of the director, who should lecture on the higher branches
of agriculture.
The practical manipulations are illustrated by
A superintendent of the farm.
A superintendent of the stables, who also teaches riding and breaking horses.
A superintendent of the sugar-beet manufactory.
A machinist.
A gardener.
A shepherd.
The domestic affairs of the institution should be attended to by a steward.
The prosperity of such an institution depends entirely on the director, who must
have received a theoretical and practical education at an agricultural school, and must
have enriched his knowledge by extensive practice and by traveling. He should be
acquainted with the principal living languages, to inform himself and his pupils of
the progress of agriculture in other countries.
The professors should be well versed in their sciences, and acquainted with agricul-
ture; as the tuition of a science, with regard to the practical applications, demands
not only an entire knowledge of the sciences, but also of the object to which it is
applied.
The superintendents of the different branches should be practical men, and free
from the prejudice of book-farming.
Every individual connected with the establishment should possess the best moral
character.
CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION.
Every applicant for admission should present a certificate of his moral character,
and be examined, possessing an ordinary English education, and capable of compre-
H. Doo. 7X-2- 11
Hi 2 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
bending a impulur course <f lectures. Physical strength l>eing requisite to perform
the work required on the farm, they should be at least of the age of 14 years.
The number of pupils should not exceed 100 at the commencement of the institu-
tion, and should IK? divided into three classes.
The free, or third claws, not exceeding twenty in numtxjr, should obligate themselves
to Htay two years and perform the work of the farm, where they should receive
Iwanl and lodging free, every evening have a lecture on the work performed during
the day, and also be exercised in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Their employ-
ment should be so arranged that everyone may become acquainted with all the dif-
ferent branches of the institution. Should the pupils of this class desire to enter a
higher class after the first year, they should prove their capacity by an examination;
and they will then be obliged, like the pupils of the second and first classes, to pay
for l>oard.
The second class, not exceeding sixty in number should stay two years, to acquire
a theoretical and practical knowledge of agriculture and all the branches connected
with it. The pupil of this class is obliged to attend to the different work every
other day. Should a pupil of this class desire to enter the first class, he should be
examined as to his capacity.
The first class, intended for twenty pupils. In this class such pupils only should
l>e admitted as have been two years in the second class, and desire to perfect them-
selves as professors for similar establishments. The pupils of this class should have
the sui>erintendency of other pupils.
ORDER OF THE DAY.
The signal for the hour of rising and retiring, as well as for the different meals, and
the commencement and termination of the work, should be given by a bell.
The hour for rising in spring and summer should be half past 4 o'clock; in fall
and winter, half past 5 o'clock.
One-quarter of an hour after rising, the bell should ring for breakfast; after which
the pupils proceed to their different occupations in the stables, field, barn, garden,
work-shops, etc., according to directions given the evening before.
At 10 o'clock a. m. the pupils should be summoned by the bell from their work,
to their rooms, when they prepare themselves for dinner, and having a recess until
1 o'clock p. m., at which hour the pupils return to their work, during the spring,
fall, and winter seasons; and at 3 o'clock p. m. during the summer season, accord-
ing to the order of the day.
The bell should ring for supper during the spring, summer, and fall at 6 o'clock;
during the winter, at 5 o'clock, which would give recess till 7 o'clock, when supper
should be ready.
After supper, at about 8 o'clock, all the pupils should proceed to the museum,
where the report of the day's work is read and illustrated; and at the same time the
order for the next day's work is communicated to the pupils who have remained at
home. They remain till 9 o'clock employed in writing their journals, reading, etc.,
at which hour the Ixjll should ring for bed.
Half of the number of the pupils should each day be exempt from outdoor work,
and remain at home engaged in theoretical studies. They assemble, after having
taken breakfast with the rest of the pupils, at the museum, where they study their
lessons. At 7 o'clock a. in. in fall and winter and at 6 o'clock a. m. in summer and
spring they should proceed to the riding school and horse stable, where they receive
lectures on horsemanship, and breeding horses, etc.
After this, they should return to the lecture rooms, where lectures on the differ-
ent sciences are given until 11 o'clock.
At half past 11 o'clock a. m. they should take dinner with the rest of the pupils,
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 163
and have recess until 1 o'clock, when the regular lectures recommence till 6 o'clock
p. m.
Supper at 7 o'clock, as already mentioned.
On Sundays the pupils will l>e accompanied to church by their professors.
Estimate of cost.
1 ,360 acres of land, fenced in, at $30 per acre $40, 800
The buildings, inclusive of the furniture of the institute 60, 000
Livestock 20,000
Implements, harness, a large balance scale, etc 5, 000
Apparatus of the beet-sugar manufactory 4, 000
Grist mill 1 , 500
Pump, water reservoir, and hydrants 800
Steam engine of 12 horsepower 1, 500
Tools, lathes for workshops 600
Library 1,500
Physical and chemical apparatus, collection of minerals, bisects, skeletons, etc 3, 000
Floating capital 20, 000
Making 158, 700
The expense for a steward, and servants required for the service of the pupils and
professors, should be paid from the income of board.
The treasurer and clerks, and the superintendents of the different branches of the
farm, should be paid from the revenue of the farm, of the manufactory, etc., and the
surplus should be applied for the accommodation of more pupils, for the increase of
the library, apparatus, etc.
The salary of the director should be, $2,000; the salary of five professors, $5,000;
and that of a teacher, $600, making $7,600, exclusive of freeboard and lodging; which,
together with the salaries, would require a capital of $140,000 at 6 per cent.
The total sum required for this institution would amount to $298,700.
CHAKLES LEWIS FLEISCHMANN,
Graduate of the Royal Agricultural School of Bavaria,
and a citizen of the United States.
January 10, 1839 Senate.
Mr. ASHEE ROBBINS offered concurrent resolution (S. 7):
Resolved by the Senate (the House concurring), That a joint committee be appointed,
consisting of seven members of the Senate and such a number of said House as they
shall appoint, to consider the expediency of providing an institution of learning, to
be established in the city of Washington, for the application of the legacy bequeathed
by Mr. James Smithson, of London, to the United States in trust for that purpose;
also to consider the expediency of a charter for such an institution, together with
the powers and privileges which in their opinion the said ckarter ought to confer;
also to consider the expediency of ways and means to be provided by Congress,
other than said legacy, but in addition thereto, and in aid of said benevolent inten-
tion; and to report by bill or bills, or otherwise.
Mr. ROBBINS remarked:
"The motive to this noble legacy was, as the will expresses it, 'The
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.' Noble, indeed, it
was in every point of view; noble as coming from a stranger with
whom this country had no personal relations; speaking at once his high
sense of our merit while it proclaimed his own; noble in amount, and
164 CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDING8.
may be made effective to its beneficent purpose; but, above all, noble
for its destination 'the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men,' leaving it to the wisdom of Congress to devise and provide the
institution that should be most effective to this end. It ought to be an
institution whose effects upon the country will make it a living monu-
ment to the honor of the illustrious donor in all time to come. Such
an institution, I conceive, may be devised, of which, however, at pres-
ent there is no model either in this country or in Europe, giving such
a course of education and discipline as would give to the faculties of
the human mind an improvement and power far beyond what they
obtain by the ordinary systems of education, and far beyond what they
afterwards attain in any of the professional pursuits. Such an insti-
tution, as to its principle, suggested itself to the sagacious and far-see-
ing mind of Bacon as one of the greatest importance. But while his
other suggestions have been followed out with such wonderful success
in extending the boundaries of physical science this has been over-
looked and neglected. One reason is that the other suggestions were
more elaborately explained by him; there, too, he not only pointed out
the path, but he led the way in it himself. Besides, those other sug-
gestions could be carried out by individual exertion and enterprise,
independently of the existing establishments of learning, or they could
be grafted on and made a part of those establishments. But this
required an original plan of education and a new foundation for its
execution, where the young mind would be trained by a course of
education and discipline that would unfold and perfect all his faculties;
where genius would plume his young wings and prepare himself to
take the noblest flights. The idea, however, was not entirely original
with Bacon, for it would be in effect but the revival of that system of
education and discipline which produced such wonderful improvement
and power of the human mind in Greece and Rome, and especially in
Greece. Its effects here, I am persuaded, would be many and glorious.
Of these I shall now indicate only one, but that one whose importance
all must admit. In its progress and ultimately it would give to our
country, I have no doubt, a national literature of a high and immortal
character. However mortifying to our national pride it is to say it, it
must be confessed that we have not a national literature of that charac-
ter; nor is it possible we ever should have, as it appears to me, on our
present systems of education. Not that our literature, such as it is, is
inferior to that of other nations produced at the present day. No;
mediocrity is the character of all literary works of the present day, go
where you will. It is so in England, it is so in France, the two most
literary nations of Europe. It is true learned men and great scholars
are everywhere to be found; indeed, they may be said to abound more
than ever; the whole world, too, has become a reading world; the
growth of the press is prodigious; but it is all ephemeral and evanes-
TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 165
cent all destined to the grave of oblivion. Nor is it that our coun-
trymen have not the gift of genius for literary works of that high and
immortal character. Probably no people were ever blessed with it in
a greater degree of which everywhere we see the indications and the
evidence; but what signifies genius for an art without discipline, without
knowledge of its principles and skill in that art ?
Vis consili expers, mole ruit sua;
Vim temperatam, Dii quoque provebunt,
In majus.
"Literature is now everywhere mediocre because the arts of litera-
ture are nowhere cultivated, but everywhere neglected and appar-
ently despised. I recollect to have seen in a late and leading periodical
of Great Britain an article in which the writer congratulates the age
upon having thrown off the shackles of composition, and says (in a
tone of triumph) that no one now thinks of writing like Junius (as if
it was an easy matter, but beneath him, to write like Junius), except,
he adds, some junior sophister in the country corresponding with the
editor of some village newspaper. The whole tribe of present writers
seem by their silence to receive this description as eulogy, as a
tribute of praise properly paid to their merit, while in truth it is the
characteristic of a barbarous age, or of one declining to barbarism; it
is the very description applied to mark the decline and last glimmer-
ing of letters in Greece' and Rome.
"The object of education is twofold knowledge and ability; both
are important, but ability by far the more so. Knowledge is so far
important as it is subsidiary to the acquiring of ability, and no fur-
ther, except as a source of mental pleasure to the individual. It is
ability that makes itself to be felt by society ; it is ability that wields
the scepter over the human heart and the human intellect. Now, it is
a great mistake to suppose that knowledge imparts ability of course.
It does, indeed, impart ability of a certain kind; for by exercising the
attention and the memory it improves the capacity for acquiring;
but the capacity to acquire is not ability to originate and produce.
No: ability can only be given by the appropriate studies, accompanied
with the appropriate exercises, directed by a certain rule, and conducted
infallibly to a certain result.
"In all the celebrated schools of Athens this was the plan of educa-
tion; and there the ingenious youth, blessed with faculties of promise,
never failed to attain the eminence aspired to, unless his perseverance
failed. Hence the mighty effects of those schools; hence that immense
tide of great men whi(*h they poured forth in all the departments of
science and letters, and especially of letters; and hence, too, the
astonishing perfection of their works. A celebrated writer, filled with
astonishment at the splendor as well as the number of the works
produced by the scholars of these schools, ascribes the event to the
166 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
hand of a wonder-working Providence, interposed in honor of human
nature, to show to what perfection the species might ascend. Hut
there was nothing of miracle in it; the means were adequate to the end.
It is no wonder at all that such schools gave to Athens her Thucydides
in history, her Plato in ethics, her Sophocles to her drama, and her
Demosthenes to her forum and her popular assemblies; and gave to
her besides that host of rivals to these, and almost their equals. It
was the natural and necessary effect of such a system of education;
and especially with a people who held, as the Athenians did, all other
human considerations as cheap in comparison with the glory of letters
and the arts.
"It is true this their high and brilliant career of literary glory was
but of short duration; for soon as it had attained its meridian blaze it
was suddenly arrested; for the tyrant came and laid the proud freedom
of Athens in the dust, and the Athenians were a people with whom the
love of glory could not survive the loss of freedom. For freedom was
the breast at which that love was fed; freedom was the element in
which it lived and had its being; freedom gave to it the fields where
its most splendid triumphs were achieved. The genius of Athens now
drooped; fell from its lofty flights down to tame mediocrity, to
ephemeral works born but to languish and to die; and so remained
during the long rule of that ruthless despotism, the Macedonian, and
until the Roman came to put it down, and to merge Greece in the
Roman empire. Athens now was partially restored again to freedom.
Her school^, which had been closed, or which had existed only in form,
revived with something of their former effect. They again gave forth
some works worthy of their former fame, though of less transcendent
merit; and they now gave to Rome the Roman eloquence and literature.
Graecia capta serum Victorem cepit, et artes
Intulit agresti satio:
and, if we are wise to profit by their example, may yet give to us an
equal eloquence and literature.
" I mention these things to show what encouragement we have to
this enterprise what well-grounded hope of success. We have only
to tread the path that led the Athenian to his glory, and to open that
path to the youth of our country. All the animating influences of
freedom exist here in still greater force than they existed there; for
while it is not less absolute here, it is better regulated better com-
bined with order and security. Neither is the gift of genius wanting
here; the gleams of this precious ore are seen to break out here and
there all over the surface of our society; the animus acer et siMlmis is
daily displayed by our countrymen in all the forms of daring and
enterprise; the eagle, their emblem, is not more daring in his flights.
And if the love of fame, which was the ruling passion of the Greek, is
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 167
not now so strong with us, it is because the want of the means, the
want of plain and sure directions for its pursuits, begets a despair of
its attainment. The Greek had these means, had these plain and sure
directions, and it was the certainty of success by perseverance and by
their guide that kindled and sustained his passion and made it his
ruling passion. This passion is now burning in the young bosoms of
thousands of our youth; but it is, as I have said, vis consili eatpers, and
struggles in vain because it struggles blindlj' for the fame it pants
after. Let this Athenian mode of education be adopted in this
instance; let it produce but a few examples of eminent success (as I
have no doubt it speedily would), and thousands would rush to the
path that has led to that success; and members now of this body are
yet young enough to live to see a new era arising in our land another
golden age of literature no less splendid than any that had gone
before it, not excepting even the Athenian.
"I know it has been supposed that the Athenians had something
peculiar in their genius which gave to them their unparalleled success.
But we have seen that when, with the loss of freedom, they lost their
literary glory, they fell back to the ordinary level of mankind, and
were not at all distinguished for literary merit from the mass of
nations. So it was not nature, but the means adopted to assist and
improve nature, that gave to them their preeminence, and their
success was but in exact proportion to the perfection and use of those
means.
"I could wish, if all were agreed in it, that this institution should
make one of a number of colleges to constitute a university to be estab-
lished here, and to be endowed in a manner worthy of this great nation
and their immense resources. This object, recommended by Washing-
ton in one of his early communications to Congress, has not, as it
appears to me, received the attention it merits. For such an establish-
ment, formed and conducted as it might be, would be attended with
great and glorious results to this country, not only by its direct oper-
ation in elevating the standard of education, but by forming a central
point, a local head to all the learning of the country, such as the most
learned nations of Europe have, and from which they derive the great-
est advantages. But as opinions are divided upon this subject not, I
should hope, as to the great desirableness of such an establishment,
but as to the constitutional competency of Congress to undertake it
I will not embarrass my present object by involving it with that sub-
ject. This, as an independent institution, may hereafter be made a
part of such a university, should one be established; but it is now to be
looked at only as an independent institution. Still I shotdd hope that
the liberality of Congress would so far concur with the generosity of
this foreign benefactor as to give full effect to his beneficent purpose;
and would not only give the grounds convenient for the accominoda-
168 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tion and location of the buildings, but would also make an appropria-
tion of money therefor sufficient to cover the cost of their erection;
leaving the whole amount of the legacy as a fund, the proceeds of
which to be applied to the accumulation of books and apparatus, and
to the support of the instruction and government of the institution;
otherwise the whole thing, I fear, will prove a failure by the expense
of the outfits; at least when compared to the results which it might be
made to produce. For, though the salaries of instruction should not
be overlarge, yet they should be so liberal as to command the services
of the ablest instructors in every department embraced by the plan of
education. This is not the occasion for a detail in full of the plan of
education which I should wish to see adopted; I will, however, beg
leave to give its outline, premising that my object would be to give
both learning and ability, but ability as the primary object. Ability,
as I have stated, can only be given, as I am fully persuaded, by appro-
priate exercises directed by a certain rule; that is, by the principles of
the art, whatever that art may be. So that exercises would be the
Alpha and Omega of my system. The studies should be combined of
science and literature with its appropriate arts. As to science, they
should be restricted to science properly so called to pure original
science with some of the practical branches thereof not necessary now
to be indicated, excluding professory learning altogether. As to lit-
erature, the studies should be given to select models of a perfect liter-
ature, and to all those arts by which that perfect literature has been
produced and may be reproduced, accompanied by all those exercises,
regularly and ardently pursued, by which power and skill is given in
those arts. The preliminary studies to qualify for admission should
also be prescribed. I would have a model school for this preparation
annexed to this institution and made a part of the establishment.
"Such an institution, conducted by great masters, as I should hope
the instructors to be and without such, indeed, nothing great in educa-
tion can be accomplished, whatever the system may be, but, conducted
by great masters, would make the illustrious stranger, the founder of
the institution, as I think, one of the greatest of benefactors to our
country and to mankind, and to be worshipped almost, here at least,
as the patron saint of education."
Mr. WILLIAM C. PRESTON rose and said:
"Unquestionably the subject to which my venerable friend, the
honorable Senator from Rhode Island, has called the attention of the
Senate is one of great importance, demanding the grave consideration
of Congress. As it is in the order of Providence that as the mind is
enlarged our moral nature is also exalted, there can be no object more
beneficent or dignified than that which the acceptance of this legacy
presents to us. And surely, Mr. President, the establishment of the
Smithsonian Institute could not commence under more favorable
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGBESS, 1837-1839. 169
auspices than to have attracted the care of the honorable Senator, who
in every way is so eminently qualified to take charge of whatever con-
cerns the interest of learning or of charity. No one has more expe-
rience in his own heart, or more exemplified in his own character the
benign influences of education, than the honorable gentleman; and no
one, therefore, in this body was so fit to have submitted the resolution
before you, or to cast the foundations of an institution whose duration,
we may hope, will bear a proportion to its enlarged objects. 1 am sure
I but speak the sentiments of all the Senators when I offer him my
earnest thanks for the lead he takes in this matter. Nor can I forbear
also to thank him for introducing those elegant and elevated topics
which carry us fora moment into regions of calm and serene air, above
the smoke and din of our accustomed and more strenuous efforts on
this floor. It is pleasant to repose upon the green spot he has pre-
sented to us.
"I rejoice that this subject demands our attention at this session.
After a long term of useful and honorable public service, my honorable
friend is now about to terminate his cooperation with us on this floor.
It is his last session. It is a fortunate, as it is a most just and fit termina-
tion of his official productions, that he at once finishes and perfects
them by inscribing his name where it will be most appropriately
placed upon an institution for the promotion of knowledge."
January 11, 1839 Senate.
Mr. ASHER ROBBINS'S resolution was adopted, and Mr. A. Robbins,
Mr. W. C. Preston, Mr. W. C. Rives, Mr. James Buchanan, Mr. T. H.
Benton, Mr. S. L. Southard, and Mr.. R. H. Bayard were appointed
as committee.
January 12, 1839 House.
The concurrent resolution from the Senate (S. 7) "concerning the
legacy bequeathed by Mr. James bmithson, of London, to the United
States, in trust, for an institution of learning, to be established in the
city of Washington," was concurred in by the House.
Mr. John Quincy Adams, Mr. F. O. J. Smith, Mr. Charles Ogle,
Mr. Charles Shepard, Mr. Orrin Holt, Mr. Waddy Thompson, Mr.
W. H. Hunter of Ohio, Mr. John P. Kennedy, and Mr. James Gar-
land of Virginia, were appointed said committee.
January 14, 1839 House.
On motion of Mr. GEORGE M. KEIM
Resolved (the Senate concurring therein), That the joint committee on the Smith-
sonian bequest he instructed to inquire into the propriety of establishing a professor-
ship of the German language as a part of the literary instruction in the intended
Smithsonian Institute.
January 16, 1839 Senate.
The Keim resolution of the House, of January 14, was laid on the
table.
170 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 26, 1839 House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, from the joint committee on the Smith-
sonian bequest, reported the following resolutions, viz:
1. Resolved, That the sum of dollars, being the amount deposited in the
Treasury of the United States, proceeding from the bequest of James Smithson to the
United States of America for the purpose of establishing, at the city of Washington,
an institution to bear his name, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men, together with what additional sum or sums may hereafter accrue from the same
bequest and so much of the interest as has become or may become due on the first-
named principal sum, until the day of , ought to be constituted a perma-
nent fund, to be invested in a corporate body of trustees, to remain under the pledge
of faith of the United States, undiminished and unimpaired.
2. Resolved, That the said fund ought to be so invested that the faith of the United
States shall be pledged for its preservation unimpaired, and for its yielding an inter-
est or income, at the rate of six per cent a year, to be appropriated, from time to
time, by Congress, to the declared purpose of the founder; and that all appropriations
so made shall be exclusively from the interest or income of the fund, and not from
any part of the principal thereof.
3. Resolved, That the first appropriations from the interest or income of the Smith-
sonian fund ought to be for the erection and establishment, at the city of Washing-
ton, of an astronomical observatory, provided with the best and most approved
instruments and books for the continual observation, calculation, and recording of
the remarkable phenomena of the heavens, for the periodical publication of the
observations thus made, and of a nautical almanac for the use of the mariners of
the United States and of all other navigating nations.
The resolutions were laid on the table.
Mr. ADAMS, from the same committee, reported the following
resolution; which was read and agreed to by the House, viz:
Resolved (the Senate concurring herein) , That the joint committee of both Houses on
the bequest of James Smithson be authorized to employ a clerk, and to cause to be
printed such papers as they may deem necessary.
Ordered, That the clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in the said resolution.
January 28, 1839 Senate.
The Senate concurred in the House resolution of January 26.
February 16, 1839 House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, from the Committee on the Smithsonian
Bequest, reported a bill (H. 1160) to provide for the disposal and
management of the sum bequeathed by James Smithson to the United
States for the establishment of an institution for the increase and dif-
fusion of knowledge among men; read, and committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole.
Mr. ADAMS, from the same committee, reported another bill (H.
1161) to provide for the disposal and management of the sum be-
queathed by James Smithson to the United States for the establish-
ment of an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men; read, and committed to the Committee of the Whole.
[These bills appear in the Senate proceedings of February 18, 1839,
as S. 292 and S. 293. J
TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 171
February 18, 1839 Senate.
Mr. ASHER ROBBINS, from the Committee on the Smithsonian
Bequest, submitted resolutions:
1. Resolved, That it is the duty of the United States, they having accepted the
trust under the will of Mr. Smithson, of London, to execute that trust bona fide,
according to the true intent and meaning of the testator.
2. Resolved, That the trust being to found an institution in the city of Washington
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, the kind of institution which
will have the effect intended and described, in the most eminent degree, will be the
kind of institution which ought, in good faith, to be adopted, as being most in
accordance with the true intent and meaning of the testator.
3. Resolved, That all experience having shown scientific and literary institutions to
be by far the most effectual means to the end of increasing and diffusing knowledge
among men, the Smithsonian Institution should be a scientific and literary institu-
tion, formed upon a model the best calculated to make those means the most effec-
tual to that end.
4. Resolved, That to apply said trust fund to the erection and support of an observ-
atory would not be to fulfill bona fide the intention of the testator, nor would it com-
port with the dignity of the United States to owe such an establishment to foreign
eleemosynary means.
Mr. ROBBINS, from the committee appointed on the part of the
Senate on the Smithsonian bequest, also reported S. 292 and S. 293 bills:
[S. 292.]
Be it enacted, etc. , That all sum or sums of money heretofore received, or which
shall hereafter be received, under and in pursuance of the last will and testament of
the late James Smithson, deceased, of London, and all fund or funds, stock or stocks,
or evidence or evidences of public debt whatsoever, in which said sum or sums of
money have been, or shall hereafter be, invested, shall be, and are hereby, consti-
tuted and declared to be a fund to be named or styled "the Smithsonian fund," and
shall be under the management and control of nine trustees, to be styled "the board
of trustees of the Smithsonian fund," subject, however, to such rules, regulations,
and restrictions as the Congress of the United States may or shall, from time to time,
make, ordain, or establish; and said trustees shall constitute a portion of such corpo-
ration as shall hereafter be created by Congress for the government of an institution
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said trustees shall hold their offices for
the term of one year, and until their successors be appointed, and shall be appointed
annually on or before the day of , in the following manner, that is to say:
three of the said trustees shall be appointed by the Senate and three by the House of
Representatives, in such manner as the said Houses shall respectively determine,
and the remaining three shall be appointed by the President of the United States;
and the trustees so appointed, or a majority of them, shall meet together, in the city
< if Washington, on the day of next succeeding their appointment, and
shall elect one of their own body as president of said board; they shall have author-
ity to appoint a clerk and printer and fix their respective compensations, and make
and establish such rules and regulations for their own government as they may deem
necessary or proper; hold one or more sessions for the transaction of business during
the recess of Congress, and adjourn from day to day, as they may deem proper; they
shall keep a journal of their proceedings, and report the same, or an attested copy
thereof, to both Houses of Congress on or before the day of in each and
every year.
172 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said board shall
be subject to the approval of the President of the United States; and all the accounts
thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and audited, under his
direction, by the proper officers of the Treasury Department; and the said board
shall report to Congress, at every session thereof, the state of the Smithsonian fund,
and a fall statement of their receipts and expenditures during the preceding year.
SEC. 4. And be it, further enacted, That the said trustees be, and they are hereby,
specially authorized and directed to prepare such a charter of incorporation, and such
a plan of an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, as to
them may appear best adapted to carry into effect the bona fide intention of the tes-
tator, the said James Smithson, and to report the same for the consideration and
action of Congress at the next session thereof.
[S. 293.]
Be it enacted, etc., That the Vice- President of the United States, the Chief Justice
of the United States, the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury, the Attorney-
General of the United States, and the mayor of the city of Washington, all during
the time when they shall hold their respective offices, together with three members
of the Senate and four members of the House of Representatives, to be annually
elected by their respective Houses on the fourth Wednesday of December, shall be,
and hereby are, constituted a body politic and corporate, by the style and title of the
trustees of the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men, with perpetual succession and the usual powers, duties, and liabilities
incident to corporations.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the corporation so constituted shall have
power to appoint from citizens of the United States, other than members of the
board, a secretary and a treasurer, to hold their offices during the pleasure of the
board, and removable at their pleasure, and others to be appointed in their places,
and to fix their compensations. And the secretary and the treasurer only shall
receive pecuniary compensation for their services, and those of the members of the
board of trustees shall be gratuitous. And the offices of secretary and treasurer may,
at the discretion of the board of trustees, be held by the same person. The secre-
tary and treasurer shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their
respective offices, and the treasurer shall give bond, with the penalty of $50,000,
with sureties, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the safe custody
and faithful application of all the funds of the Institution which may come to his
hands or be at his disposal.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of placed in the Treasury of the
United States on the day of as the proceeds in part of the bequest of
James Smithson to the United States, together with all sums which may hereafter be
realized, shall be passed hereafter to the credit of a fund, to be denominated the
Smithsonian fund, in the Treasury of the United States. And the faith of the
United States is hereby pledged for the preservation of the said fund undiminished
and unimpaired, to bear interest at the rate of six per centum a year, payable on the
first days of January and July to the treasurer of the board of trustees of the Smith-
sonian fund, to be applied to the purposes of the fund, conformably to the laws and
subject to the revision and regulation of the board of trustees.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no part of the said Smithsonian fund, prin-
cipal or interest, shall be applied to any school, college, university, institute of edu-
cation, or ecclesiastical establishment.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the appropriations to be made from time to
time by Congress to the purposes of the Smithsonian Institution, as declared by the
testator, shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and not from the principal of
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 173
the said fund: I'rri<l,-<l, That Congress shall retain the power of investing, at their
discretion, the principal of said fund in any other manner so as to secure not less
than a yearly interest of six per centum.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $30,000, part of the first year's
interest accruing on the said Smithsonian fund, be, and the same is hereby, appro-
priated toward the erection and establishment at the city of Washington of an
astronomical observatory adapted to the most effective and continual observation of
the phenomena of the heavens; to be provided with the necessary, best, and most
perfect instruments and books for the periodical publication of the said observa-
tions, and for the annual composition and publication of a nautical almanac.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said observatory shall be erected under
the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of
the President of the United States; and the site of the same shall be selected upon
land, in the city of Washington, belonging to the United States; and the land neces-
sary for the same, and for any other buildings proper to be connected with the said
observatory and the appurtenances thereof, is hereby granted, and shall be duly con-
veyed, as a deed of gift, to the trustees of the Smithsonian fund, and to their suc-
cessors forever, in aid of the purposes of the said Institution.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said board
shall be subject to the approval of the President of the United States, and all the
accounts thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and audited,
under his direction, by the proper officers of the Treasury Department; and the
said board shall report to Congress, at every session thereof, the state of the Smith-
sonian fund, and a full statement of their receipts and expenditures during the pre-
ceding year.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the first meeting of the trustees of the Smith-
sonian fund shall be held at the city of Washington on the third Monday of January
next, and that, in the meantime, the custody of the said fund, and the expenditures
under the appropriation herein made, shall be held and authorized by the Secretary
of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of the President of the United States.
February 25, 1839 Senate.
The bill (S. 292), was considered in Committee of the Whole.
The Senate having taken up this bill introduced by Mr. Robbins
providing for the appointment of nine commissioners annually three
by the Senate, three by the House, and the other three by the Presi-
dent of the United States to take charge of the Smithsonian fund, to
draw up an act of incorporation for the Institution, and to constitute
a portion of its board of trustees when incorporated
Mr. JOHN C. CALHOUN said: This is a bill making provision for the
common benefit of all mankind; but we are restricted in our powers.
The question whether we have the power to establish a university or
not was a subject of consideration at an early stage of our Govern-
ment, and President Washington decided that Congress had the power.
But the question was voted down and never revived. And now what
would we do ? We accept a fund from a foreigner, and would do what
we are not authorized to do by the Constitution. We would enlarge
our grant of power derived from the States of this Union. Sir, can
you show me a word that goes to invest us with such a power ? I not
only regard the measure proposed as unconstitutional, but to me it
appears to involve a species of meanness which I can not describe, a
174 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
want of dignity wholly unworthy of this Government. Some years
ago we accepted a statue of Mr. Jefferson, which is no more like him
than I am, and we made a tacit admission, by its acceptance, that we
were too stingy to purchase one worthy of the man and of the nation.
And now what would we do by this ? We would accept a donation from
a foreigner to do with it what we have no right to do, and just as if
we were not rich enough ourselves to do what is proposed, or too
mean to do it if it were in our power. Sir, we are rich enough our-
selves; and if we are not, this bequest can not give us the power.
Mr. T. H. BENTON. My mind is not made up on a single point rela-
tive to this bill, and I would suggest the propriety of laying it on the
table.
Mr. K. J. WALKER. The same objections which lie equally against
this bill and the acceptance of the fund were urged upon the Senate
when the question of accepting it was before them, with the same
earnestness by Senators as now, and after a protracted debate the
question was decided against them, their whole number being only five
or six. A vast majority of the Senate did not think we were humili-
ated by accepting from an individual any amount of money which he
might think proper to bestow for the purpose of establishing in this
District an institution for the diffusion of knowledge among men;
and no government has considered itself humiliated by its accept-
ance of such donations; and if, instead of $500,000, it amounted to
$20,000000, for these great and noble purposes, I would glory in
receiving it, and in applying it to these great purposes alone. But
it is now too late to urge these objections. We have prosecuted the
suit, and have actually received the money; and now, when we have
received it, shall we refuse to perform the trust which we took upon
ourselves by its acceptance ? It would be a fraud on those from whom
we received it. On what ground did the court of chancery give over
the fund ? Only on the ground that we would carry into effect the
will of the testator; and it would be a violation of good faith for us
now to refuse to carry it into effect.
And what are the constitutional objections? Sir, we find no diffi-
culty in building railroads and bridges in the District, or in incorpo-
rating colleges and other institutions, and it is but now that a difficulty
has arisen in establishing an institution for the diffusion of knowledge
among men. We incorporated the Columbian College of this city,
but is it only the District of Columbia that sends to that institution?
No, sir; it is known to every member that its benefits are open to the
whole world, and arc actually extended throughout the Union. Its
students come from every part of the United States. And that was
an infinitely stronger case than this, for there we gave money, while
here we give none; and all that is asked of us is that we honestly
comply with the obligations under which we have entered with the
Government through whom we received the money.
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 175
Mr. BENTON. I do not agree with the Senator from Mississippi
that our decision at the last session to accept this fund is obligatory,
or that we are at all committed in respect to establishing this institu-
tion. I have believed always that this Government has no right to
accept a donation in money; and, as the Senator from South Carolina
has remarked, this question of our power to establish a national liter-
ary institution was among the earliest which were settled under our
Government; and the arguments then urged against it have remained
unanswered. If we now proceed to establish such an institution with
this fund, it will in effect amount to this, that this donation has pur-
chased our acquiescence in a violation of the Constitution. For half
a century the people of the United States have acquiesced in the uncon-
stitutionality of our establishing such an institution; and if we now
proceed to do it, an infraction of the Constitution will in effect have
been purchased.
Mr. AMBROSE H. SEVIER. There is one difficulty in the way of these
objects in regard to the disposition that is to be made of this money.
It has been sent for and obtained, and is now actuall} 7 invested in State
stocks. What are we to do with it? Here is a benevolent man, who
from motives of benevolence compliments this country by bestowing
upon it a donation for benevolent purposes, and, viewing it in that
light, we have passed an act of Congress to receive it, and it is already
received and invested. Shall we now return it? It is to be appro-
priated and used within our own limits of 10 miles square, where we
have exclusive and sole jurisdiction, and shall it be said we have no
power to establish such an institution within those limits? Sir, the
bill may be defective so .as to require amendment, but as to the power
of receiving the money and appropriating it to such a purpose there
can be no doubt at all about it. This fund was given to us in trust for
the benefit of the world, which showed that this man had full faith in
us, arid within the 10 miles square this Government is no more limited
in regard to such a subject than the State of Pennsylvania is limited
while acting within her own boundaries.
Mr. SILAS WRIGHT. I have not been able to listen very attentive!} 7
to the debate, but as far as I can judge the subject seems to involve
great principles, which require full and mature consideration. This
bill merely provides for appointing a commission of nine persons, three
of whom are to be appointed by the Senate, three by the House of
Representatives, and the other three by the President, and to do what ?
I believe they are to draw up a charter of incorporation for the insti-
tution within the District of Columbia, and this is their commission,
for I understand they are to have no other duty or power, with the
exception of a power to appoint a printer. And if a charter for an
institution of that sort must be {malty considered and passed by Con-
gress it did not seem necessary to appoint such a commission simply
to draw up a bill of incorporation, ancj if it were necessary I do not
176 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
see why they should want a printer, for that can not involve any great
principles.
Mr. CALHOUN. No man can suppose that the Senate and House of
Representatives can perform the functions of such an institution. I,
however, spoke of what was proper and within our power, and of that
alone. The Senator from Arkansas appears to think that we have the
power to do what we please within the District of Columbia, provided
the means are granted to us. But, in the first place, we must look
carefully at the extent of our own power. This Government is a trust,
established by the States, with a specific capacity, education not
included, and all the powers which are not granted are expressly
reserved to the States. And when they were granted, it was with the
profoundest jealous} 7 , for it was apprehended that they would be so
great as to utterly absorb the State governments. And now, after the
question of the power of the General Government on the subject of
education has been settled for fifty years, a foreigner makes a donation
to the Government in trust for this object; and the question arises,
Can we accept it? Sir, we have no more right to do this than to estab-
lish a national institution in Virginia or Maryland. The government
of Pennsylvania is a government of unlimited power within its bounda-
ries, and a donation there made to the government of Pennsylvania is
in a very different condition from one made to ours, which is wisely
limited, because it might otherwise absorb all the power of the States.
When the charter for Columbian College was passed I was absent;
but I understood that it was established on funds collected from all
the Baptists throughout the United States. Yet I never recognized
the power of Congress to establish that institution. But here what are
we going to do? We are to accept a donation, to do with it what the
Constitution does not allow. But, it is asked, what are we to do with
the money? There is no difficulty in that; it must be returned to the
heirs. This is a question of vast magnitude, and no one knows the
consequences which may grow out of it. I have heard a gentleman
from Philadelphia say that of all the curses of that city the Girard
donation was the greatest. Here we are to commence with half a mil-
lion, and no one knows how much more is to be added. Sir, I trust
this measure will be met decidedly and voted down.
Mr. SEVIER. The power of this Government within this District is
just as ample as that of any State within its limits. It is declared to
be exclusive, and we have as much right to do anything within the
District of Columbia as any State has to do the same thing within her
limits. And what is now proposed ? You are merely put in posses-
sion of half a million, over which you are made the trustees, for
philanthropic and patriotic purposes, and the whole object now is to
execute that trust in a proper manner. Sir, I should be opposed
to the bill if it were going to take any power from the States; but it
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 177
has no such purpose, and can have no such effect. I am, however,
not anxious in regard to the fate of this bill.
Mr. R. J. WALKEK. In reply to the Senator from South Carolina,
I wish to know whether we have no power to incorporate companies
in the District of Columbia, and whether we have not done it again
and again. We. have incorporated companies for banks, bridges,
railroads, and others of almost every variety. Then we have the
power, and our whole history shows that we have the power, to grant
incorporations in the District. And what is the difference? If we
could incorporate a Baptist institution can not we incorporate a
Smithsonian institution? Did we not incorporate the Georgetown
College, and can we not incorporate the Smithsonian college? Sir,
there is no novelty at all in this matter so far as it has any relation
whatever to our power.
For the purpose of showing the former unanimity of most of the
Senate on this subject Mr. Walker read the joint resolution of Con-
gress authorizing the President of the United States to prosecute and
obtain this legacy, and the yeas and nays in the Senate on the question
of ordering it to be engrossed; for which there were, yeas 31, nays 7.
The District of Columbia (said Mr. Walker) not having a government
in itself, the Government of the United States received this bequest as
the government of the District; and now we propose to incorporate
an institution, that the intention of the testator may be carried into
effect; and would it not be ridiculous for us to pass a bill, by an almost
unanimous vote, to prosecute for and obtain the fund, which has been
carried successfully into effect, now to turn round, in less than two
years, and declare that vast majorities in Congress had been entirely
ignorant of the subject on which they acted and had violated an organic
law of the country in accepting this bequest? Sir, the nation would
be disgraced by such a proceeding. We have received the money,
and we are bound by the most solemn obligation, at least to the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the real beneficiary, to carry this bequest into effect.
Mr. CALHOUN. This bequest was not made to the District of Colum-
bia, but to all mankind. I believe the second thoughts of Congress
are better than the first, and I believe there will now be a decided vote
against this measure after full reflection.
Mr. J. M. NILES. One wrong step is no reason why we should take
another, and I submit to the Senate whether the main argument in
favor of this measure is sustained. Sir, what is that argument? It
is that the whole of this matter is for the District of Columbia. Sir,
if you stand on that ground you will practice a base fraud on the
legatee. He meant this donation for the whole world, and now the
argument is that it is for the benefit of this District. The true ques-
tion is whether we will have a national institution, and that is to be
decided by looking at the terms of this grant. It is a trust committed
H. Doc. 732 12
178 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
to the United States, in the very execution of which we are to act for
the United States. Sir, the question is altogether too clear for argu-
ment. I had not the privilege of voting against the acceptance of this
fund, and I now wish to record my vote against the whole proceeding.
Mr. J. J. CRITTENDEN. It was my lot some few years ago to be a
member of Congress when this subject was under consideration, and,
as far as 1 can recollect, we then came to the conclusion that all the
objections which are now made to our accepting and executing this
trust were fallacious and unfounded. I am now only surprised that
the Senator from Connecticut should be worked up into so high excite-
ment by this subject. But I ask whether it is not perfectly compe-
tent in us to lay a tax on this District of $500,000 for the establishment
of such an institution. We hold exclusive legislation over the Dis-
trict, including the power to tax it, and if this could be done in com-
pliance with the wishes of the District, and at their own expense, could
there be any constitutional objection to our doing it for them ? Sir,
it is evident there could not; and when the requisite fund is a donation
does that circumstance offer any ground whatever for a constitutional
objection? If by taxation of the people of the District Congress
have an unquestionable and indisputable power to effect this object
does it make any difference, as it respects that power, whether the
fund is a donation or a tax ? None whatever, and I see no force at all
in these objections. They arise from a constitutional delicacy of
which I have no perception, and I should be sorry if this trust should
be injured by the indulgence of such scruples.
And what are we to do? "Oh," say gentlemen, "send the money
back, and surrender it to the heirs of the donor." With respect to the
money, that with this country is but of little account; but consider
what sort of an answer you will have to make to the high court of
chancery in England. You must send Mr. Rush to report to the court
of chancery that from solemn considerations we have found out that
we are not entitled to receive this donation and cany the intention of
the donor into effect, in doing which I do not consider that we would
be at all degraded. The money itself is of no consideration to this
Government; but here is a beneficent object, in the promotion of which
a philanthropic foreigner asks you to act in his behalf, in a local dis-
trict of your own country, over which you are the only legislators,
and in doing this we are not acting under any ordinary treaties, but in
the great cause of humanity. Sir, I see no difficulty, and I trust
that the decided majority which appeared in favor of this measure in
its incipient stage will now not be at all diminished.
Mr. BENTON. The argument is that we are to act in this case as the
government of the District of Columbia. But if I understand the
bequest, the money is given to the people of the United States, and
not to those of the District alone. Consequently, if we accept the
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGKESS, 1837-1839. 179
donation, it must be used for a national institution, and not one for
the District alone. Banks, colleges, and other institutions are incor-
porated by us in the District of Columbia, not as national institutions,
but for the local benefit of the District. I, sir, voted for banks in the
District of Columbia, but in no case was it for a national bank; and
such is the precise distinction in the case now before us. The argu-
ment is that we may receive money as trustees to be used for purposes
entirely different from what the testator contemplated. To this I
object, and especially because it places the United States Government
in the aspect of a moneyed power.
Mr. R. H. BAYARD. I was not a member of the Senate when the joint
resolution was passed by which we accepted this trust, and I am not
quite certain whether I should have been in favor of it or not. But it
is rather late, after having accepted the trust, to start this constitu-
tional difficulty. I do not altogether approve of the manner in which
the money was obtained through the English courts, and if it could be
properly returned I should be in favor of it, not for any consideration
of our want of constitutional power, but for the manner in which it
was obtained. But it is too late to return it.
But it is argued that there is no power in this Government to accept
and administer this trust, and therefore the money is now to be
returned. This Government is one of mere trust power, but in one
capacity it acts as the Government of the whole United States, and in
another as the Government of this District. Its power over the United
States is limited, but over this District it is unlimited; and there can
therefore be no doubt of its full sovereignty over it, so far as relates
to general grounds. But it is a mistake that this donation is for the
benefit of the United States. The views of the testator were much
more extensive, and he expressly declared that his object was to diffuse
knowledge among men. The testator must have understood perfectly
well the nature of our institutions, and he knew not only that this
Government could act for the United States as such, with power to
operate in this District, but he knew, moreover, that this District was
eminently calculated for the more comprehensive purpose which he
had in view, because it is not trammeled by political or religious
restrictions. And the reason why the United States should be induced
to accept this bequest is not because it is for the District altogether,
but because it may be used for the benefit of the United States and of
the world, and the motive and the object which the testator had in view
were to select a place where there is perfect freedom of opinion in
politics and religion, and the motive of the United States in accepting
it is that the people of the District and of the United States may obtain
its general benefits. I therefore do not see any difficulty in this Gov-
ernment accepting it.
And the question now is, what is to be done? There is an evident
180 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
necessity for a corporation for the purpose of administering the means
of effecting the object proposed. I do not know as it ought to be the
basis of a great national institution, but we may incorporate it with a
view to insure the benefits contemplated; and, in order to effect that,
it is a question whether you will refer the subject to a committee who
may present plans to Congress to carry the purpose into execution, or
whether you will trust it with a commission, who, in the meantime,
may have power over the fund and at a future period may present to
Congress such a plan for its administration as they may think best.
The object of the bill introduced by the Senator from Rhode Island is,
inasmuch as the business can not be managed by a standing committee
during the recess of Congress, to establish a board of trustees for this
purpose; and the sole object of the bill is to establish such a board of
trustees over the fund, who shall also prepare and present to Congress,
at its next session, or at some future period when it shall be prepared,
a plan for such an incorporation; and that is all that the bill proposes.
Mr. WRIGHT. I understood and I meant to say that this bill involves
none of the great principles that have been brought into this discus-
sion, but simply provides for preparing a charter. But I find I was
mistaken. The scope of the bill is larger than I supposed. I would
now say nothing about these great principles, but about the bill itself;
and I would suggest the propriety of now passing a bill not involv-
ing any great question of principle. I find the bill provides for a
commission of nine persons, who are to have charge of the fund;
and, further, these nine are to constitute a component part of any
incorporation hereafter established for the institution. All this goes
materially farther than I had supposed. What necessity is there for
appointing these nine trustees now? This fund is to be invested under
the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. For what valuable
purpose, then, are we to hang this machinery on this great donation ?
Is it for no other purpose than to constitute nine men the draftsmen
of an act of incorporation? And, in the meantime, shall we con-
fer on these nine persons very extensive powers? It is provided by
the bill that they shall have the management of the fund, under such
regulations and restrictions as Congress shall from time to time pre-
scribe. But these nine are also to be officers of the corporation when-
ever its officers are appointed. But are they to be such officers under
the Constitution of the United States? If they are to be so, it is a
perfectly new mode of appointment, and one the pertinency or
propriety of which I am unable to discover. Three of them are to
be chosen by the Senate annually, three by the House of Representa-
tives annually, and the other three by the President annually.
And if this, as we are told, is to be an institution for the District
of Columbia, or an ordinary college, why is this machinery necessary?
TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 181
And why this new method of appointment? Is there anything of this
in connection with the Georgetown College or the Columbian College ?
Does not this point out this new institution to be a national institution ?
Every branch of the Government is to be represented (except the judi-
ciary), and these representatives are to have the power to appoint a
printer to that board of trustees, and to fix his compensation, and also
a clerk, and to fix his compensation; and they are to have power to
make regulations for their own government, and they will be com-
pelled to meet at least once during the recess of Congress, and as much
of tener as they please; and for what? I speak now of the practical
operation of the measure. In Pennsylvania a bequest has been made
and appropriated to a similar purpose; and have any of us failed to
hear of the abuses of that bequest in the engrafting of offices and
incomes upon it? And what will be the income of this Smithsonian
fund? It will be $25,000 or $30,000, out of which you must pay your
commission, printer, and clerk; and how much do you suppose you
will have of the product of the fund for the diffusion of knowledge
among mankind? And is it necessary that a commission should sit
eight or nine months to frame a bill ? This is something which has
not been practiced heretofore; and is it wise to pass such a bill? It is
with great caution that Congress should proceed on that subject, but
I see no necessity for taxing this charity with the expenses growing
out of this bill for the simple purpose of presenting to Congress the
form of an incorporation; and I ask those who argue that this Institu-
tion is to be established for this District as a college, whether they can
vote for this bill.
On motion by Mr. HENRY HUBBARD, that the bill lie on the table,
it was determined in the affirmative yeas, 20; nays, 15".
On motion by Mr. HUBBARD, the yeas and nays being desired by
one-fifth of the Senators present; those who voted in the affirmative
were:
Messrs. Allen, Bayard, Benton, Brown, Calhoun, Clay of Alabama,
Hubbard, King, Lyon, Morris, Mouton, Niles, Norvell, Roane, Rob-
nson, Smith of Connecticut, Strange, Williams of Maine, Williams
of Mississippi, Wright.
Those who voted in the negative were:
Messrs. Clay of Kentucky, Davis, Fulton, Knight, Linn, Merrick,
Prentiss, Preston, Rives, Robbins, Ruggles, Sevier, Smith of Indiana,
Walker, Young.
Ordered to lie on the table.
February 28, 1839 Senate.
Mr. ASHER ROBBINS submitted a motion:
Resolved by the Senate, That the mayor and city council of the city of Washington
be, and hereby are, authorized to prepare and report a plan of an institution, to be
182 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
called the Smithsonian Institution, to l>e founded on the Inquest of Mr. Jamee
Smithson, of London, and to report the same to the Senate at the next session of
Congress.
March 1, 1839 Senate.
The Senate considered the motion submitted February 28 by Mr.
Robbins respecting a Smithsonian Institution; and, on motion by
Mr. C. C. CLAY, of Alabama, ordered that it lie on the table.
March 3, 1839.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1839.
For carrying into effect the acts relating to the Smithsonian legacy,
$10,000, to be paid out of the fund arising from that legacy.
(Stat. V, 316.)
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841.
HEQUE8T OF JAMES SMITHSON.
December 30, 1839 House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS introduced a bill to provide for the dis-
posal and management of the fund bequeathed by James Smithson,
deceased, to the United States, for the establishment of an institution
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. Referred to
a select committee of nine members, viz:
Mr. John Quincy Adams, Mr. Charles Ogle, Mr. Charles Shepard,
Mr. James Garland of Virginia, Mr. Dixon H. Lewis, Mr. Albert
Smith of Maine, Mr. D. D. Barnard, Mr. Thomas Cor win, and Mr.
John Campbell of South Carolina.
February 5, 1840 House.
Memorial of the corporation of the city of Washington on the sub-
ject of the Smithsonian bequest was referred to the select committee
appointed December 30, 1839.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, Washington, January 15, 1S40.
SIR: In compliance with the instructions of a committee appointed by the corpo-
ration of this city to represent their interests before Congress, I have the honor to
request you to present the inclosed memorial to the House.
The great interest you have taken in the subject to which the memorial relates
has induced the committee to make this request.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
PETER FORCE.
Hon. J. Q. ADAMS,
House of Representatives, United States.
To the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled :
The memorial of the undersigned, a committee appointed by the corporation of
Washington, respectfully represents:
That they have been instructed to express to your honorable bodies the earnest
desire of the city councils, as well as of the citizens of Washington, that the benevo-
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 183
lent design of the late James Sinithson, of England, should be carried into execution
as soon as practicable by the establishment of an institution in their city for the
diffusion of knowledge among men. As this is a matter which more immediately
concerns the people of Washington, where, according to the desire and instruction of
the testator, the institution is to be founded, they necessarily feel a deep solicitude on
the subject and are anxious that Congress would take it into serious and immediate
consideration, in order that the benefit intended to be conferred may be enjoyed at as
early a period as possible. They need not suggest that, in addition to the intellectual
advantages of which the contemplated institution promises to be productive, it will
be the means, they believe, of adding greatly to the reputation of the metropolis and
of giving to it a new source of attraction. Though this motive may appear to be
selfish, it is nevertheless one which all who take an interest in the welfare and pros-
perity of the capital of their country must necessarily feel. But your memorialists
are influenced by loftier and philanthropic motives in wishing to see the instruc-
tions of Mr. Smithson carried into effect. It is impossible to calculate the amount
of good which an institution properly founded and judiciously organized, as they
have no doubt this will be, is susceptible of promoting the improvement of the intel-
lect, taste, and morals of the great community of this country; for though the foun-
tain may be here, its streams will flow through all parts of the Republic and fertilize
and i n i prove its remotest borders. It is not for the memorialists to point out the char-
acter of such an institution as should be established in accordance with the design of
him who made the bequest, because they know it is in much abler hands, and there-
fore it would be presumptuous in them to attempt it. All they desire is to see it
speedily commenced and the design fully carried out, and in this desire they believe
they are joined by all who feel an interest in the diffusion of human knowledge and
the intellectual improvement of their fellow-men.
Your memorialists respectfully pray that, for the benefit of their countrymen, and
the special advantage which will result from it to Washington, the subject may claim
the immediate attention of Congress, and that a plan will be devised and adopted
during the present session, which will accord with the intentions of the testator, and,
when carried into execution, be attended with all the blessings and advantages which
are expected to flow from an institution already founded and wisely organized.
And so they w r ill ever pray.
PETER FORCE.
Cn. W. GOLDSBOBOUGH.
GEO. WATTERSTON.
JOHN W. MAURY.
JOHN WILSON.
GEORGE ADAMS.
SAMUEL BYINGTON.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS presented a memorial of Constantino S.
Raline.sque, of Philadelphia, professor of historical and natural sci-
ences, praying that the benevolent intentions of James Smithson may
be speedily realized, by the immediate establishment of an institution
for the diffusion of useful knowledge among men; which was referred
to the select committee on the Smithsonian bequest.
February 13, 1840 Senate.
Mr. HENRY CLAY, of Kentucky, presented the petition of the Ken-
tucky State Agricultural Society, praying the endowment of an agri-
cultural school or college out of the funds of the Smithsonian legacy;
referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
184 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 27, 1840 House.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS asked Mr. GEORGE W. CRABB (who was entitled to
the floor) to give way to allow him to present a report from the select
committee on the Smithsonian bequest. It was a subject which had
excited a good deal of public interest; and he merely wished to make
the report, and have it printed, which would occupy but a few
moments of the time of the House.
Mr. CRABB said if it was the universal consent of the House to
receive the report at that time, he had no objection to give way for
the purpose. But objection was made.
March 5, 1840 House
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, from the committee to which was
referred the bill to provide for the disposal and management of the
fund bequeathed by James Smithson to the United States for the
establishment of an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men, reported an amendatory bill, accompanied by a
report, which were committed to the Committee of the Whole.
The select committee report the bill with sundry amendments.
And inasmuch as the subject of this bill, and the bequest itself, and
the institution to the establishment of which, at the city of Washing-
ton, it was devoted by the testator, involve considerations and prin-
ciples other than those which usually regulate the legislation of
Congress; and as the purposes of the bequest have, as yet, been but
imperfectly made known to the people of the United States, and
probably to a large portion of the members of the House, the com-
mittee submit to the indulgence of the House a statement of the mate-
rial facts which have hitherto occurred in the tender of this fund to
the United States of America, and their acceptance of it, and an expo-
sition of the motives which have prevailed with the committee to
propose the disposal of the fund, and the provisions for its mainte-
nance and management, as they are set forth in the several sections
of the accompanying bill.
[Mr. Adams then quotes message of President Andrew Jackson, dated December
17, 1835, the correspondence of Mr. Vail and Clarke Fvnmore & Fladgate, James
Smithson's will, etc., and then proceeds:]
This message was referred, in the Senate, to their Committee on
the Judiciary, which, on the 5th of January, 1836, presented a report
favorable to the acceptance of the bequest, and a joint resolution to
authorize and enable the President of the United States to assert and
prosecute, with effect, the claim of the United States to this bequest,
in the court of chancery, or other proper tribunal of England. By
this joint resolution, adopted on the 2d of May, 1836, the faith of the
Government of the United States was pledged, that any and all sums
of money which should be received for or on account of the said
legacy should be applied to the purpose of founding and endowing at
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 185
Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an estab-
lishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
In the House of Representatives the same message of the President
was, on the 21st of December, 1835, referred to a select committee of
nine members, which, on the 19th of Januaiy, 1836, reported a bill,
together with a statement of facts and principles connected with the
origin and acceptance of this bequest, which the present committee
ask leave to refer to the consideration of the house as a part of their
own report.
[Mr. Adams here quotes his own report of January 19, 1836, and proceeds:]
The bill accompanying this report was, in the House of Represent-
atives, substituted in the place of the joint resolution which had been
received from the Senate. It authorized the President of the United
States to appoint an agent or agents to prosecute, in the court of
chancery, in England, the right of the United States to the bequest of
Mr. Smithson, and to recover and pay over the amount of the same
into the Treasury of the United States. This bill passed in the House
without opposition; was concurred in, without amendment, by the
Senate; and, on the 1st of July, 1836, received the approbation of the
President of the United States.
The third section of this act is in the following words:
And be it further enacted, That any and all sums of money, and other funds which
shall be received for, or on account of, the said legacy, shall be applied in such man-
ner as Congress may hereafter direct, to the purpose of founding and endowing, at
Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; to which application of the said
moneys, and other funds, the faith of the United States is hereby pledged.
By virtue of this act the President of the United States did, shortly
after its passage, appoint Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, the agent
for recovering the funds in England; which was accordingly done by
a decree of the English court of chancery; and on the 1st of September,
1838, the sum of $508,315.46 was deposited, in gold, at the mint of
the United States at Philadelphia, being the proceeds then recovered
of the bequest; a further sum having been reserved by the English
court of chancery for the payment of a life annuity to the mother of
Henry James Hungerford.
By the sixth section of the act of Congress of July 7, 1838, to pro-
vide for the support of the Military Academy of the United States at
West Point for the year 1838, it was enacted
That all the money arising from the bequest of the late James Smithson, of Lon-
don, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in this District, an institution to be
denominated the Smithsonian Institution, which may be paid into the Treasury, is
hereby appropriated, and shall be invested by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the
approbation of the President of the United States, in stocks of States, bearing interest
at not less than five per centum per annum; which said stocks shall be held by the
186 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
said Secretary, in trust, for the uses specified in the last will and testament of said
Smithson, until provision is made by law for carrying the purpose of said bequest
into effect; and that the annual interest accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in
like manner invested for the benefit of said Institution.
Under this authority, thus granted before the money was received
into the Treasury, the Secretary of the Treasury did, on the 4th of
September, 1838, invest $499,500 by the purchase of 500 bonds of the
State of Arkansas for $1,000 each, bearing G per cent interest, payable
semiannually on the 1st of January and July of each year, from the
said 4th of September; and the further sum of $8,270.67 was applied
to the purchase of eight bonds of the State of Michigan, bearing 6 per
cent interest, payable semiannually on the first Mondays in January
and July from the 1st of May, 1838; the interest on all these bonds
being payable at the city of New York.
By these transactions it will be perceived that the United States
became creditors of the States of Arkansas and of Michigan to the
amount of the purchase of their respective bonds, and made themselves
responsible to the Smithsonian fund for the punctual payment of the
principal and interest of said bonds; the faith of the United States
having been already pledged for the faithful application of the fund
itself to the purposes of the testator the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men.
At the last session of Congress the President of the United States,
by a message to both Houses of the 6th of December, 1838, informed
them that the act of the 1st of July, 1836, to enable the Executive to
assert and prosecute with effect the claim of the United States to the
legacy bequeathed to them by James Smithson, had received its entire
execution; and that the amount recovered and paid into the Trcasuiy
having, agreeably to an act of the preceding session, been invested in
State stocks, he deemed it proper to invite the attention of Congress
to the obligation devolving upon the United States to fulfill the object
of the bequest. He added that in order to obtain such information
as might serve to facilitate its attainment the Secretary of State had
been directed to apply to persons versed in science and familiar with
the subject of public education for their views as to the mode of dispos-
ing of the fund best calculated to meet the intention of the testator
and prove most beneficial to mankind. Copies of the circular from
the Secretary of State, and of the answers to it received at that Depart-
ment, were communicated with the message for the consideration of
Congress; and for the whole correspondence this committee respect-
fully refer the House to document No. 11 of the Executive documents
of the Third session of the Twenty -fifth Congress.
On the following day (the 7th of December, 1838) another message
was transmitted by the President to the House of Representatives,
with reports from the Secretaries of State' and of the Treasury, in
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGBESS, 1839-1841. 187
compliance with a resolution of the House of the 9th of July preced-
ing, requesting the President to cause to be laid before the House all
such communications, documents, etc. , in the possession of the Execu-
tive, or which could be obtained, as should elucidate the origin, prog-
ress, and consummation of the process by which the Smithsonian
bequest had been recovered, and whatever might be connected with
the subject. For this message and accompanying documents the com-
mittee refer the House to No. 10 of the Executive documents of the
last session.
On the 10th of December, 1838, these two messages, of the 6th and
7th of that month, were referred to a select committee of the House,
which proceeded at sundry meetings to consider and discuss the
principles upon which it might be desirable to establish the foundation
of the Smithsonian Institution so as best to fulfill the benevolent pur-
pose of the testator; to return, by the most effective acknowledgment,
the signal honor done to our country and her institutions by the com-
mitment of this great and most honorable trust to the United States
of America; to prove them worthy of that trust by the dignity, dis-
interestedness, and propriety of all their provisions for the disposal
of the funds; and finally to organize an establishment which by its
ultimate results would in the impartial judgment of mankind, our
own contemporaries, and of future ages, at once accomplish the glori-
ous purpose of the testator the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men, and justify to the eyes of posterity the confidence
reposed in these United States by the testator in selecting them for
his agents and trustees to accomplish, when he should be no more on
earth, his great design for the improvement of the condition of man.
A variety of projects for disposing of the funds had been presented
by individuals, in memorials to the House, which were referred to the
committee for consideration. No one of them appeared to the com-
mittee adapted to accomplish the purpose of the testator. They gen-
erally contemplated the establishment of a school, college, or university.
They proposed expenditures absorbing in the erection of buildings
the capital of the fund itself or a very large portion of it, leaving
little or nothing to be invested as a perpetual annuity for future and
continual appropriations, contributing to the improvement of future
ages as well as of the present generation; and in most of the projects
there might be perceived purposes of personal accommodation and
emolument to the projector more adapted to the promotion of his own
interest than to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
The committee from the earliest of their meetings had agreed that.
in the report to be made to the House it should be recommended that
no part of the funds should be applied to the establishment or support
of any school, college, university, or ecclesiastical establishment.
The}- had also agreed to recommend as a fundamental principle for the
188 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
organization of the institution and the management of its funds that
the capital amount of the bequest should be preserved entire and unim-
paired, so invested as to yield an income of 6 per cent a year, which
income only should be annually appropriated by Congress and a con-
siderable portion even of those appropriations be constituted as funds
from the interest of which expenditures applicable to the purposes of
the bequest might be provided for, and the capital of the bequest
itself be annually rather increased than diminished.
While the committee of the House were engaged in deliberating
upon the means of carrying into effect these principles by special
enactment, to be proposed in their report, on the 12th of January,
1839, the subject was taken up for consideration by the Senate of the
United States. At the motion of a distinguished member of that body
the following joint resolution was adopted:
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring) , That a joint commit-
tee be appointed, consisting of seven members of the Senate, and such a number of
said House as they shall appoint, to consider the expediency of providing an institu-
tion of learning, to be established in the city of Washington, for the application of
the legacy bequeathed by James Smithson, of London, to the United States, in trust
for that purpose; also, to consider the expediency of a charter for such institution,
together with the powers and privileges which, in their opinion, the said charter
ought to confer; also, to consider the expediency of ways and means to be provided
by Congress, other than said legacy, but in addition thereto, and in aid of said benevo-
lent intention ; and to report by bill or bills in the premises.
This resolution superseded at once all that had been done by the
House and its committee upon the two messages of the President of
the 6th and 7th of December, 1838. It contemplated an institution of
learning at the cit\ T of Washington, the establishment of which should
not only absorb the whole fund bequeathed by Mr. Smithson, but large
appropriations of the public moneys of the nation.
In deference, however, and courtesy to the Senate, the House imme-
diately concurred in their resolution; and the same members to whom,
as a select committee of the House, the two messages of the President
had been referred, were appointed the committee on the part of the
House under the joint resolution.
Several meetings of the joint committee were held and some discus-
sion was entertained; but the propositions of the chairman of the com-
mittee on the part of the Senate were so widely at variance with the
principles upon which the committee on the part of the House had
previously agreed that it soon became apparent that further joint
deliberation offered no prospect of a result in which both committees
would concur. The committee on the part of the House was notified
that the chairman of the Senate's committee was authorized by them
to propose any measure on their part which he might deem proper,
and to agree to any joint report in which the committee on the part of
the House might concur.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 189
On the 26th of January, 1839, the chairman of the committee on the
part of the House, by their direction, reported to the House the fol-
lowing resolutions:
Resolved, That the sum of dollars, being the amount deposited in the Treas-
ury of the United States, proceeding from the bequest of James Smiihson to the United
States of America, for the purpose of establishing, at the city of Washington, an insti-
tution to bear his name, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,
together with what additional sum or sums may hereafter accrue from the same
bequest, and so much of the interest as has become, or may become due on the first-
named principal sum, until the day of , ought to be constituted a perma-
nent fund, to be invested in a corporate body of trustees, to remain, under the pledge
of faith of the United States, undiminished and unimpaired.
Resolved, That the said fund ought so to be invested that the faith of the United
States shall be pledged for its preservation, unimpaired, and for its yielding an
interest or income at the rate of six per cent a year, to be appropriated from time to
time, by Congress, to the declared purpose of the founder; and that all appropria-
tions so made shall be exclusively from the interest or income of the fund, and not
from any part of the principal thereof.
Resolved, That the first appropriations from the interest or income of the Smith-
sonian fund ought to be for the erection and establishment, at the city of Washing-
ton, of an astronomical observatory, provided with the best and most approved
instruments and books, for the continual observation, calculation, and recording of
the remarkable phenomena of the heavens, for the periodical publication of the
observations thus made, and of a nautical almanac, for the use of the mariners of the
United States, and of all other navigating nations.
These resolutions were ordered to be printed, and laid on the table
for consideration.
On the 6th of February, 1839, the following resolutions were sub-
mitted by the chairman of the committee on the part of the House, to
the joint committee for consideration:
1. Resolved, That the education of the children and youth of these United States
has for its object, not the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, but the
endowment of individuals of both sexes with useful knowledge already acquired, and
suited to their respective conditions.
2. That the declared object of the bequest of James Smithson to the United States
of America being the foundation, at the city of Washington, of an establishment ' ' for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," no appropriation of any part of
the fund to the purpose of educating the children or youth of these United States
would fulfill the intent of the testator.
3. That the education of the children of these United States is a duty of solemn
and indispensable obligation incumbent upon their parents and guardians, not for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, but to qualify them for the
enjoyment of their rights, and the performance of their duties throughout life.
4. That the United States of America, having, by their Congress, accepted as a
trust a large and liberal bequest from a foreigner, for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men, and having pledged their faith for the application of the
proceeds of that bequest to the declared purpose of the testator, would neither fulfill
that purpose nor redeem their pledge, by appropriating a fund, devised for the
benefit of mankind, to the education of their own children.
5. Resolved, therefore, That no part of the Smithsonian fund ought to be applied to
the education of the children or youth of the United States, nor to any school, college,
university, or institute of education.
190 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
After the meetings of the joint committee had ceased, the chairman
of the committee on the part of the Senate, by^ virtue of the authority
given him by his colleagues, presented to the committee on the part
of the House counter resolutions, disapproving of the application of
any part of the Smithsonian funds to the establishment of an astro-
nomical observatory, and urging the application of them to the founda-
tion of a university or institution of learning.
At a meeting of the committee on the part of the House, on the
13th of February, 1839, the above resolutions, which had been sub-
mitted to the joint committee on the 6th, were unanimously adopted
by the members present at the meeting.
As it was thus ascertained that the views of the chairman of the
Senate's committee could neither obtain the assent of the committee
on the part of the House, nor be conformable to theirs, it was agreed
that the chairman of the Senate's committee should prepare a bill
which he would wish to have reported, and that the committee on the
part of the House should also cause to be prepared a bill presenting
the principles upon which they had agreed, and that both the bills
should be reported together to both Houses of Congress for considera-
tion. The two bills were accordingly reported to both Houses: To
the House on the 16th of February, 1839, where they were twice read
and referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the
Union. They are numbered 1160 and 1161 among the bills of the
House of the last session, but from the lateness of the time when they
were reported, and the pressure of other indispensable or more urgent
business, they were not taken up for consideration in the Committee
of the Whole, and remained without further action of the House upon
either of them at the close of the session.
The bill prepared by the chairman of the joint committee on the
part of the Senate was taken up in that body on the 25th of February
and after full debate, by a vote of 20 to 15, laid on the table. On
the 19th and 20th of February, the Senator who had been the chair-
man of the joint committee introduced in the Senate a resolution to
authorize the mayor and city council of the city of Washington to
prepare a plan of an institution, to be called the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, and to report the same to the Senate at the next session, which
resolution was, on the 1st of March, 1839, laid on the table.
The bill prepared by direction of the joint committee on the part of
the House, and reported to both Houses, was never acted upon by the
Senate. The bill referred to this committee was nearly a transcript
from it, and embraces the principles deemed by the committee of the
House, which at the last session reported the bill, of primary import-
ance for the organization of the Smithsonian Institution, in the man-
ner the most effective for accomplishing the purposes of the testator.
The first of these principles is, that the capital sum of the Smithso-
TWENTY -SIXTH CONGKESS, 1839-1841. 191
nian fund should be preserved entire and unimpaired, invested in such
manner as to secure a yearly income of 6 per cent, and a perpetual
annuity for yearly appropriation for all future time. The reasons for
this are so obvious and so urgent, that it was scarcely to be anticipated
they would meet with any deliberate opposition. The object of the
testator's bequest is as comprehensive as the human mind, and as
durable as the existence of the race of man upon earth. The increase
and diffusion of knowledge is, in its nature, progressive to the end of
time. An institution which should exhaust in its first establishment
and organization the whole, or the principal part of the bequest, would
necessarily be confined within limits exceedingly narrow, compared
with the vast design of increasing and diffusing knowledge. It would
also, as may be concluded from uniform experience, be unable for any
long series of years to sustain itself, but would gradually sink into
insignificance and apathy, or require continual support from public
or private munificence. The Smithsonian fund exceeds half a million
of dollars; by investing it safely, under the guaranty of the nation's
faith, to yield a yearly income of 6 per cent, it places at the disposal of
Congress a sum of more than $30,000 to be applied every year to any
object promotive of the increase and diffusion of knowledge. The
means of attaining this end will, from the very progressive nature of
knowledge, vary from time to time. Knowledge, in her progress over
the world of mind, pours, like the father of the floods, her waters into
the ocean of time, swollen by the tributary accession of unnumbered
streams.
This was among the principal considerations, connecting the first of
these fundamental principles with the second that no part of the
Smithsonian fund, principal or interest, shall be applied to any school,
college, university, institute of education, or ecclesiastical establishment.
There are in these United States 95 universities and colleges, besides
high schools, academies, and common schools without number. The
object of all these institutions is one and the same education from
infancy to manhood. The subjects of instruction are all the depart-
ments of human science, from the primer and the spelling book to the
theory of infinites and the mechanism of the heavens. They are vari-
ously graduated and adapted to the capacities and wants of the
expanding mind, from the moment when the child becomes capable of
receiving instruction to the full formation of adult age, and the prepa-
ration of the citizen for the performance of the duties of active life,
and the exercise of the faculties thus acquired for the benefit of the
individual himself and of his fellow-creatures in the social relations of
life. The. ultimate object of them all is instruction the communica-
tion of knowledge already possessed and not the discovery of new
truths or the invention of new instruments for the enlargement of
human power. This was evidently the purpose of Mr. Sniithson; and
192 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
this the committee of the House, which reported their bill at the last
session of Congress, unanimously believed to be entirely distinct from
that of the establishment of any institution whatever devoted to the
education of children or of youth.
In this point of view the bequest of Mr. Smithson assumed, in the
opinion of the committee, an interest of the highest order peculiar to
itself, most happily adapted to the character of our republican institu-
tions, and destined, if administered in the spirit in which it was
bestowed, to command the grateful acclamations of future ages and to
illuminate the path of man upon earth with rays of knowledge still
gathering with the revolving lapse of time.
They believed that an institute of learning for education in the city
of Washington was in no wise needed, there being already there a col-
lege with a charter from Congress, founded at great expense, provided
with all the apparatus for scientific instruction, furnished with learned,
skillful, and assiduous professors and teachers in every department of
university studies, and yet scarcely able to sustain its own existence.
In the adjoining town of Georgetown there is also a college, and there
is, perhaps, no part of the United States where there is less occasion
for the institution of a new university or college. By the express
terms of the bequest the Smithsonian Institution must be located at
the city of Washington. A new university here could not fail either
to prove useless itself or to destroy the existing college and materially
to injure the neighboring college at Georgetown.
If, indeed, an institution of learning were a suitable object for the
application of the Smithsonian fund, it would doubtless be practicable
to ingraft the existing Columbian College upon it and thereby, instead
of affecting injuriously its interests and prospects, to enlarge its sphere
of usefulness and relieve it at the same time from the embarrassment
under which it labors. But while it would be manifestly unjust to
that college to establish in its immediate vicinity a rival institution
more richly endowed from foreign funds, it might be deemed an appli-
cation not less exceptionable of those funds to the relief or assistance
of one particular establishment in this city, narrowing down the gen-
eral purpose of increasing and diffusing knowledge among men to
the special benefit and emolument of one overburdened seminary of
learning.
Among the reasons for discarding all institutions of education from
the purview of the Smithsonian bequest, the committee of the House
at the last session were not insensible to the consideration that the
acceptance of a bequest, coupled with a trust for the increase and dif-
fusion of knowledge among men, by the United States of America,
imported a career of action in the execution of the trust more compre-
hensive in its object, more extensive in its design, and therefore more
appropriate for the exercise of national powers than the mere educa-
tion of children.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGKESS, 1839-1841. 193
The education of children is, in all civilized and Christian communi-
ties, in the first instance, a solemn and imperative duty of their
parents. It stands in the first rank of domestic and family duties;
and so far as it connects itself with social relations and becomes a
subject of legislation it belongs to that class of interests and concerns
which, under our complicated system of government, are considered
as exclusively confined to the authorities of the separate States.
Whether Congress possess, under the Constitution, the power to
establish a national university is at least a matter of doubt; and
although they have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases whatever over
the District of Columbia, in which the city of Washington is situated,
yet tin institute of learning coextensive only with the District of
Columbia must necessarily be confined, in all its administrations, as
much within that District as the universities and colleges within the
several States are limited by their respective jurisdictions. Nor did
it seem to the committee altogether consistent with the self-respect of
a great confederated nation to receive from the hands of a foreigner
a liberal fund for the increase and diffusion of knowledge through-
out the world of man, and apply it to the schooling of their own
children.
The peculiar expressions used by the testator himself, in the indica-
tion of the ultimate result of his purpose, and the selection of his
trustee, concur in confirming this view of the subject. Had it been
his intention to found a college or university for the purposes of edu-
cation, it seems impossible that he should have avoided the use of
words necessarily importing them. The words school, college, uni-
versity, institution of learning, would have been those most appropri-
ate to the specification of his design; and it is not imaginable that,
having such an intention, he should studiously have avoided the use of
every word most appropriate for its designation. The increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men present neither the idea of knowl-
edge already acquired to be taught, nor of childhood or youth to be
instructed; but of new discovery; of progress in the march of the
human mind; of accession to the moral, intellectual, and physical
powers of the human race; of dissemination throughout the inhabited
globe.
And if education had been his design, why should he have selected
the city of Washington for the seat of his institute, and the United
States of America for his trustees ? In the land of his nativity there
were children and youth needing and destitute of the blessings of edu-
cation, in multitudes far exceeding those which might have been
found in the city of Washington or throughout the North American
Union. In the land of his habitation and of his decease there swarmed
around him, ever present to his eyes, numberless children and minors,
to whom an institute of learning would have been far more beneficial
H. Doc. 732 13
194 CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
than it could possibly be to the children of the city of Washington or
of the whole United States. Mr. Smithson had no personal relations
with this country; he had never visited its shores; nor from the pro-
visions of his will, nor from anything that has been ascertained of his
life, does it appear that he was ever intimate, or even acquainted, with
any one native citizen of this Union. Why, then, should he devote
the whole of an ample fortune to the education of a comparatively
small number of children in a hemisphere distant from that in which
he was born, had lived, and was to die, and with which he could have
no sympathy other than that of a common nature and common princi-
ples of moral and political truth?
Mr. Smithson's bequest was not to the city of Washington, but to
the United States of America. His reasons for fixing the seat of his
institution at Washington obviously was that there is the seat of Gov-
ernment of the United States; and there the Congress, by whose legis-
lation, and the Executive, through whose agency, the trust committed
to the honor, intelligence, and good faith of the nation, is to be ful-
filled. The peculiar powers by which Congress is enabled to dis-
charge this trust in all its magnitude are vested in them by their
authority of exclusive legislation over the District of Columbia; but,
in the execution of the trust, the obligation incumbent upon them by
the will of the testator, and by their recorded pledge of the nation's
faith, is so to organize and so to superintend the conduct of the insti-
tution as to spread the benefits to be derived from it not only over
the whole surface of this Union, but throughout the civilized world.
The Smithsonian fund appeared to the committee of the House,
which at the last session reported the bill, equivalent to a considerable
yearly donation to the United States to be expended in furnishing the
means and in rewarding the accomplishment of new discoveries and
inventions throughout the whole range of science and of art. The
specific means of attaining directly or indirectly this end are as various
as the arts and sciences themselves, and as prolific as the imagination
of man. Among the many establishments which were suggested to
them, or which occurred to their own consideration, which would be
strictly included within the express language of the will and the
undoubted intention of the testator, that upon which they rested as
first deserving, and for a succession of several years, the application
of the annual income of the fund, was an astronomical observatory of
the most enlarged and liberal character, with provisions for the most
effective continual observation of the phenomena of the heavens; for
the actual calculations and periodical publication of the results of those
observations, and for affording to the navigators of our own and of
all other maritime nations our contribution of all the facilities which
the detected secrets of the starry universe can furnish to the wander-
ing pilgrim of this sublunary sphere. It was not the intention or
expectation of the committee that the appropriations from the Smith-
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGKESS, 1839-1841. 195
sonian fund should be confined exclusively to this object. Far other-
wise; the improvement of all the arts and sciences was embraced in the
letter and in the spirit of Mr. Smithson's bequest; and that was one of
the principal reasons which induced the committee to recommend, as a
fundamental principal for the organization and conduct of the institu-
tion, that perpetuity and a regular income should be irrevocably
secured to the fund and yearly appropriations made only from the
accruing income. A botanical garden, a cabinet of natural history, a
museum of mineralogy, conchology, or geology, a general accumulating
library all institutions of which there are numerous examples among
the civilized Christian nations, and of most of which our own country
is not entirely destitute; all are undoubtedly included within the com-
prehensive grasp of Mr. Smithson's design; all may receive in turn,
and with progressive utility and power, liberal contributions from the
continually growing income of the trust. Nor did the committee
believe that the moral or political sciences, the philosophy of lan-
guage, the natural history of speech, the graces of polite literature,
the mechanic or the liberal arts, were to be excluded from the benefits
prepared for posterity by the perpetuation of this fund. Whatever
personal preference Mr. Smithson may, during his life, have enter-
tained for the cultivation of the natural sciences, no such preference
encumbers his bequest or is indicated by his will. It is knowledge,
the source of all human wisdom and of all beneficent power; knowl-
edge, as far transcending the postulated lever of Archimedes as the
universe transcends this speck of earth upon its face; knowledge, the
attribute of Omnipotence, of which man alone in the physical and
material world is permitted to participate; the increase and diffusion
of which among men is the result to which the ample fortune of Mr.
Smithson is devoted, and for the accomplishment of which he selects
the United States of America as his trustees and their National Gov-
ernment as his agents. Let not, then, any branch or department of
human knowledge be excluded from its equitable share of this bene-
faction. But it is believed that no one science deserves or requires
the immediate application of the accrued and accruing income of the
fund so urgently as practical astronomy.
The express object of an observatory is the increase of knowledge
by new discovery. The physical relations between the firmament 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 human life, and perhaps
of the earth itself. Who can conceive the idea of a world without a
sun but must connect with it the extinction of light and heat, of all
animal life, of all vegetation and production, leaving the lifeless clod
of matter to return to the primitive state of chaos or to be consumed
by elemental fire? The influence of the moon, of the planets, our next
196 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
door neighbors of the solar system, of the fixed stars, scattered over
the blue expanse in multitudes exceeding the power of human compu-
tation, and at distances of which imagination herself can form no dis-
tinct conception; the influence of all these upon the globe which we
inhabit, and upon the condition of man, its dying and deathless inhab-
itant, is great and mysterious, and in the search for final causes to a
great degree inscrutable to his finite and limited faculties. The extent
to which they arc discoverable is and must remain unknown; but to
the vigilance of 11 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 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.
In the history of the human species (so far as it is known to us),
astronomical observation was one of the first objects of pursuit for the
acquisition of knowledge. In the first chapter of the Sacred Volume
we are told that, in the process of creation, "God said, let there be
lights in the firmament of the heavens, to divide the day from the
night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and
years." By the special appointment, then, of the Creator, they were
made the standards for the measurement of time upon earth. They
were made for more; not only for seasons, for days, and years but
for signs. Signs of what? It may be that the word in this passage
has reference to the signs of the Egyptian zodiac, to mark the succes-
sion of solar months; or it may indicate a more latent connection
between the heavens and the earth, of the nature of judicial astrology.
These relations are not only apparent to the most superficial observa-
tion of man, but many of them remain inexhaustible funds of successive
discovery perhaps as long as the continued existence of man upon
earth. What an unknown world of mind, for example, is yet teeming
in the womb of time, to be revealed in tracing the causes of the sym-
pathy between the magnet and the pole that unseen, immaterial spirit,
which walks with us through the most entangled forests, over the most
interminable wilderness, and across everj r region of the pathless deep,
by day, by night, in the calm serene of a cloudless sky, and in the
howling of the hurricane or the typhoon. Who can witness the move-
ments of that tremulous needle, poised upon its center, still tending
to the polar star, but obedient to His distant hand, armed with a metallic
guide, round every point of the compass, at the fiat of His will, without
feeling a thrill of amazement approaching to superstition? The dis-
covery of the attractive power of the magnet was made before the
invention of the alphabet or the age of hieroglyphics. No record of
the event is found upon the annals of human history; but seven hun-
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 197
dred years have scarcely passed away since its polarity was first known
to the civilized European man. It was by observation of the periodical
revolution of the earth in her orbit round the sun, compared with her
daily revolution round her axis, that was disclosed the fact that hei
annual period was composed of 365 of her daily revolutions, or, in
other words, that the year was composed of 365 days; but the shep-
herds of Egypt, watching their flocks by night, could not but observe
the movements of the dog star next to the sun, the most brilliant of
the luminaries of heaven. They worshiped that star as a god; and
losing sight of him for about forty days every year, during his con-
junction with the sun, they watched with intense anxiety for his
reappearance in the sky, and with that day commenced their year. By
this practice, it failed not soon to be found that, although the reap-
pearance of the star, for three successive years, was at the end of 365
days, it would on the fourth year be delayed one day longer; and after
repeated observation of this phenomenon, they added six hours to the
computed duration of the year, and established the canicular period
of four years, consisting of 1,461 days. It was not until the days of
Julius Caesar that this computation of time was adopted in the Roman
calendar; and fifteen centuries from that time had elapsed before the
yearly celebration of the Christian paschal festivals, founded upon the
Passover of the Levitical law, revealed the fact that the annual revo-
lution of the earth, in her orbit round the sun, is not precisely of 365
days and one-quarter, but of between 11 and 12 minutes less; and thus
the duration of the year was ascertained, as a measure of time, to an
accuracy of three or four seconds, more or less a mistake which
would scarcely amount to one day in 20,000 years.
It is, then, to the successive discoveries of persevering astronomical
observation through a period of fifty centuries that we are indebted
for a fixed and permanent standard for the measurement of time.
And by the same science has man acquired, so far as he possesses it, a
standard for the measurement of space. A standard for the measure-
ment of the dimensions and distances of the fixed stars from ourselves
is yet to be found; and, if ever found, will be through the means of
astronomical observation. The influence of all these discoveries upon
the condition of man is, no doubt, infinitely diversified in relative
importance; but all, even the minutest, contribute to the increase and
diffusion of knowledge. There is no richer field of science opened to
the exploration of man in search of knowledge than astronomical
observation; nor is there, in the opinion of this committee, any duty
more impressively incumbent upon all human governments than that
of furnishing means and facilities and rewards to those who devote
the labors of their lives to the indefatigable industry, the unceasing
vigilance, and the bright intelligence indispensable to success in these
pursuits.
198 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The committee will add, that at no period of human history has the
general impulse of the learned world been more intensely directed to
the cultivation of this science than in the present age. It was an
observation of Voltaire that if the whole human race could be assembled
in one mass from the creation of man to his time, in the graduation of
genius among them all, Isaac Newton would stand at their head. But
the discoveries of Newton were the results of calculations founded
upon the observations of others of Copernicus, of Tycho Brahe, of
Kepler, of Flamsteed; and among their producing causes, not the
least was the erection and establishment of the royal observatory of
Greenwich.
The original purpose of this institution, first commenced in 1676,
under the patronage of Charles II, and the most glorious incident of
his life, was for the finding out the so much desired longitudes of
places for the perfecting the art of navigation; and the inscription
still existing above the original door of the observatory declares that
it was built for the benefit of astronomy and navigation; so intimately
connected together are the abstract science and the practical art that
without the help of the astronomer the seaman could not urge his bark
in safety one inch beyond the sight of the shore.
The discovery of the longitudes of places, the benefit of astronomy
and navigation, were thus the declared objects of the erecting of the
Greenwich Observatory, and of the appointment, in the person of
Flamsteed, of an astronomical observator with a salary of one hundred
pounds sterling a year, leaving him to provide himself with all the
instruments and books necessary for the performance of his duties.
And what were the first fruits of this institution? (1) An increased
accuracy of observation, by the attachment of telescopes to graduated
instruments, and by the use of a clock to note the time at which stars
and planets passed, by their apparent diurnal motion, across the mid-
dle of the field of view of the telescope. (2) A catalogue of the places
of 3,310 stars, with a name affixed to each of them, the selection and
nomenclature of which have served as the basis to every catalogue
since that time. Nor is it an uninteresting incident in the progressive
history of astronomical knowledge that when, 100 years later, Hersehel
discovered that the star which bears his name was a planet, he found
it as a fixed star upon the catalogue of Flamsteed. (3) Many of
Flamsteed's observations of the moon, reduced as well as was then
practicable, were, at Newton's request, communicated to him, to aid
in perfecting the theory deduced from the principle of universal grav-
itation. "The time," as has been well observed by the present astron-
omer royal, the Reverend George Biddell Airy, "the time at which
these observations were made was a most critical one when the most
accurate observations that had been made were needed for the support
of the most extensive philosophical theory that man had invented."
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 199
Since the death of Flamsteed, the office of astronomer royal has been
successively filled by Doctor Halley, who has given his name to the
most splendid comet of the solar system, by computing its orbit and
predicting its return after a period of about seventy -five years, already
twice verified; then by Bradley, immortalized by the two discoveries
of the aberration of light and the nutation of the earth's axis; by
Bliss, Maskelyne, and Pond; the present successor of whom is
Mr. Airy like all his predecessors, among the most eminent astron-
omers of the age. For the space of nearly two centuries this institu-
tion has existed and has been the seat of continuous observations,
scarcely interrupted by the intervals between the cessation of the
labors of one observator and the commencement of those of his suc-
cessor, an arrangement made by the means of assistants, which has
contributed to distinguish the system of observations pursued at
Greenwich from that followed at every other observatory.
From such small beginnings originated and thus illustrious has
been the career of the royal observatory of Greenwich. Originally
attached to the ordnance department, it was in 1816 or 1817 trans-
ferred to the department of the admiralty. The estimates for the
annual expense of the observatory are inserted under the "scientific
branch " of the admiralty account in the Parliamentary estimates and
are voted annually by Parliament.
The committee of the House take the liberty of annexing to this
report extracts of a communication from the present astronomer
royal, Mr. Airy, received in the course of the last summer by their
chairman, and containing much valuable information concerning the
royal observatory at Greenwich, and relating to other astronomical
observatories within the British dominions and under the patronage
of the British Government.
The history of the royal observatory of France would present an
exhibition not less interesting of the benefits conferred upon mankind
by the slightest notices bestowed by the rulers of mankind upon the
pursuit of knowledge; and the names of the four Cassinis would range
in honorable distinction by the side of those of Flamsteed, Halle}'.
Bradley, and Maskelyne.
Within the last century the other governments of Europe have
emulated with those of France and England in erecting and endowing
astronomical observatories, the number of which in that quarter of
the globe is not less at this time than 120, while throughout the whole
range of these United States there is not one.
In the British islands alone there are observatories at the univer-
sities of Cambridge and Oxford; at Edinburgh and Glasgow, in Scot-
land, and at Dublin and Armagh, in Ireland, all of which receive
some patronage from the Government. And, in addition to which,
there has been erected, under the same patronage, an observatory at
200 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the Cape of Good Hope, already made illustrious by the labors of Sir
John Herschel.
Among the munificent patrons of science, and particularly of prac-
tical astronomy, adding a brighter luster than that of the diamond or
the ruby to the imperial crown, is the present Emperor of all the
Russias. There was, during the reign of his predecessor, a small
observatory at St. Petersburg, at which the eminent German astrono-
mer Schubert, author of a profoundly learned and also of the best
popular system of astronomy extant, presided.
But no longer since than the 7th of August last the inauguration
took place of the new observatory of Pulkowa, near St. Petersburg,
a spot selected by the Emperor Nicholas himself for the establishment
founded under his auspices, and constituting perhaps the most perfect
and best appointed institution of this nature extant in the world. In
November last an account of this event, and a long and detailed
description of the observatory itself, was communicated by Mr. Arago
to the National Institute of France; and the reporter of this discourse
of Mr. Arago, in one of the periodical journals of Paris, observes that
its details would be read with interest and give an idea of the exer-
tions made in that land of serfs for the progress of the sciences. "We
acknowledge," adds the journalist, "that the reading of this article
would have been very little flattering to our national self-love if the
honorable Mr. Arago had not immediately informed us that, by the
accomplished labors of Mr. Gambay, the observatory of Paris has no
reason to shrink from a comparison with this new model of observa-
tories at Pulkowa."
The committee of the House can not but consider these circumstances
as indicating, in an eminent degree, that intense and ardent thirst for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge which, among all the nations
of Christendom, however politically governed, forms one of the most
remarkable characteristics of the age in which we live. Here is the
sovereign of the mightiest empire and the most absolute government
upon earth, ruling over a land of serfs, gathering a radiance of glory
around his throne by founding and endowing the most costly and most
complete establishment for astronomical observation on the face oi the
earth. This is undertaken and accomplished under hyperborean
skies in the region so proximate to the pole that it offers to the
inspection of the human eye only a scanty portion of the northern
hemisphere, with an atmosphere so chilled with cold, veiled w r ith clouds,
and obscured with vapors that it yields scarcely sixty days in the
year when observation of the heavenly bodies is practicable. And this
event is honorably noticed in the National Institute of France, one of
the most learned and talented assemblies of men upon the globe
noticed as an occurrence in the annals of science noticed for honor
and for emulation. The journalist of a free country, applauding the
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 201
exertions of a land of serfs to promote the progress of science, avows
that he should blush for his own country had he not at hand the evidence
of her exertions not less strenuous for the advancement of the same
cause.
The committee of the House, in applying to their own country that
sensibility to the national honor which the French journalist attributes
to self-love, would gladly seek for its gratification in the same assur-
ance that she is not lagging behind in the race of honor, but that, in
casting their eyes around over the whole length and breadth of their
native land, they must blush to acknowledge that not a single edifice
deserving the name of an astronomical observatory is to be seen.
The bill reported by the committee of this House, at the last session
of Congress, bears testimony to their earnest desire that this reproach
might be removed from the people of the North American Union.
That bill was unaccompanied with a report, because other views of the
disposal of the fund bequeathed to the United States by Mr. Smithson
had been entertained by the chairman of the joint committee on the
part of the Senate, in which views his colleagues of the same commit
tee acquiesced. As a compromise of irreconcilable opinions, it became
necessary, therefore, to agree that the two bills should be reported
together to both Houses; and as it was obvious that the remnant of
time to the close of that session would be so absorbed by other and
indispensable business that it would be impossible deliberately to
discuss either of the bills in the House, and to avoid, in deference
to the committee on the part of the Senate, and to their chairman, any
unnecessary display of argument against their bill, it was reported by
the committee of the House, together with their own bill, without
commentary upon either. The object of the chairman of the commit-
tee on the part of the Senate, for the disposal of the Smithsonian
fund, was the establishment of an institution of learning, or great
national university, by the authority of Congress, which would not
only absorb the whole bequest, but would require the superaddition
of large and frequent appropriations of public moneys for its main-
tenance and support. The bill of that committee, reported to the
Senate, was actually taken up in that body, and, after deliberate dis-
cussion of its merits, was by them rejected. The immediate conse-
quence of the interposition of that body upon a subject which had been
already several weeks under the consideration of a select committee of
this House, was to prevent the possible action of Congress for the ful-
fillment, at that session, of the trust committed to them.
Four members of the committee of the House, at the last session of
Congress, are also members of the present committee. Retaining
their opinions in favor of the bill then reported by the committee on
the part of the House, they see no cause to regret the delay to the
final action of Congress upon the disposal of the bequest, occasioned
202 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
by the appointment and proceedings of the joint committee of both
Houses at the last session. To the faithful performance by Congress
of the solemn duties imposed on them by the acceptance of this fund
and trust to the honor and pledged faith of the nation, it was wise and
just to do nothing with precipitation. The routine of the ordinary
business of Congress furnished neither principle nor precedent for
efficient legislation upon this subject; the trust was as delicate as it
was important to the memory of the testator, and honorable to the
good name of the trustee. An error in the first organization of the
institution might, in its consequences, at once defeat the noble purpose
of the founder, fail in the express object of his bounty the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men and react, most injuriously,
upon the reputation of our beloved country, by demonstrating to the
world of mankind, of this and after ages, that the generous confidence
of this friend of man in her upright and intelligent ardor in the pur-
suit of knowledge was misplaced.
It was in the true spirit of the bequest itself that the settlement of
the principles upon which the institution should be founded should be
calm and considerate, and, above all, disinterested; separated from all
projects of individuals, and, perhaps, communities, for provisions of
emolument to themselves; separated from all speculative, patent inven-
tions and discoveries in embryo, which, after wasting time and money
upon the false conceptions of genius, may never come to the birth;
separate, in fine, from all schools, colleges, universities, institutes of
education, or ecclesiastical establishments.
It was particularly desirable that the exclusion of all institutes for
education from a participation in the disposal of these funds should be
fully considered and debated before its adoption as a fundamental
principle of the Smithsonian Institution, because the first impression
upon the public mind, whether learned or illiterate, in this country,
very extensively, was, upon the first publication of Mr. Smithson's
will, that the express design of his bequest was to bestow his large
fortune to the cause of education; and that a school, college, or uni-
versity, was the only mode of providing for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men.
It is, then, to be considered as a circumstance propitious to the final
disposal of this fund, by the organization of an institution the best
adapted to accomplish the design of the testator, that this first but
erroneous impression of that design an institute of learning, a uni-
versity, upon the foundation of which the whole fund should be
lavished, and yet prove inadequate to its purpose without large appro-
priations of public moneys in its aid should have been presented to
the consideration of Congress, referred to a numerous joint commit-
tee of both Houses, there discussed, reported for the deliberation of
both Houses, fully debated in the House where it originated, and
there decisively rejected.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 203
This committee concur entirely in the opinion of the committee of
the House at the last session of Congress, that the express language of
Mr. Smithson's will indicates a design not only distinct, but widely
different from the schooling of children. Besides the reasons assigned
in the resolutions of the former committee for withholding any por-
tion of these funds from any institute of education, it is apparent that
the fund itself, large and liberal as it is, could be applied only to an
establishment extremely partial and limited, not only with regard to
the instruction to be given, but to the persons who could be benefited
by it. For a national university, besides the utter inadequateness of
the fund for such an establishment, all its benefits would necessarily
be confined to a very small number of students from the city of Wash-
ington and its immediate vicinity, together with a number scarcely
larger, who, at an expense which none but tbe wealthy could afford,
might resort from distant parts of the Union to Washington for learn-
ing, which, after all, they could acquire with equal proficiency in the
colleges of their own respective States. A school devoted to any par-
ticular branch of science as, for example, a military or naval school,
a farm school, or school of mechanic arts, a school of law, physic, or
divinity, a school of mines, of natural history, of metaphysics, litera-
ture, morals or politics however effective for teaching these several
branches of science, would be available only for a very small number
of individuals, and very ill-adapted to promote the increase and diffu-
sion of knowledge among men. If education had been the peculiar
object of Mr. Smithson's solicitude, it is natural to suppose that he
would have been desirous of diffusing the benefits of his institution
among all classes of the community as extensively as might be possi-
ble; that he would have devoted it to the endowment of primary
schools, of infant or Sunday schools, of institutions, in fine, where
the recipients of his bounty would have been at once in great numbers,
and of the class of society which preeminently needs the blessing of
elementary instruction. It would, no doubt, have been an excellent
disposal of his ample fortune, and would indirectly have contributed
to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. But had this
been his design, he could neither have located his institution at the
city of Washington nor have selected for trustees and agents to fulfill
his design the United States of America.
In proposing that an astronomical observatory should be the first
object for the application of the annual income from the Smithsonian
bequest, and that the appropriations should be confined to that object
until an establishment of that character shall be completed, not inferior
for efficiency to any other devoted to the same science in any part of
the world, this committee have been not altogether uninfluenced by
anticipations of the impression which it will make upon the reputation
of these United States throughout the learned and scientific world.
204 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
As a commercial and navigating nation, they stand already in the first
rank of Christian communities. To the science of geography, so far
as it can be improved by adventurous enterprise in exploring the
unfrequented paths of every ocean, they have contributed their share
of private and individual exertion. The expedition now floating upon
a distent sea in search of new discoveries upon the surface of the
globe, affords a signal testimonial of the interest taken by this Gov-
ernment in the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.
Nor has astronomy been wholly neglected in the instructions given for
the conduct of the expedition. But there exists no permanent estab-
lishment throughout the Union for systematic continual observation
of the phenomena of the heavens; for the mathematical calculations to
furnish the practical results of observation; and for periodical publi-
cation, for the benefit of the commercial, navigating, and scientific
world, of the fruits of this combined observation and calculation. To
supply this deficiency, the bequest of James Smithson fortunately
furnishes the means, without needing the assistance of any contribu-
tion from the public funds of the nation. Should the Government of
the Union, responding to an impulse of emulation in laudable pursuits
which may be kindled in the minds of this ambitious people by suc-
cessful results in the application of the Smithsonian funds, hereafter
be disposed to appropriate some portion of the moneys levied upon
the people themselves to the advancement of astronomical or geo-
graphical knowledge, there will be ample field for demonstrating to
the world that the United States of America were not only worthy of
the honor done them by a generous foreigner in selecting them as
the administrators of his bequest for the improvement of the condition
of man, but that the American people themselves will require a liberal
application of their own revenues, levied upon themselves, to the same
lofty-spirited purpose. The committee are of opinion that it will
be expedient to keep the Smithsonian bequest within itself, resting
upon its own resources, and reserving to the memory of the founder
himself whatever of credit or of gratitude may be due to the success-
ful accomplishment of his benevolent design. Not a ray of glory can
be concentrated upon him but will be reflected back upon those whom
he selected as his administrators and trustees.
With these observations, the committee submit the bill and proposed
amendments to the consideration of the House:
SECTION 1 . Be it enacted etc.., That the Vice-Preaident of the United States, the Chief
Justice of the United States, the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, and
of the Navy, the Attorney-General of the United States, and the mayor of the city
of Washington, all during the time when they shall hold their respective offices,
together with three members of the Senate and four members of the House of Rep-
resentatives, to be annually elected by their respective Houses on the second Wednes-
day of December, and to continue in office until others are elected in their stead,
shall be, and hereby are, constituted a body politic and corporate, by the style and
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 205
title of the trustees of the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men, with perpetual succession, and the usual powers, duties, and
liabilities incident to corporations.
SET. 2. And be it further enacted, That the corporation so constituted shall have
power to appoint, from citizens of the United States other than members of the board,
a secretary and a treasurer, to hold their offices during the pleasure of the board, and
removable at their pleasure, and others to be appointed in their places, and to fix
their compensations. And the secretary and treasurer only shall receive pecuniary
compensation for their services, and those of the members of the board of trustees
shall be gratuitous. And the offices of secretary and treasurer may, at the discretion
of the board of trustees, be held by the same person. The secretary and treasurer
shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their respective offices; and the
treasurer shall give bond, with the penalty of $50,000 with sureties to the satisfaction
of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the safe custody and faithful application of all
the funds of the Institution which may come to his hands or be at his disposal.
SBC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $508,318.46 placed in the Treasury
of the United States on the first day of September, 1838, as the proceeds, in part, of
the bequest of James Smithson to the United States, together with all sums which
have been or may hereafter be realized, shall be passed hereafter to the credit of a
fund, to be denominated the Smithsonian fund, in the Treasury of the United
States. And the faith of the United States is hereby pledged for the preservation
of the said fund undiminished and unimpaired, to bear interest at the rate of six
per cent a year, payable on the first days of January and July to the treasurer of the
board of trustees of the Smithsonian fund, to be applied to the purposes of the fund,
conformably to the laws, and subject to the revision and regulations of the board of
trustees.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no part of the said Smithsonian fund, princi-
pal or interest, shall be applied to any school, college, university, institute of educa-
tion, or ecclesiastical establishment.
SEC-. 5. And be it further enacted, That the appropriations to be made from time to
time by Congress, to the purposes of the Smithsonian Institution, as declared by the
testator, shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and not from the principal,
of the said fund: Provided, That Congress shall retain the power of investing, at their
discretion, the principal of said fund in any other manner so as to secure not less than
a yearly interest of six per cent.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $30,000, part of the first year's
interest accruing on the same Smithsonian fund, be, and the same is hereby, appro-
priated towards the erection and establishment, at the city of Washington, of an
astronomical observatory adapted to the most effective and continual observations
of the phenomena of the heavens; to be provided with the necessary, best, and
most perfect instruments and books for the periodical publication of the said observa-
tions and for the annual composition and publication of a nautical almanac.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said observatory shall be erected under
the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of the
President of the United States. And the site for the same shall be selected upon land
in the city of Washington belonging to the United States; and the land necessary for
the same, and for any other buildings proper to be connected with the said observa-
tory and the appurtenances thereof, is hereby granted, and shall be duly conveyed,
as a deed of gift, to the trustees of the Smithsonian fund, and to their successors for-
ever, in aid of the purposes of the said Institution.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said board shall
be subject to the approval of the President of the United States; and all the accounts
thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and audited, under his
direction, by the proper officers of the Treasury Department; and the said board shall
206 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
report to Congress, at every session thereof, the state of the Smithsonian fund and a
full statement of their receipts and expenditures during the preceding year.
SEC. 9. And tie it further enacted, That the first meeting of the trustees of the Smith-
sonian fund shall be held at the city of Washington on the third of
next; and that, in the meantime, the custody of the said fund, and the expenditures
under the appropriation herein made, shall be held and authorized by the Secretary of
the Treasury, subject to the approbation of the President of the United States.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a board of visitors, to be annu-
ally appointed, consisting of nine members; two of whom to be commissioned officers
of the Army, to l>e appointed by the Secretary of War; two commissioned officers of
the Navy, to be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy; the mayors for the time being
of the cities of Alexandria and of Georgetown, within the District of Columbia; and one
citizen of each of the cities of Washington, and Alexandria, and Georgetown, to be
appointed by the President of the United States, Avho shall meet on the first Monday
of February, at eleven o'clock, before noon, at the said astronomical observatory,
and visit and inspect the condition of the said observatory, and of the Smithsonian
Institution generally. They shall choose among themselves a chairman, and shall
make report to the President of the United States of the said condition of the institu-
tion, specifically indicating in what respect the institution has, during the preceding
year, contributed to the purpose of the founder the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men. To this board the astronomical observator shall make a report to
the same effect, so far as regards the astronomical branch of the institution; which
report shall be annexed to that of the board to the President of the United States,
who shall communicate the said reports to Congress. The services of the members
of the said board shall be gratuitous; but the expenses incidental to their meeting
and the performance of their duties shall be included in the annual estimates of the
War and Navy Departments, alternately, and paid from the contingent expenses
thereof respectively.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing, any of the provisions of this act, which
shall be found inconvenient upon experience: Provided, That no contract or indi-
vidual right, made or acquired under such provisions, shall thereby be impaired or
divested.
SEC. 12. And be it furtJier enacted, That the sum of $60,000 from the second and
third years' interest of the Smithsonian bequest be, and the same is hereby, appro-
priated, to be invested so as to yield a yearly income at the rate of six per cent a
year; from which yearly income shall be paid the compensation of an astronomical
>bservator, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate of the United States, and the incidental and contingent expenses of
repairs upon the buildings, as they may be required.
APPENDIX TO REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE.
Estimate of the expense of erecting an astronomical observatory of the first class, and of sup-
porting it by appropriations from the income of the Smithsonian fund.
In the letter of October 11, 1838, to the Secretary of State, communicated to Con-
gress with the message of the President of the 6th of December of that year, a
conjectural estimate was given of the expense of establishing and maintaining a per-
manent astronomical observatory, and of the periodical publication of the results of
the observations there made, and of a nautical almanac. That estimate contemplated
the income of seven years of the fund as indispensably necessary for completing and
organizing the establishment in such manner as to avoid all encroachment on the
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 207
capital of the Smithsonian fund; to increase it by providing from its income perma-
nent funds for the discharge of the most of constantly accruing expenditures incident
to it; and to relieve the fund itself forever after from any further contribution to this
branch of the institution.
Further reflection and the information received of the expenses actually chargeable
upon the Greenwich Observatory, and defrayed by the British Government, have
led to the conclusion that the estimate was yet not sufficiently liberal; and that, for
the accomplishment of the above purposes, not less than ten years of the income will
be required exclusively for this object. But of this large sum an overbearing pro-
portion will, while providing for all the necessary expenses of the establishment, at
the same time increase the capital of the fund by the value of the buildings erected,
and of the instruments and books purchased, and by the amount of the funds, from
the interest of which the observing astronomer, his assistants, and all the persons to
be employed in the service of the observatory, shall receive their compensation.
The following is a gross estimate of the sums which, it is believed, will be required for
the full execution of the plan presented in the bill herewith reported:
ESTIMATE CF THE APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE ANNUAL INCOME OF THE SMITHSONIAN
FUND, ASSUMED TO BE $30,000.
For the purchase of land and construction of the necessary buildings one
year $30, 000
For a fund, from the yearly income of which the compensation of the
observing astronomer shall be paid, two years 60, 000
The interest of this sum will be $3,600 a year, of which $3,000 a year
may be fixed as the salary of the astronomer, and $600 for the inciden-
tal and contingent expenses of repairs upon the buildings, as they may
be required.
For a fund, from the yearly income of w T hich four assistants to the astron-
omer, and two laborers necessary for attendance on him, for the care and
preservation of the buildings four years .' 120, 000
The income would be $7,200 a year, of which $6,000 a year might be
for the compensation of four assistants, at $1,500 a year each, and two
laborers, each at $600 a year.
For the purchase and procurement of instruments one year 30, 000
Of this, $20,000 might be applied to furnish an assortment of the best
instruments to be procured, and $10,000 a fund, from the interest of
which other instruments may be from time to time procured, as occa-
sions for the use of them may arise, and for repairs of the instruments,
as needed.
For the library one year 30, 000
$10,000 for first supply; $20,000 for a fund for an income of $1,200 a
year, for a constant supply of new works and periodical publications
upon science in other parts of the world, or in America.
Estimate for a fund, from the income of which $1,800 a year shall be
defrayed the expense of the yearly publication of the observations, and
of a nautical almanac one year 30, 000
John Q. Adams to Christopher Hughes.
WASHINGTON, April 10, 1839.
DEAR SIR: I wish to obtain information upon the following points relating to the
royal observatory at Greenwich:
1. By whom, and at whose expense, was the royal observatory at Greenwich
built? At whose expense is it maintained?
208 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
2. What art- the buildings connected with it, and how much land is there around
it belonging to it?
3. Has it at any time been rebuilt, or has its construction been in any wise altered?
4. By whom is the astronomer royal appointed and paid? What is the amount
of his compensation?
5. What are his duties and in what manner are they prescribed? Is there a
standing instruction to regulate his observations? Is he required to make reports;
and if so, to whom?
6. Are there any other persons attached to the observatory as assistants, calcula-
tors, or servants? If so, what are their duties and their compensation?
7. What are the instruments used at the observatory? By whom, and at whose
expense, are they furnished? What was their cost, and by whom were they made?
A list of them, with their prices, and their maker's name, would be very acceptable.
8. Is there any library belonging to the establishment? If so, consisting of what
books?
9. Who is now the most eminent mathematical and astronomical instrument
maker in London? Is, there any successor to Troughton?
If you can obtain me any information of the same, or similar particulars with
regard to any of the public observatories in any part of the Continent of Europe, I
shall owe you another obligation for the communication of them.
I am, my dear sir, with the highest esteem and respect, your friend and servant,
JOHN Q. ADAMS.
CHRISTOPHER HUGHES, Esq.
Ansurrs f>if the Astronomer Royal, the Rev. George B. Airy, to Mr. Adams's ffimxlioiix,
dated April 10, 1839.
1. The royal observatory at Greenwich was built, at the expense of the Govern-
ment, in the reign of Charles II (about 1670), and the buildings have always been
repaired or extended at the expense of the Government. The instruments used by
Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal, were not furnished by the Government and
were taken away by his executors. Since that time the instruments have always
been furnished by the Government, except in two instances where instruments have
been presented. The observations are now printed at the expense of the Govern-
ment. Thus every expense connected with the observatory is defrayed by the
Government. The observatory was at first connected with the ordnance department
of the executive (I believe from the accidental circumstance that Sir Jonas Moor,
the personal friend of Flamsteed and one of the original proposers of the observa-
tory, was then master-general of the ordnance). In the year 1816 or 1817 it was
transferred to the admiralty department. The estimates for the annual expense of
the observatory are inserted under the "scientific branch" of the admiralty account
in the Parliamentary estimates and are voted annually by Parliament.
In the original institution of the observatory no provision was made for the print-
ing of the observations or for the communication of the results to the public in any
way, and no obligation to that effect was imposed on the astronomer royal. When
Flamsteed had held the office about thirty years and had published nothing, the
Royal Society applied to the Queen to appoint a board of visitors (one of them being
Sir Isaac Newton, the president of the Royal Society) to superintend the observatory
generally and with power to require a publication of the observations. (For a full
detail of the quarrel which followed I would refer to Baily's Account of the Life,
etc., of John Flamsteed, which may probably be found in the libraries of the scien-
tific bodies in America. ) An edition of the observations was printed by them; but
another edition was afterwards printed by Flamsteed himself. Halley, the next
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 209
astronomer royal, printed nothing of observations. Bradley and Bliss left manu-
scripts; but the right of the Government to them was disputed, and they were ulti-
mately printed by the University of Oxford. It was not till 1767, on Maskelyne'a
accession, that the King (George III), on the petition of the Royal Society, ordered
that the observations should be printed annually; and since that time there has
been no doubt that the observations are the property of the Government and are to
be printed annually.
The board of visitors above alluded to existed without alteration (as I believe) till
1830; and it was by that board (as I imagine) that representations were made to the
Government which led to the purchase of instruments in Halley's time, to the regu-
lar printing of the observations in Maskelyne's time, etc. The president and council
of the Royal Society (or part of them), with a number of persons invited by them,
either fellows of the society or strangers, met once a year at the royal observatory,
inspected the instruments, and discussed the general business of the observatory.
They had, I believe, no power except to recommend measures to the executive.
The meeting was rather numerous. In 1830 the old board was abolished and a new
one appointed by name from the Royal and Astronomical societies. 1 Vacancies are
filled up by the president of that society in which the vacancies occur. This board
has no power to invite assessors; its powers as to making representations, etc., are
the same as those of the old board. On the first appointment of the new board
there was exhibited in it a rather vexatious spirit toward the then astronomer royal,
Mr. Pond. Since my appointment as astronomer royal the board has scarcely inter-
fered in anything, except in matters which I have myself suggested.
The visitors receive no pay. Lately it has been ordered that their bare expenses
be paid.
I have given a rather comprehensive answer to No. 1, touching upon the subjects
of other questions, and embracing points not at all alluded to in the questions,
because, probably, there is no other active institution whose history serves so well
to suggest the points to which attention ought to be given in founding a new institu-
tion of similar character, as well as the amount of the charges which, in future years,
may be required in all the branches of the institution.
I omitted to mention that the astronomer royal's account of disbursements, and
bills for expenses of all kinds connected with the observatory, were formerly audited
by the board of visitors. This audit was found to be insufficient; and the accounts
are now transmitted, in the same way as those of any other department under the
admiralty, to the Government offices.
2. For a plan of the building first erected, I refer again to Baily's "Account, etc.,"
cited above. There were a small house, one large room above it, covering nearly
the whole hoase, with lofty windows on all sides, intended, I suppose, for gazing
astronomical observations (but quite useless for the purposes of modern astronomy),
a garden or lawn about 80 feet square, and a small low building in one corner of it,
in which Flamsteed's really useful instruments were placed. The place was very
small. The situation, in the middle of the royal park of Greenwich, has probably
prevented the necessity for inclosure so large as would elsewhere be required, inas-
much as it was impossible that houses could be built close to the inclosure. The
history in Halley's time is so defective that I am not certain whether the building,
which is to this time the principal observing building, was erected then or not,
but I should think that it was. It was certainly erected before 1750, when Bradley's
regular observations begin. It consists of a room about 20 feet square for the transit,
1 With a few official persons, as the presidents of the two societies, two professors
of the University of Oxford, and two professors of the University of Cambridge, ex
officio; the whole number of the visitors being about 19. This fluctuates, because
all ex-presidents are members of the board.
H. Doc. 732 U
210 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and a similar room for the quadrants (both on the ground floor and with no rooms
above them) , and a central computing room, with room for an assistant above. It
is not connected with the dwelling house. When this was erected the inclosure
was nearly doubled. In Dr. Maskelyne's time two small detached rooms were cov-
ered with" revolving domes for equatorial instruments. Their situation is particularly
unfavorable. In the beginning of Dr. Maskelyne's time the dwelling house was
extended. About the end of Dr. Maskelyne's time the observing building was
extended in preparation fora mural circle, which was not erected till after his death,
and some new buildings were erected for library, etc., and for assistants' apart-
ments. A building was erected, to be covered with a revolving dome (called the
south dome) . An addition was made to the inclosure. The whole inclosure was now
about half an acre. It covered the whole of the small steep hill on which the observ-
atory stands, quite to the isthmus or neck that connects it with the table-land of the
higher side of the park. About 1817 part of the steep dell behind the hill was
inclosed as a garden for the astronomer royal. In 1837 part of the table-land
beyond the dell was inclosed for the erection of a magnetic observatory. The
dwelling house, which was too small, was enlarged in 1836. Thus the present state
of the buildings and grounds (1839) is nearly as follows: Whole inclosure about 2}
acres, of which 1 acre or more can never be available for buildings on account of the
steepness of the ground, and is used as a garden and waste ground. Whole set of
buildings: (1) Dwelling house of the astronomer royal, with the great room above
part of it; (2) two domes (east and west domes), detached; (3) detached range of
buildings, including Flamsteed's small room, the quadrant room (not used now), the
transit room, the circle room, the library, the chronometer room, the south dome,
the computing room, some assistants' apartments (not for their dwelling, but for
their comfort or repose in the intervals of observation); (4) magnetic observatory,
detached; (5) carpenter's shop, gardener's shop, and other outhouses.
The extent of ground would not be sufficient if there were not the safety from being
surrounded by buildings which is given by the locality within a royal park.
3. The construction of the observatory has been altered almost entirely by addi-
tions. Nearly the whole of the original work remains. The collection of buildings
is now exceedingly irregular and in some respects inconvenient.
4. The astronomer royal is appointed by the first lord of the treasury ; but his con-
nection with the admiralty is so close that the first lord of the admiralty probably has
the principal influence in his appointment. He holds his office by warrant under
the sign manual of the sovereign. The salary was formerly 100. Bradley and Bliss
both held it with professorships at Oxford; but the salary has gradually been raised
and is now 800 (subject to a deduction for a fund for superannuation), and it is
expected that the astronomer royal shall hold no other office.
5. The duties of the astronomer royal are not very definite; but undoubtedly he
is to attend to the main points of astronomy to the best of his judgment rather than
to anything of a discursive nature. The appointment originated in the desire of dis-
covering means of finding the longitude at sea, and therefore anything applying to
longitude would specially require his attention. In this way the trials of chronome-
ters first became a part of his duty, from which by degrees it arose that the care and
regular supply of chronometers for the royal navy were imposed upon him, to the
great injury of the astronomical efficiency of the observatory. Lately, the chronome-
ter business has been confined to rating the chronometers on trial for purchase or
navy chronometers brought on shore, with occasional supplies of chronometers to
ships by direction of the admiralty, and with general superintendence of the repairs.
The duties are prescribed, first, by the Queen's warrant, which merely directs the
astronomer to apply himself with diligence to observing the heavenly bodies for find-
ing out the so-much-desired longitude at sea (the same words as in the warrant
originally given to Flamsteed); second, by the official instructions given by the
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 211
admiralty board ( who have been empowered to issue instructions by the Queen in
council), which enter a little more minutely into the duties, but necessarily leave the
course of astronomical observations very indefinite. 1
The board of admiralty sometimes call on the astronomer royal for a report, but
it is rather upon such matters as the state of the buildings and instruments, the con-
duct of the assistants, etc. , than upon the nature of the astronomical observations.
I have myself introduced the rule of reading a report to the board of visitors at
their annual meeting at the observatory, applying as well to the astronomical labors
as to the general occurrences at the observatory; and this report they have each
year ordered to be printed. (Copies accompany this paper.) If this custom be
continued there will probably be found a more complete series of annuals of the
observatory than has hitherto existed.
6. Besides the astronomer royal there are six assistants and a laborer, and a
watchman; also a gate porter (some old sailor from Greenwich hospital). The
duties of the assistants are to observe and compute, entirely under the direction of
the astronomer royal. None of these persons reside within the precincts of the
observatory or even within the park. They find houses for themselves, from the
salaries mentioned below (part of the salary being considered as compensation for
want of dwelling house).
The salaries are: First assistant, 350; second assistant, 220 (in future instances
this is to be 190); third assistant, 190; fourth, fifth, and sixth assistants, 130
each; laborer, 43; gate porter, 15 12s.; watchman, 32 10s.
7. The instruments in use at this time are: A transit instrument 10 feet long,
constructed by Trough ton, bought by the Government; price, I think, 300.
Mural circle, 6 feet diameter, constructed by Troughton, bought by the Govern-
ment; price, I believe, 600. 2
Zenith tube, or zenith sector, of small range, for the observation of Draconis only,
which passes very near to the zenith of Greenwich; purchased by the Government.
I know not the price.
The eastern equatorial, or Shuckburg's equatorial, constructed by Ramsden;
presented by Lord Liverpool.
The western equatorial; a very worthless instrument.
The southern equatorial, or Sheepshanks' s equatorial. The object-glass made by a
Parisian artist (I think by Cauchoix); presented by the Rev. R. Sheepshanks; the
mounting by Mr. T. Grubb, of Dublin, at the expense of the Government; its cost,
205.
Several telescopes; prices unknown some probably exceeding 100.
Several clocks; the most expensive cost, I believe, 200.
I ought not to omit that there is machinery for raising a large ball (5 feet in
diameter), on the top of the house, and dropping it precisely at 1 o'clock every day
as a signal by which the chronometers on board the ships in the River Thames may
be rated. It was erected at the expense of the Government; I know not the cost.
Besides these, there is the magnetic apparatus, yet imperfect; the expense hitherto
incurred has been 30 or 40.
8. There is a library, covering the walls of a room 20 feet square. It consists
principally of the transactions of societies, of mathematical and astronomical works,
works on the literature of astronomy, nautical astronomy, voyages, etc. In these
respects it is a very good library. It has been collected partly at the expense of the
Government, and partly from the presents of private persons and official bodies.
1 The board of visitors are empowered by their warrant, under the royal sign man-
ual, to direct the astronomer royal to make such observations as they may think fit;
but I am not aware that they have ever exercised this power.
'* Another mural circle of the same size, constructed by Jones, has lately been sent
from the royal observatory to the Cape of Good Hope.
212 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
9. The best instrument makers in London at the present time are William Simms
(successor of Troughton, formerly his partner), 136 Fleet street; Thomas Jones, 62
Charing Cross; George Dolland, 59 St. Paul's churchyard. Dolland is principally
known for his telescopes and optical instruments; he has had little experience in the
construction of large graduated instruments. I know no maker who can be consid-
ered as successor to Troughton in originality and boldness of ideas.
The whole annual expense of the observatory to the Government, including sal-
aries, additions and repairs to buildings, additions and repairs to instrument*?, and
printing, exceeds 3,000.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION RELATING TO OTHER OBSERVATORIES.
1. The observatory at Cambridge was built partly by private subscription, partly
by grant from the funds of the university, in 1820, at an expense of about 20,000.
It is maintained at the expense of the university.
That at Oxford, I believe, was built from the funds l>equeathed for that purpose
by Dr. Radcliffe.
Those at Edinburgh and Glasgow were commenced by private subscription and
afterwards assisted by the Government.
That at Armagh was built from funds bequeathed.
That at Dublin in like manner.
I know not how those at Oxford, Armagh, and Dublin are maintained, but I believe
that the salaries of the observers, as well as the general support and repairs of the
buildings and instruments, are defrayed from the bequests.
2. In the whole of these (Glasgow excepted, which is not much advanced) there
is a dwelling house for the astronomer, and in some there are dwellings for assistants,
connected in all cases by building under the same roof, or by inclosed passages, with
the observatory.
The inclosure of land about the Cambridge observatory is 7 acres.
That at Oxford, a field perhaps not so large.
That at Dublin, about 30 acres.
The new Russian observatory at Pulkowa, about 50 acres.
3. I do not think that either of the observatories which I have mentioned has
undergone great alteration. The Cambridge observatory, built in 1820, has not itself
undergone any alteration, but on occasions of the presentation of a large telescope
(20 feet long and 12 inches in aperture) a new detached building was erected for it.
I may remark that the Cambridge observatory was built on a plan architecturally
symmetrical, which arrangement I should deprecate in any new observatory on
account of the difficulties which it presents to all future alterations.
4. The astronomer at Cambridge is the Plumian professor. This officer is elected
by the trustees of the estate bequeathed by a Dr. Plume, and is paid by the rent of
the estate, amounting to about 300 per annum. When I was elected to that office
in 1827, I represented to the senate of the Cambridge University that this sum was
not sufficient remuneration for the duties of the observatory, and the senate increased
the payment to 500 by annual grant from the funds of the university.
The astronomers at Oxford and Dublin are appointed by the trustees of certain
estates, and are paid from their rents. I believe that the astronomer at Armagh is
elected and paid in the same manner.
For the appointment of the astronomer at Edinburgh the consent of the Govern-
ment is necessary. I know not how he is paid.
5. I do not think that in any of these instances there is any distinct set of instruc-
tions or definition of duties. At Cambridge there is a board of visitors which meets
at least three times in each year at the observatory, one of these meetings being
attended also by other members of the university and strangers. I introduced at
Cambridge the custom of reading a report to the visitors at each regular meeting.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 213
The visitors are required to make a report once a year to the senate of the
university.
In instituting a new observatory it appears to me very desirable that there should
be appointed a body like the board of visitors at Greenwich and at Cambridge, with
power to require reports from the astronomer and perhaps to direct him in some
degree, and with the duty of reporting to the governing body.
The visitors of the Cambridge Observatory are all members of the senate of the uni-
versity. The visitors of the Greenwich Observatory are persons living in different
parts of England.
6. At Cambridge Observatory there are two assistants and a laborer.
At the Cape of Good Hope the same.
At Edinburgh, Dublin, and Armagh, I believe, one assistant each.
Their duties are to observe and to calculate, under the direction of the astronomer.
The salaries of the Cambridge assistants are, I think, 80 each per annum, with
apartments.
7. The instruments at Cambridge Observatory are:
A mural circle, 8 feet in diameter, made by Troughton; price, 1,050.
A transit instrument, 10 feet long, made by Dolland; price, I believe, 600.
An equatorial 5-foot telescope, made by Jones; price, about 750 (many complaints
of this price) .
Several small instruments, telescopes, etc.
Three clocks; one cost 100 to 120.
A 20-foot telescope, presented by the Duke of Northumberland.
At Oxford there are some quadrants, not used; and also a circle, 4 feet diameter,
made by Jones; and an old transit.
At Edinburgh: A mural circle, 4 feet in diameter, made by Simms; and a transit,
made by Repsold, of Hamburg.
At Armagh: A mural circle, 4 feet in diameter, made by Jones; and a transit
(maker not known) .
At Dublin: An altitude and azimuth instrument; the vertical circle, 8 feet in diam-
eter, made by Ramsden; and a transit.
I may remark that, in the construction of instruments, expense may frequently be
avoided by leaving some points to the discretion of the instrument maker. As
an instance: When I superintended the equatorial mounting of the 20-foot telescope
at Cambridge I found occasion for a 5-foot circle, and I directed it to be cast in, one
piece of bell metal. It appears to answer perfectly well. Mr. Simms is quite satis-
fied with it, and thinks it possible that it might be made, at still less expense, of
cast iron. Since that time Mr. Simms has had, I believe, two orders for large cir-
cles; and when I have urged him to have each cast in one piece he has expressed
his wish to do so; but has informed me that his orders were to make them "like the
Greenwich circles," and has therefore considered himself compelled to put them
together in many pieces, in the same way as the Greenwich circles, at much greater
expense than would have been implied in the construction mentioned above.
G. B. AIRY.
JUNE 8, 1839.
Since writing the answers above, I have received from Mr. Simms the following
list of prices:
The mural circles for Greenwich, Cracow, Brussels, Edinburgh, and Lucknow, are
all of the same dimensions (6 feet in diameter) , and were all made by Troughton.
The price in each case was 735. Mr. Simms states at this price there was no profit
(Troughton was wholly regardless of profit in constructing these instruments) , and
that he would not like to undertake one for less than 900.
Thi> mural circle for Cambridge, 8 feet in diameter, was made by Troughton for
1,050.
214 CONGRESSIONAE PROCEEDINGS.
Troughton was paid for the Greenwich transit 315, which sum did not include
the object glass. Mr. Simms states that the cost now would be 450 guineas for the
instrument complete. Its length is 10 feet.
Troughton received for the Brussels equatorial 450 guineas; but this was too little;
it ought to have been 600. (I think that the length of the telescope is 5 feet; the
diameter of the declination circle, 3 feet; and that of the hour circle, 2 feet, or 2
feet.)
A very good clock for Lucknow cost 80. An inferior clock 28.
G. B. AIRY.
JUNE 11, 1839.
Mr. ADAMS then reproduced the messages of the President and the
correspondence between Mr. Rush, the agent of the United States, and
Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State, concerning the action taken to secure
the bequest, all of which appears in its proper place.
A motion was made by Mr. JAMES MONROE that 5,000 extra copies
of the report above, made by Mr. Adams, and of the reports of com-
mittees heretofore made, with the other papers in relation to the sub-
ject, be printed for the use of the members.
March 19, 1840 House.
A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting statements
of moneys invested in the stocks of the several States, was read and
laid upon the table:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 17, 1840.
SIR: This report is submitted in obedience to a resolution of the House of Repre-
sentatives of the 9th instant, directing the Secretary of the Treasury to furnish "a
statement of all the public moneys of the United States invested in the stocks of the
several States, specifying the amount invested in the stocks of each State; the
authority by which each investment was made; the terms and rate of interest of each
contract; the security received for the payment of interest and principal of each debt;
the rate per centum given in the purchase of the bonds; and the market value of the
bonds at the times of the respective investments, and at the present time." I have
the honor to state that this Department is not aware that any "of the public moneys
of the United States," held in their own right, are "invested in the stocks of the
several States." But some of the moneys held in trust by the United States have
been invested in such stocks, either by agreement with those possessing the legal
title, such as treaty stipulations with Indian tribes; or by authority of acts of Con-
gress, such as that of the 7th of July, 1838, concerning the moneys received on
account of the Smithsonian bequest.
*******
There are no means here for ascertaining the market value of the State stocks at
any particular time with accuracy. Sales of such stocks are rarely entered in the
reports of stock operations at the boards of the brokers in the principal cities; and
extensive and tedious correspondence would alone enable me to give a near approxi-
mation to their worth at the periods of these numerous purchases. On examination
of the files of a New York price current, from 1836 to the present date (being the
only paper quoting the price of stocks preserved in this Department), not one-fourth
of the State stocks held here could be found, and not a single quotation at the time
the bonds were purchased. But all of the stocks purchased here were obtained at
the lowest price they could be had at the time, it having been an invariable rule
when funds were received which the Department was authorized to invest, to address
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841.
215
letters to ?uch persons in the principal cities as were supposed to have stocks for sale,
notifying them of the fact and allowing time to receive their offers, after which a
contract was made for such as were offered on terms found to be most advantageous
for the trust, having regard, in determining that fact, to the interest the stock yielded
and the length of time before its maturity. The price given, the par value, the rate
of interest, and the authority for each purchase will appear in the tables annexed.
In respect to the security for the payment of the interest and principal of the
stocks, none other was asked beyond the guaranty of the respective States in the acts
authorizing the issue of the stocks.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. R. M. T. HCNTER,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Statement of the moneys invested in State stocks neld in trust by the Treasury Department,
showing the time of the respective investments, amount invested in the stocks of each Stale,
rate of interest on bonds in each contract, rale at which stock was purchased, and authority
by which each investment was made, etc.
Time of the respective
investments.
Amount invested in the stocks of each State.
Rate of
interest
on bonds
in each
contract.
Rate
per cent at
which
bonds were
purchased.
* * *
183 1 * September
* * * *
$500 000 00 \rkanas bonds
6
6
6
6
6
99ft
100
100
98f
73
November
December
1839, July
8, 000. 00 Michigan bonds
10 000 00 Arkansas bonds
13, 000. 00 Arkansas bonds
1840, February
26 000. 00 Illinois bonds
Authority by which the investments were made. Act of July 7, 1838, authorizing the investment of the
Smithsonian bequest.
Security received for the payment of interest and principal of each debt. Guaranty of the State. f
Market price at the time of purchase. No means of ascertaining accurately.
Market price at the present time. No means of ascertaining accurately.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 16, 1840.
March 23, 1840 House.
Mr. JAMES MONROE, of New York, moved resolution, which was
read and laid on the table one day:
Resolved, That 5,000 additional copies of the report on the Smithsonian bequest
be published for the use of the members of this House.
Mr. GEORGE W. TOLAND moved that 4,000 extra copies of the report
of the select committee on the Smithsonian bequest be printed for the
use of the members.
February 10, 1841 Senate.
Mr. LINN presented bill (S. 245) to appoint trustees for the invest-
ment of the Smithsonian fund:
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretaries of the State, the Treasury, the War, and the
Navy Departments, the Attorney -General, and the Postmaster-General, be, and they
210 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
are hereby, constituted trustees of the Smithsonian fund, with power to invest the
same in safe public funds, and to change said investment when, in their judgment, it
may be desirable: Prodded, however, That said trustees shall, under no circumstances,
diminish or expend the principal of said fund; but that all expenses of investments
of said fund, or for other purposes, as provided by law, shall be paid out of the
interest which has accrued, or which may accrue, from said fund.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That said trustees shall have power to appoint a
treasurer and secretary to the board of trustees, who shall give bond in the penal sum
of dollars for the faithful performance of his duties, and shall be removable
from office at the pleasure of the board of trustees, and shall be entitled to receive
a compensation for his services not exceeding dollars per annum. The said
treasurer and secretary shall perform his duties under the direction of the board of
trustees, and shall render his accounts quarterly to the Treasury Department. The
proceedings of said board shall be reported annually to Congress; and their transac-
tions, books, and papers, shall be open to such investigations, and the board shall
answer such inquiries, in relation to their official action, as Congress, or a resolution
of either House, shall from time to time direct.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Smithsonian Institution shall consist of
one superintendent, who shall receive a compensation of dollars per annum,
and six professors, each of whom shall receive a compensation of dollars per
annum. The foregoing named officers to be appointed in the following manner: The
National Institution for the promotion of science, established in the city of Wash-
ington, shall nominate said officers to the President, to be, if approved by him, sub-
mitted to the Senate for its advice and consent. The said superintendent and
professors shall hold their offices during the term of four years, and perform such
duties as shall be designated by the said National Institution. The said institution
shall also prescribe the duties of such officers, as it may find necessary to appoint, for
the preservation of the buildings, grounds, and other property belonging to the
institution: Provided, however, That no greater number of such officers shall be
appointed than shall be approved by the President of the United States, and at no
higher compensations, than he shall approve: And provided also, That all contingent
expenses necessary in the execution of the duties of said officers, shall be approved
by the Secretary of State, and the President of the aforesaid National Institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the land owned by the United States, in
the city of Washington, situated , and known by the name of the Mall,
be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the uses of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. The buildings for said institution shall be erected thereon, and in which shall
be preserved the philosophical instruments, apparatus, and collections necessary to
promote the objects of the institution. And all collections of works of art and of
natural history, owned by the United States, not otherwise assigned, shall be depos-
ited in said buildings; and for the transportation and arrangement of the same, the
sum of $5,000 is hereby appropriated out of the Treasury of the United States, to be
expended under the direction of the president and directors of the National Institu-
tion: Provided, however, That the grounds herein assigned to the institution shall be
kept open to the public, free from all charge, but under such regulations as the
preservation of the property shall require: And provided also, That the plan of the
buildings herein authorized shall be prepared by the National Institution, and shall
be submitted to the President of the United States, and upon receiving his approba-
tion, shall be erected under the superintendence of the National Institution; the said
buildings, collections, and grounds, shall be under the general supervision of the
National Institution.
Referred to Committee on Library.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 217
February 17, 1841 Senate.
Mr. W. C. PRESTON, from the Committee on the Library, to whom
was referred the bill (S. 245) to appoint trustees for the investment of
the Smithsonian fund, reported it without amendment, and also the
following bills as substitutes therefor:
S. 258. Bill to incorporate within the District of Columbia the
National Institution for the promotion of science.
S. 259. Bill to invest the proceeds of the Smithsonian fund, and to
establish the Smithsonian Institution; which were severally read and
passed to the second reading.
[S. 258.]
A bill to incorporate, within the District of Columbia, the National Institution for the Promotion
of Science.
Be it enacted, etc., That Joel R. Poinsett, James K. Paulding, John Quincy Adams,
John J. Abert, Joseph G. Totten, A. O. Dayton, Francis Marcoe, Levi Woodbury,
William Cranch, Henry D. Gilpin, William J. Stone, and others, composing the
association in the District of Columbia denominated the National Institution for the
Promotion of Science, and their successors duly elected in the manner hereinafter
mentioned, be, and they are hereby, constituted and declared to be a body politic
and corporate, by the name and title of the National Institution for the Promotion of
Science, in the District of Columbia, with all rights and privileges of corporate
bodies, not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, or the laws of the
District of Columbia, and in conformity with the following rules and regulations:
Article first. This society shall be named "The National Institution for the Pro-
motion of Science."
Article second. It shall hold its meetings at the city of Washington.
Article third. It shall be composed of resident, corresponding, and honorary
members.
Article fourth. The resident members shall be persons residing in the District of
Columbia; corresponding members shall be persons residing out of the District of
Columbia who wish to aid the institution by their contributions or communications,
and the class of honorary members shall be composed of eminent men residing out
of the District of Columbia.
Article fifth. Resident members removing from the District of Columbia shall, on
request, be transferred to the list of corresponding members, and vice versa; but any
corresponding member may, at his option, be recorded and considered a resident
member.
Article sixth. The officers of the institution shall consist of a president, vice-
president, twelve directors, a treasurer, and a corresponding and a recording secretary;
Provided, That no member shall hold more than one of the offices created by this
article at the same time, but that an acceptance of one shall be construed as refusal
of all others.
Article seventh. The officers shall constitute a board of management of the fiscal
concerns of the institution; and any five members of the board shall be a quorum for
the transaction of ordinary business.
Article eighth. The secretaries of the departments of State, Treasury, War, and
Navy, and the Attorney-General and Postmaster-General of the United States, for
the time being, shall, with their consent, be directors of the institution; but, upon the
refusal of one or more of them to accede to the request of the institution, such director
or directors shall be chosen in the same manner as herein provided for the appoint-
ment of other officers. The officers shall be elected for the term of one year, or until
218 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
their successors .shall bo appointed, from among the resident members of the institu-
tion. This election shall take place at the annual meeting; and each member who
is duly qualified, and shall be present at such meeting, shall have a vote in said
election.
Article ninth. The annual meeting shall be held on the first Monday in each year,
or as soon thereafter as may be convenient; the stated meetings on the second Mon-
day in each month, and special meetings whenever five resident members shall con-
cur in a request to that effect.
Article tenth. The president, vice-president, or, in their absence, one of the directors,
in order of seniority, as named in article eighth, shall preside at all meetings of the
institution; or if neither of these members be present, the meeting shall elect its
own chairman.
Article eleventh. The election of members shall be by ballot; the candidate l>eing
nominated to the corresponding secretary, in writing, at least one week before the
meeting when he is so balloted for, and proposed by any three directors of the society.
Article twelfth. Resident members shall, on admission, subscribe the constitution
of the institution and pay to the treasurer five dollars each, and annually thereafter,
on the first Monday in January, five dollars each, to aid in defraying neceasary
expenses, and for such other purposes as the board of management may direct.
Article thirteenth. No resident member shall vote at any stated or other meeting
of the institution, on any question whatever, who has not paid his subscription and
annual dues, or who shall not have attended a meeting of the institution within one
year previous to such meeting.
Article fourteenth. The resident and corresponding members shall exert themselves
to procure specimens of natural history, and so forth; and the said specimens shall
be placed in the cabinet, under the superintendence of a board of curators, to be
appointed by the directors. All such specimens, and so forth, unless deposited spe-
cially, shall remain in the cabinet; and, in case of the dissolution of the institution,
shall become the property of the United States.
Article fifteenth. The resident members of the institution shall be divided into
such departments as may hereafter be determined upon. The members composing
each department shall especially be charged with the subjects embraced therein, and
communicate to the institution the result of their inquiries; but every member shall
have the privilege of making such communications as he may think proper on any
subject connected with the designs of the institution.
Article sixteenth. The various collections of the institution shall be placed in the
apartments which may be designated for that purpose by a majority of the directors.
Article seventeenth. This constitution, with the exceptions of articles six, eight,
ten, fourteen, and sixteen, or so much thereof as relates to the office of directors,
their duties privileges, or powers, or the purposes or place of keeping of the collec-
tions of the institution, shall be subject to alterations and additions at any meeting
of the institution: Provided, Notice of a motion for such alteration or addition shall
have been given and recorded at a preceding regular meeting: And pronded, further,
That no alterations or amendments shall ever be made in the above referred to articles
without the consent of a majority of the directors.
Article eighteenth. A code of by-laws for the regulation of the business of the
board of management, and the annual and other meetings of the institution, and for
matters relating to nonattendance, privileges, duties of officers, and so forth, shall
be prepared by a committee to be appointed for that purpose.
Article nineteenth. All persons present at the adoption of this constitution shall,
if desirous of becoming members of the institution, sign the same as evidence of such
desire, and in proof of such membership; and all members subsequently admitted
shall sign the same at the first meeting of the society which they may attend after
such admission.
TWENTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1839-1841. 219
Article twentieth. The institution .hall have power to appoint curators and others
for the preservation and arrangement of the collections.
[S. 259.]
A bill to invest the proceeds of the Smithsonian fund, and to establish the Smithsonian Institution.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Smithsonian Institution shall consist of one superin-
tendent, with a compensation of dollars per annum, and not exceeding six
professors, with compensation to each of dollars per annum, with such number
of curators and assistants as may be found necessary: Provided, The number of, and
the compensation to, the curators and assistants shall be approved by the President of
the United States; all these officers to be elected by the board of management of the
National Institution for the Promotion of Science, established at Washington, and
according to the form and manner prescribed for the electing of officers of that insti-
tution; but the election of professors shall not be made until the buildings are pre-
pared for them to enter upon their duties.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the National Institution for
the Promotion of Science, together with the superintendent of the Smithsonian
Institution, shall constitute a board of management of the interest of the Smith-
sonian fund; and shall have power to plan and erect the necessary buildings, to lay
out the grounds, to preserve and repair the same, to procure the necessary books and
philosophical instruments, to arrange the collections, to prescribe the duties of the
professors and others belonging to the said Smithsonian Institution, and to establish
regulations for the preservation of the property, and for a proper exhibition of the
same: Provided, however, That no regulation shall exact a fee from any visitor: And
provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent any member of
the National Institution for the Promotion of Science from being an officer of the
Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said board of management shall have
power to appoint a treasurer and secretary, who shall be entitled to a compensation
of dollars per annum, who shall give bond, in the penal sum of dollars,
for the faithful performance of his duties, which duties shall be prescribed by said
board; but he shall render the accounts of his expenditures quarterly to the
accounting officers of the Treasury Department; and the said board shall report its
proceedings in detail annually to Congress, or oftener, if required.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all works of art, and all books relating
thereto, and all collections and curiosities belonging to the United States, in the pos-
session of any of the executive departments, and not necessarily connected with the
duties thereof, shall be transferred to said institution, to be there preserved and
arranged.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the interest which has accrued on the Smith-
sonian fund be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, for the purpose of carrying
into effect the provisions of this act; and that the ground owned by the United
States, and designated in the plan of the city of Washington as the Mall, be, and
the same is hereby, appropriated for the buildings and use of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution and the National Institution; and the same shall be under the superintend-
ence of the board of management of the National Institution.
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
July 20, 1840.
An act appropriating for the support of the Army for 1840.
For the purpose of enabling the Secretaries of the War and Navy
Departments to place in a state of safe preservation the specimens of
220 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
natural history which are now deposited in their respective offices, or
which may be brought there resulting from surveys of the unexplored
portions of our own country, or from the exploring expedition now
in the South Seas, by the authority and at the expense of the United
States, or otherwise, a sum not to exceed $500.
(Stat. V, 406.)
March 3, 1841.
An act making appropriations for the Naval Service for the year 1841.
For defraying the expense of transporting to the city of Washing-
ton and arranging and preserving the collections made by the explor-
ing expedition, $5,000.
, (Stat. V, 420.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES
July 20, 1840.
Be it resolved, etc., That the librarian, under the supervision of the
Committee on the Library, be authorized to exchange such duplicates
as may be in the library for other books or works.
Second. That he be authorized, in the same way, to exchange
documents.
Third. That hereafter fifty additional copies of the documents,
printed by order of either House, be printed and bound for the pur-
pose of exchange in foreign countries.
(Stat. V, 409.)
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGEESS, 1841-1843.
BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
September 2, 1841 House.
Mr. MILLARD FILLMORE, f roni the Committee of Ways and Means, to
whom resolutions of instruction had heretofore been referred, reported
a bill (H. 34) to repeal the sixth section of the act entitled "An act to
provide for the support of the Military Academy of the United States
for the year 1838, and for other purposes," passed July, 1838, and to
prohibit any investment of the funds of the United States in stocks of
the several States.
The section proposed to be repealed is as follows:
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all the money arising from the bequest of
the late James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in
this District, an institution to be denominated the Smithsonian Institution, which
may be paid into the Treasury, is hereby appropriated, and shall be invested by the
Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President of the United
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 221
States, in stocks of States, bearing interest at the rate of not less than 5 per centum
per annum, which said stocks shall be held by the said Secretary in trust for the
uses specified in the last will and testament of said Smithson, until provision is made
by law for carrying the purpose of saic 1 bequest into effect; and that the annual
interest accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in like manner invested for the benefit
of said institution.
Mr. FILLMORE asked that as the bill contained no appropriation, and
needed not therefore to be committed, it be put on its third reading
then.
Passed.
September 3, 1841 Senate.
The bill from the House of September 2, 184-1, to repeal the sixth
section of the act entitled "An act to provide for the support of the
Military Academy of the United States for the year 1838," etc., was
read twice; and, on the question of reference coming up,
Mr. A. H. SEVIER said this bill was one of a most extraordinary
character. It was to repeal existing contracts, and to violate treaty
stipulations with the Indians without their consent. He moved to lay
the bill on the table.
Mr. W. C. PRESTON appealed to the Senator to withdraw his motion.
He was disposed to entertain a similar opinion of the bill, but thought
it more respectful to the House to refer it to a committee. He would
therefore move to refer it to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. SEVIER said, if it was to be referred at all, it ought to be re-
ferred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Mr. R. J. WALKER concurred in this view.
Mr. LEVI WOODBURT made some remarks to the effect that the bill
could be only prospective in its character, and would have no effect on
existing contracts.
Mr. J. C. CALHOUN said this bill involved questions of an important
character, which it was very evident would require more time for
their consideration than could be devoted to them at the present ses-
sion. He would therefore move to lay the bill on the table.
The motion was negatived.
Mr. SEVIER then moved its reference to the Committee on Indian
Affairs. Lost.
The motion of Mr. PRESTON was then agreed to, and the bill referred
to the Committee on Finance.
September 4, 1841.
Act of Congress to appropriate proceeds of the sales of public lands
and to grant preemption rights to States, enabling them to pay interest
and principal of the State bonds held by the Government.
Included Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Arkansas and Michigan.
(Stat. V, 453.)
222 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
September 8, 1841 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE EVANS, from the Committee on Finance, reported, with
an amendment, the bill from the House to repeal the sixth section of
the act for the support of the Military Academy at West Point for 1838,
and to prohibit the investment of trust funds of the United States in
the stocks of the several States.
The Senate proceeded to consider the same, and the bill was amended,
so as to strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert:
That so much of the sixth section of the act to provide for the support of the Mil-
itary Academy of the United States for 1838 as requires the Secretary of the Treasury
to invest the annual interest accruing on the investment of the money arising from
the bequest of the late James Smithson, of London, in the stocks of the States, be,
and the same is hereby, repealed; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall invest said
accruing interest in any stock of the United States, bearing a rate of interest not less
than 5 per cent per annum.
Mr. A. H. SEVIER made some observations in relation to the amend-
ment not distinctly heard in the gallery.
Mr. EVANS remarked that the repeal affected that portion only of
the bill of 1838 which related to the investment of the funds of the
institution, and accruing interest in State stocks ; the investment to
be changed to United States stock.
Mr. J. C. CALHOUN requested the bill and amendments would be
read.
The bill was then read.
Mr. CALHOUN wished to know what was to be done with the funds
when there was no United States stock to be had. If all authority to
invest them and the accruing interest in other stocks was repealed, and
there should be no United States stock in the market, or in existence,
what was to be done with the money?
Mr. EVANS replied that all that had been taken into consideration in
committee, and it was the unanimous impression that there would be a
sufficient supply of United States stock in existence for the next three
years at least, and that no difficulty could arise in that way. If, how-
ever, any difficulty of that nature should arise, provision could be made
by Congress in time to meet it.
Mr. ARCHIBALD L. LINN considered the whole thing as a direct
attack upon the credit of the States. Here was an act of Congress
implying on the very face of it a discredit of State stocks. Was not
this calculated to depress State stocks, both in the home and foreign
markets?
Mr. EVANS observed that it was the standing of the State stocks in
those markets which had called for the amendment of the act of 1838.
Mr. LINN called the attention of the Senate to this fact; that the
Democratic party, during the last political struggle of the party now
administering the Government to get into power, had been slandered,
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 223
vilified, and ubused with the most unfounded charges of designs to
discredit the States of this Union. The Democratic party had been
denounced from one end of the Union to the other for having pros-
trated the whole credit system. They were pronounced traitors to
their country, and a continued stream of A r ituperation was poured out
upon them from June, 1839, to the close of the Presidential election,
with a view of enlisting the prejudices of every one connected with
State stocks against the continuation of the Democracy in power.
Yet, what spectacle do we now see presented to the country ? What
but that to be expected from the Whig party, which had so notoriously
proved to the world that their professions out of power were one
thing and their performances in power quite another and a different
thing? Now that they have the first opportunity, they offer the most
outrageous, treacherous, and fatal stab to the State stock credit sys-
tem that ever was attempted by any representatives of the people or
the States. But he was glad the gentleman had shown the true char-
acter of their professions contrasted with their performances.
Mr. LEVI WOODBURY considered there were other things which
ought to be taken in view. Besides the fatal stab thus offered to the
credit of State stocks, the institution itself might be deprived of the
advantage of investing its funds in stock no less secure than United
States stock, though for temporary causes depreciated, but sometimes
yielding an opportunity of purchase at 60 or 65, when United States
stock might be at more than 100.
Mr. CLAY said the relation between the Government and the States,
of the latter being debtors to the former, ought always to be avoided;
for what means could be used to coerce the States if they refused to
pay ? We had stocks of our own in which this trust fund of the Gov-
ernment could be invested. He should prefer the adoption of this
principle, that in all cases of trust funds an account should be opened
with the Government of the United States, and that the fund should
be held in the Treasury, and it pay an annual interest on it until its
object was accomplished. He regarded this Smithsonian fund as a
sacred trust which the Government would be bound to restore if it
should ever be lost; and that being the case the Government being
responsible for them it would be better that they should remain in
the Treasury, under our charge.
Mr. BENJAMIN TAPPAN was understood to concur in this opinion, and
after some further remarks by Mr. WOODBURY, Mr. CALHOUN, and
Mr. SEVIER the amendment was engrossed, the bill read a third time,
and passed.
On motion of Mr. EVANS, its title was amended so as to be, in effect,
"an act to repeal a part of the sixth section of the act for the support
of the Military Academy of the United States for 1838, and for other
purposes."
224
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
September 9, 1841.
Report of T. Swing, Secretary of Treasury.
State stocks held by the Treasury Department, in trust for the Smithsonian Institution.
Of what States.
Amount of
stock.
Cost.
Arkansas
$500,000.00
$499, 500. 00
10,000.00
10,000.00
13,000.00
12, 837. 50
15, 000. 00
10, 555. 00
26, 000. 00
18,980.00
Do
6,000.00
4,223.00'
24 000 00
19 200 00
8,000.00
8,270.67
18,000 00
16 980.00
620, 000. 00
600,980.17
September 9, 1841 House.
On motion of Mr. J. Q. ADAMS, the House took up the bill providing
for the repeal of so much of the sixth section of the Military Academy
act of 1838, as provides for the investment of the Smithsonian funds
in State stocks; and the Senate amendments thereto were amended in
several respects, and the bill was returned to the Senate.
September 10, 1841 House.
The House considered the message from the Senate in relation to the
amendments of the House to the amendment of the Senate to the bill
H. 34, when it was
Resolved, That this House concur in the amendment of the Senate
to the first amendment of this House to the amendment of the Senate
to said bill, and recede from their second amendment to the amendment
of the Senate to said bill, and that the bill do pass accordingly.
September 11, 1841.
Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the sixth section of an act
entitled "An act to provide for the support of the Military Academy
of the United States for the year 1838, and for other purposes," as
requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the annual interest
accruing on the investment of the money arising from the bequest
of the late James Smithson, of London, in the stocks of States, be,
and the same is hereby, repealed. And the Secretary of the Treasury
shall, until Congress shall appropriate said accruing interest to the
purposes prescribed by the testator for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men, invest said accruing interest in any stock of
the United States, bearing a rate of interest not less than five per
centum per annum.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all other funds held in trust
by the United States, and the annual interest accruing thereon, when
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGEESS, 1841-1843. 225
not otherwise required by treaty, shall in like manner be invested in
stocks of the United States, bearing a like rate of interest.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the three clerks, authorized
by the act of June 23, 1836, "to regulate the deposits of the public
inonev," be, and hereby are, directed to be retained and employed in
the Treasury Department, as provided in said act, until the state of the
public business becomes such that their services can conveniently be
dispensed with.
(Stat., V. 465.)
December 7, 1841 Senate.
of the President, John Tyler.
* * * I suggest for your consideration the propriety of making,
without further delay, some specific application of the funds derived
under the will of Mr. Smithson, of England, for the diffusion of
knowledge, and which have heretofore been vested in public stocks,
until such time as Congress should think proper to give them a specific
direction. Nor will you, I feel confident, permit any abatement of
the principal of the legacy to be made, should it turn out that the
stocks in which the investments have been made had undergone a
depreciation. * *
December 10, 1841 House.
Mr. MILLAKU FILLMORE offered a resolution for the appointment of
a select committee on the Smithsonian legacy.
Adopted; and Mr. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, Mr.
Richard W. Habersham of Georgia, Mr. Truman Smith of Connecti-
cut, Mr. Joseph R. Underwood of Kentucky, Mr. Benjamin Randall
of Maine, Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll of Pennsylvania, Mr. Robert M. T.
Hunter of Virginia, Mr. George S. Houston of Alabama, and Mr.
Samuel S. Bowne of New York were appointed said committee.
December 15, 1841 House.
Mr. WILLIAM COST JOHNSON presented the memorial of sundry
citizens of Washington City, praying an early disposition of the funds
of the Smithsonian bequest, in conformity with the wishes of the
donor.
Referred to the select committee on the Smithsonian bequest.
December 29, 1841 Senate.
On motion by Mr. W. C. PRESTON, it was ordered that the President's
message, relative to the Smithson bequest, be referred to the Commit-
tee on the Library Mr. W. C. Preston, Mr. Benjamin Tappan, Mr.
Rut'us Choate.
January 3, 1842 House.
Resolved, That so much of the message of the President of the United
States as relates to the Smithsonian legacy be referred to the select
committee on that subject,
H. Doc. T32 - 15
226 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 29, 1842 House.
Mr. CHARLES J. INGERSOLL presented a memorial of Richard Rush,
praying additional compensation for his services in recovering the
Smithsonian legacy.
Referred to the committee on the bequest.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS presented a petition of B. Birdsall, of the State
of New York.
The following is the petition:
Your petitioner prays that a part of the funds of the "Smithsonian bequest" may l>e
appropriated for the purpose of establishing and awarding a system of annual prizes
for the l>est original essays on the various subjects of the physical sciences, useful
arts, and abstract mathematics, etc., and for such new discoveries in art or science
as shall do honor to the nation; the subjects of the prizes to be given or proposed by
a competent committee.
Your petitioner entertains the opinion that some such system as the one prayed
for would exert a most powerful influence in favor of science in this country, and
would operate as an excellent stimulant to those who are disposed to honor their
country in cultivating and promoting those branches of useful science which serve
to work out the distinction between the savage and civilized state.
For this your petitioner most respectfully prays.
B. BIRDSALL.
CLINTON, February 9, 1842.
Referred to the committee on the bequest.
April 11, 1842 Senate.
Mr. W. C. PRESTON, from the Committee on the Library, reported
a bill (S. 224) to invest the proceeds of the Smithsonian fund, and to
establish the Smithsonian Institution.
Read and passed to a second reading.
April 12, 1842 House.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS, from the committee appointed December 10,
1841, made the following report, accompanied by a bill (H. 386),
which was read the first and second time and committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the state of the Union:
The seventh year is already considerably advanced in its course
since the then President of the United States, on the 17th of Decem-
ber, 1835, communicated, by message, to both Houses of Congress
the fact of this bequest, with a copy of the will of James Smithson,
in which it was contained; and with the remark that, the Executive
having no authority to take an^y steps for accepting the trust, and
obtaining the funds, the papers were communicated with a view to
such measures as Congress might deem necessary.
This message, with its accompanying correspondence and vouchers,
was referred in the Senate to their Committee on the Judiciary, and
in the House of Representatives to a select committee of nine mem-
bers, both of which committees reported in favor of the acceptance
by Congress of the bequest, and of assuming, for the people of the
United States, the solemn obligation of preserving inviolate the fund
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 227
bequeathed by the testator, and of applying the income derived there-
from faithfully to the purposes prescribed by him.
Accordingly, on the 1st of July, 1836, a bill which had previously
been passed by both Houses of Congress received the sanction of the
President, authorizing him to appoint an agent or agents to recover
the funds bequeathed by the will of the testator, and then being in
charge of the Court of Chancery of Great Britain, and to deposit the
same in the Treasury of the United States; and the faith of the United
States was, by the same act, expressly pledged for the faithful per-
formance of the trust assumed by the acceptance of the bequest.
An agent was appointed by virtue of this act, who recovered, by a
decree of the Court of Chancery, a sum which, on the 1st of Septem-
ber, 1838, was deposited in gold at the mint of the United States at
Philadelphia, amounting to $508,318.46.
By the sixth section of the act of Congress for the support of the
Military Academy of the United States and for other purposes,
approved on the 7th of July, 1838, it was provided that all the money
arising from the bequest of the late James Smithson, of London, for
the purpose of founding at Washington, in this District, an institution
to be denominated the Smithsonian Institution, which might be paid
into the Treasury, was appropriated, and should be invested by the
Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President of
the United States, in stocks of States, bearing interest at the rate of
not less than 5 per centum per annum; which said stocks should be
held by the said Secretary in trust for the uses specified in the last
will and testament of said Smithson, until provision should be made
by law for carrying the purpose of said bequest into effect; and that
the annual interest accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in like
manner invested for the benefit of said institution.
Under the authority and the requisition of this act, immediately
after the deposit at the mint of the United States at Philadelphia of
the moneys recovered by the decree of the court of chancery in Eng-
land, the Secretary of the Treasury invested in stocks of the State of
Arkansas $500,000, and $8.000 in stocks of the State of Michigan, all
at the interest of 6 per cent; since which time, by the same authority,
$3,800 of the stocks of the State of Arkansas, $3,600 of the State >f
Illinois, $18,000 of the State of Ohio, have been invested in like man-
ner, until the llth of September last, when the provision of the law
which authorized and required the Secretary of the Treasury to invest
the accruing interest on the principal fund in the stock of the States
was repealed, and he was directed, until Congress shall appropriate
said accruing interest to the purposes described by the testator, for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, to invest said accru-
ing interest in any stock of the United States bearing a rate of interest
not less than 5 per centum per annum. Under this authority the
228 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Secretary of the Treasury did invest the sum of $1,291.86, at the rate
of 5 per cent a year a rate of interest more parsimonious for the
benefit of the Treasury than liberal for the benefit of this generous
and bountiful fund.
The 500 bonds, of $1,000 each, of the State of Arkansas, issued to
the Bank of the State of Arkansas, are not redeemable before the 26th
of October, 1860; and the 38 bonds subsequently issued to the Real
Estate Bank of the State of Arkansas not before the 1st of January,
1861.
The 8 bonds of the State of Michigan are not redeemable before the
first Monday of July, 1858.
Twent\'-three thousand dollars of the bonds of the State of Illinois
are not redeemable before the end of 1860; and $33,000 not before
the 1st of January, 1870.
Eighteen thousand dollars of the bonds of the State of Ohio are not
redeemable before the 1st of January, 1861.
The sum of $1,291.86, due by the United States, is redeemable at
their pleasure after the 31st of December, 1844.
In the bill herewith reported, it is proposed to settle three funda-
mental principles for the administration and management of the fund
in all after time.
First. That the principal fund shall be preserved and maintained
unimpaired, with an income secured upon it at the rate of 6 per cent
a year, from which all appropriations for the purposes of the founder
shall be made.
Second. That the portions of the income already accrued, and invested
in stocks of the States of Arkansas, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, shall
be constituted funds, from the annual interest of which an astronom-
ical observator, with four assistants, and necessary laborers, shall be
appointed and maintained, without expense to this nation, and with a
considerable increase of the principal fund and of its annual income
a principle susceptible of extension to future application, which may
continually increase at the discretion of Congress the means and capa-
bilities of the institution to promote and accomplish the great purposes
of the founder.
The establishment of this principle will have the further advantage
of relieving the board of overseers from the necessity of using the
bonds of the States of Arkansas, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, none
of which are redeemable before the year 1858. The annual interest
upon them, it can not bo doubted, will be hereafter, as it has been
hitherto, punctually paid; and, independent of the faith of the several
States, respectively pledged to this punctuality, the 4th section of the
act of 4th September, 1841, to appropriate the proceeds of the sales
of the public lands and to grant preemption rights, has furnished to
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 229
those States the means of paying punctually, not only the annual
interest, but at the stipulated time the principal itself, of their bonds
without bearing upon the people of the States for the pressure of a
single dollar.
The third principle proposed to be made by the bill fundamental, for
the future management of this fund, is that no part of the sums appro-
priated from this fund shall be applied to any institution of education
or religious establishment. The reasons for this exclusion have been
set forth at large in the document hereto annexed, and which the com-
mittee present as a part of their report. They submit especially the
argument contained in the report made to this House on the 5th of
March, 1840, with confidence in the opinion that the appropriation of
any portion of the fund to such institutions or establishments, how-
ever meritorious, could not fail to divert the fund from the real pur-
poses of the testator.
Annexed hereto are copies of the bonds of the several States, taken
under the requirements of the act of Congress of 7th July, 1838, and
of the United States, taken by authority of the act of llth September,
1841, with a tabular statement of the present condition of the funds.
Appendix to report of Mr. Adams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, STATE OF ILLINOIS.
$1,000.] Interest six per cent, [$1,000.
CERTIFICATE OF ILLINOIS.
No. 299.] Internal improvement stock. [No. 299.
Know all men by these presents, that there is due from the State of Illinois to
Thomas Mather, or bearer, one thousand dollars, with interest, at the rate of six per
cent per annum payable half yearly, on the first Mondays of January and July, at
the banking house of the Bank of the United States in New York, on presentation
and surrender of the annexed warrants. The principal is reimbursable at the said
banking house, at the pleasure of the State, after the first day of January, 1870.
For the performance of all which the faith of the State of Illinois is irrevocably
pledged, agreeably to "An act to establish and maintain a general system of internal
improvements," approved February 27, 1837, and amendments thereto approved
March 2, 1839, and February 1 and 3, 1840.
Witness my hand, at Springfield, this 1st day of May, 1840.
RICH'D F. BARRET,
Fund Commissioner.
20 bonds of this description 6 numbered 261 to 266 inclusive, and the residue
numbered 287 to 300 inclusive.
230 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
UNITED STATES OK AMERICA, STATE OF ARKANSAS.
No. 100.] A. [$1,000.
Real Estate Bank of the State of Arkansas.
Under an act of the general assembly entitled "An act to establish the Real Estate
Bank of the State of Arkansas," approved October 26, 1836, and an act supplemen-
tary thereto entitled "An act to increase the rate of interest on the bonds of the
State issued to the Real Estate Bank of the State of Arkansas," approved Decem-
ber 19, 1837.
>%r per cent stock.
Know all men by these presents, that the State of Arkansas acknowledges to be
indebted to the Real Estate Bank of the State of Arkansas in the sum of one thousand
dollars; which sum the said State of Arkansas promises to pay, in current money of
the United States, to the order of the president, directors, and company of said bank,
on the twenty-sixth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,
with interest, at the rate of six per cent per annum, payable half yearly at the place
named in the endorsement hereto, on the first days of January and July of each year,
until the payment of said principal.
In testimony whereof the governor of the State of Arkansas has signed, and the
treasurer of the State has countersigned, these presents, and caused the seal
[L. s.] of the State to be fixed thereto, at Little Rock, this first day of January, in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
SAM. C. ROANE, Governor.
Countersigned :
WM. E. WOODRUFF, Treasurer.
500 bonds of this description, numbered 1 to 500, inclusive.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, STATE OF ARKANSAS.
$1,000. \ N ^. ( $1,000.
225. } No - 29 *' \ 225.
Bank of the State of Arkansas.
Six per cent stock.
Under an act of the general assembly of the State of Arkansas entitled "An act
supplemental to an act to establish the State Bank of Arkansas," approved December
18, 1837.
Know all men that the State of Arkansas acknowledges to be indebted to the
president and directors of the Bank of the State of Arkansas in the sum of one thou-
sand dollars; which sum the said State of Arkansas promises to pay, in current money
of the United States, to the order of the president and directors of said bank, on the
first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, with interest, at
the rate of six per cent per annum, payable half yearly at the place named in the
endorsement hereto, on the first day of July and of January, of each year, until the
payment of said principal.
In testimony whereof the governor of the State of Arkansas has signed, and the
treasurer of the State has countersigned, these presents, and caused the seal
[L. s.] of the State to be fixed thereto, at Little Rock, this first day of January, in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
SAM. C. ROANE, Governor.
Countersigned:
WM. E. WOODRUFF, Treasurer.
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 231
These bonds have been assigned to the Secretary of the Treasury.
38 bonds of this description 13 numbered 282 to 294, inclusive; 15 numbered 359
to 373, inclusive; and 10 numbered 401 to 410, inclusive.
SPECIAL CERTIFICATE.
DETROIT AND PONTIAC RAILROAD STATE STOCK, STATE OF MICHIGAN.
$1,000.] Six per cent stock. [No. 92.
Know all men by these presents, that the State of Michigan acknowledges to owe
to the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad Company the sum of one thousand dollars,
lawful money of the United States of America, which sum of money the said State
promises to pay to the said Detroit and Pontiac Railroad Company, or to their order,
at the Manhattan Bank, in the city of New York, on the first Monday of July in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, or at any time there-
after that the State may choose, with interest thereon, at the rate of six per centum per
annum, payable at the said Manhattan Bank half yearly, upon presentation and the
delivery of the coupons severally hereunto annexed, to wit: On the first Monday of
January and the first Monday of July, in each and every year, until the payment of
the said principal sum.
The faith and credit of the people of the said State are hereby solemnly pledged
for the payment of the interest and the redemption of the principal thereof, in
accordance with the provisions of the act entitled "An act to provide for the relief
of the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad Company," approved March 5, A. D. 1838.
In testimony whereof the treasurer of the State of Michigan has signed this cer-
tificate, and has hereunto affixed the seal of his office, this first day of
L L - s - J May, in the year of our Lord one tho isand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
HENRY HOWARD,
Treasurer of the State of Michigan.
8 bonds of this description 1 numbered 76; the residue numbered 86 to 92,
inclusive.
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, STATE OF ILLINOIS.
$1,000.] No. 83. [$1,000.
Six per cent stock, interest half yearly.
Illinois bank and internal improvement stock.
Know all men by these presents, that there is due from the State of Illinois to the
Bank of Illinois, or bearer, one thousand dollars, lawful money of the United States,
with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable half yearly, on the
first Mondays of January and July, at the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia,
or at its agency in New York, at the option of the holder, on the presentation and
surrender of the annexed warrants. The principal is reimbursable at either of the
above places, at the pleasure of the State, after the year 1860. For the performance
of all which the faith of the State of Illinois is irrevocably pledged, as also a like
amount of the stock in the Bank of Illinois, agreeably to ' ' An act supplementary to
an act to increase the capital stock of certain banks, and to provide means to pay
the interest on a loan authorized by an act entitled an ' Act to establish and main-
tain a general system of internal improvement,' " approved March 4, 1837.
232 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
In witness whereof the governor, auditor, and treasurer of the State of Illinois
have signed this certificate, and have caused the seal of the said State to
['" S- J l>e hereunto affixed, this 31st day of July, 1837.
JOSEPH DUNCAN, Gorrnior.
LEVI DAVIS, Auditor.
JOHN 1). WHITESIDK, Tn'ottitrrr.
13 bonds of this description 4 nuinlwred 70, 71, 78, 74, and the residue iiuinl>ered
81 to 89, inclusive.
UNITED STATES OK AMERICA, STATE OK ILLINOIS.
$1,000.] Interest six per cent. [$1,000.
CERTIFICATE OF ILLINOIS.
No. 2460.] Internal improvement slock. [No. 2460.
Know all men by these presents, that there is due from the State of Illinois to
Nevins, Townseiid & Co., or bearer, one thousand dollars, lawful money of the
United States, with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable half
yearly, on the first Mondays of January and July, at the Bank of the United States
in Philadelphia, or at its agency in New York, at the option of the holder, on the
presentation and surrender of the annexed warrants. The principal is reimbursable
at either of the above places, at the pleasure of the State, after the first day of Janu-
ary, 1870. For the performance of all which the faith of the State of Illinois is
irrevocably pledged, agreeably to "An act to establish and maintain a general sys-
tem of internal improvements." approved February 27, 1837.
Witness our hands, at Vandalia, this first day of January, 1838.
CHAS. OAKLEY,
M. M. KAWLINGS,
THOMAS MATHER,
Commissioners.
LEVI DAVIS, Auditor.
3 bonds of this description 2457, 2459, 2460.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, STATE OF ILLINOIS.
$1,000.] Six per cent stock, interest half yearly. [$1,000.
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN.
(.'anal stock. No. 1241.
Know all men by these presents, that there is due from the State of Illinois to the
State Bank of Illinois, or bearer, one thousand dollars, lawful money of the United
States, with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable half yearly,
on the first Mondays of January and July, at the Bank of the United States in Phila-
delphia, or at its agency in New York, at the option of the holder, on the presenta-
tion and surrender of the annexed warrants. The principal is reimbursable at either
of the above places, at the pleasure of the State, after the year 1860. For the per-
formance of all which the faith of the State of Illinois is irrevocably pledged, as also
the property, tolls, and revenues of the Illinois and Michigan canal, agreeably to an
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGKESS, 1841-1843. 233
act entitled "An act for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal,"
approved the 9th January, 1836.
In witness whereof the governor, auditor, and treasurer of the State of Illinois
have signed this certificate, and have caused the seal of the said State to
I- 1 " s '^ be hereunto affixed, this 1st day of July, 1839.
THO. CABLIN, Governor.
LKVI DAVIS, Auditor.
JOHN I). WHITESIDE, 7'mw/vv.
10 bonds of this description, numbered 1237 to 1246, inclusive.
UNITED STATF8 OF AMERICA, STATE OF ILLINOIS.
$1,000.] Interest six per cent. [$1,000.
CERTIFICATE OF ILLINOIS.
No. 2636.] Internal improvement stock. [No. 2636.
Know all men by these presents, that there is due from the State of Illinois to
-, or bearer, one thousand dollars, with interest at the rate of six per
cent per annum, payable half yearly, on the first Mondays of January and July, at
the banking house of the agency of the Bank of the United States in New York, on
presentation and surrender of the annexed warrants. The principal is reimbursable
at the said banking house, at the pleasure of the State, after the 1st day of January,
1870.
For the performance of all which the faith of the State of Illinois is irrevocably
pledged, agreeably to ' ' An act to establish and maintain a general system of internal
improvement, ' ' approved February 27, 1837, and an amendment, approved March 2,
1839.
Witness our hands, at Vandalia, this 1st day of July, 1839.
CHAS. OAKLEY,
JOHN TILLSON, Jr.,
Commissioners.
10 bonds of this aescnption, numbered 2629, 2632, 2634, 2636, 2639, 2648, 2658, 2660,
2661, 2664.
STATE OK OHIO CANAL STOCK.
Transfer office, office of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, in the city of
New York, August 7, 1841.
Be it known, that the State of Ohio owes to the Secretary of the Treasury of the
United States, in trust for the Smithsonian fund or his assigns, the sum of five thou-
sand dollars bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, from the first
day of July, 1841, inclusively, payable at this office, half yearly, on the first days of the
months of January and July, being stock created in pursuance of sundry acts of
the legislature of the State of Ohio passed March 24th, 1837, the principal of which
stock is reimbursable at the pleasure of the State, at any time after the thirty-first
day of December, in the year 1860; which debt is recorded in this office, and is trans-
ferable only by appearance in person or by attorney, according to the rules and forms
instituted for that purpose.
234 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
No. 3179. In testimony whereof, I, J. N. Perkins, cashier of the Ohio Life Insur-
ance and Trust Company, agent, duly appointed for that purpose by the
commissioners of the canal fund of Ohio, pursuant to authority vested in
[L. s.] them by the acts aforementioned, have hereunto subscribed my name and
affixed the seal of said commissioners, the day and year first above men-
tioned.
$5,000. J- N. PERKINS.
SAM. P. BULL, Transfer Office.
STATK OK OHIO ('ANAL STOCK.
Transfer office, office of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, in the city of
New York, August 6, 1841.
Be it known, that the State of Ohio owes to the Secretary of the Treasury of the
United States in trust, for the Smithsonian fund, or his assigns, the sum of thirteen
thousand dollars, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, from the
first day of July, 1841, inclusively, payable at this office, half yearly, on the first day
of the months of January and July, being stock created in pursuance of sundry acts
of the legislature of Ohio passed March 19, 1838, and March 23, 1840, the principal of
which stock is reimbursable at the pleasure of the State, at anytime after the thirty-
first day of December, in the year 1860; which debt is recorded in this office, and is
transferable only by appearance in person or by attorney, according to the rules and
forms instituted for that purpose.
No. 3176. In testimony whereof, I, J. N. Perkins, cashier of the Ohio Life Insur-
ance and Trust Company, agent, duly appointed for that purpose by the
commissioners of the canal fund of Ohio, pursuant to authority vested
[L. s.] in them by the acts aforementioned, have hereunto subscribed my name,
and affixed the seal of said commissioners, the day and year first above
mentioned.
J. N. PERKINS,
Cashier Ohio Life In. and Trust Co.
SAM. P. BULL, Transfer Office.
$13,000.
UNITED STATES LOAN OK 1841.
$1,291.86. No. 66. No. 66.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, September 28, 1841.
Be it known that there is due from the United States of America unto the Secretary
of the Treasury, for the time being, in trust for the Smithsonian fund, or his assigns,
the sum of one thousand two hundred and ninety-one dollars and eighty-six cents,
bearing interest at five and a half per centum per annum, from the eighteenth day
of September, 1841, inclusively, payable quarter yearly, being stock created in pur-
suance of an act of Congress passed on the 21st day of July, 1841, entitled "An act
authorizing a loan not exceeding the sum of twelve millions of dollars," the principal
of which stock is reimbursable at the pleasure of the United States, at any time after the
thirty-first day of December, 1844; which debt is recorded in and transferable at the
office of the Register of Treasury, by appearance in person or by attorney, according
to the rules and forms instituted for that purpose.
WALTER FORWARD,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Countersigned :
T. L. SMITH, Register.
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843.
Mocks in which the Smithsonian fund is invested.
235
Stock.
Amount.
Rate
of in-
terest.
When payable.
When and where
redeemable.
For what object
issued.
Per.ct.
Stock of the State
838,000.00
6
Payable at
Jan. 1, 1868, at New
Issued to Bank of
of Arkansas.
New York.
York.
the State of Ar-
Do
500,000.00
6
do
Oct. 26, 1861, at New
Real Estate Bank
York.
of the State of
Arkansas.
Stock of the State
8,000.00
c
do
First Monday of July,
Detroit and Pon-
of Michigan.
1858, at New York or
tiacR.R.Co.
at any time there-
after, as the State may
choose.
Stock of the State
13, 000. 00
6
Payable at
At New York or Phila-
Bank and internal
of Illinois.
New York
delphia, at the pleas-
improvement
or Philadel-
ure of the State, after
stock.
phia, at the
1860.
option of the
holder.
Do
3,000.00
6
do
At New York or Phila-
Internal improve-
delphia, at the pleas-
ment stock.
ure of the State, after
Jan. 1,1870.
Do
30,000.00
6
Payable at
At New York, at the
Do.
New York.
pleasure of the State,
after Jan. 1,1870.
Do.
10, 000. 00
6
Payable at
At New York or Phila-
Illinois and Michi-
New York
delphia, at the pleas-
gan canal stock.
or Philadel-
ure of the State, after
phia, at the
the year 1860.
option of the
holder.
Stock of the State
18,000.00
6
Payable at
At the pleasure of the
State of Ohio canal
of Ohio.
New York.
State, at any time
stock.
after Dec. 31, 1860.
Stock of the United
1,291.86
5i
At the pleasure of the
States created by
United States, at any
the act of July
time after Dec. 31,
21,1841.
1844.
Amount
628, 291. 86
[H. 380. Deported by Mr. J. Q. Adams.]
SEC. 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United
States, the Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, and Navy, the Postmaster and Attor-
ney Generals, the chief justice of the circuit court of the United States for the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and the mayor of the city of Washington shall be, and hereby
are, constituted a body politic and corporate, by the style and title of the trustees of
the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,
with perpetual succession, and the usual powers, duties, and liabilities incident to
corporations.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the corporation so constituted shall have
power to appoint, from citizens ( >f the United States other than members of the board
236 CONGRESSIONAL PBOOEEDINO8.
a secretary and a treasurer, to hold their offices during the pleasure of the board, and
removable at their pleasure, and others to be appointed in their places, and to fix
from time to time their compensation. And the secretary and treasurer only shall
receive pecuniary compensation for their services, and those of the members of the
board of trustees shall be gratuitous. And the offices of secretary and treasurer may,
at the discretion of the board of trustees, be held by the same person. The secre-
tary and treasurer shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their
respective offices; and the treasurer shall give bond, with the penalty of $50,000,
with sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the safe custody
and faithful application of all the funds of the institution which may come to his
hands or be at his disposal.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $508,318.46, placed in the Treasury
of the United States on the first day of September, 1838, as the proceeds, in part, of
the bequest of James Smithson to the United States, together with all sums which
have been or may hereafter be realized from the said bequest, shall be passed here-
after to the credit of a fund, to be denominated the Smithsonian fund, in the Treasury
of the United States. And the faith of the United States is hereby pledged for the
preservation of the said fund undiminished and unimpaired, to bear interest at the
rate of six per cent a year, payable half-yearly, on the first days of January and
July, to the treasurer of the board of trustees of the Smithsonian fund, to be applied
to the purposes of the fund, conformably to the laws, and subject to the revision and
regulations of the board of trustees.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no part of the said Smithsonian fund, princi-
pal or interest, shall be applied to any school, college, university, other institute of
education, or ecclesiastical establishment.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the appropriations to be made from time to
time by Congress, to the purposes of the Smithsonian Institution, as declared by the
testator, shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and not from the principal,
of the said fund; but Congress shall retain the power of investing, at their discretion,
the principal of said fund and its increase in any other manner, so as to secure not
less than a yearly interest of six per cent, and may appropriate, from any other
unappropriated moneys in the Treasury, sums to an amount not exceeding six years
of the accruing interest on the Smithsonian fund, to be repaid from the said accruing
interest into the Treasury.
SEC. 6. And be il further enacted, That the sum of $30,000, part of the accruing
interest on the same Smithsonian fund, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated
towards the erection and establishment, at the city of Washington, of an astro-
nomical observatory, adapted to the most effective and continual observations of the
phenomena of the heavens; to be provided with the necessary, best, and most perfect
instruments and books, for the periodical publication of the said observations, and for
the annual composition and publication of a nautical almanac.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said observatory shall be erected under
the direction of the board of trustees on a site in the city of Washington to be selected
by them; and should the same be on land belonging to the United States so mueh
thereof as in the opinion of the trustees shall be necessary for the purpose shall be
conveyed to them in consideration of the sum of $10,000 taken from that fund by
the general appropriation act of March 3, 1839: Provided, That if no such suitable site
can be found on the public lands, that then a selection of a site on private property
may be made at a price not exceeding one-half cent per square foot, to be paid out of
the appropriation in the immediately preceding section of this act.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said board of
trustees shall be subject to the approval of the President of the United States; and all
the accounts thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury and audited
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 237
under hi^ direction by the proper officers of the Treasury Department; and the said
board shall report to Congress at every session thereof the state of the Smithsonian
fund and a full statement of their receipts and expenditures during the preceding
year.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the first meeting of the trustees of the
Smithsonian fund shall be held at the city of Washington on the third Tuesday of
next, and that in the meantime the custody of the said fund and the expend-
itures under the appropriations herein made shall be held and authorized by the
Secretary of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of the President of the United
States.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a board of visitors to be annu-
ally appointed, consisting of nine members, two of whom to be commissioned officers
of the Army, to be appointed by the Secretary of War; two commissioned officers of
the Navy, to be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy; the mayors, for the time
being, of the cities of Alexandria and of Georgetown within the District of Columbia,
and one citizen of each of the cities of Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown, to
be appointed by the President of the United States, who shall meet on the first Mon-
day of February, at eleven o'clock before noon, at the said astronomical observatory,
and visit and inspect the condition of the said observatory and of the Smithsonian
Institution generally. They shall choose among themselves a chairman and
shall make report to the President of the United States of the said condition of the
institution, specifically indicating in what respect the institution has during the pre-
ceding year contributed to the purpose of the founder the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men. To this board the astronomical observator shall make a
report to the same effect so far as regards the astronomical branch of the institution,
which report shall be annexed to that of the board to the President of the United
States, who shall communicate the said reports to Congress. The services of the
members of said board shall be gratuitous.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act which
shall be found inconvenient upon experience: Provided, That no contract or indi-
vidual right made or acquired under such provisions shall (hereby be impaired or
divested.
SEC. 12. And be ii further enacted, That the sum of $60,000 of the interest accrued
and now invested in bonds of the State of Arkansas and , bearing an interest
at the rate of six per cent a year, be, and it is hereby, constituted a fund from the
yearly interest of which the compensation shall be paid of an astronomical observator
to be appointed by the board of overseers, removable at their discretion, and another
to be appointed whenever the said office may be vacant. His compensation shall be
at the rate of three thousand dollars a year, and $600 a year for the incidental
and contingent expenses of repairs upon the buildings, as they may be required.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $120,000, from the interest already
accrued or to accrue hereafter to that amount, and yielding yearly interest at the rate
of six per cent a year, be, and is hereby, constituted a fund, from the interest of
which four assistants to the astronomer and laborers necessary for attendance on him,
for the care and preservation of the buildings, shall be provided and supported. The
compensation of the four assistants to be at the rate of $1,500 a year each; and the
compensation of the laborers (with compensations not to exceed in amount for the
whole of those found necessary) $1,200 a year; the assistants and laborers to be
appointed and removable by the said board of trustees, at their discretion.
SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $20,000 of the interest hereafter
to accrue from the said Smithsonian fund be. and is hereby, appropriated to furnish
238 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
an assortment of the best and most perfect instruments for astronomical observation,
to be procured under the direction of the astronomical observator, to be appointed
conformably to the twelfth section of this act.
SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the further sum of $10,000 of the interest
to accrue on the said fund be, and hereby is, constituted a fund from the interest of
which other instruments may be from time to time procured, as occasions for the use
of them may arise, and for repairs of instruments, as needed.
SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $10,000, to accrue from the future
interest on the said fund, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the purchase
of a library of books of science and literature for the use of the observatory, to be
selected by the observator; and the further sum of $20,000 of the said interest to
accrue from the said fund is hereby constituted a fund from the yearly interest of
which the sum of $1,200 shall be applied for the constant supply of new works,
transactions of learned societies, and periodical publications upon science in other
parts of the world or in America.
SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That the further sum of $30,000 of the interest
hereafter to accrue from the said principal Smithsonian fund be, and hereby is, con-
stituted a fund from the income of which, being $1,800 a year, shall be defrayed the
expense of the yearly publication of the observations made at the observatory, and
of a nautical almanac to be called the Smithsonian Almanac.
SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That for any other moneys which have accrued,
or may hereafter accrue, upon the said Smithsonian fund not herein appropriated
the board of trustees are hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem
necessary for the promotion of the purpose of the testator the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men.
April 12, 1^42 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. John White) presented additional documents in
support of the memorial of Richard Rush, which were referred to the
Committee of Claims.
On motion of Mr. ADAMS, it was then ordered that the committee
on the Smithsonian bequest be discharged from the memorial of
Richard Rush, and that it be referred to the Committee of Claims.
June 8, 1842 Senate.
Mr. E. W. HUBARD, from the Committee on Claims, reported House
bill 479 for the relief of Richard Rush. Committed to Committee of
the Whole.
July 18, 1842 Senate.
The bill S. 224 was considered in Committee of the Whole.
On motion of Mr. WILLIAM ALLEN,
Ordered, That it lie on the table.
[This bill is the same as S. 259, introduced into the Senate by
Mr. Preston, from the Committee on the Library, on February 17,
1841.]
August 5, 1842 House.
Bill H. 479, for the relief of Richard Rush, was reported.
August 27, 1842 House.
A petition of Henry L. Ellsworth, Elisha Whittlesey, J. S. Skin-
ner, and others, on behalf of the Agricultural Society of the United
States, was laid on the table.
TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1841-1843. 239
The memorial of the undersigned respectfully represents: That they, and those asso-
ciated with them, have formed a society in the District of Columbia, to be called
"The Agricultural Society of the United States," which is designed in various ways
to promote the improvement of American husbandry.
For that purpose they have adopted a constitution, and applied to Congress for an
act of incorporation. The objects of the society are fully explained in the constitu-
tion, a copy of which has been laid before Congress. One of these is the establishment
of a school and farm in this District, with a course of lectures for instruction and
experiments to advance the condition of agriculture throughout the Union, and
thus diffuse wider among men that knowledge so essential to the improvement of this
most important pursuit.
They therefore, in pursuance of a resolve * adopted by said society, a copy of which
is hereto annexed, pray Congress to set apart and apply to the above objects the
residue of the Smithsonian fund, or such portion of it as in the opinion of Congress
can be most usefully and properly expended in that manner.
HENRY ELLSWORTH.
ELISHA WHITTLESEY.
J. S. SKINNER.
JNO. A. SMITH.
ALEXANDER HUNTER.
WASHINGTON, December, 1841.
December 23, 1842 House.
Passed H. 479.
March 1, 1843 Senate.
Passed H. 479.
March 3, 1843.
Act approved by the President.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury pay, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Richard Rush, the sum of $3,815.73, for
extra services in converting the Smithsonian funds received by him as the agent of
the United States into gold coin, and for his aid and supervision in transporting the
same from London to the mint at Philadelphia.
(Stat., VI, 892.)
UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
August 4, 1842.
Act for naval service for 1842.
For the transportation, arrangement, and preservation of articles
brought and to be brought by the exploring expedition, $20,000, if so
much be necessary.
(Stat, V, 501.)
1 Vide fifteenth article of constitution, presented August 27, 1842:
"ART. 15. The said board (board of control) shall also be instructed to make efforts
to obtain funds for the establishment of an agricultural school in the District of Colum-
bia, and, appurtenant thereto, a course of public lectures on agriculture, chemistry,
botany, mineralogy, geology, and entomology as appropriate sciences to the great
business of agriculture, and an experimental farm, which, with the buildings and
improvements thereon, shall be set apart forever as an establishment for the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men."
240 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
August 26, 1842.
An Act to provide for publishing an account of the discoveries made by Lieutenant
Wilkes, of the United States Navy.
Be it enacted, etc., That there shall be published, under the super-
vision and direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, "an account
of the discoveries made by the exploring expedition under the command
of Lieutenant Wilkes, of the United States Navy," which account shall
be prepared with illustrations and published in a form similar to the
Voyage of the Astrolabe, lately published by the Government of
France.
SEC. 2. And he it further enacted, That when such account shall have
been written, and the illustrations for the same shall have been pre-
pared, an advertisement shall be inserted in the papers publishing the
laws of the United States, inviting proposals for printing 100 copies
of the same for the United States, to be delivered to the Librarian of
Congress in a time and at a price to be stipulated in such contract;
and the contract shall be made with and given to the person offering
and giving sufficient assurance to perform the work at the lowest
price ; and on such contract being made the ' ' account " shall be delivered
to such contractor.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That until other provision be
made by law for the safe keeping and arrangement of such objects of
natural history as may be in possession of the Government, the same
shall be deposited and arranged in the upper room of the Patent
Office under the care of such person as may be appointed by the Joint
Committee on the Library.
(Star,, V, 534.)
December 24, 1842.
Civil and diplomatic; ac-t for 1843.
For expenses attending the preparation of the results and account
of the exploring expedition, for the publication thereof ordered by
Congress, $20,000.
(Stat., V, 596.)
March 3, 1843.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1844.
And the accounting officers of the Treasury are hereby authorized
and directed, in the settlement of the accounts of the officers attached
to the late surveying and exploring expeditions to the Pacific Ocean
and the South Seas, who were employed in the scientific duties, to
allow and credit them with extra pay, equal to that allowed to the
officers engaged in the service of the Coast Survey.
(Stat, V, 636.)
For preparing and publishing charts, and otherwise carrying into
effect the act of August 26, 1842, for publishing an account of the
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 241
discoveries of the exploring expedition, under the supervision and
direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, $20,000.
(Stat., V, 645.)
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845.
BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
December 5, 1843 Senate.
Message of the President, John Tylei\
* * * In connection 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 the best calculated to consum-
mate the liberal intent of the testator.
December 15, 1843 Senate.
On motion of Mr. RUFUS CHOATE, the message of the President was
referred to the Committee on the Library Mr. Rufus Choate, Mr.
Benjamin Tappan, and Mr. John McP. Berrien.
January 2, 1844 House.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS presented resolution, and the rule requiring the
same to lie upon the table one day being dispensed with it was con-
sidered and agreed to:
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
and diffusion of knowledge among men; with a statement of what payments of inter-
est have been received, and what, if any, have been refused or withheld on the State
stocks in which the said funds were invested; the amount 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.
February 2, 1844 House.
Mr. HENRY WILLIAMS presented a petition of Horatio C. Merriam, of
Massachusetts, that a portion of the Smithsonian bequest be applied to
promote agricultural education, that science being heretofore neglected
in the systems of education in this country. Referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture.
February 19, 1844 House.
The SPEAKER laid before the House the following communication :
A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a resolu-
tion of the House of Representatives of the 3d of January last, trans-
mitting statements showing the present state and condition of the
funds bequeathed by James Smithson to the United States; the pay-
ments of interest that have been received, and what have been refused
or withheld on the State stocks in which the said funds were invested,
H. Doc. 732 16
242 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and the amount of interest so withheld; and stating what measures
had been taken to recover the interest withheld; also, accompanied
with copies of the correspondence in relation to the purchase of State
stocks for the fund; which letter and accompanying documents were,
on motion of Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, referred to a select committee
of nine members.
Mr. John Quincy Adams, Mr. Geo. S. Houston, Mr. A. H. Chappell,
Mr. Richard French, Mr. Wm. Lucas, Mr. Francis Brengle, 1 Mr. Jacob
S. Yost, Mr. E. D. Potter, and Mr. John Wethered 1 were appointed
the said committee.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, February 17, 1844-
SIR: In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d
of January last, I have the- honor to transmit the accompanying statements A, B, C,
showing "the present state and condition of the funds bequeathed by James Smith-
son to the United States, for the establishment of an institution for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men; the payments of interest that have been received,
and what have been refused or withheld on the State stocks in which the said funds
were invested, and the amount of interest so withheld."
I have the honor further to report, in compliance with the resolution, that the
only measures taken to recover the interest so withheld were, by retaining in the
Treasury the amounts stated in statement C, under the provisions of the fourth sec-
tion of the act of 4th September, 1841; there being no other means by which the
department could compel the payment of interest then in arrear.
The resolution also requires to be reported "by whose agency the said investments
were made, with copies of any correspondence of the Treasury Department with
such agents relating thereto."
In reply to this, I have the honor to state that it does not appear that any agent
was ever appointed to make these investments. The correspondence in relation to
the purchase of State stocks, for the fund, appears to have been principally with
stockbrokers; and copies are annexed, marked from D No. 1 to D No. 63.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant, J. C. SPENCER,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. J. W. JONES,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
1 This committee, though ordered, was not actually appointed until Mr. Brengle
and Mr. Wethered took their seats.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845.
243
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249
250 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Dl TRKAMTKY DEPARTMENT, July I//, 1838.
SIR: The public service at the West will probably require, in the course of a few
weeks, considerable sums of money for disbursements on account of the Army and
Indian Department. Should your bank find it convenient to meet drafts for any
part of the balance due from you to the United States, payable at its counter, I will
cheerfully direct the Treasurer to place such drafts upon you for such amounts as
you shall advise me immediately will l>e paid by your bank. They will probably be
required in specie. The sums paid will be carried to the credit of your bank, and
stop interest from the date of payment. Should your bank have at command State
stocks which it wishes to dispose of in discharge of its proportion of the two last
installments of the bonds of the State Bank of Indiana to the United States, and will
describe their character, and the lowest price at which they will be sold upon pay-
ment in the mode mentioned, this Department, having funds to invest in State stocky
will be glad to receive a proposition on the subject at your earliest convenience.
These suggestions are made under the belief that some benefit ma> result to all
parties by such arrangement.
lam, &c., L. WOODBURY,
Secretary of the 'I'reasury.
PRESIDENT OF THE BRANCH OF THE STATE BANK OF INDIANA, Madison.
(A similar letter was addressed to president of the Bank of Michigan; president of
the Planters' Bank of Mississippi ; president of the branch of the Bank of the State
of Alabama, at Mobile; president of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi; president
of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Michigan; president of the branch of State
Bank of Indiana, atLawrenceburg; president of the branch of State Bank of Indiana,
at Xew Albany.)
D2.
Kiifdcf of a. letter from the president of the branch bank, Madison, Indiana, dated Wash-
ington, Auguxt 3, 1838, in reply to the letter from the Department dated July 14, 18S8.
The branch of the State Bank' of Indiana, at Madison, will furnish your Depart-
ment with Indiana 5 per cent internal-improvement bonds, principal and interest
payable in Xew York, to the full amount of the debt that branch owes your Depart-
ment, at par.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the 7mw/,ry.
AGRICULTURAL BANK, NATCHEZ, July 36, 1838.
SIR: Your favor of the 14th instant, addressed to the president of this bank, has
been received. After thanking you for the suggestions it contains, I am to inform
you that our agent in the North, Alvarez Fish, esq., formerly our president, is
instructed to open a negotiation for the purchase of $600,000 of the bonds of this
State, now being offered in the Northern market, provided he can dispose of them to
the Government in liquidation of the balance due the Treasury, and to correspond
with you upon the subject. Our directory feel somewhat sanguine of the success of
these negotiations, which will supersede the necessity of our making arrangements to
meet the drafts of the Treasurer here, and will be a more convenient mode of pay-
ment for us.
Very respectfully, your ol>edient servant,
A. P. MERRILL, <"<*//// .
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 134.3-1* io. 251
1)4. .W/,r.'
The money bequeathed by the late James Sinithsou, esq., of London, for founding
an institute in the city of Washington, amounting to about half a million of dollars,
will, it is expected, be received during the present month. By an act passed July 7,
1838, the undersigned is directed to invest the same "in stocks of States bearing
interest at the rate of not less than five per cent per annum." He is now prepared
to receive proposals from persons who have stocks of this description to dispose of.
LEVI WOODBURY, Secretary of the Treasury.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, August 6, 1838.
D 5. NEW YORK, August 8, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We discover, by an official notice from the Treasury Department of the
6th instant, that you are directed by an act of Congress, passed July 7, 1838, to invest
the money bequeathed by the late James Smithson, of London, for founding an
institute in the city of Washington, in the stocks of States bearing interest at the rate
of not less than five per cent per annum, and that you are now prepared to receive
proposals from persons having stocks of this description to dispose of.
We take the liberty to inform you that, by virtue of the act of the legislature of
the State of Mississippi incorporating the "Mississippi Union Bank," we are charged
with the disposal of five millions of the bonds of the State, bearing interest at the
rate of five per cent per annum, and payable in twelve and twenty years, and at such
place or places as we may designate. And we have now the honor to submit for
your consideration a proposition for the sale of an amount of five hundred thousand
dollars of those bonds, payable at any place in the United States or in England you
may designate, and extinguishable in twelve or twenty years.
We shall await in this city your answer to this communication.
With considerations of high respect, your most obedient servants,
EDWARD C. WILKINSON.
J. WILKINS.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY.
D 6. NEW YORK, August 8, 1838.
SIR: Noticing the advertisement of the 6th instant for offers of State stocks for the
investment of money bequeathed by the late James Smithson, we beg leave to offer
sixty thousand dollars Indiana five-per-cent State stock, with the privilege, on receipt
of the Secretary's reply, of making the amount one hundred thousand dollars, at par,
the stock to be delivered, at our option, on or before the 1st November next.
Bespectfully, your obedient servants,
OGDEN, FERGUSON & Co.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington.
D 7. PHILADELPHIA, August ft, 1838.
SIR: I have observed your notice inviting proposals for the sale of State stocks.
I have in my possession $76,250 of the bonds of the State of Tennessee, 5J per cents,
redeemable in 1862 and 1863; the interest payable semiannually, at any point in the
United States you may desire, and guaranteed by the Planters' Bank of Tennessee.
They are the same which I had the honor by letter,- some time since, from Nash-
ville, to propose to sell you; and again, recently, in person at Washington.
I am desirous of obtaining par for them, if possible, as they cost that; but having
determined to resume specie payments shortly, and being very desirous of liquidating
1 Published in the Globe newspaper.
252 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the debt due to the Government, renders it necessary to dispose of them, even if we
have to submit to a loss. I therefore propose to sell you the above bonds at 99.
I shall esteem it a great favor if you will inform me (directed to this city) when
your decision will be made known. My object in making the request is, that I am
desirous of returning to Tennessee as soon as possible, and this is the only business
that detains me. If you could consistently take these bonds from me immediately,
at a price that would be satisfactory to you, it would do me a great favor, and I would
bring them to you immediately.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
M. WATSON,
President of the Planters' Bank of Tennessee.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY.
D 8. NEW YORK, August 8, 1838.
SIR: We will sell any part of $200,000 Michigan six per cent stock, interest and
principal payable here, at par. The interest since the 1st of July to be included.
This stock has about twenty years to run, and is in bonds of $1,000 each.
Your obedient servants,
JOHN WARD & Co.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 9. PETERSBURG R. R. Co. OFFICE, August S, 1S38.
SIR: I have observed in the Globe of the 6th instant your notice of that date
relating to an investment "of the money bequeathed by the late James Smithson,
esq., of London, in State stocks, bearing interest at the rate of not less than five per
cent per annum."
I beg leave to state that the Petersburg Railroad Company, which I represent,
holds one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) of stock of the State of Vir-
ginia, which bears an interest of five per cent per annum, payable semiannually, in
specie or its equivalent, and issued under the authority of the act of the general
assembly of Virginia (herein enclosed), which they are willing to sell, and for which
they will take par.
As we are anxious to dispose of this stock soon, either in this country or in Europe,
your early decision will oblige us.
With great respect, sir, your friend and servant,
CHARLES F. OSBORNE.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 10. BANK OF VIRGINIA, August S, 1838.
SIR: Observing your ' ' notice ' ' in the Globe, inviting proposals from persons who have
State stocks to dispose of, I now offer you one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of
the stock of the Commonwealth of Virginia, bearing six per cent interest, payable at
the treasury of Virginia semiannually (1st July and January) , in specie or its equiv-
alent. The stock has twenty years to run from the 23d February last. I will take
$105 for every hundred dollars of stock; the interest accruing from the 1st of July to
the date of transfer to be allowed by the purchaser.
I have the honor to be, sir, yours, very respectfully,
JOHN BROCKEXBROUGH.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY.
D 11. NEW YORK, August 8, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We noticed your request for the proposal of sale of State stocks bearing
5 per cent interest. We renew our offer to sell $105,000 of Louisiana State bonds,
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGKESS, 1843-1845. 253
interest payable semiannually, 1st January and July, at the Mechanics' Bank, New
York. These bonds are in London. We will sell them at $98 for $100, you to allow
the interest that may accrue on the day of delivery. They will be received here in
60 days.
We wish to be favored with an answer, that we may write to London by the
steamer Great Western. You have been furnished by us with the law, &c.
Very respectfully,
S. & M. ALLEN.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 12. SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE,
Richmond, August 9, 1838.
SIR: The attention of the board of public works of Virginia having been attracted
to your notice respecting the investment of the money received for the Smithsonian
legacy, inserted in to-day's papers of this city, I have been instructed to make the
following proposals in their behalf:
1. They will give five per cent stock of the Commonwealth of Virginia, at par, for
the whole amount of the legacy, provided it does not much exceed half a million
of dollars; or,
2. They will give for part of said legacy two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
($250,000) of six per cent, stock, at the rate of one hundred dollars in stock for one
hundred and five dollars in money.
The interest on the stock will be paid semiannually at the treasury of the Com-
monwealth. It is irredeemable for twenty years, and redeemable afterwards at the
pleasure of the general assembly; and the pledges and securities for the payment of
the interest, and the ultimate redemption of the principal, are of the most ample
character.
Should you desire more specific information, it will be promptly furnished.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
J. BROWN, Jr., Second Auditor.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 13. PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, August 9, 1838.
SIR: I have at my disposal seventy-three thousand dollars of five per cent Vir-
ginia State stock, irredeemable for twenty years from the 18th June, 1838, and after-
wards to be redeemed at the pleasure of the general assembly of Virginia. The
interest payable at the treasury of the State on the 1st January and July in each
year. I offer it (or any portion of it) to you at par. An early answer is desired.
Respectfully, &c.,
WM. H. WILSON.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of tJie Treasury.
D 14. FARMERS' BANK OF VIRGINIA,
Richmond, August 9, 1838.
SIR: I observe by your public notice that you are prepared to receive proposals,
under the act of the 7th July, authorizing the investment of the money bequeathed
by James Smithson, esq., "in stocks of the States bearing an interest at the rate of
not less than five per cent per annum."
I have the honor to propose to your acceptance, under the act, one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars of the stock of the Commonwealth of Virginia, bearing an inter-
est of five per cent, payable semiannually, and the principal redeemable at the end
of twenty years from the 18th June last. This I offer at par.
254 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Should the number of proposals, or other reasons, lead you to decline taking the
whole of the stock, then such portion of it as you may be willing to take is offered to
your acceptance.
Begging to be apprized of your decision, I have the honor to be your obedient
servant, &c.
WM. H. MACKARLAND, President.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 15. NEW YORK, August 9,
DEAR SIR: We observe that you advertise for proposals for State stocks to
the Smithsonian fund in. We are unable to determine whether the matter will be
open for negotiation, or whether you will accept the best offer made under seal. We
hold one hundred and seventy thousand dollars five per cent stock of a northern
State, which we would like to propose or negotiate for; or, if within the limits of the
law directing the disposal of the fund, we would pay interest for the money, and give
the stock as collateral.
If your time will permit, we shall feel obliged by an explanation on these points;
and will become applicants for one hundred and seventy thousand dollars of the fund,
in the way we think will be most satisfactory to the Government.
Respectfully, your obedient servants,
PARKER & C<>.
Hon. LEVI WOODBUKY, Washington, J). C.
D If). ALBANY, August 9, 1838.
SIR: I will let you have $33,000 New York State five per cent stock, redeemable in
1855, at two per cent premium, and interest from the last dividend say 1st July.
The last five per cent stock issued by this State was sold at public auction, in the city
of New York, about forty days since, and the highest price bid was one per cent and
ffa. Since which I have sold in New York fifty thousand dollars of the same stock
offered to you at two per cent advance, being precisely what I offer it to you for.
Allow me to request an early answer, as I am unwilling, by locking up the stock,
to forego the chance of doing as well, or better, should an opportunity present.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
, THOS. W. OLCOTT.
Hon. LEVI WOODBUKY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 17. AUGUST 9, 1838.
SIR: In the Washington Globe, of date 6th instant, I notice an official invitation to
the holders of State stock to make an offer of sale, for the investment of the funds
obtained under the Smithsonian bequest. I have one hundred thousand dollars of
Indiana internal improvement State stock, payable twenty-five years from 1st July,
1838, bearing an interest of five per cent, payable semiannually in the city of New
York, which I offer to the Department at 98 cents on the 100 cents of the principal.
Your reply, should the offer be accepted, addressed to No. 15 Wall street, New York,
will be promptly attended to.
Should references be required, 1 am personally known to the President.
Your obedient servant,
SIMEON B. JBWITT.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 255
D 18. LOUISVILLE, August 1.3, 1838.
SIR: I have this moment seen, over your official signature, a notice to the public
stating that you are ready to receive propositions relative to the investment in State
stocks of the fund (say half a million) bequeathed by James Smithson, esq., for the
purpose of founding an institute in the city of Washington, which fund you are
authorized to dispose of in this way by act of July 7, 1838-.
Application is hereby made, in behalf of the Mississippi Union Bank, for a loan or
purchase of the whole amount of this fund when in your hands for disposal. The
bank offers, as security or equivalent, the bonds of the State of Mississippi, bearing
interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum interest and principal made payable at
such places as may suit the convenience of the purchaser which bonds she holds to
the amount of $15,000,000, with ample power to negotiate and sell the same as pre-
scribed in the first section of the original act incorporating said institution, by the
directors of the bank themselves, or as expressed in the 9th section of the supple-
mental act thereto appended, by the agency of commissioners appointed for that
purpose.
For the nature of the security, the general terms of the negotiation, the form and
condition of the bonds, &c., you are respectfully referred to the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th,
8th, and 9th sections of the original act above referred to, a copy of which, with the
supplement, is herewith transmitted for your inspection.
This letter is not official from the bank, as the board of directors have not been in
session since the publication of your notice, and consequently could have no action
upon the subject. It will be recognized, however, as such by the board at their first
regular meeting (the 10th of September next) , when a copy of it will be laid before
them.
For any information which may be required, should there be a prospect of effecting
this negotiation, please address president and directors, or Hon. H. G. Runnels, presi-
dent of the Mississippi Union Bank, at Jackson, Mississippi; and, if necessary, an agent
will be immediately appointed by the bank who will see you in person, on the sub-
ject of the negotiation, at Washington. The acknowledgment of the receipt of this
communication, directed as above so as to meet the board of directors of the bank
by the 10th of September next, will confer a favor on them, and oblige,
Very respectfully and truly, your obedient servant,
JOHN J. McRAE,
Member of Board of Directors of Mississippi Union Bank.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 19. EASTERN BANK, Bangor, Maine, August 13, 1838.
DEAR SIR: I have noticed a paragraph in the public papers of the day upon the
subject of the Smithsonian bequest where, after alluding to the act of Congress
directing the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the same "in stocks of States
bearing interest at the rate of not less than 5 per cent per annum," it is stated that
you are now prepared to receive proposals from persons who have stocks of this
description to dispose of.
I am directed to say to you that this bank has a Maine State scrip, issued agreeably
to law, dated March 23, 1838, for the sum of $4,500, payable in five years from date,
with interest annually at the rate of 5 per centum, which we offer for your
consideration.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. H. MILLS, Cashier.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
256 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
D20. EASTERN RAILROAD OFFICE,
Boston, August 14, 1838.
SIR: I notice your advertisement of the 6th instant for proposals for the purchase
of State stocks, and Ixjg leave to offer you $100,000 of Massachusetts State scrip,
payable twenty years from 1st September next, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per
cent, payable semiannually.
We are just advised of a large sale of the scrip of this State in London, at a
premium of 4 per cent; at which rate I am authorized to sell the $100,000 now
offered to you.
The last issue of scrip which I received for same amount of the Commonwealth,
I sold all at 5 per cent. If the rate named should be at a greater premium than you
can purchase at, I shall be happy to receive an offer, which I will communicate to
the directors of this company.
I am, sir, very respectfully, yours,
B. T. REED, Treasurer.
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
D 21. BANK OF KENTUCKY,
Louisville, August 14, 1838.
SIR: I take the earliest opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of yours of the
4th instant,
Having already made such arrangements as will reduce the debt to you from this
institution to $300,000, I am willing to give that amount of the bonds held by you
at par. Should this arrangement satisfy you, please advise me as early as possible.
Your obedient servant,
W. H. POPE, President,
Hon. L. WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 22. STATE BANK OF INDIANA,
August 14, 1838.
SIR: For the purpose of a prompt adjustment of the balance due to the United
States on account of public deposits, I take an early occasion to comply with the
authority given me by the directors of this institution; and therefore propose that
such balance due from this institution, on account of public deposits to the United
States not otherwise arranged for, shall be forthwith paid by this institution in the
bonds of the State of Indiana, bearing 5 per centum interest, and payable, both
principal and interest, at a bank in the city of New York the principal at the
expiration of 30 years, and the interest semiannually. This proposal is intended to
include, also, the future installments of our deposit debt.
An early answer is requested, and it is trusted that this mode of your realizing
these means and of adjusting an unsettled account may be approved.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
S. MERRILL
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 23. WASHINGTON, August 14, 1838.
SIR: For one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of the Smithsonian legacy, adver-
tised for investment in State stock, I offer one hundred and fifty bonds of Virginia
State scrip, of $1,000 each, bearing an interest of 5 per centum, payable semi-
annually, and redeemable in twenty years. By an act of the Virginia legislature,
passed last April, the board of public works are authorized to pay the interest on
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 257
this loan in specie or its equivalent. A decision is expected at an early day, and
any information previously desired will be furnished promptly by,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN BRUCE,
President Winchester and Potomac Railroad Co., Winchester, Va.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 24. NEW YORK, August 14, 1838.
SIR: In accordance with the proposal made by you for State stocks, we offer you
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of bonds of the State of Illinois, payable in
1860, bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, payab''* semiannually, in
July and January, at the bank of the United States in Philadelphia, or at their agency
in New York, at the option of the holder at one hundred and four dollars for every
hundred dollars of stock; the interest which shall have accrued from the 1st of July
last to be paid to us.
We are, very respectfully, yours, NEVINS, TOWNSEND & Co.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 25. NEW YORK, August 15, 1838.
DEAR SIR: We have yours of the 13th before us. The stocks we hold are the bonds
of the State of Maine, payable in 1848, bearing an interest of 5 per cent per annum,
payable in Boston, annually. They are worth par here, for the purpose of investing
in banking, under the general law ; but if we could have an answer at once, we will
sell $170,000 at 98 per cent. This is three per cent below the market price of the
bonds of the States of New York and Pennsylvania, which are only preferable to
Maine as a remittance to Europe.
The financial condition of Maine is equal to any State in the Union; her whole
indebtedness is but $554,000, and the banks are all obliged to loan the State 10 per
cent of their capital, at 5 per cent per annum. We can not hold ourselves bound for
any given time to sell the bonds at this rate, but will accept it, if not otherwise dis-
posed of, on receipt of answer. We know it to be a better investment than can be
made in the bonds of any State, especially such as are indebted to such an extent as
to make the prompt payment of interest and principal a matter of some doubt.
Respectfully, your obedient servants,
PARKER & Co.
McOLiNTOCK YOUNG, Esq.,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Washington.
D 26. PETERSBURG RAILROAD OFFICE, August 18, 1838.
SIR: On the 8th instant I had the honor to address you, offering you $150,000 of
Virginia 6 per cent stock, at par. Since then I learn that my friend Wm. H. Mac-
farland, president of the Farmers' Bank of Virginia, had submitted a similar pro-
posal to you. His proposal and mine are for the same stock. Therefore, you will
serve both of us by accepting either his or my proposition.
Begging your favorable consideration,
I remain, sir, with great respect, your humble servant,
CHARLES F. OSBORNE.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
H. Doc. 732 17
258 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS..'/ T
D 27. : NEW YORK, August 18^ .1838;', .
DEAR SIR: We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 13th
instant, and in reply have to inform you that, owing to its delay in reaching us, a
negotiation for the whole amount of the Mississippi bonds had been previously set
on foot.
We are therefore under the necessity of asking permission to withdraw our propo-
sition.
Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
E. C. WILKINSON,
J.,C. '
,
By E/C. WILKINSON.
Mr. McCtiNTocK YOUNG,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury.
D 28. NEW YORK, August 20, 1838^,
SIR: The fund commissioners of Indiana will furnish Indiana 5 per cent bond.s,
having 24 to 25 years to run from 1st July last, interest payable semiannually in
New York at par, to the amount of from one to five hundred thousand dollars, ; and
will receive therefor either cash or the bonds of the State Bank of Indiana.
I would inquire when I may learn whether our proposition is accepted.
For the fund commissioners of Indiana,
ISAAC COE, Fund Commissioner.^
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 29. THE BANK OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI;
St. Louis, August 23, 1838.
DEAR SIR: I have lately seen your advertisement for proposals for the investment
of the Smithsonian legacy in State bonds, &c.
I should be pleased to sell $114,000 of Missouri State bonds at 5 per cent interest,
payable semiannually in the city of New York, and the principal redeemable twenty-
five years after negotiation.
These bonds have been sent to London for sale, but can be withdrawn at any time
if not sold. I would therefore propose to sell them to you at 2 per cent premium,
subject to the sale in London. If not sold upon the arrival of the order in London
for returning them to the United States, the sale will take effect and the bonds be
returned without delay and delivered to you.
I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant,
JOHN SMITH,
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington City.
D 30. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, August 23, 18S8.
SIR: Referring to your offer to sell to the Department $500,000 of 6 per cent Arkan-
sas State bonds at 99^ per cent, I have to request that you will submit for my
examination the law of the State authorizing the issue of the bonds and the form of
the bonds. If both be satisfactory, I am willing, on the arrival of the money, : to take
the net amount (which will not be far from half a million of dollars) aft the rate
offered by you, as it is the lowest bid.
It is expected that the money may be by. this timein Ne-w Yoffc &\
.MXJKjtam, very; respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. W. CORCORAN, Esq.
71 SiJT .-joG .H
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 259
[Enclosure.]
This writing is given to show that the interest due on the bonds of the State of
Arkansas at this date, bought by me of Wm. Corcoran, esq., belongs to said Corcoran
when the same is paid to me.
LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
TKKA.STKY DEPARTMENT-, September 4, 1838.
D 31. BALTIMORE, August 29, 1838.
.SIR: Under your notice of the 6th inst., we now propose to furnish you with the
amount of stock required for vesting the Smithsonian bequest say "about half a
million of dollars" in Indiana State stock at 1 per cent under the par value, or at
the rate of ninety-nine for every one hundred dollars.
This stock bears an interest of 5 per cent per annum, and is payable semiannually
at the Merchants' Bank, in the eity of New York.
If this offer be accepted, the certificates of stock or bonds which are now in Europe
will be delivered at the earliest period say in about fifty days, or sooner if practi-
cable, payment to be made us upon the delivery of the bonds.
We have the honor to remain, with the highest respect, your obedient servants,
J. I. COHEN & BROTHERS.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury of the U. S.
.noH
D 32. THE BANK OP THE STATE OF MISSOURI,
St. Louis, August 31, 1838.
DEAR SIR: I have the honor to refer you to my letter of the 23d inst., and beg leave
now to modify the proposition therein for the sale to you of $114,000 Missouri State
5.} per cent bonds.
Instead of 2 per cent premium I would agree to sell them at par, payable in the
city of New York, subject to the restrictions and conditions contained in my letter
above referred to.
I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant,
JOHN SMITH, President.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington City. .
D 33. SMYRNA, September 10, 1838.
DEAR SIR: I saw in the Globe your advertising for stocks bearing interest not leas
than 5 per cent. I have a certificate of stock on the borough of Wilmington, Dela-
ware, for one thousand dollars, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent, which I
will sell you at par. There can not be any safer investment. Please let me hear
from you.
Respectfully,
JNO. S. LAMBDEN.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY. : . , 1 1
D 34. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, December 30, 1839.
SIR: In a few days I expect to have twenty thousand dollars to invest in State
stocks on account of the Smithsonian bequest. If you have such that you wish to
dispose of, be pleased to inform me of the terms, &c.
I am, &c.,
L. WOODBURY, Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. J. K. PAULDING,
Secretary of the Navy.
260 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
D 35. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, December 27, 1889.
SIR: Early next month I shall have twenty thousand dollars to invest in State
stocks on account of the Smithsonian bequest. Be pleased to Inform me, if you
have such for sale, the time they have to run, the interest they bear, &c., and the
lowest terms you can furnish them.
I am, &c., L. WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
CHARLES J. NOURSE, Esq.,
Washington City, D. C.
[Copies were sent to Hon. F. Thomas, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal Company; to W. W. Corcoran, Washington, D. C. ; to J. D. Beers, esq., New
York City; and to Joseph White, esq., Baltimore, Md.]
D 36. NAVY DEPARTMEET, December 31, 1839.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th
instant.
In reply, I have to state that I can not ascertain whether I shall have any State
stocks to dispose of until to-morrow, when I will communicate with you upon the
subject.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. K. PAULDING.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 37. WASHINGTON CITY, January 15, 1840.
DEAR SIR: In reply to your favor of the 27th ultimo, I have to offer you six per
cent stocks of the following States, viz: Michigan, Arkansas, and Illinois, at 84 per
cent; also, five per cent stock of the State of Indiana, at 75 percent the interest on
all the above payable in New York semiannually; or I will sell six per cents at one-
quarter per cent less than any offer you may have.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. W. CORCORAN.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 38. WASHINGTON, January 6, 1840.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication on the
subject of a tender of State stocks to the Department; and to offer to you the amount
you mention as ready for investment in Ohio sixes, redeemable in 1854, at 88f
interest payable in New York; Illinois Canal sixes, redeemable in 1870, at 75 and 72A.
Yery respectfully, your obedient servant,
CHARLES J. NOURSE.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
JANUARY 18, 1840.
DEAR SIR: Since I left you, a gentleman has handed me a letter, which requires
that the offer of Illinois sixes should be fixed at 75 the rate first proposed.
I will call at 12 o'clock.
Yours, &r.,
CHARLES J. NOURSE.
McC. YOUNG, Esq.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGBESS, 1843-1845. 261
D 39. NEW YORK, January 2, 1840.
SIR: I thank you for your letter of the 27th ult. I have State stocks which I will
offer you for the investment you wish to make, and I write to Mr. Corcoran to hand
In the offer.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. D. BEERS.
Hon. LKVI WOODBIRY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 40. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, July 24, 1840.
GENTLEMEN: Congress having adjourned without enacting any further provision
respecting the Smithsonian fund, and there being in the Treasury about $15, 000 belong-
ing to that fund, which it is the duty of this Department to invest in State stocks,
should you have any to dispose of, I will thank you to inform me of the description
and lowest price.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Messrs. CORCORAN & RIGGS, Present.
[Letters of the same tenor and date as above were addressed to the following per-
sons, viz: Messrs. Prime, Ward & King, of New York; J. D. Beers, esq., of New
York, and C. Macalester, of Philadelphia.]
D 41. WASHINGTON CITY, July 28, 1840.
SIR: We have the pleasure to offer you Illinois State 6 per cent bonds, interest
payable half-yearly, in specie, in New York, at 79 per cent.
Arkansas bonds we can sell lower.
Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
CORCORAN & RIGGS.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 42. NEW YORK, July 27, 1840.
SIR: In answer to your respected letter of the 26th instant, we beg to state that
we will sell $15,000 value, in Kentucky bonds due in 1868 each $1,000 bearing
interest from date of sale at 5 per cent, payable half-yearly in this city, and the
price to be 88 per cent; or in New York State 5 per cent stock, due in 1858, interest
at 5 per cent from 16th ins. , payable quarterly in this city, and the price to be 93
per cent.
But in order to make this offer binding on our part we must ask the favor of your
reply accepting it on or before the 1st of August next.
We remain, sir, respectfully, your obedient servants,
PRIME, WARD & KING.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 43. WASHINGTON, August 10, 1840.
SIR: I have the honor to tender $20,OOC, Illinois 6 per cent bonds, at 87 per cent;
interest from the 1st of July last.
Respectfully yours,
CHARLES J. NOURSE.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of tfie Treasury.
262 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
D 44. NORTH AMERICAN TRUST AND BANKING COMPANY,
No. 47 Wall Street, New York, July 28, 1840.
SIR: In answer to your letter of the 24th instant, I have to state that this institution
will sell to the Department a sufficient amount of the six per cent State stock of
Arkansas, at the rate of 70 per cent, to enable you to invest the $15,000 in the Treasury
belonging to the Smithsonian fund.
I am, sir, very respectfully, yours,
J. D. BEERS, President.
Hon. Levi WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 45. PHILADELPHIA, July 28, 1840.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th inst.,
in answer to which I have to state that the only State stock I have on hand are
Pennsylvania 5 per cents, which I hold at 95, redeemable in 1865, and some Ken-
tucky 6 per cents, redeemable in about six years, bearing interest at 6 per cent, prin-
cipal and interest payable in Kentucky, which I would sell at 87 per cent.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
C. MACALESTER.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 46. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 18, 1841.
SIR: Having about $20,000 to invest for the Smithsonian fund, I request you to
inform me if you have any State stocks to dispose of, the amount you have for sale
if less than that, the rate of interest they bear and where payable, the State by which
issued, and the price you demand.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
CHARLES MACALESTER, Esq., Philadelphia.
Similar letters sent to Messrs. Corcoran & Riggs, Washington; Mr. Charles J.
Nourse, Washington; Mr. J. D. Beers, New York; Mr. B. S. Reed, Boston.
D 47. NEW YORK, January SI, 1841.
SIR: I have duly received your favor informing me that you have $20,000 to invest
in State bonds. I therefore propose to supply you with Arkansas State bonds, such
as heretofore sold you, at 80 per cent. The last sale here of Arkansas bonds by the
comptroller of this State was on the 2d inst,, at 79 and 80. If this is the best offer
I presume you will receive them of me, and I will thank you not to let any know of
my offer unless it is accepted.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. D. BEERS.
Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 48. PHILADELPHIA, January 22, 1841.
SIR: I have your letter of the 18th, in answer to which I have the honor to state
that I have for sale the sum you require of the following stocks:
Pennsylvania State fives, redeemable in 1870; price, $89 for each $100, payable at
Philadelphia; interest payable 1st of August.
Ohio State sixes, redeemable in 1860; price, $97.50 for each $100, payable at New
York; interest payable January 1 and July 1.
Kentucky State sixes, redeemable in 1868; price, $95 for each $100, payable at New
York; interest payable January 1 and July 1.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 263
Kentucky State sixes, redeemable in 1846; price, $85 for each $100, payable at
Frankfort, Kentucky; interest payable April and October.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Ui-f, i : C. MACALESTER.
- Hon. LBVI WOODBUBY,
Secretary } of the Treasury.
P. S. The book for the transfer of the Pennsylvania loan being closed, these loans
are now sold with the interesj; due 1st of February off.
!!\. ,XOTf>'fII!S/. ft .1-0 U
fii JtWio bayJHni Ji-H JjJ J!i-jujJ-!y/iii Linin.t>;-,t\:h,:< ,
D 49. EASTERN RAILROAD OFFICE,
Boston, January 22, 1841-
SIR: Your favor of the 18th instant is before me. I have sold all the Massachusetts
State stock which, -I recently had, and closed it at 99$.
But a friend has of Massachusetts State stock, payable in 18 years, $20,000, drawing
interest at 5$ per annum, payable semianrraally, which I can furnish at 99 per cent;
and of New York State stock, payable in about twenty years, $20,000, drawing interest
at 5$ per cent per annum,, payable quarterly, at 98$ per cent.
New York City stock, payable in about 25 years, drawing interest at 5 per cent per
annum, payable quarterly, at 96$ per cent.
I am, sir, respectfully, ,gakn<
B. T. REED.
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
D 50. WASHINGTON CITY, January SO, 1841.
DEAR SIR: In reply to your favor of the 18th instant, we have to offer you six per
cent stocks of the States of Illinois or Michigan, interest payable half-yearly in New
York, at eighty per cent, or one-half per cent below any offer you may have.
Respectfully,' your obedient servants,
CORCORAN & RIQQS.
Him. I.KVI WOODBFRY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 61? '" TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 30, 1841.
GENTLEMEN: Your offer of the Illinois bonds for the Smithsonian fund is accepted
at 79$. There was an offer of other stock at 80.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
LEVI WOODBURY,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Messrs. CORCORAN & RIGGS,
Washington City.
D 52. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, July 8, 1841.
SIR: There is at this time in the Treasury a balance of $18,271.86 belonging to the
Smithsonian fund, which I am required by law to invest in State stocks.
If you have Massachusetts, Ohio, or New York State stocks to dispose of, I will
thank you to propose the amount of either you are willing to deliver to this Depart-
ment for that balance.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOMAS EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury.
C. J. NouRSE,Esq., Present.
[Letters of the same tenor and date as above were addressed to the following per-
sons, viz: Messrs. Corcoran & Riggs, of Washington; Messrs. J. E. Thayer & Brother,
of Boston; and Messrs. Nevins, Townsend & Co., of New York.]
264 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
D 53. WASHINGTON, July 14, 1841.
SIR: I will furnish the amount wanted for the Smithsonian fund in Ohio sixes at
94i; Xew York fives at 86 J.
The rate of Massachusetts I will send you in a day or two.
Yours, respectfully,
CHAS. J. NorRSE.
Hon. THOS. EWISG.
D 54. WASHINGTON, July IS, 1841.
I can furnish Ohio sixes for the Smithsonian investment at 94J, instead of 94J, as
tendered previously.
The Ohio sixes redeemable 1865.
Respectfully,
CHAS. J. NOCRSE.
Hon. T. EWING.
D 55. NEW YORK, July 10, 1841.
DEAR SIR: We are in receipt of your favor of the 8th instant. We will deliver to
your order $19,969.25 New York 5 percent stock, redeemable in 1861 or $19,233.53
Ohio six per cent stock, redeemable in 1860 for the sum of $18,271.86, if apprized
of your acceptance of the offer by Thursday morning.
We are, with great respect, your obedient servants,
NEVINS, TOWN-SEND & Co.
Hon. T. EWIXG,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 56. BOSTON, July IS, 1841.
SIR: Your favor of the 8th is received. We can furnish you Massachusetts five
per cent stock at one-half per cent advance, or New York State stock, five per cent,
at 85 J per cent. As the bonds are issued in sums of one thousand dollars, we could
not furnish the precise amount which you mention. There ia none of the Ohio
stock held in our market.
Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
J. E. THAYER & BROTHER,
Hon. THOMAS EWIXG,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington.
D 57. XEW YORK, July 16, 1841.
DEAR SIR: I have felt some doubt as to making you a more favorable offer for the
$18,271.86 belonging to the Smithsonian fund than the offer you already have, but
have concluded to offer you $19,250 Ohio State stock, interest from 1st of July
instant.
Should you think proper to accept this offer, and forward to me, or to J. X. Per-
kins, cashier, a draft for the money, the stock certificate will be immediately issued
thereon, in such name as you may direct.
Very respectfully, &c., ALFRED KELLY,
Commissioner Ohio Canal Fund.
Hon. THOMAS EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington City.
D 58 - WASHINGTON CITY, July 17, 1841.
SIR: In reply to your favor of the 8th instant, we have the pleasure to offer Ohio
six per cent stock, to the extent wanted, at 94 per cent
Respectfully, your obedient sen-ants,
CORCORAN & RIGGS,
Hon. THOMAS EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington City.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 265
D 59. TRKASTRY DEPARTMENT, July IS, 1841.
GENTLEMEN: I have received your letter of the 10th, with the offer of New York 5$
per cent and Ohio 6 per cent stock on account of the Smithsonian fond. Having
applied to three or four others for tenders of similar stocks, from whom it is hardly
time to expect replies, it will not be in my power to determine upon your proposi-
tion by the time limited by you. Shall it be regarded as a subsisting proposition
until withdrawn; or, after Thursday, shall I decide without regard to your offer?
Please inform me by return mail.
I am, Ac., T. EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury .
Messrs. NBVINS, TOWNSKND & Co., New York.
D 60. NEW YORK, July 15, 1841.
DEAR SIR: We have your favor of the 13th instant. We will continue our offer
until the 22d instant, modifying it as to the New York stock, of which we will fur-
nish the exact sum of twenty thousand dollars for that of $18,271.86.
Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
NEVDTS, TOWNSEND & Co.
Hon. T. EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury.
D 61. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, July 8, 1841.
GENTLEMEN: There is now in the Treasury a balance of $18,271.86 belonging to the
Smithsonian fund, which I am required by law to invest in State stocks. I will
thank you to inform me what amount of Massachusetts, New York, or Ohio State
stock you are willing to deliver to this Department for that balance, to be paid at
New York,
1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOMAS EWTSG,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Messrs. PRIME, WARD & KING, New York.
D 62. NEW YORK, July 10, 1841.
SIR: In answer to your communication of the 8th instant, we beg to state that we
have no stocks of the kind which you designate to offer to you as an investment of
the Smithsonian fund.
We remain, sir, respectfully yours,
PRIME, WARD & KING.
Hon. T. EWING, Washington.
D 63. TREASURY DAPARTMENT, July 80, 1841.
GENTLEMEN: Your tender of Ohio 6 per cent stock, payable in New York, for the
Smithsonian fund, at the rate of $100 in stock for $94 in cash, is accepted.
The amount to be invested, as mentioned in my letter of the 8th, may be diminished
about $1,000 by the nonpayment of some coupons. Of this I shall be able to inform
you in the course of the day.
1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOMAS EWING,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Messrs. CORCORAN & RIGGS.
266 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. -
June 6, 1844 Senate.
MR. BENJAMIN TAPPAN, from the Committee on the Library, reported
bill S. 188, which was read and passed to a second readm:
'.. ,i.v . :'!.. -:;, . -i >Vulj < J !><>ilqq
A bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge emottg
men.. MX .u.,v vi i,-,ji ; i;
Whereas James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain; by
his last will and testament did give the whole of his property to the United States of
America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an
establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men ; and whereas
Congress have heretofore received said property and accepted said trust: Therefore,
that the same may be executed in good faith, and according to the will of the liberal
and enlightened donor,
Be it enacted, etc. , That so much of the property of the said James Smithson as
has been received in money and paid into the Treasury of the United States, being
the sum of $508,318, be loaned to the United States Treasury, at six per cent per
annum interest, from the third day of December, in the year 1838, when the same
was received into the said Treasury ; and that so much of the interest as may have
accrued on said sum on the first day of July next, which will amount to the sum of
$178,604, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the erection of suitable build-
ings, and the enclosing of suitable grounds for the Smithsonian Institution, established
by this act; and that six per cent interest on the said trust fund, it being the said amount
of $508,318, received into the United States Treasury, third of December, 1838, paya-
ble, in half-yearly payments, on the first of January and July in each year, be, and
the same is hereby, appropriated for the perpetual maintenance and support of said
Institution.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the business of said Institution shall be con-
ducted by a board of managers, to consist of twelve, no two of whom shall be citizens
of the same State or Territory ; that the persons first appointed on the board of man-
agers shall meet in the city of Washington on the first Monday of September next
after the passage of this act, and, when met, shall divide themselves, by lot, into
three sections, one of which shall serve two years, one four, and the other six years;
and whenever a vacancy occurs in said board the same shall be filled by such person
as may be appointed by a joint resolution of Congress; that all those who may be
appointed to fill vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or removal out of the
United States shall serve the residue of the term, and all those who may be appointed
to fill vacancies which occur by lapse of time shall serve for the term of six years;
that after said board shall have met and become organized by appointing one of their
own body president of said board, it shall be their duty to proceed to select a suit-
able site for such building as may be, in their judgment, necessary for the Institu-
tion, and suitable ground, not exceeding ten acres, for horticultural and agricultural
experiments, which ground may be taken and appropriated out of that part of the
public ground in the city of Washington called the Mall; and the ground so selected
shall be set out by proper metes and bounds, and a description of the same shall be
made and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and signed by said
managers, or so many of them as may be convened on said first Monday of Septem-
ber; and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the president of the board of
managers, shall be received as evidence in all courts of the extent and boundaries of
the lands appropriated to said Institution.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That so soon as the board of managers shall have
selected the site for the buildings of the Institution, they shall cause to be erected a
suitable building, of plain and durable materials and structure, without unnecessary
ornament, and of sufficient size and with suitable rooms for the reception -and
arrangement of objects of natural history, a library, a chemical laboratory, and lee-
TWENTY -EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 267
ture room or rooms; and the said board shall have authority, by themselves or by a
committee of three of their members, to contract for the completion of such building
upon such plan as may be directed by the board of managers, and shall take suffi-
cient security to the Treasurer of the United States for the building and finishing the
same according to said plan and in the time stipulated in such contract: Provided,
however, That the expense of said building shall not exceed the sum of $80,000,
which sum is hereby appropriated for that purpose out of any money in the Treas-
ury not otherwise appropriated; and the board of managers shall also cause the
grounds selected for horticultural and agricultural purposes to be enclosed and
secured, and a suitable building erected to preserve such plants as will not bear
exposure to the weather at all seasons; and the sum of $20,000 is hereby appro-
priated for such building and enclosure, to be paid out of any moneys in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and so soon as it may be necessary for the
accommodation of the persons employed in said Institution, the said board of
managers may cause to be erected on the grounds of the Institution such dwelling
houses and other buildings, of plain and substantial workmanship and materials, to
be without unnecessary ornament, as may be wanted: Provided, however, That the
whole expense of building and furnishing as many such houses as may be required
shall not exceed the residue of said interest which will have accrued on the first day
of July next; and for the said expenditure the said residue of said interest, amount-
ing to the sum of $78,604, is hereby appropriated, payable out of any moneys in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and all such contracts as may be made by
said board of managers shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States;
and all questions which may arise between the United States and any person claim-
ing under and by virtue of any such contract shall be heard and determined by said
board of managers, and such determination shall be final and conclusive upon all
parties; and all claims on any contract made as aforesaid shall be allowed and cer-
tified by the board of managers, or a committee thereof, as the case may be, and
being signed by the president of the board, shall be a sufficient voucher for settlement
and payment at the Treasury of the United States.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That so soon as buildings shall be erected for their
reception, all objects of natural history belonging to the United States which may be
in the city of Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered
to such persons as may be authorized by the board of managers to receive them, and
shall be arranged by the professor of natural history in such order and so classed as
best to facilitate the examination and study of them in the building so as aforesaid
to be erected for the institution ; and the managers of said institution shall afterwards,
as new specimens in natural history may be obtained for the museum of the institu-
tion by exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the institution ( which they
are hereby authorized to make) or by donations which they may receive, cause such
new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the minerals,
books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have been received
by the Government of the United States and are now placed in the Patent Office,
shall be removed to said institution and shall be preserved separate and apart from
the other property of the institution.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said institution shall appoint
a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the ground, buildings, and
property belonging to the institution, and carefully preserve the same from injury;
and such superintendent shall be the secretary of the board of managers and shall,
under their direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to be
preserved in said institution; and the said superintendent shall also discharge the
duties of professor of agriculture and of horticulture in said institution, and in that
capacity may, with the approbation of the board of managers, employ from time to
time so many gardeners and other laborers as may be necessary to cultivate the ground
268 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and keep in repair the buildings of said institution; and the superintendent shall
receive for his services such sum as rnay be allowed by the board of managers, to be paid
semiannually on the first day of January and July; and the said superintendent shall
be removable by the board of managers whenever, in their judgment, the interest of
the institution may require the superintendent to be changed.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That at the first meeting of the board of managers
they shall fix on the times for regular meetings of the board, and on applicatipn of
any three of the managers to the superintendent of the institution it shall be his duty
to appoint a time for a special meeting of the board, of which he shall give notice by
letter to each of the members, and at any meeting of the board of managers seven
shall constitute a quorum to do business; that each member of the board of managers
shall be paid his necessary traveling and other expenses in attending meetings of
the board, which shall be audited, allowed, and recorded by the superintendent of
the institution. And whenever any person employed by the authority of the insti-
tution shall have performed service entitling him to compensation, whether the same
shall be by way of salary payable semiannually or wages for labor, the superintend-
ent shall certify to the president of the board that such compensation is due, where-
upon the president shall certify the same to the proper officer of the Treasury
Department for payment.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the board of managers may appoint some
suitable person as professor of natural history, a professor of chemistry, and a pro-
fessor of astronomy, with such other professors as the wants of science may require.
They shall also employ able men to lecture in the Institution upon the arts and sci-
ences, and shall fix the compensation of such professors and lecturers: Provided,
That no professorship shall be established or lecturer employed to treat or lecture on
law, physic, or divinity, it being the object of the Institution to furnish facilities
for the acquisition of such branches of knowledge as are not taught in the various
universities.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the board of managers shall make all need-
ful rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the Institution and the
persons employed therein. They shall direct and prescribe the experiments to be
made by the professor of agriculture and horticulture to determine the utility and
advantage of new modes and instruments of culture, to determine whether new
fruits, plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the United States,
and they shall direct the distribution of all such fruits, plants, seeds, and vegetables
as shall be found useful and adapted to any of our soils and climates, so that the
people in every part of the Union may enjoy the benefit and advantage of the
experiments made by the Institution. They shall also make rules and regulations
for the admission of students in the various departments of the Institution and their
conduct and deportment while they remain therein: Provided, That all instruction
in said Institution shall be gratuitous to those students who conform to such rules
and regulations.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That be appointed managers of the
said Smithsonian Institution, to hold their offices as is hereinbefore provided.
June 7, 1844 House.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS, from the select committee on the subject of the
Smithsonian bequest, made a report thereon with a bill (H. 418):
The select committee, to whom was referred the letter of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury of February 19 last, relating to the then state
and condition of the funds bequeathed by James Smithson to the
United States for the establishment of an institution for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men, have attended to that duty, and
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGKESS, 1843-1845. 261
respectfully submit to the consideration of the House a bill to give
immediate effective operation to the purposes of the testator in that
bequest; and in explanation of the necessity and object of this bill, take
leave to recall to the memory of this House the material circumstances
of the acceptance of this bequest, of the reception of the funds be-
queathed by the testator, and of the disposition of them hitherto made
by Congress, and its present condition.
The existence of the bequest of James Smithson to the United States
of America was communicated to Congress by a message from the Pres-
ident of the United States, of December IT, 1835; and by an act of
Congress approved July 1, 1836, the bequest was accepted, and the
President was authorized and enabled to assert and prosecute, with
effect, the claim of the United States to the property thereby be-
queathed, and then held in trust by the English court of chancery.
The third section of this act is in the following words:
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That any and all sums of money, and other funds,
which shall be received for or on account of the said legacy, shall be applied, in such
manner as Congress may hereafter direct, to the purpose of founding and endowing
at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; to which application of the said
moneys and other funds the faith of the United States is hereby pledged.
Under an authority conferred by this act the President of the
United States appointed Richard Rush the agent to recover the prop-
erty held in trust in the English court of chancery, a commission
faithfully and successfully executed, and on the 1st of September,
1838, Mr. Rush deposited in the mint of the United States at Phila-
delphia, the sum in gold of $580,318.46, which, together with sundry
articles of furniture and books of small and indefinite pecuniary value
constituted the whole of the bequest of James Smithson to the United
States.
Before the time of this deposit at the mint the sixth section of the
act of Congress of July 7, 1838, entitled "An act to provide for the
support of the Military Academy of the United States for the year
1838, and for other purposes," had disposed of the fund as follows:
"SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all the money arising from the bequest of
the late James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of founding at Washington, in
this District, an institution to be denominated the Smithsonian Institution which
may be paid into the Treasury, is hereby appropriated and shall be invested by the
Secretary of the Treasury with the approbation of the President of the United
States in stocks of States, bearing interest at the rate of not less than five per centum
per annum, which said stocks shall be held by the said Secretary in trust for the uses
specified in the last will and testament of said Smithson until provision is made by
law for carrying the purpose of said bequest into effect, and that the annual interest
accruing on the stock aforesaid shall be in like manner invested for the benefit of
said institution."
Under the authority of this provision, $499,500 of the money
received at the mint on the 1st of September, 1838, were on the 4th
^270 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
;of the same month invested in 500 bonds of the State of Arkansas of
$1,000 each, bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum,
payable half-yearly on the 1st days of January and July of each year
until the payment of the principal on the 26th day of October, 1861.
Under the same authority subsequent investments were made in
bonds of the same State of Arkansas as follows:
Dec. 29, 1838, $10,000 in 10 bonds, payable January 1, 1868 $10,000.00
July 6, 1839, $13,000 in 13 bonds, payable January 1, 1868 13,000.00
Sept, 21, 1840, $15,000 in 15 bonds, payable January 1, 1868 15,000.00
Upon these bonds there had been paid for interest on December 31, 1843. 93,591.73
And there was then due for interest on the same 75,687.84
Whence it appears that from and after July, 1841, all payments of
interest on said Arkansas bonds have ceased, and that the amount due
is accumulating at the rate of more than $32,000 a year amounting
at this day to more than $90,000.
On the 23d of November, 1838, $8,000 were invested in bonds of the State of
Michigan, payable on the first Monday of July, 1858, bearing interest at 6
per cent, payable half-yearly at the Manhattan Bank, in the city of New
York '. $8, 000
On these bonds there was due on the 31st of December, 1843, one year's
interest 480
There were invested in bonds of the State of Illinois
Feb. 3, 1840. 13 bonds, of $1,000 each, payable after the year 1860 13, 000
3 bonds, of $1,000 each, payable after January 1, 1873 3, 000
10 bonds, of 1,000 each, reimbursable at the pleasure of the State
after the year 1860 10, 000
Dec. 3, 1840. 6 bonds of the State of Illinois, of $1,000 each, payable
after January 1, 1870 $6, 000
Feb. 1, 1841. 24 bonds, payable after January 1, 1870 24, 000
30,000
On these bonds of the State of Illinois there was due on December 31, 1843,
one year's interest 3, 360
There were invested in the 6 per cent canal stocks of the State of Ohio
Aug. 7, 1841. 13 bonds, of $1,000 each, payable after December 31, 1860 13, 000
Aug. 10, 1841. 5 bonds, of $1,000 each, payable after December 31, 1860 5, 000
Upon these bonds, on the 31st of December, 1843, no interest was
due.
The first section of an act of Congress of September 11, 1841, repealed
so much of the sixth section of the act of July 7, 1838, as required
the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the annual interest accruing on
the investment of the money arising from the bequest of James Smith-
son in the stocks of the States; and the Secretary of the Treasury was
thenceforth required, until Congress shall appropriate said accruing
interest to the purposes prescribed by the testator for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men, to invest said accruing interest in
any stock of the United States bearing not less than 5 per cent per
annum.
('}; .-nij ([> o'iy// ,rt>..j .vi'ini-. ;.;-/-; ''..i j-i -nil m.. nun: >u) Jj; b^r/h JTJ
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGKESS, 1843-1845. 271
Since that time the investments in the stocks of the United States
have been as follows:
September 27, 1841, 5 per cent stocks $1, 291. 86
August 27, 1842, 6 per cent stocks 1 , 135. 80
December 29, 1842, 6 per cent stocks 8,322.79
March 31, 1843, 6 per cent stocks 653.05
January 12, 1844, 5 per cent stocks 4, 231. 35
:
Total 15, 634 85
Which sum is the whole amount of interest received at the Treasury
in the space of two years and four months (from the llth of Septem-
ber, 1841, to the 12th of January, 1844) from a fund which in that
space of time should have yielded little less than $80,000. This, then,
is the present condition of the fund.
There are in the Treasury of the United States 620 bonds of the
States of Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan, viz:
Arkansas.. 538
Illinois 56
Ohio 18
Michigan 8
Total ~^~Q
for $1,000 each, bearing on their face interest at 6 per cent a year, payable
half-yearly in the city of New York. The principal of these bonds is
payable at different times from 1850 to 1873 none before the first of
those periods, and none after, but at the pleasure of the several con-
tracting States.
The annual interest upon these bonds is $37,200, payable in semiannual
payments in the city of New York; but with the exception of the
bonds of the State of Ohio, the payment of interest on all the rest is
suspended, which suspension on the bonds of the State of Arkansas
has already continued for the space of nearly three years.
The arrears of this interest due on the 31st of December, 1843, were;
Of the State of-
Arkansas $75,687.84
480 -
3. 360. 00
'
Forming an aggregate of 79,527.84
Which, added to the amount of the bonds 620, 000. 00
Gives the amount in the Treasury 699, 527. 84
on the 31st of December, 1843, which sum, with the accruing interest
to the 31st of December, 1846, will exceed $800,000. The stipulated
period of payment of the principal of all these bonds is remote, none
being payable earlier than 1850, some of them not before 1870, and
all postponable at the pleasure of the State. So that while the pay-
272 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ments of interest remain suspended, neither principal nor interest is
available for application by Congress to the purpose of the bequest
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
Yet in the act of Congress of July 1, 1836, accepting the bequest,
the faith of the United States was solemnly pledged that all the sums
of money and other funds received for or on account of this legacy
should be applied to the humane and generous purpose prescribed by
the testator.
For the redemption of this pledge it is indispensably necessary that
the fund now locked in the Treasury in the bonds of these States, and
the accruing interest on them (the payment of which is now suspended),
should be made available for the disposal of Congress to execute the
sacred trust which in the name of the United States they have assumed.
For this purpose the committee report a bill appropriating the sum of
$800,000, to be invested in certificates of stock of the United States,
bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent a year, payable half-yearly,
and redeemable at the pleasure of Congress by the substitution of
other funds of equal value, which sum of $800,000 shall constitute per-
manent funds, thus appropriated, as follows:
1. To replace the sum of $508,318.46 deposited in the mint of the
United States in gold on the 1st of September, 1838, and $500,000 of
which were, on the 4th of the same month, invested for and on account
of the United States in bonds of the State of Arkansas.
2. Three hundred thousand dollars to supply the place of the interest
which has accrued and will accrue until or near the 31st of December,
1846, on the bonds now in the Treasury of the United States, the pay-
ment of interest on which is at present suspended.
The committee will not entertain a doubt that the States of Arkan-
sas, Illinois, and Michigan will have made before the close of the year
1846 provision for payment of the arrears of interest due upon their
bonds and for the punctual payment of the same interest as it may
hereafter accrue. The appropriations from the Treasury proposed
by the bill herewith reported will require no disbursement of money
beyond one year's interest on the whole fund, and the amount now in
the Treasury and available for the immediate disposal of Congress.
The appropriations authorized by the bill are necessary to enable Con-
gress to proceed immediately to the execution of the trust committed
to them by the testator, and for the fulfillment of which the faith of the
nation has been pledged; but they will constitute no burdens upon the
Treasury itself, and no ultimate expenditure, other than the proceeds
of the Smithsonian fund itself. The proposal is that of this sum of
$300,000, $60,000 shall be held as a permanent fund, from the interest
of which, without intrenching upon the principal, a sum of $3,600 a
year shall be provided for the compensation of an astronomical obser-
vator, and for the contingent expenses of repairs of an observatory,
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 273
occasionally required. That a like fund of $120,000 shall be reserved,
yielding a yearly interest of $7,200, for a compensation of $1,500 a
year for each of four assistant observers, and of two laborers with the
wages for each of $600 a year. That a fund of $20,000 should supply
a yearly interest for the purchase of new publications on subjects
connected with science; and another fund, from the interest of which
may be defrayed the compensation of the secretaiy and treasurer o
the corporation, and the charge of publication of a nautical almanac
and of the observations made by the observators. There remains,
then, a sum of $70,000 to be expended for the erection of the observa-
tory, and of the necessary buildings connected therewith, and for the
purchase of instruments and books necessary and suitable for the
establishment, which may be thus formed and completed by the close
of the year 1846.
For refunding to the Treasury the whole sum thus appropriated,
principal and interest, the only requisite will be the sense of justice
of the governments of the States of Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan,
of which, as the committee have observed, they can not entertain a
doubt.
The committee respectfully report, with slight modifications adapted
to the present circumstances, the same bill reported by a committee
of this House at the second session of the Twenty -seventh Congress,
on the 12th of April, 1842.
And, finally, the committee refer the House, for a full exposition of
the facts and principles upon which the bill now reported is predi-
cated, to the following previous reports of committees of this House
on the subject of the Smithsonian bequest:
Report No. 181, of January 19, 1836, Twenty-fourth Congress, first
session, with accompanying documents.
Report No. 277, of March 5, 1840, Twenty-sixth Congress, first ses-
sion, with amendatory bill H. 1.
Report No. 587, of April 12, 1842, Twenty-seventh Congress, sec-
ond session, with bill H. 386.
All of which this committee request may be taken as part of their
report.
[H. 418.]
A bill to provide for the disposal and management of the fund bequeathed by James Smithson to
the United States, for the establishment of an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men.
SEC. 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United
States, the Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, and Navy, the Postmaster and
Attorney Generals, the chief justice of the circuit court of the United States for the
District of Columbia, and the mayor of the city of Washington, shall be, and hereby
are, constituted a body politic and corporate, by the style and title of "The trustees of
the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,"
H. Doc. 732 18
274 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
with perpetual succession, and the usual powers, duties, and liabilities incident to
corporations.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the corporation HO constituted shall have
power to appoint, from citizens of the United States other than members of the
board, a secretary and a treasurer, to hold their offices during the pleasure of the
board, and removable at their pleasure, and others to be appointed in their places,
and to fix from time to time their compensations. And the secretary and treasurer
only shall receive pecuniary compensation for their services, and those of the mem-
bers of the board of trustees shall be gratuitous. And the offices of secretary and
treasurer may, at the discretion of the board of trustees, be held by the same person.
The secretary and treasurer shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of
their respective offices; and the treasurer shall give bond, under the penalty of
$50,000, with sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the
safe custody and faithful application of all the funds of the institution which may
come to his hands or be at his disposal.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $800,000 be, and the same is
hereby appropriated, by investment of that sum in certificates of stock to that amount
of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent a year, from and after
the passage of this act, redeemable at the pleasure of Congress by the substitution of
other funds of equal value and yielding the same income, the said interest being
payable half-yearly on the first Mondays of January and July. The said stocks to
be applied in manner following: First, to constitute a fund of $500,000, bearing
interest as aforesaid, to supply the place of the same sum received at the Mint of
the United States at Philadelphia, in gold, on the first day of September, of the year
1838, and on the fourth day of the same month invested, for account of the United
States, in five hundred bonds of the State of Arkansas, of one thousand dollars each,
bearing interest at the rate of six per cent a year, payable half-yearly, and the prin-
cipal of which is redeemable on the second of October, 1860. Secondly, to constitute
a fund of $300,000, bearing interest as aforesaid, to supply the place of an equal sum
invested in one hundred and forty bonds of the States of Arkansas, Michigan, Illinois
and Ohio, and of interest which has accrued, and may hereafter accrue, to the said
amount of $300,000, from the said sum deposited at the Mint of the United States at
Philadelphia on the first day of September, 1838; the said fund to be applied to the
execution of the purpose of the testator, "the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men," in manner following:
Of the said fund, there shall be applied for the erection and establishment, at the
city of Washington, of an astronomical observatory, adapted to the most effective and
continual observations of the phenomena of the heavens; to be provided with the
necessary, best, and most perfect instruments and books, for the periodical publica-
tion of said observations, and for the annual composition and publication of a nauti-
cal almanac, thirty thousand dollars.
Of the said fund there shall be reserved in the stock thus invested the sum of
$60,000, from the yearly interest of which the compensation shall be paid of an astro-
nomical observator, to be appointed by the board of overseers, removable at their
discretion, and another to be appointed whenever the said office may be vacant;
and his compensation shall be at the rate of $3,000 a year, and $600 a year shall be
reserved for the incidental and contingent expenses of repairs upon the buildings as
they may be required.
Also $120,000, from the yearly interest of which shall be paid the compensation
of four assistants to the astronomer and of laborers necessary for attendance on him,
and for the care and preservation of the buildings. The compensation of the four
assistants to be at the rate of $1,500 a year each; and the compensation of the labor-
ers not to exceed in amount, for the whole of those found necessary, $1,200 a year;
the assistants and laborers to be appointed and removable by the said board of
trustees at their discretion.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 275
Of the said fund there shall he applied to furnish an assortment of the best and
most perfect instruments for astronomical observation, to be procured under the direc-
tion of the astronomical observator, to be appointed conformably to the provisions
of this act, $20,000.
And there shall be reserved $10,000, from the interest of which other instruments
may be from time to time procured, as occasions for the use of them may arise, and
for the repairs of instruments as needed.
And there shall be reserved $10,000, applied to the purchase of a library of books
of science and literature for the use of the observatory, to be selected by the
observator; and the further sum of $20,000 reserved, from the interest of which to
pay for a supply of new works, transactions of learned societies, and periodical pub-
lications upon science in other parts of the world or in America.
Of the said fund shall be reserved $30,000, from the interest of which shall be
paid the compensation of the secretary and treasurer, and the contingent expenses
of the corporation hereby constituted, including the expense of the yearly publica-
tion of the observations made at the observatory, and of a nautical almanac, to be
called the Smithsonian Almanac.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all the moneys and stocks which have been,
or may hereafter be, received into the Treasury of the United States on account of
the fund bequeathed by James Smithson be, and the same are hereby, pledged to
refund to the Treasury of the United States the sums hereby appropriated. And
the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause to be opened an account in which the
Smithsonian fund shall be charged with the sum of $800,000, hereby appropriated
and invested in stocks of the United States, and shall be credited by the six hundred
and forty bonds of the States of Arkansas, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, and by all
the sums received, or hereafter to be received, for interest on the said bonds until
the final payment of the principal thereof by the said States. And the Secretary of
the Treasury is hereby authorized to sell and transfer, at their nominal par value,
principal and interest, ana not under, any of the said bonds, with the interest due
and unpaid on the same, and to credit the said fund with the proceeds thereof, till
the whole sum hereby appropriated, and all the interest hereafter paid thereon,
shall be refunded to the Treasury of the United States.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That no part of the said Smithsonian fund, prin-
cipal or interest, shall be applied to any school, college, university, other institute of
education, or ecclesiastical establishment.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the observatory provided by the third sec-
ti< >n ( >f this act shall be erected under the direction of the board of trustees on a site
in the city of Washington, to be selected by them; and should the same be on land
belonging to the United States, so much thereof as, in the opinion of the trustees,
shall be necessary for the purpose shall be conveyed to them in consideration of the
sum of $10,000, taken from that fund by the general appropriation act of third
March, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine: Provided, That if no such suitable site
can be found on the public lands, that then a selection of a site on private prop-
erty may be made at a price not exceeding one-half cent per square foot, to be paid
out of the appropriation in the third section of this act.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said board of
trustees shall be subject to the approval of the President of the United States; and
all the accounts thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and
audited under his direction by the proper officers of the Treasury Department; and
the said board shall report to Congress, at every session thereof, the state of the
Smithsonian fund, and a full statement of their receipts and expenditures during
the preceding year.
SEC. S. Anfl !' :t further enacted, That the first meeting of the trustees of the Smith-
sonian fund shall l>e held at the city of Washington on the third Tuesday of
next; and that in the meantime the custody of the said fund and the expenditures
276 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
under the appropriations herein made shall be held and authorized by the Secretary
of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of the President of the United States.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a board of visitors, to be
annually appointed, consisting of nine members; two of whom to be commissioned
officers of the Army, to be appointed by the Secretary of War; two commissioned
officers of the Navy, to be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy; the mayors for
the time being of the cities of Alexandria and of Georgetown, within the District of
Columbia; and one citizen of each of the cities of Washington, Alexandria, and
Georgetown, to be appointed by the President of the United States; who shall meet
on the first Monday of February, at eleven o'clock, before noon, at the said astro-
nomical observatory, and visit and inspect the condition of the said observatory and
of the Smithsonian Institution generally. They shall choose among themselves a
chairman, and shall make report to the President of the United States of the said
condition of the Institution, specifically indicating in what respect the Institution
has, during the preceding year, contributed to the purpose of the founder the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. To this board the astronomical
observator shall make a report to the same effect, so far as regards the astronomical
branch of the Institution, which report shall be annexed to that of the board to the
President of the United States, who shall communicate the said reports to Congress.
The services of the members of the said board shall be gratuitous.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act which
shall be found inconvenient upon experience: Provided, That no contract or individ-
ual right, made or acquired under such provisions, shall thereby be impaired or
divested.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That for any other moneys which have accrued,
or may hereafter accrue, upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein appropriated,
the board of trustees are hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem
necessary for the promotion of the purpose of the testator "the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men " unless the same shall be otherwise disposed of
by law.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
June 14, 1844 House.
Mr. EDMUND DEBERRY, from the Committee on Agriculture, made
an adverse report upon the petition of citizens of the State of Massa-
chusetts in relation to the appropriation of the Smithsonian bequest
for the purposes of agricultural education.
December 12, 1844 Senate.
Mr. Benj. TAP PAN introduced bill S. 18. Referred to the Commit-
tee on the Library.
A bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men.
Whereas James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain,
by his last will and testament did give the whole of his property to the United States
of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and
whereas Congress have heretofore received said property and accepted said trust;
therefore, that the same may be executed in good faith, and according to the will of
the liberal and enlightened donor:
Beit enacted, etc., That so much of the property of the said James Smithson as
has been received in money and paid into the Treasury of the United States, being
the sum of $508, 318, be loaned to the United States Treasury, at six per cent per
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 277
annum interest, from the third day of December, in the year 1838, when the same
\va. received into the said Treasury; and that so much of the interest as may have
accrued on said sum on the first day of July next, which will amount to the sum of
$209,103, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the erection of suitable build-
ings, the inclosing of suitable grounds, and for the purchase of books and instruments
for the Smithsonian Institution established by this act; and that six per cent interest
on the said trust fund, it being the said amount of $508,318, received into the United
States Treasury, third of December, 1838, payable, in half-yearly payments, on
the first of January and July in each year, be, and the same is hereby, appropri-
ated for the perpetual maintenance and support of said institution: Provided, That
the books to be purchased for said institution shall consist of works on science and
the arts, especially such as relate to the ordinary business of life, and to the various
mechanical and other improvements and discoveries which may be made.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the business of said institution shall be con-
ducted by a board of managers, to consist of twelve, no two of whom shall be citizens
of the same State or Territory; that the persons first appointed on the board of
managers shall meet in the city of Washington, on the first Monday of July next
after the passage of this act, and, when met, shall divide themselves, by lot, into
three sections, one of which shall serve two years, one four, and the other six years;
and whenever a vacancy occurs in said board, the same shall be filled by such per-
son as may be appointed by a joint resolution of Congress; that all those who may
be appointed to fill vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or removal out of the
United States, shall serve the residue of the term, and all those who may be
appointed to fill vacancies which occur by lapse of time shall serve for the term of
six years; that after said board shall have met and become organized by appointing
one of their own body president of said board, it shall be their duty to proceed to
select a suitable site for such building as may be, in their judgment, necessary for the
institution, and suitable ground for horticultural and agricultural experiments,
which ground may be taken and appropriated out of that part of the public ground
in the city of Washington called the Mall, lying west of Seventh street; and the
ground so selected shall be set out by proper metes and bounds, and a description of
the same shall be made and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and
signed by said managers, or so many of them as may be convened on said first Mon-
day of July; and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the president of the
board of managers, shall be received as evidence in all courts of the extent and
boundaries of the lands appropriated to said institution.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That so soon as the board of managers shall have
selected the site for the buildings of the institution, they shall cause to be erected a
suitable building, of plain and durable materials and structure, without Unnecessary
ornament, and of sufficient size, and with suitable rooms or halls for the reception
and arrangement, upon a liberal scale, of objects of natural history, a geological and
mineralogical cabinet, a library, a chemical laboratory, and a lecture room or rooms;
and the said board shall have authority, by themselves, or by a committee of three
of their members, to contract for the completion of such building upon such plan as
may be directed by the board of managers, and shall take sufficient security to the
Treasurer of the United States for the building and finishing the same according to
the said plan, and in the time stipulated in such contract: Provided, however, That
the expense of said building shall not exceed the sum of $80,000, which sum is
hereby appropriated for that purpose out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated; and the board of managers shall also cause the grounds selected for
horticultural and agricultural purposes to be enclosed and secured, and a suitable
building erected to preserve such plants as will not bear exposure to the weather at
all seasons; and the sum of $20,000 is hereby appropriated for such building and
enclosure, to be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated;
278 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and so soon as it may be necessary for the accommodation of the persons employed
in said institution, the said board of managers may cause to be erected on the grounds
of the institution such dwelling houses and other buildings, of plain and substantial
workmanship and materials, to be without unnecessary ornament, as may be wanted;
Provided, however, That the whole expense of building and furnishing as many such
houses as may be required shall not exceed the residue of said interest which will
have accrued on the first day of July next; and for the said expenditure the said
residue of said interest, amounting to the sum of $78,604 is hereby appropriated, pay-
able out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and all such
contracts as may be made by said board of managers shall be deposited with the
Treasurer of the United States; and all questions which may arise between the
United States and any person claiming under and by virtue of any such contract
shall be heard and determined by said board of managers, and such determination
shall be final and conclusive upon all parties; and all claims on any contract made
as aforesaid shall be allowed and certified by the board of managers, or a committee
thereof, as the case may be, and being signed by the president of the board, shall be
a sufficient voucher for settlement and payment at the Treasury of the United States.
And the board of managers shall be authorized to employ such persons as they deem
necessary to superintend the erection of the building, and fitting up the rooms of the
institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted. That so soon as buildings shall be erected for their
reception, all objects of natural history and geological and mineralogical specimens
belonging to the United States which may be in the city of Washington, in whoseso-
ever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such persons as may be author-
ized by the board of managers to receive them, and shall be arranged by the proper
professor in such order and so classed as best to facilitate the examination and study
of them in the building so as aforesaid to be erected for the institution; and the
managers of said institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy, may be obtained for the museum of the institution by
exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the institution (which they are hereby
authorized to make) or by donations which they may receive, cause such new speci-
mens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the minerals, books,
manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson which have been received by
the Government of the United States, and are now placed in the Patent Office, shall
be removed to said institution and shall be preserved separate and apart from the
other property of the institution.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said institution shall appoint
a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the ground, buildings, and
property belonging to the institution, and carefully preserve the same from injury;
and such superintendent shall be the secretary of the board of managers, and shall,
under their direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to be
preserved in said institution; and the said superintendent shall also discharge the
duties of professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy in said institution,
and in that capacity may, with the approbation of the board of managers, employ,
from time to time, so many gardeners and other laborers as may be necessary to cul-
tivate the ground and keep in repair the buildings of said institution; and the super-
intendent shall receive for his services such sum as may be allowed by the board of
managers, to be paid semiannually on the first day of January and July; and the
said superintendent shall be removable by the board of managers whenever, in their
judgment, the interest of the institution require the superintendent to be changed.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That at the first meeting of the board of man-
agers they shall fix on the times for regular meetings of the board, and on appli-
cation of any three of the managers to the superintendent of the institution, it
shall be his duty to appoint a time for a special meeting of the board, of which he
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 279
shall give notice by letter to each of the members, and at any meeting of the board
of managers five shall constitute a quorum to do business; that each member of the
board of managers shall be paid his necessary traveling and other expenses in attend-
ing meetings of the board, which shall be audited, allowed, and recorded by the
superintendent of the institution. And whenever any person employed by the
authority of the institution shall have performed service entitling him to compen-
sation, whether the same shall be by way of salary payable semiannually or wages
for labor, or whenever money is due from said institution for any purpose whatever,
the superintendent shall certify to the president of the board that such compensation
or money is due, whereupon the president shall certify the same to the proper officer
of the Treasury Department for payment.
SKI. 7. And be it further enacted, That the board of managers may appoint some
suitable person as professor of natural history, a professor of chemistry, a professor
of geology, and a professor of astronomy, with such other professors as the wants of
science may require. They shall also employ able men to lecture in the institution
upon the arts and sciences, and shall fix the compensation of such professors and
lecturers: Provided, That no professorship shall be established or lecturer employed
to treat or lecture on law, physic, or divinity, it being the object of the institution
to furnish facilities for the acquisition of such branches of knowledge as are not
aught in the various universities.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the board of managers shall make all needful
rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the Institution and the persons
employed therein; and, in prescribing the duties of the professors and lecturers, they
shall have special reference to the introduction and illustration of subjects connected
with the productive and liberal arts of life, improvements in agriculture, in manu-
factures, in trades, and in domestic economy. They shall direct experiments to be
made by the professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy to determine
the utility and advantage of new modes and instruments of culture, to determine
whether new fruits, plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the
United States; and they shall direct the distribution of all such fruits, plants, seeds,
and vegetables as shall be found useful and adapted to any of our soils and climates,
so that the people in every part of the Union may enjoy the benefit and advantage
of the experiments made by the institution. They shall also direct the professor of
chemistry to institute a chemical analysis of soils from different sections of the United
States, to make experiments on the various modes of improving and enriching the
several kinds of soil found within the United States, and at all times to include in
his course of lectures the subject of agricultural chemistry. They shall also direct
the professor of natural history especially to refer in his course of lectures to the
history and habits of such animals as are useful, or such animals and insects as are
njurious, including the best means of taking care of and improving the one and of
protecting grain and other products from the other. They shall also direct the pro-
fessor of geology to include in his course of lectures practical instructions of a gen-
eral character to aid in the exploration and working of mines. They shall also
direct the professor of architecture and domestic science to include in his course of
lectures practical instructions as to the best modes and materials for building, accord-
ing to climate and location, throughout the United States, from the simple dwelling
to the more complicated and costly structures for public and other purposes; also, to
institute experiments in regard to the best mode of lighting, heating, and ventilating
buildings, public and private, and to determine the value of such scientific improve-
ments as may, from time to time, be made in the same or in any other important
branch of domestic economy. They shall also direct the professor of astronomy
to include in his lectures a course on navigation, including the use of nautical
instruments. And it shall be competent for the said managers, at their discretion, to
cause to be printed and published, from time to time, works, in popular form, on the
280 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sciences and on the aid they bring to labor, written by the professors of the institu-
tion, or by other persons engaged for the purpose: Provided, That such works shall,
at all times, be offered for sale at the lowest rates that will repay the actual expense
of publication: And provided, That such works shall, before publication, be submitted
to and examined by the board of managers, or a committee of their number. And
the said board shall also make rules and regulations for the admission of students
into the various departments of the institution, and their conduct and deportment
while they remain therein: Provided, That all instruction in said institution shall be
gratuitous to those students who conform to such rules and regulations.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That be appointed managers of the said
Smithsonian Institution, to hold their offices as is hereinbefore provided.
December 16, 1844 Senate.
Mr. BENJAMIN TAPPAN, from the Committee on the Library, reported
bill S. 18, without amendment.
December 31, 1844 Senate.
On motion of Mr. B. TAPPAN the Senate considered as in Committee
of the Whole the bill S. 18, and various verbal amendments offered
by him were adopted.
On motion by Mr. JABEZ W. HUNTINGTON the further consideration
was postponed to and made the order of the day for Thursday fol-
lowing.
Mr. R. CHOATE and Mr. B. TAPPAN offered amendments, which wore
ordered to be printed.
January 6, 1845 Senate.
Mr. B. TAPPAN presented a petition of Thomas Johnson and others,
citizens of Huron County, Ohio, praying the passage of the bill now
before the Senate to establish the Smithsonian Institution; which was
ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. EPH. H. FOSTER, of New York, presented a petition of Gen.
N. V. Knickerbocker and two hundred other citizens of Steuben
County, New York, praying the passage of the bill to establish the
Smithsonian Institution; which was ordered to lie on the table.
January 8, 1845 Senate.
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the considera-
tion of the bill S. .18 to establish the Smithsonian Institution.
The bill having been read
Mr. RUFUS CHOATE said he was sure that, whatever opinion might
be at last formed on this bill, its principles or its details, all would
concur in expressing thanks to the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Tappan]
for introducing it. We shall differ, he proceeded, more perhaps than
could be wished or than can be reconciled about the mode of adminis-
tering this noble fund; but we can not differ about our duty to enter
at once on some mode of administering it. A large sum of money has
been given to us, to hold and to apply in trust, "for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men." We have accepted the trust.
"To this application (such is the language of our act of the 1st of
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 281
July, 1836) to this application of the money the faith of the United
States is hereby pledged." The donor is in his grave. There is no
chancellor to compel us to redeem our pledge, and there needs none.
Our own sense of duty to the dead, and the living, and the unborn who
shall live our justice, our patriotism, our polic}% common honesty,
common decorum, urge us, and are enough to urge us, to go on, with-
out the delay of an hour, to appropriate the bounty according to the
form of the gift. I thank the Senator, therefore, for introducing a
bill with which, to my own knowledge, he has taken much and, so
far as I can see or conceive disinterested pains, and which affords us
an opportunity to discharge a plain duty, perhaps too long delayed.
I think, too, sir, that the Senator has, in the first section of the bill,
declared the true fundamental law according to which this fund ought
to be permanently administered. He lends to the United States the
whole sum of $508,318 actually received out of the English chancery,
from the 3d of December, 1838, when it was received, at an interest of
6 per cent per annum. He leaves the sum of $209,103, which is so
much of the interest as will have accrued on the 1st day of July next,
to be applied at once to the construction of buildings, the preparation
of grounds, the purchase of books, instruments, and the like; and then
appropriates the interest, and the interest only, of the original prin-
cipal sum for the perpetual maintenance of the institution, leaving the
principal itself unimpaired forever. This, all, is exactly as it should be.
But when you examine the bill a little further, to discern what it is
exactly which this considerable expenditure of money is to accom-
plish when you look to see how and how much it is going "to increase
and diffuse knowledge among men," I am afraid that we shall have
reason to be a little less satisfied. I do not now refer to the constitu-
tion of the board of management, of which, let me say, under some
important modifications, I incline to approve, although on that I reserve
myself. I speak of what the fund, however managed, is to be made
to do. The bill assumes, as it ought, to apply it "to increase and dif-
fuse knowledge among men." Well, how does it accomplish this
object?
It proposes to do so, for substance, by establishing in this city a
school or college for the purpose of instructing its pupils in the appli-
cation of certain physical sciences to certain arts of life. The plan, if
adopted, founds a college in Washington to teach the scientific princi-
ples of certain useful arts. That is the whole of it. It appoints, on
permanent salaries, a professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural
economy; a professor of natural history; a professor of chemistiy; a
professor of geology; a professor of astronomy; a professor of archi-
tecture and domestic science, together with a fluctuating force of occa-
sional auxiliary lecturers; and all these professors and lecturers are
enjoined "to have special reference, in all their illustrations and instruc-
282 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tions, to the productive and liberal arts of life to improvements in
agriculture, manufactures, trades, and domestic economy." Thus, the
professor of chemistry is to analyze different kinds of soils, and to
learn and teach how to enrich them; the professor of natural history
is to deal with noxious or useful animals and insects; the professor of
geology is to illustrate the working of mines; the professor of astron-
omy is to teach navigation; the professor of architecture and domestic
science is charged with the theory and practice of building, lighting,
and ventilating all manner of edifices, and the professor of agriculture,
horticulture, and domestic economy is to make experiments to see what
exotics will grow, and what will not, all over the United States. And,
in pursuance of the same theory of administration of the fund, it is
provided that not a book is to be purchased for the institution except
'works on science and the arts, especially such as relate to the ordinary
business of life, and to the various mechanical and other improvements
and discoveries which may be made."
Now, I say that this creates a college or school, such as it is, on the
basis of a somewhat narrow utilitarianism to be sure, erroneously so
called, but a college or academical institution. Who is to be taught
agriculture, architecture, domestic science, rural economy, and navi-
gation \ Not you, Mr. President, I suppose, not Congress, not the
Government, not men at all. Students, pupils, youths, are to be
brought hither, if you can find them; "rules and regulations" (so
runs the eighth section of the bill) are to be made "for the admission
into the various departments of the institution, and their conduct and
deportment while they remain therein," and instruction is to be given
them by professors and lecturers. This surely is a school, a college,
an academical institute of education, such as it is, or nothing.
Well, sir, in reviewing, as I have had occasion to do, the proceed-
ings of Congress upon this subject heretofore, I have received the
impression that it had become quite your settled judgment settled on
the most decisive reasons that no school, college, or academical estab-
lishment should be constituted. It seems that in the session of 1838 a
joint committee of the two branches was charged with this delibera-
tion. The chairman of the committee from this body was Mr. Rob-
bins, and the chairman on the appointment of the House was Mr.
Adams; both of them, I may pause to say, persons of the most pro-
found and elegant acquisition; both of them of that happy, rare class
who "grow old still learning." The two committees differed on this
very question whether a school or college should be established. The
opinion of the committee of the House is expressed in the fourth sec-
tion of the bill (No. 293 Senate) which they desired to report, and
which is in these words:
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no part of the said Smithsonian fund, prin-
cipal, or interest shall be applied to any school, college, university, institute of edu-
cation, or ecclesiastical establishment.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 283
That of the committee of the Senate is distinctly enough intimated
in the beautiful speech with which Mr. Bobbins introduced the subject,
in January, 1839. I find it in the Appendix to the Congressional
Globe:
I could wish, if all were agreed in it, that this institution should make one of a
number of colleges, to constitute a university to be established here, and to be
endowed in a manner worthy of this great nation and their immense resources. But,
as opinions are divided upon this subject^not, I should hope, as to the great desir-
ableness of such an establishment, but as to the constitutional competency of Con-
gress to undertake it I will not embarrass my present object by involving it with
that subject. This, as an independent institution, may hereafter be made a part of
such a university, should one be established; but it is now to be looked at only as an
independent institution.
It was to embody and execute this conception that Mr. Bobbins
drew the Senate bill No. 292.
Finding themselves unable to agree, it was determined that each
committee should report both of these bills to their respective Houses.
On the 25th of February, 1839, the bill drawn by Mr. Bobbins was
taken up in this body, and after an animated discussion was laid on
the table by a vote of 20 to 15. This vote is regarded, I perceive, by
Mr. Adams, in his subsequent reports of 1840 and 1842, as expressing
the judgment of the Senate against the establishment of such academi-
cal institute of learning. He says:
It is then to be considered as a circumstance propitious to the final disposal of this
fund, by the organization of an institution the best adapted to accomplish the design
of the testator, that this first but erroneous impression of that design an institute of
learning, a university, upon the foundation of which the whole fund should be lav-
ished, and yet prove inadequate to its purpose, without large appropriations of pub-
lic moneys in its aid should have been presented to the consideration of Congress,
referred to a numerous joint committee of both Houses, there discussed, reported for
the deliberation of both Houses, fully debated in the House where it originated, and
then decisively rejected.
If such may be inferred to have been the judgment of the Senate, it
may be defended on the most decisive reasons. It is hardly worth
while to move the question whether it would be expedient to apply the
fund as far as it would go to the founding of a great university deserv-
ing of the name a national university in which all the branches
of a thorough education should be taught; which should fill the space
between the college and professional schools which should guide
the nmturer American mind to the highest places of knowledge; for
such should be the functions of such a university. It is not worth
while to move this question, because no such proposition is before us.
I am afraid, with Mr. Adams, that to found such a university would
consume the whole fund, interest and principal, almost at once, and
reduce you to the alternative of a signal failure, or of occasional and
frequent application to the Government for aid which could never
be granted. But the Senator from Ohio contemplates no such thing.
284 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
He constructs his college on a far more moderate model; and of this
college of his I am constrained to say that I think it in the actual
state of academical education wholly unnecessary, and in a great
degree useless. Why, sir, there are in the country more than a
hundred colleges; I have seen them estimated at one hundred and
seventy-three. These are distributed all over the United States; two
are in this District. They are at the doors of the people. I suspect
that every one of them has a professor for every department provided
for in this bill, except architecture and domestic science, and agri-
culture and rural economy. In every one, without any difficulty,
that special attention here recommended, to the application of science
"to the ordinary business of life," may be, if it is not now secured, if
in the judgment of those who are intrusted with their management it
is thought expedient. Why, sir, I recollect that navigation was
taught in one at least of our common free district schools of Massa-
chusetts thirty years ago. I can not concur with the honorable f ramer
of the bill, therefore, that his school is to "furnish facilities for the
acquisition of such branches of knowledge as are not taught in the
various universities." It will do no such thing. It will injure those
universities, rather, if it has any effect, by withdrawing from them
some portion of the patronage for which they are all struggling, and
of which so few get a full meal.
Such a school, then, I think, is scarcely now necessary. In this
it would be, to say no more, very far from generally useful. It
would hardly appear to be an instrumentality coming up to the sono-
rous promise of "increasing and diffusing knowledge among men."
Who would its pupils be? Who could afford to come all the way to
Washington from the South, West, and North to learn architecture,
navigation, and domestic science? Certainly only the sons of the
wealthy, who- would hardly come, if they could, to learn any such
branch of homely knowledge. You might collect some few students
in the District and the borders of the adjacent States; but for any
purpose of wide utility the school would be no more felt than so much
sunshine on the poles. Meantime here would be your professors,
their salaries running on; your books, and apparatus, and edifices, a
show of things a pretty energetic diffusing of the fund; not much
diffusion of knowledge.
I shall venture, then, to move to strike out all those parts of the bill
which indicate the particular mode in which the bequest is to be applied
to the increase and diffusion of knowledge. I except the provision for
experiments in seeds and plants, on which I will say a word hereafter.
If this motion prevails the whole question will recur: What shall we
do with the fund?
It has seemed to me that there are two applications of it which may
just now meet with favor.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 285
In the first place, to begin with the least important, I adopt, with
some modifications, the suggestion in the bill that lectures be delivered
in this city for two or three months during every session of Congress.
These lectures should be delivered, not by professors permanently
fixed here, upon annual salaries, to do nothing in the recess of Con-
gress, or to do nothing that can not be as well done at one hundred and
fifty other places, but by gentlemen eminent in science and literature,
holding situations elsewhere, and coming hither under the stimulations
and with the ambition of a special and conspicuous retainer. They
might be professors of colleges, men of letters, persons distinguished
in the professions, or otherwise. Names will occur to you all which I
need not mention; and their lectures should be adapted to their audi-
eneett Who would their audiences be? Members of Congress with
their families, members of the Government with theirs, some inhab-
itants of this city, some few strangers who occasionally honor us with
visits of curiosity or business. They would be public men, of mature
years and minds; educated, disciplined to some degree, of liberal curi-
osity, and appreciation of generous and various knowledge. Such
would be the audience. The lectures should be framed accordingly.
I do not think they should be confined to thrt?c or four physical sci-
ences in their applications to the arts of life navigation, useful or
hurtful insects and animals, the ventilation of rooms, or the smoking
of chimneys. This is knowledge, to be sure; but it is not all knowl-
edge, nor half of it, nor the best of it. Why should not such an audi-
ence hear something of the philosophy of history, of classical and of
South American antiquities, of international law, of the grandeur and
decline of states, of the progress and eras of freedom, of ethics, of
intellectual philosophy, of art, taste, and literature in its most com-
prehensive and noblest forms? Why should they not hear such lec-
tures as Sir- James Mackintosh delivered when a young man to audiences
among whom were Canning, and such as he? Would it not be as
instructive to hear a first-rate scholar and thinker demonstrate out of
a chapter of Greek or Italian history how dreadful a thing it is for a
cluster of young and fervid democracies to dwell side by side, inde-
pendent and disunited, as it would to hear a chemist maintain that to
raise wheat you must have some certain proportion of lime in the soil?
But the subjects of lectures would of course be adapted to time, place,
and circumstances, and varied with them. Whatever they should
treat of, they would be useful. They would recreate and refresh
and instruct you. They would relieve the monotony and soften the
austerity and correct all the influences of this kind of public service.
But, Mr. President, all this is no administration of the fund; all
this ought to cost less than $5,000 a year. We could not sustain more
than one lecture in a week, nor that for more than three months of
any session. Here is an accumulated interest of $200,000; and here
286 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
is an annual interest of $30,000, of which thus far I have provided for
an expenditure of some five thousand only. What will you do with
the rest?
It is easy to waste this money; it is easy to squander it in jobs, sal-
aries, quackeries; it is easy, even under the forms of utility, to dis-
perse and dissipate it in little rills and drops, imperceptible to all
human sense, carrying it off by an insensible and ineffectual evapora-
tion. But, sir, I take it that we all earnestly desire I am sure the
Senator from Ohio does so so to dispense it as to make it tell. I am
sure we all desire to see it, instead of being carried off invisibly and
wastefully, embody itself in some form, some exponent of civiliza-
tion, permanent, palpable, conspicuous, useful. And to this end, it has
seemed to me, upon the most mature reflection, that we can not do a
safer, surer, more unexceptionable thing with the income, or with a
portion of the income perhaps $20,000 a year for a few years than
to expend it in accumulating a grand and noble public library; one
which, for variety, extent, and wealth, shall be, and be confessed to be,
equal to any now in the world.
I say for a few years. Twenty thousand dollars a year for twenty-
five years are $500,000; and $500,000 discreetly expended, not by a
bibliomaniac, but by a man of sense and reading, thoroughly instructed
in bibliography, would go far, very far, toward the purchase of
nearly as good a library as Europe can boast. I mean a library of
printed books, as distinct from manuscripts. Of course, such a sum
would not purchase the number of books which some old libraries are
reported to contain. It would not buy the 700,000 of the Royal
Library at Paris, the largest in the world; nor the 500,000 or 600,000
of that of Munich, the largest in Germany; nor the 300,000, -00,000,
or 500,000 of those of Vienna and St. Petersburg, and the Vatican at
Rome, and Copenhagen, and the Bodleian at Oxford. But mere num-
bers of volumes afford a very imperfect criterion of value. Those old
libraries have been so long in collecting; accident and donation, which
could not be rejected, have contributed so much to them; a general and
indiscriminate system of accumulation gathers up, necessarily, so much
trash; there are so many duplicates and quadruplicates, and so many
books and editions which become superseded, that mere bulk and mere
original cost must not terrify us. Ponderantur non num&rantur.
Accordingly, the Library of the University at Gottingen, consisting
of perhaps 200,000 volumes, but well chosen, selected for the most
part within a century, and to a considerable extent by a single great
scholar (Heyne), is perhaps to-day as valuable a collection of printed
books as any in the world. Toward the accumulation of such a library,
the expenditure of two-thirds of this income for a quarter of a century
would make, let me say, a magnificent advance. And, such a step
taken, we should never leave the work unfinished; yet, when it should
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. 1843-1845. 287
be finished, and your library should rival anything which civilization
has ever had to show, there would still be the whole principal of your
fund unexpended, yielding its income forever, for new and varying
applications for increasing and diffusing knowledge in the world.
[Mr. Choate here read a letter of Professor Torrey, of Burlington,
showing at what reduced prices valuable books may now be purchased.]
I hesitate, from an apprehension of being accused of entering too
far into a kind of dissertation unsuited to this assembly of men of busi-
ness, to suggest and press one-half the considerations which satisfy
my mind of the propriet} 7 of this mode of expenditure. Nobody can
doubt. I think, that it comes within the terms and spirit of the trust.
That directs us to " increase and diffuse knowledge among men." And
do not the judgments of all the wise, does not the experience of all
enlightened States, does not the whole history of civilization concur
to declare that a various and ample library is one of the surest, most
constant, most permanent, and most economical instrumentalities to
increase and diffuse knowledge ? There it would be durable as lib-
erty, durable as the Union; a vast storehouse, a vast treasury, of all
the facts which make up the history of man and of nature, so far as
that histoiy has been written; of all the truths which the inquiries
and experiences of all the races and ages have found out; of all the
opinions that have been promulgated; of all the emotions, images, sen-
timents, examples of all the richest and most instructive literatures:
the whole past speaking to the present and the future; a silent, yet
wise and eloquent teacher; dead, yet speaking not dead! for Milton
has told us that a "good book is not absolutely a dead thing the
precious life-blood rather of a master spirit; a seasoned life of man
embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life be3^ond life." Is that
not an admirable instrumentality to increase and diffuse knowledge
among men ? It would place within the reach of our mind, of our
thinkers, and investigators, and scholars, all, or the chief, intellectual
and literary materials, and food and instrument*, now within the
reach of the cultivated foreign mind, and the effect would be to
increase the amount of individual acquisition and multiply the number
of the learned. It would raise the standard of our scholarship,
improve our style of investigation, and communicate an impulse to our
educated and to the general mind. There is no library now in this
country, I suppose, containing over 50,000 volumes. Many there are
containing less. But, from the nature of the case, all have the same
works; so that I do not know that of all the printed books in the
world we have in this country more than 50,000 different works.
The consequence has been felt and lamented by all our authors and all
our scholars. It has been often said that Gibbon's history could not
have been written here for want of books. I suppose that Hallam's
Middle AO-OS and his Introduction to the Literature of Europe could
288 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
not. Irving's Columbus was written in Spain. Wheaton's Northmen
was prepared to be written in Copenhagen. See how this inadequate
supply operates. An American mind kindles with a subject; it enters
on an investigation with a spirit and with an ability worthy of the
most splendid achievement; goes a little way, finds that a dozen books,
one book, perhaps, is indispensable, which can not be found this side
of Gottingcn or Oxford. It tires of the pursuit, or abandons it alto-
gether, or substitutes some shallow conjecture for a deep and accurate
research, and there an end. Let me refer to a passage or two of the
complaints of studious men on this subject:
An extensive library, answering to the wants of literary men who are to use it, is
essential to the public and effectual promotion of learning. In this country the
want of large libraries is a serious discouragement of superior attainments and accu-
rate researches in almost every walk of study. The time necessary for reading or
examining a particular book is often consumed in attempts to discover or obtain it,
and frequently after every effort it can not be procured. We are obliged to give
over our inquiries on subjects where we would arrive at fullness and exactness in
our knowledge because destitute of the assistance which the learned, in the same
track of study, have furnished, or to continue them under the disadvantage of igno-
rance respecting what has been done by others. Thus we are liable to be occupied
in solving difficulties which have been already cleared, discussing questions which
have been already decided, and digging in mines of literature which former ages
have exhausted. Everyone who has been in the way of pursuing any branch of
study in our country beyond the mere elements, or the polite and popular literature
of the time, knows how soon the progress is often arrested for want of books. This
is not the case merely with persons of moderate means who are unable to purchase
a library of their own, but it is a want felt under the most favorable circumstances.
It is also of great importance that the library of a university should not only be
good, but very good, ample, munificent, a deposit of the world's knowledge. It is
a grievous thing to be stopped short in the midst of an inquiry for perhaps the very
book that throws most light upon it; and the progress of learning must be small
indeed among us so long as the student must send across the Atlantic at every turn
for the necessary aids to his pursuits. It is not with us as it is in Europe, where
very many libraries exist and where what is not contained in one may be found in
another, and the learned are able to aid each other's labors by furnishing mutually,
as desired, extracts and references to such books as may exist at one place and fail at
another. To say nothing of our two best libraries being remote from each other and
from many parts of the country, they are themselves, of course, inadequate. In
making one tolerably complete department expressly chosen for that and entirely
devoted to it we might easily comprise the amount of books in our largest collection.
When it is added that the libraries mentioned are miscellaneous, their number of
books small, as the sum total is scattered over all the parts of knowledge, and many
introduced by separate contributions without mutual reference to each other, it is
obvious that, comparatively speaking, the best must be extremely defective. (North
American Review, vol. 8, p. 192. )
What public library in this country contains the materials for an accurate history
of any one department of science? Take even the most limited, or rather one of the
most recent of all, the science of political economy. Here our researches are con-
fined to one definite period. We have no dusty archives to explore, no time-worn
manuscripts to decipher. The origin of the science is within the memory of our
fathers, and we ourselves have witnessed its sudden growth and rapid development.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 289
Yet how much is to be done, how many authorities to be weighed, how many dif-
feient treatises to be analyzed and compared before we can venture to say, Here is
the history; for such was the rise, such the progress, such the changes of opinions,
such the received and such the rejected theories of political economy. The writers
of the first French school, of the Scotch school (and, if we wish for Jhistory, we
must go beyond the publication of Adam Smith's great work), the Italian, the new
French, and the new English schools, all have not merely a claim upon our atten-
tion, but are entitled to a full and accurate examination. And even then our task
would be incomplete, for literary justice would require us to trace, through the works
of general political writers, the hints and remarks which have contributed to the
progress of the branch we are studying by the discovery of truth or by the exposi-
tion of error. If such be the obligation of the student whose researches are con-
fined to a subject so new, what must be the necessities of the historian who attempts
to throw light upon those periods for which the testimony of printed authorities is
to be confronted with that of manuscripts and public documents and where igno-
rance and prejudice have combined with the more powerful incentives of interest to
perplex his path by contradictory statements and conflicting opinions?
Books are needed, not confined to any single branch, but embracing the whole
range of science and of literature, which shall supply the means of every species of
research and inquiry, and which, placed within reach of all, shall leave idleness no
excuse for the lightness of its labors, and poverty no obstacles which industry may
not surmount.
Whoever reflects, though but for a moment, upon the numerous branches into
which modern literature runs, and remembers that the literary glory of a nation can
only be secured by a certain degree of success in each of them whoever considers
the immense mass of varied materials, without which no historical work of impor-
tance can be composed, or the extensive learning which is required of even the most
gifted genius of an age like ours, and adds to these considerations the general and
undeniable fact that of those who would gladly devote themselves to literature, but
a few can ever hope to obtain by their own resources the command of the works
that are essential to the successful prosecution of their studies, will be ready to
acknowledge that we have, as yet, done but a small part of what may be justly
claimed from a nation which aspires to the first rank for the liberality, and polite-
ness, and high moral tone of its civilization. Late, however, as we are to begin,
scarce anything in this department has been accomplished in Europe which might
not be done with equal success in America. And so numerous and manifest are our
advantages in some important particulars, that a prompt will and sound judgment in
the execution of it might, in the course of a very few years, render the American
student nearly independent of those vast collections which, in Europe, have required
centuries for their formation. The undertaking, however, in order to be successful,
should be a national one. Without arguing that no State is fully equal to it, or that
in the bounds of any single State it would not answer the same purpose, we may be
permitted to say that the enlargement of the Library of Congress upon those broad
principles, the application of which to the collection of books has become a difficult
and important art, would reflect an honor upon the country equal to the permanent
advantages which it would secure to every member of the community. (North
American Review, vol. 45, p. 137.)
Yet these writers had access to the best library in this country.
Now there are very many among us, and every day we shall have
more, who would feelingly adopt this language. Place within their
reach the helps that guide the genius and labors of Germany and
England, and let the genius and labors of Germany and England look
H. Doc. 732 19
290 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
to themselves. Our learned men would grow more learned and more
able; our studies deeper and wider; our mind itself exercised and
sharpened; the whole culture of the community raised and enriched.
This is, indeed, to increase and diffuse knowledge among men.
If the terms of the trust then authorize this expenditure, why not
make it? Not among the principal, nor yet the least of reasons for
doing so is that all the while that you are laying out your money, and
when you have laid it out, you have the money's worth, the value
received, the property purchased, on hand to show for itself and to
speak for itself. Suppose the professors provided for in the bill
should gather a little circle of pupils, each of whom should carry off
with him some small quotient of navigation, or horticulture, or rural
economy, and the fund should thus glide away and evaporate in such
insensible, inappreciable appropriations, how little there would be to
testify of it. Whereas, here all the while are the books; here is the
value; here is the visible property; here is the oil, and here is the
light. There is something to point to if you should be asked to
account for it unexpectedly, and something to point to if a traveler
should taunt you with the collections which he has seen abroad and
which gild and recommend the absolutisms of Vienna or St. Petersburg.
Another reason, not of the strongest to be sure, for this mode of
expenditure is that it creates so few jobs and sinecures; so little sal-
aried laziness. There is no room for abuses in it. All that you need
is a plain, spacious, fireproof building; a librarian and assistants; an
agent to buy your books, and a fire to sit by. For all the rest he who
wants to read goes and ministers to himself. It is an application of
money that almost excludes the chances of abuses altogether.
But the decisive argument is, after all, that it is an application the
most exactly adapted to the actual literary and scientific wants of the
States and the country. I have said that another college is not needed
here, because there are enough now; and another might do harm as
much as good. But that which is wanted for every college, for the
whole country, for every studious person, is a well-chosen library
somewhere among us of three or four hundred thousand books.
Where is such a one to be collected? How is it to be done? Who is
to do it? Of the hundred and fifty colleges more or less distributed
over the country one has a library of perhaps 50,000 volumes; others
have good ones though less; others smaller, and smaller, down to
scarcely anything. With one voice they unite, teacher and pupil,
with every scholar and thinker in proclaiming the want of more.
But where are they to come from ? No State is likely to lay a tax to
create a college library or a city library. No deathbed gift of the
rich can be expected to do it. How then is this one grand want of
learning to be relieved? It can be done by you, and by you only.
By a providential occurrence it is not only placed within your consti-
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 291
tutional power, but it has become your duty; you have pledged your
faith; you have engaged to the dead and living that without the charge
of one dollar on the people, you, you will meet the universal and
urgent demand by the precise and adequate supply. By such a library
as you can collect here something will be done, much will be done to
help every college, every school, every studious man, every writer
and thinker in the country to just what is wanted most. Inquirers
after truth may come here and search for it. It will do no harm at
all to pass a few studious weeks among these scenes. Having pushed
their investigations as far as they may at home and ascertained just
what and how much more of helps they require, let them come hither
and find it. Let them replenish themselves and then go back, and
make distribution among their pupils; aye, through the thousand
channels and by the thousand voices of the press, let them make
distribution among the people. Let it be so that
Hither as to their fountains other stars
Repairing, in their golden urns, draw light.
I have no objection at all I should rejoice, rather to see the literary
representatives of an instructed people come hither, not merely for
the larger legislation and jurisprudence, but for the rarer and higher
knowledge. I am quite willing not only that our "Amphyctionic
Council" should sit here but that it should find itself among such
scenes and influences as surrounded that old renowned assembly; the
fountain of purer waters than those of Castalia; the temple and the
oracle of our Apollo! It will do good to have your educated men come
to Washington for what has heretofore cost voyages to Germany.
They will be of all the parts of the country. They will become
acquainted with each other. They will contract friendships and
mutual regards. They will go away not only better scholars but
better Unionists. Some one has said that a great library molds all
minds into one republic. It might, in a sense of which he little
dreamed, help to keep ours together.
I have intimated, Mr. President, a doubt whether a college or uni-
versity of any description, even the highest, should be at present
established here. But let it be considered by the enlightened friends
of that object, if such there are, that even if your single purpose were
to create such a university, you could possibly begin in no way so
judiciously as by collecting a great library. Useful in the other
modes which I have indicated, to a university it is everything. It is
as needful as the soul to the body. While you are doubting, then,
what to do, what you will have, you can do nothing so properly as to
begin to be accumulating the books which you will require on what-
ever permanent plan of application you at last determine.
,. I do not expect to hear it said in this assembly that this expenditure
292 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
for a library will benefit a few only, not the mass; that it is exclusive
and of the nature of monopoly. It is to be remembered that this fund
is a gift; that we take it just as it is given, and that by its terms it
must be disbursed here. Any possible administration of it, therefore,
is exposed to the cavil that all can not directly and literally and
equally partake of it. How many and of what classes of youth, from
Louisiana or Illinois or New England, for example, can attend the
lectures of your professor of astronomy ? But I say it is a positive
and important argument for the mode of application which I urge,
that it is so diffusive. Think of the large absolute numbers of those
who, in the succession of years, will come and partake directly of these
stores of truth and knowledge! Think of the numbers without num-
ber who through them, who by them indirectly, will partake of the
same stores! Studious men will come to learn to speak and write to
and for the growing millions of a generally educated community.
They will learn that they may communicate. They can not hoard if
they would, and they would not if they could. They take in trust to
distribute, and every motive of ambition, of interest, of duty, will
compel them to distribute. They buy in gross to sell by retail.
The lights which they kindle here will not be set under a bushel, but
will burn on a thousand hills. No, sir; a rich and public library is no
antirepublican monopoly. Who was the old Egyptian king that
inscribed on his library the words, "The dispensary of the soul?"
You might quite as well inscribe on it, "Armory, and light, and foun-
tain of liberty ! "
It may possibly be inquired what account I make of the Library of
Congress. I answer that I think it already quite good, and improv-
ing; but that its existence constitutes no sort of argument against the
formation of such a one as I recommend. In the theory of it that
library is collected merely to furnish Congress and the Government
with the means of doing their official business. In its theory it must
be, in some sort, a professional library; and the expenditure we now
make $5,000 in a year, or, as last year, $2,500 can never carry it up
to the rank and enable it to fulfill the functions of a truly great
and general public library of science, literature, and art. The value of
books which could be added under the appropriations of the last year
can not greatly exceed $2,200. Doubtless, however, in the course of
forming the two it would be expedient and inevitable to procure to a
great extent different books for each.
I do not think, Mr. President, that I am more inclined than another
to covet enviously anything which the older civilization of Europe
possesses which we do not. I do not suppose that I desire any more
than you, or than any of you, to introduce here those vast inequali-
ties of fortune, that elaborate luxury, that fantastic and extreme
refinement. But I acknowledge a pang of envy and grief that there
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 293
should be one drop or one morsel more of the bread or water of intel-
lectual life tasted by the European than by the American mind. Why
should not the soul of this country eat as good food and as much of
it as the soul of Europe? Why should a German or an Englishman
sit down to a repast of 500,000 books, and an American scholar, who
loves truth as well as he, be put on something less than half allowance?
Can we not trust ourselves with so much of so good a thing? Will
our digestion be impaired by it? Are we afraid that the stimulated
and fervid faculties of this young nation will be oppressed and over-
laid ? Because we have liberty which other nations have not, shall we
reject the knowledge which they have and which we have not? Or
will you not rather say that because we are free, therefore will we
add to our freedom that deep learning and that diffused culture which
are its grace and its defense?
He concluded by moving the following amendment:
Strike out the eighth section and insert:
SEC. 8. And whereas an ample and well-selected public library constitutes one of
the permanent, constant, and effectual means of increasing and diffusing knowledge
among men: Therefore,
Be It further enacted, That a sum not less than $20,OuO be annually expended, of
the interest of the fund aforesaid, in the purchase of books and manuscripts for the
formation of a library of the institution aforesaid, which, for its extent, variety, and
value, shall be worthy of the donor of the said fund, and of this nation, and of the age.
Mr. BENJ. TAPPAN next addressed the Senate, but in so low a tone
of voice that only detached sentences of his remarks could be heard
in the gallery. He was understood to argue that there was no neces-
sity for striking out the eighth section, or materially altering the bill,
as it was not incompatible with its provisions to ingraft upon it a
modification of the proposition submitted by the Senator from Massa-
chusetts. If a library on a liberal scale, such as the Senator desired,
was deemed proper, it would be only necessary to add a section to
that effect to the bill, striking out so much of the first section as relates
to the same subject. But he did not concur with the Senator from
Massachusetts that a vast and costly miscellaneous library would meet
the objects contemplated \)j the donor with this munificent fund. In
addition to the general terms of his expressed will, that this fund
should be applied to the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men," it was proper to inquire into the manner in which he himself
conceived this was best to be accomplished; and in this inquiry what-
ever instruction could be gleaned from his own habits and pursuits
should not be disregarded, in the absence of other lights. Mr. Smith-
son was an eminent practical philosopher, intimately acquainted with
the practical sciences such as chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and
natural history to the minute study of which he mainly devoted his
life. His favorite resort was the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, an insti-
294 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tution in which he found congregated all the elements furnished by
art, nature, and science, for pursuits congenial to his own mind.
There could be little doubt that in making this bequest to the United
States he had in view the establishment of some such institution as
the Jardin des Plantes in the Western Hemisphere. On this reason-
able supposition the present bill was framed; and to show that it con-
formed closely to that design he requested a description of that insti-
tution, which he sent to the table, would be read.
The description was accordingly read, but being imperfectly heard
the substance only is here given:
Jardin Royal des Plantes ou Jardin du Hoi. This institution owes its origin to Guy
de la Brosse, physician to Louis XIII. Richelieu, Sequier, and Bullion, intendante
of finance, enabled him to found a botanic garden, and to lay down the plan, which
his successors carried to perfection. This germ grew to maturity during the reigns
of Louis XIV and XV, and the other departments owed their excellence of arrange-
ment to the celebrated Buffon during his superintendence. His studies embraced
all nature, and he collected his materials from every portion of the globe. Since
his time, Dauberton completed the whole plan, and raised the establishment to the
highest degree of perfection.
Distinguished professors exercise their talents in gratuitous lectures on mineralogy,
geology, general chemistry, botany, agriculture, natural history, the anatomy of man
and animals, and iconography.
The building contains a copious library of works of natural history, fine collec-
tions of preserved animal specimens, vegetables, minerals, complete herbaries, draw-
ings of extraordinary merit, and a garden judiciously and tastefully laid out, in which
is combined the cultivation of indigenous productions with that of exotic plants.
The productions of every region of the globe are preserved in extensive hothouses.
There is a menagerie, a superb botanical garden, a splendid amphitheater for lectures,
and spacious cabinet of curiosities. Everything is open to the public gratuitously.
Mr. TAPPAN in continuation expatiated at considerable length upon
the merits of the bill, and in proof that its provisions were calculated
to meet the wishes and intentions of the donor of the munificent fund
now the object of consideration. He doubted the utility of such an
extensive and costly library as had been suggested by the Senator from
Massachusetts; he doubted the possibility of laying out usefully and
advantageously $20,000 a year or even more than $4,000 or $5,000
a year in the purchase of books. It would be impossible to make
such a vast collection of books as $500,000 would purchase without
including cart loads, nay ship loads, of trash, not worth in reality
the cost of transport. There was the library of Congress, to the
increase of which $5,000 was annually appropriated, and it was well
known that this sum enabled the committee to procure everything com-
ing out in print worth procuring. Yet in this library, small in com-
parison to any of those foreign libraries alluded to by the Senator, he
protested there was more than half the books that he would not take
a gift of for the cost of transportation to Ohio. In conclusion he saw
no necessity for striking out the eighth section of the bill. If the
Senate approved of a more liberal provision for the library an addi-
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 295
tional section could be put after the eighth section, and the necess ary
alteration could be made in the first section.
Mr. LEVI WOODBUKY did not rise for any purpose of opposition,
but to suggest a course that would probably result in harmonizing the
propositions of the Senators from Ohio and Massachusetts. He thought
if the bill was recommitted to the Committee on the Library it would
receive more attention than it was possible to bestow upon it when
there before, in consequence of the absence of some of its members;
and he had no doubt of the propriety of providing for the establishment
of a complete library. on a liberal scale he would not say to the extent
of purchases amounting annually to twenty thousand, fifteen thousand,
or ten thousand dollars, but to an extent commensurate with the wants
of science and the arts in this country at present, to be hereafter
enlarged as might be found necessary. He should be sorry to see the
eighth section of the bill stricken out, for he thought there were
important provisions in it which ought to be retained. The professors
and everything going to the principle of having a college or school
connected with the institution, should be dispensed with, but the plan
of employing eminent lecturers should be retained. These lecturers
could very well perform all the experiments required by the bill of
professors. If lecturers of great attainments, even from Europe, were
deemed necessary, they could be procured and paid liberally. The
donor of this fund was too well informed not to know that in. this
county the most ample provisions in school lands had been made for
elementary education, and that this fund was at least equal to a stock
yielding a million and a half of dollars annually for purposes of educa-
tion. His intention doubtless was to devote his bequest to that
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men which was not to be
attained at existing institutions of learning in this country; and it was
obvious this intention could be best accomplished by a harmonious
blending of the propositions of the two Senators, properly modified.
There was, however, one part of the plan he strongly objected to as
unnecessary; it was that relating to the establishment of a salaried
board of managers. The whole thing of balloting in Congress for this
board of managers was objectionable and would lead to loss of time
and other inconveniences; besides, the persons so chosen might be the
most unfit. There was no occasion whatever for that description of
management. A National Institute was already in existence in the
capital of the Government, created by Congress, and the objects of
which were peculiarly appropriate to those of the trust now under
consideration. The officers of this institute are the ex officio officers of
the Government itself, the scientific residents of the city, and the most
eminent professors of many of the learned institutions of the country.
These are all gentlemen of high attainments and character, to whom
the pursuit of knowledge and its diffusion are labors of love, for which
296 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
they seek no pecuniary reward. To that institute this trust should be
confided. He hoped, therefore, that in remodeling the bill the com-
mittee would allow this matter its due weight and consideration.
Mr. TAPPAN saw no necessity for recommitting the bill to the Com-
mittee on the Library or any other committee. The Senate could,
without striking out the eighth section, amend it and incorporate such
modification as might approve of the proposition made by the Senator
from Massachusetts.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE suggested the propriety of postponing the further
consideration of the bill till the following day, by which time gentle-
men might make up their minds as to the necessity of remodeling the
bill.
January 9, 1845 Senate.
The unfinished business from January 8 was the bill providing for
the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, the consideration of
which was accordingly resumed, as in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. B. TAPPAN inquired what was the pending motion.
The CHAIR said it was to recommit the bill.
Mr. LEVI WOODBURY said that, in compliance with the desire of the
Senators who took part in the discussion of yesterday, he would for
the present withdraw his motion to recommit.
Mr. R. CHOATE also withdrew his motion of amendment, pending
at the time the Senator from New Hampshire moved to recommit
the bill.
Mr. CHOATE then moved to strike out the proviso in the first section
of the bill, which runs thus:
Provided, That the books to be purchased for said Institution shall consist of worki
on science and the arts, especially such as relate to the ordinary business of life, and
to the various mechanical and other improvements and discoveries which may be
made.
His object was to avoid a premature decision on the point at issue
as to the plan of a general library, or a special one limited to works
on physical science. By striking out the proviso the Senate would
not commit itself, the question as to the nature of the library being
reserved for amendment to another section of the bill.
Mr. TAPPAN considered the motion to strike out the proviso must
produce a test vote on the very point, and if that test was desired it
might as well be taken on it as on any other amendment.
He argued that a library limited to the works on sciences and the
arts, specified in the proviso, would be the only suitable and appro-
priate library for the Institution. There was no necessity for another
general library in the city of Washington, where the Government had
already the Library of Congress, the libraries of the State, War, Navy,
and other public departments, annually augmented by means of large
appropriations.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 297
Mr. WOODBURY, before the question of striking out the proviso
was taken, wished to offer an amendment which might render it more
acceptable. He moved the substitute for the words "consist of" the
words "among others, include;" which would take away the impera-
tive injunction to purchase none but books on science and the ails.
Mr. J. J. CRITTENDEN was about to suggest some such modification.
He thought the proviso might be modified so as to read, "That in the
purchase of books it shall be a principal object to obtain works,"
etc., following on with the words of the original.
Mr. TAPPAN said the Senator's object would be attained by substi-
tuting for the words "consist of" the words "principally be."
Mr. CRITTENDEN said that would not exactly convey his idea.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE preferred striking out the proviso altogether.
If he understood the object aimed at by the Senator from Massachu-
setts, it was to make the interest of this munificent bequest accomplish
the injunction of the donor, by such an increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men as a complete national library, worthy of him and
this country, would undoubtedly insure. The Library of Congress,
though no larger than the private collections of many private gentle-
men in Europe, had been thirty years collecting, and now numbered
only 40,000 volumes. The library of the British Museum consists of
200,000 volumes; yet, by a recent report, it appears that 100,000
is required to render it complete. The libraries of the Government,
alluded to by the Senator from Ohio, are indispensable to the depart-
ments, as is that of Congress to the Capitol; they can not, with due
regard to the interests of national legislation, be transferred for pub-
lic use as a national library. By carrying out the suggestion of the
Senator from Massachusetts a great national library, worthy of the
country and the donor of this fund, may be established.
The question was taken on Mr. Woodbury's amendment, and it was
rejected.
Mr. CRITTENDEN now moved his amendment (before stated).
Mr. CHOATE thought it equally objectionable; its tendency would be
to prompt the managers to the selection alone of the description of
works in some measure prescribed. He would infinitely prefer the
postponement of this question of limitation till an amendment to the
eighth section, which he had in view, should come up. He hoped
the simple motion to strike out the proviso would prevail.
Mr. CRITTENDEN withdrew his motion.
After a few remarks from Mr. Tappan in favor of retaining the
proviso,
The question was taken on the motion of Mr. Choate and the proviso
was stricken out.
Mr. CHOATE now moved to insert in the fifth section, which enumer-
298 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ates the duties of the superintendent, .so much of the succeeding sec-
tions as the following words contain:
And he (the superintendent) shall make experiments to determine the utility and
advantage of new modes and instruments of culture; to determine whether new fruits,
plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the United States; and all
such fruits, plants, seeds, and vegetables as shall l>e found useful and adapted to any
of our soils and climate shall be distributed among the people of the Union.
This would meet the wishes of the Senator from Ohio so far as
regarded the professor of agriculture and horticulture. It was his
design to move afterwards to strike out the seventh section, which
provides for a corps of professors, and to offer a substitute.
Mr. TAPPAN thought there were other professors equally indispen-
sable such as one on chemistry and one on astronomy. If a professor
of astronomy were attached to the Institution, the observatory could
be confided to its care, and the very valuable instruments it contains
would afford facilities for the study of that branch of science at the
capital not to be obtained elsewhere in the Union. Chemistry was
also intimately connected with the objects of the Institution.
Mr. CHOATE said discussion on these points would come up on a
future motion he should make.
The question was then taken and the amendment adopted.
Mr. CHOATE now moved to strike out the seventh section and to
insert in lieu of it the following:
SEC. 7. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: "That the board of man-
agers shall employ competent persons to deliver lectures, or courses of lectures, in
the Institution upon literature, science, and art, and the application of science and
art, during the sessions of Congress; to make regulations respecting attendance
thereon; to fix the rates of compensation therefor; and to prescribe from time to
time the subjects of such lectures, having regard to the character of the audience
before whom they are delivered and the intent of the donor that is to say, the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
The amendment was adopted.
Mr. CHOATE next moved to strike out the eighth section and to
substitute the following:
SEC. 8. And whereas an ample and well-selected public library constitutes one of
the most permanent, constant, and effectual means of increasing and diffusing
knowledge among men: Therefore,
Be it further enacted, That an annual expenditure be made from the interest of the
fund aforesaid, under the direction of the said managers, on the purchase of books and
manuscripts for the formation of a library of the institution aforesaid, which, for its
extent, variety, and value shall be worthy of the donor of the said fund and of this
nation and of the age.
Mr. CRITTENDEN moved to add to it a proviso that in the purchase
of books for said institution it should be regarded as a principal
object to purchase works on science and the arts, especially such as
relate to the ordinary business of life and to the various mechanical
and other improvements and discoveries which may be made.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 299
Mr. CHOATE argued that this limitation was not only unnecessary,
but would most certainly prove injurious. It was unnecessary because
no national library such as he contemplated and such as he hoped the
Senate would authorize could be made complete without every one of
the works on science and the arts which the Senators for Ohio and
Kentucky could possibly desire. The proviso would operate injuri-
ously by raising a constitutional question of disputation among the
managers as to the quantity of money to be applied to this special
description of books and to general literature. If it was stated that
out of a given sum two-thirds should be devoted to these books and
one-third to other books, they could easily agree, but indefinitely
directing a preference would be to limit exceedingly in effect the por-
tion to be devoted to works of general literature.
This point was debated at great length by Mr. Crittenden, Mr. Choate,
and Mr. Woodbury, Mr. Choate being opposed to any proviso and Mr.
Crittenden and Mr. Woodbury in favor of one sufficiently explanatory
to show a preference for the works indicated without putting an undue
restriction on the purchase of all other books suitable to a general
library.
Mr. W. C. RIVES said he should feel very great repugnance to any
provision in this bill which should assume to recognize any important
distinction between the different branches of human knowledge. The
general object of this bequest of which we are constituted the trus-
tee is described to be the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men." Now, if we were to have a library at all to carry out this great
object, it really seemed to him that that library ought to be coexten-
sive with the limits of human knowledge. Some of his honorable
friends on both sides of the House had dropped observations in the
course of this debate and he had heard them with surprise which
would seem to imply that moral science is not knowledge and that
nothing but what are regarded as the natural sciences astronomy,
mathematics, and others of that class is knowledge. The great field
of modern inquiry relating to the moral and political sciences is not to
be considered at all as a branch of human knowledge! Was this so?
And was this the country, or this the age, in which we were to recog-
nize such a doctrine ? It did seem to him that the most important of
all the branches of human knowledge is that which relates to the moral
and political relations of man. It is intimately connected with the
rights and duties and privileges of citizens, whether in public or in
private life. How would gentlemen designate that great branch of
human science, which is of very modern origin, and even now in its
infancy political economy \ Is it not a most important part of human
knowledge ? And are the legislators of this country, who are so deeply
concerned in the destinies and progressive civilization of the human
race, to regard the science of government and legislation as no part of
human knowledge? It really seemed to him that, as representatives
300 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of the American people, they could recognize no such distinction. We
have been told from high classical authority that " the proper study of
mankind is man;" but here the idea upon which the original form of
this bill seemed to stand was that the proper study of mankind is that
of animals, exotics, and plants only not including at all the great
moral and civil relations of man. Now, he took it upon himself to say
that if gentlemen would survey the field of moral science, they would
find that it embraced a much larger portion of knowledge than the
physical sciences, however important they may be.
The honorable and venerable member from Ohio, as he had been
styled [Mr. Tappan], based his leading arguments upon the necessity
of making that institution a counterpart of the Jardin des Plantes in
Paris, where there were great collections of material elucidating natu-
ral history; but let him tell the honorable Senator that that institution
was sustained at a very great expense, and yet it afforded but a very
limited source of improvement for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge in its liberal sense. Was there no other institution in Paris than
the Jardin des Plantes which could be taken as a model ? He would
refer the honorable Senator to another institution, and one which would
better fulfill the design of the bequest. Look at the wide and compre-
hensive body of instruction delivered at the Sorbonne (the Faculte des
Lettres et Sciences), under the auspices of the University of France,
the great fountain of knowledge to which all enlightened strangers
repair and drink in copious libations of philosophical and practical
learning. He was not conversant with Mr. Smithson's peculiar tastes
or habits; but if he (Mr. Smithson) was the man of liberal and general
inquiry that he believed him to have been, he would venture to assert
that his resort was as much to the Sorbonne as to the Jardin des
Plantes. And what would he hear there? Would he not hear lectures
on the sciences of history, moral philosophy, and government, as
well as physics and mathematics? The present minister of France,
M. Guizot, had been, if he mistook not, a lecturer on history ancient
and modern history, comprehending all the phases of human society
in this institution. Others had become known there to the world as
much as lecturers, as ministers of state, worthy of being intrusted with
the destinies of nations and mankind.
He would beg leave to ask the gentlemen who had charge of this
great subject, in looking for a model, to look at such an institution as
the Faculte des Lettres et Sciences at the Sorbonne rather than at a
special institution like the Jardin des Plantes. He had no disposition
to depreciate the value of the physical sciences, but he insisted upon
it that the moral and political sciences were equally important, and,
if any distinction was to be drawn, more important. At a very early
period of his life he was struck with a graphic remark made by the
great commentator on English law, in illustrating the fitness of asso-
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 301
elating a professorship of law with the University of Oxford and his
honorable friend from Kentucky [Mr. Crittenden] no doubt well recol-
lected the passage that "the sciences are of a sociable disposition,
and nourish best in the neighborhood of each other. " He would make
no distinction. He must be permitted to say that he thought the Sen-
ate had already decided the question in regard to the extension of this
library by striking out the proviso of the first section and the whole
of the eighth section, which provides for professors on the subject of
natural sciences only.
He saw no reason for any distinction between the moral and physical
sciences. If such a library as was contemplated by the honorable
Senator from Massachusetts was established, there would be no danger
of the physical sciences being slighted; but he hoped that these great
moral and political sciences, which so intimately concern the temporal
and eternal destinies of man, would have their appropriate space in
this great receptacle of human knowledge.
He had been led to these remarks because his firm and solemn con-
viction was that we now have it in our power to do more good to this
nation in our day and generation by a judicious and wise application
of this $500,000, which has been put into our hands, than by the appli-
cation of the twenty -five or thirty millions we are in the habit of
annually appropriating.
He was glad that it was the sense of the Senate that this subject
should go back to the committee to be matured and deliberately acted
upon, and that there was to be brought forward a plan of some great
and noble foundation which would realize, to the fullest extent, the
magnificent conception which suggested this donation. He was
opposed to any limitations; he was opposed to any distinctions between
the great branches of human knowledge. In the republic of letters
all stood upon a platform of equality, and if we have a library at all
it should be coextensive with the limits of human knowledge and with
the design of the donor "the increase and diffusion of knowledge (of
all sound knowledge) among men."
Mr. SAMUEL, S. PHELPS suggested a modification of the amendment
proposed by the Senator from Kentucky. It was to shape his proviso
so as to say "That in the selection of such books as were necessary to
form a complete library, due regard should be had to works of
science," etc.
Mr. CRITTENDEN accepted the modification.
Mr. I. C. BATES protested against any proviso which would limit
the selection. It was wholly unnecessary, because no great national
library could be complete without the very works alluded to.
Mr. J. M. NILES did not think it came within the purpose of the
donation to establish a great national library. If the donor thought
that the best way of increasing and diffusing knowledge among men,
302 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
he would have enjoined the establishment of such a library. He was
in favor of a prudent limitation with regard to that branch of the
institution, and should therefore submit a motion to that effect.
The question was then taken on Mr. Crittenden's amendment, as
modified, and it was rejected ayes 15, noes 21.
Mr. NILES now moved to amend the amendment, by limiting the
purchase of books to $5,000 annually.
Mr. JAMES BUCHANAN inquired if $5,000 a year was to build up a
library worthy of the donor, this nation, and this age?
The amendment was rejected.
The question now reverted on Mr. Choate's amendment, and it was
adopted.
Mr. TAPPAN, before ths motion to recommit was made, wished to
test the sense of the Senate as to his original plan of adding some of
the interest to the principal, so as to make the fund $600,000. He
therefore moved to amend the first section by adding $91,682 out of
the interest due, to the original fund, so that the investment should
be $600,000.
Mr. CHOATE objected to this as, in effect, cutting off the means for
establishing a national library. The buildings for the institution, the
inclosures of ground, and the purchase of objects of natural history,
would possibly consume so much of the residue of interest as to leave
little or none for founding the library, or erecting a suitable building
for one. It might take from $150,000 to $200,000 for all these; but
till details and estimates were properly investigated, it would not, in
any case, be prudent to divert the management of this accumulated
interest.
Mr. BUCHANAN thought it was desirable, if it could be done with-
out defeating the objects intended, to increase the capital by this
addition of a part of the interest.
Mr. TAPPAN put his motion in a definite form.
Mr. J. F. SIMMONS argued that, until some plan was agreed upon
as to the manner of carrying out the intention of the donor, it would
be highly imprudent to make a permanent investment of means that
might be wanted in the accomplishment of the object.
Mr. TAPPAN urged that $117,000 of the interest would remain,
which would be as much as the managers could lay out with advantage
in the first year; and for the second, they would have $36,000 on the
$600,000. The $6,000 would cover the expenses of lectures and exper-
iments, leaving annually $30,000 for collecting a library and the other
purposes required of the management.
The amendment was rejected.
Mr. J. T. MOREHEAD suggested a renewal of the amendment,
making the addition $41,682 instead of $91,862, so that the capital
fund would be $550,000, bearing an interest of $33,000 a year.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 303
After some conversational discussion on this point, it was agreed to
let the proposition go, with the offered amendments, to the commit-
tee; and
On the motion of Mr. LEVI WOODBURY, the bill and amendments
were recommitted to the Committee on the Library.
January 16, 1845 Senate.
Mr. BENJAMIN TAPPAN, from the Committee on the Library, reported
the bill S. 18, amended.
January 21, 1845 Senate.
On motion of Mr. B. TAPPAN, the previous orders were postponed
with a view of taking up the bill for the establishment of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
The bill was accordingly taken up for further consideration as in
Committee of the Whole, the question being on adopting the substi-
tute reported from the Committee on the Library, to whom had been
recommitted the original bill for the purpose of having it remodeled.
This substitute provides, as the original bill did, for the investment
of the principal sum received under the bequest, in the Treasury of
the United States, at 6 per cent interest from the date of its recep-
tion, and for placing at the disposal of the managers the accumulated
and accruing interest for the purpose of carrying out the design of the
donor the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. The out-
lay of the accumulated interest is to be, as directed in the first bill,
upon all necessary buildings, inclosures, purchases, and application of
the grounds appropriated out of the property of the United States in
the Mall, heretofore described, for the objects of the institution, the
business of the institution to be conducted by a board of managers
consisting of the Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court while in office, three members of the Sen-
ate, three members of the House of Representatives, and seven other
persons not members of Congress, two of whom shall be members of
the National Institute in the city of Washington and resident in said
city, the other five to be inhabitants of the States, no two from the
same State, the three members of the Senate to be appointed by the
presiding officer of the Senate and the three members of the House
by the Speaker of the House, in each House the respective members
so chosen to be a standing committee on the Smithsonian Institution,
and together a joint committee.
These appointments to be made on every fourth Wednesday of
December, to serve for one year; vacancies to be filled as they are in the
regular committees. The other seven members to serve for two years, to
be chosen by joint resolution of Congress every alternate fourth Wednes-
day of December; vacancies to be filled in like manner whenever they
occur. The managers to meet on the first Monday in May next, and
fix the times of regular meetings of the board. On any application
304 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of three members, the superintendent shall call a meeting of the board
by letter to each member, tive constituting a quorum. Each member
of the board to be paid his necessary traveling and other actual
expenses in attending meetings, which shall be audited and recorded
by the superintendent.
Whenever money is required for the purposes of the institution,
the superintendent, or managers, or any three, may certify to the
president of the board that it is so required; whereupon he shall sub-
mit the requisition to a committee of three managers appointed for
the purpose of regulating the expenditures, for examination and
approval, and upon their examination and approval the president of
the board shall certify the same to the proper officer of the Treasury
as authority for the payment. The board to make all needful rules,
regulations, and by-laws for the government of the institution and
the persons employed therein, and shall submit to Congress at each
session a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the
institution. The bill then details the duties of the board in commenc-
ing operations. Among the buildings is to be one for the reception of
an extensive library, equal to the first class of libraries in the world.
When the necessary buildings are erected, all objects of natural his-
tory, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens, belonging to
the United States, in Washington or elsewhere, to be delivered to the
institution, where they shall be arranged in such order and so classed
as best to facilitate the examination and study of them; new acquisi-
tions of the institution to be classed and arranged in like manner; the
personal effects of Mr. Smithson to be kept apart and preserved sepa-
rate from other property of the institution. The managers to appoint
the superintendent of the institution, who is to be secretary to the
board and professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy;
and he may, with the approbation of the board, employ such gardeners,
agriculturists, and laborers as may be required for the institution. He
is to make experiments to determine the utility and advantage of new
modes and instruments of culture, and whether new fruits, plants, and
vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the United States, and those
which shall prove worthy of adoption shall be distributed among the
people of the Union. The superintendent to be paid such salary as the
board may think proper, and the board may remove him and appoint
another in his place whenever the interest of the institution may require
it. The board is also to employ competent persons to deliver lectures
or courses of lectures in the institution upon literature, science, and
art, and on the application of science to art, during the sessions of
Congress, commencing next session; to make regulations respecting
attendance thereon; to fix the rules of compensation therefor, and
to prescribe from time to time the subjects of lectures, having regard to
the character of the audience before whom they are delivered and the
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 305
intent of the donor the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men; provided, the entire expenditure for lectures shall not exceed
$5,000 a year. The managers may at their discretion cause these
lectures or such of them as they desire to be printed and sold at the
cost of publication. An annual expenditure of not less than $20,000
out of the interest of the fund is authorized to be made in the purchase
of books and manuscripts for the library of the institution, which
library is to comprehend in due proportion, without preference or
exclusion of any branch of knowledge, works pertaining to all the
departments of human knowledge, as well as physical science and Ihe
application of science to the arts of life, as all other science, philosophy,
history, literature, and art; and for its extent, variety, and value said
library shall bo worthy of the donor of the fund and of this nation
and the age. The managers to employ a librarian and assistants and
to lix their salaries; also to prescribe the regulations under which the
library shall be kept, visited, and used. In conclusion, the bill
appoints the seven managers not ex officio members as follows:
Jared P. Kirtland, of Ohio; Richard Henry Wilde, of Louisiana;
George Tucker, of Virginia; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts;
Henry King, of Missouri, and Joseph G. Totten and Alexander Dallas
Hiichc, members of the National Institute and resident in Washington,
as the seven members who, by the second section, would be appointed
by Congress. The right of altering, amending, adding to, or repeal-
ing the act is reserved to Congress, provided that no contract or indi-
vidual right made or acquired under its provisions be divested or
impaired.
On motions of Mr. TAPPAN and Mr. CHOATK, two misprints in the
new bill were amended.
Mr. LEVI WOODHUKY remarked that most of the amendments which
he had submitted on a former day to be printed had been rendered
unnecessary by the changes since made in the bill by the Library
Committee. But there was one defect still left in the board of mana-
gers, as he viewed the subject, and which it was desirable to have
removed. He was fully sensible that any attempt to alter a bill which
has twice received the deliberate consideration of a committee of this
body was almost hopeless. But the subject was a novel one to us all.
It was, also, not a measure of ordinary legislation, affecting the rights
and property of our constituents, but the discharge of an important
trust in behalf of a foreign philanthropist, and where we ought to
move slowly in our deliberations, and rather confer, converse, and
consult, as a real committee of the whole, instead of debate like parti-
sans. He would, therefore, take the liberty to suggest that the board
of management now proposed was imperfect in two respects it did
not contain persons enough resident at the place where their duties
must be performed, and was so constituted as to be likely to render
II . Doc. 732 20
306 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the elections of them by the two Houses on some occasions difficult,
and open to improper influences.
There would be no objection to the Vice-President and Chief Justice
as members of the board, on account of the character of the present
incumbents; but neither of them lived here, nor did any of the six
members of Congress proposed to be appointed nor any except two
of the other managers to be selected at large. Now, as no compensa-
tion was to be given as salary or a per diem, it must be obvious that
seldom would any one attend to the business, unless residing on the
spot. For, though some would be here at times officially, yet we all
know that it was under a pressure of other engagements likely to
prevent a close attention to this trust.
What Mr. WOODBURY wished to propose instead of this was the
officers of the National Institute most of whom lived in this city, and
five or six of whom consisted ex officio of the President and his Cabinet,
as a public check equal to that of the Vice-President and Chief
Justice, and superior in position, as always on the spot.
This plan had the approbation of a former library committee about
two years ago; and he held in his hand a bill to that effect, not acted
on for want of time, and reported by a distinguished South Carolinian,
now in retirement [Mr. William C. Preston].
He hoped, on reflection, it would again be found acceptable to a
majority of the committee and the Senate; especially when aided by
some additional provisions, which he would suggest.
In order to let others at large participate, if they pleased, and had
leisure, he proposed to unite with the officers of the institute four per-
sons from the different sections of the Union; and, to render the
supervision of Congress as strong and effective as is proposed by the
bill, to devolve that duty on the Library Committee a committee
already organized and talented, and peculiarly fitted, in some respects,
for matters of this character.
In order, likewise, to avoid the delay and difficulties of elections by
the two Houses, he proposed to have this same committee of Congress
select the four members at large. The amendment he was about to
propose was intended to accomplish not only these two general changes
in the mode of electing, and in more convenient residence of most of
the board, without any loss of fitness in station and pursuit, and with-
out being any less under the immediate control of Congress and its
committee, but to increase that control by placing all their doings,
and especially the mode of drawing money from the Treasury, under
increased securities, to be prescribed from time to time by the Library
Committee. As the bill stood now, an account must be opened with
every individual dealt with or paid; and no bonds or security were
required in any case. Mr. Woodbury wished to clothe the committee
of Congress with authority to remedy these defects, and not only make
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 307
the whole board of management subject to the acts of Congress and its
directions given from time to time; but subject also to the constant
scrutiny of the standing committee of Congress in both Houses. And
so far from conferring salaries or donations on the board or on the
institute, he would not give a dollar to either, except to defray actual
expenses incurred in the discharge of the trust; and not allow either
to draw a cent from the Treasury except in the manner and under the
security which shall be prescribed by that standing committee of the
two Houses.
With these explanations, he submitted the amendment he would
now read:
To strike out those portions of the new bill providing for the con-
stitution of a board of managers, and insert:
The National Institute, through its officers, not to exceed their present number,
and associated with them four other scientific gentlemen from different portions of
the Union, to be selected by the Joint Committee on the Library; and said com-
mittee to exercise, from time to time, a supervision and control over this board, in
behalf of Congress, and see that its directions as expressed in this act or in any future
act be duly carried into effect; and to prescribe safe rules to be adhered to in draw-
ing from the Treasury and auditing all moneys whatever expended from the Smith-
sonian fund; and none of the said board, nor any of said committee, shall receive
any compensation for their personal services on this subject from the fund aforesaid,
but be paid only their traveling expenses.
Mr. JAMES BUCHANAN would be very glad if it could be accomplished
(and he thought at first it might be on this amendment), to get a test
vote of the Senate on the question whether Congress or the National
Institute shall have the management and control of the Smithsonian
library. But the amendment contained some things not necessarily
involved in that test, which might be advantageously considered. He
could not move an amendment, or he would, so as to separate these
things.
Mr. RUFUS CHOATE said the amendment of the Senator from New
Hampshire raised the precise question the Senator from Pennsylvania
wished to have tested.
Mr. JAMES BUCHANAN looked upon it as a compound amendment.
Mr. TAPPAN hoped the amendment would not prevail. Although the
chairman of the Library Committee some sessions back [Mr. Preston],
then a Senator from South Carolina, made a report accompanied by a
bill in conformity with this amendment, it was with the express under-
standing of the committee that not one member of it but himself was
in favor of that plan or would sustain it.
Mr. CHOATE did not know that the amendment offered by the Sen-
ator from New Hampshire would not make a very good board of man-
agement; indeed, he felt nothing but respect in the highest degree for
that Senator and his associates of the National Institute; as colaborers
in the advancement of science and the diffusion of knowledge among
308 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
men they Had already done a good deal. But he had ascertained,
through various conferences in the Library Committee, that the Sen-
ator's proposition was not likely to meet that favor or support neces-
sary to insure the success of the bill this session; on the contrary, that
it would make enemies of many who would otherwise sustain the meas-
ure. Now, on this subject of constituting a board of managers for
the committee attached great importance to it he (Mr. Choate) had
given it his most anxious attention. It was the only part of the origi-
nal bill to which much consideration was not given in the first instance.
Since its recommittal the committee had had repeated conferences on
this point, and the result has been that the plan laid down in the bill was
unanimously adopted as a happy embodiment of the main principles
of all former propositions, the difference of opinion in regard to which
had heretofore impeded the action of Congress as to the disposition of
the fund. He was prepared now to say that, unless there was some
more palpable objection than had yet been made to the plan laid down
in the bill, the support which it would insure could not fail of render-
ing the measure successful this session.
It might be necessary to say a word or two respecting the course
pursued by the committee in making this arrangement. They went
back to the records of all proceedings in Congress since the reception
of the bequest, to ascertain the number and character of the various
propositions suggested for its disposition; and having collected them
all, the committee conceived they could not be mistaken in combining
from the whole such general principles as would unite the greatest
number of friends to the main object. Now he felt bound to say that
in this the committee had succeeded beyond his most sanguine expec-
tations. They had not, as the Senator from New Hampshire seemed
to suppose, made a complex, expensive, or impracticable plan of
machinery for the management of the institution; but, on the contrary,
one preeminently likely to work well economically, efficiently, and
practically considered.
On re viewing all former propositions the committee found that there
were two or three things in which a large majority concurred such as,
that the Vice-President and Chief Justice of the United States should be
ex officio members of the board, and that they should have associated
with them one or two respectable resident members of the National
Institute. It was found, also, that a suggestion came from Mr. Rob-
bins, of Rhode Island, that three members of the Senate and three of the
House of Representatives should be made members of the board.
Thus the committee had united whatever there was to recommend this
proposition to those whose differences of opinion had heretofore
impeded the action of Congress. They took for the ex officio mem-
bers of the board the Vice-President and the Chief Justice of the
United States. There could be no difficulty as to their appointment,
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 309
for they are already elected and always, by virtue of their office, ready
to act. The committee then provided that three members of the Sen-
ate should be named by the presiding officer in the same way that he
named standing committees; and that three members of the House of
Representatives in like manner should be appointed by the Speaker
of the House. These six members would form a joint standing com-
mittee and have charge of the institution in Congress, for the com-
mittee decided that Congress should hold in its own hands the control
and supervision of the institution. Thus Congress would have the
interests of the institution immediately represented on the floor of
both Houses. In addition to those eight ex officio members of the
board, there would be seven persons to be selected by Congress two
of them from the resident members of the National Institute, the
remainder from different States of the Union. Hereafter these seven
are to be elected by joint resolution of Congress every two years.
This would afford an opportunity of electing gentlemen distinguished
as men of science and learning, who, from the respect entertained for
them, would be able to enlist the most friends for the institution and
would have the best opportunities of making the citizens of the Union
acquainted with its objects and advantages.
There was another consideration which he was sure would, upon
reflection, have some weight with the Senator from New Hampshire,
and, he hoped, induce him to forego his amendment. It was, that in
looking at the two propositions with a view of ascertaining which
was most republican, most democratic in principle, he would find
that of the committee infinitely more so than his own. It was cer-
tainly antirepublican and antidemocratic to surrender all control of
the people's representatives in respect to a trust especially committed
to their custody for the people's benefit and place it in the hands of a
close body like the National Institute, wholly irresponsible to either
Congress or the people a body the machinery and operations of
which, so far as regarded the people, were shut out from their view
and to which they could of right have no access. On the other hand,
the proposition of the committee recognized especially, and in a pre-
eminent degree, the complete control and supervision of the people's
representatives and insured that publicity which could not fail of
gaining public confidence in the management of the institution and
universal approbation as to the attainment of the purpose for which
the bequest was made.
Mr. WOODBURT expressed some surprise that his amendment should
be attacked by the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Choate] as anti-
republican or antidemocratic. Such an attack from that quarter was,
in any view, extraordinary; but much more so when, in this very bill,
in another place, six of the members of his proposed board are recom-
mended by him to be appointed not by the two Houses of Congress
310 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
or their committee, but three by the Speaker of one and three by the
President of the other, without any appeal.
But Mr. WOODBURY feared we were sliding into that species of polit-
ical debate which, in a case like this, he deprecated. This was not a
struggle for victory of a party or personal predilection, but to execute,
in the most fit and becoming manner, a sacred trust which had been
devolved on us from abroad rather than by our people.
Some gentlemen who assail the proposed amendment inadvertently
seem to suppose it is a contest whether Congress or the National Insti-
tute shall control the Smithson fund; whereas no such question
exists. The same control is left in Congress, if the amendment is
adopted, as is left in it by the bill as it now stands. Indeed, the amend-
ment increases the reserved control of Congress in one particular
through the constant supervision and check of the Library Committee
of the two Houses which it provides for.
After the amendment is adopted, Congress can, at any moment,
abolish or amend the whole board, can give to it any special instruc-
tions by resolution or act, and can, by its committee, give any direc-
tions, which by this very amendment are to be enforced by the board
and institute, rather than either of them being made independent of
Congress.
It seems, also, to be apprehended b}^ some gentlemen that the
National Institute is to have a great donation of property, as well as
power, by this amendment; when, in truth, no power is bestowed
except conditionally, and which is not kept constantly under the con-
trol of Congress; and not a dollar of property, directly or indirectly,
is given to the institute.
Indeed, no property is given to the institute or anybody else. The
library, buildings, etc. , all remain in Congress as trustee for the fund.
The board of managers, including the institute, are mere executive or
ministerial agents to carry out our directions, and own no more of the
property itself than the captain in the Navy owns of the ship of war
in his charge. It is rather a burden imposed on the board and insti-
tute, as they not only acquire no property, but their services, which
have so long and decidedly been given to letters and science without
any pay, are all, by my amendment, to continue to be gratuitous.
The difficulty will be rather in getting gentlemen of suitable char-
acter to devote their time at all to this subiect under these circum-
stances than in preventing them from profiting in a pecuniary point
of view. It is this apprehended difficulty which will in part be
removed by taking more managers resident here who can attend to
the business in rotation or otherwise at less inconvenience and loss
than those from a distance.
Again, it is said that the form of a resolution in elections avoids any
dispute. How so? Suppose that the gentleman named in the bill
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGKESS, 1843-1845. 311
from Ohio was moved to be stricken out, and that of the member of
the Library Committee from Ohio [Mr. Tappan] be substituted, as
seemed to Mr. Woodbury proper; might it not give rise to debate as
to their respective characters and fitness? So of every other member
proposed, though all doubtless were very suitable men.
Other gentlemen seem to fear an abuse of the trust by these agents
under the amendment, when the very object and terms of it are to
increase the guards against abuse, through one of our own committees,
and its supervision and regulations; and when the position of the
institute and board under it, instead of being antagonistic to Congress
or independent of it is made to be in more entire subordination to it,
and is hemmed around by stronger safeguards against any possible
departure from its commands or wishes. He was anxious that, while
the Smithson fund came from a stranger and abroad rather than from
among ourselves, and hence gave no cause for national pride or boast-
ing, but rather was mortifying to our own backwardness in such an
object, we should at least be vigilant over its use, remedy defects as
to its efficiency which we may by this amendment and add some-
thing to our national character by the appropriate manner of manag-
ing the whole trust, though, unfortunately, we have had no lot nor
part in creating it or liberally adding to it.
Mr. BUCHANAN observed that he had but very few words to say on
this subject. According to the will of the donor this fund was to be
distributed for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
Considering our peculiar position in the District of Columbia, he (Mr.
Buchanan) had arrived at the conclusion that the best mode of dis-
tributing this fund was by the purchase of a great library. Indeed,
he could imagine no other. If (said Mr. Buchanan) you attempt to
establish a literary institution here, with the great expense attendant
upon living in this District, and from other causes which I need not
enumerate, this fund in its benefits would be confined to a very small
portion of the people of this country. From the very nature of our
Government and the condition of the people of this country, we could
never expect to erect in our day a library to compare with the great
European libraries, except by the application of this fund to that pur-
pose. It was impossible, everybody knew, for any of our citizens who
proposed to write a history, or any other work that required an exami-
nation into ancient books and authorities, to do so without going to
Europe for that purpose. Now, he believed that an extensive library,
in which all the means of human knowledge should be collected, and in
which they should be equally open to all the citizens of this country,
was the very best mode in which to apply the money so liberally
bequeathed by Mr. Smithson for the " increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men." He was clearly of that opinion, but he had no
idea of making a speech upon the subject. The question now before
312 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the Soimtc resolved itself into a very simple proposition, aucl that
was, Shall Congress retain and direct the immediate and efficient con-
trol of this fund and of its application, or shall it be administeied
through the agency of the National Institute? That was the question,
and on the decision of the question his own vote might depend. Now,
he entertained all proper respect for the members of this institute, and
he believed it had been already instrumental in diffusing knowledge
among men, but he thought Congress was bound to keep the applica-
tion of this fund distinct from that or any other literary incorporated
body. What was proposed b}^ his honorable friend from New Hamp-
shire [Mr. Woodbury] in the amendment under consideration? Why,
to connect the National Institute with the Smithsonian library to
form a sort of partnership between the two. The National Institute
is to hold its meetings in a room in the building to be erected for the
use of the Smithsonian librarj^. This was in the printed amendment,
and would be the inevitable consequence of intrusting the manage-
ment of this fund to that institute. In a great national institution like
the Smithsonian library, calculated for the benefit of the whole people
of the country, he desired to keep it clear or detach it and keep it dis-
tinct from the National Institute or any other literary corporation
whatever. Congress ought to take upon itself the immediate control
of this library. It would never succeed unless this course should be
pursued.
For one, he was not acquainted with the rules of the National Insti-
tute, and he did not know in what manner the managers of that insti-
tute were elected; but the proposed amendment placed the direction
and supervision of the library in the hands of managers not elected by
Congress, not responsible to Congress, and over whom the people of
this country, by their representatives, could have no control whatever.
Congress was undoubtedly capable of administering this fund without
the aid of the National Institute, and it was their duty to do so.
Without, therefore, troubling the Senate with any further observa-
tions, he should certainly go for separating the operations of this
library from those of the National Institute, wishing and hoping that
that institute might have all the success which he believed it so well
deserved, and if it should be made a rival in disseminating knowledge
among men with the library, well and good. The more knowledge
communicated, the better for the people of this country. He, there-
fore, should vote against the amendment of the honorable Senator
from New Hampshire [Mr. Woodbury], and, although there were some
provisions in the bill to which he might object, he would vote for it,
nevertheless, should it remain substantially as it came from the Com-
mittee on the Library.
Mr. WILLIAM ALLEN said he should vote against this or any other
proposition whatever, contemplating a connection of anything called an
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 313
institution with the public Treasury of the country, in any form or
shape. This title, "National Institute," sounded large, and at a dis-
tance was calculated to produce a great impression upon the public
mind. What was it? Some years ago a few gentlemen of this city
got together and concluded to form a literary and scientific association
among themselves. Well, that thing has been done in every city, and
in most of the villages and towns of the United States, from little
debating societies composed of young men, up to literary associations
composed of gray-headed men. All of these associations, of which
there are so many in this country, were like that in the city of Wash-
ington, formed in the same way, and were mere voluntary associations
of man with man. But this association in Washington City, finding a
Capitol here and a public Treasury here, called itself a National Insti-
tute; and, in order to legalize its claim to that pompous title it asked
Congress to give it a corporate existence by a solemn law. After they
got associated in the public mind the idea of its nationality, they suc-
ceeded in getting a law passed giving it a legal existence, and then they
began to enter into the organization and to claim a part in the admin-
istration of the Government. That institute came here with the very
instinct of all corporations to get its hands into the public Treasury
of the country by a process of induction. It proceeded with that
modesty and imposing humility which characterize the movements of
all corporations. It began by obtaining the temporary charge of
objects of science belonging to the Government; and being intrusted
with the custody of that part of the public property which resulted
from the exploring expedition, there was a motion made toward the
public Treasury. Having proceeded so far, it proceeded a few years
after to ask Congress to pay it moneys out of the public Treasury,
and for what? For its care of these very articles of public property
which, as a favor of the Government, it had asked to be intrusted
with the care of.
The Senate, which sat here for its constituents, was nevertheless so
unjust, in his judgment, as to tempt this corporation to its present ad-
vances by the fatal step of making for it a public office and paying it
$5,000 for the favor which the institution had asked in the privilege of
taking care of the articles resulting from the exploring expedition.
He opposed that bill at the time it was upon its passage through the
Senate; and he then said what was now seen that the attraction of
this corporation was toward the public Treasury.
We are now intrusted with a fund of some half a million of dollars.
It is intrusted to the care of the Congress of the United States; whether
by the Constitution or by Mr. Smithson it is now immaterial. The
money is obtained, and the question is decided that Mr. Smithson could
extend the limits of the Constitution by a request in his will and place
at the disposal of Congress moneys for objects which the Constitution
314 CONGRE89IONAL PROCEEDINGS.
knows not. You got the money; it is now in the public Treasury, or
ought to be, and was as much subject to the constitutional action of
Congress as any other moneys of the Treasury ; and for that action alone,
and in the name of the Smithsonian Institution, this National Institute
comes here to ask Congress to give it the exclusive administration of
half a million of the public money. This could be answered by the
general charge that no moneys ought to be drawn out of the public
Treasury except by the appropriation of law, and that Congress has no
right to intrust the administration of the public funds to any function-
ary of this Government, much less to an irresponsible agent, unknown
to the Constitution of the United States, calling itself a National Insti-
tute. If we had a right, he would be opposed to this bill, for he
could say that within his reading and his observation he had never
known a single instance of a fund of money, charitable or otherwise,
being intrusted to the care of an incorporated body of men that was
not squandered and made to fall short of the object of the donor. It
was the instinct of these machines called corporations, and it was
impossible for it to be otherwise. Intrust this corporation with the
administration of this fund, and it wotild be just as much throwing it
away as to throw it into the mud banks of the Potomac. All these
corporations are filled with law they are but the incorporation of
laws; and never, without an exception, either in English history or
ours, with regard to the administration by corporations, was there an
instance where the corporation had not consumed the fund or squan-
dered it away and caused it to fall short of the object of the donor.
The Girard folly in Philadelphia was an instance of this fact. There
might be found thousands of instances in the reports made to the
British Parliament by those charged with the investigation of these
subjects; and in many instances not only the income but the principal
was consumed in paying the administrators. It was always so. This
society in Washington City, which calls itself a National Institution,
has no more right to the direction and control of this fund than the
Wistar Club in Philadelphia an institution established there by an
able physician of that name or any literary society in the East or
West, of which there were great numbers, as he had before stated.
It is said that this fund is to be applied in the District of Columbia.
That very idea gave rise to the origin of the National Institute, he had
no doubt. Here was a fund to be expended here; and of course there
must be somebody to receive it, and what so handy as a corporation ?
What so convenient as to take into its hands a fund of money which
has to be expended 2 What so convenient as a corporation got up for
the purpose of receiving it? And what was better calculated to lead
Congress into their object than to take the title of national ? National !
A word always dear to the American people so dear that many an
inn, tavern, and eating house throughout the country bore the title,
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 315
and he believed there was an establishment somewhere in town here
which bore upon its sign "The National Eating House!" Now, as to
the formation of a society for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,
that was well enough; but he did not want to see these things take a
literary and scientific name for the purpose of thrusting their Hands
into the Treasury. He did not want to see corporations of men under
high-sounding titles, and professing beneficial objects, formed in this
capital with a view to enter into the control of public funds. He saw
no reason why we should not give the control of this fund to some
literary institution in Philadelphia or Boston with as much propriety
as to the National Institute.
The Constitution did not give us charge of the mind and genius of
the American people. It was the privilege of a despot, not of a free
government, to control the mind and direct the genius of the people;
and he wished to see no institution for that purpose established in the
capital of the United States, by which the American people are to
think, and read, and speak. Gentlemen were mistaken if they imag-
ined that, because such institutions exist in France and other parts of
Europe, they were doing a service to the American people in under-
taking to pursue the same course in this country, or under our Gov-
ernment. Our Government is the creature of the public mind, and
not the creator. In Europe, where monarchies, crowns, and thrones
sustain themselves by controlling the thoughts of the people, it is
different; but our Government stands upon the thoughts of the people,
and is controlled by them. We have no right to presume that the
people are so ignorant that we ought to legislate for enlightening them.
We are here to receive their instructions, not to impart instruction to
them. It is no part of our duty to do so. It is presumption in us to
assume the duty.
On these grounds, and others which Mr. Allen enforced with great
energy, he not only opposed the amendment, but signified his intention
of voting against the whole project.
Mr. R. J. WALKER said that, on this occasion, he was likely to be
placed in a small minority. In relation to the denunciation which the
Senate had just heard upon this floor of the National Institute, and the
charge that it commenced out of a desire to monopolize the Smithsonian
fund, he need only to say that it commenced long before that fund was
received. It originated with a distinguished member of the Cabinet of
Mr. Van Buren, now in honorable retirement; and from no individual
did it receive more encouragement, or stronger marks of approbation,
than from ex-President Van Buren himself, by numerous valuable
presents, and by every other means in which he could manifest his
regard. He [Mr. Walker] thought, therefore, notwithstanding the
difference of opinion between his friend from Massachusetts [Mr.
Choate] and his friend from New Hampshire [Mr. Woodbury] as to
316 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
which is the most democratic and he really rejoiced that his friend
from Massachusetts was claiming to be democratic, for it was a good
symptom of the progress of democracy and, notwithstanding all that
was said by his friend from Ohio [Mr. Allen], he was bound to say
that the individuals who originated this institution were eminently
democratic. He did not see that the amendment offered by the Senator
from New Hampshire proposed that the National Institute should have
one dollar of the Smithsonian fund, or of any fund whatever. He
believed it provides that the whole payments to be made are to be made
by the Treasury; and that all the National Institute is to do, as regards
this matter, in connection with the four other individuals named, is to
be done under the direction of a committee of this body, and subject
every year to the modifications and regulations, and subject to the
supervision and control, of the Government of the United States. He
rejected the idea, as one utterly erroneous, that the amendment of the
Senator from New Hampshire proposes that the National Institute shall
take any portion of this fund, or that it proposes even that it shall have
the administration of it. It is not to receive a solitary dollar. It is
not to disburse either the Smithsonian fund, or any other fund what-
ever, under this amendment. The Smithsonian fund is all to be admin-
istered by the Treasury Department to be paid out by that department;
and all that is to be done by this amendment is, to provide that there
may be some supervision of these drafts before they are presented to
the Treasury Department.
He should really like to know, inasmuch as there was to be a dis-
cussion here upon politics generally, which of the two is the more
democratic the Smithsonian Institution or the National Institute?
The Smithsonian Institution originated from an individual in England,
entirely foreign the very name is foreign. How was it with the
National Institute? It sprang from the people. It bears a name that
is dear to the people; and it has received the manifest encouragement
of the people of the United States. He spoke now not merely of the
colleges scattered all over the Union that had contributed to its aid
and support. He spoke not merely of the scientific men who assem-
bled at this Capitol not long since and gave it their encouragement and
support; but he spoke of the people in the humblest walks of life,
scattered all over this Union residing in every State of the Union
who, from year to year and month to month, had forwarded presents.
And why is it that this institute is dear to the American people?
Because it is national because it is American. They wish to see an
institution here bearing the name of the nation, which shall give to
the United States the same happy range in science that this Govern-
ment has done in political affairs.
And let him tell gentlemen that an institution that is merely called
Smithsonian can never concentrate in the same degree the affections
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1815. 317
and confidence of the American people. Still he admitted that it must
be called the Smithsonian Institution, nor did he propose that it should
be called by any other name. But the question was, whether the indi-
viduals who were named in the bill now under consideration, as
regarded the Smithsonian Institution, would better carry out the object
of Mr. Smithson than the National Institute. It was a mere difference
of opinion as to how the fund could be best administered. But if
there was any objection to a corporation, would not the Smithsonian
Institution be a corporation? He was sure his honorable friend from
Massachusetts [Mr. Choate] would not deny that it was at least what
was in law called a quasi corporation; and he supposed his honorable
friend from Ohio [Mr. Allen] would admit that it would not be more
democratic by making it a quasi corporation. He supposed it could
institute suits and legal proceedings. Who are the persons that would
have charge of this under the National Institute? Who are the direct-
ors? There was the President of the United States. Was not that
democratic ? Is he not the only man in our Government who is elected
by the whole people of the whole Union ? And who, together with
him, constitute a majority of the directors? Why, the Cabinet, deriv-
ing their appointment directly and immediately from the Chief Magis-
trate, who is himself the chosen of the whole American people. Was
that less democratic than committing the administration of this fund
to those intrusted with it in the bill? He thought, so far as the
democracy of the thing was concerned, that the administration of this
fund by the National Institute was quite as democratic as it could be
by any other mode.
But those who have charge of this fund under the National Institute
will be always here. They are to contribute their valuable services
and time to the administration of this fund, and they are not to receive
one solitary dollar for those services. He believed that by commit-
ting to this institute the administration of this fund, two main objects
would be accomplished. In the first place, it would best accomplish
the intention of the donor; and, in the second, he believed it would
also give additional permanency to, and aid the National Institute.
Therefore, notwithstanding the denunciation of his friend from Ohio
[Mr. Allen], and notwithstanding the honorable Senator from Massa-
chusetts [Mr. Choate] considered his plan much the best and much
the more democratic, he [Mr. Walker] should feel himself constrained
'to vote, in a small minority, he supposed, for the amendment proposed
bj' his honorable friend from New Hampshire [Mr. Woodbury].
Mr. H. A. FOSTER, of New York, rose not to discuss the measure,
but to suggest what appeared to him to be a deficiency in the bill,
namely, the want of some provision for the permanency of the system
of management which experience should prove to be best. In the
proper time he would submit an amendment, the object of which
318 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
would be that there should be only one of the seven additional mem-
bers over the ex officio members elected annually, so that in the course
of time each would serve seven years.
Mr. J. W. HUNTINGTON opposed the amendment of the Senator
from New Hampshire.
The amendment to the amendment was rejected.
Mr. H. A. FOSTER, of New York, now submitted his amendment, as
follows:
And Jared P. Kirtland of Ohio, Richard Henry Wilde of Louisiana, George Tucker
of Virginia, George Bancroft of Massachusetts, Henry King of Missouri, and Joseph
G. Totten and Alex. Dallas Bache, members of the National Institute, resident in
Washington City, be the other seven members, who shall, by lot, fix the term of
their office so that the term of one of them shall expire in one year; of another, in
two years; of another, in three years; of another, in four years; of another, in five
years; of another, in six years; and of the other, in seven years from the first day
of December next, after the passage of this act. And any vacancy happening other-
wise than by the expiration of the term shall be filled for the remainder of the term
on the fourth Wednesday of December next after the vacancy occurs.
Mr. FOSTER urged at some length the propriety of this provision.
Mr. TAPPAN opposed the provision as unnecessary, as there could
be no doubt of the reelection of such members as proved by their
services to be most valuable to the Institution.
Mr. CHOATE pointed out how much better it would be for the
interests of the Institution to have short terms of election, as that
would stimulate managers, who would feel their ambition excited by
the honor of their trust, to exertions worthy of their reelection.
The amendment to the amendment was rejected.
Mr. ALLEN moved to strike out the words "members of the National
Institute," by which two of the nominees in the bill were designated.
The amendment was rejected.
On motion by Mr. CHOATE, the fourth Wednesday in December, in
the bill, was changed to the third Wednesday in December, lest some-
times the fourth Wednesday might fall on Christmas day.
Mr. WOODBURY withdrew the printed amendments he had on a
former day ofi'ered, the necessity for them having been obviated by
alterations in the bill.
The amendment of the substitute, as amended, was then adopted,
and the bill was reported back to the Senate.
Mr. J. McP. BERRIEN, before the bill was allowed to pass the stage
of amendment, suggested the necessity of considering whether a sec-
tion would not be necessary authorizing the Institution, in respect to
the property it would possess by the grant of the public grounds, to
sue and be sued. It might be a question whether the Government
would be the ostensible party in a suit.
Mr. CHOATE conceived the property in the ground would still vest
in the Government; but, for the purpose of having time to add a small
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1843-1845. 319
section to avoid any possible difficulty, he would have no objection to
passing over the bill informally till to-morrow.
The amendments made in Committee of the Whole were then con-
curred in.
January 22, 1845 Senate.
The Senate resumed the consideration of the bill S. 18, and further
amended it.
January 23, 1845 Senate.
The bill S. 18 passed.
January 27, 1845 House.
Message from the Senate that bill S. 18 had passed.
Mr. EDMUND BURKE asked the unanimous consent of the House to
refer this bill to the Committee of the Whole, but objection was made.
January 28, 1845 House.
On motion of Mr. EDMUND BURKE, bill S. 18 was committed to the
Committee of the Whole.
February 10, 1845 House.
Mr. ROBERT DALE OWEN submitted an amendment to, or substitute
for, S. 18; which was committed to the Committee of the Whole.
On motion by Mr. OWEN, the committee took up the bill to establish
the Smithsonian Institution, and, after some remarks from Mr. J. Q.
Adams, Mr. Owen, and others, Mr. ADAMS moved that the bill be laid
aside; which was agreed to.
March 3, 1845.
A joint resolution (No. 14) was signed by the President:
That whenever any State shall have been, or may be, in default for the payment
of interest or principal on investments in its stocks or bonds, held by the United
States in trust, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to retain the
whole, or so much thereof as may be necessary, of the percentage to which such State
may be entitled, of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands within its limits, and
apply the same to the payment of said interest or principal, or to the reimbursement
of any sums of money expended by the United States for that purpose.
[Stat., V; 801.]
[This had reference to the States in which the Smithson fund had
been invested.]
March 3, 1845 House.
Mr. EDMUND BURKE offered resolution:
Resolved, That all debate in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the
Union on Senate bill 18 to establish the Smithsonian Institution shall cease in ten
minutes after the same shall be again taken up in committee (if the committee
shall not sooner come to a conclusion upon the same) ; and the committee shall then
proceed to vote on such amendments as may be pending, or offered to the same, and
shall then report it to the House with such amendments as may have been agreed to
by the committee.
The resolution was read; when Mr. GEORGE W. JONES moved that
it be laid upon the table.
320 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
And the question being put, it was decided in the affirmative yeas,
83; nays, 52.
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present,
the vote was
YEAS Messrs. Adams, Arrington, Barringer, Belser, Benton, Bidlack, James A.
Black, Bowlin, Boyd, Brengle, Brodhead, Jeremiah Brown, Caldwell, Carpenter,
Shepherd Cary, Carroll, Causin, Reuben Chapman, Augustus A. Chapman, Chappell,
Clinch, Clinton, Cobb, Coles, Cranston, Cullom, Darragh, Dawson, Dickey, Dunlap,
Ficklin, Fish, Grinnell, Hammett, Henley, Hoge, Hopkins, Houston, Hubard, Hub-
bell, Hudson, Hungerford, Washington Hunt, Irvin, Jenkg, Cave Johnson, Perley
B. Johnson, George W. Jones, Preston King, Lumpkin, Mcllvaine, Isaac E. Morse,
Moseley, Norris, Parmenter, Payne, Phoenix, Pratt, Purdy, Rathbun, Reding, Relfe,
Rhett, Ritter, Robinson, Rogers, Russell, Severance, Simons, Slidell, Thomas Smith,
Sykes, Taylor, Thomasson, Thompson, Tilden, Tucker, Tyler, Wethered, Benjamin
White, Williams, William Wright, Yost.
NAYS Messrs. Abbott, Bayly, Edward J. Black, Bower, Brinkerhoff, Aaron V.
Brown, Burke, Catlin, Chilton, Clingman, Collamer, Cross, Dana, Daniel, Richard
D. Davis, Dellet, Dillingham, Dromgoole, Foot, Foster, French, Hamlin, Harper,
Andrew Kennedy, D. P. King, Leonard, Lucas, Maclay, McClelland, McDowell,
McKay, Marsh, Edward Joy Morris, Newton, Owen, Paterson, Emery D. Potter,
David S. Reid, Rockwell, St. John, Sample, Saunders, Thomas H. Seymour, Albert
Smith, Robert Smith, Steenrod, Andrew Stewart, John Stewart, Stiles, Alfred P.
Stone, Vinton, Winthrop.
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
June 17, 1844.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1845.
For continuing the preparation and publication of the Narrative
and Account of the Exploring Expedition, $40,000.
For the publication, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Navy and of the Secretary of the Treasury, of such of the maps of the
exploring expedition as, in their judgment, will be serviceable to the
Navy and the commerce of the country, $2,000.
To defray the expenses of taking care of and preserving the botan-
ical and horticultural specimens brought home by the exploring
expedition, and for the salary of the keeper of and enlarging the
greenhouse under the direction and control of the Joint Committee on
the Library, $2,200 $44,200
(Stat., V., 691.)
February 20, 1845.
Resolved, etc., That as each part of the work now in course of pub-
lication on the "Exploring Expedition" shall be completed, fifty-eight
copies of the same shall be delivered to the Secretary of State, to be
distributed as follows, that is to say: To each of these United States,
one copy; to the Government of France, two copies; Great Britain,
two copies; Russia, two copies; and one copy each to Sweden, Den-
mark, Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal,
Spain, Sardinia, Greece, Tuscany, the Ecclesiastical States, the two
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 321
Sicilies, Turkey, China, Mexico, New Granada, Venezuela, Chili,
Peru, the Argentine Republic, Brazil, Texas, and the Sandwich
Islands; and one copy to the Naval Lyceum in Brooklyn, New York.
SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That one copy of said work be
given to Charles Wilkes, esquire, the commander of said expedition:
one copy to William L. Hudson, esquire, and one copy to Cadwallader
Ringold, esquire, commandants of vessels in said expedition.
SEC. 3. And be it further resolved, That two copies of said work be
placed in the Library of Congress, and that the residue of said work
shall be delivered to the Librarian, to be by him preserved for future
distribution.
(Stat, V., 797.)
March 3, 1845.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1846.
For completing the publication of the work on the "Exploring
Expedition," including the printing of an extra number of charts, and
for the salary of the horticulturist, $10,000.
(Stat, V., 761.)
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847.
BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.
December 4, 1845 House.
Mr. R. D. OWEN gave notice of a bill to establish the Smithsonian
Institution.
December 19, 1845 House.
Mr. R. D. Owen's bill, H. 5, was read a first and second time, and
referred to a select committee of seven members, viz: Mr. Robert
D. Owen, Mr. John Q. Adams, Mr. Timothy Jenkins, Mr. G. P.
Marsh, Mr. Alexander D. Sims, Mr. Jefferson Davis, and Mr. David
Wilmot.
January 9, 1846 House.
Mr. R. D. OWEN, from the select committee, reported a resolution
that the bill referred to the committee be printed; agreed to.
February 28, 1846 House.
Mr. R. D. OWEN, from the select committee to which was referred
the bill H. 5, reported a substitute for said bill; and thereupon Mr.
Owen offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That this report be printed; that the substitute herewith reported be
referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and be printed
separately in the form of a bill; and that the same be made the special order of the
day for the second Tuesday in April next.
Mr. GEORGE S. HOUSTON called for a division of the question, so as
to take a separate vote on the proposal to make it the special order for
a particular day; which was ordered,
H. Doc. 732 21
322 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
And the question on the first branch of the resolution was taken,
and decided in the affirmative.
So the bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state
of the Union.
And the question recurring on the second branch of the resolution,
Mr. OWEN said: 1 hope the House will suffer me to say one word
on the subject. The money appropriated by this bill has been in our
Treasury between seven and eight years; and, in all that time, not a
dollar of it has been used in accordance with the will of the testator.
We can not suppose Congress unwilling to act in such a matter. It
has heretofore failed, because, in the conflict on other important sub-
jects, it was delayed, and remained among the unfinished business.
This will again be its fate unless we make it the special order for
some day. The committee put it off until April. If even that be too
early, let a later day be named. But at all events, let some day be
fixed when we may know that the subject will be taken up; so that
we at last escape the just reproach of receiving money for one of the
best purposes on earth, and then doing nothing with it.
The question was then taken on the second branch of the resolution,
and decided in the affirmative two-thirds voting therefor.
So the bill was made the special order rf the day for the second
Tuesday in April next.
Mr. R. D. OWEN, from the select committee on the Smithsonian
bequest, made the following report:
The select committee on the Smithsonian bequest, to whom was
referred House bill No. 5, entitled a " bill to establish the Smith-
sonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men," have had the same under consideration, and have instructed me
to report the same back with one amendment. The bill, as it was
referred to them, reads as follows:
A bill to establish the "Smithsonian Institution," for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.
Whereas James Smithson, Esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain,
by his last will and testament, did give the whole of his property to the United
States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men ;
and whereas Congress have heretofore received said property and accepted said trust:
Therefore, that the same may be executed in good faith, and according to the will of
the liberal and enlightened donor
Be it enacted, etc. That so much of the property of the said James Smithson as has
been received in money, and paid into the Treasury of the United States, being the
sum of $515,169, be lent to the United States Treasury, at six per cent per annum
interest, from September 1, 1838, when the same was received into the said Treasury,
and that so much of the interest as may have accrued on said sum on the first day of
July next, which will amount to the sum of $242,129, or so much thereof as shall by
the board of managers of the Institution established by this act be deemed necessary,
be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the erection of suitable buildings, the
enclosing and preparing of suitable grounds, and for other current incidental expenses
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 323
of the said Institution; and that six per cent interest on the said trust fund, it being
the said amount of $515,169, received into the United States Treasury, on September 1,
1838, payable, in half-yearly payments, on the first of January and July in each year,
be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the perpetual maintenance and support
of said Institution; and all expenditures and appropriations to be made, from time to
time, to the purposes of the Institution aforesaid, shall be exclusively from the accru-
ing interest, and not from the principal of the said fund.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the business of the said institution shall be
conducted by a board of managers, to be composed of the Vice-President of the
United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, during the time for which they
shall hold their respective offices; three members of the Senate and three members
of the House of Representatives, together with seven other persons, other than mem-
bers of Congress, two of whom shall be members of the National Institute in the city
of Washington, and resident in the said city; and the other five thereof shall be
inhabitants of States, and no two of them of the same State. And the managers, to
be selected as aforesaid from Congress, shall be appointed immediately after the pas-
sage of this act the members of the Senate by the President thereof, and the mem-
bers of the House by the Speaker thereof; and those so appointed shall serve until
the fourth Wednesday of December, the second next after the passage of this act;
and then, and biennially thereafter, on every alternate fourth Wednesday of Decem-
ber, a like number shall be appointed in the same manner, to serve until the fourth
Wednesday of December, the second succeeding their appointment; and they shall
also constitute and be denominated a joint standing committee of Congress on the
Smithsonian Institution; and vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or other-
wise, shall be filled as vacancies in committees are filled; and the other seven man-
agers aforesaid shall serve for the tenn of two years from the fourth Wednesday of
December next after the passage of this act; when, and on every alternate fourth
Wednesday of December thereafter, a new election thereof shall be made by a joint
resolution of Congress; and vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise,
may be filled in like manner by joint resolution of Congress. And the said managers
shall meet and organize, by the choice of a president, in the city of Washington, on
the fir.-t Monday in September next after the passage of this act, and they shall then
fix on the times for regular meetings of the board; and on application of any three
of the managers to the superintendent of the said Institution, it shall be his duty to
appoint a specy al meeting of the board, of which he shall give notice by letter to each
of the members; and at any meeting of the board of managers, five shall constitute a
quorum to do business. And each member of the board of managers shall be paid
his necessary traveling and other actual expenses in attending meetings of the board,
which shall be audited and recorded by the superintendent of the Institution; but
his service as manager shall be gratuitous. And whenever money is required for the
payment of the debts or performance of the contracts of the Institution, incurred or
entered into in conformity with the provisions of this act, or for making the pur-
chases and executing the objects authorized by this act, the superintendent or the
managers, or any three thereof, may certify to the president of the lx>ard that such
sum of money is required; whereupon, he shall submit the same to a committee of
three of the managers appointed for that purpose for examination and approval; and
upon such examination and approval, he shall certify the same to the proper officer
of the Treasury for payment. And the said board shall make all needful rules, reg-
ulations, and by-laws for the government of the Institution and the persons
employed therein, and shall submit to Congress, at each session thereof, a report of
the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution.
SEC. 3. A nd be it further enacted, That after the board of managers shall have met,
and become organized, it shall be their duty forthwith to proceed to select suitable
sites for such buildings as may be necessary for the Institution, and suitable ground
324 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
for horticultural and agricultural purposes and experiments; which ground may be
taken and appropriated out of that part of the public ground in the city of Washing-
ton called the Mall, lying west of Seventh street; and the sites and grounds so
selected shall be set out by proper metes and bounds, and a description of the same
shall be made and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and signed by
the said managers, or so many of them as may be convened at the time of their said
organization; and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the president of the
board of managers, shall be received in evidence in all courts of the extent and
boundaries of the lands appropriated to the said Institution; and upon the making
of such record, such sites and lands shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated
by force of this act to the said Institution.
SEC. 4. And J>e it, further enacted, That, so soon as the board of managers shall have
selected the site for the buildings of the Institution, they shall cause to be erected a
suitable building, of plain and durable materials and structure, without unnecessary
ornament, and of sufficient size, and with suitable rooms or halls for the reception
and arrangement, upon a liberal scale, of objects of natural history, including a geo-
logical and mineralogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, and the
necessary lecture rooms; and the said board shall have authority, by themselves, or
by a committee of three of their members, to contract for the completion of such
building, upon such plan as may be directed by the board of managers, and shall
take sufficient security to the Treasurer of the United States for the building and
finishing the same according to the said plan, and in the time stipulated in such
contract. And the board of managers shall also cause the grounds selected for horti-
cultural and agricultural purposes to be enclosed and secured, and suitable buildings
erected, to preserve such plants as will not bear exposure to the weather at all seasons;
and so soon as it may be necessary for the accommodation of the persons employed
in said Institution, the said board of managers may cause to be erected on the grounds
of the Institution such dwelling hcuises and other buildings, of plain and substantial
workmanship and materials, to be without unnecessary ornament, as may be wanted:
Provided, however, That the whole expense of the buildings and enclosures aforesaid
shall not exceed the amount of the interest which will have accrued on the principal
sum and fund on the first day of July next, to wit, the sum of $242,129; which sum
is hereby appropriated, payable out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated; together with such sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to the
Institution, as may, in any year, remain unexpended, after paying the current
expenses of the Institution : And provided, further, That the expenditure for enclos-
ing and securing grounds, and erecting buildings to prevent plants from exposure,
shall not exceed the sum of $20,000. And all such contracts as may be made by said
board of managers shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States; and
all questions which may arise between the United States and any person claiming
under and by virtue of any such contract shall be heard and determined by said
board of managers, and such determination shall be final and conclusive upon all
parties; and all claims on any contract made as aforesaid shall be allowed and certi-
fied by the board of managers, or a committee thereof, as the case may be, and,
being signed by the president of the board, shall be a sufficient voucher for settle-
ment and payment at the Treasury of the United States. And the board of managers
shall be authorized to employ such persons as they deem necessary to superintend
the erection of the buildings and fitting up the rooms of the Institution. And all
laws for the protection of public property in the city of Washington shall apply to,
and be in force for, the protection of the lands, buildings, and other property of said
Institution; and all prosecutions for trespasses upon said property, and all civil suits
on behalf of said Institution, shall be prosecuted in the name of the United States in
any court having competent jurisdiction of the same.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion a. suitable arrangements can
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 325
be made for their reception, all objects of foreign and curious research, and all objects
of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens belonging or
hereafter to belong to the United States, which may be in the city of Washington,
in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such persons as may
be authorized by the board of managers to receive them, and shall be arranged in such
order, and so classed, as best to facilitate the examination and study of them, in the
buildings so as aforesaid to be erected for the Institution; and the managers of said
Institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history, geology, or miner-
alogy may be obtained for the museum of the Institution by exchanges of duplicate
specimens belonging to the Institution (which they are hereby authorized to make) ,
or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, cause such new specimens to
be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the minerals, books, manuscripts,
and other property of James Smithson, which have been received by the Govern-
ment of the United States, and are now placed in the Patent Office, shall be removed
to said Institution and shall be preserved separate and apart from the other property
of the Institution.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said Institution shall appoint
a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the ground, buildings, and
property belonging to the Institution, and carefully preserve the same from injury;
and such superintendent shall be the secretary of the board of managers, and shall,
under their direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to be
preserved in said Institution; and the said superintendent shall also discharge the
duties of librarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of the
board of managers, employ an assistant; and the said managers shall appoint a pro-
fessor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy, and the said professor may
hire, from time to time, so many gardeners, practical agriculturists, and laborers as
may be necessary to cultivate the ground and keep in repair the buildings of said
Institution; and he shall make experiments to determine the utility and advantage
of new modes and instruments of culture, to determine whether new fruits, plants,
and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the United States; and all such
fruits, plants, seeds, and vegetables as shall be found useful, and adapted to any of
our soils and climates, shall be distributed among the people of the Union; and the
said officers shall receive for their services such sum as may be allowed by the board
of managers, to be paid semiannually on the first day of January and July; and
the said officers, and all other officers of the Institution, shall be removable by
the board of managers whenever, in their judgment, the interests of the Institution
require any of the said officers to be changed.
SEC. 7. And whereas the most effectual mode of promoting the general diffusion of
knowledge is by judiciously conducted common schools, to the establishment of
which throughout the Union much aid will be afforded by improving and perfecting
the common school system of the country, and by elevating the standard of qualifi-
cation for common school teachers; and whereas knowledge may be essentially
increased among men by instituting scientific researches, and, generally, by spreading
among the people a taste for science and the arts
Be it further enacted, That the board of managers shall establish a normal branch
of the Institution, by appointing some suitable person as professor of common school
instruction, with such other professors, chiefly of the more useful sciences and arts,
as may be necessary for such a thorough, scientific, and liberal course of instruction
as may be adapted to qualify young persons as teachers of common schools,
and to give to others a knowledge of an improved common school system, and
also, when desired, to qualify students as teachers or professors of the more impor-
tant branches of natural science. And the board of managers may authorize the
professors of the Institution to grant to such of its students as may desire it, after
suitable examination, certificates of qualification as common school teachers, and
326 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
also as teachers or professors in various branches of science; they may also employ
able men to lecture upon useful subjects, and shall fix the compensation of such
lecturers and professors: Provided, however, That there shall not be established, in
connection with the Institution, any school of law, or medicine, or divinity, nor any
professorship of ancient languages. And the said managers shall make, from the
interest of said fund, an appropriation, not exceeding $5,000 annually, for the gradual
formation of a library, composed chiefly of the best works on the physical sciences,
and the application of science to the arts of life, but without excluding valuable
and standard works pertaining to other departments of human knowledge.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said board of managers shall make all
needful rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the Institution and the
persons employed therein; and, in prescribing the duties of the professors and
lecturers, they shall have reference to the introduction and illustration of subjects
connected with the application of science to the productive and liberal arts of life,
improvements in agriculture, in manufactures, in trades, and in domestic economy;
and they shall also have special reference to the increase and extension of scientific
knowledge generally, by experiment and research; and the managers may, at
their discretion, cause to be printed, from time to time, any lecture or course of
lectures which they may deem useful; and it shall be the duty of each lecturer,
while in the service of the Institution, to submit a copy of any lecture or lectures
delivered by him, to the managers, if required and called upon, for the purpose of
being printed; and such lectures, when printed, shall be at all times offered for sale
at the lowest rate that will repay the actual expense of publication. '
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said board of managers shall also make
rules and regulations for the admission of students into the various departments of
the institution, and their conduct and deportment while they remain therein: Pro-
vided, That all instruction in said Institution shall be gratuitous to those students
who conform to such rules and regulations.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted. That it shall be competent for the board of man-
agers to cause to be printed and published periodically or occasionally essays, pam-
phlets, magazines, or other brief works or productions for the dissemination of infor-
mation among the people, especially works in popular form on agriculture and its
latest improvements, on the sciences and the aid they bring to labor, manuals
explanatory of the best systems of common school instruction, and generally tracts
illustrative of objects of elementary science and the rudiments of history, chemis-
try, astronomy, or any other department of useful knowledge; also, they may pre-
pare sets of illustrations, specimens, and apparatus, suited for primary schools:
Provided, That the same shall at all times be offered for sale at the lowest rate that
will repay the actual expense of preparation or publication.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That of any other moneys which have accrued,
or shall hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein
appropriated, or not required for the purposes herein provided, the said managers
are hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the
promotion of the purposes of the testator, anything herein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That and Joseph G. Totten and Alex-
ander Dallas Bache, members of the National Institute, and resident in the city of
Washington, be the seven managers who, by the second section of this act, are to be
appointed by Congress.
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act: Pro-
vided, That no contract, or individual right, made or acquired under such provisions,
shall be thereby divested or impaired.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGKESS, 1845-1847. 327
The amendment agreed to by your committee, and which they
recommend for adoption to the House, is to strike out all after the
preamble, and insert the following substitute:
Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the property of the said James Smithson as
has been received in money and paid into the Treasury of the United States, being
the sum of $515,169, be lent to the United States Treasury, at six per cent per annum
interest, from September 1, 1838, when the same was received into the said Treasury;
and that so much of the interest as may have accrued on said sum on the first day of
July next, which will amount to the sum of $242,129, or so much thereof as shall by
the board of managers of the Institution established by this act be deemed necessary,
be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the erection of suitable buildings, the
enclosing and preparing of suitable grounds, and for other current incidental expenses
of the said Institution; and that six per cent interest on the said trust fund, it being
the said amount of $515,169, received into the United States Treasury on the first of
September, 1838, payable, in half-yearly payments, on the first of January and July in
each year, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the perpetual maintenance
and support of said Institution; and all expenditures and appropriations to be made,
from time to time, to the purposes of the Institution aforesaid, shall be exclusively
from the accruing interest and not from the principal of the said fund. And be it fur-
ther enacted, That all the moneys and stocks which have been, or may hereafter be,
received into the Treasury of the United States, on account of the fund bequeathed
by James Smithson, be, and the same hereby are, pledged to refund to the Treasury
of the United States the sums hereby appropriated.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the business of the said institution shall be
conducted by a board of managers who shall be, and hereby are, constituted a body
politic and corporate by the style and title of the "Smithsonian Institution," with
perpetual succession, and the usual powers, duties, and liabilities incident to corpo-
rations. And the said board of managers shall be composed of the Vice-President of
the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, and the mayor of the city
of Washington, during the time for which they shall hold their respective offices,
three members of the Senate, and three members of the House of Representatives,
together with six other persons other than members of Congress, two of whom shall
be members of the National Institute in the city of Washington, and resident in
the said city; and the other four thereof shall be inhabitants of States, and no two
of them of the same State; and the managers, to be selected as aforesaid, shall be
appointed immediately after the passage of this act the members of the Senate by
the President thereof; the members of the House by the Speaker thereof; and the six
other persons by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives; and
the members of the House so appointed shall serve until the fourth Wednesday in
December, the second next after the passage of this act; and then, and biennially
thereafter, on every alternate fourth Wednesday of December, a like number shall
be appointed in the same manner, to serve until the fourth Wednesday in December,
the second succeeding their appointment; and the Senators so appointed shall serve
during the term for which they shall hold, without reelection, their office as Senators.
And vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled as vacan-
cies in committees are filled; and the other six members aforesaid shall serve, two
for two years, two for four years, and two for six years; the terms of service in the
first place to be determined by lot; but after the first term then their regular term of
service shall be six years; and new elections thereof shall be made by joint resolution
of Congress; and vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, may be
filled in like manner by joint resolution of Congress. And the said managers shall
meet and organize by the choice of a president in the city of Washington on the first
Monday in September next after the passage of this act, and they shall then fix on
328 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the times for regular meetings of the board; and on application of any three of the
managers to the superintendent of the said Institution it shall be his duty to appoint
a special meeting of the board, of which he shall give notice by letter to each of the
members; and at any meeting of the board of managers five shall constitute a quorum
to do business. And each member of the board of managers shall be paid his neces-
sary traveling and other actual expenses in attending meetings of the board, which
shall be audited and recorded by the superintendent of the Institution; but his service
as manager shall be gratuitous. And whenever money is required for the payment
of the debts or performance of the contracts of the Institution, incurred or entered
into in conformity with the provisions of this act, or for making the purchases and
executing the objects authorized by this act, the superintendent or the managers, or
any three thereof, may certify to the president of the board that such sum of money
is required; whereupon he shall submit the same to a committee of three of the man-
agers appointed for that purpose for examination and approval, and upon such
examination and approval he shall certify the same to the proper officer of the Treas-
ury for payment. And the said board shall make all needful rules, regulations, and
by-laws for the government of the Institution and the persons employed therein, and
shall submit to Congress at each session thereof, a report of the operations, expendi-
tures, and condition of the Institution.
SEC. 3. And be itfurtlier enacted, That after the board of managers shall have met,
and become organized, it shall be their duty forthwith to proceed to select suitable
sites for such buildings as may be necessary for the Institution, and suitable ground
for horticultural and agricultural purposes and experiments; which ground may be
taken and appropriated out of that part of the public ground in the city of Washing-
ton called the Mall, lying west of Seventh street; and the sites and ground so selected
shall be set out by proper metes and bounds, and a description of the same shall be
made and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and signed by the said
managers, or so many of them as may be convened at the time of their said organi-
zation; and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the president of the board of
managers, shall be received in evidence in all courts of the extent and boundaries of
the lands appropriated to the said Institution; and upon the making of such record,
such sites and lands shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated by force of this
act to the said Institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, so soon as the board of managers shall have
selected the site for the buildings of the Institution, they shall cause to be erected a
suitable building, of plain and durable materials and structure, without unnecessary
ornament, and of sufficient size, and with suitable rooms, or halls, for the reception
and arrangement, upon a liberal scale, of objects of natural history, including a geo-
logical and mineralogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of
art, and the necessary lecture rooms; and the said board shall have authority, by
themselves, or by a committee of three of their members, to contract for the comple-
tion of such building, upon such plan as may be directed by the board of managers,
and shall take sufficient security for the building and finishing the same according
to the said plan, and in the time stipulated in such contract. And the board of
managers shall also cause the grounds selected for horticultural and agricultural pur-
poses to be inclosed and secured, and suitable buildings erected to preserve such
plants as will not bear exposure to the weather at all seasons; and so soon as it may
be necessary for the accommodation of the persons employed in said Institution, the
said board of managers may cause to be erected, on the grounds of the Institution,
such dwelling houses and other buildings, of plain and substantial workmanship and
materials, to be without unnecessary ornament, as may be wanted: Provided, however,
That the whole expense of the buildings and inclosures aforesaid shall not exceed
the amount of the interest which will have accrued on the principal sum and fund
on the first day of July next, to wit: $242,129; which sum is hereby appropriated,
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 329
payable out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; together with
such sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to the Institution, as may, in
any year, remain unexpended, after paying the current expenses of the Institution:
And provided, further, That the expenditure for inclosing and securing grounds, and
erecting buildings to prevent plants from exposure, shall not exceed the sum of
$20,000. And duplicates of all such contracts as may be made by the said board
of managers shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States; and all
claims on any contract, made as aforesaid, shall be allowed and certified by the board
of managers, or a committee thereof, as the case may be, and, being signed by the
president of the board, shall be a sufficient voucher for settlement and payment at
the Treasury of the United States. And the board of managers shall be authorized
to employ such persons as they deem necessary to superintend the erection of the
buildings and fitting up the rooms of the Institution. And all laws for the protection
of public property in the city of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the
protection of the lands, buildings, and other property of said Institution. And all
moneys recovered by, or accruing to, the Institution shall be paid into the Treasury
of the United States, to the credit of the Smithsonian bequest, and separately
accounted for, as provided in the act approved July 1, 1836, accepting said bequest.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can
be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research,
and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens
belonging or hereafter to belong to the United States, which may be in the city of
Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such
persons as may be authorized by the board of managers to receive them, and shall
be arranged in such order, and so classed, as best to facilitate the examination and
study of them, in the buildings so as aforesaid to be erected for the institution; and
the managers of said institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural his-
tory, geology, or mineralogy may be obtained for the museum of the institution, by
exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the institution (which they are hereby
authorized to make), or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, cause
such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the min-
erals, books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have been
received by the Government of the United States and are now placed in the Depart-
ment of State, shall be removed to such institution, and shall be preserved separate
and apart from the other property of the institution.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said institution shall appoint
a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the grounds, buildings,
and property belonging to the institution, and carefully preserve the same from
injury; and such superintendent shall be the secretary of the board of managers,
and shall, under their direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their pro-
ceedings, to be preserved in said institution; and the said superintendent shall also
discharge the duties of librarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the
consent of the board of managers, employ assistants; and the said managers shall
appoint a professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy; and the said
professor may hire, from time to time, so many gardeners, practical agriculturists,
and laborers as may be necessary to cultivate the ground and maintain a botanical
garden ; and he shall make, under the supervision of the board of management, such
experiments as may be of general utility throughout the United States, to determine
the utility and advantage oi' new modes and instruments of culture, to determine
whether new fruits, plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the
United States; and the said officers shall receive for their services such sum as may
be allowed by the board of managers, to be paid semiannualiy on the first day of
January and July; and the said officers, and all other officers of the institution, shall
330 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
be removable by the board of managers whenever, in their judgment, the interests
of the institution require any of the said officers to be changed.
SEC. 7. And whereas the most effectual mode of promoting the general diffusion
of knowledge is by judiciously conducted common schools, to the establishment of
which throughout the Union much aid will be afforded by improving and perfecting
the common-school system of the country, and by elevating the standard of qualifi-
cation for common-school teachers; and whereas knowledge may be essentially
increased among men by instituting scientific researches, and, generally, by spread-
ing among the people a taste for science and the arts:
Be it furthe^ enacted. That the board of managers shall establish a normal branch
of the institution, by appointing some suitable person as professor of common-school
instruction, with such other professors, chiefly of the more useful sciences and arts,
as may be necessary for such a thorough, scientific, and liberal course of instruction
as may be adapted to qualify young persons as teachers of common schools, and to
give to others a knowledge of an improved common-school system; and also, when
desired, to qualify students as teachers or professors of the more important branches
of natural science. And the board of managers may authorize the professors of the
institution to grant to such of its students as may desire it, after suitable examina-
tion, certificates of qualification as common-school teachers, and also as teachers or
professors in various branches of science; they may also employ able men to lecture
upon useful subjects, and shall fix the compensation of such lecturers and professors:
Provided, however, That there shall not be established, in connection w r ith the insti-
tution, any school of law, or medicine, or divinity, nor any professorship of ancient
languages. And the said managers shall make, from the interest of said fund, an
appropriation, not exceeding an average of $10,000 annually, for the gradual forma-
tion of a library, composed of valuable works pertaining to all departments of human
knowledge.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said board of managers shall make all
needful rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the institution and the
persons employed therein; and in prescribing the duties of the professors and lec-
turers they shall have reference to the introduction and illustration of subjects
connected with the application of science to the productive and liberal arts of life,
improvements in agriculture, in manufactures, in trades, and in domestic economy;
and they shall also have special reference -to the increase and extension of scientific
knowledge generally, by experiment and research. And the managers may, at their
discretion, cause to be printed from time to time any lecture or course of lectures
which they may deem useful. And it shall be the duty of each lecturer while in
the service of the institution to submit a copy of any lecture or lectures delivered by
him to the managers, if required and called upon.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said board of managers shall also make
rules and regulations for the admission of students into the various departments of
the institution and their conduct and deportment while they remain therein: Pro-
vided, That all instruction in said institution shall be gratuitous to those students
who conform to such rules and regulations.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be competent for the board of man-
agers to cause to be printed and published periodically or occasionally essays, pam-
phlets, magazines, or other brief works or productions for the dissemination of
information among the people, especially works in popular form on agriculture and
its latest improvements, on the sciences and the aid they bring to labor, manuals
explanatory of the best systems of common-school instruction, and generally tracts
illustrative of objects of elementary science, and treatises on history, natural and
civil, chemistry, astronomy, or any other department of useful knowledge; also, they
may prepare sets of illustrations, specimens, apparatus, and school books suited for
primary schools.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGEESS, 1845-1847. 331
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That of any other moneys which have accrued,
or shall hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein
appropriated or not required for the purposes herein provided, the said managers
are hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the
promotion of the purpose of the testator, anything herein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act: Pro-
vided, That no contract or individual right made or acquired under such provisions
shall be thereby divested or impaired.
Your committee further report that though they do not consider
it in strictness a part of their duty to refer to the purchases of stocks
which Congress has seen fit to make with the money paid into the
Treasury as the Smithsonian fund, yet they have inquired into the
present condition of these investments and make the following state-
ment in regard to the same, that the House, by its Committee on
Ways and Means or otherwise, may, if it see fit, inquire into the expe-
diency of adopting measures for the ultimate arrangement of these
debts.
There was invested, as by reference to Tables A, B, and C, in House
Doc. No. 142, Twenty-eighth Congress, first session, will more fully
appear, upward of half a million in Arkansas bonds; upward of
$50,000 in Illinois bonds, and a few smaller sums in Ohio, Michigan,
and United States stocks.
On these stocks, up to December 31, 1843, as appears also in the
report above referred to, interest was paid except
Balance of interest then due and unpaid.
By the State of
Arkansas $75,687.84
Michigan 480. 00
Illinois 3, 360. 00
Total interest due and unpaid December 31, 1843 79, 527. 84
By a statement received by your committee from the Secretary of
the Treasury they learn that, since December 31, 1843, there has been
carried into the Treasury, on account of interest due by these States,
the sum of $19,106.25, and that the entire amount of interest due and
unpaid at the close of last year had increased as follows:
Balance of interest due and unpaid up to December 31, 1846.
By the State of
Arkansas $130, 841. 52
Illinois 1, 680. 00
Michigan 180. 07
Total interest on stocks purchased with the Smithsonian fund,
due and unpaid December 31, 1845 132, 701.
332 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
What measures, if any, it may be expedient to adopt in regard to
the back interest, or to the sale of all or any of these stocks, they have
not considered it their province to inquire.
And your committee recommend to the House the adoption of the
following resolution:
Resolved, That this report be printed; that the substitute herewith reported by
them be referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and be
printed separately in the form of a bill; and that the same be made the special order
of the day for the second Tuesday in April next.
April 21, 1846 House.
Mr. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS proposed the following amendment to the
bill (H. 5) to establish the Smithsonian Institution: Strike out the pre-
amble, and all except the enacting clause, and insert:
That the President of the United States be requested, by the use of suitable means
of moral suasion, and no others, to obtain from the governments of the States of
Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan payment of the arrears of interest due from the
said States to the United States, and the interest thereafter, and the principal as it
shall become due, according to the promises on the face of the bonds given by the
said States for moneys bequeathed by James Smithson, a benevolent Englishman, to
the United States of America, for the special purpose of founding at the city of Wash-
ington an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, which
bequest was, by an act of Congress approved on the first of July, eighteen hundred
and thirty-six, accepted, with a pledge of the faith of the United States that it should
be applied to the purposes prescribed by the testator.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That when payment shall have been obtained
from the said States of Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan of the arrears of interest due
on their said bonds, Congress shall forthwith proceed to appropriate said sums of
interest so recovered, together with the interest hitherto received, or hereafter to be
received, until the time of making such appropriations, in such manner as they shall
deem suited to redeem the pledge of the faith of the United States to the applica-
tion of the funds of the bequest of the said James Smithson to the specific purpose
prescribed by the testator.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That until the arrears of interest due by the said
States of Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan to the United States upon their said
respective bonds shall have been received at the Treasury of the United States, no
appropriation shall be made by Congress, chargeable upon the people of the United
States, for the fulfillment of the purposes prescribed by the testator, James Smithson,
for the disposal of his bequest.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That within the first thirty days of each and every
successive session of Congress it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to
report to Congress the then actual state of the Smithsonian fund, and particularly
the amount of arrears of interest due upon the said bonds of the States of Arkansas,
Illinois, and Michigan, together with copies of all correspondence, showing the result
of the means of moral suasion used during the preceding year to obtain payment of
the said arrears of interest, and the said annual reports shall be printed for the
information of the people.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
April 22, 1846 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. JOHN W. DAVIS) announced the special order of
the day to be the bill in relation to the Smithsonian Institution.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 333
Mr. R. D. OWEN moved that the House resolve itself into Commit-
tee of the Whole on the state of the Union, which motion was agreed to.
The SPEAKER invited to the chair Mr. Seaborn Jones, who excused
himself on the ground that he had but a limited acquaintance with the
members.
Mr. ARMISTEAD BURT, having then been addressed by the Speaker,
accepted the invitation.
Whereupon the House resolved itself into Committee of the Whole
on the state of the Union (Mr. Burt, of South Carolina, in the chair),
and proceeded to the consideration of the bill entitled "A bill to estab-
lish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men."
The bill, having been read through, was taken up by sections; and
the first section being under consideration, Mr. G. W. JONES moved
that the said section be stricken out.
Mr. OWEN said: We have been unfortunate, in this country, in the
administration of legacies bequeathed by benevolent men for the
improvement of our race. Of the noble Girard fund, three-quarters
of a million of dollars are lost forever, and though half a generation
has passed away since the eccentric Fhiladelphian died, not one child
has yet reaped the benefit of his munificent bequest. A temple has
indeed arisen that outshines Greece and her Parthenon; its sumptuous
Corinthian pillars, each one costing a sum that would have endowed a
professorship, are the admiration of beholders and the boast of the
Quaker City; but years must yet elapse before the first son of indi-
gence can ascend the steps of that princely portico and sit down within
those marble halls to receive the education for which its simple and
unostentatious founder sought to provide.
Yet it is not for us of this National Legislature to arraign, as dila-
tory, the corporation of Philadelphia. It is sixteen years since James
Smithson died, leaving to the United States the reversion of more
than half a million of dollars, to found, in this District, an institution
14 for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." It will
be ten years on the 1st of July next since this Government solemnly
accepted the trust created by Mr. Smithson's will. It will be eight
years next September since the money was obtained from the English
court of chancery and paid into the Treasury of the United States.
And yet, though distinguished men have moved in this matter, though
projects have been brought forward and discussed in Congress, there
has till this day been no final action; the first human being has yet to
receive the benefit of the Smithsonian bequest; the corner stone of the
first building has yet to be laid, in fulfillment of the intentions of the
philanthropic testator.
Small encouragement is there in such tardiness as this to others as
wealthy and as liberal as Smithson and Girard to follow their noble
334 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
example; small encouragement to such men to intrust to our care
bequests for human improvement. Due diligence is one of the duties
of a faithful trustee. Has Congress in its conduct of this sacred trus-
teeship used due diligence? Have its members realized in the depths
of their hearts its duties and their urgent importance? Or has not the
language of our legislative action rather been but this: "The Smith-
sonian fund? Ah, true; that's well thought of. One forgets these
small matters. We ought certainly to attend to it one of these days,
if we could only find time." We are as the guests in the parable
bidden to the marriage feast: "I have married a wife, and therefore I
can not come." "I have bought a yoke of oxen and must needs remain
at home to prove them." Let us see to it that the condemnation passed
upon their paltry excuses fall not with double force upon our supine-
ness in this thing.
There are those among the strict constructionists of the House who
will vote to return this fund to the British court of chancery, alleg-
ing that we have no constitutional power to receive or to administer
it. I suppose, judging from the tenor of the amendment moved by
the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. G. W. Jones], that he will so vote.
Mr. JONES. I certainly shall.
Mr. OWEN. Well, sir, though I share not the gentleman's constitu-
tional scruples, yet I, too, if action in this matter be much longer
delayed, shall join in a vote to send back the money to the country
whence it came. There is not common honesty in a man who shall receive
a trust fund, even for an object the most indifferent, and then keep the
money in his hands without applying it according to the will of the
legator. What, then, shall we say of a great Government that accepts,
solemnly accepts before God and man, a bequest for a purpose sacred
and holy, if any such purpose there be upon earth, and then, indolent
or indifferent, so braves the just censure of the world, so disappoints
the generous confidence reposed in it, as to neglect and postpone year
after year every measure for the administration of that bequest?
Delay is denial. We have no more right to put off throughout
long years the appropriation of such a fund than we have to direct it
to our own private purposes. Nonuse works forfeiture as surely as
misuse. Mr. Richard Rush, through whose agency the fund was
realized and remitted to this country, in a paper read two years ago
before the National Institute, remarks that if this delay of action had
been anticipated by the English chancery judges, it "might have fore-
stalled the decree in our favor in the unrestricted manner in which it
was made." He adds:
It is at least known that the English court of chancery is slow to part with trust
funds under any ordinary circumstances without full security that they will not be
diverted from their object or suffered to languish in neglect. That tribunal asked
no such security from the United States. It would have implied the possibility of
laches in the high trustee. (Paper read April 8, 1844.)
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 335
Thus we are not legally accountable. The heavier, for that very
reason, is our moral responsibility. The gambler, beyond the pale of
the law, commonly retains honor enough to meet his promises. We
have less than the gambler's honor if, sheltered behind our sovereignty,
we take advantage of the impunity it affords and become unfaithful to
a high and imperative duty.
I impute not to an American Congress 1 attribute not to any of
my fellow-members the deliberate intention to neglect the objects of
this trust. There is, doubtless there always has been, a right feeling
on this subject. The just cause of complaint is that this right feeling,
like many other good intentions in this world, has never ripened into
action. tw When you feel nobly and intend well, go and do some-
thing! Do some good; it avails nothing merely to think about it."
Such were the words pronounced from yonder desk by a teacher
whose impressive eloquence recently filled this hall. I thought of the
Smithsonian bequest when I heard them.
Nor is it difficult to distinguish the reason, though it furnish no
sufficient apology for this prolonged inaction. It is to be ascribed,
though in part to indifference, yet chiefly to the difficulty of selecting
between various and conflicting plans. The words of the will, liberal
and comprehensive, do not indicate the specific mode in which the
intentions of the testator shall be carried into effect. Mr. Smithson
left the whole of his property, failing certain relatives, and an old
servant (now all deceased) "to the United States of America; to found
at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an
establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
" An institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men." These are the words, and the only words, that remain to us as
a guide in framing a Smithsonian bill; our sole guide; unless, indeed,
we are to summon, as a commentar}" on the text of the will, and an
additional indication of the probable intentions of Mr. Smithson, such
particulars as have reached us touching his private character and
habits. These are very scanty. Mr. Rush says:
What I have heard and may confide in amounts to this: That he was, in fact, the
natural son of the Daks of Northumberland; that his mother was a Mrs. Macie, of
an ancient family in Wiltshire, of the name of Hungerford; that he was educated at
Oxford; where ht took an honorary degree in 1786; that he does not appear to have
any fixed home, living in lodgings while in London, and occasionally staying a year
or two at a time in cities on the Continent, as Paris, Berlin, Florence, Genoa, at which
last he died; and that the ample provision made for him by the Duke of Northum-
berland, witli retired and simple habits, enabled him to accumulate the fortune
which now passes to the United States. (House Report 277, Twenty-sixth Congress,
first session, p. 99. )
Mr. Rush further says:
He interested himself little in questions of government, being devoted to science,
an<l chiefly chemistry. This had introduced him to the society of Cavendish, Wol-
laston, and others advantageously known to the Royal Society in London, of which
he was a member. (Ibid. )
336 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
In a Memoir of the Scientific Character and Researches of James
Smithson, prepared two years ago by Professor Johnson, of Philadel-
phia, there are enumerated twenty-four papers or treatises by Smithson,
published in the Transactions of the Royal Society and other scientific
journals of the day, containing contributions chiefly to the sciences of
mineralogy, geology, and, more especially, mineral chemistry. Some
of these contain acute suggestions regarding geological theories, since
confirmed by more modern observation; others evince the minute
care and accuracy demanded by quantitative analysis; while one or
two, of a more humble character, show that the man of science dis-
dained not to apply his knowledge to common things, even to the
details of domestic economy. In the Annals of Philosophy, volume
xxii, page 30, he has a brief tract on the " method of making coifee."
It contains the following excellent observation:
In all cases means of economy tend to augment and diffuse comfort and happiness.
They bring within the reach of many what wasteful proceedings confines to the few.
By diminishing expenditure on one article, they allow some other enjoyment which
was before unattainable.
Even in a trifle like this we may trace the utilitarian simplicity arid
practical benevolence of James Smithson.
The will determines the name of the institution, and renders imper-
ative its location at Washington. It decides also that a Smithsonian
Institution shall have two distinct objects; one to increase the sum of
human knowledge, the other to aid in its diffusion: for we can not
imagine the terms to have been employed as synonymous. From the
character of the testator's pursuits we may fairly infer, further, that
a Smithsonian bill, framed in accordance with the evident intentions of
Smithson himself, must include the natural sciences, and especially
chemistry, together with their application to the useful arts of life,
among the branches of knowledge to be increased and diffused. And
as his own habits were frugal and unostentatious, so, in all its details,
should be the institution that bears his name.
Suffer me now briefly to pass in review the history of our legislative
proceedings in this matter.
The money was paid into the United States Treasury on the 1st of
September, 1838. On the 6th of December, of the same year, Presi-
dent Van Buren sent a message to Congress, informing that body that
he had in July, 1838, directed the Secretary of State "to apply to
persons versed in science, and familiar with the subject of public edu-
cation, as to the mode of disposing of the fund best calculated to meet
the intentions of the testator, and prove most beneficial to mankind."
From the wording of this message we may infer that Mr. Van Buren
considered the advancement of science and of public education the
proper object of a Smithsonian Institution.
He communicated to Congress the replies received. A brief abstract
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 337
of the more important of these may be useful and interesting at this
time.
Professor Wayland proposed a university of a high grade to teach
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and the Oriental languages, together with a
long list of other branches, including rhetoric and poetry, intellectual
philosophy, the law of nations, etc. A bill substantially based upon
this recommendation was introduced in 1839 into the Senate; and, on
the 25th of February of that year, after full debate, was laid on the
table by a vote of 20 to 15.
Dr. Cooper proposed a university, to be opened only to graduates
of other colleges, to teach the higher branches of mathematics, includ-
ing its application to astronomy, chemistry, etc. ; also, the principles
of botany and agriculture. No Latin or Greek; no mere literature;
no medicine or law. The above recommendations in regard to botany
and agriculture, and also those excluding the learned languages and
professions, have been adopted in the present Smithsonian bill.
Mr. Richard Rush proposed a building, with grounds attached suffi-
cient to reproduce seeds and plants for distribution; a press to print
lectures, etc. ; courses of lectures on the leading branches of physical
and moral science and on government and public law; the salaries to
be ample enough to command the best men and admit of the exclusive
devotion of their time to the studies and investigations of their posts;
the lectures, when delivered, to be the property of the Institution for
publication. Most of these recommendations are adopted in the bill
before 3 7 ou. Mr. Rush also made the excellent suggestion that con-
suls and other United States officers might greatly aid the Institution
by collecting and sending home useful information and valuable speci-
mens from abroad.
The venerable gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Adams], who has
labored in this good cause with more zeal and perseverance than any
other man, expressed in his reply the opinion that no part of the fund
should be devoted "to the endowment of any school, college, univer-
sity, or ecclesiastical establishment; " and he proposed to employ seven
years' income of the fund in the establishment of an observatory, with
instruments and a small library. This proposal was afterwards, at no
less than four different sessions, incorporated in a bill, but failed on
these occasions among the unfinished business. I believe I am author-
ized in saying for the gentleman from Massachusetts that, inasmuch
as these his intentions have been since otherwise carried out, and as
we have already in this District a Government observatory, at least
equal in everything but the experience of its observers to the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich, he has ceased to press that proposal.
Though the plan actually proposed by the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts was restricted for some years to an observatoiy, he yet recog-
H. Doc. 732 22
338 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
nized, as in accordance with the language of the bequest, " the improve-
ment of all the arts and sciences." In a report made in 1840 he adds:
A botanical garden, a cabinet of natural history, a museum of mineralogy, conch-
ology, or geology, a general accumulating library, are undoubtedly included within
the comprehensive grasp of Mr. Smithson's design. (House Report No. 277, Twenty-
sixth Congress, first session, p. 18. )
These various objects are all embraced in the bill which has been
reported to the House. The gentleman also recommended that the
original fund (it is about $515,000) be preserved unimpaired and that
yearly appropriations be made from the accruing interest only (which
will amount on the 1st of July next to about $242,000), a feature
which has been incorporated, I believe, in every Smithsonian bill here-
tofore submitted to Congress. The restrictions suggested by the gen-
tleman from Massachusetts have been so far retained in the present
bill as to exclude from the Institution "any school of law, medicine,
or divinity, or any professorship of ancient languages."
At the last session a bill was introduced into the other branch by
Senator Tappan. Its plan included an experimental farm, botanical
garden and conservatories, cabinets of natural history, a chemical
laboratory, a library with an annual appropriation not exceeding
$5,000, scientific lectureships, and an establishment for printing scien-
tific tracts and other useful treatises, all instruction to be gratuitous.
This bill was subsequently so amended by the Senate that the lec-
tures were restricted to a course or courses to be delivered during the
session of Congress, at an expense not exceeding $5,000 annually, and
the printing to a publication of these lectures, while the annual appro-
priation for a library was to be "not less than $20,000."
The experimental farm, botanical garden, and conservatories, as
well as the museum, laboratory, and scientific cabinets, were nomi-
nally retained; but how these were to be supported, considering that
at least two-thirds of the entire income was annually to be spent on
the library, does not very clearly appear.
This library plan, as it was commonly called, passed the Senate and
reached our House. An amendment or substitute, nearly similar to
the present bill, was substituted by myself and printed; but in the
hurry of a short session the whole matter was left once more among
the unfinished business.
As this Senate bill is the only one establishing a Smithsonian Insti-
tution that has yet passed either branch of Congress, its principal fea-
ture demands our deliberate and respectful consideration.
The library contemplated by this bill, it was expressly provided,
was to be "of the largest class of libraries now in the world." We
shall better understand both the object and the cost of this proposal
by taking as a commentary thereon some of the remarks with which
it was introduced by its author, then a distinguished member of the
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 339
other branch, but no longer there to adorn its debates with the gay
flowers of his brilliant eloquence.
He objected to limiting the cost of the library building to $100,000,
seeing, as he reminded the Senate, that the "largest class" of public
libraries contain from a quarter of a million to upward of a half a
million of volumes. He said:
Twenty thousand dollars a year for twenty-five years are $500,000; and $500,000
directly expended, not by a bibliomaniac, but by a man of sense and reading,
thoroughly instructed in bibliography, would go far, very far, toward the purchase
of as good a library as Europe can boast. (Speech of Senator Choate, January 8,
1845.)
He adds, a little further on, that "such a step taken, we should
never leave the work unfinished;" and that when finished, it would
"rival anything civilization has ever had to show."
He argues of the value and importance of such a library after this
wise:
1 do not know that of all the printed books in the world we have in this country
more than 50,000 different works. The consequence has been felt and lamented by
all our authors and all our scholars. It has often been said that Gibbon's History
could not have been written here for want of books. I suppose that Hallam's Mid-
dle Ages, and his Introduction to the Literature of Europe could not. Irving's
Columbus was written in Spain; AVheaton's Northmen prepared to be written in
Copenhagen. See how this inadequate supply operates. An American mind kindles
with a subject; it enters on an investigation with a spirit and ability worthy of the
most splendid achievement; goes a little way; finds that a dozen books one book,
perhaps is indispensable, which can not be found this side of Gottingen or Oxford;
it tires of the pursuit, or abandons it altogether, etc.
And the Senator branches off, in his own brilliant style, into a dis-
sertation on the value and importance of such a library: "A vast store-
house," says he; "a vast treasury of all the facts which make up the
history of man and of nature; * * ' a silent, yet wise and eloquent
teacher; dead, yet speaking; not dead! for Milton has told us: 'A good
book is not absolutely a dead thing the precious lifeblood, rather, of
a master spirit; a seasoned life of man, embalmed and treasured up,
on purpose to a life beyond life.' "
If the question were between a library and no library, between
books and no books, the language thus employed, fervid as it is,
would be all insufficient to shadow forth the towering magnitude of
the subject. John Faust if, indeed, to the goldsmith of Mentz the
world owe the art of typesetting conferred on his race a greater boon
than ever before did living man. There is no comparison to be made
between the effects of the art of printing and these of any other dis-
covery put forth by human wit. There is nothing to which to liken
it. It was a general gaol delivery of the thoughts of the world. It
was a sending forth of these winged messengers, hitherto bound down
each in his own narrow sphere, emancipated, over the earth. And
340 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
that was the great day, not of intellect only, but of freedom also.
Then was struck the heaviest blow against lawgiving for the mind.
The Strombolean Cave was opened; the long-pent winds of opinion
set free; and no edict-framing ^Eolus could crib and confine them to
their prison house again.
Yes ! well might Faust incur the charge of demonocracy ! For almost
to the letter has his wondrous craft realized in our day the fables of
eastern romance. Draw a chair before your library and you have
obtained the magical carpet of the Arabian tale; you are transported
at a wish farther than to Africa's deserts or India's groves not to
other climes only, but to other times also. The speaking page intro-
duces you not to 3 r our cotemporaries alone, but to your ancestors
through centuries past. The best and the wisest of former generations
are summoned to your presence. In books exists the bygone world.
By books we come into contact with the mankind of former ages. By
books we travel among ancient nations, visit tribes long since extinct,
and are made familiar with manners that have yielded centuries ago
to the innovating influences of time. Contracted indeed is his mental
horizon, limited his sphere of comparison, whose fancy has never lived
among the sages and heroes of the olden time, to listen to their teach-
ings, and to learn from their achievements.
As far as the farthest, then, will 1 go in his estimate of the bless-
ings which the art of printing has conferred upon man. But such
reasoning bears not on the proposal embraced in the Senate bill. It
substantiates not at all the propriety of spending half a million, or two,
or three half millions of dollars, to rival the bibliomaniacs of Paris
and of Munich.
A Library of Congress we already have; a library of forty or fifty
thousand volumes; a library increasing at the rate of one or two
thousand volumes a year. The Smithsonian bill before you per-
mits, in addition, an expenditure not exceeding $10,000 a year for this
object. Say that but half that sum is annually expended by the
managers; and still, in some twelve or fifteen years, the two libra-
ries will probably number from eighty to a hundred thousand vol-
umes. Are there a 100,000 in the world worth reading? I doubt it
much. Are there 4,000 volumes published yearly worth buying?
I do not believe there are. A small garner suffices to store the
wheat; it is the chaff that is bulky and fills up the storehouse. Books
are like wealth. An income we must have to live; a certain amount
of income to live in comfort. Beyond a certain income the power
of wealth to purchase comfort, or even wholesome luxury, ceases
altogether. How much more of true comfort is there in a fortune
of a million of dollars than in one of fifty or, say, a hundred thou-
sand? If more there be, the excess is hardly appreciable; the burden
and cares of a millionaire outweigh it tenfold. And so also of these
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 341
vast and bloated book-gatherings that sleep in dust and cobwebs on
the library shelves of European monarchies. Up to a judicious selec-
tion of thirty, fifty, a hundred thousand volumes, if you will, how
vast 3 r ea, how priceless is the intellectual wealth! From one to five
hundred thousand, what do we gain ? Nothing ? That would not be
true; a goblet emptied into the Pacific adds to the mass of its waters.
But if within these limits we set down one book out of a hundred as
worth the money it costs, we are assuredh r making too liberal an
estimate.
I pray you, sir, not to stretch these strictures beyond their precise
application. I am not one of those who judge slightingly the learning
of the past. We find shining forth from the dark mass of ancient lit-
erature gems of rare beauty and value, unequaled, even to-day, in
purity and truth. But then, also, what clouds of idle verbiage! What
loads of ostentatious technicalities! It is but of late years that even
the disciple of science has deigned to simplify and translate; formerly
his great object seems to have been to obscure and mystify. The
satirist, in sketching an individual variety, has aptly described the
species, when he says:
The wise men of Egypt were as secret as dummies,
And even when they most condescended to teach,
They packed up their meaning, as they did their mummies,
In so many wrappers, 'twas out of one's reach.
But there are such noble enterprises as those of Gibbon and Hallam,
valuable to all; doubly valuable to the moralist and statesman. And
in regard to such it is argued that if one of our own scholars, fired
with generous ambition to rival the historians of the Old World, enters
on such a task, he may find that a dozen, or perhaps a single book,
necessary for reference, "can not be found this side of Gottingen or
Oxford." Suppose he does, what is the remedy? A very simple one
suggests itself: that he should order, through an importer of foreign
books, the particular work which he lacks. To save him the trouble
and expense of so doing, the friends of the mammoth library scheme
propose what ? That we should begin by expending half a million
of dollars, which would "go far toward the purchase of as good a
library as Europe can boast;" that "such a step taken, we should
never leave the work unfinished;" and that, when finished, it would
"rival anything civilization has ever had to show."
It is prudent before we enter this rivalship to count its cost.
Without seeking to reach the 700,000 volumes of the Parisian library
let us suppose we try for the half million of volumes that form the
boast of Munich, or fill up the shelves of the Bodleian. Our librarian
informs me that the present Congressional Library (certainly not one
of the most expensive) has cost upwards of $3 a volume; its binding
alone has averaged over a dollar a volume. The same works could be
342 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
purchased now, it is true, much more cheaply; but, on the other hand,
the rare old books and curious manuscripts necessary to complete a
library of the largest class would raise the average. Assuming, then,
the above rate, a rival of the Munich library would cost us a million
and a half of dollars; its binding alone would amount to a sum equal
to the entire Smithsonian fund as origiqally remitted to us from
England.
And thus not only the entire legacy, which we have promised to
expend so that it shall increase and diffuse knowledge among men, is
to be squandered in this idle and bootless rivalry, but thousands on
thousands must be added to finish the work from what source to be
derived, let its advocates inform us. And when we have spent thrice
the amount of Smithson's original bequest on the project we shall
have the satisfaction of believing that we may possibly have saved to
some worthy scholar a hundred, or perchance a few hundred dollars,
which otherwise he must have spent to obtain from Europe half a
dozen valuable works of reference!
But there are other reasons urged for this appropriation of the
Smithsonian fund.
There is something to point to if you should be asked to account for it unexpect-
edly; and something to point to if a traveler should taunt you with the collections
which he has seen abroad, and which gild and recommend the absolutisms of Vienna
or St. Petersburg. (Senator Choate's speech, as above.)
This purchasing of a reply to some silly traveler's idle taunts at
a cost of a million and a half of dollars, including a fund sacredly
pledged to human improvement, seems to me a somewhat costly and
unscrupulous mode of gratifying national vanity. It is ineffectual,
too, unless we are prepared to add a few millions more to buy up, if
money could buy, the means of reply to other taunts, quite as just
and quite as likely to be cast up to us. There is the Vatican, with its
Statues but known from shapes of the earth,
By being too lovely for mortal birth.
There is the Florence gallery, with its
Paintings, whose colors of life were caught
From the fairy tints in the rainbow wrought
images of beauty, living conceptions of grandeur, refining, cultivating,
elevating worth all the musty manuscripts of Oxford ten times told!
How are we to escape the imputation that our rude land can show no
such triumphs of art as these? Are we to follow Bonaparte's plan?
Are we to carry war into the land of the olive and the vine, and
enrich this city as the French Emperor did his capital with the artis-
tical spoils of the world? Unless we adopt some such plan, must not
Europe's taunts remain unanswered still ?
And let them so remain. I share not the feelings of the learned and
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 343
eloquent Senator to whose remarks I have taken liberty to reply
when he says
I confess to a pang of envy and grief that there should be one drop or one morsel
more of the bread or water of intellectual life tasted by the European than by the
American mind. Why should not the soul of this country eat as good food and as
much of it as the soul of Europe?
It grieves me not that the fantastic taste of some epicure in learn-
ing may chance to find on the book shelves of Paris some literary
morsel of choice and ancient flavor, such as our own metropolis sup-
plies not. I feel no envy if we republicans are outdone by luxurious
Europe in some high-seasoned delicacy of the pampered soul. Enough
have we to console ourselves objects of national ambition, how much
higher, how infinitely nobler than these objects of national pride,
before which these petty antiquarian triumphs dwarf into utter insig-
nificancy! Look abroad over our far-spreading land, then glance
across to the monarchies of the Old World, and say if I speak not the
truth.
I have sojourned among the laborers of England; I have visited
amid their vineyards the peasantry of France; I have dwelt for years
in the midst of the hardy mountaineers of Switzerland. I have seen
and conversed and sat down in their cottages with them all. I have
found often among them simple goodness. Ignorance, oppression can
not trample out that. I have witnessed patience under hopeless toil,
resignation beneath grievous wrongs. I have met with civility, kind-
ness, a cheerful smile, and a ready welcome. But the spirit of the
man was not there the spirit that can lift up its brow with a noble
confidence and feel that while it is no man's master, neither is it any
man's slave. Between them and the favored of capricious fortune,
one felt they felt there was a great gulf fixed, broad, impassable.
Far other is it even in the lowliest cabin of our frontier West. It
is an equal you meet there; an equal in political rights; one to whom
honors and office, even the highest, are as open as to yourself. You
feel that it is an equal. The tone in which hospitality is tendered to
you, humble though means and forms may be, reminds you of it. The
conversation, running over the great subjects of the day, branching
off, perhaps, to questions of constitutional right or international law,
assures you of it.
I have heard in many a backwoods cabin, lighted but by the blazing
log heap, arguments on government, views of national policy, judg-
ments of men and things, that, for sound sense and practical wisdom,
would not disgrace any legislative body upon earth.
And shall we grudge to Europe her antiquarian lore, her cumbrous
folios, her illuminated manuscripts, the chaff of learned dullness that
cumbers her old library shelves? A "pang of envy and grief" shall
we feel? Out upon it! Men have we; a people; a free people, self
344 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
respecting, self-governing; that which gold can not buy; that which
kings can not make ! Grief ! Envy ! Theirs let it be who look upon
this young land in her freshness, in her strength ! Let them feel it
who behold, from afar, our people bravely battling their onward way;
treading, with liberty at their side, the path of progressive improve-
ment, each step upward arid onward onward to the great goal of
public virtue and social equality.
Equality ! I spoke of our citizens as equals; equals in the sense of
the Declaration of Independence; equals in political privilege, in the
legal right to the pursuit of happiness. Equals, in a restricted sense
of the term, men never can be. The power of intellect will command
while the world endures; the influence of cultivation will be felt while
men continue to live upon earth, and felt the more the longer the
world improves, the better men become. Unequal, then, in their
influence over their fellows; unequal in the space they fill in the
world's thoughts; unequal in the power with which they draw after
them the hearts of many thus unequal, to some extent, men must
ever be.
But here arises a great question; a practical question; an inquiry
especially pertinent to the subject before us. The natural inequality
of man is a thousand times increased by artificial influence throughout
society. Is that well; or, if not well, can it be avoided? Or, if not
avoided, can it be lessened ? I feel assured that it can be much lessened.
I am not sanguine enough to believe that I perhaps not my children,
even shall see the day when equality of education shall prevail even
in this republican land. But I hold it to be a republican obligation to
do all that we properly and constitutionally may, in order gradually
to reach, or at least to approach, that period. I hold it to be a dem-
ocratic duty to elevate, to the utmost of our ability, the character of
our common-school instruction. I hold this to be a far higher and
holier duty than to give additional depth to learned studies, or supply
curious authorities to antiquarian research.
Guided by such considerations, I incorporated in the bill before
you, as one of its principal features, a normal branch. This, and the
clause providing for original researches in natural science, are the only
important additions that have been made in it to Senator Tappan's bill
of last session.
Normal schools that is, schools to teach teachers, to instruct in the
science of instruction are an improvement of comparatively modern
date. The first ever attempted seems to have been in Prussia, estab-
lished about the year 1704, by Franke, the celebrated founder of the
Orphan House of Halle. They have gradually increased in number
and favor from that day to this in all the more civilized nations of
Europe; and Mrs. Austin, in her preface to Cousin's Public Instruc-
tion in Prussia, remarks that the progress of primary instruction in
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 345
Europe may be measured by the provision made for the education of
teachers.
A. detailed account of the normal schools of Europe is given in the
ninth chapter of Professor Bache's Report on Education in Europe,
made to the trustees of the Girard College. Mr. Bache visited Europe
under instructions from the committee of the institution, and his excel-
lent report, full of practical details and accurate statistics, is a redeem-
ing point in the management of that trust.
Two States only of our Union have yet established State normal
schools Massachusetts and New York. Massachusetts has three,
educating in all about two hundred pupils, and New York has one,
containing about the same number of students, the sole object of both
being to educate teachers of common schools. The experiment has
been signally successful. The report for 1844 of the Massachusetts
board of education says of one of their schools (that at Lexington):
Such is the reputation of this school that applications have been made to it from
seven of our sister States for teachers.
And Mr. Horace Mann, secretary of the Massachusetts board of
education, writes to me:
When first opened in Massachusetts, normal schools were an experiment in this
country. Like all new ideas, they have had to encounter serious obstacles; but they
have triumphed over every species of opposition, have commended themselves more
and more every year to the good sense of our people, and we now have the pleasure
not only of seeing them firmly established here, but of knowing that their success
has given birth to a similar institution in the State of New York, and promises ere
long to do the same in other States.
The normal branch of the Smithsonian Institution is intended not by
any means to take the place of State normal schools, but only in aid
of them, as an institution in the same department, supplemental to
these, as they may gradually increase throughout the Union, but of a
higher grade, and prepared to carry forward young persons who may
have passed through the courses given in the former, or others who
desire to perfect themselves in the most useful of all modern sciences,
the humble, yet world-subduing science of primary education; an
institution, also, in which the improvement and perfecting of that
republican science shall be a peculiar object; an institution, finally,
where we may hope to find trained, competent, and enlightened
teachers for these State normal schools.
As an essential portion of this normal department, professorships of
the more useful arts and sciences are to be provided for. The character
of common-school education, especially in the Northern Atlantic States,
is gradually changing. Twenty years ago De Witt Clinton, in his
annual message, expressed the opinion that in our common schools
''the outlines of geography, algebra, mineralogy, agricultural chem-
istry, mechanical philosophy, astronomy, etc., might be communicated
346 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
by able preceptors without essential interference with the calls of
domestic industry." This opinion is daily gaining strength, and has
been partially acted upon in several of the New England States. In
the city of New York, also, a small advance towards it has been already
made. Recently the board of trustees of the public schools in that city
adopted, among other resolutions, the following:
Resolved, That a portion of time not exceeding one hour a week be appropriated to
employments incident to elementary instruction in subjects of natural science.
In accordance with these gradually enlarging views, the course of
study of the New York State normal schools, as I learn by the printed
circular which I hold in my hand, embraces natural philosophy, chem-
istry, human physiology, histoiy, the elements of astronomy, etc., in
addition to the special lectures on the theory and practice of teaching.
These various advances, thus sanctioned by public opinion, indicate
that a normal department in the Smithsonian Institution, to be worthy
of the age, must include scientific courses by some of the ablest men
of the day.
It is also by the bill specially made a part of the duty of these men
to institute scientific researches. In these, as we have seen, Smithson
spent the greater part of his life. And it can not be doubted that,
were he yet alive and here to-day to explain his wishes, original
researches in the exact sciences would be declared by him a part of
his plan. With the knowledge of his life and favorite pursuits before
us, and the words of his will specifying the increase as well as the
diffusion of knowledge for our guide, it seems nothing less than an
imperative duty to include scientific research among the objects of a
Smithsonian Institution.
I said an imperative duty. Such is the nature of our obligation to
fulfil whatever we may fairly infer to have been Smithson's intentions.
This money is not ours; if it were, we might take counsel from our
own wishes and fancies in its appropriation; but it is merely intrusted
to us, and for a specific purpose. Mr. Adams, in his report made in
1840, well says:
In the commission of every trust there is an implied tribute of the soul to the integ-
rity and intelligence of the trustee; and there is also an implied call for the faithful
exercise of these properties 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 per-
formance 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.
And these considerations seem to me also conclusive against the
great library plan. In the first place, Smithson's own pursuits were
scientific, not antiquarian. In the second, had he desired merely to
found a library, it is reasonable to suppose he would have said so.
The bill as reported to the House has been framed in that spirit of
compromise so necessary in this world of a thousand opinions. The
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 347
importance of the chief objects at which it aims will be conceded by
all the advancement of agriculture, the improvement of primary
education, and the prosecution of scientific research. And if even in its
practical effects the plan fall short of the anticipations of its friends,
suffer me to ask you, What is the alternative in the Senate bill of last
year, the only one that has yet found favor enough to succeed in either
branch ? Beyond the library scheme and the professorship of agricul-
ture (a feature equally in that bill and this), what is proposed? Public
lectures, to be delivered in this city "during the sessions of Con-
gress." Who is to profit by these lectures? Let the author of the
plan answer:
Who would their audiences be? Members of Congress, with their families; mem-
bers of the Government, with theirs; some inhabitants of the city; some few strangers,
who occasionally honor us with visits of curiosity or business. They would be pub-
lic men, of mature years and minds, educated, disciplined, to some degree, of liberal
curiosity, and appreciation of generous and various knowledge. (Speech of Senator
Choate as above.)
Here is a plan for gratuitous lectures to be delivered to members
of Congress and of the Government, with their families, to some citi-
zens of Washington, and a few passing strangers; to men, so it is
expressed, educated, disciplined, already capable of "appreciating
generous and various knowledge." And this, as the mode the most
effectual, the most comprehensive, the most just and equal, to increase
and diffuse knowledge among men. We are to pass by all plans that
may reach and benefit the people by improving their education and
elevating the character of their teachers; all proposals, even to scatter
broadcast among them useful tracts, popular treatises; all projects, in
short, to distribute among them the bread and water of intellectual
life wherever these are craved, and we are to adopt in their stead a
course of lectures expressly restricted to the sessions of Congress;
expressly prepared for ourselves and for a few Government officers
and strangers; a course of lectures to be especially adapted to an audi-
ence alreadv favored by fortune and education, already, as we are
complacently told, of mature minds and above all need of elementary
instruction.
Sir, over the entire land must the rills from this sacred fountain
freely flow; not to be arrested and walled up here, to minister to our
pleasure or convenience. We greatly mistake if we imagine that our
constituents are indifferent to the privilege of drawing from these
waters of knowledge; that they can not appreciate their fertilizing
influence. If there be one feeling more powerful than another in the
hearts of the millions of this land, even through its remotest forests,
it is that the intellectual cultivation which circumstances may have
denied them shall be secured to their children. They value, sometimes
even beyond their worth, the literary advantages, by aid of which the
348 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
few commonly distance their competitors in the paths of emolument
and honor. Aye, and beyond this they feel do we not all feel ? that
we are not in temper, in habits, in feelings, or in intelligence what we
ought to be, or what we might have been; that our nature was better
than our education. They feel has not the most careless among us
felt it, too ? that there are springs of virtue within us that have seldom
been touched; generous aspirings that have scarcely been called into
action; capabilities of improvement that have hardly been awakened;
capabilities of enjoyment that have been turned to fountains of bitter-
ness. If we might now reeducate ourselves, even from the cradle
upward, developing each mental power and moral faculty, checking
the rising vice and cultivating the nascent virtue; bending the pliant
habit to reason and mastering the evil passions at its birth, how gladly
would we grasp at the offer; how dearly value the privilege. And
what selfishness would do for itself, think you not that parental affec-
tion desires for its offspring? Yes; vice itself desires it. Stronger
than the thirst after riches, deeper than the craving for power, spring-
ing from the best and most enduring of human instincts, is the parent's
longing for the welfare of his child. Criminal he may be; ignorant
he may be; reckless even of his own character; hopeless of a reputable
standing for himself; but his children if brutish excesses have not
utterly quenched the principle of good within him for them there is
still a redeeming virtue in his soul; a striving after better things; a
hope that they may escape the vices which have degraded him; that
they may emerge from the ignorance in which he is benighted, if not
to wealth and honor, at least to fair fame and honest reputation a
credit to his blighted name and a comfort to his declining years.
Such are the sentiments that spring up to meet us from among the
people, shared by the bad as well as the good; universal in their preva-
lence. And it is to such sentiments, the best earnest of progressive
improvement in man, that the provisions of this bill ought, so far as
the amount of the legacy and the terms of the will permit, to respond.
Such views are in accordance with the spirit of the age and the
wants of the times. It is not a world all of flowers and sunshine, this
we live in. It is a world where thousands are starving; where tens
of thousands toil to live live only to die! It is a world where cruel
suffering exists, where shameful crimes are committed, where terrible
oppression is endured, where dark ignorance is found. It has scenes
of wrong, and outrage, and guilt, and woe. They rise before us.
They thrust themselves on our attention. Not to gild, not to
embellish; a graver, a sadder duty is his who would aid in such a
world's improvement.
To effect permanent good in such a world, we must reach the minds
and the hearts of the masses; we must diffuse knowledge among men;
we must not deal it out to scholars and students alone, but even to
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 349
Tom, Dick, and Harry; and then, as a wise and witty female writer of
the day expressed it, "they will become Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Richard,
and Mr. Henry." They may not become profound scholars, erudite
graduates; nor is that necessary. Well to know common things is
the essential. It is not elaborate learning that most improves the
world or that exerts most influence in its government. Working-day
knowledge is simple, almost in the ratio of its importance; and Milton
has told us
That not to know at large of things remote
From use, obscure and subtle, but to know
That which before us lies, in daily life,
Is the prime wisdom.
The ancient masters realized not these truths. With the millions
they had no sympathy. In private, and to the initiated few alone, did
they deign to unroll the mystical page of their philosophy; they
scorned to expose it to the gaze of the profane vulgar.
Thanks to the stirring spirit of progressive improvement, all this,
in our age, is changed. By modern teachers the people are spoken of,
spoken to, cared for, instructed. To the people the characteristic
literature of the day is addressed. What has become of the ponderous
folio in which the learning of the Middle Ages used to issue, to a small
and exclusive circle, its solemn manifesto? Now we have the slender
pamphlet, the popular tract, the cheap periodical, cast forth even to
the limits of civilization, penetrating into every nook and corner of
the land; often light, often worthless, but often, too, instructive,
effective; written for the masses, reaching the masses, and awaking,
far and wide, a consciousness of deficiency, a spirit of inquiry, a desire
to know more.
The people govern in America. Ere long the people will govern
throughout the habitable earth. And they are coming into power in
an age when questions of mighty import rise up for their decision.
They who govern should be wise. They who govern should be edu-
cated. They who decide mighty questions should be enlightened.
Then, as we value wise government, as we would have the destinies of
our kind shaped by an enlightened tribunal, let the schools of the
people, and the teachers who preside in these schools, and the system
that prevails in these schools, be our peculiar care.
We can not reform the world, no, nor provide instruction for a
great nation, by any direction given to half a million of dollars. But
something, even in such a cause, may be effected by it something, I
devoutly believe, that shall be felt all over our broad land. The
essential is that, if little we can do, that little be well done, be done
faithfully, in the spirit of the trust, in the spirit of the age, in a
spirit not restrictive, not exclusive, but diffusive, universal.
Mr. G. W. JONES modified his motion as follows:
350 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Strike out all the bill after the word " be " in the .sixth line of the
first section and insert:
Paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the heirs at law or next of kin of the
said James Smithson, or their authorized agents, whenever they shall demand the
same: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in paying over said money
as herein directed, deliver to said heirs all State bonds or other stocks of every kind
which have been purchased with said money, or any part thereof, in lieu of so much
of said money as shall have been so invested in State bonds or other stocks. And
the balance of said sum of money, if any, not so invested, shall be paid out of any
money in the Treasury riot otherwise appropriated.
Mr. G. W. JONES said it was not his purpose to make a speech on
this occasion; but believing, as he did, that this whole matter was
wrong; that this Government, in the first instance, had no right and
no power to accept of this trust fund, he was in favor of returning
the amount of the money or of the stocks in which that money has
been invested, to the heirs at law or next of kin of the late Mr.
Smithson, whenever they shall make the demand of the Government.
He admitted the right of the Government "to borrow money" under
the Constitution, but denied that it had any particle of power to deal
in stocks or to loan money. We had no power either to receive this
money in the first instance, or to invest it in State stocks and fund it,
as this bill proposed to do, in perpetuity upon the Government. He
wanted to create no such debt upon this Government. He was satis-
fied that his constituents desired no such debt funded, no such burden
imposed upon them.
But, waiving the objection of the want of power on the part of the
Government, he was still opposed to the establishment of an institution
like that proposed in the bill under the direction and patronage of the
Government of the United States. He would be the last man on this
floor to say or do anything on this floor or elsewhere to obstruct the
enlightenment and education of the people. He was as thoroughly
satisfied of the benefits of education as anybody, but he could not
sanction the establishment of such an institution under the direction
of the Government of the United States. Where might it end? What
might such an institution come to be in the course of events? This
$513,000 was to be funded at 6 per cent interest forever. Was there
a friend of this measure was there one who had reflected for a
moment on the proposition who believed that when once established
they would stop at the appropriation of this 6 per cent interest
annually for its support? It was, in his opinion, nothing more than
the entering wedge to fastening upon the United States an institution
the expenses and appropriations for which would be augmented at
almost every session of Congress.
It was neither the right, the power, or the true policy of the Gov-
ernment to attempt to rear up here in the city of Washington an insti-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGKESS, 1845-1847. 351
tution for the education of school teachers, of agricultural professors,
etc., to send out into the country. There was too great a tendency to
centralization in this Government already, in his opinion. The legit-
imate and appropriate sphere of this Government was to take care of
our concerns with foreign powers, leaving our domestic laws and reg-
ulations to be made by the State legislatures. Every measure of this
kind had the tendency to make the people throughout the country look
more to this great central power than to the State governments.
He had not risen for the purpose of making a speech, but of sub-
mitting a few remarks in explanation of his amendment.
Mr. WILLIAM SAWYER (Mr. Jones giving way) said the gentleman's
proposition, if he understood it aright, was to refund this mone}^ to
the heirs of Smithson. Now, he was well informed that Mr. Smithson
had no heirs whatever. And if such was the fact he wished to ask of
the gentleman how his amendment could be made operative.
Mr. JONES replied that certainly, if he never had heirs, it would be
difficult to find them. But he understood that, though he had no
children, he had a brother, who was once in this country; and his
amendment proposed to refund this money to the heirs or next of kin
of James Smithson.
In conclusion, he remarked that if his proposition failed and this
Smithsonian Institution was to be established, he should then be in
favor of handing over the State stocks, which were purchased by this
money, to the managers of the Institution, and of letting them con-
duct it independently of the Government. And, voting for this
proposition, all that related to the establishment of a body politic and
corporate he should also wish to have stricken out, for he would vote
for the establishment of no corporation by this Government.
Mr. J. R. INGERSOLL expressed his favor for the general features of
the bill, but before entering upon the direct question he directed a few
remarks to the amendment of Mr. Jones, which he considered entirely
futile, as far as any idea of refunding the money to heirs was concerned,
inasmuch as it was ascertained beyond doubt that Mr. Smithson had
no heirs or next of kin. He had had one son [nephew], who died during
his minority, and thereupon this Government, as the residuary legatee,
came in possession of the property in legal form from the attorneys
in chancery of the executors of Mr. Smithson, at London. This
amendment if carried out into a law, therefore, would result in work-
ing a forfeiture of the funds to the British Government. But Mr.
Ingersoll contended that, as we had received it by solemn act of Con-
gress, and retained it for eight long years, it was now binding, on the
ground of faith, honor, and duty, to appropriate it in the manner
designed by the testator himself; and the iact that this fund had been
invested by the Treasurer of the United States, under direction of
Congress, in Arkansas stocks, did not affect this question in any
352 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
respect; the Government of the United States being always respon-.
sible for the restoration of this fund, and the devotion of it to the
proper objects. The fund was sacred in the Treasury of the United
States at this moment, and they were pledged, every one of them, to
redeem it.
And the true question now presented was, What were the intentions
of the donor?
Mr. INGERSOLL here in reference to an allusion by Mr. Owen to
the Girard fund went into an explanation, at some length, of the
circumstances and restrictions of that legacy, the manner in which it
had been expended, etc., stating that the reason why the school had
not ere this, partially at least, gone into operation was an unfortunate
proviso placed by Mr. Girard in his will, that none of the orphans
intended to be benefited should be received and educated until the
entire five buildings were fully completed according to the plan pre-
scribed by him. Upon this point Mr. Ingersoll 3 r ielded to Mr. Owen
for explanation.
Recurring to the position that the fact that this fund might have
been invested by the act of the Government itself in Arkansas stocks
principally, and to a small extent in the stocks of Ohio, Illinois, and
Michigan, in no manner diminished its accountability for the amount
of its obligation to appropriate in accordance with the intention of
Mr. Smithson.
Mr. S. F. VINTOX interposed and said if any portion of it was invested
in Ohio bonds, of which he was not before aware, the interest on them
would be regularly paid.
Mr. ARCHIBALD YELL also (speaking for Arkansas) said we are ready
to settle at any time.
Mr. INGERSOLL. 1 have no doubt of it.
Mr. YELL (in reply to another remark of Mr. Ingersoll not heard
by the reporter). Whenever we can bring the Treasury of the United
States to a settlement, then we will talk about it.
Mr. INGERSOLL (resuming) said he concurred in the general views
of Mr. Owen, especially as at the conclusion of the bill there was a
section authorizing Congress to make such changes as from time to
time it might deem expedient.
There was one object which he thought the gentleman had over-
looked. He had properly provided against the error of the Girard
will by providing that this institution should go into operation on the
1st of September next after the passage of the law, as it could go into
operation for main 7 of its purposes immediate!}". But instead of wait-
ing the slow process of gathering materials of instruction, he intended,
by an amendment at the proper place, to propose that the results of
the exploring expedition and the articles of the National Institute,
many of which were now being injured for want of a proper place of
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 353
deposit, and both which were the property of the Government, should
be placed in the Smithsonian Institution until there should be substi-
tuted for them articles collected by that Institution itself.
He agreed with Mr. Owen that a great library, such as was provided
for in the bill which passed the Senate two years ago, was not desira-
able, and said that the necessary buildings to contain the greatest
library in the world would in its own erection exhaust the entire sum.
This Capitol itself would not be sufficient to contain 800,000 volumes,
which would be the largest library in the world, so properly arranged
as to be accessible. A library was not the object of Mr. Smithson;
but that it should cover general ground, in which all objects of science
(if possible) should be included, and among the rest he agreed with the
bill in the propriety of appropriating a part of the annual fund to the
preparation of instructors, to be sent out throughout the whole country.'
He would also appropriate a part of the fund to the defraying the
expenses of the delivery of annual lectures by our most distinguished
men at different points throughout the country for scientific instruction.
Mr. INGERSOLL gave some other general views, approving decidedly
the object of the institution, and warmly urging the bounden duty of
Congress to apply it according to the intentions of Mr. Smithson and
to discharge the obligations imposed upon it by the acceptance of this
trust.
Mr. G. W. JONES modified his amendment by inserting, after the
words " next of kin," the words "or residuary legatee."
Mr. F. P. STANTON next addressed the committee as follows:
Mr. CHAIRMAN: It has been a matter of very general complaint that
there has been great delay in performing the trust imposed upon this
Government by its acceptance of the Smithsonian bequest. Whether
this complaint be well or ill founded, all will agree that the time has
now arrived for decisive action and that the honor and good faith of
the Government require a speedy application of the fund to its destined
purpose.
Very nearly eight years have elapsed since the magnificent sum of
half a million of dollars, sanctified by the will of James Smithson to
the humane purpose "of increasing and diffusing knowledge among
men," has been received into the Treasury of the United States.
But if this delay is to be regretted on some accounts, at least one
great advantage has accrued: The interest of the fund has accumulated
to such an amount that every necessary building for the complete
accommodation of a most extensive institution may be immediately
constructed without any diminution of the original sum. That will
remain untouched, the fruitful source of perpetual supply and support
for the beneficent establishment which may be created by the bill.
Besides, sir, during this long period of delay many plans have
been suggested and discussed, some learned reports have been nmde
H. Doc. 732 23
354 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
in this House and in the Senate, and the public attention has been so
engaged upon this interesting subject that we are now doubtless pre-
pared to dispose of it intelligently and in a manner which will fully
meet the high and liberal purposes of Mr. Smithson. There is no
longer any justification for delay. Everything is ready, awaiting our
action, and the wise and benevolent in all quarters are anxiously
expecting us to perform our solemn duty in reference to this noble
bequest.
But there is, at this peculiar juncture in our affairs, still another
consideration stronglj 7 appealing to the national honor and urging the
immediate disposition of the fund according to the will of the donor.
James Smithson was an Englishman. Yet he passed by his own
powerful and splendid Government one which has never failed or
refused to contribute liberally to the cause of science and selected
our plainer and simpler institutions as the more appropriate depository
of the sacred trust to which he devoted the whole of his large fortune.
Our relations with England at the present moment are thought to be
very critical. I do not anticipate war. I have little fear that two
enlightened nations, whose interests are deeply involved in the main-
tenance of peace, will, in the nineteenth century, rush into a sangui-
nary and destructive war, even upon so grave a question as that which
now disturbs them. Yet there are many who look upon the present
crisis with more serious fears, and all must acknowledge that war is
possible; that very slight mismanagement on either side might lead
to that disastrous end. Now, if war should take place, it would be
most dishonorable to our Government that a large fund, given by a
benevolent foreigner to found an institution of the most peaceful and
beneficent character, should remain in the Treasury and be used to
carry on war against the very nation from whom the charitable gift
was received. I hope, sir, we shall avoid the possibility of such humili-
ation by adopting the measure before us without delay. Should we
fail to do so and hostilities occur, the omission will never cease to
be the fruitful source and occasion of those bitter attacks upon our
honesty and the moral tendency of our institutions which have long
filled the pages of English periodicals and the journals of English
travelers. Their denunciations then would have a much better foun-
dation than they usually have. We should be somewhat at a loss to
repel them. The ordinary charge of faithlessness and repudiation of
pecuniary liabilities would be nothing in comparison; this would be
the gross violation of a sacred trust, which no circumstance could pal-
liate, no emergency could justify.
I intend, Mr. Chairman, to support the bill in its present form.
There is doubtless a wide field for the selection of means to accomplish
the great design unfolded in the comprehensive words of Mr. Smith-
son's will. Any plan which may be adopted for the attainment of this
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 355
end must necessarily be the result of compromise, for it is not to be
expected that any two minds, acting separately, would arrive at the
same conclusion upon this important subject. I understand this bill to
have been thus framed by the committee which reported it. As a
result of the conflicting opinions of wise and experienced men, har-
monized by comparison, discussion, and mutual concession, it is enti-
tled to very high respect. But I think its intrinsic merits will be found
to be its most imposing recommendation.
Before attempting to notice the provisions of the bill I will refer
briefly to an objection which, if valid, would be paramount to all other
considerations. It was with surprise and regret that I heard the
objection of my colleague (Mr. Jones) to this bill on the ground of
unconstitutionally. I would have regretted opposition upon such
grounds from any quarter, but much more when it comes from my
own State. I would have preferred that Tennessee should have occu-
pied a different position.
My honorable colleague insists that the Government ought not to
have accepted the trust and that the money ought now to be restored.
It is true the United States were not bound to accept the trust. They
might have rejected Mr. Smithson's magnificent donation and deprived
the American people of the rich blessings which may now be conferred
upon them by its wise and faithful use. But better counsels prevailed;
they did accept it by a law of Congress, and in so doing they assumed
a solemn obligation to apply the fund according to the will of the tes-
tator. The faith of the Government is pledged it is doubly pledged
first, by receiving the money and retaining it eight 3 T ears, with an
express agreement to apply it faithfully ; and secondly, by the very
nature of the sacred objects to which the trust is directed, so binding
and obligatory in their high demand upon the honor of the nation,
that it would be sacrilege and barbarism to repudiate the claim.
1 do not propose to enter the field of constitutional discussion. That
is a hackneyed subject and I am sure the occasion does not require
that line of argument. Nothing, sir, more clearly demonstrates the
utter impracticability and absurdity of those extreme opinions upon
constitutional questions sometimes advocated here than the opposition
on such grounds to the measure now before us. The common and
general judgment of the people, the united and almost universal con-
currence of politicians of all classes, unhesitatingly discard and condemn
the narrow and illiberal sentiment. An institution of the greatest
importance, most beneficial to the people of this country, founded not
with funds exacted by taxation but built upon the liberality of a dis-
tinguished foreigner, who has so far sanctioned our political structure
as to confide to it the execution of a sacred trust for the benefit of the
human race this Institution, located within a territory over which
Congress has exclusive jurisdiction, surely can not involve the exercise
356 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of a power unauthorized by the Constitution or in the slightest degree
dangerous to the integrity of our political principles. Mr. Smithson
was not wrong in supposing this Government possessed the power to
convey to its people a gratuitous benefit of the first magnitude. His
benevolent design will not be frustrated by this imaginary impediment,
for I do not dream that it can interpose even a momentary obstacle to
the passage of the bill.
It will not be denied that this large fund properly applied may be
made the instrument of much good. The benefit will be enjoyed pri-
marily and peculiarly, if not entirely, by our own people. Its indirect
influence, it is to be hoped, will hereafter extend abroad, but it is
chiefly here that its benign effects are to be felt as long as the Institu-
tion shall exist. It ought, then, to be an object of great care and of
peculiar interest to the Government. All necessary arrangements
should be liberally made, and with the wisest possible adaptation to
the great end in view.
One of the preliminary provisions of the bill transfers the whole
fund to the Treasury, and requires the Government to assume the per-
petual payment of interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum. This
is certainly a very slight contribution, yet inconsiderable as this respon-
sibility may be on the part of the Government, and by no means to be
named as a donation or even as a favor when it is considered that the
fund is a gift to the country, it is nevertheless a matter of the first impor-
tance to the Institution itself. It secures for it a permanent support
and places its revenues beyond the power of any contingency. No one,
I presume, except my colleague will object to this provision. By
adopting it the United States will evince a disposition to fulfill the high
trust they have assumed in a spirit of liberality and justice somewhat
worthy of the great object sought to be accomplished.
But while the Government will contribute in this small way to the
Institution, it will receive a direct compensation which far more than
balances the sacrifice made. The bill proposes to appropriate a por-
tion of the public grounds in this city for the buildings and gardens
necessary for the establishment. Handsome yet useful structures
will be erected, and the cultivation of the grounds will render them
beautiful and attractive, while they may still be accessible to the
harmless examination and enjoyment of the public. All this will be
done out of the Smithsonian fund; and the expense which the Gov-
ernment would otherwise incur by carrying out the original plan of
the city, as designed by Washington, will be avoided, while all its
desirable advantages will be obtained. The benefit will be mutual to
the Government and to the Institution.
So, also, in regard to the transfer of the specimens of natural his-
tory, of minerals, and other scientific and curious objects now in pos-
session of the Government and kept at the Patent Office. The exhi-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 357
bition and preservation of these things are now the source of some
expenditure. When they shall be transferred, as proposed in this
bill, this expenditure will cease, or be removed from the public Treas-
ury to the fund of the Institution. They will be equally subject to
public examination, while they will be made to answer a more useful
end, as constituting the basis of instruction for able and scientific
professors.
My remarks so far, Mr. Chairman, relate only to some unimpor-
tant preliminary arrangements not affecting the general scope and
design of the proposed Institution. These must now be examined;
and I propose to do it with reference to the probable design of Mr.
Smithson, to be inferred from his own pursuits and character of
mind; from his selection of our Government to execute his will, and
from the language in which he has expressed his intentions.
I do not propose to enter upon any biographical sketch of Mr.
Smithson, or to go into a history of his philosophical labors. I will
merely state what has been truly said by the gentleman from Indiana
[Mr. Owen], that he was ardently devoted to science, and that his
pursuits were eminently practical and utilitarian in their character.
The physical sciences, in their application to the useful arts miner-
alogy, geology, and chemistry in its application to agriculture consti-
tuted his chief employments. His investigations are referred to and
quoted with respect by the great German chemist, Liebig.
It is more than probable that one whose mind was constantly occu-
pied with these subjects and filled with the visions of rich promise
which must be realized in their future investigations, when munifi-
cently endowing an institution for increasing and diffusing knowledge
among men, looked particularly to those sciences which will be most
fruitful in great results, and to which, on that account, he himself was
deeply devoted. It is precisely these sciences, and these applications
of them, which I understand this bill to be designed and calculated to
promote.
Nor was it strange, sir, that with such sentiments and such designs
Mr. Smithson should have selected our Government as the instrument
to accomplish his objects. Although it must be acknowledged that
this Government has heretofore contributed little or nothing to the
advancement of science by any direct aid or encouragement and
although the points at which it even comes in contact with the scien-
tific world are extremely few, and it is felt to be a great desideratum
that these connections should be increased yet Mr. Smithson had the
penetration to discover that the United States are the foremost people
of the world in the facility of adapting themselves to the progressive
improvements of the age. No other people are now making such
rapid strides in the application of science to the great purposes of
human industry. This tendency, so very marked at the present day,
358 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
is doubtless the result of our free institutions, giving untrammeled
scope and powerful motive to the energies of the individual man no
longer making the citizen subservient to the power and glory of the
Government, but using the latter as a mere instrument to protect the
rights and promote the welfare, improvement, and happiness of the
former. The olden philosophers considered it a prostitution of the
sacred character of science to direct it, in any degree, to the material
interests of man. In modern times the sentiment is justly reversed,
and that philosophy which does not contribute to the useful pursuits
of life is considered of comparatively little value. In this age, and in
this country, the new application of philosophy is exhibiting its most
glorious results, and giving promise in the future of still more won-
derful improvements. Doubtless it was this tendency of our institu-
tions, and the effect not obscurely marked out in the amazing energy
and inventive power of our people, which induced the wise and benev-
olent Smithson to select this Government as the agent for accomplish-
ing his will. It is not difficult to discover that this condition of the
people, the result of our peculiar political institutions, will reflect
back its influence upon the Government, and infuse a portion of its
energetic and enlightened spirit into all its departments. We have
already seen some such result. Some operations of an important
scientific character have of late been undertaken by the direct appli-
cation of the national power.
First in importance among these has been the establishment in this
city of the Observatory, connected with the hydrographical depart-
ment of that nondescript fire-and-water Bureau of Ordnance and
Hydrography. I believe this interesting establishment has grown up
gradually from the very necessity of the case and without any direct
authority looking immediately to such a result. And, in the estima-
tion of some, it seems still to be considered a very unimportant con-
cern, for I have seen a bill lately reported in the Senate proposing to
detach the establishment from the Bureau of Ordnance and connect it
with that of Yards and Docks, thus bringing the erection of ship-
houses, foundries, and workshops into juxtaposition and intimate rela-
tion with the most delicate and difficult observations of the heavenly
bodies and the most intricate calculations of astronomy. This classi-
fication is probably founded upon the similarity supposed to exist
between the wheels of a steam engine and the rings of Saturn, or the
bands of a lathe and the belts of Jupiter. The Naval Committee of
the House, however, have not had the penetration to see these very
recondite points of connection, and they have proposed to erect a sep-
arate bureau of hydrography, placing the astronomical and bydro-
graphical operations of the Government upon the most permanent,
useful, and independent basis. If there be any branch of the public
service worthy of this advantage, it is that which is now so well and
efficiently conducted by Lieut. M. F. Maury.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 359
Heretofore our astronomical knowledge has been chiefly derived
from foreign nations. We have used the English Nautical Almanac,
and our vessels have been guided upon the broad ocean by observa-
tions and tables prepared by our rivals and adversaries in all commer-
cial enterprise. We have contributed nothing whatever to this branch
of science, useful as it is, and directly connected with the great inter-
ests of commerce and navigation. For our most important charts,
also, we have been dependent upon other nations. Until recently, if
even now, we have had no establishment at which our vessels could be
supplied with maps and charts necessary to enable them to perform
a cruise with convenience and safety, and we certainly have not had
the information of a hydrographical character which would enable
the Navy Department to plan an attack upon any foreign port, even
in the Gulf of Mexico.
But, sir, the establishment of the Observatory, if its important
objects be liberally seconded, will remedy these defects and wipe off
from our character what I can not but consider a disgrace to the most
enlightened people upon earth. Its services will not be confined to
the preparation of maps and charts, the preservation of nautical
instruments, the regulation and correction of chronometers, with
other kindred practical duties; its operations will be still more exten-
sive and important. Already have the elements for an American
nautical almanac been obtained by observation, and the liberal patriot-
ism of the House is invoked for a small appropriation to compute and
print them. It is now in contemplation, too, if the work has not
already been commenced, to enter upon a system of most extensive
observation, including all the important fixed stars to be observed in
our latitude a more comprehensive and magnificent, as well as use-
ful, work than has ever yet been undertaken in any part of the world.
I have it from the highly intelligent and scientific Superintendent of
the Coast Survey that the number of stars noted in the Nautical
Almanac is too limited for the convenient conduct of his important
observations.
It will be found here, as well as in other important works of a
similar kind, that the labors about to be entered upon at the Observa-
tory will prove to be highly important and valuable. They will
enable us to make some return to the science of the world for that
large supply which we have heretofore illiberally drawn from it; and
they will contribute to elevate our Government in the eyes of other
nations.
I have said so much upon this subject, sir,- because no provision is
made in this bill for any astronomical establishment, and because,
upon former occasions, it has been urged with great ability, and from
a distinguished quarter, that the greater part, if not the whole of this
fund, should be appropriated for this purpose. The venerable gen-
tleman from Massachusetts will understand my allusion. It has been
360 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
with great pleasure and profit, and with complete sympathy in the
noble enthusiasm of the author, that I read the report of that gentle-
man, made to this House in 1842, upon the disposition of the Smith-
sonian bequest. He seems to have been imbued with a most exalted
sense of the sublimity of the great objects heretofore accomplished
and hereafter to be attained by the ardent and laborious pursuit of
astronomy. Sir, there is no mind not wholly destitute of elevation
and wholly ignorant of the stupendous wonders and glories of the
universe as revealed to the gaze of "star-eyed science," who could
read that able report and not be deeply affected by it. 1 quote the
following passage:
The express object of an observatory is the increase of knowledge by new discov-
ery. The physical relations between the firmament 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 human life,
and, perhaps, of the earth itself. Who can conceive the idea of the earth without a
sun but must connect with it the extinction of light and heat, of all animal life, of
all vegetation and production, leaving the lifeless clod of matter to return to the
primitive state of chaos or to be consumed by elemental fire. The influence of the
moon of the planets, our next-door neighbors of the solar system of the fixed stars
scattered over the blue expanse, in multitudes exceeding the power of human com-
putation, and at distances of which imagination herself can form no distinct concep-
tion; the influence of all these upon the globe 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 extent inscrutable to his finite and limited faculties. The
extent to which they are discoverable is and must remain unknown, but to the vigi-
lance of a sleepless eye, to the toil of a tireless hand, and to the meditations of a think-
ing, combining, and analyzing mind secrets are successively revealed, not only of
the deepest import to the welfare of man in 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 then, stripping the bandage from his
eyes, bid him look undazzled at the throne of God.
I quote this eloquent passage to show, b}^ the testimony of one who
understands the subject well, the character of the results to be expected
from the extensive cultivation of astronomical science. I think it will
be admitted that though the discoveries now to be expected in that field
will be well calculated to elevate the soul and fill it with wonder and
amazement, nothing of a very practical or directly useful nature in its
bearing upon the immediate pursuits of life is to be expected beyond
the increased accuracy and extent of observations necessary for nauti-
cal and topographical purposes. I am l>y no means disposed to under-
value the importance of this sublime branch of human knowledge.
Nor will I undertake to say that investigation of the heavens may not
produce new results, intimately connected with and highly important
to some of the economical purposes of life. What T mean to say is,
that the discoveries yet to be made promise only, or at least chiefly,
to gratify that high and laudable curiosity which seeks to know and
understand, as far as human intelligence may, the sublime and won-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 361
derful works of the Creator. New double stars maj' be discovered,
revolving about each other, by the operation of strange and unknown
laws, the investigation of which may be a subject of profound inter-
est. Their compensating colors, shedding a mixed stellar influence
upon an intimate and curious examination, may possibly reveal to some
penetrating eye new and important truths connected with the theory
of light. The occultation of Jupiter's satellites enable us to measure
its velocity with almost absolute exactness. The contrasted colors of
these wonderful binary stars may eventually settle the question, if it
be not already settled, between the theory of undulations and that of
particles emanating in straight lines, and may, in some lucky hour to
some favored son of genius, unfold distinctly and forever the appar-
ently intricate and now hidden relations of light, heat, electricity,
magnetism, and gravitation. A higher and more complete generaliza-
tion of the great phenomena of the universe may be accomplished,
and it is wholly impossible to tell how directly and immediately such
discoveries may bear upon the practical pursuits which contribute
to the physical well-being of man. Who at the present da,y can cal-
culate the influence exerted upon the happiness of man during suc-
cessive generations by the knowledge of those three strange and won-
derful laws discovered, not without long and laborious investigation,
by the celebrated Kepler? Who can trace their consequences in the
subsequent discoveries of that science, or rather, I should ask, what
would now be our knowledge of the planetary system and our ability
to apply it to exact nautical purposes if those laws and all that results
from them were at this day a blank in astronomical science ? That the
radius vector of a planet describes equal areas in equal times! How
simple a law, yet how pregnant of consequences, incalculable in extent
and value!
Notwithstanding these admissions and my deep conviction of the
great value of astronomical truth, I can not think that field of knowl-
edge likely to be so productive of useful fruit that the Smithsonian
fund ought ever to have been directed entirely or chiefly to that object.
But whatever may have been the conflict of opinion in this respect the
dispute is put to rest by the establishment of the observatory. It is a
matter of high gratification to my mind that the Government has at
last awakened to the importance of the subject and has found a com-
plete justification in the hydrographical and topographical necessities
of its service by sea and land for the endowment of so useful an insti-
tution; and I am glad, sir, to hear it announced that the distinguished
gentleman from Massachusetts finds his laudable enthusiasm for a
noble branch of science fully met and satisfied by the establishment in
question.
I think, Mr. Chairman, if there be anything plain and obvious in
reference to the plan to be adopted for the Smithsonian Institution, it
362 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
is that no university or college of an ordinary kind would come within
the scope of the testator's intentions, or would contribute properly to
the end desired. We require something connected with the great
practical purposes of life something in accordance with the progres-
sive spirit of the age something looking immediately to the eleva-
tion, improvement, and happiness of the great mass of the people.
Sir, it is not to be denied that most of our best institutions of learning
are not of this character. They look chiefly to the past, searching for
the obscure beginnings of knowledge in the dead languages and in
the writings of ancient sages, poets, and philosophers. It is our busi-
ness to look chiefly to the great future, with its glorious fruits, ready
to burst from a teeming soil, warmed and enlightened by the great
sun of science, which now diffuses its energetic rays into every corner
of human affairs, wherever life, vegetable or animal, and wherever
mental or physical power in its ten thousand inventive forms may find
a foothold for existence.
In a letter of Dr. Thomas Cooper, of South Carolina, addressed to
Mr. Forsyth, July 20, 1838, in answer to inquiries on the subject of
the Smithsonian bequest, that distinguished gentleman says:
I object to all belles-lettres and philosophical literature, as calculated only to make
men pleasant talkers. I object to medicine.
I object to law. Ethics and politics are as yet unsettled branches of knowledge.
I want to see those studies cultivated which, in their known tendencies and
results, abridge human labor and increase and multiply the comforts of existence to
the great mass of mankind.
Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, writes to the Secretary of State on
the same subject on the 6th of November, 1838, and proposes a plan
for the institution not greatly dissimilar from that proposed by this
bill. I quote this short passage:
A university or college in the ordinary sense, or any institution looking to primary
education, or to the instruction of the young merely, does not strike me as the kind
of institution contemplated by Mr. Smithson's will; declaring it in language simple
yet of the widest import to be "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men," and making the United States the trustee of its intentions, it seems to follow
that it ought to be as comprehensive as possible in its objects and means, as it must
necessarily be national in its government.
These letters are to be found in the report of Mr. Adams to this
House in 1842. The passage quoted seems to me to be highly judicious,
and correctly descriptive of the true character of the institution
required. And I think, sir, the bill under consideration conforms in
its provisions to the general views expressed in these passages and
to those which I entertain. All the labors of the Institution will be
directed to the more useful sciences and arts, and its advantages must
necessarily be eminently practical and popular. These are the great
leading considerations, which should commend this bill to the favor of
the House and of the country.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 363
I proceed to notice more particularly the general characteristics
of the plan. I pass over the organization of the Institution as a cor-
poration, not regarding that as a matter of any importance. As this
feature is opposed, I am very willing to see it altered. I approve the
elasticity and freedom of action, very wisely conferred upon an insti-
tution, new and untried in its application to the great objects in view.
Very considerable latitude of control as to the means to be used is
given to the board of managers, and the ends to be aimed at are
described in comprehensive terms. But the most ample guaranty for
the wise and faithful use of this discretionary power is obtained in the
fact that the board will consist of the Vice-President of the United
States, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, three Senators, three
members of the House, and six others to be chosen by joint resolution
of the two Houses, who are required to submit to Congress annual
reports of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institu-
tion. In addition to all this there is reserved the power to alter and
amend the charter, as the results of experience may render necessary
or expedient. All these provisions seem to be wise, and make it almost
impossible that any abuse or misapplication of the fund can ever take
place.
The sixth section of the bill provides for a "professor of agriculture,
horticulture, and rural economy," giving him power to employ such
laborers and assistants as may be necessary "to cultivate the ground
and maintain a botanical garden" "to make experiments of general
utility throughout the United States" "to determine the utility of
new modes and instruments of culture, and to determine whether new
fruits, plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the
United States." These provisions comprehend all which relates to the
great agricultural interest. No one, I presume, will question the prob-
able usefulness of these provisions to aid and benefit by far the largest
number of our citizens who employ the greatest amount of capital,
and whose productions are the very basis of our prosperitj^, wealth,
and happiness. I regret, sir, that in connection with this arrangement
there is no express provision for a professor of chemistry; but as a
chemical laboratory is provided for, and as the professors are required
to be of the most useful sciences and arts, I presume this professor-
ship would be considered first in importance, and would by no possi-
bility be omitted.
In some parts of the country it is not unusual to hear objections
against the application of science to agriculture. I have heard it
questioned even here whether experiments and investigations con-
ducted in Washington City can be of any use in other latitudes, soils,
and climates throughout our extended country. I maintain, sir, that
science in agriculture is practicable, and that its cultivation even here
at the seat of government may be made to contribute most important
benefits to all parts of the Union; for, let it be remembered, science
364 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
is but the classification of facts expressed in the shape of general rules
or laws. If any important fact be omitted in the process of induction
the result will be erroneous and calculated to mislead. But continued
experiment and investigation will eventually point out the omitted or
misplaced fact, and gradually a true science will grow up, rising from
the first rude attempts, through various gradations of improvement,
up to its highest and most perfect form. Results predicted from cer-
tain operations without due consideration and experience of all attend-
ing facts and circumstances, changes of soil and climate, would not be
verified except by the merest accident. But is it not plain that the
experiments here, disseminated throughout the country by appropri-
ate means and illuminated by all existing knowledge as to the influence
of varied circumstances, will be seized upon by the intelligent and
skillful agriculturist in all quarters and submitted to still further
tests in order to eliminate the ultimate truththe most general law
divested of all extraneous facts? The experiments made abroad will
be reflected back again to the central institution, and they will enable
it to correct its conclusions whenever these may have proved to be to
any extent erroneous. If this professorship should accomplish noth-
ing more than to point out the mode of investigation to be adopted,
and to compare the results in different quarters and give information
of them, this of itself would be an essential service to agriculture.
It will not be disputed, however, that there are some things in agri-
culture of a general nature which science at any place can determine
with absolute certainty. One might theorize in reference to processes
of cultivation, and the results would be very generally erroneous. It
might be plausibly argued that to disturb and break the roots of a stalk
of corn by the usual mode of cultivation must injure the health and
produce of the plant. But experience determines precisely the con-
trary; whether it be that new and more numerous small roots are put
out, penetrating to every part of the soil, and thereby obtaining
abundant nutriment, or whether it be simply that the oxygen and car-
bonic acid gas of the air and of the soil are rendered more accessible
to the roots of the plant by the loosened texture of the ground. Yet
when the agricultural chemist ascertains that the stalk, leaf, or grain
of any plant contains certain substances, the silicates, phosphates, or
carbonates, and that these are indispensable to their perfection, he is
enabled to predicate with absolute certainty that these substances
must be in the soil, or that the plant will not flourish. This is a spe-
cies of information of the utmost importance, and applicable under
all circumstances and in all climates. In its perfect form, when science
shall have expended her fruitful labor upon it, it will enable the
farmer to control the growth of his crop and give it any desired
development, just as he now controls the growth of his domestic ani-
mals, raising his cattle for milk or for beef, and his sheep for wool or
for mutton, at his pleasure.
TWENTY -NINTH CONGEESS, 1845-1847. 365
I would say, sir, in reference to this, what I have said of another
branch of science, and indeed what may be said of all knowledge,
that it is impossible to foresee the great results to which they will
lead. I have unbounded faith in the resources of science in all her
departments, and I look forward with the expectation of discoveries
and improvements far more important and wonderful than anything
which has yet been accomplished. The magnetic telegraph is a mar-
vel, but it does not mark the extreme boundary of human ingenuity.
Another leading and important feature in this bill is that it proposes
"a professor of common school instruction, with other professors,
chiefly of the more useful sciences and arts," and that it contemplates
the education of young persons as teachers of common schools. It
looks to the education of the people to the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among the great mass. Of course this aid to the cause of
popular education can only be of the most general kind. No direct
application of the means of the Institution to that purpose could be
expected. But while this provision is one of high generality, it is,
nevertheless, one also of controlling efficiency, calculated to be highly
beneficial in its directory influence. If a number of the best teachers,
imbued with all the useful science of the age and thoroughly qualified
for imparting knowledge to the young mind by the most improved
modes, can be sent abroad to all parts of the country, doubtless a
great point will have been gained. No business is so imperfectly
understood and so badly conducted in some parts of the Union as that
of teaching. An institution which will have the effect of improving
and elevating the standard of instruction generally will be a great
national blessing.
Does anyone doubt that the scheme proposed in this bill can be
made to produce that result? Even though teachers may not be gen-
erally furnished for all sections, an immense advantage will be obtained
by the diffusion of correct information as to the proper mode of organ-
izing schools and the best plans for instruction. The most important
kinds of knowledge are too frequently altogether neglected in our
primary schools. Let the members of this House look back to their
schoolboy days and compare the instruction they received with that
which is now dispensed in the best public schools. We were fortunate,
sir, very fortunate, if we were taught anything more than words; if
physical science constituted any part of our early instruction; if our
attention was directed for a moment to the things around us, among
which and with which we were bound to accomplish our destiny.
Important changes have now taken place, and not among the least
important is that of teaching the outlines of physical science at the very
earliest period to make the child acquainted with the nature of the
ten thousand natural objects around him to give him some idea of the
structure of the globe he inhabits and of the system of which this
366 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
planet is a part. This is knowledge which the child can comprehend
and which the man can never fail to use with advantage. It is prop-
erly the first knowledge to be imparted, lying obviously at the very
foundation of all good education.
How much has been accomplished of late in this respect may be
inferred from the following passage, which I read from the last report
of the trustees of the Public School Society of New York:
A circular sent to the teachers of the public schools about three weeks since
resulted before they closed in not less than 10,000 elementary cabinets of geology
for nearly the same number of families, collected, labeled, and assorted by the
pupils, securing in very many instances a hearty interest and essential aid from their
parents and other friends. Public school No. 15 collected, prepared, labeled, and
distributed not less than 400 such cabinets in one day, etc.
These are interesting facts. They show that the science of educa-
tion is advancing with the general march of improvement; and they
render no longer doubtful the propriety and importance of devoting a
portion of the means of this national institution to assist in carrying
forward even more rapidly this great movement of the age.
The bill provides for the "preparation of sets of illustrations,
specimens, apparatus, and schoolbooks suitable for primary schools."
I consider these provisions of the highest importance. Next to the
furnishing of proper teachers is the necessity for proper instruments
of education. Indeed, I do not know but this should be placed fore-
most in importance, for with the best illustrations, apparatus, and
books, the teacher could scarcely fail to perform his part with the
greatest advantage and the best success. The propriety of having
"professors of the most useful sciences and arts" connected with the
" normal branch" of this Institution is too obvious to require a single
remark.
The bill does not propose (for indeed the proposition would be
absurd) to give to such schoolbooks as may be prepared any authority
other than that which the character of the Institution and their own
intrinsic worth would impress upon them. But it is very certain that
able and experienced men, directing their minds particularly to that
object', would be prepared to give to the world something far better
than we now possess something in the way of elementary books
which would essentially contribute to the uniformity and efficiency of
general education. I think it will be acknowledged by all who know
anything of the subject that such books for primary schools are at this
moment a great desideratum. I know of no means by which greater
benefit could be conferred upon the people at large than by the judi-
cious preparation and cheap supply of such books. They would be
equivalent to a great plan of education, emanating from the highest
and best authority, causing the light of all modern science and mod-
ern improvement to converge into every country schoolhouse in the
land.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 367
There are other features in this bill, Mr. Chairman, upon which it
would be interesting to comment, if the hour allotted by the rules of
the House would permit. The lectures by able men of science, the
cheap and useful publications, and the investigations which the managers
have power to direct may be made, by judicious direction, to con-
tribute to the most useful and important ends. But these things will
suggest themselves to the mind of every intelligent man.
I approve heartily the provision which forbids the establishment of
any school of law, or medicine, or divinity, or any professorship
of ancient languages. The scope of my remarks throughout has been
in accordance with this view and, I hope, will fully justify the position.
The number of persons who could be educated by all the funds of this
Institution must, of necessity, be very limited; and unless they be
instructed with a view to communicate the light and diffuse the
knowledge received, the benefits of the establishment would not be
The annual appropriation of $10,000 for the gradual formation of
a library might have been limited to a smaller amount with a better
result. But the managers will doubtless act with wisdom and discretion.
By proper management this Institution may doubtless be made the
instrument of immense good to the whole country. To the Govern-
ment it will be of no slight advantage. It will be a great Institution.
It may attain a character as high as that of the French Academy; and
its authority will then be decisive in reference to numerous questions
of a scientific nature, continually presented to the committees of Con-
gress and the Departments of Government for determination and con-
sequent action. Such an institution is greatly needed in the Federal
city. It is fortunate, not less for the public service than for the ad-
vantage of the individual citizen, that the opportunity is now afforded
to accomplish so important an object. I can not doubt that the oppor-
tunity will be seized with alacrity and improved with something of
that spirit of liberality and intelligence which I think is embodied in
the bill now before the committee.
Mr. WILLIAM SAWYER moved to amend the bill by striking out
" six," in the first section, and inserting in lieu thereof " five."
There was a motion pending to strike out the whole bill, and therefore
this motion to amend was in order.
The ninth section was not under consideration, but when it should
be he would move to amend it, in the fourth line, by inserting after
the word "therein" the following proviso:
Provided, That such students shall be selected from the different States and Terri-
tories of the United States according to the ratio of representation in Congress.
He thought 5 per cent as high a rate of interest as was proper. He
was not willing that his constituents should be saddled with so high a
rate of interest as 6 per cent, for the people must pay it out of their
pockets. For a permanent loan 5 per cent was high enough.
368 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The other amendment which he would propose related to the regu-
lations for the admission of students into the various departments of
the Institution. He proposed to take the students from the different
States and Territories of the United States, according to their repre-
sentation in Congress, so that they shall not all be taken from Virginia,
Maryland, and this District, as had been the case in regard to all other
appointments. Heretofore nine-tenths of all appointments had been
made from this District and the neighboring States. Other States
had been blotted out from the vocabulary of appointments. There
was a bill before the House to do this, but it was impossible to reach
it, obstacles being thrown in the way whenever it was attempted.
While we were passing laws for creating more public institutions, it
was proper to make a proviso that the persons benefited by it should
be taken from every portion of the Union instead of one locality.
With proper modifications he was disposed to vote for this bill.
Mr. D. P. KING had some amendments, he said, to propose to the
bill at a proper time. In establishing an institution like this, for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, there ought undoubt-
edly to be some arrangement for the education of teachers. He would
propose that lands and buildings be provided for young men to enable
them to prepare for such an education as will qualify them for use-
fulness and to teach others. He proposed that persons should be
received who, by their labor, would maintain themselves. He was
desirous of promoting the interests of the yeomanry of the country
of cultivating the hand as well as the head and heart and he hoped
provisions for these objects would be made in the bill. He should
move to insert in the seventh section, after the word ''professors" the
words "of agriculture." A very large portion of the people were
agriculturists, and it was the most useful and interesting object of
pursuit. He wished to provide for the use of those who became
students lands and buildings, with a view to enable them to engage
in practical agriculture.
He was not disposed, at this time, to go into the subject fully, but
he submitted that the best mode of carrying out the objects of the donor
was to promote agricultural knowledge.
Mr. R. D. OWEN had a few words to saj 7 in reply to the gentleman
from Ohio [Mr. Sawyer], who had urged that the rate of interest should
be 5 instead of 6 per cent. He would ask the committee generally
whether, in regard to a perfect gratuity a fund for public objects to
which this Government had not contributed one cent we ought not
to be willing to pay as large an interest as we were ordinarily obliged
to pay on loans? Ought we not to yield something to the object of the
bequest?
It must also be considered that by this bill much expense was saved
to the Government. Should this plan be carried out it would save all
the expenses attending the preservation of the collections of the explor-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 369
ing expedition. These could not be taken care of without considerable
expense. It would also be recollected that it was a part of General
Washington's plan in laying out this city to extend the public grounds
from the Capitol to the President's House. These grounds embraced
more than 100 acres, and should they be embellished and improved
according to the original design the expense would be very great. All
these expenses were to be defrayed by the Smithsonian Institution.
All that was asked was the ordinary interest of 6 per cent, which the
Government had recently been obliged to pay.
In regard to the ninth section of the bill, he would be glad if the
objections of the gentleman from Ohio should prove to be good, and
that there should be such an overflow of applications for admission into
the Institution as to render any restrictions necessary. He apprehended
that there would be no necessity for such restrictions, for we did not
propose, as at the West Point Academy, to pay any expenses of the
students. In case of such a rush for admission as the gentleman antici-
pated, he would admit that the students ought to be divided among
all the States and Territories. He would agree to vote for the amend-
ment, but he apprehended that the chief difficulty would be in getting
a sufficient number of persons to come.
Mr. D. P. KING said he had proposed such a modification of the
plan as would enable students to pay their board by laboring on the
farm of the Institution.
Mr. OWEN said that this point was before the committee, and it
was agreed that young men might be employed as managers and
laborers, if they were willing, while they were pursuing their studies.
Mr. SAWYER remarked that it had been suggested that the ninth
section already provided for this object. But he must insist upon it
that it did not, and to prove it he would read the section, as follows:
That the said board of managers shall also make rules and regulations for the
admission of students into the various departments of the Institution, and their con-
duct and deportment while they remain therein.
The same provision applied to officers of the Institution, but the
managers were not instructed to distribute among the several States
and Territories all the students applying for admission.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS said that so far as the Government was con-
cerned the bill conferred no powers on it. All objections on that
score were unfounded. He was afraid that the benches of the Institu-
tion would not be filled to overflowing, and that no restriction would
be necessary on that score. The ninth section might stand as it was
for the present, and when necessary Congress could amend the act in
order to meet any circumstances that might arise. In the meantime
he would throw open the door to all, whether for a single lecture or
for a whole course, and he regarded lectures as the greatest means
of extending knowledge which had been adopted in modern times. It
was second only to the invention of the art of printing.
H. Doc. 732- 24
370 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Everything in the bill tended to the increa.se and diffusion of
knowledge among men.
Some had urged that the trust ought not to have been accepted. It
was too late to make that objection. He held that we were now obliged
to carry it into execution, and as to the funds themselves, they ought
to be considered as money still in the Treasury, unconnected with any
stocks. He regretted that anyone had proposed to return the stocks
to the heirs or kin of the original owner.
Mr. G. W. JONES said he did not profess to understand the whole
doctrine of trusts, but if trust funds were placed in the hands of the
Government, was the Government bound to keep the money, instead
of investing it? Was the Government bound to pay interest on it
without in vesting it?
Mr. DAVIS. That will depend on the character of the fund. The
fund was given in trust for a specific object.
Mr. JONES. Suppose the fund had been left to the gentleman from
Mississippi; was he bound to keep it and pay 6 per cent interest upon
it? Or, if he invested it in Mississippi or other State stocks, in good
faith, would he be bound as trustee to make good the principal and
interest of the fund?
Mr. DAVIS could, he said, answer that case in perfect conformity
with his own views and feelings on the subject. He would reject the
trust unless he was willing to execute it; and if he misapplied the
money and delayed to execute the trust for eight years he would
consider himself bound in honor to make good the whole fund.
Mr. DAVIS continued. He would admit that the Government had
no authority to take charge of the subject of education, and he did
not consider this bill as liable to that objection. The normal school
system he considered as highly beneficial, serving to produce uniform-
ity in the language and to lay the foundation of all sciences. The
spelling book of Noah Webster, which had been used extensively in
our primary schools, had done more to produce uniformity in our
language in this country than anything else. If we sent out good
school books from this institution it would be of vast service to the
country.
Mr. DAVIS enlarged upon the benefits which would result to science
and the diffusion of every kind of useful knowledge from an institu-
tion which would gather young men from the remotest parts of the
country at the common point where every facility for practical
instruction would be afforded. The taste of the country would be
refined, and he did not consider this as antidemocratic. Knowledge
was the common cement that was to unite all the heterogeneous mate-
rials of this Union into one mass, like the very pillars before us. If
there was any constitutional objection to the establishment of a cor-
poration he was willing to strike out that feature in the bill and pre-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 371
serve the remainder. But let us do something to carry out the objects
of the testator, or let us throw back the fund upon the chancery court
of England.
Mr. G. P. MARSH desired, he said, to add a few words on this
subject, but was unable to proceed at present in consequence of indis-
position. He therefore moved that the committee rise.
Some conversation ensued, upon which Mr. MARSH withdrew the
motion.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS expressed a wish that some progress be made in
the bill by taking a vote on some of the amendments.
The question was then taken on the amendment offered b}^ Mr.
Sawyer, and it was decided in the negative.
On motion of Mr. MARSH the committee then rose and reported
progress.
April 23, 1846 House.
Mr. LINN Bo YD offered a resolution providing that all debate on this
bill should cease in one hour and a half after it should again be taken
up in committee unless sooner disposed of, and that the committee
should then proceed to vote on amendments pending or to be offered.
Mr. J. R. INGERSOLL moved to amend the resolution by striking out
"one hour and a half after it shall have been taken up in committee,"
and inserting ""two o'clock."
Mr. JAMES GRAHAM moved that the resolution and amendment be
laid on the table. Agreed to.
The Speaker (Mr. JOHN W. DAVIS) announced the unfinished busi-
ness to be the special order of yesterday, the bill to establish the
Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.
On motion of Mr. R. D. OWEN, the House resolved itself into Com-
mittee of the Whole (Mr. ARMISTEAD BURT, of South Carolina, in the
chair), and resumed the consideration of the said bill.
Mr. G. P. MARSH, of Vermont, after some preliminary observations,
said: I agree, Mr. Chairman, with those who doubt whether it was
entirely wise in the Congress of the United States to accept the munif-
icent bequest of Mr. Smithson. Were the question now first pre-
sented I should hesitate. Not that I den}" or even doubt the power of
Congress to administer this charity, but I should question the pro-
priety of assuming a trust which there is too much reason to fear we
shall not discharge in such a manner as to give the fullest effect to the
purposes of the enlightened donor. The history of this bequest
confirms these scruples. It is now nearly ten years since Con-
gress, by a solemn act, assumed the trust and pledged ' ' the faith of
the United States" to its faithful execution. The money was soon
after received and immediately passed out of the hands of the
Government, not irrevocably, it is to be hoped, but it is, at all
372 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
events, now beyond our control, and no portion of it has been yet
applied to the noble ends of the bequest. The difficulties which have
thus far prevented the application of the fund to its proper uses still
exist, and are of a character not likely to be removed. Our Govern-
ment has no department which can be conveniently charged with the
administration of the charity, and must therefore begin with the organ-
ization of one for that special purpose. In this incipient step we
meet with obstacles at every corner. Questions are at once raised
that are not yet solved, and are certainly in themselves of no easy
solution. How far can, how far ought, Congress to act in the direct
control of the charity how far should it make specific what the will
of the testator has left general? If Congress shall direct the particu-
lar uses to which the fund shall be applied, what shall those uses be?
Or shall we, on the other hand, delegate the trust; and, if so, shall
we impose its duties on departments already too heavily burdened
with official responsibilities, or shall we create a corporation or other
special agency for the purpose ? Is there not danger that the institu-
tion will be abused for party ends, and merely serve to swell the
already overgrown patronage of the Executive ? A previous sugges-
tion of these difficulties might well have led us to hesitate before we
contracted obligations of so delicate a character, and I fear they are
yet destined for some time longer to impede the satisfactory action of
Congress.
But it is now quite time that we apply ourselves in earnest to the
work of redeeming our country from the reproach of infidelity in the
discharge of so high and solemn a trust, and that at the earliest prac-
ticable period, and before the subject shall become an element in our
party dissensions, we strive to make available to our fellow-citizens
and to all men a gift as splendid as its purposes are noble.
The delay, long and unwarrantable as it is, has not been without its
issues. It has afforded abundant time for the collection, comparison,
and concentration of opinion; able men in every walk of scholastic
and professional life have been consulted; many of the wisest Amer-
ican statesmen have brought the energies of their intellects to the
examination of the .subject; it has been largely discussed in both
branches of the National Legislature; numerous studiously considered
plans have been suggested, providing in different ways for every inter-
est which can be supposed to be embraced within the views of the
testator, and the bill now before us is a compilation, an anthology, so
to speak, from all these, though possessing original features valuable
features the credit of which belongs to the chairman of the special
committee (Mr. Owen), by whom the bill was reported.
In a case where there is room for so great diversity of opinion as in
this there can be no hope of the adoption of any plan not conceived
in a spirit of compromise; and on this, as on another larger question,
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 373
however widely apart we ma}' be at first, we shall probably find our-
selves in the end obliged to settle down upon the parallel of 49. The
bill is reported by the special committee as a compromise, and proba-
bly no one of the gentlemen concerned in its preparation is quite satis-
fied with its provisions; no one believes it to be the best plan that
could be devised; but they felt the necessity of deferring to each other,
as well as to the probable opinion of Congress, and were nearly unan-
imous in thinking it more likely to harmonize discordant views than
any other plan suggested. It was in this belief, and in consideration
of the importance and the duty of early action, that I, as a member of
that committee, assented to the report, regarding the scheme, how-
ever, not merely as a necessary compromise, but as rather an experi-
ment, which admitted, and which I trusted would hereafter receive,
great changes in its conditions, than as a complete working model.
It has all along been assumed as 'a cardinal principle that we ought
to follow implicitly the will of the liberal donor, and it has been
thought unfortunate that he was not more specific in the appropria-
tion of his bounty. But he has given a proof of a generous and
enlightened spirit, and at the same time has paid this nation the high-
est possible compliment, by using the largest and most comprehensive
language in his bequest; thus in effect saying that he preferred rather
to intrust the disposal of this great fund to the wisdom and intelli-
gence of a free and enlightened people than to limit its use to pur-
poses accordant with his own peculiar tastes. Some gentlemen have
thought that inasmuch as the testator has not specified the particular
mode by which he would have the great ends of his charity accom-
plished we are bound to infer his wishes from the character of his
favorite pursuits and to conform to his supposed views by confining
the fund to the promotion of objects to the cultivation of which his
own time and researches were devoted; but this would be no true
conformity to the enlightened liberality which prompted so munifi-
cent a gift. It would be a disparagement to so generous a spirit to
imagine that while saying so much he meant so little. It would be
so wide a departure from his large and wise purposes as fairly to
defeat his noble aims. Had he been in fact a person of so narrow
views as this argument supposes, he would have guarded against the
possible misapplication of his charity by express words of direction
or restriction; and it is a proof of rare generosity in an enthusiastic
lover of an engrossing pursuit that in a bequest appropriating his
whole estate to the high purpose of increasing and diffusing knowl-
edge among men he made no special provision for the promotion of
those sciences which were to him the most attractive of studies.
After all, however, he was not a student of so limited a range of
inquiry as has been sometimes assumed. He was a man of studious
and scholastic habits and of large and liberal research, specially
374 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
devoted, indeed, to the cultivation of certain brunches of natural
knowledge, but excluding no science, no philosophy, from his sympa-
thies. Too enlightened to be ignorant of the commune vinculum, the
common bond of mutual relation, which makes all knowledges recipro-
cally communicative and receptive each borrowing light from all
and each in turn reflecting light upon all he was too generous to con-
fine his bounty to the gratification of tastes entirely similar to his
own. None of the objects embraced in this bill are alien from his
probable views. Books, indeed, he did not collect, as we propose to
do, because to one who had no fixed habitation a library would have
been but an incumbrance, and he lived in the great cities of Europe,
where public and private munificence has collected and devoted to
general use such ample repositories of the records of knowledge that
individual accumulation of such stores is almost superfluous. But,
though he gathered no library, his writings show him to have been a
man of somewhat multifarious reading, and it is quite a gratuitous
assumption to suppose him. to have been one of those narrow minds
who think no path worth traveling but that which they have trodden,
no field worth cultivating whose fruits they have never plucked.
Apart, then, from the liberty which the broad words of the will give
us, we are entitled to believe that the purposes of the testator were as
comprehensive as the language he has used that he aimed at promot-
ing all knowledge for the common benefit of all men and to appro-
priate to the American people, in a spirit worth}" of the object and
of ourselves, the compliment he has paid us by selecting us as the dis-
pensers of a charity which knows no limits but the utmost bounds of
human knowledge and claims as its recipients the men of this and of
all coming ages.
The limitation of the bequest, then, is to the "increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men." Here two objects are aimed at increase,
enlargement, extension, progress; and diffusion, spread, communica-
tion, dissemination. These the bill seeks to accomplish by various
means. It proposes to increase knowledge by collecting specimens of
the works of nature from every clime, and in each of her kingdoms; by
gathering objects in every branch of industrial, decorative, representa-
tive, and imaginative art; by accumulating the records of human action,
and thought, and imagination in every form of literature; by institut-
ing experimental researches in agriculture, in horticulture, in chem-
istry, and in other studies founded upon observation. It proposes to
diffuse the knowledge thus accumulated, acquired, and extended by
throwing open to public use the diversified collections of the Institu-
tion in every branch of human inquiry; by lectures upon every sub-
ject of liberal interest; by a normal school where teachers shall become
pupils, and the best modes that experience has devised for imparting
the rudiments of knowledge shall be communicated; by preparing and
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 375
distributing models of scientific apparatus; and by the publication of
lectures, essays, manuals, and treatises.
Of the various instrumentalities recommended by this noble and
imposing scheme, the simplest and most efficient, both as it respects
the increase and the diffusion of knowledge, is, in my judgment, the
provision for collecting for public use a library, a museum, and a gal-
lery of art, and I should personally much prefer that for a reasonable
period the entire income of the fund should be expended in carrying
out this branch of the plan.
But in expressing my preference for such a present application of
the moneys of the fund, and my belief that we should thus best accom-
plish the purposes of the donor, I desire not to be understood as
speaking contemptuously of research and experiment in natural
knowledge and the economic arts. I have too much both of interest
and of feeling staked upon the prosperity of these arts, and they are
to me subjects too intrinsically attractive to allow me to be indifferent
to any measure which promises to promote their advancement. I am
even convinced that their earnest cultivation and extension are abso-
lutely indispensable to our national prosperity, our true independence,
and almost our political existence, and I am at all times ready to main-
tain their claim to all the legislative favor which it is within the power of
the General Government to bestow. I would not, therefore, exclude
them from the plan of a great national institution for the promotion of
all good learning; but I desire to assign them their true place in the scale
of human knowledge, and I must be permitted to express my dissent
from the doctrine implied by the bill, as originally framed and referred
to the special committee, which confines all knowledge, all science, to
the numerical and quantitative values of material things. Researches
in such branches as were the favored objects of that bill, have in gen-
eral little of a really scientific character. Geology, mineralogy, even
chemistry, are but assemblages of apparent facts, empirically estab-
lished; and this must always be true, to a great extent of every study
which rests upon observation and experiment alone. True science is
the classification and arrangement of necessary primary truths, accord-
ing to their relations with each other, and in reference to the logical
deductions which may be made from them. Such science, the only
absolute knowledge, is the highest and worthiest object of human
inquiry, and must be drawn from deeper sources than the crucible and
the retort.
The bill provides for the construction of buildings, with suitable
apartments for a library, and for collections in the various branches
of natural knowledge and of art, and directs the annual expenditure
of a sum " not exceeding an average of $10,000, for the gradual for-
mation of a library composed of valuable works pertaining to ail
departments of human knowledge." As 1 have already indicated, I
3V6 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
consider thi.s the most valuable feature of the plan, though I think the
amount unwisely restricted; and I shall confine the few observations I
design to submit respecting the bill chiefly to the consideration of this
single provision. I had originally purposed to examine the subject
from quite a different point of view, but the eloquent remarks of the
chairman of the special committee [Mr. Owen], which seem to be
intended as an argument rather against this provision than in favor of
the bill, and as a reply to the able and brilliant speech of a distin-
guished member of another branch of Congress upon a former occasion
[Mr. Choate], has induced me to take a somewhat narrower range than
I should otherwise have done. I w r ish, sir, that Senator were here to
rejoin, in his own proper person, to the beautiful speech of the gentle-
man from Indiana, who seems rather to admire the rhetoric than to
be convinced by the logic of the eloquent orator to whom I refer. In
that case, sir, I think my friend from Indiana, trenchant as are his
own weapons, would feel as many have felt before, that the polished
blade of the gentleman who lately did such honor to Massachusetts in
the Senate of the United States, is not the less keen, because, like
Harmodius and Aristogiton, he wraps it in sprays of myrtle.
It has been objected by some, that the appropriation is too large for
the purpose expressed "the gradual formation of a library composed
of valuable works pertaining to all departments of human knowledge. "
But if we consider how much is embraced in these comprehensive
words, we shall arrive at a very different conclusion. The great libra-
ries of Europe range from 200,000 to 500,000, or perhaps even 750,000
volumes. That of the University of Gottingen, the most useful of all
for the purposes of general scholarship, contains about 300,000. How
long would it require to collect a library like this, with an annual
expenditure of $10,000. The Library of Congress is said to have cost
about $3.50 per volume; but as a whole it has not been economically
purchased, and though composed chiefly of works which do not main-
tain a permanently high price, yet as a large proportion of the annual
purchases consists of new books from the press of London, the dearest
book market in the world, its cost has been much higher than that of
a great miscellaneous library ought to be. The best public library
in America for its extent (10,000 volumes), which I am happy to say is
that of the university of my native State, Vermont, costs but $1.50
per volume. It can hardly be expected that the Government, which
always pays the highest price, will be so favorably dealt with; and it is
scarcely to be hoped that it will succeed in securing the services of so
faithful and so competent an agent as was employed by the University
of Vermont.
I have myself been, unfortunately for my purse, a book buyer, and
have had occasion to procure books not only in this country but from
all the principal book marts in Western Europe. From my own expe--
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 377
rience and some inquiry I am satisfied that the whole cost of such
books as a national library ought to consist of, including binding and
all other charges, except the compensation and traveling expenses of
an agent, should not exceed $2 per volume. If you allow $2,000 for
the compensation and expenses of an agent (which would not be
increased upon a considerably larger expenditure), you have $8,000
remaining, which, at the average cost I have supposed, would purchase
4,000 volumes a year. How long, I repeat, would it require at this
rate to accumulate a library equal in extent to that of Gottingen?
More than seventy years. In some seventy years, then in three score
years and ten- when you, sir, and I, and all who hear my voice, and
all the present actors in this busy world shall be numbered with the
dead, we may hope that free, enlightened America, by the too sparing
use of the generous bounty of a stranger, will possess a collection of
the recorded workings of the human mind not inferior to that enjoyed
by a single school in the miniature kingdom of Hanover. And what
provision is made for the increase of books meanwhile? Look at the
activity of the presses of London and Paris at the vastly prolific
literature of Germany at the increasing production of our own coun-
try to omit the smaller but still valuable contributions to the store
of human knowledge in the languages of other countries, and you will
perceive that this appropriation, so far from being extravagantly large,
will scarcely even suffice for keeping up with the current literature of
the day. Gottingen meantime will go on; her 300,000 volumes will
increase in seventy years to half a million, and we shall still lag
200,000 volumes behind.
The utility of great libraries has been questioned, and it has been
confidently asserted that all truly valuable knowledge is comprised in
a comparatively small number of volumes. It is said that the vast
collections of the Vatican, of Paris, of Munich, and of Copenhagen
are in a great measure composed of works originally worthless, or
now obsolete, or superseded by new editions, or surpassed by later
treatises. That there is some foundation for this opinion I shall not
deny, but after every deduction is made upon these accounts, there
will still remain in any of these libraries a great number of works
which, having originally had intrinsic worth, have jet their permanent
value. Because a newer or better or truer book upon a given sub-
ject now exists, it does not necessarily follow that the older and
inferior is to be rejected. It may contain important truths or inter-
esting views that later and, upon the whole, better authors have
overlooked- it may embody curious anecdotes of forgotten times it
may be valuable as an illustration of the history of opinion, or as a
model of composition; or, if of great antiquity, it may possess much
interest as a specimen of early typography.
Again, because any one individual, even the most learned, can not
378 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
in this short life exhaust all art, because he can thoroughly master but
a few hundred volumes, read or even have occasion to consult but a
few thousands, we are not therefore authorized to conclude that all
beyond these are superfluous. Each of the hundred authors who have
produced those thousands of volumes had read also his thousands.
The scholar is formed not by the books alone that he has read, but he
receives at second hand the essence of multitudes of others; for every
good book supposes and implies the previous existence of numerous
other good books.
An individual even of moderate means, and who is content to confine
his studies within somewhat narrow bounds, may select and acquire
for himself a library adequate to his own intellectual wants and tastes,
though entirely unsuited to the purposes of one of different or larger
aims, and by the diligent use of this he may attain a high degree of
mental culture; but a national library can be accommodated to no nar-
row or arbitrary standard. It must embrace all science all history
all languages. It must be extensive enough, and diversified enough,
to furnish aliment for the cravings of every appetite. We need some
great establishment that shall not hoard its treasures with the jealous
niggardliness which locks up the libraries of Britain, but shall emu-
late the generous munificence which throws open to the world the
boundless stores of literary w r ealth of Germany and France some
exhaustless fountain, where the poorest and humblest aspirant may
slake his thirst for knowledge, without money and without price.
Of all places in our territory, this central heart of the nation is the
fittest for such an establishment. It is situated in the middle zone of
our system easily and cheaply accessible from every quarter of the
Union blessed with a mild, a salubrious, and an equable climate
abundant in the necessaries and comforts of physical life far removed
from the din of commerce, and free from narrow and sectional
influences.
Let us here erect a temple of the muses, served and guarded by no
exclusive priesthood, but with its hundred gates thrown open, that
every votary may enter unquestioned, and you will find it thronged
with ardent worshipers, who, though poverty may compel them to
subsist, like Heyne, on the pods of pulse and the parings of roots,
shall yet forget the hunger of the body in the more craving wants of
the soul.
From the limited powers of our National Government, and the
jealous care with which their exercise is watched and resisted, in cases
where the interests of mere humanity not party are concerned, it
can do little for the general promotion of literature and science. The
present is a rare opportunity, the only one yet offered, and never per-
haps to be repeated, for taking our proper place among the nations
of the earth, not merely as a political society, but as patrons of knowl-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 379
edge and the liberal arts. The treasures of our national wealth are,
perhaps, not at our command for this purpose; and it is only by the
discreet use of this bequest, and of the funds which private liberality
will assuredly contribute to extend the means of the Institution, that
we can hope to kindle a luminary whose light shall encompass the
earth, and to repay to Europe the illumination we have borrowed
from her.
The library of Gottingen, of which I have spoken, contains six
times as many volumes as the largest American collections; it has been
accumulated within a comparatively short period scarcely a century
and, having been selected upon a fixed plan by the ablest scholars in
the world, it contains few books originally without merit, few dupli-
cates, and few which the progress of science and literature have ren-
dered worthless. And yet, though upon the whole the best existing
library, it, in many departments, does not approach to completeness,
and the scholars who resort to it are often obliged to seek elsewhere
sources of knowledge which Gottingen does not afford.
We shall perhaps be best able to estimate our own deficiencies and
wants by comparing the contents of our Congressional Library with
the actual extent of existing literature. The Library of Congress con-
tains more than 40,000 volumes, in general valuable and well chosen,
with not many duplicates, not many books that one would altogether
reject. It is not composed, like too many of our public libraries, in
any considerable degree, of books which have been given, because the
proprietor found them too worthless to keep, but it has been almost
wholly purchased and selected from the best European sale catalogues,
and yet there is no one branch of liberal study, even among those of
greatest interest to ourselves, in which it is not miserably deficient.
There is perhaps no better general catalogue of such books in the
various departments of learning, as are prized by collectors, than the
Table Methodique, in the last edition of Brunet's Manuel du Libraire.
Brunet enumerates more than 30,000 works, making in the whole
about 100,000 volumes, and professes to specify only the most impor-
tant and the rarest. The list contains, no doubt, very many works of
little intrinsic worth, or even of adventitious interest-, but it is, per-
haps, not too much to say that a library of the larger class ought to
possess at least 25,000 of the volumes it specifies. But this list is even
tolerably complete in but few departments. In French history and
literature, in civil and international law, in the history and literature
of classical antiquity and of early t}^pography, in theology, in medi-
cine, you will find it perhaps nearly satisfactory; but in the history
and literature of all other nations, and in almost every other field
of inquiry but those I have mentioned, the learned scholar will miss
the titles of many more valuable works than he will find, while
many highly interesting and important chapters are almost entirely
380 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
blank. The Congressional Library does not probably contain one-
fourth even of the small proportion of Brunei's list which I have
described as of intrinsic and permanent value. But are there not
numerous branches of knowledge well worthy a place in every great
literary repositoiy, and which are yet wholly unrepresented in our
alcoves? Let us devote a moment to some dry statistics concern-
ing the literature of continental Europe. The Bibliotheca Ilistorica
Sueo-Gothica of Warmholtz, the last volume of which appeared in
1817, enumerates no less than 10,000 works illustrative of the his-
tory of Sweden alone; and the thirty years smce have added greatly
to the number. The Literatur-Lexicon of Nyerup, published in
1820, gives the titles of probably an equal number of works belong-
ing to the literature of the countries subject to the Danish Crown.
Holland, too, has noble historians, naturalists, poets, and dramatists,
and has produced many works of unsurpassed value upon the history
of commerce and navigation. The list of Brunet contains not one in
a hundred of the standard authors of these several countries; and the
Library of Congress, as far as I remember, does not possess a volume
in the language of either of them. Again, consider the vast extent
and surpassing value of the literature of Germany. Of the 3,000,000
different volumes of printed books supposed to exist, it is computed
that more than one-third are in the German language. The learning
of Germany embraces every field of human inquiry, and the efforts of
her scholars have done more to extend the bounds of modern knowl-
edge than the united labors of the rest of the Christian world. Every
scholar familiar with her literature let me not say familiar, for life
is too short for any man to count its boundless treasures but every
enlightened student who has but dipped into it, will readily confess its
infinite superiority to any other, I might almost say to all other litera-
tures. It has been affirmed that more than one-half of our population
is of recent German origin, and German is the vernacular tongue of
extensive districts of American soil. Yet the Library of Congress
contains not one hundred, probably not fifty, volumes in that noble
language. You have none of the numerous writers of the vast empire
of Russia, or of Poland; nothing of the curious literatures of Hungary
and Bohemia; only the commonest books in Italian and Spanish; not
a volume in the language of Portugal, rich as it is in various litera-
ture, and especially in the wild yet. true romance of Oriental discover}'
and conquest that comes down to us through the pages of learned De
Barros and quaint old Castanheda, ringing upon the ear and stirring
the blood like the sound of a far-off trumpet. In the boundless world,
too, of Oriental learning, of which our increasing commercial rela-
tions with the countries of the East render it highly desirable that
we should possess the means of acquiring a knowledge, you have noth-
ing to show but a few translations of the Bible, and perhaps some
TWENTY-NINTH CONGBESS, 1845-1847. 381
works of devotion or elementary religious doctrine, which American
missionaries have presented you.
Will it not be admitted that an American library, the national
library of a people descended from men of every clime, and blood,
and language a country which throws open its doors as an asylum
for the oppressed of eveiy race and every tongue should be some-
what more comprehensive in its range ? That it should at least have
some representatives of every branch of human learning, some memo-
rials of every written tongue that is spoken within its borders ?
But, even in English literature our Library is sadly meager. How
far are we from possessing a tolerably complete series of the English
printed books of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, or even of that
best age of English learning, that age with which every honest Amer-
ican most truly sympathizes, the age of Cromwell and of Milton?
Would it not be well to have at our command the means of enabling
some diligent scholar to write what has not yet been worthily written,
or indeed scarce even attempted, a complete history of the literature
of our Anglo-Saxon mother tongue or to perform that herculean task
which, in spite of the vaunted but feeble labors of Webster, remains
still to be accomplished the preparation of a respectable English
dictionary ?
If there is any department of learning in which a library selected
for the use of the representatives of a democracy should be complete,
it is that of history. But what have we of the sources of historical
investigation? Histories, indeed, we have; but little history. True,
we have Robertson, and Hume, and Voltaire, and Gibbon, and, above
all, Alison, a popular writer in these days, and
Like Sir Agrippa, for profound
And solid lying, much renowned;
but of those materials from which true history is to be drawn we have
little, very little. The works belonging to the proper history of the
American Continent alone, every one of which it would be highly
desirable to possess, number certainly more than 20,000 volumes, fully
equal to one-half the Congressional Library, and of these we have,
as yet, but a small proportion.
If the bounty of the generous foreigner, in spite of the broad lan-
guage which expresses his liberal purpose, is to be confined to the
narrow uses which some gentlemen propose, the appropriation of
$10,000 per annum is unnecessarily large, at least for permanent
expenditure. A moderate amount would collect all that is worth buy-
ing in the experimental sciences, and a small annual appropriation
would keep up with the advance of knowledge in this department.
But it is due to ourselves, due to our age, due to the lofty views
which inspired a benefaction so splendid a gift clogged with no nar-
row conditions that we act in a more generous, a wider, a more
382 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
catholic spirit; that we remember that "knowledge" embraces other
arts than those of bread; that man's economical interests are not his
highest.
The purpose of the testator, which we are to carry out, was "the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." What, then, is the
most efficient means of increasing and diffusing knowledge '( Increase,
accumulation, must precede diffusion. Every rill supposes a fountain;
and knowledge can not "flow down our streets like a river," without
there be first built and filled a capacious reservoir, from which those
streams shall issue. It is an error to suppose that the accumulation
of the stores of existing learning, the amassing of the records of
intellectual action, does not tend also to increase knowledge. What
is there new in the material world, except by extraction or combina-
tion ? How are new substances formed, or the stock of a given sub-
stance increased, by the chemistry of nature or of art? By new
combinations or decompositions of known and preexisting elements.
The products of the experimental or manufacturing laboratory are no
new creations; but their elements are first extracted by the decompo-
sition of old compounds, and then recombined in new forms. Thus is
it also, in some degree, with the immaterial products of the human
mind; but there is this difference: Knowledge grows not alone by
extraction and combination, but, unlike the dead matter with which
chemistry deals, it is itself organic, living, productive. There is
moreover, as I have already hinted, between all branches of knowl-
edge and of liberal art, whether speculative or experimental, such an
indissoluble bond, such a relation of interdependence, that you can
not advance any one without at the same time promoting all others.
The pioneer in every walk of science strikes out sparks that not only
guide his own researches, but illuminate also the paths of those around
him, though they ma} 7 be laboring in quite other directions. Exam-
ples of this kind might be multiplied without end, but I will content
myself with an illustration or two from a science which deals only in
abstract numbers and imaginary quantities, and utterly rejects experi-
ment and observation as tests of truth or as instruments of its dis-
covery. Who would have supposed that the intervals of the diatonic
scale in music were capable of exact appreciation, and their relations
of precise ascertainment by numerical quantities '( Who would have
expected that pure mathematics would have been appealed to to
decide between the rival claims of the corpuscular and the undulatory
theories of light; or to ascertain the proportions and relations of ele-
mentary bodies not appreciable by any of the senses, in chemical com-
binations; or, as my accomplished friend from. South Carolina (Mr.
Holmes) suggests, that the authenticity of a disputed text in the
Scriptures would be determined by an algebraical theorem ( What do
not astronomy, navigation, civil engineering, practical mechanics, and
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 383
all the experimental sciences owe to this one science, which in its
investigations appeals to no empiricism, calls in the aid of none of the
senses, none of the machinery of art or of nature.
But, independent of this particular point, the aid which the physical
sciences may expect to derive from mere speculative knowledge, I
should hope that at this time, and in this place, one might safely venture
a plea in behalf of all that higher knowledge which serves to humanize,
to refine, to elevate, to make men more deeply wise, better, less
thoughtful of material interests, and more regardful of eternal truths.
And let it not be said that our own brief history proves that great
libraries are superfluous, because without them we have produced
statesmen, civilians, orators, and jurisprudents, nowise inferior to
the ablest of their European contemporaries. Without dwelling upon
the stimulus of popular institutions, and the stirring excitement of
our revolutionary and later history, which have tended to encourage
the development of this species of talent, the objection is sufficiently
answered by saying that, in the case of most of the American states-
men of the Revolution, as well as of many of later date, private wealth
has supplied the place of public provisions for the attainment of
knowledge. In the period of our colonial history, the sons of wealthy
families were often educated in the best schools of Europe, and the
framers of our Constitution were chiefly men of high education and
elegant attainments. Jefferson, whose writings are canonical with the
democracy, had the best private library in America, and was a man of
multifarious if not of profound learning. The State papers of that
remarkable era are, with few exceptions, obviously productions of men
not merely of inspired genius or of patient thought, but of laborious
acquisition; and they are full, not of that cheap learning which is
proved by pedantic quotation, but of that sound discipline which is
the unequivocal result of extensive reading and diligent research.
Who have been the men in all ages that have exercised the widest and
most permanent influence both on the moral and physical well-being
of man? The spirit of the crusades was roused by the preaching of
a thoughtful solitary; Columbus was a learned scholar, and Luther
but a studious monk. Watt, the great improver of the steam engine,
was a man of curious and recondite learning. Bonaparte was care-
fully educated at the school of Brienne, and was through life a liberal
patron of learning and the arts. The glorious rebellion of 1649 was
the work of men of the closet, and Milton, who to our shame is less
known among us by his prose than by his poetry, was its apostle.
Our own independence was declared and maintained by scholars, and
all men know that the French revolution had its germ in the writings
of the Encyclopaedists. All men, in fact, who have acted upon opinion,
who have contributed to establish principles that have left their impress
for ages, have spent some part of their lives in scholastic retirement.
384 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It is this very point the maintenance of principles discovered and
defended by men prepared for that service by severe discipline and
laborious study that so strikingly distinguishes the English rebellion
of 1649 and our own Revolution from most other insurrectionary move-
ments, and particularly from the French revolution. The English and
American statesmen of those two periods were contending for truths,
the French atheists and philosophers for interests; the former sought
to learn their duties, the latter concerned themselves only about their
rights; the Anglo-Saxon was inspired by principle, the Gaul was
instigated by passion.
The principles of American liberty, which education and habit have
rendered so familiar to us that we fancy them intuitive or even instinc-
tive, are in truth no more obvious than the physical theory of the
universe; and the study of the philosophical and political history of
the last three centuries will convince every inquirer that their devel-
opment from their germs as involved in the fundamental doctrines of
the Reformation has been the work not of unconscious time only, but
has required the labor of successive generations of philosophers and
statesmen.
I look upon a great and well-selected library composed of the mon-
uments of all knowledge in all tongues as the most effective means of
releasing us from the slavish deference, which in spite of our loud
and vaporing protestations of independence we habitually pay to
English precedents and authorities in all matters of opinion. Our
history and our political experience are so brief that in the multitude
of new cases which are perpetually arising we are often at a loss for
domestic parallels, and find it cheaper to cite an English dictum than
to investigate a question upon more independent grounds. Not only
are our parliamentary law, our legislative action, our judicial proceed-
ings, to a great extent fashioned after those of the mother country,
but the fundamental principles of our Government, our theory of the
political rights of man, are often distorted in order that they may be
accommodated to rules and definitions drawn from English constitu-
tional law. Even the most sacred of political rights, the right of
petition, I have heard both attacked and defended upon this floor by
very sufficient Democrats entirely upon precedents drawn from the
practice of the British Parliament. Our community of origin, lan-
guage, and law exposes the younger nation to the constant danger of
being overshadowed by the authority of the elder. It is a great evil
to a young and growing people as well as to a youthful and aspiring
spirit to have its energies cramped and its originality smothered by a
servile spirit of conformity to any one model, however excellent; and
it is quite time for us to learn that there are other sources of instruc-
tion than the counsels and example of our ancient mother.
Sir, I make these remarks in no narrow feeling of jealous hostility
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 385
to England; still less at this crisis, when some are seeking to raise a
whirlwind of popular indignation against that country upon which
they may themselves float to power, would I join in any vulgar denun-
ciations of a people from whom we have borrowed so much. We
owe to England much of our political principles, many of the founda-
tions of our civil and religious liberties, many of the most valuable
features of our jurisprudence. Something, indeed, we have repaid.
England, in common with all Europe, has profited by our experience.
The grasp of feudal oppression has been relaxed, the atrocious severity
of the criminal law has been mitigated, judicial proceedings have been
simplified, the subject has been admitted to a larger participation in
the concerns of government, monopolies are becoming obsolete, and
the responsibilities of rulers are felt to be more stringent. To the
credit of many of these ameliorations we may fairly lay claim; while
in science and its application to the arts we have sustained no dis-
graceful rivalry with our trans- Atlantic brethren. But no generous
man thinks his debt of gratitude canceled till it is thrice repaid, and
we have therefore yet much to do before we can say that America is
no longer the debtor of England. Let us then seize this one oppor-
tunity which a son of her own has offered us and build with it a pharos,
whose light shall serve as well to guide the mariner in the distant
horizon as to illuminate him who casts anchor at its foot.
But what are we offered instead of the advantages which we might
hope to reap from such a library as I have described? We are prom-
ised experiments and lectures, a laboratory, and an audience hall.
Sir, a laboratory is a charnel house, chemical decomposition begins
with death, and experiments are but the dry bones of science. It is
the thoughtful meditation alone of minds trained and disciplined in
far other halls that can clothe these with flesh, and blood, and sinews,
and breathe into them the breath of life. Without a library, which
alone can give such training and such discipline, both to teachers and
to pupils, all these are but a masked pageant and the demonstrator is a
harlequin. This is not a question of idle speculation, it is one that
experience has answered. There are no foci which are gathering and
reflecting so much light upon the arcana of natural science as the
schools of Paris and of Germany, and all scholars are agreed that the
great libraries of those seminaries, and the mental discipline acquired
by the use of them are, if not the sole means, at least necessary condi-
tions of their surpassing excellence.
But we are told that these experimental researches will guide us to
the most important of all knowledge, that, namely, of common things.
Sir, what are common things ? Is nothing common but these material
frames of ours; nothing but the garments we wear, the habitations that
shelter, and the food that nourishes us; nothing but the air we breathe,
the fowls of heaven, the beasts of the field, the herbs, the trees, and
H. Doc. 732 25
38ti CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the rocks around us? Is nothing common but the glittering sands
beneath our feet and the glittering stars on which we gaze ? Sir, these
are indeed common, and well it is to understand their uses, and, so far
as our dim vision can pierce, even their natures also; but are there not
things even more common, nearer to our inmost selves, harder, indeed,
but more profitable to be understood; objects not limited by the three
dimensions, not ponderable, not cognizable by any of the senses, and
yet subjects of precise definition, of logical argument, of philosophical
interest, and of overwhelming importance? Sir, the soul of man is a
very common thing; his relations to his Maker and to his fellows, the
laws of his moral and intellectual being, his past history and his prob-
able future destiny, the principles of government and the laws of
political economy all these are common things, the commonest, indeed,
of all things, and shall we make no provision for instruction in these?
But, sir, the knowledge of what are called the physical sciences is of
far less importance, even in reference to the very objects which they
are supposed especially to promote, than is generally believed. There
was an age I should say ages brilliant and glorious ages of philoso-
phers, of statesmen, of patriots, of heroes, and of artists, and artisans,
too when as yet the sciences of chemistry, and mineralogy, and metal-
lurgy had neither name nor being; when experimental research w T as
unknown, and the raw material of the arts was prepared for subsequent
manipulation in no laboratory but the hidden workshops of nature;
when the profoundest philosophers were content with resolving all
material things into the four elements, and men knew nothing of that
subtle analysis and those strange powers whereby the elements them-
selves are decomposed, the ingredients of the atmosphere solidified,
and granite, porphyry, and adamant resolved into imperceptible gases.
And what, sir, have our boasted researches taught us to accomplish in
the industrial arts that the cunning workman of Egypt, and Tyre, and
Greece could not do three thousand years ago ? Can our machinery
rear loftier piles than the Pyramids, or move more ponderous masses
than the stones of Persepolis, or the monolithic temples of Egypt ? Is
a European princess arrayed in finer webs than the daughter of a
Pharaoh, or decked in colors more gorgeous than the Tyrian purple ?
Can the chemistry of England compound more brilliant or more dura-
ble pigments than those which decorate the walls of the catacombs of
the Nile? Can the modern artist, with all the aid of his new magni-
fiers, rival the microscopic minuteness of some ancient mosaics, or can
the glassworkers of our times surpass the counterfeit gems of antiquity ?
Sir, modern chemistry, metallurgy, and machinery have multiplied,
cheapened, and diffused not improved the products of industrial
art; and herein lies our superiority, not that we can do better, but, by
bringing to our aid the obedient forces of nature, we can do more,
than our predecessors. In this point of view, regarding modern im-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGBESS, 1845-1847. 387
provements in these arts as the great equalizers of the conditions of
different ranks in society, no man can estimate them more highly than
I do, and I hope soon to have an opportunity of showing that I duly
appreciate them. But I must protest against that classification of the
objects of human knowledge which, by giving them an undue pre-
eminence, elevates empiricism above true science, prefers matter to
mind, and in its zeal to advance the means quite loses sight of the end.
Sir, these arts are the right hand, not the spirit, of true progressive
democracy; they are the lever that shall move the world, not the
immaterial mind that shall guide it.
Mr. Chairman, at present I neither propose nor expect any modifi-
cation of this bill. I am content with it as an experiment, though I
should prefer the appropriation of the entire income of the fund for
one generation three times only as long as it has now lain idle to
the purpose of founding such a library as the world has not yet seen.
If I support the bill, I shall support it, I repeat, as an experiment, but
in the confident hope that the plan will soon be so changed as to make
the Smithsonian Institution a fitter representative of a charity which
embraces all knowledge as its object and appoints the whole human
race its beneficiaries.
Mr. ISAAC E. MORSE said he desired to submit a few observations
in relation to the disposition of this fund.
Expressing the pleasure which he had derived from the argument
of the learned and eloquent gentleman [Mr. Marsh] who had just taken
his seat, he [Mr. Morse] was still of opinion that if anything could be
drawn from the character of the testator, or from his habits and pur-
suits, as to the direction which he desired his bequest should take, it
was of a much more practical nature than that contemplated either by
the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Marsh] or by the originators of
the bill before the House. Mr. Smithson was a practical man; and
although endowed with the highest learning, he yet condescended to
devote his time to a subject of the most domestic and homely character.
If his intention had been to establish a university or a magnificent
library, and thus to have his name transmitted to posterity, it would
have been easy for him to have said so, and nothing would have been
left to this country but to carry out his enlightened and liberal inten-
tions. But he had no doubt studied the peculiar character of the
American people and discovered that, whilst they entertained a proper
respect for the learning and genius of the German universities, of the
sciences taught in the universities of Europe, still there was some-
thing in the common sense and practical knowledge of that people
which comported with his notions; and he desired that this money
should be devoted to some plan of diffusing practical and useful
knowledge amongst them.
Mr. MOUSE, referring to some portions of the argument of Mr.
388 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Marsh, inquired what there was in the learning and science of Europe
comparable to the discovery of the steam engine by an American, or
of the cotton gin, or of the magnetic telegraph. All our inventions
had a tendency to improve the condition of the human race, and par-
ticularly of the common people; and it was no doubt under a just and
proper appreciation of that character that the testator left his money
to be applied to such objects. Did he intend to establish a university?
No. Did he intend to establish a magnificent library? No. He
knew that the world was full of musty compilations, of the produc-
tions of learned authors, to be wondered at more for their extent than
for their usefulness. He [Mr. Morse] was not among the number of
those who wished to depreciate the learning treasured up for ages
past by the bookmakers and book collectors of all nations; but he
proposed to offer to the consideration of the committee ,a substitute
which, he thought, would remove some of the constitutional objec-
tions raised against the bill and which would, in his judgment, meet
the intention of the donor.
He did not wish, however, to interfere with the progress of this
bill. He concurred in the opinion which had been expressed, that it
was a crime, a burning sin, that this nation should have held this
money for ten years, in violation of a solemn trust and in violation. of
the solemn obligations imposed upon every man who, at this bar, had
taken the oath to support the Constitution and to act for the best
interests of the people. It was in violation of that spirit which ever
ought to actuate the American nation to be the recipient of this
munificent sum, and yet to suffer the people the masses, the Jwi pol-
loi to be so long deprived of any benefit from it. But if there was
strength enough in the House to pass the bill, he had no particular
pride in taking another course. He should, therefore, submit his
proposition at the proper time, leaving the committee to act upon it
as it might think proper.
The substitute of which Mr. Morse gave notice is in the following
words:
A bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men."
Whereas James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain,
by his last will and testament did give the whole of his property to the United States
of America to found, at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and whereas
the creation of a university, academy, or college is liable to constitutional difficulties,
sectional jealousies, and would absorb a large proportion of the funds in the erection
of buildings, and would more or less interfere with the numerous institutions through-
out our country; and with a view of carrying out in the simplest form the benevo-
lent intentions of the donor,
Be it enacted, etc., That the management of this fund shall be entrusted to a board
of managers, to be styled the trustees of the Smithsonian legacy, to be composed of
the President and Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice, during the
time for which they shall hold their respective offices, the heads of the different
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 389
Departments, the foreign ministers, the mayor of the city of Washington, members
of the Senate and House of Representatives, together with seven other persons, two
of whom shall be members of the National Institute and resident in the city of Wash-
ington, and the other five thereof shall be inhabitants of States, and no two of them
of the same State; and the managers to be selected as aforesaid from Congress shall
be appointed immediately after the passage of this act the members of the Senate
by the President thereof and the members of the House by the Speaker thereof and
those so appointed shall serve until the fourth Wednesday of December the second
next after the passage of this act; and then and biennially thereafter on every alter-
nate fourth Wednesday of December a like number shall be appointed in the same
manner to serve until the fourth Wednesday in December the second succeeding their
appointment; and they shall also constitute and be denominated a joint standing
committee of Congress on the Smithsonian Institution; and vacancies occasioned by
death, resignation, or otherwise shall be filled as vacancies in committees are filled;
and the other seven managers aforesaid shall serve for the term of two years from
the fourth Wednesday of December next after the passage of this act, when and on
every alternate fourth Wednesday of December thereafter a new election thereof
shall be made by joint resolution of Congress; and vacancies occasioned by death,
resignation, or otherwise may be filled in like manner by joint resolution of Con-
gress. And the said managers shall meet and organize, by the choice of a president,
in the city of Washington, on the first Monday in September next after the passage
of this act, and they shall then fix on the times for regular meetings of the board;
and on application of any three of the managers to the superintendent of the said
Institution it shall be his duty to appoint a special meeting of the board, of which
he shall give notice by letter to each of the members; and at any meeting of the
board of managers five shall constitute a quorum to do business. And each member
of the board of managers shall be paid his necessary traveling and other actual
expenses in attending meetings of the board, which shall be audited and recorded
by the superintendent of the Institution; but his service as manager shall be gra-
tuitous. And whenever money is required for the payment of the debts or perform-
ance of the contracts of the Institution, incurred or entered into in conformity with
the provisions of this act, or for making the purchases and executing the objects
authorized by this act, the superintendent or the managers, or any three thereof,
may certify to the president of the board that such sum of money is required, where-
upon he shall submit the same to a committee of three of the managers, appointed
for that purpose, for examination and approval, and upon such examination and
approval he shall certify the same to the proper officer of the Treasury for payment,
And the said board shall make all needful rules, regulations, and by-laws for the gov-
ernment of the Institution and the persons employed therein, and shall submit to
Congress, at each session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and con-
dition of the Institution.
And be it further enacted, That so soon as the board of managers shall be regularly
and legally organized, it shall be their duty to cause to be published for the space of
one year in such of the most widely circulated newspapers in the United States and in
Europe, as they may deem best, the offer of suitable rewards or prizes for the best written
essay on ten subjects, the most practical and useful which the majority of said board
shall determine upon; and when, after a decision upon the relative merits of the
different essays, they determine to which the prize shall be awarded on the several
subjects, it shall be their duty to have as many copies of each of the essays printed
as they may deem best, to be distributed to the governors of the several States, to
the several incorporated literary universities, to such European institutions as they
may choose, and the balance" to be distributed throughout the United States by the
members of Congress, thus fulfilling in the letter and spirit the wise and compre-
hensive intentions of the donor for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
390 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. OWEN desired to say a few words in rc.pl}- to the gentleman
from Vermont [Mr. Marsh], and the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr.
Morse]. The gentleman from Louisiana had already given the most
important item in reply to the gentleman from Vermont, namely, that
we had no right to run counter to what might clearly seem to be the
intention of Mr. Smithson. This fund was not ours; it was intrusted
to us for a special purpose, and unless we could believe that he would
desire, if living, the establishment of a library the money ought not
to be so appropriated.
This bill had been framed in a spirit of compromise. The original
Senate bill of the last session appropriated $5,000 for this object. The
gentleman from Vermont, Mr. Owen believed, proposed $20,000.
The bill proposed a medium, a sum not exceeding $10,000. -He hoped
the House would not go further. A gentleman who had formerly
been Librarian of Congress, in conversation with him, had said that he
thought it was impracticable to purchase with advantage more than
10,000 worth of books. The duty must be intrusted to one agent to
prevent the purchase of duplicates, and no one agent could purchase
advantageously more than this amount, so that there was a practical
difficulty in the way.
In relation to the course suggested by the gentleman from Louisi-
ana [Mr. Morse], the same plan had occurred to Dr. Cooper, of South
Carolina, but had been rejected by him.
[Mr. Owen here read an extract in support of this assertion.]
As to a cheap publication branch, he would remind the committee
that we already had one. In looking over the periodicals of the day
it did not appear that the prize essays were the best; the voluntary
essays seemed to be so. We should find plenty of treatises of a most
useful character without paying a dollar for them. The mere gratifi-
cation of having them published would be inducement sufficient to
enable us to obtain them.
The gentleman said that there should be no laboratory; that it was
not the design of Mr. Smithson. The fact that Mr. Smithson spent
half of his life in a laboratory seemed to refute this objection.
There was little in the bill of an imperative character in relation to
all these various branches. Its phraseology was " may." If, there-
fore, it was discovered that one branch would be more beneficial than
another there was the power to adopt it. There was nothing at all
binding about it.
Mr. JOHN S. CHIPMAN spoke urgently in opposition to the bill. His
first reason for voting (as he said he intended to do) was based on a
fact that was irrevocable, namely, that this Government, great and
powerful as it was, prospering and progressing as it was in original
native intellect, fostered by institutions known to no other country
and no other people, should have consented to be the recipient of what
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 391
was called here a munificent donation of half a million from an Eng-
lishman to enlightened American republicans in this country. How
did it happen that this Government accepted such a boon from a for-
eigner an Englishman, too? He looked upon it as a stain on the his-
tory of the country, as an insult to the American nation. He wished
this Government to wash its hands of all such eleemosynary dealings.
There was a native stock in this country, intellectual and physical,
that needed no foreign aid, and he trusted in God it would not conde-
scend to receive any.
In making these remarks he would probably be charged with being
opposed to education. He was opposed to it in the light in which in
modern times it was sought to be inculcated in this country an edu-
cation which passed over all thought, all reflection, all originality, and
was based upon an intellectual lumber house of undigested and indi-
gestible matter, thrown together in the head of some aspirant after
immortal intellectual fame, without originality enough to give char-
acter, he would not say to what he had a term, but probably it might
be inappropriate for him to utter it here. How the donor of this
money, being an Englishman, came to love this country so well, God
only knew; but he (Mr. Chipman) would say that in yielding to his
suggestion the country had humbled and degraded itself.
He objected to the bill because, clearly and in terms, it established
a corporation. He appealed to his political friends, after all their
opposition, after all their arguments, after all their efforts to put down
a United States bank on the ground of its unconstitutionality, whether
tickled, amused, their pride touched by the great advantages of dis-
pelling the cloud of ignorance which overshadowed the American
Republic they would now belie all their principles and all their pro-
fessions? What distinction was there between a corporation in the
form of a United States bank and a corporation intended to elevate
humanity in close approximation to the throne of Heaven? He
appealed to his friends here to those who held their seats by virtue of
the very opposition they had made to the bank of the United States
whether this Government had the power to create a corporation ? The
rose by any other name, etc., and a corporation by any other name
should be as offensive to the Democracy. Was it necessary to label
the animal that we might know to what species it belonged, as was
done in the case of the Dutchman's picture of a man with the horse,
where the name was put upon it that the beholder might know what it
was ? He declared that the bill proposed the establishment of one of
the most withering and deadly corporations, carrying with it all the
features of an aristocracy the most offensive that could be established
in any country under heaven. He was opposed to an aristocracy of
wealth, but he was in favor of an aristocracy of intellect not of false
education not of knowledge that consisted in bringing together
392 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
exploded ideas but of that knowledge which was the offspring of an
intellect patented directly by the Almighty.
Mr. Chipman then proceeded to state some general objections to the
bill, diverging considerably into the field of party politics.
In conclusion, he declared himself in favor of some such plan as had
been proposed by the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Jones].
On motion of Mr. THOS. H. BAYLY, the committee rose, and reported.
Mr. OWEN offered a resolution to close the debate in an hour and a
half.
The resolution, by ayes 92, noes 44, was laid on the table. After
some conversation
On motion of Mr. JOHN Q. ADAMS, the rules were suspended, to
enable him to offer the following substitute amendment to the bill;
which amendment having been read by itself, was referred to the
Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and ordered to be
printed:
Strike out the preamble, and all except the enacting clause, and
insert :
That the President of the United States be requested, by the use of suitable means
of moral suasion, and no others, to obtain from the governments of the States of
Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan, payment of the arrears of interest due from the
said States to the United States, and the interest thereafter, and the principal as it
shall become due, according to the promises on the face of the bonds given by the
said States for moneys bequeathed by James Smithson, a benevolent Englishman, to
the United States of America, for the special purpose of founding at the city of Wash-
ington an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, which
bequest was, by act of Congress, approved on the first of July, 1836, accepted, with
a pledge of the faith of the United States that it should be applied to the purposes
prescribed by the testator.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That when payment shall have been obtained from
the said States of Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan, of the arrears of interest due on
their said bonds, Congress shall forthwith proceed to appropriate said sums of interest
so recovered, together with the interest hitherto received, or hereafter to be received,
until the time of making such appropriations, in such manner as they shall deem
suited, to redeem the pledge of the faith of the United States, to the application of
the funds of the bequest of the said James Smithson, to the specific purpose pre-
scribed by the testator.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That until the arrears of interest due by the said
States of Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan to the United States, upon their said
respective bonds, shall have been received at the Treasury of the United States, no
appropriation shall be made by Congress chargeable upon the people of the United
States for the fulfillment of the purposes prescribed by the testator, James Smithson,
for the disposal of his bequest.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That within the first thirty days of each and every
successive session of Congress it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to
report to Congress the then actual state of the Smithsonian fund, and particularly
the amount of arrears of interest due upon the said bonds of the States of Arkansas,
Illinois, and Michigan; together with copies of all correspondence, showing the result
of the means of moral suasion used during the preceding year to obtain payment of
the said arrears of interest; and the said annual reports shall be printed for the
information of the people.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 393
The further consideration of the bill was postponed until the Monday
following.
April 27, 1846 House.
The Speaker (Mr. JOHN W. DAVIS) said the special order of the day
was the bill in relation to the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. Ho WELL COBB offered resolution:
Resolved, That all debate in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of
the Union on House bill (No. 5) to establish the " Smithsonian Institution," for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, shall cease in two hours after the
same shall be again taken up in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of
the Union (if the committee shall not sooner come to a conclusion upon the same);
and the committee shall then proceed to vote on such amendments as may be pend-
ing or offered to the same, and shall then report it to the House with such amend-
ments as may have been agreed to by the committee.
The resolution was read; when the question was stated, Will the
House agree to the said resolution ? Mr. JAMES GRAHAM moved that it
be laid upon the table.
And the question being put, it was decided in the negative 3 r eas,
78; nays, 81.
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present,
Those who voted in the affirmative were
YEAS Messrs. John Q. Adams, Arnold, Ashmun, Barringer, Bedinger, Bell,
Buffington, Burt, W. W. Campbell, J. H. Campbell, Carroll, John G. Chapman, A.
A. Chapman, Cocke, Cranston, Crozier, Dargan, Darragh, Garret Davis, Delano,
Dixon, Dockery, J. H. Ewing, E. H. Ewing, Foot, Giddings, Graham, Grider, Grin-
nell, Hampton, Harper, Herrick, Hoge, E. B. Holmes, S. D. Hubbard, Hudson,
Washington Hunt, Hunter, C. J. Ingersoll, Joseph Johnson, Daniel P. King, Thomas
Butler King, Lewis, Long, McHenry, Marsh, J. P. Martin, Barkley Martin, Miller,
Morris, Moseley, Parrish, Payne, Pendleton, Pettit, Pollock, John A. Rockwell,
Root, Runk, Seaman, Seddon, Severance, A. D. Sims, Truman Smith, Albert Smith,
Caleb B. Smith, Stephens, Strohm, Thibodeaux, Tilden, Trumbo, Vinton, Wood,
Woodruff, Woodward, Wright, Yancey, and Young.
Those who voted in the negative were
NAYS Messrs. Atkinson, Bayly, Biggs, James A. Black, Bowlin, Brodhead,
Brockenbrough, W. G. Brown, R. Chapman, Chipman, Clarke, Cobb, Collin, Con-
stable, Cunningham, Daniel, J. Davis, Dillingham, Dobbin, Dromgoole, Erdman,
Faran, Ficklin, Fries, Garvin, Gentry, Giles, Gordon, Grover, Hamlin, Haralson,
Harmanson, Hopkins, Hough, G. S. Houston, J. B. Hunt, Andrew Johnson, George
W. Jones, Seaborn Jones, Preston King, Lawrence, Leake, Leib, La Sere, Lumpkin,
Maclay, McClelland, McConnell, McCrate, McGaughey, Mcllvaine, McKay, Morse,
Moulton, Norris, Owen, v Perrill, Phelps, Price, Rathbun, Relfe, Ritter, Sawtelle,
Sawyer, Scammon, Simpson, Thomas Smith, Robert Smith, Stanton, St. John, Strong,
Thomasson, Jacob Thompson, Thurman, Tibbatts, Vance, Wentworth, Wick, Wil-
mot, Yell, and Yost.
The question recurred on agreeing to the said resolution.
Mr. Ho WELL COBB moved the previous question, which was sec-
onded, and the main question was ordered and put, viz, Will the
House agree to the said resolution ? and decided in the negative yeas,
73; nays, 85.
394 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present,
Those who voted in the affirmative were-
YEAS Messrs. Stephen Adam.s, Atkinson, Bayly, Biggs, Bowlin, Brockenbrough,
Brodhead, William G. Brown, Augustus A. Chapman, Reuben Chapman, Chase,
Clarke, Cobb, Collin, Constable, Cunningham, Daniel, Dillingham, Dobbin, Drom-
goole, Dunlap, Erdman, Faran, Giles, Goodyear, Gordon, Grover, Hamlin, Ilaralson,
Harmanson, Hopkins, Hough, George S. Houston, James B. Hunt, Hunter, Andrew
Johnson, George W. Jones, Seaborn Jones, Preston King, Lawrence, La Sere, Lump-
kin, McClelland, McConneil, McCrate, McKay, Morris, Morse, Moulton, Norris,
Payne, Phelps, Price, Rathbun, Reid, Relfe, Ritter, Sawyer, Scammon, Seddon,
Thomas Smith, Robert Smith, St. John, Strong, Jacob Thompson, Thurman, Tib-
batte, Vance, Wentworth, Wick, Wilmot, Yell, and Yost.
Those who voted in the negative were
NAYS Messrs. John Quincy Adams, Arnold, Barringer, Bedinger, Bell, Milton
Brown, Buffington, Burt, William W. Campbell, John H. Campbell, Carroll, John
G. Chapman, Cocke, Collamer, Cranston, Crozier, Dargan, Darragh, Garret Davis,
Jefferson Davis, Dockery, John H. Ewing, Edwin H. Ewing, Foot, Fries, Giddings,
Graham, Grider, Grinnell, Hampton, Harper, Herrick, Hilliard, Hoge, Elias B.
Holmes, Samuel D. Hubbard, Hudson, Washington Hunt, Charles J. Ingersoll,
Joseph R. Ingersoll, Joseph Johnson, Daniel P. King, Thomas B. King, Leake,
Lewis, Levin, Long, Maclay, James McDowell, McGaughey, McHenry, Mcllvaine,
Marsh, Barkley Martin, Miller, Moseley, Parrish, Pendleton, Perrill, Pollock, John
A. Rockwell, Root, Runk, Sawtelle, Schenck, Seaman, Severance, Alexander D. Sims,
Truman Smith, Albert Smith, Caleb B. Smith, Stephens, Strohm, Thibodeaux,
Thomasson, Tilden, Trumbo, Vinton, Wood, Woodruff, Woodward, Wright, Yancey,
and Young.
So the said resolution was rejected.
April 28, 1846 House.
On motion of Mr. R. D. OWEN, the House resolved itself into Com-
mittee of the Whole (Mr. A. BURT, of South Carolina, in the ehair) and
resumed the consideration of the bill to provide for the establishment
of the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowl
edge among men, and the amendments thereto pending.
Mr. A. D. SIMS said that, before entering on the consideration of
the main question before the committee, he desired to invite its atten-
tion to the consideration of the Smithsonian fund, and to express his
views upon what he considered to be the true light in which that fund
should be regarded.
Under the will of the late James Smithson, the bequest made by him
was paid over to the United States. The money, under the action of
Congress, was loaned out to certain States. No matter for what pur-
pose that fund might be dedicated, the faith and the honor of the
country, by the action of Congress, were pledged" to regard it at all
times as being in the Treasury of the United States; and the United
States was in fact itself a creditor of the States to whom the money
was loaned; so that the Arkansas, or Michigan, or Illinois bonds or
securities or the securities of any State to which this money had been
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 395
loaned were in fact debts due to the General Government; and the
fund itself must be regarded as in the Treasury of the United States.
Mr. 11. MCCLELLAND here rose to explain, and (Mr. Sims yielding)
said that a misapprehension prevailed in the committee as to the pay-
ment of the interest by the State of Michigan on that portion of the
Smithsonian fund invested in the bonds of that State. He considered
this interest paid; and from the report of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury it appeared that the amount claimed to be due on the 1st of Janu-
ary last was $181.07; and this had, in all probability ^ been more than
paid by the application of the 5 per cent fund up to this period. In
June, 1845, the then auditor-general of the State of Michigan endeav-
ored to obtain a statement of this account and the 5 per cent fund,
in order to make provision for the payment of any balance that might
be found due, but failed. On the 7th of November last he wrote and
requested him (Mr. McClelland) to make the necessary inquiries with
the same view; and soon after his arrival, at the commencement of
this session, he wrote to the proper department for the required infor-
mation, but did not receive any reply until the 27th of February, and
then he was advised that the small amount before stated was due.
This statement he had forwarded to the present auditor-general. He
(Mr. McClelland) had no doubt provision would be made for the
prompt payment of the interest hereafter to accrue if the 5 per cent
fund was found to be insufficient. While up, he would state that the
authorities of Michigan had consented to the application of the 5
per cent fund to the payment of this interest, and that the resolution
passed by the last Congress, directing this application, was shown to
him by the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means [Mr.
M -Kay] before it was offered, and was fully approved of by him, and
was supported by the entire delegation from Michigan in both Houses.
In conclusion, he would say that he believed the State would make
every effort to pay all just claims against it, and in regard to this
fund would at all times pay the interest fairly and honorably.
Mr. SIMS continued. He had not intended, he said, by any remark he
had made to inculpate any State to which this fund might have been
loaned. He merely wished to show what the duty and the obligation
of the Government were in regard to the fund itself. Whatever dis-
position might finally be made of it whether an institution such as
was contemplated should be established; whether the fund should be
returned to the British chancery, or whether it should be distributed
among the heirs of Smithson no difficulty ought to arise as to the
fact of the fund itself having been loaned out by the Government;
and that, for all honorable, practical, and proper purposes, it must be
regarded in good faith as in the Treasury of the United States, to
be devoted to whatever purpose might be thought proper. For his
own part, he had no apprehension or fear but what each of the States
396 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
would in good time and in good faith redeem their obligations and
refund every dollar that had been loaned to them.
He now approached the main question. Much had been said in
praise of the munificent and splendid liberality of James Smithson.
It had been said that, animated by a spirit of benevolence to his race,
he had made his will, constituted the Government of the United States
his trustee to carry out his intentions, and had dedicated to the noble
purpose of the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men an
entire estate, under the management of the Government of the United
States. It was not his (Mr. Sims) disposition, nor was it his wont, nor
would it become him to speak in terms of reproach of one who now
slept under the sod. But he must be permitted to say that none of
these feelings of pride and admiration which seemed to glow in the
bosoms of some gentlemen in contemplating the will of Mr. Smithson
found an echo in his (Mr. Sims) heart. He saw in the will of that
individual what he had seen in the wills of many other men. After
having griped, through their lives, every shilling that came into their
hands, animated at last by some posthumous vanity, they sought to
build up a name which should live after them; and such, rather than
any feeling for humanity, so much lauded, was the motive that guided
them. In the present case he saw abundant evidence of this disposi-
tion in the appointment of the Government of the United States as a
trustee to carry out this splendid vanity.
Mr. SIMS then proceeded to contend that the Government was not
instituted for any such purposes as the administration of charities.
There was no grant of power in the Constitution admitting such an
exercise. And as there was no such power, and as this fund was still
under our control, and as the trust had not been executed, it became
Congress to pause, and to retrace, so far as possible, the errors it
had already committed. There was but one power in the Constitution
under which this charity could be administered, and that was as a local
legislature for the District of Columbia. But that would not fall
within the intention and design of the testator. It was not intended
that this fund should be applied to the exclusive purpose of the use
of the District of Columbia. The only true bourse would be to reject
all these plans, including the substitute which had been offered by the
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Adams]; and if this were done,
he (Mr. Sims) pledged himself that, should no other member do so,
he would introduce a bill repealing all laws heretofore enacted on this
subject, and giving authority and direction for the restoration of the
money to the British chancery. It could then be devoted to purposes
in England similar to those which had been contemplated in the city
of Washington. The only difference would be in the location of the
institution.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS said, in this matter he was in favor of carrying
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 397
out the principle of the ancient proverb, "Catch the bear before you
sell his skin." But a very small portion of these funds was now in
the Treasury; and the bill proposed to take from the Treasury the
money of the people of the United States, raised by taxation, to the
amount of $700,000 or $800,000, to be expended in lieu of the fund of
the late Mr. Smithson, which was not in our power at present. The
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Sims] said that this money was
to be considered as if it was in the Treasury of the United States.
Mr. Adams would be very glad if he could so consider it.
Mr. SIMS said, in the report which the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts made to this House a few years ago he took the identical
ground that this money ought to be considered in the Treasury, and
that Arkansas, and the other States in whose bonds this was invested,
were debtors of the General Government.
Mr. ADAMS replied, that if any report made by him three or four
years ago stated that this money was to be considered in the Treasury
of the United States he would inform the gentleman and the com-
mittee that he had had some experience since that time that convinced
him very perfectly that it was not in the Treasury of the United
States.
It was the office of the amendment which he proposed to try to get
it back into the Treasury, to enable the Congress of the United States
to redeem the pledge which they gave, by the acceptance of this fund,
to this nation, to the memory of the testator, and the civilized world,
that it should be faithfully applied according to the intentions of the
donor. The money was not in the Treasury, and could not without a
violation of all reason be considered in it.
The question whether the Treasury of the United States, or the peo-
ple of the United States, were responsible for this money and for its
application according to the intent of the testator, Mr. Adams was
understood to say, was another question. If it were necessary now,
in order to redeem the plighted faith of the nation, he was ready to
vote an appropriation of that amount, or of ten times that amount, to
be raised by a tax upon the people. But he did not think the contin-
gency had arisen, and especially that it had not arisen for the appli-
cation of the money to any of the purposes proposed in this bill.
He had heard with great delight the learned and ingenious remarks
of the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Marsh] a few days since, and
especially that portion which advocated the application of that fund
ultimately to the only purpose of erecting a great and magnificent
library, instead of the paltry application of $5,000 a year out of the
more than $30,000 which this sum ought to give us. There was no
other object to which it could be more worthily applied to promote
the object of the testator.
To the main object proposed by the bill viz, the application of
398 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
a large portion of the fund to the education of teachers of normal
schools Mr. Adams expressed his decided opposition. He would
rather have the whole money thrown into the Potomac than to appro-
priate one dollar for that purpose.
Mr. Adams alluded to some facts in the history of this fund, showing
his own connection with it, the circumstances under which it was
received, the investment, three days after it was received, of $500,000
in Arkansas bonds, and the remainder in bonds of Michigan, Illinois,
and Ohio; the payment by Ohio of her interest, and the failure on the
part of Arkansas to pay a cent of her interest, etc.
Mr. A. G. THURMAN (Mr. Adams yielding) inquired for information
of Mr. Adams whether this investment in the bonds of Arkansas was
made without any warrant or authority of law ?
Mr. ADAMS. The fact is directly the reverse. Mr. Adams stated the
circumstances under which the legalized investment was made. On a
bill for the support of the West Point Academy a provision was
ingrafted (he said) that this fund should be invested in State stocks.
He commented upon the incongruity of the two subjects in terms
which excited the merriment of the committee.
He next reviewed the legislative history of this subject during the
four Congresses which have elapsed since the receipt of the fund eight
years since, giving a minute account of the various propositions made
in reports to both Houses of Congress, and their respective fates
none of them having received the sanction of both Houses. When it first
came before Congress, and he believed this money was in the Treasury
of the United States, he was of opinion among the sciences the
pursuit of which was recommended by the testator that of astronomy
was the first to which a portion of the interest should be applied.
In the administration of this fund there were two or three principles
that should be pursued. One was that it should never cost the people
of the United States a dollar that it should support itself. Another,
that no part should ever be applied to the ordinary purposes of edu-
cation of children. He felt on that subject something the feeling of
the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Chipman], that it was unworthy
the people of the United States to receive foreign aid for the educa-
tion of their children. It was their own duty to do it for themselves,
and not to depend on any eleemosynary bequest for it. There was no
way in which the States could more degrade themselves than by rely-
ing on foreign aid or on the General Government for the education of
their children. He differed with him on other points, however, and
thought it highly proper that it should be received to carry out the
intent of the testator, for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men."
Mr. SIMS inquired of the gentleman from Massachusetts the power
under the Constitution by which Congress was authorized to accept
and administer this fund?
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 399
Mr. ADAMS. If the gentleman will point me to the power in the
Constitution of the United States to annex Texas, I will answer his
question.
Mr. SIMS. If the gentleman finds the power under the same clause,
it is certainly a novel clause under which to claim it that which, in
express terms, permits new States to be admitted into the Union.
Mr. ADAMS. I presume the gentleman considers that a constructive
power; and if so, it will answer for what it is worth. He (Mr. Adams)
could find in the Constitution many clauses besides that authorizing
Congress to provide for the common defense and general welfare.
What means more efficient to this end than the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men ?
Mr. Adams further opposed the application proposed by the bill
under consideration to the ordinary purposes of education, on the
ground of inequality of the benefits it would confer the State of
Massachusetts (a fact of which he was proud), the State of New York
(the "Empire State"), and Virginia, another empire State (to whose
citizens our present minister to Brazil, before he left the country,
addressed a letter. calling on them to tax themselves for the education
of their children for which he should honor him, if he had never
done anything else in his life), and other States, having themselves
made provision for the education of their children, so that they would
not thank Congress for making this application of this fund. The
State of Indiana, from which the gentleman [Mr. Owen] came who
reported this bill, had property enough to take care of her own chil-
dren without wasting this fund for such a purpose.
He would say nothing further of other provisions of the bill. Some
of them were proper, others were not. But an experience of eight or
ten years, since we received this money, had shown him that whenever
distinguished scientific men were called upon for their opinions,
scarcely two agreed.
In addition to the application of a portion of this fund to the science
of astronomy, there was another provision which he found and which
he was happy to see this bill made, viz, that no portion of the fund
should be appropriated that it should be a perpetual fund. It was
the interest which was to be applied.
But in the meantime, while this delay had taken place, he was
delighted that an astronomical observatory not perhaps so great as
it should have been had been smuggled into the number of the
institutions of the country under the mask of a small depot for charts,
etc. There was not one word about it in the law. He would like to
ask the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Sims], where was the
power under the Constitution to make this appropriation ?
Mr. SIMS said he did not know; but since the doctrine promulgated
by a distinguished President of the United States of erecting light-
400 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
houses in the skies had grown into popular favor, he should presume
that the gentleman would find no difficult}- as to the question of power.
Mr. ADAMS said he was very glad to hear that it had grown into
popular favor. The appropriation for this astronomical observatory,
he repeated, had been clandestinely smuggled into the law, under the
head of a depot for charts, when a short time before a provision had
been inserted in a bill passed, that no appropriation should be applied
to an astronomical observatory. He claimed no merit for the erection
of the astronomical observatory; but in the course of his whole life,
no conferring of honor, of interest, of office, had given him more
delight than the belief that he had contributed, in some small degree,
to produce these astronomical observatories, both here and elsewhere.
He no longer wished any portion of this fund applied to an astronomical
observatory.
Nor did he think it important to the people that any provision of
this bill should be carried into effect immediately, but rather that
measures should be taken to induce the States to pay the interest on
their bonds, and then let the money be appropriated to any purpose
on which Congress could agree more unanimously than on this bill.
He noticed among the objections made, that against making of this
Institution an incorporation. He urged that it was indispensably
necessary to form the board into an incorporation; that unless it were
done, the funds would be wasted in five years; that there would be no
power in the Institution, not even the power of succession; that it
would fall into the hands of a joint committee of Congress, who would
dispose of it as faction, party spirit, or caprice should dictate. He
scouted the idea of the unconstitutionally of the establishment, by
Congress, of the corporations in the District of Columbia, as in con
travention of the uniform legislation of the country, in the incorpora-
tion of colleges, benevolent societies, the National Institute, etc.
In conclusion, believing that they could not agree very w r ell on this
bill, and that, by the time we got this money of Arkansas and the
other States, they could agree better, he sent up to the clerk's table,
where it was again read, the amendment of which he gave notice last
week.
On the faith (he said) of observations of the gentleman from Michi-
gan, that Michigan had regularly paid the interest on her bonds, he
modified his amendment, by striking out the word "Michigan,"
wherever it occurred therein.
[While Mr. Adams was speaking, the Speaker resumed the chair
informally, to receive a message from the President of the United
States, by the hands of J. K. Walker, esq., his private secretary,
informing the House that the President had yesterday approved and
signed the joint resolution of notice to Great Britain, to annul and
abrogate the convention of 1827 respecting the Oregon Territory.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 401
Mr. ADAMS remarked: A propitious interruption of the few re-
marksworthless, in comparison which I was addressing to the
committee!]
When Mr. Adams had concluded
Mr. JOHN W. TIBBATTS rose to propose an amendment, which, not
being at the moment in order, was not presented.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON expressed himself favorable to the adoption
of the substitute amendment of Mr. Adams; but proposed, if that
substitute should be voted down, to amend the first section as follows:
Strike out all after the word "next," in the eleventh line, to the
word "be," in the fourteenth line, and insert the following:
And actually paid into the Treasury of the United States by the States which have
borrowed and used said fund.
Mr. Johnson was satisfied [he said] that a large majority of the
House was opposed to taking this sum out of the Treasury, for the
purpose of establishing such an Institution as was contemplated by
this bill. It was true that the money had been received by the Gov-
ernment of the United States; but if the Government had been acting
in good faith, and had vested these funds in bonds of the States, and
these States had repudiated or refused to pay, was there a man here,
who at this time would be willing to take this amount out of the
pockets of his constituents for the erection of an Institution of this
kind? Was this Government bound to levy a tax upon the people for
such a purpose ? If it had been acting fairly as a trustee, if it had
acted in good faith, and if this fund had been lost and destroyed, and
not intentionally perverted or misapplied, it was no more responsible
than any other trustee under such circumstances would be.
Some conversation took place between Mr. Johnson and Mr. Sims
of South Carolina as to the legal liability of trustees in certain cases.
Mr. Johnson insisted that there was neither authority for, nor jus-
tice in, taking this sum of money from the pockets of the people for
the establishment of this Institution, and he contended that no sub-
stantial good could result to the mass of the people, and that an annual
appropriation would be necessary from the Treasury of the United
States to keep it in operation.
Mr. GEORGE RATHBUN said he knew very little about this subject.
He had taken very little pains to examine the bill before the commit-
tee. He had read no reports from previous committees. He had heard
what had been said in relation to the project generally. And there
were a few things connected with facts known to everybody which
would control his vote.
We had received a fund of half a million of dollars and upward, and
had pledged the faith of the Government to execute the trust in the
manner directed by the will of the testator a solemn pledge in which
every department of the Government had united. The fund was
H. Doc. 732 26
402 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
received for a particular and specified purpose a purpose noble in its
object and desirable to all men who had any regard for the welfare of
the human family. We had received this money, he repeated, to be
applied to a specific purpose. Had it been so applied ? We were told
that we were not in possession of the money; that it had been loaned
out improperly and improvidently to States that refused to pay. Were
we authorized to loan it to States, whether they would pav or not?
Was it given to us to be loaned out to anyone? Was it not expressly
designed by the person who gave it to the Government that it should
be applied to a particular purpose, and none other? And was it not
received on the condition that it should be so applied?
After yielding for an inquiry to Mr. A. Johnson, Mr. RATIIBUN pro-
ceeded. This Government had misapplied a fund given for a specific
purpose; and when it was called upon, through a respectable commit-
tee, to appropriate the money to the object for which it was received,
it was no answer to say, "We have loaned it out to the States, and
they can not pay us." It would not answer for an individual to say
so still less for a nation like ours. We were bound to-day, and we
had been bound every day when Congress was in session for eight
years past, to appropriate the money honestly, without undertaking
to avoid the just responsibility by an excuse which was one of our own
creation. Arkansas, it is said, would not pay, and some other States
refused to pay the interest. That was a matter between this Govern-
ment and the State of Arkansas, and was no answer to the solemn
pledge given to apply this money to a specific purpose.
The question arose, How should the money be appropriated? What
was the mode best calculated to produce the most beneficial results?
One gentleman wanted a library; another, an observatory; a third,
common schools; a fourth, farming schools; a fifth, some other par-
ticular object; and among the number was that proposed by the bill
under consideration. For his own part, he did not feel disposed to
object to any plan bearing plausibility on its face. He was in favor
of expending the money in some way, and upon some scheme, faith -
full3 T and honestly; but above all he was in favor of appropriating and
expending the money whether the final result should be good or not.
He wished to wipe out the stain which rested on the character of this
Government of withholding the money because we were not able to
discover the best mode of expending it. Let us take one step, let us
do something; and if any blunder should be committed, experience
would enable us to correct it. In his judgment a library was the least
plausible of the schemes proposed. The plan proposed in the bill
was, in his opinion, one of the best that had been suggested.
The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. A. Johnson] had asked whether
any gentleman here would take the money from the pockets of the
people for this purpose. He (Mr. llathhun), for one, answered, "Yes."
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 403
Let us take this money which the Government had taken and, if gen-
tlemen pleased, had squandered; let us honestly appropriate it and
expend it as was designed.
He represented a constituency who would be among the last in the
world to withhold a fair and honest expenditure of the public money
because the Government representing the people had misapplied it.
He had no fear of a constituency worthy to be represented here for
doing what was honest on behalf of the Government and reputable on
behalf of themselves. We had had the gold, as we had been informed.
It had been placed in the public Treasury. It had not been wasted by
accident. It had been applied under the deliberate action of the Gov-
ernment. The Government held the bonds. It might at some future
day receive the money for them, but he did not believe in the pro-
priety of waiting until by "moral suasion," or any other kind of per-
suasion, the money was to be recovered from that improvident loan.
He was ready to vote for the bill, in which, so far as he understood
it, he could discover no objectionable features. It had been digested
and arranged by a committee as competent in point of learning, judg-
ment, and capacity as could be found in this or any other county.
Some confidence must be placed in their recommendations, otherwise
no action ever could be had on the subject. If the plan had defects,
time would develop them, and the proper remedy could be applied.
Mr. O. B. FICKLIN opposed the bill. He thought, however, that
the good faith of the Government required that this money should be
considered as being in the Treasury, and that we could not excuse
ourselves by saying that the fund had been loaned out to the States
and could not now be realized.
The objections which he entertained to the bill applied to all its sec-
tions; but to the first his objection was radical. He alluded to the
connection to be established between this Institution and the Treasury
of the United States. A million of dollars would be required to meet
the deficiency in this Smithsonian bequest.
He was willing to expend the money for a library, or in carrying
out the propositions of a substitute bill which he had prepared in
building a house and providing a library, and for scientific apparatus.
He was in favor of any sj^stem or plan by which the fund could be
disconnected from the Treasury of the United States.
Mr. OWEN desired to inquire whether the gentleman proposed to
appropriate the principal or the interest only.
Mr. FICKLIN said he was willing that the gentleman and others who
were the peculiar friends of the bill should take their own course in
that respect. He (Mr. Ficklin) was willing to apply the whole of the
principal or a part of it to keep up whatever institution might be
adopted; or he was willing that the sum of $500,000 should be loaned
to some natural or artificial person, and that the interest alone should
404 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
be applied. He was indifferent on that point. The great object he
had in view was, he repeated, the disconnection of the fund from the
public Treasury. He was for any bill in preference to this.
Mr. OWEN. Does the gentleman understand that one dollar except
that belonging to the Smithsonian fund is appropriated by this bill,
either presently or prospectively ?
Mr. FICKLIN. The first section of the bill connects the fund with the
Treasury places it in the Treasury.
Mr. OWEN. Not places it there; it was placed there eight years ago.
Mr. FICKLIN. Exactly so; but this bill recognizes it there by law.
Then the interest is to be paid upon the money out of the Treasury.
This is sucking the lifeblood from the Treasury. We do not want to
create a perpetual debt of interest upon half a million of money to be
paid whilst this Government endures. We want no such polypus,
no such wen, fastened upon the Government. As to present or pro-
spective appropriations, I say that the machinery, the paraphernalia,
connected with this bill can not be carried out on a respectable scale
for less (Mr. Ficklin was understood to say) than $1,000.000 a year.
It is, to be sure, provided that the money shall not come out of the
Treasury at present; but do we not know that subsequent Congresses
can enlarge the appropriations ? Experience should teach us to guard
against everything of this kind.
He regarded the bill as one of the most odious and abominable ever
presented here. He would rather see this half million returned to the
British court of chancery; he would rather, see ten millions sunk to
the bottom of the Potomac, or melted, or destroyed, than see this
bill pass.
Mr. ALLEN G. THURMAN said that he had heard it stated this morn-
ing that the investment of the Smithsonian fund in State bonds was an
act unauthorized by law. Not having time to investigate the laws him-
self, he had privately inquired of a number of members whether such
was the fact, but they were unable to inform him. He had thereupon
made the inquiry of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Adams],
whose acquaintance with the subject was so thorough. The inquiry
was important, for if the investment was an unauthorized act it would
not do for this Government to shield itself behind the misconduct of
its officers and say that the money is not in the Treasury. But if, on
the other hand, the Government had in good faith invested the fund
so that it might produce interest until an application of it should be
made pursuant to the design of the testators, then the objection of
the gentleman from Massachusetts that the money is not in the Treas-
ury is entitled to great weight. For as a general rule it is the duty
of a trustee to make the trust fund produce interest; and the Govern-
ment of the United States probably did right in directing this fund to
be invested and ought not, as a matter of course, to be held bound to
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 405
reimburse it at any moment on a failure to pay by those to whom it
had been loaned. Whether the investments made were judicious or
otherwise, Mr. Thurman did not know. He had not inquired, for it
was not his purpose to cast censure anywhere.
As to the merits of the bill under consideration, he would do noth-
ing more than express an opinion without going into any argument
whatever. He could not vote for the bill unless it were most materially
changed. He was opposed to the erection of an immense institution
at the city of Washington that would ultimately become a charge
upon the Treasury and would necessarily be partial in its operations
and benefits. He was rather inclined to believe that the best disposi-
tion of the fund that could be made would be to invest the interest
arising from it in a library. There were great objections to this plan,
to be sure. They had been forcibly stated by the chairman of the
select committee [Mr. Owen]. But there was one great recommenda-
tion it possessed that strongly influenced him. That was that though
it might not effect the greatest amount of benefit that could be pro-
duced by the fund, it was not liable to the abuses to which all the
other plans would probably give rise. It would create no large body
of office holders, no patronage, no favoritism, no partial, sectional
Mr. OWEN wished to say a few words in reply to the gentleman from
Massachusetts [Mr. Adams]. He was sorry that duty devolved upon
him. He had for that gentleman, in more senses than one, a most
wholesome respect. Not only did he respect his character most sin-
cerely, his acquirements, his long experience, his information, so
accurate on every subject, but in addition to all that he had for him,
as opposed to him in argument, a most wholesome respect. If any
one who ever debated with him came off the better in the contest it
was while he [Mr. Owen] was out of the House. And it was nothing
but a sense of duty which induced him to reply to the gentleman.
The gentleman from Massachusetts had labored more zealously in
this good cause than, perhaps, any other individual. He read from a
report of Mr. Adams, of March, 1840, in regard to the application of
these moneys, in which, among other things, it was declared:
It will be perceived that the United States have made themselves creditors to the
States, and made themselves responsible for the punctual payment of the interest of
these bonds, etc.
That (said Mr. Owen) was the opinion of the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts in 1840. It was Mr. Owen's opinion to-day. He believed it
is the United States that are the creditors of the State of Arkansas
and the other States, and that their faith is plighted for the due
administration of this fund. And this included the question of time.
Delay was equivalent to denial. To say you will administer a
fifty years hence is to say you will not administer it at all.
400 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
But not only in 1840, but a much later date, when everybody knew
that Arkansas had failed for three years to pay her interest,. did the
gentleman from Massachusetts bring in a bill in June, 1844 (from
which Mr. Owen read) which went further than the bill now before
the committee, absolutely declaring that $800,000 was now in the
Treasury of the United States, the interest of which, being about
$33,000, more than this bill applied, was to be appropriated.
He alluded to the objection of Mr. Ficklin, that we should doubtless
appropriate hundreds of thousands more than this sum if we now
began; and said in the unwillingness of members to appropriate even
the interest there was no very great reason to imagine that they
would be so ready to appropriate a larger sum, not included in this
amount at all, over which the Institution has no right and with which
no connection.
He was no lawyer and would not argue the case technically, but he
would say, if there be any means of lowering our national character
over the whole civilized world (and with so small a gain to the Gov-
ernment) more effectually than this, he did not know what it was. He
held in regard to public and private morals there is no difference.
The interest that had accrued on this sum was about $242,000 (about
one-half of which had been paid), or about one-hundreth part of the
annual expenditures and receipts of the Government; and in addition
to this we had $10,000 or $12,000 surplus in the Treasury. And still we
claimed that we were relieved of the obligation for this money because
we had invested it in stocks, the interest of which was not paid. It
was like a man with an annual income of $2,000, and in addition having
(say) $1,000 deposited in bank, who had loaned to a way ward or unfor-
tunate son $20 (one hundredth part of his income), which he had received
in trust for a friend; and who, one-half of it having been paid when
called upon for the return of that trust, should refuse it on the
ground that one-half of the sum had not been paid by his son, to whom
as trustee of the fund he had loaned it. No one would hesitate to say
that as a matter of common justice and honesty he should pay this
small amount even if the son never paid it to him. And what we
ought to do as individuals we ought also to do as public men.
He would not follow the gentleman from Massachusetts through
the whole course of his remarks. He believed the gentleman admitted
that the Government was ultimately responsible for the application of
this fund according to the intention of the testator. If it did happen
(which was not probable, for he did not doubt her) that Arkansas did
not at some future period pay the interest, we should be called upon
to pay it from the Treasury, according to the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts. Now, he wanted to know what was the difference between
taxing our constituents (as the phrase was) then and now? So far as
the burden was concerned, it was nothing; so far as reputation was
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 407
concerned, it was eveiything. The first duty of a trustee was to carry
into effect the object of the trust, and if the duty was neglected were
we not bound to provide at least against the loss of the fund?
In reference to the advocacy by Mr. Adams of the application of the
fund to a library, and to some remarks of Mr. Adams [as the reporter
understood] that it was more in accordance with his fancy, Mr. Owen
urged that fancy should have nothing to do with the question; that we
were bound to appropriate this fund strictly according to the intentions
of the testator, whose intentions the appropriation of the principal
portion of which to a library, he argued, could not meet, inasmuch as,
though a library might tend to the "diffusion," it would not to the
"increase" "of knowledge among men;" and as, if a library had been
intended by Mr. Smithson, he would undoubtedly have expressed it.
He was not specially wedded to this feature of normal schools, yet
he confessed he considered it the most important one in the bill. And
the gentleman from Massachusetts wholly misunderstood him if he
supposed that his (Mr. Owen's) proposition was to supersede the State
normal schools. It was rather a supplement to them an institution
which would carry them farther, where the science of education should
be improved. And for this they had high authority. He referred to
Mr. Van Buren's language on the subject, from which, though not
express to this point, he considered the inference fair that he would
be in favor of such a feature.
As to the disgrace of educating our children with foreign aid, there
was no proposition in this bill to educate children, but the teachers of
children. And as to the disgrace, it might be said with equal propri-
ety that it was disgraceful to receive foreign aid for the founding of a
library.
One special portion of the duties of this normal branch would be to
call the attention of the States generally to these normal schools, and
it might, and he hoped would, in this way become the means of increas-
ing these schools.
In conclusion, he said the practical effect of the amendment of Mr.
Adams would be to postpone the matter indefinitely. His (Mr. Owen's)
opinion coincided much more nearly with the opinion heretofore
expressed (from a source he respected so highly) on at least four dif-
ferent occasions; and he hoped that Congress would no longer delay
to appropriate this fund, as in honor and justice they were bound, so
as to carry out as near as might be the intentions of James Smithson.
Mr. E. H. EWING dissented from that part of the amendment of
Mr. Adams, which went to make a legislative promise that nothing
should be done until the arrears of interest were collected from the
States in whose bonds the funds had been invested, and gave notice of
a motion to strike it out.
He was not able to say that this Government had performed in a
408 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
proper manner the duties of trustee, and with proper precaution
invested these funds. Clearly, if this investment had thus been made
and the duties of trustee faithfully performed the Government could
not be held to assume the debt and carry out the intentions of the
testator.
He could not agree with Mr. Sims that this fund could ever be
replaced in the chancen r of England. This Government was now a
trustee in regard to this fund. By its acceptance of it it had obligated
itself to make a disposal of it according to the intentions of the testator
and was incapable of divesting itself of it.
If it had been properly invested, as a trustee should invest it, the
Government was not bound for the sake of keeping up its name to
make an appropriation of the money of the people of the United
States for the support of this charity or any other. The question was,
whether this investment had been made in good faith whether at the
time there was a reasonable probability that it would be returned or
the interest on it paid regularly.
That question he was not able now to determine, and he presumed
this was the case with other members of the House. Hence, in the
absence from the Treasury of this fund, he was willing to postpone
action on the subject for the present.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS had, he said, a few words to say. In regard to
the purposes of this bequest and the obligation and duty of the United
States to carry them into effect, he agreed with the honorable chair-
man of the committee who reported the bill. Both had the same
object in view. In regard to the mode of reaching the object he did
not agree with the gentleman. He regretted this difference of opinion,
but in all the public discussions of this question hardly any two per-
sons had been found to agree. If he differed from the honorable chair-
man, the honorable chairman had also differed from all who had pre-
ceded him in the investigation of this subject. This bill was entirely
different from any that had been reported heretofore. The chairman
had done him the honor to refer to his (Mr. Adams's) former views on
this subject, but did not propose to carry them out. It was important
to the argument to consider how the fund was expended. He admitted
that at the time when the fund was invested in Arkansas stocks those
stocks were at par, as were all the State stocks. The banks after-
wards suspended, and not only the Arkansas stocks but all the State
stocks depreciated. The interest on these bonds was not paid, and it
was the same case with the bonds of other States. He entertained
and cherished the hope that, by means of what he called moral sua-
sion by considerations of justice between State and State, and man
and man the people of Arkansas, having this subject presented to
them year after year by the President of the United States, would, for
the sake of their own honor and interests, pay the debt. He had that
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 409
faith. [Mr. Adams went on to explain the provisions of his substitute
for the bill.] He proposed that no appropriation for the purposes of
this institution should be made a tax on the people of the United
States. Should this be agreed to and become a part of the act, he
believed that it would be more effectual in persuading the people of
Arkansas to pay this money than would be the thunder of the line-of-
battle ships with which we have been lately threatened in the British
Parliament. No application of force was proposed by him. He
would speak to them only as friends to friends. He would say to
them, we would not tax our own people to pay the sum for which you
are indebted which you ought to pay and which you can pay almost
without feeling it.
Mr. ARCH. YELL said, with the leave of the honorable gentleman, he
would make some explanations. The remarks of the gentleman left it
to be understood that the interest of the Arkansas bonds had not been
paid, and that the State was not disposed to pay its debts. He wished
to let the House know the state of this matter. Half a million of State
bonds were (in 1838) sold, and the proceeds invested in the Real Estate
Bank of Arkansas. The bonds invested were to be paid in twenty-five
years. To secure them was pledged the bank capital of a million and
a half, and real estate which had been valued at three millions. In
addition to this the State took the bills receivable and the assets of the
bank. The State at length saw its error, and the whole country had
opened its eyes to the evils of such a system. The State acted as hon-
estly as the nature of the case would admit. It wound up the bank
and determined to pay, first, the outstanding notes, and, second, the
special deposits. All these had been paid. At the expiration of the
time for which the bonds were given he had no doubt that they would
be paid; and if the assets of the bank were insufficient the State would
pay them.
Mr. YELL also showed, from an official document, that about $90, 000
had been paid toward the interest on these Arkansas bonds. He went
on to show that the State of Arkansas had been greatly misused by
the General Government. The distribution act passed in 1841. He,
as the executive of Arkansas, recommended to the legislature not to
accept the share of that State. That body, though one-third of them
were good AVhigs, unanimously refused to accept it. But the Secre-
tary of the Treasury credited the sum not to Arkansas, but to the
bank. The bank received it, and there it remained. When Arkansas
came into the Union, 5 per cent of the proceeds of lands sold in her
limits were given to the State. Till 1842 the sum was promptly paid.
After that time the Government retained the amount. He argued
that they had no more right to take it than they had to take the lands set
apart for the support of schools. When the Government was disposed
to do justice to Arkansas, the people of that State would be better
410 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
enabled to meet their obligations. The assets of the bank were equal
to the payment of all the debts.
He would not, however, pledge his State to pay for the default of
the bank. When the bonds had become due, and the bank was found
unable to pay them, then the State might be called upon.
Mr. ADAMS said the United States had nothing to do with the
bank. The State of Arkansas gave bonds for the money, and they
were in the Treasury now. The money was paid to an agent, and the
United States had nothing to do with the investment of the money.
Mr. YELL said the State of Arkansas made a bank. They issued
bonds and invested them in the Real Estate Bank.
Mr. ADAMS. Sir, I had heard before that the State of Arkansas
never received any benefit from this money. But it was paid to their
authorized agents. It was received in the name of the State and not
of the bank. As to the argument that the money was invested in the
bank, and the bank was broken, he would leave that to such operation
as it might have upon this committee, and let it go for what it was
worth. He would say nothing to the disparagement of the State of
Arkansas or of the Government of the United States on account of
this contract. But if the $500,000 in British sovereigns was sent by
an agent to the sovereign State of Arkansas, it was a matter of no
concern to the Government of the United States whether the money
was filched on the way.
Mr. YELL here asked if the gentleman intimated that the money was
misapplied by any agent or agents of the State of Arkansas.
Mr. ADAMS had not said a word (he said) intimating any such thing.
He had stated the fact. He repeated that the United States had noth-
ing to do with the concerns of the bank, which the gentleman had said
was broken, and upon which fact the gentleman had argued that the
State was not bound to pay the money.
Mr. ADAMS was very sorry (he said) that this question had been
brought on. He had made no reflection on the State of Arkansas, or
on the bank, or on the agent. He still expressed the- hope that the
State of Arkansas, after an appeal to her sense of justice and honor,
would pay the principal and interest of the debt as it became due.
As to the State of Michigan, that portion of the substitute which
applied to it he should strike out. The State had made a provision for
the payment of the money due by her.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON wished to ask one or two questions on this
subject of the honorable chairman who reported the bill.
Was the money appropriated by the bill actually in the Treasury I
Mr. OWEN said it would take a lawyer to answer such a question.
Half of the interest had been paid and half not.
Mr. A. JOHNSON. Then I understand that more than $200,000 for
the buildings, etc., are to be paid, not out of the funds of the Institu-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 184,5-1847. 411
tion, but out of the Treasury. He wished this to be understood by the
people.
Mr. OWEN said the gentleman might so consider it, but he did not
wish him to construe what he had said into an admission that he [Mr.
Johnson] was correct.
Mr. A. JOHNSON said he would now propose a question to the learned
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. The first section of the
bill proposed to lend money to the Treasury. Suppose we had loaned
the fund to the United States Bank when it was in existence, and the
bank had failed, would the Government be bound to make good the
fund?
Mr. GEORGE RATHBUN had no objection to answer, as he said; and
as a lawyer he would say that a trustee investing money in execution
of a trust, and in good faith, would not be bound to return it if it
should be lost. But a Government professing to be the first in the
world ought not, in his opinion, to avail itself of a legal and technical
excuse, but should proceed to see the trust faithfully executed.
Mr. A. JOHNSON contended that the same moral reasons applied in
both cases. The bill itself, he proceeded to show, did not hold the
Government to be responsible if it acted in good faith, for it provided
that all the investments on account of the fund be pledged to refund
the money to the Treasury. This proved that the bill did not appro-
priate money in the Treasury, and it was not bound for the money.
There was something a little farcical and amusing in this system of
normal instruction which was to provide the country with school-
teachers. He would like to see a young man educated at the Smith-
sonian Institution and brought up in all the extravagance, folly, aris-
tocracy, and corruption of Washington go out into the country to
teach the little boys and girls to read and write! Those young men
so educated would steal or play the little pettifogger sooner than
become teachers. Ninety-nine out of a hundred of those who received
the benefit of this Institution would hang about a law office get a
license become a pack of drones instead of schoolmasters. Washing-
ton City was not a place for such an institution. He believed that it
would result in an injury to the country instead of a benefit.
Mr. OWEN asked if the gentleman was aware that the will of Mr.
Smithson designated Washington City as the place for the establish-
ment of the Institution.
Mr. A. JOHNSON objected, he said, to the entire scheme.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS asked whether the gentleman would send the
money back to the court of chancery.
Mr. A. JOHNSON replied that he objected to the whole principle of
the measure, and that he would send the money back to the source
from whence it came.
Mr. DAVIS followed with some remarks in support of the measure.
412 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The Government was bound, after solemnly accepting the trust, to
execute it faithfully.
Mr. JOHN BELL spoke on the same side of the question. It was eight
years since the United States (he said) had accepted this trust, which
was one of a delicate and important character. The question was in
what manner the trust should be discharged. He held that the United
States was responsible for the fund and ought to appropriate it for
its object. He hoped that Arkansas would one day pay the mone^,
but he feared it would be a distant day. It was necessary to act now.
He did not wholly approve of the bill reported, but he would take it
rather than do nothing.
Mr. W. J. HOUGH sent to the Chair a substitute for the bill, which
he gave notice he would offer, and it was read.
The committee then rose and reported progress.
On motion of Mr. GEORGE W. HOPKINS (and under the operation
of the previous question), a resolution was adopted providing that all
debate on this bill (in committee) should cease in one hour after it
should again have been taken up.
April 29, 1846 House.
On motion of Mr. JAMES J. McKAY, the House resolved itself into
Committee of the Whole (Mr. A.BURT, of South Carolina, in the chair),
and resumed the consideration of the bill to provide for the establish-
ment of a Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men.
The amendment given notice by Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON on the pre-
vious evening was read at the request of several members.
Some conversation ensued between Mr. Owen and others.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN briefly addressed the committee. He
regarded this fund as one which had been received by the Government
to carry out the intentions of Mr. Smithson, to which, by their accept-
ance, they had solemnly bound themselves.
He alluded to the difficulty nay, the impossibility of any select
committee agreeing upon a plan which in all its details should be in
accordance with the views of all. Notwithstanding this, he trusted we
should not let this opportunity go by to make a commencement in this
matter. He had not the slightest doubt of the full and unqualified
power of this Government to take charge of this money and give it
the direction required by the will of Mr. Smithson.
While there were features in the bill with which he was not entirely
pleased, he should vote for the bill in case it was not amended. But
there were some amendments to the bill of the gentleman from Indiana
[Mr. Owen] to which he would fain hope that gentleman himself would
lend a favorable ear. One related to the appropriation of a part of it
to the science of agriculture. He referred to the general and deplora-
ble want of information of the components of the soil, the proper
TWENTY-NINTH CONGEESS, 1845-1847. 413
mode of treating it, the proper adaptation of crops to different soils,
etc. , and said he wished to see connected with this institution a depart-
ment of agricultural chemistry and a professor of agriculture proper.
Mr. R. D. OWEN (Mr. Hamlin yielding) explained that there was an
express provision of the bill to appoint professors of agriculture, and
there was also another by which such professors of more useful arts
and sciences were to be appointed, which would undoubtedly include
a professor of chemistry, part of whose duties it would be to lecture
on the application of chemistry to agriculture.
Mr. HAMLIN was aware of this; but it should be more specifically
provided for.
He noticed one or two features of the bill, and suggested one or two
modifications he would like to see made; but, if it could not be amended,
he urged its passage without further delay as a matter of good faith,
common honesty, and one promising important benefits to the people
and the nation. He considered the money in the Treasury, and the
United States responsible for the investment of the fund according to
the intentions of the testator.
Mr. BRAD. R. WOOD desired to say a very few words upon the bill.
Much had been said about national honor during this session on this
floor, but if there ever was a point in which the national honor was
concerned it was in carrying out the intentions of the testator in his
bequest. For my own part, I consider it an honor to my country that
the subject of a monarchical government should have selected this as
the instrument of his expansive benevolence. The bill, however,
before us was, in his opinion, defective in some of its provisions. I
refer particularly to that section which contemplates a normal school.
When this subject was first mooted this part of the bill struck him
favorably, but upon more mature reflection he had come to the con-
clusion that this clause was objectionable. Normal instruction could
only be done, and well done, in the respective States, among several
of which it had already been commenced, and besides, sir, I should
deprecate that kind of education that should flow down from this place
among the people. He responded with all his heart to the remarks
made by the honorable gentleman from Maine [Mr. Hamlin], in rela-
tion to agricultural instruction. He would do all he could to increase
and diffuse useful knowledge among the masses, but this could not
and would not be attained by such education as would be obtained
here, or by collecting at this point a splendid library. The latter
might, and unquestionably would, benefit those already learned, but
not the people. With the view of attaining that object, he should
offer an amendment, which he would ask the clerk to read. [The
clerk here read the amendment, which will be found, as offered, at a
subsequent stage of the proceedings.] He had hastily glanced at a sub-
stitute offered by his colleague [Mr. Hough], just laid on his table, and
414 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
which he thought was less objectionable than the original bill. Yet,
sir, I feel in common with others, what is due to the honorable gen-
tleman from Indiana [Mr. Owen], the chairman of the committee, for
his exertions in this matter, and know how difficult it is to frame a
bill to meet the views of all; but difficult as it might be, it was no
reason why a beginning should not be made to carry out the intentions
of the testator.
Mr. A. D. SIMS offered a substitute for the bill; which was read.
Mr. WILLIAM F. GILES submitted an amendment providing for the
publication and distribution of books for the instruction of the blind;
which was read. He would say nothing in favor of the amendment
just read, for it would be a libel on the House to suppose that any
argument in favor of it would be required. He took it for granted
that the committee would now act on this subject, and he could not
believe that the proposition of the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr.
Adams] would receive the sanction of the committee. In the face of
the world we had assumed this trust. We had taken the money under
the will of this distinguished stranger, but we had delayed for a long
time the execution of the trust. He hoped the faith of the United
States would not be allowed to suffer any injury in the eyes of the
world by longer delay of action on the subject. There were some por-
tions of the bill of the gentleman from Indiana which he would like to
see altered. While he had no constitutional scruples himself as to the
incorporation of the institution, yet he would be willing, in courtesy
to the opinion of others, to strike out that provision from the bill, for
all its ends could be accomplished without it. He urged the committee
not to delay action, because there was difficulty in each step before
them. Congress had power to alter and amend the act and it was now
necessary only to take the initiatory step. The form could be altered
from time to time so as to carry out the intentions of the testator.
The objections urged to a normal school were not well founded. It
would send abroad a number of educated men; and was not education
the richest boon that could be conferred on the country next to the
preservation of liberty. Our institutions were dependent upon intel-
ligence and reason; and no matter what profession the young men
educated at this school should adopt they would add to the stock of
knowledge and diffuse it among men.
Mr. W. W. WICK said that some opinions had been expressed in the
course of the debate which he could not suffer to pass uncontradicted.
He alluded to the opinions on the subject of the doctrine of trust. It
was alleged that all which the Government was responsible for was the
stocks in which the fund had been invested. This fund was intrusted
to our charge, and it w T as important that the honor of the country
should be sustained by its faithful execution. He totally dissented, a,s
a lawyer, from the doctrines which had been advanced. A trustee in
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 415
ordinary cases was not bound, if he was authorized to use his discre-
tion, as to the mode of investing the fund intrusted to him. But the
Government of the United States had no such discretion in this case.
There was no power given by the will of Smithson to invest the money
in any special mariner, and the Government invested it at its own
hazard.
If, of his own accord, and without authority, a trustee made an
investment, he was responsible for it. Thus the United States stood
in relation to this matter, and to this extent they were responsible, if
at all. If his wishes had been consulted, the burden of this trust would
never have been accepted by the Government. But we did accept the
trust, and the national faith would be tarnished should it not be exe-
cuted. Had he been here at the time he would have voted against it.
He knew that the Government had no constitutional power to establish
a college of itself. The power was not granted in the Constitution;
but it might be admitted that the Government had the power to accept
a trust for the purpose. He had always advocated a strict construc-
tion of the Constitution, but he believed that the Government might
accept the trust. We had accepted the trust, and it was our duty to
execute it.
Mr. A. D. SIMS made some remarks on the constitutional question.
Mr. G. W. JONES asked whether, if the money should be given by
will for the establishment of a national bank, the Government would be
bound to execute the trust or have power to accept it?
Mr. WICK replied that he would vote against the acceptance of such
a trust,
Mr. WASHINGTON HUNT entirely concurred with the gentleman from
Indiana [Mr. Wick] in his view of this subject. It appeared to him
that it was a reproach to the Government to delay carrying out the
purposes of this trust.
The committee proceeded to vote.
The first question was on the following amendment of Mr. Andrew
Johnson to the first section :
Strike out all after the word "next," in the eleventh line, to the word "be," in
the fourteenth line, and insert the following: "And actually paid into the Treasury
of the United States by the States which have borrowed and used said fund."
Mr. R. D. OWEN inquired of the mover of the amendment whether,
if this amendment was carried, it would apply to any moneys that
have been paid into the Treasury of the United States as interest and
have been reinvested in State stocks?
No answer being returned.
Mr. OWEN said he hoped the amendment would not prevail.
The question being taken, the amendment was rejected without a
division.
The second section being under consideration,
416 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. J. W. TIBBATTS moved the amendment of which notice had
previously been given, to strike out the words providing that the board
of managers "shall be, and hereby are, constituted a board politic
and corporate, by the style and title of the ' Smithsonian Institution,'
with perpetual succession, and the usual powers, duties, and liabilities
incident to corporations. "
The question was taken by tellers, and decided in the affirmative
ayes 70, noes 4A.
So these words were stricken out.
Mr. OWEN moved to insert after the word "managers" (in lieu of
the words stricken out) the words "and the said Institution shall be
known by the style and title of the Smithsonian Institution."
The amendment was agreed to.
The fourth section being under consideration,
Mr. OWEN moved an amendment (which he stated to be necessary in
consequence of the previous amendment striking out the clause con-
stituting a corporation) to insert at the forty -fourth line the words:
And all questions which may arise between the United States and any person
claiming under and by virtue of any such contract shall be heard and determined by
said board of managers.
The question being taken, the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. OWEN also moved to insert at the tenth line the words:
And all prosecutions for trespass on said property, and all civil suits in behalf of
said Institution, shall be prosecuted in the name of the United States in any court
having competent jurisdiction of the same.
Agreed to ayes 61, noes not counted.
The fifth section being under consideration, Mr. J. R. INGERSOLL
moved an amendment to insert at the twenty -first line these words:
Which collection shall be denominated the National Museum. And it shall be
lawful for the National Institute to deposit its collections in said museum [in consid-
eration whereof said institute shall have the right to appoint a curator to said museum,
with such compensation as the managers of the Smithsonian Institution shall assign],
and the said National Institute shall have a right to hold its meetings in the buildings
of the Smithsonian Institution, in any room which shall be assigned for such purpose
by the managers of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. TIBBATTS moved an amendment to the amendment, to strike out
the words in brackets.
The amendment to the amendment was rejected.
The question recurring on the original amendment of Mr. J. R.
INGERSOLL, was decided in the affirmative ayes 67, noes 50.
So the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. RICHARD BRODHEAD moved an amendment to the fifth section
(which provides for suitable arrangements for the reception of all
objects of art, and of foreign and curious research, of natural history,
TWENTY-NINTH CONGEESS, 1845-1847. 417
of plants, etc., belonging to the United States, "which may be in the
city of Washington"), to insert, after the word " Washington," the
words "or elsewhere."
The amendment was rejected.
The seventh section being under consideration, Mr. HANNIBAL HAM-
LIN moved to insert, after the word "arts," in the provision for the
appointment of professor of common-school instruction, with such
others "chiefly of the more useful sciences and arts," the w.ords
"especially chemistry as applied to agriculture." Rejected.
Mr. J. Q. ADAMS moved to strike out the following:
SEC. 7. And whereas the most effectual mode of promoting the general diffusion
of knowledge is by judiciously conducted common schools, to the establishment of
which throughout the Union much aid will be afforded by improving and perfecting
the common-school system of the country, and by elevating the standard of qualifi-
cation for common-school teachers; and whereas knowledge may be essentially in-
creased among men by instituting scientific researches, and, generally, by spreading
among the people a taste for science and the arts:
Be it further enacted, That the board of managers shall establish a normal branch
of the Institution, by appointing some suitable person as professor of common-school
instruction, with such other professors, chiefly of the more useful sciences and arts,
as may be necessary for such a thorough scientific and liberal course of instruction
as may be adapted to qualify young persons as teachers of common schools, and to
give to others a knowledge of an improved common-school system; and also, when
desired, to qualify students as teachers or professors of the more important branches
of natural science. And the board of managers may authorize the professors of the
Institution to grant to such of its students as may desire it, after suitable examina-
tion, certificates of qualification as common-school teachers, and also as teachers or
professors in the various branches of science; they may also employ able men to
lecture upon useful subjects, and shall fix the compensation of such lecturers and
The question was taken by tellers, and decided in the affirmative
ayes 72, noes 42. \
So the words were stricken out.
[The section, as amended, read as follows:
Be it further enacted, That there shall not be established in connection with the
institution, any school of law, or medicine, or divinity, nor any professorship of
ancient languages. And the said managers shall make, from the interest of said fund,
an appropriation, not exceeding an average of ten thousand dollars annually, for the
gradual formation of a library, composed of valuable works pertaining to all depart-
ments of human knowledge.]
Section 8 being under consideration, Mr. OWEN moved an amend-
ment to add at its close an amendment, which, after various modifica-
tions, assumed the following form:
And the said board of managers shall appoint such professors of the more useful
sciences and arts as may be necessary for a thorough, scientific, and liberal course of
instruction; they may also employ able men to lecture upon useful subjects, and shall
fix the compensation of such lecturers and professors: Provided, That the expendi-
ture on account of the Institution shall at no time exceed the interest of the fund.
H. Doc. 732 27
418 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. LINN BOYD and Mr. ADAMS, respectively, raised the point of
order against this amendment, on the ground of identity with the words
stricken out on motion of Mr. Adams.
The CHAIRMAN overruled the point of order; thus deciding the
amendment in order.
The question was taken, and, after some delay for want of a quorum,
was decided in the negative ayes 42, noes 77.
So the motion was rejected.
Mr. ADAMS moved to strike out the ninth section, in the words fol-
lowing (which he said were now rendered useless by the amendments
previously made):
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said board of managers shall also make
rules and regulations for the admission of students into the various departments of
the Institution, and their conduct and deportment while they remain therein: Pro-
vided, That all instruction in said Institution shall be gratuitous to those students who
conform to such rules and regulations.
The question being taken, was decided in the affirmative.
So the section was stricken out.
The tenth section being under consideration, Mr. W.- F. GILES
moved an amendment, to add at the end thereof the following:
And shall cause to be published, from time to time, books in raised characters for
the education of the blind, to be distributed by the said board of managers among
the different State institutions for the education of the blind.
The question being taken, the amendment was rejected.
Mr. B. R. WOOD moved an amendment, to insert in the fourth line
of tenth section the word " useful," and strike out the eleventh, twelfth,
and thirteenth lines.
The question being taken, the amendment was rejected.
Mr. ADAMS moved to strike out the tenth section (in order to conform
to previous amendments).
The question being taken, was decided in the affirmative; ayes, 68,
noes, 57.
So the section was stricken out.
Mr. WOOD moved an amendment, to add as a new section, between
the tenth and eleventh sections, the following:
And be it further enacted, That the sum of $20,000 of the interest of said fund be, and
is hereby, appropriated annually for the purchase or publication of a library for the
diffusion of useful knowledge, to be selected or published under the direction of the
said board of managers, which shall include the best elementary popular works upon
the history, geography, and statistics of the United States; upon botany, mineralogy,
geology, agriculture, agricultural chemistry, mechanics, and physiology; and which
said library shall be distributed among the several States and Territories in the ratio
of their representation, and be forwarded to the several governors of said States and
Territories to be distributed among the people thereof in such a manner as their
respective legislatures shall determine and shall most tend to increase and diffuse
knowledge.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 419
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS moved an amendment, to add at the close of
the last section the following proviso:
And provided further, That no 'appropriation shall be made for the advancement of
this Institution except from moneys which properly belong to the Smithsonian fund.
Agreed to.
Mr. JOHN -A. MCCLERNAND gave notice of a substitute which he
intended to offer when in order (which was read for information).
Mr. G. W. JONES moved a further proviso at the end of the bill, as
follows:
Prodded, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to connect in any manner
whatever said Smithsonian Institution with any other" institution or society what-
ever.
Rejected.
The bill having now been gone through with, the question recurred
on the amendment of Mr. G. W. Jones, to strike out all of the bill
after the word "be," in the sixth line, first section, and insert:
Paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the heirs at law or next of kin or resid-
uary legatee of the said James Smithson, or their authorized agents, whenever they
shall demand the same: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, in paying
over said money as herein directed, deliver to said heirs all State bonds or other
stocks of every kind which have been purchased with said money or any part thereof,
in lieu of so much of said money as shall have been so invested in State, bonds or
other stocks, and the balance of said sum of money, if any, not so invested, shall be
paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Mr. A. D. SIMS moved as an amendment to the amendment the
proposition of which he had given notice (as a substitute for the bill)
to provide for the return of the money.
The CHAIRMAN decided the amendment out of order at this time.
Mr. GEORGE RATHBUN moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Jones
by striking out so much as relates to the restoring to the heirs, etc. ,
of Mr. Smithson the bonds of the States (so that the money and not
the bonds should be returned).
The amendment to the amendment was rejected.
The question then recurring on the original amendment of Mr.
Jones was taken by tellers and decided in the negative ayes 8, noes
115.
So the amendment was rejected.
The question then being on rising and reporting the bill as amended
Mr. ADAMS, in compliance with previous notice, offered the fol-
lowing substitute for the bill:
Strike out the preamble, and all except the enacting clause, and
insert:
That the President of the United States be requested, by the use of suitable means
of moral suasion, and no others, to obtain from the governments of the States of
Arkansas and Illinois payment of the arrears of interest due from the said States to
the United States, and the interest thereafter, and the principal as it shall become
420 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
due, according to the promises on the face of the bonds given by the said States for
moneys bequeathed by James Smithson, a benevolent Englishman, to the United
States of America for the special purpose of founding, at the city of Washington, an
institution for the increase and . diffusion of knowledge among men, which bequest
was, by an act of Congress approved on the first of July, eighteen hundred and
thirty^six, accepted, with a pledge of the faith of the United States that it should be
applied to the purposes prescribed by the testator.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That when payment shall have been obtained from
the said States of Arkansas and Illinois of the arrears of interest due on their said
bonds Congress shall forthwith proceed to appropriate said sums of interest so recov-
ered, together with the interest hitherto received, or hereafter to be received until
the time of making such appropriations, in such manner as they shall deem suited
to redeem the pledge of the faith of the United States to the application of the funds
of the bequest of the said James Smithson to the specific purpose prescribed by the
testator.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That until the arrears of interest due by the said
States of Arkansas and Illinois to the United States upon their said respective bonds
shall have been received at the Treasury of the United States no appropriation shall
be made by Congress chargeable upon the people of the United States for the fulfill-
ment of the purposes prescribed by the testator James Smithson for the disposal of
his bequest.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That within the first thirty days of each and every
successive session of Congress it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury
to report to Congress the then actual state of the Smithsonian fund, and particularly
the amount of arrears of interest due upon the said bonds of the States of Arkansas
and Illinois, together with copies of all correspondence, showing the result of the
means of moral suasion used during the preceding year to obtain payment of the
said arrears of interest; and the said annual reports shall be printed for the
information of the people.
Mr. GEORGE W. HOPKINS moved an amendment to the amendment,
to strike out in its first section the words "of moral suasion and no
others." Agreed to.
The third Section of the said substitute amendment being under
consideration,
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS moved an amendment, to add at the end of
the section the following:
Provided, however, That if the governor of the State of Arkansas shall make it
appear to the satisfaction of the Attorney-General of the United States that he has
used suitable means to obtain from the Real Estate Bank of Arkansas payment of
the debt due by said bank to the State of Arkansas, but without success, then, and in
that case, and until the arrears due by the said Real Estate Bank shall have been
received into the treasury of the State of Arkansas, the said State shall be, and is
hereby, declared to be absolved from the promises on the face of her bonds by
which the said State heretofore pledged her faith for the due payment of the
principal and interest of said bonds.
The question being taken, the amendment was rejected.
Mr. JOHN WENTWORTH moved an amendment, to add at the end of
the section the following:
That the State of Illinois shall have the power hereafter, like other States, to tax
all lands within that State as soon as sold, providing the proceeds of said tax shall
be applied to paying the interest due the Smithson fund, so far as may be necessary,
and the balance, if any, to paying the interest upon her other bonds.
TWENTY -NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 421
Mr. GEORGE W. HOPKINS raised the point of order against the
amendment, on the ground of irrelevancy.
The CHAIRMAN sustained the point, and decided the amendment out
of order.
Mr. E. H. EWING moved an amendment to the substitute,- to strike
out the third section. Rejected.
The fourth section, on the suggestion of Mr. Hopkins, was so mod-
ified by Mr. Adams as to conform to the amendment of the first, by
striking out the words " moral suasion."
The question then being on the substitute of Mr. Adams, as
amended, was taken by tellers, and decided in the negative ayes 57,
noes 74.
So the substitute of Mr. Adams was rejected.
The question again recurring on the original bill as amended,
Mr. W. J. HOUGH offered the amendment of which he had given
notice as a substitute for the entire bill, being a bill consisting of four-
teen sections.
Mr. G. P. MARSH moved several amendments, all with a view, as he
said, to direct the appropriation entirely to the purposes of a library.
The first one was to section 7, to strike out the words " and such lec-
turers as may be employed by said board," and the words " and lectur-
ers, and all other officers of the Institution."
The question being taken, was decided in the affirmative ayes 72,
noes 39.
So the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. MARSH next moved to strike out section 8, as follows:
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said Board of Regents shall employ so
many and such able men to lecture upon useful subjects and at such times and places
as they may deem most beneficial for the* ' ' increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men; " and shall also, during each session of Congress, cause a course of such lectures
to be delivered, weekly or semiweekly, publicly, in the lecture room of said Institu-
tion, and shall make all suitable provisions for the accommodation of all members
and honorary members of said Institution, and of both Houses of Congress.
Also, an amendment to the ninth section, to increase the annual appro-
priation for the library from $20,000 to $25,000. Agreed to.
Mr. J. W. TIBBATTS moved to strike out the first section.
The CHAIRMAN decided the amendment to be out of order, that por-
tion of the substitute bill having been passed.
Mr. MARSH moved an amendment to strike out the tenth and eleventh
sections of the substitute, in the words following:
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said Board of Regents shall make all
needful rules, regulations, and by-laws for the government of the Institution and the
persons employed therein; and in prescribing the duties of the professors and lectur-
ers they shall have reference to the introduction and illustration of subjects connected
with the application of science to the productive and liberal arts of life, improvements
in agriculture, in manufactures, in trades, and in domestic economy; and they shall
also have special reference to the increase and extension of scientific knowledge gen-
422 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
erally, by experiment and research. And the said Regents shall cause to be printed,
from time to time, any lecture, or course of lectures*, which they may deem useful.
And it shall be the duty of each lecturer, while in the service of the Institution, to
submit a copy of any lecture or lectures delivered by him to the Regents if required.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That it shall be competent for the board of man-
agers to cause to be printed and published, periodically or occasionally, essays,
pamphlets, magazines, or other brief works or productions for the dissemination of
information among the people, especially works in popular. form on agriculture and
its latest improvements, or the sciences and the aid they bring to labor, manuals
explanatory of the best systems of common school instruction, and, generally, tracts
illustrative of objects of elementary science, and treatises on history, natural and civil,
chemistry, astronomy, or any other department of useful knowledge; and may, at
their discretion, offer and pay to any citizen or foreigner such sum or prize as they
may deem discreet for the best written production of any such prize essay or work;
and shall, whenever required by resolution of either House of Congress, cause to be
printed and delivered to such House, for distribution among the people at large, as
public documents of Congress are distributed, so many copies of such lectures, essays,
pamphlets, magazines, tracts, or other brief works, as they may procure to be written
or delivered, under the provisions of this act, as shall be required by such resolution,
the expenses of which to be paid out of the funds of said Institution.
. The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. A. G. THURMAN moved an amendment, to .strike out the twelfth
section. Rejected.
Mr. S. A. DOUGLASS moved an amendment, as an additional section
(the thirteenth), in the words following:
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the author or proprietor of any book, map,
chart, musical composition, print, cut, or engraving, for which a copyright shall be
secured under the existing acts of Congress, or those which shall hereafter be enacted,
respecting copyrights, shall, within three months from the publication of said book,
map, chart, musical composition, print, cut, engraving, deliver, or cause to be deliv-
ered, one copy of the same to the librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, and one
copy to the librarian of the Congress Library, for the use of said libraries.
The question being taken, the amendment was agreed to.
The question now being on adopting the substitute of Mr. W. J.
Hough, as amended, was taken by tellers, .and decided in the affirma-
tive ayes 83, noes 40.
So the substitute was adopted.
The committee then rose and reported the bill and amendments to
the House.
The question being first on agreeing to the substitute amendment of
the committee, Mr. LINN BOYD demanded the previous question, which
was seconded.
The main question was ordered.
The yeas and nays were asked and ordered, and being taken,
resulted yeas 81, nays 76 as follows:
YEAS Messrs. John Q. Adams, Arnold, Atkinson, Barringer, Bell, J. A. Black,
Brockenbrough, Milton Brown, William G. Brown, Buftington, William W. Camp-
bell, John H. Campbell, Carroll, Chiprnan, Clarke, Cobb, Cocke, Collin, Cranston,
Crozier, Cullom, Garret Davis, Delano, Dockery, Douglass, Dunlap, John H. Ewing,
Edwin H. Ewing, Faran, Ficklin, Foot, Giddings, Grider, Grinnell, Hampton, Har-
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 423
per, Herrick, Hilliard, Elias B. Holmes, Hough, Edmund W. Hubard, Samuel D.
Hubbard, Hudson, Washington Hunt, Andrew Johnson, George W. Jones, Daniel
P. King, Thomas Butler King, Lawrence, Lewis, Levin, Ligon, Maclay, McGaughey,
McHenry, Mcllvaine, Marsh, Morse, Moseley, Norris, Parish, Payne, Relfe, John A.
Eockwell, Root, Scammon, Seaman, Simpson, Truman Smith, Albert Smith, Strohm,
Benjamin Thompson, Thurman, Tilden, Trumbo, Vance, Vinton, Young, and
Yost 81.
NAYS Messrs. Stephen Adams, Bowlin, Boyd, Brinkerhoff, Brodhead, Burt, Cath-
cart, Reuben Chapman, Chase, Constable, Cunningham, Daniel, Dargan, Jefferson
Davis, Dillingham, Dobbin, Dromgoole, Giles, Goodyear, Gordon, Graham, Grover,
Hamlin, Harmanson, Henley, Hoge, Hopkins, George S. Houston, Hungerford,
James B. Hunt, Hunter, Charles J. Ingersoll, Joseph R. Ingersoll, Joseph Johnson,
Preston King, Leake, La Sere, Lumpkin, McLean, McClernand, McCrate, James
McDowell, McKay, J. P. Martin, B. Martin, Morris, Moulton, Owen, Perrill, Phelps,
Pollock, Price, Rathbun, Reid, Ritter, Sawtelle, Severance, Alexander D. Sims,
Leonard H. Sims, Caleb B. Smith, Robert Smith, Stanten, St. John, Sykes, Thibo-
deaux, Thomasson, Jacob Thompson, Tibbatts, Wentworth, Wheaton, Wick, Wil-
mot, Woodruff, Woodward, Yancey, and Yell 76.
So the amendment of the committee was adopted.
The bill was then ordered to be engrossed.
Mr. SAMUEL GORDON demanded the yeas and nays on the passage of
the bill: which were ordered, and being taken, resulted j^eas 85, nays
76 as follows:
YEAS Messrs. John Q. Adams, Arnold, Bell, James A. Black, Brinkerhoff, Milton
Brown, Buffington, 'William W. Campbell, John H. Campbell, Carroll, Cathcart,
Cranston, Crozier, Cunningham, Garret Davis, Jefferson Davis, Delano, Dockery,
Douglass, Dunlap, Edwin H. Ewing, Faran, Foot, Garvin, Giddings, Giles, Good-
year, Grider, Grinnell, Hamlin, Hampton, Harper, Herrick, Hilliard, E. B. Holmes,
Hough, Samuel D. Hubbard, Hudson, Hungerford, Washington Hunt, Charles J.
Ingersoll, Daniel P. King, Thomas B. King, Lawrence, Leib, Lewis, Levin, Maclay,
McCrate, McGaughey, McHenry, Mcllvaine, Marsh, Morse, Moseley, Owen, Pollock,
Rathbun, Relfe, John A. Rockwell, Root, Sawtelle, Scammon, Seaman, Severance,
Truman Smith, Albert Smith, Caleb B. Smith, Stanton, Strohm, Strong, Sykes,
Thomasson, Benjamin Thompson, Thurman, Tilden, Trumbo, Vance, Vinton, Went-
worth, Wick, Wilmot, Wood, Young, and Yost 85.
NAYS Messrs. Stephen Adams, Atkinson, Barringer, Bayly, Bowlin, Boyd, Brock-
enbrough, Brodhead, William G. Brown, Burt, Reuben Chapman, Chase, Chipman,
Clarke, Cobb, Cocke, Collin, Constable, Cullom, Daniel, Dargan, Dillingham, Dob-
bin, Dromgoole, Erdman, Graham, Grover, Harmanson, Hoge, Hopkins, George S.
Houston, E. W. Hubard, James B. Hunt, Hunter, Joseph R. Ingersoll, Joseph
, Johnson, Andrew Johnson, George W. Jones, Preston King, Leake, La Sere, Ligon,
Lumpkin, McLean, McClelland, McClernand, James McDowell, McKay, John P.
Martin, Barkley Martin, Morris, Moulton, Norris, Parrish, Payne, Perrill, Phelps,
Price, Reid, Ritter, Alexander D. Sims, Leonard H. Suns, Simpson, Thomas Smith,
Robert Smith, Stephens, St. John, Thibodeaux, Jacob Thompson, Tibbatts,
Wheaton, Woodruff, Woodward, Yancey, and Yell 76.
So the bill was passed in the following form (being the substitute
of Mr. W. J. Hough, as amended):
A bill to establish the " Smithsonian Institution," for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men.
James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, having by
his last will and testament given the whole of his property to the United States of
424 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
America, to found at AVashington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and the
United States having, by an act of Congress, received said property and accepted
said trust; therefore, for the faithful execution of said trust according to the will of
the liberal and enlightened donor
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, That the President and Vice-President of the United States, the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secre-
tary of the Navy, the Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice,
and the Commissioner of the Patent Office of the United States, .and the mayor of
the city of Washington, during the time for which they shall hold their respective
offices, and such other persons as they may elect honorary members, be, and they are
hereby, constituted an " establishment," by the name of the " Smithsonian Institu-
tion," for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and by that name
shall be known and have perpetual succession, with the powers, limitations, and
restrictions hereinafter contained, and no other.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That so much of the property of the said James
Smithson as has been received in money, and paid into the Treasury of the United
States, being the sum of five hundred and fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty-
nine dollars, be lent to the United States Treasury, at six per cent per annum interest
from the first day of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-
eight, when the same was received into the said Treasury; and that so much of the
interest as may have accrued on said sum on the first day of July next, which will
amount to the sum of two hundred and forty-two thousand one hundred and twenty-
nine dollars, or so much thereof as shall by the Board of Regents of the Institution
established by this act be deemed necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated
for the erection of suitable buildings, and for other current incidental expenses of
said Institution; and that six per cent interest on the said trust fund it being the said
amount of five hundred and fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty-nine dollars
received into the United States Treasury on the first of September, one thousand
eight hundred and thirty-eight, payable, in half-yearly payments, on the first of
January and July in each year be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the per-
petual maintenance and support of said Institution; and all expenditures and appro-
priations to be made from time to time, to the purposes of the Institution aforesaid,
shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and not from the principal of the said
fund. And be it further enacted, That all the moneys and stocks which have been, or
may hereafter be, received into the Treasury of the United States on account of the
fund bequeathed by James Smithson, be, and hereby are, pledged to refund to the
Treasury of the United States the sums hereby appropriated.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the business of the said Institution shall be
conducted at the city of Washington by a Board of Regents by the name of the
Regents of the ' ' Smithsonian Institution, " to be composed of the Vice-President of
the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, and the mayor of the city
of Washington, during the time for which they shall hold their respective offices;
three members of the Senate and three members of the House of Representatives,
together with six other persons, other than members of Congress, two of whom shall
be members of the National Institute in the city of Washington, and resident in the
said city; and the other four thereof shall be inhabitants of States, and no two of
them of the same State. And the Regents, to be selected as aforesaid, shall be
appointed immediately after the passage of this act the members of the Senate by
the President thereof, the members of the House by the Speaker thereof, and the six
other persons by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives; and
the members of the House so appointed shall serve until the fourth Wednesday in
December, the second next after the passage of this act; and then, and biennially
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 425
thereafter, on every alternate fourth Wednesday of December, a like number shall be
appointed in the same manner, to serve until the fourth AVednesday in December, the
second succeeding their appointment. And the Senators so appointed shall serve
during the term for which they shall hold, without reelection, their office as Senators.
And vacancies, occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled as
vacancies in committees are filled; and the other six members aforesaid shall serve,
two for two years, two for four years, and two for six years; the terms of service, in
the first place, to be determined by lot; but after the first term, then their regular
term of service shall be six years; and new elections thereof shall be made by joint
resolution of Congress; and vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise,
may be filled in like manner, by joint resolution of Congress. And the said Regents
shall meet in the city of Washington on the first Monday of September next after the
passage of this act, and organize by the election of one of their number as Chancellor,
who shall be the presiding officer of said Board of Regents, by the name of the Chan-
cellor of the ' ' Smithsonian Institution, ' ' and a suitable person as Secretary of said Insti-
tution, who shall also be the Secretary of said Board of Regents; said Board shall also
elect three of their own body as an Executive Committee, and said Regents shall then
fix on the time for the regular meeting of said Board ; and on application of any three
of the Regents to the Secretary of the said Institution, it shall be his duty to appoint
a special meeting of the Board of Regents, of which he shall give notice by letter to
each of the members; and at any meeting of said Board, five shall constitute a quorum
to do business. And each member of said Board shall be paid his necessary travelling
and other actual expenses in attending meetings of the Board, which shall be audited
by the Executive Committee, and recorded by the Secretary of said Board; but his
services as Regent shall be gratuitous. And whenever money is required for the pay-
ment of the debts or performance of the contracts of the Institution, incurred or
entered into in conformity with the provisions of, this act, or for making the purchases
and executing the objects authorized by this act, the Board of Regents or the Exec-
utive Committee thereof, may certify to the Chancellor and Secretary of the Board
that such sum of money is required; whereupon, they shall examine the same, and,
if they shall approve thereof, shall certify the same to the proper officer of the
Treasury for payment. And the said Board shall submit to Congress, at each session
thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That after the Board of Regents shall have met and
become organized, it shall be their duty forthwith to proceed to select a suitable site
for such building as may be necessary for the Institution, which ground may be taken
and appropriated out of that part of the public ground in the city of Washington
lying between the Patent Office and Seventh street: Provided, The President of the
United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of
War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Commissioner of the Patent Office shall
consent to the same; but if the persons last mentioned shall not consent, then such
location may -be made upon any other of the public grounds within the city of
Washington belonging to the United States which said Regents may select, by and
with the consent of the persons herein named ; and the said ground so selected shall
be set out by proper metes and bounds and a description of the same shall be made
and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and signed by the said
Agents or so many of them as may be convened at the time of their said organization;
record or a copy thereof, certified by the Chancellor and Secretary of the
of Regents, shall be received in evidence in all courts of the extent and bound-
aries of Nie lands appropriated to the said Institution; and upon the making of such
record such site and lands shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated by force of
this act to the said Institution.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That so soon as the Board of Regents shall have
selected the said site, they shall cause to be erected a suitable building of plain and
426 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
durable materials and structure, without unnecessary ornament and of sufficient size
and with suitable rooms or halls for the reception and arrangement upon a liberal scale
of objects of natural history, including a geological and mineralogical cabinet; also a
chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art, and the necessary lecture rooms;
and the said Board shall have authority by themselves or by a committee of three
of their members to contract for the completion of such building, upon such plan as
may be directed by the Board of Regents, and shall take sufficient security for the
building and finishing the same according to the said plan, and in the time stipulated
in such contract; and may so locate said building, if they shall deem it proper, as in
appearance to form a wing to the Patent Office building, and may so connect the same
with the present hall of said Patent Office building containing the national cabinet
of curiosities, as to constitute the said hall, in whole or in part, the deposit for the
cabinet of said Institution, if they deem it expedient to do so; provided said building
shall be located upon said Patent Office lot in the manner aforesaid: Provided, however,
That the whole expense of building and enclosures aforesaid shall not exceed the
amount of ; which sum is hereby appropriated, payable out of money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, together with such sum or sums out of the
annual interest accruing to the Institution as may in any year remain unexpended
after p'aying the current expenses of the Institution. And duplicates of all such con-
tracts as may be made by the said Board of Regents shall be deposited with the
Treasurer of the United States; and all claims on any contract made as aforesaid
shall be allowed and certified by the Board of Regents, or the Executive Committee
thereof, as the case may be, and being signed by the Chancellor and Secretary of the
Board shall be a sufficient voucher for settlement and payment at the Treasury of the
United States. And the Board of Regents shall be authorized to employ such persons
as they may deem necessary to superintend the erection of the buildings and fitting
up the rooms of the Institution. And all laws for the protection of public property
in the city of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the protection of the
lands, buildings, and other property of said Institution. And all moneys recovered
by or accruing to the Institution shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States
to the credit of the Smithsonian bequest, and separately accounted for, as provided
in the act approved July first, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, accepting the bequest.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted. That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can
be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research,
and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens
belonging, or hereafter to belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of
Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such
persons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be
arranged in such order, and so classed, as best to facilitate the examination and
study of them, in the building so as aforesaid to be erected for the Institution; and
the Regents of said Institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy, may be obtained for the museum of the Institution by
exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the Institution (which they are
hereby authorized to make), or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise,
cause such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the
minerals, books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have
been received by the Government of the United States, and are now placed in the
Department of State, shall be removed to said Institution, and shall be preserved
separate and apart from the other property of the Institution.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Board of Regents shall
take charge of the building and property of said Institution, and shall, under their
direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to be preserved
in said Institution; and the said Secretary shall also discharge the duties of librarian
and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of the Board of Regents,
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 42T
employ assistants; and the said officers shall receive for their services such sum as
may be allowed by the Board of Regents, to be paid semiannually on the first day
of January and July, and the said officers shall be removable by the Board of
Regents, whenever, in their judgment, the interests of the Institution require any
of the said officers to be changed.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the members and honorary members of said
Institution may hold such stated and special meetings, for the supervision of the
affairs of said Institution, and the advice and instruction of said Board of Regents,
to be called in the manner provided for in the by-laws of said Institution, at which
the President, and in his absence, the Vice-President of the United States, shall
preside. And the said Regents shall make, from the interest of said fund, an appro-
priation not exceeding an average of. twenty-five thousand dollars annually, for the
gradual formation of a library, composed of valuable works pertaining to all depart-
ments of human knowledge.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That of any other moneys which have accrued,
or shall hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein
appropriated, or not required for the purposes herein provided, the said managera
are hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the
promotion of the purposes of the testator, anything herein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the author or proprietor of any book, map,
chart, musical composition, print, cut, or engraving, for which a copyright shall be
secured under the existing acts of Congress, or those which shall hereafter be enacted
respecting copyrights, shall, within three months from the publication of said book,
map, chart, musical composition, print, cut, or engraving, deliver, or cause to be
delivered, one copy of the same to the Librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, and
one copy to the Librarian of Congress Library, for the use of the said libraries.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved in Congress the right of
altering, amending, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act: Pro-
vided, That no contract, or individual right, made or acquired under such provisions,
shall be thereby divested or impaired.
Mr. R. D. OWEN moved to reconsider the vote on the passage of
the bill, and moved the previous question.
The previous question was seconded, and the main question was
ordered, and, being taken, was decided in the negative.
So the House refused to reconsider the vote, and the bill finally
April 30, 1846 Senate.
Message from the House that bill H. 5 had passed. The bill, on
motion of Mr. DIXON H. LEWIS, was referred to a select committee of
three members appointed by the President of the Senate. Mr. John A.
Dix, Mr. Thomas Corwin, and Mr. D. H. Lewis were appointed.
May 21, 1846 Senate.
Mr. JOHN A. Dix presented a memorial of citizens of Madison
County, New York, praying the adoption of a plan for the establish-
ment of the Smithsonian Institution; which was referred to the select
committee on the subject.
June 1, 1846 Senate.
Mr. J. A. Dix, from the select committee, reported H. 5, with
amendments.
428 CONGEESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
June 24, 1846 Senate.
Mr. D. S. DICKINSON presented the proceedings and resolutions of
a convention of county superintendents of common schools, held at
Albany, New York.
Ordered to lie on the table.
At a convention of county superintendents of common schools and friends of educa-
tion generally, held at the city of Albany, in the State of New York, on the 12th,
13th, 14th, and 15th days of May last, the following resolutions offered by the Hon.
Jabez D. Hammond, of the county of Otsego, were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That while this convention are impressed with profound respect and
veneration for the memory of the late James Smithson, of England, and gratitude
for his munificent legacy to the United States, made with a view to the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men, they can not suppress their deep mortification
and painful regret that the representatives of the people of these United States
should have suffered a fund created for such noble and exalted purposes to remain
so long unemployed, and they do respectfully, but most earnestly, recommend to the
present Congress to adopt such measures as will carry into immediate effect the
benevolent intentions of the philanthropic and liberal donor.
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, signed by the president and secretaries, be
forwarded to each of the Senators in the Senate of the United States from the State
of New York.
SAMUEL S. RANDALL, President.
EDWARD COOPER,
W. PUTNAM,
Secretaries.
August 7, 1846 Senate.
H. 5 was passed over in consequence of want of time for consid-
eration.
August 10, 1846 Senate.
The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (H. 5) to establish the
Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men, together with the amendments reported thereto; and the
reported amendments having been disagreed to, the bill was reported
to the Senate.
Ordered, That it pass to a third reading. The said bill was read a
third time.
On the question, "Shall this bill pass?" It was determined in the
affirmative yeas, 26; nays, 13.
On motion by Mr. WILLIAM ALLEN, the yeas and nays being desired
by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
YEAS Messrs. Archer Atchison, Barrow, Berrien, Cameron, Cilley, Thomas
Clayton, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Davis, Evans, Greene, Houston, Huntington,
Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Lewis, Manguni, Miller,
Morehead, Phelps, Speight, Sturgeon, Upham, Webster.
Those who voted in the negative were:
NAYS Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atherton, Bagby, Benton, Calhoun, Dickinson,
Fairfield, McDuffie, Semple, Turney, Westcott, Yulee.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGEESS, 1845-1847. 429
The bill was accordingly passed.
Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives
accordingly.
Mr. GEORGE EVANS (by unanimous consent) asked and obtained
leave to bring in a resolution, S. 37, appointing regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution. Considered in Committee of the Whole. Passed.
Mr. GEORGE EVANS submitted resolution:
Resolved (the House of Representatives concurring) , That the sixteenth joint rule of
the two Houses be suspended, so far as it relates to a resolution (S. 37) appointing
regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to.
August 10, 1846.
An act to establish the "Smithsonian Institution," for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men.
[As finally adopted and made a law.]
James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great
Britain, having by his last will and testament given the whole of his
property to the United States of America, to found at Washington,
under the name of the "Smithsonian Institution," an establishment for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and the United
States having, by an act of Congress, received said property and
accepted said trust; Therefore, for the faithful execution of said
trust, according to the will of the liberal and enlightened donor
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the President and Vice-
President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary
of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy,
the Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice, and
the Commissioner of the Patent Office of the United States, and the
mayor of the city of Washington, during the time for which they
shall hold their respective offices, and such other persons as they may
elect honorary members, be, and they are hereby constituted, an
"establishment," by the name of the "Smithsonian Institution," for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and by that name
shall be known and have perpetual succession, with the powers, lim-
itations, and restrictions, hereinafter contained, and no other.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That so much of the property of
the said James Smithson as has been received in money, and paid into
the treasury of the United States, being the sum of five hundred and
fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty-nine dollars, be lent to the
United States treasury at six per cent, per annum interest, from the
first day of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-eight, when the same was received into the said treasury; and
that so much of the interest as may have accrued on said sum on the
first day of July next, which will amount to the sum of two hundred
430 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and forty-two thousand one hundred and twenty-nine dollars, or so
much thereof as shall by the Board of Regents of the Institution
established by this act be deemed necessary, be, and the same is
hereby, appropriated for the erection of suitable buildings, and for
other current incidental expenses of said Institution; and that six per
cent, interest on the said trust fund, it being the said amount of five
hundred and fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty-nine dollars,
received into the United States treasury on the first of September,
one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, payable, in half-yearly
payments, on the first of January and July in each year, be, and the
same is hereby, appropriated for the perpetual maintenance and sup-
port of said Institution; and all expenditures and appropriations to
be made from time to time, to the purposes of the Institution afore-
said, shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and not from the
principal of the said fund. And be it further enacted, That all the
moneys and stocks which have been, or may hereafter be, received into
the treasury of the United States on account of the fund bequeathed
by James Smithson, be, and the same hereby are, pledged to refund to
the treasury of the United States the sums hereby appropriated.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the business of the said
Institution shall be conducted at the city of Washington by a . board
of regents, by the name of the Regents of the "Smithsonian Institu-
tion," to be composed of the Vice-President of the United States, the
Chief Justice of the United States, and the mayor of the city of
Washington, during the time for which they shall hold their respec-
tive offices; three members of the Senate, and three members of the
House of Representatives; together with six other persons, other than
members of Congress, two of whom shall be members of the National
Institute in the city of Washington, and resident in the said city; and
the other four thereof shall be inhabitants of States, and no two of
them of the same State. And the regents to be selected as aforesaid
shall be appointed immediately after the passage of this act the mem-
bers of the Senate by the president thereof, the members of the House
by the speaker thereof, and the six other persons by joint ^resolution
of the Senate and House of Representatives; and the members of the
House, so appointed, shall serve until the fourth Wednesday in Decem-
ber, the second next after the passage of this act; and then, and bien-
nially thereafter, on every alternate fourth Wednesday of December,
a like number shall be appointed in the same manner, to serve until the
fourth Wednesday in December, the second succeeding their appoint-
ment. And the senators so appointed shall serve during the term for
which they shall hold, without reelection, their office as senators.
And vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be
filled as vacancies in committees are filled; and the other six members
aforesaid shall serve, two for two years, two for four years, and two for
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 431
six years; the terms of service, in the first place, to be determined by
lot; but, after the first term, then their regular term of service shall
be six years; and new elections thereof shall be made by joint resolu-
tion of Congress; and vacancies- occasioned by death, resignation, or
otherwise, may be filled in like manner, by joint resolution of Con-
gress. And the said regents shall meet in the city of Washington, on
the first Monday of September next after the passage of this act, and
organize by the election of one of their number as chancellor, who
shall be the presiding officer of said board of regents, by the name
of the Chancellor of the "Smithsonian Institution," and a suitable
person as secretary of said institution, who shall also be the secretary
of said board of regents; said board shall also elect three of their
own body as an executive committee, and said regents shall then fix
on the time for the regular meetings of said board; and, on applica-
tion of any three of the regents to the secretary of the said Institution,
it shall be his duty to appoint a special meeting of the board of
regents, of which he shall give notice, by letter, to each of the mem-
bers; and, at any meeting of said board, five shall constitute a quorum
to do business. And each member of said board shall be paid his
necessary traveling and other actual expenses, in attending meetings
of the board, which shall be audited by the executive committee, and
recorded by the secretary of said board; but his services as regent
shall be gratuitous. And whenever money is required for the pay-
ment of the debts or performance of the contracts of the institution,
incurred or entered into in conformity with the provisions of this act,
or for making the purchases and executing the objects authorized by
this act, the board of regents, or the executive committee thereof,
may certify to the chancellor and secretary of the board that such
sum of money is required, whereupon they shall examine the same,
and, if they shall approve thereof, shall certify the same to the proper
officer of the treasury for payment. And the said board shall sub-
mit to Congress, at each session thereof, a report of the operations,
expenditures, and condition, of the institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, after the board of regents
shall have met and become organized, it shall be their duty forthwith
to proceed to select a suitable site for such building as may be neces-
sary for the institution, which ground may be taken and appropriated
out of that part of the public ground in the city of Washington lying
between the patent office and Seventh Street: Provided, The Presi-
dent of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the
Commissioner of the Patent Office, shall consent to the same; but, if
the persons last named shall not consent, then such location may be
made upon any other of the public grounds within the city of Wash-
ington, belonging to the United States, which said regents may select,
432 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
by and with the consent of the persons herein named; and the .said
ground, so selected, shall be set out by proper metes and bounds, and a
description of the same shall be made, and recorded in a book to be
provided for that purpose, and signed by the said regents, or so many
of them as may be convened at the time of their said organization;
and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the chancellor and
secretary of the board of regents, shall be received in evidence, in
all courts, of the extent and boundaries of the lands appropriated to
the said institution; and, upon the making of such record, such site and
lands shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated, by force of this
act, to the said institution.
SEC. 5. And be it furtJier enacted, That, so soon as the board of
regents shall have selected the said site, they shall cause to be erected
a suitable building, of plain and durable materials and structure, with-
out unnecessary ornament, and of sufficient size, and with suitable
rooms or halls, for the reception and arrangement, upon a liberal
scale, of objects of natural history, including a geological and mincr-
alogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art,
and the necessary lecture rooms; and the said board shall have author-
ity, by themselves, or by a committee of three of their members, to
contract for the completion of such building, upon such plan as may
be directed by the board of regents, and shall take sufficient security
for the building and finishing the same according to the said plan, and
in the time stipulated in such contract; and may so locate said build-
ing, if they shall deem it proper, as in appearance to form a wing to
the patent office building, and may so connect the same with the
present hall of said patent office building, containing the national
cabinet of curiosities, as to constitute the said hall, in whole or in
part, the deposit for the cabinet of said institution, if they deem it
expedient to do so: provided, said building s-hall be located upon said
patent office lot, in the manner aforesaid: Provided, however, That
the whole expense of the building and enclosures aforesaid shall not
exceed the amount of , which sum is hereby appropriated, pay-
able out of money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated,
together with such sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to
the institution, as may, in any year, remain unexpended, after pa} r ing
the current expenses of the institution. And duplicates of all such
contracts as may be made by the said board of regents shall be
deposited with the treasurer of the United States; and all claims on
any contract made as aforesaid shall be allowed and certified by the
board of regents, or the executive committee thereof, as the case may
be, and, being signed by the chancellor and secretary of the board,
shall be a sufficient voucher for settlement and payment at the treas-
ury of the United States. And the board of regents shall be author-
ized to employ such persons as they may deem necessary to .superintend
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 433
the erection of the building and fitting up the rooms of the institu-
tion. And all laws for the protection of public property in the city
of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the protection of
the lands, buildings, and other property, of said institution. And all
moneys recovered by, or accruing to, the institution, shall be paid into
the treasury of the United States, to the credit of the Smithsonian
bequest, and separately accounted for, as provided in the act approved
July first, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, accepting said bequest.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable
arrangements can be made for their reception, all objects of art and of
foreign and curious research, and all objects of natural history, plants,
and geological and mineralogical specimens, belonging, or hereafter to
belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of Washington,
in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such
persons as may be authorized by the board of regents to receive
them, and shall be arranged in such order, and so classed, as best [to]
facilitate the examination and study of them, in the building so as
aforesaid to be erected for the institution; and the regents of said
institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy, may be obtained for the museum of the
institution by exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the
institution (which they are hereby authorized to make,) or by dona-
tion, which they may receive, or otherwise, cause such new specimens
to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the minerals,
books, manuscripts, and other property, of James Smithson, which
have been received by the government of the United States, and are
now placed in the department of state, shall be removed to said insti-
tution, and shall be preserved separate and apart from other property
of the institution.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the secretary of the board
of regents shall take charge of the building and property of said
institution, and shall, under their direction, make a fair and accurate
record of all their proceedings, to be preserved in said institution;
and the said secretary shall also discharge the duties of librarian and
of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of the board of
regents, employ assistants; and the said officers shall receive for their
services such sums as may be allowed by the board of regents, to be
paid senii-annually on the first day of January and July; and the said
officers shall be removable by the board of regents, whenever, in
their judgment, the interests of the institution require any of the
said officers to be changed.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the members and honorary
members of said institution may hold such stated and special meet-
ings, for the supervision of the affairs of said institution and the
advice and instruction of said board of regents, to be called in the
H. Doc. 732 28
434 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
manner provided for in the by-laws of said institution, at which
the President, and in his absence the Vice-President of the United
States shall preside. And the said regents shall make, from the
interest of said fund, an appropriation, not exceeding an average of
twenty -five thousand dollars annually, for the gradual formation of a
library composed of valuable works pertaining to all departments of
human knowledge.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That of any other moneys which
have accrued, or shall hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said
Smithsonian fund, not herein appropriated, or not required for the
purposes herein provided, the said managers are hereby authorized to
make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the promotion
of the purpose of the testator, anything herein contained to the con-
trary notwithstanding.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the author or proprietor of
any book, map, chart, musical composition, print, cut, or engraving,
for which a copyright shall be secured under the existing acts of Con-
gress, or those which shall hereafter be enacted respecting copy-
rights, shall, within three months from the publication of said book,
map, chart, musical composition, print, cut, or engraving, deliver, or
cause to be delivered, one copy of the same to the librarian of the
Smithsonian Institution, and one copy to the librarian of Congress
Library, for the use of the said libraries.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That there is reserved to Con-
gress the right of altering, amending, adding to, or repealing, any of
the provisions of this act: Provided, That no contract, or individual
right, made or acquired under such provisions, shall be thereby
divested or impaired.
(Stat, IX, 102.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
March 4, 1846.
Resolved, etc., That the librarian of Congress be, and he hereby is,
authorized and directed to procure a complete series of reports of all
the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, and of the
Circuit and District Courts thereof, which have been heretofore pub-
lished; as also a complete copy of the public Statutes at Large of the
United States, now being edited by Richard Peters, esq., by authority
of Congress, the whole to be uniformly bound and lettered; and to
cause the same, under the direction of the chief justice of said
Supreme Court, to be transmitted and presented to the minister of
justice of France, in return and exchange for works of French law
heretofore presented by the minister to the Supreme Court aforesaid.
SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That, for the purpose aforesaid,
there be appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated, a sum not exceeding live hundred dollars.
(Stat, IX, 109.)
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 435
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
July 15, 1846.
Resolved, etc. , That of the thirty -seven copies of the narrative and
scientific works of the exploring expedition, deposited, and to be
deposited, in the library of Congress, one copy shall be presented to
the State of Florida; and whenever any new State shall be admitted
into the Union, one copy of said works shall be presented to such State.
(Stat., IX, 111.)
August 10, 1846.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1847.
For continuing the publication of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, including the printing of charts, the pay of the scientific corps,
and the salary of the horticulturist, $30,000.
(Stat., IX, 94.)
March 3, 1847.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1848.
For continuing the publication of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, including the printing of the charts, the pay of the scientific
corps, salary of the horticulturist, and care of the collections, $15,000.
(Stat, IX, 164.)
CATLIN JENDIAN GALLERY.
July 24, 1846 House.
Mr. W. W. CAMPBELL, from the Joint Committee on the Library,
to which was referred the memorial of Mr. Catlin for the purchase of
his gallery of Indian collections of paintings, made a report thereon,
and recommended an amendment to the bill of the Houtee "To estab-
lish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men," providing for the purchase of said gallery
of Indian collections of paintings, which report was laid upon the
table.
February 27, 1847 Senate.
Mr. J. M. CLAYTON moved an amendment to the civil and diplo-
matic appropriation bill appropriating a sum ($5,000) to be paid
annually for the purchase of Catlin's gallery of Indian portraits, etc.
Mr. Clayton stated that this was probably the last opportunity which
would be offered for obtaining this gallery of paintings perpetuating
the lineaments of these aborigines. He would not now go into the
merits of these paintings. They had been seen by all the Senators.
At the last session memorials had been presented from the principal
artists praying that they might be purchased by the Government,
and this was the last opportunity. They were about six hundred
in number and were now at the Louvre, in Paris, where they met with
unqualified approbation. It was provided by his amendment that they
were not to be purchased unless the Smithsonian Institution would find
436 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
a place for them in their gallery, which he understood would probably
be done. They might, perhaps, be purchased for about $50,000, of
which it was proposed to pay $5,000 annually.
Mr. SIDNEY BREESE said he was not aware of any arrangement which
had been suggested in the Institute for these paintings, and (500 of
them would till the entire gallery intended for tine arts. These pictures
are not of themselves of such excellence as would probably be selected
for the gallery of the arts.
Mr. JAMES D. WESTCOTT was opposed to purchasing the portraits
of savages. What great moral lesson are they intended to inculcate ?
He would rather see the portraits of the numerous citizens who have
been murdered by these Indians. He would not vote a cent for a por-
trait of an Indian.
Mr. CLAYTON added that this collection had cost Mr. Catlin not less
than $10,000. Propositions had been made for their purchase in
Europe in order to perpetuate the memory of these Indians, but we
are more bound to preserve them than foreigners were. As to the
Institute, this appropriation was to depend on their decision. If they
could not provide a place for them the paintings w T ould not be pur-
chased.
The motion was then decided in the negative.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By Vice- President.
August 10, 1846 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. GEORGE M. DALLAS) appointed George
Evans, Sidney Breese, and Isaac S. Pennybacker as Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution under the provisions of the act of August 10,
1846, establishing the Institution.
January 16, 1847 Senate.
Mr. SIDNEY BREESE rose and stated that there was a vacancy in the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, occasioned by the
death of Senator Pennybacker, and that it was important that the same
be filled, inasmuch as there was to be a meeting of the Board of Regents
on the 20th of this month, at which important business would be
brought forward.
Mr. Breese referred to the law in relation to the mode of making
appointments to fill vacancies occurring in the said board, which
directs that such vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as vacan-
cies occurring in standing committees of the Senate. These were filled
either by election on the part of the Senate or by the appointment of
the presiding officer. He moved that the Vice-President be authorized
to appoint a person to fill the vacancy.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 437
Mr. JOHN J. CRITTENDEN remarked that he was entirely satisfied
with the appointments which had been made, although they were made
after the adjournment of Congress, and consequently he had no par-
ticipation in making them. But as a vacancy now occurred during a
session of Congress, he thought it would be proper that the Senate
should exercise its right to select a person to fill that vacancy. He
was the more desirous that this should be done inasmuch as he had in
his mind a gentleman who had lately distinguished himself in writing
upon this subject, and who, he believed, would be the proper person
to be selected.
Mr. GEORGE EVANS reminded the Senator from Kentucky that the
person to be appointed must be a member of the Senate.
Mr. CRITTENDEN. Oh! That being the case, Mr. President, 1 offer
no further objection to the motion. The person I wished to see
appointed is Dr. Bird.
Mr. JAMES D. WESTCOTT said when the Smithsonian bill was before
Congress at the last session he was opposed to it, and he believed he
voted against it throughout when present in the Senate, while it was
under consideration. He had many objections to the bill. An insu-
perable one was, that he objected to those provisions by which Senators
and Representatives were to be appointed "regents," an office created
by. the law passed by themselves. He had no idea that it was consti-
tutional or in any wise proper for members of Congress to make
offices for themselves of this character. The office of regent was a
civil office, and the Constitution prohibited members of Congress
from being appointed to any office created "during the term for which
they were elected." It was an office of trust and honor, and, in some
respects, of emolument. With this belief, he should not vote upon
this motion, to which he had no other objection. If he voted against
it, his vote would be subject to misconstruction. He knew a majority
of the Senate differed with him on the constitutional question he had
adverted to, but on such a question he must obey the dictates of his
own conscience.
The motion of Mr. Breese was then agreed to.
January 18, 1847 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. DALLAS) announced that he had appointed
Lewis Cass to be a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in the place
of Isaac S. Penuybacker, deceased.
February 22, 1847 Senate.
On motion of Mr. SIDNEY BREESE, the Vice-President (Mr. DALLAS)
was authorized to fill the vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution caused by the resignation of George Evans.
James A. Pearce, of Maryland, was appointed.
438 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
J3y Speaker.
August 10, 1846 House.
A message was received from the President informing the House
that he had approved the bill to provide for the establishment of the
Smithsonian Institution.
The Speaker (Mr. JOHN W. DAVIS) said that b}^ one provision of
the bill it was made the duty of the Chair to appoint three regents,
and he announced that he had accordingly appointed:
Robert Dale Owen, of Indiana; William J. Hough, of ISew York;
Henry W. Hilliard, of Alabama.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
August 10, 1846.
Rexolved, etc., That Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, Gideon Hawley,
of New York, Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, William C. Preston, of
South Carolina, and Alexander Dallas Bache and Joseph G. Totten,
residents of the city of Washington, be, and the same are hereby,
appointed regents of the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with
the provisions of the act establishing said institution.
(Stat, IX, 115.)
PURCHASE OF CITY HALL FOR THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
February 15, 1847 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE EVANS presented bill:
Be it enacted, etc., That the regents of the Smithsonian Institution be, and they are
hereby, authorized to purchase of Ihe corporation of the city of Washington, all the
right, title, and interest of the said corporation in and to the City Hall of the said
city; subject, however, to the conditions and provisions hereinafter specified: Pro-
vided, That the corporation shall, on or beforethe tenth day of March next, enter into
bond, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the Attorney-General of the United
States, that they will erect on the Market Space, between Seventh and Ninth streets
west, and between Pennsylvania avenue and B street north, a suitable and commo-
dious building, in which there shall be included such apartments as may be neces-
sary for the accommodation of the circuit court of the United States for the county
of Washington, in the District of Columbia, for the use of the grand and petit jurors
of the said county, for the offices of the clerk of the said court and the marshal of
said District, and for the preservation and security of the book?, papers, and records
of the said court; and that they will complete the said building, or so much of the
same as may contain the apartments and accommodations aforesaid, and shall pre-
pare the same for the said courts and offices, on or before the tenth day of March,
1848. And upon such purchase being completed, the said corporation shall release
and forever quitclaim unto the said Smithsonian Institution all the right and title of
the said corporation unto the said city hall, and unto the possession and occupation
of the lot or square on which the same now stands.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 439
SEC. 2. Ami be it further enacted, That so soon as the said bond and release shall be
executed by the said corporation, and sufficient evidence thereof be laid before the
President of the United States, the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to
grant unto the said corporation the right to occupy and improve, for public purposes,
all or any portion of that lot or square of ground in the city of Washington, includ-
ing the Market space, lying between Seventh and Ninth streets west, and bounded
on the north by the south line of Pennsylvania avenue, and on the south by the
north line of B street north. And then, and in that case, there shall also be paid to
the corporation, towards the erection of the building, as provided in the first section
of this act, the sum of $35,000, which sum is hereby appropriated out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and the said sum of $35,000 is hereby
declared to be in full of the apartments and accommodations specified in the first
section of this act; and the said apartments and accommodations shall forever remain
subject to the occupation of the courts and their offices aforesaid.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in case of the execution, by the said corpo-
ration, of the bond and release aforesaid, the regents of the Smithsonian Institution
be, and they are hereby, authorized, by resolution of the board of regents, to retro-
cede to the United States that certain building site in the city of Washington, and in
the public reservation commonly called the Mall, which, according to the provisions
of the act organizing said Institution, approved August tenth, 1846, has become the
property of the said Institution; and upon proper evidence being adduced, to the sat-
isfaction of the President of the United States, of said retrocession, the President shall
be, and he is hereby, authorized to convey to the Smithsonian Institution, by metes
and bounds, so much of that public reservation in the city of Washington, commonly
called the Judiciary square, as lies south of the extension of the south line of E street
north, being the same lot or square on which the city hall now stands; and the said
conveyance by the President shall be received in evidence in all courts of the extent
and boundaries of the lot or square of land which, by virtue of this act, may become
the property of the said Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner of public buildings in the
city of Washington be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to provide tempo-
rary accommodations in some suitable building for the circuit court of the United
States for the county of Washington, and for its offices and records, until the tenth
day of March, 1848. And for the purpose of procuring said accommodations, the
sum of $1,000, or so much of the same as may be required for that object, be, and
the same is hereby, appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated.
Referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
March 2, 1847 Senate.
Mr. SIDNEY BREESE presented a report of the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, made agreeably to law, showing the
operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution, which was
ordered to be printed.
III.
LEGISLATION RELATIVE TO THE INSTITUTION AND ITS
DEPENDENCIES: 1847 TO 1899.
441
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849.
COMMITTEE ON THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
December 8, 1847 House.
Mr. HUGH WHITE gave notice that on some subsequent day he would
move to amend the rules of the House so as to provide for the appoint-
ment of a committee on the Smithsonian Institution.
December 13, 1847 House.
Mr. HUGH WHITE, in compliance with the notice he had given, intro-
duced resolution.
Resolved, That the rules of this House be amended by adding one to the commit-
tees, to consist of nine members, which shall be entitled a Committee on the Smith-
sonian Institution. It shall be the duty of the said committee to supervise the
proceedings of the Board of Regents, examine accounts and the condition of the
funds of the Institution, suggest such alterations or amendments of the law under
which the Institution was established as may be deemed necessary, and report to the
House from time to time, as the interest of the Institution may require.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD said he supposed that the resolution would,
as a matter of course, lie over.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) said that the resolution was
now before the House.
Mr. HILLIARD deemed this resolution entirely unnecessary. The
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution were selected, three from the
Senate and three from the House. What possible necessity, then,
could there be to justify the appointment of a committee to inspect
the affairs of that Institution? Besides, other departments of this
Government were required to act in concert with them, and therefore
there could be no reason to justify the bringing of the affairs of that
Institution into this arena of debate, that its progress might be
embarrassed, its harmony of action impaired, and the objects which
it had undertaken be defeated. He asked the gentleman what good
he proposed to accomplish by it? He would impute no sinister mo-
tive to a gentleman of his enlarged and enlightened views, but still it
must be borne in mind that the bill itself encountered great difficulties
in its progress through the House during the last session. Much
hostility was manifested to it, and therefore he again asked, what
good could be anticipated from the appointment of such a committee ?
Mr. HILLIARD believed they ought not to change the present
relations of Congress to that Institution. A committee appointed by
this House would not share in the daily deliberations of the Board of
443
444 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Regents, and, without participating in them, it would be difficult to
comprehend all its designs. The Board of Regents had endeavored in
good faith to carry out the law passed by Congress; and, having done
so, he said, let them go on; and if their affairs .should hereafter call
for the appointment of a select committee, appoint one when required,
but do not now provide the means unnecessarily of constantly bring-
ing on this floor, where they were so much oppressed with debate,
the affairs of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. WHITE disclaimed all hostility to that Institution, and declared
his ardent desire to cooperate with the Regents. The bequest was a
noble one, and it should be carried out in the same spirit. The com-
mittee which he proposed to create, on which he did not desire to be
placed, would merely supervise the appropriations and review its
affairs, and his could not, therefore, be considered a hostile motion.
It was a new Institution, under the care and guardianship of Congress,
and such a committee might be necessary to report what was useful
and requisite to carry out the design of the testator, which was to
increase the diffusion of knowledge among men.
Mr. C. J. INGERSOLL suggested, to save time, that the resolution
should be referred to the Select Committee on Rules, who could take
it into consideration and report thereon to the House.
Mr. WHITE had no objection to that course. He modified his res-
olution accordingly, and it was referred to the select committee
designated.
December 19, 1847 House.
The House having under consideration the Rules of the House, the
seventh proposed rule was read as follows:
7. In addition to the other standing committees of the House, there shall be one
called the Smithsonian Committee, whose duty it shall be to superintend the affairs
of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. C. J. INGERSOLL expressed a desire to postpone the considera-
tion of this rule to a future day.
Mr. II. W. HILLIARD said he desired to occupy about ten minutes
of the time of the House on this subject at this time. He thought
this was the precise occasion on which a few words should be said.
Mr. IXGERSOLL had no objection; but as the other rules had been
disposed of, he wished to defer this for the present.
Mr. HILLIARD undertook to move the postponement to a day certain,
and then proceeded as follows:
Mr. Speaker, it so happens that I am the only member of the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution now entitled to a seat on
this floor. It is important to secure the good-will of the country in
behalf of an enterprise so elevated one might say, so sublime.
There exists some misconception in regard to the Institution, and
idle rumors are afloat which may affect it injuriously. Scientific
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 445
establishments are not to go out and court popularity, but they must
not be indifferent to public sentiment. Before entering upon the
stormy and engrossing debates in which we shall presently be engaged,
I desire by a simple statement of facts to give the House a view of the
history, condition, and plans of an institution which so strongly
appeals to us for protection.
Mr. Smithson's bequest was a noble one. He gave his whole prop-
erty to found at the city of Washington "an establishment for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." America was
selected as a field for so wide and beneficent a design. Young, vigor-
ous, rapidly increasing in numbers, this country afforded the best
ground upon which to rest an establishment which was designed to
enlighten mankind.
Entering into the spirit of this bequest Congress passed an act mak-
ing the most liberal provision for carrying it into practical effect.
The whole sum, with its accumulated interest, was turned over to the
establishment created by the act, composed of the President and Vice-
President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary
of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the -Navy, the
Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice, and the
Commissioner of the Patent Office of the United States, and the mayor
of the city of Washington, during the time for which they shall hold
their respective offices, and such other persons as they may elect hon-
orary members. The sum amounted to $515,169, and a further sum
of $242,129, being the accumulated interest upon that sum since it
came into possession of the Government. The principal sum was for-
ever to remain untouched; the interest was appropriated to the erection
of the building and incidental expenses. The building to be erected
was to meet the provisions of the act, which required it to contain
suitable rooms or halls for the reception and arrangement, upon a lib-
eral scale, of objects of natural history, including a geological and min-
eralogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of
art, and the necessary lecture rooms. Another section provides that,
in proportion as suitable arrangements can be made for their reception,
all objects of art, and of foreign and curious research, and all objects
of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens,
belonging or hereafter to belong to the United States, which may be
in the city of Washington, shall be delivered to the care of the Insti-
tution, and so classed and arranged as best to facilitate the examination
and study of them in the building to be erected. This at once empties
the great hall of the Patent Office, 350 feet long, of its contents. It
must be at once seen that the Smithsonian building ought, if it is to
accommodate these great and various objects, to be of ample dimen-
sions. This building, too, was to be erected without delay. The site
was to be selected "forthwith," "and so soon" as that was done the
Board was to proceed with the erection of the building.
44(3 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The Board of Regents faithfully studied the will of Mr. Smithson
and the law creating the establishment.
Two things were to be accomplished: First, to increase knowledge
by original research; and then, second, to diffuse it by suitable and
efficient agencies; or, in the language of the venerable and distinguished
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Adams), "to spread knowledge
throughout the world."
The task devolved by Congress on the Regents was no light one.
They were called on to organize and set on foot this establishment, so
beneficent in its conception, so comprehensive in its design. The act
of Congress prescribed certain parts of the plan and left the other
parts to be devised by the Board of Regents. That part of the plan
which was embraced in the act of Congress had almost exclusive refer-
ence to the diffusion of knowledge. The means which provide for the
increase have been supplied by the Regents.
We have been charged with being wildhy extravagant laying out
large sums in purchase of old books. A story has been circulated that
we paid $2,500 for an old and rare copy of the Bible. Now, sir, no
man loves the Bible more than I do, but I could not have consented to
an expenditure of that sort. I dare say no one member of the Board
ever dreamed of such an expenditure.
Again, some have charged us with being too utilitarian, confining
our operations to an improvement of the physical condition of man-
kind. We have certainly endeavored in our plan of organization to
provide for the entire wants of mankind and to meet the spirit of the
age. We have brought into our service a gentleman who stands in the
front rank of the science of the country I mean Professor Henry,
formerly of Princeton. His name is well known in Europe, and is
associated with that of Faraday, and Arago, and Quetelet. I have
before me the plan of organization adopted for the operations of the
Institution, to which I desire to call the attention of the House, but
which (as Mark Antony said on a much more important occasion
about the will of Caesar) pardon me, I do not intend to read. I wish
every gentleman in the House would read it, for it would receive on all
sides a warm and generous support.
I desire to submit a few remarks in regard to our building. We
were authorized by Congress to expend $240,000 in its erection; but,
in view of the wide field of knowledge to be cultivated, the Regents
resolved to save a part of this sum and add it to the principal. Keep-
ing in view the great interests to be provided for, it was resolved to
erect a building of proportions sufficiently ample to meet the require-
ments of the act of Congress, and of a style which should not offend
the eye. This has been effected, a contract has been entered into, and
a plan of expenditure agreed upon, which, while the building is
gradually constructed, will carry out the plan to full completion, and
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 447
at the end of five years from the time of its commencement. So far
from having expended the sum appropriated by Congress for the pur-
pose, we shall have after erecting the structure, providing for its warm-
ing and ventilation, and the inclosure of the grounds, $140,000 to
return to the principal sum. In the meanwhile we are carrying on
the operations of the Institution, stimulating original researches, pub-
lishing contributions to science, and gradually increasing our library.
At the same time we pay our debts as we go on. This is, of course,
accomplished by using the interest on the $240,000 for the building
and the annually accruing interest on the principal fund for meeting
the regular expenses of the Institution.
The transactions of the present year are highly interesting, and will
soon be published in a volume which will compare well with similar
publications in Europe.
With the building, so far as it has gone, all paid for and every debt
discharged, we shall have at the end of the year $10,000 more than we
received from Congress.
Is there any necessity for a standing committee of this House ? How
is the Board of Regents composed? The act of Congress declares
that it shall be constituted of the Vice-President of the United States,
the Chief Justice of the United States, the mayor of the city of
Washington, three members of the Senate, three members of the
House of Representatives, together with six other persons not mem-
bers of Congress. Each House of Congress, it will be perceived, has
three members of the Board of Regents, and it is required by law that
the Board shall submit to Congress at each session a report of the
operations, expenditures, and condition of the institution.
At the last session I presented a full report according to law which
I now have before me; it was printed and circulated. Another report
is about to be presented embracing the report of the building commit-
tee, a paper containing some 300 pages full of useful information
which I should be happy to see printed. Is it, then, necessary to
appoint a committee ? Is it proper? Is it becoming? A committee of
this House appointed "to superintend the affairs of the Smithsonian
Institution ! " This committee will bring under its supervision the
Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice, three Senators,
three Representatives, and six citizens at large selected because of
their character and attainments. May I most respectfully ask who
will superintend the affairs of that committee of five ? Where is the
necessity for thus complicating the machinery of an institution which
ought to be left to enjoy the repose which science loves.
I hope, sir, that this Institution, so important to this country and to
mankind, will not be launched on the ever-heaving sea of politics. If
that should happen, we should soon lose sight of land; storms and
shipwreck would await us, and the hopes which crowned our noble
enterprise in its commencement would perish with us.
448 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
I thank the House for the attention with which they have heard
these remarks; it evinces the interest which they feel in an institution
which claims their protection.
Mr. Hilliard concluded by moving to lay the proposed rule on the
table.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON said he thought he understood the agreement
between the gentleman from Alabama and the gentleman f rojn Penn-
sylvania to be that this subject should be postponed to a day certain.
Mr. C. J. INGERSOLL. My suggestion was that the consideration of
the subject be postponed to any given day which the gentleman from
Alabama might name.
Mr. H. AV. HILLIARD. I had no choice at all, sir.
Mr. INGERSOLL indicated his wish that the gentleman from Alabama
should name the day.
Mr. HILLIARD said he would move, if agreeable to the House, that
it be postponed to this day twelve months.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON addressed the Chair, and inquired if that
motion was not debatable.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) replied in the affirmative.
Mr. INGERSOLL suggested to Mr. Hilliard that his understanding
was that it should be postponed to some day not distant, when the
House could reach and dispose of it.
Mr. HILLIARD said he would withdraw the motion, as he preferred
the gentleman from Pennsylvania should make his own motion.
The SPEAKER said the gentleman from Pennsylvania had not the
floor to make the motion. The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. A.
Johnson] had taken the floor.
Mr. HILLIARD then remarked that he had been reminded that his
pledge was to move a postponement to a day within a reasonable
period, and said he would modify his motion so as to name the 3d day
of January next.
The SPEAKER said the motion could not be altered without the con-
sent of the gentleman from Tennessee, who had the floor.
Mr. HILLIARD appealed to the gentleman from Tennessee to permit
the modification to be made.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON had no objection, provided it did not deprive
him of the floor.
The motion was according^ modified by Mr. Hilliard, so as to post-
pone to the 3d day of January.
Mr. JOHNSON then proceeded in his remarks. He said the gentle-
man who had just closed his remarks had seen no propriety or neces-
sity for the appointment of this committee. He seemed to think it
would be humiliating, and detracting somewhat from the dignity of
these individuals who were called "Regents,' 1 he believed, in the act
establishing the Smithsonian Institution to have their proceedings
come under the supervision of a committee of this House. Now, his
.THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 449
[Mr. Johnson's] conceptions about dignity and position in this coun-
try were perhaps different from those of the gentleman from Ala-
bama. According to his notions of government this body occupied
the highest and most elevated position. In this democratic govern-
ment it was held that the people are sovereign the source of all
power; this body stands next to the people, next to the sovereignty,
and instead of detracting from their dignity he thought it was assign-
ing them their true position. He knew there were some who were
really fascinated by that word "Regent," and the fondness of such
things was increasing in our country.
He thought the gentleman from Alabama had demonstrated clearly
to this House, in his opposition to the creation of this committee, the
necessity of its creation. If all was done well, everything regularly
transacted, if the money was judiciously expended, in the name of
common reason would it in jure or affect their proceedings to be super-
vised by a committee appointed by this body ? Why, the very dispo-
sition to shrink from the supervision of a committee appointed by the
popular branch of the Government ought to carry conviction to the
mind of this House of the necessity of its creation.
He was no prophet, but when the bill was before the House for the
establishment of the Smithsonian Institution he had predicted what
had already become a matter of fact that this Institution would be an
incubus upon the Treasury, that it would be a perpetual source of
expenditure. The clause in Mr. Smithson's will "for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men " read well, it was true. And the
gentleman from Alabama undertook also to prove how great financiers
the Board of Regents were, and said after all the improvements are
done the} T would have over $100,000 left. And how was this done?
Why, they had taken $242,000, supposed to be the interest which had
accumulated on this fund, and put that upon interest, having bought
Treasury notes, he supposed, on which they were drawing interest;
and by this means they had saved an immense sum. Did not every
member know who had paid attention to the discussion of this subject
when the bill passed placing $500,000 at the discretion of the Board of
Regents that not a dollar of it was there ? They first placed a certain
amount in the Treasury that did not exist there, and then calculated
interest on this fictitious amount and then interest on the interest;
which is the way in which they are to carry on their extensive works.
Mr. HILLIARD. Is the gentleman charging that upon the board or
this House?
Mr. JOHNSON. Charging what?
Mr. HILLIARD. Why, that a fictitious amount was placed in the
Treasury.
Mr. JOHNSON. I was going on to prove the position that this Institu-
tion would be an incubus upon the Treasury.
H. Doc. 732 29
450 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS-
Mr. MILLIARD. But does the gentleman charge the putting this
fictitious sum in the Treasury, etc., on the board or on Congress? I
wish him to answer on that point.
Mr. JOHNSON. On Congress. The bill of last session placed $500,000
in the Treasury which was not there in reality. It is true the Gov-
ernment received it; but they acted as a faithful trustee and loaned it
out, and not a cent has ever been returned. In this state of the case,
Mr. JOHNSON denied that the Government was justly bound to refund
the money, and that very few of their constituencies would sanction
it. It would have been much better if she had never consented to act
as trustee of it; for notwithstanding their flourishing with "Regents,"
etc., and talking of such a sum as in the Treasury, it was not there,
and the expenses of this Institution came out of the Treasury, which
was already heavily taxed and burdened with debt to carry on the war.
He insisted, now that they had commenced operations, that reports of
their proceedings should be regularly laid before a committee of this
House who would thus have supervision over them and be a check upon
them. Such a restraint was needed in all Government establishments,
and there was no reason in this case why this institution should be
excepted.
January 17, 1848 House.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON, of Tennessee, presented resolutions:
Resolved, That in addition to the standing committees of this House there shall be
one called the Smithsonian Committee, whose duty it shall be to superintend the
affairs of the Smithsonian Institution.
Resolved, That the report made by the Regents, and accompanying documents, be
referred to the Committee on the Smithsonian Institution, whose duty it shall be to
examine the same in connection with the original journal and other documents from
which they have been made, and report to this House whether, in their opinion, it is
necessary to print all or any portion of them, or not; and that said committee be, and
is hereby, authorized and required to take into consideration the propriety and
expediency of suspending all further operations of the Smithsonian Institution until
the Treasury of the United States be relieved from the heavy and pressing burden
created by the existing war between the anarchy of Mexico and the American Union.
And, further, that said committee be authorized and required to procure the aid of
three architects, distinguished in their profession, associated with two responsible
and highly reputed scientific practical builders, who shall take into consideration
the site, the design, and material of w r hich the present building is composed, and
report the result of such examination to this House. And, further, that said com-
mittee take into consideration the propriety of so changing and remodelling the
present design of the Smithsonian Institution as to convert it into a "university," in
the extended sense of the term, including the manual-labor feature, as to embrace
agriculture, horticulture, and all the various branches of mechanism, or as many of
them as may be deemed practicable and useful to the country.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) ruled the resolution out of
order.
Mr. JOHNSON moved to suspend the rules that the resolution might
be received.
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 451
The question was put on suspending the rules, and the motion was
disagreed to.
Notices of motions for leave to introduce bills being in order, the
following notice was given:
Bv Mr. JOHNSON, of Tennessee: Of a bill to change the title of an
act approved on the 10th day of August, 1846, entitled "An act to
establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men," to that of the "Washington University
for the benefit of the indigent children of the District of Columbia,"
in memory of and out of respect to George Washington, the Father of
his Country. -
December 11, 1848 House.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON, of Tennessee, moved to amend the resolu-
tion of Mr. Truman Smith, so as to provide for the appointment of a
standing committee to be called the Committee on the Smithsonian
Institution.
Mr. W. L. GOGGIN rose, and was understood to express his desire
to offer an amendment providing that no member should have the
right to call the previous question on any proposition presented to
the House until the same should have been distinctly stated by the
Chair or the Clerk.
Mr. Goggin desired, if in order, to offer this as an amendment to
the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Johnson].
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) was understood to say that the
proposition of the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Goggin] would be in
order after the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr.
Johnson] had been disposed of. The question now was, on ordering
the appointment of an additional committee on the Smithsonian
Institution.
The question was accordingly put by the Chair, but before the
decision had been announced
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON hoped, he said, that the House would adopt
his amendment. The subject involved the expenditure of hundreds of
thousands of dollars, and he could see no substantial reason why oppo-
sition should be made to the appointment of such a committee. The
Regents were prepared, as he understood, to make a report. This Con-
gress had the supervision of the fund, and had the appointment of some
of its Regents, and he could not see why this body, or incorporation,
or Institution, upon which so much money had been expended, should
not be reported upon as to its proceedings and conditions to this
House. Congress had received the fund and had become responsible
for it. They were the trustees. Were they to act before a committee
of the House had reported upon the manner in which the funds had
been disposed of, and upon other matters of that kind? He was utterly
astonished that his amendment should find any opponent on this floor.
452 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Did gentlemen wish to exclude all light upon the subject to prevent
the country receiving such information as it was in their power to
give to keep from public view the facts connected with the expendi-
ture of the money? It was strange that any gentleman should be
found willing to say that he did not want a committee which might
ascertain all the facts and report them to the country. Various com-
plaints had been made as to the expenditure of the money, the struc-
ture of the building, and the material of which it was composed. Were
gentlemen willing to exclude all those facts which it was requisite
should be known in order to arrive at correct conclusions, and intelli-
gently to direct the future operations of the Institution^ If all was
going on well, if the building was properly constructed, and the money
had been properly expended, let the country understand it. He trusted
that the House would adopt his proposition and that a committee would
be appointed.
Mr. ROBERT MCCLELLAND, of Michigan, said that he was not
opposed to the appointment of the committee contemplated by the
amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Johnson]. At the
same time, if he had no other reasons than those which had been
assigned by the gentleman from Tennessee, he (Mr. McClelland) should
be radically opposed to such an appointment. Reports had been sent
in by the Board of Regents that were very full and ample in regard
to all the facts that the people throughout the country could desire to
know concerning this Institution. One very full report of all facts
touching the Institution had been laid before the House at the last ses-
sion of Congress. The House had refused to print it. That report,
his friend from Tennessee [Mr. Johnson] would find, had set forth, in
a simple and lucid manner, everything connected with the Institution
since its organization everything that had been done under the law
passed by Congress down to that time. He (Mr. McClelland), for one,
as a member of the Board of Regents, would say that it was not afraid
of any investigation by a committee of this House or otherwise. He
would go as far as any reasonable man in favor of economy and
retrenchment; and he would say that the Board of Regents, so far as
his knowledge extended, had acted upon both these principles in every
step they had taken. He was astonished, on entering upon his official
duties, to find that almost every report which had been put in circula-
tion in regard to the Institution was entirely false and groundless.
He hoped that every gentleman here who was a friend to the Institu-
tion would permit a committee to be appointed, and that it might be
composed of members who were radically opposed to the Institution,
so that no barrier should be interposed to the most rigorous and
searching scrutiny. And (continued Mr. McClelland) if that com-
mittee shall give to the country such a report as I know they will give,
for none other can they make, the effect will be to raise the Institu-
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 453
tion to a higher point in public estimation than any which it has ever
yet attained.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD rose, as a member of the Board of Regents in
this House, to make no opposition to the amendment of the gentle-
man from Tennessee, if it should be the deliberate opinion of the
House that such a committee should be appointed. But he wished
the House to mark the spirit in which the motion was made. When
the report was brought forward by him (Mr. Hilliard) from the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, at the last session of Con-
gress, and a motion was made to print it, the gentleman from Ten-
nessee was the very one who interposed his objection to the printing.
They had been reproached with not being willing to exhibit their
doings to the country. It had been said that there had been improper
expenditures of money, an indiscreet distribution of funds authorized
by them. Here was an ample report setting forth all the facts, mak-
ing everything plain, and when he had moved the printing of the
report, for the information of the country, to his amazement that
very gentleman objected to the printing on the simple ground of
expense. But now the gentleman came forward with a proposition
to form a standing committee whose business it should be to super-
vise the action of the three members of this House and the three mem-
bers of the Senate who were already charged with directing the affairs
of this Institution. He should offer no objections to the proposition;
he left it to the taste and judgment of the House. For one, he gave
way, and yielded any objections which he had hitherto offered to the
proposition.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON, of Tennessee, said the gentleman from Ala-
bama seemed to have stepped off upon the wrong track when he said
that the simple objection which he (Mr. Johnson) had had to the
printing at the last session of Congress was that it would involve an
expenditure of money.
Mr. HILLIARD (in his seat) said he had so understood it.
Mr. JOHNSON continued. The gentleman from Alabama had wholly
misconceived his opposition to the printing of this report at the last
session of Congress. It would be remembered by the gentleman from
Alabama and by the whole House that he (Mr. Johnson) was striving
the whole session, that he had made effort after effort, to procure the
appointment of a committee before this report should be printed, that
they might ascertain whether this was the report which should be
printed or not. This was the objection he had to the printing of the
report. He wanted it referred to a committee, with instructions to
inquire into the expediency of printing this report, and also of print-
ing a work which they desired to have printed upon architecture a
kind of mongrel report prepared by some of the Regents. He wanted
a committee appointed to inquire into all the facts about the Institu-
454 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tion, and to report them to this House, as well as to inquire into the
expediency of printing this long, voluminous report of the Regents.
Mr. HILLIARD said he believed he had understood the gentleman's
remarks correctly, so far as his objections went to the expenses of
the printing. The gentleman now chose to assume other ground, that
he desired to examine whether it was such a report as the House ought
to receive. Now, it would have been far better for the gentleman to
have allow r ed it to be printed, and then this House would have been
better enabled at this session to ascertain the fact whether it was such
a report as they would receive.
But there was no concealing the fact that the spirit in which the
gentleman made his motion did not grow out of any desire to have the
affairs of this Institution better conducted, or to make its action more
efficient, or to relieve -it of a single burden, but, on the contrary, from
the uncompromising hostility which the gentleman from Tennessee and
a few others he was happy to say they were but few felt against
this Institution. The gentlemen would be for destroying its organi-
zation, for razing its structure to the very foundations, and for return-
ing to the British Government, or to the trustees of the donor, the
munificent sum which had been received from that quarter. He asked
the gentleman if it was not so and if he was not opposed to any use
whatever being made of the fund for the establishment of an institu-
tion in this country called the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. JOHNSON said as the question had been asked him he would
very cheerfully answer it. The gentleman wanted to know if his hos-
tility was not fixed to this Institution.
Mr. TRUMAN SMITH, of Connecticut, rose to a question of order.
He wished to know of the Speaker whether it was in order to discuss
the general merits of the Smithsonian Institution upon a mere propo-
sition to appoint a committee.
The SPEAKER replied that the House had adopted no rules of pro-
ceeding, and that the parliamentary law allowed a very wide range of
debate.
Mr. JOHNSON proceeded in his explanation. He was satisfied that
the gentleman from Alabama with no unkind spirit asked if he (Mr.
Johnson) was not fixed in his hostility to the very organization of this
Institution. He could inform the gentleman from Alabama that he
misconceived his relation to the Smithsonian Institution. He had no
fixed hostility to it. The hostility (if it could be so called) the oppo-
sition which he had to this Institution rested upon other and different
grounds from a mere hostility to the design of such an institution.
One of the principal reasons why he wanted this committee appointed
was not out of opposition to the Smithsonian Institution; but, taking
into consideration the peculiar crisis of the country at that time, and
the continuation of that crisis at this time, and the burdens which this
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1848. 455
Institution was imposing upon the Government, he wished to see its
affairs thoroughly investigated and brought before the public. That
this fund had been received from the United States; that the United
States had discharged its duty as trustee with fidelity; that this fund
had been sunk and lost these were all true; and, according to his
construction of the Constitution and of the duties of a trustee, he con-
sidered that the Government was exonerated from any further respon-
sibility in connection with this fund. It was well known that the
original fund had been lost, and it was known, too, that the law estab-
lishing the Smithsonian Institution took the money out of the Treasury
of the Government out of the people's pocket. When the Smith-
sonian Institution was founded every dollar of the money received from
Mr. Smithson was gone not a dollar of it was available. He had
opposed an institution of this kind being established with funds taken
out of the Treasury; not that he was opposed to an institution estab-
lished upon the Smithsonian fund not that he disapproved of the
object of the donor but he was opposed in time of war, when we were
incurring a very heavy public debt, to going into the Treasury and
establishing an institution of this description, at. an expense to the
people of some five or six hundred thousand dollars.
Another reason was that he believed under the law itself the money
had been improperly withdrawn from the Treasury of the United States.
The House had been informed by the able and eloquent gentleman from
Alabama that the Regents had withdrawn money from the Treasury to
the amount of $242,000, and by an extraordinary process of financier-
ing were doubling and compounding it. They had been informed also
that none of the principal had been expended. How had this been
done? Why, when the law was passed every gentleman here at all
familiar with the subject knew that this fund was gone that not one
dollar of it was left. He had the documents before him to show that
this was the fact. But the law placed that in the Treasury which was
not there; it was a legal fiction. It said that a certain amount had
been placed in the Treasury in 1836 and had remained there and been
drawing interest from 1836, and that the interest on that sum (which
was not in the Treasury) was $242,000; and this amount was appropri-
ated to the erection of this institution called the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. He had believed it wrong; he still believed it so. But under
this law how this amount of money had been drawn out of the Treasury
he had never been able to ascertain. He was in hope, now that a run-
ning discussion had arisen on the subject, that they would be informed
how this large amount of money had been drawn out of the Treasury.
He could find no authority for it in the act establishing the Institution
no authority for drawing out of the Treasury this large amount of"
money and placing it in the hands of their secretary, or at interest, or
making any other disposition of it.
45ti CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The reason why he had opposed the printing of this report at the
last session, and proposed the appointment of a committee, was that
there were rumors about the city in relation to the contract for erect-
ing the buildings; it had been charged that there had been bribery
going on; cards had been published that there was maladministration
in all these matters; that there was corruption in the very incipiency
of this Institution. They had been told that the building was bad,
that the materials furnished were perishable, while he understood it
was the design of the donor to have it made fireproof a substantial,
enduring building. He wanted all these facts ascertained. Let the
committee take the whole matter under their charge and report the
facts, and let the House and the country determine whether it was all
right or not.
He referred, a;; another objection, to the question of the incompati-
bility, under the Constitution, of the same individuals holding at the
same time the office of members of Congress, drawing per diem and
mileage as such, and the office of Regents of this Institution, drawing
also mileage and expenses from it expenses which, when they came
to look into these reports, they saw were extraordinary.
The gentleman had gravely charged that he had manifested hostility
to the institution. Suppose he had; suppose he was determined to
oppose it in eveiy mood and tense; why, if the Institution was
right if the object of the individual who gave the mone3 T was being
carried out in the name of common sense, would not a committee,
by their investigation, convince the House and the country that his
objections were not well founded, if such was the fact? Would not
such investigation put the Institution and the Regents on a better, a
more enduring foundation? Then let them have a committee. If the
Institution was right if the Regents were carrying out the design of
James Smithson let it be ascertained by the committee and be
published to the House and the country.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD resumed. The gentleman now said he had no
hostility to the Institution. And how did he prove it? Why, he said
they had put a fictitious sum into the Treasury, and therefore he would
repeal the law and replace the money in the Treasury. It was well
known that this Government had received the fund from the trustees
of James Smithson as a sacred trust. The Government had thought
proper to loan the money to the State of Arkansas, he believed. The
money had been squandered, and now the gentleman from Tennessee
was opposed to the use of a single dollar by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion until the State of Arkansas was made to refund the money. Was
he not opposed to the Institution, and was not the very object of his
motion to uproot the whole establishment, on the ground that the
Government had loaned the money to the State of Arkansas and that
it had never been returned? By every moral, by every equitable con-
THIETIETH CONGEESS, 1847-1849. 457
sideration, the Government, having loaned and lost the money, was
bound to make good the trust. Therefore, when the Government had
thought proper to make the establishment, it had authorized the
Regents in proper form to draw the money bequeathed by James
Smithson. It was in this way that the money had been taken; and
because they had thought proper to make a judicious use of it from
time to time they were arraigned by the gentleman as having squan-
dered the funds. Let him agree to have the report published, and he
would find that it gave a full account of what the}^ had done.
But the gentleman had said it was a crisis. It had been a long crisis.
Thank heaven, the crisis to which the gentleman referred had passed
away. The gentleman's allusion to the war reminded him of the apol-
ogy always offered by the steward in the Bride of Lammermoor, who
always accounted for the absence of articles of luxury about the castle
of his master on the ground that there had been a great fire there;
and now the gentleman would put down every appropriation, whether
for new objects or to maintain a great existing establishment by the
cry, "the war, the war." He thanked heaven the war was at an end.
He thanked heaven peace had come in our time, and he trusted that if
there had been much treasure squandered in war, this establishment,
so sublime in its design, so magnificent in its conception, was not to
share in the calamities of war. His objection to the gentleman's
scheme was that it would launch the Institution on a political sea.
Leave the superintendence of the establishment to the Board of
Regents, of whom three were members of the House and three mem-
bers of the Senate, and who in some sense constituted a committee of
Congress, and leave to them to report upon the state of its affairs from
time to time. If their fidelity and discretion could not be confided in,
then we had fallen on evil times. But he would not oppose the motion.
He would leave it to the judgment of the House to dispose of.
Mr. TKUMAN SMITH, of Connecticut, thought this proposition alto-
gether premature. He had offered a resolution in the ordinary form
a resolution which really ought to have been offered early last week
for the adoption of the ordinary rules and orders of the House, and
had connected with this a proposition, as at the last session of Con-
gress, to raise a committee to revise and report upon the rules from
time to time. If this resolution as offered should pass, then they
would have a committee upon the rules and orders of the House, and
the gentleman from Tennessee could then offer his proposition and
refer it to that committee, who would take such action upon it as they
might deem proper. He was now very apprehensive that there was
to be no end to this discussion, and no end to their efforts to amend
the rules, if they were to favor propositions of this character at all,
and he desired to ask of the Chair whether it was competent for him
to move the previous question.
458 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The SPEAKER replied that the previous question might be moved;
but the question of the amendment, having 1 been first moved, must
be first put.
Mr. SMITH inquired, in case the previous question was sustained, if
it did not cut off the amendment?
The SPEAKER said the previous question could not be put until after
the question was taken on the amendment; and he read from the man-
ual on this point.
Mr. SMITH. If the previous question is moved, does it stop debate
on this proposition?
The SPEAKER replied in the negative, but said he would regard the
previous question as moved, so that when this amendment was dis-
posed of no other could be moved, and then no debate could arise
except upon the previous question, the previous question being
debatable -under the parliamentary law.
Mr. HUGH WHITE inquired, in case this resolution was adopted, if
it did not place all the bills and resolutions, etc., on the calendar as
they were at the close of the last session if it did not leave the House
precisely in the position in which they were at the close of the last
session.
The SPEAKER replied in the affirmative.
Mr. WHITE said, then, that a proposition of this character had been
referred to the Committee on Rules, and remained unacted on. He
wished to know whether it would not be competent to reach it in the
ordinary way; and whether there was, therefore, any necessity for the
adoption of the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee.
MR. GEORGE P. MARSH said he did not rise for the purpose of
impugning or defending the conduct of the Board of Regents, or even
for the purpose of entering into the discussion of the merits of this
motion, but simply that it might not be inferred from his silence that
any member of the board in this House was opposed to the adoption
of the resolution. On the contrary, he was now, and had been from
the time it was offered at the last session, decidedly in favor of its
adoption. He was satisfied, from what he had seen of the manage-
ment of this Institution, that a committee such as was proposed by the
gentleman from Tennessee would serve as a most wholesome and neces-
sary check upon the proceedings of this Institution. He believed that
the Board of Regents would be, and ought to have been long since,
made acquainted with its direct responsibility to the poWer which
created it.
Mr. R. B. RHETT, of South Carolina, said, for the reasons which
the gentleman from Vermont had assigned, he trusted a committee
would not be appointed. He wanted no such direct responsibility as
the gentleman had spoken of. He was opposed to any connection of
the Government with this Institution; and he would suggest to the
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 459
-
gentleman from Tennessee that his establishment of a standing com-
mittee was the very method of all others which was to give perma-
nency to this Institution, and attach it forever to the Government.
The only way to get rid of it was to let all the money be paid over to
these gentlemen the Regents, and the Government cut themselves
loose from it entirely. He was opposed to any committee, standing
or otherwise, which set up a Congressional supervision over the Regents
of this Institution, or over the Institution itself. He hoped, there-
fore, unless the House was determined to carry on this connection, to
perpetuate it, and be responsible for the acts of this Institution, that
this committee would not be appointed. On the contrary, if the
Regents thought proper, let the whole money be paid over to them,
and the Government be cut off entirely from all responsibility or con-
nection with it.
Mr. ROBERT W. JOHNSON, of Arkansas, said he would take the lib-
erty of making a remark here for the purpose of setting himself and
the State which he had the honor to represent in some degree right, in
reference to this Smithsonian fund. The gentleman from Alabama
had said that the State of Arkansas had squandered all this fund. Now,
whether it was any enjoyment to the gentleman to assail his (Mr. John-
son's) State
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD explained, disclaiming the slightest intention
to assail the gentleman's State, and saying that he had merely spoken
of the money as being lost or squandered by the General Government.
Mr. JOHNSON, of Arkansas, said the gentleman ought to have been
aware of the fact that he might wound the feelings of some persons
on the floor in his rather loose and general style of speaking. He had
heard those who did not like some of the Yankees damn them all as
a class. He never thought they did exactly right to damn every
Yankee because the}" disliked some few whom they had met. There
were some very clever gentlemen amongst them; he wished there were
as good elsewhere.
Now, he wished to say a few words in regard to his State and this
fund. The gentleman had said the whole of this Smithsonian legacy
had been squandered by the State of Arkansas. Squandered how?
Did the gentleman know anything about the disposal of this money by
the State of Arkansas ? If he did, he knew that it had been lost by
the adoption by that State of his loved system the banking system.
He wished to state, in order that his State might stand free from
any unjust charge here, that there was not within the limits of that
State, and never had been, a respectable party, known as a party, who
would repudiate the first dollar of the debt she owed. If there were
such persons, he could only pledge himself, as an humble individual,
that he would always fight them. Small as she was, insignificant as
she was, there was no man within her limits who could live a political
400 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
life for one day and espouse- such a doctrine. What was her condition ?
She was poor; her population was small; the taxes upon her people
would be increased beyond human endurance if they were put on to
pay this debt at once. She was growing; she had natural resources,
great and extensive; give them time to be developed and she would
pay this debt and every other debt she owed. He believed it, before
God.
But in the account between the United States and the State of
Arkansas the debt was not altogether on the side of the latter. It
had used to be a matter of jest with his predecessor a proud and
honorable man, whose post he could never fill that whenever the
United States would settle, then Arkansas would settle too. There
was, nevertheless, a great deal of truth in this. The whole percent-
age on the sales of the public lands which belonged to that State had
been reserved by the Government for what? To apply toward the
pa} T ment of this Smithsonian fund. What the amount was he did
not know. He hoped there would be enough to pay the interest; he
would like it if there was enough to pay the principal too; there
might not be enough for either. But that that State would come up
to the mark and fully pay all her debts, both principal and interest,
whenever she was able to do so, he assured the gentleman from Ala-
bama and the country. He hoped the gentleman would not further
attack the State in general; he would rather he would attack him.
He did hope they would hear no more of this general denunciation
as far, at least, as the State of Arkansas was concerned. He did not
care if the gentleman attacked Alabama, or any other State, with the
consent of those who were to defend her; but let him not jump upon
his State because she was small! Why, gentlemen of magnanimity
ought to be ashamed of themselves for such a course.
He was against this amendment because this business was already
placed in the hands of honorable men, the Regents of the Institution,
who were fully competent to discharge the duty assigned to them;
and furthermore, because they were amply severe upon the State of
Arkansas, from the experience he had had with them, without other
men being added to them.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD rose simply for the purpose of disclaiming
any intention in the remarks he had made to assail the State of
A rkansas.
Mr. ABRAHAM R. MC!LVAINE rose, and was understood to intimate
his desire to move an amendment. But it was not now in order.
The question was thereupon taken on the amendment of Mr. John-
son, of Tennessee, and was decided in the negative.
So the amendment was rejected.
The demand for the previous question was then seconded and the
main question was ordered to be put; and under its operation the
resolution of Mr. Truman Smith was adopted.
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 461
December 12, 1848 House.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) announced the call for petitions
to be in order, and the call having reached the State of Louisiana
Mr. ISAAC H. MORSE observed that he did not rise to present a petition
from the State of Louisiana, but to a privileged question, and he
asked the attention of the House for a few moments. It was to the
reconsideration of the vote on that part of the resolution for the
adoption of the rules of the House which rejected the application
for a commission on the Smithsonian Institution. He thought, with-
out entering into any argument on this subject, that the House would
see the propriety of appointing a committee, in order to meet the
views expressed by the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Marsh), as well
as by the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rhett). And he had
no doubt that those of their friends on this side of the House who
desired to terminate all connection between the Government and this
Institution would see as well the propriety of submitting this matter
to a committee who would be authorized, without further instruction,
to examine and see whether it would not be better, and whether it
would not be carrying out the trust which the Government had sol-
emnly accepted from the late James Smithson, to hand over all the
moneys which had been received by the United States to an incorpo-
rated body, who should have the sole charge of the funds arising from
this legacy. Such of the gentlemen on the other side of the House as
thought the affairs of the Institution would be better managed under
the surveillance of a committee must be of the opinion that it would
be well to bring to the knowledge of the House the true, exact state of
that Institution. It was true a very elaborate, a very able report had
been made by the Regents; but it was an ex parte report, so far as the
interests of this country and the House were concerned. Let a com-
mittee be appointed of capable men who should take the matter into
consideration, and see whether the ends of the donor would be best
carried out by keeping it under the control of this Government, or
whether they would not faithfully discharge their trust, after having
passed a law for the erection of suitable buildings, by disembarrassing
the Government and the House from all connection with the Institu-
tion. He held it to be a responsible duty which this House had taken
upon itself, and whatever might have been the opinion of gentlemen
on this side of the House as to the propriety of accepting the legacy,
it was now too late to interpose any objections on that score. The
two Houses of Congress were under solemn obligation faithfully to
discharge the duty which, as the trustees of the people of the United
States and of James Smithson, they had undertaken; and that duty
could only be discharged by referring the matter to a committee,
impartial in its character, capable of examining, who should report
the facts to this House as to the future conduct of this Institution.
462 CONGEESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
He was not disposed to commit himself now to either course,
whether he should be in favor of continuing the connection of this
Institution with the Government or not, or whether he could see his
way clear to disembarrass the Government from any further connection
with it. He merely threw out the suggestion that if a committee of
gentlemen on this floor should show them, should indicate clearly, that
this could be done, then he apprehended there was no gentleman who
would not be willing to leave it in the hands of the gentlemen who
should have charge of this Institution. The bill which established
this Smithsonian Institution had passed hastily without having under-
gone the surveillance of any committee. It was true a distinguished
gentleman had made an elaborate report from a committee appointed
on this subject, accompanied by a bill, but the House would recollect
that that report was rejected, and a substitute, offered by a gentleman
from New York (Mr. Hough), which embodied some amendments
offered by himself (Mr. Morse) and by other gentlemen, was passed, and
became the act under which the Institution was at present organized.
That act was imperfect in itself. His objection to it was, that so far
as this House at least was concerned, it was very little discussed, very
little debated. He held that Congress could not be true to its trust
unless once in a year or two (if they were to continue the management
of the Institution) they authorized and delegated a part of their body
to examine and report all the facts of the case. He did not desire to
take a position either with his friend from Vermont or his friend from
South Carolina, but he did desire that this House and the country at
large should be possessed of all the facts in relation to the disbursement
and management of the large amount of money left by this gentleman,
and committed to them as trustees, and the committee might suggest
some plan better calculated to carry out the views of the distinguished
donor than this hasty, imperfect act which they had passed.
With these views he moved a reconsideration of the vote by which
the amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Johnson) was
rejected.
The SPEAKER said it would be necessary first to move to reconsider
the adoption of the resolution, and announced the question accordingly.
Mr. JAMES POLLOCK moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the
table, which was agreed to yeas, 107; nays, 76; as follows:
YEAS Messrs. Abbott, Adams, Ashmun, Atkinson, Barringer, Bayly, Boale,
Belcher, Blackmar, Blanc-hard, Botts, Boydon, Wm. G. Brown, Butler, Canby, Chap-
man, Clingman, Cocke, Collamer, Conger, Cranston, Crowell, Dickey, Donnell, Garnett
Duncan, Dunn, Eckert, Alexander Evans, Nathan Evans, Faran, Farrelly, Fisher,
Flournoy, Fulton, Gentry, Giddings, Goggin, Gott, Green, Greeley, Gregory, Grinnell,
Hale, Willard P. Hall, Nathan K. Hall, James G. Hampton, Moses Hampton, Henry,
Isaac E. Holmes, Hubbard, Hunt, Charles J. Ingersoll, Jenkins, James H. Johnson,
George W. Jones, John W. Jones, Daniel P. King, William T. Lawrence, Leffler, Ligon,
Lincoln, Lunipkin, Mcllvaine, McKay, McLane, Marvin, Morehead, Mullin, Mur-
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 463
phy, Nelson, Nes, Nicoll, Outlaw, Peck, Pollock, Preston, Putnam, Rhett, Julius Rock-
well, John A. Rockwell, Rumsey, St. John, Shepperd, Sherrill, Silvester, Slingerland,
Caleb B. Smith, Truman Smith, Stanton, Stephens, Strohm, Strong, Tallmadge,Taylor,
Thibodeaux, Thomas, James Thompson, R. W. Thompson, Robert A. Thompson,
Tompkins, \ 7 an Dyke, Wallace, Warren, White, Wick, and Wilson 107.
NAYS Messrs. Bedinger, Bingham, Bocock, Bowdon, Brady, Brodhead, Charles
Brown, Albert G. Brown, Buckner, Cathcart, Clapp, Franklin Clark, Howell Cobb,
Williamson R. W. Cobb, Crozier, Cummins, Daniel, Darling, Dickinson, Dixon, Duer,
Edwards, Embree, Featherston, Ficklin, Freedley, French, Fries, Games, Hammon?,
Haralson, Harris, Hill, Elias B. Holmes, Inge, Irvin, Iverson, Kaufman, Kellogg, Ken-
non, Lahm, La Sere, Sidney Lawrence, Levin, Lord, Lynde, Maclay, Job Mann, Marsh,
Miller, Morris, Morse, Palfrey, Peasley, Phelps, Richardson, Richey, Robinson, Rock-
hill, Root, Sawyer, Smart, Robert Smith, Starkweather, Charles E. Stuart, Jacob
Thompson, John B. Thompson, William Thompson, Thurston, Tuck, Venable, Vinton,
Wentworth, Wiley, Williams, and Woodward 76.
So the motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By the Vice- President.
December 30, 1847 Senate.
On motion of Mr. SIDNEY BREESE, it was
Ordered, That a member be appointed by the Vice-President to fill the vacancy in
the Board of Regents, occasioned by the resignation of the Hon. Lewis Cass.
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was appointed by the Vice-President.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By the /Speaker.
December 22, 1847 House.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) reappointed Henry W. Hil-
liard, of Alabama, a regent of the said Institution; and appointed
George P. Marsh, of Vermont, and Robert McClelland, of Michigan,
to the Board of Regents on the part of the House, in the place of
W. J. Hough and R. D. Owen, whose terms had expired.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By joint resolution.
March 4, 1848 Senate.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi, on leave, introduced a joint
resolution appointing regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Referred
to the Committee on the Library.
December 11, 1848 Senate.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi, on leave, introduced joint
resolution:
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, of the class "other than members of Congress," be filled by the
reappointment of the late incumbents, viz: Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and
Gideon Hawley, of New York.
464 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. DAVIS explained the necessity for the immediate passage of the
resolution, as a meeting 1 of the Regents would take place on Wednes-
day, and it was important that the Board should be fully organized.
Passed.
December 11, 1848 House.
The joint resolution of the Senate for the appointment of Regents in
the Smithsonian Institution was taken up and passed.
December 19, 1848.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies'! in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, of the class " other than members of Congress," be filled by the
reappointment of the late incumbents, viz: Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and
Gideon Hawley, of New York.
(Stat. IX, 417.)
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
January 5, 1848 House.
The Speaker (Mr. R. C. WINTHROP) laid before the House a report
from the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the opera-
tions, expenditures, and condition of that Institution for the past year.
Mr. JOHN W. HOUSTON, of Delaware, moved to lay the report on
the table, and that it be printed.
Mr. ANDREW JOHNSON, of Tennessee, called for a division of the
question, so as to take the question separately on each branch of the
motion.
The question was divided accordingly, and the report was ordered
to be laid on the table. The question then recurring on the motion to
print
Mr. JOHNSON, of Tennessee, opposed the printing at present. The
House saw, in the proposition to print this cumbrous document, a
beginning of what had been anticipated by some who were opposed to
this Institution. Here was a long report, accompanied by many docu-
ments, and this House was called upon to print them, and he expected
they would have a proposition soon to print an extra number. It was
true the law establishing this Institution provides that the Regents
should make a report to the House, but before this report was printed,
before an order to print was made, the Committee on the Smithsonian
Institution ought to be established and ought to report to the House
the propriety of having this report and the accompanying documents
printed.
Perhaps it might be considered by some, as he from the beginning
had opposed this Institution, that he had some personal dislike to those
connected with it, or that he was operated upon from some other
unworthy consideration, that produced his opposition to it. He availed
himself of this occasion to disavow anything of this kind. He wanted
this committee established; he wanted everything connected with this
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 465
Institution referred to this committee. Let that committee report the
result of their investigation to this House.
But while he was upon the floor, there were some other things to
which he would advert, for it was very difficult for him to get the floor
here on any given subject. He had had the honor of making a few
remarks the other day upon the resolution providing for the establish-
ment of a committee upon the Smithsonian Institution; but before he
had concluded his remarks the House adjourned, and the resolution
had laid over from that day. The whole thing was left in the fog, and
no one could tell when it would be reached again.
He had no personal hostility to this Institution. He appreciated
and approved the design of the donor. He thought the motives and
intentions of Mr. Smithson were good; but this thing had received an
improper direction, and was already beginning, as he had remarked,
to result in a large annual expenditure to this Government, and Con-
gress were called upon to appropriate sum after sum for printing and
for other expenses in getting up this Institution, which was to result
in no good to the Government or the country. What good could result
from this Institution, with its peculiar organization? Why, it would
have been much better, and would no doubt have fulfilled the good
intentions and motives of the man's heart, had he bequeathed this sum
to the United States to be expended in erecting schoolhouses of some
description in this District, and in the districts throughout the country,
in which the common children of the country could be educated. It
would have been diffusing knowledge among men more profitabh T ,
more in accordance with the design of the donor. But what good has
this Institution done, as now organized?
June 1, 1848 Senate.
On motion of Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi,
Resolved, That one thousand additional copies of the report of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution be printed for the use of the Senate.
July 7, 1848 Senate.
On motion of Mr. JAMES A. PEARCE,
Resolved, That one hundred and fifty copies of the report of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, printed for the use of the Senate, be furnished to the Sec-
retary of the Institution, for the use of said Institution.
February 19, 1849 House.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD presented a report of the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures,
and condition of that Institution to the present time. Laid on the
table, and ordered to be printed.
February 22, 1849 Senate.
Mr. JAMES M. MASON presented the annual report of the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution; and moved that one thousand copies
be printed for the use of the Senate. Agreed to.
H. Doc. 732 30
466 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
AMENDMENT TO ACT OF ORGANIZATION.
March 13, 1848 House.
Mr. ELISHA EMBREE offered the following preamble and resolution:
Whereas James Smithson, esq., by his last will and testament, having given the
whole of his property, now amounting to more than $700,000, to the United States
to found an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,
and Congress, to carry out the liberal designs of the donor, having passed an act
entitled "An act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffu-
sion of knowledge among men," approved August 10, 1846; and whereas officers have
been appointed under said act and are proceeding to erect a building which, with the
improvements attached, according to their estimate, is to cost about $250,000; and
said officers are about to establish in said building, with the funds of the Institution,
a library to contain 100,000 volumes, a museum on a large scale, a chemical labora-
tory, lecture rooms for the purpose of delivering lectures, and a gallery of art; and
whereas all of said objects are local in their nature and confined to the city of Wash-
ington and its vicinity, when the design of the liberal donor was not only the increase
of knowledge but the diffusion of it amongst men for the general good; and whereas
said act provides ' ' that there is reserved to Congress the right of altering or amend-
ing, adding to, or repealing any of the provisions of this act:" Therefore be it
Resolved, That the Committee of the Library inquire into the expediency of so chang-
ing and modifying said act as to establish a department in said Institution for the
purpose of collecting and arranging information on agriculture, common-school edu-
cation, political economy, and the useful arts and sciences; which information,
together with the useful lectures that may be delivered in said Institution, shall be
published and circulated gratuitously among the people, so as to carry out the design
of the testator in diffusing useful knowledge amongst men, and that said committee
report by bill or otherwise.
Adopted.
August 8, 1848 House.
Mr. "W. C. PRESTON, from the Committee on the Library, to which
was referred the resolution of the House of March 13, 1848, relative
to the Smithsonian Institution, reported the following resolutions:
Resolved, That it is inexpedient to change and modify the act establishing the
Smithsonian Institution in the manner proposed in said resolution.
Resolved, That the committee be discharged from the further consideration of said
resolution, and that it be laid upon the table.
Agreed to.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
June 26, 1848.
Be it enacted, etc., That the joint committee on the Library shall
appoint such agents as they may from time to time deem requisite, to
carry into effect the donation and exchange of such documents and
other publications as have been, or shall be, placed at their disposal for
the purpose.
SEC. 2. Andl)e it further enacted^ That all books transmitted through
such agents for the use of the government of the United States, or of
any government of a State or of its legislature, or of any department
of the government of the United States or of a State, or of the Academy
THIRTIETH CONGRESS, 1847-1849. 467
at West Point, or of the National Institute, shall be admitted into the
United States duty free.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted* That the sum of $2,000 is hereby
appropriated, out of an}' money in the treasury not otherwise appro
priated; and the same is put at the disposal of the Library Committee,
for the purpose of carrying into effect such agency and donation, and
exchange, and of paying the expenses already incurred in relation
thereto.
(Stat., IX., 240.)
June 30, 1848.
Resolved, etc. , That the Secretary of State be directed to furnish to
Alexandre Vattemare one complete series of the standard weights and
measures of the United States, now in the Department of State, to be
presented to the government of France; and that he furnish to the Joint
Committee on the Library twenty-five copies of the revolutionary
archives, and an equal number of copies of Little and Brown's edition
of the Laws of the United States, to be disposed of by them for the
purposes of international exchange.
SEC. 2. And be it furtlier resolved, That seven copies of the works
of the exploring expedition now published, and an equal number of
such of the works of the same as may hereafter be published, be placed
at the disposal of the Joint Library Committes of Congress for the
purposes of international exchange.
(Stat, IX, 336.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
August 12, 1848.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1849.
For continuing the publication of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, including the printing of the charts, the pay of the scientific
corps, salary of the horticulturist, and care of the collection, $30,753.
(Stat., IX, 297.)
February 1, 1849.
Be it enacted, etc.^ That the proper accounting officers of the
Treasury Department be authorized and directed, in the settlements of
the accounts of the forward officers of the late Exploring Expedition,
under the command of Charles Wilkes, esquire, to allow them the
extra paj r of $250 per annum, credited to said officers on the pay rolls
rendered on the arrival of said expedition in the United States, agree-
ably to the direction of said commander.
SEC. 2. And be it farther enacted, That the accounting officers of
the Treasury be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed, in the
settlement of the accounts of Lieutenant Cadwallader Ringgold, late
commanding the United States brig Porpoise, attached to the Explor-
ing Expedition, to allow and credit him in the extra pay for scientific
duties, at the rate of $1,000 per annum, and upon the principle applied
4(38 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
to the accounts of Lieutenant W. L. Hudson, then commanding the
United States sloop Peacock, attached to said expedition.
(Stat., IX, 344.)
March 2, 1849.
Resolved, etc., That the librarian of Congress be, and is hereby,
directed to procure and deliver to the Secretary of State two copies of
volumes six and seven of the Narrative of the Exploring Expedition
under Captain Wilkes; and the Secretary of State is hereby directed
to deliver them to the government of Russia in lieu of those hereto-
fore delivered, which were lost at sea on their passage to Russia; and
that the cost of the same be paid out of the funds heretofore appro-
priated to the publication of the works of the Exploring Expedition.
SEC. 2. And l)e it further resolved. That the librarian of Congress
deliver one copy of the works of the Exploring Expedition, as they
shall be completed, to the Secretary of State, to be presented by him
to the government of Ecuador.
(Stat. IX, 418.)
March 3, 1849.
Civil and diplomatic act, 1850.
For continuing the publication of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, including the salary of the horticulturist, and addition to the
greenhouse, $15,000.
(Stat. IX, 365.)
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851.
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
February 20, 1850.
Resolved, etc., That of the thirty-seven copies of the Narrative and
Scientific works of the Exploring Expedition, deposited and to be
deposited in the library of Congress one copy shall be presented to
each of the Territories of Oregon, Minnesota, and such other Territo-
ries as may be hereafter organized by act of Congress, to belong to the
Territorial libraries of such Territories, respectively, and to stand in
the place of the copy each of those Territories would be entitled to
receive upon being admitted into the Union as a State.
(Stat. IX, 561.)
September 30, 1850.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1851.
For continuing the publication of the works of the Exploring Expe-
dition, including the printing of the charts, the pay of the scientific
corps, salary of the horticulturist, and care of the collections, $25, 000.
(Stat. IX^ 543.)
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 469
February 24, 1851 House.
Mr. JACOB THOMPSON, of Mississippi, moved an amendment to the
clause appropriating money for the purchase of books for the Library
of Congress, viz:
To enable the Smithsonian Institution to publish a new edition of Wilkes' Narra-
tive and the accompanying series of papers, the plates and engravings of which have
been made at the expense of the United States, be, and they are hereby, ordered to
be delivered over to the said Institution, to be used for that purpose.
He said that as these plates were valuable and the Congress of the
United States did not propose to use them, he should be glad that
some use might be made of them. It appeared to him that the Smith-
sonian Institution was as proper a party to whom to intrust these
plates for publication as any. Congress had already provided for the
distribution of books published by that Institution. He (Mr. Thomp-
son) did not wish that they should be published and distributed among
members, but as it was really a valuable work and a new edition was
called for, he thought it was proper that the publication should be
intrusted to the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. JOHN WENTWORTH (interposing) said that he thought that it
was quite proper that copies of the work should be distributed among
members of Congress. He would therefore ask the gentleman from
Mississippi to modify his amendment so as to furnish each member of
Congress with a copy of Wilkes' Exploring Expedition. He had
been a member of that body eight years, and although he had received
copies of other works, he had never received a copy of this, nor had
he ever heard of other members receiving copies.
Mr. JACOB THOMPSON stated that only about one hundred copies
had been published.
Mr. WENTWORTH said that he was entirely opposed to the amend-
ment unless modified as he had indicated.
. Mr. THOMPSON wished to explain that the original resolution pro-
vided for the publication of only one hundred copies. There was a
great demand for the work, and it was desirable to have copies that
might be furnished to different foreign nations. There were only, he
believed, twenty copies left in the Library.
Mr. WENTWORTH inquired if it had ever been distributed to members
of Congress.
Mr. THOMPSON said that copies never had been distributed among
members.
Mr. WENTWORTH requested the gentleman from Mississippi to
modify his amendment as he had desired.
Mr. THOMPSON said that books published by the Smithsonian Insti-
tution were distributed among the various libraries, and he was
willing that such a distribution should take place.
Mr. WEXTWORTH again inquired if the gentleman from Mississippi
would modif v his amendment.
70 CONGKESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
Mr. THOMPSON said that ho was opposed to giving copies to members
of Congress.
Mr. WENTWORTH then moved to amend Mr. Thompson's amend-
ment by adding that a copy of the work should be furnished to each
Senator, Representative, and Delegate to the present Congress.
Mr. TIIADDEUS STEVENS said that he was opposed to the amendment
to the amendment. He understood that the original amendment
merety contemplated giving the plates to the Smithsonian Institution
for that Institution to publish them. Congress had a perfect right to
do this, but he could not understand by what right they could call
upon the Institution to furnish a copy to each member of Congress
from its own resources. If Congress intended granting an appropri-
ation to defray the expense of the publication and distribution, as the
gentleman from Illinois proposed, he would have no objection to it,
but unless such an appropriation were made he should feel himself
compelled to vote against the gentleman's amendment.
The question was then taken on Mr. Wentworth's amendment, and.
it was not agreed to.
The question was then taken on Mr. Thompson's amendment, and it
was adopted.
March 3, 1851.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1852.
To enable the Smithsonian Institution to publish a new edition of
Wilkes' Narrative and the accompanying series of papers; the plates
and engravings which have been made at the expense of the United
States to be turned, and they are hereby ordered to be delivered over
to the said Institution to be used for that purpose.
(Stat, IX, 599.)
March 3, 1851.
An act making appropriations for the naval service for 1852.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That for continuing the prepara-
tion and publication of the works of the exploring expedition, includ-
ing the pay of the scientific corps, care of property, payment for
printing, and paper, and other contracts under the law of 1842, author-
izing the preparation and publication of said works, $25,000.
(Stat, IX, 626.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
April 15, 1850 Senate.
The bill for the completion of the Patent Office being under consid-
eration, Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi, said:
Mr. President: What the wants of the Patent Office are now is one
thing, and what those wants will be in a few years is another and an
entirely different thing. Not only from the report of the last Com-
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 471
missioner of Patents, but from inspection, if anyone choose to make
it and see the condition of things in that department, I think it may
be denied that there is room enough in the present building for the
wants of the department. If I understand the report of the present
Commissioner of Patents or the Secretary of the Interior, the argu-
ment against the want of further room by the Patent Department is
based upon the supposition that all which now belongs to the National
Institute, all connected with the exploring expedition which now fills
the museum of the Patent Office, is to be transferred to the Smithson-
ian Institution. That seems to be the basis of the conclusion. Now,
sir, I wish to state to the Senate that Congress has no power to impose
upon that Institution the duty of taking charge of this collection of
the exploring expedition we may infer from their act nor did they
ever intend to do so. They gave to that Institution the right to take
all such curiosities brought home by the exploring expedition as might
be desired for that Institution, and I will inform the Senate that it is
not the intention of the present Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution to take charge of the museum of the Patent Office, and
the room appropriated to these curiosities will be required hereafter
as now.
January 28, 1851 Senate.
Mr. ISAAC P. WALKER, of Wisconsin, submitted resolution, which
laid over one day under the rule.
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution be directed to
inform the Senate why the sixth section of the act entitled ' 'An act to establish the
Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men"
has not been complied with by making suitable arrangements for the reception of
the "objects of art," etc., named in said section.
January 30, 1851 Senate.
The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution, submitted by Mr.
ISAAC P. WALKER on January 28.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. I hope that the resolution will
not be favorably entertained by the Senate. The Smithsonian Insti-
tution is not a department of the Government, and I hope Congress
will never undertake to take charge of it. This is a call upon the
Board of Regents to explain to us something in connection with the
execution of their duty. If it were a proper and a well-founded call, I
should still think it improper for Congress to interfere with the admin-
istration of a fund which it has confided to a Board of Regents not
entirely formed of members of Congress and not responsible to it.
An examination of the charter would have shown the Senator who
introduced the resolution that there was no obligation on the Smith-
sonian Institution to receive the museum, which, I suppose, is the mat-
ter referred to, but that, on the other hand, it was considered a grant,
which the Government was willing to make, in a friendly spirit, of
472 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
objects of art and curiosity whenever the Institution should appoint
some person to receive them. It is obligatory to deliver, but not to
receive. In some other countries there is a courtesy between the king
and his ministers that a minister shall never refuse a present. In
Siam whenever the King wishes to crush a minister he sends him the
present of an elephant. The minister can not refuse the present,
because it comes from the King, but the expense of keeping the pres-
ent crushes the minister. It is exactly such a present that the Senator
from Wisconsin wishes to force the Smithsonian Institution to receive.
It is a present the charge of which would deduct very greatly from
the means of the Institution to carry out the purposes of its donor a
foreigner who gave a fund for a special object enumerated in his will.
If it were in the power of this Government to charge the Smith-
sonian Institution with the keeping of this museum, I should deem
it more than improper in the Government to transfer an extensive
collection which it holds, and fasten the charge of maintaining it upon
the fund given by a foreigner for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men, and the establishment of an institution for that pur-
pose, to be located at the city of Washington, in the United States.
But it is clearly not within the power of Congress to charge that fund
with the keeping up of any establishment which the Government may
choose either to create or which it may now have in its possession,
and which would pervert the trust from its proper use.
If the Senator had examined the charter he would have found still
further that in the kindness which prevailed, and the anticipation of
a good understanding between that Institution and Congress, terms
so general were employed that a power was given to the Institution
to strip the Rotunda of the paintings which now adorn it, to take the
models from the Patent Office, not merely the museum which is col-
lected as the result of exploring expeditions, but everything which
that Institution, if they claim the strict letter of the law, might choose
to abstract from the various departments of the Government. But,
without going into this question, I wish to call the attention of the Sen-
ate to the fact that here is an institution founded by the bequest of a
foreigner, of which bequest the United States, properly or improp-
erly I will not now stop to consider, have taken charge as trustee,
and to administer which fund they have organized a Board of Regents.
Its active operations have already been encumbered by the Congress
of the United States requiring them to erect an expensive building
with apartments for a museum and gallery of art. Now it is pro-
posed to encumber them still further by charging them with keeping
a large museum of the United States with which that Institution has HO
proper connection. It is no part of the general plan of that Institu-
tion to collect a large museum. The object is, according to the will
of the founder, to increase and diffuse knowledge among men. They
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 473
therefore only wish to collect those things which are not to be found
in the other museums of the country. The}' only wish to explore
fields which have not been trodden before.
The object of the Senator from Wisconsin the effect of his con-
struction if sustained is to cripple that fund in the very object for
which it was given, and encumber it with the keeping of a great col-
lection of art which now belongs to the United States. I do hope
that the Senate will reject the resolution.
Mr. J. A. PEAECE. Mr. President, after what has been said by the
Senator from Mississippi it would be unnecessary to say anything
more. But I wish to state two considerations which I trust will be
sufficient to induce the Senate not to adopt the resolution. In the first
place, the resolution assumes that the Board of Regents of the Smith
sonian Institution have neglected their duty. I think it can very easilv
be shown that they have not neglected this or any other duty imposed
upon them. In the next place, all the information which the Senate
can possibly derive from any communication the Board of Regents
might make in answer to such a call is already in the possession of the
Senate. The last annual report of the Board of Regents has been laid
before the Senate and printed. That report explains fully their system
of operations from the time of their organization. It sets forth the
scheme of finance which they adopted, and in pursuance of that scheme
of finance, the enlargement of the principal fund, which was rather
small, for the great objects of the institution. They propose to extend
the erection of the building over a series of years instead of complet-
ing it at once by the whole sum which the act of Congress authorized
them to apply for that purpose. They have erected the building
slowly, so as to apply the accruing interest to the enlargement of the
fund and the increase of the general endowment of the institution.
The plan of the building under which it is now being erected is pre-
cisely that which was adopted in the first instance by the Board of
Regents, and which, if it be completed, will, if Congress choose to
compel the institution to accept of this donation, enable them to
accommodate this museum. The central building will accommodate
the library which it is proposed the institution shall have, and also the
museum of art. The upper story of the central building is designed
for the museum of art, where the collections now in the Patent Office
can be placed if Congress insist upon it. They have, therefore, neg-
lected no duty; they have done their duty properly, judiciously,
economically, faithfully. I suppose no one will charge them with a
dereliction of duty because they have endeavored to increase the prin-
cipal fund, with the view of having the institution better enabled to
carry out the great and noble purposes of its founder.
We have, therefore, all the information which we can desire, and I
see no necessitv for the resolution of the Senator. I would mention
474 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
that in the last annual report there is a distinct expression of the will
of the Board of Regents that the}- should not be compelled to accept
of this donation, and their belief that under the law as it now is they
can not be compelled to accept it, and that it would be a present
which would be very expensive to them and take from their funds that
which might be used for much more useful purposes.
Mr. II. S. FOOTE. I rise simply for the purpose of moving- to lay
the resolution on the table. I am sure my friend from Wisconsin will
feel satisfied, after the explanation which has been given, that no good
can result to the country by further pressing this resolution. With
the view of avoiding any further debate, unless the Senator from Wis-
consin wishes to be heard on his resolution, and inasmuch as the time
has arrived for the consideration of the special order, 1 shall move to
lay this resolution on the table. If my friend from Wisconsin will
promise to make a very short speech, and then make the motion, how-
ever, I will withdraw it; but otherwise I can not.
Mr. I. P. WALKER. I wish to say a few words, but do not wish to
promise to make any such motion.
Mr. FOOTE. Then I must insist upon the motion.
Mr. WALKER. I ask, is this fair?
Mr. FOOTE. It is perfectly courteous. 1 may be allowed to say that
1 wish to proceed with the discussion of another important question,
and that is the reason I make the motion, but which I will withdraw
provided the Senator will renew it.
Mr. WALKER. I will make the motion, but not vote fov it.
Mr. FOOTE. Then I withdraw my motion.
Mr. WALKER. I should not, perhaps, have said anything on this
resolution had it not been for an observation which fell from the Sena-
tor from Mississippi [Mr. Davis]. He attributed to me in emphatic
terms an object which was to cripple the fund, as he said, by imposing
upon it the burden of this museum.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. I did not intend to charge
the Senator from Wisconsin with any improper motive. 1 merely
stated what the effect of the proposition would be. But I did not
believe that the Senator from Wisconsin uninvited would have directed
his attention to this subject. I take it for granted that some one sug-
gested the resolution to him.
Mr. I. P. WALKER. In that the Senator is altogether mistaken. I
have heard the subject spoken of in a great many quarters, but my
own mind suggested to me the course I have taken here and elsewhere.
I think I can appeal to the Senate that 1 generally introduce my own
thoughts, and a great many of them, in opposition to what seems to
be the mind of the Senate. I shall always act on the suggestions of
my own mind when right and justice requires me to do so.
Both the Senator from Mississippi and the Senator from Maryland
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 475
are altogether mistaken in what I intended by the resolution. I have
partly accomplished what I intended. I wished information from the
Senator from Mississippi and the Senator from Maryland, whom I
well knew were more familiar with the subject than I was, and ought
to be so, for they are, 1 believe, both Regents of the Institution. My
object was to call out information on the subject. On looking to the
sixth section of the act, approved August 10, 1846, which was the act
establishing the Smithsonian Institution, I was really at some loss to
determine what it meant, and I am anxious to get views of the Board
of Regents upon that point. That section is this:
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can
be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and
all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens
belonging; or hereafter to belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of
Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such per-
sons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be
arranged in such order and so classed as best to facilitate the examination and study
of them in the building so as aforesaid to be erected for the Institution; and the
Eegents of said Institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy may be obtained for the museum of the Institution by
exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the Institution (which they are
hereby authorized to make), or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise,
cause such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the
minerals, books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have
been received by the Government of the United States, and are now placed in the
Department of State, shall be removed to said Institution and shall be preserved
separate and apart from the other property of the Institution.
I was in doubt as to the meaning of this section, and it seems to me
that almost everybody would be in doubt as to the meaning of Con-
gress in its passage. A portion of it looks as though this was a gra-
tuit}', and another portion looks as though it imposed an obligation
on the Institution to provide for and receive those articles which are
mentioned.
Then, looking at the interests of the Patent Office, I come to the
conclusion that if it was proper and right that the Smithsonian
Institution should take charge of these things and relieve the Patent
Office, they should certainly do it. If anyone will go to the Patent
Office and observe the manner in which models are kept he will be
satisfied that the exhibition room of that office ought to be clear and
the models to be exhibited there. At present the exhibition room of
the Patent Office is occupied by this cabinet of curiosities. Models
are crowded into places never intended for them, and look more like a
series of brush heaps than anything else. A person can scarcely get
one that is not broken; one can be scarcely got out of the cases where
they are deposited. This is an improper mode of keeping the models
of the inventors of the country. Something should be done to remedy
this evil. I think the patent fund should be appropriated to the use
476 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of the Patent Office, and not to the relief of the other departments of
the Government. I hope that the enlargement of the Patent Office
building, which has been paid for by the patent fund, will not be used
for the convenience and accommodation of other departments. What
says the Secretary of the Interior? In his last annual report, after
enumerating various bureaus of his Department which need additional
accommodations, he says:
I therefore recommend that the two wings of the Patent Office be finished, and
that they be appropriated to the accommodation of the Department of the Interior
and the different offices thereto attached. They will thus be brought under one
roof, the communication between the head of the Department and the different
bureaus will by greatly facilitated, and the records of the Government safely lodged
in a fireproof building.
I had hoped when I saw $216,468 taken from the patent fund for a
beautiful palace that the models of the inventions and the inventors
and mechanics of the country would receive some benefit from it; but
I see it is utterly hopeless, seeing this recommendation of the Secretary
of the Interior, and the wreck that is taking place in the Patent Office
of the models and inventions of the country.
The Senator from Mississippi and the Senator from Maryland have
given me some information on the subject of the resolution. And now
I would say to those gentlemen, both as Senators and Regents of the
Institution, that I entertain not the least unkind feelings toward the
Smithsonian Institution. On the contrary, I would be willing to do
anything reasonable that is within my power to facilitate its great
object and the benefits which the country expects to derive from it;
but at the same time I am unwilling to bestow benefits on that
Institution at the sacrifice of the old and greater interests of the
patentees and the Patent Office. With these feelings, I think there
was no impropriety in offering the resolution.
If the Smithsonian Institution is not to take charge of these curiosi-
ties, it seems to me that something should be done to relieve the Pat-
ent Office- from its present embarrassing condition in relation to the
exhibition of its models. I think the patent fund, the fund contrib-
uted by the mechanics and inventors of the country, ought to be used
solely for the benefit of the Patent Office and not for any other depart-
ment of the Government unconnected with that fund or its interests.
According to my promise I now move to lay the resolution on the
table, although I shall vote against the motion and hope it will not
prevail.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. Will the Senator withdraw
the motion ?
Mr. I. P. WALKER. Certainly.
Mr. DAVIS. I shall consume but very little time. Having made as
much explanation as I thought was due to the occasion in relation to
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 477
the supposition by the Senator from Wisconsin of a personal or offen-
sive application of what I said, I have nothing more to say on that
point.
The object of the Senator, as directed to the benefit of the inventors
of the country b}- providing a proper room for the exhibition of the
models of their inventions, is one in which I very cordially sympa-
thize. The Committee on Public Buildings have already that subject
somewhat under consideration. I know quite well that the models in
the Patent Office are in such a confused condition as not to comply
with the terms of the law. The great gallery intended for the exhibi-
tion of models is now occupied by the museum which has been referred
to. The present building, however, was built by money drawn from
the United States Treasury, and may be occupied for that purpose.
The wing which is being added and built out of the patent fund is
clearly a building which should be for the use of the Patent Office,
and I hope it will not be transferred to any other use. I sj'inpathize
with the object of the Senator in giving proper accommodations to the
models in the Patent Office, and reserving for the use of that office the
building which is being erected out of the patent fund. So far we go
together.
1 take it for granted, from the ( object of the Smithsonian Institution
and from the plan on which its operations have been commenced and
will be conducted, that it will never want such a museum as that in the
Patent Office; still less will it want the garden of plants which has been
collected by the exploring expedition. I suppose it would cost the
Institution not less than $10,000 a year to support such an establish-
ment; and if it were transferred, Congress, I think, would be bound
to endow the Institution with $10,000 a year additional. I think it is
quite appropriate to keep these natural curiosities in the Patent Office.
They may aid inventive genius. Vegetable growth and animal action
are elements upon which mechanical invention rests. There would
therefore seem to be something appropriate in lodging them in the
Patent Office. If they are not to be kept there, let the Government
provide a room elsewhere, get rid of them, destroy them, or give them
to somebody that will take them. But let not the Government coerce
a fund, of which it was the chosen trustee, which was granted by a
foreigner for a special purpose, with the charge of keeping this col-
lection.
Mr. GEORGE E. BADGER. I move to lay the resolution on the table.
The motion was agreed to; and the resolution was ordered to lie on
the table.
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
July 23, 1850 House.
Mr. H. W. HILLIARD requested the gentleman from Pennsylvania
[Mr. James Thompson] to waive his motion for the regular order of
478 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
business, so as to enable him (Mr. Milliard) to present the annual report
of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. His object
was simply to present the report, that it might be laid upon the table
and printed.
Mr. JAMES THOMPSON, of Pennsylvania, insisted on the regular order
of business.
The Speaker (Mr. HOWELL COBB) stated to the gentleman from Ala-
bama [Mr. H. W. Hilliard] that the report could only be introduced
by unanimous consent. The regular order of business was insisted
upon, and objections were made in several quarters.
The report, therefore, was not presented.
July 25, 1850 House.
The Speaker (Mr. HOWELL COBB) laid before the House a communi-
cation from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, transmitting
the annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tionlaid upon the table, and ordered to be printed.
July 29, 1850 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. WILLIAM R. KING) laid before the
Senate a letter of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, trans-
mitting the annual report of the Board of Regents,
On motion by Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi,
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Printing, with instructions to
inquire into the expediency of printing 5,000 additional copies without the Appendix.
July 30, 1850 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN, from the Committee on Printing, reported
in favor of printing the report of the Smithsonian Institution, with
5,000 additional copies without the Appendix, 500 of which are for the
use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to.
January 9, 1851 Senate.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi, submitted resolution:
Resolved, That the Committee on Printing be instructed to inquire into the pro-
priety of printing three thousand extra copies of the Appendix to the report of the
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, one thousand of which to be for the benefit
of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. DAVIS. Mr. President, when I made the motion to print extra
copies of the report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion I was not acquainted with the value of the Appendix. It contains
valuable statistical and other information respecting the libraries of
the United States, and it is believed that it would be valuable and
desirable to the country at large.
Agreed to.
March 1, 1851 Senate.
The President of the Senate (Mr. HOWELL COBB) laid before the
body a letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, com-
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 479
municating the annual report of the Board of Regents of said Institu-
tion ordered to lie on the table.
On motion by Mr. J. A. PEARCE that it be printed, and that 2,000
extra copies thereof be printed, the motion was referred to the Com-
mittee on Printing.
March 7, 1851 Senate.
On motion by Mr. SOLON BORLAND, the report of the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution was ordered to be printed.
Mr. BORLAND. I now move that 3,000 extra copies of that report be
printed.
Mr. J. W. BRADBURY. 1 hope we will let the matter of printing
documents lie over until we meet for the transaction of ordinary legis-
lative business, and not undertake enterprises of this kind at thistime.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi. I can not see how the print-
ing of a report made to Congress can properly be termed an enterprise.
Mr. R. B. RHETT. Who is to print it?
Mr. DAVIS. The public printer.
Mr. RHETT. He says he can not do it.
Mr. BORLAND. That is the old contractor. This goes to the new
contractor.
Mr. DAVIS. 1 was surprised to hear the few remarks which were
made on this question. Surely Senators forget that the United States
have accepted the bequest made by a foreigner to found an institution
at Washington, and that Congress have organized a Board of Regents
and given them the charge of the fund so left to the United States for
the benefit of mankind; and this is the report of the board so consti-
tuted by Congress. If there be anything more than another which we
should circulate freely throughout the United States, it is the knowl-
edge of the manner in which we discharge this holy trust which we
have taken upon ourselves. The report of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution is made to Congress by authority as high as
the report of any committee of Congress. If it be said that you ought
not to print extra copies of this, to that I would reply that a report
made by a committee of Congress is for the action of Congress, and it
would be questionable whether the Senate should print extra copies of
a report of one of its committees; but it is clear that if you have
authority to print for circulation and distribution at all, it belongs to
such a document as this, relating to a trust fund bequeathed to the
United States, taken charge of by the United States, and which we
are now administering through a Board of Regents. As to the value
of the information I will express no opinion.
Mr. RHETT. I would ask my friend from Mississippi why the
Smithsonian Institution itself does not print its own proceedings?
Mr. DAVIS, of Mississippi. I said, I think, that this was a report to
Congress. The Smithsonian Institution does print its contributions to
480 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
knowledge, and does attend to their diffusion among men. This,
however, is not a contribution to human knowledge, but is a report to
Congress of the manner in which the Board of Regents executed the
trust confided to them.
Mr. J. A. PEAKCE. I beg leave simply to add that the, law organizing
the Smithsonian Institution compels the Board of Regents to make this
annual report to Congress.
Mr. J. M. MASON. I move to amend the motion so as to provide
that 1,000 copies shall be printed for the Institution.
Mr. MOSES NORRIS. Is this the report of a committee?
Mr. BORLAND. It is the report of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution; the question of printing it was referred to
the Committee on Printing; the committee were in favor of the propo-
sition, but could not make a report. It has been ordered to be printed;
and the proposition now is to print 3,000 extra copies.
Mr. NORRIS. Does it come from the Committee on Printing ?
Mr. BORLAND. It does.
The amendment was agreed to.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
September 30, 1850.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1851.
For carrying into effect the international exchanges of books,
authorized by the act of June 26, 1848, entitled "An act to regulate
the exchanges of certain documents and other publications of Congress,"
$2,000.
(Stat., IX, 524.)
February 27, 1851.
Resolved, etc. , That the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives be, and they hereby are, directed to dis-
tribute, by mail or otherwise, the works now being published by
authority of Congress, known as the works of Alexander Hamilton,
in the manner following, to wit: * * * to the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, one copy; * * * to the Joint Committee on the Library for
the purpose of international exchange, twelve copies.
SEC. 3. And be it further resolved, That the works of the late John
Adams, published and being published, for which the Congress of the
United States have subscribed, be distributed in the same manner as is
herein provided for the distribution of the works of the late Alexander
Hamilton, except the live copies to Mrs. Eliza Hamilton.
(Stat, IX, 040.)
March 3, 1851.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1852.
Of the Annals of Congress twenty-five copies for inter-
national exchanges * * * two copies to the Smithsonian Insti-
tution.
(Stat, IX, 591).)
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 481
INCREASE OF SMITHSON FUND.
January 23, 1851 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. I have a memorial from the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution which I ask to be referred to the Finance
Committee. Referred.
To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:
GENTLEMEN: The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have directed
me to transmit to your honorable body the resolutions appended to this letter, and
to solicit the passing of a law in accordance therewith.
It is known to your honorable body that the original sum received into the United
States Treasury from the Smithsonian bequest was a little more than $515,000, and
that at the time of the passage of the act incorporating the Institution $242,000 had
accrued in interest, which sum, or so much of it as might be deemed necessary, the
Regents were authorized to appropriate to a building. It is also known to your hon-
orable body that the act of incorporation directed that provision should be made for
the establishment of a library and museum, together with the erection of a building
on a liberal scale to contain them.
While the Regents in their plan of organization obeyed these instructions, they
also, by virtue of the power invested in them and in conformity with the terms of
the bequest, adopted additional plans for the more immediate promotion of the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men by means of researches, publica-
tions, lectures, etc.
In order, however, to carry out the several parts of this more extended plan, it
was found absolutely necessary that the annual income of the Institution should be
increased. To accomplish this it was resolved, instead of expending at once the
$242,000 on a building, carefully to husband the same and to erect the building in
the course of several years, in part out of the proceeds of the sum before mentioned
and in part out of such portions of the income of the original fund as could be
spared from the ordinary operations of the Institution. This scheme has been
effectually carried out, and the Regents now ask to be allowed to place in the Treas-
ury of the United States, alongside of the original bequest and upon the same terms,
never to be expended, the sum of $150,000 of accrued interest, and to be allowed to
add to this from time to time such other sums as may come into their possession, by
donation or otherwise, until it, with the sums thus added, shall amount to $200,000,
making in all a principal fund of a little more than $715,000.
After this deposit of $150,000 the Regents will still have sufficient money on hand
to finish the whole exterior of the building and such portions of the interior in addi-
tion to those now completed as may be wanted for several years to come; they then
propose gradually to finish the remainder, in such portions as may be wanted, out
of the annual accruing interest.
The sole object of the request is the permanent investment and perpetual security
of the accumulated fund, and when your honorable body is assured that the organi-
zation and operation of the Institution have received the approbation of the wise
and good, not only in this country, but in every part of the world where literature
and science are cultivated, the undersigned trusts that the request will be granted.
And your petitioner will ever pray, etc.,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
H. Doc. 732 31
482 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Resolution of the Board of Regents of the Smtilisonian Institution, adopted at their meeting
of June 1, 1850, and appended to the foregoing petition.
Resolved, That it is expedient to enlarge the permanent fund of the Institution by
the investment of such sums not exceeding $200,000 as may have been or shall be
received for accrued interest or otherwise, in addition to the principal sum of the
Smithsonian bequest, augmenting the principal sum to that amount, and that appli-
cation be made to Congress to receive such sums not exceeding $200,000 as may have
been or shall be received for accrued interest or otherwise into the United State?
Treasury upon the same terms on which the original bequest has been received.
Resolved, That the secretary be requested to communicate a copy of this resolution
to Congress and to request that provision be made bylaw in accordance therewith.
January 30, 1851 Senate.
Mr. THOMAS EWING, from the Committee on Finance, to which was
referred the memorial of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
reported a bill supplementary to an act passed August 10, 1846,
entitled "An act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men:" which was read and
passed to a second reading:
Be it enacted, etc. , That so much of the money now in the hands of the regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, being an accumulation of interest on the principal fund
that accrued prior to July first, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, and heretofore
set apart for the erection of the suitable buildings for the use of said institution, as
may not be found necessary for the completion of the edifice now in course of erec-
tion, and all such further sums as may be received hereafter from the estate of James
Smithson, shall be received into the Treasury of the United States on the same terms
as were provided for the original principal fund by the second section of the act
entitled "An act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffu-
sion of knowledge among men," approved August tenth, eighteen hundred and
forty-six, and that the interest thereon at the rate of six per centum per annum shall
in like manner be payable half-yearly on the first of January and July in each year,
from and after the date at which it shall be received into the Treasury of the United
States for the perpetual maintenance and support of said institution : Provided, That
the sums thus to be received shall not exceed the amount of two hundred thousand
dollars.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By the Vice- President.
March 5. 1851 Senate.
On motion of Mr. J. A. PEARCE, the President of the Senate (Mr.
WILLIAM R. KING) was authorized to fill the vacancy in the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution occasioned by the expiration,
on the 3d day of March, 1851, of the term of Jefferson Davis, of
Mississippi.
March 6, 1851 Senate.
On motion of Mr. J. A. PEARCE, the President of the Senate (Mr.
WILLIAM R. KING) was authorized to fill the vacancy in the Board of
Regents occasioned by the expiration of the term of service of James
M. Mason.
The President (Mr. KING) reappointed Jefferson Davis and James
M. Mason as Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 483
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By ttie Speaker.
January 7, 1850 House.
The Speaker (Mr. HOWELL COBB) appointed Henry W. Hilliard, of
Alabama, W. F. Colcock, of South Carolina, and G. N. Fitch, of
Indiana, on the part of the House, as Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By Joint Resolution.
December 10, 1850 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE gave notice of his intention to ask leave to intro-
duce a joint resolution providing for the appointment of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution.
December 11, 1850 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE, in pursuance of notice, asked and obtained
leave to introduce a joint resolution for the appointment of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution:
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution of the class "other than members of Congress" be filled by the reappoint-
ment of the late incumbents, viz, Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, and Joseph G.
Totten, of the city of Washington.
On the motion of Mr. PEARCE, the joint resolution was read a second
time, and considered as in Committee of the Whole. Reported to the
Senate, and passed.
December 18, 1850 House.
Mr. G. N. FITCH said there was upon the Speaker's table a joint
resolution from the Senate providing for the appointment of Regents
for the Smithsonian Institution whose term of service had expired.
He hoped the House would take up and consider the resolution, as it
would occupy but a few minutes. It was absolutely necessary that it
should be passed, for the reason that the Board of Regents was not
full and no business could be transacted by the Board until the vacan-
cies be tilled. He hoped the resolution would be taken up.
There being no objection the joint resolution was taken up and
passed.
December 24, 1850.
Resolved, etc. , That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution of the class "other than members of Con-
gress," be filled by the reappointment of the late incumbents, viz.:
Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, and Joseph G. Totten, of the city of
Washington.
(Stat., IX, 646.)
484 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1851-1853.
APPROPRIATIONS FOR GROUNDS.
April 20, 1852 Senate.
The Senate having under consideration the deficiency bill, and the
following amendment from the Committee on Finance being in order:
For planting and finishing the roads and walks through that portion of the public
Mall surrounding the Smithsonian Institution, $7,000.
Mr. R. M. T. HUNTER said: This item is estimated for by the Sec-
retary of the Interior. It is proposed to appropriate this amount in
this bill, instead of appropriating it for the next fiscal year, as this is
the planting season.
Agreed to.
August 21, 1852 Senate.
An amendment to the civil and diplomatic appropriation bill for the
year ending June 30, 1853, was proposed by the Finance Committee,
as follows:
For finishing the grading, manuring, planting, finishing the roads and walks,
graveling and laying gutters along the margin of the same, and repairing the fence
of the Smithsonian square, $13,200.
August 26, 1852 Senate.
Mr. R. M. T. HUNTER moved to amend the amendment offered
August 21, by striking out "$13,200" and inserting "$16,760."
Amendment as amended was agreed to.
August 30, 1852 Senate.
In conference committee the Senate receded from the amendment of
August 26.
March 1, 1853 Senate.
Mr. R. M. T. HUNTER, from the Finance Committee, offered amend-
ment to the civil and diplomatic appropriation bill
To supply a deficiency for the purchase of trees and hire of laborers on the
improvements of reservation No. 2, on public Mall, between Seventh and Twelfth
streets west, $5,276.52.
Agreed to.
March 3, 1853 House.
The House refused to agree to the amendment of the Senate to the
civil and diplomatic bill appropriating $5,276.52 for reservation No. '2.
The amendment having been sent to a committee of conference, the
House receded from its disagreement, and the amendment was agreed
to.
INCREASE OF SMITHSON FUND.
May 27, 1852 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE, from the Committee on Finance, reported a bill
supplementary to an act approved August 10, 1846, entitled "An act
to establish the Smithsonian Institution," etc.:
Be it enacted, etc. , That so much of the money now in the hands of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, being an accumulation of interest on the principal fund that
THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1851-1853. 485
accrued prior to July first, 1847, and heretofore set apart for the erection of the
suitable buildings for the use of said Institution, as may not be found necessary for
the completion of the edifice now in course of erection, and all such further sums as
may be received hereafter from the estate of James Smithson, shall be received into
the Treasury of the United States on the same terms as were provided for the original
principal fund by the second section of the act entitled "An act to establish the
Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,"
approved August tenth, 1846, and that the interest thereon, at the rate of six per
centum per annum, shall in like manner be payable half-yearly, on the first of
January and July in each year, from and after the date at which it shall be received
into the Treasury of the United States, for the perpetual maintenance and support
of said Institution : Provided, That the sums thus to be received shall not exceed the
amount of $200,000.
Passed to a second reading.
FREE POSTAGE.
July 11, 1852 House.
Mr. B. HENN, of Iowa, offered an amendment to the bill to reduce
and modify the rates of postage in the United States, etc. :
The presidents of universities, colleges, academies, and of all scientific institutions,
and also the Smithsonian Institution, may send by mail, free of postage, the printed
copies of any regular paper, pamphlet, or book published under the authority of any
such institution; and also the proof sheets of such copies while the same are being
published: Provided, Such printed copies shall be distributed gratis.
July 12, 1862 House.
The amendment was rejected.
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
August 20, 1852 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. D. R. ATCHISON) laid before the
Senate a letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
communicating the annual report of the Board of Regents of that
Institution, which was ordered to lie on the table and be printed.
A motion of Mr. J. A. PEARCE that 5,000 additional copies be printed
was referred to the Committee on Printing.
August 26, 1852 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN, from the Committee on Printing, reported in favor
of printing 5,000 additional copies of the annual report of the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, and that 2,000 copies thereof be for
the use of the Institution. Agreed to.
March 1, 1853 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. D. R. ATCHISON) laid before the
Senate the seventh annual report of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution.
March 3, 1853 Senate.
The report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
was ordered to be printed.
486 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By tJie Vice- President.
August 24, 1852 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE submitted resolution.
Resolved, That the vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
occasioned by the resignation of Jefferson Davis, be filled by the President of the
Senate.
Agreed to and Robert M. Charlton was appointed.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
January 2, 1852 House.
The Speaker (Mr. LINN BOYD), in pursuance of the act of Congress,
announced the names of the following gentlemen as Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution: William F. Colcock, of South Carolina;
Graham N. Fitch, of Indiana, and James Meacham, of Vermont.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
December 21, 1852 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. There are two vacancies in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, which it is very desirable and necessary
should soon be filled. I therefore ask leave to introduce a joint
resolution.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, of the class "other than members of Congress," be filled by the appointment
of Alexander Dallas Bache, of the city of Washington, and John MacPherson Berrien,
of the State of Georgia.
Considered by the Senate as in Committee of the Whole; reported
without amendment; passed.
January 11, 1853 House.
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to
take up joint resolution S. 6-, for the appointment of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. It will take but a moment, and it is very
necessary that it should be passed. Resolution passed.
January 13, 1853.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, of the class "other than members of Con-
gress," be filled by the appointment of Alexander Dallas Bache, a
member of the National Institute, and resident in the city of Wash-
ington, and John MacPherson Berrien, of the State of Georgia.
(Stat., X, 261.)
THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1851-1853. 487
DOCUMENTS.
August 31, 1852 Senate.
On motion by Mr. AUGUSTUS C. DODGE, of Iowa, it was
Ordered, That instead of the distribution of Owen's report heretofore ordered, there
be furnished to the General Land Office 100 copies, to the Smithsonian Institution
100 copies, and to Dr. Owen 200 copies.
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
August 31, 1852.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1853.
Library of Congress. For continuing the preparation and publica-
tion of the works of the Exploring Expedition, including the expenses
of the greenhouse, and for the settlement of arrears due on the erec-
tion of said greenhouse, $25,000: Provided, That no part of this appro-
priation shall be applied to the enlarging of the present or the erection
of new buildings.
(Stat., X, 77.)
March 3, 1853.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1854.
Library of Congress. For the completion of the publication of the
works of the Exploring Expedition, in pursuance of contracts already
made, $25,000: Provided, That this appropriation shall finish the
publication.
(Stat., X, 190.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
August 31, 1852.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1853.
To defray freight and other expenses incurred under the act to
regulate the exchange of certain documents and other publications,
approved June 26, 1848, the sum of $1,000, and that the said act is
hereby repealed.
(Stat., X, 77.)
METEOROLOGY JAMES P. ESPY.
August 31, 1852.
Act for naval service for 1853.
For meteorological observations, to be conducted under the direc-
tions of the Secretary of the Navy, $2,000.
For the payment of the salary of Professor James P. Espy, during
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1848, no appropriation having been
made by Congress for that year, $2,000.
(Stat., X, 102.)
March 3, 1853.
Act for naval service for 1854.
For meteorological observations, to be conducted under the direc-
tions of the Secretary of the Navy, $2,000.
(Stat, X, 221.)
488 CONGRESSIONAL PEOCEEDING8.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855.
SMITHSON FUND.
January 3, 1854 House.
Mr. Jos. R. CHANDLER offered resolution:
Resolved, That a select committee, consisting of nine members, be appointed and
instructed to inquire into the expediency of withdrawing from the Treasury of the
United States the Smithsonian fund, and investing the same in sound stocks, or in
such other way as may be to the interest of said fund.
Mr. CHANDLER. This money is lying in the Treasury of the United
States, and the Government has to pay for the use of it when it is
buying up its own stock at a large premium. It is, therefore, desira-
ble to place the fund in some other situation.
Mr. GEORGE W. JONES, of Tennessee. I desire to make one inquiry
of the gentleman, and it is whether there is any certainty that a method
can be devised by which he can so invest this money in stocks, or in
any other way that, provided it should be lost, the Government will
not have to refund it ? We made one investment of a portion of this
fund and had to pay the amount of the investment.
Mr. CHANDLER. Invest it in Eastern stocks, and not in Western.
Mr. T. H. BAYLY, of Virginia, called for the reading of the resolu-
tion, and no objection being made it was accordingly again read.
The question was then taken on the adoption of the resolution; and
there were, on a division ayes 84; noes not counted.
Adopted.
March 10, 1854 House.
Mr. J. R. CHANDLER. I ask leave to introduce a memorial from the
Smithsonian Institution, with a view of having it referred to the
special committee appointed early in January. It is a memorial asking
Congress to authorize the Treasury Department to receive $150,000,
saved from the accrued interest, on the same terms as those on which
the original bequest was received.
To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:
GENTLEMEN: The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have directed
me to transmit to your honorable body the resolution appended to this communica-
tion, and to solicit the passage of a law in accordance therewith.
It is known to your honorable body that the original sum received into the United
States Treasury from the Smithsonian bequest was a little more than $515,000, and
that at the time of the passage of the act incorporating the Institution $242,000 had
accrued in interest, which sum, or so much of it as might be deemed necessary, the
Regents were authorized to appropriate to a building.
In consideration, however, of the great demands upon the Institution for "the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," the Regents, instead of immedi-
ately expending this sum on the building, have carefully husbanded it, and have
extended the time of the erection of the building over several years, and have de-
frayed the expense in part out of the proceeds of this sum, and in part out of such
portions of the income of the original fund as could be spared from the operations
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 489
of the Institution. The building will be completed in a few months in fireproof
materials, and in a very substantial manner, and besides the money required to pay
the contractor there is now on hand $150,000 of accrued interest.
This sum the Regents ask to be allowed to place in the Treasury of the United
States with the original bequest, and to add to it, from time to time, such other sums
as may come into their possession by donation or otherwise until the sum thus added
shall amount to $ .
The sole object of this bequest is the permanent investment and perpetual security
of the accumulated fund, and when your honorable body is assured that the opera-
tions of the Institution have received the approbation of the wise and good in every
part of the world where literature and science are cultivated, the undersigned trusts
that the request will be granted.
And your petitioner will ever pray, etc.
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary of Smithsonian Institution.
December 5, 1854 House.
Mr. Jos. R. CHANDLER offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That the special committee to whom, at the last session of Congress, was
referred the subject of the investment of the funds of the Smithsonian Institution,
be continued with its powers and duties.
The Speaker (Mr. LINN BOYD). With the permission of the House,
the Chair would remark that all the select committees appointed at the
last session expired, as a matter of course, with the last session. If
not objected to, a general order will be entered to continue those com-
mittees which did not report in full at the last session.
Mr. PETER ROWE. I object.
The SPEAKER. The question will then be upon the resolution offered
by the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Resolution agreed to.
March 3, 1855 House.
Mr. Jos. R. CHANDLER, of Pennsylvania, from the select com-
mittee to inquire into the expediency of withdrawing from the Treas-
ury of the United States the Smithsonian fund, and investing it in
sound stocks, reported that immediately after the appointment of a
committee the chairman addressed a letter to the Secretary of the
Treasury, inquiring into the history and present state of the Smith-
sonian fund. To that letter the following answer was received:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 6, 1854.
SIR: I duly received your letter of the 4th of January last, inclosing a copy of the
following resolution, adopted by the House of Representatives on the 3d of that
month : ' 'Resolved, That a select committee, consisting of nine members, be appointed
and instructed to inquire into the expediency of withdrawing from the Treasury of
the United States the Smithsonian fund, and investing the same in sound stocks, or
in such other way as may be to the interest of said fund," and requesting a statement
of the amount of the Smithsonian fund in possession of the Department, or under its
control, and the amount of interest accruing thereon, with any other information
that may assist the committee in the discharge of the duty enjoined by said resolu-
tion. In compliance with your request, I have the honor to transmit herewith the
accompanying statements, marked A, B, C, and D.
490 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The sum received in London from the bequest of Mr. Smithson by the agent of the
United States appointed in pursuance of the act of July 1, 1836, Avaa 515,169. But
the sum actually received into the Treasury was $508,318.46, the difference between
the two sums having been absorbed by certain expenses in collecting and transferring
the money to the United States.
By the sixth section of the act of July 7, 1838, it was provided that the money so
received should be invested by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation
of the President of the United States, in stocks of States, bearing not less than 5 per
cent interest, and that the said stocks should be held by the said Secretary in trust for
the uses specified in the last will and testament of James Smithson, until provisions
should be made by law for carrying the purposes of the said bequest into effect, and
the annual interest accruing on the stock aforesaid should, in like manner, be invested
for the benefit of the said Institution.
By the act of September 11, 1841, so much of the before-mentioned act as author-
ized investments in stocks of the States was repealed, and the Secretary of the Treas-
ury was required thereafter to invest in stocks of the United States.
But between the dates of these two acts the sum of $508,318.46, together with the
interest accruing on the first purchase, was invested in stock of the State of Arkansas,
upon which the State, in the sequel, failed to pay interest, and upon which, from
the time of such failure, nothing has been realized, except certain sums which have
accrued to the State from the sale of public lands under what is commonly called the
5 per cent fund.
In this condition of the fund the act of August 10, 1846, was passed, entitled "An
act to establish the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men."
The act recognized as a debt due from the United States the sum so received and
invested. It fixed the said sum at $515, 169, the sum received by the agent in London,
thus assuming the expenses incurred, and leaving the original bequest unimpaired
for the use of the Institution. It provided for the payment of interest on the said
sum from the time of receipt, at 6 per cent, payable on the 1st January and 1st July
of each year, appropriating the interest which had so far accrued, amounting to
$242,129, for the erection of suitable buildings, and the interest thereafter to accrue
for the maintenance and support of the Institution. But the act at the same time
provided " that all the stocks which may have been or may hereafter be received
into the Treasury of the United States on account of the fund bequeathed by James
Smithson be, and the same are hereby, pledged to refund to the Treasury of the
United States the sums hereby appropriated."
With this brief explanation of the history of the fund, including the legislation
thereon, the committee, it is hoped, will find the statements referred to sufficiently
intelligible.
A is a statement showing on the one hand, first, the amount originally received
into the Treasury; second, the amounts received for interest; and, third, the amount
of United States stock redeemed, this amount ($5,523.21) being part of the sum of
$106,184.85 mentioned in same statement; and, on the other hand, first, the invest-
ments made for the benefit of the Institution; second, an expense incurred in the
management of the fund; and, third, the balance remaining on hand.
Statement B shows the amount of stock now held, and the different descriptions of
which it is composed. It shows also the present market value of said stocks, with
the exception of the Arkansas, which is, perhaps, not worth more than 40 cents on
the dollar.
C is a statement showing on the one hand the interest which has accrued on these
stocks, and on the other hand, first, the interest which has been received, and, second,
the interest which is due and uncollected.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 491
D is a statement of the interest which has accrued on the sum of $515,169 under the
act of August 10, 1846, all of which has been paid up to the 31st December, 1853, first,
for the erection of the building, and, second, for the support of the Institution, in pur-
suance of the terms of said act.
From these statements it appears that the fund which is pledged to reimburse to
the Treasury the amount appropriated by the act of August 10, 1846, may be stated
as follows:
1. Stocks on hand of the par value of $720, 661. 64
2. Balance of cash in the Treasury 18, 646. 83
3. Balance of interest uncollected 369, 316. 32
1,108,624.79
It is estimated that, by authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem the
stocks of the United States held in trust for the Institution at the rates of premium
offered for said stocks, and to sell the stocks of the States of Illinois, Ohio, and Michi-
gan at their market price, the sum of $199,844 may be realized and applied toward
the reimbursement of the said appropriations, and I respectfully recommend that
authority may be given to pursue this course.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
JAMES GUTHRIE,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. Jos. R. CHANDLER,
Chairman Select Committee on Smithsonian Fund.
492
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
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CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
C. Statement showing the amount of interest received and disbursed on account of the
Smithsonian Institution, under the act of Congress approved August 10, 1846, ivhich act
fixed the principal of the Smithsonian fund at $515,169.
To amount of interest which has ac-
crued on the principal of the Smith-
sonian fund as secured by the second
section of the act of Aug. 10, 1846,
from Sept. 1, 1838, to Dec. 31, 1849, as
per report No 103 882
8350 314 42
By amount of interest paid to the
proper disbursing agent of the
Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution up to Dec. 31,
1849, per report No. 103,882
$350, 314. 42
To amount of interest which has ac-
1 , 1850, to Dec. 31, 1853 . .
123 640.56
crued on said fund from Jan. 1 , 1850,
to Dec. 31, 1853
123,640.56
473, 954. 98
473,954.98
D. Statement of the Smithsonian fund as it regards interest on stocks.
To amount of interest received j$223, 756. 01
To interest now due, viz:
From the State of Ar-
kansas 8361,686.32
From the State of
Michigan 960.00 |
From the State of
Ohio 6,720.00 i
369,316.32
593,072.33
By amount of interest which has ac-
crued on stocks purchased, viz :
On stock of the State of Arkansas.
On stock of the State of Michigan.
On stock of the State of Illinois . .
On stock of the State of Ohio
On stock of the United States ...
8492, 079. 57
7,520.00
45,420.00
13,500.00
34,552.70
593,072.33
Shortly after the receipt of the above statements by the chairman
of the committee, there was presented to the House of Representatives
the memorial of March 10, 1854, from the Smithsonian Institution.
The statement made to the select committee by the Secretary of the
Treasury shows that the Government, by an act of Congress, set apart
as the capital of the Smithsonian fund the sum of $515,169; regarding
those States that have failed to make payment of principal or interest
of the sums loaned to them from the fund received from England as
debtors to the Treasury of the United States, leaving the fund unencum-
bered with accounts against the borrowers and equal to the amount
left by the testator.
What disposition should be made of the evidences of debts which
the Government of the United States holds against the borrowers of
the original fund did not form a part of the inquiries which the com-
mittee was authorized to make. But as those funds evidently belong
to the Government of the United States, the committee will feel itself
justified in suggesting such a disposal thereof as will release the books
of the Treasury Department of the continued and increasing accounts.
And at the close of the report a resolution will be added recommend-
ing the sale of all such assets, and that the net proceeds be carried to
the general fund.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 495
The memorial of the Smithsonian Institution, asking for permission
to invest a portion of the fund saved in the construction of the build-
ing, for which purpose it had been appropriated, suggested to the joint
committee inquiries as to the probable demands which would be made
upon the income of the Institution; and that led to a further inquiry as
to the legitimate objects for expenditure. These inquiries could only
be answered by a recurrence to the will of the distinguished testator; and
if that should be less explicit in any particular than would be desirable,
then a recurrence could be had to the well-established facts of his
life, and the special objects which he pursued in his devotion to sci-
ence; and the end which he proposed in his pursuits while alive, and
the special directions of his estate after the death of the person to
whom was bequeathed a life use of his property.
Committees of Congress have several times presented statements of
the objects of Mr. Smithson's bequest to the Government of the United
States in trust, and their opinion of the mode in which these objects
should be attained, and proceedings have been had, founded on the
acts of Congress, that have been consequent upon these reports. And
the Institution has been established, and been made most beneficially
operative by a "direction," which has been careful to administer its
affairs in the spirit of Congressional enactments.
The Smithsonian Institution, however, is unique in its character,
and it is brought into action at a time when science is advancing
beyond all precedent, and when the learned and the scientific of the
Old World are demanding from the United States not merely a sympa-
thy in their labors, but a contribution to the amount of knowledge and
science with which the world has alread} T been enriched.
With the constant demands upon the Institution, and the constant
efforts to respond to these demands, it is not strange that it should be
found occasionally necessary to inquire whether its administration is
maintained with a constant e}~e to that progression which the advance-
ment of science renders necessary, and whether every plan which was
hesitatingly but carefully adopted in the establishment of the Institu-
tion is productive of the exact result which was contemplated on its
formation, and whether any of its minor divisions impinge upon the
more important branches, and thus diminish the means of usefulness
on the whole, and delay the attainment of these objects, which are
properly the end of the great establishment.
To judge correctly of such matters it is not only necessary to know
what has been done by the Institution, but what was the plan of those
by whom it was inaugurated, and especially it is important to com-
pare the proceedings of the Institution with the will of its testator,
and to ascertain whether what he proposed has been in any degree
attained, and whether all has been done that the means supplied would
allow, and whether the plans for future action are in direct conformity
496 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
with a fair construction of the will, and whether any of the income is
being devoted to objects not directly contemplated by the testator,
and which may be as well attained by existing institutions that have
neither the means nor the mission for that which may be regarded as
the specialty of the Smithsonian bequest.
And the inquiry is, in the opinion of the committee eminently wor-
thy those who are acting for the nation which, having accepted the
solemn and important trust conferred by Mr. Smithson, is bound to
give to its administration all that attention which is due to the liberal
views and lofty objects of the testator, and which is no less becoming
the peculiar character and natural distinction of the trustee. Regard
for the memory of the dead who conferred upon our citizens the bene-
fit of the fund and upon our nation the honor of its administration, no
less than a mere self-respect, will ever lead this nation, through its rep-
resentatives, to guard with peculiar vigilance the sacred trust involved
in the bequest of Mr. Smithson, and carefully and diligently to watch
the progress of the Institution in the fulfillment of the noble wishes of
the founder and the just expectation of mankind in its regard.
With this view, evidently, the Government supplied the deficiency
in the funds resulting from loans authorized by act of Congress; and,
pursuing the same object, it is believed that Congress will suggest
that the Treasury of the United States be the depository of the fund,
and that the Institution shall derive an unfluctuating income from the
interest which the Government of the United States shall pay for the
use of that deposit.
James Smithson was the son of the Duke of Northumberland by
Elizabeth, niece of the Duke of Somerset. The disadvantages of the
circumstances of his birth seem to have been less than the benefits of
the wealth of his parents, and he surmounted the former . by the
assistance which the latter gave to the energy of his character and
the ennobling objects of his pursuits, and having achieved distinction
by science, an attainment fortunately not dependent upon hereditary
honors, his wish was evidently to open up avenues to knowledge and
facilitate its attainment for the multitude. It is better to suppose
that the exalted opinions of mental cultivation and scientific attain-
ment which Smithson manifested in his life and writings, and the
efforts and contribution which he made toward insuring to learning a
superiority to any distinction founded on hereditary title, resulted
rather from the ennobling influence of great scientific attainments
upon his own character than from the misfortunes of his birth, which
forbade his enjoyment of the titular honors that distinguished his
father.
Or, if made to feel the incompatibility of his condition with the
kind of distinction which was enjoyed by his more fortunate relatives,
he may be pardoned the ambition which led him to adopt a course to
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 497
give imperishable distinction to his name, "when the titles of Percy
and Northumberland are extinct." And the Smithsonian Institution,
in the city of Washington, is the means by which that distinction is to
be achieved and perpetuated. Such an end with such ample means
demanded appropriate administrations and suitable measures.
It must be conceded that the plan of the Smithsonian Institution
must be of a character different from most others or it will only be a
rival of existing institutions; and the language of the testator is
explicit as it regards the character and objects of the institute which
he intended to found and endow. The object was "to found at Wash-
ington an establishment, under the name of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
The Government of the United States, in accepting the great trust
conferred, pledged itself to carry out the objects of the founder, to
administer the funds with a distinct reference to the requirements of
the will, and to keep the institute, which bears the name of the
founder, separate in all its relations from any and every other; to give
it a distinct and substantive existence, and insure independence and
efficiency to its operations.
The distinction between the increase and the diffusion of knowledge
is real, and in the administration of the Smithsonian Institution is of
very great importance.
We have, all around us, libraries and museums, by which what is
known of literature and science may be diffused, so far as the influ-
ence of those libraries and museums extends; but it can not be denied
that such an influence is necessarily quite limited.
But the "increase of knowledge" is more dependent upon the
means of the promoters than their location, and the amount of valua-
ble contribution to any science must depend more upon the assurance
that the contributor can be requited for his time and labor than upon
any advantages of position; and it is eminently true that our country
abounds with men whose tastes and attainments lead them into a par-
ticular branch of moral or physical science, but whose ordinary pur-
suits do not allow them to extend their investigations into specialties,
so that large stores of knowledge often lie undeveloped in the mine of
science for want of some men of leisure to follow the drift and secure
the treasure.
The Smithsonian Institution has already enabled men of that class
and encouraged those of more fortunate condition to make investiga-
tions and to adduce results which the world of science has already
confessed go to increase knowledge among men; and these contribu-
tions to the amount of knowledge, it is admitted, must have been
reserved at least for a future day had not the foresight of the Smith-
sonian Institution suggested and supplied means for the "increase,"
H. Doc. 732 32
498 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and its appropriate and timely liberality furnished the funds and
means for the dissemination.
It has already been remarked that the unique character of Mr.
Smithson's bequest rendered it difficult of administration upon any
plan that should not be sanctioned by some experience, and hence if
there should be suggested a slight departure from the requirements
of the letter of the law of 1846, by which the Institution was organ-
ized for action, it must not be understood as censuring the views of
those who labored in the plan and secured the efficient and desirable
action of Congress. At that time gentlemen of the highest distinction
in literature and science differed in their views of the best means of
carrying out the wishes of the founder. Each had a favorite theory
as it regards the efficiency of certain means or modes, and that differ-
ence arose greatly from previous habits and associations or from the
influence which the greater mind had upon the less.
It can not be denied that the creation of an immense library was a
favorite and the dominant idea of many who at that time leaned
entirely upon foreign writers for information and resorted to books
rather than to experiments and observations for exact information on
any science. Such a course seems natural where it had been universal,
and the opinions are likely to be operative just in proportion to the
dependence of minds upon books; and hence a vast collection of vol-
umes in any city of the fourth or fifth class in point of size and as
yet of no particular class in point of science and literature seemed to
promise a fulfillment of the wishes of Smithson.
Yet these volumes were not to "increase the amount of knowledge
among men;" they only recorded the existing amount, were merely
the storehouses of what had been gathered and kept in the city of
Washington, as yet only the political center of the nation, and it is
dificult to see how they would serve greatly to "diffuse that knowl-
edge among men."
Another part of the plan is the establishment of a museum, and, in
the opinion of the committee, this, if kept within just bounds, is a
valuable part of the general plan. The danger is that a museum,
instead of being what its name implies, will become a receptacle for
all the freaks of nature which a morbid curiosity may discover and
the resort of those who would rather be amused with a Imus naturae
of any kind than with a well-arranged and instructive display of prod-
ucts in their scientific order.
A museum for the Smithsonian Institution should be of a kind to
assist the student and the master in natural studies and enable them
to pursue their inquiries to the full extent of attained results, that
they may increase the amount of that kind of knowledge may add to
what is already known; and when they shall have completed that com-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 499
mission and their reports shall have satisfied the Institution that some-
thing is contributed to the previous amount of knowledge in their par-
ticular branches, then the Institution shall cause those contributions
to be printed in an appropriate manner and copies to be distributed
to the various libraries of the country and the scientific associations
throughout the world, thus diffusing knowledge among men.
One result of this transmission of the publications of the Institution
is eminently worthy of regard in considering the means of adminis-
tering the will of the testator. These books thus sent out are regarded
as "exchanges," and thus they insure to the Institution returns from
every corresponding society in the world that publishes its proceedings,
and a single publication of a thousand copies of any memoir by the
Smithsonian Institution is likely to insure to the shelves of its library
numerous copies of different scientific works from sister associations
abroad, so that the very expenditure in that branch of the Institution
is the means of supplying the books for a library instead of its becom-
ing the occasion of diminishing the means of supplying that branch.
And it should be added that the works received in exchange are those
which go to supply to the Institution a portion of the very kind of
information most suited to its character and objects and insuring to its
officers and frequenters detailed reports upon branches of science that
might otherwise have remained undeveloped.
The city of Washington may rejoice in the multiplication of general
libraries, and the young may frequent the Smithsonian Institution for
duplicates of amusing volumes which they have seen in the Congres-
sional Library, and the latest novel or the last essay may find its place
on its shelves, to the augmentation of its catalogue and the diminu-
tion of its funds; but it will scarcely be claimed in behalf of such a
collection that it is a selection suited to the views of Smithson or in
accordance with his will.
The committee, unable at present to pursue further their inquiries
into a subject of so much importance to the hopes of the scientific,
beg leave to present the following resolutions:
Resolved, That having accepted the trust conferred by the last will and testament
of James Smithson, and having experienced inconvenience from a former investment
of a part of the funds of that trust, the United States will best promote the object of
the testator and secure the prosperous and profitable action of the Smithsonian
Institution by retaining the funds of that Institution in the public Treasury and
allowing the same interest now paid for the use of those funds.
Resolved, That it is expedient to enlarge the permanent fund of the Institution by
the investment of such sums, not exceeding $125,000, as may have been or shall be
received for accrued interest or otherwise, in addition to the principal sum of the
Smithsonian bequest, and that the said additional sum of $125,000 be received into the
Treasury of the United States upon the same terms as those upon which the original
fund is now held.
500 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
FREE POSTAGE.
January 24, 1854 House.
Mr. CHARLES W. UPHAM, from the Committee on the Post-Office
and Post- Roads, reported the following bill:
A bill granting the franking privilege to the Superintendent of the Coast Survey
and the assistant in charge of the office of said Coast Survev.
Mr. DANIEL MACE. I move that the bill be so amended as to provide
for the grant of the franking privilege to the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution in addition to the officers already named.
Mr. E. B. OLDS. The proposition contemplates the giving of the
franking privilege to the Coast Survey. The Committee on the Post-
Office and Post- Roads have permitted it to be reported to the House
from the fact that we had seen no good reason why the head of that
Bureau for it is, in fact, a bureau should not have the franking priv-
ilege as well as the heads of the other bureaus. At the same time,
however, that I give my assent to the report of this resolution, I wish
to say that my own opinion, and I believe that such will be the opinion
of the committee, is against the franking privilege altogether; and
perhaps before the session is closed we shall propose a bill abolishing it.
Mr. MACE. I think, sir, that I would myself be in favor of the abo-
lition of the franking privilege; but if it is to exist and appertain to
sundry officers of the Government and to members of Congress I see
no case more meritorious than that of the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution to which that privilege could be extended. That is an
institution for the diffusion of general knowledge throughout the
whole country. By various acts of Congress we vote to it numerous
public documents, which can not be distributed unless some member
of Congress will volunteer to go there and frank them. Such is the
practice, and I have myself, at the instance of Professor Henry, spent
days there in franking public documents for that Institution.
The design has been to forward to our constituents throughout the
land documents for their information. The Secretary of that Institu-
tion ought to have the privilege of franking them, and not be, as now,
subjected to the inconvenience of calling upon the members of Con-
gress to do that job.
A MEMBER. Who is the Secretary ?
Mr. MACE. I am told that Professor Henry is the Secretary. I do
not propose to elaborate this question at all. It is a simple one. If
we are to extend this privilege at all, we can not extend it to a more
meritorious case than the one I have suggested.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. I move to refer the bill and amend-
ment to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and that
they be printed. And I will say that whatever may be the propriety
of the bill as reported from the committee, I can see no justice and
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 501
no propriety in the amendment proposed by the gentleman from
Indiana [Mr. Mace].
The Smithsonian Institution is not part nor parcel of this Govern-
ment. It is a separate and distinct institution, quartered, it is true,
on the Treasury at the rate of thousands of dollars per annum; and
it should be kept, I think, as distinct as possible. There is no reason
for giving this Institution the peculiar privilege of franking its docu-
ments over the country in preference to other institutions of learning
in any part of the United States. And if you commence with this,
where are you to stop? This is to be the entering wedge here at the
seat of government. This is first to be made the favorite institution
for establishing the precedent to confer the franking privilege on all
the institutions, perhaps, of the country. And I will say to the gen-
tleman from Indiana [Mr. Mace] that, according to my understanding
and construction of the Post-Office laws, the member of Congress who
franks a document weighing over 2 ounces, published by the Smith-
sonian Institution, violates the privilege conferred upon him under
the laws of Congress.
Mr. MACE. Will the gentleman from Tennessee allow me to explain ?
Mr. JONES yielded the floor.
Mr. MACE. I will state to the gentleman that the documents franked
by me for the Smithsonian Institution were printed by order of Con-
gress, and I had the same right to frank them as I had the other public
Documents printed by order of Congress.
Mr. JONES. If they were ordered by Congress, or by either House
of Congress, then they were public documents and came within the
law. And the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Mace] and every other
member had a right to frank them. . But the documents printed by
order of the Smithsonian Institution are not included among these
privileged matters which members of Congress are authorized to
frank; and, in my opinion, they should not be included. I now,
Mr. Speaker, move the previous question.
Mr. E. A. WARREN. I move to lay the bill and amendment upon the
table.
Mr. MACE. The gentleman from Massachusetts who reported the bill
has urgently appealed to me to withdraw the amendment which I have
proposed. I do now withdraw it.
There was no objection, and it was withdrawn.
March 3, 1855.
Post-Office act for 1856.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all books, maps, charts, or
other publications, entered for copyright, and which, under the act of
August 10, 1846, are required to be deposited in the Library of Con-
gress, and in the Smithsonian Institution, may be sent through the
502 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
mails free of postage, under such regulations as the Postmaster-Gen-
eral ma}' prescribe.
(Stat, X, 685.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By th# Vice- President.
February 21, 1854 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE offered resolution:
Resolved, That the vacancy in the Board cf Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
occasioned by the expiration of the term of the Hon. R. M. Charlton, be filled by
the President of the Senate.
Agreed to.
The President (Mr. JESSE D. BRIGHT) appointed Stephen A. Douglas
to fill the vacancy.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
December 14, 1853 House.
The Speaker (Mr. LINN BOYD) appointed James Meacham, of Ver-
mont, William H. English, of Indiana, and David Stuart, of Michi-
gan, Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
December 7, 1854 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE, according to previous notice, asked and obtained
leave to introduce a joint resolution to fill the vacancies in the Board
of Regents of the class other than members of Congress, by the reap-
pointment of the late incumbents, Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and
Gideon Hawley, of New York.
The joint resolution passed in Committee of the Whole.
December 22, 1854 House.
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM. I wish to state that there is a bill upon the
Speaker's table providing for the reappointment of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution. I will state that it is necessary to transact
some business which can not be done without the reappointment of
these Regents. I ask that the bill may be taken up and passed. It will
take but a minute, and I hope there will be no objection.
Mr. W. R, W. COBB. I object.
After the intervention of some other business
Mr. MEACHAM. I now ask the House to take up the bill for the
reappointment of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and pass
it. It will occupy but a moment.
Mr. T. B. FLORENCE. Oh, no; there is no quorum here.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 503
December 26, 1854 House.
Mr. AV. H. ENGLISH. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to
take from the Speaker's table a Senate joint resolution proposing to
appoint Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and Gideon Hawley, of New
York, Regents for the Smithsonian Institution; and if the House will
allow me, I propose to ask that the resolution may be put upon its
passage.
I will state, as a reason why the resolution should be put upon its
passage at an early day, that there is to be a regular meeting of the
Regents of that Institution the next week, and it is desirable that there
should be a full board upon that occasion. These gentlemen have been
Regents heretofore, and I presume there will be no objection to their
reappointment. I ask that the resolution may be taken up and put
upon its passage.
The resolution was read.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution of the class other than members of Congress, be filled by the reappoint-
ment of the late incumbents, viz, Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and Gideon
Hawley, of New York.
Mr. S. G. HAVEN. I presume there is no objection to the passage of
the resolution.
The resolution was passed.
December 27, 1854.
Resolved, etc. , That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, of the class "other than members of Con-
gress," be filled by the reappointment of the late incumbents, viz. :
Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, and Gideon Hawley, of New York.
(StaL, X, T22.)
DOCUMENTS.
July 20, 1854.
Joint resolution. One copy of the works of Thomas Jefferson to
the Smithsonian Institution.
(Stat., X, 594.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
July 20, 1854.
* * * w or k s O f Thomas Jefferson, * * * to the Joint Com-
mittee on the Library, for the purpose of international exchange,
twelve copies.
(Stat., X, 594.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
July 22, 1854 Senate.
The Senate having under consideration the civil and diplomatic bill,
the following amendments reported by the committee were read:
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring expedition :
For compensation of keepers, watchmen, and laborers, $2,980.
For contingent expenses, $100.
504 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. T. G. PRATT. If I understand that amendment, the expenditure
proposed by it is an annual one for the preservation of the collec-
tions of the exploring expedition.
Mr. R. M. T. HUNTER. The Senator from Maryland, over the way
[Mr. Pearce], can explain this matter.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. These collections have been, from the time they
were received in this country down to the present period, under the
charge of the Library Committee, who are very anxious to get rid of
that responsibility. But there are other reasons why they should be
transferred to the Commissioner of Patents. They are in the Patent
Office building; they are under his eye. He is the proper officer to
take care of them. He takes care of other things which are con-
nected with them.
The sum appropriated, I will remark, is rather more, perhaps, than
has been heretofore expended by the Library Committee for that
purpose, for the reason that it will be necessary to erect additional
buildings, and necessary to have an additional watchman, as there is
now nothing to prevent burglars from getting into so much of the
building as is now going on. I believe that all the allowances are
economical; and I am very sure they are below those made in other
departments of the Government. If we do not appropriate this
money here, we shall have to appropriate the same sum of money to
be expended under the care of the Library Committee. That is the
only difference. That committee is not the proper body to take
charge of the matter. They are not an executive body properly.
Mr. PRATT. I called attention to the matter because it struck me as
being rather singular that there should be an annual appropriation of
about $3,000 for the purpose of preserving the curiosities collected
by the exploring expedition. I do not know whether they are worth
to the Government this annual expense. I only desired the explana-
tion, as it struck my mind as curious.
Mr. PEARCE. As long as we keep them we must take care of them,
and we can not take care of them with less expenditure. These are
very interesting objects. There are 120,000 people who visit that
building annually, and it seems to me that this is a very small expendi-
ture to afford so much gratification to our people.
Adopted.
July 31, 1854 House.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. The Committee of Ways and
Means recommend a nonconcurrence in the amendment of the Senate
[July 22] relative to Government collections.
The amendment was nonconcurred in.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 505
August 1, 1854 House.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. The Committee on Ways and
Means recommend a nonconcurrence in the one hundred and sixty-
fifth amendment:
SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That the collections of the exploring expe-
dition, now in the Patent Office, be placed under the care and management of the
Commissioner of Patents, who is hereby authorized to employ one principal keeper
of paid collections at an annual salary of $900, one assistant keeper at an annual salary
of $750, one night watchman at an annual salary of $600, and two laborers at annual
salary each of $365.
The amendment was nonconcurred in.
Augusts, 1854 House.
The Senate having reinserted the section that the House noncon-
curred in on August 1, Mr. G. S. HOUSTON said:
Upon examination of that amendment, Mr. J. A. Pearce, of the
Senate committee, who is a member of the Joint Committee on the
Library, assured us that these officers are now kept up and paid to
have charge of this collection. The object of the amendment is only
to relieve the Joint Committee on the Library from their responsi-
bility concerning the matter. There is, I believe, an increase of one
messenger, besides which it will cost no more money than under the
present arrangement. The committee, therefore, report in favor of
the House receding from its disagreement.
August 4, 1854.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1855.
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring expedition:
For compensation of keepers, watchmen, and laborers, $2,980.
For contingent expenses, $100.
(Stat., X, 532.)
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
July 25, 1854 Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.' JESSE D. BRIGHT) laid before the
Senate a letter of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
transmitting the annual report of the Board of Regents, which, on
motion of Mr. J. A. PEARCE, was ordered to be printed; and a motion
by Mr. T. J. RUSK to print 10,000 additional copies was referred to
the Committee on Printing.
July 28, 1854 Senate.
Mr. R. W. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Printing, to whom
was referred a motion to print additional copies of the eighth annual
report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, re-
ported resolution:
Resolved, That there be printed, for the use of the Senate, 10,000 extra copies of the
eighth annual report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 500 of such copies
to be given to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for its use.
Agreed to.
500 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
August 1, 1854 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. LINN BOYD) laid before the House a communi-
cation from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, transmitting
the annual report of the Board of Regents.
The SPEAKER. The annual report does not accompany the letter of
the Secretary. The Chair understands that there is but one copy.
It is very voluminous, and is now in the other end of the Capitol.
Mr. W. II. ENGLISH. I move that the communication and report be
laid on the table, and ordered to be printed; and I move that 20,000
extra copies be printed, and that that motion be referred to the Com-
mittee on Printing. So ordered.
August 2, 1854 House.
Mr. R. H. STANTON, of Kentucky. I rise to a privileged question.
1 have a report from the Committee on Printing, which I desire to
make. I believe that committee have the right to report at any time.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman is in order.
Mr. STANTON. I am instructed by the Committee on Printing to
offer the following resolution:
Resolved, That there be printed 10,000 extra copies of the annual report of the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, including the minority report upon
the distribution of the fund 7,000 copies for distribution by the members of this
House and 3,000 for the use of the Institution.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. I move to lay that resolution upon
the table.
The motion not agreed to.
The resolution adopted.
March 1, 1855 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. DAVID R. ATCHISON) laid before
the Senate a letter of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
communicating the ninth annual report of the Board of Regents of
that Institution ; which was ordered to lie on the table and be printed.
A motion by Mr. RICHARD BRODHEAD to print 10,000 additional
copies of the report was referred to the Committee on Printing.
March 2, 1855 Senate.
Mr. R. W. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Printing, reported the
following:
Ordered, That 10,000 additional copies of the ninth annual report of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution be printed.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. I move to amend that order by adding " twent} T -
five hundred of which shall be for the use of the Secretary of the said
Institution."
Mr. JOHNSON. I am willing to accept that.
The amendment was agreed to; and the order, as amended, was
adopted.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 507
March 3, 1855 House.
Mr. WILLIAM H. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, what disposition was made
of the annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution? Was there an order to print?
The SPEAKER (Mr. LINN Bo YD). The report was laid upon the table
and ordered to be printed.
Mr. ENGLISH. Has there been a motion made to print the usual
number of extra copies?
The SPEAKER. There has not; but that motion is now in order, and
will go to the Committee on Printing.
Mr. ENGLISH. I submit that motion.
The proposition for the printing of extra copies of the report was
referred to the Committee on Printing.
Mr. SAMUEL RUSSELL. I am instructed by the Committee on Print-
ing to offer the following resolution:
Resolved, That there be printed six thousand extra copies of the annual report of
the Smithsonian Institution four thousand for the use of members, and two thousand
for the Institution.
Adopted.
METEOROLOGY JAMES P. ESPY.
July 25, 1854 House.
The House having under consideration as in Committee of the
Whole the navy appropriation bill
Mr. S. G. HAVEN said: I offer the following amendment, not by di-
rection of the committee, for I take it that the committee is against me:
To enable the Secretary of the Navy to pay the salary of Professor James P. Espy
for the current fiscal year, ending thirtieth June, 1855, $2,000; payment to be made
in the same manner and under like control as former appropriations for meteorolog-
ical observations.
Mr. J. S. PHELPS. I rise to a question of order on the amendment.
Mr. HAVEN. Let me state just why I think the amendment is in
order. Similar appropriations are to be found in the navy appropri-
ation bills for the last three or four years. You will find it referred
to in the report of the Secretary of the Navy, President's message
and accompanying documents, page 302. On page 393 the committee
will find a letter from Professor Espj', from which I will read a short
extract. After detailing the duties which he has performed in refer-
ence to collecting and collating meteorological observations that have
been made at the military posts in the country, he uses the following
language in his letter to the Secretary of the Navy:
I have already finished collating the years 1849, 1850, and 1851, with the excep-
tion of the third quarter of 1849 and the third quarter of 1851. These quarters 1
shall finish by the end of the present year, and if you so direct, the report for these
three years can be handed in to Congress. But I respectfully suggest that a report
on this subject would be greatly increased in value by even a small increase of time
508 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
contained in it; and I should be pleased if you would allow the report to be with-
held from Congress till its second session, at which time the year 1852 would be
embodied in it.
This man has been regularly and continuously employed; and you
will find, in the cases referred to, that the Secretary of the Navy has
made the recommendations of which I have spoken. You will find by
referring to page 112 that this appropriation of $2,000 a year was
not only made for that year, but for the year previous. In the act of
the last session, at page 221, you will find that the same appropriation
was made, and in the precise way in which it has been made in every
particular case. I now offer this amendment, because my friend from
Georgia [Mr. Stephens], who is my colleague upon the Committee of
Ways and Means, told me that he had always attended to it, and he
intrusted it to my hands now. I wish to perform that trust faithfully,
as it is an appropriation which I think ought to be made. It is cer-
tainly one which has been adopted as an amendment to this bill for the
last half dozen years.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair would inquire whether the office was
established by law?
Mr. HAVEN. Certainly; and this .nan is in the employment of the
Government. He is now engaged in making a report.
Mr. PHELPS. I differ with the gentleman as to the fact whether the
office was established by law. I admit that in two or three naval
appropriation bills an amendment was passed making provision for
the prosecution of meteorological surveys, but those appropriations
were only made from year to year. There is no such officer provided
for by law. His term of office expired the 1st of July, and there is
no law providing for the continuation or further prosecution of these
meteorological surveys. It is for these reasons that I raise the ques-
tion of order.
Mr. HAVEN. I will not say whether I am right or wrong in refer-
ence to this matter; but I do say that for a series of years appropria-
tions have been made from year to year for this purpose, contained
precisely in the same words as my amendment. This man is in the
public employment
Mr. WM. SMITH, of Virginia. Will the gentleman say whether the
office of Mr. Espy, who used to be called the "Storm King," is an
office created by law?
Mr. HAVEN. The question which my friend from Virginia puts me
has reference to the designation of the man that fills the office " Storm
King," as he says rather than to the employment in which he is
engaged. I can not say whether there is such an officer as the head of
a bureau of meteorological surveys, but I do understand that the law
has made provision for this office. I have pointed to the place where
provision is made for the office, and for pajdng the man who has been
employed under the law to fill it.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 509
The CHAIRMAN. If the Chair understands the facts of the case, this
was a special service for which the appropriation was made; and the
service and office expire with the exhaustion of the appropriation.
The amendment would not, therefore, be in order under the rule
established.
Mr. HAVEN. Allow me to say one thing further. When the Secre-
tary of the Navy called the attention of the House to this matter
[Loud cries of "Order!" "Order!"]
The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman appeal from the decision of
the Chair?
Mr. HAVEN. I do; and I desire simply to say that ever since 1 have
been in this House
Mr. PHELPS. I rise to a question of order. There is an appeal pend-
ing, and no debate is in order.
Mr. R. PI. STANTON. I desire to make a suggestion. This is in con-
tinuation of works which have already been commenced. These obser-
vations have been carried on for a series of years.
[Cries of " Question! " "Question! "]
The CHAIRMAN. The question is, "Shall the decision of the Chair
stand as the judgment of the committee?"
The question was taken, and the decision of the Chair was not sus-
tained; there being, on a count, only thirty -one in the affirmative.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment submitted by the
gentleman from New York [Mr. Haven].
Mr. D. STUART, of Michigan. I move to amend the amendment of
the gentleman from New York [Mr. Haven] by increasing the appro-
priation $1.
I have moved the amendment merely for the purpose of enabling
me to ask one or two questions, to which I ask the attention of the
gentleman from New York. There is now an officer employed by the
Smithsonian Institution whose duty it is to receive and to make all
these meteorological calculations, and to report upon them. Reports
are sent from all the different military stations in the country to him.
He is employed at present in getting out a work upon this subject at
the expense of the Smithsonian Institution. What I want to know
is, whether these are the same services upon which Professor Espy is
employed.
Mr. HAVEN. I can only answer the gentleman by reference to the
documents. I know nothing of the computations of the Smithsonian
Institution; but I doubt not the gentleman is correct in what he
states.
Here is Professor Espy's letter:
IRVING HOTEL, Washington, September 8, 1858.
SIK: In answer to your letter of the 6th instant, requesting me to "furnish you a
report of my labors, and their results, connected with the meteorological observations
510 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
conducted by me, under the direction of the Navy Department during the past year,"
I have to report progress as follows:
During the year, as in several former years, I have had access to all the meteoro-
logical journals kept at the various military posts by order of the Surgeon-General,
and to all the journals procured by the Smithsonian Institution, which are very
numerous, and embrace a very wide extent of territory, which, united to the journals
of my own correspondents, furnish the means, such as the world never possessed
before, of generalizing the phenomena of storms, and educing laws which apply to
their origin, the direction and velocity of their motion, in the United States; the
direction and violence of the wind in different parts of the storm at the same time;
the state of the barometer in the storm and around its borders; the causes which pro-
duce these phenomena, and the means of predicting, in all great storms of dangerous
violence, their approach in time to prepare for them. How much of all this I have
already done, and how much remains to be done, and with what prospect of success,
you will judge by examining my previous reports to the Department.
The plan which I adopted in these reports, in collating the meteorological journals,
was to exhibit to the eye, on skeleton maps of the United States, the various phe-
nomena of the winds and rains and barometric fluctuations by appropriate symbols,
so that, by a glance, it might be seen where a storm was raging, how far it extended,
in what direction, and with what violence the wind blew in its borders, and beyond;
how the barometer stood within and beyond its borders, and how far, and in what
direction, the center of the storm had moved by the next day at the same hour. This
plan I have not seen proper to change in the report now in progress for the Depart-
ment.
I have already finished collating the years 1849, 1850, and 1851, with the exception
of the third quarter of 1849 and the third quarter of 1851. These quarters I shall
finish by the end of the present year; and, if you so direct, the report for these three
years can be handed in to Congress. But I respectfully suggest that a report on this
subject would be greatly increased in value by even a small increase of time contained
in it; and I should be pleased if you would allow the report to be withheld from
Congress till its second session, at which time the year 1851 would be embodied in it.
Whatever you direct me to do on this shall be done to the best of my ability.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES P. ESPY.
Hon. J. C. DOBBIN.
These calculations are of very great service to science. They are
the handmaid to the great business in which Lieutenant Maury is
engaged. It seems that Professor Espy has access to the journals kept
at the various military stations in the country, to all the journals
received by the Smithsonian Institution, and besides that, has a very
large correspondence of his own from which he deduces his facts, and
reports to the Secretary of the Navy.
Mr. STUART, by unanimous consent, withdrew his amendment to the
amendment.
Mr. S. G. Haven's amendment was then agreed to.
August 5, 1854.
Act for naval service for 1855.
To enable the Secretary of the Navy to pay the salaiy of Professor
James P. Espy, for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 1855, $2,000:
the payment to be made in the same manner and under the like control
as former appropriations for meteorological observations.
(Stat, X, 584.)
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 511
March 3, 1855.
Act for naval service for 1856.
To enable the Secretary of the Navy to pay the salary of Professor
James P. Espy, for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 1856, $2,000;
the payment to be made in the same manner and under the like control
as former appropriations for meteorological observations.
(Stat., X, 677.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
August 4, 1854.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1855.
Department of the Interior. That the collections of the exploring
expedition, now in the Patent-Office, be placed under the care and
management of the Commissioner of Patents, who is hereby author-
ized to employ one principal keeper of said collections at an annual
salary of $900, one assistant keeper at an annual salary of $750, one
night watchman at an annual salary of $600, and two laborers at an
annual salary each of $365 $2,980.
(Stat. X, 572.)
To enable the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to
replace the seven volumes and atlas of the exploring expedition
destroyed by the burning of the Library, and the plates and other
property destroyed by the fire in Philadelphia, including binding,
$9,010.75. '
(Stat. X, 547.)
March 3, 1855.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1856.
For completing the publications of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, $29,320.
(Stat. X, 668.)
RESIGNATION OF MR. RUFUS CHOATE POLICY OF THE INSTITUTION
INVESTIGATION.
January 17, 1855 Senate.
The President (Mr. JESSE D. BRIGHT). I lay before the Senate a
communication from Hon. Rufus Choate, one of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution:
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I take leave to communicate to the two Houses of Congress my resignation of the
office of Regent of the Smithsonian Institution. . "
It is due to the body which has been pleased to honor me with their trust for some
years, and has recently conferred it for a new term, to say that this step is taken
not from any loss of interest in the welfare of that important establishment, but in
part from the inconvenience experienced in attending the meetings, and in part
also, and more immediately, from my inability to concur or acquiesce in an interpre-
tation of the act of Congress constituting the actual Institution and the Board of
512 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Regents, which has been adopted, and is now al>out to be practically carried into
administration by a majority of the board. That act, it has seemed to me, per-
emptorily "directs a manner" and prescribes a plan according to which it intends
that the Institution shall accomplish the will of the donor.
By the earlier law accepting the gift Congress engaged to direct such a manner
and to devise such a plan and pledged the faith of the United States that the funds
should be applied according to such plan and such manner. In fulfillment of that
pledge, and in the performance of its inalienable and incommunicable duty as trustee
of the charity, that body, after many years of deliberation from which it never
sought to relieve itself by devolving the work upon the discretion of others
matured its plan and established the actual Institution to carry it out. Of this
plan the general features are sketched with great clearness and great completeness
in the law. Without resorting for aid in its interpretation to its parliamentary his-
tory, the journals and debates, the substantial meaning seems to be palpable and
unequivocal in its terms. By such aid it is rendered quite certain. A Board of Regents
is created to administer it. Some discretionary powers, of course, are given to the
board in regard of details and in regard of possible surpluses of income which may
remain at any given time, while the plan of Congress is being zealously and judi-
ciously carried into effect; but these discretionary powers are given, I think, in trust
for the plan of Congress and as auxiliary to, cooperate with, and executory of, it.
They were given for the sake of the plan, simply to enable the Regents the more
effectually and truly to administer that very one, not to enable them to devise and
administer another of their own, unauthorized in the terms of the law, incom-
patible with its announced objects and its full development, not alluded to in it any-
where, and which, as the journals and the debates inform us, when presented to the
House under specific propositions, was rejected.
Of this act an interpretation has now been adopted by which, it has seemed to me,
these discretionary means of carrying the will of Congress into effect are transformed
into means of practically disappointing that will and of building up an institution
substantially unlike that which it intended, which supersedes and displaces it, and
in effect repeals the law. Differences of opinion had existed in the board from its
first meeting in regard of the administration of the act; but they were composed by
a resolution of compromise, according to which a full half of the annual income was
to be eventually applied in permanence to what I deem the essential parts of the
plan of Congress. That resolution of compromise is now formally rescinded, and
henceforward the discretion of the Regents, and not the act of Congress, is to be the
rule of appropriation, and that discretion has already declared itself for another
plan than what I deem the plan of Congress. It may be added that, under the same
interpretation, the office and powers of secretary are fundamentally changed from
those of the secretary of the law, as I read it, and are greatly enlarged.
In this interpretation I can not acquiesce; and with entire respect for the majority
of the board, and with much kindness and regard to all its members, I am sure that
my duty requires a respectful tender of resignation. I make it accordingly, and am
your obedient servant,
RUFUS CIIOATE.
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 13, 1855.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. Mr. President, 1 desire to make a suggestion in
regard to the "disposition which shall be made of this paper. Before
I do so, however, I ask the indulgence of the Senate while 1 submit a
very few remarks.
The paper, sir, is one of unusual character. It purports to be a
resignation by a gentleman holding a public trust under the appoint-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 513
ment of Congress, and assigns reasons for the resignation. The first
is the inability of the party resigning to perform the duties of his
trust; that is to say, to attend the meetings of the institution, without
which attendance he can not perform the duties of his trust; quite a
sufficient reason, and one which, perhaps, has been of equal weight
for the last seven years as now. The second reason is his inability to
concur with the majority of the Board of Regents in the interpreta-
tion which they have given to the statute establishing the Institution.
If the letter of resignation had terminated there I should not have
had a word to say; but it goes much farther. It is, in effect, nothing
more than we have seen in the public prints for the last year, though
of course in very different language, and instigated by purposes very
different from those which I hope and believe actuate the retiring
Regent.
It sets forth, sir, that Congress has established a plan for the con-
duct of this Institution, has prescribed a manner in which the Regents
shall manage its affairs; that the act sketches with clearness and com-
pleteness the principal features of this plan; that they are quite appar-
ent without reference to the parliamentary history of the act; that
with that they are unmistakably clear. Then he charges that the
majority of the Board of Regents, who have the misfortune to differ
from the retiring Regent, have subverted that plan established by Con-
gress, have departed from the manner in which Congress prescribed
that the affairs of the Institution should be conducted, and diverted
the application of the funds from the objects prescribed in the law,
have appropriated them to objects not mentioned in the law, incompat-
ible with the prescribed objects, and not warranted, either by the let-
ter or spirit of any of its provisions; that thus the Board of Regents
have substituted their will for the will of the National Legislature, and
have, in effect, repealed the act of Congress.
Sir, these are very grave charges. I happen to be one of those who
have been thus contumacious, who have thus endeavored to subvert the
will of the National Legislature, and to repeal the act of Congress for
the faithful execution of which I had pledged everything which a man
of honor could pledge by the acceptance of the trust. Sir, I can not
but feel sensibly the reproach conveyed in this letter, and I feel it not
only sensibly, but with something of indignation. I have one conso-
lation, however. I do not stand alone in the interpretation which I
have given to this act. I am consoled for differing from the brilliant
parliamentary and forensic orator who is the author of this letter by
reflecting that I am sustained in my opinion by men of such weight of
character as can not well be exceeded in this country. Let me mention
a few of them. In the first place, I will mention him who holds the
first rank as a jurist in the United States; first, unquestionably, in
position, and, as I believe, not surpassed either in the variety and
H. Doc. 732 33
514 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
extent of his legal learning, the vigor and acuteness of hi.s logical facul-
ties, or the purity of his professional and private life, by any man in
this country or elsewhere. I mean Chief Justice Taney, with whom I
consider it to be exceedingly fortunate that I concur in opinion on this
question.
Next, sir, I may be allowed to mention a gentleman from Georgia,
a member of General Jackson's Cabinet, his first Attorney-General, for
many years a distinguished ornament of this body, and now, in spite
of years somewhat advancing, retaining all the vigor of those physical
and intellectual faculties which made Mr. Wirt characterize him thirty
years ago as a man of splendid ability, and who at this time maintains,
as he has done for thirty years, a proud position in the front ranks of
his noble profession. I mean Mr. Berrien, of Georgia.
Then, sir, I may mention a gentleman who was also once an Attorney-
General of the United States, Secretary of the Treasury, and minister
to England and to France, himself more intimately connected with
this Institution than any other person whom I know, having been the
agent appointed by the Government of the United States to proceed
to London and prosecute the suit in chancery upon which the deter-
mination of this fund depended; a gentleman of ample ability, of high
cultivation, and mature experience. I mean Mr. Richard Rush, of
Pennsylvania.
I shall not, in his presence, bestow any eulogium upon my friend,
the honorable Senator from Virginia [Mr. Mason], who is one of those
who have concurred with me. But even in his presence I ma} T say
this much: That for many years more, perhaps, than he would be glad
to acknowledge he has been engaged in a large and successful prac-
tice, and in the higher walks of his profession; and that this furnishes
some small reason to infer that he is quite competent to construe an
act of Congress.
Of the other members of the Board of Regents who concur with me
I need not make mention further than to say that, though not legal
men, they are all men of great eminence in this country, and their
eminence has been recognized in the high public positions which they
have occupied and still occupy and adorn.
As I have said before, sir, this is some small consolation to me for
venturing to differ from Mr. Choate, who so unqualifiedly condemns
all those who oppose him. There is something rather peremptory, I
think, in the manner in which he announces his opinion in regard to
the construction and violation of this law. I do not find it qualified
by the expression of the possibility of any misconstruction on his
part; by the admission that intelligent and honorable men might well
differ in regard to that construction. Far be it from me, sir, to
impute to those who differ from me an}' want of intelligence and sin-
cerity. The Senator who sits beside me [Mr. Douglas] is one who
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 515
differed from me in the Board; but nothing has ever occurred because
of that difference to diminish the respect which I entertain for himself,
his talents, and abilities.
Well, now, let us see for a moment what are those requirements of
the law which, in the opinion of Mr. Choate, the Regents have neg-
lected or violated. The act organizing the Smithsonian Institution
has prescribed certain definite objects, due attention to which the
Regents undoubtedly are bound in good faith to pay. It has required
us to erect a building such as was described in the act a building upon
a large and liberal scale, sufficient for the reception and arrangement
upon that scale of collections of natural history, including a geolog-
ical and mineralogical cabinet, a museum, library, chemical laboratory,
a gallery of art, and lecture rooms. These are all the objects specified
in the act.
There is another clause in the law which authorizes the Board of
Regents to apply such funds of the Institution as are not specifically
appropriated by the act, or required for the purposes mentioned in it,
to such other purposes as they may deem best suited to carry out the
purposes indicated in the will of Mr. Smithson, the founder of the
Institution. That is the clause to which, I presume, Mr. Choate
refers when he says there are some discretionary powers, which he
seems to think very insignificant, and which are given to the Regents,
in his opinion, only to enable them to carry out the details of the plan
prescribed by the act of Congress or as merely subsidiary to the gen-
eral authority which Congress had bestowed upon the Regents in
regard to the library, museum, and gallery of art.
But, sir, while Congress has thus prescribed general^ the features
which they chose to give to this Institution, I apprehend it will be
found on an examination of the instrument that the discretionary
powers conferred upon the Regents are far larger than those ascribed
by the retiring Regent. The Board of Regents have recognized fully
and constantly the obligation upon them of every requisition contained
in that law, and I think they have faithfully fulfilled those requisi-
tions. They have erected the building required by law; they have
designed and completed it upon a large and liberal scale. They have
made provision for the collection and arrangement of objects of natural
history. They have made appropriations for a library, and have made
a beginning with a gallery of art. They have established a chemical
laboratory, which is one of the objects enjoined in the act; and they
have provided lecture rooms specified in the law. They have not
appropriated a very large portion of the funds of the Institution for
the library, though, in this respect, the amount applied has been far
greater than is generally supposed; and that is, after all, the real gist
of the controversy.
It is singular that in the act of Congress there is a limitation upon
516 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the appropriations for a library and no limit to the appropriations
which may be made for any other of the designated objects. The lim-
itation in the library expenditure was rather inappropriately added to
one of the sections of the bill to which it was not germane. It for-
bids the application of more than $25,000 per annum to that purpose;
but the act does not anywhere require the Regents to expend annually
that amount. It establishes no minimum below which they shall not
fall in their appropriations, but it simply establishes a maximum
beyond which they shall not go. That has been done by Congress in
regard to the library, but in regard to no other object of expenditure.
Well, sir, the Regents, in their discretion, have not thought it neces-
sary or expedient to expend the whole amount of the sum to which
they were limited by that provision of the act, and hence, I think, all
the difficulties in regard to this matter. They could not understand
the words "not exceeding $25,000" to mean not less than $25,000, or
to mean nearly $25,000, or to signify anything else than that such was
the utmost limit of expenditure authorized by the act for this purpose.
The words necessarily imply that the Regents might expend less than
that sum, and the question how much less was one purely for their
discretion.
The Regents supposed that when the act of Congress made it their
imperative duty to provide a suitable building, with proper and neces-
sary lecture rooms, Congress did not mean those lecture rooms to be
empty and voiceless. They supposed that the lecture rooms could only
be used by employing lecturers and causing lectures to be delivered.
They thought that a necessary and irresistible inference. They did
not suppose that this was any strained construction, any forced impli-
cation, but that it followed as necessarily as light follows the rising of
the sun. As the provision for lecture rooms was mandatory, there
was not even a discretion as to lectures. They were a matter of
course, and the Regents would have been justly censurable if they had
failed to adopt this necessary means of giving utility to the lecture
rooms.
Congress further made it the imperative duty of the Regents to
establish a chemical laboratory. For what purpose? Whj r , I pre-
sume, for physical researches. If not for that, then for no purpose.
It was idle and nugatory in Congress to require the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution to establish a chemical laboratory if they were
to make no researches. For the purpose of illustration of lectures a
little apparatus would have been all-sufficient. The Regents have felt
themselves bound to encourage researches, and have considered that
they were authorized not only to direct researches in physical science
but to publish them, for this Institution, we must remember, is "for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," and if we are
bound to have a chemical laboratory, and if we are as necessarily bound
THIBTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 517
to cause researches to be made, I would ask. Of what use are the
researches; how shall we increase and diffuse knowledge of them
among men if we seal them up and do not publish them to the world?
As the collections of natural histoiy would be nothing more than a
show if we were satisfied with merety placing and arranging them in
a museum, we think that they should be described. They can best be
made available for the increase and diffusion of knowledge by causing
them to be described by scientific men in memoirs, such as are pub-
lished by the Institution. We have thought, then, that publication
was as necessary a result, from the express powers of the grant, as
any other duty which the Regents had to perform.
We did not think that the sole limit of our power. We did suppose
that, under the large discretion given in the ninth section of the act,
it was the Regents who were to consider how much of the funds of
the Institution were properly to be applied to the objects specified b} T
the act. Since Congress itself has not told us how to apportion the
funds of the Institution among those objects, it followed, therefore,
that the Regents must have a discretion in that regard, and if they
have a discretion, where is the limit? Nowhere, except that we may
not expend more than $25,000 on the library in any one year. Then
we supposed the general provisions of that ninth section, which gave
us the right to apply the funds not wanted for the other objects in such
manner as we might think most conducive to the purposes of Smith-
son's will, were ample enough to justify us in instituting researches and
making publication of the results.
Here is the section in question:
SEC. 9. And be itfurtJter enacted, That of any other moneys which have accrued, or
shall hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein appro-
priated, or not required for the purposes herein provided, the said managers are
hereby authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the pro-
motion of the purpose of the testator, anything herein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
It does not confine the discretion of the Regents to the details neces-
sary in carrying out the specified objects, but extends it to other
objects, being such as they shall deem best suited for the promotion
of the purpose of the testator; that is, the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men. So that it is not, as Mr. Choate supposes,
merely a trust for the designated objects, but for such other purposes
as correspond with the intention of the will, anything else contained
in the act to the contrary notwithstanding. Under the authority of
this section, we have thought proper to stimulate researches not prose-
cuted within the walls of the building nor confined to specimens of
natural history deposited in its collections. They are described in the
plan of organization, and include historical, ethnological, and statistical
inquiries, meteorological observations for solving the problem of
518 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
American storms, and experimental problems in electricity, light, etc.
To this may be added the publication of reports on the new discoveries
of science of a character highly useful and practical.
It has been supposed, sir, that the true interpretation of this act
could be found by going outside of the law. Mr. Choate has inti-
mated in his letter that if we look at its parliamentary history we shall
see what is its true interpretation. I understand to what he refers.
The original bill was introduced into the House of Representatives; a
substitute was offered for the bill reported by the committee; that
substitute was amended by striking out some of its provisions and
inserting one or two others, which do not affect this question. The
intimation is that if we look to the proceedings of the House of Repre-
sentatives (not of the Senate, because in the Senate there was no dis-
cussion of the bill, and the amendments offered and rejected do not
furnish evidence of the construction given to it by that body) we shall
find that such amendments were made as are inconsistent with the con-
struction which the Regents now give to the act. Principally they
were two. There was a specific provision requiring professors and
lecturers to be employed. That was stricken out. Very true; but
then there was left in the bill the provision for lecture rooms, which
I think I have shown imperatively required that there should be lec-
tures and of course authorized the employment of persons to lecture.
Then there was a provision in regard to researches and publica-
tions that was stricken out too, but 1 think I have shown that the
duty of the Regents was to institute researches and make publications
under the law as it stands. And when we look at the circumstances
attending the striking out of those provisions we find this to be the
fact. The provision in regard to researches and publications author-
ized Congress to call upon the Regents at any time to cause those
publications to be printed and supplied to members of Congress to be
distributed as public documents. Now it may very well have been
that those who voted to strike out this provision were induced to do
so by the single item of it which I have just mentioned, or they may
have thought these provisions superfluous, being well supplied by the
large discretionary powers given in the ninth section, which I have
quoted. It is, however, neither according to legal rules nor right
reason to look to the speeches and proceedings of the legislature for
the construction of a statute which is itself the embodiment of the
legislative will, and furnishes copious sources of construction by the
examination and comparison of its various provisions and the admitted
purpose of its enactment. Certain it is that the striking out of those
specific provisions can not invalidate the general grants of power, and
the necessary implications from those grants, which I have mentioned.
Now, we have a library of 15,000 volumes, for the most part com-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 519
posed of the most valuable works pertaining to all branches of human
knowledge, besides 10,000 parts of volumes, and pamphlets. Their
literary and scientific value is to be weighed, not counted. The money
value of our library is estimated by the officers of the Institution at
$40,000. We have a museum, the money value of which is estimated
at $30,000. We have apparatus valued at $10,000.
This is what the Regents have done in direct pursuance of the
objects prescribed by Congress; and the other things which they have
done the publications they have made they suppose not to be
incompatible with the expressed objects of an institution "for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," not to be violative
of the letter or spirit of the law, but to be wholly consistent and in
harmony with it and auxiliary to the objects which are provided for
in the law. The publications not only diffuse knowledge among men,
but they bring back to us in liberal abundance the transactions and
publications of learned societies in other countries, and thus furnish
us with valuable works pertaining to all branches of knowledge, many
of which are not to be purchased with money, and enable us to carry
out one requirement of the law the gradual formation of a library.
In regard to the resolutions of compromise, to which Mr. Choate
has referred, the repeal of which is the great ground of complaint,
here allow me to say for I will not consent to detain the Senate much
longer those resolutions were passed at the organization of the Insti-
tution. They proposed an equal, or nearly equal, division of the
funds of the Institution between the objects specified in the law and
the auxiliary objects which we are justified by the letter and the spirit
of the law, as I think I have shown, in pursuing. Well, sir, it
occurred to the Regents recently for some time past it has been a
matter of consultation among them that it would be well to repeal
those resolutions of compromise; that there was no propriety in the
Board of Regents, at the commencement of the organization of the
Institution, tying their own hands and those of their successors, so as
to compel a particular scale of appropriation throughout all time. It
has been supposed to be right to leave them unfettered, so that they
may annually make appropriations such as are in their judgment
according to the intrinsic importance of the objects appropriated for
and in fulfillment in good faith of the purposes of the law, for that
we have never lost sight of. Now let me read to the Senate one of
the resolutions adopted by the board, which are the cause of Mr.
Choate's resignation. One repeals the compromise resolutions which
1 have mentioned; the other is in these words:
Resolved, That hereafter the annual appropriations shall be apportioned specifically
among the different objects and operations of the Institution in such manner as may,
in the judgment of the Regents, be necessary and proper for each, according to its
intrinsic importance and a compliance in good faith with the law.
520 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
That is the resolution which is considered as subverting the plan
established by Congress; as repealing, in effect, the act of Congress,
and setting up the will of the Regents in place of the will of the
National Legislature!
Something is said in the letter about the greatly augmented powers
of the Secretary of the Institution. I know of no augmentation of
the power of the Secretary. A question has arisen as to his right to
discharge one of his assistants. The board had determined that he
has a right to discharge any of his assistants without a reference to
the board. They, however, have a controlling authority over the
whole subject; and if the Secretary should abuse his power in that
respect they would remove him, as they can at any time remove all or
any of his assistants or the Secretary himself. I may add, sir, that
the Secretary of the Institution is a gentleman, as well as widely
known to the world of science; a profound philosophic scholar, and a
man of pure and stainless life.
Mr. President, considering the form in which this matter has been
brought before us as a solemn appeal from a retiring member of the
Board of Regents to the Senate, and to the public it has seemed to
me that it would be proper that the Senate should investigate the sub-
ject. It has occurred to me that it would be proper to appoint a spe-
cial committee for that purpose. I make the suggestion, but I do not
submit any motion. If I were to submit such a motion, according to
parliamentary usage I should be put on the committee as chairman
a position which I could by no means think of accepting. It would, I
think, be neither delicate nor in any respect proper that a member of
the Board of Regents should sit in judgment on his own cause and
over his fellows from whom he has differed. I throw out the sugges-
tion, however, with the hope that some Senator will submit the proper
resolution.
Mr. J. M. MASON. Mr. President, I regret that the learned and dis-
tinguished gentleman who has declined further service in this public
trust should have accompanied his resignation by a communication of
the character which has been commented on by the honorable Senator
from Maryland. I regret it, because it is impossible that such a com-
munication should be allowed to pass in silence when addressed to the
Senate, where are found some of those who have been associated in
that trust with the writer of the letter. I regret it, because it is
unpleasant and ungrateful to speak of the opinions or conduct of those
who are absent; but I feel at liberty to do so on the present occasion,
because the gentleman who has written this letter has chosen to chal-
lenge opinion here.
Now, sir, what has been done? A Regent of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, who has been connected with it, I believe, from the foundation
of the Institution, occasionally as a member of this body, chosen a
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 521
Regent by the vote of the Senate, and occasionally as a citizen at large,
clothed with the high honor (for it is a very high honor) of an admin-
istrator of this trust, has declined further service; and has assigned
as one of the reasons, and as this paper alleges the dominant reason
for declining it, that he does not agree with his associates in their
mode of administration. I do not feel at liberty to say that such a
course of conduct would not be expected of one so honored, because
the gentleman who wrote the letter is absent, but I should say that,
according to my ideas of what is due to the trust, if he believed there
was maladministration, it was the very last occasion when he should
have resigned; he should have remained there in order that the inquiry
which he has provoked might be conducted in his presence and, to some
extent, under his guidance.
But, sir, he has resigned the trust, and in doing so he has shot a
Parthian arrow at those who were associated with him. What is the
character of his letter? None can read without being struck with its
tone, which was so justly animadverted upon by nry co-regent, the
honorable Senator who has just addressed you. I have been accus-
tomed, Mr. President, to find in that profession to which I belong,
and of which I am a very humble member, that, whether at the bar
or on the bench, the surest, the soundest, and the ablest intellect gives
its judgment with diffidence, courtesy, and respect for the opinions of
others. I have generally found, too, in my experience of the world
that the soundest judgment is the judgment which is accompanied by
such diffidence. Now. what is the tone of this communication ? The
confident tone of Sir Oracle of one whose judgment can not be
impugned, and should not be questioned. "I can not be wrong,"
says the writer of this paper, in substance, "let others vindicate their
judgment if they can." This is what he says, and he has assigned as
the startling reason for resigning this trust that he differed from his
associates in the construction of an act of Congress; there is no impro-
priety even hinted in the conduct of his associate Regents; but he rests
it exclusively on the ground that they have misinterpreted the law
which created the trust, and there is no appeal from the decision
of the learned gentleman who pronounces the judgment. That is
infallible.
Sir, I have known instances others, more experienced than I am,
have known of more where the judgment is found darkened in the
flashes of a brilliant mind; a mere rhetorician should never aspire to
the judgment seat. I would appeal to the experience of the world to
say whether there is not an infirmity attendant upon such minds, which
never admit that they may be wrong. The calm, sedate, deliberate,
slow, and cautious mind brings you to a correct conclusion; and, when
attained, submits it with deference and respect to those who are to
pass upon it. Confidence that confidence which precludes doubt
does not belong to those who are capable of pronouncing judgment.
522 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. President. I shall not go over the ground so lucidly occupied by
the very able gentleman who preceded me, with whom I have been
associated in this trust. It is a pure, a high, and honorable trust, one
conceived by a noble mind the late James Smithson. He pursued
science as the great mistress of his affections; he pursued it to his
grave; and he left behind him this legacy. To whom ( He had the
world to choose from. He was an Englishman. He had never been
upon this continent. He possessed a large fortune. The high benev-
olence of his nature determined him, when he left the world, to devote
that fortune, in the hands of others, to the pursuit of science, when
the world closed upon him. As I have said, he had the world to choose
from, and he signalized this country and its institutions by his choice.
He left his fortune to the United States, in trust for the establishment
of an institution at Washington, "for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge." Where? In Washington? In the United States ? Upon
this continent, broad as it is? No; "amongst men" is the language of
the trust.
If I am capable of reading the signs of the times, there are those, of
whom we have plenty, heaven knows, around us everywhere, who
look upon a public fund, no matter to what object it has been devoted
or how small the trust, as a thing to be scrambled for and appropri-
ated by the first needy or lucky adventurer. For the last twelve
months the newspapers have been full of intimations, coming gener-
ally from the northern and eastern sections of the country, throwing
suspicion and doubt upon the management of this trust, intimating
that it has been perverted from its original purpose; in substance, that
it was in improper hands, and should be taken from them; invoking,
in some insidious manner, the action of Congress upon the subject;
and all for what? To get hold of the fund. What use was to be made
of it after it was thus obtained those best know who join in the pur-
suit. Let me be understood. I ascribe no such motive to the very
learned and distinguished writer of the letter before us. I have the
honor only of a very formal acquaintance with him; but I know his
history and his character, and that assures me he can never lend him-
self to any un worth} 7 purpose; but yet I have strong reason to believe
that, if the objects which he seems to have in view could be obtained,
this pure and simple trust, which has been accepted by the American
people, would be debased into a mere pecuniary job.
Sir, the letter of Mr. Choate unfortunately brings back into the
halls of Congress the great controversy which attended this fund when
it was first brought into the country. There was a great struggle for
it among the men of science, in the mechanic arts, and in other of the
useful and honorable pursuits of life. The parliamentary history to
which the writer has referred in the letter shows it. There were those
who believed that this fund should be devoted exclusively to a library,
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 523
to a great collection of books books in every department of science,
of art, and belles-lettres. The writer of this letter shows that he was
one of those who desired so to devote it; to a library a library, to
the exclusion of everything else a collection of books. I am free to
believe and declare that I entertain no doubt this learned and distin-
guished gentleman believed that the best mode of increasing knowl-
edge, as well as diffusing it amongst men, was to establish a library.
But suppose it were done. There is an annual revenue derived from
the Smithsonian fund of some $30,000 or $40,000. So much is to be
devoted, in perpetua, I suppose, to the purchase of books, which are
to be stored here on shelves in the city of Washington, and who is to
read them ? Why, sir, the members of Congress have little time to
read the books which accumulate here in the public library. The
citizens of Washington form a very small portion of the people of
these United States; and thus this great trust, which was intended for
mankind, would be limited to the walls of Washington.
There is another great objection to it. Books are derived from
booksellers. Booksellers are connected with bookmakers, and book-
makers and booksellers with that hungry legion who all live, and of
whom some grow rich, on the spoils of genius and industry. Then
there are the paper makers, and the book printers, and publishers, and
the stereotypists, all, all, would be hovering around this fund, to say
nothing of factorage, commission, foreign travel to pick up rare
works, and the ten thousand jobs that follow in such a train where
money is to be spent by law in large, annual, stated sums to buy
books; and at last what would you have done? Why, you would have
taken this great, noble, beneficent donation to mankind and converted
it into a fruitful job for every race of need} 7 and artful adventurers.
Sir, if a library is to be established at Washington for public use,
vote the money from the Treasury. Smithson did not intrust this
fund to you for such a purpose, or he would have said so in his will,
and he has not said it.
I have said that it is unfortunate that this matter should again be
brought before the Senate. The battle was fought here for years.
That parliamentary history to which the writer of the letter has had
reference shows it. He claims that under the true interpretation of
the act of Congress the library scheme prevailed. A majority of
those who have been associated with him in the Board of Regents have
decided otherwise. They understand the law to mean that discretion
is vested in the Board of Regents to build up a library in this great
Institution in such manner and at such time as they shall find most con-
ducive to the great objects of the trust. That is all. Sir, this battle
should not be fought over again. I trust we shall not present to the
European world, whence this fund is derived, the spectacle that at this
early day, when the streams of light and knowledge which 1 hope
524 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
are to flow from this Institution have hardly yet made their appear-
ance, that we are scrambling- indecently over the cradle of the trust.
I have said, Mr. President, that this is a pure trust. There is for-
tunately no emolument of any kind attendant upon its administration.
I have been for some years honored by the Senate of the United States
as one of the managers of that trust. I conceive it to be a very high
honor. It is because of the duty which I owe to the trust thus com-
mitted to me that I detain the Senate for a few moments.
I perceive that the subject has been taken up in the other House at
the instance of one of the Regents [Mr. Meacham], an honorable mem-
ber there, who, as the journals have been published, it is now fair to
say voted with the writer of this letter. On his motion a committe; 1
has been raised, which is, perhaps, proper enough, but I must say,
with very great respect for that body, that the committee has been
vested with very extraordinary power for such an inquiry the power
"to send for persons and papers." This would seem to convey an
imputation that the body of gentlemen who are. charged with the
administration may require a police officer or a messenger from this
Capitol to get from them papers or other evidence. I regret it, sir:
but straws show how the wind blows, and this strange and exigent
demand of power for the committee has its own meaning, which time
may disclose.
I am indisposed, sir, to commit myself as to any present disposition
of this paper, and I submit, therefore, to the honorable Senator from
Maryland that for the present it would be better to allow it to lie on
the table until it can be considered by the Senate what disposition
should be made of it.
Mr. J. A. PEABCE. I beg leave to say, in regard to the suggestion
of the honorable Senator from Virginia, that I remain of opinion
that this paper should be referred to a select committee of this body.
I do not think that the fact that it is the subject of investigation by a
committee of the House of Representatives should operate to prevent
us from committing it to a committee of our own body. I have no
doubt that House took such action as seemed to them to be proper,
but I submit, with due respect to the House of Representatives, that,
no matter what may be the action of that House, it is for the Senate
to act independently. However, I make no motion for reference to a
select committee, because I am a member of the Board of Regents,
and I do not wish to sit in judgment on my own cause or over my
fellow Regents.
Mr. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. 1 regret, Mr. President, that there
should have been a necessity, in the estimation of any gentleman,
to bring the affairs and management of the Smithsonian Institution
before Congress for its action. As has been stated by the honorable
Senator from Maryland, in terms kind and respectful, T am one of
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 525
those who had the misfortune to differ from a majority on the deci-
sion of the various questions referred to in this paper. I do not read
the letter of Mr. Choate in the same sense with my colleagues who
represent the Senate in that Institution [Mr. Pearce and Mr. Mason]
in regard to its spirit. I am unable to perceive that there is anything
disrespectful or unkind, either in the terms of the letter or in the
mode in which he has expressed his ideas. I have listened to that
gentleman in the discussion before the Board of Regents with admi-
ration for his ability and his eloquence, and with equal admiration for
that high courtesy which characterized everything that he said and
did. Although there is a firmness and a directness in which he has
expressed his opinions in the letter of resignation, I am unable to per-
ceive that there is either an arrogance or anything else which ought to
be considered disrespectful. After expressing his opinions and stating
the construction of a majority of the board he says:
In this interpretation 1 can not acquiesce; and with entire respect for the majority
of the board, and with much kindness and regard to all its members, I am sure that
my duty requires a respectful tender of my resignation.
In other places in expressing his opinion he says: "The law, it
seems to me, is so and so." I think there is a respect and kindness
running through the whole letter which should characterize one gen-
tleman of high attainments and bearing toward another who is his
equal, accompanied, however, with the firm conviction on his part that
the law has not been interpreted in that sense in which it should have
been according to its terms.
I confess, sir, that I concur fully in that firm conviction of his, and
I do not hesitate to express it boldly and plainly; and yet I am inca-
pable of entering an unkind feeling, or giving expression to an unkind
innuendo, or of entertaining for a moment a doubt but that each and
every Regent has acted conscientiously according to his sense of duty.
It is a case where there is a diversity of opinion; where each gentle-
man intrusted with the exercise of discretion, where discretion was
necessary, and interpretation where interpretation was necessary, has
performed his duty conscientiously as he read it in the law. Still, I
must say that my interpretation of that law is different from that of
the honorable Senator from Virginia and the honorable Senator from
Maryland and of a majority of the Regents. It is also true that the
gentleman whose great name and many public services and private
and public virtues have been so well portrayed by the Senator from
Maryland concurred with the majority, and to that extent the weight
of authority is cast in the scale against the side which 1 embraced.
I do not wish to detract one iota from the high eulogium which the
Senator has pronounced on those gentlemen. With all respect for
them and for their opinions, I must take the law itself as my rule of
guidance while performing a trust imposed on me.
526 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It may be that my mind is somewhat biased by the proceedings, dis-
cussion, and action in the House of Representatives when this Insti-
tution was established. I at that time participated to some extent,
although in a small degree, in the proceedings which took place in
regard to the creation of the Institution. I at no time allowed my
feelings to become enlisted, much less excited, on the subject. But
when all the various plans were presented there for the organization
of the Institution, and especially the library plan as a principal feature,
not an exclusive one, in antagonism to a plan that the library should
be a subordinate feature, or that there should be no library at all, it
is my firm conviction that Congress by its action did sanction the pol-
icy of a library as a principal, but not an exclusive, feature in the
Institution. In other words, the plan proposed by Mr. Marsh, of
Vermont, in opposition to that of Mr. Hough, of New York, did pre-
vail, and the main features of Mr. Marsh's plan tended to the estab-
lishment of a library. The library plan, as it was called, having pre-
vailed, there was a limitation on the amount of funds to be devoted to
that plan inserted in the law, which was that out of the $30,000 of
income of the Institution not exceeding $25,000 should be appropri-
ated to the library.
I do not hold that the Regents are compelled to appropriate to a
library the sum of $25,000 each year, but I do hold that the law in its
terms, when carefully examined, contemplates the library as a promi-
nent object in the Institution, and that at least a majority of the funds
should be expended in the building up of the library. That is my
interpretation. 1 am aware that when the Institution was first organ-
ized these same diversities of opinion arose, and a compromise was
effected by which it was agreed that the funds should be equally
divided. When I came into the Institution, a few months ago, as one
of its Regents, I was willing to abide by that compromise. I could
not have agreed to it originally, because 1 think the fair interpreta-
tion of the law contemplated that the larger portion of the fund
should be applied to the establishment of a library; but as they made
an equal division, I was willing to acquiesce in it, in order to avoid
the appeal which is now made to Congress and to the country, and
thus perhaps endanger to some extent the reputation of the Institu-
tion.
I expressed these opinions to my brother Regents freely, but, I
trust, with proper respect. I differed from their opinion. Such was,
such is, my conviction. I did not deem it my duty to resign because
I was overruled. I was willing to acquiesce in the decision, because I
had not the power, according to the law, to override it, and because
every other Regent had the same right which I had to express and
entertain his opinion. Yet, sir, when the question arises, no matter
how often it may arise, whether that interpretation of the law which
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 527
has been given by the board be a correct one, until I change my opin-
ion, or until Congress shall modify the law, I must adhere to my
original convictions.
I regret, sir, that there should be the slightest feeling displayed in
this discussion. Really, a charitable fund for such high and noble
purposes ought to be administered in a spirit of kindness and charity.
I can not accede, therefore, to any intimation that those who act with
me. or those do not concur in the interpretation which has been given
to the law, are actuated by any but the highest and purest motives.
Mr. J. M. MASON. Does the Senator understand that anything fell
from me to question the motives of the gentlemen who differed from
us in that matter?
Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS. I do understand that the Senator from Virginia
supposed it to be prompted by improper motives, to get possession of
the fund, on the part of some persons.
Mr. MASON. I thought I was understood. I said that unless I mis-
construed the signs of the times, this great and eager anxiety out of
doors, manifested by popular and inflammatory addresses through the
public press, showed that there was an earnest demand outside to get
hold of the fund. I never expressed, for I certainly never entertained,
a doubt that honorable gentlemen who differed with me in our judg-
ment as to the construction of the statute were actuated by as stem a
sense of duty as I was. I have always so expressed it.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Mr. President, then I understand the Senator as not
impugning the action or motives of any of the Regents with whom he
has been associated; but I must say that I have not seen anything
to leave an impression on my mind that whatever action was prompted
out of doors meant to get possession of this fund, or to squander it,
or to apply it to any improper purposes. On the contrary, I believe
it arises from that same feeling which has been evinced in the differ-
ences of opinion which have existed from the time the Institution was
first proposed to be organized up to this day as to what was the true
application of the fund. Those who supposed that their opinions had
received the sanction of Congress in the organic law of the Institution
now think that that object has been defeated by a wrong construction
given to that organic law. It is a firm conviction, as I believe, on
their part, that the law has riot been carried out according to its terms.
It certainly has not been according to their understanding of its terms.
I believe that there is no portion of our community, certainly there are
no persons entitled to notice, who would wish to pervert this fund to
any other object than that to which it was dedicated by Smithson's
will. I believe the persons to whom the Senator referred are stimu-
lated by the purest motives to carry out that object, under the con-
viction that the mode in which the trust is now being administered is
neither in accordance with the will nor of the law. It is a difference
528 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of opinion a difference of opinion sincerely entertained and one
which we should, therefore, meet with the spirit of firmness, of candor,
and of kindness.
I regret that the discussion has arisen rendering it necessary to go
into an argument to show which is right and which wrong in the con-
struction of the act. In fact, sir, I believe I will not allow myself to
be drawn into an argument on that question. If this matter is to be
referred to a committee, certainly any discussion of that question
would be more appropriate after a report of the committee. I shall
therefore content myself with saying that my firm conviction is that
the only difference which has arisen in the management of the Insti-
tution is a difference on two points: First, as to what direction this
fund ought to take; secondly, the belief that a direction has been given
to it which is not authorized by the law creating the Institution. I
am under the impression that some Regents have voted in the minority
on this question, not because they believe the original plan adopted
by Congress was the best, but because they felt themselves compelled,
under the law as it stood, to vote as they did.
Mr. G. E. BADGER. Mr. President, I do not exactly agree in the sug-
gestion thrown out by my friend from Maryland that it is necessary
that the letter which is before the Senate should become the subject
of investigation by a committee of this body; but 1 shall, notwith-
standing, readily yield my own notions upon that subject to the wish
he has expressed. Allow me, however, to present very briefly the
views which have struck me on this occasion.
The very eminent and distinguished gentleman who has sent in this
letter of resignation has assigned two reasons why he retires from
assisting in the management of this trust fund. One is that he can not
give the time necessary to attend the meetings of the Board of Regents.
As has been said by my friend from Maryland, this is a full, ample,
and perfect reason not only why he is excusable for retiring, but why
it is his bounden duty to retire, for while he holds a place there the
public has a right to expect him to give the necessary time to dis-
charge its duties. So soon as he ascertains that he can not, consistent!} 7
with his other engagements, give that time, he is bound to retire and to
give way to some other gentleman who may have both the inclination
and the power to render the service which the country expects from a
member of that board.
I wish very sincerely, Mr. President, that the letter of resignation
had there closed, because I, for one, am unable to give any appropriate
character to the residue of the letter. It must be viewed in one of
three aspects either as an appeal to Congress from the judicial decision
which has been pronounced by the Board of Regents upon the inter-
pretation of that act, or as an appeal to Congress against the malver-
sation of a certain class of public officers, to the extent that their
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 529
misconduct may be exposed and that some steps may be taken either
for their punishment or removal, or else as an intimation that the dis-
tinguished gentleman who writes this letter thinks that there should
be some amendment of the law by the intervention of the legislative
power of the two Houses of Congress.
In regard to the first view I can not myself understand how this?
body or the other House of Congress is to exercise a judicial super
vision upon the question of the interpretation of this law. It is our
business to make laws; it is the business of other officers and classes
of persons to expound and execute those laws. In a strict judicial
sense we can not exercise any jurisdiction or supervision over the
judgment which may be so pronounced; and therefore, considering
the letter in that respect, it seems to me totally inappropriate to any
functions which either this or the other House of Congress can legiti-
mately exercise.
If it be considered as a letter intended to communicate to the two
Houses of Congress malversation in the conduct of these public officers,
however proper that application may be to the other House it is
plainly out of place here. The other House, from what we learn of
their published proceedings, seem to have taken the subject up in that
idea that this is an imputation by the writer of the letter that a gross
abuse has been practiced by the majority of the Board of Regents in
the administration of this fund; and they have according!}' raised a
committee, referred the letter to the committee, and vested them with
the power of sending for persons and papers a power appropriate to
the investigation, if the object be what I have just said, but utterly
inappropriate and absurd supposing it to be a mere question of legis-
lative inquiry with a view to found legislative action thereupon. If
it is a question of the interpretation of a law, do you want to send for
persons and papers to enable you to interpret a law? What papers
will you send for to enable the committee of the House of Represent-
atives to ascertain what is the meaning of this law? Do you want the
statute? Surely the committee can get that without having power
to send for papers. Do you want the proceedings which took place
at the time when this law was enacted, the parliamentary history of it?
Surely that can be obtained without a power in the committee to send
for papers or for persons. But if you suppose the investigation is
pursued for the purpose of ferreting out a delinquency, an abuse, a
malversation, then that part of the resolution becomes all appropriate,
and the object is to drag up witnesses and compel them to testify to
the conduct of the perpetrators in this stupendous fraud, not only on
the law of the country, but on the noble charity which they are
appointed to administer. If that be the aspect in which this subject
is taken up, we have nothing to do with it; we should not commit our-
selves in advance upon it; for, suppose the proceedings of the House
H. Doc. 732 34
530 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of Representatives should result in preferring articles of impeachment,
for example, against the Chief Justice, it would be very indelicate and
improper for us in advance to form and deliver a solemn opinion upon
the question whether there was just cause for the impeachment.
Then there is only one other respect in which this residue of the
paper can be supposed, as it seems to me, to be intended to have any
influence upon Congress, and that is that the honorable and dis
tinguished gentleman who writes this letter, knowing that we have no
judicial power over the interpretation of the law, and therefore can
not by any judgment of ours ascertain that what has been heretofore
done in its interpretation has been done wrongfully, in a judicial
sense, and knowing that it is not a proper subject for an investigation
with a view to a criminal prosecution by impeachment, sends it to the
two Houses of Congress as a recommendation that they shall institute
an inquiry with a view to an amendment of the law. In this latter
view it strikes me as exceedingly inappropriate for any gentleman not
a member of these bodies, or one of them, and not coming here in the
character of a petitioner asserting a claim against the Government, to
undertake to advise us of the propriety of further legislation.
I say, therefore, Mr. President, that I regret very much that this
truly distinguished gentleman, of whom the American people have
reason to be proud as one of their sons, gifted as he is and distin-
guished as he has been in his past course, did not content himself with
resigning his position for the very ample and sufficient reason which
he first gives that he is unable to discharge the duties required of him.
I regret it also because, if I collected the scope of that letter accu-
rately from its reading for 1 had not seen it before it seems in any
view to present this state of the case: The writer meets with his
brother Regents; a certain question arises, What shall be done in the
management of the institution ? That inquiry involves a question as
to the just interpretation of the law; the best and the legal means of
carrying out the great purpose of the donor. That matter is the sub-
ject of discussion and debate among them. The majority of the
Regents decide against him, and immediately he retires from the Insti-
tution and interposes an appeal to Congress against the majority of the
body of which he is a member.
Again, sir, it seems to imply this: Distinguished and elevated as that
gentleman is, and high and important as are the services which he has
rendered to his country, and which he is now able to render in this
or any other station to which the voice of his countrymen or the pub-
lic authorities may call him, I think the whole tone of that part of
the letter slightly exaggerates the importance to the public of the
event which it communicates, namely, his retiring from the Board of
Regents.
Besides, considering also for I think my friend from Illinois did
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-J855. 531
not succeed exactly in vindicating- that part of the letter the sugges
tion which my friend from Maryland made, that there is a tone of
confidence, of unmistakable and unmistaken certainty, with which the
distinguished writer announces his opinions upon the interpretation
of this law, which I think my friend from Illinois will pardon me for
saying at least borders a little, very little, upon the confines of arro-
gance, for I beg my friend to consider against what an array of
judgments the opinion of that distinguished writer is given.
Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS. Consider the names on the other side.
Mr. G. E. BADGER. The names on the other side have not been yet
given; but I am very certain that my friend before me [Mr. Douglas],
whose name is one of them and it is a name of weight and authority
in this country and elsewhere, where it is known is one of the last
persons who would announce his opinion without the expression of
some deferential conception that, after all, perhaps he might be mis-
taken. Now, I must say I think it is due to truth and the occasion
to say, and I believe the whole Senate will agree with me that,
whether the distinguished writer be correct or not in his opinions,
that part of the letter is in very bad taste.
Believing, Mr. President, that there is nothing for us to do but
accept the resignation of this gentleman, and to accept it with regret
because of his eminent talents and high position and undoubted
patriotism, and therefore his capacity and willingness to be useful, 1
should think that the subject might be allowed to drop; but, never-
theless, I yield to the suggestion of my friend from Maryland. He
has intimated that he desires that this should be the subject of inves-
tigation, and I am willing to move that it shall go to a committee, but
I am not prepared to say that it is proper on this occasion to select a
special committee. This is a question of judicial interpretation of
legislation to be founded upon a judicial interpretation if the com-
mittee in the Senate shall be of opinion that the Regents have mis-
taken the true construction of this law. We have a committee, a
standing committee of this body, composed of eminent lawyers, abun-
dantly able to reexamine this subject so far as it needs reexamination,
and so far as this House has any jurisdiction over it. I am not, there-
fore, for passing over that committee upon a judicial question to raise
any select committee. It is a question of law the interpretation of a
statute. If we are not satisfied with the judgment given in the Board
of Regents; if such a board of men, aided in their opinions by the
illustrious Taney, do not conve} r to us a conviction that a statute has
been rightly interpreted, let it go to that committee of this body. It
is a proper organ to examine and investigate and report upon strictly
legal inquiries. I therefore move the reference of this paper to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. "W. H. SEWARD. Mr. President. I should not speak at all on
532 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
this question if it were not that I think the Senate has a duty to dis-
charge to itself and to its dignity. I need not say that I entertain as
profound a respect and admiration for the distinguished gentleman
who sent this communication here as any other person in the House or
in the country. I take the occasion thus early to say that I have
formed no opinion upon the merits of the question which has been
raised by that communication. I deem it my duty, as far as possible,
to hold my mind free and open for the purpose of forming an opinion
hereafter.
Sir, I can not consent for one member of this body to send this
communication to the Committee on the Judiciary or to a select com-
mittee, because, although I believe it to have been intended with the
best motives and to have been entirely unexceptionable in the view of
the writer, yet I think it is derogatory from the dignity of the Senate.
What is it, sir? It is a resignation of an officer. Every citizen of
the United States has a right to hold an office if he can get it, and
certainly every citizen of the United States holding an office has a
right to resign it, and it is not necessary for him, in order to be
relieved from the burden of the office, to assign any reason or excuse
whatever. Whatever may be said by way of apology, or excuse, or
reason, or justification does not alter the character of the act itself.
It is an absolute resignation. It is complete. It is final. The Senate
has nothing to do but to file it. It is done. The Senate can not com-
pel the individual to retain his office. They can not ask him to take
it back again, however high he may be. They can reappoint him, but
they must receive his resignation as a complete act.
According to my humble judgment, what this retiring Regent
ought to have done was to send a letter to the President of the Senate,
saying, in so many words, "Sir, I resign the office of Regent of the
Smithsonian Institution." It is true that a Regent, like every other
public officer, has a right to inform the public and to inform Congress,
if he pleases to do so, of the grounds why he declines a further con-
tinuance in the discharge of a public trust, but that should be, not by
a letter explaining his reasons for his resignation; but it should be done
through the public press or otherwise, so as not to make the table of
the Senate bear the burden of all personal, and political, and other
explanations of persons retiring from public office.
It is manifest that the honorable and distinguished gentleman has
not considered the legal nature and the official character of the act he
was performing. I say, then, this resignation was complete and abso-
lute when the words "I resign this office" were written; but that is not
the whole of the communication. We are, besides, favored with an
explanation of the reasons wiry he resigns. This is either for the
information of the public (and if so, it ought not to have been made
to the Senate of the United States), or else it is for the purpose of
THIETY-THIKD CONGKESS, 1853-1855. 533
instructing the Senate in regard to the question which is discussed in
the paper. If that honorable and distinguished gentleman wished
to instruct the Senate upon the merits of the question out of which
his resignation has arisen, he had the right to come before this body in
a respectful manner, by petition, by memorial, or by official commu-
nication, as a Regent of the Institution; but he disclaims the privilege
and the right of addressing us as a Regent of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, because, in the very act of representing his views to the Senate,
he resigns that office, and shows that he leaves the Senate and the
country to take care of the question as they best may.
I think, then, that what is due to this occasion is to lay this letter
on the table. Then, I agree with the honorable Senator from Mary-
land and the honorable Senator from Virginia, and others, that there
is, in the occasion itself, in the subject-matter which has come to the
knowledge of the Senate, that which may very properly require an
inquiry. I think that inquiry ought to be made by the Senate out of
regard to the public interests, the public welfare, and the honor and
dignity of the country, and not upon a communication which is of so
unusual and extraordinaiy a character as this.
Mr. A. P. BUTLER. Mr. President, I do not know that I concur
entirely in the conclusion of the honorable Senator from New York,
but I must say that I agree, in the main, with the purport of his
remarks. I hope that my friend from North Carolina will therefore
withdraw his motion to refer this paper to the Committee on the
Judiciary. What is the paper? It is the resignation of an office? If
so, there it should terminate. Is it an accusation against those with
whom this gentleman has been associated? If so, as my friend from
North Carolina has remarked, I can not approve its taste. Is it for
the purpose of bringing this subject into debate in the Senate? If so,
I think its purpose mischievous. Is it for the purpose of making an
issue in relation to this fund, which is calculated to involve perhaps,
as has been intimated, different views in different parts of the country ?
If so, it is a purpose which is criminal.
In every point of view, whether I regard the taste of the paper as
an accusation of those with whom this gentleman has been associated,
or whether I regard it as designed to bring this subject into popular
discussion, I can not approve its tone. I am bound to say that much;
but if it- be for the purpose of bringing the subject before the Senate,
it can not be so effectually done as it would be by making the report
of a committee the vehicle of his views. I hope, therefore, my friend
from North Carolina will withdraw his motion to refer this paper to
the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. G. E. BADGER. I am satisfied, sir, after the remarks made by
the honorable Senator from New York, that my first inclination on
this subject was correct, and that is that we have nothing to do but
534 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
accept the resignation. I yielded, however, because my friend from
Maryland, who occupies a peculiar and delicate relation to this subject,
intimated his desire for a committee to investigate it.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. Will my friend from North Carolina allow me
to interpose ?
Mr. BADGER. Certainly.
Mr. PEARCE. I am anxious that the question should be referred to
a committee. I am quite content that the paper should be received
and laid upon the table; but I do desire, as the Senator from New York
has said, that the subject-matters which are referred to in the letter
should be submitted to a committee of this body for consideration. I
hope, therefore, that the proposition of the Senator from New York
will be adopted and the paper laid on the table; and that some gentle-
man will move a resolution directing a committee (and I now prefer
that it should be the Committee on the Judiciary) to inquire what, if
any, action is proper to be taken by the Senate in regard to the Smith-
sonian Institution. That committee was organized at the beginning
of the session without reference to this question. I am willing and
desire that the matter should take the regular course and be referred
to that committee, whose appropriate duty it is to construe the acts
of Congress, which are drawn into question.
Mr. BADGER. I now withdraw my motion for reference, and move
that the paper lie on the table.
Mr. J. B. WELLER. I am exceedingly anxious to terminate the
debate and proceed to the consideration of some practical business.
This question, however, ought to be decided. Here are three Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, who have brought to the consideration
of the Senate the important fact that they differ as to the construction
given to a law of Congress, or as to the proper mode of using the
fund which they have been appointed to administer. Now, I think it
very important that Congress should determine that question, because
we have been notified by the debate to-day^ that that difference of
opinion does exist; and after this paper shall have been disposed of, if
no other Senator makes the motion, I shall submit one to instruct
the Committee on the Judiciary to consider and report on this subject.
The PRESIDENT. The question is on the motion of the Senator from
North Carolina that the paper lie on the table.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. J. M. CLAYTON subsequently said: Mr. President, as the Sen-
ator from California [Mr. Weller] did not follow up his proposition. I
desire to offer the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary inquire whether any, and if any,
what, action of the Senate is necessary and proper in regard to the Smithsonian
Institution.
I believe that this resolution is in accordance with the general senti-
ment of the body. I do not purpose to debate it; but 1 will say now
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 535
that I hold it to be the duty of the Senate of the United States to sus-
tain the Regents of this Institution, whenever the Senate thinks they
are right. When an imputation is cast on those gentlemen it ought
not to be left to be a matter of conjecture or doubt in the country
whether the Senate thinks they ought to be sustained or not. For my
own part, I do thoroughly concur in the opinion which has been given
by a majority of the Regency. I have been of their opinion since the
Institution was first established.
I had the honor, as a member of a committee of this body, some
eighteen years ago, to report the bill, which was afterwards enacted
into a law, accepting the bequest of Smithson; and I well remember
that upon that occasion there was a diversity of sentiment in this body
in regard to the propriety of accepting the bequest, for it was said con-
fidently by some gentlemen that it would turn out that this Govern-
ment was incapable of administering the fund as the testator intended.
I was then of a different opinion, and I am now. I have observed with
some interest the progress of this Institution, and the course adopted
by the Regents, from the origin of the Institution, and their course
has, on all occasions, so far as I have been able to understand it, met
with my unqualified approbation.
The question which divided the Regency was one which arose in the
very origin of the Institution. There were many gentlemen who
thought the funds should be devoted to the purpose of a library. I
never thought so. I undertake to say that was not the sentiment of
the Senate which accepted the bequest. An institution whose object
is to increase and diffuse knowledge among men, to be confined, or the
greater part of its action to be confined, to the mere purchase of books
books to be placed here in this District, where they could be visited by
gentlemen of wealth from abroad, to be sure, and where they could be
searched and examined by persons who are on the spot! That, how-
ever, would be one of the most futile and, in my humble judgment,
most ineffectual methods which could be devised to diffuse knowledge
among men. The plan adopted by the Regency is one calculated to
diffuse it among men in all parts of the civilized world.
But, sir, I will not take up the time of the Senate in discussing this
question. The Committee on the Judiciary are fully capable of exam-
ining and deciding on judicial questions. I think they ought to make
an inquiry, in order that if the Regents are right in the interpretation
they have given to the law they should be sustained by the judgment
of the committee and by the judgment of the Senate. I move the
adoption of the resolution which I have submitted.
The resolution was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to.
January 17, 1855 House.
The Speaker (Mr. LINN BOYD) laid before the House a communi-
cation received from Rufus Choate, resigning his office as Regent of
the Smithsonian Institution.
536 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The letter was read. (See Senate Proceedings, January IT, 1855.)
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM. I ask the unanimous consent of the House to
introduce a resolution of inquiry, founded upon that letter; and upon
the resolution I demand the previous question.
The resolution was reported:
Resolved, That the letter of Hon. Rufus Choate, resigning his place as Regent of
the Smithsonian Institution be referred to a select committee of live and printed;
and that said committee be directed to inquire and report to the House whether the
Smithsonian Institution has been managed and its funds expended in accordance
with the law establishing the Institution; and whether any additional legislation be
necessary to carry out the designs of its founders; and that said committee have power
to send for persons and papers.
Mr. W. H. ENGLISH. If I have the right to object to the reception
of the resolution just proposed by the gentleman from Vermont [Mr.
Meacham] I do so; and I move that the communication submitted by
Mr. Choate be laid on the table, and ordered to be printed.
The SPEAKER. The resolution of the gentleman from Vermont, to
refer to a select committee the letter which has just been read, is in
order, in the opinion of the Chair. Upon the adoption of the resolu-
tion the gentleman from Vermont demands the previous question. It
is in order to make a motion to lay the matter on the table.
Mr. ENGLISH. Then I make that motion.
Mr. MEACHAM. Will that motion carry the resolution with it?
The SPEAKER. It will.
Mr. MEACHAM. Am I not still entitled to the floor.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Vermont can not retain the floor
after moving the previous question. It is in order for the gentleman
from Indiana to make the motion he does, as it is a privileged question.
Mr. MEACHAM. The resolution I offer is simply one of inquiry, made
in respectful terms, and it appears to me that there can be no objec-
tion to it. If the motion of the gentleman from Indiana is pressed I
shall demand the yeas and nays.
Mr. THOMAS H. BAYLY, of Virginia. I ask my friend from Indiana to
withdraw the motion to lay upon the table. The resolution ought to
go to the Judiciary Committee, and the clause providing for sending for
persons and papers ought to be stricken out.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. J. R. CHANDLER. I would ask whether the motion to lay upon
the table includes the motion to print?
The SPEAKER. It does include that motion.
Mr. T. H. CLINGMAN. The motion to lay upon the table and print
would be a debatable motion.
The SPEAKER. It would scarcely be debatable pending the demand
for the previous question.
Mr. CLINGMAN. The demand for the previous question has not been
seconded.
THIRTY-THIBD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 537
The SPEAKER. It could not be until there was a test vote.
Mr. CLIXGMAN. If the gentleman from Indiana couples the motion
to lay upon the table with the motion to print, I should think it would
be debatable.
The SPEAKER. It can not be a debatable motion, for the reason that
the previous question is demanded upon the adoption of the resolu
tion. The demand for the previous question must be first disposed of
before discussion can be had.
Mr. G. \V. JONES, of Tennessee. I would remark that no person
has called for a division of the question to lay upon the table and
print.
Mr. ENGLISH. If I have the right to do so, 1 propose to modify my
motion so as to lay the communication and resolution upon the table,
and withdraw the motion to print.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman has a right to modify his motion and
withdraw the motion to print.
Mr. ENGLISH. I then so modify my motion.
The SPEAKER. The yeas and nays have not been ordered upon the
modification proposition.
Mr. BAYLY, of Virginia. The proposition being modified, how does
the previous question apply?
The SPEAKER. The demand for the previous question will come up,
should the House refuse to lay the resolution upon the table; and it
cuts off debate until the House determine whether or not it will sus-
tain the demand.
Mr. MEACHAM. I ask for the yeas and nays upon the modified
motion.
The yeas and na\*s were ordered.
The question was then taken, and there were yeas 81, nays 84; as
follows:
YEAS Messrs. Aiken, James C. Allen, Willis Allen, Thomas H. Bayly, Barksdale,
Bell, Boyce, Breckinridge, Bridges, Caruthers, Caskie, Chandler, Chastain, Chrisman,
Cobb, Colquitt, Craige, John G. Davis, Dawson, Disney, Drum, Dunbar, Eddy, Edger-
ton, Edmundson, John M. Elliott, English, Everhart, Faulkner, Franklin, Goode,
Green, Greenwood, Hamilton, Sampson W. Harris, Hendricks, Hillyer, Houston,
George "VV. Jones, J. Glancy Jones, Roland Jones, Keitt, Kerr, Kurtz, Lamb, Latham,
Macdonald, Matteson, Maxwell, Millson, Morgan, Nichols, Orr, Packer, Pennington,
Bishop Perkins, John Perkins, Phelps, Pringle, Reese, Thomas Ritchey, Robbins,
Rogers, Ruffin, Shannon, Shaw, Shower, Skelton, George W. Smyth, Sellers, Frederick
P. Stanton, Andrew Stuart, John J. Taylor, John L. Taylor, Nathaniel G. Taylor, Tel-
ler, Trout, Vansant, Walbridge, Walker, and Warren 81
XA YS Messrs. Appleton, David J. Bailey, Ball, Bennett, Benson, Bliss, Campbell,
Carpenter, Chamberlain, Chase, Clark, Clingman, Cook, Corwin, Cox, Crocker, Cul-
lom, Cutting, Thomas Davis, Dickinson, Ellison, Farley, Fenton, Flagler, Fuller, Good-
rich, Goodwin, Grey, Grow, Aaron Harlan, Wiley P. Harris, Harrison, Haven, Hibbard,
Hiester, Hill, Hughes, Hunt, Johnson, Kittredge, Knox, Leteher, Lilly, Lindley, Lind-
sley, McDougall, Mace, Macy, Maurice, Mayall, Meacham, Middleswarth, Murray, Nor-
538 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ton, Andrew Oliver, Mordecai Oliver, Parker Peck, Pratt, Puryear, Ready, Rowe,
Russell, Sabin, Sapp, Seward, Simmons, Samuel A. Smith, William R. Smith, Richard
H. Stanton, Hestor L. Stevens, Stratton, Thurston, Upham, Wade, Ellihu B. Wash-
burne, Israel Washburn, Wells, Tappan Wentworth, Westbrook, Wheeler, Yates,
and Zollicoffer 84.
House refused to lay the resolution upon the table.
Pending the call
Mr. JOHN KERR said: Is it in order to make an inquiry of the
Chair at this time?
The SPEAKER. Only by the unanimous consent of the House.
Mr. KERR. There seems to be some misapprehension in regard to
this matter. I suppose by laying the resolution upon the table that
we do not accept the resignation of Mr. Choate.
The SPEAKER. The Chair understands the resignation to have been
already received. The House received the letter, and it was read.
Mr. KERR. There seems to be some diversity of opinion in relation
to the matter. My only desire is, that it shall be understood.
The question then recurred upon the demand for the previous
question.
Mr. J. R. FRANKLIN. I would like to inquire of the Chair, if it is in
order to move to refer this matter to the select committe already in exist-
ence upon the subject of the Smithsonian fund?
The SPEAKER. The demand for the previous question cuts off any
motion, until the House determine whether they will second the
demand.
Mr. FRANKLIN. I give notice that I shall make the motion to refer
these papers to the select committee already existing upon the subject
of the Smithsonian fund, which has this matter in charge, and is
expecting to make a report upon it in a few days.
Mr. ISRAEL WASHBURN, sr., of Maine, demanded tellers on the
second to the demand for the previous question; which were ordered;
and Mr. Grey and Mr. Walker were appointed.
The House was then divided; and the tellers reported ayes 74,
noes 72.
There was a second; and the main question was then ordered to be
put.
The question now being on the adoption of the resolution.
Mr. B. PRINGLE demanded the yeas and nays; which were ordered.
The question was then put; and it was decided in the affirmative-
yeas 93, nays 91; as follows:
YEAS Messrs. Abercrombie, Appleton, David J. Bailey, Ball, Banks, Bennett,
Benson, Bristow, Bugg, Campbell, Carpenter, Chamberlain, Chase, Clark, Cook,
Corwin, Crocker, Cullom, Curtis, Cutting, Thomas Davis, Dawson, De Witt, Dickin-
son, Eastman, Edgerton, Edmands, Ellison, Etheridge, Farley, Fenton, Flagler, Fuller,
Goodrich, Goodwin, Grow, Aaron Harlan, Wiley P. Harris, Haven, Henn, Hiester,
Hill, Hughes, Hunt, Johnson, Kittredge, Knox, Latham, Letcher, Lilly, Lindley,
Lindsley, McDougall, Mace, Macy, Matteson, Maurice, Mayall, Meacham, Middles-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 539
warth, Murray, Norton, Andrew Oliver, Parker, Peck, John Perkins, Pratt, Preston,
Puryear, Ready, David Ritchie, Rowe, Russell, Sabin, Sapp, Simmons, Singleton,
William R. Smith, Richard H. Stanton, Hestor L. Stevens, Stratton, Thurston, Up-
ham, Wade, Walsh, Elihu B. Washburne, Israel Washburn, Wells, Tappan Went-
worth, Westbrook, Wheeler, Yates, and Zollicoffer 93.
NAYS Messrs. Aiken, James C. Allen, Willis Allen, Belcher, Bocock, Boyce, Breck-
inridge, Bridges, Caruthers, Caskie, Chandler, Chastain, Chrisman, Clingman, Cobb,
Colquitt, Cox, Craige, John G. Davis, Dunbar, Eddy, Edmundson, English, Ever-
hart, Faulkner, Florence, Franklin, Goode, Greenwood, Grey, Hamilton, Harrison,
Hendncks, Hillyer, Houston, Ingersoll, George W. Jones, J. Glancy Jones, Roland
Jones, Keitt, Kerr, Kurtz, Lamb, Macdonald, McMullin, McQueen, Maxwell, Smith
Miller, Millson, Morgan, Nichols, Olds, Mordecai Oliver, Orr, Packer, Pennington,
Bishop Perkins, Phelps, Powell, Pringle, Reese, Richardson, Thomas Ritchey, Rob-
bins, Rogers, Ruffin, Sage, Seward, Shannon, Shaw, Shower, Skelton, Samuel A.
Smith, George W. Smyth, Sellers, Frederick P. Stanton, Straub, Andrew Stuart,
John J. Taylor, John L. Taylor, Nathaniel G. Taylor, Teller, Trout, Vansant, and
Walker 91.
Resolution adopted.
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM. I move to reconsider the vote by which the
resolution was adopted, and to lay the motion to reconsider upon the
table.
Mr. T. B. FLORENCE. I call for the yeas and nays upon the motion
to lay upon the table.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The question was then put; and it was decided in the affirmative
yeas 94, nays 82; as follows:
YEAS Messrs. Abercrombie, James C. Allen, Appleton, David J. Bailey, Ball,
Banks, Barksdale, Barry, Bennett, Benson, Bristow, Bugg, Campbell, Carpenter,
Chamberlain, Chase, Clark, Cook, Corwin, Crocker, Thomas Davis, Dawson, De Witt,
Dickinson, Eastman, Edgerton, Edmands, Ellison, Etheridge, Farley, Fenton, Flag-
ler, Fuller, Goodrich, Goodwin, Grow, Aaron Harlan, Sampson W. Harris, Wiley P.
Harris, Hastings, Haven, Henn, Hiester, Hill, Hughes, Hunt, Johnson, Kittredge,
Knox, Latham, Letcher, Lilly, Lindsley, McDougall, Mace, Macy, Matteson, Mau-
rice, Mayall, Meacham, Middleswarth, Murray, Noble, Norton, Andrew Oliver,
Mordecai Oliver, Parker, Peck, Bishop Perkins, John Perkins, Pratt, Puryear, Ready,
David Ritchie, Rowe, Sabin, Sapp, Seward, Simmons, Singleton, William R. Smith,
Richard H. Stanton, Hestor L. Stevens, Stratton, Thurston, Upham, Wade, Elihu B.
Washburne, Israel Washburn, Wells, Tappan Wentworth, Westbrook, Wheeler, and
Yates 94.
NAYS Messrs. Willis Allen, Thomas H. Bayly, Belcher, Bell, Bocock, Boyce,
Breckinridge, Bridges, Caskie, Chandler, Chastain, Chrisman, Cobb, Colquitt, Craige,
John G. Davis, Drum, Dunbar, Eddy, Edmundson, John M. Elliott, English, Ever-
hart, Faulkner, Florence, Franklin, Goode, Greenwood, Grey, Hamilton, Harrison,
Hendricks, Hillyer, Ingersoll, George W. Jones, J. Glancy Jones, Roland Jones,
Keitt, Kerr, Kurtz, Lamb, Lewis, Macdonald, McMullin, McQueen, Maxwell, Smith
Miller, Millson, Morgan, Nichols, Olds, Orr, Packer, Pennington, Phelps, Pringle,
Reese, Thomas Ritchey, Robbins, Rogers, Ruffin, Sage, Shannon, Shaw, Shower,
Skelton, Samuel A. Smith, William Smith, George W. Smyth, Frederick P. Stanton,
Straub, Andrew Stuart, John J. Taylor, John L. Taylor, Nathaniel G. Taylor, Teller,
Trout, Vansant, Walker, Walsh, Warren, and Witte 82.
Motion to reconsider laid upon the table.
540 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 18, 1855 House.
The Speaker (Mr. LINN BOYD) announced the following as the mem-
bers of the select committee raised for the purpose of investigating
the management of the Smithsonian Institution :
Mr. C. W. Upham, of Massachusetts, Mr. W. H. Witte, of Penn
sylvania, Mr. N. G. Taylor, of Tennessee, Mr. Daniel Wells, of Wis-
consin, and Mr. R. C. Puryear, of North Carolina.
The SPEAKER. The Chair would state that the gentleman from Ver-
mont [Mr. Meacham], at whose instance the committee was raised,
was not placed on it at his own request. He is one of the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution and thought that under the circumstances
he ought not to serve on the committee. Had he not requested to be
excused from service he would have been put, according to custom,
at the head of the committee.
February 6, 1855 Senate.
Mr. ANDREW P. BUTLER, of South Carolina, from the Committee
on the Judiciary. 1 to whom was referred the resolution of the Senate
directing said committee to inquire whether any, and if any, what,
action of the Senate is necessary and proper in regard to the Smith-
sonian Institution, made report, which was ordered to be printed.
It seems to be the object of the resolution to require the committee
to say whether, in its opinion, the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution have given a fair and proper construction, within the range of
discretion allowed to them, to the acts of Congress putting into opera-
tion the trust which Mr. Smithson had devolved on the Federal Gov-
ernment. As the trust has not been committed to a legal corporation
subject to judicial jurisdiction and control, it must be regarded as the
creature of Congressional legislation. It is a naked and honorable
trust, without any profitable interest in the Government that has
undertaken to carry out the objects of the benevolent testator. The
obligations of good faith require that the bequest should be main-
tained in the spirit in which it was made. The acts of Congress on
this subject were intended to effect this end, and the question pre-
sented is this: Have the Regents done their duty according to the
requirements of the acts of Congress on this subject?
In order to determine whether any, and if any, what, action of the
Senate is necessary and proper in regard to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, it is necessary to examine what provisions Congress have already
made on the subject and whether they have been faithfully carried
into execution.
The money with which this Institution has been founded was
bequeathed to the United States by James Smithson, of London, to
1 Mr. A. P. Butler, Mr. Iwvac Toucey, Mr. James A. Bayard, Mr. H. S. Geyer, Mr.
John Pettit, and Mr. Robert Toombs.
THIETY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 541
found at Washington, under the name of the "Smithsonian Institu-
tion," an establishment "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men." It is not bequeathed to the United States to be used
for their own benefit and advantage only, but in trust to apply to
"the increase and diffusion of knowledge" among mankind generally,
so that other men and other nations might share in its advantage as
well as ourselves.
Congress accepted the trust, and by the act of August 10, 1846, estab-
lished an institution to cany into effect the intention of the testator.
The language of the will left a very wide discretion in the manner of
executing the trust, and different opinions might ven r naturally be
entertained on the subject. And it is very evident by the law above
referred to that Congress did not deem it advisable to prescribe any
definite and fixed plan, and deemed it more proper to confide that duty
to a board of regents, carefully selected, indicating only in general
terms the objects to which their attention was to be directed in
executing the testator's intention.
Thus, by the fifth section, the Regents were required to cause a
building to be erected of sufficient size, and with suitable rooms or
halls, for the reception and arrangement, upon a liberal scale, of
objects of natural history, including a geological and mineralogical
cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art, and the
necessary lecture rooms. It is evident that Congress intended by
these provisions that the funds of the Institution should be applied to
increase knowledge in all the branches of science mentioned in this
section in objects of natural history, in geology, in mineralogy, in
chemistry, in the arts and that lectures were to be delivered upon
such topics as the Regents might deem useful in the execution of the
trust. And publications by the Institution were undoubtedly neces-
sary to diffuse generally the knowledge that might be obtained: for
any increase of knowledge that might thus be acquired was not to be
locked up in the Institution or preserved only for the use of the citi-
zens of Washington, or persons who might visit the Institution. It
was by the express terms of the trust, which the United States was
pledged to execute, to be diffused among men. This could be done in
no other way than by publications at the expense of the Institution.
Nor has Congress prescribed the sums which shall be appropriated to
these different objects. It is left to the discretion and judgment of
the Regents.
The fifth section also requires a library to be formed, and the eighth
section provides that the Regents shall make from the interest an
appropriation, not exceeding an average of $25,000 annually, for
the gradual formation of a library composed of valuable works per-
taining to all departments of human knowledge.
But this .section can not. by any fair construction of its language,
542 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
be deemed to imply that any appropriation to that amount, or nearly
so, was intended to be required. It is not a direction to the Regents
to apply that sum, but a prohibition to apply more; and it leaves it to
the Regents to decide what amount within the sum limited can be
advantageously applied to the library, having a due regard to the
other objects enumerated in the law.
Indeed, the eighth section would seem to be intended to prevent the
absorption of the funds of the Institution in the purchase of books.
And there would seem to be sound reason for giving it that construc-
tion; for such an application of the funds could hardly be regarded as
a faithful execution of the trust; for the collection of an immense
library at Washington would certainly not tend "to increase or diffuse
knowledge" in any other country, not even among the countrymen of
the testator; very few even of the citizens of the United States would
receive any benefit from it. And if the money was to be so appro-
priated it would have been far better to buy the books and place them
at once in the Congress Library. They would be more acceptable to
the public there, and it would have saved the expense of a costly
building and the salaries of the officers; yet nobod}' would have listened
to such a proposition or consented that the United States should take
to itself and for its own use the money which they accepted as a trust
for "the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.''
This is the construction which the Regents have given to the acts
of Congress, and in the opinion of the committee it is the true one,
and acting under it they have erected a commodious building, given
their attention to all the branches of science mentioned in the law
to the full extent of the means afforded by the fund of the Institu-
tion, and have been forming a library of choice and valuable books,
amounting already to more than 15,000 volumes. The books are for
the most part precisely of the character calculated to carry out the
intentions of the donor of the fund and of the act of Congress. They
are chiefly composed of works published by or under the auspices of
the numerous institutions of Kurope which are engaged in scientific
pursuits, giving an account of their respective researches and of new
discoveries whenever they are made. These works are sent to the
Smithsonian Institution in return for the publications of this Insti-
tution, which are transmitted to the learned societies and establish-
ments abroad. The library thus formed and the means by which it is
accomplished are peculiarly calculated to attain the objects for which
the munificent legacy was given in trust to the United States. The
publication of the results of scientific researches made by the Institu-
tion is calculated to stimulate American genius, and at the same time
enable it to bring before the public the fruits of its labors. And the
transmission of these publications to the learned societies in Europe
and receiving in return the fruits of similar researches made by them.
. THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 543
gives to each the benefit of the "increase of knowledge'' which either
may obtain, and at the same time diffuses it throughout the civilized
world. The library thus formed will contain books .suitable to the
present state of scientific knowledge, and will keep pace with its
advance; and it is certainly far superior to a vast collection of expen-
sive works, most of which may be found in any public library, and
man}' of which are mere objects of curiosity or amusement, and sel-
dom, if ever, opened by any one engaged in the pursuits of science.
These operations appear to have been carried out by the Regents,
under the immediate superintendence of Professor Henry, with zeal,
energy, and discretion, and with the strictest regard to economy in the
expenditure of the funds. Nor does there seem to be any other mode
which Congress could prescribe or the Regents adopt which would bet-
ter fulfill the high trust which the United States have undertaken to
perform. No fixed and immutable plan prescribed by law or adopted
by the Regents would attain the objects of the trust. It was evidently
the intention of the donor that it should be carried into execution by
an institution or establishment, as it is termed in his will. Congress
has created one, and given it ample powers, but directing its attention
particularly to the objects enumerated in the law; and it is the duty of
that Institution to avail itself of the light of experience, and to change
its plan of operations when they are convinced that a different one will
better accomplish the objects of the trust. The Regents have done so,
and wisely, for the reasons above stated. The committee see nothing,
therefore, in their conduct which calls for any new legislation or any
change in the powers now exercised by the Regents.
For many of the views and statements in the foregoing report, the
committee are indebted to the full and luminous reports of the Board
of Regents. From the views entertained by the committee, after an
impartial examination of the proceedings referred to, the committee
have adopted the language of the resolution, "that no action of the
Senate is necessary and proper in regard to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion;" and this is the unanimous opinion of the committee.
February 20, 1855 House.
Mr. C. W. UPHAM. I wish, by the unanimous consent of the House,
to ask for the appointment of a clerk to the Committee on the Smith-
sonian Institution. We have been at work nearly one month, most
laboriously, and have been compelled to employ a clerk, and sometimes
more than one. I have not had an opportunity to bring my motion for
the appointment of a clerk before the House, because every morning
gentlemen insisted on the regular order of business; and I now ask the
the House to allow that committee to employ a clerk.
[General cries of "Oh, yes; let them have a clerk."]
Mr. CHARLES HUGHES. If the House give unanimous consent to
the gentleman's proposition, I will withdraw the motion to adjourn.
544 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. BISHOP PERKINS, of New York, and others. I object.
Mr. UPHAM. Then I move that the rules' be suspended, to enable me
to submit my proposition.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. That can not be done, as there is a
motion to suspend the rules pending.
Mr. HUGHES. 1 now renew my motion to adjourn.
The question was taken; and the motion was agreed to.
February 27, 1855 House.
The House being in the Committee of the Whole 0*1 the state of the
Union, Mr. WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, of Indiana, said:
I propose occupying the attention of the committee for a short time
in submitting some practical remarks in reference to the present con-
dition and management of the Smithsonian Institution. It is not a
subject, sir, the introduction of which into Congress has received any
favor from me. I regretted to see it brought here; and when the
gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Meacham], upon a late occasion, intro-
duced a resolution to raise a special committee of inquiry, I felt it my
duty to oppose its adoption. I knew that such an examination would
be attended with expense and a consumption of time which at that late
period of the session could not well be spared from other and more
important public business; that it would tend to irritate the feelings
of gentlemen heretofore or now connected with the Institution, and, in
a word, might do evil, but could not result in practical good. My
knowledge of the subject satisfied me that nothing had occurred to
demand the raising of a special committee, clothed with power to send
for persons and papers, thus giving to the disappointed and dissatis-
fied an opportunity of assailing the Institution or its officers at the
public expense.
Sir, I felt conscious then, as I do now, that the management has
been such in all material respects as ought to elicit commendation.
This I may say with the greater propriety and freedom for the reason
that the causes which led to this investigation originated and were
fully developed before my connection with the Institution as a Regent;
a position, I may add, supposed to be of some honor, but certainly one
of considerable labor, much responsibility, and no pecuniary benefit
whatever.
That the management of an institution having so large an endow-
ment and a design so comprehensive should occasion difference of
opinion and difficulty is not surprising in the least. It would be more
surprising were it otherwise. Whilst all concur in desiring the accom-
plishment of the great object Smithson had in view "The increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men" the wisest and best may
well differ as to the proper means to be used to attain that end.
Although not entirely approving all that has been done, I must say,
in view of the vastness of the subject and that Congress was ten years
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 545
in adopting even the outlines of a plan, that the present condition of
the Institution is not only encouraging but a subject of congratulation,
rather than of censure, to those charged with the management of its
affairs. Sir, I ask where there has been any material departure from
the act of Congress or the will of Smithson ? Have the funds been
squandered or improperly applied? Is the Institution in debt or its
income exhausted? Have the officers neglected their duty? Is there
corruption or improper conduct in any quarter? Sir, it is an easy
matter to criticise, to find fault, to indulge in loose statements and
undefined insinuations, but I have yet to hear alleged any just and
definite cause of complaint. Look at the financial department, where
corruption would most likely exist if it existed at all, and you will find
the gratifying fact that it has been so judiciously managed that, after
paying all the current expenses, the funds and property are this day
actually worth double the amount of the original bequest. Where,
sir, in this age of extravagant expenditure of public money and
deficiency bills, will you find a parallel to this?
The Regents are authorized to expend all the accruing interest; but
so far from doing this they have, by husbanding the resources and by
constant watchfulness over the disbursements, actually saved the sum
of $130,000, which they have now on hand to apply as a permanent
addition to the principal. What, then, is the result? A magnificent
building of ample dimensions has been erected at a cost of $300,000.
Books, apparatus, and other articles have been provided for the library,
museum, laboratory, and gallery of art, worth $85,000. Lecturers
have been employed, original researches made, many valuable scientific-
works published and distributed, the current expenses entirely paid,
and yet the principal is increased $130,000. And of the interest
expended I have yet to hear where one dollar was devoted to an
improper purpose. Does this look as if the Institution was badly
managed ?
If I am asked, Mr. Chairman, what the Institution has done to carry
out the object for which it was designed, I reply that it has not had
time to do much. It is in its infancy. The building is but just com-
pleted, and it is not to be expected that a great establishment which is
to exist as long as this Government itself, is to be built up in a day.
The foundation is being laid deep and wide, and the noble work
will gradually but surely advance.
But, sir, I think it can be shown that something has already been
accomplished; that a good beginning, at least, has been made, espe-
cially in view of the limited annual income which, from the original
fund, is less than $31,000. Why, a single report of the Patent Office
costs three times as much as the entire income of the Smithsonian
fund for a year.
H. Doc, 732 35
546 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Sir, the official report to be made at the present session of Congress
will show that
Liberal provision haw leen made for a library, museum, and gallery of art in the
construction of a building which has cost $300,000. A library has been commenced
and means devised for its extension, which at present is valued at $40,000.
A museum, the most complete to l>e found in the United States in the natural his-
tory of the North American continent, has been collected, which i.s valued at not less
than $30,000.
A cabinet of apparatus, consisting of instruments of illustration and research which
is worth more than $15,000, has been obtained.
A beginning has been made of a gallery of art, consisting of a choice collection of
a series of specimens of engravings of the old masters.
A correspondence has been opened and friendly relations established
with most of the leading colleges and literary institutions, not only in
this country but throughout the world, thus securing scientific coop-
eration, and often an exchange of valuable researches and publica-
tions. Such relations exist with no less than 342 foreign institutions,
scattered over Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Russia, Holland,
Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Great
Britain, Ireland, South America, Mexico, and even Greece, Turkey,
Africa, Asia, and Van Diemen's Land. Lectures upon popular and
scientific subjects have been regularly delivered at the Institution dur-
ing the sessions of Congress, and have been open to "all men," free
of charge. Original researches have been stimulated, and man}- val-
uable memoirs upon scientific subjects published and distributed to all
the principal libraries and learned societies in the world. To show
conclusively what has already been done in this direction, I will give
a list of some of the publications, premising, in the language of the
Secretary of the Board, that "the Institution up to this time has scarcely
published a single paper the production of which has not been stimu-
lated and assisted, or whose character has not been improved by the
agency of the Institution; and, as a whole, they are such as could
not have been given to the world without the aid of the Smithsonian
bequest.'" They are the products of American genius, and have
reflected the highest honor on American science.
WORKS PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSOXIAX INSTITUTION.
QUARTO VOLUMES.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1848. Vol. 1, 4, pp. 346, with 48 plates
and 207 woodcuts.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1851. Vol. II, 4, pp. 4(34, and 24
plates.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1852. Vol. Ill, 4, pp. 504, and '35
plates.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1852. Vol. IV, 4, pp. 426.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1853. Vol. V, 4, pp. 538, and 45
plates.
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 1854. Vol. VI, 4, pp. 476, and 53
plates.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 547
MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS.
The Law of Deposit of the Flood Tide: Its Dynamical Action and Office. By
Charles Henry Davis, lieutenant, United States Navy.
Observations on Terrestrial Magnetism. By John Locke, M. D., M. A. P. S.
Researches on Electrical Rheometry. By A. Secchi.
ASTRONOMY.
Six memoirs upon the Occultations visible in the United States during the years
from 1848 to 1853, inclusive. Computed under the direction of the Smithsonian
Institution. By John Downes. 1848. 4, pp. 12.
Researches Relative to the Planet Neptune. By Sears C Walker, esq.
Ephemeris of Neptune for the Opposition of 1848. By Sears C. Walker, esq.
Ephemeris of the Planet Neptune from the Date of the Lalande Observations of
May 8 and 10, 1795, and for the Oppositions of 1846, 1847, 1848, and 1849. By Sears
C. Walker, esq.
Three Memoirs upon the Ephemeris of the Planet Neptune for the years 1850,
1851, and 1852.
On the History of the Discovery of the Planet Neptune. By B. A. Gould, jr.
1850.
METEOROLOGY.
On the Winds of the Northern Hemisphere. By Prof. J. H. Coffin. November,
1853. 4, pp. 200, and 13 plates.
Directions for Meteorological Observations, Intended for the First Class of Observ-
ers. By Arnold Guyot.
A Collection of Meteorological Tables, with other tables useful in Practical Meteor,
ology. Prepared by order of the Smithsonian Institution by Arnold Guyot,
CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY.
Memoir on the Explosiveness of Nitre, with a view to elucidate its agency in the
tremendous explosion of July, 1845, in New York. By Robert Hare, M. D.
On Recent Improvements in the Chemical Arts. By Prof. James C. Booth and
Campbell Morfit.
GEOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY, AND PHILOLOGY.
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley ; comprising the results of extensive
original surveys and explorations. By E. G. Squier, A. M., and E. H. Davis, M. D.
Pp. 346, 48 plates, and 207 woodcuts.
Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York; comprising the results of origi-
nal surveys and explorations; with an illustrative appendix. By E. G. Squier, A. M.
1850. Pp. 188, 14 plates, and 72 woodcuts.
Description of Ancient Works in Ohio. By Charles Whittlesey. 1851.
Catalogue of Portraits of North American Indians, with sketches of scenery, etc.
Contributions to the Physical Geography of the United States. Part I On the
Physical Geography of the Mississippi Valley, with suggestions for the improvement
of the navigation of the Ohio and other rivers. By Charles Ellet, jr., Civil Engineer.
On the Vocal Sounds of Laura Bridgman, the Blind Deaf-Mute at Boston; com-
pared with the Elements of Phonetic Language. By Dr. Francis Lieber.
A Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota Language. Collected by the members
of the Dakota Mission; edited by Rev. S. R. Riggs, A. M., Missionary of the Amer-
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Vocabulary of the Jargon of Trade Language of Oregon. By Dr. B. Rush Mitchell,
U. S. N. ; with additions by Prof. W. W. Turner.
548 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE.
Microscopical Examination of Soundings made by the U. S. Coast Survey off the
Atlantic coast of the United States. By ProL J. W. Bailey.
Microscopical Observations made in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. By
Prof. J. W. Bailey.
Notes on New Species and Localities of Microscopical Organisms. By Prof. J. W.
Bailey.
A Flora and Fauna within Living Animals. By Joseph l^eidy, M. I). April, 1853.
/OOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY.
The Classification of Insects from Embryological Data. By Prof. Louis Agassiz.
1850.
Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of the United States. By Frederick Ernst
Melsheimer, M. D. ; revised by S. S. Haldeman and J. L. Le Conte.
Synopsis of the | Marine Invertebrata of Grand Manan, or the Region about the
mouth of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. By W. Stimpson.
Contributions to the Natural History of the Fresh Water Fishes of North Amer-
ica. By Charles Girard.
Anatomy of the Nervous System of liana pipiens, L. By Jeffries Wyman, M. D.
Catalogue of North American Reptiles, in the Museum of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. Part I Serpents. By S. F. Baird and C. Girard.
Planfce Wrightiamo Texano-Neo Mexicanse. By Asa Gray, M. D. Part I. Pp.
146, and 10 plates.
PlanUe AVrightianse Texano-Neo Mexicanse. Part II An account of a collection
of plants, made by Charles Wright, in western Texas, New Mexico, and Sonora, in
the years 1851 and 1852. By Asa Gray, M. D. Pp. 120, and 4 plates.
Nereis Boreali-Americana, or Contributions to a History of the Marine Algae
of North America. Part I Melanospermese. By William Henry Harvey, M. D.,
M. R. I. A. Pp. 152, and 12 colored plates.
Nereis Boreali-America, or Contributions to a History of the Marine Algae of
North America. Part II Rhodospermfe. By William H. Harvey, M. D. , M. R. I. A.
Pp. 262, and 24 plates, colored.
Plants Fremontianse; or description of plants collected by Colonel J. C. Fremont
in California. By John Torrey, F. L. S. 1853. Pp. 24, and 10 plates.
Observations on the Batis Maritima of Linnseus. By John Torrey, F. L. S.
On the Darlingtonia Californica; a new pitcher plant from northern California.
By John Torrey, F. L. S.
PALAEONTOLOGY.
A memoir on Mosasaurus, and the three allied new genera, Holcodus, Conosaurus,
and Amphorosteus. By Robert W. Gibbes, M. D.
Memoir upon the Extinct Species of Fossil Ox. By Joseph Leidy, M. D.
The Ancient Fauna of Nebraska; or a description of remains of extinct Mamma-
lia and Chelonia from the Mauvaises Terres of Nebraska. By Joseph Leidy, M. D.
Pp. 124, and 25 plates.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Bibliography of American Natural History for the year 1851. By Charles Girard.
Notices of Public Libraries in the United States. By Prof. C. C. Jewett.
Directions for Collecting, Preserving, and Transporting Specimens of Natural His-
tory. Prepared for the use of the Smithsonian Institution. Two editions.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 549
These works are distributed gratuitously to most of the incorpo-
rated colleges and libraries in the United States, and to the leading lit-
erary institutions of other countries. They are not copyrighted, and
are sold by the trade at a low rate.
It may be contended that researches and publications of a character
so purely scientific are not calculated directly to diffuse knowledge
among the great mass of mankind.
This is, no doubt, to a certain extent true, and I shall be glad to see
the operations of the Institution made as plain and practical as the
nature of the subjects will admit; but it should not be forgotten that
the grand object of the Institution is to add to the sum total of the
knowledge now existing in the world, and to diffuse it "among men,"
rather than to scatter that more widely which is already accessible, in
a greater or less degree, to all.
"Scientific researches," says a committee of the Board of Regents,
"are often supposed by the uninformed to be of little or no real
importance; and, indeed, are frequently ridiculed as barren of all
practical utility; but nothing is more mistaken than this. The most
valuable and productive of the arts of life, the most important and
wonder-working inventions of modern times, owe their being and
value to scientific investigations. By these have been discovered
physical truths and laws, the intelligent application of which to prac-
tical inventions has given immense benefits to the world. The germs
of these valuable improvements and inventions have been found and
developed by scientific research, the original forms of which have
often seemed to the many to be as idle and useless as they were
curious. A proposition relating to the pendulum, which for many
years remained only a curious theoretical relation, ultimately fur-
nished a unit for the standard measures of states and nations. The
discovery that a magnetic needle could be moved by a galvanic current
seemed for a long time more curious than useful, and yet it contained
the germ of all that was afterwards developed in the telegraph. It
has been well remarked that numerous applications and inventions
always result from the discovery of a scientific principle, so that
there are many Fultons for every Franklin."
Besides this, it must be recollected that Smithson restricted his
bequest to no particular branch of knowledge. He considered all
intimately connected with the improvement and happiness of the
human family, and as an answer to whatever may be said against tho
character of the publications of the institution, it may be stated that
they relate to precisely the same subjects as those which occupied the
life of Smithson himself.
Now, sir, I will proceed to state what I conceive to be the true
origin of all the difficulties that have existed in the Institution. They
have grown out of the question whether the income should be used to
550 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
build up a library, as the paramount object, or whether they should
be applied not only for a library, but for such other purposes "to
increase and diffuse knowledge" as would, in the judgment of the
Regents, best accord with the will of Smithson and the law of Congress
organizing the Institution.
This is the starting point of the whole controversy. -It is not pre-
tended by an} 7 one that the funds have not been expended in an honest
effort to increase and diffuse knowledge, but that they have not been
chiefly devoted to a library as the proper instrument to effect the
desired end.
Now, as this Government is only the trustee to carry out the will of
the gentleman whose mone}^ supports the Institution, it becomes
important to examine into the nature of that instrument, for the law
declares its true intent to be to carry out " the will of the liberal and
enlightened donor." Sir, what is that will? I ask gentlemen to read
it and answer whether there is anything indicating that a library was
regarded as the paramount object, which, like the rod of Aaron, was
to swallow up everything else? The bequest, in the language of the
testator, is "to found at Washington an establishment, under the name
of the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men." I submit that to devote the money of Smithson to
the building up of a library as a paramount object would neither carry
out the letter nor the spirit of his will. The benefit to be derived
from such an expenditure would necessarily be local in its character,
and, instead of being useful to "men "in the comprehensive sense
used by Smithson, would enure to the benefit of citizens of Washing-
ton and the privileged and fortunate few who might from time to
time visit the capital. Such an expenditure, in my judgment, neither
accords with the evident intent of the will or the character and senti-
ments of the man who made it. He did not bequeath his fortune to
found a library alone, or to increase and diffuse knowledge among the
citizens of the United States, much less among the residents and
visitors of Washington, but "among men" men of all classes and
everywhere and to increase and diffuse every species of human
knowledge.
James Smithson, Mr. Chairman, was a foreigner the natural son
of the Duke of Northumberland and of Elizabeth, the niece of the
Duke of Somerset but he was not possessed of that intolerant spirit,
that species of religious fanaticism and sectional prejudice which, I
regret to see, is entertained by many of our own nation. A truly wise
and enlightened people should not arrogate to themselves a superiority
in all things over ever}' other part of the world, and wrap themselves in
a rigid exclusiveness like the Japanese, but should rather pursue that
policy which would gather from other nations their best and most
valuable citizens, arts, and inventions. A Chinese map of the world
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1803-1855. 551
consists of China, other countries, if indicated at all, occupying no
larger space than that usually allotted to the smaller class of islands.
The wild Indians and the roving Tartars consider the customs of their
respective tribes or clans the perfection of human life, and regard
with savage suspicion all who do not judge of perfection by their
standard; and, in fact, every savage, and most all half -civilized people,
think that within the boundaries of their own country are to be found
all virtue, intelligence, heroism, and happiness. They are ever jeal-
ous of strangers (foreigners), deny them all political rights, and some-
times persecute them to the death.
Sir, 1 have some place read an account of a visit paid b} r the officers
of a French vessel to an African chief in the wilds of his native coun-
try. His sable majesty, plentifully besmeared with grease, seated on
a log for a throne, and wonderfully impressed with the vast superiority
of everything and everybody within his own dominions, eagerly
inquired of the officers whether he was much talked about in France.
I have met some men in this country even the sons of foreigners
equally puffed up in self-importance with the idea that America is the
world, and they the chief instruments in "governing America." No
man can have a more exalted opinion of this Republic than I, for it is
my native land; but I shall not, therefore, be blinded to the merit of
those whose destiny it happened to be to come into the world else-
where, and especially those who from choice have selected this as their
permanent home; neither shall I forget how much our own career of
greatness and glory has been facilitated by emigration. Most sincerely
do I trust that narrow bigotry, sectional prejudice, and barbarian
exclusiveness will never control the destinies of the United States!
Mr. Chairman, James Smithson was elevated far above all selfish,
narrow-contracted, sectional views. He is believed never to have set his
foot on our soil, and yet he passes the splendid monarchies of the Old
World and intrusts, with confidence unqualified, to the honor of repub-
lican America the dispensation of his bequest for the good of all men.
Of noble descent himself, and of ample fortune, his sympathies were
not alone with those of his own class, or his own country, but with
"men," without limit or restriction. He declares in exalted language,
which deserves to be written in letters of gold, that "the man of science
is of no country; the world is his country, and all men his countiy-
men." Though he could boast that the best blood of England flowed
in his veins, yet he said that availed him not, for his name would live
in the memory of men when the titles of the Northumberlands and
Percies were extinct or forgotten.
Sir, the language used in the bequest corresponds with what might
naturally be expected from one possessing the enlarged views of
Smithson.
The great ideas of the will are those of increase and univeisal
552 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
benefit. The benefit is not for one nation, but for "men," who make
up all nations. It is for mankind, for humanity. The truths of science
admit of universal application. A truth that tends to enlarge and to
elevate the mind; a discovery that furnishes a new power, or makes a
new application of an old one, to administer in a greater degree to
the wants of men; a fact that opens to the analytic mind a new source
of evidence to determine what before was doubtful, are blessings for
a world.
Mr. Chairman, it is contended by some that the act of Congress
organizing the Institution contemplated a library as the leading and
paramount object- of the plan. Sir, I do not so understand the law.
I am unable to find anything in it which conflicts with the will of
Smithson. The object of the law is declared to be to carry out his
wishes as expressed in the will. It provides a general outline for the
execution of the trust, but necessarily leaves much to the judgment of
the Regents, who are intrusted with the general management of the
Institution. It mentions a library, museum, etc., as objects to be
regarded, but does not require that all the income shall be applied to
the objects specially mentioned or a particular amount to any one of
them; and the ninth section expressly authorizes the Regents to make
such disposition of the income not required to carry out the provi-
sions specified elsewhere in the act "as they shall deem best suited for
the promotion of the purpose of the testator," which purpose is
declared in the title of the act to be "to establish the Smithsonian
Institution (not library) for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men."
The law does not specify the sum that shall be expended upon the
museum or any of the objects mentioned. No amount is required to
be annually applied to a library, but there is a limitation that it shall
not exceed a certain sum. It may be less, much less, but in no event
more. Pains seem to have been taken to secure for all time the serv-
ices of gentlemen of talent and standing upon the Board of Regents,
and they are wisely and necessarily intrusted with some discretion in
the expenditure of the income and the general management of the
affairs of the Institution. Take, as an example, the item of books.
They are an article of trade, and their prices fluctuate in the market
as other articles of merchandise; one year it might be expedient to
make large purchases and another less. Who is to determine? Surely
the Board of Regents would best know what to buy, when, and in
what quantities, and the law very properly confers upon them such
discretion. It does not require the rapid accumulation of a library,
but, on the contrary, expressly provides, in the eighth section, "for
the gradual formation of a library composed of valuable works;" and
that, sir, is exactly what I understand to be the wish and design of a
majority of the present board. Why, sir, the Institution has alread} T ,
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 553
by purchase and through the medium of exchanges, collected 14,000
volumes and 11,000 parts of volumes, estimated to be worth $40,000;
and if any Regent or officer contemplates the abandonment of the
gradual formation of a library of valuable works, as prescribed in the
act of Congress, I am ignorant of the fact, and believe no such dispo-
sition is entertained.
While I am opposed to making the library the principal and controll-
ing feature of the Institution, I regard it as one of the important
instruments to be used in accomplishing the desired end, and hold that
it ought neither to be abandoned nor neglected. This was my opinion
in the beginning. It is my decided opinion now.
But, sir, I do not understand that even the distinguished Secretary
of the Institution, Professor Henry, who is generally supposed to be
hostile to what is commonly called the library plan especially favored
by Mr. Choate and Professor Jewett to differ essentially, or even
materially, from my position upon this subject.
Professor Henry, in a late communication, solemnly assures the
board that so long as the present law of Congress remains unchanged,
and until other means can be afforded for their support, he has no idea
of proposing to dispense with a libraiy, museum, or gallery of art.
He expressly says, "A library such as the Institution may collect by
its exchanges and judicious purchases, and a museum of special objects
of research, though not absolutely necessary to carry on the active
operations, would form one harmonious system, and could be properly
supported by the present income."
I repeat, Mr. Chairman, that there is no disposition to destroy the
plan of a library such as the law contemplates, but there is a disposi-
tion to prevent a library from overtopping and destroying other meas-
ures of equal or greater importance to the success of the Institution,
and this is the whole issue. Sir, I am sure it is the sincere wish of
those charged with the management of this Institution to conduct its
affairs in such manner as will further the interests of science and be
productive of the greatest amount of good. It is their chief desire to
carry out in good faith the design of the noble and generous Smith-
son and the act of Congress made in furtherance of his will. Where
that law is clear it is implicitly followed; where doubts exist, that
mode of action is adopted best calculated, in the judgment of the
Regents, "to carry out the design of the liberal and enlightened
donor," which design, in the clearest language, is declared to be "the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." Is it at all likely
that such a high trust would be abused by a Board of Regents presided
over by the Chief Justice of the United States and composed of such
men as Mr. Rush, Mr. Berrien, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Doug-
las, Mr. Mason, Professor Bache, General Totten, and others of much
less name but of equally good intentions ?
554 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It may be that the operations of the Smithsonian Institution have
not attracted the public eye, or made a favorable impression upon the
minds of the popular masses, but I have confidence in their judgment
and believe the reverse to be true. Be that as it may, it is certain
that wherever science and literature are cultivated the Institution is
becoming favorably known, and it is receiving the warmest com-
mendations of gentlemen of the highest standing and most exalted
scholastic attainments.
I might adduce much evidence to sustain this assertion, but believe
the following will be considered ample and conclusive. The first
extract I shall read is from a memorial recently presented to this
House from the American Philosophical Society. "It appears to
them," say the memorialists, "that the Institution has been, since its
establishment, ever honestly and wisely administered, and the funds
expended to the best advantage in the fulfillment of the purposes of
the trust. Your memorialists believe that by diverting the funds of
the said Institution to the formation of a public library its power of
diffusing knowledge among men will be materially diminished and
that of increasing knowledge entirely destroyed. Our country abounds
in men with intellects adequate to the disco very of new truths, and
with tastes and education which fit them for the development and
beneficial application of all discoveries; but is, on the other hand,
deficient in the means of encouraging such men to devote their time
and energies to pursuits and of publishing their results to the world,
and on this account much useful knowledge, for which we ought to
have the credit, is published in foreign countries and inures to the
honor and advantage of other nations. Your memorialists, therefore,
sincerely believing that many disinterested men throughout our coun-
try, who are by education and position qualified to form an opinion
as to what is most useful for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men, concur in the opinions herein expressed, respectfully ask
your honorable body to leave to the Smithsonian Institution its pres-
ent efficient constitution and administration, and to refuse any legisla-
tion tending to impair its usefulness, by converting it into a library,
or otherwise."
The following interesting letter from Mr. Felton, the distinguished
professor of languages at Harvard University, will show the estima-
tion in which the Institution is held in Europe:
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., June SO, 1854.
MY DEAR PROFESSOR: I have but recently returned from Europe, and I now desire
to acknowledge the service you did me by your circular letter of introduction to the
libraries of the European establishments which are in correspondence with the
Smithsonian Institution. Wherever I presented it I was received with great kind
ness and attention, and had the opportunity of seeing whatever was curious, inter-
esting, and valuable in the libraries and collections.
It gave me pleasure to notice the high estimation in which the Smithsonian Insti-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 555
tution under its present management is held everywhere in Europe. The volumes
published under its auspices have done the highest honor to American science, and
are considered most valuable contributions to the stock of knowledge among men.
They are shown to visitors as among the most creditable publications of the age, and
as highly interesting illustrations of the progress of science and arts in the United
States; and the eagerness to possess them is very great among the savants of the Old
World. They were shown to me wherever I went, and the commendations bestowed
on the civilization of America, as evinced by the excellence of these works, both in
matter and form, was deeply gratifying to me. The last time I had an opportunity
of seeing them was in the University Library, at Athens. The librarian pointed
them out to me and expressed the greatest anxiety to complete the set, one or two
volumes of which were wanting. I have a memorandum somewhere which I will
forward to you.
I promised a gentleman, with whom 1 became acquainted on my voyage from Eng-
land, that I would write to inquire whether it is possible to purchase an entire set.
He was desirous of adding them to his library. Will you oblige me by answering
this question at your convenience?
C. C. FELTOX.
Professor Agassiz, well known to the literary and scientific world,
has recently written a letter upon this subject, in which he says:
Every scientific man in the country has been watching, with intense interest, the
proceedings of the Smithsonian Institution ever since its foundation, satisfied, as all
must be, that upon its prosperity the progress of science in America depends in a
very great measure.
The controversies which have lately been carried on respecting the management
of the Institution have increased the solicitude of its friends with regard to its future
prospects in a degree which can hardly be realized by those who are not immediately
connected with the great cause of science.
#*#****
The votaries of science may differ in their views about the best means of advanc-
ing science, according to the progress they have themselves made in its prosecution;
but there is one standard of appreciation which can not fail to guide rightly those
who would form a candid opinion about it I mean the life of those who have most
extensively contributed in enlarging the boundaries of knowledge. There are two
individuals who may, without qualification, be considered as the most prominent
scientific men of the nineteenth century, Cuvier and Humboldt. By what means
have they given such a powerful impulse to science? How have they succeeded, not
only in increasing the amount of knowledge of their age, but also in founding new
branches of science? It is by their own publications and by aiding in the publica-
tions of others; by making large collections of specimens and other scientific appara-
tus, and not by the accumulation of large libraries. Humboldt never owned a book,
not even a copy of his own works, as I know from his own lips. "He was too poor,"
he once said to me, "to secure a copy of them," and all the works he receives con-
stantly from his scientific friends and admirers are distributed by him to needy stu-
dents. Again, there is hardly a scientific man living on the Continent of Europe who
is not indebted to him for some recommendation in the proper quarters for assistance
in the publication of their works. I mention more particularly these details about
Humboldt, because he is happily still among the living, and his testimony may be
asked in a matter of such deep importance to the real progress of science. But the
same is equally true of the part Cuvier took in his day in promoting science. All
his efforts were constantly turned toward increasing the collections of the Jardin des
Plantes and supporting the publication of original researches, giving himself the
example of the most untiring activity in publishing his own. In this connection 1
556 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ought not to omit mentioning a circumstance to which the United States owe the
legacy of Smithson, which I happen accidentally to know, and which is much to the
point in reference to the controversy concerning the management of the Smithsonian
Institution. Smithson had already made his will, and had left his fortune to the
Royal Society of London, when certain scientific papers were offered to that learned
body for publication. Notwithstanding his efforts to have them published in their
Transactions they were refused, upon which he changed his will and made hi.s
bequest to the United States. It would be easy to collect in London more minute
information upon this occurrence, and should it appear desirable I think I can put
the committee in the way of learning all the circumstances. Nothing seems to indi-
cate more plainly what were the testator's views respecting the best means of pro-
moting science than this fact.
I will not deny the great importance of libraries; and no one has felt more keenly
the want of an extensive scientific library than I have since I have been in the United
States; but, after all, libraries are only tools of a secondary value to those who are
really endowed by nature with the power of making original researches and thus
increasing knowledge among men. And though the absence or deficiencies of libra-
ries is nowhere so deeply felt as in America, the application of the funds of the Smith-
sonian Institution to the formation of a library beyond the requirements of the daily
progress of science would only be, in my humble opinion, a perversion of the real
object of the trust, inasmuch as it would tend to secure facilities only to the compara-
tively small number of American students who may have the time and the means to
visit Washington whenever they need to consult a library. Such an application of
the funds would, indeed, lessen the ability of the Institution to accomplish its great
object, which is declared by its founder to be to increase and diffuse knowledge among
men, to the full extent to which they may be spent unduly to increase the library.
Moreover, American students have a just claim upon their own country for such local
facilities as the accumulation of books affords.
If I am allowed to state, in conclusion, my personal impression respecting the
management of the Institution thus far, I would only express my concurrence with
the plan of active operations adopted by the Regents, which has led to the publica-
tion of a series of volumes equal in scientific value to any productions of the same
kind issued by learned societies anywhere. The distribution of the Smithsonian
contributions to knowledge has already carried the name of the Institution to all parts
of the civilized world, and conveyed with them such evidence of the intellectual
activity of America as challenges everywhere admiration; a result which could hardly
be obtained by applying a large part of the resources of the Institution to other
purposes.
Mr. Chairman, with the following letter from Prof. Benjamin Peirce
1 shall yield the floor, satisfied to submit the question whether the
Smithsonian Institution is being properly managed to the judgment
of Congress and the scientific world:
Of all men none can be more sensible of the value of the great storehouses of the
wisdom of past ages than they who are obliged to resort to them in the development
of their own researches. The knowledge which has already been given to the world,
and which is accumulated in the library, stimulates and invigorates the mind for
original thought and supplies important materials for investigation. It is to the
author what the collection of models in the Patent Office is to the inventor; but,
nevertheless, the increase of knowledge depends chiefly upon the native vigor of
intellect, and its diffusion is performed by the press. To the strong mind the col-
lections of the Vatican are a golden opportunity, richer than the mineral harvest
of California; but not richer than the hills and streams, which abound within every
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 557
man's eight; not richer than the stone beneath our feet, on which is written the history
of the world; than the leaf of the forest, on which is inscribed the thought of its
Creator; or than the cloud, in the lightnings of which the laws and the glory of God
are as distinctly revealed to the faithful of the present generation as they were upon
Mount Sinai.
The valuable contributions to knowledge which have already been made by the
Smithsonian Institution are a living proof that vast libraries are'not necessary to the
development of new thoughts. If you will compare these memoirs w r ith the scientific
productions of the same period in Europe you may find them, perchance, inferior in
erudition, but not in profoundness and originality of thought. Do you believe that
Smithson, who was himself engaged in chemical investigations, could have intended
a library by his words "an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men? ' ' If you will examine his nine memoirs to the Royal Society, of w r hich
he was an active member, and his eighteen other contributions to science, you will
not find one of them which required a library for its production. Each was the
natural growth of a deeply thinking mind. Smithson was emphatically a maker, and
not a collector of books; and in the scientific circle to which he belonged the ordinary
use of language would have totally precluded the interpretation which some men of
quite a different cast of mind have presumed to impose upon his words. Expand his
largeness of expression to its utmost extent, include in it all that a generous mind
like his own would desire it to embrace; but let it not be cramped and twisted out of
shape, and so forced from its original design that it shall wholly fail to accomplish
the object of the munificent testator.
Most earnestly, then, in the name of science, and especially of American science,
do I protest against such a gross perversion of this important trust. I assure you, sir,
that the great body of scientific men throughout the country warmly approve Professor
Henry's plan of conducting the Smithsonian Institution, and regard it as a faithful
exponent of the almost undivided opinion of scientific and learned men as to the
proper execution of Smithson' s will and of the law of Congress.
March 3, 1855 House.
Mr. C. W. UPHAM. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the unanimous con-
sent of the House for leave, in this connection, to submit a report
and accompanying papers from the select committee raised to investi-
gate the management and condition of the Smithsonian Institution. 1
There was no objection, and the report was received.
Mr. UPHAM. A minority report will be submitted; and I move
that both reports be laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Agreed to.
Report made by Mr. Charles W. Upham, of Massachusetts.
The select committee of the House of Representatives to whom were
referred the letter of the Hon. Rufus Choate resigning his place as
a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, with instructions to inquire
und report to the House whether the Smithsonian Institution has
been managed and its funds expended in accordance with the law
establishing the Institution and whether any additional legislation
be necessary to carry out the designs of the founder; the memorial
1 Mr. C. W. Upham only signed this report. Mr. W. H. Witte and Mr. N. G.
Taylor submitted another report, and Mr. K. C. Puryear and Mr. Daniel Wells
declined to sign either.
558 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of 1/orin Blodget for a remedy against the Smithsonian Institution
for labor and researches in physical science, made for the benefit of
said Institution, and the petition of John Grable and sundry others,
citizens of St. Joseph, Mo., praying for the publication of a
monthly periodical exhibiting the progress of knowledge and of
society, and to be distributed by said Institution among the people,
beg leave to submit the following report:
The short time allowed for investigating the matters referred to the
committee, and the pressure of other duties during the few crowded last
weeks of the session, render anything like a full and thoroughly satis-
factory report impossible. The transactions to which their attention
has been called are so complicated in their nature and extensive in
their details that it was soon found entirely out of the question to
attempt to examine them with sufficient fulness and minuteness to be
qualified or justified in pronouncing or even forming a decisive judg-
ment on the merits of the questions involved. The evidence taken
and submitted will guide the members of the House to so much of a
conclusion on the several points and issues as the committee have
been able to reach.
So far as the case of Mr. Lorin Blodget is concerned, the committee
would observe that he does not claim to have made any explicit con-
tract, in writing or in conversation, with the Secretary of the Board of
Regents; that the compensation he received appears to have been all
that was ever expressly or distinctly agreed upon; and that as it
respects the value of his labors above the compensation he received,
or the degree to which he acquired any separate, private, scientific or
literaiy property in any papers or documents prepared by him while
in the Institution, they have been wholly unable to derive any definite
ideas from his statements. In reference to his assertion that certain
equitable or legal rights are withheld from him, the committee can
only say that, although the hearing afforded him occupied a large
portion of their time, he failed to make his own view of the point
clearly intelligible, and that it is utterly impossible for them at this
period of the session to enter into such an examination of the vast
amount of documents, resulting more or less from his labors, as would
be necessary in order to begin to form an opinion. An impartial
arbitration by scientific persons would, if the committee may be
allowed to offer a suggestion to the Board of Regents, probably be
the best way to determine whether there is any foundation for the com-
plaints he makes, or for the claim of rights which he imagines himself
to possess. The committee feel it due to candor to say that they have
not been able to appreciate any clear ground for his claims, but due
also to justice to say that he is unfortunate in not having a facility in
rendering easily intelligible the ideas which he very earnestly, and no
doubt very honestly, entertains on the subject. Indeed, a personal,
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 559
laborious, and patient examination. b\* direct inspection, of the records,
tables, maps, and other papers or documents, in which he avers that he
has rights that are withheld, and claims for compensation beyond what
he acknowledges to have received, will be found absolutely indispensable
to enable anyone to understand precisely what he means, or to deter-
mine whether there is any foundation for his claims, either of author-
ship or for compensation. The committee would have been willing to
encounter the task; but the want of time absolutely forbids the attempt,
and, after all, it would, perhaps, have been useful scarcely for any
other purpose than to satisfy their own minds. They could not
advise, in an}' event, the action of Congress upon the subject, as the
whole transaction, according to Mr. Blodget's own account, was, from
first to last, placed and kept by him in the discretion and decision of
the Board of Regents.
In discharging the main part of their duty, relating to the manage-
ment of the Institution, whether it has been in accordance with the
law, and to the question whether any further legislation is necessary,
the committee will, in the first place, present such a history of the
whole matter as will, in conjunction with the evidence presented in
the appendix to this report, enable every member of the House to form
a judgment on the subject.
[The committee then reproduce the will of James Smithson and the
act to authorize the President of the United States to accept the
bequest, and pledging the faith of the United States to use the funds
as directed in the will of the testator, and proceed:]
It will be perceived that in the foregoing act the Government of the
United States pledged itself that "any and all sums of money and
other funds which shall be received for or on account of the said legacy
shall be applied in such manner as Congress may hereafter direct," etc.
It is presumed that it is our duty to consider, not whether the funds
have been applied to such objects and in such way as Congress ought
to have directed, in the opinion of any individuals, but to such objects
and in such a way as Congress, in fulfillment of the foregoing pledge,
has directed. The next step, therefore, is to ascertain what was the
determination of Congress on the subject.
Great caution and deliberation were exercised in determining the
matter. The country felt that it was a solemn and momentous trust.
The gratitude, pride, honor, and wisdom of the nation were involved;
not only the then present generation, but future ages were interested.
The field to be surveyed was the whole country, and the whole world
beyond the limits of the country. It was obvious that the nature of
our institutions presented some peculiar difficulties in the way of
executing the trust. If the testator had understood, as indeed but few
foreigners ever have done, those difficulties, he might, perhaps, have
made some arrangement to avoid them. It i* clearly not within the
560 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sphere allotted to this Federal Government to enter the fields of science
and literature. In point of fact, the action of Congress in accepting
the bequest, and agreeing to carry it into execution, was justified at
the time on the ground of its peculiar and complete jurisdiction over
the District of Columbia. More than ten } r ears were consumed in
discussions, debates, and conflicting views and schemes, in and out of
Congress.
A few of the prominent facts illustrating this stage of the case will
be cited. On the 19th of July, 1838, the Secretary of State, by direc-
tion of the President of the United States, addressed letters to a num-
ber of the distinguished men of the country thought to be best quali
fied to advise on the subject. Answers were received from John
Quinc} r Adams; Francis Wayland, D. D., president of Brown Univer-
sity; Dr. Thomas Cooper, of Columbia, S. C.; Hon. Richard Rush,
and President Chapin. The diversity of views which must ever be
expected in reference to such a subject was revealed in all its extent,
at the very outset. Mr. Adams recommended an observatory; Presi-
dent Wayland a higher university; Dr. Cooper a university, and to
escape constitutional objections, to transfer the fund to the corpora-
tion of Georgetown; Mr. Rush recommended a more complicated s}'s-
tem, for the collection from all countries, through ministers, consuls,
and naval and military officers, of seeds and plants, objects of natural
history and antiquities; a standing board of the chief officers of the
Government; the institution to have a printing press; the board to
determine what should be printed; the democratic principle, as devel-
oped in our institutions, to be particularly discussed; lecturers to be
appointed by the President and Senate, with salaries large enough to
command the highest talent; a certain number of young men from
each State to attend the lectures, their expenses being paid by the
Institution, etc. President Chapin was in favor of professorships
being established on a liberal scale; a library, apparatus, and an astro-
nomical observatory.
On the 14th of December, 1838, a memorial was presented to Con-
gress recommending an agricultural institution with a large farm,
beet-sugar inanufactoiT, mill, workshops, etc. As propositions mul-
tiplied, the difficulties in the way became, at each step, and in view of
every scheme, more and more apparent.
In January, 1839, Congress began to grapple with the subject. The
university plan was defeated in the Senate on the 25th of February,
1839. Congress provided for an observatory out of its own funds, and
that matter was disposed of and taken out of the question. An Insti-
tution like the Garden of Plants at Paris was strongly urged in the
Senate, but the proposition did not prevail. In 1845, Mr. Choate pro
posed in the Senate the library plan, and it passed that body on the 23d
of January. In the House, several members offered different propo
THIRTY-THIKD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 561
sitions. One proposing a normal school was rejected yeas 72, nays
42; one proposing lectures and professors was rejected 77 to 42.
The plan of lectures, as a leading feature, was rejected by similar strong
votes on several occasions.
Various bills were reported, substitutes offered in both Houses, anjl
sundry amendments made, until in August, 1846, a bill as passed by
the House was passed by the Senate without amendment, and became
the law on which the Institution has existed to the present date. [The
committee then quote the act approved August 10, 1846, and proceed:]
The foregoing act of Congress is "the law establishing the Smith-
sonian Institution." It is the directory which the Regents are bound
to follow in administering its affairs and applying its funds. An idea
seems to have crept into the discussions that are prevalent on this
subject that the will requires one thing and the law another. There
can be no ground for this distinction, as a few words will show.
The will declares a certain object, namely, "for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men." In accepting the bequest the
Government of the United States pledged its faith that the funds
should be "applied as Congress may hereafter direct, to the purpose
of founding and endowing at Washington, under the name of the
Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men."
The act establishing the Institution also inserts into its title and into
its body the words of the will, so that whatever the will requires the
act ordains, and there can be no conflict between them. No one can
question the obligation of those who administer the Institution, under
the act, to assume that its requirements are in accordance with the
will and to carry them out in good faith and good earnest. So far as
the act leaves the officers who exist by its authority to their discretion,
that discretion is to be guided by their sense of the import and design
of the language of the will. All in the will that relates to the subject
is incorporated into the act. We have occasion, therefore, to look
only at the act in ascertaining the duty of those who administer the
affairs of the Institution, and there can be no ground for a controversy
in reference to the meaning of the will as against the act, or vice versa.
The will and the two acts of Congress that have been spread out on
the foregoing pages in full interpret themselves to the common sense
and adequate apprehension of every reader. It is only necessary to
regard the words as used in their ordinary sense, to avoid a mental
interpolation of language not in the text, and to allow its natural mean
ing to flow out from all the language used in the instrument. In this
spirit of fair and unstrained interpretation we propose to consider for
a moment the language of the act establishing the Smithsonian Insti
tution, of which different and conflicting interpretations are advocated.
The word "increase" is held by some of the zealous combatants in
H. Doc, 732 36
562 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the Smithsonian controversy to be identical with "discovery." The
idea seems to be that knowledge can only be increased by the discovery
of new truth. This is an arbitrary and untenable position. A mind
experiences an increase of knowledge if it knows more than it did
Before, although all the ideas it has received ma}' be in the commonest
text-books. There has been an increase of knowledge in the school,
in the congregation, in the lecture room, if ideas not before known to
them have been received into the minds of the hearers; even, indeed,
it matters not if those ideas have been recorded for thousands of years
in languages, classical or sacred, that have been dead long ago. Knowl-
edge has been increased if one mind has received more, whether it be
new or old truth. The language of Smithson is perfectly simple, and
in its natural sense covers the whole ground it includes, but does not
require, new truth. Truth discovered a thousand years ago is as good
as truth discovered yesterday. Knowledge embraces it all alike, and
Smithson's object was to carry knowledge where it was not before,
and to increase it where it was; to spread it over a wider area and to
a greater depth.
In like manner a particular meaning has been crowded upon the
word " knowledge " not its ordinary meaning in common usage, but
a narrow, technical, and special meaning. This has been done by con-
founding it with "science." It is true that, in their primitive origin,
or roots, in the languages from which they are derived, these words
may be identical in their meaning, but not so as actually used in com-
mon conversation and familiar and general literature. "Knowledge"'
is all-comprehensive embracing science, art, literature, politics, busi-
ness, the whole world of nature and culture, the entire realm of facts
and reality, all ages and all that they have contained. "Science" is
almost universally employed to denote those branches of knowledge
which are systematized into a distinct organization or arrangement,
based upon definite principles, and reduced to particular rules. In
the progress of knowledge new sciences are added to the list, and in
the establishment of new classifications the boundary lines are altered.
There is a vast amount of knowledge not included in any science. Fur-
ther, the word science is sometimes used to embrace only a part of
what, in a broader sense, is included in the sciences. It is getting to
become quite generally used to denote what are called the physical
sciences, excluding political, moral, and intellectual science excluding
history, the arts, and all general literature. Surely, it can not be
maintained that "knowledge" was used by Smithson as merely iden-
tical with "science" in this last-mentioned and most limited sense.
The words "among men" were used merely to corroborate the idea
expressed by the word "diffusion." They do not necessarily imply
that the Institution should confine itself to world-wide operations.
The word is not, as some seem to suppose, "mankind," but "men;"
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 563
and he diffuses knowledge "among men " as truly and in as full a
sense when he enlightens the minds of his neighbors as of persons at
the farthest pole. He best fulfills the idea of Smithson who increases
human intelligence whenever and wherever he has an opportunity, in
every circle of influence, however near or however remote.
The seventh section of the act establishing the Institution has given
occasion to a difference of interpretation that has been brought to the
notice of the committee. The section relates to the duties and powers
of the Secretary, and goes on to say that "the said Secretary shall also
discharge the duties of librarian and keeper of the museum, and may,
with the consent of the Board of Regents, employ assistants; and the
said officers shall receive for their services such sums as may be allowed
by the Board of Regents, to be paid semiannually, on the first days of
January and July; and the said officers shall be removable by the
Board of Regents whenever, in their judgment, the interests of the
Institution require any of the said officers to be changed."
The committee can not but think it strange that, in the face of this
express language, it has been made a question where the power of
removal is lodged. "Said officers shall be removable by the Board of
Regents." Can anything be plainer? In defense of the idea that the
Secretary can remove his assistants, a practice is cited in certain depart-
ments of the Government where the power of removal is exercised by
intermediate officials. But there is no analogy, inasmuch as the Con-
stitution of the United States is silent in reference to the removal of
such officers. But the constitution of the Smithsonian Institution is
not silent, but expressly defines in whom the power to remove the
assistants of the Secretary resides namely, in the Board of Regents.
They have no more right to delegate or pass over to another that
power than they have to transfer any of their other functions.
The concluding sentence of the eighth section of the act is as
follows:
And the said Regents shall make, from the interest of said fund, an appropriation
not exceeding an average of twenty-five thousand dollars annually for the gradual
formation of a library composed of valuable works pertaining to all departments of
human knowledge.
The expression " not exceeding" is in constant use in the legisla-
tion of Congress and in all legislation everywhere in which appro-
priations are made, and it will not be disputed that in all instances the
expectation and general understanding of the legislature is that about
the amount thus specified will be expended. The word "average" can
only be considered as indicating the expectation of the legislature that
the sum expended in some years might exceed $25,000. The word was
used in order to give the managers authority, in case a sum less than
$25,000 w r ere expended one year, to expend just so much more the
next, and vice versa. No doubt, we think, can be entertained that
564 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the framers and enactors of the law expected that about $200,000
would be expended " for the gradual formation of a library composed
of valuable works pertaining to all departments of human knowledge"
in eight years. If the law does not contemplate that the annual
expenditure for the formation of a library shall be something like
$25,000, any other figures might as well have been used. If the
administrators of the law are at liberty to -spend as little as they please
for a library, in the face of the sum thus indicated in the law, they
would have been equally at liberty whatever sum might have been
named, whether $30,000 or $40,000. In other words, if the clause of
the act under consideration can be construed as justifying an annual
average expenditure for the gradual formation of a library of less than
$2,000, any intermediate sum between that and the entire income of the
fund would have been of equal authority and significance as indicating
the intention of the legislature, whichever of the said intermediate
sums might have been inserted in the act; that is to say, those who main-
tain that the language and design of the act are carried out by expend-
ing less than $2,000 annually for books assume and assert that it
would not have altered the sense of the act had $2,000 or $10,000 or
$40,000 been the sum actually named in it, instead of $25,000.
The ninth section of the act is as follows:
And be it further enacted, That of any other moneys which have accrued, or shall
hereafter accrue, as interest upon the said Smithsonian fund, not herein appropri-
ated, or not required for the purposes herein provided, the said managers are hereby
authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for the promotion
of the purpose of the testator, anything herein contained to the contrary notwith-
standing.
The discretion allowed to the managers in the latter part of this
section must be considered as limited in some sense by the word
"other," applied to "moneys," and more definitely and more abso-
lutely by the clauses "not herein appropriated" and "not required
for the purposes herein provided."
The meaning of the ninth section seems to us to be simply this that
if, after all has been done required by the foregoing provisions of the
act that is, for the maintenance and preservation of a geological and
mineralogical cabinet, a laboratory, library, gallery of art, lecture
room, lectures, the purchase of books on the scale indicated in the
eighth section, and the discharge of all current obligations an unex-
pended balance of the annual income remains, the managers may do
with it just what they please; may expend it upon books if they like,
even although the expenditures for that object may have already
reached the assigned limit, or upon any objects not named or alluded
to in the act, if, in their judgment, "suited for the promotion of the
purpose of the testator."
The committee arc wholly unwilling to enter at all into the discus-
sion of the private grievances or personal controversies or official
TH1RTY-THIED CONGKESS, 1853-1855. 565
misunderstandings which were brought before them in the course of
the investigation. They regard the evidence that was educed on
these matters as important only because it illustrates the difficulties
encountered in administering an institution of this sort upon the plan
that has been attempted. They are particularly desirous to have it
understood that they attach no blame to any person in any quarter;
tho evils are the result of the system. At the same time they do not
cast blame or censure of any sort upon those who suggested, and have
labored to carry out, that system. The design was in itself com-
mendable and elevated. It has unquestionably been pursued with
zeal, sincerity, integrity, and high motives and aims, but it is, we
think, necessarily surrounded with very great difficulties.
There is nothing in our constitutional system that authorizes this
Government to enter the sphere of literature and science. Education
is left to the States. This Government can not, without violating the
principles on which it rests, become, directly or indirectly, through its
official agents or in the expenditure of funds, a censor of any depart-
ment of the press, an arbiter of science, or a publisher of works of
mere literature or philosophy any more than of morals or theology.
No amount of money that could possibly be raised would enable
this Government to perform these functions with a just, equal, and
liberal hand for the benefit of all departments of knowledge. Of
course it has no right to make discriminations; not only natural his-
tory and physical science, but every branch of learning and inquiry
has a right to demand patronage, if it is extended to any. Whatever
project in this line may be attempted will be found surrounded with
insuperable embarrassments. If, for instance, the funds of the Smith-
sonian Institution should be appropriated in the manner proposed in
the petition from citizens of Missouri, referred to this committee, for
the preparation and distribution of a monthly report of the general
progress of knowledge, who shall write those reports? To what
school of philosophy or medicine or politics shall he belong? Shall
he confine himself, as the Smithsonian Institution has for the most
part very wisely done, to particular provinces of natural science, to
reptiles, defunct species of animals, mathematical and astronomical
computations and researches, to aboriginal antiquities and the glos-
saries of vanishing tribes of Indians, or shall he rise above dead and
brute nature and treat the subject of man, of civil society, of govern-
ment, of politics, and religion ? If he confines himself to the former,
not one in ten thousand of the people will be interested or satisfied; if
he attempts the latter he is on forbidden ground and can not escape
being torn to pieces by parties, sects, and sections.
Moving in the most cautious manner, acting within the most limited
sphere, grudges are multiplied, jealousies engendered, resentments
kindled, and complaints encountered in all directions. Authors whose
pieces are rejected will be likely, in the course of time, to outnumber
566 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
those who are admitted to the favored circle; one man has the grati-
fication of seeing his works printed at the public- charge in a splendid
style and circulated, without trouble or expense on his part, to all the
learned societies and persons of Christendom, and of feeling that a
world-wide reputation is secured to him; but others, whose treatises
have been condemned by a secret tribunal and returned with the
stigma of rejection, are brooding in sullen, or breaking out in vehe-
ment, resentment and indignation.
Men of genius are sensitive scientific authors and discoverers par-
ticularly so. To attain to great excellence in any department it must be
studied and prosecuted with exclusive and all-absorbing zeal. There
is a divinity in truth, and whoever attains any portion of it is prone to
worship it with a concentrated devotion, and to cherish it as more
precious than all things else. However minute the objects, or narrow
the provinces, or apparently useless the results of the researches of the
man of science, he is wholly wrapt up in them, and feels, to his very
heart's core, that nothing transcends them in importance. This makes
him sensitive to reputation, tenacious of rights, and morbidly alive to
any encroachment upon his labors or attainments. No office is more
thankless than to attempt to arbitrate the differences of men of sci-
ence no offense more keenly resented than to discredit their claims or
slight their productions. It is a curious circumstance, and most
instructive in this connection, strikingly illustrating the fact we are
presenting, that James Smithson, who was a fellow of the Royal Soci-
ety, had made a will, leaving his whole fortune to that institution,
which had honored many of his productions by publishing them in its
Transactions. At length, certain papers offered to them for publica-
tion were refused. Under the sting of resentment and wounded pride,
he changed his will, and left his fortune to the United States of America.
In this way a harvest of dissatisfaction and animosities is constantly
maturing. Patronage in politics is the fatal bane of parties. In litera-
ature and science it works disastrously, in all directions upon him
who dispenses, upon those who receive, and upon all from whom it is
withheld.
The organization of the Smithsonian Institution is as follows:
The "Establishment," by the name of the "Smithsonian Institution."
FRANKLIN PIERCE, President of the United States.
, Vice-President of the United States.
WILLIAM L. MARCY, Secretary of State.
JAMES GUTHRIE, Secretary of the Treasury.
JEFFERSON DAVIS, Secretary of War.
JAMES C. DOBBIN, Secretary of the Navy.
JAMES CAMPBELL, Postmaster-General.
CALEB CCSHING, Attorney-General.
ROGER B. TANEY, Chief Justice of the United States.
CHARLES MASON, Commissioner of Patents.
JOHN T. TOWERS, Mayor of the city of Washington.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 567
HONORARY MEMBERS.
ROBERT HARE, WASHINGTON IRVING, BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, PARKER CLEAVELAND.
BOARD OF REGENTS.
-, Vice-President of the United States.
ROGER B. TANEY, Chief Justice of the United States.
JOHN T. TOWERS, Mayor of the city of Washington.
JAMES A. PEARCE, member of the Senate of the United States.
JAMES M. MASON, member of the Senate of the United States.
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, member of the Senate of the United States.
WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, member of the House of Representatives.
DAVID STUART, member of the House of Representatives.
JAMES MEACHAM, member of the House of Representatives.
, citizen of Massachusetts.
GIDEON HAWLEY, citizen of New York.
J. MACPHERSON BERRIEN, citizen of Georgia.
RICHARD RUSH, citizen of Pennsylvania.
ALEXANDER D. BACHE, member of the National Institute, Washington.
JOSEPH G. TOTTEN, member of the National Institute, Washington.
The active government of the Institution is in the hands of the fol-
lowing officers and committees:
FRANKLIN PIERCE, ex-officio Presiding Officer of the Institution.
ROGER B. TANEY, Chancellor of the Institution.
JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary of the Institution.
, Assistant Secretary, in charge of Library.
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Assistant Secretary, in charge of the Museum.
ALEXANDER D. BACHE, i
T . * T~ . ,
JAMES A. PEARCE, > Executive Committee.
JOSEPH G. TOTTEN,
RICHARD RUSH,
WM. H. ENGLISH, Buildin ^ Committee.
JOSEPH HENRY,
W. W. SEATON, Treasurer.
The committee feel it their duty to submit a few remarks in relation
to this organization.
It appears by the evidence that so much of it as is called the "Estab-
lishment" has never performed any part whatever in the administration
of the Institution. It is obvious that those Regents who reside at a
great distance from Washington can have but little to do with its man-
agement. Those of them who are members of the Senate or House of
Representatives, unless their residence, during the recess of Congress,
is in the vicinity of Washington, can not be expected, for the most part,
to have that influence over its operations which those who reside per-
manently at the seat of government, or in its immediate vicinity, will
more naturally exercise. The Executive Committee is the body in
which the government substantially exists.
568 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It may well be questioned whether it is expedient to surround such
an institution with an array of high official dignitaries. Their great
offices and characters are committed to all the proceedings of the Insti-
tution, while it is impossible for them to give much time and atten-
tion to their examination. Wher the venerable Chief Justice of the
United States, after hearing both parties and a thorough scrutiny of
the merits of all questions involved, and in the exercise of the high
function to which his life is consecrated and set apart, pronounces a
solemn judgment from* the bench, we bow to his learning and wisdom;
but it may, perhaps, be doubted whether it is expedient to attempt to
make him responsible for all the doings of an institution entirely out
of the sphere of his duties and pursuits, and with whose officers he
can not have much communication. As it has been ascertained that
the Institution is not a corporation, and its anomalous character in that
respect may give rise to perplexing and unforeseen difficulties that
mil reach the legal tribunals, it may well be questioned whether that
august judicial personage ought to be mixed up at all with its business
details.
If the Institution could be organized in a simpler form, and its Sec-
retary made the head of a bureau in the Department of the Interior,
and subject, like other heads of bureaus, to the Secretaiy of the Inte-
rior, he might pursue substantially the same course as at present, if
that should continue to be thought advisable, with a clearly ascertained
line of duty and responsibility, and a full adjustment of all his rela-
tions above to the head of the Department, around to his associates,
and to all subordinates of every grade. This, however, we desire to
have considered as a mere suggestion made in passing. If all other
plans are found defective and beset with inconveniences, this may, at
some future day, be tried in the last resort.
Whatever arrangements may be made for the administration of the
Institution, it is of extreme importance that the relations among the
several officers attached to it be denned and settled by law, or, at any
rate, by by-laws. In every organization to which several officers are
attached such a provision is highly desirable, but preeminently so
where the said officers are gentlemen of scientific and literary attain-
ment and reputation. The spirit of self-respect and a sensitiveness to
personal rights prevail nowhere with greater keenness and intensity
than in the republic of letters.
The Smithsonian Institution stands on a different footing from any
in this country, and in some particulars, especially in regard to the
peculiar character of our Government, in any other country. In some
leading features it perhaps bears a closer resemblance to the British
Museum than to any other. The recent history of that institution may,
perhaps, be found instructive to us.
The British Museum was founded about a hundred years ago, upon
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 569
the conditional bequest by an individual of property less m amount
than the bequest of Smithson. It has since received some two millions
of pounds sterling of the public funds.
Within the last twenty years there have been two select committees
of the House of Commons and one royal commission appointed to
inquire into the condition, management, and affairs of this institution.
Its government is vested in a board of trustees, in number 48, one
of whom (His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge) is directly
named by the Crown, 23 are regents ex officio, 9 are named by the
representatives or executors of parties who have teen donors to the
institution, and 15 are elected.
The following is a list of the trustees:
Ex officio. The archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, the speaker of the
House of Commons, principal trustees; the president of the council, the first lord
of the treasury, the lord privy seal, the first lord of the Admiralty, the lord steward,
the lord chamberlain, the colonial secretary of state, the foreign secretary of state,
the home secretary of state, the bishop of London, the chancellor of the exchequer,
the lord chief justice of the Queen's bench, the lord chief justice of the common
plean, the master of the rolls, the attorney-general, the solicitor-general, the presi-
dent of the Royal Society, the president of the College of Physicians, the president
of the Society of Antiquaries, the president of the Royal Academy.
Family trustees. The Earl of Cadogan, Lord Stanley, Sloane family; George Booth
Tyndale, esq., Rev. Francis Annesley, Cotton family; Lord H. W. Bentinck, the
Earl of Cawdor, Harlein family; Charles Townley, esq., Townley family; the Earl
of Elgin, Elgin family; John Knight, esq., Knight family.
Elected tnistees.The Earl of Aberdeen; the Earl of Derby; the Duke of Rutland;
the Marquis of Lansdowne; Sir Robert Peel, Bart.; the Duke of Hamilton; Sir
Robert H. Inglis, Bart.; Henry Hallam, esq.; William R. Hamilton, esq.; the Duke
of Sutherland; the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay; William Buckland, D. D., dean of
Westminster; the Right Hon. Sir David Dundas; the Right Hon. H. Goulburn; the
Marquis of Northampton.
Complaints against the management of the institution became so
prevalent that, notwithstanding the mighty array of elevated function-
aries and illustrious literary and scientific persons behind which it was
intrenched, it became necessary for the House of Commons to turn its
attention to it.
On the 27th of March, 1835, it was ordered in the House of Com-
mons u that a select committee be appointed to inquire into the con-
dition, management, and affairs of the British Museum," with power
to send for persons and papers. The committee consisted of thirty-
three, including many of the leading men of the House.
The committee held nineteen meetings, and on the 6th of August,
1835, reported a mass of testimony making a folio volume of 623 pages.
On the llth of February, 1836, the subject was again taken up, and
became the occasion of a debate. Among other complaints made by
members, it was affirmed that the statement made by Sir Humphry
Davy was correct "that the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chan-
570 CONGRESSIONAL 'PROCEEDINGS.
cellor, and the speaker of the House of Commons were considered as
the real acting 1 governors of the institution." A new committee of
15 was appointed, composed of distinguished persons, and author-
ized to send for persons, papers, and records. It held 28 meetings,
and reported to the House of Commons on the 14th day of July,
1836. Certain improvements were made in the condition of the insti-
tution as the result of these Parliamentary proceedings.
The public mind seems to have become again excited on the subject,
by complaints arising from the community and from officers of the
Institution, and in 1847 a royal commission was formed, consisting of
four noblemen and eight commoners, all eminent persons. They prose-
cuted their researches with great diligence, and the result of their
labors, in 1850, was a folio volume of more than 1,000 pages. The
whole number of questions and answers is 10,933. The chairman of
the commission was the Earl of Ellesmere. He presented an elaborate,
full, and independent report. One or two extracts may be read with
advantage by those who have the management of literary and scientific;
institutions:
Such a board of trustees, to anyone who considers the individuals who compose it
with reference to their rank, intelligence, and ability, would give assurance rather
than promise of the most unexceptionable and, indeed, wisest administration in
every department. High attainments in literature and in science, great knowledge
and experience of the world and its affairs, and practiced habits of business dis-
tinguish many of them in an eminent degree; and it would be unjust either to
deny the interest which all of them feel in the prosperity of the institution or refrain
from acknowledging the devoted services which some of them have rendered iu its
administration. But, on the other hand, absorbing public cares, professional avo-
cations, and the pursuits of private life must, in many instances, prevent those indi-
viduals whose assistance might have been best relied on from giving anything like
continued attention to the affairs of the institution.
While the report alludes in the above language to the inability of
such official persons in general to attend with sufficient particularity
to any extra business incidental to affairs out of the sphere of their
more appropriate duties, it makes an exception in favor of the arch-
bishop of Canterbury, who, in the words of the report, "gave to its
affairs more time and attention than we could have supposed it possi-
ble for a person the most active to have spared from his momentous
and sacred duties. "
The commissioners dwell at length upon the fact that the trustees
were not in the habit of communicating directly with any other officers
of the institution but the secretary, as in the following passage:
The secretary attends all the meetings, and the officers of the establishment gen-
erally are perfectly aware of the extent of his influence and control over the busi-
ness, while he has no direct responsibility for the conduct or actual state of any
department.
There may be many cases, certainly, in which it is not expedient only but neces-
sary that the board should deliberate in the absence even of the principal librarian
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 571
or of the heads of departments; but there must be exceptional cases, and, considering
the persons who are heads of departments and the knowledge and ability by which
they are and ought to be distinguished, it seems impossible to suppose that the trus-
tees would not derive the greatest assistance from immediate, full, and unreserved
communication with them on questions arising in the administration of their respec-
tive departments. We lind, however, there is scarcely one of the highest officers of
the Institution who has not complained of systematic exclusion from the board when
the affairs of his department are under consideration, as equally disparaging to him-
self and injurious to the interests of the department, giving no opportunity of explain-
ing their reports or meeting the objections and criticisms to which they may have
been subject; and their own absence, joined to that of the principal librarian, leaves
them under the painful but natural impression, where their suggestions are dis-
allowed, that the interests with which they are charged have not been fully repre-
sented. We can not but ascribe to this cause the unfortunate and unseemly jeal-
ousies which the evidence shows to have long existed among the principal officers
of the Museum their distrust in the security of the means by which they commu-
nicate with the board, their misgivings as to the fullness and fairness of the consider-
ation which their suggestions receive, and their feelings of injustice done to their own
department, arising, it may be, from an overzeal for its interests or overestimate of
its importance.
Finally, they use this language in reference to what they judge to
be the too overshadowing power allowed to the secretary by the trus-
tees:
From his control of the business, constant intercourse with the trustees, and attend-
ance at all their meetings, he has arisen to be the most important officer in the estab-
lishment, though without that responsibility which attached to the principal librarian
and the heads of departments. The influence possessed by this officer in the affairs
of the museum has followed the usual course where the secretary is permanent and
where the administrative board is fluctuating, and must depend mainly upon the
secretary for the information required in the dispatch of ordinary business. (Report
of Commission.)
The case of the British Museum confirms the conviction that what-
ever power is lodged in the secretary and we do not advise to
encroach upon or to diminish his authority it is all important to have
it defined and guided and guarded by express regulation. Gentlemen
of education and refined sensibilities will be willing to conform to
rules in the shape of law, but will always reluct against and resent
the exercise of absolute and unrestrained power. Every American
heart instinctively resists arbitrary authority; no reasonable mind
objects to conformity to established regulations and obedience to
defined, permanent, and uniform rules. Beyond those rules the rights
of a subordinate officer are as perfect as those of any other man.
Within them he feels that it is no degradation to obey. It is not at
all improbable that many of the difficulties that have been encountered
In the British Museum and in the Smithsonian Institution have arisen
not so much from lodging too much power in the secretary as from
the absence of by-laws fully defining the powers, duties, and relations
of all the officers employed in them. The committee is particularly
572 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
desirous to have it understood that they feel justified in expressing a
very decided opinion that the difficulties that have arisen, and which
the evidence sufficiently discloses, in the bosom of the Institution, and
the dissatisfaction that may exist in some portions of the community
ma} r safely be attributed to the causes just mentioned and not in the
least to any want of fidelity or zeal on the part of its managers.
As it respects the general polic}' advocated by the friends of a
library to make it a prominent feature in the Smithsonian Institution,
the committee arc of opinion that the funds of the Institution are
sufficient to accomplish that object at a more rapid rate of gradual
accumulation than heretofore without essentially impairing the use-
fulness and efficacy of the policj' pursued at present by the managers.
Active operations, original researches, and the publication of scientific
treatises, if the whole income were consumed in them, would have to
be confined far within the limits of what would be desirable. A limi-
tation must be suffered at some point within the income, and the satis-
faction of the country is of greater importance than a few thousand
dollars, more or less, expended in either direction.
But a few words arc needed to do justice to the value of a great
universal libraiy at the metropolis of the Union. Every person who
undertakes to prepare and publish a book on any subject will be found
to bear testimony to the need of such a library. The great historians
and classical writers of 'the country have to send abroad, often to go
abroad in person, in order to obtain materials for their works. All
literary men are eager to inspect catalogues and explore alcoves in the
prosecution of their favorite departments, and there is no direction in
which they are more tempted to drain their generally quite moderate
resources than in the purchase of books. Such a library as would be
accumulated by an appropriation of $20,000 annually for twenty years,
judiciously expended, would be frequented by scholars and authors in
much larger numbers than persons not acquainted with their wants
will be likely to suppose. In half a century it would give to America
a library unequaled in value, and probably in size, in the world.
There is a special reason why such a library should be provided at
this seat of the Federal Government. The annals of all other coun-
tries, running back into the past, are soon shrouded in fable or lost in
total darkness; but ours, during their whole duration, are within the
range of unclouded history. The great social, moral, and political
experiment here going on to test the last hope of humanity is capable
of being described in clear and certain records. The history of each
State and Territory can be written on the solid basis of ascertained
facts. In each State and Territory there are, and from the first have
been, many persons who are preparing and have published works
illustrative of the entire progress of those respective communities.
In local histories, commemorative addresses, and the vast varietv of
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 573
productions of this sort our literature is rich and ample beyond that
of any other people. There is no way in which the patriotism and
virtue of a people can be so effectually fostered and strengthened as
by cherishing in their breasts an interest in their ancestry, in the
incidents that have marked the fortunes of their States, their towns,
and the scenes of their residence the transmitted reminiscences of
their homes and firesides. It would be a great and good thing could
there be collected in a national library, in distinct alcoves, all valuable
publications illustrating the history of the several States of this Union.
Different processes of legislation and various social and political
influences have operated upon them severally, and the records of the
results ought to be here for the inspection and instruction of the
representatives of the people themselves and of the whole world.
But if every other description of books is avoided or crowded out
there is one which surely ought not to be. If the resources of the
Institution are to be exclusively or mainly devoted to science rather
than to general literature and knowledge, it ought, at any rate, to have
within its walls a perfect acd universal library of science and art
not merely modern science and recent researches, but all the publica-
tions, of all ages and all countries, that illustrate the progress of sci-
ence, as such. If we can not have a universal library, give us, at least,
a scientific library such as no other nation can boast.
One advantage of a liberal expenditure for a library, not to be
thought lightly of in a government resting entirely on popular opin-
ion, is that it results in something that shows for itself; the people
can see in it what has become of the money. It would forever grow
before their eyes, and in all coming generations, from its unap-
proached and ever-expanding magnitude, would be an object of per-
petually increasing national pride. Under the present policy the
funds disappear, as they are expended, however salutary their appli-
cation may have been, and the only monuments are a few volumes,
admirable, no doubt, in their form and substance, highly appreciated
by scientific societies at home and abroad, but never seen by the
people.
The short time allowed them, the necessary consequent inadequate-
ness of their investigations and deliberations, and the impossibility of
any legislative action by this Congress restrain the committee from
reporting any bill to the House; but in view of all circumstances, as
a measure of peace, as a mutual concession, which in such a matter is
the only way of settling a difficulty, they would express their convic-
tion that the compromise adopted at an early day by the Board of
Regents ought to be restored, and that all desirable ends may be ulti-
mately secured by dividing the income equally between the library
and museum on one part and ac-tive operations on the other.
The only other suggestion the committee have to make is the expe-
574 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
diency, in order to avoid all embarrassment in future, to have each
division of the Institution placed under its proper and distinctive
head. Let the Secretary have charge of the active operations, preside
over the scientific researches, and direct the publications. Let the
librarian have charge of the library and museum. If the two depart-
ments are thus separated and placed under the control of well-devised
and clearly defined regulations, never interfering with each other, but
working freely and harmoniously in their respective spheres, each
principal responsible only for his own province, and subject alike to a
common head, whether the Secretary of the Interior or a Board of
Regents, the Institution would, we think, be found to work most aus-
piciously and produce the best and greatest results.
Mr. WILLIAM H. WITTE, of Pennsylvania, from the select com-
mittee, made a report:
The select committee to whom was referred the letter of the Hon.
Rufus Choate, resigning the office of Regent of the Smithsonian
Institution, also the resolution thereon to inquire whether the
Smithsonian Institution has been managed and its funds expended
in accordance with the law establishing it, and whether any addi-
tional legislation be necessary to carry out the design of its founders,
report:
[Mr. Nath. G. Taylor, of Tennessee, concurring; and Mr. Richard
C. Puryear, of North Carolina, and Mr. Daniel Wells, of Wisconsin,
although not dissenting from all the views, preferred not to sign
either this report or the report made by Mr. Upham alone.]
That the} r have made a patient examination of the Institution, and
hate concluded that there is no just cause of complaint against the
Regents or the Secretary in regard to the construction of the act of
Congress establishing the Institution, and the plan of organization
adopted by the Regents, or the manner in which its affairs have been
administered. The subjects included in the resolution may be appro-
priately arranged under the following heads:
1. The proper construction of the act of Congress establishing the
Institution.
2. The plan of organizing and administering the affairs of the Insti-
tution adopted by the Regents in pursuance of the law.
3. The question whether any new legislation is necessary.
4. The administration of this plan by the Regents and Secretary.
Of these the committee will treat in the order in which they are
stated :
1. The proper construction of the act of Congress.
The question whether the bequest of Mr. Smithson should be
applied chiefly to the formation of a great national library, or to
researches for the increase of knowledge and the publication and cir-
culation of their results for its diffusion among men, divided the
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 575
opinion of the members of the Board of Regents at their first meeting.
These differences of opinion were compromised at the organization of
the Institution by a resolution, which the Regents have lately repealed.
That resolution provided, prospectively and on a contingency
which maybe said to have just occurred the completion of the Smith-
sonian building, for an equal division of the fund committed to the
care of the Board of Regents between the two objects above stated a
national library, museum, and gallery of art on the one hand, and
researches, publications, and lectures on the other.
This compromise resolution has been repealed by the Board of
Regents during their present session, and instead of it they have
adopted the following:
Resolved, That hereafter the annual appropriations shall be apportioned specifically
among the different objects and operations of the Institution in such manner as may,
in the judgment of the Regents, be necessary and proper for each, according to its
intrinsic importance, and a compliance in good faith with the law.
The adoption of this resolution was followed by the resignation of
Mr. Choate, one of the Regents, and in his letter of resignation,
addressed to the Speaker of the House, he assumes that the act of
Congress presented a rule of appropriation which is set aside by the
resolution. Whether the Board of Regents or Mr. Choate are right
in this respect must be determined by a reference to the act of Congress.
When it had created the Institution, given it a corporate name,
invested it with certain powers, subjected it to specific restrictions,
provided for the erection of a suitable building, and directed an annual
appropriation not exceeding $25,000 for the gradual formation of a
library, it proceeded to declare that of any other moneys accrued or
to accrue as interest on the fund, not otherwise appropriated nor
required for the purposes therein provided, the managers were thereby
"authorized to make such disposal as they shall deem best suited for
the promotion of the purposes of the testator, anything therein con-
tained to the contrary notwithstanding."
Beyond any reasonable controversy, here is a discretionary and
controlling power given to the Board of Regents over the whole income
of the fund, except only such portion of it as had been appropriated
or should be required for purposes provided by the act. To deter-
mine the extent of this discretionary power it becomes necessary, then,
to ascertain what appropriation has been made and what purposes
were provided by the act.
It directs the selection of a lot and the erection of a suitable build-
ing, but does not limit the amount of expenditure, nor make any
appropriation for it. It provides "that in proportion as suitable
arrangement can be made for their reception" the several objects
specified in the sixth section shall be delivered to the order of the
Board of Regents, and requires the arrangements and classification
of them.
576 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It directs the Regents to appropriate " from the interest of said fund
a sum not exceeding an average of $25,000 annually for the gradual
formation of a library," and then places the whole residue of the
increase of the fund at their disposal. Can this be doubted? For the
various purposes provided by the act no appropriations are made.
The library forms the only exception, and the sole limit of the dis-
cretionary power of the Regents over appropriations for a library is
that they shall not exceed an annual average of $25,000, Within that
limit their discretion is full and entire. Suppose any appropriation
made in any given year for the gradual formation of a library; can any-
one doubt that the Regents have the power to make such an appropria-
tion or so to limit it? And is there any reason why they might not
limit the appropriation to a still smaller sum? They might, indeed,
be liable to the charge of evading the law if those appropriations were
for mere nominal sums, so that in the course of a series of years no
sensible progress could be made in the gradual formation of a library.
But this is an extreme case, from which no argument can be drawn
against their discretion to limit the appropriation for a library while
intending in good faith to provide for its gradual formation.
Then suppose them to apply an amount sufficient to meet all the
expenses necessarily resulting from the provisions of the act. Still there
would remain a considerable sum not applied to any purpose. If the
Board of Regents believe that its application to scientific researches
and their publication be "best suited for the promotion of the pur-
poses of the testator," can it be doubted that they would have the
right so to apply it?
The ninth section of the act gives this power in full. When the} T
have met the current expenses of the Institution, from time to time
made the necessary appropriations for the buildings in process
of erection, and, exercising their discretion within the limit pre-
scribed to them, have made an annual appropriation for a library,
what remains is placed at their "disposal," to promote the purposes
of the testator by the use of such means as "they (the Board of
Regents) shall deem best suited " to accomplish this object. In con-
struing the act of Congress the committee confine themselves to the
act itself to the plain import of the terms in which it is expressed,
and to the necessary results of the provisions which it contains.
The} r do not resort to what is called its parliamentary history. The
reported speeches of members upon the bill while pending in Con-
gress, and even votes upon amendments made or rejected, do not
answer this purpose. The first only disclose the individual opinions
of the speakers; the second frequently do not exhibit the object of
those who voted for or against the particular amendment. A speech
made by one member is often at variance with the views of those who
unite with him in voting for a particular provision. They frequently
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 577
sustain it on other and different grounds. So, too, the majority or
intermediate vote is frequently composed of the friends and opponents
of the bill, the latter advocating a particular amendment with the
hope and in the belief that it will prove an incumbrance to the meas-
ure in the view of some of its advocates, and thus contribute to its
defeat; or they may think that a particular proviso proposed to be
stricken out is unnecessary as being comprehended in some other part
of the act.
A careful scrutiny of the proceedings of the House of Represent-
atives while this law was pending before them, would show how
unsafe a guide the resort to the parliamentary history of a bill would
be in the ascertainment of its true construction. This may reconcile
us to an adherence to those rules which the wisdom of ages has
devised for the interpretation of statutes. We are endeavoring to
ascertain the powers and duties of the Board of Regents, and to do
this we seek to discover the true interpretation of the act of Congress
and the will of Mr. Smithson, which, taken together, confer their pow-
ers and prescribe their duties. These two sources of power and duty
are spoken of as necessarily connected; for, although the Smithsonian
Institution was created by act of Congress, and will cease to exist
whenever Congress shall think proper to repeal that act, yet both
Congress and the Institution, so long as it continues to exist, are
bound to carry the intention of the testator into effect.
The trust has been accepted by Congress in behalf of the United
States, and the faith of the United States has been pledged for its
faithful execution "according to the will of the enlightened and lib-
eral donor. " While, therefore, Congress, acting as agents of the United
States, have the power to divert the fund to purposes other than those
which may be according to "the will of the liberal and enlightened
donor, 1 ' their right to do so can never be affirmed; and though the
Board of Regents can not and do not claim a right to place themselves
in an antagonistical position to the Congress of the United States,
whose subagents they are, yet in construing the act of Congress, if
it will admit of two constructions, one of which seems to be most
conformable to the purposes of the will of Smithson, the Regents
would not hesitate to accept such construction in preference to the
other, which does not conform to the will of the testator. This is
merely the application of a principle universally recognized in the
interpretation of statutes.
In the present case two constructions are given to the act of Con-
gress. If the Board of Regents consider one of them to be more
consonant to the purposes of Mr. Smithson's will, which was the
source of the authority of Congress to legislate on the subject for
any purpose, it ought to be adopted, since the act was passed evidently
for the purpose of carrying into execution "the will of the donor,"
H. Doc. 732 37
578 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and especially when this interpretation affects two provisions of the
act which otherwise would be without object or operation.
The committee will now proceed to inquire whether the scientific
researches and the publication of their results are, in the language of
the acts of Congress, "best suited to promote the purpose of the tes-
tator." The question is between such researches made and published
at Washington, or examined under the authority of the Institution
and circulated throughout the civilized world, and a great national
library to be established in this cit3 r . Mr. Smithson was a scholar, a
man of science, an author of scientific memoirs, a contributor to the
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, familiar with the lan-
guage in which his will is written, and perfectly competent to decide
upon the aptitude of words to convey the ideas they were intended to
express.
It might well be expected that the language of such a man would be
characterized by simplicity, by the absence of circumlocution and
periphrasis, which is well described as the use of many words to
express the meaning of one. If he had intended to furnish to the
people of the United States, and especially to the citizens of Wash-
ington, a great library, comprehending all that was then known in
every department of human knowledge and culture, he would have
said so in terms not to be misunderstood. The committee can not
doubt that if he had merely designed to provide for the purchase of
books to become, through the agenc} 7 of the United States, the founder
of a library, he would have used the simple language appropriate to
such an intention. He would have said: "I bequeath the whole of
my property, subject, etc., to the United States of America to found,
at Washington, a library, under the name of the Smithsonian Library."
It is difficult to believe that any man having such an object in view
would have abandoned the plain, simple, intelligible language, in
which no difference of construction could by any possibility have
arisen, and have substituted for it the sentence which is found in his
will, namely: "To found at Washington, under the name of the Smith-
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men. "
Again, Mr. Smithson was, as the committee have before said, a man
of science, the author of scientific memoirs, a member of the Royal
Society, and a contributor to its Transactions. What is more natural
than that such a man should, when about to pass away from the scene
of action, dedicate his property to the continued prosecution of those
researches to which his life had been principally devoted. The words
of the bequest are strongly corroborative of this view. It is for the
"increase of knowledge," not merely for the acquirement of that
w^hich now exists. A library would subserve the latter purpose, but
could only indirectly aid in the accomplishment of the former by ena-
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 579
bling those who had mastered its contents to do what the board is
now doing, namely, to prosecute researches for the increase of knowl-
edge. But the terms of the bequest require not merely that it should
be applied to the increase of knowledge, but also to its diffusion, and
to its diffusion among men.
The benevolent purposes of Mr. Smithson were not limited to the
citizens of Washington, nor yet to the people of the United States.
They had a far wider scope. A man of science belongs exclusively to
no particular country. He is in one sense a cosmopolite, at home in
all places where the votaries of science dwell, and under every clime
they are the objects of his benevolence. They are men among whom
he desires the increase and diffusion of knowledge.
And he has provided for this in his will. How could a vast library
established here accomplish this object? At most it would be access-
ible to the people of Washington, to casual visitors, and for those who
came here for the purpose of consulting its volumes. How infinitely
short would this fall of the purpose of the testator, which was first
the increase and then the diffusion of knowledge among men of what-
ever country or whatever clime.
If a national library be a national want, who should supply it? Can
not Congress, which represents a population of 25,000,000, with
resources almost incalculable, and with a treasury not exhausted or
impoverished, but overflowing with revenue? Can it not spare out of
this abundance whatever may be necessary? Is it not now supplying
that want in the great library of Congress, to which in the last three
years the}" have appropriated more than $90,000? It is accessible now
to every scholar who may be at Washington, and will in a few years be
so increased under the policy of its present administration as to supply
many of the wants of the student and the scientific investigator. Shall
a nation such as ours depend for this national want upon the bounty
of a stranger? The generous impulse of the American heart will
quickly prompt the answer no.
The resolutions of compromise, as they were called, to which the
committee have before alluded, were repealed by the Board of
Regents before the period when by their terms they were to go into
operation. What has been already said will show that the committee
think that they were properly repealed. Their effect was to tie up
the hands of the Board of Regents, to deny to the successors of those
who passed them the exercise of that discretion with which the law
invested the board, and thus to defeat the act of Congress by taking
away that discretion in regard to the disposal of the fund which the
law made it not only the right but the duty of the Regents to exercise.
Nor can there be any breach of faith in this repeal. The faith which
the Regents owe is to the law and to the purpose of the will of Smith-
son, and any arrangement of their own which should restrain them
580 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
from promoting this purpose by the means which they deem best
suited to it would itself, in the opinion of the committee, approach
more nearly to a breach of faith.
The Regents by pledging their faith to one another can not escape
from the obligation to apply the funds at their control to the objects
which they deem best suited to promote the purpose of the testator.
The act of Congress, according to the plain import of its terms, author-
izes the Board of Regents to employ all moneys arising from the income
of the endowment not therein appropriated nor required for the pur-
pose therein provided, in such manner as they shall deem best suited
for the " purpose of the testator," namely, "the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men," and this authority is rendered incontestable,
in the judgment of the committee, by the concluding clause of the sec-
tion which empowers the Board of Regents to exercise their discretion
in the disposal of the surplus income, "anything herein (the act of
Congress) contained to the contrary notwithstanding."
This grant of the power imposes the obligation to exercise the dis-
cretion which it confers. Judicial tribunals would never reverse the
construction of a statute, the terms of which were so plain and unmis-
takable, by what is at all times dangerous, a resort to speeches made
by a few of the lawgivers who framed it, or the votes of members actu-
ated by motives be} 7 ond the scrutiny of the expounder. Looking,
therefore, to the act of Congress itself, which, as was said by a Senator
in a recent discussion, is best construed by " the examination and com-
parison of its various provisions and the admitted purpose of its enact-
ment," the committee found no difficulty in coming to these conclusions
on this point. They find in the law directions to the Board of Regents to
erect, on a liberal scale, a building in which can be arranged collections
of natural history, a geological and mineralogical cabinet, a museum,
a library, chemical laboratory, gallery of art, a lecture room, and, of
course, to use these various means of increasing knowledge in the
manner and for the purpose to which they are adapted, and for which
they are required. In effect the law says: "All other portions of the
income dispose of as you may think best calculated to promote the
purpose of the testator." A larger discretion can hardly be conceived.
It is absolutely unlimited in relation to every one of its objects except
a library, and to this the appropriations, which the Regents are author-
ized to make, are limited to a maximum amount which they are not at
liberty to exceed. It would seem to be most singular if this had been
the primary and cherished object of Congress that it should be the only
one subjected to such a limitation.
It might be thought, if this had been their primary purpose, that
the restrictions would have been imposed upon the appropriations for
other objects, leaving that for the library unfettered. If we turn
from the act of Congress to the will of Smithson to determine the
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 581
manner in which the trust should be executed, if we look to his ante-
cedents and find that he was himself a searcher into the mysteries of
nature which science is laboring to develop not so much employed
in studying the pages of those who have written as striving to read
the unwritten pages of nature's book if we consider the plain and
obvious import of the simple language in which his wishes are expressed
and contemplate the benefits to result from one or the other scheme of
appropriation which have been in controversy; if we consider these
things we can not doubt that it is both the right and the duty of the
Regents, resulting from the will of Smithson and enjoined by the act of
Congress, to appropriate such portion of his funds as they can advan-
tageously employ in scientific researches and the publication and circu-
lation of the results u among men," wherever men exist capable of
appreciating them, while at the same time they apply another portion
of the fund, according to a sound and honest discretion, to the partic-
ular purposes specified in the act.
Thus they will not depart from any plan devised by Congress and
prescribed in the act, as Mr. Choate seems to have erroneously sup-
posed, but will fill up and develop that very plan, of which only some
of the outlines were sketched in the law.
It would be impracticable within the limits proper to this report
to go into the examination of the minute outline of organization
of the Institution submitted to the Board of Regents by the secretary,
and approved by them. It will be found printed in detail in the
appendix to the eighth annual report of the Smithsonian Institution,
published by Congress in 1854.
A brief notice of the plan and of its results is all that we can here
present.
The object of the plan is, first: To increase knowledge by stimu-
lating original research by the rapid and full publication of results;
by aid in procuring the materials and appliances for investigation;
and, if necessary, by direct rewards.
Experience has shown that no other means are so effective in stimu-
lating research as the rapid publication of results; not in a stinted
form of abstract, and without illustrations (too often the necessary
condition of the publication of scientific labors) but in full, with illus-
trations drawn, engraved, and printed in the best style of art. How
many investigations are stopped for the want of instruments, of speci-
mens, and general appliances for research ? How many are laid aside,
because, first of all, men must live? What more noble or useful object
for the Smithsonian Institution than to remove these difficulties from
the path of genius? What more consonant to the intention of the
founder: An expedition is setting out and instruments are required to
investigate the magnetism of the earth, the temperature of the ocean,
the climate, soil, and productions of places explored, their latitudes
582 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and longitudes, heights, etc. These instruments are lent or furnished
by the Smithsonian Institution, and the results obtained with them
become public property. Means are furnished to explorers to make
collections of minerals and ores; of plants and animals; of fishes, rep-
tiles, and insects; and to provide for their transportation from the
field. These collections are submitted to the most successful culti-
vators of the branches of science to which they belong; to men who
have made these objects their especial study, and their investigations
are made public. The specimens are returned to the Smithsonian
collections to be taken care of, and perhaps to be reexamined at some
more advanced period. By these and similar modes research is stim-
ulated. The provision of meteorological instruments and of instruc-
tions for their use, the collections of the observations made and their
comparisons, have already furnished most important information in
regard to the climate and storms of the United States, and the full
publication of the results will enable men of science of this and other
countries to draw from these materials most valuable inferences and
laws.
2. To diffuse knowledge, by the publication of the contributions,
from researches and explorations, of reports on treatises on different
subjects or branches of science and its application, of reports showing
the history and progress of these subjects or branches is the second
object of the "active operations." These publications diffuse among
men the knowledge obtained by the agency of the Institution or from
without. The subjects which have been already embraced in the
Smithsonian Contributions and in the different volumes of reports,
etc., have been numerous and well distributed among the various
branches of knowledge the abstract and the practical. The publi-
cations are widely scattered among the institutions of this and of
other countries, given to them or exchanged for their proceedings,
transactions, or other publications, and accessible at moderate rates
to individuals. Of the impression made abroad by the Smithsonian
Contributions to Knowledge the learned professor of Greek of Har-
vard University [C. C. Felton] thus speaks:
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, June 30, 1854-
I have but recently returned from Europe, and I now desire to acknowledge the
service you did me by your circular letter of introduction to the librarians of the
European establishments which are in correspondence with the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. Wherever I presented it I was received with great kindness and attention,
and had the opportunity of seeing whatever was curious, interesting, and valuable
in the libraries and collections.
It gave me pleasure to notice the high estimation in which the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, under its present management, is held everywhere in Europe. The volumes
published under its auspices have done the highest honor to American science, and
are considered most valuable contributions to the stock of knowledge among men.
They are shown to visitors as among the most creditable publications of the age, and
as highly interesting illustrations of the progress of science and the arts in the
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 583
United States", and the eagerness to possess them is very great among the savants of
the Old World. They were shown to me wherever I went, and the commendations
bestowed on the civilization of America, as evinced by the excellence of these works,
both in matter and form, was deeply gratifying to me. The last time I had an
opportunity of seeing them was in the university library at Athens. The librarian
pointed them out to me and expressed the greatest anxiety to complete the set, one
or two volumes of which were wanting.
The publications thus approved bring to the Smithsonian Institution
a return of works published by the learned societies of the world and
by governments such as could not be procured in any other way,
supplying the library with rich productions of both literature and
science. The gradual formation of a valuable library would result
from this system of international exchanges even without direct
purchase.
The programme of organization of the Institution and its execution
have met with the unqualified support of a very large majoritj^ of the
scientific and literary men of our country, expressed individually or
in the associations of which they are members. This is general
throughout the Union, and from no quarter have more decidedly
favorable opinions been expressed than from that to which the Regent
at whose instance this investigation has been made (Mr. Choate)
belongs. The committee must necessarily be brief in its selections
from the numerous letters and other communications before it. In
speaking of the general considerations proposed by Professor Henry
as guides in adopting a plan of organization, a committee of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of Boston, say that " they
command the entire assent of the committee," and proceed to discuss
favorably the various provisions for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge furnished by the programme. This committee consisted
of such scholars as Everett, Sparks, and Longfellow, and such men of
science as Peirce and Gray.
Since the appointment of this committee Professor Peirce, of Har-
vard University, has renewed his testimony to the wisdom of the plan
of organization and has spoken further in relation to the efficiency of
its execution. In a letter addressed to the chairman of this committee
he says:
Of all men none can be more sensible of the value of the great storehouses of the
wisdom of past ages than they who are obliged to resort to them in the development
of their own researches. The knowledge which has already been given to the world,
and which is accumulated in the library, stimulates and invigorates the mind for
original thoughts and supplies important materials for investigation; it is to the
author what the collection of models in the Patent Office is to the inventor; but,
nevertheless, the increase of knowledge depends chiefly upon the native vigor of
intellect, and its diffusion is performed by the press. To the strong mind the collec-
tions of the Vatican are a golden opportunity, richer than the mineral harvest of
California, but not richer than the hills and streams which abound within every
man's sight; not richer than the stone beneath our feet, on which is written the
584 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
history of the world; than the leaf of the forest, on which is inscribed the thought
of its Creator; or than the cloud, in the lightnings of which the laws and the glory
of God are as distinctly revealed to the faithful of the present generation as they
were upon Mount Sinai.
The valuable contributions to knowledge which have already been made by the
Smithsonian Institution are a living proof that vast libraries are not necessary to
the development of new thoughts. If you will compare these memoirs with the
scientific productions of the same period in Europe, you may find them perchance
inferior in erudition, but not in profoundness and originality of thought. Do you
believe that Smithson, who was himself engaged in chemical investigation, could
have intended a library by his words "an institution for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men?" If you will examine his 9 memoirs to the Royal
Society, of which he was an active member, and his 18 other contributions to
science, you will not find one of them that required a library for its production.
Each was the natural growth of a deeply thinking mind. Smithson was emphat-
ically a maker and not a collector of books; and in the scientific circle to which he
belonged the ordinary use of language would have totally precluded the interpreta-
tion which some men of quite a different cast of mind have presumed to impose
upon his words. Expand his largeness of expression to its utmost extent; include
in it all that a generous mind like his own would desire it to embrace; but let it not
be cramped and twisted out of shape and so forced from its original design that it
shall wholly fail to accomplish the object of the munificent testator.
Most earnestly, then, in the name of science, and especially of American science,
do I protest against such a gross perversion of this important trust. I assure you,
sir, that the great body of scientific men throughout the country warmly approve
Professor Henry's plan of conducting the Smithsonian Institution and regard it as a
faithful exponent of the almost undivided opinion of scientific and learned men as
to the proper execution of Smithson' s will and the law of Congress.
Professor Agassiz, also of Harvard University, Cambridge, whose
fame as a naturalist is second to that of no man living, has given, in a
letter to the chairman of the committee, the strongest expression of
his favorable opinion of the working of the Institution. The com-
mittee has space here only for an extract from the letter referred to:
Smithson had already made his will and left his fortune to the Royal Society of
London when certain scientific papers were offered to that learned body for publi-
cation. Notwithstanding his efforts to have them published in their Transactions,
they were refused; upon which he changed his will and made his bequest to the
United States. It would be easy to collect in London more minute information upon
this occurrence, and should it appear desirable, I think I could put the committee in
the way of learning all the circumstances. Nothing seems to me to indicate more
plainly what were the testator's views respecting the best means of promoting science
than this fact. I will not deny the great importance of libraries, and no one has felt
more keenly the want of an extensive scientific library than I have since I have been
in the United States; but, after all, libraries are only tools of a secondary value to
those who are really endowed by nature with the power of making original researches
and thus increasing knowledge among men. And though the absence or deficiency
of libraries is nowhere so deeply felt as in America, the application of the funds of
the Smithsonian Institution to the formation of a library beyond the requirements
of the daily progress of science would only be, in my humble opinion, a perversion
of the real object of the trust, inasmuch as it would tend to secure facilities only to
the comparatively small number "of American students who may have the time and
means to visit Washington when they wish to consult a library. Such an application
THIETY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 585
of the funds would indeed lessen the ability of the Smithsonian Institution to accom-
plish its great object, which is declared by its founder to be the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men, to the full extent to which they may be spent to increase
unduly the library.
Moreover, American students have a just claim upon their own country for such
local facilities as the accumulation of books affords.
If I am allowed, in conclusion, to state my personal impression respecting the
management of the Institution thus far, I would only express my concurrence with
the plan of active operations adopted by the Regents, which has led to the publication
of a series of volumes equal in scientific value to any productions of the same kind
issued by learned societies anywhere.
The distribution of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge has already car-
ried the name of the Institution to all parts of the civilized world and conveyed with
them such evidence of the intellectual activity of America as challenges everywhere
admiration; a result which could hardly be obtained by applying the resources of
the Institution to other purposes.
3. Additional legislation.
From what has been already said it may well be inferred that the
committee have been unable to see anything, either in the provisions of
the law or the administration of the Institution, which requires reform
by additional legislation. Indeed, they could not imagine on what
ground additional legislation could be demanded if they had not been
informed by the Hon. Mr. Meacham, who presented the resolution
under which the committee was appointed. That gentleman was invited
to attend the meetings of the committee, was authorized to present
charges and specifications upon any branch of the subject referred to
them, as also to direct summons for witnesses, and to conduct the
examination whenever he desired to do so. He pointed out only two
particulars as requiring additional legislation.
The first was "that additional legislation was needed to secure im-
partiality toward authors who apply for the publication of their
researches." No instance of partiality or injustice in this respect has
been brought to the notice of the committee by proof or by allegation.
The idea seems to have been advanced for the first time by one of the
assistants of the Secretary, Mr. Jewett, in a communication addressed
to a special committee of the Regents in the year 1854.
The argument there made by Mr. Jewett has been abbreviated by
Mr. Meacham, and may be stated as objecting that the power of accept-
ing or rejecting a memoir presented for publication is virtually in the
hands of one man.
The practice of the Royal Society of London is stated as being far
preferable. On this point the committee would remark that the
same plan can not be adopted by the Institution because, as the com-
mittee has been informed, it has no fellows from whom an examining
council of twenty-one members may be selected; and if the plan
could be adopted, the committee do not think it is as good as the one
which the Regents have chosen. In the present state of knowledge
586 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the several branches can scarcely be represented by twenty-one indi-
viduals, and it may occur in case of a particular paper that not a
single member of the council is fully competent to decide upon its
merits. The Institution is not thus restricted; it has at its command
the learning of the whole country, and is not even confined in its
choice of examiners to men of science at home, but can select them
from distinguished individuals abroad.
The rules adopted by the Regents are in this respect few and sim-
ple and, in the opinion of the committee, sufficient. They have pro-
vided in their programme of organization as follows:
First. No memoir on subjects of physical science to be accepted for
publication which does not furnish a positive addition to human
knowledge, resting on original research; and all unverified specula-
tions to be rejected.
Second. Each memoir presented to the Institution to be submitted
for examination to a commission of persons of reputation for learning
in the branch to which the memoir pertains; and to be accepted for
publication only in case the report of this commission is favorable.
Third. The commission to be chosen by the officers of the Institu-
tion, and the name of the author, as far as practicable, concealed
unless a favorable decision be made.
It will be perceived that there is nothing like a "star chamber of
science" in this part of the plan of the Institution. The opinion of the
commission is formed upon the merits of the work or paper, and can
not be affected by partiality for or prejudice against the author, whose
name is unknown to them.
If any author should feel himself aggrieved by the appointment of
an incompetent or prejudiced commission, he will have no difficulty in
presenting a complaint to the Board of Regents, by whom another
commission may be named. In fact, no well-founded complaint on
this score has yet been made, so far as has been shown to this commit-
tee, and the danger complained of seems to them only speculative and
fanciful. The Board of Regents have full power to remedy whatever
may be wrong in the practical working of this part of the plan, and it
will be time enough to ask the interference of Congress when the evils
which are now only conjectural shall be realized.
Mr. Meacham suggests "that the Institution should be placed in
such a position that legal redress may be gained by those who are
improperly deprived of their rights."
It is true that the Institution is not a corporation capable of suing or
being sued. But no practical evils have as yet resulted from the
refusal of Congress to make the establishment an incorporation. It is
a peculiar establishment. Its operations are simple and few. Its con-
tracts are such as can seldom form the subject of controversy. If the
Institution should find necessity for legal redress, there is nothing to
. THIBTY-THIKD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 587
prevent the President, who is a member of the establishment, from
directing a suit in the name of the United States. If it denies legal
rights to any officer or other person, the same remedy exists as in any
other case of claim against the United States. No instance of a denial
of legal right has been shown to the committee. An attempt to do so
was indeed made on the part of an employee of the Institution, who
claimed to be entitled to larger compensation than had been paid to
him. But the attempt was a signal failure. His own receipts con-
tradicted his claims and satisfied the committee that he had been paid
all he could legally demand; and the assertion of extraordinary merit
in his labors, alleged as an equitable ground of claim, failed when a
resort was had to testimony other than his own.
The committee therefore conclude that there is no necessity for addi-
tional legislation.
4. Maladministration.
The first of Mr. Meacham's complaints under this head is "that the
Regents have made the Secretary the organ of communication between
them and the other officers of the Institution, cutting off other officers
from direct official intercourse with the board, neglecting or refusing
to procure or make by-laws defining the position and power of persons
employed in the Institution, and expressing the opinion that all the
assistants are removable at the pleasure of the Secretary."
This complaint seems to be founded on an entire misapprehension of
the act of Congress creating the Institution, and the proper relations
of the Secretary and his subordinates. By the act of Congress the
Secretary is the sole administrative officer of the Institution. The
other officers are not only his subordinates, but are nothing more than
his assistants, who are employed to assist him in his duties, because it
is physically impossible for him to perform all of these duties himself.
The law charges the Secretary alone with the duties enumerated, and
therefore devolves upon him the sole responsibility, unless when it is
shared with the executive committee of the Regents, whose functions
are not precisely defined in the law, but who act as a board of control
or council to the Secretary. We adopt on this subject the reasoning
of the special committee of the Board of Regents in their report of
the 20th of May last, as follows:
The law is declaratory and positive in charging the Secretary with the enumerated
duties, and therefore invests him and him alone with the corresponding powers.
But as it must have been manifest that no secretary could be able of himself to per-
form personally everything required for the discharge of his enumerated duties, pro-
vision is made for aid to him in the clause which says that he "may, with the con-
sent of the board, employ assistants," etc.
The positions of the persons so employed are determined by the word which desig-
nates them in the clause authorizing their employment. They are called "assistants."
To whom? Not to the Eegents, but to the Secretary. Their position is necessarily
subordinate; and, as their duties are those of assistants to their principal, they can
588 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
no more be independent of him than they can be superior to him. This construc-
tion is so manifestly proper that it would seem to require no argument to justify it.
But if anything further were wanted it may be found in the fact that the Secretary
is to employ them in and about that very business with which he is charged and
for which he alone is responsible. The character of this part of the section is per-
missive. He is not required to employ anyone, but is permitted to employ persons
to assist him, provided he satisfy the board that their services are necessary as aids
to him.
In another part of the same section provision is made for the payment and, if need
be, the removal of the Secretary and his assistants, and in this connection they are
spoken of as officers, but by no ingenuity of construction can that word, in this con-
nection, be held to assign them special duties or confer any separate authority.
Thus careful has Congress been to provide au efficient system of operations, which
can only come from harmony of purpose and unity of action.
This view of the intention of Congress, so clearly expressed in the law, would be
directly contradicted by the plan w r hich has been suggested of organizing the Insti-
tution definitely into several departments, placing at the head of these departments
different assistants, establishing their relative positions, prescribing distinct duties
for them, assigning certain shares of the income to be disbursed by them, and stat-
ing their authority, privileges, and remedies for infringement of their official rights,
or of the interests intrusted to their care. All this would tend, not to secure a loyal
and harmonious cooperation, to a common end, of the assistants with the Secretary,
but to encourage rivalry, to invite collision, to engender hostility, to destroy sub-
ordination, to distract the operations of the Institution, to impair its efficiency, and
to destroy its usefulness.
This view of the question has been made very clear to the committee
in the course of the examination which they have made, and by the
testimony taken for the purpose of supporting Mr. Meacham's charges.
All the difficulties in the Institution, which have resulted in the dis-
missal by the Secretary of one of his assistants and of a person tempo-
rarily employed upon the meteorological computations, seem to have
arisen from the desire of independent positions, engendering rivalry
and hostility, producing collisions and insubordination utterly incom-
patible with the proper authority of the Secretary and the harmonious
action so necessary to the welfare of the Institution. The facts devel-
oped in regard to those difficulties entirely satisfy your committee that
it is not desirable to have such by-laws as Mr. Meaeham thinks the
Regents should have made or procured.
If any just cause of complaint by the assistants against the Secretary
should arise, they can at all times resort for redress to the Regents by
memorial or other proper form of application, and the patience with
which such an application, although entirely without cause, has been
heard by the executive committee, to which it was referred, and con-
sidered by the Regents is quite sufficient to show how needless for the
purpose any by-laws are.
It may be proper to say that the only section of the law in which
by-laws are mentioned is the eighth, which seems to confer the power
of enacting them upon the members of the establishment, who are the
President and Vice-President of the United States, the members of
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 589
the Cabinet, except the Secretary of the Interior (whose Department
was not created at the date of the act), the Chief Justice of the United
States, the Commissioner of Patents, and the mayor of Washington,
with "such other persons as they may elect honorary members."
The Regents have expressed the opinion that the Secretary has
power to remove the assistants. This opinion is expressed in the fol-
lowdng resolution, adopted in July last:
Be it resolved, That while power is reserved in the said (seventh) section to the
Board of Regents to remove both the Secretary and his assistants, in the opinion
of the -Board, power, nevertheless, remains with the Secretary to remove his said
assistants.
In this opinion the Chief Justice of the United States and Mr. Ber-
ricn. who were absent when the resolution was passed, afterwards
expressed their full concurrence.
The committee can not doubt that it was a sound opinion. The law,
as before stated, makes the Secretary the sole administrative officer of
the Institution. He, and he alone, is keeper of the Museum and libra-
rian. The law puts all the property of the Institution into his charge,
and authorizes him alone to appoint assistants to aid him in the dis-
charge of the duties devolved upon him. Had the act made no further
provision on this head, there could not be a doubt that the power of
removal would be in him, because it is an established principle that
when the power to appoint is conferred, the power of removal is inci-
dent to it, unless restrained by some other provision. There is an-
other clause in the same section (seventh) which applies as well to the
Secretary as to his assistants, which provides that "the said officers
shall be removable by the Board of Regents whenever in their judg-
ment the interests of the Institution require any of the said officers
to be changed."
Under this clause the question arises whether it restrains the inci-
dental power of the Secretary to remove, or whether, in addition to
that incidental power, it gives, as regards the assistants, the authority
of the Board to make such removal. Your committee think the latter
the sound construction. It does not restrain the power of the Secre-
tary by express words or by necessary implication. It is true that the
clause gives to the Board superior power, inasmuch as they may
remove an assistant without the concurrence of the Secretary, and
even against his wish, but this power may well exist without conflict
with the incidental authority of the Secretary. The same reasons
which cause the Secretary to be invested with authority to appoint
justify and require his power to remove. The Hon. George M. Dal-
las, late Vice-President of the United States, and Chancellor of the
Institution, adopts this view, and in an opinion upon this subject says:
It is clear that the act of Congress does not confer upon the Board of Regents the
power to appoint the assistants of the Secretary, and for reasons too palpable to
590 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
require mention. But if the Secretary has not himself, under his own mere motion,
a right to remove, it would be impossible to imagine reasons why the power of orig-
inal appointment was not given to the Board.
In other words, the reasons which excluded the Board from appointing are iden-
tically the reasons which preserve to the Secretary the power of removing. It may,
perhaps, render it more perspicuous to add that these reasons are the official respon-
sibilities and practical personal intercourse of the Secretary with his assistants.
Besides, it is very evident that the interests of the Institution might
often be in peril if the power of removal were denied to the Secretary.
The Board of Regents are not in session during a great part of the
year. Many of them reside at great distances from Washington; and
could not be assembled without much inconvenience to themselves and
heavy expense to the Institution. During this period it might be of
the utmost importance to remove an unfaithful assistant. He might
cease to do that for which alone he was appointed, to assist the Secre-
retary in the affairs of the Institution. He might refuse to deliver
up to the Secretary the property of the Institution which the law puts
in his charge. He might threaten and intend to destroy it, might
treat the Secretary with personal indignity, and insult and defame the
Regents, and spread insubordination throughout the Institution. For
such conduct there would be no prompt and adequate remedy unless
the Secretary possessed the power of removal. One case of this kind
has already occurred. A person in the employment of the Institution
has refused to deliver up certain papers, the property of the Institu-
tion, and threatened to destroy them. He has also written a letter,
which was published over his own signature in a New York paper,
vilifying the Secretary and several of the Regents, by name, in the
most abusive language. For this and other causes during the last
recess of Congress he was removed by the Secretary, and, as the com-
mittee can not doubt, most justly removed. This very individual was
the principal witness against the Secretary on the examination before
your committee.
We think that the resolution of the Regents, above quoted, while
maintaining the superior authority of the Board, properly asserted
the power of the Secretary.
Your committee regret very much to say that the Secretary was
also justified in the removal of Mr. Jewett. His removal was not
arbitrary, unjust, and oppressive. Mr. Jewett is a man of talent and
scholastic attainments, but it is evident, from his own testimony, that
he considered himself as holding an antagonistic position to the Secre-
tary, as "having charge of the library, and being considered by the
public as the representative of that interest in 'the Institution." He
construed the law in oneway; the Secretary construed it differently.
He thought and said that it would be treachery in him to cooperate
with the Secretary, according to the latter's construction of the law.
He told the Secretary, in effect, that if he attempted to annul the
THIKTY-THIED CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 591
compromise in the way he proposed, he would shake the Institution
to its centre. It is evident that he was impatient of the restraints of
a subordinate position, and entertained feelings toward the Secretary
which made their harmonious cooperation impossible. In a paper
which he submitted to the special committee of the Regents he assailed
the motives and honor of the Secretary and criticised harshly and
unnecessarily the reports of that officer.
So the special committee of seven Regents, with one exception,
reported to the Board, declaring that this paper disclosed feelings of
excessive hostility and insubordination. After this, it was manifest
that the common civilities of life could not be exchanged between
them, and the interests of the Institution required their separation.
The Board of Regents accordingly passed a resolution, in January
last, approving of Mr. Jewett's removal.
Mr. Meacham also charged the Secretary with claiming and exer-
cising the right to open and read letters directed to his subordinates.
The evidence satisfied the committee that the Secretary had neither
claimed nor exercised any improper authority in this respect. He
expressly disclaimed any desire or authority to inspect the private
letters of .his subordinates. Their correspondence, in regard to the
business of the Institution, he properly claimed to be entitled to
examine and control. In the absence of the subordinates he did con-
sider himself at liberty to open letters addressed to them which were,
evidently of an official character; but it does not appear that he actually
exercised this authority, the claim of which seems to have been mis-
understood by one of his assistants, and grossly perverted by another
person, under the influence of hostile and unjustly suspicious feelings.
The charge of denying scientific right and refusing to take full
measures for adjusting the claim of Mr. Blodget was entirely refuted,
both by documentary evidence and the testimony of a disinterested
party.
These latter charges of maladministration seemed to your committee
not to come precisely within the scope of the instructions of the reso-
lution under which the committee was appointed. The Board of
Regents might properly have investigated them, and undoubtedly
would have done so if asked by the parties concerned. But as testi-
mony was taken in relation to them, the committee feel bound to say
that they have not been sustained, and that the} r consider the Secretary
as entirety relieved from the charge of maladministration in every
particular. They believe that the Regents and the Secretary have
managed the affairs of the Institution wisely, faithfully, and judi-
ciously; that there is no necessity for further legislation on the sub-
ject; that if the Institution be allowed to continue the plan which has
been adopted, and so far pursued with unquestionable success, it will
satisfy all the requirements of the law, and the purposes of Smithson's
will, by "increasing and diffusing knowledge among men.''
592 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. C. W. UPHAM. I would now ask the unanimous consent of the
House for leave to introduce and have passed a resolution authorizing
the payment of the clerk of that select committee for the time during
which he has been employed.
There was no objection, and the resolution was reported, as follows:
Resolved, That the select committee of the House on the Smithsonian Institution
be allowed to make compensation, at the usual rate, to a clerk for the period of his
services.
The question was taken, and the resolution was passed.
The House having gone into the Committee of the Whole
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM, of Vermont, said:
Mr. Chairman: It was not my intention to offer any remarks during
this session with reference to the Smithsonian Institution. After
mature deliberation and consultation with judicious friends of learn-
ing, I came to the conclusion that the affairs of that establishment
required investigation. I proposed the matter to this House. They
sustained the proposition, and appointed a special committee of inquiry.
To them I hoped the matter would be left till their report should be
presented. I believed, sir, that in the hands of a select committee of
this House, the interests of literature and science connected with the
Smithsonian Institution would be safe.
But the unexpected course of the gentleman from Indiana [Mr.
English] in stepping forward to eulogize the Institution before it had
been attacked here seems to require me briefly to explain and defend
my position. For such explanation and defense, I may, in the main,
rely on the able and important report presented by the select com-
mittee, which, for that purpose, I propose, in substance, to insert in
my speech, confining my own remarks to some topics not alluded to
by the committee.
The gentleman from Indiana, and some others, seem disposed to
view this investigation as indicating deliberate hostility; as intended
to give "to the disappointed and dissatisfied an opportunity of assail-
ing the Institution at the public expense;" as manifesting disrespect
to the distinguished and honored gentlemen concerned in conducting
its affairs, particularly by clothing this committee with power to send
for persons and papers. Sir, I do not yield to the honorable gentlemen
in my sincere attachment to the cause of knowledge, whether in the form
of literature or of science. But the very devotion which I feel leads
me to wish to keep its fountains clean. I would not willingly lend
myself to the aid of wanton and wicked assaults, nor is it to be sup-
posed that this committee would be less scrupulous; but I believe that
"the disappointed and dissatisfied" may sometimes deserve, or need,
protection, and redress. I would not be wanting in respect for men
in exalted positions; but I know that under the authority of the purest
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 593
and most elevated, abuses may arise and require investigation, though
not the imputation of individual blame. I am not the first member of
the Board of Regents who has believed that the Institution had
departed from the course marked out for it by Congress. One who
had a large share in shaping its charter, within the first three years of
its history declared in his place in this House that he "believed the
Board of Regents would be and ought to have been long since made
acquainted with its direct responsibility to the power that had created
it/' And lately a very distinguished member of the Board resigned
his seat in consequence of his conviction that the administration of the
Institution was not in accordance with the law.
In this country there is, perhaps, no precedent for an investigation
in all respects like this simply because, before the existence of the
Smithsonian Institution, there had not been, under the direction of
our Government, any establishment for the promotion of knowledge
in general. But we are not at a loss for precedents. The British
Museum served as a model with many of those actively engaged in
framing the charter of the Smithsonian Institution. It is under Gov-
ernment control. During the last twenty years its affairs have twice
been made the subject of investigations by select committees of the
House of Commons, and once by a special royal commission. The
committees and the commission were each clothed with power to send
for persons and papers. That institution was under the management
of the highest dignitaries and the first noblemen of the realm.
In the debate in the House of Commons on the appointment of one
of these committees, Mr. Warburton quoted the complaints of Sir
Humphry Davy, that "there must be a general change in everything
belonging to the Institution before a proper system of radical improve-
ment could be affected;" and Mr. Hume declared " that it was impera-
tive on the gentlemen connected with that Institution to defend
themselves, and unless the} 7 make a good defense, it would be impos-
sible for Parliament to allow them to continue in their present con-
dition."
Mr. Chairman, it is not my intention to follow the gentleman from
Indiana through his remarks. I shall confine myself to a few of the
most important points. The gentleman maintains that the provisions
of the act of Congress have been observed. This is the main issue
between the two parties to this Smithsonian controversy, and is ably
discussed in the report of the select committee.
The view which the committee have taken of the meaning of the
law was that of the first Regents, fresh from their labors in framing
the charter, and unbiased by influences subsequently brought to bear
upon them.
On the second day of their first session a committee was appointed
upon the clause requiring the appropriation for a library, and in-
H. Doc. 732 38
594 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
structed "to prepare a report upon the subject of the formation of
such a library, indicating its general character," etc.
In their report, which was long and elaborate, the committee say:
They see in the language of the act, which the Regents are created to administer,
and in the history of the passage of that act, a clear intimation that such a library
was regarded by Congress as prominent among the more important means of increas-
ing and diffusing knowledge among men. This intimation they think should control,
in a great degree, the acts of the Regents. They will not, however, withhold the
expression that the apparent policy of Congress in this particular is marked by pro-
found wisdom, that it rests on a right of construction of the terms, and an enlarged
appreciation of the spirit of the bequest.
They recommended the appropriation of $20,000 of the income "for
the present" to the library, independent of salaries, and this recom-
mendation was adopted. I pause to remark, that if this resolution had
been carried out, we should even now have much the largest library
in this country. It would be something to have, to see, to use, to grow,
and I atsk you to place beside this the half dozen quarto and the half
dozen octavo volumes published by the Institution, and tell me which
you would prefer? Which would tend most for the increase and dif-
fusion of knowledge?
Instead of this library what have we? Why, sir, a meager collection
of some 14,000 volumes, besides pamphlets, etc., made up of copyright
books, imperfect sets of periodicals and publications of societies, and
university theses with doubtless a good proportion of important and
valuable w r orks; but the whole how insignificant in comparison with
the great and noble design! We have heard it stated that the library
is worth $40,000. This is a preposterously exaggerated estimate. I
do not believe that an intelligent bookseller could be found who would
value it at a third of the sum! If the value of the museum and appa-
ratus be equally exaggerated we must abate largely from the vaunted
possessions of the Institution; and then, sir, this library is cramped
into inconvenient and uncomfortable quarters, and shut up from the
public, at a time, too, when there is an unusual concourse of people at
the Institution.
As to the origin of the present difficulties, I particular^ demur to
the statement of the gentleman from Indiana. He represents the ques-
tion to have been whether the funds should be used to build up a library
as a paramount object, or whether they should be applied, not only for
a library, but for such other purposes as the Regents might think would
best accord with the will of Smithson and the act of Congress. Not so,
sir. The present difficulty originated in a proposition to annul the
"compromise" which divided the income equally between the library
and the museum on one part, and publications, researches, and lectures
on the other; for the purpose of giving more to the latter department,
making that a paramount and controlling interest.
Let me briefh" explain this compromise.
THIRTY-THIKD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 595
The first sense of the Regents respecting the library was soon con-
tested under a new reading of the law, one which made the section
authorizing the Regents to dispose of the possible surplus or residuum
the chief clause of the act overriding all the rest and overruling all
other details. Under this construction new purposes were to be
introduced; purposes dissimilar to those provided; purposes which
had been proposed to and discussed and rejected by Congress namely,
the publication of books and the instituting of scientific researches.
The early days of the Institution seemed likely to be embittered by
controversy resulting from this new movement, but in a magnanimous
spirit of conciliation the friends of the library agreed to a "com-
promise" dividing the income after the building should be completed
equally between the library and museum on one side, and publications,
researches, and lectures on the other.
The friends of the library reconciled their course with the law thus:
If $20,000 a year be expended for books during the four or five years
while the building is in progress we shall gather a considerable library,
and then we may be justified in believing that for the future the share
that will come to the library under the compromise may be considered
as meeting the requirements of the law, the friends of the scientific
scheme will be propitiated, and perpetual harmony secured.
I think, sir, that they strained their discretion, but they acted in the
spirit of conciliation worthy of a fairer requital than it has met.
Let this matter be distinctly understood. The friends of the library
did not begin this controversy. They held to the compromise, and
asked only that it should be faithfully administered. They demanded
no more for the library than it was entitled to under the compromise.
The} 7 " did not ask that it should be made the paramount interest
(although some of us believe that such is its legal position). We were
content to abide by the compact; we so voted. It was the propo-
sition coming from the advocates of the publication system to annul
the compromise and reduce the library to the condition of a mere
appendage of the new purposes that led to discussion, and finally,
through much irritation, to our present position.
We are not in any wise responsible for these difficulties. We plant
ourselves on the law. For the sake of peace we have been willing to
adhere to the compromise. We have had reason to raise the contro-
versy on other grounds, for although the resolution of the board giv-
ing $20,000 of the income to the library was not repealed, the money
was withheld. As an offset the compromise was to be observed
before the finishing of the building. We think it was not fairly
administered. We did not, however, take issue on that point, but
only on the formal proposition to rescind.
We may not inaptly retort insinuations of illiberality. We hold to
the law, and the law requires a universal library, one "composed of
596 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
valuable works in all departments of knowledge;" one for the man of
science, the artist, the mechanic, the historian, the scholar, the seeker
of knowledge of whatever name; one open to men of all States and all
nations. But we are called upon to yield up everything to men of
science. The scientific men are down upon us, as if their craft were
in danger. They come in societies, and as individuals. Smithson,
though a chemist and member of the Royal Society, appears to have
been a man of general culture, and to have had sympathy for " knowl-
edge" without any restrictive epithets. By consulting solely the
wishes of one particular class of the devotees of knowledge, who
cherish only what is called science, we should limit his intentions,
And give up to party what was meant for mankind.
I have not sought letters of recommendation for the library plan,
nor have others for me. I doubt not I could have obtained thou-
sands. To show them on either side seems to me idle parade. We
doubt not that librarians in Athens and Paris are glad to get hand-
some books from America and are ready to praise them before our
traveling countrymen. 'Tis polite to do so. We doubt not that
scientific men like to have means of publishing their works, too heavy
for booksellers. We need not here doubt that it may sometimes be
useful to publish, gratuitously, books that people do not care enough
about to buy. But the question here is, Can the Smithsonian Institu-
tion lawfully devote itself to such a purpose exclusively or principally 2
The gentleman from Indiana puts prominently forward the fact
that the funds of the Institution have not been squandered. This
seems irrelevant, for it had not been so charged. But he thinks it a
high meed of praise that its capital has been augmented. If the
object of the Institution were the increase of its wealth this would
indeed be just cause for satisfaction. But, sir, this establishment was
created not to hoard money , not to speculate upon it, not to increase
its income, but to spend money ' ' for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge." We want knowledge more than gold. We have no
commission to accumulate for future benefit, but to spend for con-
tinual profit. We should remember,
There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more
than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
It is asked, If Smithson intended a library would he not have said
so? I reply by asking. If he had meant a learned society would he
not have said so? He knew all about learned societies and seems to
have become dissatisfied with them. I can not suppose that he meant
to indicate anything in particular and exclusively; but I suppose he
intended to give his money to whatever the United States, in the dis-
cretion of its Government, might deem best suited to promote his
general purpose.
THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-1855. 597
For one, sir, I suppose that Smithson regarded the foundation of a
"Smithsonian Institution" from his property as only a possibility.
Look at the facts. He left the income of his property for life to a
nephew, and the property ''absolutely and forever" to the descend-
ants of the nephew, if he had any, "legitimate or illegitimate." The
nephew was a young man leading a roving life in France and Italy.
What was the chance that the contingency would ever arrive when
the United States could claim the legacy that of failure of descend-
ants of the nephew? A sentence has been quoted from one of his
papers to the purport that his name would live in the memories of
men when the titles of the Perc} r s and Northumberlands were extinct
or forgotten, and it seems to be inferred that he was then thinking of
this Institution. But it is altogether more likely he was thinking
of the articles which he had published in the Philosophical Transac-
tions. Every scientific man deems the acceptance of his articles there
a sure passport to immortality; and this view is rendered more proba-
ble by what is asserted, that he took such offense at the rejection of
one of his papers by the Royal Society as to change his will. But I
do not, after all, see the applicability of this; for the name of Smith-
son would be as much attached to the Smithsonian Institution, and live
with it as long and as honorably if that Institution becomes what Con-
gress intended, as if it becomes anything else. Is not the British
Museum or the Bodleian Librar\' as well known as any other institu-
tion in the world?
To the phrase "active operations" I will devote a passing word.
The publication of books and the assumption of researches have been
called "active operations," as if everything else were in comparison
but standstill. I should have liked to see activity in finishing the build-
ing and in filling it with the stores of knowledge. Active operations of
this kind would have tended "to stimulate and invigorate the mind
for original thought, and supply important materials for investiga-
tion," to use the language of one of the gentlemen who has been quoted
to show that anything but an exclusive devotion of this fund to science
is a "gross perversion" of the trust. It has been repeated to me that
another of these gentlemen was in the habit a few years ago of saying,
"You can do nothing for science in this country till you have books
large libraries;" and this he said in special reference to the Smith-
sonian library. But then, sir, the Smithsonian question had not
become one of physical science versus everything else.
One gentleman refers to the great Humboldt as not the possessor of
a private library. But he had constant access to the Royal Library of
Berlin, one of the best in the world. Now, what we want is to fur-
nish scientific and literary men in this country with such public facili-
ties for research that they will not, on the one hand, be obliged to
expend their limited means in buying 1 themselves, nor, on the other,
598 CX)NGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
abandon their researches for the want of books. For us this case of
Humboldt is remarkably apropos.
In order to show how intensely active these "active operations"
are, the gentleman from Indiana has quoted a long list of works pub-
lished by the Institution. But, sir, you will probably be surprised to
learn that with the exception of a few octavo pamphlets, making in
all only about 1,000 pages, the first six titles include the whole that
follow. The rest are merely the table of contents of the first six.
Six quarto volumes making less than 3,000 pages and about enough in
octavo to make a volume of 1,000 pages exhibit the sum and substance
of the "active operations" of the Smithsonian Institution for eight
years sa.y 500 pages, great and small, a year.
I have heard it argued that the "active operations" are justifiable
on the ground that Congress ordained a laboratory, that a laboratory
implies researches, and researches must be published. But, sir, I
have looked through the Smithsonian publications, and made inquiries
with the view of ascertaining what results they contain, procured at
the Smithsonian laboratory. I could find none. I asked where are
the Smithsonian researches? Where are the "new truths " which have
been developed at the Smithsonian? The books published were con-
tributed to knowledge by the authors who wrote them, for the most
part without pay. The Smithsonian merely published them. The
Smithsonian laboratory is next to nothing, and nothing but experi-
ments and illustrations for lectures have come from it, as yet, so far
as I can find.
Now these operations are held up as the exponent of American
activity in discovering new truths. I do not find an}' very efficacious
activity, and, as to the proportion of absolutely new truths due
directly to the Smithsonian among these publications, I fear they
would, notwithstanding all the talk about them,
Should some cold critic dare to melt them down,
Roll in his crucible a shapeless mass,
A grain of gold leaf to a pound of brass.
I do not, sir, by any means object to these publications on the
ground that they do not contain new truths. I go for truth, old or
new, but I object to the holding them up before the world as the meas-
ure of American active operations in the discovery of truth and as
conveying the idea that the Smithsonian Institution is the great active
truth-discovering engine of American science. The idea that it has
been so, or would become so, although it has done more than all else
to encourage the present course of the Institution, is, in my opinion,
fallacious. It can not, I think, be too strongly represented that dis-
coveries are not made by direct active operations of societies any-
where, but by the active operations of individual minds, which minds
may be in various ways brought up to the effort. The hope of reward
THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1855-1857. 599
may, indeed, serve sometimes as a stimulus, but I believe that the his-
tory of science shows that such rewards are generally valuable as
rewards rather than as incentives. The hope of having results pub-
lished with the stamp of high approval may operate as an incentive to
effort; but incentives, especially in this country, are less needed than
means and aids, and a library is one of the most effectual and, espe-
cially in this country, the most needed as a means and aid to exertion
in the advancement of knowledge.
Mr. Chairman, on this last day of the session I have not the time to
produce the multitude of considerations which crowd upon me on this
subject, but I am happy to be able to present those most important in
the lucid argument and appropriate language of the select committee.
[Mr. Meacham then gave copious extracts from the report of Mr.
Upham, the whole of which will be found in preceding pages.]
ARMORY BUILDING.
March 3, 1855.
Civil and diplomatic act for 1856.
And the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, directed to cause to
be constructed on such site, in a central position on the public grounds,
in the city of Washington, as may be selected by the President of the
United States, a suitable building 1 for the care and preservation of
the ordnance, and arms, and accoutrements of the United States,
required for the use of the volunteers and militia of the District of
Columbia, and for the care and preservation of the military trophies
of the Revolutionary and other wars, and for the deposit of newly-
invented and model arms, for the military service, and said ordnance
and arms, and the building to be used by the volunteers and militia of
the District of Columbia, under such regulations as may be prescribed
by the President, and for the purpose of carrying this act into effect,
the sum of $30,000 be, and the same hereby is, appropriated out of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(Stat., X, 665).
THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1855-1857.
OPERATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
January 28, 1856 Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL presented a memorial from a committee
appointed at the Illinois State educational convention, praying for a
grant of land to each State in the Union, for the purpose of endowing
1 Designated afterwards the Armory building.
600 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
industrial universities, to cooperate with each other, and with the
Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, for the education of the
industrial classes and their teachers, accompanied by resolutions
adopted by the Legislature of the State of Illinois, favoring the pro-
ject. Referred to the Committee on Public Lands.
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
May 23, 1856 House.
Report of Smithsonian Institution for 1855 presented.
Mr. W. H. ENGLISH moved that 10,000 extra copies be printed.
July 25, 1856 Senate.
Report of the Institution for 1855 presented, and ordered to be
printed.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE moved that 10,000 extra copies be printed.
July 29, 1856 Senate.
Ordered, That 10,000 additional copies of the tenth Annual Report of the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution be printed 2,500 of the same to be for the use of the
Institution.
August 9, 1856 House.
Resolution adopted:
That 10,000 copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1855
be printed 7,500 for the use of members of the House, and 2,500 for the Institution.
February 18, 1857 House.
Report for 1856 presented, and ordered to be printed.
February 28, 1857 Senate.
Annual Report for 1856 presented, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. G. N. FITCH moved that 10,000 copies be printed.
March 3, 1857 Senate.
On motion of Mr. R. W. JOHNSON, of Arkansas, it was
Resolved, That there be printed, ior the use of the Senate, 10,000 extra copies of
the Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 2,500 of
the same to be for the use of the Institution; and that the Secretary be authorized
to add to the portion of his report now before the Senate such matter as may be
necessary to complete the same: Provided, That such additions shall not exceed in
the aggregate 423 pages, the number of pages contained in the tenth Annual Report.
And provided, further, That the entire amount of copy necessary to complete the said
report be placed in the hands of the Public Printer by or before the 10th day of April
next; but no portion of said copy shall be placed in the hands of the Public Printer
until the whole shall have been completed and delivered into the hands of the Super-
intendent of the Public Printing.
March 3, 1857 House.
Resolution adopted:
That there be printed of the Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
for 1856, 10,000 copies 7,500 for the use of members of the House, and 2,500 for the
use of the Institution.
THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1855-1857. 601
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
June 19, 1856 Senate.
On motion of Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS, James A. Pearce was reappointed
Regent by the President of the Senate.
March 6, 1857 Senate.
The President of the Senate (Mr. JESSE D. BRIGHT) appointed James
M. Mason as Regent.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
February 26, 1856 House,
The Speaker (Mr. NATHANIEL P. BANKS) made the following
appointments as Regents: Hiram Warner, of Georgia, James
Meacham, of Vermont, William H. English, of Indiana.
Mr. JAMES MEACHAM. In the nomination of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution made by the Speaker this morning I find that n y
name stands in the list. I feel grateful to you, Mr. Speaker, for the
honor thus conferred upon me, but I beg of you to erase my name
and appoint some other member of this House. I have two or three
reasons for making this request. In the first place, 1 have enjoyed
the honor and borne the burden of that position for a period of four
years, and I think it better that the duty should circulate among
different members of the body and that it should not remain stationary.
I have another reason for asking to be excused. You, sir, have
already placed me in a position on a committee of this House which
demands all my attention. I will not conceal that I have another
reason, which I shall take another time to explain. It is that I can
not approve the present course of that Institution, if it have any
course and is not merely standing still and marking time the mere
mockery of motion. It is not producing that impression upon the
country and people which it ought to make. I can not consent, and
will not consent, to follow an Institution whose leader is smitten with
chronic monomania on a single subject an Institution whose line of
march, as I believe, runs athwart the line of law by which it holds
its existence. I therefore beg of you to accept my thanks and
resignation.
There being no objection, Mr. Meacham's resignation was accepted.
The SPEAKER appointed Benjamin Stanton, of Ohio, as Regent.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
February 12, 1856 Senate.
Mr. J. M. MASON gave notice of his intention to ask leave to intro
duce a joint resolution providing that the vacancies in the Board of
602 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution of the class other than mem-
bers of Congress, occasioned by the resignation of Iluf us Choate and
the death of John McPherson Berrien, be filled by the appointment
of George E. Badger, of North Carolina, and C. C. Felton, of
Massachusetts.
February 13, 1856 Senate.
Mr. J. M. Mason offered the above resolution.
Mr. MASON. Mr. President, the Board of Regents have been unable
to obtain a quorum in consequence of the delay in organizing the
House, and in order to fill the existing vacancies it is desirable that
the resolution should be acted on at once. It is one to which, I pre-
sume, there is no objection. I therefore ask for its consideration now.
There being no objection, the joint resolution was read the second
time and considered as in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. MASON. Mr. Badger is known to every Senator present, and of
Mr. Felton I would only say that he is professor of Greek at the
Harvard University; that he is a gentleman of eminent literary as
well as other attainments, and possesses, perhaps, a better knowledge
of literary institutions at home and abroad than most others.
Passed.
February 21, 185 6 House.
On motion of Mr. A. H. STEPHENS the joint resolution from the
Senate of February 13 for the appointment of Regents was passed.
February 27, 1856.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, of the class "other than members of Con-
gress," occasioned by the resignation of Rufus Choate and the death
of John McPherson Berrien, be filled by the appointment of George E.
Badger, of North Carolina, and Cornelius C. Felton, of Massachusetts.
(Stat. ; XI, 142.)
January 21, 1857 Senate.
Resolution adopted:
That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution of the
class "other than members of Congress" be filled by the reappointment of the late
incumbents, viz, Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, and Joseph G. Totten, of Washington.
January 26, 1857 House.
Resolution of Senate of January 21, 1857, passed.
January 28, 1857.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, of the class "other than members of Con-
gress" be filled by the reappointment of the late incumbents, viz:
Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, and Joseph G. Totten, of Washington.
(Stat, XI, 253.)
THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1855-1857. 603
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
August 18, 1856.
Civil act for 1857.
To enable the Secretary of State to purchase 100 copies, each, of
Audubon's i; Birds of America" and "Quadrupeds of North America,"
for presentation to foreign governments in return for valuable works
sent by them to the government of the United States, $16,000.
(Stat., XI, 90.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
August 18, 1856.
Civil act for 1857.
For replacing the works of the Exploring Expedition, destroyed by
the fire at Philadelphia, on the llth April last, the sum of $10,494.46.
(Stat, XI, 88.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
August 18, 1856.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1857.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring expedition. For
compensation of keepers and watchmen therefor, and for laborers
employed at the rate of $480 per annum, per act August 4, 1854, $3,210.
For contingent expenses, $200.
(Stat., XI, 110.)
March 3, 1857.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1858.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring expedition. For
compensation of keepers, watchmen, and laborers therefor, $3,450.
For contingent expenses, $200.
For the construction and erection of suitable cases to receive the
collections of the United States exploring expedition, and others in
geology, mineralogy, belonging to the United States, now in the
Patent-Office and elsewhere in Washington, $15,000.
For the expense of the transfer of these collections, and the perma-
nent arrangement of the cases, $2,000.
(Stat., XI, 219.)
[These appropriations of $15,000 and $2,000 were made to the
Smithsonian Institution.]
METEOROLOGY JAMES P. ESPY.
February 28, 1857 Senate.
Resolution passed to print the fourth Meteorological Report by
Prof. James P. Espj*.
604 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 3, 1857,
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1858.
To enable the Secretary of the Navy to pay the salary of Professor
James P. Espy for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 1857, $2,000,
the payment to be made in the same manner and under the like control
as former appropriations for meteorological observations. And also
for the year ending June 30, 1858, $2,000.
(Stat.* XI, 214.)
THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1857-1859
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
December 14, 1857 House.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES L. ORR) appointed as Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution William H. English, of Indiana, Benjamin Stan ton,
of Ohio, and Lucius J. Gartrell, of Georgia.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution,
January 7, 1859 Senate.
Resolution adopted:
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution other "than members of Congress" be filled by the appointment of
Alexander D. Bache, a member of the National Institute and resident in the city of
Washington, and George E. Badger, of the State of North Carolina.
January 10, 1859 House.
Resolution of the Senate of January 7 to elect A. D. Bache and
G. E. Badger, Regents, adopted.
January 17, 1859.
Resolved, etc. , That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution of the class " other than members of Con-
gress" be tilled by the appointment of Alexander Dallas Bache, a
member of the National Institute and resident in the city of Washing-
ton, and George E. Badger, of the State of North Carolina.
(Stat., XI, 440.)
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
May 27, 1858 Senate.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1857 presented,
and Mr. J. A. PEARCE moved the printing of 10,000 extra copies,
2,500 of which to be for the use of the Institution.
THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1857-1859. 605
May 29, 1858 House.
The annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1857 was laid
on the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. W. H. ENGLISH. 1 move that 10,000 extra copies of the report
be printed.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. I hope no extra copies of it will be
printed.
Referred to the Committee on Printing.
June 3, 1858 Senate
Mr. R. W. JOHNSON, of Arkansas, from the Committee on Printing,
reported resolution:
That 10,000 additional copies of the report of the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution, for the year 1857, be printed 5,000 for the use of the Senate and
5,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution: Provided, That the aggregate num-
ber of pages contained in said report shall not exceed 440, without woodcuts or
plates, except those furnished by the Institution: And provided further, That the
entire amount of copy necessary to complete said report be placed in the hands of
the Superintendent of the Public Printing before the commencement of printing any
portion of said report.
Mr. ALFRED IVERSON. I object to the resolution, unless the 5,000
copies for the use of the Senate be stricken out. I have no objection
to the other 5,000 being printed for the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. R. W. JOHNSON, of Arkansas. I do not care whether it be
published or not. I submit to the will of the Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE). Objection being
made, the resolution will lie over.
June 12, 1858 Senate.
The resolution of June 3 to print report of Smithsonian Institution
for 1857 was adopted.
June 12, 1858 House
Mr. M. H. NICHOLS, from the Committee on Printing, submitted
resolution :
That there be printed of the report of the Smithsonian Institution 7,000 copies for
the use of members of the House of Representatives, and 2,000 for the use of the
Institution.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee. How much will that cost?
Mr. NICHOLS. The cost will be $3,500 according to an estimate made
by myself. It is a large reduction on the number heretofore ordered.
I call for the previous question.
Mr. H. C. BURNETT. I move to lay the resolution upon the table.
Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I demand the yeas and n&ys.
Mr. L. M. KEITT. I rise to a question of privilege.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES L. ORR). The Chair can not entertain the
motion pending the call for the previous question.
606 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The House divided on ordering the yeas and nays, and there were
ayes 25, noes 109.
The SPEAKER. The yeas and nays are not ordered.
Mr. BURNETT. I want tellers on the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks the call comes too late. The Chair
stated the vote and paused some time before he announced the result.
Mr. BURNETT. The Speaker stooped over a moment and as soon as
he rose to an erect position I rose and called for tellers upon the
yeas and nays and the result was announced.
The SPEAKER. Did not the gentleman hear the announcement before
he addressed the Chair?
Mr. BURNETT. Yes, sir. I heard the announcement, 109 and 25.
The SPEAKER. The application comes too late.
The question was then taken upon the motion to lay the resolution
upon the table; and it was not agreed to ayes 30, noes 97.
Mr. BURNETT demanded the yeas and nays upon the adoption of the
resolution.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative yeas
84, nays 50 as follows:
YEAS Messrs. Adrian, Ahl, Andrews, Arnold, Billinghnrst, Bingham, Bliss, Bray-
ton, Buffinton, Burlingame, Burns, Burroughs, Chase, Cavanaugh, Chaffee, Chap-
man, Ezra Clark, Clawson, Clark B. Cochrane, Cockerill, Colfax, Comins, Corning,
Covode, Cragin, Curtis, Davis of Massachusetts, Davis of Iowa, Dawes, Dean, Dira-
mick, Dodd, Durfee, Edie, Fen ton, Foster, Gillis, Gilman, Gilmer, Gooch, Goodwin,
Groesbeck, Grow, Hatch, Horton, Owen Jones, Keitt, Knapp, John C. Kunkel,
Landy, Lovejoy, Humphrey Marshall, Maynard, Moore, Morgan, Merrill, Edward
Joy Morris, Freeman H. Morse, Mott, Nichols, Olin, Parker, John S. Phelps, William
W. Phelps, Phillips, Pottle, Purviance, Keagan, Ricaud, Ritchie, Robbins, Roberts,
Judson W. Sherman, Sickles, Singleton, Samuel A. Smith, Stanton, Tappan, Under-
wood, Walbridge, Walton, Elihu B. Washburne, Israel Washburn, and Wood 84.
NAYS Messrs. Atkins, Barksdale, Bennett, Blair, Bonham, Branch, Burnett,
Caskie, Clemens, Cobb, John Cochrane, James Craig, Curry, Davis of Indiana, Davis
of Mississippi, Dowdell, Eustis, Faulkner, Garnett, Gregg, Hopkins, Houston, Huy-
ler, Jackson, Jenkins, George AV. Jones, Jacob M. Kunkel, Leiter, Letcher, Mac-lay,
McKibbin, Miles, Niblack, Peyton, Potter, Powell, Royce, Ruffin, Russell, Sandidge,
Savage, Scales, Henry M. Shaw, William Smith, Spinner, Stevenson, Miles Taylor,
Tompkins, Trippe, Winslow, and John V. Wright 50.
Agreed to.
February 23, 1859 Senate.
The annual report of the Smithsonian Institution, for 1858, was
presented.
Mr. J. M. MASON moved to print 10,000 extra copies, 5,000 for the
Senate and 5,000 for the Institution.
February 24, 1859 Senate.
Mr. G. N. FITCH reported the following resolution:
That there be printed, in addition to the usual number of the report of the Board
of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution, for the year 1858, 5,000 copies for the
THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1857-1859. 607
use of the Smithsonian Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages
contained in said report shall not exceed 450 pages, 'without woodcuts or plates,
except those furnished by the Institution.
Adopted.
March 2, 1859 House.
Mr. S. A. SMITH, of Tennessee, from Committee on Printing, sub-
mitted resolution:
That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the report of the operations of the
Smithsonian Institution, for the year 1858; 3,000 for the use of members of the
House, and 2,000 for the use of said Institution.
Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee, demanded the previous question.
Mr. G. W. JONES, of Tennessee, demanded a division.
The house divided; and there were ayes, 88.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES L. ORR). Does the gentleman insist on his
division '(
Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Yes, sir; unless it is proposed to pay for
this printing out of the Smithsonian fund.
The division was made; and there were noes, 45.
Resolution adopted.
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
June 2, 1858.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1859.
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and survey-
ing expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
For the transfer to, and new arrangement of those collections in the
Smithsonian Institution, $1,000.
(Stat. XI, 301.)
December 16, 1858 House.
Report of the Committee on the District of Columbia on the memo-
rial of the National Institution for the Promotion of Science, praying
for an appropriation for preserving the collection of objects of natural
history intrusted to their charge, showed that, in fact, the collections
were then in the Smithsonian Institution they were formerly in the
Patent Office, under the charge of the Government and, therefore,
the committee asked to be discharged from the further consideration
of the memorial. Concurred in.
March 3, 1859,
Sundry civil act for 1860.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying
expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat. XI, 427.)
608 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
METEOROLOGY JAMES P. ESPY.
June 12, 1858.
Act for naval service for 1859.
To enable the Secretary of the Navy to pay the .salary of Professor
James P. Espy, $2,000; the payment to be made in the same manner
and under the like control as former appropriations for meteorolog-
ical observations: Provided, That the employment of a meteorologist,
under the contract of the Secretary of the Navy, shall cease on and
after June 30, 1859, $2,000.
(Stat. XI, 317.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
February 5, 1859.
An act providing for keeping and distributing all public documents.
SEC. 7. And ~be it furtlier enacted, That by this act the distribution
of all works mentioned in the first section as public documents is
intended and directed to be made, except the " Exploring Expedition."
conducted by Commander Wilkes.
(Stat., XI, 380.)
March 3, 1859.
Sundry civil act for 1860.
For completing certain volumes of the Exploring Expedition now
nearly finished, and pay of superintendent, the sum of $8,220.05.
(Stat, XI, 429.)
ACT OF ORGANIZATION AMENDED. COPYRIGHTS.
February 5, 1859.
An act providing for keeping and distributing all public documents.
SEC. 6. That the tenth section [relative to copyrights] of an act
entitled "An act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," approved August
10, 1846, is hereby repealed.
SEC. 8. All books, maps, charts, and other publications of every
nature whatever heretofore deposited in the Department of State,
according to the laws regulating copyrights * * shall be removed
to, and be under the control of, the Department of the Interior, which
is hereby charged with all the duties connected with the same, and
with all matters pertaining to copyright.
(Stat, XI, 380.)
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 609
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
January 26, 1860 Senate.
The President of the Senate (Mr. JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE) reap-
pointed Stephen A. Douglas as Regent.
January 12, 1861 Senate.
Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS submitted a resolution that the Vice-President
appoint a member of the Senate to fill a vacancy in the Board of
Regents, which was to occur on the third of March following by the
expiration of the term of James A. Pearce.
Mr. JOHN P. HALE objected and resolution was laid over.
March 3, 1861 Senate.
Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS reintroduced resolution of January 12 to
appoint a Regent; agreed to.
The President of the Senate (Mr. JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE) reap-
pointed James A. Pearce as Regent.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
February 21, 1860 House.
The Speaker (Mr. WILLIAM PENNINGTON) reappointed as Regents
William H. English of Indiana, Benjamin Stanton of Ohio, and
Lucius J. Gartrell of Georgia.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
January 12, 1861 Senate.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE offered a resolution that the vacancies in the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution be filled by the
appointment of George M. Dallas, William B. Astor, and Cornelius C.
Felton.
Mr. JOHN P. HALE objected and resolution laid on the table.
February 22, 1861 Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL introduced a resolution:
That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution of the
class "other than members of Congress," be filled by the appointment of William L.
Dayton, of New Jersey, in place of Richard Rush, deceased; William B. Astor, of
New York, in place of Gideon Hawley, whose term has expired; and that Corne-
lius C. Felton, of Massachusetts, whose term has expired, be reappointed.
Passed.
March 2, 1861 House.
The Senate resolution, of February 22, passed.
H. Doc. 732 39
610 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 2, 1861.
Resol/oed, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution of the class "other than members of Con-
gress," be filled by the appointment of William L. Dayton, of New
Jersey, in place of Richard Rush, deceased; William B. Astor, of New
York, in place of Gideon Hawley, whose term has expired; and that
Cornelius C. Felton, of Massachusetts, whose term has expired, be
reappointed.
(Stat., XII, 251.)
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 11, 1860 Senate.
Report of the Smithsonian Institution, for 1859, presented.
On motion by Mr. J. A. PEARCE, it was
Resolved, That 10,000 additional copies of the report of the Regente of the Smith-
sonian Institution for the year 1859 be printed; 5,000 for the use of the Senate and
5,000 for the use of the Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages
contained in said report shall not exceed 450 pages, without woodcuts or plates,
except those furnished by the Institution.
June 11, 1860 House.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1859 presented.
Mr. BENJAMIN STANTON moved that 5,000 extra copies of the report
be printed.
June 12, 1860 House.
Resolution adopted:
That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion for the year 1859; 3,000 for the use of the members of the House and 2,000 for
the use of the said Institution.
February 26, 1861 Senate.
Resolution passed to print extra copies of the Report of the Smith-
sonian Institution for the year 1860.
February 27, 1861 House.
Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1860 presented and ordered
to be printed.
February 28, 1861 House.
Resolution passed:
That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion for the year 1860; 3,000 for the use of the members of the House and 2,000 for
the use of the said Institution.
FREE USE OF TELEGRAPH BY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 16, 1860.
Act to facilitate communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States by electric
telegraph.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury, under the
direction of the President of the United States, is hereby authorized
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 611
and directed to advertise for sealed proposals, to be received for sixty
days after the passage of this act, (and the fulfilment of which shall be
guaranteed by responsible parties, as in the case of bids for mail con-
tracts), for the use by the government of a line or lines of magnetic
telegraph, to be constructed within two years from the 31st day of
July, 1860, from some point or points on the west line of the State of
Missouri, by any route or routes which the said contractors may select,
(connecting at such point or points by telegraph with the cities of
Washington, New Orleans, New York, Charleston, Philadelphia,
Boston, and other cities in the Atlantic, Southern, and Western States),
to the city of San Francisco, in the State of California, for a period of
ten years.
SEC. 3. * * * Provided, That the use of the line be given, at any
time, free of cost, to the Coast Survey, the Smithsonian Institution,
and the National Observatory, for scientific purposes.
(Stat.,XH, 41.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
June 25, 1860.
Sundry civil act for 1861.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying
expeditions of the government, $4,000.
(Stat, XII, 109.)
February 21, 1861. Senate.
House bill making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the
Government for the year ending June 30, 1862, was taken up.
The next amendment was to strike out the following words:
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, and the construction of suitable cases to receive said collections,
$6,000.
And to insert in lieu thereof:
For the distribution of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, and the construction of additional cases to receive such part of
said collections as may be retained by the Government, $6,000.
The PRESIDING OFFICER put the question; and declared the noes
appeared to have it.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN. Senators certainly do not understand the
amendment they are voting against.
Mr. JOHN P. HALE. I confess I do not. Let us have it explained.
Mr. FESSENDEN. I will give an explanation. This sum is necessary
to be appropriated for the distribution of the collections of the explor-
ing expeditions. They brought back with them a great deal of matter
which has been arranged for distribution among the several States.
612 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. THOMAS BRAGG. I hope the Senator will speak louder; he can
not be heard.
Mr. FESSENDEN. I say there were a great many duplicates of the
collections which are proposed to be distributed among 1 the several
States, and this sum is necessary in order to have them arranged and
distributed.
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. How many such appropriations have been made
for distribution heretofore?
Mr. FESSENDEN. This is the first appropriation of the sort:
For the distribution of the collections of the exploring and surveying expcaiuons
of the Government, and the construction of additional cases to receive such part of
said collections as may be retained by the Government, $6,000.
There are two things provided for in this amendment. Both are
necessary. The sum is a very reasonable one. The Committee on
Finance examined this matter, and came to the conclusion that it was
proper to make this appropriation. The only alteration we have made
is to put it in a better shape than it was before. The chairman of the
committee thought the lines proposed to be stricken out were indefinite.
Mr. GRIMES. I understand this is the first appropriation ever made
for distribution ?
Mr. FESSENDEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. Mr. President, these collections are made by all
the expeditions sent out by the Government. A great many of them
are sent overland to the Northwest. All of them bring home col-
lections of natural history. They are all sent to the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, where they are arranged and classified. We have no means for
keeping these specimens there; and it is very desirable that the dupli-
cates should be given to the colleges and scientific institutions through-
out the country. This appropriation is not a large one. These
specimens have been collecting for a number of years; and the object
now is to distribute them to places where they would be valuable;
that is all.
Mr. GRIMES. Under what law, to what institutions, and in what
manner are they distributed?
Mr. PEARCE. There is no law that I am aware of for the distribution;
but it has been proposed by the Secretary of the Interior that these
objects should be thus distributed. They will be distributed by the
Smithsonian Institution, in whose care they are placed.
Mr. GRIMES. According to the discretion of the superintendent of
that institution?
Mr. PEARCE. Yes, sir; with the approbation of the Interior Depart-
ment, of course, which is required for all things of this sort.
Mr. HALE. Then, I think, Congress should not appropriate the
money. I think they ought to be distributed by law, as books and
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 613
manuscripts are, and should not be given to the discretion of this
Department.
Mr. FESSENDEX. Why not add the words: "in the discretion of the
Secretary of the Interior ? "
Mr. HALE. There does not seem to be any necessity for the provision
at all.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. TRUSTEN POLK). If no amendment be
offered the question will be on the amendment reported from the
Committee on Finance.
Mr. FESSKXDKX. I suppose the amendment may be amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Certainly; but, as the Chair stated, no
amendment being offered to it. the question is on the amendment as
reported by the committee.
Mr. R. M. T. HUNTER. It seems to me that before we adopt this
amendment its friends ought to put some limitation on it by which
hereafter the Smithsonian Institution is not to receive these things,
for I am afraid it will be the beginning of a system of annual distri-
bution like those Patent Office seeds, and may lead us into a large
annual expenditure unless there is some limitation. I would be willing
to distribute them once if you would put a stop to it there, and there
ought to be something done to prevent the receipt of these things
hereafter
Mr. PEARCE. The Smithsonian Institution has not the slightest
interest in this thing whatsoever, but the Government has for years
having no other place to put them sent all these collections to the
Smithsonian Institution, which building, large as it is, is very much
lumbered up by them. If }'ou keep them there they will be compelled
to turn other collections away. There is no room to receive any more.
They are enormous in bulk and very numerous. It is desirable to get
rid of them, and we can not make a better disposition of them than to
send them to colleges and scientific institutions which have already
collections of this sort, though imperfect. It is a very remarkable
collection of objects in natural history. There is no desire on the
part of the Institution to obtain the distribution of this collection. It
is a gratuitous thing on their part altogether. This is not for their
advantage at all, except so far as it will relieve the building of the
incumbrance of such an immense collection, and yet it can never be
done except by authority of law. This is the first occasion on which
it has been asked.
Mr. HUNTER. I have no idea that this is to the advantage of the
Smithsonian Institution. I believe the object of the amendment is a
good one; but why not allow them to give these things to those that
may apply? Why appropriate money for the purpose of distributing
them ( Why not allow them to give them to those who may apply,
according to their judgment? That would throw the expense upon
614 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
those who received them. But if we once begin with this appropriation
I am afraid we shall go on distributing these collections just as we do
the seeds at the Patent Office.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. A large part of this appropriation is intended
for the construction of cases to receive such portions of the collections
as may be retained by the Government. The expense of their distribu-
tion will be very small, indeed. We do not mean to pay the expenses
of their distribution. They will be paid by the institutions to whom
they go.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN. Of course this is only an amendment to the
preceding one. Was the other amendment struck out?
Mr. PEARCE. Yes, sir; I think so.
Mr. FESSENDEN. I will inquire whether the amendment proposed in
the two hundred and twentieth line, to strike out the words "and
distribution" after the word "preservation" has been acted on?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair is informed by the Secretary
that that amendment has not been acted on, and will now put the
question on the amendment to strike out, in line 220, after the word
"preservation," the words "and distribution;" so that the clause will
read:
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions of
the Government, $4,000.
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. I apprehend there is not a college or museum in
the land but would be willing and anxious to have the opportunity to
come here to the Smithsonian Institution and take its proportion of
these fossils or specimens
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator from Iowa allow the
Chair to state that the amendment which has just been read precedes
the one under consideration, and the Senate should pass on that first;
and then the subject of remark to which the Senator from Iowa is
directing his attention would be appropriate.
Mr. HUNTER. The proposition is to strike out one, and insert; so
that now is the time to speak upon it.
Mr. FESSENDEN. Not at all.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No, sir; this precedes the other. The
question is on the adoption of the amendment last read.
Mr. HUNTER. Is that an amendment on which we can come at this
question ?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No, sir; it is the amendment that pre-
cedes it.
Mr. GRIMES. It is the amendment in line 220, I understand.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Secretary will report the amendment.
The Secretary again read it. On page 10, line 220, to strike out the
words "and distribution;" so that the clause will read:
Exploring expedition. For preservation of the collections of the exploring and sur-
veying expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 615
Mr. PEARCE. These words were improperly put in. That appro-
priation is the one which we make annually. These collections were
all in the Patent Office, and as the Department of the Interior wanted
the Patent Office for other purposes, provision was made by law for
transferring these collections to the Smithsonian Institution, the Gov-
ernment paying the expense. The annual expense is about $4,000.
By a mistake the word "distribution " was put in the bill as it came
from the House of Representatives. This money is wanted for the
preservation of the collections and not for their distribution; and
therefore w r e move to strike out the words "and distribution."
The motion to strike out was agreed to.
The Secretary read the next amendment of the Committee on
Finance, which was to strike out lines 223 to 226, inclusive, in the fol-
lowing words:
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, and the construction of suitable cases to receive said collections,
$6,000.
Mr. GRIMES. Mr. President
Mr. FESSENDEN. Striking out these words will accomplish the Sen-
ator's purpose.
Mr. GRIMES. I do not know that. The bill, as it came from the
House of Representatives, furnished an appropriation for the preser-
vation of these things. That I am willing shall be done; but 1 am
unwilling that a distribution shall be made by which these articles are
to be distributed over the country without Congress specifying the
manner in which they shall be distributed. I want to know how they
are to be distributed. I am content that they should be distributed;
and I think, if there is an excess of them here, they should be distrib-
uted in some way, either by allowing persons and institutions in differ-
ent portions of the country to come here and obtain them, or else, if
you see fit to do so, allowing the Superintendent of the Institution to
distribute them; but he should not be permitted to distribute them on
any principle of favoritism, as I fear may be the case unless you pro-
vide in the law specifically in what manner they shall be distributed.
For instance, we might say that one institution in each State, or two
institutions in each State, should be furnished with these specimens,
or that they should be distributed to certain specified institutions;
but I am unwilling to leave the matter entirely to the discretion of the
Secretary of the Interior or the Superintendent of the Smithsonian
Institution.
Mr. FESSEXDEX. My friend from Iowa is a little too fast. If he
will look at this amendment he will find that it is merely to strike out
the words in lines 223, 224, 225, and 226, for which other words are to
be substituted. If these words be stricken out, and the others be not
substituted, he accomplishes his object. The question he is debating
616 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
is really the substitution, which is simply to put in this clause in a
more definite form. There can be no objection to striking out these
words.
Mr. HUNTER. The Senator from Iowa will accomplish his present
purpose if we should refuse to strike out, and leave the clause as it
stands. The difference between the two is, that the amendment pro-
poses to distribute as well as to preserve these collections, and the words
proposed to be stricken out merely provide for the preservation.
Mr. FESSENDEN. The provision above, which has been already
adopted, makes all the appropriation necessary to preserve the collec-
tions. Then we come to the clause which provides for the distribu-
tion, and that it is proposed to strike out and to insert a re-draft of the
provision in another form. The first paragraph applies to the
preservation.
Mr. HUNTER. Then the plan would be to vote for striking out and
to vote against inserting what it is proposed to insert.
Mr. FESSENUEN. There is no objection to appropriating the $4,000
for the preservation. That is done. That is necessary. Then comes
for the preservation again. That is a mistake; and therefore the
clause was redrafted by the committee so as to provide for the distri-
bution. We do not want to provide once more for preserving the
collections that are to be kept there, and therefore these words ought
to be stricken out.
Mr. HUNTER. I say strike out these words; and then, if you oppose
the distribution, vote against the amendment which proposes to insert
the other w r ords.
Mr. FESSENDEN. That is precisely what I am proposing to the Sena-
tor from Iowa; to let these words be stricken out, and then bring up
the question in that way.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. I should like to say to the Senator from Iowa
that there are collections enough to supply every college and every
scientific institution interested in such matters in the country, and our
intention is to supply the whole of them; there can not be any favor-
itism; but we must make some small appropriation for it, although
we do not propose to pay the transportation. It would not do, for
example, to let the president of a college come here and select just
what he would pick and carry away. That would produce the very
effect which the Senator is so desirous of avoiding. One institution
would get too much, perhaps. Somebody must be employed not only
to arrange these objects of natural history and classify them, but also
to put aside into separate parcels the portions which are to be dis-
tributed to the different institutions. For that we are to pay. The
Senator can guard against the Government paying the expenses of
transportation, if he pleases, by making an amendment to it in this
form: "Provided that no part of the said money shall be expended in
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 617
transportation." As to favoritism, I say it is not possible, because
there is an abundance of these collections to answer the calls of every
institution in the country.
Mr. THOMAS BRAGG. I think the difficulty may be obviated by an
amendment which I have prepared, though I suppose my amendment
will not be in order at this time, as I understand there is an amend-
ment pending to the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now is on striking out.
Mr. FESSENDEN. On striking out what nobody objects to strik-
ing out.
Mr. BRAGG. This, I think, will accord with the idea of the Senator
from Maryland, to follow the amendment offered by the committee:
Such distribution to be only to institutions willing to receive the same, and at their
own expense.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on striking out.
Mr. J. P. HALE. Is it in order to move to strike out more words
with those which the committee propose to strike out?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Perhaps it would be in order as an amend-
ment to the amendment; but the Chair would suggest to the Senator
that it would be better to take the question on striking out the words
which the committee proposes to strike out.
Mr. HALE. I agree to that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on striking out the words
which have been read.
The motion to strike out was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now is on the amendment of
the Committee on Finance, to insert the following words:
For the distribution of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, and the construction of additional cases to receive such part of
said collections as may be retained by the Government, $6,000.
The Senator from North Carolina moves to amend the amendment
by adding to it:
Such distribution to be only to institutions willing to receive the same, and at
their own expense.
The question is on the amendment to the amendment.
Mr. HALE. I am opposed to the whole of this, from beginning to
end. I have been in Congress I do not know how man} 7 years; but
about as long as the Smithsonian Institution has been in existence.
I have devoted some time every year, more or less, to finding out
what on earth that Smithsonian Institution was for; I have had friends
who have visited Washington, who have told me that they were going
to examine it to find out; and I have asked them repeatedly, if any of
them had found it out, to tell me. The New York Tribune I do not
often quote from that paper, for it is never very complimentary to
618 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
me, any more than it is to the Smithsonian Institution said that it
was a sort of lying-in hospital for literary valetudinarians. But, sir, it
has a fund, I believe, of $500,000
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. Six hundred thousand dollars.
Mr. HALE. Six hundred thousand dollars, making an income, then,
of $36,000 a year " for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men," I believe. So far as I am concerned in the lot of humanity,
they have never distributed knowledge enough to me to let me know
what the thing is for or what it does. In addition to the $36,000
which it has of its annual income from its funds, you propose now
to appropriate $10,000 more for preserving the collections of the
exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, and for the
distribution of the collections of the exploring expeditions, and
the construction of additional cases to receive such collections as may
be retained by the Government. We are to appropriate $10,000 to
this Institution, to keep and distribute these collections, in addition
to their annual income of $36,000. I am opposed to the whole of it.
I think it is wrong. 1 think the Institution itself is wrong, and based
upon one of the grossest misconceptions of plain English that any
institution ever was.
Old Mr. Smithson if the Senate do not want to hear me I will stop;
I know it is not a very good time to speak ["Go on! "J old Mr. Smith-
son I suppose was a man of scientific attainments no doubt of that
a friend of science; a lover of science. He had seen the colleges and
the universities of England hitched on to the church and the state.
The yoking together of these three he thought was not favorable to
the advancement of science in the world. Then, sir, he had in his
brain the sublime conception of founding a democratic university; one
that should be free from the corruptions of the church and state, as
they existed in England. Looking abroad over the face of the earth
to see a place where this great and benevolent idea might be carried
out, he selected the United States as a place where democratic institu-
tions prevailed, and he gave this liberal fund that he might found an
institution under the benign influence of democratic institutions, that
should be devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men, instead of having it harnessed to church and state. Well, sir,
our Government undertook the trust, and a grosser abuse of a trust
never was perpetrated on the earth. Some of the wisest men we had
at that day thought there was too vague a meaning in that phraseology
which said that it was to be for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men. They forgot that men were made of boys, and
they thought that if they devoted it, as poor old Smithson intended it
should be, for the education of boys, under the influence of such an
institution as he designed, it would not answer his purpose, because
he intended it for the increase and diffusion of knowledge "among
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 619
men;" and so they have got up the thing they Have. I will not char-
acterize it, for I confess I do not know what it is. I saw an advertise-
ment in the National Intelligencer that there was to be an exhibition
there at 25 cents a ticket, or perhaps 50 cents. That is for the
"increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." In addition to
perverting Mr. Smithson's benevolent and sagacious purposes, defeat-
ing one of the greatest ideas that ever entered into the head of a
benevolent scholar instead of making such an institution as he wanted,
you have founded the great humbug of the land; and you propose
now, in addition to the $36,000, to pay them $10,000 out of the public
Treasury. I propose to strike it all out. Now, I am prepared to be
castigated by the Senator from Maryland [Mr. Pearce] just as much
as he pleases.
Mr. J. C. TEN EYCK. Rather than have this discussion continued on
the merits of the Smithsonian Institution, I move that the Senate do
now adjourn. [" Oh, no ! "]
Mr. FESSENDEN. We shall have it to-morrow instead of to-day.
Mr. H. M. RICE. The understanding was that we should sit here
until 5 o'clock, and then take a recess until 7 o'clock.
Mr. L. F. S. FOSTER. I would suggest that the motion can not be
entertained. Under the order of the Senate last night the Senate
to-day was to take a recess from 5 o'clock to 7, and an adjournment now
would override the order of the Senate yesterday, and would be an
adjournment until to-morrow. Therefore, such a motion, I think, can
not be entertained.
Mr. TEN EYCK. I withdraw the motion.
Mr. J. A. PEARCE. Mr. President
Mr. WILLIAM BIGLER. There is no difficulty in taking a recess now.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland is entitled to
the floor.
Mr. PEARCE. I shall not consume much of the time of the Senate
by replying to the attack which the Senator from New Hampshire
has made on the Smithsonian Institution. Some years ago the plan
of that Institution was the subject of deliberate investigation by a
committee of the Senate. It was discussed here in this body. It wa s
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the
Judiciary approved the plan of the Institution for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge among men. The Senator from New Hamp-
shire has not given us any great reason to respect his authority on this
subject, because he started out with a confession that he knew nothing
about it; and, confessing so much, I take it that the Senate will take
him at his word and estimate the value of his remarks at just what he
himself admits them to be worth. It is enough, sir, that the men who
composed the first Board of Regents, of which I was not one, were
among the best men in the country, and that they established this Insti-
620 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tution upon the plan by which it is now known and which has received
the deliberate assent of the Committee of the Judiciary of the Senate
and of the Senate itself. How the Senator gets at his theory of Smith-
son's intentions I do not know. If he has ever read Smithson's will,
he will not find one word of all that he has said in it; and we, who do
know something about the history of Smithson, know the peculiar
reasons which induced him to give this legacy to the United States.
But, sir, the Senator has remarked about an exhibition given at the
Institution a few days since. I wish to explain that. It might be
supposed by members of the Senate that this 25 cents a head was a
fee to the Institution. No such thing. The Smithsonian Institu-
tion has a remarkably fine lecture room, and it is very often applied
for by individuals who wish to lecture there. In no case is it given
to an individual who charges. The only case in which anyone is
allowed to charge is where the object is charitable or religious.
Church congregations have sometimes applied for it when a lecture
was to be delivered, and they have been allowed in that case to use
the hall, and they themselves charge 25 cents for each hearer of
the lecture making a fund for the building of their church or for
the charitable object which is to be subserved, whatever it may be.
These are the only cases where a charge is made. The lectures of the
Smithsonian Institution are always free; and I believe they are a little
more valuable than most lectures in the country for which people pay
very willingly.
Now, so far as the Government giving $10,000 a year to this Insti-
tution is concerned, it is an entire mistake. The Smithsonian Insti-
tution accommodated and obliged the Government by admitting
within their walls these collections for which the Government had no
proper place, the Government only paying the expense of their pres-
ervation; that is all. The Smithsonian Institution does not derive
any value to its funds from these appropriations by the Government.
So in regard to the distribution of these enormous collections, the
Institution is not benefited a fraction. All we want is a little appro-
priation to defray the expense which the Institution must incur in
classifying and separating these specimens of natural history for
distribution. I do not object to the amendment of the Senator from
North Carolina, and I purposely refrain from much that I might say,
that I may not consume the time of the Senate.
Mr. SIMON CAMERON. I am one of those who were here at the time
of the reception by this Government of the Smithsonian legacy, and
one of those who voted to receive that donation from a philanthropic
man in England, who died and left us his money. I recollect very
well that the arguments of those who were opposed to receiving it
were that it would be a constant tax on us; that the giving to us of
those $500,000 would result in the expenditure of millions; and all the
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 621
friends of the Institution, amongst them myself, said, "No; we will
take this $500,000 and get the best we can out of it." From that time
to now I have always opposed any appropriation for it. If the Insti-
tution can not sustain itself, let it fall. I believe it is doing good.
I do not want to make it one of those things that shall constantly eat
into the vitals of this Government. This is a Government here by
itself, controlling itself, and controlling many other things around it.
My feelings to it are nothing but kind; but I think it ought to sus-
tain itself, and I shall vote against every appropriation for it. I rise,
however, only to say a word in regard to a remark made by the Sena-
tor from Maryland, who is almost always right. He spoke of the
ignorance of the Senator from New Hampshire on this subject. I
simply want to say to the Senator from Maryland that the best book
we have ever had says that whenever we have learned our own igno-
rance we are nearest wisdom.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN. I wish to correct an error into which my
friend from Pennsylvania has fallen; and I think my friend from New
Hampshire also is troubled with the same difficulty. This is not
anything paid to the Smithsonian Institution. It is not in aid of their
fund. It has nothing to do with anything connected with that Insti-
tution in any shape or form. They do not call upon us for anything
connected properly with the Institution, to render them any aid in any
shape. The simple matter is this: We have a large collection of this
material, coming from several exploring expeditions. It was all
placed at the Patent Office, or under the charge of the Secretary of the
Interior. There was nobody to take care of it; there was nobody to
arrange it; nobody to do anything with regard to it; it was turning
out to be utterly useless, of no good to the Government; and we
imposed the burden on the Smithsonian Institution. We decreed that
it should be sent there and should be examined there.
Mr. J. M. MASON. Against their will.
Mr. FESSENDEN. And against their will. They did not ask it. It
was a burden we imposed upon them; and having sent it there, we
have made an appropriation, heretofore, merely of enough to preserve
what was necessary to be preserved, and to pay the salary of a person
who was to take charge of it, fix the room and take care of it $,000,
I think, each year; and it was found, on a careful examination (I was
on the committee when it was first made), to be a reasonable provision.
Now, sir, there is a very large number of these duplicates, and it is
proposed that those also shall be arranged by these persons; and after
they are arranged, and it is found distinctly what is best to keep, the
rest shall be distributed among the institutions of the country. It is
not for the benefit of the Smithsonian Institution, but for the benefit
of the institutions of the country. We called on them to do the work;
and gentlemen get up here and argue that we should compel them to
622 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
do the work and not pay them for the labor, and compel them also to
pay their own expenses. It is simply providing a mode by which we
may cany out our own objects and our own purposes through their
agency. The labor that they have given to this work and the serv-
ices they render are altogether gratuitous; and certainly they ought
not to be abused for doing what we asked them to do with reference
to matters which we have placed under their control, without their
requesting us to do it. That is the simple fact about this matter. It
has nothing to do with the Institution.
Now, sir, as to the Smithsonian Institution itself, what it has done
for science, and what it is doing for science. I have no doubt that it
is doing much; how much, I do not know. I confess the same ignor-
ance that has been confessed by my friend from New Hampshire, w r ith
the addition that I feel ashamed I do not know more about it. I ought
to know more about it. I have only to leave my other avocations,
which prevent me from knowing what I want to know. It is my own
fault.
Mr. S. A. DOUGLAS. I desire to add but a word to what has been so
well said by the Senator from Maine. This burden was imposed upon
the Smithsonian Institution, not only without their request, but against
their wish. These objects were collected by the exploring expedi-
tions and deposited in the Patent Office. They were kept there and
preserved as objects of great curiosity and great interest, until they
occupied so large a space that the Government could not afford the
room. They needed the room, and had no place to put them in. The
Smithsonian Institution happened to have vacant space; but these col-
lections were not connected with the objects of that Institution. The
Institution was willing to give them the room free of rent. They
were willing to take charge of the collection, if the annual expenses
of the burden thus imposed were borne by the Government. It was
accepted as a great favor by the Government. I do think, if they are
worthy of our encouragement, we ought to pay the actual expenses,
no more, of taking charge of these objects of curiosity. Probably
there is no object of greater curiosity to the visitor and the stranger
who comes to Washington than this museum thus collected; and inas-
much as they would be an attraction to the Institution, they were
willing to accept them; but the objects themselves belonged to the
Government. The Smithsonian Institution is giving the Government
a place in which to keep them. I think, therefore, that we are bound
by every consideration of public policy and duty to make this appro-
priation. I will not occupy time, for I believe it will be voted almost
unanimously.
Mr. CAMERON. I must say a word in reply to what has been said by
the Senator from Maine and the Senator from Illinois. I do not believe
that they have studied this subject so well as they usually study ques-
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 623
tions. It occurs to my mind that all this labor which we have imposed
upon the Smithsonian Institution they have invited. I remember when
this exploring expedition came in it was said specimens were brought
home that would be valueless to the country unless we put them in the
Patent Office. After awhile somebody came and asked that they
should be given to the Smithsonian Institution, because, it was said,
it would be an attraction to that building, take people there, make it a
credit to the country; and we voted for it. After awhile they asked
us to give them a certain number of books which scientific persons had
written and we had paid for the printing of. The rule used to be that
all those books were sent to Congress and distributed by members of
Congress; but gentlemen here said we ought not to distribute them;
we should give them to the Department of the Interior. Then we
gave them to the Patent Office; and then to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion; and now these gentlemen ask us to pay them for distributing
those very things which they invited us to give them.
Mr. PEARCE. I will ask the Senator to specify what scientific books
the Institution has ever asked us to give them?
Mr. CAMERON. When I think the gentleman has a right to ask a
question, I will answer it. I will say to the gentleman now that I
want this Institution to sustain itself. There is no reason why we
should appropriate money from year to year to keep up that, a bit
more than that you should build up a scientific institution in the
village where I live. What right has that Institution to come here,
and what right have we to expend money to keep up an Institution for
the benefit only of those who live by it? The Government has no
interest in it. The gentlemen who get their salaries, and who live on
the money which old Smithson gave us, have an interest in it, but we
have none. I shall vote against it, if nobody else does.
Mr. DOUGLAS. I think it is unfair for my friend from Maryland to
be putting questions to my friend from Pennsylvania, for he is evi-
dently joking in what he says. He is not serious when he talks about
the request of the Institution made to Congress for this appropriation
and that appropriation. It is contrary to the known history of the
Institution, and to the known history of the country. It is a very
good joke on the part of the Senator from Pennsylvania; but I really
think the Senate are not going to vote down this amendment on the
strength of that joke.
Mr. CAMERON. I will merely say, if the gentlemen of that Institu-
tion do not want to have the charge of these things, let them give
them up. What do we care about stuffed snakes, alligators, and all
such things?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the amendment offered
by the Senator from North Carolina to the amendment of the com- .
niittee.
624 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The amendment to the amendment was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now recurs on the amend-
ment as amended.
Mr. PRESTON KING. What is the amendment as amended?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Secretary will read it.
The Secretary read it, as follows:
For the distribution of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, and the construction of additional cases to receive such part of
said collections as may be retained by the Government, $6^000; such distribution to
be made to institutions willing to receive the same at their own expense.
Mr. FESSENDEN. That refers merely to the transportation.
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. What is the appropriation of $6,000 for?
Mr. FESSENDEN. For putting them in order and arranging them.
Mr. CAMERON. I move to strike out the appropriation. I have no
doubt if these things are of any use scientific people will be glad to
get them, and I am willing to let them have them, if they will take
them.
Mr. H. M. RICE. The question strikes me in two different aspects,
a personal and an official one. If we have a right to make an appro-
priation for distributing stuffed snakes and the various other things
that may be collected and brought here, why have we not a right to
make pn appropriation for distributing the models in the Patent Office,
or distributing hoes, plows, and other implements? This has all grown
out of an infraction, in my opinion, of the Constitution by distribu-
ting seeds. We must stop somewhere. If you can do this under the
Constitution, what can you not do? I know that the Smithsonian In-
stitution has done great good for the country. I am applied to daily
for books published by it, and I know that they are valuable; but it
is not, under the Constitution, a Government institution. Let us stop
somewhere, and I think we might as well stop here as anywhere.
Mr. J. P. HALE. I think so, too. I should like the country to know
how much we have spent for printing pictures of bugs, reptiles, etc.,
that these exploring expeditions have brought here. We published
eleven or twelve volumes of the exploring expedition, illustrated with
pictures of bugs, snakes, and reptiles. It has cost us millions of dol-
lars to print those pictures, and now we are going to spend $10,000 to
distribute them after spending millions to print pictures of them.
The thing is all wrong, sir.
Mr. MASON. Mr. President, I have been for many years one of the
Regents of this Institution, under the appointment of the Senate, in
connection with my friend from Maryland. We know that it is a
public trust; one, we think, of a sacred character. We know as a
fact, and it appears in the records of that Institution, that these speci-
mens of natural history, sent from the Patent Office to the Smith-
sonian Institution, were sent there against the remonstrances, repeated
THIRTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1859-1861. 625
from year to year, of that Institution; and if either the Senator from
Pennsylvania or the Senator from New Hampshire, or any gentleman
who thinks with them, would introduce an amendment to this bill
directing the Institution to throw what they had received from the
Government out of doors just put it out of doors and let it rot I
will vote for it. It belongs to the Government. It does not belong
to the Institution. It has no business there within the terms of the
trust: none whatever. It was forced upon them against their will; as
they believe, in violation of the trust left to us by Smithson; and if
those gentlemen will devise any mode to take away all these specimens
of natural history sent there by the Government I will vote for it"
cheerfully. I do not know that I would not consider it incumbent
upon me, for the purpose of getting rid of them, if the Government
will not bear the expense of throwing them out of doors, to vote it
out of the funds of the Institution.
Mr. CAMERON. I will take the Senator from Virginia at his word, as
far as I am concerned, and say let them throw them out of doors.
They are good for nothing there, and they are good for nothing out of
doors. Suppose these gentlemen were to come here now asking us to
appropriate $6,000 or $10,000 to distribute through this country speci-
mens of the finest arts the world has ever produced, which they could
purchase for that sum of money in Europe, would not everybody vote
against it ? There is not a man here who would not vote against a
proposition to bring the finest statuary and the finest paintings
Mr. MASON. Will the Senator allow me to interrupt him a moment?
Mr. CAMERON. Certainly.
Mr. MASON. The Senator says he will do it?
Mr. CAMERON. As far as I am concerned.
Mr. MASON. The law now directs that these objects shall be sent to
the Smithsonian Institution. Let the Senator, on his responsibility,
propose to repeal that law. and I will vote for it.
Mr. CAMERON. I will do that most cheerfully.
Mr. MASON. Well, do it now.
Mr. CAMERON. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. I will
bring in a bill to-morrow, if Senators think it proper; but we are dis-
cussing this question now. Here is an appropriation of $6,000 for a
most worthless purpose; and what right have we to appropriate it?
When we are all talking about the distresses of the country; when we
do not know how much country we shall have in a few days: when the
Treasury is empty not a dollar to pay even members of Congress, to
pay laborers out of doors we are to appropriate $6,000 or $10,000 to
preserve a parcel of what you call scientific specimens. A Senator
over the way said they were toads and snakes, and I have no doubt
they are that sort of thing. They are no use to anybody now: they
have served their day.
H. Doc. 732
626 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
I am tired of all this thing called science here. It was only the other
day we made another appropriation in regard to the expedition which
Captain Wilkes took out to the Paqific Ocean. We have paid $1,000
a volume for the book which he published. Who has ever seen that
book outside of this Senate, and how many copies are there of it in
this country ? We have spent millions in that sort of thing for the
last few years, and it is time it should be stopped. Now, the only
way and I say it in all sincerity in which I think this Smithsonian
Institution can be useful to the country is by living within its means;
that it shall not ask any aid of the Government at all; that it shall not
rely on patronage, but on the good it does and the benefit it confers,
to sustain it. The country at large and the people of this country will
take care of it if it is worthy to be taken care of, but if they come to
the legislature every year asking for an appropriation it must sink.
As a friend of that Institution, and as a friend of the very distin-
guished and able and pure man who is at the head of it, I do not want
it to be connected with the Government at all.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair understands the Senator from
Pennsylvania to move to strike out the appropriation contained in the
amendment?
Mr. CAMERON. Yes, sir.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question, then, will be on the amend-
ment to the amendment to strike out the appropriation.
Mr. CAMERON and Mr. HALE. Let us have the yeas and nays on that.
Mr. K. S. BINGHAM. Why can not we take a vote direct on the
amendment?
Mr. CAMERON. I have no objection to that. I withdraw the call.
Mr. HALE. I hope we shall have the yeas and nays on the amendment
of the committee.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Docs the Senator from Pennsylvania with-
draw his amendment?
Mr. CAMERON. Yes, sir.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question, then, will be on the amend-
ment of the committee as amended on motion of the Senator from
North Carolina.
Mr. CAMERON. I desire to have the yeas and nays taken on that
question.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr.. HALE. I simply want to call the attention of the Senate to the
fact that we have stricken out of the amendment, on motion of the
Senator from North Carolina, all the expenses incurred for distribu-
tion, and now you propose to give $6,000 to make bug cases alone
without an} r transportation.
Mr. FESSENDEN. I will suggest that it is now within four minutes
of the time when we agreed to take a recess.
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863. 627
Mr. CAMERON. Let us take a vote.
The question being taken by yeas and nays on the amendment of the
Committee on Finance, as amended, resulted yeas 29, nays 6; as fol-
lows:
YEAS Messrs. Anthony, Bigler, Bragg, Chandler, Clark, Dixon, Douglas, Durkee,
Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Harlan, Hemphill, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennes-
see, Lane, Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce, Polk, Powell, Sebastian, Seward,
Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Wade, and Wilson 29.
NAYS Messrs. Cameron, Grimes, Hale, King, Rice, and Wilson 6.
So the amendment, as amended, was agreed to.
March 2, 1861.
Sundry civil act for 1862.
Exploring expedition. -For preservation of the collections of the
exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government; $4,000.
For the distribution of the collections of the exploring and survey-
ing expeditions of the Government, and the construction of addi-
tional cases to receive such part of said collections as may be retained
by the Government, $6,000; such distribution to be only to institutions
willing to receive the same, and at their own expense.
(Stat., XII, 217.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
June 15, 1860.
Resolved, etc., That two copies of the works of the exploring expe-
dition, so far as they can be supplied from the copies ordered to be
deposited in the Library of Congress for preservation, by the resolu-
tion of February 20, 1845, and the residue of said works as they shall
be completed, be delivered to the Secretary of State, one copy of which
to be presented by him to the Federal Republic of Switzerland, and
the other to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, in the State of Maryland.
(Stat., XII, 116.)
February 21, 1861.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1861.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, There is hereby further appro-
priated, in like manner, to pay arrears due authors and artists of the
exploring expedition, in pursuance of the act of August 26, 1842,
$11,036.26.
(Stat., XII, 144.)
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
December 4, 1861 Senate.
The CHAIR announced the appointment of "W. P. Fessenden, of Maine,
and Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, as Regents,
628 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 16, 1863 Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL moved that the Vice-President (Mr. HAN-
NIBAL HAMLIN) appoint a member to till the vacancy in the Board of
Regents occasioned by the death of James A. Pearce. Adopted.
The VICE-PRESIDENT appointed Garret Davis, of Kentucky, to fill
the vacancy.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTi
By the Speaker.
December 19, 1861 House.
The Speaker (Mr. GALUSHA A. GROW) appointed as Regents,
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, Edward McPherson, of Pennsylvania, and
Samuel S. Cox, of Ohio.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTi
By Joint Resolution.
March 3, 1862 Senate.
Mr. JAMES DIXON asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave
to introduce a joint resolution (S. 56) for the appointment of a Regent
of the Smithsonian Institution. .
Mr. DIXON. Let the resolution be read at length.
Resolved, etc. , That the vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution of the class other than members of Congress, caused by the decease of Cor-
nelius C. Felton, be filled by the appointment of Henry Barnard, of Connecticut.
Mr. DIXON. Mr. Barnard is so well known to the Senate, and to
the whole country, for his devotion to the cause of public education,
that I am in hopes the resolution may be passed, even without a ref-
erence. He has devoted his life to the very object specified in the
will of Mr. Smithson, "'the diffusion of knowledge among mankind,"
and therefore I am in hopes the Senate will consent to its immediate
passage. If not, I shall not urge it, but move its reference.
The Vice-President (Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN). The Senator from
Connecticut asks the unanimous consent of the Senate to consider this
resolution at the present time.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN. I must object to that. Although the con-
fession argues myself unknown, I must say that I never heard of Mr.
Barnard before.
The VICE-PRESIDENT. Objection being made to the consideration of
the resolution, it will be referred to the Committee on the Library.
Mr. DIXON. Mr. President
The VICE-PRESIDENT. It is not subject to discussion.
Mr. DIXON. I should myself, on objection being offered, have made
a motion to refer it to the Committee on the Library.
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863. 629
The VICE-PKESIDENT. It is referred.
Mr. DIXON. I feel that I ought to say one word, if the Senate will
allow me, though not strictly in order, in reply to the remark of the
Senator from Maine, that he had never heard of Mr. Barnard. It is
unfortunate undoubtedly, and may seem to be a reflection on Mr.
Barnard. He is known everywhere throughout the whole country and
in Europe for his exertions in the cause of popular education. I would
not have said a word but for that remark, which might imply some
disrespect on the part of the Senator to Mr. Barnard, which I hope,
however, was not the case.
Mr. FESSENDEN. I meant none in the world. I meant simply to say
that it so happened, unfortunately for myself, that I never heard of
Mr. Barnard, and I would rather the matter should be referred.
Mr. DIXON. I supposed it to be so, yet felt that I ought to say so
much in justice to a gentleman so widely and favorably known.
March 12, 1862 House.
Mr. EDW. McPHERSON introduced a resolution for the appoint-
ment of Theodore D. Woolsey, of Connecticut, as Regent, in place of
C. C. Felton, deceased; referred to Committee on the Library.
March 27, 1862 House.
Mr. EDW. McPHERSON asked unanimous consent to make a unani-
mous report from the Committee on the Library on resolution appoint-
ing T. D. Woolsey Regent.
Mr. E. B. WASHBURNE. I object.
Mr. WASHBURNE subsequently withdrew his objection, and it was
renewed by Mr. S. S. Cox.
March 28, 1862 House.
Mr. EDW. MCPHERSON reported the resolution to appoint T. D.
Woolsey as Regent; adopted.
March 28, 1862 Senate.
Mr. JACOB COLLAMER, from the Committee on the Library, reported
unanimously in favor of the passage of the House resolution for the
appointment of T. D. Woolsey Regent; adopted.
April 1, 1862 Senate.
Mr. JAMES DIXON. Yesterday, I think, during my absence from
my seat, or when my attention was not directed to it, the Senator
from Vermont [Mr. Collamer] called up a joint resolution appointing
President Woolsey, of Yale College, a Regent of the Smithsonian
Institution. I had previously offered a resolution for the appoint-
ment of Mr. Barnard, of Connecticut. Mr. Barnard has requested
me to withdraw his name. I ought to have done it, and should have
done it yesterday, in justice to him, if I had been present when that
joint resolution was passed. I ask the consent of the Senate to allow
the reading of a letter from Mr. Barnard, in which he requests that
his name may be withdrawn and Mr. Woolsey be appointed.
630 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The President pro toinpore (Mr. SOLOMON FOOT). No objection
being made, the letter will be read at the request of the Senator from
Connecticut.
WASHINGTON, March 27, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR: I thank you for the kind manner in which you were pleased to pre-
sent my name to the Senate in nomination for the post of Regent of the Smithsonian
Institution. I see by the papers that the name of President Woolsey, of Yale Col-
lege, has been presented to the House for the same vacancy. As an "older and let-
ter soldier" in the cause of good learning, Dr. Woolsey should receive that appoint-
ment by the vote of every friend of my nomination; and I beg, therefore, you will,
in your own time and way, withdraw my name and give your vote and influence
heartily for his appointment.
Very truly, yours, HENRY BARNARD.
Hon. JAMES DIXON.
Mr. JACOB COLLAMER. I merely wish to say that the gentleman is
mistaken in one idea. I know he was present when this resolution
was called up. He was sitting in his seat.
Mr. DIXON. I presume I was, but my attention was not called to it.
Mr. COLLAMER. The Senator might not have heard it, but he was
present.
Mr. DIXON. I was not aware of its being called up.
April 2, 1862.
Be it resolved, etc. , That the vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, of the class other than members of Congress,
caused by the decease of Cornelius C. Felton, be filled by the appoint-
ment of Theodore D. Woolse} 7 , of Connecticut.
(Stat., XII, 617.)
January 29, 1863 Senate.
Mr. HENRY WILSON, of Massachusetts, offered a resolution expel-
ling George E. Badger from the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution and appointing Louis Agassiz in his place.
February 2, 1863 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN) laid before the Senate a
letter from Professor Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
transmitting the following resolution, adopted by the Board of Regents;
which was, on motion of Mr. Charles Sumner, referred to the Com-
mittee on the Library:
Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to inform the Congress of the United States
that George E. Badger, one of the Regents of this Institution, has not attended the
recent meetings of the Board, and they are advised that he is now in rebellion against
the Government of the United States, and submit whether the name of said Badger
should longer remain on the list of the Regents of the said Institution.
February 6, 1863 Senate.
Mr. HENRY WILSON, of Massachusetts. I move to take up the reso-
lution I submitted some days ago, removing Mr. Badger from the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and appointing Pro-
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863. 631
fessor Agassiz in his place. I propose to refer it to the Committee on
the Library, who have the subject under consideration in another form.
The motion was agreed to; and the joint resolution expelling George
E. Badger from the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
and appointing Louis Agassiz in his place was considered as in Com-
mittee of the Whole.
Several SENATORS. Why not pass it now?
Mr. WILSON, of Massachusetts. I should like to have it put on its
passage now. I understand that the chairman of the Committee on
the Library has no objection to the resolution being considered now
without being referred to the committee.
The joint resolution was reported to the Senate.
Mr. JAMES A. McDouGALL. I move that the joint resolution be post-
poned until to-morrow.
Mr. WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON. I suggest to my friend from Cali-
fornia and also to the Senator from Massachusetts that we had better
confine ourselves now to the expulsion of Mr. Badger and leave the
appointment to be made as the law requires. I do not know what the
law is on the subject.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL. The appointment is made by joint resolu-
tion. This is the usual form.
Mr. WILSON, of Massachusetts. I will simply say that Mr. Badger
is now in the place, and I introduced this resolution to expel him and
to appoint Professor Agassiz, certainly one of the foremost men of the
age in any country. There is now no person upon the Board of
Regents from my State; they are scattered elsewhere all about the
country. Certainly we could not select in the whole nation any man
better fitted for such a position than Professor Agassiz. I hope the
resolution will be passed.
Mr. McDouoALL. I do not take any exception to Professor Agas-
siz, who, 1 think, would be a most competent man to fill this place,
but I think the business should be disposed of with more care.
Mr. WILSON, of Massachusetts. This subject was brought before us
a few days since by the gentlemen connected with the Smithsonian
Institution, and facts are presented showing that Mr. Badger is now
in the service of the so-called Confederate government.
Mr. McDouGALL. I think Professor Agassiz the most acceptable
man that could be named. I do not object to it, except as to the way
in which it is done.
Mr. WILSON, of Massachusetts. This is the proper way to do it.
Mr. McDouGALL. If that is so, I withdraw my objection.
The joint resolution was passed.
February 19, 1863 House.
The next bill taken from the Speaker's table was a joint resolution
expelling George E. Badger from the Board of Regents of the Smith-
632 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sonian Institution and appointing Louis Agassiz in his place; which
was read a first and second time.
Mr. E. B. WASHBURNE. I move to refer that bill to the Committee
on the Library.
Mr. B. F. THOMAS, of Massachusetts. I desire to ask the gentleman
who reported this resolution what information he has in regard to the
course and conduct of Mr. Badger which requires this resolution of
expulsion ?
Mr. S. S. Cox. This matter was initiated at a meeting of the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, at its last meeting. The
statement was there made that Mr. Badger was a member of the North
Carolina legislature; that he had made a speech denouncing this
Government and favoring the Confederate government, and there
was no one there who was authorized to deny that that reported speech
was not authentic. I should be glad to relieve a gentleman of the high
standing of Mr. Badger of any such imputation. He does not attend
the meetings of the Regents of the Institution, and we need somebody
there to fill his place. I should be happy to hear any statement in
exculpation of that gentleman.
Mr. THOMAS, of Massachusetts. All I desire to say is, a letter at-
tributed to him was afterwards stated to have been a forgery. I refer
to a letter said to have been written to Governor Stanly.
Mr. Eow. McPHERSON. There appears no doubt of the fact that
Mr. Badger is at present a member of the legislature of North Caro-
lina, and of course he has assumed a position inconsistent with holding
an appointment under the United States Government.
Mr. J. J. CRITTENDEN. I wish to say that Mr. Badger is a very old
friend of mine. I have understood that on the 4th of January last he
was prostrated by a stroke of apoplexy. I heard he was in extremis,
and I do not know whether he is dead or alive.
Mr. Cox. I call the previous question upon the passage of the
resolution.
The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered
to be put, and under the operation thereof the resolution was ordered
to be read a third time; and it was accordingly read the third time,
and passed.
Mr. Cox moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was
passed, and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table.
The latter motion was agreed to.
February 21, 1863.
Resolved, etc.^ That George E. Badger, a member of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, who is now giving aid and
comfort to the enemies of the Government, be, and is hereby, expelled
from the said board, and that Louis Agassiz, of Cambridge, Massa-
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863. 633
chusetts. bo, and he is hereby, appointed a member of the said board
to fill the vacancy occasioned by the expulsion of Mr. Badger.
(Stat., XII, 825.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
January 8, 1862 House.
Mr. W. S. HOLMAN. I move to amend by striking out the following
clause [from appropriation bill]:
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions of
the Government, $4,000.
I understand this to be an appropriation for the Smithsonian Insti-
tution nothing more and nothing less. It is an appropriation of
$4,000 for the purpose of assisting in keeping up the museum con-
nected with that establishment. I find in the last report of the Secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution a clause which I will ask to have
read in order to indicate how this money is applied.
The extract was read by the Clerk. It states that the annual appropriation of
$4,000 made by Congress for keeping the collections of the exploring and surveying
expeditions of the United States has been expended, under the direction of the Sec-
retary of the Interior, in assisting to pay the extra expenses of assistants and the cost
of arranging and preserving the specimens. This has served to diminish the cost to
the Smithsonian fund for the maintenance and exhibition of the museum, but is by
no means sufficient to defray all the expenses of that object.
Mr. HOLMAN. I submit the amendment to strike out the clause; and
I desire to say, in addition to the explanation contained in the extract
just read, that according to the last report made b} T the Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution there seems to be on hand, of the appro-
priations for the last few years, the sum of $55,148.09. This amount
of money is under the control of that Institution $30,910.14 being
annually paid out of the Treasury of the United States for its main-
tenance. It is very true that this is interest on money which the Gov-
ernment assumed to pay money which seems to have been loaned
out many years ago, and lost. Still it is a direct charge on the
Treasury.
Now it seems to me that one of the most desirable features in con
nection with the Smithsonian Institution, and that which gives to it
any degree of popularity, is the museum for the preservation of which
this appropriation is designed to be made; and it seems to me that,
with so large a fund as that Institution now has in its hands, and inas-
much as its object is the diffusion of knowledge among mankind, and
as the museum is as effectual in accomplishing that purpose as any
other, this $4,000 can very well be paid for such an object out of the
annual appropriation. I therefore make the motion that this entire
section be stricken out.
634 CONGRESSIONAL TRUCK EDINQS.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL, of Vermont. I dislike to oppose the motion of
the gentleman from Indiana, because I believe he is sincerely desirous
of saving money to the Government. But in relation to this particu-
lar item I think he labors under a slight mistake. Now it is true that
all our naval officers are instructed, or at least are in the habit of con-
tributing every year to a very great extent specimens of natural
history which are deposited in the Smithsonian Institution. This
Institution also receives a large collection of specimens in natural his-
tory from the various surveying and exploring expeditions. So large
has been the receipts by this Institution of these specimens that they
have supplied many of the scientific associations in the country. This
appropriation, therefore, is not for the benefit of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution particularly, but to enable them to take care of and distribute
these contributions that are now deposited there, and which they would
be very glad to be relieved from the care of. It is but a small item,
and, so far as I know, the only one we make for the benefit of science.
I hope it will not be stricken out.
Mr. HOLMAN. I ask the gentleman whether a very large amount from
the interest annually paid upon the Smithsonian fund is not absorbed
in salaries? I understand that $6,500 is paid annually in the shape of
salaries to the Secretary and his assistants. It is true that the amount
does not come out of the Government directly, but it comes out of the
money to sustain that Institution, of which some $30,000 is appropri-
ated by the Government annually.
Mr. MORRILL, of Vermont. I answer the gentleman that the expend-
iture of the Smithsonian Institution fund is under the control and
direction of the Regents of that Institution, and, I "suppose, they are
responsible for the manner in which those funds are expended. So
far as I know their management does not fully meet my approbation,
and if we have the power I should certainly be willing to ask for a
reform in the management of that Institution. But this is an entirely
separate and distinct matter.
Mr. SCHUYLER COLFAX. I move to reduce the appropriation $1,000.
I make this motion merely for the purpose of saying that I hope the
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Cox], who is one of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, will take care of my colleague [Mr. Holman]
in this matter, and that he will defend the Institution from the attacks
upon it from that side of the House.
Mr. HOLMAN. I wish to ask my colleague whether in the expendi-
tures of the $30,000 annually appropriated to supply the funds of this
Institution there is any feature more entirely popular in its character
or better calculated to carry out the purposes for which the original
grant was made than the preservation and enlargement of the museum
of the Institution ?
Mr. COLFAX. I say to my colleague that I concur with him in the
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1861-1863. 635
remarks he has made; but as I am not yet sworn in as one of the
Regents I must refer him for more particular information to the gen-
tleman from Ohio.
Mr. S. S. Cox. One word, sir. My friend from Indiana [Mr. Hoi-
man], who has been placed under my charge by the gentleman from
Indiana over the way [Mr. Colfax], has made an attack upon this appro-
priation and based his attack upon the expenditure of the Smithsonian
fund. He finds fault with the action of the Regents. In other words,
he finds fault because they have taken the interest upon the fund left
by that philanthropic Englishman Smithson and appropriated some
$6,000 of it for the salaries of officers. I submit, sir, that the gentle-
man has no right and that the House has no right to inquire into the
expenditure of that fund.
Mr. HOLMAN. Is not the interest upon that fund appropriated by
Congress ?
Mr. Cox. The expenditure of the interest upon the Smithsonian fund
is under the direction of the Regents and nobody else. Congress has
nothing to do with it. All that Congress gives is simply the small
amount of $4,000 to aid Smithson in his effort to diffuse useful knowl-
edge among men and women also. I hope the motion made by the
gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Colfax] will, however, prevail. I hope
this amount may be cut down to 'the extent of $1,000 to satisfy my
economical friend on my right [Mr. Holman]. I hope a small reduc-
tion will be made upon all these items to satisfy my friend from
Indiana, and I think we might spare $1,000 from this amount for that
purpose.
Mr. THADDEUS STEVENS. I wish to ask the gentleman from Ohio
whether this is not the sum which has always been appropriated for
this purpose, and whether that sum has not always been found neces-
sary for the purpose of collecting and distributing these collections?
Mr. Cox. I suppose the chairman of the Committee on Ways and
Means is perfectly familiar with these matters. I can not answer, not
having yet been sworn in as a Regent.
Mr. STEVENS. I rose to ask the question, supposing that I had no
right to answer it myself, when one of the Regents was present.
If the gentleman from Ohio will give me leave to answer, I will state
that this sum has always been appropriated, and the officers of the Insti-
tution report that it is necessary for these purposes.
Mr. COLFAX. I withdraw my amendment.
Mr. HOLMAN. I renew the amendment. Before the question is
taken on it, I desire to state that the sum of $30,000 is always appro-
priated in payment of the interest on this Smithsonian fund, although
the Government itself has never received any benefit from the fund,
and it is only equitably liable for the interest upon it. Out of that
sum, as I have stated, $6,500 is paid in the shape of salaries, and if my
636 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
memory serves me correctly, over $2,000 is placed under the head of
contingent expenses, although all proper expenses seem to be covered
by the various other items.
Inasmuch, however, as the preservation of this museum comes as
much within the original intention of the donor as any other purpose
to which it is applied, and is the only really popular feature of the
Institution, it seems to me that it can properly be provided for out of
the regular fund.
Mr. Cox. For the information of the gentleman, I would like to
correct him in his statement about the Government not being liable to
pay this $30,000 interest money. The Government received $500,000
from the Smithson estate, and was unfortunate in the investment of
the money. It invested it, I believe, in Arkansas bonds, which proved
worthless. It received the money, and was accountable for it in all
honor. And to carry out the purposes for which the fund was
intended they are bound to pay the interest upon the sum at 6 per
cent, which is yearly due from the United States Treasury.
Mr. HOLMAN. I asserted that the payment of this $30,000 was
munificence, and not justice, on the part of the Government. I ask
the gentleman whether the Government acted, in the acceptance of
this trust, in any other capacity than as trustee; and whether as such
the money was not invested in good faith ?
Mr. Cox. I say they did accept the trust, and got the money.
Mr. HOLMAN. And did not they act in good faith in the investment
of it, although it was lost?
Mr. Cox. I think they acted with very bad judgment.
The amendment was agreed to.
March 1, 1862.
Sundry civil act for 1863, etc.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying
expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XII, 350.)
March 15, 1862.
Resolved, etc. , That the letter from His Majesty the Major King of
Siam to the President of the United States and the accompanying
gifts, be deposited in the collection of curiosities at the Department of
the Interior.
(Stat., XII, 616.)
March 3, 1863.
Sundry civil act for 1864, etc.
For preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying
expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XII, 747.)
THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. 1861-1863. 637
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
March 14, 1862.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1863, ete.
For putting the plates of the exploring expedition in order for preservation, and
transporting them and the other effects of the expedition to Washington, to be pre-
served in some of the public buildings or at the Smithsonian Institution, $2,000; to
be expended under the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress; and if any part
of this appropriation shall remain unexpended for these purposes, the same may be
applied, if necessary, to the completion of volume 23 of the works of said exploring
expedition, or to the payment of any arrears of rent, or claims for service due on
account of any of said works.
(Stat., XII, 368.)
April 17, 1862 House.
Mr. EDWARD MCPHERSON, from the Committee on the Library,
reported a joint resolution (H. 67) to supply the Smithsonian Institu-
tion with a copy of each of the volumes of the Wi Ikes' Exploring
Expedition. Adopted.
April 21, 1862 Senate.
Joint resolution from House of April 17 adopted.
April 24, 1862.
Be it resolved etc., That the officer in charge of the Library of
Congress be, and he is hereby, directed to furnish to the officer in
charge of the Smithsonian Institution a copy of each of the volumes
of the exploring expedition of Captain Wilkes, now in the possession
of the Library.
(Stat., XII, 618.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 4, 1862 House.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1861 presented.
Mr. S. S. Cox moved that 5,000 extra copies be printed.
June 5, 1862 House.
Mr. AMBROSE W. CLARK, from the Committee on Printing, reported
the following:
Resolred, That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian
Institution for the year 1861; the woodcuts to be furnished at the expense of the
Smithsonian Institution; 3,000 copies for the use of members of the House and 2,000
for the use of the Institution.
Adopted.
June 9, 1862 Senate.
The following resolution was adopted:
That 5,000 additional copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1861
be printed 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution and 3,000 for the use of
the Senate: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages contained in said report
shall not exceed 450, without woodcuts or plates, except those furnished by the
Institution,
688 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 23, 1863 Senate.
Annual report of the Institution for 18(52 presented.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN moved to print extra copies.
February 27, 1863 House.
Annual report of the Institution for 1862 presented.
Mr. EDWARD McPnEKSON moved to print extra copies.
February 28, 1863 Senate.
The following resolution was passed:
That 5,000 additional copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1862
be printed 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution and 3,000 for the use of
the Senate: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages contained in said report
shall not exceed 450, without woodcuts or plates, except those furnished by the
Smithsonian Institution; and that the Superintendent of the Public Printing be
authorized, if consistent with the public service, to allow the Smithsonian Institu-
tion to stereotype the report at its own expense, or to otherwise print at its own
expense such additional copies as may be desired from the type set in the Govern-
ment printing establishment.
March 3, 1863 House.
Mr. A. W. CLARK, from the Committee on Printing, reported a
resolution :
That 5,000 extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1862 l>e
printed 3,000 for the Smithsonian Institution and 2,000 for the use of the members
of the present House.
Agreed to.
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865.
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 13, 1864 Senate.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1863 laid before
the Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL moved that extra copies of the report be
printed.
June 13, 1864- House.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1863 laid before
the House of Representatives, and Mr. S. S. Cox moved that extra
copies be printed.
June 18, 1864 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported the
following:
Resolved, That 5,000 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution
for 1863 be printed, 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution and 3,000 for
the use of the Senate: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages contained in
said report shall not exceed 450, without woodcuts or plates, except those furnished
by the Institution; and that the Superintendent of Public Printing be authorized, if
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 639
consistent with the public service, to allow the Smithsonian Institution to stereotype
the report at its own expense, or to otherwise print at its own expense such addi-
tional copies as may be desired from the type set in the Government printing estab-
lishment.
Adopted.
June 28, 1864 House.
Mr. A. W. CLARK, from the Committee on Printing, reported the
following:
Resolved, That 5,000 extra copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for
1863 be printed, 3,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution and 2,000 for the
use of the members of the House.
Adopted.
March 1, 1865 Senate.
Annual report for the year 1864 presented and ordered to be printed.
March 8, 1865 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY. I offer a resolution in connection with the
report of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the usual annual resolu-
tion on the subject, and has received the assent of the Committee on
Printing, and need not, therefore, be referred to that committee:
Resolved, That 5,000 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution
for 1864 be printed, 3,000 for the use of the Senate and 2,000 for the use of the
Smithsonian Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages in said report
shall not exceed 450, without woodcuts or plates, except those furnished by the
Institution, and that the report be stereotyped.
Agreed to.
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
July 2, 1864.
Sundry civil act for 1865.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the collections of
the exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XIII, 348.)
AMENDMENT TO ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
December 21, 1864 Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL asKed, and by unanimous consent obtained,
leave to introduce a bill to repeal the provision of law requiring cer-
tain Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to be members of the
National Institute; which was read twice by its title.
Mr. TRUMBULL. I scarcely know to what committee it would be
desirable to refer this bill, and unless somebody wishes it referred, I
shall ask the Senate to act upon it at once. If the Senate will indulge
me for one moment in making an explanation of it, I think there will
be no objection to it.
The act establishing the Smithsonian Institution provided that two
of the Regents should be residents of the city of Washington and
640 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
members of the National Institute in the city of Washington. The
National Institute was an incorporated association, and its charter has
expired. It did not meet with much success; it has been dissolved;
and there are now no members of the National Institute. There is a
vacancy in the Board of Regents, occasioned by the death of General
Totten, which needs to be filled, but it can not be tilled by the appoint-
ment of a resident of Washington and a member of this Institute, as
there are no longer any members of this Institute. The object of this
bill is to repeal that provision of the law which requires that two
Regents should be members of the National Institute. I hope the Sen-
ate will let the bill pass at once, as it is desirable to till that vacancy.
There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. J. COLLAMER. I do not know that 1 understand the gentleman
aright. Is it proposed to repeal that part of the law which requires
them to be inhabitants of Washington ?
Mr. TRUMBUI.L. No, sir; not at all. I ask the Secretary to read the
bill again, so that the Senator from Vermont may see that it does not
repeal that part of the law requiring them to be residents of Wash-
ington.
The Secretary read the bill :
Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the "act to establish the Smithsonian Institution,
for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," as requires that two of the
Regents of said Institution shall be members of the National Institute, in the city of
Washington, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.
The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment and passed.
January 6, 1865 House.
Mr. S. S. Cox. I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's
table Senate bill to repeal the provision of law requiring certain
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to be members of the National
Institute.
There being no objection, the bill was taken up, and was read a first
and second time.
Mr. Cox. I may state that the object of this bill is to repeal that
provision of law which requires that two of the Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution shall be members of the National Institute an
institution which is now obsolete.
The bill was passed.
January 10, 1865.
Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the act "To establish the Smith-
sonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men," as requires that two of the Regents of said Institution shall be
members of the National Institute, in the city of Washington, be, and
the same is hereby, repealed.
(Stat, XIII, 420.)
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 641
*
FIRE AT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
February 2, 1865 Senate.
The Senate passed the following:
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring) , That the Committee
on Public Buildings and Grounds of the Senate, conjointly with the Committee on
Public Buildings and Grounds of the House of Representatives, be, and they are
hereby, directed to inquire into the origin of the fire by which the Smithsonian Insti-
tution building and the valuable deposits therein were, on Tuesday, the 24th day of
January, in whole or in part, destroyed; the approximate loss to the Government
and to private persons; the means necessary to preserve the remaining portions of
said building and its contents from further injury, and such other facts in connection
therewith as may be of public interest, and to report by bill or otherwise.
February 2, 1865 House.
The concurrent resolution from the Senate of February 2 was
passed.
February 21, 1865 Senate.
Mr. SOLOMON FOOT submitted a report:
The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on'
Public Buildings and Grounds, to which was referred the resolution
passed February 2, 1865, respectfully report
That they visited the building, inquired into the origin of the fire,
the character and extent of the loss sustained, and requested the
Regents, through the Secretary, to furnish a written report on the
subject of investigation. In accordance with this request the follow-
ing report was presented:
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION RELATIVE TO THE FIRE.
The special committee appointed by the Board at its meeting on January 28, 1865,
to inquire into the origin of the fire at the Smithsonian Institution, to ascertain the
extent and character of the loss sustained, and to make suggestions as to what
measures should be adopted for the repair and improvement of the building, respect-
fully report that they have performed the duty assigned them, so far as the time and
their means of information would permit.
I. THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
The testimony has been taken of all persons connected with the establishment
that had any knowledge of the occurrence, and a written account of the whole is
herewith submitted; also a report from Col. B. S. Alexander, United States Army,
who superintended the fireproofing of the main building, of his examination of the
flues connected with the accident.
It is evident from the concurrent testimony thus obtained that the fire commenced
in the southwest part of the roof of the main building, in the woodwork immediately
under the slate covering, and that it was kindled by the heated air or sparks from a
stove which had been temporarily placed in the room immediately below. The pipe
of this stove had been inserted by mistake into a brick furring-space resembling a
flue, which opened under the rafters instead of into the chimney flue, within a few
inches of the latter. By whom the hole into which the pipe was inserted was orig-
H. Doc. 732 41
642 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
inally made is not known, but it is remembered that a stovepipe was put into it as
far back as 1854, at the time of the exhibition held by the Mechanics' Institute in
the building. No fire, however, had been in this room for ten years previous to
Monday, January 15, when the machinist and carpenter of the Institution were
engaged, with several other of the employees, in rearranging the pictures of the gal-
lery, the weather at the time being unusually cold. These persons, for temporary
convenience, set up the stove above mentioned, intending to remove it as soon as
their task was finished. A coal fire, kindled with wood, had been burning in this
stove for eight days previous to the conflagration, yet it appears from the testimony
that no evidence of combustion was observed by a person who passed through the
loft six hours before the breaking out of the flames. It is probable, however, that
the wood had been undergoing a process of charring for several days.
On account of the very expensive style of architecture selected for the building
and the limited means at the command of the board, the plan had been at first
adopted of finishing the interior of the whole edifice with wood and plaster. A
large portion, however, of the interior woodwork of the main building, after the
roof and exterior had been finished, gave way and fell; whereupon the Regents
ordered the removal of the woodwork and its place supplied with incombustible
materials. Thus the main building was rendered fireproof with the exception of the
supports of the roof, which, being covered with slate, was assumed to be safe. The
only danger of the occurrence of fire was supposed to exist in the two wings and the
towers, and to guard against this contingency especial precautions were constantly
observed, viz: (1) No smoking was allowed in any part of the building at any time.
(2) No lights were allowed to be carried from one part of the building to another
except in lanterns. (3) Three coils of large hose were deposited, ready for use, one
in the upper story and the other two on the first floor of the building, and there
were water pipes in the basement with faucets. (4) Barrels and buckets, kept con-
stantly filled with water, were placed at different points of the building. (5) The
rule was observed of cleaning the flues every autumn before the commencement of
fires. (6) A watchman was employed each night, who made every hour the rounds
of all the rooms in the building, giving special attention to those in which fire had
been kindled during the day, including the apartments occupied by the family of
the Secretary.
These precautions, however, as it has proved, were of no avail the fire having
occurred at a point where no danger was apprehended, and to which access could with
difficulty be obtained.
II. THE CHARACTER AND EXTENT OK THE LOSS SUSTAINED.
The loss to the Institution was as follows:
1. The contents of the Secretary's office, consisting of the official, scientific, and
miscellaneous correspondence, embracing 35,000 pages of copied letters which had
been sent (at least 30,000 of which were the composition of the Secretary) , and 50,000
pages of letters received by the Institution. Here, moreover, were lost the receipts
for publications and specimens; reports on various subjects which have been referred
to the Institution; the records of experiments instituted by the Secretary for the
Government; four manuscripts of original investigations, which had been adopted
by the Institution for publication; a part of the manuscript material of the report of
the Secretary for 1864; a large number of papers and scientific notes of the Secretary;
a series of diaries and memorandum books, and a duplicate set of account books,
prepared during the last twelve years, with great labor, by Mr. Rhees, the chief
clerk; also about 100 volumes of valuable works kept at hand for constant reference.
2. In the apparatus room the large collection of scientific instruments, including
the donation of the late Dr. Hare.
3. A part of the contents of the Regents' room, including the personal effects of
Stnithson, with the exception of his portrait and library.
THIETY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 643
4. The contents of the rooms in the towers, including the meteorological instru-
ments, the workshop, containing a lathe, and a large number of valuable tools, nearly
all the stock on hand of the duplicate copies of the annual reports, and many other
public documents and books intended for distribution to libraries, as well as a
quantity of stationery, hardware, etc.
5. The woodcuts of the illustrations contained in the Smithsonian publications.
The loss to other parties was as follows:
1. The contents of what was called the Picture Gallery, viz: (a) About 200 por-
traits, nearly all of life size, painted and principally owned by Mr. J. M. Stanley,
formerly of this city, and now of Detroit, Michigan, and which were on deposit in
the Institution. (6) A number of half-sized Indian portraits, painted by Mr. King
for the Government, (c) A copy, in Carrara marble, of the antique statue tnown
as the "Dying Gladiator," by John Gott, and owned by Mr. J. C. McGuire, of
this city.
2. A number of surveying instruments belonging to the Government.
3. The clothing, books, and private effects of several of the persons connected with
the Institution, and of those engaged in scientific studies.
4. The library removed from Beaufort, South Carolina, by the army, and also that
of Bishop Johns, from Fairfax Theological Seminary, given in charge to the Institu-
tion by the Secretary of War for safe-keeping, which libraries were stored in an
upper room in the south tower.
Independent of injury to the building, the loss to the Institution, as far as it may
be estimated and can be restored by money, may be stated at about $20,000; and to
individuals, $26,000, viz: To Mr. J. M. Stanley, $20,000; Mr. J. C. McGuire, $1,000;
Prof. Joseph Henry, $1,500; Mr. W. J. Rhees, $1,200, Mr. W. De Beust, $1,300; and
all others, $1,000.
Although the loss which the Institution and individuals have sustained is much to
be regretted, yet it is a source of consolation that by far the greater part of the
valuable contents of the building have escaped without injury. The valuable library
of the Institution, the most extensive, in regard to the transactions of learned
societies and scientific books, in this country; the museum, including the collection
of the exploring expedition and those of the Institution; the large stock of many
thousand duplicate specimens for distribution to all parts of the world; the records
of the museum; a large portion of the correspondence relative to natural history;
nearly all the records of meteorological observations which have been accumulated
during the last fifteen years; the sets of Smithsonian publications (except the annual
reports) which have been reserved to supply new institutions, and the stereotype
plates of all the works which have been published during the last four or five years,
have been saved. All the original vouchers of payments made by the Institution,
the ledger in which they were posted, and the daybook from 1858, were also preserved,
having been deposited in a safe in the Regents' room. The contents of the connecting
range between the library and the museum are uninjured; this includes a series of
plaster casts and portraits of distinguished men, among the latter a life-size portrait
of Guizot, by Healy; an original full-length figure of Washington, by the elder
Peale, and also a valuable series of rare engravings illustrative of the history of art,
purchased from the Hon. George P. Marsh.
All the important acts of the Regents from the beginning, and an account of the
operations of the Institution, having been published from year to year in the several
reports to Congress, a continued record of the history of the establishment from the
beginning is, therefore, still in existence. As these reports have been widely dis-
tributed, they are generally accessible to the public.
The burning of the roof of the building can scarcely in itself be considered a
calamity, since it probably would have occurred at some future time when a much
larger accumulation of valuable articles might have been destroyed; and since it will
644 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
now be replaced by one of fireproof materials. The fireproofing, as far as it was
carried, was well done, and it is to this circumstance that the preservation of the
most valuable objects of the establishment is due.
III. SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
There can be no hesitation in adopting the conclusion that steps should be imme-
diately taken not only to repair the injury, but to improve the condition of the
building.
1. The main edifice should be provided with a metallic roof.
2. For the wooden conical terminations of the towers should be substituted metallic
coverings.
3. All valuable articles belonging to the Institution or deposited in it, including
the library, should be placed in the main building, which should be cut off from the
wings by iron doors.
4. Provision should be made for a thorough heating of the whole building by steam
or hot water.
5. Suggestions should be requested from competent architects and engineers as to
work to be done, and those which are adopted should be embodied in working plans
and drawings.
6. A building committee of the board should be appointed to have charge of the
work.
No very exact estimate can as yet be made as to the cost of the repairs, etc., for it
has not been possible, without erecting a scaffolding, to determine whether it will be
necessary to take down the high northern tower. Colonel Alexander, of the Engineer
Corps, however, has informed the committee that he thinks $100,000 will be required
to make the necessary repairs and improvements.
The committee can not conclude without adding that, in their opinion, the occur-
rence of the fire ought not to be allowed to interfere with the active operations of
the Institution, on which essentially depends the reputation it has established
throughout the world and its efficiency as an instrument for "the increase and dif-
fusion of knowledge among men." To the support and extension of these opera-
tions, therefore, the annual interest from the original fund should, as far as possible,
continue as heretofore to be conscientiously applied.
Respectfully submitted.
RICHARD WALLACH,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Special Committee.
WASHINGTON, February, 1865.
(Appended to this report was the testimony relative to the origin of
the fire, losses, etc.)
At a subsequent meeting of the committee Professor Henry was
requested to state his connection with the Institution, to give an
account of its objects and operations, the origin of the building, and
such other facts as might be of public interest. In conformity with
this request he made a statement: (See Senate Rep. Com. No. 129,
Thirty-eighth Congress, second session.)
Mr. SOLOMON FOOT offered a resolution to print 1,000 extra copies
of the report, 500 of which to be for the use of the Smithsonian
Institution.
February 22, 1865 Senate.
The resolution of Mr. Solomon Foot to print report on the fire was
adopted.
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 645
INTEREST ON SM1THSON FUND.
March 2, 1865 House.
Mr. JOHN H. RICE, of Maine. I offer the following as an additional
amendment to the [Sundry civil] bill:
And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to pay the
interest on the public debt due the Smithsonian Institution in the same funds as the
interest on other permanent debts due by the United States prior to the present rebel-
lion have been and are paid; and in case the interest heretofore paid to said Institution
has been paid in a different currency and of less value than that paid by the Govern-
ment on other permanent debts or trust funds, that the Secretary be directed to make
up the difference to said Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. THADDEUS STEVENS. Why not put in the word "gold" at once?
Mr. W. S. HOLMAN. I rise to a question of order. This is not an
appropriation in accordance with law, but it is an attempt to appro-
priate a specific sum of money in gold instead of the ordinary currency
of the country.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair sustains the point of order, and rules the
amendment out of order.
Mr. S. S. Cox. I appeal from the decision of the Chair, and I desire
to be heard a moment in explanation. This is not an appropriation.
It is only a direction to the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the inter-
est on this special fund in gold, as it always has been paid, and as it
ought to be paid now.
Mr. E. B. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I rise to a question of order.
Has not the debate been closed on this bill?
The CHAIRMAN. It has, and the Chair adheres to its decision.
Mr. Cox. I wish the Chair could have had the facts of the case
before him before he decided it. I respectfully appeal from the deci-
sion of the Chair.
The question was, Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judg-
ment of the committee ?
The question was taken and the decision of the Chair was sustained.
Mr. R. P. SPALDING. 1 move to insert the following as an additional
section :
SEC. . And be it further enacted, That there be appropriated for the purpose of
making repairs upon the building of the Smithsonian Institution, lately injured by
fire, the sum of $50,000.
Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I raise the point of order that this
amendment proposes to change the existing law, and is therefore out
of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair sustains the point of order.
March 3, 1865 Senate.
The next amendment was to insert the following as a new section :
And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to pay
the interest on the debt due the Smithsonian Institution in coin, as the interest on
other permanent debts due by the United States prior to the present rebellion have
been and are paid.
f>46 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. I have a word to .say on that subject. 1 am
opposed to the adoption of that amendment. In the first place, I do
not know any reason why there should be a distinction made between
a debt that is due to the Smithsonian Institution and a debt due to
anybody else by the United States Government. I understand that
by some construction or other the Treasury Department have decided
that this is a kind of trust debt, and that from this time henceforth
they intend to pay the interest upon what they call the trust fund in
gold. The purpose of this amendment is to make this retrospective
and to pay some $40,000 in currency, being the difference between the
amount which has hitherto been received by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and that which they claim they ought to have received and would
have received if this money had been paid to them in coin. The
Smithsonian Institution is a very wealthy corporation, and is able to
reimburse itself and to rebuild and refit the buildings which have
been recently destroyed. It will be remembered that when Mr.
Smithson made this bequest, or shortly after he made it, the Gov-
ernment created a corporation. That corporation, or their trustee,
saw fit to invest their money in Arkansas bonds. Those bonds mostly
turned out to be valueless. The Government, however, assumed it,
and we now pay, and have for many years paid, the Smithsonian
Institution upward of $30,000 a year upon this amount of $515,000,
I think that is it, which is the amount of the permanent fund of the
Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. CHARLES SUMNER. Allow me to ask the Senator whether the
Government did not make that investment in Arkansas bonds? I
think it was not an act of the corporation, but of the Government.
Mr. GRIMES. It is perfectly immaterial, so far as this question is
concerned, whether the Government made it or whether the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution made it directly themselves; for if the
Government made it, the Government made that investment at the
instance and the request of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. SUMNER. No; it was before the organization; before there were
Regents.
Mr. GRIMES. Mr. President, the amount of the fund belonging to the
Smithsonian Institution is $515,000. They expended in the building
on the public reservation $325,000. It is claimed by them that to put
the roof on the building, and put it in about the condition it was in
before the fire, there will be required from $36,000 to $40,000; but to
improve it as they want to improve it, to make it entirely fireproof,
to change its construction very materially, they say they have the
opinion of an army engineer, Colonel Alexander, but who is no
architect, no expert, and whose judgment, therefore, is worthless in a
matter of this kind, that it will cost somewhere in the neighborhood
of $100,000. This Institution, besides the $515,000 upon which we are
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 647
paying them the interest, has accumulated from that interest $75,000
in Indiana State bonds, which are good; $53,500 in Virginia bonds,
which, are not of much value; $12,000 in Tennessee bonds; $500 in
Georgia bonds; and $100 in Washington city bonds. Then they have
in cash $20,000, and they have in gold $26,200, which is worth $52,000
to-day in currency. So it will be observed that they have in available
funds, saying nothing about the Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and
Washington bonds, $95,000, besides $26,200 in gold.
1 have heard it said that we ought to pay the Smithsonian Institu-
tion this money in gold, because we pay some of the Indians by treaty
Stipulation in gold. I think the Senators who are members of the
Committee on Indian Affairs will bear testimony to the Senate that we
have paid gold to no Indians except where there was an express agree-
ment in the treaty that payment should be made in coin. We have
had, and have, an abundance of treaties with the Indians; we hold
their money in trust; but in no instance, 1 undertake to say, has the
money been paid to these Indians in gold except when there was an
express stipulation in the treaty that it should be paid in gold. I know
of no reason why there should be an exception made in favor of this
rich corporation, the Smithsonian Institution why they should be
treated any better than our Indian tribes are treated.
Mr. JACOB COLLAMER. Are they not paid in gold?
Mr. GRIMES. I undertake to s&y that there are not and have not been
any Indians paid in gold except where there was an express stipulation
in the treaty that they should be paid in coin. 1 asked the gentlemen
on the Committee on Indian Affairs, when the Indian appropriation
bill was under consideration the other day, if that was not so, and they
said it was so. The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Lane] bowed his head
and said it was so. There are treaties made with the Indians, I admit,
by which we have agreed to pay them in coin; and then there are
other treaties in which we have not that stipulation; but where that
stipulation is not embodied in the treaty we do not pay them in coin.
There is lying on your table at this moment a communication from the
Secretary of the Interior, asking that we shall do for these Indians
precisely what the Smithsonian Institution asks we shall do for them
that we shall pay them in coin in the future. But this Senate, so far
as I know, has refused to do that; so far as I am informed, the Com-
mittee on Indian Affairs have utterty refused to do it. I do not see
the chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs present, nor mv
colleague; but there are gentlemen here, I think, who know what
the facts are in regard to the payment of these Indians. Now, I ask,
if it be true, and I think it will be demonstrated in a few minutes that
it is true, that this is the method in whiclj we treat the Indians whose
funds we hold in trust, is there any very substantial reason why we
should deviate from this rule in favor of this corporation, the Smith-
sonian Institution?
648 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. The Committee on Finance have no doubt at
all about this proposition so far as it is now reported. It is true that
a proposition was submitted to the committee that the back payments
already made should be made equal to gold. That we rejected on the
ground that the money having been received by the corporation, with-
out any objection, they certainly can not now present a legal claim
against the United States to make good any loss which may have
accrued from their taking a depreciated currency. But upon the main
question, that they are entitled to the interest of this trust fund in
gold, we had no doubt. All the permanent debt of the United States
is now payable in coin. That has been the established policy of the
Government since the foundation of the Government, and I think it
never has been departed from. Let me put this case: Suppose this
corporation, instead of allowing this money to remain simply as a trust
fund in the Treasury of the United States, had taken bonds of the
United States registered in the ordinary way, which the}' had a right
to do, and left them in the Treasury Department; they would have
drawn their interest in gold precisely as the holder of any other bonds
would have done. I am informed that this now stands as a registered
debt.
Mr. GRIMES. How long has that been so?
Mr. SHERMAN. Always, I presume. It stands as a trust debt.
There is no difference between them.
Mr. GRIMES. Where is the distinction between this case and that of
the Indians ?
Mr. SHERMAN. I will mention that in a few moments.
There is, therefore, no distinction between this case and any other
portion of the permanent debt of the United States. This corpora-
tion, whether rich or poor, whether it is a charitable one or one mak-
ing money on its own account, would have the right to demand of the
Government the same interest that is paid to any other bondholder of
the United States. The fact that this money stands to the credit of
this corporation as a trust fund in the Treasury Department only
strengthens that obligation, because it is a general rule of equity, as
well as a rule of law, that a trust fund must be treated more favorably
than any other fund. Therefore the United States, having assumed the
burden of a trustee, would be held in a court of equity to a more rig-
orous rule than it would be even where it stands upon its legal rights.
If the United States is bound to pay to any other class of bondholders
interest in gold, it certainly should do so to this corporation, whether
it be rich or poor, whether it be a charitable one or one making money
on its own account. It seems to me, therefore, the proposition is plain.
But the Senator says that we have refused to do this with the
Indians. The difference between our treaties with the Indians and an
obligation of this kind is that an Indian treaty requires us to pay
THIKTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 649
annuities from time to time; every year we pay so much. It seems
to nie there is a distinction between the two. Wherever we stipulate
to pay these annuities in coin, we pay them in coin. There is a differ-
ence between the payment of an annuity and the payment of interest
on the public debt; and that difference has alwa} 7 s been recognized
since the foundation of the Government. But even if we did injustice
to the Indians, we make it good by the payment of large bounties;
we more than make it good by our annual appropriations for the
expenses of the Indian department. Since the recent condition of
affairs, since we have been" involved in war, we have appropriated
very large sums, this year amounting to more than $1,000,000, for
the benefit of the Indians not included in Indian treaties. We have
indeed made good to them the appropriations in gold, or nearly so.
If, therefore, there is any injustice done to the Indians, it certainly is
not a peculiar hardship.
In this case the proposition was so plain that the committee had no
hesitation about awarding the payment in gold from this time for-
ward. 1 am told that this question has never been acted upon in the
Treasury Department, but that if these parties had demanded their
interest in gold, precisely as other creditors have done, and as they
had a right to do, the}' would have been paid in coin at any time since
the beginning of this war. There has been no distinction in the
Treasury Department between this debt and any other funded debt of
the United States the interest of which is payable in coin.
Mr. JOHN P. HALE. If I do not entirely misunderstand the nature
of this case, it seems to me there is no force in the suggestions which
have been made in regard to any obligations of the Government, for
this reason: This Mr. Smithson gave this fund, some $500,000 or more,
to the United States; they are the beneficiaries of this donation; it
was the property of the United States, and the Smithsonian Institution,
whether it was a wise or an- unwise creation of Congress, was simply a
machinery instituted by the United States for the purpose of carrying on
and carrying out the bequest of Mr. Smithson. To speak of this Insti-
tution as an institution apart from the Government of the United States,
to my humble comprehension, is perfectly absurd. It is the United
States that own this Institution. It was for the benefit of the United
States that the fund was given to them, and Congress, because it was
not convenient to take' it and manage it, as they did the other interests
of the Government, created these agents, created this Institution, as-a
mere matter of convenience by which the Government might manage
the fund that was intrusted to them for the purposes specified in Mr.
Smithson'swill. They have no claim, no interest, in this matter. The
only question was, How shall the Government, if they accept the trust,
carry it on ? They concluded to carry it on by this machinery. It is
not an institution adverse to the United States Government. It is not
650 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
an institution that has the least claim under heaven upon the Govern-
ment. They are the mere creatures of the Government, to enable them,
according to the purport of the will, to execute the trust that has been
confided to them. How can the}^ come here and occupy the position
of creditors ? They are no creditors. They have, no interest under
heaven, not the slightest; they are the mere agents appointed by law
to execute this trust for the United States in the use of a fund which
belongs to the United States. That is the whole of it. That being
the case, this being the property of the United States, managed for
their benefit through this instrumentality, it is contended that the
Government of the United States shall increase by a hundredfold the
appropriations for the Institution. I do not see the slightest claim in
the world.
Let me state another fact. The honorable Senator from Iowa did
not state this thing exactly as it was. The fact was that about 18-10,
or not far from that time I do not know the exact time that this fund
was given to the United States was a pretty hard time for the Dem-
ocratic party; they had had bad luck, and the Secretary of the Treas-
ury took the whole of this fund, every dollar of it, and gave it to
Arkansas, no doubt for highly patriotic purposes, and it was all sunk,
and there was an end of the bubble, or ought to have been. But
Congress were so much tickled with the idea of this bequest that they
assumed the debt. They did not make much by investing it in Arkan-
sas politics; everything went by default, and then Congress stepped in
and paid out of the Treasury that which they had wasted.
I will not repeat what I have heretofore said in regard to this Insti-
tution; I will not say but that it is possibly a wise one, and a wise
appropriation of public money, because it is rather impertinent to the
question that is now before the Senate.. It has been characterized, I
think by Greelej" and I do not often quote him as a sort of lying-in
hospital for literary valetudinarians, and that is about the amount of it.
I remember once that some friends were here and had been visiting
about the places of interest in the city of Washington, and had got
pretty much through with them, when I asked them, "What are you
going to do to-day ? " They said they were going to look at the Smith-
sonian Institution, and find out what it was. I told them I was exceed-
ingly glad they were going to start on such a mission, and I asked
them, if they did find out, to tell me when they got back. They did
not call on me when they got back.
Now, sir, I know of no reason under heaven why, when we are pay-
ing in currency the men who are shedding their blood in defense of
the country, the men who are periling "everything for the salvation of
the country, we should come in and pay this pet child we have created
in this manner in gold. I think it would shock the moral sense of the
nation to-day, if they knew that we propose to pay in gold the interest
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 651
on this debt, which is no debt at all, when we pay those who tight our
battles and shed their blood in our defense in currency. I hope the
amendment will not be adopted.
Mr. THOMAS A. HENDRICKS. The Committee on Public Buildings
and Grounds investigated this subject to some extent, and became
entirely satisfied, with the exception of the Senator from Iowa, I
believe, that this interest ought to be paid in gold. I am very glad
to hear the statement of the Senator from Iowa. I am glad he is able
to prove that this Institution is in good condition. I am gratified
that he has shown it has full funds, with an accumulation of $75,000
in Indiana bonds a sure and reliable fund and something against
the Starte of Virginia. I shall be gratified each session while I have
the honor of serving along with him to hear him make as good a state-
ment of the Smithsonian Institution as he has to-night.
He says it is a rich institution. I am glad of that. I was once a
member of the Indiana legislature, and every now and then I heard
some representative or senator talking about the bloated corporations
of the State; and we all had it in our heads that the wealth of the cor-
porations, in some way or other, was made off our constituents, and
therefore, to some extent, we were justified in making war upon them,
for they were men that made their gains off the people. But this is
not the case with the corporation that the Senator now styles a wealthy
corporation. No money to fill the coffers of that Institution came from
the good people of Iowa.
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. Not until we pay them in gold $62,000 in place
of $31,000, while we pay to Iowa soldiers, as the Senator from New
Hampshire well said, only $6.50 in gold. Then it will come off my
constituents.
Mr. HENDRICKS. As I was going on to say, all the rich funds of
that Institution came not from the people of Iowa or of Indiana. It
was a munificent grant from a foreigner, Mr. Smithson, for the pur-
pose of establishing in this country an institution for the acquisition
and diffusion of useful knowledge among men. That $500,000 was
received not in paper, but in gold, coming from a kind friend of this
country across the water. If, therefore, the Institution is rich, it is
well for us; if it were poor it would be a disgrace to us to-day.
Mi\ GRIMES. I think the Senator is mistaken in the language used
in the will, and I think that in that respect the managers of it have
been true to the direction of the testator. It was not " useful
knowledge among men," but " knowledge among men."
Mr. HENDRICKS. Well, sir, whether knowledge is useful or not I
will not undertake to discuss now. The purpose of the bequest was
to establish in this country an institution for the diffusion of knowl-
edge, or useful knowledge, among men. I think the language used
was "useful knowledge." Whether the knowledge that is diffused
652 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
among men from that Institution be useful or not 1 do not care now
to discuss. If 1 were to judge from the number of applications I have
for the reports of that Institution, I should say it is useful knowledge.
Then, sir, if the Institution is rich, it has cost his constituents and
mine nothing; but if it were poor to-day and we refused to make up
the entire fund, it would cost bis constituents and mine something it
would cost their honor.
Now, sir, upon the leading question I do not agree with the Senator
from New Hampshire. This Institution does not belong to us; it is
not the property of the United States. The United States, in respect
to that Institution and the funds that endowed it, is but the trustee.
We are not the beneficiaries, in its language. The people- of the
world are the beneficiaries; all who can be instructed by the diffusion
of useful knowledge are the beneficiaries.
The Senator from New Hampshire spoke also of a loss because of a
purchase of bonds of the State of Arkansas. If we purchased bonds
that were not a sure investment, in law, or rather in equity, we are
bound to make it good. If the United States, as a trustee, makes a
bad investment, she must make that investment good. If the Senator
held funds for me, or if, as a guardian, he held funds for some of his
minor constituents, and made a bad investment, would he not be com-
pelled to make it up? If he made a bad investment he would be
compelled to make it good, unless he used due care and acted under
the direction of the court. I admit if entire diligence is used, perhaps
he would not be responsible in a court of equity. But I understand
the facts to be that the Institution has lost nothing from the Arkansas
bonds. That has been made up; they have been paid, and there has
been no loss resulting from that investment.
Mr. HALE. The Senator is mistaken.
Mr. HENDRICKS. I was so told the other day. I am not fully
informed, except as the committee were informed by Professor Henry,
who has this business in charge. That is the way I understand it.
The interest has been paid.
Mr. HALE. The bonds have not been paid.
Mr. HENDRICKS. Whether the bonds have been paid or not is not
important. We got gold, and were to use it as a trustee to establish
an institution that would be an ornament to the country as well as
useful to the world. Now, sir, Avhat is the obligation of the United
States in respect to that a gold investment endowing an institution
not for the benefit of the United States, but for the benefit of man-
kind generally ? I understand the decision of the Treasury Depart-
ment has been that all trust funds are to be paid in gold and that all
the debts against the Government prior to the commencement of the
war are to be paid in gold.
Both the Senators have asked why we pay gold to this Institution
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 653
when we pay greenbacks to the soldiers. Why do the Senators agree
by their numerous votes here to pay gold to the men who buy the
bonds of the United States? Why do they make their investment
worth 12 per cent when other men use their money for their own
benefit but to the extent of 6 per cent? Why do they pay gold to
the creditors that they create now, not by $500,000 at a time, but by
$600,000,000 at a time in gold? Let them answer that. It is a ques-
tion between them and the soldiers. They pay the creditors of the
Government in gold and the soldiers in greenbacks. Both Senators
unquestionably were governed by proper considerations. I think it
is a plain obligation on the part of the Government to pay this inter-
est in gold. It is according to the practice of the Government, and I
should think it a shame to the Government to do otherwise.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL. I am a little surprised at the course of the
Senator from Iowa and the Senator from New Hampshire. The Sen-
ator from New Hampshire says this is not a trust at all; this property
was given to the United States. It was given to the United States by
James Smithson, but it was given for a particular purpose, and it
is as much a trust as when any testator bequeaths property to a par-
ticular person for a particular purpose. The Congress of the United
States in 1846 passed an act by which they recognized this as a trust,
and I would like to inquire of the Senator from New Hampshire if he
means to repudiate the action of this Government; if he means to
repudiate the solemn obligation which this Government has taken
upon itself ? It is a direct act of repudiation on the part of the Gov-
ernment to deny that this is a trust and that it is held as a trust for
particular purposes. The act of 1846, which I have before me,
declares
That James Smithson, esq., of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, having
by his last will and testament given the whole of his property to the United States
of America to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,
an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, and the
United States having, by an act of Congress, received said property and accepted
said trust: Therefore, for the full execution of said trust according to the will of the
liberal and enlightened donor, Be it enacted, etc.
Here is a solemn act of Congress acknowledging the receipt of this
property as a trust fund. It was given for the purpose of founding
"at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an
establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,"
and the Senator from Iowa says "not useful knowledge." Why, sir,
I thought that the term "knowledge" implied that it was a useful
thing. I supposed that knowledge was valuable; that it was what we
all sought to acquire. This property was accepted in trust for this
identical purpose, and to repudiate it now and say it is no trust, it is
the money of the Government and you have a right to squander it and
654 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
use it, is as direct a breach of faith as it would be on the part of this
Congress to pass a law that it would pay no debt whatever that it had
created. It would be the worst species of repudiation worse than
borrowing money and refusing to pay it under ordinary circumstances.
The Government has accepted it; it has committed itself to it, and this
Institution had as perfect a right to call for the payment of the interest
as it fell due, in coin, as had any other creditor of the Government.
The Senator from Iowa wants to know why a distinction is to be
made between the debt due the Smithsonian Institution and a debt due
any other person. No distinction is to be made. It is the very thing
we do not want to do. The Government of the United States in 1861,
when this rebellion broke out, owed some $90,000,000; and does not
the Senator from Iowa know that we paid the interest to every one of
the holders of that indebtedness in gold ?
Mr. J. W. GRIMES. I know we did not do it to the Indians.
Mr. TRUMBULL. You have done it to the Indians in many instances;
but because you have wronged the Indian who can not assert his rights;
because you have violated your treaties with him, and by act of Con-
gress are changing treaties every day and driving him from the lands
that you set apart to him and said you would never disturb him in the
possession of; because you impose upon the Indian, do you propose
now to violate all your contracts? You are bound to pay the Indian
in gold if you have agreed so to pay him. Sir, this argument by
which you talk about not paying the poor soldier in coin smacks a
little of a speech upon the stump. The Senator from Iowa votes here
to pay the foreign bondholder in coin.
In my opinion this amendment does not go far enough. The reason,
probably, for the introduction of the amendment at this time is in con-
sequence of a calamity, the destruction of a part of the Smithsonian
building within a few days by fire, involving a very large expenditure
to repair the building; but instead of calling upon Congress for an
appropriation for that purpose it was thought on the part of the
.managers of the Institution they would be enabled to get along if they
received the interest due the Institution in coin. They were entitled
to receive it, and they would have received it in coin had they insisted
upon it heretofore. The only reason that it has not been insisted upon,
as I understand, is that in this great emergency of the country, as the
Institution was able to get along, the matter was not pressed upon the
Secretary of the Treasury, who never denied the obligation of the
Government to pay in coin as much upon this debt as any other debt
which the Government owed. I am informed by the Senator from
Maine [Mr. Farwell] that they received the currency of the country with-
out making a special demand for the coin under the particular condition
of things in the country at the time. The Institution will be able, as I
understand, to repair the building, provided they receive what they are
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 655
entitled to receive, and hence this proposition to pay the interest in
coin. I shall move an amendment to the proposition to make up the
difference between the currency' which the Institution has received and
the coin to which they were entitled in order that they may have the
means to repair the building. I think the Government is bound to
pay it by eveiy obligation, and particularly by the obligation which
it took upon itself when it accepted this fund.
But the Senator from Iowa brings in here the fact that this fund
was invested in Arkansas bonds. Was that the fault of Smithson, who
made the bequest? Whose fault was it if an improvident use was
made of the funds of the Institution? But that question is not now
to be settled. The Government of the United States has assumed the
control of this money, has incorporated this Institution, has agreed
to pay the interest forever at 6 per cent upon the money that was
placed in its Treasury, and unless it means to repudiate this obliga-
tion it is bound to pay it, and it is bound to pay it in the same cur-
rency that it pays to other creditors similarly situated. That is all
that the Institution asks. They probably would not have pressed at
this time for the payment in coin but for the misfortune of the fire
which has recently occurred. I move to amend the section which is
pending by adding to it the following:
And in case the interest heretofore paid to said Institution has been paid in a dif-
ferent currency, or of less value, than that paid by the Government* on other perma-
nent debts or trust funds, that the Secretary be directed to make up the difference
to said Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. JACOB COLLAMER. Mr. President, I do not wish to confine my
remarks to the amendment now under consideration. I can see no
good reason for the amendment of the Senator from Illinois. So far
as this Institution have received their interest in any money that was
satisfactory to them when they received it I consider it paid. In
relation to what has not been paid them, it undoubtedly should be paid
them, as I think, in coin, as is the case with all the trust funds in the
hands of the Government.
But, sir, I rose more particularly to make one remark. I' feel a
good deal gratified at the speeches that have been made on this subject
this evening, and from this consideration: Congress, by the votes of
many of the gentlemen who have spoken on this subject to-night,
passed a law nearly four years ago to enable individuals to pay off their
old notes in depreciated paper at half price, and we called it a legal
tender. These gentlemen voted for that measure, by which people
were enabled to cheat their creditors and \yy which the Government
never got anything, and never will. But what particularly gratifies
me is this: That while they were willing to make a law, and it is a
standing law now, to enable individuals to cheat their creditors by
paying them off in money at half price they are ashamed to do it on
656 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
their own account and will not do any such thing, and I hope they
never will.
Mr. GARRET DAVIS. Mr. President, I think there is a higher obli-
gation to keep this bequest at its original amount than any legal
obligation. Smithson was a natural son of the Duke of Northumber-
land. He made a declaration in connection with this bequest that he
would render his name more famous than that of the illustrious house
to which he was allied. He executed a will, in which he bestowed the
whole of his estate upon the United States, in trust, to establish, as
the honorable Senator from Illinois has just read, an institution to be
located in the city of Washington for the increase and diffusion of
knbwledge among men. That was the highest testimony that that
individual could have rendered to the Government of the United
States or to the United States themselves. Although allied to an
illustrious house, he gave all that he had of worldly property to our
country and to our Government for the purpose of founding an insti-
tution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. From the circum-
stances under which the bequest was made and the manner in which
its execution was assumed by our Government, in my judgment it
creates a higher than a legal obligation that the amount and value of
this noble bequest shall not deteriorate or be reduced in amount in the
hands of those that he charged with the execution of the trust.
The honora-ble Senator from Illinois says, correctly, no doubt, that
the reason why this application is now made at this time is because of
the misfortune that befell the Smithsonian Institution a few weeks
since. That was in some degree the fault of the United States Govern-
ment. It had property deposited for custody and exhibition in the
Interior Department, which was directed by the officers of the Govern-
ment to be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution for the same
custody and for similar exhibition. This property was not properly
attached to, or appended to, the Smithsonian Institution. The man-
agers of that Institution received the custody and the possession of
this property reluctantly and only because its custod} 7 had been imposed
upon them by the officials of the United States Government. The
proper arrangement of that property in one of its halls rendered
necessary the making of some repairs in the hall that caused the
making of a tire in that hall, which resulted in the conflagration of the
building.
It seems to me, Mr. President, in view of the nature of the bequest,
of the nobleness of the motives of the testator who bequeathed it, of
the high scientific purposes for which it was given to the United States;
in view of the great trust and confidence that was reposed by the
testator in the Government, and in the United States, and in our
country, and in view of the fact that this fire that resulted in the burn-
ing of the Smithsonian building arose from the imposition of a duty
THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1863-1865. 657
that did not appertain to that Institution at all, the United States
Government ought to hold itself bound by every obligation to keep
the bequest at its original value; and that is all that is proposed.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. SOLOMON FOOT in the chair). The ques-
tion is on the amendment of the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Trumbull]
to the amendment of the committee.
The amendment to the amendment was rejected.
The amendment of the committee was adopted; there being, on a
division ayes 21, noes not counted.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments reported by the Com-
mittee on Finance are all disposed of.
Mr. J. P. HALE. I find we have got another Smithsonian Institution
on a smaller scale in this bill that I want to get rid of. I move to
strike out the following clause :
For publishing the annual report of the National Academy of Sciences, made to
Congress under the act approved March 3, 1863, $6,000.
If there is no objection to striking it out I have nothing to say.
The amendment was agreed to.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
March 7, 1865 Senate.
Mr. SOLOMON FOOT offered resolution :
That the President of the Senate appoint a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution,
on the part of the Senate, in the vacancy now existing in the Board of Regents.
The President pro tempore (Mr. DANIEL CLARK) appointed William
P. Fessenden.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
December 23, 1863 House.
The Speaker (Mr. SCHUYLER COLFAX) announced that that being
the day fixed for the appointment of three Regents for the Smithsonian
Institution, he had appointed S. S. Cox, of Ohio, Henry Winter Davis,
of Maryland, and J. W. Patterson, of New Hampshire.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
January 11, 1865 Senate.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBULL introduced a joint resolution:
That Richard Delafield, resident of Washington City, be, and he hereby is,
appointed a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in place of Joseph G. Totten,
deceased.
H. Doc. 732 42
658 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 17, 1865 Senate.
Senate resolution to appoint Mr. Delafield, Regent, passed.
February 11, 1865 House.
On motion of Mr. AUGUSTUS FRANK, the joint resolution from the
Senate appointing Richard Delafield a Regent of the Smithsonian.
Institution was taken up and passed.
February 14, 1865.
Resolved, etc., That Richard Delafield, resident of Washington city,
be, and hereby is, appointed a regent of the Smithsonian Institution,
in place of Joseph G. Totten, deceased.
'Stat., XU1, 569.)
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1865-1867.
PARIS EXPOSITION.
Joint Resolution.
January 16, 1866.
Whereas the United States have been invited by the Government of
France to take part in a universal exposition of the productions of
agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts, to be held in Paris,
France, in the year 1867:
Be it resolved, etc. , That said invitation is accepted.
SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the proceedings heretofore
adopted by the Secretary of State in relation to the said exposition, as
set forth in his report and accompanying documents concerning that
subject, transmitted to both Houses of Congress with the President's
message of the llth instant, are approved.
SEC. 3. And be it further resolved, That the general agent for the
said exposition at New York be authorized to employ such clerks as
may be necessary to enable him to fulfill the requirements of the regu-
lations of the imperial commission, not to exceed four in number, one
of whom shall receive compensation at the rate of $1,800 per annum,
one at $1,600, and two at $1,400.
SEC. 4. And be it further resolved, That the Secretary of State
be, and is hereby, authorized and requested to prescribe such general
regulations concerning the conduct of the business relating to the
part to be taken by the United States in the exposition as may be
proper.
(Stat., XIV, 347.)
July 5, 1866.
Joint resolution.
Be it resolved, etc., That in order to enable the people of the United
States to participate in the advantages of the universal exhibition of
the productions of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts, to be
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1865-1867. 659
held at Paris in the year 1867, the following sums or so much thereof
as may be necessary for the purposes severally specified, are hereby
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated:
First. To provide necessary furniture and fixtures for the proper
exhibition of the productions of the United States, according to the
plan of the imperial commissioners, in that part of the building exclu-
sively assigned to the use of the United States, $48,000.
Secondly. To provide additional accommodations in the park, $25,000.
Thirdly. For the compensation of the principal agent of the exhibi-
tion in the United States, at the rate of $2,000 a year: Provided, That
the period of such service shall not extend beyond sixty days after the
close of the exhibition, $4,000, or so much thereof as may be found
necessary.
Fourthly. For office rent at New York, for fixtures, stationery, and
advertising; for rent of storehouse for reception of articles, and prod-
ucts; for expenses of shipping, including callages, etc.; for freights
on the articles to be exhibited from New York to France, and for com-
pensation of four clerks, in conformity with the joint resolution
approved January 15, 1866, and for contingent expenses, the sum of
$33,700, or so much thereof as may be found necessary.
Fifthly. For expenses in receiving, bonding, storage, cartage, labor,
and so forth, at Havre; for railway transportation from Havre to Paris;
for labor in the palace; for sweeping and sprinkling compartments for
seven months; for guards and keepers for seven months; for linguists
(eight men) for seven months; for storing, packing-boxes, carting, and
for material for repacking; for clerk-hire, stationery, rent, and con-
tingent expenses, the sum of $35,703, or so much thereof, as may be
found necessary.
Sixthly. For the traveling expenses of ten prof essional and scientific
commissioners, to be appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, at the rate of $1,000 each, $10,000,
it being understood that the President may appoint additional com-
missioners, not exceeding twenty in number, whose expenses shall not
be paid; but no person interested, directly or indirectly, in any article
exhibited shall be a commissioner; nor shall any member of Congress,
or any person holding an appointment or office of honor or trust under
the United States be appointed a commissioner, agent, or officer under
this resolution.
SEC. 2. And be it further resolved, That the governors of the several
States be, and they are hereby, requested to invite the patriotic people
of their respective States to assist in the proper representation of the
handiwork of our artisans, and the prolific sources of material wealth
with which our land is blessed, and to take such further measures as
may be necessary to diffuse a knowledge of the proposed exhibition,
660 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
and to secure, to their respective States the advantages which it
promises.
SEC. 3. And be it further resolved, That i . shall be, the duty of the said
general agent at New York, and the said commissioner-general at Paris,
to transmit to Congress, through the Department of State, a detailed
statement of the manner in which "such 1 expenditures as are herein-
before provided for are made by them, respectively.
(Stat, XIV, 362.)
January 11, 1867.
Joint resolution.
Resolved, etc. , That the Commissioner of Agriculture be, and he is
hereby, instructed to collect and prepare, as far as practicable, and
with little delay as possible, suitable specimens of the cereal produc-
tions of the several States of the Union, for exhibition at the Paris
Exposition, and forward the same in proper order and condition for
shipment to J. C. Derby, agent of the United States Government for
the Paris Exposition, at New York: Provided, That it shall require
no further appropriation from the Public Treasury.
(Stat., XIV, 563.)
TRANSFER OF SMITHSONIAN LIBRARY.
March 9, 1866 House.
Mr. J. W. PATTERSON introduced a bill for the transfer of the Smith-
sonian library. Referred to the Joint Committee on the Library.
March 22, 1866 Senate.
Mr. T. O. HOWE. The Joint Committee on the Library have in-
structed me to report a bill to provide for the transfer of the custody
of the library of the Smithsonian Institution to the Library of Con-
gress.
Mr. CHARLES SUMNER. I am very much interested in that question.
I have paid some little attention to the subject in advance, and I should
really like to see the bill in print. I do not wish to make any objec-
tion, but I think it had better lie over.
Mr. HOWE. Certainly; that is a very reasonable request. 1 can not
ask to have it considered.
The President pro tempore (Mr. L. F. S. FOSTER). It will lie over
under the rule.
March 27, 1866 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. L. F. S. FOSTER). If there be no
further morning business, the Chair will call up the unfinished busi-
ness of yesterday.
Mr. T. O. HOWE. Is that now regularly before the Senate?
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is not regularly before the Senate
until 1 o'clock; but if there be no other business the Chair will call
it up.
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1865-1867. 661
Mr. HOWE. ' Then I move that the Senate proceed to the considera-
tion of Senate bill 216.
Agreed to; and the bill (S. 216) to provide for the transfer of the
custody of the library of the Smithsonian Institution to the Library
of Congress was considered as in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. HOWE. I move to amend the bill in section 2, line 6, by insert-
ing the words " in the recess of Congress " after the word " year," so
that it will read:
That when such library shall have been so removed and deposited, the Smithsonian
Institution shall have the use thereof in like manner as it is now used, and the public
shall have access thereto for purposes of consultation on every ordinary week day,
except during one month of each year in the recess of Congress, when it may be closed
for renovation.
Agreed to.
Mr. T. A. HENDEICKS. I wish to ask the Senator from Wisconsin
whether this bill contemplates the permanent transfer of these books to
the Congressional Library? These books belong to the Smithsonian
trust fund, which I think ought not to be diverted.
Mr. HOWE. The Senator will see, if he looks over the* bill, that it
does not transfer the title of the books. It is the custody of the books
that is transferred to the Congressional Library for safe-keeping, as
well as for the better accommodation of the public.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBUIX. 1 will state to the Senator from Indiana that
this is a mutual arrangement entered into between the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution and the Committee on the Library , satisfactory
to both parties. It is thought to be safer to have them deposited there.
There is danger of them at present, as the building in which they are
is not fireproof.
The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and the amendment
concurred in.
Passed.
April 2, 1866 -House.
On motion of Mr. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, by unanimous consent,
Senate bill to provide for the transfer of the custody of the library of
the Smithsonian Institution to the Library of Congress was taken from
the Speaker's table and read a first and second time.
Mr. R. B. HAYES. The Committee on the Library recommend the
passage of the bill.
Passed.
April 5, 1866.
Be it enacted, etc., That the library collected by the Smithsonian
Institution under the provisions of an act approved, August 10, 1846,
shall be removed from the building of said Institution, with the con-
sent of the Regents thereof, to the new fireproof extension of the
Librarv of Congress, upon completion of a sufficient portion thereof
662 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
for its accommodation, and shall, while there deposited, be subject to
the same regulations as the Library of Congress, except as hereinafter
provided.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That when such library shall
have been so removed and deposited, the Smithsonian Institution shall
have the use thereof in like manner as it is now used, and the public
shall have access thereto for purposes of consultation on every ordinary
week day except during one month of each year, in the recess of Con-
gress, when it may be closed for renovation. All the books, maps,
and charts of the Smithsonian library shall be properly cared for and
preserved in like manner as are those of the Congressional Library,
from which the Smithsonian library shall not be removed except on
reimbursement by the Smithsonian Institution to the Treasury of the
United States of expenses incurred in binding and in taking care of
the same, or upon such terms and conditions as shall be mutually
agreed upon by Congress and the Regents of said Institution.
SEC. 3. And l)e it further enacted, That the Smithsonian Institution,
through its secretary, shall have the use of the Library of Congress,
subject to th*e same regulations as Senators and Representatives.
SEC. 4. And l)e it further enacted, That the Librarian of Congress
shall be authorized to employ two additional assistants, who shall
receive a yearly compensation of $800, and $1,000, respectively, com-
mencing July 1, 1866, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated.
SEC. 5. And he it further enacted, That the sum of $500, or so much
thereof as may be necessary, shall be appropriated, out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses of
the removal herein provided for.
(Stat., XIV, 13.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
April 7, 1866.
Deficiency act for 1866, etc.
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and survey-
ing expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XIV, 19.)
July 28, 1866.
Sundry civil act for 1867.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the collections of
the exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XIV, 316.)
February 23, 1867 House.
The Clerk read:
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, $4,000.
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1865-1867. 663
Mr. J. W. PATTERSON. I move to amend the paragraph just read by
omitting the word "four" and inserting in lieu thereof "ten," so as to
increase the appropriation to $10,000.
Agreed to.
March 2, 1867.
Sundry civil act for 1868.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the collections of
the exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, $10,000.
(Stat., XIV, 464.)
March 2, 1867.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1868.
For the purchase of the Glover Museum, $10,000.
(Stat., XIV, 452.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
May 7, 1866 Senate.
Annual report for 1865 presented.
Mr. LYMAN TRUMBIILL moved the printing of 5,000 extra copies.
May 7, 1866 House.
Annual report for 1865 presented.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD moved that 5,000 extra copies be printed.
May 9, 1866 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
resolution :
That 5,000 additional copies of the report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, for the year 1865, be printed; 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution,
and 3,000 for the use of the Senate: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages
contained in said report shall not exceed 450 pages, without woodcuts or plates,
except those furnished by the Institution.
Adopted.
June 8, 1866 House.
Mr. A. H. LAFLIN, from the Committee on Printing, submitted
resolution:
That 5, 000 extra copies of the last report of the Smithsonian Institution be printed;
2,000 for the use of the Institution, and 3,000 for the use of the members of this
House.
Adopted.
February 26, 1867 Senate.
Annual .report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1866 was pre-
sented.
Mr. L. TRUMBULL moved that 5,000 extra copies be printed.
664 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 27, 1867 House.
Annual report for 1860 presented.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD moved that 5,000 extra copies be printed.
February 28, 1867 House.
Mr. A. H. LAFLIN, from the Committee on Printing, offered
resolution:
That 5, 000 additional copies of the last report of the Smithsonian Institution be
printed; 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution, and 3,000 for the use of the
members of this House; and that the same be stereotyped.
Adopted.
March 1, 1867 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, offered
resolution:
That 5,000 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution, for the
year 1866, be printed; 2,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution, and 3,000 for
the use of the Senate; and that said report be stereotyped: Provided, That the aggre-
gate number of pages contained in said report shall not exceed 450, without wood-
cuts or plates, except those furnished by the Institution.
Agreed to.
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
July 26, 1866.
Resolved, etc. , That the Joint Committee on the Library be authorized
and instructed to grant to the Navy Department the use of such
gf the engraved plates of the United States Exploring Expedition
under Captain Wilkes, now in charge of said committee, as may be
desired for the purpose of printing a supply of charts for the use of
said Department.
(Stat., XIV, 366.)
AMENDMENT TO ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
February 1, 1867 House.
The following memorial was presented to Congress:
To the honorable the. Senate and House of Representatives, etc. :
The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have directed the undersigned
to transmit to your honorable body the resolution herewith appended, and to solicit
the passage of an act in accordance therewith.
It is known to your honorable body that the original sum received into the United
States Treasury from the bequest of James Smithson, of England, was $515,169,
which was considered a trust fund, the interest alone to be applied to carrying out
the purpose of the testator, viz, "The increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men."
This, however, was not the whole of the Smithsonian bequest, the sum of 5,015
having been left by Hon. R. Rush, the agent of the United States, as the principal
of an annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson. ,
The annuitant having died, the sum of $26,210.63 has been received from this
source, and is now in charge of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States;
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1865-1867. 665
and no provision having been made in the act of August 10, 1846, establishing the
Institution, for the disposition of this remainder of the legacy, your memorialists, in
behalf of the Board of Regents, now ask that it be added to the original bequest on
the same terms, and that the increase which has arisen from interest or otherwise on
the sum before mentioned, also in the hands of the- Treasury Department of the
United States, be transferred to the Board of Regejits for assisting to defray the
expense of the reconstruction of the building and for other objects of the Institution.
And your memorialists would further ask that the Board of Regents be allowed to
place in the Treasury of the United States, on the same terms as the original bequest,
such sums of money as may accrue from savings of income and from other sources,
provided the whole amount thus received into the Treasury shall not exceed
$1,000,000.
The sole object of this request is the permanent investment and perpetual security
of the entire Smithsonian bequest and such other sums as may be accumulated from
savings of accrued interest, legacies, etc.
And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.
S. P. CHASE,
Chancellor.
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Resolved, etc., That an application be made to Congress for an act authorizing the
Treasurer of the United States to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the
original bequest, the residuary legacy of James Smithson, now in United States bonds
in the hands of said Treasurer, namely, $26,210.63, together \yth such other sums as
the Regents may from time to time see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with the original
bequest, the sum of $1,000,000; and that the income which has accrued or may accrue
from said residuary legacy be applied in the same manner as the interest on the
original bequest.
Mr. J. W. PATTERSON introduced bill:
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, author-
ized and directed to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original
bequest, the residuary legacy of James Smithson, now in United States bonds in the
hands of said Secretary, namely, twenty-six thousand two hundred and ten dollars
and sixty-three cents, together with such other sums as the Regents may from time
to time see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with 'the original bequest, the sum of one
million dollars.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the increase which has accrued, or which
may hereafter accrue, from said residuary legacy shall be applied by the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in the same manner as the interest on the
original bequest, in accordance with the provisions of the act of August tenth, eighteen
hundred and forty-six, establishing said Institution.
Passed.
February 1, 1867 Senate.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN. There is a little bill on the table (House,
February 1, 186T) which has come in from the House that I should
like very much to take up and have passed if no Senator has any
objection to it, because it is rather necessary that it should be passed
at once, if at all. It relates to the funds of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, and the Regents of that Institution are now in session in this city
and would like, probably, to take some action under the bill. It is
666 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
very short, and if there be no objection I should like to have it taken
up and acted upon. I have examined it and do not see any objection
to it.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. . I should like to inquire where the fund has
been heretofore. Has it been in the Treasury ?
Mr. FESSENDEN. No, sir; it has been in the hands of the Secretary.
Under the bequest of Smithson there was a sum that was to come to
the Institution upon the death of a certain person, and that person
died just about the time I happened to be in the Treasmy, and there-
fore I know the facts. This bill simply provides that this money shall
be paid into the Treasury and disposed of precisely in accordance with
the original act with regard to the disposal of Smithson's bequest.
Mr. SHERMAN. I have no objection to it at all.
The bill was reported without amendment and passed.
February 8, 1867.
An act to receive into the Treasury the residuary legacy of James Smithson, etc.
Be it enacted etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is
hereby, authorized and directed to receive into the Treasury, on the
same terms as the original bequest, the residuary legacy of James
Smithson, now in United States bonds, in the hands of said Secretary,
namely: $26,210.63, together with such other sums as the Regents
may from time to time see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with the
original bequest the sum of $1,000,000.
SEC. 2. And he it further enacted, That the increase which has
accrued, or which may hereafter accrue, from said residuary legacy,
shall be applied by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion in the same manner as the interest on the original bequest, in
accordance with the provisions of the act of August 10, 1846, estab-
lishing said Institution.
(Stat., XIV, 391.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
February 26, 1867 Senate.
Senate resolution to provide for the exchange of certain documents
with foreign countries passed:
That fifty copies of all documents hereafter printed by order of either House of
Congress, and fifty copies additional of all documents printed in excess of the usual
number, together with fifty copies of each publication issued by any Department or
Bureau of the Government, be placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee on the
Library, who shall exchange the same, through the agency of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, for such works published in foreign countries, and especially by foreign gov-
ernments, as may be deemed by said committee an equivalent; said works to l>e
deposited in the Library of Congress.
March 2, 1867 House.
The House rejected the joint resolution of the Senate providing for
the exchange of public documents. Subsequently, on motion of Mr.
FOKTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 667
A. H. Lafiin, the House reconsidered its action and passed the reso-
lution.
March 2, 1867.
Resolved, etc., That fifty copies of all documents hereafter printed
by order of either House of Congress, and fifty copies additional of
all documents printed in excess of the usual number, together with
fifty copies of each publication issued by any department or bureau of
the Government, be placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee on
the Library, who shall exchange the same, through the agency of the
Smithsonian Institution, for such works published in foreign coun-
tries, and especially by foreign governments, as may be deemed by
said committee an equivalent; said works to be deposited in the Library
of Congress.
(Stat., XIV, 573.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
March 7, 1867 House.
The Speaker (Mr. SCHUYLER COLFAX) appointed Luke P. Poland,
of Vermont, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the election of J. W. Patterson to the United
States Senate.
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869.
EXPOSITIONS.
Paris Universal Exhibition.
March 12, 1867.
Resolved, etc. 1. That the commission of the United States at the
Universal Exhibition to be held at Paris in the year 1867 shall consist
of the commissioner-general and honorary commissioner, whose ap-
pointment was approved by the joint resolution of January 22 [15],
1866; also of the thirty commissioners whose appointment was pro-
vided for by the joint resolution of July 5, 1866, and of twenty com-
missioners whose appointment is hereinafter provided for.
2. That the commissioner-general shall be the president of the com-
mission thus constituted, with a vote on all questions that may arise.
3. That the commission shall meet at Paris as early as possible
before the opening of the exhibition, upon the call of the commis-
sioner-general, and, when properly organized, shall make such rules
and regulations as may be necessary for efficient action, with power to
elect a vice-president from their own number, who, in the absence of
668 CONGKESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the commissioner-general, shall preside, at all meetings of the commis-
sion, and to appoint committees and chairmen of groups.
i. That the commission may designate additional persons, not ex-
ceeding twenty in number, being citizens of the United States, known
to be skilled in any branch of industry or art, who are hereby author-
ized to attend the exhibition in behalf of the United States, as honoraiy
commissioners without compensation.
5. That the commission may employ a secretary and clerks for the
commission, the necessary scientific assistants and draftsmen, and may
engage suitable rooms for the commission.
6. That no commissioner shall act as agent for the show or sale of
an}- article at the exhibition, or be interested, directly or indirectly, in
any profits from any such article.
SEC. 2. And l>e it further resolved., That $50,000, or so much thereof
as may be necessary for the purposes severally specified, are hereby
appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated:
For additional freights from New York to Havre.
For transportation and freights from Havre to Paris.
For return freight of articles owned by the United States or lent to
the Government by individuals.
For marine and fire insurance on the articles thus lent.
For additional steam power at Paris, in the ' ' palace " and the ' ' annex, "
or supplemental building, and in grounds adjacent.
For the exhibition of machines, agricultural and other, and for the
erection of buildings to illustrate the education and agriculture of the'
United States, and for the collection of specimens of agricultural pro-
ductions, under the joint resolution for that purpose.
For the necessary expense of collecting, classifying, labeling, and
packing mineralogical and metallurgical specimens, to complete the
exhibition of the mineral wealth of the United States.
For the necessary expense of laborers and extra service in the
offices at Paris and New York, and for the expenses of a secretary,
clerks, scientific assistants and draftsmen, rooms, and other incidental
expenses of the commission.
SEC. 3. And Tie itfurtJier resolved, That it shall be the duty of the
general agent at New York, and of the commissioner-general at Paris,
to transmit to Congress, through the Department of State, a detailed
statement of the manner in which the expenditures herein authorized
are made by them respectively.
(Stat., XV, 19.)
Havre International Maritime Exhibition.
March 12, 1868.
Resolved, etc., That the Secretary of the Navy be authorized to
detail one or more officers of the Navy, as he shall think best, to be
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 669
present at the International Maritime Exhibition, to be held at Havre,
under the auspices of the French Government, from June 1 to October
31, of the present year, there to represent the United States, and other-
wise promote the interests of exhibitors from our country: Provided,
That no expenditure shall accrue therefrom to the Treasury, or to any
public fund, nor shall any mileage or other expenses, or any additional
compensation be paid to such persons as may be designated under
authority of this resolution, nor shall any national or public vessel be
employed to convey the officers so detailed to or from the place of
such exhibition.
(Stat., XV, 249.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the
January 7, 1868 House.
The Speaker (Mr. SCHUYLER COLFAX) announced the appointment,
as Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, of Jas. A. Garfield, of Ohio,
L. P. Poland, of Vermont, and J. V. L. Pruyn, of New York.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
January 6, 1868 Senate.
Mr. L. TRUMBULL, offered resolution:
That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution of the
class "other than members of Congress" be filled by the appointment of Theodore
D. Woolsey, of Connecticut; William B. Astor, of New York; John Maclean, of New
Jersey, and Peter Parker, of the city of Washington.
January 7, 1868 Senate.
The resolution to appoint Regents was adopted.
January 7, 1868 House.
On motion of Mr. J. A. GARFIELD the Senate resolution of Janu-
ary 7, to appoint Regents, was adopted.
January 11, 1868.
Resolved, etc., That the vacancies in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution of the class " other than members of Congress"
be filled by the appointment of Theodore D. Woolsey of Connecticut,
William B. Astor of New York, John Maclean of New Jersey, and
Peter Parker of the city of Washington.
(Stat., XV, 246.)
January 22, 1869 Senate.
Mr. HENRY WELSON offered resolution:
That Louis Agassiz, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, be, and he is hereby, reappointed
a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution to fill the vacancy occasioned by the expira-
tion of his present term.
Adopted.
670 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 2, 1869 House.
Joint resolution reappointing Louis Agassi/ a Regent of the Smith-
sonian Institution, passed.
March 3, 1869.
Resol/oed, etc., That Louis Agassiz, of Cambridge, Massachusetts,
be, and he is hereby, reappointed a Regent of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion to fill the vacancy occasioned by the expiration of his present term.
(Stat., XV, 349.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
February 27, 1868 House.
The civil appropriation bill being under consideration, the clerk
read:
Smithsonian Institution: "For the preservation of the collections of the exploring
and surveying expeditions of the Government, $1,000."
Mr. L. P. POLAND. I move to amend the paragraph just read by
striking out "$1,000" and inserting "$6,000." I apprehend that
the Committee on Appropriations had not, probably, looked into the
history of this annual appropriation to the Smithsonian Institution
for taking care of these collections of the Government when they con-
cluded to report this sum. These collections were kept in the Patent
Office building up to 1857, and were then much smaller than they are
now. An annual appropriation of $4,000 for the purpose of taking
care of these collections was made from 1842 to 1857. In 1857 the
room occupied for that purpose in the Patent Office building was
needed for other purposes, for models, etc., and these collections
were then removed to the Smithsonian building, where they have since
been kept. An annual appropriation of $4,000 for their preservation
was made from 1857 to last year, when the sum was increased to
$10,000. These collections have been very largely increased; they
have been doubled; in fact, they have been quadrupled since they
were removed to the Smithsonian building, and the expense of taking
care of them has been very largely increased in consequence of the
general increase of the prices of labor, fuel, and everything that goes
to make up that expense. Even if the amount of labor had not been
increased in consequence of the increase of the collections, the appro-
priation, which from 1842 to 1866 was $4,000, ought to be increased to
at least $6,000.
The fund of the Smithsonian Institution, whatever it ma} r be, is a
fixed sum, and in consequence of the great increase in the prices of
everything, it is not now worth more than half as much to the
Institution as it was formerly. A very large portion of the income
from the fund for the Institution for the last two years has had to be
expended in refitting and repairing the building, rendered necessary
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 671
b} r the destructive and ruinous fire that occurred there in 1865. It
seems to me there can be no question but what the appropriation for
this purpose should be at least $6,000.
Mr. CHARLES UPSON. Who has the disbursing of this money, and
what account is ever rendered to anyone of the manner in which it
was expended?
Mr. POLAND. It is disbursed under the care of Professor Henry,
one of the most prudent men in the country, and it is all reviewed by
the Board of Regents.
Mr. E. B. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. The Committee on Appropria-
tions thought that $1,000 a year was about as much as the people of
this country desire to pay to preserve the collections of the exploring
and surveying expeditions of the Government. The amount appro-
priated heretofore has been much larger, as the gentleman from Ver-
mont [Mr. Poland] has. said. I had a conversation this morning with
Professor Henry, who stated to me how this appropriation was to be
used. From what he told me I am willing to admit that there should
be appropriated a much larger sum than the committee have reported
in this bill, though not so much as $6,000, as the gentleman from Ver-
mont has proposed. The Professor himself expressed himself satisfied
with $4,000, the usual annual appropriation for this purpose.
Mr. POLAND. It may be true that Professor Henry did not desire to
have the friends of the Smithsonian Institution to get into a contro-
versy with the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Washburne], for he knew
too well how much was involved in that; and "to buy his peace," as
lawyers say, he agreed to take $4,000 instead of asking for $6,000. He ,
tells me, and I have no doubt tells the gentleman, that $6,000 is needed,
and that he ought to have it.
Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I understood that he would be entirely
satisfied with $4,000; and I will say that instead of losing anything
by any controversy with me he would certainly obtain an additional
amount here by getting into any such controversy. Will the gentle-
man from Vermont [Mr. Poland] consent to modify the amendment
by making the amount $4,000?
Mr. POLAND. No, sir.
Mr. J. V. L. PRUYN. Mr. Chairman, I move pro forma to amend
the amendment by making the amount $7,500. I am prepared to cor-
roborate in all substantial particulars the statement made by the gen-
tleman from Vermont [Mr. Poland]. It is quite impossible that these
collections can be taken care of for a less silm than five or six thousand
dollars. They occupy the large hall of the Smithsonian Institution,
the best part of the whole building. The rent of such a room anywhere
else in this city would cost as much as the appropriation asked for.
If the gentleman from Illinois will agree to an appropriation of $5,000,
I will modify my amendment so as to name that sum.
672 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. No, sir; $4,000 is the usual appropri-
ation, and I see no reason why, in the present condition of our finances,
we should increase it.
Mr. PRUYN. I withdraw my amendment; but I hope the committee
will agree to vote at least $6,000 for this purpose.
Mr. LEWIS SELYE. Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the amendment.
I would like to know of what this Institution consists. I would like
the gentleman from New York [Mr. Pruyn] or the gentleman from
Vermont [Mr. Poland] to tell us how many of his constituents ever saw
this Institution or ever will see it or ever want to see it? It is enough
to make any man or woman sick to visit that Institution. No one can
expect to get any benefit from it. I am opposed, sir, to taxing my
constituents $7,000 a year to keep up any such institution.
Mr. POLAND. In accordance with what seems to be the wish of gen-
tlemen around me, I modify my amendment so as to make the amount
$5,000.
On the amendment of Mr. Poland as modified there were ayes 50,
noes 53.
Mr. POLAND called for tellers.
Tellers were ordered, and Mr. R. P. Spalding and Mr. L. Selye were
appointed.
The committee divided, and the tellers reported ayes 40, noes 55.
Amendment not agreed to.
Mr. GINERY TWICHELL. I move to amend by striking out "one"
and inserting "four," so as to make the paragraph read:
> For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, $4,000.
Agreed to.
May 1, 1868 House.
The Speaker (Mr. S. COLFAX) laid before the House a communica-
tion from the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
On motion of Mr. J. A. Garfield, referred to the Committee on
Appropriations and ordered to be printed:
To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, etc.:
In behalf of the Board, of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the undersigned
beg leave respectfully to submit to your honorable body the following statement, and
to solicit such action in regard to it as may be deemed just and proper.
The act of Congress organizing the Institution ordered the erection of a building
which should accommodate, on a liberal scale, besides a library and a gallery of art,
a museum, consisting of all the specimens of natural history, geology, and art which
then belonged to the Government, or which might thereafter come into its posses-
sion by exchange or otherwise. Although the majority of the Regents did not con-
sider the maintenance of these objects to be in accordance with the intention of
Smithson, as inferred from a strict interpretation of the terms of his will, yet in
obedience to the commands of Congress they proceeded to erect a building of the
necessary dimensions and to take charge of the Government collections.
FOETIETH CONGKESS, 1867-1869. 673
The erection, and maintenance of so large and expensive an edifice, involving an
outlay of $450,000, and the charge of the Government museum have proved a griev-
ous burden on the Institution, increasing from year to year, which, had not its
effects been counteracted by a judicious management of the funds, would have par-
alyzed the legitimate operations of the establishment and frustrated the evident
intention of Smithson.
It is true that Congress, at the time the specimens were transferred to the Institu-
tion, granted an appropriation of $4,000 for their care and preservation, that being
the equivalent of the estimated cost of the maintenance of these collections in the
Patent Office, where they had previously been exhibited. But this sum, from the
rise in prices and the expansion of the museum by the specimens obtained from
about fifty exploring expeditions ordered by Congress, scarcely more than defrays,
at the present time, one-third of the annual expense. In this estimate no account
is taken of the rent of the part of the building devoted to the museum of the Gov-
ernment, which at a moderate estimate would be $20,000 per annum.
Besides the large expenditure which has already been made on the building, at
least $50,000 more will be required to finish the large hall in the second story,
necessary for the full display of the specimens of the Government. But the Regents
do not think it judicious further to embarrass the active operations for several years
to come by devoting a large part of the income to this object, and have, therefore,
concluded to allow this room to remain unfinished until other means are provided
for completing it.
It is not by its castellated building nor the exhibition of the museum of the Gov-
ernment that the Institution has achieved its present reputation, nor by the collec-
tion and display of material objects of any kind that it has vindicated the intelli-
gence and good faith of the Government in the administration of the trust. It is by
its explorations, its researches, its publications, its distribution of specimens, and its
exchanges, constituting it an active, living organization, that it has rendered itself
favorably known in every part of the civilized world, has made contributions to
almost every branch of science, and brought more than ever before into immediate
and friendly relations the Old and the New Worlds.
A central museum for a complete representation of the products of America, with
such foreign specimens as may be required for comparison and generalization, is of
great importance, particularly as a means of developing and illustrating our indus-
trial resources, as well as of facilitating the study pf the relations of our geology,
mineralogy, flora, and fauna to those of the Old World. But the benefit of such an
establishment is principally confined to this country, and does not partake of the
cosmopolitan character of an institution such as Smithson intended to found, and
therefore ought not to be supported from his bequest.
The Board of Regents are confident that upon a full consideration of the case your
honorable body will grant an adequate support for the collections, of the Government,
and also an appropriation for finishing the repairs of the building, and eventually,
when the financial condition of the country will permit, for the independent main-
tenance of a national museum.
It may not be improper, in addition to what hae been said, to recall the fact
that the Smithsonian Institution has transferred, without cost, to the library of
Congress one of the most valuable and complete collections of the transactions of
scientific and learned societies and serial publications in existence, consisting of at
least 50,000 works, which, with the annual continuation of the same series, must
render Washington a center of scientific knowledge and the library itself worthy of
the nation; and that it has also presented to the Government its valuable collection
of specimens of art illustrating the history of engraving from the earliest periods. It
is prepared to render a similar service to a national museum by the exchanges from
H. Doc. 732 43
674 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
foreign museums to which it has been a liberal contributor, and which may be
obtained as soon as means are provided for their transportation and accommodation.
It may also be mentioned that the Institution has rendered important service to
the Government through the scientific investigations it has made in connection with
the operations of the different departments, and it is not too much to say that through
the labors of its officers it has been the means of saving millions of dollars to the
National Treasury.
In conclusion, your memorialists beg leave to represent on behalf of the Board of
Regents that the usual annual appropriation of $4, 000 is wholly inadequate to the cost
of preparing, preserving, and exhibiting the specimens, the actual expenditure for that
purpose in 1867 having been over $12,000, and they take the liberty of respectfully
urging on your honorable body the expediency of increasing it to $10,000, and that a
further sum of $25,000 be appropriated at this session of Congress toward the com-
pletion of the hall required for the Government collections.
And your memorialists will ever pray, ete.
S. P. CHASE,
Chancellor Smithsonian Institution.
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary timitlisonian Institution.
May 2, 1868 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. B. F. WADE) laid before the
Senate a communication from the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to be
printed. (See House, May 1, 1808.)
July 20, 1868.
Sundry civil act for 1869.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the collections of
the exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat., XV, 115.)
March 1, 1869 House.
The miscellaneous appropriation bill being under consideration, an
amendment was read :
For the preservation of the collections of the exploring and surveying expeditions
of the Government, $4,000.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD. I move to amend this paragraph by striking
out "$4,000" and inserting "$10,000." And I wish briefly to call the
attention of the Committee of the Whole to the facts upon which I
base my motion.
In 1846, when the Smithsonian Institution was founded, the Gov-
ernment of the United States, by a law of Congress, transferred to
that Institution all the articles now belonging to the museum which the
Government then owned. At that time it was costing $4,000 a year
to take care of and preserve those articles. Since then a great num-
ber of exploring expeditions have been sent out by the Government
and large additions have been made to the museum, and the actual
cost of taking care of and keeping the articles which the Government
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 675
now owns amounts to more than $10,000 a year. Having imposed this
duty upon the Smithsonian Institution, it is wrong for the Govern-
ment to ask that Institution to pay $6,000 out of its own fund donated
by a foreigner to the cause of science in this country for the care,
preservation, and custody of Government property, to say nothing of
the use of the building for that purpose.
Mr. HORACE MAYNARD. What are the items of the expenditure for
that purpose? It certainly is not all for personal supervision.
Mr. GARFIELD. Only so far as the Board of Regents have to employ
persons to take care of and watch that these things are properly
guarded. I have here a memorial of the Board of Regents, of which
I am a member. It is signed by the Chancellor of the Institution,
Chief Justice Chase, and by the Secretary of the Institution, Professor
Henry. Accompanying that is a detailed statement of the expenses
of the National Museum for the year 1868. I ask the attention of
members to these papers.
[See proceedings of May 1, 1868.]
The following is a statement of the expense of the National Museum
for the year 1868:
Glass for cases $154.33
Carbolic acid, insect power, and arsenic 72. 85
Glass bottles and jars 96.68
Trays..' 180.01
Wrapping paper 1 63. 90
Benzine, paint, oil, varnish, putty, brushes 201.87
Saucers for nests and eggs 22. 30
Stationery, index books, and blanks 123. 57
Labels for specimens 208. 04
Locks, keys, handles, funnels, measures, tools, cans, etc 185. 05
Paper and poison for plants 347. 20
Numbers and labels for minerals 94,. 41
Examination, cleaning, assorting, and labeling shells 1, 168. 95
Books for labeling specimens 430. 47
Tow for stuffing large animals (bears) 24. 90
Artificial eyes for birds, etc 35. 95
Packing boxes 50. 40
Alcohol 400.00
Mounting birds, beaver, etc 195. 50
Freight on collections 1, 200. 00
Walnut cases for specimens 1, 100. 00
Heating room for collections 500. 00
Assistants one 'at $2,500, one at $600, one at $500, and one at $300 3, 900. 00
Laborers and watchmen one at $840, one at $660, one at $600, one at
$312, and one at $312 2,724.00
13, 480. 38
In addition to the foregoing, $125,000 have been expended since the
fire in 1865 on that part of the building required for the accommoda-
676 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
tion of the museum, the interest on which, at (> per cent, would !>e
$7,500 annually.
The bequest to found this Institution was from a foreigner who
never visited the United States. He bequeathed his fortune with unre-
served confidence to our Government for the advancement of science,
to which he had devoted his own life. The sacredness of the trust is
enhanced from the fact that it was accepted after the death of him by
whom it was confided. The only indications of his intentions which
we possess are expressed in the terms of his will, it therefore
became of the first importance that the import of these terms should
be critically analyzed and the logical inference from them faithfully
observed. The whole is contained in these few and explicit words:
To found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an estab-
lishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
These terms have a strictly scientific import, and are susceptible of
a scries of definite propositions.
First. The bequest is for the benefit of mankind; not to be confined
to one country, to one race, but to all men of all complexions.
Second. The objects of the Institution are primarily to increase, and
secondly to diffuse, knowledge among men, and these objects should
not be confounded with each other.
The will makes no restriction of any kind of knowledge, hence every
branch of science capable of advancement is entitled to a share of
attention.
Though the terms of the will are explicit and convey precise scien-
tific ideas to those who are acquainted with their technical significance,
yet to t]ie public generally they might seem to admit of a greater lati-
tude of construction than has been put upon them. It is, therefore, not
surprising that at the commencement improper conceptions of tlje
nature of the bequest should have been entertained, or that Congress in
the act of organization should direct the prosecution of objects incom-
patible with the strict interpretation of it or to impose burdens upon
the Institution tending materially to affect its usefulness.
The principal of such burdens was the direction to provide a build-
ing on an ample scale to make provision for the accommodation of the
collections of Government, consisting of all the specimens of nature
and art then in the city of Washington or that might hereafter become
the property of the Government, by exchange or otherwise.
Though the majority of the Board of Regents did not consider the
expenditure of a large amount of the income on this subject in accord-
ance with the will of Smithson, they could not refuse to obey the
injunction of Congress, and proceeded to erect an extended building
and to take, charge of the museum of the Government. The cost of
this building, which at first was $325,000, has been increased by the
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 677
reparation of damages caused by the fire to $450,000, the whole of
which has been defrayed from the annual income. Notwithstanding
this burden the Institution has achieved a reputation as wide as the
civilized world, has advanced almost every branch of knowledge, and
presented books and specimens to hundreds of institutions and societies
in this country and abroad.
It is not a mere statical establishment, as many may suppose, sup-
porting a corps of individuals whose only duty is the exhibition of the
articles of the show museum, but a living, active organization that has
by its publications, researches, explorations, distribution of specimens
and exchanges vindicated the intelligence and good faith of the Gov-
ernment in administering a fund intended for the good of the whole
community of civilized men. It has at the same time collected a
library, principally of the transactions and proceedings of learned
societies, the most perfect one of the kind in the world, consisting of
50,000 works; also a collection of engravings illustrative of the prog-
ress and early history of the arts, both of which it has transferred to
the Library of Congress. It is not alone the present value of the
books which it has placed in the possession of the Government, but
also that of the perpetual continuation of the several series contained
therein.
The Institution has continued to render important service to the
Government from its first organization until the present time by exam-
ining and reporting on scientific questions pertaining to the operations
of the different departments, and in this way, particularly during the
war, it is not too much to say that it has saved the United States many
millions of dollars.
Let me say one word more before leaving this subject. As I have
shown the real purpose of the donation of Smithson, which the Board
of Regents have tried to promote as well as as they could, was to
extend and circulate means of scientific information, and the manage-
ment of the Institution has always resisted the tendency to keep up
and increase this museum at the expense of this fund.
Recently the Institution has given over to the Library of Congress
a collection of 50,000 volumes, constituting probably the most perfect
scientific library in the world. But we are still charged as an Institu-
tion with the cost of this rapidly increasing museum. Now, the
Regents would be glad . if Congress would take this museum off their
hands and provide otherwise for the care of it. It is a charge imposed
upon the Institution by law, a charge which it never sought and is not
desirous to retain. At the time when this museum was first placed in
the custody of the Institution it cost but $4,000 a year to keep it in the
Patent Office. Now the care of that museum costs three times that
amount. I hope, therefore, that the committee will vote $10,000 instead
of $4,000 for this purpose.
678 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. R. P. SPALDING. Mr. Chairman,' J am very sorry to find the
Smithsonian Institution among the leeches that are all the while crying
to the Treasury of the United States, "Give, give! " The Smithsonian
is a wealthy Institution. The Government of the United States is
continually paying it gold interest on the large fund belonging to the
Institution; but the Institution is not willing to bear this little addi-
tional expense, as it is called, from its own means, but wishes to obtain
the money from the public Treasury. The men who pay the taxes
must contribute the additional sum to this wealthy Institution.
Sir, we have loaned to that Institution the National Museum. We
have paid the Institution for a series of years $4,000 annually in cash
for taking care of that museum. The Institution has been content
with that sum heretofore; but now it comes in and asks an appropria-
of $10,000 for this purpose. Sir, we had better take away the museum
from the care of that Institution. I had almost said we had better
throw it into the Potomac than be constantly paying these increased
demands from the Smithsonian Institution. That is the light in which
the committee have viewed the subject; and in that light they protest
against this increase.
Amendment not agreed to.
March 3, 1869.
Sundry civil act for 1870.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the collections of
the exploring and surveying expeditions of the Government, $4,000.
(Stat, XV, 807.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
February 28, 1868.
Resolved, etc., That the Librarian of Congress be, and is hereby,
directed to deliver to the Secretary of State a set of Dana's Crustacea,
being volumes 13 and 14 of the narrative of the exploring expedition
under Captain Wilkes; and that the Secretary of State is nereby
directed to deliver them to the Government of Great Britain.
(Stat., XV, 248.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
May 29, 1868 Senate.
Annual report for 1867 was presented.
Mr. L. TRUMBULL moved to print 5,000 extra copies.
May 29, 1868 House.
Annual report for 1867 presented.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD moved to print 5,000 extra' copies.
May 30, 1868 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
resolution :
That 5,000 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the
year 1867 be printed; 3,000 for the use of the Senate and 2,000 for the use of the
FORTIETH CONGRESS, 1867-1869. 679
Smithsonian Institution, and that the said report be stereotyped: Provided, That the
aggregate number of pages of said report shall not exceed 450, without illustrations,
except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Adopted.
June 5, 1868 House.
Mr. A. H. LAFLIN, from the Committee on Printing, reported
resolution:
That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion; 3,000 for the use of the House and 2,000 for the Institution; the same to be
stereotyped, at the expense heretofore provided for.
Adopted.
February 13, 1869 Senate.
Annual report for 1868 presented and ordered to be printed.
Mr. W. P. FESSENDEN offered a resolution to have additional copies
printed.
February 13, 1869 House.
Annual report of Smithsonian Institution for 1868 presented and
ordered to be printed.
Mr. J. V. L. PRUYN offered a resolution to have 5,000 extra copies
printed.
Mr. E. C. INGERSOLL moved to increase the number of extra copies
to 10,000, on account of the value of the document.
February 27, 1869 House.
Mr. A. H. LAFLIN, from the Committee on Printing," reported reso-
lution :
Resolved, That there be printed 5,000 extra copies of the report of the Smithsonian
Institution; 3,000 for the use of the House, and 2,000 for the use of the Institution;
the same to be stereotyped, at the expense heretofore provided for.
Adopted.
March 1, 1869 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
resolution:
Resolved, That 5, 000 copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year
1868 be printed; 3,000 for the use of the Senate, and 2,000 for the use of the Institu-
tion; and that said report be stereotyped: Provided, That the aggregate number of
pages of said report shall not exceed 450, without illustrations, except those furnished
by the Institution.
Adopted.
POWELL'S EXPLORATION.
June 11, 1868.
Be it resolved, etc. , That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby,
authorized and empowered to issue rations for twenty-five men of the
expedition engaged in the exploration of the River Colorado, under
direction of Professor Powell, while engaged in that work: Provided,
That such issue is not detrimental to the interests of the military
service.
(Stat., XV, 253.)
680 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
WASHINGTON CANAL.
June 16, 1868. Senate.
Mr. JAMES HARLAN presented a report of the executive committee
of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, on the influences of the
Washington city canal on the health of the population of the citj r .
Referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia and ordered
to be printed.
(See Smithsonian report for 1868, p. Ill, and Senate Mis. Doc, No.
95, 40th Congress, 2d Sess.)
SMITIISON FUND.
July 20, 1868.
Sundry civil act for 1869.
To pay William H. West for services rendered for taking care of
and keeping safely the bonds held in trust by the Secretary of the
Treasury for the benefit of the Smithsonian Institution, from March
1, 1850, to July 1, 1863, $2,500, to be paid out of the Smithsonian
fund.
(Stat., XV, 118.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
July 20, 1868.
, Sundry civil act for 1869.
Library of Congress: For the expenses of exchanging public docu-
ments for the publications of foreign governments, as provided })\
resolution approved March 2, 1867, $1,500.
(Stat., XV, 95.)
July 25, 1868.
Resolved, etc. , That the Congressional Printer, whenever he shall be
so directed by the Joint Committee on the Library, be, and he hereby
is, directed to print fifty copies in addition to the regular number, of
all documents hereafter printed by order of either House of Congress,
or by order of any Department or bureau of the Government, and
whenever he shall be so directed by the Joint Committee on the
Library, one hundred copies additional of all documents ordered to
be printed, in excess of the usual number; said fifty or one hundred
copies to be delivered to the Librarian of Congress, to be exchanged,
under direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, as provided
by joint resolution approved March 2, 1867.
SEC. 2. And be it further resolved. That fifty copies of each publica-
tion printed under direction of any Department or bureau of the
Government, whether at the Congressional Printing Office or else-
where, shall be placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee on the
Library, to carry out the provisions of said resolution.
(Stat., XV, 260.)
FOBTY-FIEST CONGRESS, 1869-1871. 681
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
March 3, 1869.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1870.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XV, 286.)
FORTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1869-1871.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
January 18, 1870 Senate.
On motion of Mr. LTMAN TRUMBULL, that the vacancy in the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, caused by the death of
W. P. Fessenden, be filled, the Vice-Presi<Jent (Mr. Schuyler Colfax)
appointed Hannibal Hamlin a Regent.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
February 2, 1870 House.
The Speaker (Mr. J. G. ELAINE) announced the appointment of the
following Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: Luke P. Poland,
James A. Garfield, Samuel S. Cox.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
January 26, 1871 Senate.
A letter of resignation as Regent of the Smithsonian Institution from
Gen. Richard Delafield was read:
WASHINGTON, D. C. , January 25, 1871.
SIR: The period of six years for which I was appointed a Regent of the Smithso-
nian Institution under a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives
expires in February.
I believe the welfare and the best interest of the Institution may be subserved by
tendering my resignation of this trust and responsibility at the present date, that the
Board of Regents and Congress may have the necessary time to appoint my successor
and enable him to attend the annual meeting of the Board of Regents now about to
take place.
I have requested Hon. J. A. Garfield to present my resignation as a Regent to the
board at its first meeting, and, should the occasion require, request you will state the
fact to the Senate of my having tendered my resignation for the reasons herein
stated.
Respectfully, your obedient servant, RICHARD DELAFIELD,
Brigadier-General U. S. A. (retired).
Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Vice- President of the U. S.,
Member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
682 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
January 27, 1871 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN offered resolution:
Resolved, etc., That Gen. William T. Sherman be, and he is hereby, appointed a
member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in the place of Gen.
Richard Delafield, resigned.
Adopted.
January 30, 1871 House.
On motion of Mr. L. P. POLAND the House took up and passed the
joint resolution appointing William T. Sherman a Regent of the Smith-
sonian Institution in the place of Richard Delafield, resigned.
February 2, 1871.
Resolved, etc., That General William T. Sherman be, and he is
hereby appointed a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithson-
ian Institution, in the place of Richard Delafield, resigned.
(Stat, XVI, 593.)
REPORT OF* SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
March 30, 1870 Senate.
Annual report for 1869 presented, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. L. TRUMBULL offered a resolution to have 6,000 copies printed.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 31, 1870 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from Committee on Printing, reported con-
current resolution to print 13,000 copies of the report for 1869.
Passed.
April 20, 1870 House.
The resolution by the Senate to print 13,000 additional copies of the
report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1869 was objected to.
June 7, 1870 House.
Mr. JOEL F. ASPER offered a resolution that 2,000 copies of the
reports of the Smithsonian Institution for 1866, 1867, and 1868 be
printed from the stereotype plates.
A letter from Professor Henry was read:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., May 28, 1870.
MY DEAR SIR: I have the honor, with your permission, to address you in relation
to extra copies of the reports of this Institution, for which the demand has of late
years become so great that the number ordered by the House for its members has not
been sufficient to supply more than half their constituents who desire them. During
the last three years, and especially during the year just passed, so numerous have
been the demands upon us for copies of reports that our stock is entirely exhausted.
The report gives not only an account of the operations of the Institution, but also, in
an appendix, a series of translations which exhibit the progress of science in foreign
countries. A copy is sent to each of the foreign correspondents of the establishment;
to colleges, public libraries, and learned societies publishing transactions; to meteoro-
logical observers of the Institution; to contributors of the material to the library or
museum, and to persons engaged in teaching or in special scientific research, so far
as the number of copies furnished to the Institution will allow.
FORTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1869-1871. 683
In view of these facts, I would respectfully suggest that there be struck off from
the stereotype plates of the reports for 1866, 1867, and 1868, now in the hands of the
Public Printer, 2,000 copies of each volume 1,000 for the use of the House and the
other 1,000 for distribution by the Institution.
I have the honor to be, very truly, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. J. F. ASPER,
U. S. House of Representatives.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
July 12, 1870 House.
Mr. A. H. LAFLIN reported resolution from the Committee on
Printing:
That 10,000 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the
year 1869 be printed, 3,000 of which shall be for the use of the Senate, 4,000 for the
use of the House, and 3,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution: Provided,
That the aggregate number of pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and there
shall be no illustrations, except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Adopted.
July 13, 1870 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY reported, from the Committee on Printing, the
resolution of the House of Representatives to print 10,000 additional
copies of the Smithsonian report for 1869.
Concurred in.
December 12, 1870 House.
Mr. E. C. INGERSOLL offered resolution:
That there be printed from stereotyped plates now in possession of the Public
Printer, 2,000 copies each of the reports of the Smithsonian Institution for the years
1865, 1866, 1867, 1868; 1,000 of these to be for the use of the members of the House,
and 1,000 for distribution by the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
May 5, 1870.
fiesotoed, etc. , That the sum of $2, 500, appropriated by acts approved
July 30, 1868, and March 3, 1869, "for expenses of exchanging pub-
lic documents for the publications of foreign governments," the same
being an unexpended balance not required for that purpose, be, and
the same is hereby, transferred to the fund for the purchase of books
for the Library of Congress.
(Stat., XVI, 375.)
July 12, 1870.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1871.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public docu-
ments for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XVI, 234.)
684 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 3. 1871.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1872.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public dccu-
inents for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500. .
(Stat, XVI, 479.)
CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART.
May 24, 1870.
Be it enacted, etc. , That James M. Carlisle, James C. Hall, George
W. Riggs, Anthony Hyde, James G. Berret, James C. Kennedy, Henry
D. Cooke, and James C. McGuire, of the city of Washington, and of
Georgetown, District of Columbia, and William T. Walters, of the city
of Baltimore, State of Maryland, and their successors, be, and they
are hereby, created and constituted a body politic and corporate in
law, by the name and style of the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of
Art, and by that name may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded,
have perpetual succession, and shall and may take, hold, manage, and
dispose of, at all times, real and personal estate, and shall and may do
and perform all other acts and things necessary or appropriate for the
execution of the trusts created and conferred on them in and by a cer-
tain deed from William W. Corcoran, to them, the said parties here-
inbefore named, which is dated the tenth day of May, 1869, and was
recorded on the eighteenth of the same month in liber D, number
eight, folio 294, et sequitur, one of the land records of Washington
County, District of Columbia, to which reference is hereby made for
greater certainty; the intent of this charter of incorporation being that
the same shall be in execution of the trusts in the said deed declared
and set forth, and not to any other intent or purpose whatever.
SEC. 2. And l)e it further enacted, That the Secretary of War, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of State be, and they are
hereby, authorized and directed to ascertain and settle, upon princi-
ples of justice, a fair and just compensation for the use of the ground
and buildings described in the before-mentioned deed, while the same
were occupied by the United States for the public service, and that the
sum so ascertained and settled by them, or a majority of them, shall,
upon their certificate and award thereof, be paid to the corporation
hereinbefore created, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That any tax which may be
claimed or due to the United States, by reason of the transfer of the
property above mentioned or the execution and delivery of the said
deed from the said William W. Corcoran to the above-named trustees,
be, and the same is hereby, remitted and released.
SEC. 4. And le it further enacted, That the aforesaid buildings and
grounds connected therewith, together with all the works of art that
FORTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1869-1871. 08 J
may be contained therein, shall be free from all taxes and assessment^
by the municipal authorities, or by the United States, so long as the
same shall be held and used for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
(Stat, XVI, 139.)
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
June 21, 1870.
Be it enacted, etc., That Henry D. Cooke, George W. Riggs, James
C. Kennedy, Spencer F. Baird, General O. O. Howard, T. W. Bart-
ley, Joseph Casey, Horace Capron, James C. McGuire, and George
Taylor, of the city of Washington, District of Columbia, and their
associates and successors, be, and are hereby, incorporated and made
a body corporate, by the name of the Washington Zoological Society,
and 'by that name may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in
any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction, and be entitled to
use and exercise all the powers, rights, and privileges incident to such
corporations for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a zoologi-
cal garden in the city of Washington, and that they, the said corpora-
tors, may purchase or lease any real or personal estate required for the
purpose aforesaid; and after the said zoological garden shall be estab-
lished, the said company, for the purpose of paying the expenses of
the same, may charge and receive a fee for entry thereunto, not exceed-
ing twenty-five cents for each and every person over the age of twelve
years and ten cents for each and every person under said age: Pro-
vided, That said society shall, for at least one day in each and every
week, open said garden to all classes for a charge not exceeding ten
cents each.
SEC. 2. Andbe it further enacted, That the said society may from time
to time import into this country from foreign countries, free of duty,
all birds and animals necessary for the establishment of said garden;
and in consideration thereof the said society shall do all in their power
to introduce valuable animals, poultry, and birds, and furnish the same
to persons or societies requiring the same at the least possible cost.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said society be, and is
hereby, authorized to use, under the direction of the water register
[registrar] of the city of Washington, without charge, the Potomac
water for the purpose of hydrants, ponds, and fountains in said garden.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the government, and direc-
tion of the said society shall be invested in said corporators; and that
they shall have full power to make and prescribe such by-laws, rules,
and regulations, as may become proper and necessary for the manage-
ment of the property and interests of said society not contrary to this
charter or the laws of the United States.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That Congress shall have the right
to amend, alter, or repeal this act at any time.
(Stat., XVI, 157.)
686 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
STANLEY INDIAN PAINTINGS.
June 23, 1870.
Resolved, etc., That certain printed chromos of Indian paintings
belonging to John M. Stanley, not exceeding twenty-one thousand
copies, shall be admitted free of duty, under such rules and regula-
tions as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe: Provided* That
the permit so granted to John M. Stanley shall be in full settlement
of all claim against the United States for the destruction by fire, of
certain Indian paintings belonging to him, in January, 1864, at the
time of the burning of the building of the Smithsonian Institution, in
the city of Washington.
(Stat., XVI, 668.)
POWELL'S EXPLORATION.
July 12, 1870.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1871.
For completing the survey of the Colorado of the West and its trib-
utaries, under the direction of Professor Powell, $12,000, to be
expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior.
(Stat., XVI, 242.)
February 24, 1871 House.
The Clerk read as follows:
For continuing the completion of the survey of the Colorado of the West and its
tributaries, by Professor Powell, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior,
$12,000.
Mr. H. L. DA WES. I move to strike out the words ' ' Secretary of
the Interior" and insert " the Smithsonian Institution."
Agreed to.
March 3, 1871.
Sundry civil act for 1872.
For continuing the completion of the survey of the Colorado of the
West and its tributaries, by Professor Powell, under the direction of
the Smithsonian Institution, $12,000.
(Stat., XVI, 503.)
CAKE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
July 15, 1870.
Sundry civil act for 1871.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $10,000.
Toward the completion of the hall required for the Government
collections, $10,000.
(Stat., XVI, 294.)
FOBTY-FIRST CONGEESS, 1869-1871. 687
March 3, 1871.
Sundry civil act for 1872.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $10,000.
For the completion of the hall required for the Government collec-
tions, $10,000.
(Stat., XVI, 500.)
PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION.
March 3, 1871.
Whereas the Declaration of Independence of the United States of
America was prepared, signed, and promulgated in the year 1776 in
the city of Philadelphia; and whereas it behooves the people of the
United States to celebrate, by appropriate ceremonies, the centennial
anniversary of this memorable and decisive event, which constituted
the fourth day of July, anno Domini 1776, the birthday of the nation;
and whereas it is deemed fitting that the completion of the first cen-
tury of our national existence shall be commemorated by an exhibi-
tion of the natural resources of the country and their development,
and of its progress in those arts which benefit mankind, in comparison
with those of older nations; and whereas no place is so appropriate
for such an exhibition as the city in which occurred the event it is
designed to commemorate; and whereas, as the exhibition should be
a national celebration, in which the people of the whole country
should participate, it should have the sanction of the Congress of the
United States: Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That an exhibition of American and foreign arts,
products, and manufactures shall be held, under the auspices of the
Government of the United States, in the city of Philadelphia, in the
year 1876.
SEC. 2. That a commission to consist of not more than one delegate
from each State, and from each Territory of the United States, whose
functions shall continue until the close of the exhibition, shall be con-
stituted, whose duty it shall be to prepare and superintend the execu-
tion of a plan for holding the exhibition, and, after conference with
the authorities of the city of Philadelphia, to fix upon a suitable site
within the corporate limits of the said city, where the exhibition shall
be held.
SEC. 3. That said commissioners shall be appointed within one year
from the passage of this act by the President of the United States,
on the nomination of the governors of the States and Territories,
respectively.
SEC. 4. That in the same manner there shall be appointed one com-
missioner from each State and Territory of the United States, who
shall assume the place and perform the duties of such commissioner
(588 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
or commissioners ;i,s may be unable to attend the meetings of the
commission.
SEC. 5. That the commission shall hold its meetings in the city of
Philadelphia, and that a majority of its members shall have full power
to make all needful rules for its government.
SEC. 6. That the commission shall report to Congress, at the first
session after its appointment, a suitable date for opening and for clos-
ing the exhibition; a schedule of appropriate ceremonies for opening
or dedicating the same; a plan or plans of the buildings; a complete
plan for the reception and classification of articles intended for exhi-
bition; the requisite custom-house regulations for the introduction
into this country of the articles from foreign countries intended for
exhibition; and such other matters as in their judgment may be
important.
SEC. 7. That no compensation for services shall be paid to the com-
missioners or other officers provided by this act from the Treasury of
the United States; and the United States shall not be liable for any
expenses attending such exhibition, or by reason of the same.
SEC. 8. That whenever the President shall be informed by the gov-
ernor of the State of Pennsylvania that provision has been made for
the erection of suitable buildings for the purpose, and for the exclusive
control by the commission herein provided for of the proposed exhi-
bition, the President shall, through the Department of State, make
proclamation of the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibi-
tion will open and the place at which it will be held; and he shall
communicate to the diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of
the same, together with such regulations as may be adopted by the
commissioners, for publication in their respective countries.
(Stat., XVI, 470.)
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873.
AMENDMENT TO ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
March 13, 1871 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN. I ask unanimous consent of the Senate to introduce
a bill, and I desire to have it considered at this time. 1 think it will
not take two minutes.
By unanimous consent leave was granted to introduce a bill to
amend an act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men, approved August 10, 1846.
Considered as in Committee of the Whole.
The bill proposed to amend the act of August 10, 1846, by striking
out in the first section the words "mayor of the city of Washington,"
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873. 689
and inserting "governor of the District of Columbia," and by making
the same change in the third section of the act.
Be it enacted, etc., That "Auact to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," approved August 10, 1846, be, and
the same is hereby, amended in section 1 of said act by striking out the words
"the mayor of the city of Washington," and inserting in place thereof the words
"the governor of the District of Columbia," and that said act be further amended
in section three by striking out the words "the mayor of the city of Washington,"
and inserting in place thereof the words "the governor of the District of Columbia."
Mr. H. HAMLIN. Let me say to the Senate in one word what this
bill means. The original act creating the Institution made the mayor
of the city of Washington one of its Regents. We have abolished
that office, and this bill simply puts the governor of the Territory in
his place.
Passed.
March 14, 1871 House.
Senate bill, of March 13, 1871, was taken up on motion of Mr. L. P.
Poland. Passed.
March 20, 1871.
Be it enacted, etc., That "An act to establish the Smithsonian Insti-
tution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,"
approved August 10, 1846, be, and the same is hereby, amended in
section 1 of said act by striking out the words "the ma3 T or of the
city of Washington," and inserting in place thereof the words "the
governor of the District of Columbia," and that said act be further
amended in section 3 b} r striking out the words, "the mayor of the
city of Washington," and inserting in place thereof the words "the
governor of the District of Columbia."
(Stat., XVII, 1.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
April 10, 1871 House.
Mr. L. P. POLAND submitted a concurrent resolution for printing
reports of the Smithsonian Institution.
April 18, 1871 House.
Mr. ELLIS H. ROBERTS, from the Committee on Printing, reported
resolution :
Resolved by the House of Representatives, (the Senate concurring), That 12,500 addi-
tional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1870 be
printed, 2,500 for the use of the Senate, 5,000 for the use of the House, and 5,000 for
the use of the Smithsonian Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of
pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and that there shall be no illustrations,
except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Adopted.
H. Doc. 732 44
690 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
April 19, 1871 Senate.
The concurrent resolution of April IS, from the House of Repre-
sentatives, for the printing of 12,500 copies of the report of the
Smithsonian Institution for 1870, was agreed to.
April 3, 1872 House.
Mr. L. P. POLAND introduced concurrent resolution for printing
2,000 extra copies of each of the reports of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion for such volumes as the stereotype plates are in the Congressional
Printing Office.
April 26, 1872 Senate.
Annual report for 1871 laid before the Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN moved to have 12,500 extra copies of the report
printed.
April 26, 1872 House.
Annual report for 1871 laid before the House.
Mr. L. P. POLAND offered a resolution to print 20,000 extra copies
of the report.
May 2, 1872 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY reported resolution:
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That 12,500 addi-
tional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1871 he
printed, 2,500 for the use of the Senate, 5,000 for the use of the House, and 5,000
for the use of the Smithsonian Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of
pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and that there shall be no illustrations
except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to.
May 10, 1872 House.
Mr. W. P. PRICE, from the Committee on Printing, reported back
the concurrent resolution of the Senate to print 12,500 additional
copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1871.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD. I hope there will be an increase of the num-
ber of these reports to be printed. I move that the several numbers
be doubled.
Mr. S. J. RANDALL. 1 think 5,000 copies will be enough for the
Institution.
Mr. GARFIELD. Well, I will move to double the number for each
House of Congress, but not for the Smithsonian Institution.
The amendment was agreed to, and the resolution adopted.
May 23, 1872 House.
Mr. J. M. PENDLETON, from the Committee on Printing, offered
concurrent resolution :
That 2,000 copies of each of the reports of the Smithsonian Institution of which the
stereotype plates are now in the Congressional Printing Office be printed for distri-
bution by the Smithsonian Institution to libraries, colleges, and public establish-
ments.
Adopted.
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873. 691
May 24. 1872 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
nonconcurrence to the amendment of the House of Representatives to
increase the number of extra copies of the report for 1871 to 20,000.
Agreed to.
May 29, 1872 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
back House resolution of Ma}^ 23, 1872.
Agreed to.
June 3, 1872 House.
Mr. W. P. PRICE reported back from the committee the Senate
resolution for printing 12,500 extra copies of the report of the Smith-
sonian Institution for 1871. The House amended the resolution by
making the number 20,000, but the Senate refused to concur in that
amendment. The Committee on Printing recommended that the
House recede from its amendment.
Mr. L. P. POLAND. I hope the House will not recede.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES G. BLAINE). If there is to be a debate the
Chair can not entertain the proposition. The House is acting under
an order made under suspension of the rules to consider business on
the Speaker's table.
Mr. JOHN BEATTY. I think the gentleman from Vermont [Mr.
Poland] had better agree to the proposition to recede.
Mr. POLAND. No, sir; I have very good reasons for believing that
the Senate will concur in our amendment if we insist upon it.
December 20, 1872 House.
Mr. L. P. POLAND offered a resolution to have 20,000 extra copies
of the report for 1871 printed.
January 31, 1873 House.
Senate resolution of May 2, 1872, agreed to.
February 21, 1873 Senate.
Annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1872 presented.
February 21, 1873 House.
Mr. L. P. POLAND offered a resolution to have 20,000 extra copies
printed of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1872.
March 1, 1873 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY reported from the Committee on Printing
resolution :
That 12,500 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the
year 1872 be printed, 2,500 copies of which shall be for the use of the Senate, 5,000
for the use of the House, and 5,000 for the use of the Institution: Provided; That
the aggregate number of pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and that there
shall be no illustrations except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to.
692 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
March 3, 1873 House.
Mr. W. P. PRICE, from the Committee on Printing, reported con-
currence in the resolution of the Senate to print 12,500 extra copies
of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1872. Agreed to.
DECORATION FOR PROF. JOSEPH HENRY.
April 20, 1871.
Resolved, etc. , That the consent of Congress is hereby given to Pro-
fessor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to
accept the title and regalia of a commander of the Royal Norwegian
Order of St. Olaf , conferred upon him for his distinguished scientific
service and character by the King of Sweden and Norway, grand
master of said order.
(Stat., XVII, 643.)
EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
March 2, 1872.
Be it encwted, etc., That the Joint Committee on the Library be
authorized to grant to James D. Dana the use of such of the engraved
plates of the United States Exploring -Expedition under Captain
Wilkes, now in charge of said committee, as may be desired by him
for the publishing a book on corals and coral islands.
(Stat., XVII, 646.)
May 28, 1872.
Be it enacted, etc. , That the Joint Committee on the Library be, and
they are hereby, authorized to contract for the completion of three
unfinished volumes of the United States Exploring Expedition of the
years 1838 to 1842, to consist of physics and hydrography of the expe-
dition by Charles Wilkes, and the volume of bota,ny of the expedition
by John Torrey and others; said publication to be made in the same
style as the volumes heretofore published, and distributed in the same
manner: Provided, That no more than $9,000 shall in any case be
required to finish said volumes.
(Stat., XVII, 164.)
June 10. 1872.
Sundry civil act for 1873.
For the publication of three volumes of Wilkes's Exploring Expe-
dition, agreeably to act of May 28, 1872, $9,000.
(Stat., XVII, 362.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
May 8, 1872.
legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1873.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XV11, 64.)
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873. 693
May 18, 1872.
Deficiency act for 1872, etc.
Library of Congress: Fund for exchange of public documents, $6.70.
(Stat., XVII, 123.)
March 3, 1873.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1874.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XVII, 490.)
CARE OF GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
May 18, 1872.
Deficiency act for 1872, etc.
To commence the proper fitting-up, in a fire-proof manner, of the
vacant apartments in the Smithsonian Institution building for the
proper distribution and exhibition of the Government collections of
natural history, geology, and mineralogy, $5,000.
(Stat., XVII, 131.)
June 10, 1872.
Sundry civil act for 1873.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of. the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $15,000.
For the completion of the hall required for the Government collec-
tions, $10,000.
(Stat,, XVII, 361.)
February 28, 1873 Senate.
Mr. JOHN W. STEVENSON. I am authorized by the Committee on
Appropriations to offer a small amendment on page 27, line 658, to
strike out "fifteen" and insert "twenty." The clause now reads:
For preservation of the collections of the surveying and exploring expeditions of
the Government, $15,000.
This increase is asked for in order to enable the Institution to
arrange and exhibit the geological collections lately transferred from
the Land Office, and to make out duplicate specimens in sets for dis-
tributing to colleges and institutions throughout the United States.
Professor Baird, in a letter before me, says that he made this estimate
of $15,000, which is the usual estimate, before the transfer was made
from the Land Office of all these specimens, and the additional appro-
priation is required to prepare for the large increase of these specimens,
and also to prepare duplicates for distribution. The amendment
simply proposes an appropriation of $20,000 instead of $15,000. I
hope the Senate will agree to it.
Mr. CORNELIUS COLE. I think $20,000 is probably more than the
whole thing is worth.
Mr. STEVENSON. I am astonished at the chairman.
694 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. COLE. I think it is hardly worth while to expend such a large
sum for such things, and $15,000, it seems to me, is ample for what-
ever care is requisite for the specimens that were received by the
Smithsonian Institution from the Land Office.
Mr. STEVENSON. I had hoped that the chairman of the committee
would be satisfied with the recommendation and estimate of Professor
Baird. He gives a very good reason why he wants an increase of the
appropriation, and when a man like Professor Baird tells us why he
wants this, in order to enable the Institution to exhibit the geological
collection which they have received, and to make out duplicate speci-
mens of them, I do not see how we can well refuse such a request.
Agreed to.
March 3, 1873.
Sundry civil act for 1874.
Smithsonian Institution : For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $15,000.
For fitting up the new halls required for the Government collections,
$15,000.
For steam-heating apparatus for the same, $12,000.
(Stat, XVII, 518.)
EXPOSITIONS.
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
June 1, 1872.
Whereas Congress did provide by an act entitled bi A.n act to provide
for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of American independ-
ence by holding an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and
products of the soil and mine in the city of Philadelphia, and State of
Pennsylvania, in the year 1876," approved March third, 1871, for the
appointment of commissioners to promote and control the exhibition
of the national resources and their development, and the nation's
progress in arts which benefit mankind, and to suggest and direct
appropriate ceremonies by which the people of the United States may
commemorate that memorable and decisive event, the Declaration of
American Independence by the Congress of the United Colonies
assembled in the city of Philadelphia, on the fourth day of July, anno
Domini 1776; and whereas such provisions should be made for pro-
curing the funds requisite for the purposes aforesaid as will enable
all the people of the United States, who have shared the common
blessings resulting from national independence, to aid in the prepara-
tion and conduct of said international exhibition and memorial cele-
bration under the direction of the commissioners of the United States:
Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That there is hereb} T created a body corporate,
to be known by the name of the Centennial Board of Finance, and by
that name to have an incorporate existence until the object for which
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873. 695
it is formed shall have hocn accomplished; and it shall be competent
to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended,
in all courts of law and equity in the United States; and may make
and have a corporate seal, and may purchase, take, have, and hold,
and may grant, sell, and at pleasure dispose of all such real and per-
sonal estate as may be required in carrying into effect the provisions
of an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for celebrating the
one hundredth anniversary of American independence by holding an
international exhibition of arts and manufactures, and products of the
soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania,
in the year 1876," approved March third, 1871, and all acts supple-
mentary thereto; and said Centennial Board of Finance shall consist of
the following-named persons, their associates and successors, from
the States and Territories as herein set forth: * *
SEC. 2. That the said corporation shall have authority and is hereby
empowered to secure subscriptions of capital stock to an amount not
exceeding $10,000,000, to be divided into shares of ten dollars each,
and to issue to the subscribers of said stock certificates therefor under
the corporate seal of said corporation, which certificates shall bear
the signature of the president and treasurer, and be transferable under
such rules and regulations as may be made for the purpose; and it shall
be lawful for any municipal or other corporate body existing by or
under the laws of the United States, to subscribe and pay for shares of
said capital stock, and all holders of said stock shall become associates
in said corporation, and shall be entitled to one vote on each share; and
it shall be the duty of the United States Centennial Commission to pre-
scribe rules to enable absent stockholders to vote by proxy. The pro-
ceeds of said stock, together with the receipts from all other sources,
shall be used by said corporation for the erection of suitable buildings,
with their appropriate fixtures and appurtenances, and for all other
expenditures required in carrying out the objects of the said act of Con-
gress of March third, 1871, and which may be incident thereto; and
the said corporation shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings, and
full accounts, with the vouchers thereof, of all the receipts and expendi-
tures, and the same shall be always open to the inspection of the United
States Centennial Commission, or any member thereof.
SEC. 3. That books of subscription shall be opened by the United
States Centennial Commission, under such rules as it may prescribe,
and an opportunity shall be given, during a period of one hundred days,
to the citizens of each State and Territory, to subscribe for stock to
an amount not exceeding its quota, according to its population, after
which period of one hundred days, stock not taken ma}' be sold to any
person or persons or corporation willing to purchase the same.
SEC. tt. That after the expiration of said period of one hundred days,
the United States Centennial Commission shall issue a call for a meet-
ing, by publication in one or moro newspapers published at the capital
696 CONGKESSIONAL PHOCEEDINGS.
of each State and Territory, not less than thirty days prior thereto, of
the corporators and all others who may then have subscribed for stock,
to be held in the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of electing a board
of directors, to consist of twenty-five stockholders, whose term of office
shall be one year, and until their successors shall have been qualified;
at which meeting those who may be present in person or by proxy, of
whom one hundred shall constitute a quorum, shall be competent to
organize and elect said officers. The said board of directors, and every
subsequent board, shall be chosen by the stockholders, out of a list of
one hundred stockholders, selected and nominated by the United States
Centennial Commission. Nine members of the board of directors shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no election or
change of officers shall take place unless at a meeting of the board of
directors, at which a majority shall be present.
SEC. 5. That the said board of directors shall elect, from its own
number, a president and two vice-presidents, whose term of office shall
be one year, and until their successors shall have been duly qualified,
and shall appoint a treasurer, a secretary, and such other officers as
may be required to carry out the purposes of the corporation, which
elected and appointed officers shall hold their respective ^offices during
the pleasure of the board, receiving such compensation as the board
may prescribe; and the board shall also adopt such by-laws, rules, and
regulations, for its own government, and for the government of its
officers, as may be deemed expedient: Provided, That the same shall
not be inconsistent with any act of Congress or the rules adopted by
the United States Centennial Commission.
SEC. 6. That as soon as the board of directors shall have been duly
organized, as provided for in section five of this act, it shall be the duty
of the United States Centennial Commission to deliver to the said
board all stock subscription books, with the papers and records of any
kind in its possession, pertaining to the same.
SEC. 7. That the grounds for the exhibition shall be prepared and the
buildings erected by the said corporation in accordance with plans
which shall have been previously adopted by the United States Centen-
nial Commission, and the rules and regulations of said corporation,
governing rates for "entrance" and "admission" fees, or otherwise
affecting the rights, privileges, or interests of the exhibitors, or of the
public, shall be fixed and established by the United States Centennial
Commission; and no grant conferring rights or privileges of any de-
scription connected with the said grounds or buildings, or relating to
said exhibition or celebration, shall be made without the consent of the
United States Centennial Commission, and said commission shall have
power to control, change,, or revoke all such grants, and shall appoint
all judges and examiners, and award all premiums.
SEC. 8. That the Centennial Board of Finance shall have authority
FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS, 1871-1873. 697
to issue bonds, not in excess of its capital stock, and secure the pay-
ment of the same, principal and interest, by mortgage upon its property
and prospective income.
SEC. 9. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury of
the United States, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act,
to cause to be prepared, in accordance .with a design approved by the
United States Centennial Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury,
a .sufficient number of certificates of stock to meet the requirements of
this act; and any person found guilty of counterfeiting, or attempting
to counterfeit, or knowingly circulating false certificates of stock, herein
authorized, shall be subject to the same pains and penalties as are or
may be provided by law for counterfeiting United States currency; but
nothing in this act shall be so construed as to create any liability of
the United States, direct or indirect, for any debt or obligation incurred,
nor for any claim, by the centennial international exhibition, or the cor-
poration hereby created, for aid or pecuniary assistance from Congress
or the Treasury of the United States, in support or liquidation of any
debts or obligations created by the corporation herein authorized: And
provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to override
or interfere with the laws of any State; and all contracts made in any
State for the purposes of the centennial international exhibition shall
be subject to the laws thereof: And provided further, That no member
of said Centennial Board of Finance assumes any personal liability for
any debt or obligation which may be created or incurred by the corpo-
ration authorized by this act.
SEC. 10. That as soon as practicable after the said exhibition shall
have been closed, it shall be the duty of said corporation to convert its
property into cash, and, after the payment of all its liabilities, to divide
its remaining assets among its stockholders, pro rata, in full satisfaction
and discharge of its capital stock; and it shall be the duty of the
United States Centennial Commission to supervise the closing up of
the affairs of said corporation, to audit its accounts, and submit, in a
report to the President of the United States, the financial results of the
centennial exhibition.
SEC. 11. That the commission created by the act referred to in the
preamble of this act is hereby made and constituted a body politic and
corporate in law, with power to do such acts and enter into such obli-
gations as may be promotive of the purposes for which such commis-
sion was established. Its title shall be the United States Centennial
Commission. It shall have a common and corporate seal, and possess
all the rights incident to corporate existence.
SEC. 12. That the alternate commissioners appointed pursuant to
section four of the act approved March third, 1871, referred to in the
preamble to this act, shall have all the powers of a commissioner when
the commissioner is not present at any meeting. When the commis-
698 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sioner is present the alternate may participate in the debates and
serve on committees, but shall have no vote. The appointment of all
commissioners and alternate commissioners made since March third,
1872, are hereby ratified and confirmed; and all vacancies now existing,
or which may hereafter exist, whether by death, resignation, removal
from the State or Territory, or otherwise, shall be filled at any time
hereafter in like manner as is provided in said act of March third, 1871,
for the appointment of commissioners.
SEC. 13. That it shall be the duty of the United States Centennial
Commission to make report from time to time to the President of the
United States of the progress of the work, and in a final report pre-
sent a full exhibit of the result of the United States Centennial Cele-
bration and Exhibition of 1876.
(Stat, XVII, 203.)
Vienna Exposition.
February 14, 1873.
Resolved, etc., That in order to enable the people of the United
States to participate in the advantages of the international exhibition
of the products of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts, to be
held at Vienna in the year 1873, there be, and hereby is, appropriated,
out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum
of $200,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the purpose
herein specified, which sum shall be expended under the direction of
the Secretary of State: Provided, That the President be authorized to
appoint a number of practical artisans not exceeding 8 and of scien-
tific men not exceeding 7, who shall attend said exhibition and report
their doings arid observations to him, and whose actual and reasonable
expenses, not to exceed $1,000 each, shall be paid from such fund, and
that the President be further authorized to appoint a number of hon-
orary commissioners, not to exceed 100, who shall receive no pay for
their expenses or otherwise: And provided further, That no person so
appointed shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any article
exhibited for competition: And provided, That not more than $50,000
shall be expended for salaries and expenses of all persons receiving
appointments to places authorized in this resolution, and not more
than $5,000 shall be paid for salary and expenses to any one person.
SEC. 2. That the governors of the several States be, and they are
hereby, requested to invite the patriotic people of their respective
States to assist in the proper representation of the handiwork of our
artisans and the prolific sources of material wealth with which our
land is blessed, and to take such further measures as may be necessary
to diffuse a knowledge of the proposed exhibition and to secure to
their respective States the advantages which it promises.
FOBTY-SECOND CONGBESS, 1871-1873. 699
SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to trans-
mit to Congress a detailed statement of the expenditures which may
have been incurred under the provisions of this resolution.
(Stat, XVII, 637.)
FREE POSTAGE.
June 8, 1872.
An act to revise, consolidate, and amend the statutes relating to the Post-Office
Department.
SEC. 184. That the following mail matter shall be allowed to pass
free 'in the mails. * * *
Sixth. All publications sent or received by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, marked on each package " Smithsonian Exchange."
(Stat., XVII, 307.)
POWELL'S EXPLORATION.
June 10, 1872.
Sundry civil act for 1873.
For completing the survey of the Colorado of the West and its trib-
utaries, by Professor J. W. Powell, under the direction of the Smith-
sonian Institution, $20,000.
(Stat, XVII, 350.)
March 3, 1873.
Sundry civil act for 1874.
That the sum of $10,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary,
is hereby appropriated to enable Professor J. W. Powell to prepare his
materials, and to present to Congress at its next session a report of
the survey of the Colorado of the West and its tributaries.
(Stat., XVII, 513.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
December 10, 1872 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. SCHUYLER COLFAX) appointed John W.
Stevenson, of Kentucky, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in
the place of Garret Davis, deceased.
700 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
PORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875.
EXPOSITIONS.
Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.
July 3, 1873.
Proclamation of President Grant.
Whereas by the act of Congress approved March 3, 1871, providing for a national
celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Independence of the United
States by the holding of an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and pro-
ducts of the soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1876, it is provided
as follows:
That whenever the President shall be informed by the governor of the State of
Pennsylvania that provision has been made for the erection of suitable buildings for
the purpose, and for the exclusive control by the commission herein provided for of
the proposed exhibition, the President shall, through the Department of State, make
proclamation of the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open
and the place at which it will be held; and he will communicate to the diplomatic
representatives of all nations copies of the same, together with such regulations as
may be adopted by the commissioners, for publication in their respective countries;
and
Whereas his excellency the governor of the said State of Pennsylvania did, on
the 24th day of June, 1873, inform me that provision had been make for the erection
of said buildings and for the exclusive control by the commission provided for in
the said act of the proposed exhibition; and
Whereas the president of the United States Centennial Commission has officially
informed me of the date fixed for the opening and closing of the said exhibition
and the place at which it is to be held:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S.. Grant, President of the United
States, in conformity with the provisions of the act of Congress aforesaid, do
hereby declare and proclaim that there will be held, at the city of Philadelphia, in
the State of Pennsylvania, an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and
products of the soil and mine, to be opened on the 19th day of April, anno Domini
1876, and be closed on the 19th day of October, in the same year.
And in the interest of peace, civilization, and domestic and international friend-
ship and intercourse, I commend the celebration and exhibition to the people of the
United States; and in behalf of this Government and people 1 cordially commend
them to all nations who may be pleased to take part therein.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the
United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this 3d day of July, 1873, and of the Independ-
ence of the United States of America the ninety-seventh.
U. S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.
GENERAL REGULATIONS.
1. The international exhibition of 1876 will be held in Fairmount Park, in the
city of Philadelphia, in the year 1876.
2. The date of opening the exhibition will be April 19, 1876, and of closing will
be October 19, 1876.
3. A cordial invitation is hereby extended to every nation of the earth to be
represented by its arts, industries, progress, and development.
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 701
4. A formal acceptance of this invitation is requested previous to March 4, 1874.
5. Each nation accepting this invitation is requested to appoint a commission
through which all matters pertaining to its own interests shall be conducted. For
the purpose of convenient intercourse and satisfactory supervision it is especially
desired that one member of each such commission be designated to reside at Phila-
delphia until the close of the exposition.
6. The privileges of exhibitors can be granted only to citizens of countries whose
governments have formally accepted the invitation to be represented and have
appointed the aforementioned commission, and all communications must be made
through the governmental commissions.
7. Applications for space within the exposition buildings, or in the adjacent
buildings and grounds under the control of the Centennial Commission, must be
made previous to March 4, 1875.
8. Full diagrams of the buildings and grounds will be furnished to the commis-
sioners of the different nations which shall accept the invitation to participate.
9. All articles intended for exhibition, in order to secure proper position and
classification, must be in Philadelphia on or before January 1, 1876.
10. Acts of Congress pertaining to custom-house regulations, duties, etc., together
with all special regulations adopted by the Centennial Commission in reference to
transportation, allotment of space, classification, motive power, insurance, police
rules, and other matters necessary to the proper display and preservation of materials,
will be promptly communicated to the accredited representatives of the several gov-
ernments cooperating in the exposition.
July 5, 1873.
The Secretary of State of the United States forwarded the Presi-
dent's proclamation to the various ministers from foreign countries
residing at the national capital, together with the following official
note:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, D. C., July 5, 1873.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose, for the information of the Government of
, a copy of the President's proclamation announcing the time and place of
holding an International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil
and Mine, proposed to be held in the year 1876.
The exhibition is designed to commemorate the declaration of the independence
of the United States on the one hundredth anniversary of that interesting and his-
toric national event, and at the same time to present a fitting opportunity for such
display of the results of art and industry of all nations as will serve to illustrate the
great advances attained and the successes achieved in the interest of progress and
civilization during the century which will then have closed.
In the law providing for the holding of the exhibition Congress directed that cop-
ies of the proclamation of the President, setting forth the time of its opening and
the place at which it was to be held, together with such regulations as might be
adopted by the commissioners of the exhibition, should be communicated to the
diplomatic representatives of all nations. Copies of those regulations are herewith
transmitted.
The President indulges the hope that the Government of will be
pleased to notice the subject and may deem it proper to bring the exhibition and
its objects to the attention of the people of that country, and thus encourage their
cooperation in the proposed celebration. And he further hopes that the opportunity
afforded by the exhibition for the interchange of national sentiment and friendly
intercourse between the people of both nations may result in new and still greater
advantages to science and industry, and at the same time serve to strengthen the
702 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
bonds of peace and friendship which already happily subsist between the Govern-
ment and people of and those of the United States.
I have the honor to be, sir, with the highest consideration, your obedient servant,
January 23, 1874.
Executive order by the President of the United States creating the Government executive
board.
Whereas it has been brought to the notice of the President of the United States
that in the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil
and Mine, to be held in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1876, for the purpose of
celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the independence of the United
States, it is desirable that from the Executive Departments of the Government of the
United States in which there may be articles suitable for the purpose intended there
should appear such articles and materials as will, when presented in a collective
exhibition, illustrate the functions and administrative faculties of the Government
in time of peace and its resources as a war power, and thereby serve to demonstrate
the nature of our institutions and their adaptation to the wants of the people. Now,
for the purpose of securing a complete and harmonious arrangement of the articles
and materials designed to be exhibited from the Executive Departments of the Gov-
ernment it is ordered that a board, to be composed of one person to be named by
the head of each of the Executive Departments which may have articles and mate-
rials to be exhibited, and also of one person to be named in behalf of the Smith-
sonian Institution, and one to be named in the behalf of the Department of
Agriculture, be charged with the preparation, arrangement, and safe-keeping of such
articles and materials as the heads of the several Departments and the Commissioner
of Agriculture and the Director of the Smithsonian Institution may respectively
decide shall be embraced in the collection; that one of the persons thus named, to
be designated by the President, shall be chairman of such board, and that the board
appoint from their own number such other officers as they may think necessary, and
that the said board when organized shall be authorized, under the direction of the
President, to confer with the executive officers of the Centennial Exhibition in rela-
tion to such matters connected with the subject as may pertain to the respective
Departments having articles and materials on exhibition, and that the names of the
persons thus selected by the heads of the several Departments, the Commissioner of
Agriculture, and the Director of the Smithsonian Institution shall be submitted to
the President for designation.
By order of the President: HAMILTON FISH,
Secretary of State.
WASHINGTON, January 23, 1874-
"By order of the President:
(Signed) "HAMILTON FISH,
' ' Secretary of State.
"WASHINGTON, January 23d, 187 4-^
In accordance with the above order the President appointed a board
composed of a representative from each of the Executive Departments
of the Government except the Department of State and the Attorney-
General's Department, but including the Department of Agriculture
and the Smithsonian Institution. The board was composed as follows:
War Department: Col. C. S. Lyford (chairman), Ordnance Bureau.
Treasury Department: Hon. R. W. Taylor, First Controller of the
Treasury.
FOETY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 703
Navy Department: Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins, United States
Navy.
Interior Department: John Eaton, Commissioner of Education.
Post-Office Department: Dr. Charles F. McDonald, Chief of Money-
Order Department.
Agricultural Department: Wm. Saunders, Superintendent of Prop-
agating Garden.
Smithsonian Institution: Prof. S. F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution and United States Fishery Commissioner.
This board was charged with the duty of perfecting a collective
exhibition that should illustrate the functions and administrative facul-
ties of the Government in time of peace and its resources as a war
power.
June 5, 1874.
An act, etc.
Whereas at various international exhibitions which have been held
in foreign countries the United States have been represented in pur
suance of invitations given by the governments of those countries and
accepted by our own Government: Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That the President be requested to extend, in the
name of the United States, a respectful and cordial invitation to the
governments of other nations to be represented and take part in the
international exposition to be held at Philadelphia, under the auspices
of the Government of the United States, in the year 1876: Provided,
however, That the United States shall not be liable, directly or indi-
rectly, for any expenses atttending such expocition or by reason of
the same.
(Stat, XVIII, Part3, 53.)
June 16, 1874.
Be it enacted, etc., That medals with appropriate devices, emblems,
and inscriptions, commemorative of the centennial anniversary of
the Declaration of Independence, be prepared at the mint at Philadel-
phia for the Centennial Board of Finance, subject to the provisions of
the fifty-second section of the coinage act of 1873, upon the payment
of a sum not less than the cost thereof, and all the provisions, whether
penal or otherwise, of said coinage act against the counterfeiting or
imitating of coins of the United States shall apply to the medals
struck and issued under the provisions of this act.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 76.)
June 18, 1874.
Be it enacted, etc. , That all articles which shall be imported for the
sole purpose of exhibition at the International Exhibition to be held
in the city of Philadelphia in the year 1876 shall be admitted
without the payment of duty or of customs fees or charges, under
such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe:
Provided. That all such articles as shall be sold in the United States
704 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
or withdrawn for consumption therein at any time after such importa-
tion shall be subject to the duties, if any, imposed on like articles by
the revenue laws in force at the date of importation: And provided
further, That in case any articles imported under the provisions of
this act shall be withdrawn for consumption or shall be sold without
payment of duty as required bj r law, all the penalties prescribed by
the revenue laws shall be applied and enforced against such articles
and against the persons who may be guilty of such withdrawal or
sale.
(Stat.,X VIII, Part8. 82.)
March 3, 1875.
Sundry civil act for 1876.
For engraving and printing certificates of Centennial stock for the
international exhibition to be held in the city of Philadelphia in the
year 1876, $30,750: Provided, That this appropriation shall not be
construed as in any manner committing the Government of the United
States to any other payment whatever to meet the expenses of said
exhibition.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 375.)
March 3, 1875.
Sundry civil act for 1876.
SEC. 5. To enable the Executive Departments of the Government
and the Smithsonian Institution to participate in the International
Exhibition of 1876, the following sums are hereby appropriated,
namely: For the Interior Department, $115,000; for the Treasury
Department, $5,000; for the Post-Office Department, $5,000; for the
Agricultural Department, $50,000; for the Smithsonian Institution,
$67,000; for the United States Commission of Food Fishes, $5,000;
for the War Department, $133,000; for the Navy Department,
$100,000; for show cases, shelving, stationery, postage, telegrams,
expressage, and other necessary incidental expenses, $25,000; in all,
$505,000; to be disbursed under the direction of the Board on Execu-
tive Departments appointed in pursuance of the Presidential order of
January 23, 1874. And authority is hereby given to the heads .of the
several Executive Departments to display at the International Exhi-
bition of 1876, under such conditions as they may prescribe, subject
to the provisions of section 7 of the act of June 1, 1872, all such arti-
cles in store or under the control of said Departments as may be nec-
essary or desirable to render such collection complete and exhaustive:
Provided, That should it become necessary to erect any building or
part of a building for said exhibition, on the part of the Government,
the same shall be paid for, pro rata, out of the sums appropriated to
the several Departments, the United States Commission of Food
Fishes, and the Treasury and Post-Office Departments excepted, the
cost of the building not to exceed $150,000; and at the close of the exhi-
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 705
bition said building shall be sold and the proceeds covered into the
Treasury as miscellaneous receipts: And provided further, That the
sums hereby appropriated shall cover the entire expense to which
the United States Government shall be subjected on account of said
exhibition, except the sum appropriated i;s this act for printing the
certificates of stock of said exhibition; and the Board on Executive
Departments is forbidden to expend any larger sum than is set down
herein for each Department, or to enter into any contract or engage-
ment that shall result in any such increased expenditure; and no money
shall be taken by any Department for the purposes of this exhibition
as aforesaid from any other appropriations except the one hereby,
made: And further provided, That of the sum hereby appropriated
the sum of $200,000 shall be immediately available. .
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 400.)
Vienna Exposition.
March 3, 1875.
Deficiency act for 1875, etc.
SEC. 7. That the Secretary of State is authorized to pay, out of any
balance now remaining unexpended of the monies appropriated in
joint resolution approved February 14, 1873, entitled "Joint resolu-
tion to enable the people of the United States to participate in the
advantages of the international exposition to be held at Vienna in
1873," the sum of $500 to each of the 15 commissioners appointed
under authority of said joint resolution, who, in addition to undertak-
ing reports upon special subjects at said exposition, either served upon
international juries or were detained in Vienna by reason of assisting
in the arrangement of the American department of the exposition, .or
the performance of other duties imposed upon them by the State
Department for a period of more than seventy-five days, as shown by
the records on file in the State Department.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 418.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
January 3, 1874 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. M. H. CARPENTER) appointed
Aaron A. Sargent, of California, a Regent of the Institution.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
December 18, 1873 House.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES G. BLAINE) appointed E. K. Hoar, of
Massachusetts, S. S. Cox, of New York, and G. W. Hazelton, of Wis-
consin, Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
H. Doc. 732 45
706 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
December 19, 1873 House.
Mr. S. W. KELLOGG. I ask unanimous consent to submit the fol-
lowing- resolution:
Resolved, etc., That Professor James D. Dana be, and hereby is, appointed as one of
the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, of ttie class other than mem-
bers of Congress, in place of Theodore D. Woolsey, of Connecticut, \vho declines to
be reappointed.
Mr. KELLOGG. I trust there will be no objection to the adoption
of the resolution.
, Mr. J. A. GARFIELD. I suggest that it be referred to the Board of
Regents.
Mr. KELLOGG. If there be any objection 1 will not press the reso-
lution.
Mr. GARFIELD. I do not suppose there is any objection, but I only
suggest that it is the usual course.
Mr. KELLOGG. If the usual course is as stated by the gentleman
from Ohio I do not object.
Mr. GARFIELD. There is another vacancy to bo filled, occasioned
by the death of Professor Agassiz.
Mr. KELLOGG. I do not suppose there would be the least objection,
Professor Dana being so well known ; but if that is the usual course,
I do not object.
Mr. B. F. BUTLER. I suggest that the resolution be referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor.
Mr. KELLOGG. I move that it be referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor.
January 5, 1874 Senate.
Mr. J. W. STEVENSON introduced a resolution providing that the
vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution of
the class other than members of Congress be tilled by the appointment
of Asa Gray, J. D. Dana, A. T. Stewart, and that John Maclean and
Peter Parker be reappointed.
Mr. STEVENSON. The appointments have been agreed upon by the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and they are to sup-
ply all vacancies in that board.
The President pro tempoiv (Mr. M. H. CARPENTER). Is there objec-
tion to the present consideration of the joint resolution (
Mr. C. SUMNER. I ask if that is the report of a committee, or a
simple resolution ?
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is a joint resolution introduced by
the Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. SUMNER. I suggest that it should be considered by a committee.
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 707
I honor all the gentlemen named in the resolution; still I think it has
been customary to consider sjich resolutions in committee.
Mr. STEVENSON. I have no objection to its reference to a committee.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. I think the resolution ought to be referred to
the Committee on the Library, which has general charge of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator make that motion ?
Mr. SHERMAN. Yes, s^r.
Agreed to.
January 5, 1874 House.
Mr. J. A. GARFIELD introduced a joint resolution providirtg that the
vacancies in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, of
the class other than members of Congress, be filled by the appoint-
ment of Asa Gray, J. D. Dana, A. T. Stewart, and the reappointment
of John Maclean and Peter Parker. Referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor.
January 6, 1874 House.
Mr. HORACE MAYNARD offered a joint resolution (H. 32) in relation
to the appointment of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor.
January 7, 1874 House.
Mr. I. R. SHERWOOD introduced joint resolution for the appoint-
ment of Leo Lesquereux, of Columbus, Ohio, one of the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution. Referred to the Committee on Educa-
tion and Labor.
Mr. JAMES MONROE. The Committee on Education and Labor have
had under consideration sundry resolutions in regard to filling vacan-
cies in the Board of Regents of. the Smithsonian Institution. Some
other gentlemen had asked for an opportunity to suggest names, but
there seemed to be reasons for prompt action upon the subject, and
the committee, therefore, instructed me to report at once a joint reso-
lution naming certain gentlemen to fill these vacancies.
The resolution now reported by the committee is identical with that
which was introduced by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Garfield], one
of the Regents of the Institution, with the exception that in a single
name we propose a change, which it is thought would, perhaps, on
the whole, more fairly distribute the appointments and meet better
certain interests which were deemed by the committee to be of great
importance. The highest esteem and respect were felt by the com-
mittee for all the gentlemen whose names have been suggested, but,
on the whole, the arrangement proposed in the resolution which I now
report seemed to the committee to be the best they could make.
The joint resolution provides that the existing vacancies in the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, of the class other than
members of Congress, shall be filled by the appointment of Asa Gray,
708 CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
of Massachusetts, in place of Louis Agassiz, deceased; J. I). Dana, of
Connecticut, in place of Theodore D. Woojsey; Henry Coppee, in place
of W. B. Astor; and John Maclean and Peter Parker, whose terms
have expired, are to be reappointed.
Mr. HORACE MAYNARD. Will the gentleman allow me to occupy one
moment? I introduced yesterday and had referred to this committee
a resolution in accordance with an idea I entertained, but had had no
occasion to express specially that the Smithsonian Institution, founded
and endowed by the munificence of a British subject "to increase and
diffuse knowledge among men," should be made, so far as possible,
national in its character. Now, in looking at the list of Regents, I
find that while they are all most excellent and eminent men (and I hope
the day is far distant when any section of our country will not have
eminent and distinguished men enough to more than furnish the list
of Regents), the appointments are at present limited geographically.
I suggest to the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor
whether, as a matter of wise policy, it 'would not be well to emphasize
the national character of the Institution by extending geographically
the citizenship of the gentlemen constituting the Board of Regents.
With this view I have proposed, in the joint resolution introduced
by me yesterday, that one member of the board shall be a distinguished
and eminent citizen of my own State. I refer to Rev. Dr. Thomas
W. Humes, president of the University of East Tennessee, a citizen
by birth and continued residence in that State, and a gentleman of
great attainments and high personal character not that he is more
distinguished, more worthy, or in any respect superior to the gentle-
men who have been named. I make no such claim. But this gentle-
man, if appointed, will be the representative of a large region of our
country the great Southwest (embracing also a portion of the South
and of the West), whose scientific possibilities are very great whose
scientific resources, if I may use that expression, have been hitherto
very largely unconsidered and undeveloped. It has seemed to me wise
to include in the Board of Regents a representative from that very
large portion of our common country.
I do not wish it to be understood that I would not accept as readily
any other distinguished name that might be suggested that would rep-
resent the same general region of country, but I certainly think it
would give greater effect and importance to the labors of that Insti-
tution to have its regency distributed more generally throughout the
country. 1 am reminded by gentlemen sitting near me that there is
no one on that board from either the South or the West.
I bring this subject generally before the House. I move to substi-
tute the name of Thomas W. Humes, a citizen of Tennessee, for that
of Henry Coppee. of Pennsylvania.
Mr. G. F. HOAR. Mr. Speaker, it may possibly interest the House
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 709
if 1 occupy a few minutes in stating the purpose of the Smithsonian
Institution, for in view of that purpose I am sure the gentleman from
Tennessee [Mr. Maynard] himself will commend the wisdom of the
recommendations we make. The Smithsonian Institution has for its
Board of Regents three persons appointed from the members of this
House, three persons appointed from the Senate, the President of the
United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, and certain
other officers of the Government are Regents ex officio. These offi-
cers give the regency of the Institution its national character. The
whole nation, of course, has its voice in their selection. There are
six other Regents who are specially appointed by joint resolution of
Congress, and it is to fill vacancies in this number that this resolution
is designed.
The purpose of the Smithsonian Institution is the " advancement of
knowledge among men," and after very full and very thorough debate
at the time of its origin tfoe authorities of that day determined that
it was best to devote the fund at their disposal not to the mere dis-
semination of knowledge, as is done by the publication and distribution
of books, nor to mere educational purposes, as would be done by the
endowment and support of institutions for instruction, but that the
fund should be applied to promoting and publishing the results of
such original investigations as may tend to advance and increase the
pure scientific knowledge of mankind. To this end a fund of about
$700,000, part of which is invested in buildings, leaving an income-
bearing fund of about $500,000, is within the control of the Institution.
The income of that fund is appropriated in this way: Suppose, for
instance, an eminent mathematician says that he desires to have made
a computation in connection with certain investigations to determine
the cause of the perturbation of a planet, such as those of Leverrier
which led to the discovery of the planet Neptune. If those investi-
gations require a large amount of mathematical computation which
may almost be termed mechanical, this would involve a good deal of
expense to hin>. Suppose the Smithsonian Institution decides that
the result of such investigation will advance scientific knowledge, it
will advance a sum of money to pay for such computations, if it does not
pay anything to the scientific man himself as compensation, or for
support. So if a scientific man wishes to make a certain inquiry into
the laws of optics or of electricity, and if the Smithsonian Institution
is satisfied of the capacity of the parson and of the usefulness of the
results likely to be obtained, it appropriates such sum of money as
may be necessary to obtain the requisite apparatus and lets him have
the use of it; and then, if the result of that investigation is found to
be of value to science, it appropriates the money for its publication.
Now, everybody knows the familiar instance when Morse invented
his alphabet for recording telegraphy. The knowledge of the laws
710 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of magnetism, which made that magnificent invention .serviceable to
mankind, which has rendered the name of American science illustrious,
came from the previous researches and investigations of Professor
Henry, who brought from the vast treasure-house of science that
knowledge of the laws of nature which the invention of Morse made
useful for the practical benefit of mankind. Now, in order to deter
mine what papers are proper to be published, or what kind of inves
tigations, among the large number that are offered to the Smithsonian
Institution, will be useful for the advancement of science, you should
have among 1 the members of that board persons who are authority in
particular departments of science. They are not selected as a public
honor to the persons themselves; they are not selected for the pur
pose of recognizing the claims of or of stimulating interest in the
Institution in different portions of the country; but men are selected
whom Professor Henry and his associates in that Institution deem
competent to decide in regard to the particular scientific investigations
which it may be desired to make. For instance, my distinguished
friend from Tennessee [Mr. Maynard] proposed the name of Professor
Snell, of Amherst College, in place of the late Professor Agassiz.
Professor Snell, of Amherst College, is one of the most eminent
scholars of my State; a pure, earnest, modest devotee of learning,
who has made a thousand contributions to science from which he has
received no benefit. But Professor Snell's life has been devoted to
the investigation of optics, magnetism, and certain branches of nat-
ural science, which are also the special pursuits of Professor Henry,
thr Secretary and Director of the Institution; and it is not important,
therefore, to add at this moment to the force of the Smithsonian Insti
tution another gentleman who will be an authority on matters of
optics, magnetism, galvanism, etc. But one thing on which Professor
Agassiz, just deceased, was the great authority in this country and
the world was natural history, including the growth of animals, the
origin of species, the growth of plants, of trees, etc., and this is a
matter in regard to which the science of the world is especially busy
ing itself at the present time, and of a knowledge of which the prac
tical need of this country is the greatest.
The prairie lands of the Northwest, which lie between the dense set
tlements of the Atlantic and the Pacific, are in need of the scientific
information as my friend [Mr. Kelley], who does me the honor to
listen to me, knows very well which may cover those lands with
forests,. with shade trees, with vegetation. Professor Gray is, per-
haps, the greatest authority in the world on that special matter. Now,
how idle, how unwise, it would be for the members of this House to
say that, because Colorado or Wyoming are to be represented on the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, they may appoint
some man from those Territories rather than appoint Professor Gray,
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 711
the greatest authority on this question. He happened to reside at
Cambridge in his ^youth and in the time' of his early studies. The
libraries and scientific apparatus which were necessary for the prose-
cution of his studies in that department of science were there. So in
the case of Professor Dana. I suppose any California gentleman on
this floor will agree that no man has been so great a benefactor to
the development of the mineral resources of the State of California
as Professors Dana and Whitney. (Professor Whitney, indeed, has
resided in California of late years.) Professor Dana is a great author-
ity on matters of mines and minerals, and his life has been where a
library and apparatus, making the prosecution of his labors pleasant
and profitable, existed.
Now the name of Alexander T. Stewart, a distinguished financier,
has been recommended in the place of another man of wealth and a
business man in the State of New York (Mr. Astor), and the commit-
tee would have been delighted to adopt that recommendation; but we
were informed by a gentleman on the committee, from the State of
New York, that the state of Mr. Stewart's health is such that it would
not be certain he would be able to give his personal attention to the
business of the Board of Regents. Therefore, because it was not a
matter of personal honor, but because it was a matter of supplying
the wants of this Institution, we recommend in his stead the name of
an eminent man of science in the State of Pennsylvania, formerly the
head of a university in that State, who adds to the reputation and
capacity of a scientific man great financial ability, as exhibited in the
management of his institution.
Mr. FERNANDO WOOD. Will the gentleman from Massachusetts,
before he sits down, please tell me whether Mr. Astor retires at his
own request?
Mr. HOAE. Yes, sir.
Mr. WOOD. I am sorry for it, for he is one of the best belles-lettres
scholars in the country. I will say, further, that I can not see what
practical service these gentlemen render when they come here once a
year for a day or two.
Mr. HOAR. 1 am glad the gentleman has made that suggestion.
Suppose the gentleman from New York goes to Professor Henry with
a paper composed by himself or some friend, or asking an investiga-
tion involving the use of apparatus or other expenditure from the
funds of the Institution; Professor Henry refers that paper or that
request for an examination to one of these scientific gentlemen; he
sends it to him at his home, and he spends perhaps days or weeks in
determining whether the paper is one proper to be published at the
expense of the Smithsonian Institute, or whether the investigation is
one fit to be pursued. This meeting once or twice a year in Washing-
ton is bufa trifle to the labor which these five or six scientific gentle-
712 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
men perform in the rour.se of the year. There is residing in my own
city a gentleman, the librarian of the Antiquarian Society there, who
prepared by the labor of years a very interesting and important paper
upon the origin of races in this country the aboriginal settlers of the
country. That paper was published at the expense of the Smithson-
ian Institute, and now letters come from all parts of Europe testifying
to the appreciation of the scientific world of that paper published by
the Smithsonian Institute. Now, the man who is to pronounce upon
the character of a publication, or upon the propriety of an examina-
tion, should be the best authority upon that special question in the
country.
Mr. H. MAYNARD. I desire, in the first place, to make a verbal cor-
rection. My friend from Massachusetts has fallen into a common
error in speaking of this establishment as the ''Smithsonian Institute."
James Smithson, who founded it, called it the '"Smithsonian Insti-
tution."
Mr. HOAR. I am much obliged to the gentleman for that correction,
and now will the gentleman be kind enough to state to the House with
regard to the gentleman whose name he proposes, what special branch
of science he has devoted himself to? I am not myself as familiar with
his labors as perhaps I ought to be.
Mr. MAYNARD. I listened to the gentleman from Massachusetts with
great pleasure and instruction, as I always do. We can best ascer-
tain the character of the Regency of the Smithsonian Institution by
giving the names and residences of those who recently constituted it.
They are, Louis Agassiz, a citizen of Massachusetts; Theodore D.
Woolsey, a citizen of Connecticut; William B. Astor, a citizen of
New York; Peter Parker and William T. Sherman, citizens of Wash-
ington; and John Maclean, a citizen of New Jersey. All of these
gentlemen, it will be seen, come within the category of the gentleman
from Massachusetts; but the time has not yet come, and I trust it
never may come, when the scientific talent of the country will be con-
fined within a limited area.
The gentlemen proposed are all distinguished, and I did not predi-
cate my motion upon any unfitness, suggested or implied, or intended
to be understood in reference to the superior fitness of any one of
them. I suggested what seemed to me to be a better and wiser
administration of this great public trust, a trust committed to us in
the presence of the civilized world, and for the wise administration of
which we stand conspicuously responsible. My suggestion is that we
should select the Regency from different portions of the land, so as to
represent the vast geography of the whole country. The gentleman
from Massachusetts asks me what have been the distinguishing studies
and the character of the intellectual labors of the eminent gentleman
whose name I have ventured to mention a divine of eminence in the
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 713
Protestant Episcopal Church, and at the head of the leading university
of my State, if not of the great Southwest. He is eminent for his
high literary and scientific attainments, and has been a scholar all his
life; and his head, like mine and that of my friend, begins to bleach
from the effect of years. Many gentlemen on this floor are acquainted
with* him personally or by character, and there will be no controversy,
I urn sure, about his fitness for this duty. But I have placed the dis-
cussion upon higher ground. The question is, whether it is not a
wiser, better, more politic arrangement, other things equal, to dis-
tribute these offices a little more, rather than to concentrate the whole
Regency within a few States upon the Atlantic coast. With these
remarks I leave the question.
Mi'- JAMES MONROE. Mr. Speaker, I desire to say a word in regard to
what has been said of the action of the committee. on this subject. It
is a matter of great delicacy to discuss this question here in the House
to any great extent, and to discuss the multitude of names that would at
once be offered here if the question of the claims of the several States
were to be fully examined on this floor; for their claims are all very
excellent and very valid. I am not without some sympathy with the
local feeling expressed by the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. May-
nard]. As a member of the committee I represent Ohio. Now, Ohio
is a State also; there is some land in Ohio; it is quite a piece of terri-
tory, and I could not help thinking of a large number of accomplished
gentlemen and dear friends of mine in that State, some of whom I
would be very glad to have named for these places, and men whom I
know would have filled them with credit to themselves and with high
usefulness to the objects of the Institution. But I saw at once that
this was just one of those questions in which we must give up local
preferences. In discussing a question of science, of all others, I
imagine on the whole a man will be most useful who can be most
capable, and who can yield most readily to local preference belonging
to his own district. I recognized the necessity for that; and, although
I had no doubt I had even in my own Congressional district, where
there are four colleges of a very high order, the very best men in the
world to fill these vacancies, I thought it quite right to make the great
sacrifice of yielding up this question of the local claims of my Con-
gressional district.
What is there of locality about these great names in science ? Who
cares anything about where their domicile is? How inferior any
question of that sort is in comparison with the high commission upon
which God has sent them into this world and the grand work they are
accomplishing! Will anybody who hears me tell me that Professor
Dana, of New Haven, is not a man in whom my own locality will be
interested? He belongs to my locality; he belongs to my vicinage;
he is my neighbor; he is one of the nearest and best of my neighbors;
714 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
he is by intellect among the men in whom my neighborhood has the
deepest interest; he belongs to my neighborhood, and so do Professor
Gray and Professor Agassiz. They have, by the services they have
rendered and are rendering to science, secured the interest not only
of New England, New York, but the interest of the whole world.
And there is no better principle, Mr. Speaker, upon which to select
these men than to search diligently for the best and put them in
these places. We .therefore thought it best upon the whole to make
this report and secure its adoption by the House if we could.
Mr. S. S. Cox. I ask the gentlemen from Ohio to yield to me for a
moment.
Mr. MONROE. I was going to demand the previous question on this
matter, but I will yield to the gentleman from New York. I recog-
nize his right to be heard.
Mr. Cox. I would not intrude my voice on the House on this ques-
tion but for the fact that for some dozen of years I have been more or
less associated with this Smithsonian regency; and I would say to the
House we have never had any special need for men of financial ability,
at least since I have been a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution. Our
affairs have been conducted with economy. There has been no surplus
which has not been used in a proper way, and there has been no defi-
ciency. I supposed the Board of Regents had sent in the name of Mr.
Stewart in place of Mr. Astor after some consultation with him. but I
learn this committee has withdrawn the name of Mr. Stewart on the
simple suggestion that his health is not good.
I propose to amend the amendment offered by the gentleman from
Tennessee so as to replace the name of Mr. Alexander T. Stewart, of
New York; and 1 do it for this reason: There is no special need or
requirement for the presence of these Regents at Washington except
once or twice a year. There is no special need for any culture in any
particular line of science, on the part of some of the Regents at least,
for we are supplied with men of that quality in the presidents and pro-
fessors of colleges who are now there. But I will say, Mr. Speaker,
on behalf of Mr. Stewart, who is perhaps entirely ignorant of these
proceedings, that he adds to his great wealth, his wonderful mercan-
tile ability, and his skill in finance, rare education and great refine-
ment of culture. He would give strength, solidity, firmness, to this
Institution. I think the original idea should be carried out and his
name replaced. Then we would avoid all these discussions as to the
particular localities which have been raised by the gentleman from
Tennessee [Mr. Maynard] in the suggestion of a man from that State.
I therefore move to amend the amendment of the gentleman from
Tennessee by inserting the name of Alexander T. Stewart.
Mr. MONROE. I now yield five minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania [Mr. Storm], a member of the committee, after which I
propose to call the previous question.
FORTY-THIRD CONC4RESS, 1873-1875. 715
Mr. JOHN B. STORM. I hope that the resolution, as modified by the
Committee on Education and Labor, will be adopted. That committee
carefully considered the resolution referred to and came to the con-
clusion which the} r have reported. The name of Mr. Stewart was
before that committee, together with several other names. After full
discussion and interchange of views by the members of the committee
they came to this conclusion, and I trust the action of the committee
will be approved by this House at this time.
If we follow the course indicated by the gentleman from Tennessee
[Mr. Maynard] and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Cox] I have
no doubt that every gentleman upon this floor has some particular
friend whom he would desire to honor by suggesting his name for
this position. The committee have looked solely to the qualifications,
scientific and literary, of the persons whose names have been suggested.
If the gentleman can give one reason or state one single particular
wherein Mr. Stewart is superior to Professor Coppee, I will yield to
him. Mr. Stewart is a merchant' of large business, engrossed and
absorbed in mercantile pursuits. I dare say he would be entirely
unable to pay any attention at all to any question that might he
referred to him should he be appointed to this place.
Professor Coppee, as a scientific and literary man, is abreast with
the age upon all questions of science, and is largely interested in
metallurgy, civil engineering, and mining, questions which are now
pressing themselves upon the attention of our colleges and schools,
and the study of which is replacing the old .study of the dead lan-
guages. He has given great attention to these matters and is to-day
in Pennsylvania one of the leading scientific minds upon all these great
questions in which the people have such a deep interest. I think that
it is due to that class of our people that they should be represented
upon the Board of Regents by such a man as Professor Coppee. He
is in every way qualified for the place, and I think to strike him from
the list proposed would be an ungracious act and one which the House
would not desire to perform, and to replace him by a man who has
nothing but his wealth to recommend him.
Professor Coppee has a thorough military training, has been honor-
ably connected with some of our most honored colleges, and is now'
the president of the Packer University. He has published one of the
best text-books we have on logic and rhetoric; he is the historian of
General Grant, and his criticisms on the military movements of the
Army in the late war are the best we have. He is a scholar of high
attainments and of great financial ability, and his appointment would
be a deserved compliment to his great talent.
Mr. MONROE. I now call the previous question.
The Speaker (Mr. JAMES G. ELAINE). Does the gentleman call the
previous question on the bill and amendments ?
716 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. MONROE. At the earnest request of gentlemen, I give my per-
sonal consent that a vote should be had upon the amendments.
Mr. S. J. RANDALL. Did the committee instruct you tc do that?
Mr. MONROE. No; the committee gave me no instructions.
Mr. RANDALL. Then you can not permit it.
Mr. MONROE. I merely said that I was willing to have votes taken
on these amendments.
Mr. G. F. HOAR. Allow me to make a suggestion. Should the
House vote down the previous question and permit amendments to be
in order, and the name of any gentleman should be proposed and
rejected, it would put him in a very uncomfortable position. But
if the House should sustain the previous question, it will determine
that the House will adopt the recommendations of the committee as a
whole. 1 hope, therefore, that the chairman [Mr. Monroe] will insist
upon tjje previous question upon the bill without amendments.
Mr. MAYNARD. After having debated the matter for half an hour, I
think that it is an unkind suggestion.
Mr. RANDALL. I think there is 'but one safe course for us to pursue
in all such matters. We can not in this House canvass the personal
merits or qualifications of individuals. I dare say that Mr. Stewart is
a very proper man for the place. But the committee have fully
examined the whole question and have made their report. I think
the only safe course for us to pursue is to adopt the report of the com-
mittee.
In regard to Professor Coppee, allow me to say that he is a gentle-
man I have known for years. He is a professor in the university in
which I was partly educated, and is without a superior in science or
literature in this country. He would be a very worthy successor to
Mr. Agassiz.
Mr. MONROE. I must now call the previous question.
The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman include amendments?
Mr. MONROE. I have given my consent personally. Am I the
proper person to decide that question (
The SPEAKER. The only person.
Mr. MONROE. Then I will call for the previous question upon the
bill and amendments of the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Maynard]
and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Cox].
The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. MaynardJ moves
to insert instead of the name of Henry Coppee, of Pennsylvania, the
name of Thomas W. Humes, of Tennessee. The gentleman from
New York [Mr. Cox] moves, as an amendment to the amendment, to
insert, instead of the name of Mr. Humes, the name of Alexander T.
Stewart, of New York. The first question is upon the amendment to
the amendment.
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 717
The amendment to the amendment was not agreed to.
The question recurring on the amendment of Mr. Maynard, it was
not agreed to.
The joint resolution was then passed.
January 12, 1874 Senate.
Mr. T. O. HOWE, from the Committee on the Library, to whom
was referred the Senate resolution of January 5, 1874^ asked to be
discharged from its further consideration, and that it be indefinitely
postponed. Agreed to.
The same committee, to whom was referred the joint resolution
from the House filling existing vacancies in the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, reported it back without amendment,
and with the recommendation that it pass; which was ordered to lie
over.
January 13, 1874 Senate.
Mr. J. W. STEVENSON moved to take up the joint resolution from the
House providing for the appointment and reappointment of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, which on January 12 was ordered to
lie over, and it was read a third time and passed.
January 19, 1874.
Resolved, etc. , That the existing vacancies in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution of the class other than members of Con-
gress, shall be filled by the appointment of Asa Gray, of Massachu-
setts, in place of Louis Agassiz, deceased; J. D. Dana, of Connecticut,
in place of Theodore D. Woolsey ; and Henry Coppee, of Pennsylvania,
in place of W. B. Astor; and John Maclean, and Peter Parker, whose
terms have expired, shall be reappointed.
(Stat., XVIII, Part3, 285.)
December 10, 1874 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN offered joint resolution:
That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
of the class other than members of Congress, shall be filled by the appointment of
George Bancroft, of the city of Washington, in place of William T. Sherman, resigned.
Mr. HAMLIN. I will say only that there is an existing vacancy, as
stated in that resolution, occasioned by the resignation of General
Sherman, who has moved from this city. The law requires- that that
Regent shall be from the city. Mr. Bancroft, the eminent historian,
has come here to reside. All three of the Board of Regents on the
part of this body think it is eminently fitting that he should be desig-
nated by Congress to fill that existing vacancy.
Adopted.
December 11, 1874 House.
On motion by Mr. SAMUEL HOOPER, the joint resolution appointing
George Bancroft a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, in place of
William T. Sherman, resigned, was taken up and passed.
718 CONGRESSIONAL 1'KOCEEDINGS.
December 18, 1874.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, of the class other than members of Con-
gress, shall be filled by the appointment of George Bancroft, of the
city of Washington, in place of William T. Sherman, resigned.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 523.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
February 13, 1874 Senate.
Annual report for 1873 laid before the Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN offered the following:
Resolved (the House of Representatives concurring) , That 12,500 additional copies of
the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1873 be printed, 2,500 of
which shall be for the use of the Senate, 5,000 for the use of the House, and 5,000 for
the use of the Institution : Provided, That the aggregate number of pages of said report
shall not exceed 450, and that there shall be no illustrations except those furnished
by the Smithsonian Institution.
February 20, 1874 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY! The Committee on Printing, to whom was
referred a resolution to print extra copies of the report of the Smith-
sonian Institution, have directed me to report it back with amendments
and to ask for its present consideration.
The Committee on Printing proposed to amend the resolution so as
to make it read:
Resolved (the House of Representatives concurring), That 7,500 additional copies of the
report of the Smithsanian Institution for the year 1873 be printed, 500 of which shall
be for the use of the Senate, 1,000. for the use of the House, and 6,000 for the use of
the Institution.
Mr. ANTHONY. The customary publication of this document has been
12,500 copies; 5,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution, 2,500
for the use of the Senate, and 5,000 for the use of the House of Rep-
resentatives. We now have reported to increase the number to the
Institution from 5,000 to 6,000, to reduce the number for the Senate
from 2,500 to 500, and to reduce the number for the House from 5,000
to 1,000. If the number for Congress is reduced so much, the -Insti-
tution will require a little more, so the Regents think. This, I believe,
is the first resolution that the Committee on Printing have reported at
this session for printing any additional documents. The number is
exceedingly small, and it is the intention of those who are best
acquainted with the Institution, especially of those who have been
charged on the part of Congress with participation in its management,
that there should be some extra copies, and in deference to them we
have made the recommendation.
Mr. LOT M. MORRILL, of Maine. I should like to inquire of the
Senator from Rhode Island whether he is aware of the fact that Con-
gress, in the early part of the session, passed a resolution suspending
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 719
the publication of documents, and whether this is in harinonv with the
expression of Congress?
Mr. ANTHONY. That has not passed the House. "
Mr. MORRILL. It passed the Senate.
Mr. ANTHONY. If the Senator asks my judgment, L think this is
not in conformity with that.
Mr. MORRILL. I should think that until the Senate reconsiders that
proposition we ought to adhere to it. Yesterday some proposition
came from the Committee on Printing of a similar kind.
Mr. ANTHONY. What one ?
Mr. MORRILL. Recommending the publication of some document.
Mr. ANTHONY. That was for the use of the proper Department, not
for the use of Congress. It was only 500 copies of a medical report
that was thought to be valuable for scientific purposes, and they are
to be distributed entirely by the Department.
Mr. MORRILL. I think we ought not to go into retail in printing
when in wholesale we have resolved not to print; and I do think it is
wise to adhere to the resolution that we passed, at least until some full
understanding as to the publication and distribution of documents is
had.
Mr. ANTHONY. I do not think we are bound by a proposition that
has only passed one House of Congress; but 1 am not a lawyer, and I
will leave that to the Senator from Maine.
Mr. MORRILL. I think we should have a little respect for our own
action, whether the House chooses to concur or not.
Mr. H. HAMLIN. I wish to state a fact. I may say in behalf of the
Smithsonian Institution that 1 think this is entirely distinct from the
documents which we publish sent to us from the Departments or which
emanate from our committees. This is purely a scientific work. It
is the annual report of the Smithsonian Institution, made in pursuance
of law to this body. To myself it may seem of very much less value
than to many others, but I think no man can ever examine a single report
of that Institution without being impressed with its great value. These
reports are for the general reader perhaps of little use, being some-
what technical and scientific, but yet they are of immense value to the
world, and they are transmitted all over the world, and we receive
back in exchange the scientific reports of different societies and differ-
ent governments. I think this stands entirely distinct from the docu-
ments ordinarily printed by Congress; and I. do not think the law or
resolution to which my colleague refers ought to apply to this report,
if it does technically; and if it does, this has got to pass the ordeal of
the House, and it must be by a concurrent vote, which will express
their opinion that this stands distinct from other matters, as well as
our own. 1 hope the resolution will be concurred in.
720 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. MORRILL. Only one word. Early in this session we determined
to arrest the publication of public documents, and I think properly.
I am not going to say whether it is true or not, for on that I have my
own opinions,' and they may not be in harmony with the public sense
on that subject; but one thing is clear, that from one consideration
or another, within the last few years, a very general impression or
sentiment or conviction has come to obtain in the public mind that
the publication of documents by the Congress of the United States
had become a very great abuse. It took a variety of forms. It was
an abuse under the franking privilege which overloaded the mails.
It was an expense in many ways, and it was a corruption in itself.
That is a deep-seated and thorough conviction in the public mind,
right or wrong, and I think the Senate of the United States was wise
when, at the beginning of this session, it said it would pause in the
publication and distribution of documents, for the present at .least,
until some wise determination could be come at.
Now, it may be that the views of my colleague render this an excep-
tional case, and it is a proper thing, possibly, to publish the reports
of the Smithsonian Institution, being of a scientific character, so far
as relates to itself; but this resolution provides for their publication
for distribution, and certainly it ought not to apply to that. We do
not want these reports for distribution. We have no means of dis-
tributing them. At any rate, to that extent I submit to my colleague
that this is certainly within the inhibition of the resolution of the
Senate. If there is no special objection, therefore, I should like to
have this resolution lie over until to-morrow.
Mr. F. T. FRELINGHUYSEN. I wish to say a word on this subject.
Mr. MORRILL. I withdraw the motion, to allow r the Senator to do so.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. I have only a word to say. I shall vote for
the resolution to print this report, and I will vote for any resolution
to print the proceedings of Congress. I think this idea of isolating
the Congress of the United States from the people is a very foolish
one. As to economy, I think it is an illustration of that wise saying
that "there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to
poverty." The people of my State write to me every day for copies
of the Agricultural Report, which contains most valuable information
to the farmers of the country, and they can not be obtained. The
books are read} 7 to be printed, but their printing is stopped; and
we are keeping the proceedings of Congress here as a close corpora-
tion from the people. I introduced a bill providing that these public
documents should be circulated, the postage in no event to be more
than 25 cents a volume, and not requiring prepayment, and authoriz-
Mig the documents to be sold if they were not called for within ten
.ays. That bill has not been reported from the Committee on Post-
Offices and Post-Roads.
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 721
Mr. ALEX. RAMSEY. I will say to' the Senator that the committee,
have it under consideration.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. I hope Congress will adopt some measure by
which that which transpires here may be circulated and disseminated
among the people. At a large expense we print every day a record
of the proceedings of Congress. What good does it do ? The people
do not get it. No provision is made for its circulation.
Now, as to the idea that the people are opposed to this, I was very
much struck by a remark which was made I do not know but that
it was in one of the articles which were read here yesterday that a
million of people might petition Congress, but we must remember
there are thirty-nine millions that are not heard from. I believe the
people want information as to what transpires here, and it is their
right to have it, and it is our duty to give them the opportunity to
know what we do.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY. I believe when this report was presented the
usual number was ordered to be printed. If not, I will make that
motion. That number ought to be printed at any rate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. M. H. CARPENTER). It was ordered.
The Chair understands objection to be made to the further considera-
tion of the resolution.
Mr. MORRILL, of Maine. Yes, sir.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution will lie over.
February 27, 1874 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN. I move to take up the resolution for the printing
of the Smithsonian report. I think it will detain the Senate but a
moment. It was up the other morning.
Agreed to.
Mr. HAMLIN. My colleague interposed some objection to the res-
olution because there were 500 copies provided for in it for the Senate
and 1,000 for the House. I have conferred with my colleague, and I
have also conferred with the Senator who reported the resolution, and
with their concurrence I move now to strike out the whole number
appropriated to both the Senate and House. That will be my first
motion. I shall follow that with another motion to increase the num-
ber to the Smithsonian Institution by 1,500, which is just the number
stricken out. That takes away entirely the objection to printing any
copies for our own distribution. I transfer that number to the Insti-
tution for this reason : I take it every Senator, like myself, has sup-
plied the principal libraries of the State for years with this work.
They will want it, and they will cease to call upon us, but they will
call upon the Institution for it, and that number which was proposed
for the Senate and for the House will be transferred there, and there
they will find them.
I want to say also, in this connection, that by an exchange of this
H. Doc. 732 46
722 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
very work with foreign societies and foreign governments we add to
our Congressional Library works of value, amounting to between
2,000 and 3,000 volumes annually.
The President pro tempore (Mr. M. H. CARPENTER). The resolution
will be read as proposed to be amended.
The CHIEF CLERK. If amended as proposed by the Senator from
Maine, the resolution will read:
Resolved (the House of Representatives concurring), That 7,500 additional copies of
the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1873 be printed for the use
of the Institution: Provided, That the aggregate number of pages of said report shall
not exceed 450, and that there shall be no illustrations except those furnished by the
Smithsonian Institution.
The resolution as amended agreed to.
May 15, 1874 House.
Mr. W. G. DONNAN, from the Committee on Printing, reported
back, with the recommendation that it be concurred in, concurrent
resolution from the Senate:
That 7,500 additional copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the
year 1873 be printed for the use of the Institution : Provided, That the aggregate
number of pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and that there be no illustrations
except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. W. S. HOLMAN. Does that resolution propose to give all the
copies to the Smithsonian Institution?
Mr. DONNAN. I desire to say to the House that this resolution pro-
poses 5,000 less than the usual number of copies, but we make no
provision for furnishing any copies to members of Congress. The
whole number is for the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. HOLMAN. It seems to me that there ought to be some copies
for members of Congress. I think it would be fair not to increase
the number, but to divide it up so that a portion shall be distributed
by Senators and members of the House.
Mr. DONNAN. This is a Senate resolution, and it was believed, inas-
much as members of Congress have no means of distributing the doc-
uments, that they could obtain such copies as they desired for their
own use from the Institution.
Mr. HOLMAN. I think it would be better to have a small number
provided for members of Congress. Most of us are perfectly willing
to send them to our constituents. I think one-third of the number
should be furnished for the use of members of Congress. What is
the number which the resolution proposes to have printed?
Mr. DONNAN. Seventy -five hundred for distribution by the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Mr. HOLMAN. Seventy -five hundred all together?
Mr. DONNAN. Yes; and the usual number was 12,000.
Mr. HOLMAN. Then I would move to amend the resolution so that
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 723
3,000 copies shall be furnished to the Senate and House 2,000 for
the House and 1,000 for the Senate- and that the remaining 4,500
shall be for the Institution.
Mr. DONNAN. I have no objection to the House voting on that
amendment.
Mr. E. R. HOAR. I did not understand whether the motion of the
gentleman from Indiana was to add to the number.
Mr. HOLMAN. No; but to divide the number proposed so as to give
a portion to the Senate and to the House.
Mr. HOAR. I desire to say that this number is only what the Smith-
sonian Institution desires for distribution, according to its systems,
among the libraries and colleges of the country, and for its exchanges.
I do not think it would be proper or wise for the House to take away
a part of the ordinary number furnished to this Institution for the
purpose of distributing this document to favored constituents of mem-
bers of the House. If members desire copies for distribution I
think they should add to and not diminish the regular supply to the
Institution. I move to amend the amendment so that the number
proposed for the House and Senate shall be in addition to the number
proposed by the resolution.
Agreed to.
The resolution as amended was concurred in.
December U, 1874 Senate.
On motion of Mr. A. A. SARGENT the House resolution of May 15,
1874, ordering 10,500 extras of the report of the Institution for 1873,
was taken up and adopted.
January 26, 1875 House.
Annual report for the year 1874 laid before the House of Represent-
atives and ordered to be printed.
February 8, 1875 House.
Mr. G. F. HOAR moved to have additional copies of the report of
the Smithsonian Institution printed.
February 24, 1875 House.
Mr. W. G. DONNAN, from the Committee on Printing, reported
concurrent resolution :
That 10,500 copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1874
be printed, 2,000 copies of which shall be for the use of the House of Representa-
tives, 1,000 for the use of the Senate, and 7,500 for the use of the Institution: Proinded,
That the aggregate number of pages of said report shall not exceed 450, and that
there shall be no illustrations except those furnished by the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to.
February 27, 1875 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
back the resolution of House of February 24, which was concurred in.
724 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
June 20, 1874.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1875.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public; documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XVIII, Part3, 88.)
March 3, 1875.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1876.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 347.)
DOCUMENTS.
June 20, 1874.
Be it enacted, etc. * * *
SEC. 6. That at the close of every session of Congress the Secretary
of State shall cause to be distributed pamphlet copies of the acts and
resolves of Congress for that session, edited and printed in the man-
ner aforesaid, as follows: To the * * Smithsonian Institution,
five copies. * * *
SEC. 7. That after the close of each Congress the Secretary of State
shall have edited, printed, and bound a sufficient number of the
volumes containing the Statutes at Large enacted by that Congress
to enable him to distribute copies, or as many thereof as may be
needed, as follows: To the * * * Smithsonian Institution, two
copies. * * *
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 113.)
ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 22, 1874.
Revised Statutes.
Preamble. James Smithson, esq., of London, in the Kingdom of
Great Britain, having by his last will and testament given the whole
of his property to the United States of America, to found, at Wash-
ington, under the name of the "Smithsonian Institution," an estab-
lishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men; and
the United States having, by an act of Congress, received said property
and accepted said trust; therefore, for the faithful execution of said
trust, according to the will of the liberal and enlightened donor,
SEC. 5579. The President, the Vice-President, the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of
the Navy, the Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Chief
Justice, the Commissioner of the Patent Office, and the governor of
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875 725
the District of Columbia, and such other persons as they may elect
honorary members, are hereby constituted an establishment, by the
name of the "Smithsonian Institution," for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men; and by that name shall be known and have
perpetual succession, with the powers, limitations, and restrictions
hereinafter contained, and no other.
SEC. 5580. The business of the Institution shall be conducted at the
city of Washington by a Board of Regents, named the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, to be composed of the Vice-President,
the Chief Justice of the United States, and the governor of the District
of Columbia, three members of the Senate and three members of the
House of Representatives; together with six other persons other than
members of Congress, two of whom shall be resident in the city of
Washington; and the other four shall be inhabitants of some State,
but no two of them of the same State.
SEC. 5581. The Regents to be selected shall be appointed as follows:
The members of the Senate by the President thereof; the members of
the House by the Speaker thereof; and the six other persons by joint
resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives. The members
of the House so appointed shall serve for the term of two years; and
on every alternate fourth Wednesday of December a like number shall
be appointed in the same manner, to serve until the fourth Wednesday
in December, in the second year succeeding their appointment. The
Senators so appointed shall serve during the term for which they shall
hold, without reelection, their office as Senators. Vacancies, occasioned
by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled as vacancies in com-
mittees are filled. The regular term of service for the other six mem-
bers shall be six years; and new elections thereof shall be made by
joint resolutions of Congress. Vacancies occasioned by death, resigna-
tion, or otherwise may be filled in like manner by joint resolution of
Congress.
SEC. 5582. The Regents shall meet in the city of Washington and
elect one of their number as Chancellor, who shall be the presiding
officer of the Board of Regents, and called the Chancellor of the
Smithsonian Institution, and a suitable person as Secretary of the
Institution, who shall also be the Secretary of the Board of Regents.
The Board shall also elect three of their own body as an executive
committee, and the Regents shall fix on the time for the regular meet-
ings of the Board; and, on application of any three of the Regents to
the Secretary of the Institution, it shall be his duty to appoint a
special meeting of the Board of Regents, of which he shall give notice,
by letter, to each of the members; and, at any meeting of the Board,
five shall constitute a quorum to do business. Each member of the
Board shall be paid his necessary traveling and other actual expenses,
in attending meetings of the Board, which shall be audited by the
726 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
executive committee, and recorded by the Secretary of the Board; hut
his service as Regent shall be gratuitous.
SEC. 5583. The Secretary of the Board of Regents shall take charge
of the building and property of the Institution, and shall, under their
direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to
be preserved in the Institution; and shall also discharge the duties of
librarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of
the Board of Regents, employ assistants.
SEC. 5584. The Secretary and his assistants shall, respectively, receive
for their services such sum as may be allowed by the Board of Regents,
to be paid semiannually on the 1st day of January and July; and shall
be removable by the Board of Regents whenever, in their judgment,
the interests of the Institution require such removal.
SEC. 5585. The members and honorary members of the Institution
may hold stated and special meetings, for the supervision of the affairs
of the institution and the advice and instruction of the Board of
Regents, to be called in the manner provided for in the by-laws of the
Institution, at which the President, and in his absence the Vice-Presi-
dent, shall preside.
SEC. 5586. Whenever suitable arrangements can be made from time
to time for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious
research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and
mineralogical specimens belonging to the United States, which may
be in the city of Washington, in whosesoever custody they may be, shall
be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the Board of
Regents to receive them, and shall be so arranged and classified in the
building erected for the Institution as best to facilitate the examina-
tion and study of them; and whenever new specimens in natural history,
geology, or mineralogy, are obtained for the museum of the Institution,
by exchanges of duplicate specimens, which the Regents may in their
discretion make, or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise,
the Regents shall cause such new specimens to be appropriately
classed and arranged. The minerals, books, manuscripts, and other
property of James Smithson, which have been received by the Gov-
ernment of the United States, shall be preserved separate and apart
from other property of the Institution.
SEC. 5587. The Regents shall make, from the interest of the fund,
an appropriation, not exceeding an average of $25,000 annually, for the
gradual formation of a library composed of valuable works pertaining
to all departments of human knowledge. [See sees. 94, 99, 100.]
SEC. 5588. The site and lands selected for buildings for the Smith-
sonian Institution shall be deemed appropriated to the Institution, and
the record of the description of such site and lands, or a copy thereof,
certified by the Chancellor and Secretary of the Board of Regents, shall
be received as evidence in all courts of the extent and boundaries of
the lands appropriated to the Institution.
FORTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 727
SEC. 5589. All laws for the protection of public property in the city
of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the protection of
the lands, buildings, and other property of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. All moneys recovered by or accruing to, the Institution shall be
paid into the Treasury of the United States, to the credit of the Smith-
sonian bequest, and separately accounted for.
SEC. 5590. So much of the property of James Smithson as has been
received in money, and paid into the Treasury of the United States,
being the sum of $541,379.63, shall be lent to the United States
Treasury, at 6 per centum per annum interest; and 6 per centum inter-
est on the trust-fund and residuary legacy received into the United
States Treasury, payable in half-yearly payments, on the 1st of January
and July in each year, is hereby appropriated for the perpetual main-
tenance and support of the Smithsonian Institution; and all expendi-
tures and appropriations to be made, from time to time to the purposes
of the Institution shall be exclusively from the accruing interest, and
not from the principal of the fund. All the moneys and stocks which
have been, or may hereafter be, received into the Treasury of the
United States, on account of the fund bequeathed by James Smithson,
are hereby pledged to refund to the Treasury of the United States the
sums hereby appropriated.
SEC. 5591. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed
to receive into the Treasury, on the same terms as the original bequest
of James Smithson, such sums as the Regents may, from time to time,
see fit to deposit, not exceeding, with the original bequest, the sum of
$1,000,000.
SEC. 5592. The Regents are authorized to make such disposal of any
other moneys which have accrued, or shall hereafter accrue, as interest
upon the Smithsonian fund, not herein appropriated, or not required
for the purposes herein provided, as they shall deem best suited for
the promotion of the purpose of the testator.
SEC. 5593. Whenever money is required for the payment of the
debts or performance of the contracts of the Institution, incurred or
entered into in conformity with the provisions of this title, or for mak-
ing the purchases and executing the objects authorized by this title,
the Board of Regents, or the executive committee thereof, may certify
to the Chancellor and secretary of the Board that such sum of money
is required, whereupon they shall examine the same, and, if they shall
approve thereof, shall certify the same to the proper officer of the
Treasury for payment. The Board shall submit to Congress, at each
session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition
of the Institution.
SEC. 5594. Congress may alter, amend, add to, or repeal any of the
provisions of this title; but no contract or individual right made or
acquired under such provisions shall be thereby divested or impaired.
(Rev. Stat, 1875, pp. 1088-1090.)
728 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
PUBLIC PRINTING.
June 22, 1874.
SEC. 196. The head of each Department, except the Department of
Justice, shall furnish to the Congressional Printer copies of the docu-
ments usually accompanying his annual report, on or before the 1st
day of November in each year, and a copy of his annual report on or
before the 3d Monday of November in each year.
(Rev. Stat., 2d edition, 1878, 31.)
POLARIS EXPEDITION.
June 23, 1874.
Act for the relief of Mercy Ann Hall, widow of Capt. Charles F. Hall.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Navy is hereby author-
ized and directed to allow and settle the salary of Charles F. Hall,
late in command of the Polaris expedition, to December 31, 1873, and
pay the balance to his widow, Mercy Ann Hall.
SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized to
purchase from the said Mercy Ann Hall the manuscripts of said Charles
F. Hall relative to his several voyages and explorations in the north
seas, at a price not exceeding $15,000, and, in case of purchase, to
deposit the same with the officers of the Smithsonian Institution for
safe-keeping, examination, and report to Congress.
SEC. 3. That the sum of $16,936, or so much thereof as ma} r be
necessary, is hereby appropriated to carry out the provisions of this
act.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 614.)
March 3, 1875.
Deficiency act for 1875, etc.
For printing illustrations of the results of the Polaris expedition,
under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, $15,000.
(Stat., XVIII, Parts, 409.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 7, 1874 House.
Estimates for 1876.
Preservation of the collections of the surveying and exploring
expeditions of the Government, $25,000.
Smithsonian Institution building: Fitting up new halls required for
Government collections, $10,000.
December 7, 1874 House.
SIR: * I have also included an estimate for the preparation
of a series of illustrations of the American fisheries and their products
for exhibition at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876.
The object is one of great interest and practical importance, and a
proper presentation can only be made by Government aid.
FOKTY-THIKD CONGRESS, 1873-1875. 729
It is proposed to furnish a complete series of illustrations or models
of all the different kinds of vessels and boats of every grade used in
the various fisheries on the coast and in the interior, together with the
apparatus employed, of whatever kind, including not only what relates
to the fishes properly so called, but also to the whales, seals, oysters,
lobsters, sponges, etc.
Such an exhibition has always constituted an important feature in
the national display's at foreign exhibitions, and unless steps are taken
immediately by the Government toward that object, there is no proba-
bility that anything of the kind will be prepared for the particular
occasion in question.
The collection will also embrace specimens of the various products
of the fisheries, both in their crude and manufactured condition, with
illustrations of the objects themselves, including plaster casts, carefully
colored, of life-size, of such fishes as can not be otherwise properly
exhibited. This collection will finally form, appropriately, a portion
of the National Museum at Washington.
Very respectfully, SPENCEK F. BAIRD,
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries.
The SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
June 20, 1874.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1875.
For official postage stamps for the National Museum in the Smith-
sonian Institution, $1,000.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 103.)
June 23, 1874.
Sundry civil act for 1875.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $20,000; and
for fitting up and completing the cases in the new halls required for
the Government collections, $10,000; in all, $30,000.
(Stat, XVIII, Part 3, 216.)
March 3, 1875.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1876.
For official postage stamps for the National Museum in the Smith-
sonian Institution, $1,000.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 364.)
March 3, 1875.
Sundry civil act for 1876.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditious of the Government, $20,000;
730 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
For fitting up new halls required for the Government collections,
$10,000;
To complete the heating apparatus of the National Museum, $2,500.
(Stat., XVIII, Part 3, 387.)
KEGENTS TO HAVE USE OF LIBRARY OF CONORTOSS
March 2, 1875 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. HENRY WILSON) laid before the Senate a
bill extending the privileges of the Library of Congress to the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution :
Be it enacted, etc. , That the Joint Committee of both Houses of Congress on the
Library be authorized to extend the use of the books in the Library of Congress to
the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution resident in Washington, on the same
conditions and restrictions as members of Congress are allowed to use the Library.
Passed.
March 2, 1875 House.
Mr. G. F. HOAR introduced a bill extending the privileges of the
Library of Congress to the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Passed.
March 3, 1875.
Be It enacted, etc,, That the Joint Committee of both Houses of Con-
gress on the Library be authorized to extend the use of the books in
the Library of Congress to the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
resident in Washington, on the same conditions and restrictions as
members of Congress are allowed to use the Library.
(Stat., XVIII, Part3, 512.)
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877.
Augusts, 1876.
Restoration of the original Declaration of Independence.
Resolved, etc., That a commission, consisting of the Secretary of
the Interior, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the
Librarian of Congress, be empowered to have resort to such means as
will most effectually restore the writing of the original manuscript of
the Declaration of Independence, with the signatures appended
thereto, now in the United States Patent Office; and that the expoi se
attending the same be defrayed out of the contingent fund of the
Interior Department.
(Stat., XIX, 216.)
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 731
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
August 15, 1876.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1877.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public docu-
ments for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XIX, U1.^
March 3, 1877.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1878.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public docu-
ments for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XIX, 298.)
INDIAN STATISTICS AND HISTORY.
August 15, 1876.
Indian service act for 1877.
For continuing the collection of statistics and historical data
respecting the Indians of the United States, under the direction of
the Secretary of the Interior, $3,500: Provided, That when sufficient
matter to make a volume of statistics and historical data is prepared
it shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and
referred by him to the Regents of the Smithsonian Institute [Insti-
tution], and published on their written approval.
(Stat., XIX, 197.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING.
January 26, 1877 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. THOMAS W. FERRY) presented a
resolution of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
adopted at a meeting held January 24, 1877, asking an appropriation
by Congress for the erection of a suitable building in connection with
the present edifice for the accommodation of additional collections.
Referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
February 2, 1877 House.
The Speaker (Mr. MICHAEL C. KERR) laid before the House a pre-
amble and resolution from the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution relative to additional room for the collections of the Insti-
tution.
Referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
February 6, 1877 Senate.
Mr. J. J. STEVENSON. I desire to present a memorial from the
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, which I desire to have read.
It will be found to refer to a subject in which the entire country must,
I am sure, feel a very deep interest.
732 CONGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
It is known to the Senate that the Smithsonian Institution was rep-
resented at the late Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. At the
close of that exposition a number of the foreign powers there repre-
sented and who contributed to that grand national display, at its close
generously donated to the Smithsonian Institution most of their articles
and products there exhibited. A list of the articles donated and the
names of the donors accompany this memorial. Among these gifts
will be found an exquisite pair of vases valued at some $17,000.
The motive which prompted these donations to the Smithsonian
Institution was unquestionably one of amity and respect entertained
by the foreign powers donating them for the Government of the
United States. But unquestionably these donors expected that this
Government would through the agency of the Smithsonian Institution
keep these articles thus donated on public exhibition, and in this way
the respective products of each country would become known to the
people of our entire country.
The articles donated are valuable, rare, varied, and occupy much
space. They are all, I believe, now stored in Philadelphia, for the
reason that the Smithsonian Institution has no building in which they
can be either exhibited or safely preserved. They must remain, there-
fore, in boxes, subject to injury and to decay, unless Congress shall
take some immediate action toward the erection of a building in all
respects suitable for their exhibition and preservation. The capacity
of such a building is estimated by competent architects to be four
times as large as the Smithsonian building. A plan of such a structure
has been already drawn by General Meigs. Its estimated cost will
not exceed $200,000.
The Regents of the Institution by this memorial ask Congress to
make at once the necessary appropriation. If it be promptly done, a
beautiful and capacious building can be put up and finished by the
assembling of Congress in December next. Of course, this memorial
should go first to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
The prompt erection of the proposed building is a public necessity
which I hope will commend itself to the judgment of that committee,
and I trust they will at the earliest moment make a report. I submit
that the honor and good faith of our country seems to demand and
require prompt and liberal action by Congress. That is all I have now r
to suggest.
Mr. ROSCOE CONKLING. What is the worth of these articles?
Mr. STEVENSON. It is stated in the memorial that the estimated
value is a million dollars. I ask that the memorial be now read.
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Stales of America in Congress
assembled :
The undersigned, Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, beg leave respectfully to
lay before you a question which has suddenly arisen, and which can be solved only
by your authority.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 733
In the year 1846, on the organization of the Smithsonian Institution "for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among man," Congress, to the great relief of the
Patent Office and other public buildings, devolved upon the Regents of that Institution
the custody of "all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and all objects
of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens belonging or
hereafter to belong to the United States, which may be in the city of Washington."
In accordance with the enactment the Institution has received and carefully pre-
served all the specimens which have been brought together from more than fifty
public exploring expeditions, and has added specimens collected by itself or obtained
from foreign museums by exchange, till its present edifice in the beginning of 1876
had become full to overflowing.
By an act bearing date July 31, 1876, additional duties were laid upon the Smith-
sonian Institution as custodian, and $4,500 were appropriated "for repairing and
fitting up the so-called Armory building on the Mall, between Sixth and Seventh
streets, and to enable the Smithsonian Institution to store therein and to take care of
specimens of the extensive series of the ores of the precious metals, marbles, building
stones, coals, and numerous objects of natural history now on exhibition in Philadel-
phia, including other objects of practical and economical value presented by various
foreign governments to the National Museum."
As a fruit of this act of the General Government, the Smithsonian Institution finds
itself the custodian of enormous collections that had been displayed at the Centen-
nial Exposition, and on closing of that exhibition had been presented to the United
States. These donations are made by individuals among our own citizens, by foreign
exhibitors, and by several of the States of the Union; and there is scarcely a power
in the civilized world in any region of the globe which has not taken part in the con-
tributions, and some of them with the largest generosity. Men of science most com-
petent to pass judgment pronounce them to be of immense value, and are of opinion
that, including the gift from States of the Union and the exhibits of the United
States, they could not have been brought together by purchase for less than a mil-
lion of dollars.
That the magnitude and value of the donations from foreign governments may be
manifest, we annex to this memorial a list of the more important of them, as prepared
by Prof. S. F. Baird, who represented the Smithsonian Institution at Philadelphia.
Their adequate exhibition requires an additional building which shall afford at
least four times the space furnished by the present edifice of the Institution.
The Government of the United States is now in possession of the materials of a
museum exhibiting the natural products of our own country associated with those of
foreign nations which would rival in magnitude, value, and interest the most cele-
brated museums of the Old World.
The immediate practical question is, Shall these precious materials be for the most
part packed away in boxes, liable to injury and decay, or shall they be exhibited?
It was the act of Congress which ordered the acceptance in trust of these noble
gifts to the United States. The receiving of them implies that they will be taken
care of in a manner corresponding to the just expectations of those who gave them;
and one of the prevailing motives of the donors was that the productions of their
several lands might continue to be exhibited. The intrinsic value of the donations
is moreover enhanced by the circumstances under which they were made. They
came to us in the one hundredth year of our life as a nation, in token of the desire
of the governments of the world to manifest their interest in our destiny. This con-
sideration becomes the more pleasing when we bring to mind that these gifts have
been received, not exclusively from the great nations of Europe from which we are
sprung, or from the empire and republics on our own continent beyond the line, but
that they come to us from the oldest abode of civilization on the Nile, from the time-
honored empires and kingdoms of the remotest eastern Asia, and from the principal
734 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
states which are rising into intellectual and industrial and political greatness in the
farthest isles and continent; from states which are younger than ourselves and bring
their contributions as a congratulatory offering to their elder brother.
We have deemed it our duty to lay these facts and reflections before both Houses of
Congress and to represent to them that, if they, in their wisdom, think that this
unequaled accumulation of natural specimens and works interesting to science, the
evidence of the good will to us that exists among men, should be placed where it can
be seen and studied by the people of our own land and by travelers from abroad, it
will be necessary to make an appropriation for the immediate erection of a spacious
building. Careful inquiries have been instituted to ascertain the smallest sum which
would be adequate to that purpose ; and the plan of a convenient structure has been
made by General Meigs, the Quartermaster-General, United States Army. We beg
leave further to represent that to accomplish the purpose there would be need of an
appropriation of $250,000. This amount is required not as a first installment, to be
followed by others, but as sufficient entirely to complete the edifice.
Should this appropriation be made at an early day the building could be ready for
the reception of articles before the next session of Congress.
M. K. WAITE,
T. W. FERRY,
H. HAMLIN,
J. W. STEVENSON,
A. A. SARGENT,
HIESTER CLYMER,
BEN.I. H. HILL,
GEO. W. McCRARY,
PETER PARKER,
ASA GRAY,
GEO. BANCROFT,
Regents of Smithsonian Institution.
WASHINGTON, February 5, 1877.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL. I desire to say to the Senate that the Com-
mittee on Public Buildings and Grounds have already had the subject
before them and would have made a report before this time, but we
understood that the same subject was before a committee of the House,
where it was being favorably considered. As I have stated in years
past, it has seemed to be a necessity that we should provide for a
National Museum. It has been the opinion of the Committee on
Public Buildings and Grounds on the part of the Senate, I believe
unanimously, for some years, that we ought to take all of the squares
next east of the public grounds, throughout the length and breadth
on the north and south range of one square, taking one square in depth
and the whole length, for the purpose of a National Museum and Con-
gressional Library; and evidently this matter should be provided for
at once. The National Armory, I understand, is already filled from
basement to top.
Mr. A. A. SARGENT. With boxes without any opportunity for
display.
Mr. MORRILL. With boxes without any opportunity of displaying
their contents; and there are at this time, as I am informed, at least
fifty carloads of articles that have been given to us by foreign gov-
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 735
ernmente. Thirty-two or thirty -three out of the forty nationalities
abroad have given us their entire exhibits at the Centennial Exhibi-
tion. Their money value is scarcely computable, but if it were to be
computed it exceeds our own, as large as our exhibits were there and
as creditable to the country. Our own, I believe, in money value,
have been computed at $400,000. These foreign exhibits are com-
puted, at least in money value, at the sum of $600,000, but in histor-
ical and scientific interest they perhaps surpass anything that has been
assembled in any national museum on the globe.
I shall, therefore, hope to receive favorable consideration of the
report of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds at an early
day, if in the meantime we do not receive a bill from the House on
the subject.
Mr. J. W. STEVENSON. I now move, Mr. President, that this memo-
rial be referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
Allow me to add a single word. 1 hope that speedy action will be had
b} 7 both the Senate and the committee. I hope this building will be
put on the Smithsonian grounds. There is ample room on that square
without the cost of additional ground. Professor Henry assures me
that with the erection of the contemplated building on the plan of
General Meigs, with the articles now on exhibition in the Smithsonian
Institution, with those just donated, we shall have the nucleus of a
National Museum which in a few years will equal any in the world.
Mr. SARGENT. Accompanying this memorial is a list of the various
articles contributed by different powers, by different exhibitors, and
by States of the Union, and I think that if Senators will take the
pains to examine that list they will find that articles rare in their char-
acter, of great interest in a scientific point of view, and of intrinsic
value, have been given to the Government of the United States. To
properly display these objects will be to furnish education of the most
valuable character to all of our people (and there are millions of them
who come here) who visit this capital.
I wish to add my earnest desire that the committee will promptly
report a measure that will enable us to open this great educational
Institution to the people of the United States, to utilize this vast and
valuable collection which has been given to us, to show that we receive
them from these powers in good faith, and are disposed to show that
we properly appreciate the riches which they have placed within our
hands.
I move that the list with the memorial be printed, and that they
both go to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
Agreed to.
February 7, 1877 House.
Mr. HIESTER CLTMER. I ask unanimous consent to' present for
reference to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds a memo-
736 CONGKESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
rial of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and beg- permission
briefly to explain its import.
It sets forth that many foreign nations, states, and individuals, by
whom articles were sent to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia,
have made noble and valuable gifts to the Government of the United
States of objects of art, of firearms, of mineral and agricultural
products, and of artistic and mechanic skill. It may not be disputed
that the acceptance of them by the Government imposes an obligation
that they shall be preserved and exhibited for the gratification and
instruction of the people. Their preservation and exhibition must be
confided to the National Museum, of which by law the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution have the custody. They have presented for
our consideration the necessity for erecting a suitable building for the
purposes 1 have indicated, giving an estimate of its -probable cost. I
do not ask that the memorial be printed in the Record, as one of like
import was presented to the Senate, which will be found in its pro-
ceedings of yesterday. I therefore ask its reference to the Committee
on Public Buildings and Grounds, and that the accompanying list, set-
ting forth the name of the donors and the character of them, be
printed in the Record for the information of the House and the
country.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG. I will say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania
that there is already a bill pending before the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, on which a favorable report has been pre-
pared, and we only wait a meeting of the committee to order it to be
reported.
Mr. CLYMER. I am delighted to have that information. But it can
do the committee no harm to have the memorial referred to it.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Pennsylvania asks unanimous
consent to present a memorial of the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, and to have the same referred to the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, not to be brought back on a motion to recon-
sider. Is there objection?
Mr. CLYMER. I also ask that the list attached to the memorial be
printed in the Record.
Mr. WASHINGTON TOWNSENU, of Pennsylvania. I ask that the
memorial itself be printed in the Record.
Mr. CLYMER. With the accompanying list.
There was no objection; and the memorial was referred to the
Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and ordered, with the
accompanying list, to be printed in the Record.
February 14, 1877 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL, from the Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, reported a bill (S. 1252) for the erection of a fireproof
building for the National Museum; which was read by its title.
FORTY-FOUKTH CONGKESS, 1875-1877. 737
Mr. J. S. MORRILL. Let the bill be read at length. It will take but
a moment.
The President pro tempore (Mr. THOMAS W. FERRY). The bill will
be read the second time at length.
Be it enacted, etc., That for a fireproof building for use of the National Museum,
300 feet square, to be erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with the plan of Maj. Gen. M. C. Meigs,
now on file with the Joint Committee of Public Buildings and Grounds, on the south-
west corner of the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, the sum of $250,000 is
hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury nofr otherwise appropriated.
Said building to be placed west of the Smithsonian Institution, leaving a roadway
between it and the latter of not less than 30 feet, with its north front on a line
parallel with the north face of the buildings of the Agricultural Department and of
the Smithsonian Institution; and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned,
not including anything for architectural plans, shall be audited by the proper officers
of the Treasury Department.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be placed on the Calendar.
February 22, 1877 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL. I ask the Senate to take up a bill that will not
take more than three or four minutes in relation to the National
Museum. It is rather important that this bill should be acted upon
that it may go to the House. The bill is one which has been reported
by the action of the joint committee of the two Houses, that is to say,
of the committee of the Senate and the subcommittee of the House,
and meets their unanimous approval. I move that the Senate proceed
to the consideration of the bill (S. 1252) for the erection of a fireproof
building for the National Museum.
Agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, considered
bill.
Mr. MORRILL. I shall not occupy any time in an explanation of this
bill, for I presume every Senator recognizes the prime necessity there
is for it. The bill is so carefully guarded that there will be no danger
of any further demand upon the Treasury, and I think it will meet the
approbation of all who examine it.
The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, engrossed,
and passed.
March 2, 1877 Senate.
The sundry civil bill being considered an amendment was offered:
For a fireproof building for the iise of the National Museum, 300 feet square, to be
erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, in accordance with the plan of Maj. Gen. M. C. Meigs, now on file
with the Joint Committee of Public Buildings and Grounds, on the southwest corner
of the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, the sum of $250,000 is hereby
appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; said
building to be placed west of the Smithsonian Institution, leaving a roadway between
it and the latter of not less than 30 feet, with its north front on a line parallel with
H. Doc. 732 47
738 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS
the north face of the buildings of the Agricultural Department and of the Smithsonian
Institution; and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned, not including
anything for architectural plans, shall be audited by the proper officers of the
Treasury Department.
Mr. A. A. SARGENT. On line 500, after the word "dollars," I move
to strike out the words "is hereby appropriated out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated."
Agreed to.
The amendment, as amended, was agreed to.
March 3, 1877 House.
Mr. H. CLYMER. I ask unanimous consent that the bill (S. 1252) for
the erection of a fireproof building for a National Museum be taken
from the Speaker's table and passed.
Be it enacted, etc., That for a fireproof building for the use of the National Museum,
300 feet square, to be erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with the plan of Maj. Gen. M. C. Meigs,
now on file with the Joint Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, on the south-
west corner of the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, the sum of $250,000 is
hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated;
said building to be placed west of the Smithsonian Institution, leaving a roadway
between it and the latter of not less than 30 feet, with its north front on a line parallel
with the north face of the buildings of the Agricultural Department and of the Smith-
sonian Institution; and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned, not
including anything for architectural plans, shall be audited by the proper officers of
the Treasury Department.
Mr. J. W. THROCKMORTON. 1 object.
Mr. CLYMER. I move that the rules be suspended and the bill passed,
and I ask unanimous consent to make a brief statement in regard to it.
Mr. R. Q. MILLS. I object.
The question was taken on the motion to suspend the rules and pass
the bill; and on a division there were ayes 71, noes 41; not two-thirds
voting in the affirmative.
Mr. CLYMER. I call for tellers.
Tellers were ordered; and Mr. Clymer and Mr. Throckmorton were
appointed.
The House divided; and the tellers reported ayes 106, noes 42.
Mr. J. L. VANCE, of Ohio. I call for the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The question was taken, and there were yeas 99, nays 72, not voting
119, as follows:
YEAS Messrs. Abbott, Adams, John H. Bagley, jr., Ballon, Banks, Belford, Bell,
Blair, Bliss, Bradley, William R. Brown, Horatio C. Burchard, Cannon, Caswell,
Caulfield, John B. Clark, jr., of Missouri, Clymer, Conger, Crapo, Crounse, Cutler,
Danford, Davy, Denison, Eames, Evans, Flye, Foster, Freeman, Frye, Garfield, Hale,
Hancock, Haralson, Hardenbergh, Benjamin W. Harris, Hathorn, Raymond, Hendee,
Henderson, Abram S. Hewitt, Hill, Hoge, Hopkins, Hubbell, Hurlburt, Hyman,
Joyce, Kasson, Kelly, Kimball, Lamar, Lynch, Mackey, Magoon, MacDougall,
McCrary, Miller, Money, Monroe, Morgan, Nash, O'Brien, O'Neill, Page, William
A. Phillips, Platt, Pratt, Purman, Rainey, John Reilly, James B. Reilly, William M.
FORTY-FOUETH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 739
Robbins, Robinson, Rusk, Sampson, Seel ye, Sinnickson, Smalls, A. Herr Smith,
Stone, Stowell, Strait, Tarbox, Terry, Martin I. Townsend, Washington Townsend,
"Waddell, John W. Wallace, Watterson, G. Wiley Wells, White, Whitehouse, Andrew
Williams, Alpheus S. Williams, Charles G. Williams, James Williams, William B.
Williams, James Wilson, Alan Wood, jr., Woodburn, Woodward, Yeates, and
Young 99.
NAYS Messrs. Ainsworth, Beebe, Bland, Blount, Boone, Buckner, John H. Cald-
well, William P. Caldwell, Campbell, John B. Clarke, of Kentucky, Cochrane, Col-
lins, Culberson, Davis, Durham, Ellis, Felton, Finley, Forney, Fort, Franklin,
Glover, Goode, Goodin, Gunter, Andrew H. Hamilton, John T. Harris, Harrison,
Hartzell, Hatcher, Hays, Hooker, House, Humphreys, Jenks, Thomas L. Jones,
Knott, Franklin Landers, George M. Landers, Lawrence, Le Moyne, Levy, Lynde,
Meade, Mills, Morrison, Mutchler, Neal, N3w, Payne, John F. Philips, Poppleton,
Rea, Reagan, Rice, Riddle, Miles Ross, Scales, Singleton, Siemens, Southard, Sparks,
Springer, Stenger, Stevenson, Thomas, Throckmorton, Tucker, Turney, John L.
Vance, Robert B. Vance, Charles C. B. Walker, Walling, Warner, Whitthorne, Wike,
Jere N. Wiliams, and Benjamin Wilson 72.
NOT VOTING Messrs. Anderson, Ashe, Atkins, Bagby, George A. Bagley, John
H. Baker, William H. Baker, Banning, Bass, Blackburn, Bradford, Bright, John Young
Brown, Samuel D. Burchard, Burleigh, Buttz, Cabell, Carr, Cason, Gate, Chapin,
Chittenden, Cook, Cowan, Cox, Darrall, De Bolt, Dibrell, Dobbins, Douglas, Dunnell,
Durand, Eden, Egbert, Faulkner, Field, Fuller, Gause, Gibson, Robert Hamilton,
Henry R. Harris, Hartridge, Henkle, Goldsmith W. Hewitt, Hoar, Holman, Hos-
kins, Hunter, Hunton, Hurd, Frank Jones, Kehr, King, Lane, Lapham, Leavenworth,
Lewis, Lord, Luttrell, Maish, McDill, McFarland, McMahon, Metcalfe, Milliken,
Norton, Odell, Oliver, Packer, Phelps, Pierce, Piper, Plaisted, Potter, Powell, John
Robbins, Roberts, Sobieski Ross, Savage, Sayler, Schleicher, Schumaker, Sheakley,
AVilliam E. Smith, Stanton, Stephens, Swann, Teese, Thompson, Thornburgh, Tufts,
Van Vorhes, Wait, Waldron, Gilbert C. Walker, Alexander S. Wallace, Walsh, Ward,
Warren, Erastus Wells, Wheeler, Whiting, Wigginton, Willard, Willis, Wilshire,
and Fernando Wood 119.
So (two-thirds not voting in favor thereof) the rules were not .sus-
pended.
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 6, 1875 House.
Estimates by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 1877, through the Sec-
retary of the Interior.
Preservation of the collections of the surveying and exploring
expeditions of the Government, $25,000.
Smithsonian Institution building: Fitting up apartments for mount-
ing and photographing specimens, $5,000.
NOTE. A separate place is absolutely necessary for conducting these operations.
December 4, 1876 House.
Estimates by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 1878, through the Sec-
retary of the Interior.
For preservation of the collections of the surveying and exploring
expeditions of the Government, $25,000.
NOTE. This item covers the estimated expense for the coming fiscal year for the
charge and administration of the entire natural-history collections of the Government,
740 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
including those transferred from the Centennial, more than four times the collections
of 1875.
For the expense of watching and taking proper care of the Armory
building and the objects therein contained, $2,500.
NOTE. No other appropriation is available for the care and attendance of the
Armory building, lighting, heating, ete.
For expenses of making up into sets for distribution to colleges and
institutions the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural history
now belonging to the United States or in the collections of the Inter-
national Exhibition presented to it by foreign governments, $10,000.
NOTE. This appropriation is needed in order to distribute the large bulk of dupli-
cate material belonging to the Government, and for the distribution of it to institu-
tions where it will be of service. This, however, is less urgent in its necessity than
the other items. Hundreds of applications are on file for these objects.
December 4, 1876 House.
Estimates for 1878, through the Secretary of the Treasury.
For preservation of the collections of the surveying and exploring
expeditions of the Government, $10,000.
For restoring to proper place in National Museum and repairing
cases moved to the International Exhibition and for expense of re-ar-
ranging the collections, $5,000.
For completing and fitting up the building erected in the Smithso-
nian grounds for the preparation and photographing of specimens,
$5,000.
For fitting up the so-called Armory building, on the Mall, between
Sixth and Seventh streets, for the reception and storage of objects
of natural history, etc., belonging to the United States, including those
transferred from the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, $2,500.
For expense of watching and taking proper care of the said building
and the objects therein contained, $1,500.
January 12, 1877 House.
Deficiency estimates for 1877.
For the ordinary care and preservation of the collections, $10,000.
This is asked for the following reason:
It was found from experience that $25,000 were not more than sufficient to arrange,
preserve, and exhibit the collections of the Government Museum, but of this amount
which we estimated for the year, only $10,000 were allowed, and it therefore became
necessary to discharge many of the assistants, leaving a number insufficient to pre-
serve the rapidly increasing number of specimens from deterioration and destruction,
much less to put them in a condition for display and satisfactory study.
While the national collections have developed into a museum in magnitude and
importance commensurate with many of the museums of the Old World, the provision
for its service is inferior even to that of the national museums of Mexico, Buenos
Ayres, Denmark, Sweden, etc.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 741
For completion and equipment of laboratory of natural history,
$5,000.
This is for a separate building erected for curing and poisoning the skins and bones
of animals, making plaster casts of fishes, etc., and for photographing objects of nat-
ural history and ethnology, processes for which no adequate provision was made in
the original design of the Smithsonian building and of which some could not be car-
ried on in it without discomfort to the employees and visitors of the establishment.
For completion of fitting up Armory building, $2,500.
For fitting up the Armory building as a temporary place of storage for a por-
tion of the Centennial collections, an additional sum of $2,500 is needed for the fol-
lowing reasons:
The sum previously appropriated of $4,500 was found insufficient, because the
building had long been unused, was in a dilapidated condition, the windows broken,
and the whole of the interior requiring renovation. The appropriation was expended
in repairs of a permanent character, and in a manner exhibiting marked economy.
The roof and gutters were repaired, the whole building painted, water introduced,
thorough drainage established, new sash, shutters, etc., provided. These necessary
repairs exhausted the small appropriation, leaving no provision for heating and ven-
tilating apparatus and other necessary arrangements.
For lighting, heating, and watching Armory building, $1,500.
An appropriation is also asked for the armory of $1,500 for lighting, warming, and
watching the building, the necessity for which must be evident, and for which no
funds are available.
For restoring cases moved to Philadelphia, and rearranging museum,
$5,000.
This is asked for restoring to proper place in the National Museum and repairing
the cases and fixtures removed from Washington to the International Exhibition, and
for the expense of rearranging the collections. *
In many instances cases erected in the halls of the Institution were transferred to
Philadelphia and have since been returned. In consequence of this transfer to and
from Philadelphia, extensive repairs of these cases are required, especially in the
renewal of plate glass. Again, cases which were constructed especially for the Cen-
tennial require modification to fit them to places in the Smithsonian Institution.
The specimens themselves also require more or less work for their restoration, for
labeling, etc.
For packing, boxing, transporting 50 carloads of the exhibits of
thirty -three foreign nations presented to the United States, and arrang-
ing the same, $13,500.
This is asked for the following reason:
The sum appropriated by Congress was expended in the preparation and arrange-
ment of the specimens exhibited at Philadelphia in the United States Government
building, which illustrated, in a manner to challenge the admiration of all who were
qualified to judge of such matters, the mineral and animal resources of the country.
At the close of this exhibition, however, on account of the popularity of the
Smithsonian Institution and the liberal donations it had made of books and speci-
mens to foreign museums, thirty-three out of forty-one foreign governments made
valuable presents to the United States National Museum, in charge of the Smith-
sonian Institution. These constituted in many cases nearly the entire exhibits of
the following countries: Argentine Confederation, Austria, Brazil, Bermuda, Canada,
742 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, (Jreat Britain, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands,
New South Wales, New Zealand, Norway, Orange Free State, Peru, Portugal, Queens-
land, Russia, Sandwich Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Australia, Tas-
mania, Tunis, Turkey, Venezuela, Victoria.
The value of these collections can scarcely be overestimated in an educational
point of view and as illustrations of special processes in the arts, and as they are pre-
sented through the Smithsonian Institution to the United States and will fill fifty
large freight cars, it must be evident that means should be provided by Congress for
boxing, packing, and transporting them to Washington.
NATIONAL, MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
July 31, 1876.
Sundry civil act for 1877.
For repairing and fitting up the so-called Armory building on the
Mall between Sixth and Seventh streets, and to enable the Smith-
sonian Institution to store therein and to take care of specimens of
the extensive series of the ores of the precious metals, marbles, building
stones, coals, and numerous objects of natural history now on exhibi-
tion in Philadelphia, including other objects of practical and econom-
ical value presented by various foreign governments to the National
Museum, $4,500: Provided, That the said sum shall be expended under
the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; and it
shall hereafter be the duty of all watchmen or policemen employed in
the grounds belonging to the United States to cooperate with the
Metropolitan police in enforcing the rules and regulations of the
board of Metropolitan police made in relation to the public works and
approved by said board.
(Stat., XIX, 120.)
July 31, 1876. +
Sundry civil act for 1877.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation of the collections of the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, $10,000.
For fitting up apartments for mounting and photographing speci-
mens, $3,000.
(Stat., XIX, 109.)
August 15, 1876.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1877.
For official postage stamps for the National Museum in the Smith-
sonian Institution, $1,000.
(Stat., XIX, 163.)
March 2, 1877 Senate.
The Senate having under consideration the sundry civil appropri-
ation bill, the next amendment was in line 486, under the head of
" Smithsonian Institution," to increase the appropriation " for preser-
vation and care of the collections of the National Museum" from
$13,000 to $25,000.
Agreed to.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 743
The next amendment was to insert
For expenses of making up into sets for distribution to colleges and academies the
duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural history now belonging to the United
States or in the collections of the international exposition presented to it by foreign
governments, $5,000.
Agreed to.
March 3, 1877.
Sundry civil act for 1878.
Smithsonian Institution: For preservation and care of the collec-
tions of the National Museum, $18,000.
For expenses of making up into sets for distribution to colleges and
academies the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural history
now belonging to the United States, or in the collections of the Inter-
national Exposition presented to it by foreign governments, $5,000.
For fitting up the Armory Building for storage of articles belonging
to the United States, including those transferred from the Interna-
tional Exhibition and expense of watching the same, $2,500.
(Stat.,XIX,350.)
March 3, 1877.
Deficiency act for 1877, etc.
For the National Museum in charge of the Smithsonian Institution:
For restoring to their proper place in the National Museum cases
removed to the International Exhibition, and rearranging the collec-
tions, and for expenses and preservation of the collections, and for
receiving, packing, and transporting the objects presented to the
United States at the Centennial by State and foreign governments,
and for properly storing and preserving them until a proper disposi-
tion can be made of the same, $25,000.
(Stat., XIX, 370.)
PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION, 1876.
February 16, 1876.
Whereas by the act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for the
celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of American independence
by holding an international exhibition of arts, manufacture, and products
of the soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsyl-
vania, in the year 1876," approved March 3, 1875 [1871], provision
was made for the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the
declaration of American independence by "an exhibition of American
and foreign arts, products, and manufactures," to be "held under
the auspices of the Government of the United States, in the city of
Philadelphia, in the year 1876;" and
Whereas by the act of Congress entitled "An act relative to the
Centennial International Exhibition to be held in the city of Philadel-
744 CONGRESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
phia, State of Pennsylvania, in the year 1876," approved June 1, 1872,
the Centennial Board of Finance was incorporated, with authority to
raise the capital necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the
said act of March 3, 1871; and
Whereas the President of the United States, in compliance with a
joint resolution of Congress approved June 5, 1874, did "extend, in
the name of the United States, a respectful and cordial invitation
to the governments of other nations to be represented and take part
in the International Exposition to be held at Philadelphia under the
auspices of the Government of the United States," and as the govern-
ments so invited, to the number of thirty-eight, have so accepted such
invitation, and many of them are making extensive preparations to
embrace the courtesy so extended to them, thereby rendering proper
arrangements for the coming ceremonies on the part of the Govern-
ment of the United States a matter of honor and good faith; and
Whereas the preparations designed by the United States Centennial
Commission, and in part executed by the Centennial Board of Finance,
are in accordance with the spirit of the acts of Congress relating
thereto and are on a scale creditable to the Government and people of
the United States: Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That the sum of $1,500,000, to complete the
Centennial buildings and other preparations, be, and the same is
hereby, appropriated, out of any moneys in the United States Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, which shall be paid on the drafts of the
president and treasurer of the Centennial Board of Finance, one-third
immediately after the passage of this act and the remainder in four
equal monthly payments: Provided, That in the distribution of any
moneys that may remain in the treasury of the Centennial Board of
Finance after the payment of its debts, as provided for by the tenth
section of the act of Congress approved June 1, 1872, incorporating
said Centennial Board of Finance, the appropriation hereinbefore
made shall be paid in full into the Treasury of the United States
before any dividend or percentage of the profits shall be paid to the
holders of said stock: Provided also, That the Government of the
United States shall not, under any circumstances, be liable for any
debt or obligation of the United States Centennial Commission or
the Centennial Board of Finance or any payment in addition to the
foregoing sum.
SEC. 2. That the money by this act appropriated shall be paid to
the treasurer of the Centennial Board of Finance only after he and
the president of the board shall have executed a bond in the sum of
$500,000 to the United States, with sufficient security, to be approved
by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the safe-keeping and faithful
disbursement of the sum hereby appropriated.
(Stat., XIX, 3.)
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 745
April 17, 1876.
Be it enacted^ etc., That the sum of $40,000 be, and the same is
hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of
the Treasury, for the purpose of examination and appraisement and
for the incidental expenses connected with the admission of foreign
goods to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia.
(Stat, XIX, 34.)
May 1, 1876.
Deficiency act for 1876, etc.
For the purpose of paying the expenses of transportation, care, and
custody, arranging and exhibiting, and safe return of articles belong-
ing to the United States, to be presented and exhibited in the United
States building at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, during
the year 1876, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved March 3,
1875, the following sums are hereby appropriated, namely: *
for the Smithsonian Institution, $21,000: * * * Provided, That
for contingent expenses any surplus arising from appropriations made
to either of said Departments by act of March 3, 1875, is hereby
authorized to be used for the purposes herein mentioned.
(Stat, XIX, 45.)
July 20, 1876.
Be it resolved, etc. , That the act approved June 18, 1874, entitled
"An act to admit free of duty articles intended for the International
Exhibition of 1876," be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to per-
mit the sale and delivery, during the exhibition, of goods, wares, and
merchandise heretofore imported and now in the exhibition buildings,
subject to such additional regulations for the security of the revenue
and the collection of duties thereon as the Secretary of the Treasury
may in his discretion prescribe.
SEC. 2. That the entire stock of each exhibitor, consisting of goods,
wares, and merchandise imported by him and now in said buildings, is
hereby declared liable for the payment of duties accruing on any por-
tion thereof, in case of the removal of such portion from said build-
ings without payment of the lawful duties thereon.
SEC. 3. That the penalties prescribed by and the provisions con-
tained in section 3082 of the Revised Statutes shall be deemed and
held to apply in the case of any goods, wares, or merchandise now in
said buildings sold, delivered, or removed without payment of duties,
in the same manner as if such goods, wares, or merchandise had been
imported contrary to law; and the article or articles so sold, delivered,
or removed shall be deemed and held to have been so imported with
the knowledge of the parties, respectively, concerned in such sale, deliv-
ery, or removal.
(Stat, XIX, 214.)
746 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION. GOVERNMENT EXHIBIT.
February 1, 1877 House.
Mr. HOPKINS, from the Select Committee on the Centennial Cele-
bration, submitted report, No. 144:
That they have fully and carefully considered the President's rec-
ommendation, and also the letters from Professors Henry and Baird,
of the Smithsonian Institution, which are hereto attached, and they
appreciate the great importance of prompt and favorable action I)}'
Congress to provide a suitable building for the preservation and dis-
play of perhaps the largest, most interesting and valuable museum in
the world.
It may be well to call attention to the history of the Government
exhibit, and to its character, extent, and value, especially as it has
been increased by large and generous donations from other nations
who were also exhibitors at our Centennial Exposition.
INCEPTION OF THE IDEA OF A GOVERNMENT EXHIBIT.
Call of the President. Qn the 23d of January, 1874, the President
of the United States called upon the various departments of the
Government, including the Smithsonian Institution, to nominate one
member each, to constitute a board in behalf of the Executive Depart-
ments, to which should be committed the preparation and adoption of
a plan for a collective exhibition at the International Exhibition of
1876 ' ' of such articles and material as will illustrate the functions and
administrative faculties of the Government in time of peace and its
resources as a war power, and thereby serve to demonstrate the nature
of our institutions and their adaptation to the wants of the people."
Appointment of board of Executive Department. The persons desig-
nated in response to the call of the President were the following:
By the Secretary of the Treasury, F. M. Sawyer.
By the Secretary of War, Col. S. C. Lyford, IJ. S. A.
By the Secretary of the Navy, Admiral T. A. Jenkins, U. S. N.
By the Secretary of the Interior, John Eaton.
By the Postmaster-General, Charles F. McDonald.
By the Department of Agriculture, William Saunders.
By the Smithsonian Institution, S. F. Baird.
On the 25th of March, 1874, the nominations were approved by the
President for the board referred to, and Col. S. C. Lyford was desig-
nated as chairman. Subsequently, on the retirement of Mr. Saw-
yer, Mr. R. W. Tayler was appointed in behalf of the Treasury
Department.
The first business before the board being that of preparing a gen-
eral plan of the exhibition and estimates of the cost of carrying this
out for each department, the following estimates were made, after a
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 747
careful consideration of the subject, as being absolutely necessary to
accomplish the work on a proper scale:
Original estimates of board.
Interior Department $211, 000
Treasury Department 5, 000
Post-Office Department 5, 000
Agricultural Department : 50, 000
Smithsonian Institution 100, 000
War Department 200, 000
Navy Department 150, 000
Add for show cases, shelving, incidentals, etc 50, 000
For a separate building, capable of removal to Washington after the close
of the exhibition, to be used as a national museum at the capital of the
nation 200, 000
971,000
Amount actually appropriated. These estimates were reduced by
the Committee on Appropriations to the following, which was Dassed
without opposition from any quarter:
War Department $133,000
Navy Department 100, 000
Interior Department 115, 000
Treasury Department 5, 000
Post-Office Department 5, 000
Agricultural Department 50, 000
Smithsonian Institution 67, 000
United States Commission of Food-Fishes 5, 000
For show cases, shelving, stationery, postage, telegrams, expressage, and
incidentals 25, 000
505,000
Authority was also given in the enactment to erect any building or
part of a building that might be necessary, to be "paid for pro rata
out of the sums appropriated to the several departments, the United
States Commission of Food-Fishes, the Treasury and Post-Office De-
partments excepted, the cost of the building not to exceed 1150,000,
said building to be sold at the close of the exhibition and the proceeds
covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts."
Authority was also given to the heads of the several Executive
Departments to display at the exhibition, under such conditions as
they might prescribe, all such articles in store or under the control of
such departments as might be necessary or desirable to render the col
lection complete and exhaustive, but the board were forbidden to
expend any larger sum than was set down for each department or to
enter into any contract or engagement that should result in any such
increased expenditure. * * *
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
748 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Erection of building. A committee of the board of the respective
Departments was appointed to take into consideration all the matters
relating to this building, and to consider plans for the same; and from
several offered them, that of an edifice in the form of a cross, designed
by James H. Windrim, of Philadelphia, was selected. The floor of this
occupied 102,840 square feet, of which 20,840 was taken up by passages,
leaving a space remaining of 82,000 square feet for exhibition purposes.
It was completed and ready for occupation March 1, 1876, on which
date it was accepted by the board. The space assigned to each Depart-
ment was as follows:
Feet.
War Department 1 1, 200
Navy Department 10, 400
Treasury Department 3, 000
Post-Office Department 3, 800
Interior Department 20, 600
Agricultural Department 6, 000
Smithsonian Institution 20, 600
Fish Commission 6, 000
81,600
The original contract for the cost of this building was $67,201.61,
but subsequent changes somewhat increased the amount. These, with
other expenses, such as grading the grounds, etc., made the total
amount to be deducted from the available fund and divided pro rata
among the various Departments, with the exception of the Treasury
and the Commission of Food Fishes, about $94,000, leaving about
$411,000 for the actual purposes of the display.
The building was entirely of wood, and of course liable to damage
from fire. A careful guard was, however, maintained, and no accident
of any kind occurred during the exhibition.
Completeness on opening day. Although the time at the command
of the board for the preparation of the exhibit was short, and the
amount of money appropriated to carry out the plans of the several
Departments was considered by them insufficient for the purpose, on
the opening day of the exhibition most of the articles were in their
places, this being especially the case with those of the Army and Navy;
and the remainder were ready within the course of a few weeks later.
In this respect the Government display was in advance of those in the
other buildings, the internal arrangements of which were more or less
incomplete for a long time after the 10th of May.
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITl'TION.
This illustrated, first, the operations of the Institution itself; sec-
ond, that of the National Museum of the United States under its
charge.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 7-19
1. The Smitlisonian Institution. This display contained a full series
of all the publications of the Institution and charts illustrating its
system of international exchanges, with a set of large charts, showing
the mean temperature and the rainfall in the United States.
2. National Museum, undei* the direction of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. In the museum section were shown collections illustrating the
economical mineral wealth of the United States, in a series of ores of
the precious and baser metals and their metallurgy, including speci-
mens of the metals and their simple applications; the materials used
in the manufacture of glass, such as sand, soda, etc., and the earth
and clays, with their applications in tiles, terra cotta, bricks, and
pottery; the different varieties of coal, petroleum; samples of the
principal building stones, as marble, granite, etc.
The animal section contained, first, representations of the animals
of the United States of economical importance to the country, as fur-
nishing food, ivory, bone, leather, glue, furs, bristles, oil, etc.; second,
the apparatus by which these animals are pursued and captured; third,
the means by which they are utilized for the wants or luxuries of man
when taken; fourth, specimens of the products of such utilization and
their simple applications, and, fifth, the methods by which they are
protected and multiplied.
The United States Fish Commission. In this was shown a series of
models in plaster or papier-mache of the principal fishes and cretaceans
of the United States, and photographs and original drawings of the
same, as furnishing oil, bone, or manure, together with the apparatus
of pursuits and capture; models of boats of different styles of con-
struction, and special illustrations of the whale fishery. Also the
methods of fish culture, in illustrations of hatching boxes, carrying
vessels, models of fish ways, etc. This display and that of the animal
department of the Smithsonian exhibit were more or less united, and
illustrated not only the methods and appliances of civilized man in this
connection, but also those of the American savage.
Public opinion in regard to the Government exhibit. As already
remarked, the officers in charge of the Government exhibit were unable
to make it as complete as they had hoped, on account of the reduced
appropriation for the purpose; but as it was, it was considered by all
visitors as decidedly the best part of the International Exhibition, in
view of the extent and exhaustiveness of the collection and the method
and order of its display.
No special catalogue of the Government exhibits was printed,
authority not having been obtained from Congress for the purpose,
although a very full catalogue had been prepared.
The building was constantly the resort of intelligent visitors from
all parts of the world, and a great many critical reports have been
published already in foreign journals in regard to this display. Pro-
750 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
fessor Archer, one of the chief commissioners from Great Britain, in
a lecture recently delivered before the Society of Arts in London, uses
the following language in speaking of the United States Government
building and its annexes:
This group consisted of a very large edifice, in the form of a cross, erected by the
United States Government at a cost of $60,000, and, in addition, a laboratory for illus-
trations of arsenal work and a model military hospital, which was of great practical
utility during the exhibition. Within the chief building was displayed most inter-
esting and instructive collections, illustrative of the work of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, and the general and geological surveys of the States, the mineral, zoological,
and botanical collections connected with those surveys, and also most important
ethnological and prehistoric collections. The great collection of food-fishes of
America, made for the Fishery Commission by Professor Baird, with the appliances
for catching and preserving fish ; also series illustrating the various naval and mili-
tary weapons and engines, and machinery for arsenal work; and, lastly, a complete
display of all the applications in the postal department of the States. The general
arrangement of the contents of this large building, covering about 2 acres, was most
satisfactory and had been carried out under the most competent scientific super-
vision; hence it was felt to be the most instructive portion of the Centennial Exhibi-
tion. It brought into full view a great mass of the intellectual work of some of the
greatest of American workers in the fields of science. (Journal of the Society of
Arts, December 22, 1876. )
These suggestions were based upon the exhibit as actually made, and
which closed with the expiration of the Centennial Exhibition on the
10th of November.
DONATIONS TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
After the close of the exhibition a new element was introduced into
the question of the transfer of the Government collections to Wash-
ington and their arrangement for inspection and study, nameh r , the
donation to the United States of many objects or entire collections
that had been displayed elsewhere in the exhibition than in the Gov-
ernment building. These were derived from two sources:
First. From American State commissions and private exhibitors,
by whom much material of great value was presented and tending to
fill up important blanks.
Second. From the commissions of the several foreign governments
participating in the International Exhibition of 1876.
The experience of previous expositions had indicated the proba-
bility of contributions from the latter source, and to meet the expected
emergency Congress at its last session granted the Armory building
to the National Museum, and made an appropriation for the purpose
in the following words:
For repairing and fitting up the so-called Armory building, on the Mall, between
Sixth and Seventh streets, and to enable the Smithsonian Institution to store therein
and to take care of specimens of the extensive series of the ores of the precious
metals, marbles, coals, and numerous objects of natural history now on exhibition in
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 751
Philadelphia, including [any] other articles of practical and economical value, pre-
sented by various foreign governments to the National Museum, $4,500: Provided,
That the said sum shall be expended under the direction of the Smithsonian
Institution.
The contributions from the States were of very great value;
Nevada, Utah, Montana, Tennessee, etc., presenting most valuable
series of their ores, while an aggregate of much magnitude was
received from individuals; minerals, metals, ores, building stones,
coals, pottery, etc., all being included. It was, however, from the
foreign commissions as above referred to that the greatest mass was
derived, so that, although the gift of some articles was anticipated,
the members of the Government board were not prepared for the
wholesale donation of by far the greatest portion of the collective
exhibits made by foreign nations, as well as those of many of their
individual exhibitors. Among these may be mentioned specimens of
mining and metallurgy, ores, metals, combustibles, building stones,
earths, clays, tiles, terra cotta, and pottery; vegetable products, as
samples of woods, fibers, seeds, medicinal plants, etc., furs, skins, gel-
atin, samples of industrial products in the way of woven and plaited
fabrics, objects in metal, wood, glass, earthen wares, illustrations of
manners and customs, etc.
List of countries from which donations were received. The nations
from which were received the collections in question are the following:
Argentine Republic, Austria, Africa (Orange Free State), Belgium,
Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, German Empire, Hawaiian
Islands, Japanese Empire, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Por-
tugal, Russia, Spain, Philippine Islands, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunis,
Turkey, United Kingdom and Colonies, Bermuda, Canada, New South
Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Vic-
toria, Venezuela.
The commissions which are not included in this list had nothing at
their disposal, their exhibitions consisting either purely of private
material reclaimed or otherwise disposed of by their owners, or, as in
the case of several British colonies, of articles borrowed from the
colonial museum in London and necessarily returned there.
Assignment of collections received. While no special authority had
been given by Congress to receive these articles, it was not considered
proper to refuse them, and they were accordingly taken charge of by
the several departments of the Government to which they were most
nearly related. An exhibit of the iron, chain cables, cordage, etc., of
the naval department of Russia was received by the representatives of
the Navy Department. To the Bureau of Education was delivered
everything of an educational character. The Department of Agricul-
ture received the articles belonging to the vegetable kingdom, such as
sections of wood, fibers, grains, seeds, etc., while articles belonging to
752 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the mineral and animal kingdoms, and as illustrative of the manners
and customs of the people, were taken by the Smithsonian Institution,
and objects relating to the fisheries by the United States Fish Com-
mission.
Accompanying communications from some of these departments give
in fuller detail the character of these donations. Suffice it to say that
so far as the Bureau of Education, the Department of Agriculture, the
Smithsonian Institution, and the Commission of Food-Fishes are con-
cerned, the collections promise to exceed in magnitude their own Cen-
tennial exhibitions.
PROPOSED TRANSFER OF THIS COLLECTION TO WASHINGTON.
General feeling on the subject. The interest in the exhibition of the
Government very naturally suggested to many the importance of
transferring it to Washington and maintaining it in its original form,
and numerous suggestions and earnest appeals to that effect have
already appeared in the public press. This feeling met with special
expression in a resolution of the National Academy of Sciences at its
session in Philadelphia in October; and in compliance with its instruc-
tions, Professor Henry, its president, transmitted to the President of
the United States the following communication:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., November 13, 1876.
To His Excellency the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: I have the honor to inform you that at a meeting of the National Academy of
Sciences held in October last the following preamble and resolutions were unani-
mously adopted:
' ' Whereas the members of the National Academy of Sciences have been greatly
impressed by the extent, rarity, and richness of the truly national collection con-
tained in the Government building at the Centennial Exhibition, and considering
the great importance and lasting interest with which the people of the United States
must regard this collection: Therefore,
" 'Resolved, That in the opinion of the Academy the Government collections as a
whole should be transferred to Washington, and there preserved in an appropriate
building for perpetual exhibition.
"Resolved, That the Academy entertains the hope that the President of the United
States will favor the foregoing proposition; that he will delay the dispersion of the
exhibit from the several Executive Departments until Congress has assembled, and
that he will recommend to that body to provide for the transfer of the Government
collection to the city of Washington, and for its subsequent permanent support,"
In transmitting these resolutions to Your Excellency, I beg leave, in favor of the
proposition, to suggest, first, that the exhibit would form a fitting memorial of the
centennial condition of the country; second, that it would illustrate in a striking
manner the appliances used by the Government in carrying on its various and com-
plex operations; third, that it would be a repository in which the natural resources
of each State would be exhibited; fourth, that it would give information, in one
veiw of importance to the statesman, legislator, scientist, educator, and the capitalist
of our own and of foreign countries; fifth, it would be of interest to the intelligent
public at large, and would meet the approbation of all who regard the prosperity of
the country, and take pride in the condition of the national capital.
FOETY-FOUETH CONGEESS, 1875-1877. 753
In conclusion, it may not perhaps be improper to remark that I do not advocate
this proposition for the purpose of extending the power and influence of the Smith-
sonian Institution. On the contrary, I think the exhibit should be made a truly
national one, and be immediately under the control of the Government.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY,
President National Academy of Sciences.
Economical value of the collection. Embracing as these donations do
the essential portion of the displays of foreign nations, such as their
natural products, general industries and educational and scientific
methods, etc. , it is clearly evident that the element of the Centennial
exhibition of most importance to the American people has thus been
left to it, in the closing of the centennial, and if properly administered
must conduce in a very great degree to the material and mental advance
of the nation. By rearranging it in a systematic manner, in connec-
tion with the articles already shown, a most instructive and important
museum can be made available to the people of the United States. We
are assured that no such collection as this is to be found in any part of
the world; and it is very doubtful whether it can ever again be repro-
duced, as many of the nations represented at the centennial have inti-
mated their intention of not taking part in the Paris or any future
exposition.
Distribution of duplicates. As might be expected, a large amount
of duplicate material accompanies these donations to the United States
from American and foreign sources, which, when a final arrangement
is accomplished, can, if Congress so direct, be distributed to various
educational and industrial establishments throughout the United States.
Commercial value. The expenditures of the United States, for an
exhibition lasting but six months, have amounted to nearly $600,000.
The donations from our own States and individuals, tending to fill up
some of the gaps and complete the American display, which an insuf-
ficient appropriation interfered with, and those from foreign nations
which have been given to the United States, can hardty be considered
as overvalued at $400,000, and we therefore have an aggregate of prop-
erty, in value of at least a million of dollars to provide for.
Future increase of collections. Premises have been made by most of
the foreign commissions to complete any portion illustrating the nat-
ural products and industries of their respective countries whenever the
arrangement of the collection shows the deficiencies.
Action of the President in regard to transfer. In view of the magni-
tude of the collections thus acquired by the United States, and the
inadequacy of any present provision for their transfer to Washington
and their arrangement here, as also in view of the urgency of the
appeal of the National Academy of Sciences, the President, under date
of November 17, 1876, issued an order forbidding the removal of the
articles in the Government building until some arrangement could be
H. Doc. 732 48
754 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
made in regard to them. This order was subsequently modified by
allowing such objects as were required for the use of the Government
in Washington or elsewhere to be transferred, as also such as were
liable to decay or injury by remaining in a building exposed to cold
and dampness. The greater part of these articles are now stored in
the Government building at Philadelphia waiting some action on the
part of Congress.
Demolition of Government centennial building soon required. As
the contract made by the park commission with the Centennial Com-
mission requires the removal of all the buildings within sixty days of the
close of the exhibit, it is necessary to take speedy action on this sub-
ject; and if Congress does not see fit to erect a building at the present
time for the proper display of the collections, measures must at any
rate be authorized for their removal to Washington and their storage
in some safe place. As the appropriations made to the Government
board did not contemplate these foreign and domestic donations in
their enormous aggregate, and are 'entirely inadequate to handling
them, your committee earnestly recommend that an appropriation be
made to convey this large and most interesting collection to Wash-
ington City, and for the erection of a suitable building in which to
exhibit the same, so that all of our citizens may have free access and
abundant opportunity to study the contents of a really international
museum.
No argument is needed to prove the beneficial effects upon the whole
people of an intimate knowledge of the great resources of our own
and of other nations. And the advantages which will be afforded by
the contemplated museum can not be overestimated.
The location and plans suggested by Professors Henry and Baird
seem to your committee convenient and proper. The very nature of
the collection suggests its association with the museum of the Smith-
sonian Institution; but securing and providing for the display is
vastly more important than the selection or adoption of any specific
place.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, January %4, 1877.
SIR: As chairman of the committee to which was referred so much of the Presi-
dent's message as relates to the transfer of the Government collections to Washing-
ton, I beg leave to submit to you the following remarks:
1. Congress, in the organization of the Smithsonian Institution, directed that it
should make provision, on a liberal scale, for a museum, which should contain all
objects of natural history and of curious and foreign research belonging to the Gov-
ernment. In accordance with this direction the Institution erected a building,
which has cost upward of $500,000, from the Smithson fund. It has also developed
and for many years principally supported this museum, the collections being the
property of the Government, while the building was erected out of the Smithson
fund.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 755
2. On account of the appropriations of Congress for the Centennial, and the liberal
donations which have been made to the collections by the States of the Union, by
individuals, and especially by foreign governments, the National Museum has sud-
denly increased to fourfold its previous dimensions.
3. For this increase an additional building is required, which can not be made, as
the previous one was, from the income of the Smithson fund, and means must there-
fore be provided by an appropriation from Congress for this purpose.
4. The edifice required should be placed in connection with the present Smith-
sonian building, in order that the whole may form one system; for should it be placed
on other grounds and made a distinct museum, the present Smithsonian building, far
too large for its own operations and too expensive to be properly sustained, would be
left upon the hands of the Institution.
I herewith beg leave to transmit the accompanying communication of Prof. S. F.
Baird, who had charge of the Smithsonian exhibit at the Centennial, which contains
a full exposition of the nature of the additions to the museum and of the necessity of
the immediate erection of a suitable building to contain them.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. JAS. H. HOPKINS,
House of Representatives Select Committee on the Centennial.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, January 18, 1877.
SIR: Understanding that the Centennial Committee of the House of Representa-
tives has under consideration that portion of the President's message in reference to
the rearrangement of the collections exhibited in the Government building at the
International Exhibition in some suitable building in the city of Washington, I
would respectfully request that you communicate with them in reference to the
needs of the Smithsonian Institution, to which the care of the National Museum has
been committed by Congress.
There is, I believe, no question as to the satisfaction of the American people with
the United States exhibition made in the Government building. It was a subject of
repeated commendation, and suggestions were continually made by the press and
elsewhere as to the importance of its transfer to and maintenance in the city of
Washington. It was universally considered the best part of the Centennial display,
and was the special object of attention and investigation among the foreign judges
and members of the foreign commissions whose duty it was to prepare reports upon
the International Exhibition of 1876 to their respective governments. Professor
Archer, one of the two chief commissioners from Great Britain, in an address deliv-
ered before the Society of Arts in London on the 22d of December, especially char-
acterizes the Government exhibit as the most interesting and important at the
Centennial.
The general feeling on the subject of a transfer of the collections found expression
in the vote of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest scientific tribunal in
the country, at its October session, in which the president of the academy was
instructed to address the President of the United States in reference to the impor-
tance of exhibiting in Washington the United States collection then in Philadelphia.
This was done, and the subject was referred to in the message of the President with
earnest commendation. The collections were at the same time ordered by him to
be kept in the Government building until the decision of Congress could be ascer-
tained. The transfer of the objects from the building was therefore arrested, to await
further action.
756 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
As is well known to the committee, the participants in the display were the War,
Navy, Treasury, Interior, Post-Office, and Agricultural Departments, the Smithsonian
Institution, and the United States Fish Commission, and it is especially with refer-
ence to the last two sections that I beg leave to address you.
The exhibition made at the Centennial by the Smithsonian Institution, in connec-
tion with that of the United States Fish Commission, was intended to represent
especially the animal and mineral resources of the United States. The mineral dis-
play was designed to show the products of the United States as derived from its
mines, and embraced the largest collection of ores of gold, silver, and mercury from
the Pacific and Western States ever brought together. It included also excellent
series of the same objects from the more eastern portions of the country. This divi-
sion of the mineral exhibition amounts to over 25 tons in weight, and possesses
a bullion value of probably $30,000 or $40,000. A special exhibit of her ores of
great scientific and industrial value was made in the Government building by the
State of Nevada, afterwards presented to the United States. Similar displays and
donations of somewhat less magnitude were shown by Montana, Utah, Tennessee, etc.
In addition to the representation of the precious metals, full series were shown by
the National Museum of the ores of iron, copper, lead, zinc, tin, nickel; while the
marbles and other ornamental stones, plain and polished, in very great variety, were
displayed in large masses. All the varieties of coals are included in the collection,
as also the earths and clays, with their applications in the way of brick, tile, terra
cotta, etc.
The entire mineral display, as such, was closely crowded in a sp'ace of about 10,000
square feet, and would have been more conveniently exhibited in twice that area.
Notwithstanding the intrinsic value of much of the material exhibited, no money
was expended in actual purchases, the outlays consisting of the necessary expenses
incurred by the agents of the Institution in visiting the different mining regions of
the United States to collect the specimens, and their own compensation, the cost of
boxing, transportation, etc.
The display of the animal resources of the United States was arranged under five
heads: First. All the animals bearing some definite relation to the wants or luxuries
of man, and shown either living, as stuffed specimens, or in plaster casts, photo-
graphs, or drawings. Second. The apparatus by which they are pursued and cap-
tured. Third. The manner in which they are utilized. Fourth. The results of such
utilization in the form of the raw material and their simpler applications. Fifth.
The means by which they are propagated and multiplied. About 6,600 feet were
occupied by these collections.
The variety of subjects required for so extensive a programme was very great, not
less than 3,000 subdivisions being provided for in the classification, and represented,
for the most part, in more or less detail.
The display included not only the means and appliances of civilized man, but also
those used by the Indian for the same purpose. Here, as with the minerals, a large
part of the exhibit was presented by persons interested in completing the display.
The special exhibit of the fisheries included models or plaster casts of the various
whales, porpoises, seals, and true fishes; samples of the eatable and ornamental
shells, the sponges, corals, and the like; isinglass and other products; specimens or
models of the different kinds of nets, pounds, fish traps, hooks, lines, rods and reels,
boats of all patterns, models of ships, apparatus for the capture and utilization of
the whale, etc. This collection occupied a space of about 10,000 square feet, making
three divisions, or an aggregate of 26,600 feet of the mineral, animal, and fishery
sections.
The Smithsonian Institution also prepared, in behalf of the Indian Bureau, a
representation of the manners and customs of the American aborigines, which was
extremely attractive to every one, especially to the foreigner. This collection, exhib-
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 757
ited by the Indian Bureau, but which, in accordance with law, becomes a part of
the National Museum in charge of the Smithsonian Institution on its return to Wash-
ington, occupied at least 7,500 feet, and embraced every thing procurable connected
with the manners and customs of the Indians, their dress, ornaments, weapons,
implements, cooking and household utensils, their modes of progression, illustrations
of their religious rites and ceremonies, etc.
The original assignments of space in the Government building were as follows:
Feet.
War Department 11, 200
Navy Department 10, 400
Treasury Department 3, 000
Agricultural Department 6, 000
Post-Office Department 3, 800
Interior Department 20, 600
Smithsonian Institution and Fish Commission 26, 600
81, 600
As a total space of about 34,000 square feet was thus required for the collections of
the National Museum at the Centennial, it will be seen that they occupied about 41
per cent of the whole contents of the -Centennial building; equivalent to a space
nearly double the capacity of the present Smithsonian Institution building.
In this connection it may be mentioned that very little was taken to Philadelphia
of the previous exhibits of the National Museum, and that its halls are even now
crowded and fully occupied with the original specimens. In addition to this, the
basement storerooms contain collections never exhibited for want of space, and fully
equal in extent to those already displayed; among them many thousands of skins of
rare and choice quadrupeds and birds of all parts of the world, one of the largest
collections of the kind in existence. Other collections, similarly withdrawn from
the public examination, include many skeletons of animals, fishes, fossil remains, etc.
Since the close of the exhibition on the 10th of November, and the official action
taken by the National Academy of Sciences on the subject of a transfer to Washing-
ton, a very important consideration has been added to the arguments in its favor.
It was thought probable that some valuable donations would be made to the several
departments of the Government by foreign commissions, such having been the
experience of previous expositions; and Congress appropriated a sum of money to
fit up the Armory building, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, for
the reception of foreign and domestic donations that might thus be added to the col-
lections of the National Museum.
The result, however, was far beyond the anticipations, and the acquisitions thus
made have been such as almost to outnumber the previous collections in extent and
value. The special displays of the mineral wealth of entire States have been pre-
sented to the Government, and numerous collections from private individuals have
also been added, all tending to render the representation of the United States
extremely rich and full.
It was, however, from foreign sources that the greater part of the new material
was received, consisting in many cases of nearly the entire exhibits of the countries
referred to, so far as they relate to the resources of the respective nations, derived
from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; also many series illustrating the
peculiar habits and characteristics of the people, especially of China, Siam, Japan,
Australia, and New Zealand.
Since the close of the exhibition, the Smithsonian Institution and the Department
of Agriculture have been busily engaged with a large force in transferring the collec-
tions referred to from the different buildings of the commission to that belonging to
the Government, the Smithsonian Institution alone having spent already more than
758 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
two months in this work, with a probability that it will not be completed before the
1st of February.
The Government building is at present crowded with these additions, notwith-
standing the removal of many of the original exhibits; the objects thus presented,
it is believed, being sufficient to fill 50 freight cars to their utmost capacity. *
The value of these collections to the people of the United States can not be over-
estimated, consisting as they do of many varieties of ores and minerals, specimens of
animal products, and materials from the vegetable kingdom, including, also, the
stages of their manufacture and the finished products, as well as, in many cases, the
apparatus by which these results are accomplished. Thus, nearly all the known
varieties of the ore?) of silver, gold, mercury, iron, copper, lead, tin, zinc, nickel, cobalt,
antimony, etc., are represented, with the furnace products accompanying them, and
the resulting metal; the brick, tile, and pottery earth and clays of China, Japan,
France, Belgium, Great Britain, Australia, Brazil, etc., in many cases accompanied by
careful analyses of their composition and numerous illustrative specimens of their
products; also building stones, marbles, etc., specimens of artificial stone, mortars, and
cements, with the materials producing them, and samples of coals from hundreds of
different localities.
Among illustrations of products from the animal industries may be mentioned
specimens of leathers from all parts of the world and from many varieties of animals;
wools, graded by their different qualities, and applications and prices; furs of various
species of animals of Europe, Asia, and Australia, and preparations of Russian isin-
glass, glues, and gelatins in immense variety.
The wealth of vegetable material is incalculable, embracing as it does the magnifi-
cent displays of Brazil, the Argentine Confederation, Australia, Netherlands, and
other countries that have excited so much attention during the exhibition.
Among the individual objects may be enumerated samples of the woods of thou-
sands of species of trees, fibers of all kinds, including material for paper and textile
fabrics, objects of the materia medica, gums, dyestuffs, materials for tanning, seeds
of every variety of the grains, hemp, flax, cotton, ramie, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, etc.,
many of them at present new to the United States and giving promise of successful
introduction therein. These have been received, in large part, in quantity sufficient
for distribution, Russia alone supplying more than 200 bushels of seeds of every best
variety of hemp, oats, wheat, barley, etc. A large amount of material illustrating
the habits and customs of other nations has also been received. Notably among these
objects may be mentioned the entire exhibit of the King of iSiam and that of the
commissioners of customs of China. Both of these collections present an exhaustive
illustration of the mode of life, habits, and characteristics of the people. Many
important collections of educational apparatus and objects have also been presented.
The navy department of Russia has furnished samples of cordage, wire rope, chain-
cable, iron forgings, etc.
The various objects thus presented, after being transferred to the Government
building, have been taken possession of by the respective departments to which they
are most appropriate, and by which they would naturally be exhibited in connection
with any systematic display that might be authorized by Congress. Although no
formal action had been taken by Congress in reference to the acceptance of such dona-
tions, yet the fact that an appropriation was made to fit up a building in Washington
to receive what might be presented was considered a sufficient warrant for receiving
them, especially as their rejection would have placed the United States in an embar-
rassing position in respect to its foreign guests.
It is proper to state that the utmost eagerness has been manifested by the repre-
sentatives of technical, industrial, and educational institutions in the United States in
gathering objects of the kind in question, and that in very great part they were pre-
vented from accomplishing their object by the information that the entire exhibits
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 759
had been presented to the United States, and that application should be made to its
representatives for any desiderata. It has been impossible, however, to make any
selections with this object, as the time of those concerned has been fully occupied in
packing and removing the collections. It will hereafter be desirable to make up
from the duplicate material a considerable number of sets of these various substances
for distribution whenever the means are furnished for the purpose.
It will readily be understood that the reception and care of so enormous an addi-
tion to the original collections already in charge of the Government board would
greatly increase their responsibilities and expenditures, and, so far as the Smithsonian
Institution \3 concerned, the balance of its appropriation is entirely inadequate to the
duty of caring for this material and of transferring it to Washington. After its
arrival, too, provision will need be made for its maintenance and exhibition.
In view of the fact that a collection of such magnitude is now the property of the
United States, and in large part the spontaneous tribute of respect to it from foreign
governments, and that the whole furnishes ample material for an economical and
industrial museum of the utmost value, perhaps the finest in the world, it is quite
reasonable to hope that Congress will take the steps necessary to make it available
to the country, with all the l>enents likely to result from its display.
The proper disposition of the collections referred to, so far as they relate to the
animal and mineral kingdoms, to ethnology, and to the general industries, would be
to place them with the other objects constituting the National Museum in the halls
of the Smithsonian Institution, under its charge. Not a tenth part, however, of the
total mass could be accommodated in that building, and it therefore becomes neces-
sary to make some provision for the reception and, if possible, for the suitable display
of the collections elsewhere, at as early a date as practicable.
It is, of course, possible to store the specimens for a time, but the Armory Building,
which has already been assigned for that purpose, is scarcely sufficient to accommo-
date the portions in charge of the Smithsonian Institution, even if packed in Phila-
delphia with special reference to being kept unopened for an indefinite period of
time, although, of course, some additional places of deposit could be found.
In addition, however, to the importance of presenting this collection^ to the public
examination at the earliest possible moment, much of the material would be seri-
ously deteriorated by being kept inclosed. This is especially the case with polished
steel and iron, and all objects likely to be injured by dampness, such as animals, furs,
dresses, etc.
For the above considerations, therefore, it is greatly to be desired that Congress may
see fit to authorize the construction of a plain and inexpensive, but fireproof and
durable, building, capable of being erected within a few months and sufficiently
large to meet the requirements of the National Museum and the other bureaus of the
Government. It is believed that an edifice in general plan like that adopted for the
building at the Centennial would be best adapted for the purpose, except in being
somewhat more substantial and capable of being heated. By laying a concrete floor
directly on the ground, for the exclusion of moisture and vermin, making the exterior
of brick, using iron for the beams, joists, rafters, etc. , and by having the roof con-
structed of tongue-and-grooved boards, and slate or tin above it, and possibly plas-
tered on the underside, it is believed that these several requirements can be most
readily met.
The question of a site for the building is also one requiring careful consideration.
But for many reasons it would seem desirable that this be placed on the Smithsonian
reservation, which has been set aside by Congress for such purposes, and where a
building may be erected without raising the inquiry as to the space being needed for
the use of any other Department, or of its interfering with the plan of an ornamental
city park. A space immediately south of the Smithsonian building will admit the
erection of a building 300 feet square, and connected with the present Smithsonian
760 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
edifice by means of its south tower. This, with a ground floor of 90,000 feet, and
capable of the addition of a gallery containing 30,000 square feet, will furnish an
aggregate of 120,000 square feet, which it is thought will permit the proposed display.
In the arrangement of the mineral collections referred to it is desirable that a
special area be devoted to the mineral products of each State, so that the resources
of all parts of the country may be shown to the inquirer or investigator, and that as
new mining localities are developed in different parts of the country their illustra-
tion, by suitable specimens, may be made in their appropriate places.
The Smithsonian Institution was established on the bequest of a -foreigner, who
left $542,000 in trust to the United States to found an establishment "for the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men." Among the other duties specified in the
act of incorporation in 1846 was the charge of the National Museum, as expressed
in the following words:
"SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That in proportion as suitable arrangements can
be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research,
and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens
belonging, or hereafter to belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of
Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such
persons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be
arranged in such order and so classed as best to facilitate the examination and study
of them."
The Regents were authorized to determine the plan of operations in other direc-
tions, and, through the adherence to the plan of operations authorized by the original
board and indorsed by successors, the Institution has become the leading scientific
and educational institution of the country, and perhaps, indeed, of the world. Its
expenditures are devoted to the prosecution of original researches, the publication of
important memoirs, and especially to the maintenance of a system of international
exchanges, by which the publications of societies in the United States, including
mechanics' institutions, agricultural bodies, etc., as well as those of the United States
Government and of the bureaus of the several Departments, are exchanged for the
works of corresponding establishments throughout the world, and resulting in the
most rapid diffusion of knowledge possible, and in the acquisition of the latest scien-
tific, technical, and industrial publications.
The publications of the Institution are thus' exchanged with those, of all other
countries, and the extensive library it has thus acquired forms part of the Library of
Congress, where over 70,000 of the volumes of the most valuable character are to be
found. It will thus be observed that the material result of these operations redounds
directly to the advantage of the Government in the improvement and extent of the
National Library.
The National Museum, of which the Smithsonian Institution at present has charge,
and which occupies all the available space in the Smithsonian building, is composed
of the various collections brought in by surveying and exploring expeditions of
the United States, including those of Captain AVilkes and hundreds of others, with-
out taking into consideration the special collections made to illustrate the industries
pf the United States at the Centennial Exhibition.
This National Museum was originally in charge of the Patent Office, and for its
exhibition there an appropriation was made by Congress, from about 1842. "When,
in 1857, the Government collections then extant were taken charge of by the Smith-
sonian Institution, the appropriations previously made to the Patent Office were
continued to the Institution, and provision has ever since been made for that pur-
pose. It is, therefore, we conceive, clearly the duty, under the law, of the Smith-
sonian Institution to take charge of at least "the collections of nature and art, and of
foreign and curious research, natural history, and of mineralogy and geology;" and
as all the material property of this kind is in charge of the Smithsonian Institu-
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 761
tion, there would be an eminent propriety in connecting the new building with the
old, and directing the Smithsonian to extend over it and its contents its care and
supervision.
Estimates and plans for a building of the kind referred to have been prepared,
and it is thought the whole work can be accomplished at an expense not to exceed
$260,000; this to include the cost of steam heating, perhaps, which will of course be
necessary to render the building comfortable in winter.
Should the exhibit of the "War Department be included in this building, and
machinery in motion be required, the same steam boilers required for the heating of
the building would furnish the necessary motive power.
To sum up, therefore, the material belonging to the United States for which pro-
vision is now required consists of the collections at present stored in the basement of
the Smithsonian building and hitherto not publicly exhibited, consisting of quadru-
peds, birds, fishes, fossils, minerals, etc., and requiring nearly 20,000 square feet of
floor. Second, the collections made at the expense of the -Centennial fund by the
Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Food-fishes, and the Indian Bureau;
for these a space of 40,000 feet is needed. Third, the collections presented to the
United States by foreign governments, by States, and by various private exhibitors,
needing 20,000 feet. Fourth, allowance for the completion of the exhibits of the
mineral wealth of the country by different States of the Union, 20,000 feet, or an
aggregate of 100,000 square feet, which space could be used to advantage.
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Representative Smithsonian and Food-fishes
Department at International Exposition, 1876.
Prof. JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
[International exhibition, 1876. Board on behalf of United States Executive Departments.]
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Washington, D. C., Januan/ 31, 1877.
SIR: I take the liberty of addressing you relative to the proposed new building for
a National Museum. As representative of this Department at Philadelphia last sum-
mer, I became the official recipient of a large quantity of valuable exhibits presen-
tations from foreign governments to that of the United States all of which must
remain unopened until some suitable place is fitted up for their proper arrangement,
as there are no accommodations in the Department for them and I have great 'dif-
ficulty in getting them stored even in bulk so that they will not suffer injury.
These donations are of great value. Having paid considerable attention to vege-
table fibers for twenty years, I feel that we have now, in these donations, a collec-
tion perhaps equal to that of any existing museum. The collection of native and
foreign woods is very extensive; that of the former has never been equaled, in fact,
it never has been systematically attempted until we collected for the late exposition.
We could occupy 8,000 to 10,000 square feet of surface very profitably with the arti-
cles on hand.
As to the educational value of museums of natural history, it can not well be over-
rated ; as a means of diffusing instruction and rational amusement among the people
and giving to the scientific student every possible means of practical examination
and study of specimens connected with the nature of his researches, museums stand
foremost as practical educators; their influence in promoting and extending manu-
factures and commerce is being appreciated throughout the world ; they are the nat-
ural offspring of international exhibitions; they are permanent exhibits of the
world's progress.
762 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Sincerely hoping that Congress will, through your committee, make provision for
these exhibits,
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM SAUNDERS,
Representative Agricultural Department.
Hon. JAMES H. HOPKINS.
List of the more important collections presented by foreign commissioner* to the United
States Government, and taken charge of in behalf of the National Museum Ittj the Smith-
sonian Institution.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.
DR. ERNESTO OLDENDORFF, Commissioner.
Ores of metals, minerals, pottery, tiles, stuffed animals, leathers and hides, nets,
fishery products, samples of woods, fibers, seeds, grains, specimens of silk and wool
in great variety. This donation embraces almost the whole of the exhibit in Agri-
cultural Hall and a large portion of that in the main building.
AUSTRIA.
DR. FRANCIS MIGERKA, Commissioner.
Specimens of mineral wax (ozockerite) and a variety of mineral and indust.ial
products.
BELGIUM.
COUNT D'Oui/TREMONT, Commissioner.
Some specimens of industrial products.
BRAZIL.
DR. J. M. DA SILVA COUTIXHO, Commissioner.
Specimens of iron; coal, hides, leather; tiles and pottery in great variety; speci-
mens in large number of woods, vegetable fibers, substances used as foods; gums,
resins, etc. This collection embraces nearly the whole of the immense display in
the. agricultural building and a part of that in the main building.
CHILE.
EDWARD SHIPPEN, Esq., Commissioner.
A collection of minerals and ores, artificial stone, tiles, terra-cottas, and an exten-
sive variety of grains, seeds, and other vegetable products, embracing by far the
largest part of the display of the Chilean Government in the main building.
CHINA.
J. L. HAMMOND, Commissioner.
The entire exhibit made by the commissioners of customs of China and displayed
in the mineral annex. It includes a complete representation of the manners and
customs of the Chinese, such as samples of their foods, medicines, clothing; their
domestic and household utensils, their ornaments, objects used in their plays and
festivities, etc. In the collection are numerous full-sized figures, beautifully executed
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 763
and suitably dressed, representing the different ranks and classes in the community.
Many hundreds of clay figures, about 1 foot in height, illustrating the different
races of the Empire; specimens of cotton and silk in great variety; samples of paper,
leather, and the like; samples of pottery, such as vases, teapots, pipes; matting, bas-
kets, etc. This collection is of unparalleled interest, and cost the Chinese Govern-
ment a large sum of money. It will require o, space fully equal to half of one of the
halls of the National Museum for its exhibition. There are also three ornamental
gateways, three cases, and two pagodas, as used in the main building for purposes of
exhibition; musical instruments, specimens of wrought iron and other metals, bam-
boo ware, glass; specimens of tea, oils and woods, tobacco and sugar. The entire
collection (exclusive of the ornamental gateways and cases) filled twenty-one large
wagons.
EGYPT.
E. BRUGSCH, Commissioner.
Collection of minerals, tiles, and pottery; garden products in great variety, samples
of wood, and a large collection of objects illustrating the habits and customs of the
natives of Soudan, Nubia, and Abyssinia, such as musical instruments, weapons, cloth-
ing, etc.
FRANCE.
CAPTAIN ANFRYE, Commissioner.
No collective exhibit was made by the Government, but Messrs. Haviland, of
Limoges, France, presented a pair of centennial memorial vases, valued at $17,000,
and requiring the erection of a special kiln for their production, together with a large
panel of tiles.
GERMANY.
MR. BARTELS, Commissioner.
Specimens of tiles, cements, asphalt work, fire bricks, manufactures in metals and
woods from the commissioner, and from Mr. F. Krupp, of Essen, a very extensive
display illustrating the mineralogy and metallurgy of the iron trade of Germany,
with samples of the different manufactures made at the great gun works at Essen.
This collection is one of the largest and most complete at the exhibition, and attracted
great attention. A special catalogue of this collection was. printed by the exhibitor.
HAWAII.
H. R. HITCHCOCK, Commissioner.
Collections of the volcanic and other rocks and minerals, ropes and fibers, tobacco,
sugar, oils, models of boats, n.ets, and vegetable products in large variety.
ITALY.
JOSEPH DASSI, Commissioner.
Samples of alabaster, terra cotta, marbles, etc.
JAPAN.
LIEI-T. GEN. SAIGO TSUKMICHI, Commissioner.
A valuable series of tiles and other pottery; the large exhibit of the fisheries of
Japan in the agricultural building, including both products and apparatus; skins and
764 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
hides of animals, various food preparations, and a series illustrating the materials
and manipulations employed in the manufacture of tea and silks; also manufactures
of bamboo.
MEXICO.
DR. MARIANO BARCENA, Commissioner.
The greater part of the exhibit of the natural products of the country as shown in
the main building, including the ores of gold and silver, obsidian, woods, fibers, and
other vegetable products, pottery, and terra cotta. Among the most notable
mineral specimens may be mentioned an iron meteorite weighing 4,000 pounds.
NETHERLANDS.
DR. E. H. VON BAUMHAUER, Commissioner.
Agricultural products in considerable variety; specimens illustrating the fisheries
of Holland, including cod-liver oil, etc. ; tiles, cements, etc.
NORWAY.
WILLIAM C. CHRISTOPHERSEN, Commissioner; GENHARD GADE, Assistant Commissioner.
A very large collection of ores and other specimens illustrating the metallurgy of
iron, copper, nickel, etc. ; collection illustrating the eatable fishes of northern Europe,
samples of prepared fishes, samples of food preparations, etc. ; great variety of agri-
cultural products.
ORANGE FREE STATE.
CHARLES W. RILEY, Commissioner.
A collection of agricultural products.
PERU.
JOSE CARLOS TRACY, Commissioner.
A series of the principal food and other vegetable products in that country.
PORTUGAL.
M. JAYME BATALHO REIS, Agricultural Commissioner; M. LOURENCO MALHEIRO,
Industrial Commissoner.
The greater part of the very extensive exhibit of minerals, ores, etc. , in the main
building; also pottery, samples of industrial products, glass work, paper, etc., and a
full series of the vegetable productions of the Kingdom in nearly two thousand varie-
ties. A portion only of this collection filled 60 large boxes.
RUSSIA.
GEN. CHARLES I>E BIELSKY, Commissioner; CAPTAIN NICHOLSKY AND CAPTAIN
SEMELSHKEN, Assistant Commissioner.
An enormous collection, illustrating the metallurgy of copper and iron, including
different varieties of Russian iron and steel; the very extensive collection of minerals
of Siberia, exhibited by the school of mines, and valued at a high price; samples of
rope and cordage, pottery, tiles, cement, and isinglass and other products of the
sturgeon.
FOKTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 765
SPAIN.
COL. F. LOPEZ FABRA, Commissioner.
A collection of great magnitude, illustrating the mines and mining of coal, iron,
copper, and silver, salt, etc., in the Kingdom of Spain; a very large number of bricks,
tiles, earthenware, and pottery; illustrations of the various fibers and other mate-
rials for basket work, cordage; industrial products in great variety, including samples
of paper, leather, etc. a complete series illustrating the agricultural resources of the
country.
From the Philippine Islands, as one of the colonies of Spain, were received
samples of native work in the form of baskets, nets, boats, etc., and hemp fibers.
SWEDEN.
C. JUHLIN-DANFELT, Commissioner.
The entire exhibit of Sweden made in the agricultural department, illustrating the
fisheries and agriculture of Sweden, including also specimens of fish, food-fish prep-
arations, etc. , specimens of peat- working machinery, apparatus for deep-sea sounding
and dredging, and also for collecting specimens of natural history, photographs of
arctic scenery, etc.
SIAM.
No commissioner.
A collection illustrating the products, the industries, etc., of the Kingdom of Siam,
made for the Centennial Exhibition with the understanding that it should be pre-
sented to the United States at the close. This filled 216 boxes, and embraces many
articles of great pecuniary value. This collection, with those from China and Japan,
win require a room as large as the upper floor of the Smithsonian Institution for
satisfactory display.
SWITZERLAND.
Mr. EDWARD GUYER, Commissioner.
Specimens illustrating the geology of the Alps and St. Gotthard Tunnel.
TURKEY.
G. D'ARISTARCHI BEY, Commissioner.
Illustrations of the metal work of the country; of its mines and minerals, its tiles
and pottery, domestic and household utensils; samples of iron and steel, etc.
TUNIS.
G. H. HEAP, Esq., Commissioner.
A thrashing machine such as has been used from the time of the ancient Cartha-
ginians.
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, INCLUDING
COLONIES.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Col. H. B. SANDFORD, Commissioner.
A very large collection of the private exhibits of tiles, terra cottas, bricks, and
pottery, sanitary w r are, as also many industrial products in great variety. Among
the more notable articles in the series are collections of tiles and mosaics from Messrs.
766 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Minton & Ilollins, and many specimens from Messrs. Doulton, of Lambeth, among
them several large vases. Some highly important deposits have als-:o been made,
subject to recall after a certain period. Chief among these is the allegorical repre-
sentation of America, a duplicate of that furnished by the Messrs. Doulton to the
Albert Memorial in London, embracing several colossal figures. This group is val-
ued at $15,000. Also the large terra-cotta pulpit and font, and many other speci-
mens of great variety; an extremely complete and important collection of samples of
wools from all parts of the world, presented by Messrs. John L. Bowes & Brothers,
embracing over three hundred varieties, each suitably labeled, with prices marked,
etc. A similar collection of wools in the fleece exhibited by Messrs. James Oddy &
Sons.
BERMUDA.
A. A. OUTERBRIDGE, Esq., Commisfri.oner.
A great variety of specimens of corals, shells, and other marine objects, models of
boats, samples of stone and wood.
CANADA.
Prof. A. L. SELWVX, -in Charge of Geological Exhibit.
An extensive collection of the rocks of British North America, many hundreds of
specimens exhibited by the geological survey; specimens of coals from all parts of
the Dominion; ores of different kinds, samples of iron, steel, and copper, stoneware
and pottery.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
AUGUSTUS MORRIS, Esq., Commissioner.
The extensive exhibit illustrating the mining resources, the natural history, and
the botany and agriculture of the province, including a large model of the gold
products of the colony up to the year 1875, and specimens of coal oil, shale, petro-
leum, etc.
NEW ZEALAND.
JAMES HECTOR, Esq., Commissioner
The entire exhibit of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms of the colony,
and also specimens illustrating its ethnology. Among these specimens is a model of
the gold product of the colony and specimens of its coal.
QUEENSLAND.
ANGUS MACKAY, Esq., Commissioner.
Model of the gold product of the colony; specimens of ores of copper, iron, and
gold; a laige collection of native woods, fibers, and other products.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
. DAVENPORT, Esq., Commissioner.
A full series of all the exhibits from the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms.
TASMANIA.
II. P. WELCH, Esq., Commissioner,
Specimens of the iron and other ores; leather, woods, seeds and grains, libers,
wools, etc.
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 1875-1877. 767
VICTORIA.
SIR REDMOND BARRY, Commissioner.
The entire collection of useful economical minerals of the country exhibited by the
mining department; specimens of stoneware and other products; extensive collec-
tions of grains, wools, fruits, fibers, and woods; samples of paper, gums, etc.
VENEZUELA.
Mr. LEON DE LA COVA, Commissioner.
The entire exhibit made by this country of minerals, ores, articles of materia
medica, fruits, fibers, extracts, etc.
In general it may be stated that from the countries mentioned in the foregoing the
exhibits made by the commissioners in behalf of their respective governments, so
far as relates to the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms and their applications,
have been presented to the United States, in some cases without any exception what-
ever; in others, all except a few duplicates, which were presented to other foreign
commissions or to institutions in the United States. Indeed, tha only countries from
which absolutely nothing was received were Denmark, Luxumbourg, Bahamas,
British Guiana, Cape of Good Hope, and Jamaica, the exhibits of these countries
being either entirely private property or borrowed from the Colonial Museum in
London and necessarily returned.
ACT OF ORGANIZATION OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AMENDED.
February 27, 1877.
Section 5579 (of Revised Statutes) is amended by striking out in the
fourth^ line the words "the Patent Office," and inserting the word
''Patents," [so that the section will read:]
(Stat. XIX, 253.)
The President, the Vice-President, the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of
the Kavy, the Postmaster-General, the Attorney-General, the Chief
Justice, the Commissioner of Patents, and the governor of the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and such other persons as they may elect honorary
members, are hereby constituted an establishment, by the name of the
'Smithsonian Institution,' for the increase and diffusion of knowl-
edge among men, and by that name shall be known and have perpet-
ual succession, with the powers, limitations, and restrictions herein-
after contained, and no other.
(Revised Statutes, 1878, 2d edition, 1082.)
FREE POSTAGE.
March 3, 1877.
An act establishing post roads, etc., and for other purposes.
Be it enacted, etc. :
SEC. 5. That it shall be lawful to transmit through the mail, free of
postage, an}' letters, packages, or other matters relating exclusively
to the business of the Government of the United States: Provided,
768 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
That every such letter or package to entitle it to pass free shall bear
over the words "Official business" an indorsement showing also the
name of the Department, and, if from a bureau or office, the names of
the Department and bureau or office, as the case may be, whence trans-
mitted. And if any person shall make use of any such official envel-
ope to avoid the payment of postage on his private letter, package, or
other matter in the mail, the person so offending shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to a fine of three hundred dol-
lars, to be prosecuted in any court of competent jurisdiction.
SEC. 6. That for the purpose of carrying this act. into effect, it shall
be the duty of each of the Executive Departments of the United States
to provide for itself and its subordinate offices the necessary envel-
opes: and in addition to the indorsement designating the Department
in which they are to be used, the penalty for the unlawful use of these
envelopes shall be stated thereon.
(Stat.,XIX,335.) '
(Extended to Smithsonian Institution by act of March 3, 1879.)
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879.
NATIONAL, MUSEUM BUILDING REQUIRED FOR GOVERNMENT
COLLECTIONS.
October 8, 1877.
Letter from the Secretary of the, Smitlisonian Institution to the
President of the United States.
SIR: 1 have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Eegents of the
Smithsonian Institution, to invite your attention to the propriety of
recommending to Congress the memorial of the Board of Regents (a
copy of which is herewith inclosed), asking that an appropriation be
made for a building to accommodate the valuable collections presented
to the United States through this Institution at the late international
exhibition in Philadelphia.
As explanatory of this request it may be proper to state that the
Smithsonian Institution was authorized by Congress to receive and
take charge of these collections, and that they were presented with the
expectation on the part of the donors that suitable provision would be
made for their display at the seat of government. They consist of
full series of articles illustrative of the economic products, the natural
history, and in many cases the manners, customs, and arts of the for-
eign countries represented at the Centennial Exhibition, and are of
great importance to the advancement of science, education, and manu-
facture. Besides these are the objects collected by the Smithsonian
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. 1877-1879. 769
Institution and United States Fish Commission of the animal, mineral,
and fishery resources of the United States, also of public interest.
These articles now constitute, by law, a part of the National Museum,
which has been placed by Congress in charge of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. This Museum has hitherto been accommodated in the build-
ing erected for the purpose at the expense pf the Smithson fund, in
accordance with the direction of Congress. This edifice, however, is
filled to overflowing, while "there are elsewhere, on storage, from the
donations previously mentioned, collections of greater magnitude than
those in the Smithsonian building.
It is evident that an appropriation for an additional building can not
justly be taken from the Smithson fund, and therefore the Board of
Regents have made the application mentioned in their memorial. This
memorial 1 was presented to Congress at its last session, w.hen the
appropriation asked for was granted by the Senate unanimously, and
when, in all probability, it would have been granted by the House
could the proposition have been brought to the consideration of that
body.
1 am, with sentiments of high esteem, your obedient servant.
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.
December 3, 1877 House. .
Extract from message of President JR. J3. Hayes. *
I earnestly commend the request of the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution that an adequate appropriation be made for the establish-
ment and conduct of a national museum under their supervision.
January 21, 1878 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG introduced a bill (H. 2662) for the erection of a
fireproof building for the National Museum:
That for a fireproof building for the use of the National ^luseum, 300 feet square,
to be erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, in accordance with the plan of Maj. Gen. M. C. Meigs, now on file with
the Joint Committee of Public Buildings and Grounds, on the southwest corner of
the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, the sum of $250,000 is hereby appro-
priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; said building
to be placed west of the Smithsonian Institution, leaving a roadway between it and
the latter of not less than 30 feet, with its north front on "a line parallel with the
north face of the buildings of the Agricultural Department and of the Smithsonian
Institution; and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned, not including
anything for architectural plans, shall be audited by the proper officers of the Treas-
ury Department.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
1 See Smithsonian Report for 1876, page 129, and Documents relative to Smithsonian
Institution, p. 749.
H. Doc. 732 49
770 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 25, 1878 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG, from the Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, submitted a report (No. 244) to accompany the bill H. 2662:
The National Museum of the United States, at present in charge of
the Smithsonian Institution, was firs*t authorized and established by
the act of Congress approved August 10, 1846, organizing the Institu-
tion, which provides
That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can be made for their reception, all
objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and all objects of natural history,
plants, and geological and mineralogies,! specimens, belonging, or hereafter to belong,
to the United States, which may be in the city of Washington, in whosesoever custody
the same may be, shall be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to receive them, and shall be arranged in such
order and so placed as best to facilitate the examination and study of them.
The same act also authorized the reception of donations generally,
and provides for the increase of the museum by the exchange of dupli-
cate specimens.
This action of Congress was in accordance with the practice and
policy of all civilized nations, the national museums thus constituted
being maintained at an expenditure of money which, however large, is
considered as necessary and proper in the interest of the people. Con-
spicuous instances of such museums are found in the national estab-
lishments of Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Den-
mark, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Chile, Buenos Ayres, Brazil, Mexico,
and many other countries.
When a national museum for the United States was authorized in
1846, the collections belonging to the Government consisted principally
of what had been brought home by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition,
which at the time occupied and tilled the upper story of what is now
the south wing of the Patent Office. Appropriations had been made
for several years for the care and supervision of these collections while
in the Patent Office, and when they were transferred to the Smithso-
nian edifice these appropriations were continued, and increased from
time to time as the material to be cared for required.
For several years but few additions were made to the National
Museum beyond the occasional contributions of individuals, but in
1852 a great influx of specimens began from the numerous Govern-
ment expeditions which were then carried on among them the United
States Naval Astronomical Expedition to Chile, under Lieutenant
Gilliss; the expedition to Japan, under Commodore Perry; the Bering
Straits Expedition, under Captains Ringgold and Rodgers; the sur-
veys for a railroad route to the Pacific, under the War Department;
the Mexican Boundary Survey, under the Interior Department; the
numerous wagonroad expeditions, etc.
These were followed a little later bv the contributions from the
FORTY-FIFTH CONGEESS, 1877-1879. 771
Northwestern Boundary Survey, in charge of Mr. Archibald Camp-
bell, under the State Department; and, after another interval of a few
years, by the results of the geological and other surveys by Professor
Hayden, Lieutenant Wheeler, Major Powell, and others.
The number of important explorations, yielding results of decided
magnitude, for the most part carried on under Government auspices,
or more or less at the expense of the Smithsonian fund to the end of
1877, or thirty-one years from the organization of the National Museum,
amounts to about 250, while other contributions from private sources
have constituted an enormous aggregate during the same period.
Up to the beginning of the year 1875 no appropriations were made
by Congress for the purchase of specimens of any kind whatever, the
expenditures being for salaries, cases, materials, transportation, etc.,
the collections of the various Government expeditions, the contribu-
tions of correspondents, and the exchanges with museums at home and
abroad constituting the sole mode of increase. The National Museum
of the United States is believed to be the only one in the world which
has grown from so small a beginning to such magnitude without the
disbursement of large sums of money in the purchase of collections.
The occasion of, the. International Exhibition, intended to celebrate
at Philadelphia the one-hundredth anniversary of the foundation of
the United States, was chosen by authority of Congress, and with funds
provided for the purpose, to present an epitome of the powers and
resources of the United States in peace and war, the various Executive
Departments being called upon to do their part to carry out this object.
The Smithsonian Institution, as having charge of the National Museum,
undertook the labor of showing the economical value of the mineral
and animal products of the country, and the United States Fish Com-
mission to prepare whatever might illustrate the important subject of
the national fisheries. The Agricultural Department prepared to com-
plete the illustration of the natural resources of the United States so
far as the vegetable kingdom and its products were concerned. In
connection with the Indian Bureau of the Interior Department, the
Smithsonian Institution also made arrangements to display the condi-
tion of the aboriginal tribes of the United States in both prehistoric
and modern times.
Although, as the result of the various agencies already referred to,
the National Museum contained a large amount of appropriate material
before commencing operations for the purpose in question, there were
yet many gaps that were required to be filled up before the United
States could be worthily represented at Philadelphia, and the necessary
appropriations for the purpose were made by Congress. The entire
amount assigned to the service of the Smithsonian Institution in two
successive appropriations was $100,000. The United States Fish Com-
772 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
mission received $10,000, and the Indian Bureau $31,370.55 for the
purpose referred to, making a total of $141,370.55. Of this a consid-
erable portion was required toward the construction of the Govern-
ment buildings, the maintenance of guards and police, the salaries of
persons employed in the building, etc. The expenditures tending
directly toward the increase and perfection of the collection amounted,
however, to at least $120,000, this sum being disbursed exclusively in
the collection, preparation, and display of objects belonging to the
Territories of the United States, and having no reference whatever to
those of foreign countries.
In the appendix will be found a general statement of the collections
thus exhibited, although full details would be too extended for the
present report. It is estimated that a simple enumeration of the
objects displayed. under the head of the animal and fishery division
alone will occupy a volume of 600 octavo pages, the catalogue of the
mineral and ethnological divisions requiring scarcely less space in
addition.
The entire space in the Government buildings at Philadelphia occu-
pied by the various collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the
United States Fish Commission, and the Indian Bureau amounted to
about 33,500 feet, or about one-third of the whole.
It is satisfactory to know that the efforts of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, with the cooperation above referred to, to carry out the wishes
of Congress were entirely successful and that there was but one
opinion, both by Americans and foreigners, as to the completeness and
value of the exhibition.
During the progress of the Centennial Exhibition it was intimated
to the Smithsonian Institution that a number of foreign collections
would be presented to the United States Government at its close, but
the number and magnitude of these donations proved to be vastly in
excess of any anticipations that could have been formed. Many of the
foreign commissioners had intended to divide their collections among
different establishments in the United States, but as this promised to
involve serious complications with the custom-house authorities it was
thought expedient by most of them to present the entire series to the
United States, which, of course, would receive them free of duty, and
with the understanding that any duplicates not needed for the National
Museum might be distributed among the various educational and
scientific establishments of the country. Accordingly, out of forty
countries which made Government exhibits at Philadelphia thirty-four
presented the greater part or the whole of their collections to the
United States. These represented an aggregate of great magnitude
and value, including a variety of valuable ores and samples of the
metals derived from them, with their simpler applications in art and
industry, building stones, pottery and porcelain earths, terra cottas,
FOBTY-FIFTH CONGEESS, 1877-1879. 773
porcelain, etc., samples of furs and other animal products, woods,
fibers, grains, vegetable substances used in dyeing, tanning, etc., appa-
ratus for the pursuit and capture of wild animals, for the taking of
fish and for fish culture, collections showing the manners and customs
of people of various degrees of civilization, industrial products, and
other articles too numerous to mention, but referred to in somewhat
greater detail in the appendix, thus placing at the service of the peo-
ple of the United States that portion of the International Exhibition
which was considered of most value, and permitting the reproduction,
in better form and of more instructive character, of all the best part
of the display.
In addition to the collective exhibit of the foreign commissioners
thus referred to many specimens were supplied by individuals and
firms belonging to various foreign countries. The cost to the respec-
tive Governments of the articles thus turned over to the United States
was at least half a million of dollars. Their value to the United
States, in allowing a comparison of home product with fhose of for-
eign countries and in improving American methods and processes by
study of the apparatus and results of those of the rest of the world,
can not be represented in figures.
In addition to the above-mentioned contributions a large proportion
of the State displays and those of individual American exhibitors at
Philadelphia are also to be added to the list of acquisitions.
It having become evident during the Philadelphia exhibition that
the Smithsonian building in Washington would be entirely inadequate
to accommodate the expected acquisitions, Congress, by its act of July
31, 1876, appreciating this fact, placed at the disposal of the Institu-
tion the Armory building, between Sixth and Seventh streets, to enable
it to store therein and to take care of the extensive series of the ores,
of the precious metals, marbles, building stones, coals, and numerous
objects c-f natural history then on exhibition in Philadelphia, including
other objects of practical and economical value presented by various
foreign Governments, and appropriated the sum of $4,500 for repair-
ing and fitting it up for the purpose.
In addition to this Congress appropriated, March 3, 1877, $25,000
for the expenses of receiving, packing, and transporting the objects
presented to the United States at the Centennial by State and foreign
Governments and for properly storing and preserving them until a
proper disposition can be made of the same.
In accordance with this arrangement the specimens referred to were
in great part deposited, on reaching Washington from Philadelphia, in
the Armory building. This is an edifice 100 feet in length by 50 in
breadth, having four stories, or representing a whole floor capacity of
20,000 square feet. These rooms are now filled from floor to ceiling
with the objects referred to, which, for the most part, still remain boxed
774 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
up in the condition in which the} 7 were originally transferred from Phil-
adelphia, some 4,000 boxes or packages in all, and subject to various
forms of deterioration and injury.
The museum halls of the Smithsonian Institution prior to the Phil-
adelphia exhibition were filled almost to their utmost capacity, and
but a very small proportion of the collections either prepared on pur-
pose for exhibition at Philadelphia or obtained there are displayed
in them at the present time. Besides the 20,000 square feet of floor
covered with packages in the Armory building the entire basement of
the Smithsonian building is filled with other packages, representing
nearly an equal amount, and quite as important in an educational
point of view to the people of the United States.
The collections in the Smithsonian building now open to the public
occupy about 30,000 square feet of floor space. It is quite within
bounds to estimate that the articles stored away will require for their
satisfactory exhibition between three and four times that area, even
allowing for a great reduction of the objects by the elimination and
distribution of the duplicate specimens. There is no provision what-
ever at present for the display of these articles, and unless Congress
furnishes the means this magnificent property of the people will go to
decay and destruction in the course of time, the animal products being
destroyed rapidly by insects and many objects of a mineral or metal-
lurgical character by rust.
As every day of delay in arranging and exhibiting this collection is
accompanied with the question of erecting a suitable building for its
accommodation and has occupied the attention of the Smithsonian
Institution, a plan has been devised which, it is believed, will furnish
the facilities required in the shortest possible interval of time and at
the minimum of expense.
To erect an edifice of the necessary magnitude, in the style of archi-
tecture heretofore adopted by the Government for its use in Washing-
ton, would involve an expenditure of many millions of dollars, and it
could not be completed and available for occupation in a shorter period
than from five to eight years. Nevertheless, on a simple plan origi-
nally suggested by General Meigs, a building somewhat similar in char-
acter to those erected for the National Exposition, 300 feet square, or
having an area of 90,000 square feet something over two acres per-
fectly fireproof, amply lighted, and properly adapted for all its objects,
can be constructed for about $250,000, and can be ready for occupation
within ten months, or at most a year, from the time of its commence-
ment.
By the plan contemplated everything woidd be on one floor, without
any stairways or second story, no cellar or fireproof floor being re-
quired. The single floor of the building to be of concrete, and thus
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 775
water and vermin proof; the walls and other portions of the building
of brick; and the beams, rafters, and framework of the roof of iron,
without a particle of wood.
It is therefore much to be desired that the means be furnished at an
early day for the construction of this building, so that the rich material
now belonging to the United States Government can be utilized.
It is believed that when properly arranged the National Museum of
the United States will take rank as one of the great industrial and eco-
nomical displays of the natural resources of the globe. The accommo-
dation will then be afforded for the exhibition of the mineral wealth of
every State and Territory, and the display of samples of every new
mine, with all the appliances for rendering the study of the whole inter-
esting and profitable. The coals, the marbles, and other ornamental
minerals will be exhibited systematically; the useful and ornamental
products and derivatives of the animal kingdom will be shown not
only such as relate to the United States, but with illustrations of the
whole subject in other parts of the world which can not fail to sug-
gest new and important applications in this country. Illustrations of
the food and other fishes of this and other countries, the best methods
of securing them and of preparing them for the requirements of man-
kind, and the varied productions of the aboriginal- races of North
America can also be displayed on a proper scale.
To illustrate more fully the necessity and importance of the early
construction of the building provided for by this bill, the committee
deem it proper to embrace in this report the following list of the more
important collections presented by foreign commissioners to the
United States Government and taken charge of in behalf of the
National Museum by the Smithsonian Institution. (Printed in Smith-
sonian Report for 1876, pp. 131-137.)
Ordered to be printed and recommitted.
March 6, 1878 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG, from Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, reported favorably the bill H. 2662.
(See January 21, 1878, House proceedings.)
Mr. JOHN R. EDEN made a point of order that the bill should
receive first consideration in the Committee of the Whole.
The Speaker (Mr. SAMUEL J. RANDALL) sustained the point of order,
as the bill contained an appropriation.
Bill" refer red to Committee of the Whole and placed on the public
calendar.
May 27, 1878 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL introduced bill (S. 1320) for fireproof build-
ing for National Museum.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings.
776 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
December 16, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HENRY L. DAWES by unanimous consent introduced a bill S. 1519
for the erection of a fireproof building for the National Museum.
That for a fireproof building for the use of the National Museum, 300 feet square,
to be erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, in accordance with the plans now on file with the Joint Committee of Pub-
lic Buildings and Grounds, on the southeast corner of the grounds of the Smithsonian
Institution, the sum of $250,000 is hereby appropriated out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated; said building to be placed east of the Smithson-
ian Institution, leaving a roadway between it and the latter of not less than 50 feet,
with its north front on a line parallel with the north face of the buildings of the Agri-
cultural Department and of the Smithsonian Institution; and all expenditures for
the purposes herein mentioned, not including anything for architectural plans, shall
be audited by the proper officers of the Treasury Department.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
January 7, 1879 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL introduced a bill (S. 1574) for the erection of a
fireproof building for the National Museum, the same as that intro-
duced December 16, 1878, in the Senate by Mr. H. L. Dawes, with the
following change:
With its north front on a line with the south face of the buildings of the Agricul-
tural Department and of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
January 9, 1879 Senate.
Reported favorably by Committee.
January 13, 1879 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL. I move that the Senate proceed to the con-
sideration of the bill (S. 1574) for the erection of a fireproof building
for the National Museum. It will not take five minutes when the bill
is explained.
Agreed to.
Mr. MORRILL. Mr. President, it will be remembered that a bill
similar to this passed the Senate unanimously two years ago. It was
not reached in season in the House to be acted upon regularly and
could only be considered by that body under a suspension of the rules.
The motion to suspend the rules for that purpose received a very
large majority there, but not quite a two-thirds vote. The bill has
been recommended by the committees of both Houses, I believe,
unanimously.
It will also be remembered that we made an appropriation for the
centennial celebration of a million and a half dollars, and that sum was
repaid to the United States, but the contributions made by the United
States cost the Government about $150,000. In addition to these
contributions we have, of 34 States and nationalities out of 41, their
entire contributions made at the centennial celebration. These con-
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 777
tributions are now stored in the armory four stories high, there being
4,000 boxes packed as full as the armory can hold. It was naturally
supposed by the governments which made these very generous con-
tributions to the United States that they would be placed where the
public could see them. We have immense riches in this line. The
results of over 200 exploring expeditions are now garnered in this city
in various localities, but without the possibility of their being properly
exhibited.
Mr. President, I suppose that the contributions of some of these
States that were given to us, say of Siam, China, and Japan, will at
the present moment, when properly displayed, occupy more space than
the largest hall in the Smithsonian Institution, and must have cost
those Governments a very large sum of money, perhaps over $100,000.
The contributions that come to us from abroad and from our various
States and Territories are specially rich and valuable in iron, silver,
and gold ore, especially those of Norway, Sweden, Russia, Spain,
Portugal, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand, and our own contribu-
tions are exceedingly valuable in ores, metals, coals, building stones,
earth and clays for the potter's art, including all the economical
products of the animal kingdom, as furs, hides, skins, preparations of
fish and marine products, all the apparatus with which these animals
were captured and utilized, generally whatever illustrates animal and
mineral nature throughout the United States, and also a complete
illustration of the Indian tribes, costing about $40,000. These are not
merely curiosities, but they are specimens of objects that will be
permanently interesting and useful to the whole country.
I may say that the contributions from the extreme eastern states,
from Siam, Japan, and China, including bronzes of rare workmanship,
could not have cost less, as 1 have said, than $100,000. At the present
time, in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution, there is three
times as much stored away as is on exhibition. I may say also that
there are five pieces alone that were given to us from the Centennial
Exposition upon which the actual cost or the estimate of the custom-
house department upon their value was $48,000. They are now pub-
lishing a volume containing a list of what they have of animal products
and products of the fisheries, where the title, occupying but a single
line, will fill 350 pages, and this is only one branch of the extensive
collection which is to find a place in the new building proposed.
1 suppose, Mr. President, that every Senator who has made any
sort of investigation of this subject agrees as to the propriety of this
building being erected for the purpose of accommodating these large
results of our exploring expeditions and the Centennial Exposition,
and the various collections belonging to the Government that are now
gathered together in this city. The building will occupy a space on
778 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the east of the Smithsonian Institution, and will only cost $250,000,
and it is to be under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution..
Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS. I should like to call the attention of my
colleague to the seventh and eighth lines of the bill, where, in speak-
ing of the location of the building, it reads that it is to be located
"on the southeast corner of the grounds of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion.'' That, taken literally, might seem to require that it be located
exactly in the southeast corner, which is not intended, as can be seen
further along. But, to make it clear, I suggest to him to make it read
to be located "on the southeast part of the grounds of the Smithsonian
Institution," to save all possible question.
Mr. MORRILL. I have no objection to that amendment.
The Vice-President (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). To this there can be
nt) objection, and the amendment is agreed to.
The bill was passed.
February 28, 1879 Senate.
An amendment to the sundrj T civil bill for 1880 was offered:
For a fireproof building for the use of the National Museum, 300 feet square, to be
erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, in accordance with the plans now on file with the Joint Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, on the southeastern portion of the grounds of the Smithso-
nian Institution, 250,000; said building to be placed east of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, leaving a roadway between it and the latter of not less than 50 feet, with its
north front on a line with the south face of the buildings of the Agricultural Depart-
ment and of the Smithsonian Institution; and all expenditures for the purposes
herein mentioned, not including anything for architectural plans, shall be audited
by the proper officers of the Treasury Department.
Agreed to.
March 3, 1879. House.
Passed.
March 3, 1879.
Sundry civil act for 1880.
For a fireproof building for the use of the National Museum, 300
feet square, to be erected under the direction and supervision of the
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with the plans
now on file with the Joint Committee of Public Buildings and
Grounds, on the southeastern portion of the grounds of the Smithso-
nian Institution, $250,000: said building to be placed east of the Smith-
sonian Institution, leaving a roadway between it and the latter of not
less than 50 feet, with its north front on a line with the south face of
the buildings of the Agricultural Department and of the Smithsonian
Institution: and all expenditures for the purposes herein mentioned,
not including anything for architectural plans, shall be audited by the
proper officers of the Treasury Department.
(Stat. XX, 3i>7.)
FOKTY-FIFTH CONGKESS, 1877-1879. 779
NATIONAL MUSEUM GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS TO BE DEPOSITED.
March 3, 1879.
Sundry civil act for 1880.
All collections of rocks, minerals, soils, fossils, and objects of natural
"history, archaeology, and ethnology, made by the Coast and Interior
Survey, the Geological Survey, or by any other parties for the Gov-
ernment of the United States, when no longer needed for investigations
in progress shall be deposited in the National Museum.
(Stat., XX, 394.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 3, 1877 House.
Estimates by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 1879 through the
Secretary of the Interior.
Preservation and care of the collections of the National Museum,
including those from the International Exhibition of 1876, $35,000.
Expenses of making up into sets for distribution to colleges and
museums, the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural history
belonging to the United States, $5,000.
Preservation of collections, Armory building: Expense of watching
and storage of articles belonging to the United States, including those
transferred from the International Exhibition of 1876, $2,500.
December 2, 1878 House.
Estimates by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 1880 through the
Secretary of the Interior.
Preservation and care of the collections of the National Museum,
including those from the International Exhibition of 1876, $27,500.
Expenses of making up into sets for distribution to colleges and
museums, the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural histoiy
belonging to the United States, $5,000.
Preservation of collections, Armory building: Expense of watching
and storage of articles belonging to the United States, including those
transferred from the International Exhibition of 1876, $2,500.
Postage: Stamps are desired, of different values to the amount of
$1,000, as in previous years.
For printing labels, circulars, and blanks for the service of the
National Museum, $2,500.
For printing bulletins and proceedings of the National Museum,
$5,000.
[These items were included in the estimates asked for the Department
of the Interior.]
780 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 17, 1879 House.
FEBRUARY IT, 1879.
Hon. A. S. HEWITT,
CJiainnan, Subcommittee on Appropriations.
SIR: I beg to comply herewith with your instructions to furnish
some explanation of the reasons why the Smithsonian Institution
asked for an appropriation of $35,000 for the general purposes of the
National Museum, when $25,500 only was allowed for the present
fiscal year.
I now have the honor to inclose a list of the appropriations for the
service of the National Museum for the preservation and maintenance
of the collections of the United States' Government during the past
seven years, from which you will see that a very abrupt and material
reduction in the amount allowed for the purpose in question has been
made for two years past, resulting in seriously embarrassing the
operations of the Museum and preventing it from carrying out its full
measure of usefulness.
Up to the period preceding the Centennial Exhibition the collec-
tions of the National Museum were comparatively limited and were
readily administered by the appropriations made. In 1874, however,
the appropriations for the Centennial Exhibition were begun, on
which occasion the Institution was required by Congress to present a
complete picture of the animal and mineral resources of the United
States and of their applications to human industries.
With the large collections made up for exhibition at Philadelphia
at an expense of about $140,000, and the enormous mass of foreign
contributions, we have now in our charge more than four times as
much material as in 1873, requiring increased force and expenditure
to keep it in proper condition.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Schedule of appropriations made for the service of the National Museum, jn charge
of the Smithsonian Institution during the past seven years.
For 1873 $25,000
For 1874 42, 000
For 1875 30, 000
For 1876 40, 000
For 1877 37, 500
For 1878 1 25, 500
For 1879 25, 500
The amount asked for for the fiscal year 1880 is $35,000, in addition
to which $3,000 are desired for the purpose of carrying out the
instructions of the Committee on Public Buildings in securing the
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 781
property of the United States in the Smithsonian building- from dan-
ger by fire. This is to be expended in the construction of iron doors,
for extension of the water pipes, for the purchase of hose, etc.
February 18, 1879 Senate.
Hon. WILLIAM WINDOM,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations.
SIR: I would respectfully ask the insertion by the Senate in the
deficiency bill of the following item:
For the preservation of the specimens of the United States sur-
veying and exploring expeditions, $4,000.
The appropriation asked for by the Smithsonian Institution in
behalf of the Government collections was reduced by the House from
$37,500 to $18,000, the total appropriation for the purpose being
$25,000, as compared with $37,500 in 1877, $40,000 in 1876, $30,000
in 1875, and $42,000 in 1874.
This reduction rendered it necessary to discharge a large part of the
force of the Museum employed in the preservation and investigation
of the collections, and confine the work simply to protection of the
articles against destruction. It was, of course, our duty to accommo-
date ourselves to the will of Congress; but unexpected expenditures
have been rendered necessary by various causes, such as the destruc-
tive storms of last summer, which involved extensive repairs to the
Museum building; the repairs of damages by bursting of water pipes
in consequence of the severe frosts of winter; the necessity of intro-
ducing additional registers into the building to make it comfortable
for visitors, and the carrying out of instructions of the Government
committee to render the building secure against fire. For this pur-
pose the Smithsonian Institution was ordered to insert iron doors,
some of large size, in various openings and passageways so as to
accomplish the security desired.
Begging that the committee, having given these reasons due consid-
eration, will make the appropriation desired,
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution,
February 26, 1879 House.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT,
Chairman Subcommittee on the Deficiency Bill.
SIR: May I ask from the subcommittee a favorable consideration of
the item of $4,000 introduced by the Senate into the deficiency bill
for "Preservation of the collections of the United States surveying
and exploring expeditions, in charge of the Smithsonian Institution"?
The appropriation by the House under that head for the fiscal year
782 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ending June 30. LsSO is $23,000; that for the previous year was $18,500,
a great reduction from the estimate. We, of course, reduced the scale
and efficiency of our expenditures for the National Museum during
the present year to meet the will of Congress, but we have been sub-
jected to a number of extraordinary and unavoidable expenses that
will, I fear, seriously embarrass us unless we obtain the relief asked
for. The unusual storms of the past summer caused damage which
required immediate repairs, as did also the cold weather of the winter,
in bursting water pipes in the building and water mains outside.
The inclemency of the weather also made additional radiators neces-
sary to the comfort of the officers and of visitors. A greatly increased
consumption of coal also involved additional expense.
These and other unanticipated expenses will, I trust, be a sufficient
justification for the application for the deficiency item in question.
Very respectful!}",
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
June'13. 1878 House.
The sundry civil bill being under consideration, the clerk read as
follows:
Distribution of duplicates: For expenses of making up into sets,
for distribution to colleges and museums, the duplicate ores, minerals,
and objects of natural history belonging to the United States, 85,000.
Mr. MARK H. DUNNELL offered the following amendment: Strike
out the word '' colleges'' and insert "institutions of learning-. "
Mr. ABRAM S. HEWITT. We accept that.
Amendment adopted.
June 20, 1878.
Sundry civil ac-t for 1879.
For the purchase of relics of George Washington from the Lewis
family, of Clarke County. Virginia, the purchase to be made by the
Secretary of the Treasury at a price not exceeding $12,000, or so
much thereof as ma}" be necessary.
(Stat. XX, 218.)'
For preservation and care of the collections of the National Museum,
including those from the International Exhibition of 1876, $18,000.
For expenses of making up into sets, for distribution to institutions
of learning and museums, the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of
natural history belonging to the United States, $5,000.
Armory building: For expense of watching and storage of articles
belonging to the United States, including those transferred from the
International Exhibition of 1876, $2,500.
(Stat, XX, 233.)
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 783
March 3, 1879.
Sundry civil act for 1880.
For preservation and care of the collections of the National Museum,
including- those from the International Exhibition of 1876, $23,000.
For expenses of making- up into sets, for distribution to colleges
and museums, the duplicate ores, minerals, and objects of natural his-
tory belonging to the United States, $5,000.
Armory building: For expense of watching and storage of articles
belonging to the United States, including those transferred from the
International Exhibition of 1876, $2,500.
(Stat., XX, 397.)
March 3, 1879.
Deficiency act for 1879, etc.
Smithsonian Institution: For the preservation of the specimens of
the United States surveying and exploring expeditions, 1879, $4,000.
(Stat, XX, 417.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By the Vice- President.
November 1, 1877 Senate.
The Vice- President (Mr. WILLIAM A. WHEELER) appointed Robert
E. Withers, of Virginia, a Regent in place of John White Stevenson,
of Kentucky, whose term had expired.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By the Speaker.
January U, 1878 House.
The Speaker (Mr. SAMUEL J. RANDALL) appointed as Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution Hiester Clymer, of Pennsylvania, Alex-
ander H. Stephens, of Georgia, and James A. Garfield, of Ohio.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.
By Joint Resolution.
January 16, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN introduced a joint resolution (S. 15):
That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
of the class other 'than members of Congress shall be filled by the appointment of
Noah Porter in place of James D. Dana, resigned.
Laid on the table.
January 17, 1878 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIX called up the joint resolution (S. 15) to fill vacancy
in the Board of Regents.
Mr. HAMLIN. Mr. President, it will be recollected by Senators that
the Regents of the Institution are appointed in three ways a certain
number being appointed by the Speaker of the House, a certain num-
ber by yourself, and a certain number at large who are appointed by
784 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
joint resolution. There is a vacancy in the board occasioned by the
resignation of Professor Dana, of Yale College.
Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS. By "joint resolution" means "by law?"
Mr. HAMLIN. By law, by joint resolution having the force of law.
The gentleman whose name is in the resolution is the president of
Yale College, the same college of which the late member who has just
resigned was a professor. I will say that on consultation with the
Regents of the Institution we have all unanimously believed that the
gentleman whose name is in the resolution is one most eminently fitted
for the position.
Passed.
January 22, 1878 House.
On motion of Mr. JAMES A. GARFIELD, Senate Resolution 15, to fill
vacancy in the Board of Regents, was passed.
January 26, 1878.
Jtesolved, etc, , That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution of the class other than members of Con-
gress shall be filled by the appointment of Noah Porter, of Connecticut,
in place of James D. Dana, resigned.
(Stat., XX, 247.)
March 11, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN introduced joint resolution
That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution,
of the class other than members of Congress, shall be filled by the appointment of
William T. Sherman, of the city of Washington, in place of George Bancroft, of aid
city, resigned.
Passed.
March 19, 1878 House.
Mr. JAMES A. GARFIELD called up Senate joint resolution filling a
vacancy in the Board of Regents by the appointment of William T.
Sherman in place of George Bancroft, resigned.
Passed.
March 25, 1878.
Resolved*, etc., That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, of the class other than members of Con-
gress, shall be filled by the appointment of William T. Sherman, of
the city of Washington, in place of George Bancroft, of said city,
resigned.
(Stat., XX, 249.)
FIRE PROTECTION FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
December 6, 1877 House.
Mr. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER introduced a bill (H. 1906) to aid in the
protection of the public records and property against loss and damage
by fire:
That in all buildings containing public property or public records of the Govern-
ment of the United States the head of the department having control of such build-
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 785
ing is hereby authorized to put up and use an automatic signal telegraph of such
improved kind and description, adopted and now in public use, as is fitted and
adapted to transmit signals of fire by means of unusual degree of heat.
SEC. 2. A commission composed of the Commissioner of Patents, the Supervising
Architect of the Treasury Department, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, are hereby constituted and authorized to examine such automatic signal tele-
graph systems as may be submitted to them by the owners and agents thereof, and
select such a one as is best adapted for the purpose of the earliest transmission by
signal of the occurrence of fire, and to certify to the heads of the several departments
of the Government such system of signals as may be approved by them.
SEC. 3. And the head of each executive department is hereby authorized to make
a requisition on the Treasury for such sums as may be necessarily expended in
putting up and using in such public buildings as he may deem necessary under his
department such system of telegraphic signal so adopted, to be paid, on proper
vouchers to be furnished therefor, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
December 10, 1877 House.
The President of the United States, Mr. R. B. Hayes, sent a mes-
sage to Congress transmitting the report of the commission appointed
by him on the 27th of September, 1877 [Lieut. Col. Thos. L. Casey,
U. S. A., James G. Hill, Supervising Architect, United States Treas-
ury, and Edward Clark, Architect of the Capitol], to examine the
several public buildings in this city (including the Smithsonian Insti-
tution), and determine the nature and extent of their security against
conflagrations and the measures to be taken to guard the buildings and
their contents from destruction or damage by fire.
The President said:
The records of the Government constitute a most valuable collection for the coun-
try, whether we consider their pecuniary value or their historical importance, and it .
becomes my duty to call your attention to the means suggested for securing these
valuable archives, as well as the buildings in which they are stored. The commis-
sioners have performed their duties intelligently and faithfully. Their recommenda-
tions are fully concurred in by me, and commended to the favorable consideration of
Congress.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds
The following were the recommendations of the commission:
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
Smithsonian Institution. All the combustible materials used in the construction of
the museum portion of the building should be removed, and the parts renewed of
fireproof construction, and the openings connecting with other parts of the building
should be supplied with fireproof doors.
In addition to the special recommendations contained under section 1, the follow-
ing general recommendations that may be applicable to all the public buildings are
offered:
First. That ample apparatus for extinguishing fires, such as water mains, pumps,
hose, ladders, axes, water buckets constantly filled with water, be supplied upon each
floor; that a thorough system of police and guard by day and night be established
H. Doc. 732 50
780 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
in each building; that all woodwork touching flues be removed, and that guards be
used around all pipes, whether for smoke or for steam, wherever they pass through
woodwork.
Second. The removal of all combustible shelving and the use in their stead of
metal shelving, the files arranged upon them to be protected by metal doors or metal
files cases.
Third. The use in all rooms for storage purposes and in those which have not to
be visited frequently of some electrical communicator, to be placed so that unusual
degrees of heat may be signaled to the watchmen; thus making known the fact of
the presence of fire, should any occur in these apartments.
Fourth. The use of electrical recording signals to be turned in by the watchmen
at fixed intervals of time through the night and day from given stations in the
building.
Fifth. The establishment of regulations in the several departments limiting the
number of files to be stored in any apartment.
Sixth. That the large apartments and spaces devoted to files in the fireproof
structures be divided into moderately sized compartments, so as to lessen the degrees
of heat that would be generated by the combustion of the materials, and the conse-
quent injury to the building and difficulty of subduing the conflagration.
Seventh. That where practicable all power steam boilers be removed from the
basements of the buildings to structures exterior to the main building.
In conclusion, this commission wish it to be understood that the buildings herein
described as wholly or in part fireproof are those built of thick masonry walls, with
stone or iron stairways, having the stories separated by groined arches of brick, or by
arches of the same material resting on iron beams, in which wood is used only for
sash and doors, and in some cases for floors laid on the brick arches.
It is not claimed that these are absolutely fireproof, nor do they know of any
attainable construction which will resist without injury high degrees of heat, such
as might be generated by overcrowding large rooms with combustible materials.
They are, however, of the opinion that with the measures of caution herein sug-
gested the public records and buildings will be well protected from loss or damage
by fire.
December 10, 1877 House.
The Secretary of the Interior (Mr. CARL SCHURZ) submitted to Con-
gress the following estimate, in accordance with the report of the com-
mittee to examine the public buildings in regard to their security
against fire, appointed September 27, 1877:
: To provide additional security against fire in the Smithsonian building
for the Government collections, $3,000. *
March 27, 1878.
Letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry,
to lion. A.. A. Sargent, United States Senate.
1 have the honor to inform you that shortly after the fire at the
Patent Office the Smithsonian building was visited by the Govern-
ment Committee of Inspection, and suggestions made by them as to
the fireproofing of the portion of the edifice devoted to the collections
of the National Museum. These suggestions were at once acted upon,
at an expense of $2,803.29, as per detailed memorandum herewith, and
I write to beg that you will kindly consider the propriety of having
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 787
an item introduced into the deficiency bill whereby the Smithson fund
may be reimbursed for this outlay.
Expenditures incurred by the Smitlisonian Institution for the protection of the United States
Government collections'; 1877-78.
Brick and laying $635. 60
Hose - 325. 75
Cement, lime, sand 83. 74
Hardware, lumber, and labor 298. 25
Plumbing 452. 95
Fireproof iron doors, 530 square feet, at $1.90 1, 007. 00
2, 803. 29
June 5, 1878 Senate.
Mr. H. L. DAWES, from the Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, reported a bill (S. 1367) to aid in the protection of the
public buildings and property against loss and damage by fire:
Be it enacted, etc. , That a commission, composed of the Commissioner of Patents,
the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, is hereby constituted and authorized to examine such auto-
matic signal- telegraph systems as may be ^submitted to them by the owners and
agents thereof, and to ascertain which of the same is best adapted for the purpose of
the earliest and most certain transmission by signal of the occurrence of fire; and
also the adaptability, usefulness, and need of the same for the further protection of
the buildings and property of the Government in the several Departments in Wash-
ington, and to report the results of their examination to the next session of Con-
Placed on the Calendar.
June 11, 1878 Senate.
Mr. AMBROSE E. BURNSIDE proposed to take up S. 1367, for the
purpose of testing the fire signals in the different Departments.
""It authorizes the Supervising Architect of the Treasury
and the Superintendent of the Smithsonian Institution as a commis-
sion to experiment on these fire signals. It is a thing in which we are
all concerned, for it is a matter that relates to the public buildings and
the public property. I am sure there will be no objection to the
measure. Not a penny of money will be expended by it. I think it
will be right for the Senate to take it up and pass it, in order that the
commission may sit during the recess of Congress."
The motion was not entertained.
June 13, 1878 Senate.
Passed.
June 19, 1878 House.
Mr. E. J. ELLIS. 1 ask unanimous consent to have taken up and
passed a bill of great public interest (S. 1367), to aid in the protection
of public buildings and other property against loss and damage by
fire. This bill has been unanimously passed by the Senate, and
reported unanimously from the appropriate committee of this House.
788 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It does not propose to expend one dollar; it simply provides the ways
and means for protecting public buildings and other property of the
United States from fire. Within the past six months the Patent
Office in this citv was greatly injured by fire
(Cries of "Object!")
The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. W. M. SPRINGER). Gentlemen will
resume their seats.
Mr. JOHN R. EDEN. I want to stay on my feet to prevent legislation
going through in this way.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlemen from Louisiana asks
that the bill-
Several members objected.
Later the objection was withdrawn and the bill passed.
December 2, 1878 House.
Estimate presented by Department of the Interior: For providing
additional security against fire in the Smithsonian building for the
Government collections, in accordance with report of the commissions
appointed to examine the public buildings, December 10, 1877, $3,000.
December 13, 1878.
Act to aid in the protection of public buildings, etc.
lie it enacted, etc., That a commission, composed of the Commissioner of Patents,
the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, is hereby constituted and authorized to examine such auto-
matic signal telegraph systems as may be submitted to them by the owners and agents
thereof, and to ascertain which of the same is best adapted for the purpose of the
earliest and most certain transmission by signal of the occurrence of fire, and also
the adaptability, usefulness, and need of the same for the further protection of the
buildings and property of the Government in the several Departments in Washington,
and to report the results of their examination to the next session of Congress.
(Stat., XX, 257.)
March 3, 1879.
Sundry civil act for 1880.
For providing additional security against fire in the Smithsonian
building for the Government collections, in accordance with report of
the commission appointed to examine the public buildings, December
10, 1877, $3,000.
(Stat., XX, 397.)
ORDER OF ST. OLAF FOR PROF. S. F. BAIRD.
December 10, 1877 House.
Mr. SAMUEL A. BRIDGES introduced a bill (H. 1989) to authorize
Spencer F. Baird, assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to
receive a diploma and medal constituting him a member of the Nor-
wegian Order of St. Olaf .
Referred to Committee on Foreign Affairs.
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 789
January 22, 1878 House.
Passed.
June 19, 1878 Senate.
Passed.
June 20, 1878.
Be it enacted, etc., That Spencer F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution, be, and he hereby is, authorized and
empowered to receive a diploma and medal, constituting him a mem-
ber of the Norwegian Order of St. Olaf, tendered him by the King of
Sweden as a testimonial of distinguished scientific service.
(Stat., XX, 584).
WOODRUFF SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION.
December 12, 1877 Senate.
Mr. J. E. MCDONALD introduced a bill (S. 447) to aid the Woodruff
Scientific Expedition.
Referred to Committee on Commerce.
Among the recommendations of this expedition was the following:
Letter of June 5, 1877, from Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry,
approving of Woodruff scientific expedition.
J. O. WOODRUFF, Indianapolis, Ind.
DEAR SIR: We have examined your circular proposing a voyage around the world
for educational and scientific purposes, and are free to say that we heartily approve
of the enterprise.
With a corps of students directed by the teachers you have selected, and visiting
regions hitherto but little, if at all, explored, you can scarcely fail to collect materials
which will give the expedition reputation in the history of science.
With our best wishes for the entire success of the expedition, etc.
January 14, 1878 House.
Mr. H. F. PAGE introduced H. 2409, similar bill to S. 447.
January 29, 1878 House.
H. 2409 passed.
March 19, 1878 Senate.
H. 2409 passed.
March 23, 1878.
An Act approved, to grant for the purposes of the "Woodruff
Scientific Expedition around the World," a register for a foreign
built steamship * * * to be approved by the Secretary of the
Navy * * * a school to be maintained thereon with a capacity for
at least 200 students, together with a competent faculty for the pro-
motion of scientific and nautical knowledge. * * * In no case
shall mercantile or commercial ventures form any part of said expedi-
tion, or the Government of the United States be subjected to any
expense on account thereof.
(Stat., XX, 31.)
790 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDIMGS.
PLATES OF FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.
December 13, 1877 Senate.
Alv. A. S. PADDOCK introduced a resolution (S. 10):
That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and hereby is, authorized and directed to
withhold from destruction and deliver to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, in Washington, District of Columbia, to be held by that Institution as objects of
interest, the following-described canceled plates heretofore used in the printing of
United States fractional currency:
One fifty-cent faceplate, fifth issue, series 1875.
One fifty-cent backplate, fifth issue, series 1875.
One twenty-five-cent faceplate, fifth issue, series 1874.
One twenty-five-cent backplate, fifth issue, series 1874.
One ten-cent faceplate, fifth issue, series 1874.
One ten-cent backplate, fifth issue, series 1874.
Referred to Committee on Finance.
Mr. PADDOCK. I will state that I have recently served on a commit-
tee appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon which both
Houses of Congress were represented, to witness the counting of these
plates and to examine the cancellation thereof. They are the plates
upon which all the fractional current-}' was printed. They are very
elegant specimens of workmanship, and they are all to be destroyed in
pursuance of law very shortly. It occurred to the committee that it
might be well to preserve one of each series and have them lodged in
the Smithsonian Institute as objects of interest hereafter.
The Vice-President (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). The joint resolution will
be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr PADDOCK. I ask for the present consideration of the joint reso-
lution.
Mr. H. G. DAVIS, of West Virginia. I think the Senator had better
let it be printed and referred. It is a matter of some importance to
know just what should be done with the plates that have gone out of
use in the Treasury Department.
The VICE-PRESIDENT. The joint resolution will be printed under the
rule. It goes over under objection.
Mr. PADDOCK. It is provided by law that those plates shall be
destroyed, and the}" are all ready now for destruction. They are to go
to the navy -yard and be there melted in the furnace, and, as the work
is very shortly to be completed, it seems to me it is a matter of inter-
est which should be considered at once.
Mr. H. L. DAWES. If this were only a question of interest, as
suggested by the Senator from Nebraska, there would be no trouble
about it; but the question of safety is so considerable that it does not
seem to me that it is quite safe to pass the joint resolution without
consideration.
The VICE-PRESIDENT. Under objection the joint resolution has
already gone over.
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 791
May 28, 1878 Senate.
Reported adversely by Mr. J. S. Merrill, for Committee on Finance,
and postponed indefinitely.
DOCUMENTS.
December 15, 1877.
Congress in providing for printing and distributing the "Biennial
Register," ordered four copies of each issue to be delivered to the
Smithsonian Institution.
(StatXX., 13.)
May 22, 1878.
A joint resolution (No. 23) approved to distribute the new edition
of the Revised Statutes of the United States, provided that two copies
be furnished the Smithsonian Institution.
(Rev. Stat., Supp., vol. 1, 2nd eel., 387.)
June 7, 1878 House.
The sundry civil bill as reported, included provisions relative to the
public printing, among the items being
"That of reports of committees of a private nature on pensions,
claims, reliefs, and desertions, one copy should be sent to the Smith-
sonian Institution, also other documents not specifically provided for
in the bill, one copy to the Smithsonian;
"Of 'regular documents,' 35 sets for exchanges with foreign gov-
ernments, and one set to the Smithsonian;
"Of the daily edition of the Congressional Record, one copy to the
Smithsonian ;
"Of the bound edition of the Congressional Record, one set to the
Smithsonian;
"Of the pamphlet laws of each session, one copy to the Smithsonian;
"Of the Statutes at Large, bound in sheep, one copy to the Smith-
sonian ;
"Of the reports of the Supreme Court of the United States, one copy
to the Smithsonian."
.[While the bill was considered in the House June 13, 1878, all the
sections in regard to public printing were ruled out by the Chair as
not belonging to an appropriation bill.]
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY REPORTS.
June 17, 1878 House.
A concurrent resolution was adopted to print of volumes 4 and 12
of the final reports of the Geological and Geographical Survey of the
Territories, in quarto form, with the necessary illustrations, 3,000
copies of each volume; 1,500 for the House, 500 for the Senate, 500
for the Survey, 500 for the Smithsonian Institution.
June 18, 1878 Senate.
Adopted.
792 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
December 4, 1878 Senate.
Mr. DAVID DAVIS, of Illinois, offered concurrent resolution to print
3,000 copies of the Report of the Geographical and Geological Survey
of the Rocky Mountain Region, relating to the geology of the Black
Hills, in quarto, with the necessary illustrations and charts; 1,500
copies for the House, 500 copies the Senate, 500 copies for the Sur-
vey, 500 copies for the Smithsonian Institution.
Also to print 3,000 copies of the Report of the Geographical and
Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, relating to the
geology of the high plateaus of Utah, in quarto, with necessary
illustrations and charts; 1,500 for the House, 500 for the Senate, 500
for the Survey, 500 for the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
December 4, 1878 House.
Mr. JOHN R. EDEN submitted concurrent resolution. (Same reso-
lution as offered by Mr. Davis in Senate, December 4, 1878.)
December 18, 1878 House.
Passed for Plateaus of Utah, 500 copies for Smithsonian Institution.
December 20, 1878 Senate.
Passed with amendments to give 375 copies to the Smithsonian
Institution.
January 25, 1879 House.
Passed as amended.
EXPOSITIONS.
Part* Exposition, 1878.
December 15, 1877.
Joint 'resolution. Whereas, the United States have been invited by
the Republic of France to take part in a universal exposition of the
productions of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts, to be held
in Paris in 1878: Therefore,
Resolved, etc., That said invitation is accepted, and that the gov-
ernors of the several States and Territories be, and are hereby,
requested to invite the people of their respective States and Terri-
tories to assist in the proper representation of the productions of
our industry, and of the natural resources of the country, and to take
such further measures as may be necessary in order to secure to their
respective States and Territories the advantages to be derived from
this beneficent undertaking.
SEC. 2. That the President, \>y and with the advice and consent of
the Senate, shall appoint a commissioner-general to represent the
United States in the proposed exposition, and, under the general direc-
. tion of the Secretary of State, to make all needful rules and regula-
tions in reference to the contributions from this country, and to
control the expenditures incident to the proper installation and exhi-
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 793
bition thereof, and to the preparation of the reports on the exposition;
and that the President may also appoint twenty additional commis-
sioners, no two of whom shall be appointed from any one State, of
whom three shall be practical artisan experts, three shall be skilled
representatives of commerce and manufactures, and four shall be prac-
tical agriculturalists, nine shall be scientific experts, corresponding to
and specifically assigned to report upon the nine groups into which
the exposition will, under the official regulations, be divided, and one
who shall be assistant commissioner-general and shall perform the
duties of commissioner-general in case of his death or disability, and
shall report upon the exhibition at large and the general results
thereof; that the allowance to said commissioner-general for salary
and personal expenses shall not exceed $5,000 for his whole term of
office; and the allowance of the twenty additional commissioners for
salary and personal expenses shall not exceed $1,200 each, not includ-
ing such clerical service as may be allowed by the commissioner-
general, which shall not exceed $15,000; and the governors of the
several States may nominate and the President appoint two honorary
commissioners from each of the several States, and the President may
appoint twenty-four additional honorary commissioners, among whom
there shall be at least one resident of each of the Territories of the
United States, which said honorary commissioners may report upon
such special sirbjects as the commissioner-general may direct, and shall
serve without pay or other expense to the United States: And provided
further, That in case the authorities of any State or Territory shall
appoint a commissioner or commissioners to represent the interests of
such State or Territory at said exhibition, said commissioner or com-
missioners so appointed shall have the same status in the commission
as the honorary commissioners provided for herein, but shall not be
entitled to either pay or compensation out of the money hereby appro-
priated: Provided always, That no person appointed by virtue of this
resolution shall have any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in
any article exhibited for competition or act as the agent for any
exhibitor. And not more than one of the commissioners entitled to
compensation nor more than five of the honorary commissioners shall
be appointed from an} 7 one State or Territory.
SEC. 3. That the President be authorized, in his discretion, to assign
one or more of the public vessels to transport to and from France, free
of cost, under regulations to be prescribed by the commissioner-
general, such articles as may be offered for exhibition by the citizens
of the United States.
SEC. 4. That in order to defray the necessary expenses above
authorized, and for the proper installation of the exhibition, and the
expenditures of the commissioner-general made under the direction
of the Secretary of State, and with his approval, and not otherwise,
794 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
there be, aim nereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury
of the United States not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $150,000,
or so much thereof as may be necessary for the purposes herein
specified; which- sum shall be expended under the direction of the
Secretary of State; and out of such amount the Commissioner 'of
Agriculture is hereby authorized to collect and prepare, as far as
practicable and with as little delay as possible, suitable specimens of
the agricultural productions of the several States and Territories of
the Union for exhibition at the Paris Exposition.
SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to trans-
mit to Congress a detailed statement of the expenditures which may
have been incurred under the provisions of this resolution, together
with all reports called for under section two of this resolution, which
reports shall be prepared and arranged with a view to concise state-
ment and convenient reference.
(Stat., XX, 245.)
June 20, 1878.
Sundry civil act for 1879.
To enable the Secretary of State tp defray additional expenses neces-
sarily incurred b}^ the Commissioner-General of the United States to
the International Industrial Exposition in Paris in erecting a special
building for exhibits of agricultural machinery and products, in erect-
ing a facade, or frontage, to the space allotted to the United States in
the main building, in making necessary alterations and repairs, and
for transportation, $10,000, to be available immediately.
(Stat., XX, 218.)
February 27, 1879 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY submitted concurrent resolution to print reports
of the commissioners of the United States to the Paris Exposition of
1878.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 28, 1879 Senate.
Passed.
March 3, 1879 House.
Passed.
l^hiladelphi a Centennial Exposition.
March 3, 1879 House.
The President (RUTHERFORD B. HAYES) sent a message to Congress,
transmitting the final report of the United States Centennial Commis
sion, and remarked :
I have received from the United States Centennial Commission their final report,
presenting a full exhibit of the results of the United States Centennial Celebration
and Exhibition of 1876, as required by the act of June 1, 1872.
In transmitting this report for the consideration of Congress, I express, I believe,
the general judgment of the country, as well as my own, in assigning to this exhibi-
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 795
tion a measure of success gratifying to the pride and patriotism of our people and
full of promise to the great industrial and commercial interests of the nation. The
very ample and generous contributions which the foreign nations made to the splendor
and usefulness of the exhibition and the cordiality with which their representatives
took part in our national commemoration deserve our profound acknowledgments.
At this close of the great services rendered by the United States Centennial Commis-
sion and the Centennial Board of Finance it gives me great pleasure to commend to
your attention and that of the people of fhe whole country the laborious, faithful,
and prosperous performances of their duties which have marked the administration
of their respective trusts.
HOWGATE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
January 22, 1878 House.
Mr. B. A. WLLLIS, from Committee on Naval Affairs, reported (No.
96) on H. 447, to authorize and equip an expedition to the arctic seas.
[Extracts.]
This plan is known as " polar colonization," and has received hearty indorsement
from such distinguished experts, scientists, students, and explorers as Prof. Joseph
Henry, president of the National Academy of Sciences; Professor Loornis, of Yale
College; President Potter, of Union College; Admiral Porter; Rear- Admiral Davis,
Superintendent of the National Observatory; Hon. Charles P. Daly, president of the
American Geographical Society; Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, the explorer, and others, while
it is heartily approved also by the honorable Secretary of the Navy; and your com-
mittee are inclined to commend it to the favor of Congress, more especially if its
execution be intrusted, as the bill provides, to the President, under the direction of
the National Academy of Sciences.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, January 31, 1877.
SIR: Your letter of the 30th instant, asking my opinion as to the plan of Captain
Howgate for explorations in the arctic regions, and its utility in regard to scientific
and commercial results, has been received, and I have the honor to give you the fol-
lowing reply:
From my connection with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy
of Sciences, I am, of course, interested in every proposition which has for its object
the extension of scientific knowledge, and therefore I am predisposed to advocate
any national plan for exploration and continued observations within the arctic
circle.
Much labor has been expended on this subject, especially with a view to reach the
pole; yet many problems connected with physical geography and science in general
remain unsolved.
(1 ) With regard to a better determination of the figure of the earth, pendulum
experiments are required in the region in question.
(2) The magnetism of the earth requires for its better elucidation a larger number
and more continued observations than have yet been made.
(3) To complete our knowledge of the tides of the ocean, a series of observations
should be made at least for an entire year.
(4) For completing our knowledge of the winds of the globe, the results of a
larger series of observations than those we now possess are necessary, and also addi-
tional observations on temperature.
(5) The whole field of natural history could be enriched by collections in the line
of botany, mineralogy, geology, etc., and facts of interest obtained with regard to the
influence of extreme cold on animal and vegetable life.
All of the above-mentioned branches of science are indirectly connected with the
796 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
well-being of man and tend not only to enlarge his sphere of mental pleasures but to
promote the application of science to the arts of life.
As to the special plan of Captain Howgate that of establishing a colony of
explorers and observers to be continued for several years I think favorably.
The observations which have previously been made in the arctic regions have
usually been of a fragmentary character and not sufficient in any one case to estab-
lish the changes of the observed phenomena during an entire year, whereas to
obtain even an approximation to the general law of changes a number of years are
required.
It may be proper to state, in behalf of the National Academy of Sciences, that
should Congress make the necessary appropriation for this enterprise the Academy
will cheerfully give a series of directions as to the details of the investigations to be
made and the best methods to be employed.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution,
President National Academy of Sciences.
Hon. BENJ. A. WILLIS,
House of Representatives.
Recommitted.
February 28, 1878 House.
Report No. 96 referred to Committee of the Whole.
June 18, 1878 House.
Rejected. Yeas 86, nays 127.
VENTILATION OF HALL OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
February 4, 1878 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG, from the Select Committee on Ventilation of the
Hall of the House of Representatives, submitted a report (No. 191):
[Extract.]
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January 26, 187 S.
SIR: I have the honor, in behalf of the advisory commission on the heating
and ventilation of the Hall of the House of Representatives appointed by your
honorable committee, to transmit to you herewith the final report of the commis-
sion, accompanied by sundry papers received from your committee, and also a report
on the heating and ventilation of the British Houses of Parliament, and a report on
the original plan of heating and ventilating the Capitol. The report of the commis-
sion herewith transmitted has involved much original investigation and the examina-
tion of the most reliable authorities on the subject. The members of the commission
have inspected the buildings in this country most celebrated for effective ventilation,
and have availed themselves of a visit to Europe, on other business, made by Dr.
Billings, one of the members of the commission, to obtain the latest information on
the same subject from that country.
It is hoped, therefore, that this report, with its appendices, will be deemed of
sufficient importance to warrant its publication in full, with proper illustrations, for
the use of the public. The subject is one of great difficulty, and in regard to which
much general misconception prevails, as well as a want of a knowledge of the estab-
lished principles upon which the art of heating and ventilation depends.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY, Chairman.
Hon. CASEY YOUNG,
Chairman Committee on Ventilation of the House of Representatives.
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 797
Final report of a board of United States officers convened by request
of a special committee of the House of Representatives of the Forty-
fourth Congress to advise with regard to the ventilation of the main
Hall of the House.
***** * *
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
President of the Board.
THOS. LINCOLN CASEY,
Lieut. Col., Coi^s of Engineers, Jfember oftlie Board.
EDWARD CLARK,
Member of the Board.
F. SCHUMANN,
Civil Engineei*, Member of the Board.
J. S. BILLINGS,
Surgeon, U.'S. Army, Secretary of the Board.
February 21, 1879 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG, from the Select Committee on Ventilation of the
Hall of the House of Representatives, presented report No. 116,
including the report of the board of United States officers made in
the Forty-fourth Congress, second session (Report No. 462), and
House report No. 119, Forty-fifth Congress, second session, and
offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution; Lieut. Col.
Thomas L. Casey, of the Corps of Army Engineers; Mr. Edward Clark, Architect of
the Capitol; Mr. F. Schumann, civil engineer Treasury Department, and Prof. John S.
Billings, surgeon United States Army, be, and they are hereby constituted an advis-
ory board, without additional pay or compensation, with power and authority to
make and carry out through the Architect of the Capitol Extension, during the
approaching recess of Congress, all the changes and alterations in the heating, light-
ing, and ventilating the Hall of the House of Representatives, that are set out and
recommended in the report submitted by them and adopted by the select committee
appointed by resolution of the House to inquire into the present method of heating,
lighting, and ventilating the Hall of the House of Representatives; and the said
board may employ a clerk during the time they are engaged in the performance of
such work.
And be it further resolved, That for the purpose of paying the cost of said changes
and alterations the sum of $30,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and
the same is hereby, appropriated out of the contingent fund of the House, to be
expended under the direction of said board.
Recommitted.
February 27, 1879 House.
Mr. CASEY YOUNG, from the Select Committee on Ventilation of the
Hall of the House of Representatives, submitted a report:
The select committee charged with the duty of inquiring into the present method
of heating, lighting, and ventilating the Hall of the House of Representatives, and
whether or not its acoustic properties can be improved, have given the subject a
798 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
most patient and careful investigation, aided by all the information attainable from
any source within their reach, as well as by the assistance and advice of the most
experienced and competent scientists with whom they have been able to confer.
The defects in the structure of the Hall of Representatives in respect to heat, light,
ventilation, and acoustics have been the subject of grave and serious complaint ever
since its completion, and the difficulties in overcoming them have never yet been
solved in a manner entirely satisfactory to those who have undertaken it with any-
thing of a correct apprehension of the character and magnitude of the task. Many
efforts have been made in the past fifteen years to accomplish this result, and at a
considerable cost; and while those who have conducted some of them were of the
opinion that no improvements in the particulars mentioned were either necessary or
practical, and while others of them believed that they had succeeded in effecting all
that was desired, your committee have concluded that both classes were mistaken
and that the most radical changes and improvements are urgently demanded for the
comfort and health of Members, and that but few, if any, have been made since the
original completion of the Hall until within n very recent period.
The committee do not believe that the Hall with its present architectural structure
can ever be ventilated so as to be entirely healthy or free from many objections and
inconveniences, but they are of opinion that it may be so greatly improved that the
health of those who occupy it will not be subjected to any serious danger. The same,
too, i.-j true, but in ;i less degree, as to light and its acoustic capacity, though they
think that these latter may be so remedied that little inconvenience will result from
them in the future.
The committee referred to a report May 4, 1876 (No. 380), of a sub-
committee from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds during
the second session of the Forty-fourth Congress.
In this report it is stated that after having carefully examined a
great number of plans and propositions submitted to them upon the
subject they referred "the entire matter to a board composed of
scientific Government officers, viz: Prof. Joseph Henry, of the Smith-
sonian Institution; Lieut. Col. Thomas L. Casey, of the Army Engi-
neer Corps; Prof. J. S. Billings, of the Medical Department, U. S. A.;
Mr. F. Schumann, Assistant Supervising Architect of the Treasury
Department, and Mr. Edward Clark, Architect of the Capitol, to
advise the subcommittee of the most practical and economical method of
attaining the object in view."
This board, of which Prof. Joseph Henry was president, made reports
April 30, 1876, and January 26, 1878. l
Mr. Young further reported that the recommendations made by the
board were only partially carried out and that his committee after the
death of Professor Henry, in May, 1878, had appointed Prof. Spencer
F. Baird, his successor as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to
succeed him as chairman of the board.
On motion of Mr. Young resolutions were adopted '"that Abram S.
Hewitt; Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution; Lieut.
Col. Thomas L. Casey, U. S. A. ; Mr. Edward Clark, Architect of the
Capitol; Mr. F. Schumann, civil engineer. Treasury Department; and
1 See Congressional Record, February 28, 1879, p. 30.
FORTY-FIFTH' CONGRESS. 1877-1879. 799
Prof. John S. Billings, U. S. A., be constituted an advisory board
without additional pay or compensation, to make through the Architect
of the Capitol Extension, all the changes and alterations in the heating,
lighting, and ventilating the Hall of the House of Representatives
recommended by them in their report.
By special vote the names of Benjamin F. Butler, Frank Jones, and
George B. Loring were added to the commission.
(See Congressional Record, February 27, 1879, pp. 29, 42.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
February 15, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN offered a resolution to print 10,500 copies
of the Smithsonian Report for 1877 1,000 for the Senate, 3,000 for
the House of Representatives, and 6,500 for the Institution not to
exceed 500 pages, and the Institution to furnish the illustrations.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 6, 1878 Senate.
Passed.
April 24, 1878 House.
Passed.
February 8, 1879 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN submitted concurrent resolution to print
10,500 copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1878
1,000 copies for the Senate, 3,000 copies for the House, 6,500 copies
for the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 10, 1879 Senate.
Passed.
March 3, 1879 House.
Passed.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS.
April 10, 1878 Senate.
Mr. TIMOTHY O. HOWE offered amendment to deficiency bill for
1878:
To repay to the Smithsonian Institution expenses incurred in the transportation of
public documents under the joint resolution approved July 25, 1868, $1,781.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., May 3, 1878.
SIK: I have the honor to call your special attention to an item inserted by the
Senate in the recent deficiency bill, but omitted in the conference report, which is
of importance to the Smithsonian Institution.
We have advanced to pay freight and costs, or the transmission on the publica-
tions of the United States Government sent by the Library Committee of Congress
to foreign governments, the sum of $1,781, and this amount is now due to the
Institution
800 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
We trust that you will have this item placed in one of the appropriation bills now
under consideration by the committee.
I have the honor to be, your obed't serv't,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary.
Hon. J. D. C. ATKINS,
House of Representatives.
June 14, 1878.
Deficiency a*;t for 1878,' etc.
To repay to tne Smithsonian Institution expenses incurred in the
transportation of public documents under the joint resolution approved
July 25, 1868, $1,781.
(Stat., XX, 124.)
June 19, 1878.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1879.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XX, 182.)
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION A CORPORATION?
May 6, 1878 House.
In considering a bill (H. 3259) providing for a permanent form of
government for the District of Columbia,
Mr. JOSEPH C. S. BLACKBURN remarked that he was astonished that
the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. J. A. Garfield] should have raised the
question of the constitutional power of Congress [to elect a Commis-
sioner for the District]. He referred to section 6, of article 1, of the
Constitution of the United States and continued: Now, the gentleman
from Ohio [Mr. Garfield], I apprehend, found no difficulty in receiving
and accepting an appointment, which I believe he holds to-day, as one
of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. HORATIO C. BURCHARD argued that the Commissioners proposed
for the District of Columbia were officers of the United States and
.said: The appointment of a commission by Congress for instance, the
silver commission to ascertain certain facts, or the appointment of a
person as a trustee, or as one of the persons named to represent the
corporation of the Smithsonian Institution, does not present a parallel
case. These [the Commissioners of the District] are persons who are
required to perform duties that are executive duties. They have to
execute the law, etc.
Mr. JAMES A. GARFIELD. In regard to the position of Regent of the
Smithsonian Institution, * * that Institution is a private cor-
poration and the House is invited, merely as a matter of courtesy, to
FOETY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 801
help that private corporation, organized for a public purpose, by
assigning men to serve as its trustees or Regents. But a Regent of
the Smithsonian Institution does not become a United States officer
at all.
Mr. J. PROCTOR KNOTT. [Mr. James A. Garfield] assumes that there
is a marked difference between the corporation to be formed by this
bill [for the government of the District of Columbia] and the Smith-
sonian Institution; but, sir, in principle there is not a particle. When
the Congress assumed the administration of the Smithson legacy it
took upon itself the execution of a public trust, which it seeks to per-
form through its Board of Regents precisely as it would discharge a
similar trust through these Commissioners should the bill now pend-
ing become a law. One is a corporation, so is the other. If, there-
fore, a Commissioner of the District of Columbia is an officer, as
contemplated by the Constitution, so is a Regent of the Smithsonian
Institution, and my friend, who is a distinguished and useful member
of that Board, occupies the singular position of holding an office under
the United States while a member of this House, which is expressly
interdicted by the Constitution. But that is not all. Leaving the
Smithsonian Institution entirely out of view, there was an act passed
during the last Congress which will be memorable, etc. [The electoral
commission.]
Mr. NATHANIEL P. BANKS. I desire to call the attention of the House
and of gentlemen to what has been said about the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. The officers of the Smithsonian Institution are not public
officers, are not executive officers of the United States. A man by
the name of Smithson left to this Government a fund of money for a
specific use, and that fund is this day and hour administered according
to his original ideas. The two Houses of Congress have assumed,
under their instructions and directions, the power to provide arrange-
ments for the execution of that trust. It is their work. It does not
belong to the President. It does not belong to the executive depart-
ment of the Government of the United States. It is a matter between
Smithson and the two Houses of Congress representing the Govern-
ment, and the men that are appointed to discharge the duties connected
with the Smithsonian Institution are appointed under his will.
DEATH AND MEMORIAL SERVICES OF JOSEPH HENRY.
May 13, 1878 House.
The Speaker (Mr. S. J. RANDALL) announces with great sorrow a
feeling all will experience the death of Professor Henry, an American
whose scientific attainments are of world-wide fame, and who has
devoted a lifetime to the interests of science, regardless of personal
comfort or emolument.
H. Doc. 732 51
802 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
May U, 1878 Senate.
The President pro teniporc (Mr. THOMAS W. FERRY) laid before
the Senate the following announcement of the death of Prof. Joseph
Henry:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION',
Washington, May 14, 1878.
SIR: I am requested by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to inform you,
and through you the Senate of the United States, of the death of Prof. Joseph
Henry, the Secretary and Director of the Institution, which occurred in this city on
Monday, May 13, at 12.10 p. in. His funeral will take place at the Ne\v York
Avenue Presbyterian Church on Thursday, May 16, at half past 4 o'clock in the
afternoon, and the Senate is respectfully invited to attend.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
M. R. WAITE,
Chancellor of the Institution.
lion. AV. A. WHEELEK,
Vice-President of (lie United States.
Mr. A. A. SARGENT. I offer the following resolution and ask for its
present consideration.
Resoh-ed, etc., That the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives adjourn their respective Houses at 4 o'clock on Thursday, the
16th instant, for the purpose of enabling Senators and Representatives to attend the
funeral of the late Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to unanimously.
May 16, 1878.
Funeral of Professor Henry attended by Senate and House of
Representatives.
December 9, 1878 House.
Mr. HIESTER CLYMER offered concurrent resolution:
That the Congress of the United States will take part in the services to be observed
on Thursday evening, January 16, 1870, in honor of the memory of Joseph Henry,
late secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, under the auspices of the Regents
thereof, and for that purpose the Senators and Representatives will assemble on that
evening in the Hall of the House of Representatives, the Vice-President, supported
by the Speaker of the House, to preside on that occasion.
Adopted.
December 10, 1878 Senate.
Passed.
January 16, 1879 Senate.
On motion of Air. li. E. WITHERS, the following resolution was
considered:
Resolved, That the Senate will now take a recess until 7.45 p. in., at which time
they will meet in this Chamber and proceed to the Hall of the House of Representa-
tives to participate in the ceremonies commemorative of the life and services of Pro-
fessor Henry, late secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Agreed to.
The Vice-President (Mr. \V. A. WHEELER). Senators now present
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 803
will proceed to the Hall of the House of Representatives to participate
in the ceremonies commemorative of the life and services of Professor
Henry, late secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
January 16, 1879 House.
Mr. H. CLYMER. This evening, memorial services in commemora-
tion of the late Prof. Joseph Henry are to take place in this hall, and
I desire to offer a resolution in relation to that matter, and if it should
be adopted by the House I shall follow it with a motion that the
House take a recess until a quarter to 8 o'clock.
The resolution was read:
Resolved, etc., That at the session to-night the Doorkeeper he directed to admit to
the floor all persons, public bodies, and societies indicated by the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution, also the wives and daughters of members.
The Speaker (Mr. S. J. RANDALL). The Chair thinks that the space
in the House will hardly suffice.
Mr. CLYMER. I would say in reply to the suggestion of the Chair
that the Doorkeeper is of opinion that they might be accommodated
upon one side of the hall, not in the seats of members, and the public
bodies might be accommodated on the other side. I have confined the
resolution expressly to the wives and daughters of members, because
if I put in the wives, and families the number would bo indefinite.
Mr. JOHN M. THOMPSON. Is the meeting to-night a legislative meet-
ing in any sense?
The SPEAKER. It is not; but the House and Senate have voted to
participate in this ceremon}-.
Mr. THOMPSON. Is it to be in any sense an official meeting of the
body?
The SPEAKER. The Clerk will read the order made upon the subject.
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring) , That the Congress of
the United States will take part in the services to be observed on Thursday evening,
January 16, 1879, in honor of the memory of Joseph Henry, late secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, under the auspices of the Regents thereof, and for that
purpose the Senators and Representatives will assemble on that evening in the Hall
of the House of Representatives, the Vice-President, supported by the Speaker of
the House, to preside on that occasion.
Mr. HIRAM PRICE. But no legislative business to be transacted?
The SPEAKER. No legislative business can be done at any rate in
joint session.
Mr. PRICE. But the presumption is that when the House takes a
recess it meets again as a House for business.
The SPEAKER. That is usually a reasonable presumption.
Mr. CLYMER. The Senate has taken a recess, and I suggest that we
should pursue the same course.
The resolution of Mr. Clymer was then adopted,
804 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. CLYMER. I move that the House now take a recess.
The motion was agreed to; and accordingly (at 5 o'clock p. m.) the
House took a recess until 7 o'clock and 45 minutes p. m.
January 16, 1879 Evening Session.
At five minutes before 8 o'clock the Senate of the United States,
preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Chaplain, and headed by
the Vice-President of the United States, with the Secretary of the
Senate, entered the Hall and were properly announced, and the Vice-
President took his seat on the right of the Speaker, and the Senators
took the seats assigned them.
At 8 o'clock the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court and the President of the United States and the mem-
bers of the Cabinet entered the Hall, were properly announced, and
were conducted to the seats assigned them.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives (Mr. S. J. RANDALL)
then called the assembly to order, and, after announcing the occasion
of the meeting, presented his official gavel to the Vice-President, who
thereupon presided, supported by the Speaker.
The Vice-President (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). The Senators and
Members of the Congress of the United States, in pursuance of the
resolutions of their respective bodies, have assembled for the purpose
of taking part in the services to be observed in memory of Joseph
Henry, late secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, under the auspices
of the Regents of that Institution.
The Vice-President then announced that the exercises would be com-
menced by prayer from Rev. Dr. McCosh, the president of the Col-
lege of New Jersey, at Princeton.
The memorial services were then proceeded with, the Vice-President
announcing each of the speakers by name, in accordance with the order
of exercises arranged and adopted by the executive committee of the
Board of Regents.
The Vice-President, after the concluding prayer by the Chaplain of
the Senate (at 11 o'clock p. m.), announced that the exercises of the
evening were closed; whereupon the President of the United States with
his Cabinet, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court, and the Senate of the United States with the Vice-President,
retired from the Hall.
The Speaker. The object of this evening's session, as provided for
by the order of both Houses of Congress, having been fittingly realized,
the duty remains to me to declare this House adjourned until to-morrow
at 12 o'clock.
NOTE. Memorial exercises at the Capitol.
Announcement by executive committee of the Regents.
Introductory prayer by Rev. Dr. James McCosh.
Hon. Hannibal Hamlin'a address (read by Vice-President Wheeler).
FOETY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 18/7-1879. 805
Address by Hon. Robert E. Withers.
Address by Prof. Asa Gray.
Reading of telegrams by Hon. Hiester Clymer.
Address by Prof. William B. Rogers.
Address by Hon. James A. Garfleld.
Address by Hon. Samuel S. Cox.
Address by Gen. William T. Sherman.
Concluding prayer by Rev. Dr. Byron Sunderland.
By authority of the Speaker, reserved seats were provided on the
floor of the House for the following bodies, with which Professor
Henry had been associated:
The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and the orators of the
evening, who met in the room of the Speaker of the House.
The National Academy of Sciences.
The Washington Philosophical Society.
The Light-House Board, who met in the room of the Committee on
Ways and Means.
The Alumni Association of Princeton College.
The trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
The Washington Monument Association, who met in the room of
the Committee on Appropriations.
HENRY MEMORIAL VOLUME.
January 22, 1879 House.
Mr. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, of Georgia. I submit a resolution,
upon which I ask immediate action.
Resolved, etc. , That the memorial exercises in honor of Professor Henry, held in
the Hall of the House of Representatives on the 16th of January, 1879, be printed
in the Congressional Record, and that 15,000 extra copies of the same be printed in
a memorial volume, together with such articles as may be furnished by the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 7,000 of which shall be for the use of the
House of Representatives, 3,000 copies for the use of the Senate, and 5,000 copies
for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. STEPHENS, of Georgia. I ask the previous question upon the
adoption of this resolution.
The SPEAKER, (Mr. S. J. KANDALL). The Chair suggests that the
resolution does not designate the proper proportion of copies as be-
tween the Senate and the House. The House ought to have four
times as many as the Senate.
Mr. HORATIO C. BURCHARD. Should not the resolution be referred
to the Committee on Printing?
The SPEAKER. The Chair does not suppose that the expense con-
templated in the resolution would reach $500; but if it would, then
under the law the resolution must go to the Committee on Printing.
Mr. STEPHENS, of Georgia. This is precisely similar to the resolu-
tion adopted in the case of the memorial exercises of Professor Morse.
800 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The SPEAKER. Of course the printing in the Congressional Record
is not taken into consideration in determining this question of ex-
pense. The Chair is not advised whether these 15,000 extra copies to
be published in book form would cost $500. If they would, then,
under the requirement of the law, the resolution must be referred to
the Committee on Printing. The Chair is advised it would cost over
$500, and therefore it had better go to the Committee on Printing
under the law. That committee has a right to report at any time.
Mr. STEPHENS, of Georgia. Let it take that reference.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
January 25, 1879 House.
Committee reported favorably. House passed.
January 28, 1879 Senate.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 6, 1879 Senate.
Reported by Mr. H. B. Anthom T , and passed.
(This memorial volume forms No. 356 of the series of Smithsonian
publications, and also Vol. XXI of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Col-
lections. Svo. 532 pp. 1 portrait of Joseph Henry. 1880.)
February 12, 1879 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN submitted concurrent resolution "that the
Secretary of the Treasury have printed the portrait of Prof. Joseph
Henry, to accompany the memorial volume already ordered by Con-
gress."
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 13, 1879 Senate.
Passed.
February 28, 1879 House.
Passed.
(This resolution passed both Houses of Congress, but failed to
receive approval of the President (Mr. R. B. Hayes), and was intro
duced again in the Senate April 7, 1879, by Mr. H. B. Anthony, and
passed April 9. It passed the House April 11, and was approved by
the President April 18, 1879.)
SERVICES OF JOSEPH HENRY TO THE GOVERNMENT.
June 4, 1878 House.
The Speaker (Mr. S. J. RANDALL) laid before the House a letter
from the Secretary of the Treasury relative to the services of Profes-
sor Henry on the Light-House Board, and recommending compensa-
tion for said services.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
June 5, 1878 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. THOMAS W. FERRY) laid before the
Senate a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury (Ex. Doc.
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 807
94) recommending an appropriation of $500 for each year that the late
Professor Henry was employed as a member of the Light-House Board,
for the benefit of his family.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
June 4, 1878.
SIR: In view of the very great services rendered by Prof. Joseph Henry, lately
deceased, as a member of the Light-House Board, the length of his services, and the
value to the Government of the duties performed by him, and considering the just
claims of his family for some compensation therefor, I respectfully recommend that
there be appropriated the moderate sum of $500 for each year of his employment as
a member of the board.
Professor Henry served as a member of the Light-House Board without compen-
sation from October 9, 1852, until the date of his death, May 13, 1878, beingtwenty-five
years and eight months. During that period he was engaged in the practical busi-
ness of the Government, in the highest branches of scientific inquiry, on an aver-
age, two months in each year, and was chairman of the board over six years, having
been elected to that position in October, 1871. He received during that time only
expenses while actually engaged in the business of the Government.
I inclose copies of two letters from the Light-House Board of the date of May 21
and 28, giving the nature of his services.
Very respectfully, JOHN SHERMAN,
Secretary.
Hon. W. A. WHEELER,
President of the Senate.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE LIGHT-HOUSE BOARD,
Washington, May 88, 1878.
SIR: Respectfully referring to your indorsement of the letter of the Light-House
Board of May 21, 1878, relative to the services and duties rendered by Prof. Joseph
Henry as a member of said board, I have the honor to state that he served as a mem-
ber of the board from October 9, 1852, until the date of his death, May 13, 1878,
being twenty-five years and eight months.
During that period he was engaged in the business of the Government, on an
average, two months in each year, and served as chairman of the board over six
years, having been elected to that position in October, 1871.
The letter of the board of May 21, with your indorsement thereon, is respectfully
returned.
Very respectfully, GEO. DEWEY,
Naval Secretary.
Hon. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE LIGHT-HOUSE BOARD,
Washington, May 21, 1878.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, asking
a statement of the services and the duties rendered by Professor Henry as a member
of the Light-House Board, the number of years of service, and, if practicable, the
number of days in each year, etc.; also, the amount and nature of the expenses
incurred by him, and whether they were or were not refunded.
808 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
In reply, I beg leave to say that the services and duties rendered by Professor
Henry as a member of the Light-House Board consisted of his attendance on the
meetings of the board, his participations in its discussions, and in his performance of
the duties of chairman of the committee on experiments.
As chairman of this committee, Professor Henry acted as the scientific adviser of
the board. But, in addition, it was his duty to conduct the experiments made by
the board, not only in the matter of original investigation and testing the material
used, but in examining and reporting on the models, plans, and theories presented
by others to the board.
The value of the services he rendered in this position is simply inestimable.
He prepared the formula for testing our oils, and, until the infirmities of age ren-
dered it difficult, he usually applied them with his own hands. He conducted the
series of experiments resulting in the substitution of lard oil for sperm, which
effected an immense saving in cost; and he also conducted the experiments which
have resulted in making it possible to substitute mineral oil for lard, when another
economy will be made.
His original investigation into the laws of sound have resulted in giving us a fog-
signal service conceded to be the best in the world.
His examinations into the action of electricity has enabled the board to almost
completely protect its stations from the effect of lightning.
The result of his patient, continuous, practical experimentation is visible every-
where in the service. No subject was too vast for him to undertake; none too small
for him to overlook. And while he has brought into the establishment so many prac-
tical applications of science, he has done almost as much service by keeping out
Tvhat, presented by others, seemed plausible, but which on examination proved
impracticable.
Every theory, plan, or machine which was pressed on the board, as for the inter-
ests of commerce and navigation, was referred to the committee on experiments,
when it was examined by its chairman, and was formally reported upon. If it had
no practical value, the report on record simply stated the inexpediency of its adoption;
but the professor often verbally pointed out to the presenter its fallacy, and sent him
away, if not satisfied, at least feeling that he had been well treated.
He thus prevented not only the adoption of impracticable plans, but avoided the
enmity of their inventors.
Professor Henry made many valuable reports containing the results of his elaborate
experiments into matters which were formally referred to him, which are spread on
the records of the board, and the reports were drawn in such form that his sugges-
tions were capable of and received practical application. But, in addition to this, he
was constantly extending his scientific researches for the benefit of the service in all
directions. His summer vacations were, as a rule, passed in experimentation at the
laboratory of the establishment at Staten Island, on its steamers, or at its light sta-
tions, pushing his inquiries to their last results.
To experimentation in the interests of this service Professor Henry seemed to give
his whole heart. It occupied a portion of all his thoughts, it was present with him
at all times, it was woven into all his other duties, and it will be found running
through many of the speeches and papers submitted not only to the Smithsonian
Institution, but to the National Academy of Science and the Philosophical Society, of
which he was head, and to the electrical and other societies of which he was a mem-
ber. It appeared as if he never lost sight of the needs of the establishment, and as
if he never neglected an opportunity to advance its interests.
In addition to his other duties, Professor Henry presided as chairman of the Light-
House Board for the last seven years at its weekly meetings, when he did much to
infuse into the different members of the board his own spirit of labor for and devo-
tion to its interests.
FOKTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 809
In reply to the question as to the number of years of service Professor Henry has
spent in the Light-House Board, I have to say that he was one of the original mem-
bers appointed in 1852, and that he served as such continuously up to the time of
his death, giving a little more than a quarter of a century to its duties.
In reply to the question as to the number of the days in each year which Professor
Henry gave to the Light-House Service, I have to say, the whole of each summer
vacation from his duties as director of the Smithsonian Institution, say from six weeks
to two months, were devoted to it; but apart from that, few, if any, days were entirely
given up to it, except when he was sent by the board to make special examinations
and reports, making, perhaps, a month more in each year. Otherwise, while no
day was free from it entirely, no day was wholly given up to the Light-House
Service.
As to the amount and nature of the expenses incurred by Professor Henry, I have
to report that they were simply and solely actual traveling expenses when absent
from this city on duty, for which due itemized accounts were made, and which were
paid on presentation of his sworn account, under the rules of the Department. All
such expenses were refunded, but no other payments were made to him or could be
made to him under the organic law of the board.
Very respectfully, GEO. DEWEY,
Naval Secretary.
The Hon. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
[Indorsement on letter.]
State the number of years Professor Henry served as a member of the board, the
number as chairman of the board, and what number, or months, or days in each
year, on an average, he was employed for business of the Government.
JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary.
MAY 24, 1878.
June 20, 1878.
Sundry civil act for 1879.
To pay to the legal representatives of the late Joseph Henry, for
services rendered by him as member and president of the Light-House
Board, $11,000.
(Stat. XX, 214.)
ACTING SECRETARY OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 7, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN asked, and by unanimous consent obtained,
leave to introduce a bill (S. 1374) authorizing the Chancellor of the
Smithsonian Institution to appoint an Acting Secretary in certain
cases.
Mr. HAMLIN. There is no entirely appropriate committee, and I
move, therefore, that the bill be referred to a select committee con-
sisting of the three Senators who are Regents of that Institution.
Agreed to.
June 8, 1878 Senate.
Mr. HAMLIN. The select committee, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1374) authorizing the Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution to
810 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
appoint an Acting Secretary in certain cases, has directed me to report
the bill without amendment. I wish my colleague [Mr. Blaine] would
let the bill be put on its passage. It will not take more than a few
minutes.
Mr. BLAINE. Very well.
By unanimous consent the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the bill, and it was passed.
December 13, 1878 House.
Referred to Committee on Library.
January 21, 1879 House.
Passed.
January 24, 1879.
Be it enacted, etc., That in the case of the death, resignation, sickness, or absence of
the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Chancellor thereof shall be, and
he is hereby, authorized to appoint some person as Acting Secretary, who for the
time being shall be clothed with all the powers and duties which by law are devolved
upon the Secretary, and he shall hold said position until an election of Secretary
shall be duly made, or until the Secretary shall be restored to his health, or, if absent,
shall return and enter upon the duties of his office.
(Stat, XX, 264.)
PROTECTION OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
June 19, 1878.
Act to protect public libraries in the District of Columbia, etc.
Be it enacted, etc., That any person who shall steal, wrongfully
deface, injure, mutilate, tear, or destroy any book, pamphlet, or man-
uscript, or any portion thereof, belonging to the Libraiy of Congress,
or to any public library in the District of Columbia, whether the
property of the United States or of any individual or corporation in
said District, or who shall steal, wrongfully deface, injure, mutilate,
tear, or destroy any book, pamphlet, document, manuscript, print,
engraving, medal, newspaper, or work of art, the property of the
United States, shall be held guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on convic-
tion thereof, shall, when the offense is not otherwise punishable by
some statute of the United States, be punished by a fine of not less
than ten dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, and by imprison-
ment for not less than one nor more than twelve months, or both, for
every such offense.
(Stat. XX, 171.)
SCIENTIFIC SURVEYS.
June 20, 1878.
Sundry civil act for 1879.
And the National Academy of Sciences is hereby required, at their
next meeting, to take into consideration the methods and expenses
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 811
of conducting all surveys of a scientific character under the War or
Interior Department, and the surveys of the Land Office, and to
report to Congress as soon thereafter as may be practicable a plan for
survejdng and mapping the Territories of the United States on such
general system as will, in their judgment, secure the best results at
the least possible cost; and also to recommend to Congress a suitable
plan for the publication and distribution of the reports, maps, and
documents, and other results of said surveys, not exceeding one acre
now occupied by them for a period of ten years unless otherwise pro-
vided by law at an annual rental of $1,000.
(Stat., p. 230.)
(See act of March 3, 1879, transferring ethnology to Smitnsonian
Institution.
ETHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS.
December 4, 1878. Senate.
Mr. DAVID DAVIS, of Illinois, offered concurrent resolution to print
3,000 copies of the report of the Geographical and Geological Survey
of the Rocky Mountain region, being Volume 2, contributions to North
American Ethnology, in quarto form; 1,500 for the House; 500 for
the Senate; 500 for the Survey; 500 for the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
December 4, 1878. House.
Mr. JOHN R. EDEN submitted concurrent resolution.
(Same resolution as offered by Mr. Davis in Senate December 4,
1878.)
December 18, 1878 House.
Passed for Volume II of Contributions to North American Ethnol-
ogy, 500 copies for Smithsonian Institution.
December 20, 1878 Senate.
Passed with amendment to give 375 copies to the Smithsonian
Institution.
January 25, 1879 House.
Passed as amended.
LAND OFFICE MUSEUM.
January 16, 1879 House.
Mr. O. D. CONGER offered bill (H. 5812) making compensation to
Mrs. Joseph S. Wilson, the widow of the late Joseph S. Wilson, for
collecting the scientific museum for the General Land Office. 1
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
1 This museum was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by the Secretary of
the Interior July 9, 1872.
812 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
GLOVER ENTOMOLOGICAL PLATES.
January 21, 1879 Senate.
Petition of Prof . Tmimend Glover. (Senate Misc. Doc. No. 38.)
To the Senate and House of Represenatives:
Your memorialist respectfully represents that during the past fif
teen years he has been the entomologist of the Agricultural Depart
ment of the Government; that prior to his connection with the sal
Department he had commenced a work on entomology; that durinj
his professional connection with said Department he has employed hi
time, exclusive of that exacted by official duties, in the prosecution o
this work; that he has completed said work, which consists of a numbe
of manuscript volumes and two hundred and seventy-nine engrave
copperplates illustrating the work, which engraved plates represen
the figures of over ten thousand insects.
Your memorialist further represents that the preparation of th
manuscript volumes and the engraving of the copperplates are th
result of his individual labor, done at his own residence out of offic
hours; that the work so accomplished has caused him intense stud
and investigation; that during all the years of his connection with th
Agricultural Department and the progress of the work he has prepare
and produced for the benefit of said Department books of reference an
colored illustrative plates, exclusive of and in addition to his profession*
duties; that he possesses the evidence, in the shape of a vast amoun
of correspondence, of the advantages accruing to the agricultural dit
tricts of the country from the possession and use by the Governmen
of such information in practical form.
Your memorialist further represents that his object in commencin
and prosecuting so extensive and comprehensive a work was to furnis
a series of volumes for reference, with full and accurate illustrations
which, when published in proper form, will serve as a text-book fo
scientists, for the Agricultural Department of the Government, fo
local organizations, and for individual convenience.
Your memorialist further represents that the preparation of th
manuscript volumes, the procuring, figuring, and engraving of s
large a variety of insects, have imposed unremitting study and labo
and the expenditure of a large amount of his own money; that at
time of life when rest and comfort are desirable he finds himsel
broken in health and a constant sufferer. Of this he makes no con
plaint. It is the inevitable consequence of overtaxed powers in th
persistent pursuit of a profession which has been the absorbing objec
of his life.
Your memorialist further represents that he greatly desires that th
Government should become the possessor of this work, not only o
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 813
account of its practical utility, but because during all the years of its
preparation it has been progressively identified with the Government
in the protection it has extended to the agricultural interests of the
country and is, to a very large extent, familiar to the agricultural
people; but, in his pecuniary circumstances, it would be unjust to
himself nay, impossible to donate in full what has been produced at
so great a sacrifice of time, labor, money, and health. He therefore
respectfully proposes a compromise that will doubtless be recognized
as liberal on his part and satisfactory to all concerned.
The intrinsic value of the copperplates, including their purchase,
preparation, and the work of engraving them, is, at the lowest esti-
mate, $100 each, and this would be the charge of an engraver for the
plates and mechanical labor after having the insects figured for his
use. Your memorialist asks no compensation for the manuscript vol-
umes; these he proposes to donate entire; but he respectfully suggests
that it would be just to give him an equivalent to what would be
exacted by any skilled engraver at the rates which govern for such
work and which the Government would have to pay for the illustra-
tions requisite for a work of this kind: Therefore,
Your memorialist prays that your honorable bodies appropriate the
sum of $27,900, to be paid to him on his delivery to the Commissioner
of Agriculture all his manuscript volumes on entomology and two
hundred and seventy-nine engraved copperplates illustrating the same.
And he will ever pray.
TOWNEND GLOVER
ACCOMPANYING LETTER.
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
The undersigned begs leave to accompany his memorial to your honorable bodies
with some explanations and suggestions that may more properly and explicitly be
presented in a communication of this kind than in a memorial.
A protracted experience in his profession has demonstrated that his work has been
greatly appreciated by students in agricultural colleges, by the farming people of all
sections of the country, and by all who are interested in this branch of natural science,
as its accurate and correctly colored figures, drawn from the insects themselves,
enable any person of ordinary education and capacity to identify the principal inju-
rious species known to affect our agriculture, as well as the beneficial species which
prey upon them.
In many cases the species are so marked that persons having little or no knowl-
edge of entomology as a science are enabled to recognize the name of a given
insect, and, by referring to the text of the work, to trace its larval or other stages,
the food plants upon which it thrives, the time the eggs are deposited, the length of
time consumed by the insect in going through its changes, and lastly, the means by
which they may be destroyed. As the habits of insects do not change with their
nomenclature, and as their forms remain the same, the work must always be found
invaluable for reference and identification. In the few instances in which names
have been changed during the past two years the new names can be substituted with
slight trouble when the work is finally revised for publication.
814 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The proposition contained in my memorial I can not l>elieve will he regarded in the
light of one of the many applications to Congress for personal relief hy appropriation.
Even a superficial examination of what I have the honor to submit must convince
any member of your honorable bodies that I am not asking for relief ; that I only
ask to be reimbursed for the cost of over 270 plates illustrating my work ; that I
should give to the Government double the value I should receive provided you should
favorably consider my proposition. I offer to transfer for a nominal sum property
that $50,000 would be no compensation for property that the Government has had
the use and benefit of during a protracted period of time; property that comprises
the most extensive work on entomology, with the most numerous illustrations, that
has ever been produced in this or any country.
As precedents for appropriations of this kind, I need only refer to the liberality of
Congress in providing for Arctic explorations and the purchase and publication of
valuable reports, to the annual appropriations for geological surveys and specific
investigations, and to its favor and encouragement of a great number of meritorious
objects. In view of these facts I have no hesitation in resorting to this alternative
for the permanent and practical benefit of the agricultural interests, for the reason
that, if my proposition is accepted by your honorable bodies, it will enable me to
become a more liberal contributor than the Government to an object which, more
than any other, has consumed my time, strength, and substance.
I respectfully ask attention to the accompanying original letters, bearing testimony
to the character and value of my work, from the late Professor Agassiz; Dr. Hagen,
of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, and others.
Very respectfully,
TOWNEND GLOVER.
CAMBRIDGE, February 17, 1871.
MY DEAR DOCTOR: I have duly received your letter concerning Mr. Glover's museum
and collections of drawings in the Patent Office at Washington. I have seen them
myself and agree with every word you say about their excellence and great impor-
tance, both in a scientific and economical point of view, and would consider the pub-
lication of his observations and of the delineations of insects injurious to vegetation
as most desirable and likely to be in the highest degree creditable to the United
States Government. Were I a special student of insects I would urge this publication
upon the proper authorities; but it would be ill fitting for me to allow my opinion to
go before yours, whom all the world recognizes as a master in entomology. I woul I
therefore recommend to you to send a copy of your letter to me to Mr. Glover, with
full authority to make any use he pleases of the same, adding, perhaps, these lines,
which may secure a reading of your letter among those who know me already and
may not yet know that you are among us.
Ever truly, your friend,
L. AGASSIZ.
Dr. H. HAGEN,
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., February 9, 1871.
MY DEAR MR. GLOVER: I was very happy to hear from Mr. Sanborn that you have
the intention to publish, by aid of the Congress, your excellent work. Next day I
told Professor Agassiz the happy news, and he asked instantly from me a very circum-
stantial report on your work, because he has the intention to do all in his power to
help you and your publication.
I tell you I am somewhat ashamed to hear that an aid by the Congress is not with-
out any doubt.
FOETY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 815
After I had the pleasure to see your museum and your work I have seen a great
part of Europe, and I am happy to say that your museum, your work, and even the
whole plan after which all is arranged, is rarely unsurpassed at this time by any one
in the world.
The plan adopted by you to publish your beautiful drawings and to put them near
the shelves as explications is analogous to the excellent manner adopted in the Hun-
terian Museum in London.
You can be sure at this time there exists no similar museum to yours in England,
France, Germany, or Belgium. I believe America could be proud to have such a
treasure, and I believe the money necessary for your publication must be given very
happily, or, if not, it would be a peculiar standard for the education of the Congress.
Yours, very truly.
Prof. H. A. HAGEN.
834 THIRTEENTH STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE,
Washington, I). C., January 26, 1878.
MY DEAR SIR : Seeing complimentary mention of your scientific labors, past and
present, I am reminded of an unfulfilled resolution, long in mind, to communicate
to you a remark by the lamented xigassiz, on the occasion of his last visit to this city.
The professor had called at my hotel to talk of the proposed National University,
and mentioned having just come from an interesting visit lo you at the Agricultural
Department, whereupon I inquired his opinion, saying, "Well, professor, no man in
the world is better qualified to pronounce judgment than yourself; tell me, what sort
of work is Professor Glover doing?" His quick response, accompanied by that illu-
mination of countenance which no one can forget who ever heard him speak upon a
pleasant theme, was in these exact words: "Magnificent! His services are extremely
valuable, and should he ever have occasion to leave the Department he can have a
place in the Museum of Comparative Zoology on his own terms."
This is testimony of which any scientist in the world might be proud, and I doubt
not that even one more indifferent than most men to the commendation of his fel-
lows will have pleasure in receiving it.
Immediately after the interview referred to I was absent in Europe for a year, and
since my return, the pressure of duties has been such as to have delayed the execu-
tion of my friendly purpose until this moment.
With assurances of sincere regard, I remain, my dear professor, very truly yours,
JOHN W. HOYT.
Prof. TOWNEND GLOVER,
Agricultural Department.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., February 12, 187 1.
DEAR SIR: In the May of 1870 I had the opportunity of visiting the Agricultural
Museum in Washington, and to admire the plan upon which it is founded and the
unsurpassed manner in which the plan is carried out, solely by the power and work
of one man, Mr. Townend Glover.
As I have ascertained by my late trip through a considerable part of Europe, the
Museum in Washington seems to be the only one in the world following a plan so
important for science and agriculture. The idea to represent in the same room all
the products of the individual States of the Union, the minerals and different kinds
of earths, the animals and plants growing spontaneously or by culture in each, and
the products useful for men and animals, for trade and manufactures, is in itself a
great one, and of special interest for science and its applications.
816 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The manner in which Mr. T. Glover is carrying out his plan is in every way satis-
factory and deserves the highest commendation. By way of a certain combination
of labels or marks the useful and noxious are easily distinguished. The fruits repre-
sented by casts made by Mr. Glover himself, in an unsurpassed manner the different
kinds of seeds, their products, etc., give to everybody clear indications of which kind
of culture is best adapted for any State or even for a part of earth.
The insects, noxious and useful, with their products, are largely exhibited, and
form in this manner an unrivaled museum. Mr. Glover has adopted for them a plan,
so far as I know, only comparable in a certain sense to the excellent catalogues in the
Hunterian Museum in the College of Surgeons in London. Mr. Glover has figured
all the insects, as most of them are too small otherwise to be recognized by the naked
eye or to be understood by visitors not initiated in the technicalities of the science.
If necessary, figures of the transformation or product are added.
These figures, mostly very superior to any thus far published, are engraved by him-
self, and as the catalogues of the Hunterian Museum form for the visitors and stu-
dents a sure and excellent guide to the drawers in which the specimens are exhibited.
I confess I have no idea how one man had the power alone to accomplish so much
work in such a superior manner. I have seen in the papers it would perhaps be
possible to have the extensive entomological works of Mr. Glover published. With-
out any doubt such a publication would not only be of the greatest use for Ameri-
can students, but even accepted by the whole scientific world with the greatest satis-
faction.
Respectfully, yours,
Prof. H. A. HAGEN, M. D., Ph. D.
Professor AGASSIZ.
COALBURG, W. VA., December 28, 1878.
DEAR SIR: I am very glad to hear that an effort is making to secure for the coun-
try Professor Glover's copperplates of the insects of the United States, and his manu-
script relating thereto. These materials are invaluable to us, and should Professor
Glover dispose of them in England or elsewhere the loss could never be made good.
Being an enthusiastic entomologist, as well as artist, these plates have been to him a
labor of love, and he has given to them the better part of a lifetime and executes
them with the greatest fidelity. His work on the cotton insects is beyond all praise.
I know of nothing comparable to it on the range of entomological illustrated litera-
ture, and the plates of this work and notes belonging to them are worth, in my opin-
ion, to the country the full sum that Professor Glover requires for the entire lot of
plates and manuscript. This work ought to be circulated broadcast over the cotton
States for the instruction of the planters and growers. So the insects that infest the
sugar cane, the orange trees, the grains, roots, etc., and the several forest trees are
nearly all, so far as they are known, figured on these plates. It is of very little use
attempting to convey knowledge of the insects injurious to agriculture to the people
at large unless colored figures of the insects accompany the text. Such figures
appeal to the understanding and memory, and for instruction are absolutely neces-
sary. The loss to the nation by the ravages of insects is annually hundreds of millions
of dollars, and the agriculturists everywhere need to be instructed as to the appear-
ance of their enemies before they can intelligently comprehend advice as to over-
coming or counteracting them. By all means let us have those plates of Professor
Glover as the first step in proper education on this subject.
Yours, truly,
W. H. EDWARDS.
CHARLES R. DODGE, Esq., Washington, D. C.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 817
January 21, 1879 Senate.
Memorial (Seriate Misc. Doc. No. 40) in favor of the purchase of the
engraved plates prepared by Prof . Toionend Glover.
Learning that the lifelong work on North American insects of Prof.
Townend Glover, late entomologist of the Department of Agriculture,
is offered to the Government at the mere cost of engraving the plates,
we take pleasure in recommending its purchase, knowing that such a
publication would prove a valuable acquisition to the literature of
science, and that the work will be found most useful in the libraries of
colleges and other institutions of learning, agricultural societies, and
of scientific men.
We, the working entomologists of the United States, therefore urge
its speedy possession by the Government, that the value of the work
may be recognized during the life of the author, and that the cause of
American entomology may be advanced.
SAM. H. SCUDDER.
Dr. H. A. HAGEN,
Professor at Harvard University.
B. PICKMAN MANN.
GEO. DIMMOCK.
E. P. AUSTIN.
S. I. SMITH,
Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Yale College.
A. E. VERRILL,
Professor of Zoology, Yale College.
J. L. LECONTE.
E. T. CRESSON.
GEORGE H. HOWE, M. D.
CHAS. A. BLAKE.
P. R. UHLER,
President of the Maryland Academy of Sciences.
JNO. G. MORRIS.
C. V. RILEY,
Chief U. S. Entomological Commission,
Entomologist Department of Agriculture.
CHAS. R. DODGE,
Editor Field and Forest,
Referred to Committee on Agriculture,
H. Doc. 732 52
818 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ESTIMATES.
February 28, 1879 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. S. J. RANDALL) laid before the House the follow-
ing letter from the Secretary of the Interior, Hon. C. Schurz, dated
February 21, 1879:
Among the estimates submitted to Congress by this Department for the ensuing
fiscal year is the following item (see page 167, Book of Estimates) : Prosecution of
researches in North American ethnology, $20,000.
Inasmuch as this line of inquiry is not contemplated as an element of the pro-
posed consolidation of the scientific surveys, and as the work has heretofore been
well advanced under the direction of its projector, Prof. J. W. Powell, and at his
request (see copy of his letter herwith) , I have the honor to respectfully recommend
that the appropriation for this work be placed under the direction of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY APPROPRIATIONS.
March 3, 1879.
Sundry civil act for 1880.
For completing and preparing for publication the contributions
to North American Ethnology, under the Smithsonian Institution,
$20,000: Provided, That all the archives, records, and materials relat-
ing to the Indians of North America, collected by the Geographical
and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, shall be turned
over to the Smithsonian Institution, that the work may be completed
and prepared for publication under its direction; Provided That it
shall meet the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and of the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. $20,000.
(Stat., XX, 397.)
FREE POSTAGE.
March 3, 1879.
Post-Office Act for 1880.
SEC. 20. That mailable matter of the fourth class shall embrace all
matter not embraced in the first, second, or third class, which is not in
its form or nature liable to destroy, deface, or otherwise damage the
contents of the mail bag, or harm the person of anyone engaged in
the postal service, and is not above the weight provided by law, which
is hereby declared to be not exceeding four pounds for each package
thereof, except in. case of single books weighing in excess of that
amount, and except for books and documents published of circulated
by order of Congress, or official matter emanating from any of the
Departments of the Government or from the Smithsonian Institution,
or which is not declared nonmailable under the provision of sec-
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881.
I* statutes " amended b y thc * * ** 12,
1876, or Matter appertaining to lotteries, gift concerts, or fraudulent
schemes" or devices.
f!i C '/uA The Pr visions of the fifth ^d sixth sections of the act
entitled An act establishing post routes, and for other purposes
approved March 3, 1877,' for the transmission of official mail matter
be, and they are hereby, extended to all officers of the U S Govern'
ment, and made applicable to all official mail matter transmitted
between any of the officers of the United States, * * * and
to all official mail matter sent from the Smithsonian Insti-
tution.
(Stat, XX, 360, 362.)
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
March 21, 1879 Senate.
The VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. W. A. WHEELER) appointed Newton Booth
as Regent, on behalf of the Senate, vice Aaron A. Sargent, whose
term had expired.
February 21, 1881 Senate.
The VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. W. A. WHEELER) laid before the Senate
the following:
UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER,
Washington, February 21, 1881.
SIR: I hereby resign the position of Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, to
which I was appointed January 18, 1870.
Very respectfully, yours, H. HAMLIN.
Hon. W. A. WHEELER,
Vice- President of the United States and President of Hie Senate.
The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Chair appoints to fill this vacancy the
Senator from Massachusetts (George F. Hoar).
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
April 4, 1879 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. S. J. RANDALL) stated that he had received a
letter from the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution ask-
ing that he make appointment of Regents. In accordance with tihs
request he appointed Hiester Clymer, of Pennsylvania, Joseph E.
Johnston, of Virginia, James A. Garfield, of Ohio.
1 See Stat., XIX, 336.
820 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Iii this connection the SPEAKER stilted that Alexander H. Stephens,
of Georgia, who had been a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution,
absolutely declined to serve further as such, because, owing to the
state of his health, he was unable to attend the sessions of the Board.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
December 8, 1879 Senate.
Mr. HANNIBAL HAMLIN introduced a joint resolution (S. 50) that
Asa Gray, of Massachusetts, Henry Coppee, of Pennsylvania, John
Maclean, of New Jersey, and Peter Parker, of the city of Washing-
ton, be reappointed as Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the joint resolution.
Mr. HAMLIN. I will state the reasons for the passage of this resolu-
tion. Before the annual meeting of the Regents of the Institution
shall take place in January, the term of office of these four persons
will expire, and they are to be reappointed by resolution of the House
and Senate. If we take a recess, as we probably shall, before the Board
will convene, it will be destitute of these four Regents. I take it there
can be no opposition to the reappointment of these four gentlemen,
who have rendered eminent and distinguished service to the Institu-
tion. I believe the reappointment meets the concurrence of all the
Regents as well as of Professor Baird.
Passed.
December 9, 1879 House.
Passed.
December 19, 1879.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancies in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution of the class other than members of Con-
gress, shall be filled by the reappointment of Asa Gray of Massachu-
setts, Henry Coppee of Pennsylvania, John Maclean of New Jersey
and Peter Parker of the city of Washington, whose terms have expired.
(Stat, XXI, 299.)
JOSEPH HENRY PORTRAIT FOR MEMORIAL VOLUME.
April 7, 1879 Senate.
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY introduced joint resolution (S. 17) author-
izing the printing of a portrait of the late Joseph Henry, to accom-
pany the memorial volume heretofore ordered. (Same as passed by
both Houses in the third session of Forty-fifth Congress.)
Referred to Committee on Printing.
April 9, 1879 Senate.
Reported by Committee and passed..
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 821
April 11, 1879 House.
Passed.
April 18, 1879.
Resolved, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury have printed
the portrait of Professor Joseph Henry, to accompany the memorial
volume already ordered by Congress; and the sum of $500 is hereby
appropriated, to defray the cost thereof, out of any moneys in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(Stat., XXI, 48.)
JOSEPH HENRY STATUE.
December 16, 1879 Senate.
Mr. NEWTON BOOTH introduced bill (S. 875) for the erection of a
statue of Joseph Henry. Referred to Committee on Public Build-
ings and Grounds.
May 3, 1880 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL introduced bill (S. 1702):
That the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution be, and are hereby, authorized to
contract with W. W. Story, sculptor, for a statue in bronze of Joseph Henry, late
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be erected upon the grounds of said
Institution; and for this purpose, and for the entire expense of the foundation and
pedestal of the monument, the sum of $15,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
May 6, 1880 Senate.
Reported by Committee.
May 24, 1880 Senate.
Mr. J. B. BECK. 1 ask the Senate now to take up for consideration
House bill No. 48*12.
Mr. J. S. MORRFLL. I ask the Senator from Kentucky to allow me
to call up a bill that will receive, I have no doubt, the unanimous
assent of the Senate. It will not take five minutes, and as the bill the
Senator proposes to take up will probably occupy all the morning, I
ask him to allow me to get up the bill for a monument to Joseph
Henry, to be erected in the Smithsonian grounds.
Mr. BECK. I hope I shall not lose my place by giving way.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. A. G. THURMAN). The Senator
from Vermont asks that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the
bill (S. 1702) for the erection of a monument in the city of Washing-
ton to the memory of Joseph Henry, late Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution. Is there objection ?
Mr. D. W. VOORHEES. Let the bill be read for information.
The CHIEF CLERK read the bill.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to proceeding to
the consideration of this bill ?
822 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS. I hope tho Chair on all such occasions will put
tho question, for I do not wish to stand unanimous sponsor for
anything from this time to the end of the session.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the motion to
proceed to the consideration of the bill named by the Senator from
Vermont [Mr. Merrill].
The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the
Whole, proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. VOORHEES. Mr. President, I am oppose.d to legislating a contract
into any one man's hands on a subject where competition ought to take
place. I do not know how often it has been done heretofore, but in every
instance where it has been done it is wrong. A work of this kind
ought to be open to competition. Every artist ought to be allowed to
compete for a work of this character. [A pause.] The Senator from
Vermont very justly reminds me that Mr. Story is an eminent artist.
I know that. There are other eminent artists in the country, and all
of them think they are. Every one of them desires to put his skill on
exhibition, and it is his right to do so. I think that the bill ought to be
amended by making this work subject to competition rather than a
direct contract with Mr. Story.
Mr. MORRILL. I hope my friend from Indiana will not move any
amendment. Mr. Story is the son of the late Chief Justice Story, and
is one of the most eminent artists of this country or any other, and has
never received an order from the Government. He is eminent in
very many other respects than as a sculptor. T trust there will be no
amendment offered.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is too much conversation in the
Chamber [rapping with his gavel].
Mr. MORRILL. I merely was appealing to my friend, the Senator
from Indiana, not to offer any amendment to this bill. It is no more
than justice to the very eminent men, the living as well as the dead,
to both the person to whom we propose to erect the monument and
the artist whom it is proposed to employ, and the sum offered is a
very small one indeed.
Mr. VOORHEES. It is difficult for me to withstand an appeal or
request preferred by the Senator from Vermont, but I am satisfied
that tho bill ought to be amended so as to allow competition.
Mr. MORRILL. I hope not.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator from Indiana move
an amendment?
Mr. VOORHEES. I have not done so.
The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment and passed.
The title was amended so as to read: "A bill for the erection of a
bronze statue of Joseph Henry, late Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution."
FOBTY-SIXTH CONGKESS, 1879-1881. 82 3
May 24, 1880 House.
objectio^ 011 f Ml *' CLYMEK ' biU C n8idered and I*ed without
June 1, 1880.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
be, and are hereby, authorized to contract with W. W. Story sculptor
for a statue in bronze of Joseph Henry, late Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, to be erected upon the grounds of said Institution-
and for this purpose, and for the entire expense of the foundation and
pedestal of the monument, the sum of $15,000 is hereby appropriated
out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated
(Stat., XXI, 154.)
JOSEPH HENRY PORTRAIT FOR THE INSTITUTION.
February 24, 1880 Senate.
Mr. A. H. GARLAND offered a resolution that the Committee on the
Library be instructed to inquire into the expediency and propriety of
securing an accurate likeness of Prof. Joseph Henry, late Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of placing the same in
the Institution. *
Agreed to.
LAND OFFICE MUSEUM.
May 10, 1879 House.
Mr. O. D. CONGER introduced a bill (H. 1845) making compen-
sation to Mrs. Joseph S. Wilson, widow of the late Joseph S. Wilson,
for collecting the scientific museum for the Public Land Office .*
Referred to Committee on Public Lands.
EXPOSITIONS.
Sydney and Melbourne
June 10, 1879.
Joint resolution No. 4 provided for participation by the United
States in an international exhibition "of products, manufactures, and
arts," at Sydney, New South Wales, and Melbourne, Victoria, in 1879
and 1880, and appropriated $20,000 to be expended " in the discretion
of the Secretary of State."
(Stat., XXI, 49.)
June 16, 1880.
In the deficiency act for 1880, etc. , the Secretary of State was allowed
the sum of $8,000 to provide for the expenses of the international
exhibition on the part of the United States Government at Melbourne,
Australia, in addition to the sum already appropriated.
(Stat, XXI, 239.)
1 See p. 811.
824 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
June 20, 1879.
Joint resolution No. 10 approved to print and bind 5,000 final
reports of the United States Centennial Commission upon the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1876, 1,000 for Senate, 3,000 for the House,
500 for State Department, and 500 for the Centennial Commission.
(Stat., XXI, 50.)
June 27, 1879.
Appropriation made by joint resolution for the purchase from the
Centennial Board of Finance of the stereotype plates of the final
reports of the United States Centennial Commission, $8,600, the
plates and copyright, duly assigned, to be delivered to the Public
Printer.
(Stat., XXI, 53.)
June 16, 1880.
Sundry civil act for 1881.
For the preparation of an index to the Official Reports of the Cen-
tennial Exhibition, now in press, $300, to be expended under the
direction of the Public Printer.
(Stat, XXI, 281.)
March 3, 1881.
Deficiency act for 1881, etc.
For international exhibition of 1876, $1.19.
(Stat., XXI, 428.)
Berlin Fishery Exposition.
January 15, 1880 House.
Mr. P. V. DUESTER introduced a joint resolution (H. 170). Referred
to Committee on Foreign Affairs.
January 29, 1880 House.
Mr. L. P. MORTON reported. Referred to Committee of Whole.
February 4, 1880 House.
Passed.
February 10, 1880 Senate.
Passed.
February 16, 1880.
Joint resolution.
Whereas all civilized nations take part in the International Fishery Exhibition to
be held in the city of Berlin, Germany, in April, 1880, it is deemed both right and
expedient that the prominent and effective action of the United States in the line of
the artificial propagation of fish and the stocking of depleted fishing waters should
be conspicuously and well exhibited on the occasion: Therefore,
Resolved, etc., That to enable the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries
to exhibit America in Berlin, in April, r880, a fair and full collection of the different
specimens of American food-fishes, casts thereof, models of, and implements, etc.,
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 1879-1881. 825
used in the prosecution of American fisheries, the sum of $20,000 is hereby appro-
priated, out of any moneys not otherwise appropriated in the Treasury of the United
States, or so much thereof as may be necessary for the purpose, tb be immediately
available on the passage of this resolution, to be expended under the direction of the
Secretary of State.
SEC. 2. That the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries be, and is
hereby, authorized to represent the United States, either in person or by a deputy
to be appointed by the President of the United States; and that, at his discretion, he
may use any portion of the collections at present forming part of the National
Museum in making up the proposed exhibition by the United States.
SEC. 3. That the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries be, and is
hereby, instructed to present to Congress, through the Department of State, a report
upon the Berlin exhibition, showing the recent progress and present condition of the
fisheries and of fish-culture in foreign countries.
(Stat, XXI, 301.)
Berlin Fishery Exposition Baird prize.
December 17, 1880 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS introduced a bill (S. 1928) to provide for
remitting the duties on the object of art awarded by the Berlin Inter-
national Fishery Commission to Prof. Spencer F. Baird.
Mr. EDMUNDS. I move that the bill be referred, as usual in such
cases, to the Committee on Finance; but I wish to say (I think it is
perhaps to the public interest that 1 should say) what the circum-
stances were, for usually I am rather opposed to remitting dutias.
At this great international exhibition, although Professor Baird
was not personally present, by the unanimous vote of the juries Pro-
fessor Baird was personally awarded the highest prize of honor, con-
sisting of an object of art, made of silver, I believe, which had been
given by the Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia to the exhi-
bition beforehand, as several other objects were given, to be awarded,
according to their discretion, by the juries to the most deserving per-
sons. Professor Baird, so well known in this country, as I say,
received the unanimous vote of the great juries of the exhibition as
being best entitled of all the people of the civilized world to this
great honor.
A great many other prizes and premiums were awarded; -but in
respect of three or four of these objects they were called prizes of
honor. This particular prize has been sent to this country, so well
deserved, as I think it is, and under the circumstances it appears to me
that it would be right that the United States should allow the Pro-
fessor to receive it without being applied to to pay a tax upon it,
inasmuch as I think his service to the United States entitles him to
that consideration.
In this connection, Mr. President, I beg to have read a letter to me
from Mr. Goode, who had charge of our interests at the exhibition,
if it is agreeable to the Senate.
826 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The VICK-PKKSIDKXT (Mr. W. A. WHEELKR). The letter will be read.
The CHIEF CLERK read as follows:
U. S. COMMISSION OF FISH AND FISHERIES,
INTERNATIONALE FISCHEREI-ACSSTELLUNG IN BERLIN,
Washington, D. C., December 14, 1880.
SIR: I t>eg leave to submit the following memoranda in regard to the distribution
of the prizes at the close of the International Fishery Exhibition in Berlin, and
especially with reference to the award of the first honor prize to Prof. Spencer F.
Baird, C. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries.
The ceremony of awarding the prizes took place in the great hall ot the exhibi-
tion building on the 20th of June, 1880. His Excellency Dr. Lucius, minister of
agriculture, in an opening address, stated to the Crown Prince of Germany, who was
present as the protector of the exhibition, the object of the gathering. The list of
prizes was then read by the director of the exhibition, Ministerial Director Marcard,
from the printed catalogue, a copy of which is herewith inclosed (Verzeichniss der
gelegentlich der Internationalen Fischerei-Ausstellung zu Berlin, 1880, Zuerkannten
Auszeichnungen). After the reading he turned to the protector of the exhibition
and received from him an approval of the awards upon the schedule. A list of the
prizes received by American exhibitors is appended to this letter. An examination
will show that the highest award, an address of thanks signed by His Imperial High-
ness the Crown Prince, was awarded to the Government of the United States; that
distinguished awards, consisting of gold medals, with special diplomas of honor,
were assigned to the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries and the U. S. Coast
Survey for their collective exhibits, while the Fish Commission also received gold
medals in class 1 and class 6 for special exhibits, and the U. S. Hydrographic Office
and the U. S. Engineer Bureau received honorable mention for collective exhibits of
charts. In the various classes special exhibitors in the United States section car-
ried away a full quota of gold, silver, and bronze medals. The number may be
tabulated as follows: Gold medals, 11; silver medals, 22; bronze medals, 15; honor-
able mention, 16. It should be stated that a much larger number of medals would
have been received by the United States but for the fact that a very large part of
the display in this section was collective, and only such articles as had been con-
tributed directly by the exhibitors were entered for special competition. Exhibits,
however meritorious, which had been purchased with funds derived from the
appropriation, were entered as a part of the general display of the Government, and,
according to the policy which had been previously decided upon, the Commissioner
refused to receive separate awards for them. The gold medal with special honorary
diploma, already mentioned as awarded to the U. S. Fish Commission, was intended
as a recognition of all exhibits of this description.
There were thirteen grand prizes of honor, a list of which and the names of their
recipients are. herewith presented. The highest, the grand prize, the gift of the
Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia, was awarded to Prof. Spencer F. Baird,
U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries. At the meeting of the grand jury, at which the
disposition of these prizes was decided upon, it was first proposed that this prize
should be assigned to the Government of the United States. This proposition was
voted down, and it was agreed that it should be given to Professor Baird, in recogni-
tion of his efforts as the official head of the American department and especially of
his personal attainments and services as a scientific investigator of the fisheries, and
as a fish-culturist. In a speech made on another occasion, Chamberlain Behr, presi-
dent of the Deutsche Fischerei Verein, stated that Professor Baird was recognized
throughout Europe as the first fish-culturist of the world. As will be seen by refer-
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 827
ence to the prize list, this prize was awarded in exactly the same manner a. ..thorn
of less importance to various exhibitors of apparatus and fishery pnxlurt-.
Very respectfully,.
G. BROWN GOODS, Deputy Commissioner.
Hon. GEOKGE K EDMUNDS.
December 21, 1880 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL, from Committee on Finance, reported hack
favorably S. 1928. Passed.
February 15, 1881 House.
On motion of Mr. J. G. CARLISLE, S. 1928 was passed.
February 21, 1881.
Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he hereby is,
directed to remit the customs duties chargeable upon the object of art given by His
Majesty the German Emperor and King of Prussia to the Berlin International
Fishery Exhibition, and by it awarded as the first grand prize of honor to Professor
Spencer F. Baird, at the exhibition held in the city of Berlin, Prussia, in the month
of June, 1880.
(Stat, XXI, 608.)
Philadelphia Sheep and Wool Exposition.
April 1, 1880.
Act was approved providing for the participation by the Government
in the International Sheep and Wool Show at Philadelphia, September,
1880, the Commissioner of Agriculture to attend in person or by
deputy and to make a full and complete report of the same.
(Stat., XXI, 70.)
June 16, 1880.
Agricultural Department act for 1881.
For the purpose of testing by scientific examination the textile
strength, felting capacity, and other peculiarities of the different
wools and animal fibers on exhibition at the International Sheep and
Wool Exposition to be held in Philadelphia, in 1880, $4,000.
(Stat, XXI, 295.)
March 3, 1881.
An act making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture
provided for testing the textile strength, felting capacity, and other
peculiarities of the different wools and animal fibers collected at the
Philadelphia International Exhibition of Sheep and Wool Products,
$5,000, including $5dO to John L. Hayes for his report on Sheep
Husbandry in the South, published by resolution of Congress.
(Stat, XXI, 384.)
New York Exposition.
April 23, 1880.
Act was approved to provide for celebrating the one hundredt
anniversary of the treaty of peace and the recognition of American
independence, by holding an international exposition of arts, manu-
factures, and the products of the soil and mine in the city of New York
in 1883. -
828 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
A commission was appointed with authority to issue stock for
$12,000,000. Not less than $1,000,000 was to be subscribed and not
less than 10 per cent paid in before said corporation could do any
corporate act other than organize.
(Stat., XXI, 77.)
March 1, 1881.
Joint resolution.
Resolved, etc., That whenever the President shall deem the preparations which
shall have l>een made therefor adequate he is herehy authorized and requested,
in the name of the United States, to invite all foreign governments to be represented
at and take part in the international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and products
of the soil and mine to be held under the direction of the United States Interna-
tional Commission at the city of New York, in the State of New York, in the year
1883: Provided, however, That the United States shall not be liable, directly or
indirectly, for any of the expenses attending such exhibition, or by reason of the
invitation hereby authorized.
(Stat., XXI, 520.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM TRANSPORTATION.
July 1, 1879.
GENERAL ORDERS, \ HEADQUARTERS or THE ARMY,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
No. 65. ) Washington.
By direction of the Secretary of War:
The Quartermaster's Department is authorized to receive from par-
ties living at or near military posts any articles intended for the
National Museum, and forward them to Washington, under the regu-
lations governing transportation of military property, and on the same
forms of bills of lading. The packages to be marked, "National
Museum, care Depot Quartermaster, Washington, D. C.," and settle-
ment to be made by the Quartermaster's Department.
By command of General Sherman:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Adjutant- General.
NATIONAL MUSEUM USE OF BUILDING.
February 9, 1880 House.
Mr. A. M. BLISS introduced a joint resolution:
That the use of the' new National Museum building, now in process of erection, be
granted to the Democratic National Convention of 1880, under regulations to be pre-
scribed by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
February 28, 1881 House.
Mr. PHILIP COOK presented House concurrent resolution:
That permission is granted to the Washington Light Infantry Corps of the District
of Columbia to use the Museum building on Monday evening,, the 7th of March, 1881,
provided that no expense shall be thereby incurred to the United States.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. Xi><)
Mr. OMAR D. CONGER. Let that lie over a day.
The SPEAKER. The Chair desires to state that a committee of the"
company called upon him in respect to this matter. Their object is to
give a public reception to the visiting military companies from abroad
who are expected to be here at the inauguration. It is represented
that there is no other place in the city large enough for the purpose
of such a reception, and this request is made in consequence thereof.
Mr. CONGER. I withdraw the objection.
Adopted.
March 1, 1881 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR. I rise to ask unanimous consent that the
resolution just sent over from the House [adopted February 28, 1881]
relating to the use of a certain public building for the inauguration
ceremonies may be referred to the Committee on Public Buildings
and Grounds.
Mr. JOHN A. LOGAN. With that reference I ask to have referred
an amendment to strike out the words "Light Infantry of the District
of Columbia" and insert ''military organizations of the District of
Columbia;" and I hope the committee will give it consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. A. G. THURMAN). The Chair will lay
before the Senate the concurrent resolution of the House of Repre-
sentatives.
The resolution was read, as follows:
Resolved, etc., That permission is granted to the Washington Light Infantry Corps
of the District of Columbia to use the Museum building on Monday evening, the 7th
of March, 1881, provided that no expense shall be thereby incurred to the United
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts moves
the reference of the resolution to the Committee on Public Buildings
and Grounds, and tHe Senator from Illinois proposes an amendment
which he asks to be referred with it. Is there objection ? The Chair
hears none, and it is so ordered.
March 2, 1881 Senate.
Reported adversely and Committee discharged from consideration.
NATIONAL MUSEUM SUNDAY AND NIGHT OPENING.
May 17, 1880 House.
Mr. SAMUEL S. Cox presented petition of 1,000 citizens "that Con-
gress give the laboring classes, who are employed six days in^the
week, an opportunity for mental improvement by opening the Con-
gressional Library, the Smithsonian Institution, and Medical Museum
on Sundays and at night." Referred to Committee on Library.
830 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING. .
June 10, 1880 Senate.
Mr. J. G. ELAINE. I want the attention of the honorable Senator
from Kentucky [Mr. James B. Beck] to an amendment I am going to
offer, because I appeal to him to give it his support, much as he thinks
the bill may be weighted.
The building now going up known as the National Museum build-
ing is one which has been constructed at unusually small expense,
especially so for a Government building. They set out to build it for
$250,000. It is a very large building in area, as all Senators who
have visited it know. They are finishing it with a common concrete
floor, just such as you have on the street to drive on. The floor that
is now designed and that they must adopt if kept within the appro-
priation which is now granted them will be a simple ordinary rough
concrete floor on which they propose to put strips of boards for walk-
ing. I think that would be a great disfigurement to a building which
will be greatly visited, which will be an object and center of interest
to all the visitors to Washington and to the whole people of the
country. I think the beauty of the building, the beautiful design for
which it is intended, and all connected with it deserve at least that
there should be a good floor in it.
I had a conference with the chairman of the commission who are
building it, and they would be very glad, if they had the money, to
put in that building a marble-tile floor. I appeal to every Senator,
before it is too late, not to disfigure that fine building by making the
floor there nothing more than the common street way that leads up to
it. It will require to put a marble-tile floor in that building $25,000,
and I appeal to the honorable Senator from Kentucky to allow it to
be done. At all events I shall offer the amendment. It is a matter
in which no one Senator has a particle more interest than another
Senator. It is a matter that concerns the utility and in a very high
degree the beauty and comfort of a great national building.
Therefore I offer the amendment to come in after line 1005, under
the heading of " National Museum." I have the estimate of Mr. Cluss,
the superintendent architect, in my hand, that it will require $25,000
to put down a marble-tile floor bedded in hydraulic cement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. A. G, THURMAN). The Secretary will
report the amendment.
The CHIEF CLERK. It is proposed, after line 1005, to insert: For
laying of marble-tile floor bedded in hydraulic cement, $25,000.
Mr. J. B. BECK. I shall raise the question of order that that is not
in order, not estimated for, not reported by any committee, and not
sent to the Committee on Appropriations. Professor Baird has been
before us and we have given him eveiy dollar that he has asked in
every form on that building, and he never even suggested this to us.
FOKTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 831
Mr. ELAINE. He did not suggest it because there was a sort of
implied contract that the building was to be put up for just this lim-
ited amount. It was stated, possibly a little boastfully, that it could
be done for that amount. I do not think the point of order would
apply to the amendment. It is* an item under a head for which appro-
priations are made in the bill, and they may be made more or less. I
think it ought to be left to the Senate to decide that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will submit the question of
order to the Senate.
Mr. H. G. DAVIS, of West Virginia. I hope the Chair will hear mi-
one moment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is the purpose of the Chair to submit
the question of order that it may be debated.
Mr. DAVIS, of West Virginia. There can not be any question about
the amendment being out of order, and I hope the Chair is not in
doubt about it. It is out of order, I understand, for three reasons:
First, it is not estimated for; second, the Committee on Appropria-
tions did not receive the one day's notice which is required of any
amendment going upon this bill; and in the third place, as I under-
stand, it comes from no standing committee. For each of these
three reasons it is out of order.
Mr. BLAINE. I hoped I might have unanimous consent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question before the Senate is, Is the
amendment offered by the Senator from Maine in order ?
Mr. H. B. ANTHONY. I am in favor of this amendment, but I can
not imitate the example so often set bv Senators of voting upon
parliamentary questions with reference to the merit of the proposition
upon which the question of order is raised. I think it is out of order,
although I am in favor of the amendment.
Mr. BLAINE. The only reason for my urgency about it is that it is
just one of those things that must be done now or it is too late. . They
will go on making this floor, and if we ever attempt afterwards to
change it, all that will have to be undone. Indeed, I am sure that
next autumn when Congress reassembles they will see how unfit it is
to use a mere stable floor, a mere barn yard floor. There is not a
modern stable in this city, there is not what would be called a decent
and comfortable stable built in this city, that will not have a floor as
carefully made as the present estimate will give to the National
Museum.
Mr. BECK. I have only to add in explanation that Professor Baird
has conducted this building with great care. We have great confi-
dence in him. He has never asked us for anything that we have not
given him. We have added to the appropriation for the National
Museum $5,000 for heating apparatus, $12,500 for water and gas fix-
tures, and for the construction of relieving sewer and other things.
832 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
We have adopted every suggestion he has made, and he is entirely
content, so far as we know, with the building as it is.
Mr. ELAINE. I do not say that I know anything, but I should be
very glad to have the question referred to Prof. Spencer Baird as to
what he thinks is the proper thing to be done.
Mr. BECK. I have stated what he said before the committee.
Mr. BLAINE. Upon further reflection, and realizing myself that the
amendment is not in order I hoped that I might get the consent of
the gentlemen who are in charge of the bill I will withdraw it, and
I give notice to the Senate that on the general deficiency bill I will
ask the judgment of the Senate upon this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no objection the amendment
will be withdrawn.
December 10, 1880 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. SAMUEL J. RANDALL) laid before the House a
letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, dated Decem-
ber 9, 1880.
1 have the honor to inform you that the new National Museum building, for the
erection of which Congress appropriated $250,000, has been substantially and satis-
factorily completed with the exception of the floors of the main halls. These origi-
nal estimates provided for floors of concrete and cement. So many remonstrances,
however, have been made against the use of this material, instead of marble or tile
for the flooring, as not being in accordance with the architectural beauty and design
of the building, that at a called meeting of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, on the 8th instant, the subject was considered and the following resolu-
tion adopted:
Resolved, That for the purpose of substituting a marble or tile flooring instead of
concrete as originally designed, for the large halls in the National Museum, an
appropriation of $25,000 be requested o'f Congress, to be expended according to the
plans and under the direction of the building commission of the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution, under whose supervision the Museum has been
constructed.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
January 31, 1881 House.
.Mr. JOSEPH C. S. BLACKBURN. With the consent of the gentleman
from Indiana [Mr. Cobb] I will report from the Committee on Appro-
priations a bill which should be passed now.
Mr. T. R. COBB. I will yield for that purpose.
Mr. BLACKBURN, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported
a bill (H. 7098) making an appropriation for the flooring of the
National Museum; which was read a first and second time, referred to
the Committee of the Whole, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. AMOS TOWNSEND. I ask the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr.
Blackburn] to yield to me for a moment.
Mr. BLACKBURN. I am a trespasser upon the floor myself, with the
courtesy of the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Cobb]. I move that the
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 833
House now resolve itself into Committee of the Whole on the state of
the Union to consider the bill just reported by me from the Com-
mittee on Appropriations.
Agreed to, and the House accordingly resolved itself into Committee
of the Whole, Mr. SIMONTON in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN. The House is now in Committee of the Whole for
the purpose of considering the bill (H. 7098) making an appropriation
for the flooring of the National Museum. The bill will now be read.
The bill was read. It appropriated the sum of $26,000, or so much
thereof as might be necessary, to place a flooring of marble or
encaustic tiles in the large halls of the National Museum building, to
be expended according to the plan and under the direction of the
building commission of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, under whose supervision the Museum had been constructed.
Mr. BLACKBURN. I will state that this National Museum building is
now about completed, and it is simply a question whether the matter
of flooring shall be according to the original plan, of asphalt or con-
crete, or whether a change should be made in the plan so far as to
substitute a marble or tile flooring. The concrete pavement would
cost about $9,000. The cost of the encaustic tile or marble pavement
will be not to exceed $25,000. I hold in my hand a letter from Pro-
fessor Baird, which is indorsed unanimously by the Board of Regents,
recommending that an appropriation of $26,000 be made for the pur-
pose of flooring the main halls of the National Museum building with
marble or tiling. It is indorsed, I believe, by every member on the
Committee on Appropriations. Unless some member desires it, I will
not ask to have the letter read-
Mr. J. R. HAWLET. Let it be printed in the Record as a part of your
remarks.
Mr. BLACKBURN. I will make that request.
There was no objection, and it was so ordered.
Mr. BLACKBURN. If no one desires to move an amendment to the
bill, I will move that the committee now rise and report it favorably
to the House.
The motion was agreed to. Reported and passed.
February 4, 1881 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL. I am directed by the Committee on Pub-
lic Buildings and Grounds, to whom was referred the bill (H. 7098)
making an appropriation for the flooring of the National Museum, to
report it without amendment. The bill has already passed the House,
and I desire that it may be read, and I ask for its immediate con-
sideration.
Mr. HENRY G. DAVIS, of West Virginia. Let the bill be read for
information.
The CHIEF CLERK read the bill.
H. Doc. 732 53
834 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. MORRILL. I will say that this bill should have been considered
yesterday. It is important to have its immediate consideration,
because, although the sum appropriated is no more than will be
required for putting tiles in the Museum, it is thought to be exceed-
ingly desirable that the bill should pass now, in order that a certain
portion of the building may be available for the 4th of March.
Mr. DAVIS, of West Virginia. I recognize the necessity for imme-
diate action, and therefore do not object; but I should like to ask the
Senator if this appropriation covers the entire expense for tiling the
Museum ?
Mr. MORRILL. I so understand it.
By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. DAVIS, of West Virginia. I notice from the reading of the bill
that it provides for only one room, which is a large part of the build-
ing. I do not know why there should be two parts of the appropria-
tion. I ask the Senator how that is ?
Mr. MORRILL. I must say that I have not made particular inquiries
as to that. A portion of the building, I understand, is to be covered
with a pine floor or concrete. This appropriation is all that is asked
for, and it is all 1 know anything about.
Mr. EGBERT E. WITHERS. I will state to the Senator from West
Virginia, with the permission of the Senator from Vermont, that this
is designed simply to provide a paving for the central hall of the
Museum building. Other portions of it are to be floored with plank.
The central building is now completed with a flooring merely accord-
ing to the original plan. It is designed to pave it with marble and
tiles. That is the whole of it.
Mr. MORRILL. And if the bill passes to-day, I understand there is
some chance for the completion of the flooring in time for the inaugu-
ration. Passed.
Februarys, 1881.
Be it enacted, etc. , That the sum of $26,000, or so much thereof as
may be necessary be, and the same hereby is, appropriated out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to place a flooring
of marble and encaustic tiles in the large halls of the National Museum
building, to be expended according to the plans and under the direction
of the building commission of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution under whose supervision the Museum has been constructed. 1
(Stat., XXI, 324.)
1 Building commission: William T. Sherman, Peter Parker, and S. F. Baird. After
competitive bids, marble tiles were furnished by Emil Fritsch of New York, and
encaustic tiles by the United States Encaustic Tile Company, of Indianapolis.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 835
STREET RAILROAD TO NATIONAL MUSEUM.
December 16. 1880 Senate.
A bill (S. 257) to amend the act incorporating the Capitol, North
Street, and South Washington Railway Company, considered.
Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS. It was suggested to me the other day by
gentlemen connected with the National Museum, that in the public
interest it might be well to allow this company to run a track along B
street south, which would bring the public by this cheap method of
transportation directly to the door of the National Museum. As the
tracks are now, it requires a walk of what would amount probably to
two squares or so from the nearest point where the cars run to reach
the Museum.
Mr. WILLIAM P. WHYTE. The subject of the proximity of the
National Museum to this route has been suggested and considered,
and I am about to offer to the amendment of the committee another
amendment, different in its character, to take the place of matter in
the amendment of the committee, and with it will have read for the
information of the Senate a letter from the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, Mr. Baird, upon the subject, and I think it will be
satisfactory.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., May 21, 1880.
SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, and in reply beg to say that
1 would earnestly commend to the favorable attention of the proper authorities the
proposed plan of extension of your line of street railway. Passing along Fourteenth
to B street South, the line would accommodate visitors to and employees of the
United States carp ponds, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Washington
Monument, the Agricultural Department, the Smithsonian Institution, and the new
National Museum building. One of the principal entrances of the last-mentioned
establishment will be on B street, the entire north side of which belongs to the Gen-
eral Government.
Although B street is not among the widest streets of the city, ample room would
be left for a railroad were a single railway track laid near its north curb. There
could be sidings or turnouts at Ninth or Twelfth street.
Very respectfully, SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary.
CHARLES WHITE, Esq.,
President of the Columbia, North Street
and South Washington Railway Company.
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 1, 1879 House.
Estimates by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 1881, through the
Secretary of the Interior.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology, tech-
nology, etc., belonging to the United States, and those presented to
836 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the Government at the Centennial in 1876, to be immediately availa-
ble, $75,000.
For steam-heating apparatus and fuel for new National Museum
building, to be immediately available, $20,000.
For water and gas fixtures and electrical apparatus for new National
Museum building, to be immediately available, $10,000.
For the preservation and care of the collections of the surveying and
exploring expeditions of the Government, and the objects presented
to the United States at the Centennial Exhibition, 1876, $50,000.
Preservation of collections, Armory building: For watching, care,
and storage of articles belonging to the United States, including those
from the Centennial, and transfer to the new National Museum, $2,500.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
September 23, 1879.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the estimates for the National Museum
in charge of the Smithsonian Institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881,
with the following explanations:
The appropriations made by Congress for the ' ' Preservation and care of the col-
lections and the distribution of duplicates " for 1878-79 were $23,000, and for 1879-80,
$28,000.
These sums were required for the proper care and exhibition of the collections
then and now in the Smithsonian Institution. During the coming year, however,
arrangements must be made for unpacking, cleaning, assorting, putting in order, and
exhibiting the extensive and additional collections received at the Centennial in 1876,
and now stored in boxes in the Armory and elsewhere.
Congress having made provision for a new and large building, covering nearly 2
acres, for the suitable exhibition of the mineral wealth, the animal and vegetable
resources, the fisheries, and the ethnology of the United States, as well as for the
valuable donations made at the Centennial by foreign Governments, the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution have carried out the law, proceeded with the erection of
the National Museum, and will soon have it ready for occupancy.
No appropriation having been made for furniture, cases, fixtures, heating, light-
ing, water, signal, and other arrangements required for the new building, the accom-
panying schedule includes the estimates of what is considered necessary for these
purposes.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. C. SCHURZ,
Secretary of the Interior.
October 14, 1879.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your circular of the llth
instant instructing me to report to the Department estimates of the amounts which
will be required for postage and for printing and binding for the National Museum
during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881.
For postage: Stamps are desired of different values, to the amount of $1,000, as
in previous years.
For printing and binding: For printing labels, circulars, and blanks for the service
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 837
of the National Museum, $2,500. For printing "Bulletins" and "Proceedings of the
National Museum," $7,500.
. Very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD.
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. C. SCHURZ,
Secretary of the Interior.
February 13, 1880.
SIB: In reply to your letter of the 6th instant, asking estimate for amounts of
foreign postage that will be required by the National Museum for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1881, and the. remainder of the present fiscal year, I have to say,
$700 for the former and $300 for the latter period.
I am, very truly, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary.
GEORGE M. LOCKWOOD,
Chief Clerk, Department of the Interior.
May 28, 1880.
SIR: In the interest of the National Museum, I would respectfully submit to your
consideration the propriety of introducing the accompanying amendments into the
sundry civil bill.
When the estimates for the cost of the steam heating apparatus and that of
plumbing and gas fitting for the National Museum were transmitted last autumn to
the Treasury Department we had had no carefully determined details of the work,
but merely reported provisionally. Since then, however, we have had competitive
offers from various parties and find that I underrated the amount and character of
the material and labor involved.
The lowest estimate for the steam heating is $19,500, and this does not include the
cost of making and walling up nearly a quarter of a mile of brick trenches.
A similar understatement exists in regard to the plumbing, gas fitting, and elec-
trical apparatus.
I have asked that the amount be made immediately available, as the continuation
and completion of the regular work on the building awaits the receipt of this appro-
priation.
The third item is for the relieving sewer, which is absolutely necessary to prevent
the basement of the new building from being flooded by backwater during heavy
rains. We have found by experience that the pipe already inserted is insufficient,
and that serious injury to the foundations and basement of the building will' result
without this relief is afforded.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIBD.
Hon. JAMES B. BECK,
Cliairman Subcommittee on Appropriations, United Stolen Senate.
Heating apparatus: Steam heating apparatus and fuel for new National Museum
building, $22,500, to be immediately available.
Water and gas fixtures: Water and gas fixtures and electric apparatus for new
National Museum building, $12,500, to be immediately available.
For construction of relieving sewer, with the necessary manholes and traps, from
the new National Museum building to the Seventh street sewer, $1,000.
838 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
October 7, 1880.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, October 7, 1880.
Sm: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your circular of September
30, instructing me to report to the Department estimates of the amounts that will be
required for postage and for printing and binding for the National Museum during
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882.
For postage: Stamps are desired of different values to the amount of $1,000, as in
previous years.
For printing and binding: For printing labels, circulars, and blanks for the service
of the National Museum, $4,000. For printing "Bulletins" and "Proceedings of the
National Museum," $10,000.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. CARL SCHURZ,
Secretary of the Interior.
December 6, 1880 House.
Estimates for 1882.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology, tech-
nology, etc., belonging to the United States, $75,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, telephonic and electrical service
for the new Museum building, $6,000.
For the preservation and care of the collections of the surveying
and exploring expeditions of the Government, $55,000.
Armory building: For watching, care, and storage of duplicate
Government collections and of property of the U. S. Fish Commission,
Armory building, $2,500.
December 21, 1880.
NATIONAL MUSEUM BUILDING COMMISSION,
OFFICE OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., December 21, 1880.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith an estimate for a deficiency in the
appropriation for the sewer of the National Museum building, and to request that it
be introduced, if possible, into the pending bill.
Respectfully, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD.
Hon. JOHN SHERMAN,
Secretary of the Treasury.
National Museum relieving sewer: Additional amount required for running reliev-
ing sewer into North B street sewer instead of into Seventh street sewer, $700.
NOTE. An appropriation of $1,000 was made at the last session of Congress to con-
struct a relieving sewer from the National Museum building to Seventh street. It is
f^und, however, that this will not answer the purpose and that the relieving sewer
must be carried into the North B street sewer directly instead of indirectly by way
of Seventh street. The distance is two-thirds greater and the additional amount of
$700 is required to effect the desired result, the sewer being absolutely necessary to
the safety of the new Museum building.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 839
January 18, 1881. House.
Deficiency estimates for 1881, etc., from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury.
National Museum relieving sewer: Additional amount required for
running the relieving sewer of the National Museum building into the
North B street sewer instead of into the Seventh street sewer, $900.
NOTE. The South B street sewer being entirely insufficient for the drainage of
the new National Museum building and involving serious injury to the foundations
and to the floors, an appropriation of $1,000 was made at the last session of Congress
for making a connection with the sewer of Seventh street. A careful investigation,
during last summer's rains, showed this equally inadequate to the test, and the
appropriation was not expended. The alternative is to make a sewer connection
direct to North B street, and as the distance to be traversed is nearly twice as great
as that originally estimated for, the additional amount of $900 is required.
Preservation of collections, Smithsonian Institution: For expense of
transfer to and arrangement in the new National Museum building of
the collections of the United States surveying and exploring expedi-
tions and of the specimens presented to the United States at the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1876, $10,000, being for the service of the
current fiscal year.
To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the commission not
to exceed three-eighths of 1 per cent for disbursing the appropriations
made for the construction of a fireproof building for the National
Museum, $1,081.87.
NOTE. The disbursements referred to were made under an appointment from the
Secretary of the Treasury, but a doubt having arisen as to whether a commission
can be allowed on payments made for this class of public buildings, the question is
submitted for the determination of Congress.
(Reference to act, March 3, 1875; Stat. XVIII, p. 415, sec. 4, and Revised Statutes,
p. 42, sec. 255, and p. 719, sees. 3657-3658; Ex. Doc. 44.)
February 23, 1881.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., February 23, 1881.
SIR: One of the most important of the proposed exhibits in the new National
Museum building will be a series illustrating the economical geology of North
America, to include all the varieties of ores, of metals from even- noted mine in
the United States; building stones; combustibles as coal, petroleum, etc.; and pot-
tery earth, clays, etc. These will be supplemented by the very extensive collec-
tions of foreign minerals presented to the United States at the Philadelphia Exhibi-
tion of 1876. One-fourth, or more, of the entire building, including a space of more
than 25,000 square feet of floor, will be devoted to these series.
Mr. George W. Hawes, the officer in charge of the department of mineralogy of
the Institution, has been charged with the preparation of a report upon the build-
ing materials of the United States. For this purpose samples of building material
from all parts of the country have been asked for and are being gathered, in addi-
tion to a very extensive collection already in the Museum.
The great question in connection with this subject is the resistance of the building
material to atmospheric influences and to superincumbent pressure. The former
qualities can be determined in the laboratory of the National Museum by the exist-
ing facilities, but the latter quality requires a machine specially constructec
purpose.
840 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Desirous of ascertaining whether such a machine was already available in this city,
I made inquiry of the various Departments and am informed that there is nothing
extant which meets the requirements of the case, and that while the tensile strength
of iron and steel can be readily ascertained, there is nothing by which the resistance
of pressure of stone and wood can be determined with precision and convenience.
As the investigation of Dr. Hawes will involve a critical consideration of a vast
amount of material intended to be used or available for the construction of public
buildings in the United States, I would respectfully ask an appropriation of $7,000
for the purpose in question, the machine to be arranged in the geological department
of the National Museum, and in addition to its special application, to be used in
behalf of any applicant who shall forward samples of stone to be tested of proper
sizes.
The information gained by a single experiment in connection with selecting mate-
rial for a public building may be worth many times the cost of the machine.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. H. G. DAVIS,
Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations.
Test machine: For the construction of a machine for determining the strength of
building stone and wood, in connection with the collections of the National Museum,
$7,000.
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
March 31,1880 Senate.
In the deficiency bill (H. 4924) for the year ending June 30, 1880,
etc., were the following:
For steam heating apparatus and fuel for the new National Museum building,
$20,000.
For water and gas fixtures and electrical apparatus for the new National Museum
building, $10,000.
Mr. W. W. EATON. This is a very large increase over the appropri-
ations made by the other House, and therefore I feel that it is proper
that I should make a very brief explanation of it.
Professor Baird came before us and satisfied your committee that it
would be a very great saving of expense to the Government if the
steam heating apparatus, the water and gas fixtures and electrical
apparatus can be put into the new Museum building between this time
and the 1st of July. The building can not be finished until that is
done. They have arrived at a point in the construction of the build-
ing when it becomes necessary to add these features to it. Therefore
the committee were unanimously of the opinion that this appropria-
tion ought to be made. I will read a letter from Professor Baird.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., March 10, 1880.
SIR: I would respectfully ask the Appropriation Committee of the Senate to insert
in the special deficiency bill, whenever it may come before the committee, certain
items herewith inclosed in reference to the National Museum, now included in the
estimates of the next fiscal year. The appropriation made by Congress of $250,000
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 841
for the .bonding itself will be eufficient to complete it. The heating apparatua ho*
:;;:;^
The building is now nearly completed and will probably be out of the contractor's
hands by the 1st of June. It will greatly facilitate its prompt occ-unadonTf he
appropriation asked for can be made.
Very respectfully,
Hon. H. G. DAVIS, ' BNCER R BAIR "'
Chairman Appropriation Committee, United Stales Senate.
Amendment agreed to.
June 16, 1880.
Sundry civil act for 1881.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures for the reception, care, and exhi-
bition of the collections of geology, mineralogy, ethnology, technology
and natural history, presented to the Government by foreign nations!
$50,000.
For a steam heating apparatus and for fuel, $25,000, to be immedi-
ately available.
For water, gas-fixtures, and electrical apparatus, $12,500, to be
immediately available.
For construction of relieving sewer, with the necessary man-holes
and traps, from the new National Museum building to the Seventh-
street sewer, $1,000.
(Stat.,XXI, 272.)
For preservation and care of the collections of the surveying and
exploring expeditions of the Government and the objects presented
to the United States at the International Exhibition of 1876, $45,000.
Armory building: For expense of watching, care, and storage of
articles belonging to the United States, including those transferred
from the International Exhibition of 1876, and for transfer to the new
National Museum, $2,500.
(Stat.,XXI, 276.)
February 26, 1881 House.
In considering the sundry civil bill for 1882, an item ($60,000) for
cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the collec-
tions of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology, and tech-
nology belonging to the United States was passed.
Mr. VAN H. MANNING. I do not want to arraign the gentleman
from Georgia [Mr. Blount] * * * but I call attention to the fact
that we have just appropriated, under the leadership of the gentleman
from Georgia, $25,000 for the purpose of continuing ethnological
researches among the North American Indians. The question of what
races of the human family have inhabited this country in years gone
by is interesting and affords intellectual pleasure, but that is all. The
masses will hardly keep up with ethnological researches, and would
receive no pecuniary benefit if they did. On a proposition involving
842 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
simply an intellectual feast for certain classes of men this bill gives
$25,000. * * *
Mr. JAMES H. BLOUNT. The gentleman [Mr. Manning] started out
by saying that he did not propose to attack me, but he calls attention
to the appropriation in this bill for ethnology-
Mr. MANNING. And I call attention also to the paragraph just
passed, appropriating $60,000 for displaying upon the shelves of the
National Museum "the collections of geology, mineralogy, natural
history, ethnolog} T , and technology," which contribute nothing at all
to anybody's material advancement.
Mr. BLOUNT. If I had my own way about it, ethnology and a good
many other things would not be in this bill. I do not stand here as
the representative of my individual views, but I have charge of the
bill as the organ of the committee, and as such I propose to stand by
their conclusions.
March 3, 1881.
Sundry civil act for 1882.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of
the collections of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology,
and technology, belonging to the United States, $60,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, telephonic and electrical service
for the new Museum building, $6, 000.
(Stat., XXI, 449.)
For preservation and care of the collections of the surveying and
exploring expeditions of the Government, $55,000.
Armory building: For expense of watching, care, and storage of
duplicate Government collections, and of property of the United States
Fish Commission, $2,500.
(Stat., XXI, 452.)
March 3, 1881.
Deficiency act for 1881, etc.
For additional amount required for running the relieving sewer of
the National Museum building into the north B street sewer instead
of into the Seventh street sewer, $900.
For expense of transfer to and arrangement in the new National
Museum building of the collections of the United States surveying
and exploring expeditions, and of the specimens presented to the
United States at the International Exhibition of 1876, $10,000, being
for the service of the current fiscal year.
(Stat, XXI, 418.)
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS NEW BUILDING.
December 1, 1879.
Iii his message to Congress, the President (Rutherford B. Hayes)
said:
To preserve and perpetuate the national literature should be among the foremost
cares of the National Legislature. The library gathered at the Capitol still remains
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 843
unprovided with any suitable accommodations for its rapidly increasing stores. The
magnitude and importance of the collection, increased as it is by the deposits made
under the law of copyright, by domestic and foreign exchanga, and by the scien-
tific library of the Smithsonian Institution, call for building accommodations which
shall be at once adequate and fireproof. * * * It is earnestly recommended as a
measure which shall unite all suffrages and which should no longer be delayed.
STANDARD WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
January 26, 1880 House.
A joint resolution (H. 186) was introduced by Mr. THOMAS UPDE-
GRAFF. Referred.
February 12, 1880 House.
Mr. A. H. STEPHENS reported, with amendment. Passed.
February 16, 1880 Senate.
Referred to Committee on Finance.
June 1, 1880 Senate.
Reported with amendments.
June H, 1880 Senate.
Passed.
March 3, 1881.
Resolved, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, directed to
cause a complete set of all the weights and measures adopted as standards to be
delivered to the governor of each State in the Union, for the use of agricultural col-
leges in the States, respectively, which have received a grant of lands from the
United States, and also one set of the same for the use of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion: Provided That the cost of each set shall not exceed $200, and a sum sufficient
to carry out the provisions of this resolution is hereby appropriated out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(Stat., XXI, 521.)
ETHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS.
February 6, 1880 House.
Mr. P. KNOTT submitted concurrent resolution:
Resolved, etc. , That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 5,000 copies
each of -volumes 4 and 5 of Contributions to North American Ethnology, uniform
with the preceding volumes of the series and with the necessary illustrations, 2,000
copies of which shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 1,000 for the
use of the Senate, and 2,000 for distribution by the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 9, 1880 Senate.
Mr. H. L. DAWES introduced above resolution. Referred.
February 19, 1880 Senate.
Reported adversely and postponed.
May 5, 1880 House.
Mr. KNOTT'S resolution passed amended.
May 26, 1880 Senate.
Passed as amended, to give 3,000 to House, 1,000 to Senate, and
1,000 to Smithsonian Institution.
844 CONGRESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
February 3, 1881 House.
Mr. J. C. S. BLACKBURN offered concurrent resolution to print
6,000 each of volumes 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of Contributions to North
American Ethnology, 3,000 for the House, 1,000 for Senate, and 2,000
for the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 28, 1881 House.
Reported and adopted resolution amended, 3,030 for House, 1,000
for Senate, 1,970 for Bureau of Ethnology.
Mr. BENJAMIN WILSON. The object of the amendments is to increase
the number to each member of the House, giving each member ten
copies.
Mr. HARRY WHITE. Of what Congress will the members be entitled
to copies?
Mr. WILSON. Those who are members of Congress at the time the
report is printed will be entitled to copies.
Adopted.
March 2, 1881 Senate.
Passed.
ETHNOLOGY REPORT.
June 1, 1880 House.
Mr. J. FLOYD KING submitted concurrent resolution to print 15,000
copies of the [first] Annual Report of the Director of the Bureau of
Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, with the necessary illustra-
tions, 7,000 for the House, 3,000 for the Senate, and 5,000 for distribu-
tion by the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
Mr. OTHO H. SINGLETON. I desire to state that this is one of the
books which have been published from year to year.
June 9, 1880 House.
Passed.
June 14, 1880 Senate.
Passed.
February 3, 1881 House.
Mr. J. C. S. BLACKBURN offered concurrent resolution to print
15,000 copies of the second and third reports of the Bureau of Ethnol-
ogy, 7,000 for the House, 3,000 for the Senate, and 5,000 for Bureau
of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February U, 1881 House.
Reported amended, to give 7,272 copies to the House, 3,000 to the
Senate, and 4,728 to the Bureau of Ethnology. Agreed to.
February 19, 1881 Senate.
Passed.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 845
SMITH80N FUN
March 5, 1880 Senate.
Mr. H. G. DAVIS, from Committee on Appropriations, reported
(S. 334) on bill (S. 1424), relative to placing under the direct supervision
and control of Congress the appropriations known as permanent and
indefinite.
A table showed the amount paid on the Smithson fund as interest-
In 1877, $39,060; 1878, $40,841; 1879, $39,060.
A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. John Sherman,
recommended excepting the Smithson trust from any act repealing
the present laws.
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
March 11, 1880 Senate.
Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1879 presented and ordered
to be printed.
Mr. H. HAMLIN offered concurrent resolution to print 10,500 copies
of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1879, 1,000 for the
Senate, 3,000 for the House of Representatives, 6,500 for the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 22, 1880 Senate.
Reported by Mr. H. B. ANTHONY, and passed.
April 21, 1880 House.
Mr. BENJAMIN WILSON. I rise to make a privileged report from the
Committee on Printing. That committee has directed me to report
back, with a recommendation that the House concur, a resolution of
the Senate for printing copies of the report of the Smithsonian
Institution.
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That 10,500 copies of
the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1879 be printed, 1,000 copies
of which shall be for the use of the Senate, 3,000 copies for the use of the House of
Representatives, and 6,500 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. M. DUNNELL. I wish the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr.
Wilson] would consent to an amendment. I would like to amend this
resolution by striking out the word " ten" and inserting kk fifteen," so
as to provide for printing 15,500 copies of this report.
Mr. WILSON. This resolution proposes the number which has been
printed every year for a long series of years, and which I believe has
been found sufficient.
Mr. DUNNELL. This Smithsonian Report is a very valuable document.
Members of the House are in the habit of getting seven or perhaps
nine copies each. There are more than that number of public libraries
in every Congressional district in the country. This is a report which
846 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
we may well print in larger number than i.s here proposed. 1 have
already very man} 7 calls for it. After the document has been printed
and stereot} r ped the expense of a few thousand additional copies is
very trifling indeed. It costs more to print the reports which are sent
around to members only to fill up their rooms than it would to print
5,000, yes, 10,000, additional copies of the Smithsonian Report.
I move to amend by striking out "ten" and inserting "fifteen," so
as to provide for printing 15,500 copies and then the distribution can
be arranged so as to give the House and the Senate this additional
5,0003,500 to the House and 1,500 to the Senate.
Mr. WILSON. I do not feel authorized to accept the amendment for
the reason
Mr. DUNNELL. Well, I understand that it is my right to move the
amendment.
The SPEAKER (Mr. S. J. RANDALL). It is, if the gentleman from
West Virginia yields for that purpose before demanding the previous
question.
Mr. WILSON. I have not yielded except to hear the suggestion.
Mr. J. D. NEW. I rise to a question of order. I wish to inquire
whether this matter is or is not now before the House in contraven-
tion of the call for the regular order made by the gentleman from
Michigan.
The SPEAKER. Under the rules, the Committee on Printing has the
right to report at any time touching matter
Mr. NEW. I do not care to hear the rule read.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from West Virginia has the right to
report from the Committee on Printing under the rules; and because
of that right he has been recognized.
Mr. DUNNELL. I presume that my motion is in order.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from West Virginia is on the floor
and states that he does not yield for the amendment.
Mr. DUNNELL. I did not ask him to yield. I addressed the Chair
and made my motion to amend. The previous question has not been
called.
The SPEAKER. Until an adverse vote by the House, the resolu-
tion is under the control of the gentleman from West Virginia who
reports it.
Mr. DUNNELL. Does the Chair undertake to say that a resolution
reported here is not open to amendment?
The SPEAKER. The Chair states that the gentleman reporting a
measure has the right to test the sense of the House as to cutting off
amendments by calling the previous question.
Mr. DUNNELL. The gentleman has not demanded the previous ques-
tion.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 847
The SPEAKER. The gentleman is still on the floor and declines to
yield for an amendment.
Mr. DUNNELL. I was recognized to make a motion to amend; I have
made such a motion, and I was heard upon that motion.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from West Virginia states that he
yielded for a suggestion, not for an amendment. The Chair uniformly
recognizes the right of a member reporting a measure to retain its
control until an adverse vote by the House.
Mr. DUNNELL. I can not understand why the gentleman from West
Virginia should object to allowing an amendment.
The SPEAKER. That is another question a question with which the
Chair has nothing to do.
Mr. DUNNELL. The gentleman is not under instructions of the com-
mittee not to allow an amendment to be offered.
Mr. WILSON. I can not yield further. This subject has undergone
investigation by the Committee on Printing in the Senate. The Sen-
ate passed it without objection. It has come to the House and gone
to the Committee on Printing.
Mr. DUNNELL. Because it passed the Senate without objection is
no reason why we should pass it without objection.
Mr. WILSON. I beg to say this amount has been recommended by
the Department, and it is all that is asked. I demand the previous
question.
Mr. DUNNELL. We are not legislating for the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, but we are legislating for the country at large. The Smithsonian
gets two-thirds of what we vote here. I hope the previous question
will be voted down, so we may test this question in behalf of the
people.
The demand for the previous question was not seconded.
Mr. DUNNELL. I move to strike out "ten thousand five hundred"
and insert "fifteen thousand five hundred," and to provide that 5,000
copies be for the use of the Smithsonian Institution, 8,000 for the
House, and 2,500 for the Senate.
The SPEAKER. The resolution, if amended, will read as follows:
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring therein), That 15,500
copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1879 be printed;
2,500 copies of which shall be for the use of the Senate, 8,000 copies for the use of
the House of Representatives, and 5,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. RICHARD W. TOWNSHEND, of Illinois. What will be the addi-
tional cost?
Mr. DUNNELL. I am unable to say.
Mr. RICHARD W. TOWNSHEND, of Illinois. Would it be small ?
Mr. DUNNELL. Very small; as the expense will only be for print-
ing and paper, the plates being stereotyped.
848 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. JOHN H. REAGAN. What is the use of 5,000 for the Smith-
sonian Institution?
Mr. DUNNELL. Five thousand is enough for the use of the Smith-
sonian Institution. I demand the previous question on the concurrent
resolution and amendment.
Adopted.
April 22, 1880 Senate.
Passed as amended by House.
April 23, 1880 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN moved that the House of Representatives be
requested to return to the Senate the resolution for printing the Smith-
sonian report for 1879, upon which he entered a motion to reconsider.
Agreed to.
April 26, 1880 Senate.
Mr. H. HAMLIN. On Friday I entered a motion to reconsider the
vote by which this body concurred in the House amendment to the
resolution ordering the printing of the Smithsonian report. I was
very sure there was some misapprehension about it. I have con-
ferred with the Senator from Maryland [Mr. W. P. Whyte], the chair-
man of the Committee on Printing, and he concurs with me. I hope
therefore that the vote will be reconsidered, and the resolution
referred to that committee. 1 will say action in both Houses was had
without a reference.
The VICE-PKESIDENT (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). The Chair hears no
objection to the request of the Senator from Maine. The vote will
be regarded as reconsidered and the resolution will be referred to the
Committee on Printing, with the amendment of the House of
Representatives.
April 27, 1880 Senate.
House amendments nonconcurred in.
April 28, 1880 Senate.
Conferees appointed.
May 21, 1880 House.
Mr. B. WILSON, from conference committee on resolution to print
Smithsonian Report for 1879, submitted the following:
; The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the
amendments of the House of Representatives to the resolution of the Senate to print
extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1879, having
met, after a full and free conference have agreed to recommend and do recommend
to their respective Houses as follows:
That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendments of the House
numbered 1 and 2, and agree to the same.
That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House
numbered 3, and agree to the same with the following amendment: Strike out
"eight" and insert "six;" and the House agree to the same.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 849
That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House
numbered 4, and agree to the same with the following amendment: Strike out " five
thousand" and insert "seven thousand;" and the House agree to the same
B. WILSON,
P. C. HAYES,
Managers on the part of tlie House.
M. W. RANSOM,
H. B. ANTHONY,
Managers on the part of the Senate.
Mr. J. D. C. ATKINS. Will the gentleman from West Virginia give
us some explanation of this report?
Mr. WILSON. There is a written explanation accompanying the
report. I ask the Clerk to read it.
The Clerk read as follows:
The Committee on Printing present the following statement to accompany the
report of the conference committee on the Senate concurrent resolution to print the
Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1879:
The original resolution, with the House amendment thereto, made the following
distribution:
Copies.
Whole number ordered 15, 500
For the use of the Senate 2,500
For the use of the Hxmse 8,000
For the use of the Smithsonian Institution 5, 000
The conference report, if adopted, will reduce the number of copies for the use of
the House by 2,000, which will transfer to the use of the Smithsonian Institution,
making the distribution as follows:
Copies.
Whole number ordered... 15,500
For the use of the Senate 2,500
For the use of the House 6, 000
For the use of the Smithsonian Institution 7, 000
Mr. ROGER Q. MILLS.. I want to ask the gentleman from West
Virginia [Mr. Wilson] why the committee give the Smithsonian
Institution a larger number of these volumes than they give to the
entire House of Representatives?
Mr. WILSON. Because we are informed by officers of the Smith-
sonian Institution that a large number of these reports are sent
abroad in exchange for rare scientific books, which can not be bought,
which are not in the market; and the value to our libraries of the
books which we thus receive is much greater than the cost of these
reports.
Mr. MARK H. DUNNELL. It will be noticed upon examining the con-
ference report and the accompanying statement that by the adoption
of this report we shall lose all the benefit of the additional number
voted by the House, while the Senate retains the full benefit of that
addition. The conference report, while giving to the Senate the whole
number that the House agreed to, reduces our share by 2,000.
H. Doc. 732 54
850 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. WILSON. It is very necessary that the Smithsonian Institution
should have 7,000 copies of this document. As I have already stated,
we are informed by an officer of the Institution that rare scientific
books from Europe are received in exchange for these reports.
Mr. MILLS. Do we exchange one book for one ?
Mr. WILSON. Yes, sir; one for one.
Mr. ATKINS. How many of these reports will the House receive?
Mr. WILSON. Six thousand.
Mr. ATKINS. And the Senate how many ?
Mr. WILSON. Twenty-five hundred.
Mr. ATKINS. Is that in accordance with the numerical proportion
of the two bodies ?
Mr. DUNNELL. My objection to the report of the committee of
conference is that the House conferees have conceded everything to the
Senate and reserved nothing to the House. They have given up for
the benefit of the Smithsonian Institution the 2,000 copies which we
added to our proportion, while the Senate receives the full number
that we originally agreed on. There is no proper proportion between
the number granted to the House and the number granted to the
Senate.
Mr. WILSON. I wish to say that the present Committee on Print-
ing has broken through the rule heretofore established; and under the
action of the committee the members of the House will get a very
much larger number of reports than they have received heretofore.
Mr. DUNNELL. Certainly not by this report.
Mr. WILSON. That is the best conclusion we can come to.
Mr. ALEXANDER H. COFFROTH. Then reject it.
The House divided; and there were ayes, 47; noes, 45.
So the conference report was adopted.
May 22, 1880 Senate.
Conference report adopted.
January 10, 1881 House.
Mr. M. P. O'CONNOR introduced joint resolution (H. 364):
Resolved, etc., That 3,000 copies of each of the reports of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, together with the documentary history and journals and life and writings of
James Smithson, with illustrations, be printed from the stereotype plates now in the
Congressional Printing Office, of which 1,500 shall be for the iise of the House, 500
for the use of the Senate, and 1,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
January 28, 1881 House.
Mr. PHILIP C. HAYES, from the Committee on Printing, reported
with amendments joint resolution (H. 364) for printing Smithsonian
reports :
Resolved, etc., That 3,000 copies of each of the reports of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, together with the documentary history and journals and life and writings of
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 851
James Smithson, with illustrations, be printed from the stereotype plates now in the
Congressional Printing Office, of which 1,500 shall be for the use of the House 500
for the Senate, and 1,000 for the Smithsonian Institution.
The amendments were to strike out "documentary history and
journals and;" after the words " five hundred" to insert "and fifteen-"
and to strike out "one thousand" and insert "nine hundred and
eighty -five."
Adopted.
February 1, 1881 Senate.
Reported adversely and postponed indefinitely.
January 20, 1881 Senate.
Mr. ROBERT E. WITHERS submitted concurrent resolution to print
15,500 copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1880,
2,500 for the Senate, 6,000 for the House, and 7,000 for the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
January 25, 1881 Senate.
Reported and amended to print 15,560 copies, 2,500 for Senate,
6,060 for the House, and 7,000 for the Smithsonian Institution'
Passed.
February 3, 1881 House.
Concurrent resolution adopted.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
March 16, 1880 Senate.
Mr. THOMAS F. BAYARD introduced a joint resolution (S. 93) to
enable Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, to visit and
inspect European public libraries:
Resolved, etc., That for the purpose of enabling Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian
of Congress, to make arrangements for the more complete interchange of publications
by the Government of the United States and those of foreign nations, as well as to
inspect the systems and methods under which public libraries in Europe are con-
ducted and maintained, the sum of $2,500 be, and the same is hereby, appropriated,
out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses
of Ainsworth R. Spofford in a visit to the libraries of Europe during the summer
vacation of Congress, for the purposes aforesaid, and that he make a report to Con-
gress at its next session, embodying such recommendations in regard to the Library
of Congress as he may deem proper.
The VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. W. A. WHEELER). The joint resolution
will be referred to the Committee on the Library.
Mr. BAYARD. Mr. President, I desire, if I may be permitted, before
the reference of the joint resolution to the Committee on the Library,
to state my reasons for its introduction. It is wholly with a view to
the public service.
The Congress of the United States, by laws of remote date, and last
by the act of July 25, 1868, provided for the delivery by the Congres-
852 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sional Printer of 50 copies of all books and other publications by the
Government of the United States for the purpose of exchange with
foreign governments for similar public documents. The system, how-
ever, for want of oversight and attention, has worked very imperfectly.
The foreign governments with whom the exchange list has been formed
are some 26 in number, and of those the most voluminous receipts by
the Library of Congress are so utterly irregular as to destroy any
value arising from their continuity and completeness.
The Government of Great Britain sends but few, or none, of its
publications to our Library, and that is simply owing to the fact that
the details and machinery for making such exchange can not be effi-
ciently managed through the medium of mere epistolary correspond-
ence. It will require the active supervision of an intelligent person
to establish a practical system of proper exchange of these public
documents in the manner designed by Congress, and it would be
exceedingly useful and valuable to our Library.
In addition to the matter of the interchange of governmental pub-
lications, there have been great improvements of which we should
avail ourselves in the construction, supervision, classification, and
arrangement of European libraries within the last twenty-five years.
The very preservation of the books themselves, their methods of
classification, arrangement, and cataloguing, are all matters in which
great advance has been made, the benefit of which I desire should
accrue to our own Library.
The erection of a national library is every day becoming a matter
of greater necessity. There is in this country no one whose intelli-
gence and capacity to inform Congress properly upon this subject
exceeds that of the modest, accomplished, and worthy gentleman who
fills the post of Librarian so acceptably to all of those who have occa-
sion to need his services or who are at all competent to judge of their
value.
It is therefore, in my opinion, exceedingly proper and highly
expedient that a visit to and an inspection of the public libraries of
Europe should be made in behalf of the American people and their
Library as soon as may be.
As I said, there is no one fitter for this mission, nor who would
more creditably represent the American Government, than the gentle-
man named in this resolution. I may say, also, as a matter which is
not without weight with me, I think it would not only be a duty to
him, but a well-earned pleasure and delight. To make such a tour of
inspection would be to Mr. Spofford a labor of love as well as the per-
formance of a most important duty a season of relaxation and release
from very confining labors, which his industry and devotion to public
service have heretofore rendered impossible.
It is proper to add that, except so far as inquiry made by me into
FOBTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 853
the irregular condition of our exchanges of governmental publications
with those of foreign countries, Mr. Spofford has had no intimation
whatever of the introduction of this joint resolution or of my inten-
tion to offer it. It has proceeded entirely on my own motion, after a
comparison of views with several other gentlemen.
1 make these remarks trusting that the proposition may commend
itself to the favorable consideration of the Committee on the Library
and of the Senate and to obtain their ready approval.
Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS. I should like to say a word about the matter of
exchanges. I believe that the system of exchanges is now regulated
by law, and is consolidated in practice in the hands of the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution, where, if I am correctly advised (not
in reference to this question of course, but if my information and
knowledge about it in general is correct), the system is as perfect and
systematic as any such system can ever be. The United States
exchange, under authority of law and through the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, with every foreign government that is willing to reciprocate.
Every single public document that is printed under the authority of
Congress or at public expense, every valuable and important docu-
ment that is printed in the Departments out of the appropriations for
the expenditures of those Departments, and which are not printed by
order of Congress in the direct sense so as to be distributed by Sena-
tors and Representatives, or of which Senators and Representatives,
for public interests, can have even a single copy for their own inspec-
tion, is furnished to every foreign government regularly, systematic-
ally, at stated periods, as fast as they come forth, in just the degree
that the foreign government is willing to reciprocate by furnishing
the United States with its own documents and publications. That
operation of international exchange produces a stream, and the only
one that regularly and systematically could be produced to flow into
the Library of Congress.
In addition to that, the Smithsonian Institution is authorized by its
foundation under the acts of Congress to exchange publications of any
kind that it makes itself or comes in possession of with foreign and
domestic literary societies, colleges, institutions, in the United States
and in foreign countries. That sends out from our workshop of intel-
lect and progress the whole product of the nation, so to speak, and it
brings back from every quarter of the globe the similar products of
the intellect and activity, and discovery and progress, and social
science of all civilized peoples.
So I do not imagine that as far as the mere subject of inspecting
and arranging international exchanges of books is concerned an expe-
dition by anybody to a foreign country would be of any great service.
In respect of the other part of it, the subject of inspecting libraries,
classification, arrangement, and completing sets, and all that sort of
854 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
thing, there is very great force in what the Senator from Delaware
has said; and I certainly should unite with him in all that he has said
in respect of the capacity and worth of the gentleman named in the
resolution.
Mr. H. HAMLIN. I wish to say one word on this subject before the joint
resolution is referred. I wish to corroborate what has been so well
said by the Senator from Vermont in relation to the manner in which
these exchanges are effected by the Smithsonian Institution. I am
inclined to agree with the Senator that very little can be done in that
direction, and if anything can be done it should be by the Secretary
of that institution. If this resolution is looking in the future to trans-
fer the practical administration of that law from the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, where it is so well done, to the Library of Congress, where it
can not be as well done, 1 certainly hope it will not receive the consid-
eration of this body. I have great fears that this is an entering wedge
to effect that change, and it would be a change which I think in its
results would be injurious and disastrous.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
FRENCH EXCHANGES.
December 10, 1880 House.
DEPARTMENT OK STATE,
Washington, December 7, 1880.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for your information a translation of a
letter, dated the 22d of July last, from Mr. Le"on Gambetta, President of the Cham-
ber of Deputies in France, to the American minister at Paris, in relation to the estab-
lishment of an exchange of documents between the Chamber of Deputies of the
French Republic and the corresponding legislative body in this country. In accord-
ance with Mr. Gambetta's request, I inclose a letter addressed to the President of the
House of Representatives of the American Republic, and I likewise forward a pack-
age of documents which accompanied the letter just named.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
WM. M. EVARTS.
Hon. SAMUEL J. RANDALL,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
[Inclosures.]
1. Mr. Le"on Gambetta to the Minister of the United States in France, dated July
22, 1880 translation.
2. A sealed letter addressed "Monsieur le President de la Chambre des Representa-
tives de la R4publique Am6ricaine."
Accompaniment: A package of documents.
[Translation.]
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES (PRESIDENCE),
Paris, July 22, 1880.
SIR: Exchanges of parliamentary documents have for a long time been organized
between the political assemblies of most of the European States.
I believe it would be useful to establish analogous exchanges between the Cham-
ber of Deputies of the French Republic and that of the American Republic. In con-
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 855
sequence I have the honor to address to you a case containing what has been pub-
lished by the French Parliament during the session of 1880.
I would be obliged to you if you would please forward this case, together with the
inclosed letter, to the President of House of Representatives of the American Republic.
Accept, Mr. Minister, the assurances of my high consideration,
LEON GAMBETTA,
President of the Chamber of Deputies.
The MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES IN FRANCE.
CHAMBRE DBS DEPUTES (PRESIDENCE),
Paris, le VOjuillet 1880.
Bordereau des publications faites pendant le cours de la session ordinaire de 1880,
offertes par la Chambre des Brute's de la R4publique Francaise.
Tomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 des annales de 1879.
Referred to Committee on Foreign Affairs.
January 8, 1881 House.
Letter from the Secretary of State, transmitting a letter from the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, relative to the interchange
of documents between the United States Government and the Republic
of France.
Referred to Committee on Foreign Affairs.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES ESTIMATES.
March 19, 1879 House.
Estimates for 1880.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public docu-
ments for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
December 1, 1879 House.
Estimates for 1881.
War Department: Transportation of reports and maps to foreign
countries through the Smithsonian Institution, $500.
NOTE. Publications as donations or exchanges sent to foreign countries were for-
merly transported free of charge through the Smithsonian Institution. On the 1st
of January, 1879, the Institution issued a circular giving notice that a charge for such
transportation would thereafter be made at the rate of 5 cents per pound. The
Smithsonian Institution is the most convenient and advantageous medium for trans-
mitting publications to institutions, scientists, etc., abroad, as donations or exchanges.
In nearly all cases the books and maps exceed the weight and dimensions allowed
in the foreign mails. Express charges are greatly in excess of 5 cente per pound.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS.
June 21, 1879.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1880.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XXI, 23.)
856 CQNGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
May 3, 1880.
Naval service act for 1881.
Naval Observatory: For payment to the Smithsonian Institution
for freight on Observatory publications for 1880, to be shipped in 1880,
$236.25, * * * in 1881, $236.25.
(Stat, XXI, 84.)
June 15, 1880.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1881.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat, XXI, 215.)
June 16, 1880.
Sundry civil act for 1881.
War Department: For transportation of reports and maps to foreign
countries, through the Smithsonian Institution, $500.
(Stat., XXI, 269.)
February 23, 1881.
Naval service act for 1881.
Naval Observatory : For payment to the Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications to be shipped to foreign countries
during the fiscal year 1882, $336.25.
(Stat., XXI, 333.)
March 3, 1881.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1882.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XXI, 390.)
March 3, 1881.
Sundry civil act for 1882.
War Department: For transportation of reports and maps to foreign
countries through the Smithsonian Institution, $500.
(Stat., XXI, 447.)
For the expense of exchanging literary and scientific productions
with all nations by the Smithsonian Institution, $3,000.
(Stat., XXI, 452.)
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION A CORPORATION?
March 24, 1880 Senate.
In debate on bill to establish a national educational association
(S. 1282) Mr. MATT. H. CARPENTER, of Wisconsin, said:
Indeed, Mr. President, in every view of it that I can take, the bill
in the first place is unconstitutional, totally beyond our power to pass,
and in the next place it is a burlesque upon the charter of a cor-
poration.
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 857
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR. Will the Senator from Wisconsin allow me
to ask him whether the act founding the Smithsonian Institution
is unconstitutional?
Mr. CARPENTER. I have not any particular opinion on that subject,
never having thought of it or investigated it.
Mr. HOAR. It occurred to me that possibly in forming the opinion
he has now expressed the Senator might have considered that question
Mr. CARPENTER. It is a very easy thing to justify any action that
Congress wants to take, if it is. a sufficient justification to say that
Congress has done such a thing. * * * As to the constitutionality
of the bill in regard to the Smithsonian Institution I have nothing
to say. I have had no connection with that subject; 1 never thought
of it and never examined it, and have no opinion to express upon it.
ETHNOLOGY ESTIMATES.
April 17, 1880 House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House a letter from the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (Misc. Doc. 35):
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., April 15, 1880,
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a statement by Maj. J. "W. Powell
relative to the subject of investigations into the past and present condition of the
Indian tribes of the United States a work in which he has been engaged during the
past ten years, and commenced under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution
in accordance with an enactment of Congress. Subsequently it was continued by
Major Powell as director of the United States geographical and geological survey o"f
the Eocky Mountain region, the Smithsonian Institution assisting by placing in his
hands all the materials collected by its collaborators in this branch of science.
By act of Congress approved March 3, 1879, the work was again placed under the
control of the Smithsonian Institution and Major Powell charged with its immediate
supervision for the purpose of continuing the systematic investigations he had pre-
viously organized.
From the first the researches in question have been carried on with vigor, and the
results already obtained, as shown in numerous publications and the large collec-
tions deposited in the National Museum, are of great scientific and general interest.
The plan proposed by Major Powell provides for a systematic and complete
account of the aboriginal inhabitants of this country a work of importance from the
fact that at no distant time the opportunity will disappear, as the Indian tribes in
their primitive condition are rapidly passing away before the advance of civilization.
A further argument for immediate action is furnished by the fact that exhaustive
researches are now being prosecuted within our own territory by foreign nations.
Collectors, amply provided with means, have been engaged for several years in
securing objects from the modern tribes and in disinterring the contents of aboriginal
graves and mounds, the results being carried away almost in shiploads to foreign
museums. An immense collection from the coasts of California, Oregon, and Alaska
has recently been transmitted to a government museum in Paris by an agent sent to
the United States for the purpose. Another French expedition will soon be under
way for the almost virgin archaeological fields of Arizona and New Mexico.
The retention by a country of its own historical monuments has been considered of
such moment that laws have been passed by several foreign governments prohibiting
858 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
the exportation of antiquities. Such laws prevail in Denmark, Greece, Mexico, and
elsewhere; and while it may not be practicable or desirable for the United States to
follow their example, we may at least anticipate foreigners by collecting such objects
and transferring them to the National Museum in Washington. Unless some such
action be taken at an early day it will be necessary to depend upon European mu-
seums for the material for investigating the antiquities of the United States.
For the foregoing reasons I would respectfully urge the careful consideration of
Major Powell's suggestions, and that such appropriations be made as Congress in its
wisdom may think proper.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. SAMUEL J. RANDALL,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY (J. W. POWELL IN CHARGE),
Washington, D. C., April 2, 1880.
DEAR SIR: Ethnographic researches among the North American Indians have
been carried on by myself and under my direction for the last ten years. During the
second session of the Forty-fifth Congress the various geographical and geological
surveys were consolidated and reorganized by the establishment of a geological bureau
in the Interior Department. In the act effecting this change it was provided that the
ethnographic researches previously conducted by myself should be continued under the
direction of the Smithsonian Institution, and an appropriation was made therefor.
These ethnographic studies have heretofore embraced the following subjects:
1. That portion of somatology relating to the skeleton, and especially to the crania,
of the North American Indians. In this department large collections have been
made.
2. Philology. Under this head a great number of the languages of the North
American Indians have been studied, and a tentative classification of the linguistic
stocks has been made.
In connection with this work a map of the United States has been prepared, exhib-
iting the original homes of the several linguistic families.
Much has also been done in the study of the sign language of the Indians, and
large collections of pictographs have been made.
3. Mythology. A very large collection has been made of the myths of the various
tribes of Indians scattered throughout the United States.
4. Sociology. The line of investigation originally pursued by Mr. Lewis H. Mor-
gan, the results of which were published by the Smithsonian Institution, has been
continued under my direction, and a large body of material relating to the organiza-
tion of the family, clan, tribe, and confederacy among our North American Indians
has been collected.
5. Habits and customs. In this field also much has been done, especially in rela-
tion to their mortuary customs and religious observances.
6. Technology. In this field extensive investigations have been pursued relating
especially to the pristine dwellings of the Indians, beginning in caves and lodges
made of brush and bark and culminating in the pueblo structure of the southwestern
portion of the United States. This rude architecture has been studied with special
reference to the domestic life of the Indians. Their arts, as exhibited in their stone
implements, their pottery, their bows and arrows, their clothing, ornaments, etc.,
have been studied, and a large collection made for the National Museum.
7. Archaeology. Much has been done in this branch of investigation, especially
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. -59
in California, where the works of extinct races are buried in great profusion.
Throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and a part of Wyoming ruins
of ancient pueblos are also found in great abundance.. The researches in this field
have been of wide extent.
8. History of Indian affairs, including treaties, cessions of land by the Indians,
removals, the progress of the Indians in industrial arts, and especially the efforts
made to induce them to become agriculturists and manufacturers, the distribution of
lands among them in severalty, and the efforts made to establish schools among the
Indians and elsewhere for their education.
A large number of persons, including missionaries and teachers among the Indians,
Indian agents, army officers, scholars connected with the colleges of the United
States, and others, are assisting in this general work.
In the progress of settlement the western portion of the United States is being
rapidly filled by people from the eastern portion, so that at present there is no valley
of magnitude uninhabited by white men. Rapidly the Indians are being gathered
on reservations, where their original habits and customs disappear, their languages
are being modified or lost, and they are abandoning their savagery and barbarism
and accepting civilization. If the ethnology of our Indians is ever to receive proper
scientific study and treatment the work must be done at once.
In view of the facts briefly set forth above I would respectfully request that you
forward to Congress this statement, with an estimate for "fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) for the purpose of continuing ethnologic researches among the North
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion," if the same meets with your approval.
I am, with respect, your obedient servant,
J. W. POWELL.
Prof. S. F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
December 6, 1880 House.
Estimates for 1882.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
North American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, $50,000.
ETHNOLOGY APPROPRIATIONS.
April 17, 1880 House.
In considering the deficiency bill, Mr. JOHN A. McMAHON said:
There is an amendment to appropriate $50,000 for ethnological
researches, in reference to the Smithsonian Institution, recommended
by Professor Baird. I expect it would have been put in by the
House committee if the committee had been asked to do so. I think
at the time we prepared this bill the request was not made and the
urgency and need of it were not understood. The committee unani-
mously agreed that it should be concurred in.
May 28, 1880 House.
The sundry civil bill for 1881 under consideration
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the North American
Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, $20,000.
860 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. A. E. STEVENSON. I move to amend the paragraph just read by
striking out "$20,000" and inserting "$40,000, to be immediately
available."
Mr. Chairman. I have offered the amendment increasing this appro-
priation for the sole reason that the amount proposed by the commit-
tee is wholly inadequate. The letters which I will have printed with
my remarks will show that even a larger amount than I have proposed
is considered necessary to the efficient prosecution of this work.
During the last few years Major Powell has made many valuable
contributions to our stock of information pertaining to the North
American Indians. The object of the present appropriation is to
enable him efficiently to continue the work. The Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, in a recent official communication to the
Speaker of the House, says:
From the first the researches in question have been carried on with vigor, and the
results already obtained, as shown in numerous publications and the large collections
deposited in the National Museum, are of great scientific and general interest.
Mr. Chairman, the plan proposed by Major Powell, and which, with
his well-known energy and ability, will be successfully carried out,
embraces a discussion of the manners and customs of the North
American Indians, of their religion and language. It will likewise
embrace, in so far as it is possible to trace it, a history of each tribe,
with its dealings with the white race to the present time.
Under his supervision catalogues have been made of all that has
been written touching the history, literature, religion, and customs of
this race. His atlas shows the location of the various tribes when the
white race first took possession of this continent, the sites of the
ancient villages, the successive cessions of lands to the whites, the
various removals of the tribes, whether compulsory or voluntary, the
localities where agricultural pursuits have been most extensively fol-
lowed and schools for them have been established.
Another important service has been the collection of the necessary
data, including copies of all reports, treaties, and other official docu-
ments, with a view to the preparation of a legislative history of the
Indian race. The interest and value of such a work will be great.
Much attention has been given by Major Powell to the study of the
different Indian languages. This includes a study of their various
sign and picture languages. Much curious and interesting informa-
tion of this character has already been accumulated. In addition to
this the discussion of the unwritten laws and customs of this people,
the ties which hold them together in barbarous or semicivilized rela-
tions, of their habits, arts of war, marriage, etc., all these can not
fail to be both interesting and instructive to the more favored race
which now holds undisputed sway over this continent.
FOBTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 861
Mr. Chairman, few of us fully realize the immense material there is
upon the western confines of our continent for the study of primitive
man. There are to be found the pueblos, mounds, and ruins, all tell-
ing of a race which once occupied portions of this continent. Many of
these antiquities have been removed to foreign countries as valuable
additions to their libraries and museums. Professor Baird, in the
letter to which I have referred, says:
Collectors amply provided with means have been engaged for several years hi
securing objects from the modern tribes and in disinterring the contents of aboriginal
graves and mounds, the results being carried away almost in shiploads to foreign
museums. An immense collection from the coasts of California, Oregon, and Alaska
has recently been transmitted to a government museum hi Paris by an agent sent to
the United States for that purpose. Another French expedition will soon be under
way for the almost virgin archaeological fields of Arizona and New Mexico.
Mr. Chairman, we will all agree with the distinguished Secretary
that this Government should retain and preserve the historical monu-
ments of our aborigines. Great services in this as well as in other
departments of learning have been rendered by Major Powell and his
associates. The small appropriation asked will enable them to make
still greater contributions to our history, contributions of great inter-
est to the present, but of untold value to coming generations.
This, sir, is one of the many ways in which can be executed the will
of the generous founder of the Smithsonian Institution by which he
gave to our country the magnificent bequest for "the increase and
diffusion of useful knowledge among mankind."
* ******
The Committee of the Whole resumed its session.
The question was upon the amendment of Mr. Stevenson to amend
the clause in relation to ethnological researches among the North
American Indians by increasing the appropriation from $20,000 to
$40,000.
Mr. J. H. BLOUNT. I have no doubt that this is a very interesting
subject, and I should have been very glad to have listened longer to
iny friend from Illinois [Mr. Stevenson]. I have only this to say, how-
ever: These investigations have been going on for a series of years
without authority of law, for ten years, and their expenses have to a
great extent been paid out of the appropriations for surveys, which I
regard as an improper diversion of that fund. Nevertheless, the
investigations have been in progress for a long time.
There is no estimate at all for this purpose. There was a communi-
cation from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution asking for an
appropriation, and the majority of the Committee on Appropriations
thought it best to fix the sum at $20,000, and they have so reported.
I hope my friend from Illinois and the Committee of the Whole will
be content with that sum, which is a larger amount than has ever here-
tofore been appropriated for this purpose.
862 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. C. E. HOOKER. I think the amendment offered by the gentle-
man from Illinois [Mr. Stevenson] ought to receive the favorable con-
sideration of this committee. If the argument made against it by the
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Blount] is made on good and sufficient
grounds, then he and his committee should not have reported anything
for this purpose. If, as he asserts, there has been a malapplication of
the money heretofore appropriated for surveys during the last ten
years, then clearly the Committee on Appropriations have committed
a great error. If his position is at all correct that this great and
important work should be abandoned
Mr. BLOTJNT. The gentleman certainly misapprehends me.
Mr. HOOKER. I understood the gentleman to say that the money
appropriated for the last ten years for surveys had been misapplied to
this purpose, and that there was no necessity for it at all. I say to
the gentleman if his premises are correct his conclusions are erroneous.
Mr. BLOUNT. I have no doubt the gentleman is right about that.
Mr. HOOKER. I send to the Clerk's desk to be read a letter on this
subject from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. [See
Estimates, April 17, 1880.]
* * * * * * *
Mr. BLOUNT. I move that the House again resolve itself into Com-
mittee of the Whole to resume the consideration of the sundry civil
appropriation bill.
Agreed to.
The House accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole
(Mr. J. T. HARRIS, of Virginia, in the chair), and resumed the consid-
eration of the sundry civil bill for 1881.
Mr. BLOUNT. I have before me the sundry civil appropriation act
of 1879, which contains an appropriation in this language:
For the completion of the reports of the Geographical and Geological Survey of
the Rocky Mountain Region, with the necessary maps and illustrations, $20,000; to
be immediately available.
This is the sort of appropriation under which this work has been
going on. When an effort was made to abolish these surveys, the
Committee on Appropriations recommended and Congress passed in
the sundry civil appropriation act of 1879 the following provision:
For completing and preparing for publication the Contributions to North American
Ethnology, under the Smithsonian Institution, $20,000: Provided, That all the
archives, records, and materials relating to the Indians of North America, collected
by the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, shall be
turned over to the Smithsonian Institution, that the work may be completed and
prepared for publication under its direction: Provided, That it shall meet the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior and of the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution.
This, in the past, has been the language of the appropriations for
the surveys of which Major Powell has had charge. Yet these ethno-
FOKTY-SLXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 863
logical investigations have been going on all the while for the last ten
years. I think that an appropriation of $20,000 is quite ample
The question being taken on the amendment of Mr. Steve'nson
there were ayes 37, noes 44.
Mr. STEVENSON. I make the point that no quorum has voted
Tellers were ordered; and Mr. Blount and Mr. Stevenson were
appointed.
The committee divided; and the tellers reported ayes 73, noes 78
Amendment not agreed to.
June 16, 1880.
Sundry civil act for 1881.
For the purpose of continuing ethnologic researches among the
North American Indians under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, $20,000.
(Stat., XXI, 275.)
February 24, 188 1 House.
In considering the sundry civil bill for 1882 (H. 7203); the Clerk
read the following:
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the North American
Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, $25,000.
Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER. I offer the amendment which I send to
the desk.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of line 493, add the following: "Five thousand dollars of which shall
be expended in continuing archaeological investigations relating to mound-builders,
and prehistoric mounds. "
Mr. KEIFER. This amendment does not increase the appropriation.
Mr. JAMES H. BLOUNT. I submit it is new legislation.
Mr. KEIFER. It simply gives directions how a portion of the appro-
priation shall be spent.
Mr. BLOUNT. I raise the point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair would like the gentleman from Georgia
to show wherein the amendment changes existing law.
Mr. BLOUNT. It provides for a new line of inquiry not hitherto
undertaken by the Government. This is a continuing investigation
which has been going on for several years for the purpose stated in
the paragraph. The proposition of the gentleman from Ohio is to
divert part of this fund to other investigations not provided for and
that have not been commenced.
Mr. KEIFER. The researches and investigations that the proposed
amendment alludes to have been going on for a number of years in a
feeble waj r under the appropriations made by Congress. A portion
of the money that has been appropriated from time to time for ethno-
logical researches has been devoted to investigations of the character
indicated by the proposed amendment. Indeed, the amendment itself
864 CONGKESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
proposes only to dedicate a certain sum of money to that special inves-
tigation and to continue that investigation. Last year a portion, a
very small portion, of the money thus appropriated was used in this
way. In no sense does the amendment change existing law. It does
not conflict with existing law in any sense. It is simply a dedication
of a portion of this appropriation. I trust the gentleman from
Georgia will not press his point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will again report the amendment.
The amendment was again read.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair does not think this changes existing law,
but is in the line of investigation authorized by law. The Chair there-
fore overrules the point of order.
Mr. KEIFER. The point of order having been overruled, let me say
a word now on the amendment. It might well perhaps be left ordi-
narily to the discretion of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
to determine how this $25,000 of money should be expended. But
that leaves him possibly exposed to trouble with various persons who
are employed in making these very important investigations. Last
year we gave him but $20,000 for these researches, while this year it
is proposed to give $25,000. The amount appropriated last 3 T ear was
not sufficient and therefore this particular matter of investigation was
largely neglected.
I want to call the attention of the committee to the fact that these
investigations have to be made in the settled portions -of the country
east mainly of the Mississippi River, largely in the Mississippi Valley,
but not confined to that.
There are places where these investigations should go on in North
Carolina especially, and in Georgia. In Tennessee there is a very inter-
esting field for investigation. Arkansas and Texas are full of these
mounds, and they are found in the Ohio Valley. Being in the settled
portion of the country, they are disappearing.
Of such importance are they regarded in England and France that
those countries are sending here scientific bodies of men to investigate
our mounds, these evidences of prehistoric races. They are devoting
hundreds of thousands of dollars to do the very thing that we ought to
have done long ago. This small sum of money can be used very
advantageously during the coming summer in making surveys and
investigations, and finally completing a work that has already been
commenced that is of very great importance. I would like to have
added a great many things that I think are of vast importance on this
subject, but I have not time. I hope the committee will not object to
giving a portion of the appropriation this special direction.
Mr. BLOUNT. I think we had better leave this fund where it has
been all the while under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution
leaving the special directions given to it discretionary. There may be
investigations more important than the one my friend from Ohio sees
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 865
fit to direct the attention of the committee to, and 1 think we had bet-
ter leave this as it is. I care very little about it. But it does seem to
me that the diversion of the fund in this way tends to introduce new
objects of inquiry, very many of which may be useless.
Mr. JOHN D. C. ATKINS. I wish to make a single remark that in my
judgment the application of this fund can be made already by the
Smithsonian Institution in the way the gentleman from Ohio proposes,
without the adoption of his amendment.
Mr. BLOUNT. So the gentleman from Ohio claimed himself, and I
have said it would be better to leave it to the discretion of the Insti-
tution.
Mr. KEIFER. I admit it can be done; but it may not be done. And
the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Atkins] will admit that in his own
district there are some very interesting investigations that should be
made, or the time will soon come when they can not be made.
Mr. ATKINS. I do not want to be understood as opposing it at all.
The question was taken upon the amendment offered by Mr. Keifer,
and on a division there were: ayes, 51; noes, 29. No further count
being called for, the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. JAMES B. WEAVER. I give notice that I shall ask for a separate
vote on this amendment in the House.
The CHAIRMAN. That is the gentleman's right.
March 3, 1881.
Sundry civil act for 1882.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
North American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, $25,000; $5,000 of which shall be expended
in continuing archaeological investigations relating to mound-builders
and prehistoric mounds, and be available immediately.
(Stat. XXI, 443.)
BESSELS'S SCIENTIFIC REPORT.
May 24, 1880 Senate.
Communication from Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution (of May 22, 1880) transmitting a communication from Dr.
Emil Bessels, chief of the scientific department of the Arctic expe-
dition under Capt. C. F. Hall:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., May 22, 1880.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith a communication from Dr. Emil Bessels,
chief of the scientific department of the Arctic expedition under the late Capt OF.
Hall, and would earnestly recommend that the appropriation suggested, of $8,000,
for completing the preparation of the scientific results of said expedition, be
by Congress.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAJRD, Secretary.
Hon. A. G. THURMAN,
Acting President Untied States Senate.
H. Doc. 732 55
866 CONGKESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
WASHINGTON-, D. C., May 20, 1880.
SIR: I beg to inform you that it will not be possible to complete the report on the
scientific results of the United States Arctic Expedition, under the late Capt. C. F.
Hall, without assistance from Congress.
The reason for a request for assistance at thia time lies in the fact that of the
$15,000 appropriated in 1875, at the instance of the late Professor Henry, and to be
expended under direction of the Secretary of the Navy, only about $3,000 has ever
been available for the purpose, the remainder having been used for purposes not in
keeping with those for which the money was granted.
On drafts being made upon the Navy Department, after about $3,000 had been
spent, Professor Henry was informed that there was no more money available.
At the time this information was received the preparation of the volumes in ques-
tion was being vigorously prosecuted. Contracts were outstanding with engravers,
lithographers, and others to the amount of about $4,000, for which sum Professor
Henry, as he informed the Navy Department, held himself personally responsible.
As it was hardly to be expected that the artists making the plates to illustrate the
volumes should be sufficiently interested in the work to induce them to await indefi-
nite payment of their respective bills, and being repeatedly urged to settle the same,
I felt in honor bound to satisfy these demands; and the more especially so since
Professor Henry had assumed personal responsibility for obligations incurred on
account of the work. I therefore at once paid from my private means all outstand-
ing indebtedness.
As at present there remain two volumes of the scientific results unpublished, viz,
Volumes II and III, it is estimated that $8,000 will be required to complete the series
and fulfill the purpose contemplated by Congress when making the appropriation
in 1875.
Should Congress think proper to make the appropriation desired, I trust the
money will be placed under the control of the Smithsonian Institution.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
EMIL BESSELS,
Chief of Scientific Department, United States Arctic Expedition.
Prof. S. F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
June 16, 1880.
Deficiency act for 1880, etc.
For completing the preparation, with the necessary illustrations, of
the report of Dr. Emil Bessels, of the scientific results of the Arctic
Expedition under the late Captain C. F. Hall, to be expended under
the control of the Smithsonian Institution, $8,000.
(Stat, XXI, 238.)
REIMBURSEMENT OF EMIL BESSELS.
February 18, 1881 House.
Mr. HIRAM BARBER, jr., from Committee on Claims, submitted a
report (H. 306) on a bill (H. 4718) for the relief of Dr. Emil Bessels:
It appears from the examination of this claim that the North Polar Expedition
was authorized by a special act of Congress March 8, 1870. The steamer Polaris
sailed for the arctic regions June 10, 1871. The claimant, Dr. Bessels, was the chief
of the scientific division of this expedition, having been designated for that position
FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS, 1879-1881. 867
by the order ot the Secretary of the Navy June 7, 1871, at a salary of $100 per month
and subsistence.
The Polaris was wrecked on the north coast of Greenland in 1872. Her voyage,
loss, and the marvelous experiences of the heroic souls comprising the expedition^
are matters of history, and comprise one of the most interesting chapters in the
annals of arctic exploration.
Upon the return of the survivors, in October, 1873, the claimant was directed by
the Secretary of the Navy to prepare the preliminary report of the voyage, and sub-
sequently ordered to the Smithsonian Institution, and there engaged in working out
the scientific results of the expedition.
The claimant appears to have been thus engaged until May, 1875, when he was
ordered by the Navy Department to repair to San Francisco and embark on the
United States steamer Saranac for Alaskan waters to complete the ethnological vol-
ume of the Arctic Expedition. The Saranac, after being at sea about two weeks, was '
wrecked between Vancouvers Island and the mainland.
The claimant immediately returned to Washington, and was again ordered to the
Smithsonian Institution, to continue the preparation of the scientific report of the
Polaris expedition, and where he remained so employed until March, 1880.
The claimant now alleges (1) that he had a large amount of personal property on
board of the Polaris, which was lost with the vessel, and for which he ought to be
reimbursed; (2) that he had a large amount of personal property on board the
Saranac, which was lost with the vessel, and for which he ought also to be reim-
bursed; (3) that he has made large advances of money upon the work now in prog-
ress from his own private means, for which he ought to be reimbursed; (4) that he
has been paid no salary for the period from August 30, 1876, to March 1, 1880.
In regard to the first item for which relief is claimed, viz, articles lost on board
the Polaris, it appears from the evidence submitted to your committee that a large
portion of the outfit of scientific instruments and apparatus deemed necessary for the
use of the expedition could not be furnished by the Government, owing to the short
space of time intervening between the appointment qf Dr. Bessels and the day fixed
for the departure of the expedition. It will be observed that the date of the order
of the Secretary of the Navy designating Dr. Bessels for the position of chief of the
scientific division of the expedition is June 7, 1871, and that the Polaris sailed July
10, 1871, too short a time for the Government to procure or prepare the scientific
instruments and apparatus.
In this emergency Dr. Bessels supplied this deficiency by ordering a large amount
of his own personal property on board of the Polaris for the use of the expedition.
This seems to have been done upon consultation with Professor Henry, the then
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and one of the joint directory of the expe-
dition. The claimant produces an inventory of this property thus furnished, pre-
pared by himself and Professor Henry, and having upon it the following indorsement:
"Inventory of articles lent to the North Polar Expedition by Dr. E. Bessels, for
which the Government of the United States ought to pay in case they are lost
(Signed) Joseph Henry, July 7, 1871."
This document, with the indorsement of Professor Henry as above given, was
deposited in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution by Dr. Bessels before the
sailing of the Polaris. The articles were lost with the vessel, and there would seem
to be no question about the duty and obligation of the Government to indemnify Dr.
Bessels therefor. The value of these articles your committee find to be the sum of
$1,378.50.
Your committee also find the value of the articles lost on board the Saranac by Dr.
Bessels to be the sum of $1,022.50, and that the claimant is entitled t<
therefor.
868 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
It further appears from the evidence submitted to your committee that the claim-
ant has made advances in money for the work now in preparation, in continuation
of the history of the Polaris expedition, amounting to the sum of $3,632.70. The
chief item of the sum so advanced is a receipted bill as follows, viz:
NEW YORK, March 29, 1877.
Dr. Emil Bessels to Julius Bien, lithographer, Dr.
Photolithographing, printing in black and tint, and paper for 2,000 copies
of 52 plates of skulls, at $60 $3,120.00
13 packing boxes, at $1. 25 16. 25
3, 136. 25
Received payment.
JULIUS BIEN.
The claimant also produces other vouchers, swelling his advances to the sum of
$3,632.70 above named. It appears to your committee that these advances have
been in fact made by the claimant; that the work upon which expended was prose-
cuted under the sanction of the Smithsonian Institution, and the officers of the same
recognized the propriety of reimbursing the claimant.
It appears further, from the evidence submitted to your committee, that the claim-
ant has not received anything in the way of salary for his services from August 30,
1876, to March 1, 1880. By the original order of the Secretary of the Navy the com-
pensation of the claimant was fixed at $100 per month. At this rate there is now
due the claimant for unpaid salary the sum of $4,200.
RECAPITULATION.
1. Articles lost on board of the Polaris $1,378.50
2. Articles lost on board the Saranac 1, 022. 50
3. Advances by Dr. Bessels on work now in preparation 3, 632. 70
4. Salary from August 30, 1876, to March 1, 1880 4,200.00
Total 10,233.70
After a careful consideration of all the evidence submitted, your committee are of
the opinion that he is justly entitled to the said sum of $10,233.70, and therefore
report back said bill with the recommendation that said amount be inserted therein
and the same passed.
In conclusion, your committee invite the attention of the House to the following
documents, herewith submitted, viz:
1. Letter of Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, under date of
February 8, 1881, and inclosures A, B, 0, D, E.
2. Original memoranda by Dr. Bessels.
3. Letter of Secretary of Navy, under date of May 21, 1880, with divers inclos-
ures.
4. Documentary evidence submitted by claimant, consisting of original letter of
appointment, correspondence, and vouchers.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
March 3, 1881.
Deficiency act for 1881.
To pay Dr. Emil Bessels for articles lost on board of the Polaris,
$1,378.50; for articles lost on board of the Saranac, $1,022.50; to reim-
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 869
burse him for payments made by him in the preparation of the his-
tory of the Polaris expedition, $3,632.70; for salary from August 30
1876, to March 1, 1880, $4,200; in all, $10,233.70.
(Stat.,XXI, 420.)
DOCUMENTS.
June 7, 1880.
By joint resolution No. 44, providing "for the publication and dis-
tribution of a Supplement to the Revised Statutes," two copies were
ordered for the Smithsonian Institution.
(Stat., XXI, 308.)
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
May 19, 1881 Senate.
The VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. CHESTER A. ARTHUR) appointed Nathan-
iel P. Hill, of Colorado, and Samuel B. Maxey, of Texas, Regents, on
the part of the Senate, of the Smithsonian Institution to fill the vacan-
cies caused by the expiration of the terms of service as Senators of
Newton Booth and Robert E. Withers.
January 19, 1883 Senate.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. DAVID DAVIS) laid before the Sen-
ate the following communication:
SENATE CHAMBER, January 19, 1883.
SIR: I desire to inform you that I have resigned the office of Regent of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
I am, very respectfully, yours, GEORGE F. HOAR.
To Hon. DAVID DAVIS,
President of the Senate.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair, in pursuance of the statute,
appoints the Senator from Vermont [Mr. George F. Edmunds] in
place of Mr. Hoar.
February 26, 1883 Senate.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. DAVID DAVIS) laid before the
Senate the following communication, which was read:
WASHINGTON, D. C., February 1, 188S.
SIR- With grateful thanks for the honor you have done me, I respectfully decline
the appointment as a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution announced
short time since.
Very respectfully, yours,
Hon. DAVID DAVIS,
President pro tempore of the Senate.
870 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The communication will be filed.
The Chair appoints Mr. Justin S. Morrill in place of Mr. Edmunds.
APPOINTMENT OF .REGENTS .
By the Speaker.
January 9, 1882 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER) appointed Nathaniel C.
Deering, of Iowa, Ezekiel B. Taylor, of Ohio, and Samuel S. Cox,
of New York, as Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, to date
from the fourth Wednesday of December, 1881.
ETHNOLOGY ESTIMATES.
December 5, 1881 House.
Estimates for 1883.
Ethnological researches, $50,000.
December 4, 1882 House.
Estimate for 1884.
Ethnological researches, $50,000.
ETHNOLOGY APPROPRIATIONS.
June 26, 1882.
[H. Report No. 1520.]
Amount paid for salaries from appropriation for ethnologic researches during 1880-81,
$20,000. (Act approved June 30, 1880. )
1 Director, at $3,600 per annum; 2 months and 17 days $760. 00
1 chief clerk and disbursing agent, 10 months, at $2,100 per annum 1, 748. 10
1 executive officer, 2 months, at $250 per month, $500; 6 months, at $3,000
per annum, $1,500 2, 000. 00
1 photographer, 1 year, at $1,800 per annum 1, 798. 30
1 assistant photographer, 2 months, at $45 per month, $90; 11 months, at
$540 per annum, $495.50 585. 50
1 stenographer, 4 months and 13 days, at $900 per annum 330. 80
1 ethnologist, 10 months, at $1,500 per annum 1, 248. 60
1 assistant ethnologist, 2 months and 6 days, at $100 per month 219. 32
1 assistant ethnologist, 4 months, at $50 per month 200. 00
1 assistant ethnologist, 3 months, at $50 per month 150. 00
1 assistant ethnologist, 2 months, at $600 per annum 99. 50
1 assistant ethnologist, 1 month, at $30 per month 30. 00
1 assistant ethnologist, 1 month, at $37.50 per month 37. 50
1 assistant ethnologist, 3 months, at $480 per annum ^ 120. 00
1 philologist, 2 months, at $125 per month 250. 00
1 draftsman, 8 days, at $4 per day 32. 00
1 copyist, 10 months, at $600 per annum 499.50
1 copyist, 2 months, at $30 per month, $60; 11 months, at $360 per annum,
$330.30 390.30
1 copyist, 6 days, at $600 per annum 9. 89
1 copyist, 2 months, at $50 per month 100. 00
1 clerk, 2 months, at $100 per month 200.00
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 87 1
1 clerk, 1 month, at $75 per month $75 00
1 messenger, 11 months, at $480 per annum 440 40
1 messenger, 2 months and 14 days, at $180 per annum 36. 50
1 messenger, 2 months, at $240 per annum 40 20
1 messenger, 4 months and 12 days, at $425 per annum 155. 02
1 watchman, 11 months, at $480 per annum 440 40
1 cook, 2 months, at $40 per month 80.00
1 cook, 1 month and 23 days, at $45 per month 78. 75
1 laborer, 1 month and 23 days, at $50 per month 87. 50
1 laborer, 17 days, at $1.50 per day 25. 50
1 teamster, 1 month, at $30 per month 30. 00
1 foreman, 1 month and 23 days, at $75 per month 131. 25
Services procuring Indian vocabulary (job) 11. 00
Services backing map (job) 5. 00
Total 12, 445. 83
August 7, 1882.
Sundry civil act for 1883.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
North American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, including salaries and compensation of all
necessary employees, $35,000.
(Stat., XXII, 332.)
March 3, 1883.
Sundry civil act for 1884.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
North American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, including salaries and compensation of all
necessary employees, $40,000, of which $3,000 shall be expended for
continuing and completing the compilation and preparation of a sta-
tistical atlas of Indian affairs by C. C. Royce, under the direction of
the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, which shall be
immediately available.
(Stat, XXII, 628.)
THOMSON SIAMESE DEPOSIT.
January 12, 1882 House.
A bill (H. 2810) introduced by Mr. J. F. C. TALBOTT.
(See Report No. 65 from Committee on Naval Affairs, Forty-seventh
Congress, first session, House. Presented in House January 24, 1882.)
August 8, 1882.
Be it enacted, etc., That Mary E. Thomson, mother of Passed Assist-
ant Paymaster Curtis H. Thomson, U. S. N., deceased, be, and is
hereby, authorized to accept, first, a portrait, in frame, of Her Royal
Highness the Princess of Siam; second, a silver enameled cigar-case;
third, a matchbox and tray of Siamese work, the same being pre-
sented to said Curtis H. Thomson, in his lifetime, by the King of
Siam, and now on deposit in the Smithsonian Institution.
(Stat., XXII, 738.)
872 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
EXPOSITIONS.
Atlanta Exposition.
February 13, 1882.
Act approved appropriating $5,000 to pack and transport to Wash-
ington agricultural and mineral specimens from the Atlanta (Georgia)
Exposition for the Department of Agriculture.
(Stat., XXII, 3.)
Denver Exposition.
April 7, 1882.
Act approved to admit free of duty articles for exhibition at the
National Mining and Industrial Exposition to be held in Denver,
Colorado, in 1882.
(Stat., XXII, 41.)
March 3, 1883.
Act approved to admit free of duty articles intended for the National
Mining and Industrial Exposition in Denver, Colorado, in 1883.
(Stat., XXII, 481.)
London Fishery Exhibition.
June 15, 1882 House.
Mr. CHARLES G. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin, from the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, reported joint resolution (H. 237) concerning an inter-
national fishery exhibition to be held at London in May of the follow-
ing }-ear.
Referred to Committee of the Whole.
June 19, 1882 House.
Mr. CHARLES G. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin. I am instructed by the
Committee on Foreign Affairs to move to suspend the rules so as to
discharge the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union
from the further consideration of H. Res. No. 237, and to pass the
same.
The joint resolution was read.
Mr. J. H. BLOUNT. I demand a second on the motion to suspend the
rules.
The SPEAKER. If there be no objection, the motion will be consid-
ered as seconded. The Chair hears no objection. The gentleman
from Georgia [Mr. Blount] will be recognized to control the time in
opposition to the motion.
Mr. BLOUNT. I suppose the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Wil-
liams] desires to be heard first.
Mr. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, these international
exhibitions are the great object-teaching schools of the world. They
have changed the character and turned the currents of trade frequently
more in ninety days than private enterprise, however combined, could
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 873
do in years. At Berlin the United States carried off the first prize in
competition with all other nations. It is virtually conceded or at
least certainly assured, that if the invitation to London next year be
accepted and preparation properly made, this country will surpass all
others combined in the display of those things which pertain to fish-
culture and the practical results connected therewith.
The resources of this country for the production of fish and all that
pertains thereto, the Commissioner informs us, are greater than in all
the countries of Europe combined. The actual production is four
times greater than that of Norway, the greatest fish producing coun-
try on that continent. The products of fish and fisheries in the United
States in the census year 1880 in the hands of producers amounted to
$45,000,000, and at wholesale prices to $90,000,000. By means of
artificial appliances now in use not tentative, but which have been
practically tested and their utility demonstrated the Commissioner
informs us that the product, including all things pertaining to it, may
be increased ten times, which would give the enormous annual pro-
duction of $900,000,000. We can scarcely realize this. So accus-
tomed are we to look to the land for wealth that we overlook the
resources of our American waters, and we forget how God maintained
the red man till he fulfilled his allotted mission. We do indeed culti-
vate the land, but we have civilized the waters with baseness. * * *
The Commissioner sends to the committee this memorandum:
In 1875 Congress made an appropriation for expenditure by the Smithsonian
Institution and the United States Fish Commission of over $100,000 for the prepa-
ration of an exhibit of the animal and mineral resources of the United States. Of
this sum about $30,000 was expended in connection with the fisheries branch of the
subject. The display made in consequence was complete and satisfactory.
At the close of the exhibition these specimens were boxed up and transferred to
Washington, where they remained stored in the Armory building until 1880. In
that year Congress passed an act for participation by the United States in the fishery
display at Berlin, and appropriated $20,000 for the purpose. This amount would
have been entirely inadequate but' for the fact that the greater part of the display
was already prepared, leaving comparatively little additional matter to be procured.
There was also in readiness a series of portable cases, which had been constructed at
an additional cost of some $6,000, and which were forwarded to Germany with the
exhibits and used in the installation and display of the collection. Owing to the great
liberality of the Bremen Steamship Company, the collection of boxes, occupying some
12,000 cubic feet of capacity, was taken to Bremen and brought back again free of
charge. The railroad companies between Washington, New York, and Boston
acted in a similarly liberal spirit.
It will be impossible to use any considerable portion of the articles exhibited at
Philadelphia and Berlin for the London display. Many of them were ruined by
the transfer, so as to require renewal, and the collection generally has become so
well known by its double exhibition as to be what may be called shopworn. For
this reason an entirely new series of presentation will be required; also the fishery
industries have been greatly extended since 1880.
The packing boxes in which the collections were sent to Berlin and back have all
been destroyed, and the same may be said of the greater part of the cases. The
expenditures therefore necessary will be as follows:
874 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
1. The preparation of the new exhibit in all its details, and of the most perfect
character.
2. The preparation of the specimens, and mounting them on suitable boards or
tablets.
:>. The construction of cases in which they may be exhibited on reaching London.
4. The construction of packing boxes necessary for holding the exhibits.
5. The freight charges to London and back on not less than 20,000 cubic feet of
packages.
6. The salaries, traveling expenses, and subsistence in London of the party neces-
sary to take charge of the display.
The following schedule of expenditures is given as an approximate estimate:
The collection of the materials for exhibit $8, 000
The general preparation for exhibition 5, 000
The construction of .cases for exhibition 8, 000
The construction of packing boxes for an estimated bulk of 20,000 cubic feet. . 3, 000
The freights on 20,000 cubic feet from Washington to London and back 20,000
Expenses of party in charge of display 6, 000
There is no sum of $30,000 nor $20,000 in this bill for junketing
expenses
A total of $50,000, allowing nothing for incidentals, nothing for unexpected expenses,
and nothing for acquiring articles of economical value to the United States by the
National Museum.
The sum mentioned is the very lowest with which the work can be done to any
advantage. It will indeed require a great deal of economy to bring a suitable out-
lay within the figures mentioned.
Sir, there is something due to the courtesy of nations. Great
Britain has politely invited us, though she is aware with what she has
to compete. The amount appropriated is reasonable; the object in
view is prudent and practicable. I sincerely hope the House will pass
the resolutions, as it will be too late if not done at this session of
Congress.
Mr. Speaker, how much time have I remaining?
The SPEAKER. Four minutes.
Mr. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin. I yield- for a moment to the gentle-
man from New York [Mr. Cox].
Mr. S. S. Cox, of New York. Mr. Speaker, prior to the Centennial
exhibition in 1876 comparatively little was known in regard to the
greatness of our fish resources, while the important factor fish played
in our domestic economy was but little appreciated. At that time a
hurried collection of specimens was jointly made by the Smithsonian
Institution and the Fish Commission, which in diversity and size sur-
prised all those who saw it at Philadelphia. The development in this
line has observably increased since that time, until 1880, when on a
three-weeks' notice a collection was gotten together by the untiring
Commissioner, Professor Baird, and shipped to Berlin, under the
supervision of Prof. G. Brown Goode.
This exhibit again proved a surprise, this time not only to Ameri-
cans, but also to the exhibitors of Europe, who saw us bear off the
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 875
honors, including the epergne, the magnificent gift of Kaiser Wilhelm,
which was presented to our commissioner. It was a fit token that he
had done more for the fishing interests of his country than an}- other
man. Since the Berlin exhibition, when the attention of foreign
countries had been called to the cheapness and excellence of the vari-
ous products" of the fisheries, new markets have been found for dried,
salted, and prepared fish of different kinds, and also for the apparatus
used by the fishermen. The exports have increased correspondingly
in value and in kind. Let the report of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs speak:
One of the immediate results of the participation by this Government in the exhi-
bition at Berlin, in 1880, was the establishment of agencies for the sale of American
fish products in nearly every country in Europe. As another result, American
boneless codfish has been adopted as a standard article of food by some seventeen or
more of the regiments of the German army, and its introduction into the commissary
department of the navies of Germany and Russia is seriously contemplated.
The foreign trade in this commodity has but just begun, and its possibilities for
the future are almost without limit. The Commissioner states that the value of the
products of the fisheries of the United States in the census year 1880 was about
$45,000,000. This was the estimated price paid to the producer, but the value of the
same products at wholesale rates would not be less than $90,000,000.
The export trade, owing to a strong home demand, in the year 1880 amounted to
only $5,744,580. Professor Baird states that under the processes now being success-
fully employed, the resources of the waters of the United States available for this
purpose may be made to produce a quantity of useful products at least ten times as
great as they now produce, which would amount to the enormous sum of $900,000,000
per annum. He also estimates that at the rate at which oysters are now being con-
sumed ten years will exhaust the natural supply in this country, but states that
under artificial methods now employed the supply will soon be restored. In view
of the growing scarcity and high prices for meat food these things become of vital
importance. The exports of oysters from the United States to England have risen
in value from $33,661 in 1875 to $403,629 in 1881.
This country excels all others in the preparation of the cheapest and best quali-
ties of dried cod and pollock. These are prepared with skin and bones removed, and
packed in neat boxes for transportation. It has also an almost unexampled pro-
duction of superior grades of smoked herring, sturgeon, halibut, and mullet, all of
which, if placed upon foreign markets, would meet an immense sale. The display
of these and similar articles in the exhibition would tend directly to their introduc-
tion into European markets.
Certainly, then, if these results have followed the Berlin exhibition
it is of great commercial interest to expand our markets, which are
now only 10 per cent of what they really ought to be, could, and will
be if Professor Baird is assisted in his endeavors, for, as he truthfully
says in his report:
Many countries of Europe have already reached that period when they look to
foreign nations for their supply of animal food. America furnishes a great part; the
less populated regions of Europe the remainder. The increase in the price of what
is called "butchers' meat," though gradual, is inevitable, and every year a larger
and larger percentage of the population will be unable to secure it. In this .
gency we must look to the water for the means of supply.
876 CONGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
America has the supply, Europe furnishes the demand. It would therefore seem
that all reasonable opportunities should be improved to bring her productions to the
attention of foreign countries.
The President approves this bill, as does also the honorable Secre-
tary of State, who says:
In view of the importance of the fisheries interests of this country, the widely
extended and growing exportation of our maritime products as food and for use in
the arts and manufactures, and the constantly increasing attention which our citizens
are giving to the subject of fish culture, it w r ould undoubtedly be a wise and profita-
ble measure for Congress to make such provision as would enable the United States
to take a part in the proposed exhibition at London commensurate with the interest
of the country in the subject.
It is therefore recommended that an appropriation of $50,000 be made to enable
the Secretary of State to take the necessary steps for securing the representation of
this country at the London International Fisheries Exhibition of 1883, by contrib-
uting illustrations of the condition and products of our domestic and ocean fisheries,
and of the progress of fish-culture in this country, and also by sending competent
persons to the exhibition to study the exhibits and to exchange the latest views upon
this important subject with the delegates of other countries.
For these reasons, and to enlarge our commerce for the increase of
the comforts and needs of life at home and abroad, I cheerfully sus-
tain the measure reported by my honorable friend, the chairman of
the Foreign Affairs Committee.
In conclusion, let me summarize:
1. Exports can be increased immensely, with corresponding stimulus
to fish production in this country.*
2. Increase of the knowledge of our productions while we hold our
place against all competitors.
3. Rivalry with Great Britain and the best single display.
In other words, and briefly, we stimulate
1. Exports.
2. Production.
3. Patriotic pride.
Mr. F. HISCOCK. Is it in order to congratulate my colleague [Mr.
Cox] that he addresses the House from this side of the Hall?
Mr. Cox, of New York. On a matter like this, entirely apostolic in
its character, I recognize no party divisions.
Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Chairman, two years ago we appropriated money
for the purpose of attending the Berlin fish exhibition, which was
probably the first movement of that character on the part of the peo-
ple of this country. Contrary to what was customary a few years
ago, there are constant efforts to press through Congress, on various
excuses, appropriations for junketing expeditions to Europe. I regard
this as one of the same class of schemes.
Now, what are the reasons urged for the passage of the pending
bill? We have been presented with an array of figures as to our
wealth in the matter of fish culture. The statistics are exceedingly
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGEESS, 1881-1883. 877
interesting, no doubt, and they are very complimentary to the peo-
ple, but the Fish Commission has had but little to do with the pro-
duction of that wealth on the part of our people who are engaged in
various fisheries. It is to our own capital, to our own energy, to our
own intelligence, this wealth is due. It has been built up by the indus-
try and courage of our own people, and not from anything done by
this Fish Commission in attending international displays of the kind
now proposed.
Why, then, all this parade of the wealth of the country in connec-
tion with an appropriation for a fish exhibition abroad? Do you pro-
pose to rob the people connected with these fish industries of the rep-
utation they are justly entitled to, and gather it all up for this Fish
Commission in a movement of this sort?
You have been told that some seventeen regiments of the German
army are now being fed with boneless codfish, and that during the
Berlin exhibition the fact was constantly before the German people
that these were American fish, and that for the first time the people
who had charge of the commissary department of the German army
learned our American soldiers were being fed on codfish. Such a
reason as this is so empty, is so absurd, it can invite nothing else but
the suggestion that there is no real, substantial reason why this thing
-should be done. The report fails to show how the Fish Commissioner
obtained the information upon which this statement has been based,
and the gentleman having charge of the bill has failed to show it.
Every possible fact which can be gathered together in reference to
the production of fish in this country has been collated in this report
for the purpose of furthering this exhibition. I do not see, however,
one solitary reason in the report which can be considered as tenable.
Are not our New England fishermen enterprising? Are they not
awake to their interests ? If there is a market abroad for their pro-
duction, who will sooner find it out than they? Is there a market
there, and are we to learn in reference to it for the first time by this
exhibition ?
The Commissioner says in this report:
Many countries of Europe have already reached that period when they look to
foreign nations for their supply of animal food. America furnishes a great part; the
less populated regions of Europe the remainder. The increase in the price of what
is called "butcher's meat," though gradual, is inevitable, and every year a larger
and larger percentage of the population will be unable to secure it. In this emer-
gency we must look to the water for the means of supply.
Europe is now looking out over the face of the globe for products
of this kind, in order to purchase them. She is looking to America,
and everywhere else.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I agree with the sentiment that the supply o
food fish should be increased, and I am willing to vote as liberally to
878 CONGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
the Fish Commission for the purpose of filling our rivers and streams
with fish as any other member of Congress. I am as willing as any
other to contribute to the increase of this wealth ; but that is another
thing from this fish exhibition. The multiplying of food-fishes in this
country by artificial means is quite a different thing from going
abroad and spending $50,000 at an exhibition. We can take that
appropriation and go on with our fish-culture.
The Fish Commission went before the Committee on Foreign Afiairs
and stated we had gone further than all the countries in Europe in the
matter of fish-culture, and that they were constantly resorting to this
country to study our methods. Therefore there can be no benefit to
be gained by this exhibition, and there can be no suggestion of any
improvement to come from. it. There can be no successful allegation
that those people are blind to our products and we must therefore go
to this exhibition at a cost of $50,000 to advertise our fish production.
The Fish Commissioner tells you their interest as well as their intelli-
gence are constantly advising them to look in this direction for the
purpose of getting their supply.
As I said in the outset, in 1880 we attended one of these exhibitions
at Berlin. Now we are asked to provide for another exhibition. One
seems to beget the other. So we are to get up in various Depart-
ments of the Government upon this sort of sophistical reasoning from
time to time all sorts of junketing expeditions, for they are nothing
more or less.
I challenge any gentleman to find a well-founded fact in the report
to show that our attendance at Berlin has increased the demand for
our fish production. I submit there is an absence of any such ground.
There is a good deal of declamation about American fish production.
There is a deal of assumption without a single report from any official
source to base it on ; but we are expected to take it for granted that
all these statements are correct and to vote money toward this exhibi-
tion. There can not come, I apprehend, the slightest difficulty if we
fail to do it. The world will still want fish, and the mercantile world
and the interest involved in fish production will take care of all these
matters.
We need not concern ourselves so much with the affairs of the
American people in relation to their foreign commerce or their asso-
ciations with foreign countries in matters of trade. We had better
confine our attention to their fish and other industries and see to build-
ing them up, if we have anything to do with the subject. They do
not ask any such assistance as this bill contemplates. If they are left
alone they will do in the future as they have done in the past, with
their industr} 7 and intelligence take care of all of these interests for
themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I am getting fatigued with the idea that on every
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 879
occasion we are invited to see what other countries are doing in par-
ticular lines. When anything is said about the American Army we
are at once shown the great disproportion between our Army and that
of European countries. Whenever a criticism on the American Navy
is made, it brings out a presentation of the fact that certain European
nations have vast numbers of powerfully armed ships, as if all of these
were intended as an argument why we, occupying our position, should
do the same. We are constantly shown these things. I would turn
away from them. I would turn to the history of the past; I would
follow our own time-honored policy, and let these interests remain in
the hands of the people, where they ought to be, instead of in a fish
commission. Vote this down, but give every dollar necessary to mul-
tiply the fish supplies for the people of this country.
I will reserve the remainder of my time.
Mr. C. G. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin. I yield now two minutes to the
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Rice].
Mr. W. W. RICE, of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, under the patron-
age of the Government our mechanics and manufacturers have com-
peted in national expositions with the citizens of the Old and the New
Worlds, and even with those wonderful communities which have sprung
up on the continental islands beneath the Southern Cross, and they have
always won glory, honor, and profit from such competitions.
Now, the gentleman from Georgia comes here and would have us
believe that all of these are but mere junketing expeditions. I trust,
sir, that the men who are pushing to the front the industry of Geor-
gia will teach him that there is something else in these international
contests than mere pleasure trips or junketing expeditions. This
exposition differs from the others only in that it has a bearing upon a
single special interest and industry. What is that? It is the fish
industry; it is an industry which is maintained by the men who won
the fishing grounds to the country in the early days of this nation's
existence, and whose rights were protected by the statesmen of the
Revolution, and who to-day in their hardy pursuits are ready, with
our flag at the masthead, to bear it out in triumph over the seas
against any power. These are the men whose interests are at stake.
[Here the hammer fell.]
Mr. WILLIAMS, of Wisconsin. I now yield the remainder of the
time to the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Kasson].
Mr. J. A. KASSON. I will yield to the gentleman from Massachu-
setts to conclude his remarks.
Mr. RICE, of Massachusetts. I desire simply to call your attention
to another matter in connection with this subject at this time, and that
is to its interest to the scientific men whose skill has brought to light
the secrets of fish-culture, and whose investigations have pushed this
countrv to the front in the matter of fish propagation and their
880 CONGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
curing. Is there to be an exhibition of the fishing interests of the
world, ana is Professor Baird and the Smithsonian Institution to be
excluded from that exhibition by the parsimony of the Government
that they serve?
Mr. Speaker, in behalf of the fishermen of the country, in behalf of
the business men who are sending out shoals of fishes to supply all
the waters of our country, who have shown us how to take the
plunder of the seas and convert to the services of man the otherwise
wasted treasures of the ocean, I am in favor of the passage of this
bill, and trust it will receive the support of the House.
Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Speaker, the speech of my friend from Massa-
chusetts is but an illustration of what I stated a while ago, that when-
ever you come to talk of any exposition, or any fact in connection
with such matters, instead of confining themselves to the subject gen-
tlemen will wander off to the glorification of the American people and
the importance of competing with foreign nations on such questions.
But my friend from Massachusetts has taken occasion to say that the
people of Georgia would probably teach me better ideas in reference
to this question. Now I want to say to my friend that the people of
Georgia, I think, are quite intelligent, and do not need any spurring
from him for the purpose of considering their own industries or the
welfare of this country.
So far as the fishermen of New England are concerned, in whom
my friend is interested and in whose behalf he appeals for this fish
show, I have simply to say in their behalf that I would rather give
them the money to enable them to multiply their fish products than
to enable the commission to go to England for the purpose of con-
sidering the various products of other countries. That is a matter in
which they can have but little interest. It is a matter that does not
merit our attention when other questions of vital importance are
urging themselves upon us, and I think we had better direct our
energies to the multiplying of our own fish product in this way than
wasting our time in such expeditions.
There was appropriated in the last bill $200,000 for fish-culture,
double what had been appropriated for some years past; and this has
been growing continually, and yet I may be permitted to say that so
important do I regard it for the interests of our own people that I
have been always willing and in favor of it, and propose to continue
it so far as lies in my power. But that is a different thing from what
is proposed in this bill.
I trust the House will not be misled by any sentiment about Ameri-
can industries to sanction this proposition. Allow this thing to be
done this year and it will be demanded from year to year, and every
time it comes up a stump speech is to be interjected into this report
in support of the measure, and the people will be called upon to bear
the expense.
FOBTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 881
The SPEAKER. The question is on the motion of the gentleman from
Wisconsin [Mr Williams] to suspend the rules and pafs the joint
olution which has been read.
Mr. BLOUNT called for a division.
The House divided; and there were ayes 89, noes 36.
Mr. BLOUNT. No quorum.
The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman insist on the point as to a
quorum?
Mr. BLOUNT. I ask for the yeas and nays.
On the question of ordering the yeas and nays there were aves 18
noes 88.
So (the affirmative not being one-fifth of the whole vote) the yeas
and nays were not ordered.
Mr. BLOUNT. I make the point that a quorum did not vote.
The SPEAKER. The point is made too late. Two-thirds having voted
in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the joint resolution is
passed.
Mr. WILLIAM^, of Wisconsin. I ask unanimous consent that my
colleague [Mr. Deuster] have leave to print some remarks on this joint
resolution.
There was no objection.
July 12, 1882 Senate.
July 18, 1882.
Joint Kesolution.
Whereas the Government of the United States has received official
intimation from that of Great Britain that it is proposed to hold an
international Exhibition of Fish, Fisheries, and Fish Products at Lon-
don in May, 1883, whereat the representation of the United States is
invited; and
Whereas, also, by its action as a Government, and by the active
enterprise of merchants, fishermen, and inventors and the researches
of men of science in this country, the United States has attained and
holds a prominent place in all that relates to the development of the
great fisheries industries, the extension of the great commercial rela-
tionship with other countries based on the exportation of prepared fish
products; which now forms an important factor in the national wealth,
the artificial propagation of food fishes, and the re-stocking of depleted
fishing waters, and it is expedient that the industries and interests thus
concerned should be adequately represented on the occasion : Therefore,
Resolved, etc., That the invitation of the British Government be
accepted, and that, under the auspices of the Department of State,
the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries be, and he
H. Doc. 732 56
882 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
hereby is, instructed to prepare or cause to be prepared a complete
and systematic representative exhibition of the fisheries of the United
States, in- which shall be shown the following: A series of models,
maps, and charts showing the location and extent of the various
fishing grounds; a full series of the principal sea and fresh-water
fishes, shellfish, sponges, etc., and other useful inhabitants of the
waters of the country (either as specimens, casts, or illustrations);
specimens of models of the Various kinds of gear, apparatus, boats,
etc., used in their capture; a full collection of articles showing the
commercial and economic uses of the fishes and other water animals,
which shall include, besides the samples and specimens, models and
other representations of appliances used in their preparation and pres-
ervation for food, as well as for purposes of use and ornament, such as
dried, smoked, and canned fish, etc.; oils, fertilizers, manufactured
shells, corals, sponges, etc. ; also a full series of articles, or models
thereof, showing the economic condition of our fishermen, such as
clothing and other personal outfit, models of dwelling houses, etc. ; a
collection of documents showing the present condition of fishery
legislation; also specimens, models, and illustrations of the apparatus
used in artificial hatching and breeding of fish, oysters, etc. ; models
of hatcheries, ponds, fish ways, transportation cars, vessels, etc. ; statis-
tical maps showing the range, abundance, etc., of our fishes, etc.; also
such other facts, apparatus, models, .specimens, etc. , as may be needed
to convey a correct idea of this branch of the nation's industries.
SEC. 2. That with the approval of the Director of the National
Museum, any cognate portion of the collections thereof may be used
in the preparation of the exhibit herein provided for, permission to
remove the same from the National Museum being hereby granted.
And the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries is hereby authorized to,
obtain, b} r exchange or otherwise, such procurable objects from other
exhibits in London as may tend to perfect the permanent fishery
exhibit of the United States National Museum.
SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the United States Commissioner
of Fish and Fisheries to present to Congress a detailed report of the
present condition of the European fisheries, with information as to
any methods by which those of the United States can be modified or
improved, as well as any suggestions he may deem pertinent in regard
to increasing the exportation of fishery products from the United
States to foreign countries.
SEC. 4. That the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries
is hereby authorized to represent the United States at the exhibition
in question, either in person or by a deputy to be appointed by the
President of the United States, together with such assistants as he may
recommend as useful in carrying out the proposed participation of the
United States at the exhibition.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 883
SEC. 5. That in order to defray the expenses of the collection prep-
aration and packing of the exhibit authorized, its transfer from and
to the United States, its installation and supervision in London and
such other incidental expenses as may of necessity arise, there is hereby
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States
not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $50,000, or so much thereof
as may be required, to be immediately available, and to be expended
by the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, under the
direction and regulations of the Department of State.
(Stat, XXII, 387.)
March 3, 1883.
Sundry civil act for 1884.
For the use of the United States exhibit at the International Fishery
Exhibition, to be held in London in May, 1883, to be expended by the
United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, under the direction
and regulations of the Department of State, $10,000, which shall be
immediately available.
(Stat., XXII, 603.)
Boxtmi Exposition.
June 28, 1882.
Act approved to admit free of duty articles for the "Exhibition of
Art and Industry in Boston, in 1883."
(Stat., XXII, 116.)
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
Augusts, 1882 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER. There is deposited with the Clerk of.
the House a large box containing reports of the boards on behalf of
the Executive Departments of the United States at the Centennial
Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. Among them are a large number
of photographs illustrative of the articles exhibited there on behalf of
the Government. In response to a petition sent to the Committee on
Printing by one of those boards that these documents should be sent
to the Smithsonian Institution for safe-keeping, and also that Professor
Baird be requested to report upon which of them are valuable for
publication, I submit this resolution:
Resolved- That the Clerk of the House be directed to transmit to the Director of
the Smithsonian Institution the reports of the boards on behalf of the United States
Executive Departments as represented at the International Exhibition at Philadel-
phia in 1876, for preservation in the National Museum; and that Prof. Spencer F.
Baird be requested to report to the House of Representatives as to the propriety and
cost of the publication of said reports and accompanying illustrations.
Adopted.
February 15, 1883 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER) laid before the House a
letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in response
884 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
to a resolution of the House of August 8, 1882, relative to the printing
of the report of the board on behalf of the United States Executive
Departments at the International Exhibition of 1876.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, January 13, 1883.
SIR: A resolution was passed on the 8th day of August, 1882, by the House of Rep-
resentatives, to the following effect:
"Resolved, That the Clerk of the House be directed to transmit to the Director of the
Smithsonian Institution the reports of the boards on behalf of the United States
Executive Departments as represented at the International Exhibition at Philadel-
phia in 1876, for preservation in the National Museum, and that Prof. Spencer F. Baird
be requested to report to the House of Representatives as to the propriety and cost of
the publication of said reports and accompanying illustrations."
In accordance therewith, the aforesaid report of the boards on the United States
Executive Departments at the International Exhibition of 1876 was placed in my
hands by the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the purpose in question.
The report was originally submitted to Congress by the President of the United
States 011 February 9, 1877, and referred to the House Committe on Public Buildings
and Grounds and ordered to be printed. (House Journal, 1876-77, p. 110. )
On February 10, 1877, the reference was changed from the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds to the House Committee on Printing. (House Journal,
1876-77, p. 411.)
On March 1, 1877, a resolution was introduced in the House directing the printing
of the report. This resolution was referred to the Committee on Printing. (House
Journal, 1876-77, p. 583. )
The session closed without action upon the subject.
The report was resubmitted to Congress by the President of the United States in his
annual message of December 3, 1877. (House Journal, 1877-78, p. 24.)
On December 10, 1877, so much of the message as related to the report was referred
to the Committee on Printing. (House Journal, 1877-78, p. 82.)
No action was ever taken after this last reference until the reception of the
memorial of the chairman of the board at the last session of Congress (first session
Forty-seventh Congress).
[Memorial of Col. S. C. Lyford, U. S. A., late chairman of the board on United States Executive
Departments at the International Exhibition, 1876.]
Tfie honorable the House of Representatives:
Your memorialist, late chairman of the board on United States Executive Depart-
ments at the International Exhibition, 1876, respectfully represents that the report
of said board on the participation of the several Executive Departments of the Gov-
ernment in said exhibition was transmitted by the President of the United States to
the House of Representatives on February 9, 1877, and the message of the President
being read, it was
"Ordered, That the said message and accompanying documents be referred to the
Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and printed. " (Journal H. R., 1876-77,
p. 410.)
That subsequently, at the same session, to wit, March 1, 1877, a resolution to
print extra copies of said report was introduced in the House, and referred to the
Committee on Printing.
That the transmission of said report and the introduction of said resolution was
during a period of great political excitement in the House, growing out of the doubt-
ful results of the late Presidential election, and the institution of the Electoral Com-
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 885
mission for deciding said result; and that before any report could be made by said
Committee on Printing upon the resolution referred to them, the then pending ses-
sion of Congress expired, leaving the resolution for printing extra copies unacted
upon by the House.
That at the expiration of said session the message and accompanying documents
were in the hands of the Public Printer, by reference of said Committee on Printing,
for the purpose of having estimates made of the cost of printing under the resolu-
tion; and that not having been referred to the Public Printer by proper authority
under the order of the House of February 9, 1877, to be printed as a public docu-
ment, the Public Printer did not have such message and accompanying documents
printed, but turned them over to the chairman of the board during the summer of
that year, who caused them to be retransmitted to Congress at the ensuing session.
No action, so far as your memorialist is aware, has ever been taken since that time
looking to the printing of said papers.
In submitting the report of the board to Congress on February 9, 1877, the Presi-
dent of the United States said:
"The labors performed by the members of the board, as evinced by the volumi-
nous mass of information found in the various papers from the officers charged with
their preparation, have been in the highest degree commendable; and believing that
the publication of these papers will form an interesting memorial of the greatest of
international exhibitions, and of the centennial anniversary of the independence of
our country, I recommend that they be printed in a suitable form for distribution
, and preservation."
In his annual message of December 3, 1877, the President said:
"The board on behalf of the United States Executive Departments at the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1876 has concluded its labors. The final report of the board
was transmitted to Congress by the President near the close of the last session. Aa
these papers are understood to contain interesting and valuable information, and will
constitute the only report emanating from the Government 1 on the subject of the
Exhibition, I invite attention to the matter, and recommend that the report be pub-
lished for general information."
In consideration of which, your memorialist prays that said message and accom-
panying documents be now transmitted to the Public Printer, to be printed in
accordance with the order of the House of Representatives of February 9, 1877.
And your memorialist will ever pray, etc.
S. C. LYFORD,
Brevet Lieutenant- Colmel United States Army, Late Chairman, and
Representative War Department, International Exhibition, 1876, etc.
With the assistance of Mr. W. A. DeCaindry, late secretary of the board on the
United States Executive Departments, I have given the entire manuscript and its
accompanying illustrations a careful examination; and with the concurrence of Colo-
nel Lyford, late chairman, I have taken out quite a considerable amount of matter
which appeared to us to be irrelevant. We have also concluded to recommend the
entire omission of the series of photographic views, as involving very great cost
without any commensurate advantage. We have, 'however, retained the figures
illustrating the text, and which, if reproduced by the photo-engraving procea^ will
cost but a very small amount.
It had been originally contemplated to publish this report in quarto, but with th
omission of the large photographic views, the octavo form seems to be the B
l The report of the Centennial Commission connected with the International
Exhibition, 1876, has since been printed by Congress, but does not include the
details of the governmental participation.
886 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
convenient, especially as it will then be possible to print the volumes uniform with
those of the report of the Centennial Commission, of which an edition of 5,000
copies has been published by order of Congress.
The Public Printer, at my request, caused a careful examination to be made of the
manuscript and the illustrations, and reports as follows:
OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC PRINTER,
Washington, D. C. , January 9, 1883.
SIR: The estimated cost of 1,900 copies of the final report of the Centennial
Exhibition, estimated to make 1,544 pages, including 268 pages of photo-engraving,
printed on tinted paper, unbound, will cost about $5,590.53, and each additional
1,000 copies, bound in two cloth volumes, about $1,532.43.
Very respectfully,
CADET TAYLOR, Chief Clerk.
Prof. S. F. BAIRD,
Smithsonian Institution.
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CLSRK,
Washington, D. C., January 12, 1883.
DEAR SIR: Your favor of January 11 received, in which you ask if the estimate
sent you on the 9th instant includes the actual cost of making the engraving of the
268 pages, or only the presswork and paper. I beg to say that in the estimate sent
you we figured on 9,112 square inches photo-engraving, at 18 cents per square inch,
making a total cost of engraving $1,640.16.
Very respectfully, CADET TAYLOR, Chief Clerk.
Prof S. F. BAIRD.
From these it will be seen that the work will make three volumes of about 600
pages each, and that the regular edition of 1,900 copies will cost about $5,590, and
that each additional set will cost $1,532. The total cost, therefore, of the regular
edition of 1,900 copies, and of 5,000 extra copies, of three bound volumes each, will
amount, according to the estimate of the Printer, to $13,252.78.
A considerable amount of careful clerical and other revision will be necessary to
prepare the manuscript for the use of the Public Printer, and to avoid unnecessary
expense and delay in his office I would therefore recommend an allowance of
$300 for this purpose as being strictly in the interest of economy and dispatch.
There is at present no one whose official business it is to do the very indispensable
work in question.
In conclusion, I beg to submit the following suggestion, in the form of a joint reso-
lution, in regard to the publication of the report:
"Resolved, etc., That there be printed and bound, in continuation of the series of
volumes heretofore published by Congress under joint resolution of June 20, 1879,
containing the final report of the United States Centennial Commission on the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1876, and uniform therewith, 5,000 copies of the report of the
board on behalf of the United States Executive Departments at said exhibition,
being the report which was submitted to Congress by the President of the United
States by special message of February 9, 1877, and again in his annual message of
December 3, 1877, of which number 3,000 copies shall be for the House, 1,000 copies
for the Senate, 200 copies for the Smithsonian Institution for distribution to such
foreign governments and others as made contributions from such exhibition to the
National Museum, 300 copies for the late members of said board, and 500 copies for
distribution by the late president of the Centennial Commission, the printing to be
done by the Public Printer, under the supervision of the late chairman of said board,
upon whose order may be allowed by the Public Printer to the late secretary of the
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 887
board not exceeding $300 for services to be performed and incidental expenses to
be incurred in connection therewith: Provided, That the photographic views of the
Government exhibit accompanying the manuscript report shall not be printed or
reproduced for the publication herein authorized."
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
' Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. J. W. KEIPER,
Speaker House of Representatives.
March 3, 1883.
Joint resolution.
Resolved, etc., That there be printed and bound, in continuation of
the series of volumes heretofore published by Congress under joint
resolution of June 20, 1879, containing the final report of the United
States Centennial Commission on the International Exhibition of 1876,
and uniform therewith, 5,000 copies of the report of the board on
behalf of the United States Executive Departments at said exhibition,
being the report which was submitted to Congress by the President of
the United States by special message of February 9, 1877, and again
in his annual message of December 3, 1877, of which number 3,000
copies shall be for the House, 1,000 copies for the Senate, 200 copies
for the Smithsonian Institution for distribution to such foreign gov-
ernments and others as made contributions from such exhibition to
the National Museum, 300 copies for the late members of said board,
and 500 copies for distribution by the late president of the Centennial
Commission, the printing to be done by the Public Printer, under the
supervision of the late chairman of said board, upon whose order may
be allowed by the Public Printer to the late secretary of the board not
exceeding $300 for services to be performed and incidental expenses
to be incurred in connection therewith: Provided, That the photo-
graphic views of the Government exhibit accompanying the manu-
script report shall not be printed or reproduced for the publication
herein authorized.
(Stat., XXII, p. 640.)
New Orleans World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition.
February 10, 1883.
An act, etc.
Whereas it is desirable to encourage for celebration the 100th
anniversary of the production, manufacture, and commerce of cot-
ton by holding, in the year 1884, in some city of the Union, to be
selected by the executive committee of the National Cotton Plant
ers' Association of America, an institution for the public welfare
incorporated under the laws of Mississippi, a World's Industrial and
Cotton Centennial Exposition, to be held under the joint auspices
of the United States, the -said National Cotton Planters' Association
of America, and of the city in which it may be located, and in which
888 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
cotton in all its conditions of culture and manufacture will be the
chief exhibit, but which is designed also to include all arts, manu-
factures, and products of the soil and mine; and
Whereas such an exhibition should be national and international in
its character, in which the people of this country and other parts of
the world who are interested in the subject should participate, it
should have the sanction of the Congress of the United States:
Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exposition be held in the year 1884, under the joint auspices of the
United States Government, the National Cotton Planters' Association
of America, and the city where it may be located.
SEC. 2. That the President of the United States may, upon the rec-
ommendation of the executive committee of the National Cotton
Planters' Association of America, appoint six United States commis-
sioners, and upon the recommendation of the majority of subscribers
to the enterprise in the city where it may be located, may appoint
seven United States commissioners who, together, shall constitute a
board of management of said World's Industrial and Cotton Centen-
nial Exposition.
SEC. 3. That the President of the United States may, on the recom-
mendation of the governors of the various States and Territories of
the Union, appoint one commissioner and one alternate commissioner
for each State and Territory, whose functions shall be denned by the
said board of management.
SEC. 4. That all of said commissioners shall be appointed within
one year from the passage of this act.
SEC. 5. That the said board of management shall hold its meetings
in such city as may be selected for the location of the said exposition
by the National Cotton Planters' Association of America as aforesaid,
and that a majority of said board of management shall have full power
to make all needful rules and regulations for its government.
SEC. 6. That said board of management shall report to the Presi-
dent of the United States a suitable date for opening and closing the
exposition ; a schedule of appropriate ceremonies for opening or dedi-
cating the same; and such other matters as, in their judgment, may be
deemed important.
SEC. 7. That no compensation for services shall be paid to the com-
missioners or other officers provided by this act from the Treasury of
the United States; and the United States shall not be liable for any
of the expenses attending such exhibition or by reason of the same.
SEC. 8. That whenever the President shall be informed by the said
board of management that provision has been made for suitable build-
ings, or the erection of the same, for the purposes of said exposition,
the President shall, through the Department of State, make proclaina-
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 889
tion of the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will
open, and the place at which it will be held, and such board of man-
agement shall communicate to the diplomatic representatives of all
nations copies of the same and a copy of this act, together with such
regulations as may be adopted by said board of management, for
publication in their respective countries.
SEC. 9. That the President be requested to send, in the name of the
United States, invitations to the governments of other nations to be
represented and take part in said World's Industrial and Cotton Cen-
tennial Exposition, to be held in some city of the United States to be
hereafter selected as aforesaid.
SEC. 10. That medals with appropriate devices, emblems, and inscrip-
tions, commemorative of said World's Industrial and Cotton Centen-
nial Exposition and of the awards to be made to exhibitors thereat, be
prepared at some mint of the United States for the said board of man-
agement, subject to the provisions of the fifty-second section of the
coinage act of 1873, upon the payment of a sum not less than the cost
thereof; and all the provisions, whether penal or otherwise, of said coin-
age act against the counterfeiting or imitating of coins of the United
States shall apply to the medals struck and issued under this act.
SEC. 11. That all articles which shall be imported for the sole pur-
pose of exhibition at the said World's Industrial and Cotton Centen-
nial Exposition, to be held in the year 1884, shall be admitted without
the payment of duty or of customs fees or charges, under such regu-
lations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe: Provided,
That all such articles as shall be sold in the United States or with-
drawn for consumption therein at any time after such importation
shall be subject to the duties, if any are imposed on like articles by
the revenue laws in force at the date of importation: And provided
furttier, That in case any articles imported under the provisions of
this act shall be withdrawn for consumption, or shall be sold without
payment of duty as required by law, all penalties prescribed by the
revenue laws shall be applied and enforced against silch articles and
against the persons who may be guilty of such withdrawal or sale.
(Stat., XXII, 413.)
September 10, 1883.
Proclamation.
Whereas by the eighth section of an act entitled "An act to encour-
age the holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposi-
tion in the year 1884," approved February 10, 1883, it was enacted as
follows:
"That whenever the President shall be informed by the said board
of management that provision has been made for suitable buildings, or
the erection of the same, for the purposes of said exhibition, the Presi-
dent shall, through the Department of State, make proclamation of the
same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open, and the
890 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
place at- which it will be held, and such board of management shall
communicate to the diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of
the same and a copy of this act, together with such regulations as may
be adopted by said board of management for publication in their
respective countries."
And whereas the duly constituted board of managers of the afore-
said World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition has informed
me that provision has been made for the erection of suitable buildings
for the purposes of said exposition:
Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United
States of America, by authority of and in fulfillment of the require-
ments of said act approved February 10, 1883, do hereby declare and
make known that the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exposition will be opened on the first Monday in December, 1884, at
the city of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana, and will there be
holden continuously until the 31st day of May, 1885.
In testimony whereof' I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this 10th day of September, 1883,
and of the Independence of the United States 108.
[SEAL.] CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
By the President:
FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
Secretary of State.
(Stat., XXIII, 833.)
Philadelphia Electrical Exposition.
February 26, 1883.
Joint Resolution No. 17 provided for free admission of articles for
the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, exhibition of electrical apparatus,
machinery, tools, and implements, etc., used in scientific and mechan-
ical and manufacturing business and investigation.
(Stat., XXII, 639.)
Louisville (Ky.} Exposition.
March 3, 1883,
Whereas ample means have been provided for the holding, during
the present year, in the city of Louisville, State of Kentucky, of an
exposition of the products of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine
arts; and
Whereas the objects of such an exposition should commend them-
selves to Congress, and its success should be promoted b} 7 all reasona-
ble encouragement, provided it can be done without expense to the
general public; Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc. , That all articles which shall be imported for the
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 891
sole purpose of exhibition at the Southern Exposition at Louisville,
Kentucky, to be held in the year 1883, shall be admitted without the
payment of duty, or of customs fees or charges, under such regula-
tions as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe: Provided, That
all such articles as shall be sold in the United States, or withdrawn
for consumption therein, at any time after such importation, shall be
subject to the duties, if any, imposed on like articles by the revenue
laws in force at the date of importation: And provided further, That
in case any articles imported under the provisions of this act shall be
withdrawn for consumption, or shall be sold without payment of duty
as required by law, all penalties prescribed by the revenue laws shall
be applied and enforced against such articles and against the persons
who may be guilty of such withdrawal or sale.
SEC. 2. That medals, with appropriate devices, emblems, and inscrip-
tions, commemorative of said Southern Exposition, and of the awards
to be made to exhibitors thereat, be prepared at some mint of the
United States, for the board of directors thereof, subject to the pro-
visions of the fifty -second section of the coinage act of 1873, upon the
pa} T ment of a sum not less than the cost thereof; and all the provi-
sions, whether penal or otherwise, of said coinage act against the coun-
terfeiting or imitating of coins of the United States shall apply to the
medals struck and issued under this act.
SEC. 3. That with the approval of the director of the National
Museum, any portion of the collections thereof may be exhibited at
said Southern Exposition, permission to remove the same from the
National Museum being hereby granted: Provided, That said removal
can be made without loss or expense to the Government. And upon
the same conditions permission is also granted for the exhibition of
articles in charge of other Bureaus and Departments of the Govern-
ment.
SEC. 4. That upon the passage of this act the Secretary of State
shall notify the consuls, consular agents, and other representatives of
our Government in foreign countries of the time and place of holding
said Southern Exposition, together with the fact that all articles
intended therefor will be admitted free of duty as provided herein.
'(Stat, XXH, 481.)
FIREPROOFING SMITHSONIAN BUILDING.
March 15, 1882 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER) laid before the House a
letter from Prof. Spencer F. Baird.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., March IS, 1883.
Hon. J. W. KEIFER,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SIR: By instruction of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, I 1
the honor to transmit to Congress the following resolution adopted at the last meet-
ing of the board, January 11, 1882, and, in doing so, beg that it be referred to the
892 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
appropriate committee of the House of Representatives and receive that attention
which the urgency of the case requires:
"Resolved, That the secretary and executive committee present a memorial to
Congress showing the importance and necessity of rendering the east wing of the
Smithsonian building fireproof, requesting an appropriation therefor, and, if the
means are furnished, to proceed with the work."
It will be remembered that in January, 1865, a fire occurred in the Smithsonian
building, which destroyed a large portion of the main edifice, with its adjacent
towers, and a very large amount of valuable public and private property.
The main building was restored with fireproof materials, but the east wing,
composed entirely of w r ood and plaster, and which had escaped injury, remains in
its previous dangerous condition. Originally a lecture room, it was fitted up many
years ago with apartments for the residence of the late Secretary and his family.
This application of the wing, however, was discontinued after Professor Henry's
death; but the rooms thus set apart are entirely unsuited to the operations of the
establishment, and while in every way objectionable, the timbers have decayed,
and no arrangements are provided for proper lighting, heating, and ventilation.
The main building and western extension are occupied by the collections of the
Government; the east wing embraces the offices of the secretary, chief clerk, cor-
responding clerk and registrar, and also accommodations for the extensive opera-
tions of the department of international exchanges, the benefits of which accrue not
only principally to the library of Congress, but to all the public libraries and scien-
tific societies throughout the United States. The rooms are filled w r ith the archives,
files of correspondence, original scientific manuscripts, vouchers, the stock of
Government and Smithsonian publications for distribution at home and abroad, etc.,
and their destruction by fire, to which they are constantly exposed, would be greatly
detrimental to the interests of the Government and the general public.
In addition to this, an extensive fire in the east wing would endanger and pos-
sibly destroy the main portion of the Smithsonian building, the upper and lower
halls of w r hich contain rare specimens belonging to the Government, and most of
which could not be replaced.
Congress has recognized the importance and propriety of gradually reconstructing
the interior of the Smithsonian building, in fireproof materials, by making appro-
priations for the purpose at various times between 1870 and 1875: and the last Con-
gress, in 1879, appropriated $3,000 "for providing additional security against fire in
the Smithsonian building."
It is now proposed to remodel the interior of the east wing, so that, without dis-
turbing its present architectural style, the internal capacity will be doubled by a new
arrangement of floors, partitions, and roofs, and all the rooms be adapted to the effi-
cient prosecution of the work of the Institution and the various interests intrusted to
its management by Congress.
Inclosed I beg to send a copy of the report of the board of fire inspectors (appointed
by the District Commissioners) upon the condition of the Smithsonian building. I
have the honor to ask, in the name and on behalf of the Board of Regents that the
following appropriation be made at the present session of Congress, viz: " For con-
tinuing and completing the fireproofing of the Smithsonian Institution, $50,000."
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
[Extract.]
WASHINGTON, D. C., March 13, 1882.
To the honorable COMMISSIONERS, District of Columbia:
GENTLEMEN: The commission to inspect buildings in the District beg leave to sub-
mit herewith report No. 5.
By invitation of Professor Baird, the east wing and connecting corridor to the main
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 893
Official extract furnished Prof. S. F. Baird.
WlLLIAs! TlNDALL,
Secretary Commissioners District of Columbia.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
(Printed as House Misc. Doc. No. 33.)
August 2, 1882 Senate.
Mr. JAMES B. GROOM offered an amendment to sundry civil bill that
aboard be appointed to examine public buildings in "the District of
Columbia, Smithsonian Institution, * * * and if in
their judgment any additional facilities are necessary for the extin-
guishment of fire or safety of the lives of the occupants, they are
hereby authorized to provide the same, appropriating $100,000 for
this purpose.
Mr. WILLIAM B. ALLISON. I make the point of order on that.
Sustained.
January 26, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1884.
For completing the reconstruction in a fireproof manner of the
interior of the eastern portion of the Smithsonian Institution, $50,000.
March 3, 1883.
Sundry civil act for 1884.
For completing the reconstruction, in a fire-proof manner, of the
interior of the eastern portion of the Smithsonian Institution, $50 000
(Stat., XXII, 628.)
March 20, 1882 House.
LECTURES.
Mr. WILLIAM D. KELLEY introduced a bill (H. 5326):
That hereafter annual courses of lectures shall be delivered in the city of Wash-
ington upon the arts and sciences illustrated in the National Museum.
SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the Superintendent of
the Coast Survey, the Director of the Geological Survey, the Superintendent of the
National Experimental Garden at the Agricultural Department, the Chief of the
Educational Bureau, the Director of the Army Medical Museum, the Director of the
Mint, the Astronomer at the Naval Observatory, and one of the Chief Examiners of
the Patent Office, to be named by the Secretary of the Interior, are hereby consti-
tuted a board of managers to execute the purposes of this act, with power to employ
such lecturers, agents, and assistants as may be necessary to the proper fulfillment of
the trust hereby created.
SEC. 3. That the use of the various museums and collections, and the lecture rooms
attached, and the old Armory building is hereby gran ted for the lectures above named,
so far as may be possible without interfering with the purpose of their creation, their
894 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
enjoyment by the public, and their preservation. The board of managers may also
rent additional rooms for the lectures and purchase or rent such illustrative appa-
ratus as may be needed; but they shall incur no liabilities in any year beyond the
income for that year.
SEC. 4. That as the purpose of this act is to provide the best instruction in the arts
and sciences which especially relate to the development of the material resources of
the country and to the increase of the comforts and conveniences of life among the
people, the following topics shall be first treated in the lecture courses:
First. Mining and metallurgy.
Second. Applied chemistry.
Third. Agriculture and horticulture.
Fourth. Veterinary science.
Fifth. Mechanical engineering.
Sixth. Fish culture.
Seventh. Entomology.
Eighth. Microscopy.
Ninth. Electricity.
Tenth. Forestry.
Eleventh. Architecture.
Twelfth. Navigation and shipbuilding.
Thirteenth. Meteorology.
Fourteenth. Botany.
Fifteenth. Anatomy and physiology.
Sixteenth. Geology and mineralogy.
In addition to these lectures, designed to perfect students in special departments
of science and art, the managers may institute popular lectures designed to diffuse
scientific knowledge and awaken an interest in science among the people.
SEC. 5. That the board of managers shall have power to make rules for the admis-
sion to the lectures herein provided, but no fee shall be charged to anyone except
for such certificate of attendance and proficiency as may be desired by any person.
SEC. 6. That notice shall be sent by circular to each State superintendent of
schools, and to the secretaries of the various State and national industrial and scien-
tific associations, and by such other methods as may be deemed advisable. Such
circulars shall be issued at least two months before the beginning of the annual
course, and shall set forth the time occupied by each of the topics treated upon, and
such other facts as may be of interest to the public in connection with the lectures.
SEC. 7. That the board of managers above named are hereby constituted a body
corporate, with the power to sue and be sued, and to acquire property by gift,
devise, or purchase, real and personal, in any portion of the United States, and to
hold, convey, and apply the same as may be required by the interests confided to
their care.
SEC. 8. That the board of managers shall report annually to the President the work
accomplished and moneys expended during the year, accompanying their report
with the proper vouchers and such recommendations as they may see fit to make,
and the President shall lay the same before Congress at the session next ensuing.
SEC. 9. That the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall be ex officio presi-
dent of the board. lie shall call the managers together soon after the passage of this
act to organize by the appointment of a secretary and treasurer and such executive
officers and agents as may be necessary. The lecture courses shall begin during the
first week of November following the passage of this act, and shall be continued
until the first of May following, or as long as may be practicable with the funds at
the disposal of the board.
Referred to Committee on Education and Labor.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 895
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BUILDING.
April 10, 1882 House.
Mr. WILLIAM S. SHALLENBERGER introduced a bill (H. 5781):
That the sum of $200,000 be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the erection of a fireproof building on
the south portion of the Smithsonian reservation for the accommodation of the
United States Geological Survey and for other purposes: Provided, That the con-
sent of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution be first obtained thereto, and
that the building be under their direction when completed: And provided further,
That the build ing be erected by the Architect of the Capitol, in accordance with
plans approved by the Director of the United States Geological Survey, the Secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Architect of the Capitol, acting as a
board therefor.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
January 17, 1883.
A resolution by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in rela-
tion to H. 5781:
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution recommend to
Congress to enlarge the National Museum, so as properly to exhibit the mineral,
geological, and other collections already on hand and increasing each year, by the
erection of a fireproof building on the southwest corner of the Smithsonian Reser-
vation, similar in style to the present National Museum; and they request an appro-
priation of $300,000 therefor, to be expended under the direction of the Regents of
the Institution.
(Journal Proc. Regents, Smithsonian Report for 1882, p. xii.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
April 15, 1882. House.
Message from the President of the United States, Chester A.
Arthur (dated April 14), transmitting with commendation to the
attention of Congress a report of the Secretary of State and its
accompanying papers concerning the proposed establishment of an
international bureau of exchanges.
Report of the Secretary of State to the President.
To the PRESIDENT:
The Secretary of State has the honor to lay before the President,
with a view to its transmission to Congress, a letter from the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution concerning the working of the present
system of exchanges carried on by that Institution, and the practica-
bility of the suggestion which has been made, that the scope of the
Smithsonian Institution's bureau be enlarged so as to form an inter-
national bureau of governmental and scientific exchanges, under the
supervision of the Department of State.
896 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The Secretary of State has little to add to the very clear exposition
made by Professor Baird of the rapid growth of the operations of the
exchange bureau of the Smithsonian, and to his statements of the
utility of still further extending them. He has been for some time
convinced that an arrangement like that proposed would not only
bring the system of diplomatic and literary exchanges of this country
into harmonious relations with the like international exchange bureaus
in other countries, but would greatly enlarge the beneficial results
obtained under the present system of private enterprise, besides re-
lieving the several executive departments of the labor and expense of
effecting their own foreign exchanges, by concentrating the work in
one properly equipped and competent bureau. His opinions in this
regard are shared by other members of the Government, as will be
seen on perusal of the annexed letter from the Secretary of the Inte-
rior in response to an inquiry lately addressed to him. Should the
President decide to recommend the latter to the consideration of Con-
gress, the Secretary of State has the honor to advise that an appropri-
ation of $10,000 be asked for the coming fiscal year, in order that the
proposed plan may have a fair chance to demonstrate its necessity and
its benefits. It is probable that the scattered expenses under the
present system of separate exchanges aggregate a larger amount than
that which he suggests as the limit of a serviceable appropriation.
Respectfully submitted.
FKED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, April 11, 1882.
(See History of the Smithsonian Exchanges, by George H. Boehmer,
in Smithsonian Report for 1881, or Smithsonian publication No. 477,
1882.)
The Smithsonian Institution to the State Department.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, October 23, 1880.
Hon. WILLIAM M. EVARTS,
Secretary of State.
SIR: A geographical congress of nations, with delegates from the
principal governments of the world, was held at Paris in the summer
of 1875, and among the representatives was one from the United States
of America.
One of the results of the deliberations of the congress was a recom-
mendation of the adoption of a uniform system of exchanging the lit-
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 807
erary and scientific publications of all nations. This recommendation
was reported to your predecessor in office, the Hon. Hamilton Fish,
who requested that the Smithsonian Institution would act as the inter-
mediary of the United States in carrying into effect the proposed sys-
tem as embodied in the recommendation of the Paris congress, as above
referred to.
Under date of January 10, 1879, the Smithsonian Institution received
the following communication from the Department of State in refer-
ence to the proposed international exchange system:
"You are already aware of the desire of this Department to secure
to the Smithsonian Institution the fullest liberty of action and the
utmost enhancement of its utility without entailing any additional bur-
den on its resources."
You are of course informed that a number of other governments
represented at the congress of Paris have seconded the recommenda-
tion in question, and have already adopted special means, by estab-
lishing bureaus of international exchange, to carry its provisions into
effect. Among these governments are France, Belgium, Holland,
Switzerland, Russia, and Italy.
Recognizing the enlightened action of the Paris congress in recom-
mending a system of interchange of scientific and literary thought
between the different peoples of the world, and acting in accordance
with the expressed wish of the Department of State, the Smithsonian
Institution at once set about the inauguration of the proposed system
on behalf of the Government of the United States.
It was originally presumed that by interlacing with the regular
established systems of exchanges of the Institution so successfully
conducted for more than a quarter of a century the international system
could be carried on at a very little outlay in addition to that required
for the Smithsonian system. But this presumption did not prove to
be a fact, the Institution finding, after two years' trial, that the expense
attendant upon the execution of the request of the Department of State
is far greater than was anticipated.
The Smithsonian Institution is therefore compelled to ask that an
appropriation of $7,000 be requested of Congress by the Department
of State, for the purpose of carrying into effect the recommendation
of the Paris congress on a scale in keeping with the high position of
the United States among civilized nations and commensurate with the
reputation of the Government for enlightened liberality in connection
with the cause of general education.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary of Smithsonian Institution.
H. Doc. 732 57
898 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The State Department to the Smithsonian Institution.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, October 30, 1880.
Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 23d instant, in relation to the expense of the work of conducting
the exchange of the literary and scientific publications of all nations,
recommended by the International Geographical Congress held at Paris
in the summer of 1875, which work, at the instance of this Department,
the Smithsonian Institution undertook to carry on on behalf of the
United States. You state, furthermore, that it was originally pre-
sumed that exchanges in question could be carried on in connection
with the system already established, but that practically the additional
work has been found to greatly increase the expense of conducting the
exchanges, and that therefore the Smithsonian Institution is com-
pelled to ask that an appropriation of $7,000 be requested of Congress
to defray the expenses of the exchanges recommended by the Paris
congress and undertaken on behalf of the United States by the Smith-
sonian Institution at the instance of this Department.
In reply I have to say that, fully appreciating the importance of
maintaining and extending this S3 T stem of literary and scientific
exchanges which has been so happily inaugurated, it will afford me
much pleasure to ask the proper committees of Congress to favorably
consider your request for an appropriation of $7,000 for the purpose
indicated in your letter.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
WM. M. EVARTS.
The State Department to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, January 31, 1881.
Hon. HENRY G. DAVIS,
Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Senate.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the information and
consideration of your committee, a copy of a letter dated the 23d of
October last, from Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, to this Department, in relation to the expenses
which have been imposed upon that Institution by its having under-
taken, at the instance of my predecessor, the Hon. Hamilton Fish, lo
carry out, on behalf of this Government, the system of exchanging the
literary and scientific publications of all nations which was adopted at
an international conference held at Paris in the summer of 1875, at
which this country was represented.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 899
It now appears from the statements made in Professor Baird's letter
that the expense of carrying out the exchanges in question is far
greater than was anticipated, whereby an undue burden has been
imposed upon the resources of the Smithsonian Institution; and Pro-
fessor Baird therefore asks that an appropriation of $7,000 may be
made for the purpose of carrying out the recommendations of the
Paris congress of 1875.
1 may add that it is understood by this Department that the
exchanges of literary and scientific publications in question are now
carried on at the expense of the several governments which were
parties to the congress of 1875, except in the case of this Government,
which has imposed this important and useful work upon the Smith-
sonian Institution.
In view, therefore, of the reasons set forth by Professor Baird in a
communication transmitted herewith, and in view of the great benefits
which the Government, institutions of learning, public libraries, and
men of science are receiving from the system of the exchange of liter-
ary and scientific publications inaugurated by the congress of 1875 at
Paris, I beg to recommend that the appropriation asked for, as above
indicated, may be made.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
WM. M. EVARTS.
The State Department to the Smitfisonian Institution.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, December 27, 1881.
Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
SIR: Referring to the reply of this Department of the 30th of Octo-
ber last to your letter of the 23d of that month, in relation to the
exchange of Government and scientific publications with foreign coun-
tries, and referring also to the letter of this Department to the Senate
Committee on Appropriations, dated the 31*st of January last, on the
same subject, I now beg to request you to furnish this Department
with your views in relation to this matter, in form of a memorandum,
to serve as the basis of a communication to Congress urging the
appropriation of an amount sufficient to defray the expenses of inter-
national exchanges and of so organizing the work that it shall be done
by the Smithsonian Institution, but under the Department of State
and with its official cooperation. This arrangement seems to be desir-
able in order that the American bureau of exchanges may be on the
same footing as those in Europe, where this business is conducted
under the supervision of the foreign officers of the various countries
which have entered into the international agreement in relation to
exchanges.
900 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
I may add that, owing to the want of sufficient funds to enable the
Smithsonian Institution to carry out fully the system of exchanges, a
large amount of labor arid expense has been imposed upon this Depart-
ment in sending to various countries of Europe the publications of
this Government. The calls upon this Department to perform services
of this character are growing more and more numerous and more and
more burdensome continually.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
J. C. BANCROFT DAVIS,
Acting Secretary.
T/ie Smithsonian Institution to the State Department.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, March 12, 1882.
Hon. F. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
Secretary of State.
SIR: The letter from the Department of State of December 27 last,
in reference to the future prosecution by the Smithsonian Institution
of its system of international exchanges under the direction of the
State Department, was duly received, but the reply has been deferred
until a statement of all the circumstances connected with the initiation
and carrying on of this work to the present time could be prepared.
This statement I now have the honor to submit for your consideration.
The statement in question is prefaced by an account of the attempts
made prior to 1850 in the direction of a system of exchange, both in
the United States and elsewhere, and it also presents points of the
history of the concerted effort toward an international system started
in Europe in 1875, and now in operation with fair prospects of success.
From the document referred to it will also be seen that the Smith-
sonian Institution has for many years carried on, single-handed and
alone, so far as outside pecuniary aid is concerned, the most extensive
system of exchange ever attempted. Originating in the transmission
of the publications of the Institution, the Smithsonian exchange next
included the publications of various learned societies of the United
States; subsequently the exchanges of the Government bureaus in
Washington, and finally the international exchanges between the
Congress of the United States and foreign governments. The cost
to the Smithsonian fund of the maintenance of this system now
amounts to about $10,000 a year, an expenditure the Institution is
entirely unable to continue, and it becomes necessary, therefore, that
operations in this department should hereafter be more confined to
the immediate interests of the Institution, unless Congress shall
vouchsafe its assistance.
Aid in connection with the exchange system is requested on the fol-
lowing grounds:
(1) The expenses of the exchanges by the Smithsonian Institution
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 901
of its own publications should in equity be paid by the United States
Government, for the reason that the proceeds of these exchanges (now
forming a library of about 100,000 volumes) are all deposited in the
Congressional Library as soon as received.
(2) The system enables the several departments and bureaus of the
Government to obtain valuable materials for their respective libraries
by exchange of their publications for those of corresponding depart-
ments and bureaus of other governments, and which publications can
be obtained only through exchange.
(3) The work of the Institution for the benefit of other establish-
ments in this country is national in its character, tending greatly to
advance general science and popular education.
Your predecessor in office, realizing this drain upon the resources
of the Smithsonian, requested Congress for an appropriation of $7,000,
which was the estimated cost of the work at the time. An allowance,
however, of only $3,000 was granted. The money was placed in charge
of the Interior Department, this disposition of it being made presum-
ably at the instance of the Department of State, and as an indication of
its preference to be relieved from further responsibility in the matter;
and for this reason the Smithsonian Institution made direct application
to Congress for an appropriation of $5,000 for the coming fiscal year.
This estimate, though entirely below the sum requisite for carrying on
the work, was submitted as more likely to be allowed than a larger
amount. I trust that if the Department of State is willing to continue
its efforts in connection with the exchanges, it will ask for at least
$10,000 for the service. If it is desirable that the Smithsonian should
also take charge of the Government and other exchanges now passing
through the State Department, a still larger sum will be required.
It will be entirely agreeable to the Smithsonian Institution to prose-
cute the exchange system under the general direction of the Depart-
ment of State, and thereby secure the services of consuls or foreign
ministers of the United States in those countries where national
bureaus of exchange have not yet been established.
Commending the subject to your early and careful consideration,
I have the honor to be, etc.,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary of Smithsonian Institution.
As the amount ($3,000) appropriated by Congress in assistance of
the Institution for the last year (1881) had been placed under the direc-
tion of the Interior Department, the subject of the desired extension
of Government aid was naturally referred to the honorable Secretary
of the Interior for his opinion. The following communication
expresses his entire approval of the project:
902 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. Ki.rkwood to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, March 27, 1882.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communi-
cation of the 24th instant, touching the establishment of a bureau of
international exchanges under the supervision of the Department of
State, "the work of the bureau to be concentrated in the hands of the
Smithsonian Institution, as the delegated agency of said Department,"
and in reply to say, that this Department has long felt the need of some
improved method of conducting international exchanges, by which the
more certain and speedy delivery of packages transmitted may be
secured. . The chief difficulties encountered under the present system
result, in the firstplace, from the very limited number of dispatch agencies
employed by the Department of State, restricting transmission of docu-
ments, etc., received from other departments and offices to the three
cities, London, Paris, and Hamburg; and, secondly, from the delay
which often attends the dispatch of packages through the Smithsonian
Institution, many months frequently elapsing between the delivery of a
package to the Institution and its reception abroad. In addition, the
present system involves the trouble of keeping accounts, and of the
presentation and payment of bills for transportation, whether packages
are transmitted by the Department of State or by the Smithsonian
Institution.
It is understood that under the new system proposed by you these
difficulties will be avoided; that not only will it unify our system of
international exchanges, and " assimilate it with that of other countries,"
but also that greater dispatch and certainty of delivery will be attained.
It is furthermore presumed that the appropriation to be made for
this purpose will be adequate to meet the necessities of all the depart-
ments and offices of the Government, so that they will be relieved of
all expense in the matter of transportation.
In view of the fact that the proposed arrangement seems to involve
these advantages, I regard it as entitled to the approval of this Depart-
ment.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
S. J. KIRK WOOD.
Report, etc., referred to Committee on the Library.
August 20, 1883.
Augmt 20, 1883.
Hon. JOHN DAVIS,
Acting Secretary of State.
SIR: Among other subjects discussed by the Belgian conference was
the right of the Smithsonian Institution to be considered as the agent
of the United States Government in an international system of
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 903
exchanges; and I regret that Mr. Fish did not fully appreciate the
fact that the selection of the Institution for the purpose in question
was long since made formally, first, by direct enactment; secondly, by
appointment by the Joint Library Committee of Congress; and,
thirdly, by the State Department under the administration of Mr.
Evarts.
I beg to present herewith a brief summary of the successive action
in this connection.
The policy of a direct interchange of the official publications of the
United States for those of foreign countries, was accepted and estab-
lished by Congress in the act of March 2, 1867, by which a certain
additional number of copies of all public documents was placed at the
disposal of the Joint Library Committee, to be exchanged through
the agency of the Smithsonian Institution for such works published
in foreign countries, and especially by foreign governments, as might
be deemed by said committee an equivalent, said works to be depos-
ited in the Library of Congress.
There is, in addition to this, a statute (Rev. Stat., sec. 87, passed June
26, 1848), which authorizes the Joint Committee on the Library from
time to time to appoint such agents as they may deem requisite to
carry into effect the donation and exchange of documents and other
publications placed at their disposal for the purpose.
In compliance with this statute, as also with the later one designat-
ing the Smithsonian Institution for the purpose in question, the Joint
Library Committee of Congress appointed the Institution to the func-
tion; and its operations of exchange of public documents are carried
on in its behalf, and of course for the benefit of the Congressional
Library.
A further proof that Congress has officially committed to the
Smithsonian Institution the charge of the international exchanges on
the part of the Government, is shown by the wording of several
appropriations passed at the last session of Congress and now avail-
able, as follows:
Treasury Digest of Appropriations for the fiscal year 1884:
(1) Joint resolution to print 5,000 copies of the report of the Board
on behalf of the United States Executive Departments at the interna-
tional exhibition of 1876; 200 copies are given to the Smithsonian
Institution for distribution to such governments, and others, as made
contributions from such exhibition to the National Museum. (Page 19. )
(2) Increase of Library of Congress, 1884: For expenses of chang-
ing [exchanging] public "documents for the publications of foreign
governments, $1,000. (Page 20.)
This has been a continuous appropriation ever since 1867, and
expended under the law of that year by the Smithsonian Institution
in behalf of the Library of Congress.
904 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
(3) International Exchanges, Smithsonian Institution, 1884: For
expenses of the international exchanges between the United States
and foreign countries, in accordance with the Paris convention of
1877, including salaries and compensation of all necessary employees,
$7,500. (Page 36.)
It was at the special request of the Smithsonian Institution that the
appropriation for the fiscal year of 1884 was placed under the heading
of the State Department, the committee having actually transferred it
from the estimates of that Department and placed it under the Inte-
rior. It was, however, distinctly understood by the committee that
the expenditure was to be made by the Smithsonian Institution as in
previous years, and in accordance with its organization of the service.
(4) War Department: Transportation of reports and maps to for-
eign countries, 1884. For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries through the Smithsonian Institution, $300. (Page 85.)
(5) Contingent and miscellaneous expenses, Naval Observatory,
1884: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for freight on observa-
tory publications sent to foreign countries, $336. (Page 133.)
Here the appropriation is made under the Navy Department, the
preceding one under that of War.
It will thus be seen that appropriations are made under four of the
several departments of the Government Congress, State, War, and
Navy for the purpose of conducting the special exchanges in their
interest respectively. The appropriation under the State Department
is the more general, and is available for miscellaneous purposes.
In all these appropriations the Smithsonian Institution is mentioned
either inferentially, as with the appropriation under the heading of
the Library of Congress, or directly, as in those under the depart-
ments, as the special agency through whose system the work is to be
done.
The question as to whether the Smithsonian Institution was desig-
nated by Congress to act as the medium of international exchange was
asked by Sir Edward Thornton in 1876, in a letter printed on page 13,
of the History of International Exchanges. 1 This inquiry, addressed
to the Secretary of State, was transmitted to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and answered by my predecessor, I presume to the satisfaction of
the Department.
By reference to a letter of September 26, 1878, printed on page 18 of
the document referred to, it will be seen that the Secretary of State
notified the United States minister at Paris that, so far as the special
domestic bureau of exchanges is concerned, it was considered " pref-
erable to leave the work with the Smithsonian Institution rather than
to replace it by the organization of a new bureau ad hoc in the Depart-
ment of State, but that no objection is seen to entering into a common
1 Ex. Doc. No. 172, 47th Cong., 1st sess.
FORTY- SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 905
arrangement of international exchange, provided that the operations
of the Institution be assimilated with those of the foreign bureaus, so
as to enable it to act as though it were, for the special purpose in
view, a bureau of the foreign department of this Government."
In a letter of January 10, 1879, page 22, Mr. Evarts renews his
assurances of the desire of the " Department to secure to the Smith-
sonian Institution, in the event of its admission to the proposed inter-
national system, the fullest liberty of action, and the utmost enhance-
ment of its utility, without entailing any additional burden on its
resources."
On the 31st January, 1881, page 35, Mr. Evarts transmitted a
communication from the Smithsonian Institution to the Senate Com-
mittee on Appropriations, asking for an appropriation of $7,500, for
the purpose of carrying out the recommendations of the Paris
congress of 1875.
An appropriation of $3,000 was actually passed for the services of
the fiscal year 1882, but placed under the heading of the Interior
Department. For 1883, the appropriation was $5,000, under the
Treasury; and for 1884, $7,500.
In all cases, however, the wording of, the law specifically referred
to the Smithsonian Institution as the party by which the work was to
be done, and, inferentially, through its present organization.
In conclusion, I beg, therefore, to claim that the Smithsonian Insti-
tution having been designated by Congress as the agent of interna-
tional exchanges between the United States and other countries, by
original law, by appointment of the Joint Library Committee of
Congress under the law, and by the establishment of successive enact-
ments, is de facto and de jure the appointed agent, and as such derives
its authority from even a higher source than the nomination of the
Department of State, and that as such it is empowered to treat with
the corresponding agencies of other countries.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES ESTIMATES.
December 5, 1881 House.
Estimates for 1883.
International exchanges, $5,000.
NOTE. The Smithsonian Institution has been designated by the State Department
as the official agent of the Government in prosecuting the exchanges in question.
October 21, 1882.
DEPARTMENT OF QTATE.
Washington, October 21, 1882.
Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
SIR: In response to your letter of the 3d instant, I have the honor
to inform you that under the general arrangement of international
906 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
exchanges, whereby the respective bureaus of exchange are connected
with the foreign office of the several countries, it would seem more
appropriate that the amount necessary to maintain the United States
bureau should be asked for in the estimates of the Department of
State. I inclose a draft of an item based on your suggestion, but
stating also that the exchange is to be made by the Smithsonian Insti-
tution under the supervision of the Secretary of State.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN.
Item to be included in the State Department estimates.
For expenses of the international exchanges between the United
States and foreign countries, to be effected by the Smithsonian Insti-
tution in accordance with the Paris convention of 1877, including
salaries and compensation of all necessary employees, $10,000, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended under the direction
of the Secretary of State.
January 26, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1884.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
For Smithsonian Institution, international exchanges, $10,000.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS.
Augusts, 1882.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1883.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XXII, 224.)
Naval Observatory: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications to be shipped to foreign countries
during the fiscal year 1883, $336.25.
(Stat,, XXII, 245.)
August 7, 1882.
Sundry civil act for 1883.
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries, through the Smithsonian Institution, $300.
(Stat., XXII, 319.)
For expenses of the international exchanges between the United
States and foreign countries, in accordance with the Paris Convention
of 1877, including salaries and compensation of all necessary employees,
$5,000.
(Stat., XXII, 332.)
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 907
March 3, 1883.
Legislative, executive and judicial act for 1884.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments $1 000
(Stat., XXII, 537.)
Naval Observatory: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications sent to foreign countries $330
(Stat, XXII, 555.)
March 3, 1883.
Sundry civil act for 1884.
Smithsonian Institution: For expenses of the international exchanges
between the United States and foreign countries, in accordance with
the Paris convention of 1877, including salaries and compensation of
all necessary employees, $7,500.
(Stat., XXII, 603.)
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries, through the Smithsonian Institution, $300.
(Stat., XXII, 618.)
FOREST PRESERVATION.
May 4, 1882 Senate.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN introduced a bill (S. 1826):
That all of the public timbered lands adjacent to the sources of the navigable
rivers and their affluents be withdrawn from public sale and entry, and that Maj.
Gen. H. G. Wright, Chief of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army; Maj. Gen.
William B. Hazen, commanding the Signal Corps; Dr. George B. Loring, Commis-
sioner of Agriculture, and Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, shall form a commission for the examination of the subject of the pres-
ervation and cultivation of woods and forests adjoining the sources of the navigable
rivers and their affluents, for the purpose of preserving the same and increasing
their growth by planting there and along the courses of the said rivers where the
land is timberless, so that the said rivers may be kept in a navigable condition by
promoting a continuous supply from their sources and affluents; the fact having
become universally known that the destruction of the woods causes all countries to
become arid and unprofitable deserts. *
Referred to Committee on Agriculture.
June 5, 1882 House.
Mr. B. BUTTERWORTH introduced S. 1826.
Referred to Committee on Agriculture.
GLOVER ENTOMOLOGICAL PLATES.
May 4, 1882.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1
Washington, May 4, 1882.
SIR: I am in receipt of your letter requesting an answer to certain
questions with reference to the work on " American insects injurious
1 See Report (H. 1520).
908 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
or beneficial to vegetation," prepared by Professor Glover, the plates
and manuscripts of which he wishes to sell to the United States.
Although not an entomologist, I can form an opinion in regard to
the work, having been familiar with its purposes for many years. It
consists of about 270 engraved copper plates, in octavo, representing
many thousands of the insects injurious and beneficial to vegetation in
the United States, and presented in various stages of growth and in
their relationships to the plants or animals on which they feed or
which they harbor. Although not claiming the most minute condi-
tions of accuracy, I am assured that all the details necessary for the
identification of the various species are given. I have therefore no
hesitation in saying that I believe the book in question to be of great
value to the agriculturist and that its publication and judicious dis-
tribution throughout the country would be of great importance. In
view of its magnitude its publication by private enterprise is hardly
to be thought of, and without assistance from the Government it will
never likely see the light.
From my own experience, the cost of engravings on copper, like
those constituting Professor Glover's plates, I am satisfied that $100
each would be a very moderate estimate for reproducing them, includ-
ing, as in this case, the original drawings, their transfer to copper,
and the copper plate itself. Mr. Casilear, of the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing, some years ago made his estimate the same as mine. I
understand that Professor Glover is willing to take $7,500 for the
entire lot. It would be absolutely impossible to reproduce these
engravings at anything like this sum. In this price is also included a
large amount of text, more or less complete.
I do not doubt but that the work could readily be published by the
Government so as to involve but little expense beyond that of the first
cost of the plates.
The plates in question were some years ago stored by Professor
Glover at the Smithsonian Institution, and are now in my custody.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRU, Secretary.
Hon. E. M. VALENTINE,
Chairman Committee on Agriculture.
August 7, 1882.
Sundry civil act for 1883.
For the purchase of the plates and manuscript on the insects of
America from Professor Townend Glover, $7,000.
(Stat., XXII, 333.)
ETHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS AND REPORTS.
June 12, 1882 House.
Mr. WILLIAM ALDRICH introduced joint resolution (H. 232):
That there be printed and bound at the Government Printing Office, for the use of
the Department of the Interior, 2,500 copies each of volumes 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Con-
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 909
tributions to North American Ethnology, and of the first, second, and third annual
reports of the Bureau of Ethnology, in form and style uniform with the editions
already ordered for the use of Congress.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
ETHNOLOGY BULLETINS.
February 1, 1883 House.
Mr. OTHO R. SINGLETON, of Mississippi, submitted House concur-
rent resolution to print 3,000 each of the Bulletins of the Bureau of
Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, numbers 1 to 12, inclusive
with the necessary illustrations, for the use of the Bureau of Ethnology!
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 3, 1883 House.
Passed.
March 3, 1883 Senate.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
NATIONAL MUSEUM EMPLOYEES.
June 13, 1882 House.
In considering the legislative and executive bill (H. 6244) for the
year 1883, Mr. JOSEPH G. CANNON moved to strike out "And no civil
officer, clerk, draughtsman, copyist, messenger, assistant messenger,
mechanic, watchman, laborer, or other employee shall hereafter be
employed at the seat of government in any other office, or be paid
from any appropriation made for contingent expenses or for any
specific or general purpose, unless such employment is authorized
and payment therefor specifically provided in the law granting the
appropriation, and then only for services actually rendered in connec-
tion with and for the purposes of the appropriation from which pay-
ment is made."
Mr. JOHN D. C. ATKINS. * * * I have been informed by the
assistant clerk of the Committee on Appropriations that the amend-
ment only has reference to the work upon the monument in this city
and to the National Museum in this city.
Mr. CANNON. It is something more than that. It refers to the depot
quartermaster, the General of the Army, and all officers of the Army
and all officers in the District of Columbia who are not part and parcel
of the Executive Departments.
Mr. ATKINS. Why should not the general restrictions of section 4
apply to the employees of the National Museum as well as to the
Executive Departments ?
Mr. CANNON. * * * The technical words " Executive Depart-
ments" are used for the reason that they have a recognized meaning
under the statutes. In the Revised Statutes you will find the Executive
Departments designated State, Navy, War, etc. You will find the
910 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
different bureaus aiid subordinate offices also designated. But the
National Museum is not a part or parcel of any Executive Depart-
ment; therefore it does not come * * within the limitation of
this clause.
Amendment of Mr. Cannon adopted.
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 5, 1881 House.
Estimates for 1883
For furniture and fixtures, $60,000.
For heating and lighting, etc., $6,000.
For the preservation of collections, $75,000.
For Armory building, $2,500.
For distribution of duplicate specimens, $10,000.
For transfer of collections from Permanent International Exhibi-
tion, Philadelphia, $7,500.
For printing and binding (included in Department of the Interior
estimates), $20,000.
For postage (included in Department of the Interior estimates),
$1,000.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, November 7, 1881.
SIR: I would respectfully ask that the following memorandum in
regard to the increase in the estimates for the service of the National
Museum, in charge of the Smithsonian Institution, for the year 1883,
over those for 1882, be inserted in the book of estimates:
The necessary reorganization of the National Museum, in consequence
of the occupation of the new building furnished by Congress, affords
opportunity for an increase of nearly tenfold in the amount of the
material to be cared for, and necessitates a general increase for the
general maintenance of the Museum. The arrangement of the collec-
tions in the new Museum building, and its formal opening to the public,
can not be completed properly until toward the end of the fiscal year,
and a largely increased expenditure will be required in the way of
compensation of curators, specialists, watchmen, and other attendants.
On this score the additional sum referred to is absolutely essential.
There is on hand a large amount of duplicate material collected by
the several Government geological and other surveys and by the United
States Fish Commission, of very great value in an educational point of
view, and an item is included for the expense of identification, classi-
fication, and elimination of duplicates, and for their labeling and pack-
ing for distribution to colleges, academies, and museums throughout
the United States.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 9H
Of the Permanent Exhibition in Philadelphia vast amounts of valu-
able contributions in the way of geological and mineralogical speci-
mens, and of illustrations of the various industries of the countrv have
recently been presented to the United States, on condition of' their
transfer to and exhibition in the National Museum. For this ilso
estimate is made.
The estimate for distributing duplicates is the same as one made some
years ago for a similar purpose, while that for the transfer of collec-
tions from the Permanent Exhibition in Philadelphia corresponds to an
appropriation made by Congress in 1877 for a like transfer from the
International Exhibition.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. S. J. KIRKWOOD,
Secretary of the Interior.
January 25, 1882 House.
A communication from the Secretary of the Treasury transmitting
the estimates of deficiency appropriations for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1882, and prior years, contained the item:
Furniture and fixtures for the National Museum: To expedite the
work of constructing the exhibition cases in the new building for the
National Museum during the present fiscal year, $30,000.
NOTE. For explanation of this estimate see letter of Professor Baird:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January 14, 1883. "'
SIR: I beg respectfully to request that the following item be inserted in the
deficiency estimates now being made up by the Department for transmission to
Congress, viz: To expedite the work of constructing the exhibition cases in the new
building for the National Museum, $30,000.
In explanation of this request, I would state that no actual deficiency exists, but
that the sum above mentioned is required as an addition to the appropriation for
furniture and fixtures for the present fiscal year (that of 1881-82) , which has already
been pledged for cases in course of construction under contract.
In this connection I would submit the following statements:
(1) About 250 cases have been arranged for, and for the most part delivered,
affording an aggregate exhibition and storage capacity equal to 35,000 running
feet of shelving 1 foot wide, or nearly 1 acre.
(2) These cases are contracted for to be delivered in an incomplete condition, it
having been found cheaper to import glass and to purchase locks, hinges, and
interior fittings for the same from the manufacturers. It has also been found that
the cases can be finished, polished, and set up in a more satisfactory and economical
manner by mechanics working under the personal supervision of the officers of the
Museum than by contract.
(3) The Museum has now in its employ a considerable force of men who, by
careful training, have gained experience indispensable to the proper performance of
this work, and their discharge at the present time would render necessary the em-
ployment of unskilled labor when the work is resumed.
(4) A large quantity of plate and crystal glass for these cases, which was
imported at a time when glass was much cheaper than at present, is now lying in
the building, and unless this can be speedily used it is liable to deterioration. Ill
912 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
addition, other materials, as oil, paints, brushes, etc., on hand, are also liable to
mishap.
(5) Although a large number of cases are provided for, the greater part of the
immense floor space is as yet uncovered. One of the peculiarities of the architecture
of the building is that the 17 large halls are separated from each other by partitions
composed entirely of exhibition cases, and particular attention has, therefore, been
directed to building cases of this description; and many other special forms needed
for immediate use are yet to be ordered.
(6) Not only will a delay in the completion of these additional cases enhance the
difficulties in the way of a speedy opening of the Museum, but suspension of work
thereon will be disastrous, since there are but a few manufacturers in the United
States capable of building such cases satisfactorily and economically, and these, hav-
ing but a limited capacity for work, can construct only a few at a time. The lumber
requires to be kiln dried, and for this and other reasons the time for constructing a
single lot of cases necessarily extends over a period of four or five months. Besides,
glass must be imported and hardware for interior fittings must be specially constructed.
Moreover, the tendency at present to an advance in prices of skilled labor, lumber,
iron, etc., renders it extremely desirable that contracts should be given out at a date
as early as possible. Any delay will necessitate a discharge, by some of the manu-
facturers at, least, of workmen specially trained for the work required by these cases.
(7) Should the cases now on hand not be immediately completed, the work of
putting the specimens on exhibition will undoubtedly and necessarily be suspended
for five or six months, and to this extent of time fulfillment of the general desire
that the Museum shall be opened to the public at as early a day as possible will be
delayed, while on the other hand, should these cases be finished at once it is believed
that a large quantity of the most interesting material can be presented for the inspec-
tion of visitors before the approach of another winter.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
December 4, 1882 House.
Estimates for 1884.
For furniture and fixtures, $60,000.
For heating, lighting and telephonic and electrical service, $6,000.
For the preservation of collections, $90,000.
For Armory building, $3,500.
For procuring and making a standard collection of minerals for the
service of the National Museum and the United States Geological
Survey, $30,000.
For postage (included in estimate for the Department of the In-
terior), $1,700.
For printing and binding (included in estimate for the Department
of the Interior), $10,000.
January 20, 1883.
Hon. CHAS. J. FOLGER,
Secretary U. S. Treasury.
SIR: I would respectfully request insertion of the following item in
the deficiency estimates now being prepared by your Department for
transmission to Congress, viz:
To hasten the completion of exhibition cases for the new building for the National
Museum, $30,000.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 913
I would remark, by way of explanation, that no actual deficiency
exists. The sum asked, however, is desired in addition to the appro-
priation for furniture and fixtures for the present fiscal year (1882-83),
said appropriation being pledged for cases and fixtures in course of
construction under contract.
I would state, further, that the cases necessary to fill the space of
the new building will, if placed end to end, occupy a length of 12,500
feet, or nearly 2i miles, of which a large proportion remain to be
constructed.
The Museum has now in its employ a considerable number of skilled
mechanics, who by careful training have derived that experience which
is absolutely indispensable to the building and finishing of the required
exhibition cases, and their discharge just now would render necessary
the employment of unskilled labor when the work is resumed. In
addition, large quantities of imported glass and of other materials
necessary to the work of providing furniture and fixtures for the
building are on hand, and should be speedily utilized to prevent pos-
sible deterioration in one way and another.
I have the honor to be, very truly, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
January 23, 1883.
Hon. C. J. FOLGER,
Secretary of the Treasury.
SIR: I have the honor to submit the following estimate for a defi-
ciency in the appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883,
and beg to request that you will transmit the same to Congress:
To complete the transfer and preparation of the Philadelphia collections presented
to the United States at the close of the Permanent International Exhibition in
Philadelphia, including necessary expenses already incurred, $4,112.82.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
March 6, 1882.
Urgent deficiency act for 1882, etc.
Furniture and fixtures: To expedite the work of constructing the
exhibition cases in the new building for the National Museum during
the present fiscal year, $30,000.
(Stat., XXH, 10.)
June 26, 1882 House.
Mr. FRANK HISCOCK, from the Committee on Appropriations, sub-
mitted a report (H. 1520) to accompany sundry civil
H. Doc. 732 58
914
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
year 1882-83 (H. 6675) and the following statements of the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution:
Pay roll of National Museum, April, 1882.
Grade.
Monthly salary.
Title.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
XL
XIII.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
None.
$225.00
166.66
600.00
125.00
125.00
125. 00
200.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100,00
90.00
80.00
225.00
75.00
65.00
120.00
100.00
400.00
450.00
75.00
150.00
160.00
40.00
120.00
640.00
70.00
60.00
30.00
60.00
60.00
100.00
50.00
25.00
20.00
1
1
3
1
1
2
2
8
9
1
3
4
1
3
16
2
2
1
2
2
4
2
1
1
91
at 8225.00
at 166.66
at 150.00
at 125. 00
at 125.00
at 125. 00
at 100. 00
at 100.00
at 100.00
at 100. 00
at 100.00
at 100. 00
at 100.00
at 90.00
at 80. 00
at 75. 00
at 75. 00
at 65.00
at 60.00
at 50.00
at 50.00
at 50.00
at 75. 00
at 50.00
at 40.00
at 40. 00
at 40. 00
at 40. 00
at 35.00
at 30. 00
at 30.00
at 30.00
at 30.00
at 25.00
at 25.00
at 25.00
at 20.00
Assistant director
Curator
do
Assistant curator
Chief taxidermist ... .
Chemist
Registrar
Artist
Suprintendent of building
Assistant, 1st class
Clerk 6th class
Aid 6th class
Electrician
Aid 3d class
Copyist, 6th class
Watchman, 3d class
Copvist, 4th class
Attendant
Copyist, 2d class
5, 431. 66
65,179.92
Summary of estimated expenditure for the National Museum, fiscal year 1883.
For pay rolls, salaries, and labor $60, 000. 00
For freight 2, 500. 00
For materials and supplies for preserving specimens 2, 500. 00
For expenses for procuring specimens 1, 000. 00
For stationery 3, 000. 00
For cleaning materials, soap, brushes, ice, etc 1, 000. 00
For chemicals, glass, etc. , for laboratory and other purposes 1, 500. 00
For apparatus, tools, and hardware 1, 500. 00
For purchase of books of reference 1, 500. 00
For incidentals. . . 500. 00
rs, ooo. oo
Estimated expenditures for the National Museum on a permanent basis.
SCIENTIFIC.
Compensation of 1 assistant director, at $250 per month $3, 000
7 curators, at $175 per month 14, 700
4 assistant curators, at $125 per month 6, 000
4 assistants, at $100 per month 4, 800
2 chemists, at $125 per month 3,000
Clerks and copyists (at from $100 to $25 per month) 6, 000
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 915
Estimated expenditures for the National Museum on a permanent basis Continued.
ADMINISTRATIVE.
Compensation of 1 superintendent of buildings, at $125 per month . $1, 500
1 registrar, at $125 per month l'500
1 chief modeler, at $125 per month 1*500
1 chief taxidermist, at $125 per month ; 1 ' 500
2 artists, at $100 per month 2* 400
7 taxidermists and preparators (from $100 to $40 per month) . 6, 000
2 stenographers, at $100 per month 2^400
Clerks and copyists (from $75 to $30 per month) 2, 400
2 janitors, at $75 per month 1,800
12 watchmen, at $50 per month 7,200
8 doorkeepers, at .from $40 to $30 per month 3, 840
15 laborers, at $40 per month 7 ( 200
Cleaners and sweepers ( from $35 to $25 per month ) 3, 000
Messengers, $30 to $15 per month 1, 500
2 master carpenters, at $75 per month 1,800
1 painter, at $60 per month 720
1 mason, at $50 per month 600
1 engineer, at $100 per month 1,200
1 engineer, at $75 per month 900
4 firemen, at $50 per month 2,400
1 electrician, at $75 per month 900
1 laborer, at $50 permonth 600
1 telephone clerk, at $35 per month 420
1 telephone messenger, at $30 per month 360
$91, 140. 00
For fuel and gas ' 5,550
For freight 3,000
For materials and supplies for preservation of specimens 3, 000
For procuring specimens 2, 500
For stationery and blanks 3, 000
For cleaning materials, ice, etc 1, 000
For chemicals, glass, etc., for laboratory and other purposes 2, 000
For apparatus, tools, and hardware 2, 000
For purchase of necessary books of reference 2, 000
For incidentals 1,000
25,000.00
116, 140. 00
August 5, 1882.
Deficiency act for 1882, etc.
To pay Thomas J. Hobbs for disbursing the appropriations for the
construction of the National Museum building, under appointment of
the Secretary of the Treasury of March 28, 1879, $250, in full satis-
faction therefor.
(Stat., XXII, 274.)
August 7, 1882.
Sundry civil act for 1883.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology, and the
916 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
industrial arts belonging to the United States, and for salaries or com-
pensation of all necessary employees, $60,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical serv-
ice for the new museum building, $6,000.
For the preservation and exhibition of the collections received from
the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, and other
sources, including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees,
$75,000.
For care of the Armory building and expense of watching, preser-
vation, and storage of the duplicate collections of the Government
and of property of the United States Fish Commission contained
therein, including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees,
$2,500. And the distribution of duplicate specimens of the National
Museum and Fish Commission may be made to colleges, academies,
and other institutions of learning upon the payment by the recipients
of the cost of preparation for transportation and the transportation
thereof.
(Stat., XXII, 332.)
For expense of transferring to Washington the collections presented
to the United States at the close of the Permanent International
Exhibition in Philadelphia, including necessary expenses already
incurred for the purpose, $10,000.
(Stat., XXII, 333.)
March 3, 1883.
Sundry civil act for 1884.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of geology, mineralogy, natural history, ethnology, and the
industrial arts belonging to the United States, and for salaries or com-
pensation of all necessary employees, $60,000.
(Stat., XXII, 628.)
For the preservation and exhibition of the collections received from
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, and other
sources, including salaries or compensations of all necessary employ-
ees, $90,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical serv-
ice for the new Museum building, $6,000.
For care of the Armory buildings and grounds, and expense of watch-
ing, preservation, and storage of the duplicate collections of the Gov-
ernment and of property of the United States Fish Commission
contained therein, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $2,500. And the distribution of duplicate specimens of
the National Museum and Fish Commission may be made to colleges,
academies, and other institutions of learning upon the payment by the
recipients of the cost of preparation for transportation and the trans-
portation thereof.
(Stat, XXII, 629.)
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 917
March 3, 1883.
Deficiency act for 1883, etc.
To complete the transfer and preparation of the Philadelphia col-
lections presented to the United States at the close of the Permanent
International Exhibition in Philadelphia, including necessary expenses
already incurred, $4,112.82.
(Stat., XXII, .584.)
The accounting officers of the Treasury are hereby authorized to
pass to the credit of Herbert A. Gill the sum of $150, for services
performed in connection with the National Museum during the second
and third quarters of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881.
(Stat., XXn., 589.)
DOCUMENTS.
August 8, 1882 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPEINGER. I ask consent to offer the following
resolution for present consideration.
Mr. JAMES A. McKENZiE. I reserve the right to object. There is
too much of this thing.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. W. KEIFER). The resolution will be read.
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved, That the Librarian of Congress, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, and the superintendent of documents, Department of the Interior be, and they
are hereby, requested to compile the laws and regulations now in force governing
the printing and distribution of public documents, to prepare a tabulated statement
showing the number of documents printed by order of the Forty-sixth and the first
session of the Forty -seventh Congresses, and under general laws now in force, the dis-
tribution directed to be made of the same; to report what reduction should be made
in the number of such documents, and present such other information at their com-
mand relating to public documents as will tend to promote judicious legislation, and
submit the draft of a bill to provide for the printing and distribution of documents;
and they shall report to the House at the beginning of the next session.
Mr. SPRINGER. I ask that this resolution be passed, as it will cost
nothing whatever. These gentlemen are already in the employ of the
Government, and they will be able to furnish much valuable informa-
tion upon a very important subject. This information if received, as
I believe it will be from them, will enable us to know the exact num-
ber of documents published by authority of law, their distribution,
and the cost of the same. I move the previous question on the
adoption of the resolution.
The previous question was ordered, and the resolution agreed to.
December 22, 1882 House.
Report presented by J. G. Ames, superintendent of documents in
the Interior Department, A. R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, and
Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, regarding
the publication and distribution of public documents, in compliance
918 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
with the resolution of the House of August 8, 1882. (Miscellaneous
Document No. 12.)
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 12, 1883 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER. At the last session of Congress the
House passed a resolution requesting the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, the Librarian of Congress, and the superintendent
of documents in the Interior Department to submit a report on the
subject of the publication and distribution of public documents. The
report has been received and referred to the Committee on Printing.
The bill and joint resolution which I send to the Clerk's desk are those
which the report recommends should be passed by Congress.
The following bill and joint resolutions were accordingly received,
read a first and second time, referred to the Committee on Printing,
and ordered to be printed:
A bill (H. 7555) to establish depositories and provide for the dis-
tribution of public documents.
Joint resolution (H. 339) providing for the preparation and dis-
tribution of pamphlet Laws and Statutes at Large;
Joint resolution (H. 340) providing for the distribution of the
Congressional Globe and Records; and
Joint resolution (H. 341) providing for the sale of public docu-
ments.
STATUE OF JOSEPH HENRY.
February 3, 1883 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. W. KEIFER) submitted a letter:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January 17, 1888.
SIR: I have the honor to inform the House of Representatives that in accordance
with the act of Congress of June 1, 1880 (Forty-sixth Congress, public act) , provid-
ing that the Regents of this Institution be authorized to contract with W. W. Story,
sculptor, for a bronze statue of Joseph Henry, late Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, to be erected in the grounds of said Institution, the statue has been exe-
cuted and received in Washington, and that Thursday, the 19th of April, has been
selected as the day for the public unveiling of the same.
The Congress of the United States having ordered this statue and made the appro-
priation necessary therefor, the Board of Regents respectfully invite the Senate and
House of Representatives to be present on the occasion of its formal presentation to
the public.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. J. W. KEIFER,
Speaker United States House of Representatives.
Referred to Joint Committee on the Librarv.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 919
February 20, 1883 House.
Mr. SAMUEL S. Cox, of New York. The Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution have invited this body and the Senate to be present
at the inauguration of the Henry statue in April next. I ask consent
to submit for consideration at this time a joint resolution meeting that
invitation in a proper spirit, accepting the invitation of the Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution to attend the inauguration of the statue of
Joseph Henry.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. W. KEIFEE). The joint resolution will be read.
Whereas in a communication from Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, Congress was informed that in accordance with the act of June 1, 1880,
the bronze statue of Joseph Henry, late Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution has
been completed; and
Whereas in the same communication Congress was respectfully invited to be pres-
ent on the occasion of its formal presentation to the public upon Thursday, the 19th
of April next: Therefore,
Be it resolved, etc., That the said invitation be, and the same is hereby, accepted by
the Senate and House of Representatives, and that the President of the Senate select
seven members of that body and the Speaker of the House of Representatives fifteen
members of that body to be present and represent the Congress of the United States
upon the occasion of the presentation and inauguration of said statue.
Passed.
February 20, 1883 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR. I ask the honorable Senator from Illinois to
permit the joint resolution (H. 356), which will pass as a mere mat-
ter of course, in regard to the attendance on the celebration of the
inauguration of the Henry statue to be laid before the Senate and
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). Does the
Senator from Illinois yield?
Mr. JOHN A. LOGAN. I have no objection if there is any desire
about it.
Mr. HOAR. I ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution be laid
before the Senate and be now passed. If there is any objection I shall
withdraw it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts asks
unanimous consent that a joint resolution received from the House of
Representatives be now considered. It will be read for information.
The joint resolution (H. 356) accepting the invitation of the Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution to attend the inauguration of the statue
of Joseph Henry was read the first time at length.
Considered as in Committee of the Whole, reported without
amendment and passed.
Mr. HOAR. The proper title is "Smithsonian Institution," but
hardly worth while, I suppose, to make the amendment. It is correctly
described in the body of the resolve.
920 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 24, 1883.
Joint resolution.
Whereas, in a communication from Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of
the Smithsonian Institute, Congress was informed that in accordance
with an act of June 1, 1880, the bronze statue of Joseph Henry, late
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, had been completed; and
whereas, in the same communication, Congress was respectfully
invited to be present on the occasion of its formal presentation to the
public upon Thursday the 19th of April next: Therefore, be it
Resolved, etc., That the said invitation be, and the same is hereby,
accepted by the Senate and House of Representatives; and that the
President of the Senate select seven members of that body and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives fifteen members of that body
to be present and represent the Congress of the United States upon
the occasion of the presentation and inauguration of said statue.
(Stat., XXII, 639.)
February 28, 1883 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER). In accordance with the
provisions of the joint resolution of the House (H. 356) accepting
the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution to attend the inaugu-
ration of the statue of Joseph Henry, approved February 24, 1883,
the Chair announces the appointment of the following-named members
to be present and represent the Congress of the United States on th(-
part of the House of Representatives, as provided in said resolution,
namely: Mr. John T. Wait, of Connecticut, Mr. William Aldrich, of
Illinois, Mr. Thomas M. Browne, of Indiana, Mr. John A. Kasson.
of Iowa, Mr. George M. Robeson, of New Jersey, Mr. John W.
Candler, of Massachusetts, Mr. R. J. Walker, of Pennsylvania, Mr.
A. H. Pettibone, of Tennessee, Mr. J. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky,
Mr. J. Randolph Tucker, of Virginia, Mr. Andrew G. Curtin, of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Randall L. Gibson, of Louisiana.
March 3, 1883 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR. Mr. President, I desire to make a statement
to the Senate. Some weeks ago both Houses of Congress accepted the
invitation of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to attend the
unveiling of the statue of Professor Henry, and the Senate voted, in
conjunction with the House, that a committee of a certain number of
Senators I think nine and fifteen members of the House should
represent the two Houses on the occasion. I am informed at the desk
that the committee has not been appointed. I ask unanimous consent
that the presiding officer be authorized to designate that committee
after the adjournment, in case he shall not be able to do it before.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. DAVID DAVIS). The Senator from
Massachusetts asks unanimous consent that the presiding officer of the
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 921
Senate may be authorized after the adjournment to designate the com-
mittee on the part of the Senate to attend the ceremonies of the unveil-
ing of the statue of Joseph Henry, which is to take place after the
adjournment of Congress. Is there objection ? The chair hears none
and it is so ordered.
After the adjournment of the Forty-seventh Congress, second ses-
sion, the Vice-President appointed the following committee to repre-
sent the Senate at the unveiling of the statue of Professor Henry on
April 19, 1883: Mr. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, Mr. Eli Sauls-
bury, of Delaware, Mr. Samuel J. R. McMillan, of Minnesota Mr
Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut, Mr. William Mahone, of Vir-
ginia, Mr. Omar D. Conger, of Michigan, Mr. James B. Groome of
Maryland.
[From Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1883.]
In accordance with the previous arrangements, the statue was un-
veiled on Thursday afternoon, April 19, 1883, at 4 o'clock. The day-
was clear, mild, and propitious, and about 10,000 people assembled to
witness the ceremonies.
The invited guests met in the lecture hall of the National Museum,
and proceeded to the platform which had been erected around the
statue. Gen. O. M. Poe, acted as chief marshal. The direction of
the executive details of the occasion were assigned by Professor Baird
to Mr. William J. Rhees, the Chief Clerk.
The following order of arrangement was adopted:
The President of the United States 1 ; the Chief Justice of the United
States, Chancellor of the Institution; the orator of the day, President
Noah Porter, LL.D.$ of Yale College; the chaplain of the day, Rev.
A. A. Hodge, D. D. ; the family of Professor Henry.
The establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, viz, the Vice-
President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of
War, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Postmaster-
General, Attorney-General, Commissioner of Patents.
The Regents and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and ex-
Regents; the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Represent-
atives, appointed to represent Congress; the Diplomatic Corps; the
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States; Judges
of United States Courts; Claims Commissions; Judges of the supreme
court of the District of Columbia; Senators and Members of the House
of Representatives; Commissioners of the District of Columbia; the
General and officers of the Army; the Admiral and officers of the Navy;
ex-members of the Cabinet and ex-ministers of the United States;
National Academy of Sciences; founders of the Henry trust fund for
science; the Commissioner of Agriculture; the assistant secretaries of
1 The President was absent from the city at the time.
922 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Departments; Solicitor-General and assistant attorneys-general; the
United States marshal and officers of courts; the Light-House Board;
the heads of Bureaus; the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, the
Superintendent of the Naval Observatory, the Superintendent of the
Nautical Almanac, the Director of the Geological Survey, the Libra-
rian of Congress; the Commissioner of Public Buildings, the Architect
of the Capitol, the Superintendent of the Government Printing Office,
the Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, the Visitors of the Gov-
ernment Hospital for the Insane; officers of the Senate and House of
Representatives; Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the Wash-
ington Monument Society; officers and employees of the Smithsonian
Institution, Bureau of Ethnology, National Museum, and United States
Fish Commission; alumni of the College of New Jersey, members of
scientific organizations, etc.
While this procession was moving from the hall in the Museum
building to the platform at the statue, the Marine Band, furnished
through the courtesy of Hon. William E. Chandler, Secretary of the
Navy, and of Colonel McCawley, commandant of the Marine Corps,
played a grand march, "Transit of Venus," composed by J. P. Sousa,
the leader of the band.
The following was the order of exercises:
I. Music Marine Band (J. P. Sousa, conductor), "The Hallelujah Chorus"
(Messiah), Handel.
II. PRAYER Rev. A. A. HODGE, D. D., of Princeton, N. J.
III. ADDRESS Chief Justice WAITE, Chancellor of the Institution.
IV. UNVEILING THE STATUE.
V. Music (Philharmonic Society and full Marine Band, R. C. Bernays, conduc-
tor) Grand chorus, "The Heavens are Telling" (Creation), Haydn.
VI. ORATION Rev. Dr. NOAH PORTER, president of Yale College.
VII. Music (J. P. Sousa, conductor) Grand March Triumphale, "Schiller,"
Meyerbeer.
The Philharmonic Society was assisted by members of the Washing-
ton Operatic Association, the Rossini and Church Choir Choral
societies, the Washington Sangerbund and Germania Mannerchor.
The arrangements for the music were made by a committee of the
Philharmonic Society, of which Prof. F. Widdows was chairman.
The chief of police furnished a detail for the grounds: Mr. Edward
Clark, architect of the Capitol, supplied music stands and stools for
the Marine Band; the Quartermaster's Department lent flags, and the
Department of Agriculture living plants for decorating the platform.
Mr. W. R. Smith, superintendent of the botanic gardens, also fur-
nished floral decorations.
At the moment of unveiling the statue the news was telegraphed
from an instrument on the platform, which had been placed there by
Mr. L. Whitney, the superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph
Company.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 923
TURNER'S AND NELSON'S REPORTS ON ALASKA.
February 21, 1883 Senate.
Joint resolution (S. 134) considered:
Resolved, etc., That the Public Printer be, and he is hereby, authorized to print
and bind, for the use of the Signal Office, 2,000 copies of a report on the meteorology,
geography, botany, and zoology of Alaska, by Lucien M. Turner; also, 2,000 copies
of a report on the same subjects and on the ethnology of Alaska, by E. W. Nelson;
and 2,000 copies of a report of observations on Mount Whitney relative to the absorp-
tion of the sun's heat by the earth's atmosphere, by Processor Langley; and he is
also authorized to contract for the illustrations.
Debated at length.
*
Mr. JOSEPH R. HAWLET. Reference was njpde by the Senator from
Kansas to a resolution referred to the Committee on Printing for the
publication of certain reports upon entomology, etc., of Alaska, as if
(one was compelled to infer from his remarks) an officer salaried by
the Government had been detailed from his natural duties in the Sig-
nal Corps to go to Alaska to make these inquiries. Now, these are
the very simple facts: The Smithsonian Institution inquired whether
at a signal station in Alaska there were not men qualified to make
some of these inquiries, or they may have been sent there upon ordi-
nary duty; they were privates in the Corps; and it was at the request
and suggestion of the Smithsonian Institution that these young men
wrote these treatises and did this work.
Whether those things should be printed or not is a matter for the
Smithsonian Institution to judge. It had better take them and print
them as part of its own work. If it is part of its own work it is not part
of the Signal Service business either to collect that kind of informa-
tion or print it; but inasmuch as the duties of the private at stations
require him only a portion of the day, and require exact, faithful,
perfect performance of his duty at that time and full reports upon it
afterwards, there is no harm whatever, but on the contrary good, if
this young man has a taste for some of the natural sciences, in having
him record his observations at the same time. There was no neglect
of duty, and there was no special detachment, as I have been informed,
for this matter came before the Printing Committee sometime ago,
and I have heard about it at different times. There was no neglect of
dutv and no special detachment in the performance of the service.
******
Mr. PRESTON B. PLUMB. If I wanted to make an adverse criticism
on this Corps I would take the Senator's from Connecticut and not
my own, because this information having been obtained entirely apart
from their Signal Service duty it becomes necessary to have a lot of it
printed for the use of the Signal Corps.
Mr. HAWLEY. I do not think it was. My opinion is that resolution
924 OONGEESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
sleeps and will sleep in the Committee on Printing, and if the informa-
tion should be printed, the Smithsonian Institution will have to attempt
it within its own proper sphere. That shows, I think, that there was
no abuse of the service in that particular matter.
REPORTS OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AND NATIONAL MUSEUM.
February 24, 1882 House.
Mr. HERMAN L. HUMPHREY introduced the following joint resolu-
tion (H. 144):
That the Public Printer be, and he hereby is, instructed to print and stereotype,
from time to time, the regular number of 1900 copies of any matter furnished him
by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution relative to the operations, researches,
and explorations of the Institution and the National Museum, to be capable of being
distributed in parts, and the whole to form annual volumes in quarto or octavo, as
may be required, with suitable illustrations, to be made under the direction of the
Joint Committee on Printing; the extra edition of said works to consist of 5,000
copies, of which 2,500 shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 1,000 for
the use of the Senate, and 1,500 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution,' for dis-
tribution to public libraries and for exchange, the returns for which to be placed in
the Library of Congress.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
June 20, 1882 House. March 1, 1882.
Hon. R. T. VAN HORN,
CJiairman of Joint Committee on Printing,
House of Representatives.
SIR: I beg to make the following statement in explanation of a res-
olution offered in the House a few days since (Feb. 24, 1882) in
reference to the printing by Congress of certain volumes for the
service of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum.
Since the Smithsonian began its labors it has prepared quite a num-
ber of important works of great scientific and practical value. These
consist of papers and reports on the recent progress and present con-
dition of our knowledge upon various scientific subjects, such as
chemical technology, meteorology, general natural history, astronomy,
geography, American antiquities, etc., etc., and constitute a series
eagerly sought after as standard works by libraries throughout the
United States. The edition printed is usually 1,500 copies, which are
distributed
(1) To the principal libraries of the United States which rank in
proportion to the number of volumes already in their possession and
the positions they hold within a certain district;
(2) To colleges and academies; and
(3) To scientific, technical, and industrial societies publishing trans-
actions and furnishing copies of these in return.
A few special presentations are also made gratuitously to persons
engaged in certain researches, covered by the original investigations
relative to the subjects involved. Besides, with few exceptions, all
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 925
the libraries in the various Congressional districts which receive the
Government publications through the Interior Department are on our
books.
Our exchange of publications with societies covers the whole civi-
lized world, and by this method the most valuable collection extant of
transactions of societies and journals of all kinds has been concen-
trated in Washington. Its magnitude may be estimated from the fact
that it now embraces nearly 100,000 volumes, in the pages of which
are presented all the original announcements of discovery in theoret-
ical and applied science, data being thus furnished for magazine arti-
cles, reviews, and text-books. While a library possessing these original
sources of information from all parts of the world is admirably
adapted for enabling inventors and students to keep pace with the
progress of discovery in all countries, it also saves them an expenditure
of time in unwillingly prosecuting investigations already elaborated
and published. Comparatively few of these books, received as
exchanges, can be purchased, the vast majority of these being obtain-
able in no other way than through a system of exchange, such as that
which has been carried on by the Smithsonian for many years.
Thus the publishing fund is converted into books which are bar-
tered for other books of a similar character, the result being a collec-
tion of works, to buy even a portion of which would require a sum
much larger than the fund used in publishing.
The special plea for this application is:
(1) The scientific and educational value of the Smithsonian and
National Museum publications;
(2) Their gratuitous distribution to the public libraries which have
been established as recipients of Government publications;
(3) The fact that the whole of the library accumulated by the
Smithsonian Institution in the manner above described is now a part
of the Congressional Library, constituting one of its most important
factors; and
(4) That all the additional receipts of books, through exchange or
otherwise, are sent at once to the Library of Congress and are imme-
diately incorporated therein.
The publications of the Smithsonian consist of an annual volume of
the quarto series, entitled "Smithsonian Contributions to Knowl-
edge," of which twenty -three have appeared; also an annual volume
of "Miscellaneous Collections" (octavo), of which the same number
have been issued, and the "Proceedings of the National Museum," of
which four volumes are ready, together with the "Bulletins of the
National Museum," whereof one only has thus far been issued, and
several parts which appear separately.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIKD,
926 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
July 6, 1882 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER reported joint resolution (H. 144)
offered by Mr. HERMAN L. HUMPHREY, February 24, 1882.
Mr. SAMUEL J. RANDALL. I hope the gentleman reporting this propo-
sition will tell us the probable cost of this printing.
Mr. SPRINGER. I will; I have the figures here.
Mr. RANDALL. One of the greatest abuses connected with the Gov-
ernment is this unlimited printing, which is not only done under the
action of Congress itself, but which permeates every department of
the Government.
Mr. SPRINGER. I have here an estimate of the cost of printing these
reports for several years past.
Mr. FRANK HISCOCK. Is this matter privileged over an appropria-
tion bill?
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. WARREN KEIFER). The Committee on Print-
ing has the right to report at any time and to have its reports consid-
ered.
Mr. HISCOCK. I call up the sundry civil appropriation bill.
The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks that the report from the Committee
on Printing is in order now.
Mr. HISCOCK. Then I raise the question of consideration upon this
report.
Mr. SPRINGER. This matter can be settled sooner than the ques-
tion of consideration can be disposed of. I desire to state to the
House
Mr. RANDALL. The question of consideration is not debatable.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from New York [Mr. Hiscock] raises
the question of consideration against this report. The question is,
Will the House proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution
which has been read?
Mr. SPRINGER. I have no desire to press this matter against the
wish of the House; I withdraw the report.
July 28, 1882 House.
Mr. W. M. SPRINGER, from the Committee on Printing, reported
back with a favorable recommendation the joint resolution (H. 144)
authorizing the Public Printer to print reports of the Smithsonian
Institution and National Museum.
Mr. WILLIAM S. HOLMAN. I wish to inquire of the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Springer] whether he thinks it is good policy to make
this permanent appropriation for the publication of the works of this
Institution without any further action of Congress? And does he
deem it proper to extend the same principle to any other department
of the Government?
Mr. SPRINGER. These publications of the Smithsonian Institution
have become so well understood and reduced to such a sj^stem that it
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 92?
is deemed advisable to regulate their printing by general law in order
that there may be uniformity in the volumes printed and in the man
ner of their distribution.
I have here a communication from the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution which I erroneously presented to the House on the 20th
>t June last in connection with another matter. It relates however
to this joint resolution, but was by mistake printed heretofore in the
Record in reference to another subject. If the gentleman desires it, I
will have it read now, or it may be printed in the Record.
Mr. HOLMAN. I hope it will be read. I understood that the gentle-
man was opposed to these indiscriminate publications.
Mr. SPRINGER. I am, when they are inconsiderately made, but when
they are reduced to a system I think the publications should be made
permanent.
Mr. HOLMAN. The same argument would apply to all publications.
The SPEAKER (Mr. J. W. KEIFER). The communication will be read
[See House, June 20, 1882.]
*
Mr. FRANK HISCOCK. How did this joint resolution come before the
House?
The SPEAKER. It was reported regularly from the Committee on
Printing.
Mr. HISCOCK. I move that the House now adjourn ?
Mr. SPRINGER. I hope the gentleman will not insist on that motion
now.
Mr. J. RANDOLPH TUCKER. I hope the House will not adjourn.
Mr. HOLMAN. I call for the regular order.
Mr. GEORGE W. STEELE. I desire to move that the House resolve
itself into Committee of the Whole on the Private Calendar.
The SPEAKER. The question is on the motion to adjourn.
The question was taken; and upon a division there were ayes 63,
noes 51.
Before the result of the vote was announced,
Mr. WILLIAM ALDRICH called for the yeas and nays.
Mr. JULIUS C. BURROWS. Oh, no; it is too hot for that.
The question was taken upon ordering the yeas and nays, and there
were thirty-five in the affirmative.
So (the affirmative being more than one-fifth of the last vote) the
yeas and nays were ordered.
The question was taken; and there were yeas 99, nays 66, not vot-
ing 124, as follows:
YEAS. Anderson, Armfield, Atherton, Atkins, Bayne, Bisbee, Blackburn,
Blount, Brewer, Briggs, Browne, Buck, Buckner, Julius C. Burrows, Butterworth,
Cannon, Chace, Samuel S. Cox, William R. Cox, Cullen, Curtin, Dawes, De Motte,
Dezendorf, Dibrell, Dugro, Dunn, Evins, Forney, Garrison, N. J. Hammond, Harmer,
928 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Benjamin W. Harris, Hatch, Hazleton, Hepburn, Abram S. Hewitt, Hiscock,
Holman, Horr, House, Hubbell, Hutchins, Jadwin, Ketcham, Knott, Leedom,
La Fevre, Mackey, Manning, McMillin, Moore, Morrison, Mutchler, Neal, Parker,
Payson, Peirce, Pettibone, Kandall, Ray, Reed, John B. Rice, William W. Rice,
Rich, Robeson, William E. Robinson, Ross, Ryan, Scales, Scoville, Shultz, Simonton,
A. Herr Smith, Dietrich C. Smith, J. Hyatt Smith, Stockslager, Stone, Strait,
Talbott, Taylor, Thomas, P. B. Thompson, R. W. Townsend, Oscar Turner, Wads-
worth, Wait, Ward, Warner, Washburn, Watson, White, Whitthorne, Thomas
Williams, Willis, Willits, Wilson, George D. Wise. 99.
NAYS. Aldrich, Belmont, Blanchard, Bliss, Bowman, Buchanan, Cabell, Camp-
bell, Carpenter, Cassidy, Clements, Colerick, Converse, Crapo, Cravens, Culberson,
Dingley, Ellis, Ermentrout, Errett, Sewell S. Farwell, Ford, George, Gunter, Har-
denbergh, Henry S. Harris, Haseltine, Haskell, Henderson, George W. Jones, James
K. Jones, Klotz, Lewis, Lord, Lynch, McClure, McKenzie, Mills, Morey, Muldrow,
Norcross, Gates, Peelle, Phelps, Pound, Prescott, Reagan, Theron M. Rice, Ritchie,
George D. Robinson, James S. Robinson, Shallenberger, Sherwin, Skinner, Spauld-
ing, Springer, Amos Townsend, Tucker, J. T. Updegraff, Upson, Urner, Vance, Van
Horn, Wellborn, West, Charles G. Williams. 66.
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
March 15, 1882 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR submitted concurrent resolution to print
15,560 copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1881
2,500 for the Senate, 6,060 for the House, 7,000 for the Smithsonian
Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
April 10, 1882 House.
Mr. NATHANIEL C. DEERING introduced resolution to print 24,120
copies 5,000 for Senate, 12,120 for House, and 7,000 for the Smith-
sonian Institution. Referred to Committee on Printing.
May 16, 1882 Senate
Committee reported Mr. G. F. Hoar's resolution of March 15.
Adopted.
June 20, 1882 House.
Mr. W. M. SPRINGER, from the Committee on Printing, reported
Senate resolution of May 16, and recommended its adoption in lieu of
the House resolution offered by Mr. Nathaniel C. Deering, April 10,
1882.
Agreed to.
January 24, 1883 House.
Mr. NATHANIEL C. DEERING, of Iowa, submitted concurrent reso-
lution to print 15,560 copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion for 1882; 2,500 for the Senate, 6,060 for the House, 7,000 for the
Smithsonian Institution. Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 20, 1883 House.
Reported by Mr. R. T. VAN HORN. Passed.
March 2, 1883 Senate.
Passed.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, 1881-1883. 929
ILLUSTRATION OF THE REPORTS.
June 6, 1882 Senate.
Mr. HENRY B. ANTHONY submitted concurrent resolution that the
Public Printer be authorized to contract for the engraving and litho-
graphing illustrating the reports of the Coast and Geodetic Survey
and of the Smithsonian Institution, heretofore ordered to be printed
under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, without pre-
vious advertisement.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
July 21, 1882Senate.
Mr. HENRY B. ANTHONY. The Committee on Printing, to whom
was referred a concurrent resolution authorizing the Public Printer
to contract for illustrating the Coast and Geodetic Survey report and
the Report of the Smithsonian Institution, without previous adver-
tising, have instructed me to report back the same with a bill [S. 2161]
as a substitute and ask for its present consideration, as the docu-
ments are about to be printed.
Be it enacted, etc. , That the Public Printer be, and he is hereby, authorized to con-
tract for the engraving and lithographing illustrating the reports of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, the Smithsonian Institution, the Department of Agriculture, and
the Entomological Commission, under the direction of the Joint Committee on
Printing and without previous advertisement.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. I do not think this bill, which involves a
departure from the established policy of the Government to let out
all contracts to the lowest bidder, ought to pass without some oppor-
tunity for consideration. I therefore object to its consideration.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. DAVID DAVIS). The hour of 12
has arrived and the morning hour is closed. The Senator from Ohio
objected to the consideration of the bill reported from the Committee
on Printing, as the Chair understood, and the morning hour is closed.
ARMY MEDICAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
February 28, 1883 House.
Mr. W. S. SHALLENBERGER, from the Committee on Public Build-
ings and Grounds, reported (H. 1995) a bill (H. 7681) for the erection
of a fireproof building in the city of Washington to contain the
records, library, and museum of the Army Medical Department. 1
Referred to Committee of Whole.
1 In the Smithsonian Park.
H. Doc. 732 59
930 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885.
SMITHSONIAN BUILDING ESTIMATES.
December 3, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1885.
For heating, gas fitting, plumbing, and furnishing the eastern por
tior. of the Smithsonian Institution, $15,000.
December 1, 1884 House.
Estimates for 1886.
For finishing and completing the furnishing of the eastern portion
of the Smithsonian Institution, $5,600.
For urgent and necessary repairs to the central and western portions
of the Smithsonian Institution, $15,200.
February 9, 1885- -House.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, February 9, 1885.
SIR: I beg to submit herewith some explanations in regard to the
two items in the estimates of appropriations connected with the build-
ings of the Smithsonian Institution. At the present time the entire
edifice, with the exception of the eastern end, is occupied exclusively
by the National Museum, this, including three large halls and some
smaller ones, aggregating about 33,000 square feet of purely exhibition
space, with the addition of a large number of offices and workrooms,
amounting to about one-third of the space existing in the National
Museum building. The law of Congress of 1846 directs the Regents
of the Institution, in proportion as suitable arrangements can be
made for their reception, to take charge of all objects of natural
history, geology, art and industry, etc., then belonging or thereafter
to belong to the United States. This had immediate reference to the
collections then in the Patent Office and which occupied the whole of
one of the main halls. In compliance with the urgent request of the
Commissioner of Patents, expressed through the House Committee on
Patents, the transfer was made in 1857, a large appropriation being
made by Congress to fit up the rooms with cases and other require-
ments for their reception. It is to these exhibition rooms that the
appropriation of $15,200 asked for has reference.
The ceiling of one of the halls, 200 by 50 feet, has become loosened
and threatens to fall and crush a large number of valuable glazed cases
and, of course, with corresponding injury to the collections. Some of
the cases require remodeling, so as more satisfactorily to exhibit the
specimens contained in them, and a general renovation of the walls and
ceilings is also required.
The floor of the lower hall, which is 200 by 50 feet, also requires
renewal, having been worn out after a lapse of nearly forty years.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 931
The office and other rooms used by the Smithsonian Institution in its
work are exclusively contained in the eastern end of the building
which has been recently reconstructed and rendered fireproof by Con-
gressional appropriation. A large part of this is occupied entirely by
offices of the Museum, and all its general administrative work is car-
ried on therein, the Secretary, chief clerk, corresponding clerk, and
disbursing agents having general direction of its affairs as well as
those of the Institution, the National Museum building being one of
preparation of specimens and their display.
Notwithstanding the very large portion of the Smithsonian building
occupied exclusively by the National Museum, the general miscella-
neous repairs of the edifice have been provided for from the Smithsonian
fund; but the Institution is unable to meet the heavier expenditures
from its fund of $42,000 per annum.
In addition to the duty of administration of the National Museum,
the Institution also has the direction of the system of international
exchanges inaugurated by Congress in the interest of the Congressional
Library, and maintained by annual appropriation and including the
exchange of the official publications of the United States for those of
other Governments with which this country is in diplomatic relation-
ship. It also conducts the interchange of the publications of all
learned and technical societies of the United States, and of the rest of
the world, receiving and distributing an average of about 100,000
pounds of books every year each way, which represents a large part
of the expenditures of its income entering into this exchange. The
exchange of the publications of the Institution (printed entirely at the
expense of its fund, as above) yields about 5,000 volumes annually of
the most valuable and important original matter; all of which (together
with the exchanges for the Government publications) is promptly
transmitted to the Library of Congress. About 150,000 volumes have
thus been added to the Congressional Library, and represent a very
material proportion of the literary, scientific, and industrial value of
that establishment.
More than one-fourth of the rooms in the eastern end of the Smith-
sonian building are occupied in connection with the service of prepa-
ration and distribution of this system of Government exchanges.
The appropriation of $5,600 asked for is intended to meet the cost
of plastering the ceilings, necessarily left unfinished; the completion
of the heating apparatus; of gas fixtures, of coverings to stairways,
and other necessary requirements for the public service.
Very truly, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. S. J. RANDALL,
Chairman Committee on Appropriation*, etc.
932 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
SMITHSONIAN BUILDING APPROPRIATIONS.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
For finishing, heating, gas-fitting, plumbing, and completely furnish-
ing the eastern portion of the Smithsonian Institution, and for finish-
ing the fourth and fifth stories, including liabilities already incurred,
$15,000.
(Stat. XXIII, 214).
March 3, 1885.
Sundry civil act for 1886.
For finishing and completing the furnishing of the eastern portion
of the Smithsonian Institution building, $5,600.
(Stat., XXIII, 494.)
ETHNOLOGY ESTIMATES.
December 3, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1885.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries and compensation of all necessary
employees, $50,000.
December 1, 1884 House.
Estimates for 1886.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $50,000.
ETHNOLOGY APPROPRIATIONS.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries and compensation of all necessary
employees, $40,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 214.)
March 3, 1885.
Sundry civil act for 1886.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $40,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 494.)
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 933
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES ESTIMATES.
Decembers, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1885.
For expenses of the international exchanges between the United
btates and foreign countries, under the direction of the Smithsonian
Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary emolov
ees, $10,000.
December 1, 1884 House.
Estimates for 1886.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, under the direction of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $10,000.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS.
July 7, 1884.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1885.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 165.)
Naval Observatory : For payment to the Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications sent to foreign countries, $336
(Stat., XXIII, 184.)
Patent Office: For expenses of transporting publications of patents
issued by the Patent Office to foreign governments, $2,000.
(Stat, XXIII, 188.)
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries through the Smithsonian Institution, $300.
(Stat., XXIII, 220.)
July 7, 1884.
Consular and diplomatic act for 1885.
For the expenses of an international exchange of books, docu-
ments, and productions of the United States with foreign countries,
in accordance with the Paris convention of 1877, including salaries
and compensation to all necessary employees, to be expended under
the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, $10,000.
(Stat., XXin, 235.)
March 3, 1885.
Sundry civil act for 1886.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, under the direction of the Smith-
934 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employ cos, $1 0,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 494.)
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries, through the Smithsonian Institute, $200.
(Stat., XXIII, 507.)
March 3, 1885.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1886.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 394.)
Naval Observatory: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications sent to foreign countries, $336.
(Stat., XXIII, 415.)
Patent Office: For expenses of transporting publications of patents
issued by the Patent Office to foreign governments, $2,000.
(Stat., XXIII, 419.)
ARMY MEDICAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
December 10, 1883 House.
Mr. WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS introduced a bill (H. 48):
That a brick and metal fireproof building, to be used for the safe-keeping of the
records, library, and museum of the Surgeon-General's Office of the United States
Army, is hereby authorized to be constructed upon the Government reservation in
the city of AVashington, in the vicinity of the National Museum and the Smithson-
ian Institution, on a site to be selected by a commission composed of the Architect
of the Capitol, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the officer in
charge of the State, War, and Navy Department building, and in accordance with
plans and specifications submitted by the Surgeon-General of the Army and approved
by said commission, the cost of the building, when completed, not to exceed the
surn of $200,000; the building to be erected and the money expended under the
direction and superintendence of the officer in charge of the State, War, and Navy
Department building.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
July 2, 1884 House.
Mr. S. M. STOCKSLAGER reported H. 48 amended.
February 16, 1885 House.
Mr. S. M. STOCKSLAGER. I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H. 48) providing for the erection of a building to contain the
records of the library and museum of the Medical Department, United
States Army, with the amendments reported from the Committee on
Public Buildings and Grounds.
* * * * -X- * *
Mr. O. B. POTTER. Mr. Speaker, I confess I have the gravest
doubts as to the propriety of this project. I think it will end in a
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 935
national library of medicine, a national collection of medical speci-
mens, and finally a national college of medicine, here at the capital
[t seems to me that if we are to do this we may just as well enter
upon any other and all other branches of science, and erect buildings
for them, and establish libraries, and gather specimens for them as
national matters.
Now we have the finest medical colleges in our States, perhaps, in the
world. There is one at Philadelphia, near where the Declaration of
Independence was made and promulgated, and I have no doubt they
will be glad to take and preserve all these specimens where they will
be open to the inspection of medical scientists and students for all time
to come. Our own library, which we are to build up I trust at no
remote day, our national library, would be made all the richer by pro-
viding proper space in which these books may be placed. That dispo-
sition of them will save to the nation not only this $200,000, but will
prevent establishing a precedent the end of which I do not think any
man can foresee.
It will do more than that, sir; this library and museum will end at
last in a staff of officers to take care of it and at the national expense,
and an annual appropriation will be demanded to support and continue
it forever. I am one of those who believe the whole subject of edu-
cation, except as to the local education of the people of this District,
belongs to and will be best guarded, forwarded, and perfected to its
great end by the States through their rivalry and competition in the
pursuit of knowledge and science; but I do not see that the General
Government should enter upon that field. I do not believe that we are
to gain by preserving the relics and bones or wounds caused by the
war at any one place in our capital. I wish they were all buried and
covered all over with green grass and hidden from sight forever.
* * *****
Mr. P. B. THOMPSON, Jr. The only reason I have for opposing this
bill grows out of the fact that I see no necessity for it and that I have
heard no sufficient reason assigned for it by any of the gentlemen who
advocate this measure.
The only reason given us for putting up this building is that there
are belonging to the Surgeon-General's Department 52,000 volumes of
important records, hospital records, etc. Now, these records, if they
belong to the Surgeon-General's Office, do not properly belong to any
library, but constitute part of the records of the War Department,
of which the Surgeon-General's Office is merely one branch. And we
are not told, nor has any gentleman undertaken to say, that the new
War, State, and Navy Department building when completed will not
furnish ample resources for the accommodation of the records we
have.
Mr. STOCKSLAGER. With the gentleman's permission 1 will state
93(> CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. THOMPSON. 1 have but three minutes and have not time to
yield.
Furthermore, we have now in process of construction in this city
what is known as the new Pension building, which covers acres of
ground, and we are not told why these records, which relate indirectly
to the Pension Office, can not be well taken care of in that enormous
building which we are now constructing.
As far as the Medical Museum is concerned, I think we have ample
means of accommodating everything which relates to that museum in
the Smithsonian Institution.
We have further pending before this House a bill which has passed
the Senate to construct a library building which will hold all the books
the Government has. It seems to me one building is enough. We
should deal with this matter not in detail for each separate depart-
ment of the Government, but we should deal with it as a single ques-
tion and construct one building sufficient to hold all the libraries and
museums we need. Therefore I am opposed to the expenditure of
this sum of money, because I believe it absolutely unnecessary.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. R. Q. MILLS). The time allowed in
opposition to the bill has expired.
Mr. STOCKSLAGER. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts [Mr. Lyman],
Mr. THEODORE LYMAN. Medicine and surgery have done something
to cure disease and to lengthen human life. They have done more to
lessen suffering. They have done most of all to prevent disease.
Most of the progress in these arts has been made during the last half
century, and the next fifty years promises a great advance. All over
the civilized world there are great establishments where men of talent
devote their lives to the study of disease. These men have grappled
with the general plagues that decimate our race consumption, small-
pox, diphtheria, cholera, and the typhoid, scarlet, and yellow fevers.
They seek to know their intimate nature and to provide prevention
and cure. There is no subject more baffling, and yet it is yielding to
study. Already they have rendered it highly probable that these
plagues are caused by the fertilization of miscroscopic germs within
the body; so that these diseases are a death struggle between man and
a parasitic fungus. But already we discern a hope that these germs
may be used for inoculation, and may protect us from such diseases,
just as vaccination protects against smallpox.
These profound studies, so essential to the welfare of our people,
are carried on under the fostering care of our National Medical
Museum, whose library, now the first in the world, and whose not less
admirable collection of military pathology are placed at the disposal
of all investigators. If our Fish Commission, Signal Service, and our
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 937
national surveys are worth preserving, then has the Medical Museum
a double claim on our fostering care.
* * * * * * *
Mr. J. F. FOLLETT. Mr. Speaker, the most magnificent medical
museum and library in the world belongs to the Medical Department
of our Army, and is to-day exposed in a building where no private
individual owning such a library would permit it to remain for twenty-
four hours. It has accumulated through the efforts of the medical
fraternity of the United States and has cost the Government com-
paratively nothing.
In the museum department there are illustrations of the effects of
gunshot wounds and injuries received in battle, such as medical
students and the medical profession can have access to in no other waj r .
That museum and library should be kept by itself, and should be kept
in a building where it would not be exposed to danger by reason of
its surroundings. To the medical fraternity of the United States it
has been for years, and is now, an object of special solicitude that this
property should be put in such a position as not to be constantly
exposed to the danger of being lost or destroyed. The building in
which it is now located has already begun to tumble to the ground.
The rear wall is more than 12 inches out of plumb, and, as I said
before, no private individual would think of leaving such property in
such a building for any length of time.
* * * * * * *
The question being taken on the motion of Mr. STOCKSLAGEB to sus-
pend the rules and pass the bill as amended, it was agreed to; there
being ayes 181, noes 23 (two-thirds voting in the affirmative).
February 25, 1885 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MOKRILL. I am directed by the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds to report favorably the bill (H. 48) provid-
ing for the erection of a building to contain the records of the library
and musuem of the Medical Department, United States Army.
I desire to say that if the committee had deemed it necessary to
amend the bill they would have amended it by specifically providing
for the location of the site, which, as they believe, should be at the
corner of B street and Seventh street SW., for the reason that the
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have a title to the land round
about the Smithsonian to the extent of 30 acres; and unquestionably
within a very short time, probably less than half a dozen years, the
museum there now will have to be doubled in order to contain even
the amount of articles that are ready to go into it at the present time.
I have conferred with two members of the commission, and 1 find
that they would be both in favor of the location on the site mentioned
by rue that is, on the corner of B and Seventh streets, SW. There-
938 CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDINOS.
fore wo do not make any amendment. As the bill is very short, T
will ask to have it read, for the purpose of asking its present consid-
eration.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore (Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS) . The Senator from
Vermont asks unanimous consent that the bill reported by him from
the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds be now considered.
Mr. J. J. INGALLS. Is the morning business through ?
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is not.
Mr. INGALLS. I ask for the regular order.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The regular order is called for. The
bill will be placed on the calendar.
February 26, 1885 Senate.
Passed.
March 2, 1885.
Beit enacted, etc., That a brick and metal fireproof building, to be used for the
safe-keeping of the records, library, and museum of the Surgeon-General's Office of
the United States Army, is hereby authorized to be constructed upon the Govern-
ment reservation in the city of Washington, in the vicinity of the National Museum
and the Smithsonian Institution, on a site to be selected by a commission com-
posed of the Secretary of War, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, and in accordance with plans and specifications submitted
by the Surgeon-General of the Army and approved by said commission, the cost of
the building, when completed, not to exceed the sum of $200,000; the building to be
erected and the money expended under the direction and superintendence of the
Secretary of War.
SEC. 2. That the sum of $200,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the commencement and completion of said
building.
(Stat., XXm, 389.)
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
January 7, 1884 House.
The SPEAKER (Mr. JOHN G. CARLISLE) announced the appointment
of the following members of the House as Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, to date from the fourth Wednesday of December, 1883:
Otho R. Singleton, of Mississippi, William L. Wilson, of West Vir-
ginia, William Walter Phelps, of New Jersey.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By Joint Resolution.
February 8, 1884 Senate.
Mr. N. P. HILL introduced a joint resolution (S. 58).
Referred to Committee on the Library.
February 14, 1884 Senate.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. I am directed by the Committee on the Library,
to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. 58) filling an existing
vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, to
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 939
report it without amendment. As that Board is about to meet, and it
is proper the matter should be disposed of, I will ask for the present
consideration of the resolution. It will take but a moment
February 25, 1884 House.
Passed.
March 3, 1884.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, of the class " other than members of
Congress," shall be filled by the reappointment of Noah Porter, of
Connecticut, whose term of service has expired
(Stat., XXIII, 269.)
April 24, 1884 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL introduced a joint resolution (S. 81).
May 9, 1884 House.
Mr. OTHO R. SINGLETON. I hold in my hand a letter from Professor
Baird, asking that a Senate bill and a joint resolution be passed in refer-
ence to a vacancy in the Board of Regents, and providing for appoint-
ment of an acting secretary. They are matters of course, and I ask
unanimous consent to take them up and pass them.
Joint resolution (S. 81) to fill vacancy in Board of Regents by
appointment of James C. Welling, passed.
May 13, 1884.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution, of the class "other than members of
Congress," occasioned by the resignation of Peter Parker, be filled by
the appointment of James C. Welling, of the city of Washington.
(Stat., XXIII, 272.) '
UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE.
January 11, 1884 Senate.
Mr. WILKINSON CALL introduced a bill (S. 1044).
Referred to Committee on Education and Labor.
May 9, 1884 Senate.
Mr. W. CALL asked for consideration of bill (S. 1044):
Be it enacted, etc., That the sum of $1,000,000 be, and the same is hereby, appro-
priated, to be paid as hereinafter provided, as a perpetual endowment for a uni-
versity of original research and of medicine as a part of the Smithsonian Institution,
at the capital of the United States, in the District of Columbia.
SEC. 2. That the sum of $100,000 be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, and
the same shall be paid or expended at such times and in such amount as shall be
directed by the President of the United States, for the erection of suitable buildings,
as the same may be necessary, for the use of the said university of original research
and of medicine as a part of the Smithsonian Institution, and to purchase ground for
the same.
940 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
SEC. 3. That the interest on the said sum of $1,000,000 shall Ix annually paid for
salaries of the professors and for the expenses of such university, including the
expense of experiments in all methods of treating disease, in testing and proving the
effects of remedial agents of every kind, and for such hospitals as may be necessary
for the purposes of such institution; the said expenses to be determined from time
to time by the President of the United States and the trustees of such university.
SEC. 4. That the professors' chairs in said university shall be open to all schools of
medicine and all methods of treatment and cure of disease.
SEC. 5. That the allopathic, homeopathic, and eclectic schools of medicine shall all
be represented in the professors' chairs of said university, and free and impartial
opportunity afforded for the scientific and practical proof of the value of each of such
schools of medicine, and of their methods and processes, and for the proof of any
and all new discoveries of remedial agents and methods of treatment, the end and
purpose of the establishment of this university being to stimulate researches into all
methods for the cure of disease, and to furnish scientific and practical evidence of
the effects of all remedial agents, and to apply the severest processes of reason and
experiment to all alleged discoveries and remedial agencies for the cure of disease
and the relief of mankind from suffering and for the improvement of the public
health.
SEC. 6. That the board of trustees shall decide what professorship shall be estab-
lished; and whenever any system or method of cure of disease shall obtain any con-
siderable hold on the public mind it shall be the duty of the said board of trustees
to allow the professors of such system to appear at this university and submit the same
to scientific examination and practical experiment and proof; and the expense of the
same shall be paid out of the interest of the sum hereinbefore appropriated for the
annual expenses of the university.
SEC. 7. That suitable hospitals for tha treatment of diseases according to the
methods of all systems, and for experiment with all remedial agents, shall be estab-
lished and a careful and accurate record kept of all medicines administered, and the
effect of the same, and an accurate and correct and minute statement made of the
condition of the subject of the treatment, and of his disease and symptoms, and if
the treatment or experiment is upon a person in good health, of his condition in this
respect, to the end that facts may be gathered in such numbers as to afford a sound
basis for reasonable conclusions in reference to all systems and remedial agencies,
both those now known and such as may hereafter be discovered.
(No action.)
ETHNOLOGY REPORTS.
January 24, 1884 Senate.
Mr. JOHN A. LOGAN introduced a joint resolution (S. 47) for print-
ing the fourth and fifth annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
January 29, 1884 House.
Mr. O. R. SINGLETON introduced joint resolution (H. 137) for print-
ing the fourth and fifth annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 21, 1884 House.
Mr. W. F. ROGERS, from Committee on Printing reported:
The committee find upon investigation that the number -provided in said resolu-
tion is the number printed annually since the organization of the Bureau. These
annual reports embrace the aggregate results in a popular form of the progress and
researches of the Bureau, and are designated for general distribution to schools,
libraries, and collaborators of the Bureau.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 941
The cost of illustrations for these reports has been materially reduced by the
The
Referred to Committee of the Whole.
April 19, 1884 House.
H. 137 passed.
June 20, 1884 Senate.
Mr. J. R. HAWLEY. I am directed by the Committee on Printing to
report the joint resolution (S. 47), for printing the annual reports
of the Bureau of Ethnology adversely, and move its indefinite post-
ponement, to be followed by concurrence in a House joint resolution
on the same subject.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). The question
is on the motion to indefinitely postpone the joint resolution.
Agreed to.
Mr. HAWLEY. I report from the same committee the joint resolu-
tion (H. 137) for printing the annual reports of the Bureau of
Ethnology, favorably, with amendments.
The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, considered the joint
resolution.
The first amendment reported by the committee was in line 4, after
the word "the," where it first occurs, to insert "fourth and fifth," so
as to read:
That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 15,000 copies of each of the
fourth and fifth annual reports of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with
accompanying papers and illustrations.
Mr. HAWLEY. The resolution as it came from the House made a
permanent order for the printing of these reports. That is not the
present policy of Congress. It is to order printing as it comes from
year to j^ear. We confine the resolution to the fourth and fifth vol-
umes, which are on hand. That is the meaning of the amendment.
Agreed to.
The next amendment was after the word "illustration," in line 6,
to strike out "beginning with the report for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1883."
Mr. HAWLEY. That is in pursuance of the purpose I have just indi-
cated, to make it an appropriation for the current work, and not a
permanent appropriation.
Agreed to.
The next amendment was. in line 9, before the word "thousand,"
to strike out "two" and insert "three;" after the word "thousand,"
to insert "of each;" and in the same line, after the word " Senate," to
strike out "eight" and insert "seven," so as to read:
And uniform with the preceding volumes of the series, of which 3,000 of each
shall be for the use of the Senate, 7,000 for the use of the House of Representatives,
and- 5,000 for distribution by the Bureau of Ethnology.
942 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. F. M. COCKRELL. I would suggest that 3,000 ought to be 3,500
for the Senate, to keep up what has been considered the proper respec-
tive numbers to be allotted to the Senate and the House. The Senate
should have one-half as man} 7 " as the House. Make it 3,500 for the
use of the Senate and 7,000 for the use of the House.
Mr. HAWLEY. The committee changed it to very nearly one-
half each.
Mr. COCKRELL. Let us have it exactly one-half. I move to amend
the amendment by making the number 3,500, instead of 3,000, for
the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri moves to
amend the amendment of the Committee on Printing by striking out
" 3,000" and inserting "3,500."
The amendment to the amendment was agreed to.
The joint resolution was reported to the Senate as amended, the
amendments were concurred in, and the resolution passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will call the attention of the
Senator from Connecticut to the fact that the total number of copies
provided for in the joint resolution is 15,000, while the distribution
provided calls for 15,500.
Mr. HAWLEY. That is a mere correction of figures. Let the correc-
tion be made to correspond with the subsequent amendments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The correction will be made in line 4 after
the word "thousand" by inserting " five hundred," so as to read:
That there shall be printed at the Government Printing Office 15,500.
June 24, 1884 House.
Passed as amended.
June 26, 1884.
Resolved, etc., That there be printed at the Government Printing
Office 15,500 copies of each of the fourth and fifth annual reports of
the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with accompanying papers
and illustrations, and uniform with the preceding volumes of the
series; of which 3,500 of each shall be for the use of the Senate, 7,000
for the use of the House of Representatives, and 5,000 for distribution
by the Bureau of Ethnology.
(Stat., XXHI, 275.)
February 18, 1885 Senate.
Mr. WILKINSON CALL introduced a joint resolution (S. 127) to author-
ize the printing of the sixth and seventh annual reports of the Bureau
of Ethnology. Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 19, 1885 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER introduced joint resolution (H. 339):
That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 15,500 copies each of the
Sixth and Seventh Annual Reports of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with
accompanying papers and illustrations, and uniform with the preceding volumes of
the series; of which 3,500 shall be for the use of the Senate, 7,000 for the use of the
House of Representatives, and 5,000 for distribution by the Bureau of Ethnology.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 943
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 26, 1885 Senate.
Mr. C. F. MANDERSON. I am directed by the Committee on Printing,
to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. 127) to authorize the
printing of the reports of the Bureau of Ethnology, to report it with-
out amendment, and I ask for its present consideration.
The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, considered joint resolu-
tion.
Mr. F. M. COCKRELL. I wish to ask a question in regard to this mat-
ter. I should like to ask the Senator from Nebraska, the chairman of
the Committee on Printing, why it is that the previous volumes of this
work have not been furnished us for distribution ? They were ordered
to be printed, it seems to me, a year or two ago. I have constant appli-
cations for them and they are not in the document room. Is there any
reason known why they should not have been furnished long ago ?
Mr. MANDERSON. There is none known to me. The consideration
of that matter did not come before the committee in connection with
this joint resolution. It may be that the volumes are not yet issued
from the Printing Office. I shall be very glad to make inquiry for the
Senator.
Passed.
February 26, 1885 House.
Mr. WILLIAM F. ROGERS, from Committee on Printing, reported
joint resolution (H. 339). Passed.
February 26, 1885 Senate.
H. 339, passed.
February 27, 1885 Senate.
House requested to return resolution (S. 127) to print sixth and sev-
enth reports Bureau of Ethnology.
February 28, 1885 Senate.
Reconsidered resolution (S. 127) and referred to Committee on
Printing.
March 2, 1885.
Resolved, etc., That there be printed at the Government Printing
Office 15,500 copies each of the Sixth and Seventh Annual Reports
of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with accompanying
papers and illustrations, and uniform with the preceding volumes of
the series; of which 3,500 shall be for the use of the Senate, 7,000 for
the use of the House of Representatives, and 5,000 for distribution by
the Bureau of Ethnology.
(Stat., XXIII, 519.)
March 3, 1885 Senate.
S. 127 postponed indefinitely.
944 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
NATIONAL MUSEUM SUNDAY OPENING.
March 24, 1884 House.
Mr. WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS presented a petition of residents of the
District of Columbia that the National Museum be opened on Sundays
the same hours as on week days. Referred to Committee on District
of Columbia.
NATIONAL MUSEUM TRANSPORTATION .
July 5, 1884.
Army act for 1885.
Provided also, That hereafter the Quartermaster-General and his
officers, under his instructions, wherever stationed, shall receive, trans-
port, and be responsible for all property turned over to them, or any
one of them, by the officers or agents of any Government survey, for the
National Museum, or for the. civil or naval departments of the Govern-
ment, in Washington or elsewhere, under the regulations governing
the transportation of Army supplies, the amount paid for such trans-
portation to be refunded or paid by the Bureau to which such property
or stores pertain.
(Stat., XXIII, 111.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM REPORT.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
The Director of the National Museum is hereby directed to report
annually to Congress the progress of the Museum during the year and
its present condition.
(Stat., XXIII, 214.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 3, 1883 House.
Estimates for 1885.
For construction, in a fireproof manner, of an additional museum
building, to receive the collections and laboratories in chemistry, geol-
ogy, mineralogy, metallurgy, taxidermy, etc.; and for the offices and
laboratories of the United States Geological Survey, to be erected under
the direction and supervision of the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, on the southwest corner of the grounds of the Smithsonian
Institution, $200,000.
For the erection of a fireproof brick storage building east of the
National Museum for receiving, unpacking, assorting, and storing the
natural-history collections of the Government; to replace the wooden
structures now used for the purpose, $10,000.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 945
For covering coal vaults and sidewalk on south and east front* of
National Museum building, $1,000.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Govern-
ment and other sources, including salaries or compensation of all nec-
essary employees, $95,000.
For transfer and arrangement of the collections of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers, presented to the Government, $10 000
For the preparation and installation of duplicate specimens belong-
ing to the United States, for deposit with such State or national expo-
sitions as may be authorized by Congress to receive them, $5,000.
For care of the Armory buildings and grounds, and expense of
watching, preservation, and storage of the duplicate collections of the
Government, and the property of the United States Fish Commission
contained therein, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $3,500.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of the United States National Museum, and for salaries or
compensation of all necessary employees, $60,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical serv-
ice, $6,000.
For printing and binding (through the Secretary of the Interior)
$10,000.
For postage (through the Secretary of the Interior), $3,000.
December 1, 1884 House.
Estimates for 1886.
For the erection of a fireproof building for storing the alcoholic
collections of the National Museum, $15,000.
NOTE. The safety of the interior of the National Museum and the Smithsonian
building is endangered by the large number of alcoholic specimens kept therein,
and it is considered by public museums, both at home and abroad, very important
to have a separate building for their reception and preservation. There are at
present no suitable accommodations for these collections.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical service
for the National Museum, $10,000.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Govern-
ment, and from other sources, including salaries or compensation of
all necessary emploj^ees, $110,000.
NOTE. Much complaint has been made by employees of the Museum and their
friends that the salaries paid are so much below the Government standard, and the
increase of the present estimate over that for the fiscal year 1885 is intended to make
up the difference. The average of payment at the present time is $60 per month for
each individual, while that for the Department of Agriculture, representing about
the same average of employees, is $81 per month for each person employed. More
than sixty persons in the Museum are greatly underpaid.
H. Doc, 732 60
946 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
For care of the Armory building and its grounds, and for the
expense of watching, preservation, and storage of property of the
National Museum and of the United States Fish Commission con-
tained therein, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $2,500.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of the United States National Museum, and for salaries or
compensation of all necessary employees, $50,000.
December 21, 1884.
December 81, 1884.
SIR: T beg to inclose herewith an item to refund to Messrs. Semon
Bache & Co., of New York, $3,562.56 for duties on sundry lots of
plate glass furnished by them for cases for the United States National
Museum from their stock, and to respectfully request that the same
be incorporated in the general deficiency estimates shortly to be .sub-
mitted to Congress by the Treasury Department.
In explanation of this item 1 would state that from time to time, for
several years past, the Treasury Department, at our request, has
granted free permits for incoming glass to offset that furnished from
stock to the National Museum, and for the New Orleans, Cincinnati,
and Louisville expositions, by the firms in question, but that in
June ( ?) last an order was issued by the Treasury Department, declin-
ing to grant further permits unless tha glass came directly from the
custom-houses to this city. The amount of duties now asked to be
refunded we have found to be correct, and covers the entire liability
of the Government on this account, to the firm mentioned, to the
present day.
T have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. HUGH MCCULLOCH,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Refund of duty to Semon Bache & Co. : To refund the duty paid by Semon Bache
& Co., from imported stock furnished to the National Museum and the New
Orleans, Louisville, and Cincinnati expositions for exhibition cases, $3,562.56.
January 24, 1885 House.
Deficiency estimates for 1885.
To pay sundry bills for miscellaneous fixtures and for glass for
exhibition cases for the National Museum, being for the service of
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, $2,891.42.
To meet expenses of receiving, packing, transporting to Washington,
and installing or storing such new specimens and collections as may
be, presented to the United States at the New Orleans Exposition, to
be available for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1885 and 1886, $10,000,
To cost of restoring the collections sent to the New Orleans Expo-
sition to their proper places in the National Museum, including repair.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 947
of cases and renewal of glass, to be available for the fiscal years
ending June 30, 1885 and 1886, $5,000.
NOTE. From the experience of the Philadelphia, Berlin, and London exhibitions,
and that held at Boston in 1883, a very large amount of valuable material, illustra-
ting the natural resources of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America,
as well as of other parts of the world, will be presented to the Government of the
United States, many offers and promises, indeed, having already been received.
The amount thus obtained at Philadelphia filled about 30 freight cars and embraced
some of the most highly prized objects in the National Museum.
The transportation to so great a distance of the exhibits from the National Museum,
and their exposition in a temporary building with a leaking roof, has already caused
serious injury to them and their cases, and their continued exposure to the same
evils for nearly six months longer and their returQ to Washington will greatly
increase their deterioration. Much time and labor will also be required to place the
specimens in their proper places, for which there is now no provision.
For payment to the credit of the Union Pacific Railway Company
(Kansas division) for transportation furnished January 10, 1876, on
account of the ethnological exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution at
the International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876, $33.40.
NOTE. This will involve the expenditure of no money from the Treasury, but
will be withheld under the law and credited to the Union Pacific account.
To refund the duty paid by Semon Bache & Co. upon glass from
imported stock furnished to the National Museum and the New
Orleans, Louisville, and Cincinnati expositions for exhibition cases,
$3,562.56.
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
For the preservation and exhibition and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Gov-
ernment, and other sources, including salaries or compensation of all
necessary employees, $91,000.
For transfer and arrangement of the collections of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers, presented to the Government, in-
cluding expenses already incurred, $10,000.
For care of the Armory building and grounds and expense of watcl
ing preservation, and storage of the duplicate collections of the
Government and of the property of the United States Fish Commis-
sion contained therein, including salaries or compensation o
necessary employees, $2,500.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of the
collections of the United States National Museum, and for salaries or
compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical serv-
ice for the new Museum building, $6,000.
948 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
For paving sidewalk on south and east fronts of National Mu-
seum building, $1,000.
(Stat, XXIII, 209.)
July 7, 1884.
Deficiency act for 1884, etc.
To refund the duty paid by L. Strauss & Sons, May 23, 1879, upon
a Sevres vase presented by them to the National Museum, $210.50.
(Stat., XXIII, 246.)
March 3, 1885.
Sundry civil act for 1886.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical serv-
ice for the new Museum building, $9,000.
For the preservation and exhibition and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Gov-
ernment, and other sources, including salaries or compensation of all
necessary employees, $95,000.
For care of the Armory building and grounds, and expense of
watching, preservation, and storage of the property of the National
Museum and of the United States Fish Commission contained therein,
including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees, $2,500.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition of
the collections of the United States National Museum, and for salaries
or compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
(Stat, XXIII, 501.)
March 3, 1885.
. Deficiency act for 1885, etc.
For payment to the credit of the Union Pacific Railway Company
(Kansas Division) for transportation furnished January 10, 1876, on
account of the ethnological exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution at
the International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876, $33.40.
(Stat, XXIII, 452.)
To pay sundry bills for miscellaneous fixtures and for glass for
exhibition cases for the National Museum, being for the service of the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, $2,891.42.
To meet expenses of receiving, packing, transporting to Washing-
ton, and installing, or storing, such new specimens and collections as
may be presented to the United States at the .New Orleans Exposition,
to be available for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1885 and 1886,
$5,000.
For cost of restoring the collections sent to the New Orleans Expo-
sition to their proper places in the National Museum, including repair
of cases and renewal of glass, to be available for the fiscal years
ending June 30, 1885 and 1886, $2,500.
(Stat., XXIII, 463.)
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 949
BUREAU OF FINE ARTS.
March 26, 1884 Senate.
Mr. WILKINSON CALL introduced a bill (S. 1935) to establish a
Bureau of the Fine Arts in connection with the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. Referred to Committee on Education and Labor.
PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR OF SENATE.
April 8, 1884 Senate.
Mr. P. B. PLUMB submitted a resolution relative to granting the
privilege of the floor of the Senate:
Resolved, That Rule XXXIII be amended by adding after the words " The heads
of Departments," in the seventh line of the rule as printed for the use of the Senate,
the following: "Including the Commissioner of Agriculture."
The President pro tempore (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). The reso-
lution will be referred to the Committee on Rules, if there be no
objection.
Mr. WILLIAM P. FRTE. I should prefer that that be not referred,
but that it lie over, so that the Senate may vote upon it and express
its opinion. That question has been before the Committee on Rules
twice already, and of course the committee would be glad to be gov-.
erned by the wishes of the Senate.
Mr. PLUMB. I ask that the resolution may lie over.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution will lie over.
April 9, 1884 Senate.
On motion of Mr. I. G. HARRIS, the resolution was referred to
Committee on Rules.
April 22, 1884 Senate.
On motion of Mr. PRESTON B. PLUMB, Order of Business 501 being
under consideration relative to privilege of the floor of the Senate,
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL said: I have a suggestion to make to the
Senator from Kansas to which I think he will not object, and that
is to insert after the words "the Commissioner of Agriculture" the
words "the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution." It will not be
very frequent, I presume, that that gentleman will be likely to want
to come on the floor of the Senate, but occasionally he is required to
be here. I should like very much to see him on one matter this mom-
ing if I could telephone and have him come here. I presume there
will be no objection to the amendment which I suggest.
Mr. PLUMB. I am in favor of one thing at a time. There is no par-
ticular relation between th^se two officers. There is no reason why
the head of the Smithsonian Institution should be added as an amend-
ment to my motion. The resolution was offered by me for the accom-
plishment of a particular purpose. When that purpose has been
accomplished, if the Senate desires to add further to the list of persons
950 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
who are entitled to be admitted to the floor of the Senate for any rea-
son, either as a matter of usefulness or as a matter of courtesy, I shall
have no objection, but I do not care to have the name of any officer
coupled with this officer. He is entitled to be here as the head of a
Department, as he always has been here until the present session of
the Senate, when, by some new and, I think, very strained construc-
tion of the rule, he has been excluded, although the language of the
rule remains precisely as it had been since time immemorial.
Mr. MORRILL. I shall not embarrass the Senator, but I give notice
that after the action of the Senate upon the amendment proposed by
him I shall move to further amend the rule as I have suggested.
*******
The President pro tempore (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). The ques-
ton is on the amendment proposed by the Senator from Kansas [Mr.
Plumb].
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. MORRILL. I now move to amend the rule by inserting after
" the Architect of the Capitol extension " " the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution."
. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the amendment of
the Senator from Vermont.
Mr. JOHN J. INGALLS. I move the reference of that to the Committee
on Rules.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kansas moves that
this amendment be referred to the Committee on Rules.
Mr. MORRILL. 1 hope that motion will not be adopted.
Mr. INGALLS. I object to its consideration to-day.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair thinks the amendment is
in order. The motion to refer, the Chair thinks, if agreed to, would
carry the resolution.
Mr. INGALLS. The resolution?
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution to which the Senator
from Vermont offers his amendment. The general question before
the Senate is on agreeing to a resolution reported by the Committee
on Rules which has been amended on the motion of the Senator from
Kansas [Mr. Plumb], but the resolution is still before the Senate.
The Senator from Vermont moves to still further amend the resolu-
tion, and the Senator from Kansas [Mr. Ingalls] mo vs that this amend-
ment be referred to the Committee on Rules.
Mr. INGALLS. I have no desire to carry the resolution to the Com-
mittee on Rules, but I submit to the Senator from Vermont that there
is absolutely no reason whatever urged for this proposed extension.
The Senator says it might possibly be convenient for this gentleman
to appear on the floor and that he should like himself to see him here
for a moment or two this morning if it were possible. If this exclu-
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 951
sion is significant or valuable, if it is the intention to admit those here
only who are necessary for the transaction of the business of the
body, then the Senator from Vermont has given no sound reason why
the rule should be extended. There certainly is not the reason for the
admission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution that there is
tor the admission of the Commissioner of Pensions, who has to do with
business that is called to the personal attention of every member of
this body probably a great many times every day.
I suggest that the Senator from Vermont had better ask for the con-
sideration of a general resolution as to what further admissions to the
floor shall be permitted, instead of asking that this one gentleman shall
be admitted by an amendment to this pending resolution.
Mr. OMAR D. CONGER. The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion is at the head of an institution known throughout the civilized
world. The National Museum is connected with it. He represents,
perhaps, as far as this Government has any such representation at
all, the literary and scientific progress of the people of the United
States. He is at the head of an institution fostered by this Govern-
ment, intimately connected with the question of the enlightenment of
the people, the diffusion of knowledge among men; and 1 think myself
that it would be an honor to the Senate and an honor to the country
that we should recognize it from time to time as we summon the Sec-
retary of that Institution to a place here. The former Secretary, Pro-
fessor Henry, reflected much credit on the literary and scientific attain-
ments of the people of the United States. The present Secretary is a
worthy successor. In view of the aid the Government has given to
the Institution, I think it would be an honor to the Senate and an honor
to the Government that its head should be recognized as worthy of a
place to meet Senators in their own Chamber. I wonder that the prop-
osition has not been made before this time. I shall very gladly
support it now.
Mr. MORRILL. I am somewhat surprised that a single Senator should
object to the admission of a gentleman of so great merit and whose
extreme modesty we all so much appreciate. It has been common for
us to apply to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for various
kinds of scientific investigations on ventilation and various other
subjects that I might mention.
In relation to the necessity of the Commissioner of Pensions coming
here, it is impossible for that officer to answer the inquiries of Sen-
ators or Members in relation to any private bill that may be pend-
ing. It depends upon facts in his office, and therefore we seek such
information through letters directed to him at his office. It is not
often that he will ever be wanted here for anything else.
I do not desire to consume time, Mr. President. If there are half a
dozen Senators here who are against this proposition I shall be dis-
posed to withdraw it.
952 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS .
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on the motion of the
Senator from Kansas to refer the amendment to the Committee on
Rules.
Mr. INGALLS. I withdraw the motion.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The motion to refer is withdrawn.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment of the Senator from
Vermont [Mr. Morrill].
The resolution as amended was agreed to.
ACTING SECRETARY OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
April 23, 1884 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR introduced a bill (S. 2093) relative to the
appointment of an acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
April 25, 1884 Senate.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN, from the Joint Committee on the Library, to
whom was referred S. 2093, reported it without amendment, "and as
this is a matter of formal administration I ask that it be acted upon
now."
Mr. F. M. COCKRELL. I should like to hear some reasons for the
passage of the bill.
Mr. SHERMAN. This is the ordinary provision made to provide for
the absence of Professor Baird. Professor Baird may sometimes be
absent, and this provision is substantially similar to what is provided
for other offices and Departments of the Government to fill the duties
of the office during his absence or disability or inability.
Mr. COCKRELL. Not to supplant him in any way ?
Mr. SHERMAN. Not at all. I believe it was recommended by the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
The President pro tempore (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). At the
request of the Secretary, the Chair understands.
Mr. SHERMAN. At the request of the Secretary. It is to provide
for a contingency common in other Departments of the Government.
Passed.
May 9, 1884 House.
Passed.
May 13, 1884.
Be it enacted, etc. , That the Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion may, by an instrument in writing filed in the office of the Secretary
thereof, designate and appoint a suitable person to act as Secretary of
the Institution when there shall be a vacancy in said office, and when-
ever the Secretary shall be unable from illness, absence, or other
cause to perform the duties of his office; and in such case the person
so appointed may peform all the duties imposed on the Secretary by
law until the vacancy shall be filled or such inability shall cease. The
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 953
said Chancellor may change such designation and appointment from
time to time as the interests of the Institution may in his judgment
require.
(Stat. XXIII, 21.)
NEUMANN'S SILK FLAG.
April 25, 1884 Senate.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. I am directed by the Joint Committee on the
Library to report back a resolution submitted by the Senator from
California [Mr. John F. Miller] and to recommend its passage. As it
is a very brief matter, I ask for its present consideration.
The Chief Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
Resolved, That the silk flag presented by Mr. Joseph Neumann, of California, to
the Senate and accepted by the Senate on the 12th day of July, 1870, the said flag
being, it is believed, the first American flag made of American silk, be deposited in
the Smithsonian Institution for exhibition and preservation.
The President pro tempore (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). Is there
objection to the present consideration of the resolution ? The Chair
hears none. The question is on agreeing to it.
Mr. JOSEPH R. HAWLEY. 1 have not the slightest objection to the
resolution, but I wish merely to put on record my grave doubt as to
whether that is the first native American flag. It is my duty as a
representative of the Connecticut manufacturers to say that.
Mr. SHERMAN. We do not say that it is the first by adopting the
resolution.
Agreed to.
EXPOSITIONS.
New Orleans Exposition.
May 21, 1884.
An act to make a loan to aid, etc.
Whereas by the act of Congress entitled "An act to encourage the
holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in
the year 1884," approved February 10, 1883, in the city of New Orleans,
under the joint auspices of the United States, the National Cotton
Planters' Association of America, and the said city of New Orleans, a
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition is to be held,
universal in character, comprehending all arts, manufactures, and
products of the soil and mine; and
Whereas by said act Congress declares that such exposition should
be national and international in its character; and
Whereas under said act a board of management has been duly con-
stituted and incorporated under the laws of the State of Louisiana,
the members of which have been appointed by the President of the
United States upon recommendations made in the manner set forth in
said act, and therefore are a duly qualified and commissioned United
954 CONGEESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
States board of management clothed with full and adequate powers to
perform any and all acts essential to the proper and necessary manage-
ment of the affairs of the said World's Industrial and Cotton Centen-
nial Exposition in the manner and form prescribed by said act, and
duly authorized by the sanction of the Government of the United
States to raise the capital necessary to carry into effect the provisions
of said act of February 10, 1883; and
Whereas the President of the United States, in compliance with the
terms and requirements of said act, has extended, in the name of the
United States, a respectful and cordial invitation to the governments
of other nations to be represented and take part in the said interna-
tional exposition; and
Whereas the preparations designed by the World's Industrial and
Cotton Centennial Exposition and in part executed by the board of
management are in accordance with the spirit of the act of Congress
relating thereto, and are on a scale creditable to the Government and
the people of the United States: Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc., That the sum of $1,000,000 be, and the same
is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the public Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, as a loan to the World's Industrial and
Cotton Centennial Exposition, to be used and employed by the board
of management thereof to augment and enhance the success of the
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in such man-
ner as said board of management may determine and in accordance
with the provisions of this act: Provided, That the said sum shall be
paid by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States on the
drafts of the president and secretary of the board of management of
the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition authorized
by order of said board, one-third of the amount immediately after the
passage of this act upon being satisfied that $500,000 has been contrib-
uted and paid in to the said board for the purposes of the exposition
by the contributors to and shareholders of the World's Industrial and
Cotton Centennial Exposition, and the remainder in four monthly pay-
ments thereafter upon being satisfied that each of the prior payments
has been faithfully applied as required by this act, and for this purpose
he shall have free access to the accounts and all transactions of said
board: Provided further, That no greater amount shall be expended
or liability or indebtedness of any kind incurred upon buildings,
grounds, and preparations than the aggregate sum that may be paid
in by the subscribers to the capital stock and by donations and the
amount of the loan provided herein: And provided further, That in
the distribution of the amounts that may remain in the treasury of the
board of management after the payments of the current expenses of
administration the amount of the appropriation hereinbefore made
shall be paid in full into the Treasury of the United States before any
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 955
dividend or percentage of profits or assets shall be paid to the holder*
of said stock ^or contributors: Provided further, That the Government
of the United States shall not, under any circumstances, be liable for
any debt or obligation created or incurred by the World's Industrial
and Cotton Centennial Exposition, or its board of management or for
any sum whatever in addition to the amount appropriated by this act-
and that adequate space to be determined by the President of the United
btates for such exhibits as the Government of the United States may
see proper to make at said exposition shall be furnished free of all
charge by said board: Provided further, That no sum shall be paid to
the said board of management of said exposition until after the presi-
dent, secretary, and a majority of the members of said board shall
have executed a bond, with good and solvent security, to be approved
by the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sum of $300,000, to sufficiently
secure the safe-keeping and the faithful disbursement of the sum
hereby appropriated, and for the faithful observance of this act with
regard to the limitation of expenditures and liabilities as fixed herein,
and for the repayment to the Government of the United States of the
surplus of proceeds of said exposition remaining after payment of the
current expenses of administration, said repayment in no case to exceed
the loan herein appropriated and provided for: And prwided further,
That the receipt of the loan herein made or any part thereof by said
board of management shall be a full acceptance of all the trusts, con-
ditions, provisions, and obligations of this act by the said board of
management and by the corporation created under the laws of the State
of Louisiana and designated as "The World's Industrial Cotton Cen-
tennial Exposition."
(Stat, XXHI, 28.)
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
To enable the several Executive Departments, the Department of
Agriculture, and the Smithsonian Institution to participate in the
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition to be held at New
Orleans, Louisiana, under act of Congress of February 10, 1883, as
follows: For the War Department, $15,000; for the Navy Depart-
ment, $10,000; for the State Department, $10,000; for the Treasury
Department, $12,000; for the Interior Department, $125,000; for
the Post-Office Department, $10,000; for the Department of Agri-
culture, $25,000; for the Department of Justice, $3,000; for the Smith-
sonian Institution (including the National Museum and Commission
of Fish and Fisheries), $75,000; for necessary incidental expenses of
administration by the board, including office rent, fuel, gas, stationery,
telegrams, and expressage, $15,000; in all, $300,000, to be disbursed
under the direction of the Board on United States Executive Depart-
ments appointed under Executive order of May 13, 1884; and no
956 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
expenses of any kind beyond the amounts herein provided for shall be
incurred by any of the said Departments, or any officer thereof, on
account of said exposition.
(Stat., XXHI, 207.)
March 3, 1885.
Deficiency act for 1885, etc.
Expenses of the United States Executive Departments at World's
Industrial Exposition at New Orleans: That any surplus arising from
appropriations made to either of the Departments by act of July 7,
1884, for participation in the World's Industrial Cotton Centennial
Exposition at New Orleans, may be used for the purpose of liquidating
the indebtedness of any other Department, subject to the provision
affecting the same in the sundry civil appropriation bill passed this
session.
(Stat., XXIII, 467.)
March 3, 1885.
Sundry civil act for 1886.
For final aid to the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Expo-
sition, now being held in the city of New Orleans, in the State of
Louisiana, not to exceed the sum of $335,000, to be immediately
available, and to be used first in payment of the indebtedness now
outstanding of said exposition which is due to persons, firms, or corpo-
rations living and doing business outside of the State of Louisiana,
including debts due to foreigners or foreign nations, and such as are
due to States and Territories from said exposition; secondly, in pay
ment of all premiums heretofore awarded or which shall be hereafter
awarded by said exposition in accordance with the lists of awards
heretofore published; said money to be disbursed under the direction
of the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall make proper rules and
regulations for the form and verification of vouchers in proof of such
indebtedness, and shall detail a proper agent of his Department to
disburse said funds as directed by said Secretary, who shall make a
detailed statement of his transactions to the Treasury Department.
Also for the woman's department of the said exposition, $15,000.
And no part of the foregoing sums shall be paid until statements and
exhibits in detail satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury are
made of all expenditures under the appropriation made by act of May
21, 1884, and that said expenditures have been made for the purposes
and in the manner provided for in said act; and the Secretary of the
Treasury shall report to Congress, at the beginning of the next session,
all such detailed statements made to him of the expenditures under
said appropriation and also under this appropriation; and the neces-
sary expenses of these examinations shall be paid from this appro-
priation.
(Stat., XXIII, 512.)
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 957
Jul 7 1884 Cincinnati Industrial Exposition.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
To enable the several Executive Departments of the Government
including the Department of Agriculture and the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, to participate in the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, to be held
at Cincinnati, Ohio, during the months of September and October
1884, $10,000: Provided, That in case more than the said sum be*
required for the execution of this provision the same should be paid
by said exposition.
(Stat., XXIII, 207.)
Louisville Exposition.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
To enable the several Executive Departments of the Government,
including the Department of Agriculture and the Smithsonian Institu-
tion to participate in the Southern Exposition to be held at Louisville,
Ky., from August 16 to October 25, 1884, $10,000: Provided, That in
case more than the said sum be required for the execution of this pro-
vision the same should be paid by said exposition.
(Stat, XXIII, 207.)
London International Fishery Exhibition.
July 7, 1884.
Deficiency act for 1884, etc.
For the payment of the remaining expenses connected with the
service of the International Fishery Exhibition held at London in
1883, and for the preparation of the report called for by act approved
July 18, 1882, to be expended by the United States Commissioner of
Fish and Fisheries, under the direction and regulations of the Depart-
ment of State, $10,000, the same to be available until June 30, 1885.
(Stat, XXIII, 237.)
REPORT OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
June 10, 1884 Senate.
Mr. J. R. HAWLET. I report from the Committee on Printing the
usual annual resolution for printing the report of the Smithsonian
Institution.
The President pro tempore (Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS). The Sen-
ator from Connecticut asks that the concurrent resolution be now
considered.
Mr. F. M. COCKRELL. Let it be read.
Resolved, etc., That the annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year
1883 be printed; and that there be printed 15,560 extra copies, of which 2,500 shall
be for the use of the Senate, 6,060 for the use of the House of Representatives, and
7,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
958 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. HAWLEY. That is in the usual form, in the same language as the
preceding annual resolutions upon the same subject.
Mr. COCKRELL. Would not this be a very good time to conform to
the general rule and give the Senate 3,000 copies and the House 6,000,
in accordance with the rule that I understand the Senate has adopted
whenever it has been brought before it? I offer that amendment.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will call attention to Rule
29, the second paragraph of which provides that
Motions to print additional numbers shall also be referred to the Committee on
Printing
which has been done
and when the committee shall report favorably the report shall be accompanied by
an estimate of the probable cost thereof.
Mr. HAWLEY. The estimate is always ready, but its reading is not
always called for. The figures are on the back of the resolution. I
think the cost will be $10,000.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator from Missouri repeat
his amendment?
Mr. COCKRELL. I move to amend by striking out "2.500," as the
number provided for the Senate, and inserting "3,000," and then let
the House have 6,000, so as to give the Senate just half the number
given to the House.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Missouri moves to
amend the resolution by striking out "2,500" and inserting "3,000,"
so as to read: "of which 3,000 shall be for the use of the Senate and
6,060 for the use of the House of Representatives."
Mr. COCKRELL. Let it be 6,000 for the use of the House.
Mr. HAWLEY. Let the 6,060 go; make as few amendments as possi-
ble.
Mr. COCKRELL. Very well; let it go. Just change the aggregate.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the
amendment of the Senator from Missouri.
Agreed to.
Mr. COCKRELL. The aggregate that goes to the Smithsonian Institu-
tion will be decreased just 500 copies.
Mr. HAWLEY. I would not decrease the number for the Smithsonian.
They make their estimates with accuracy, and usually know what they
want.
Mr. COCKRELL, Then increase the whole number 500.
Mr. HAWLEY. Increase the aggregate. The amendment made adds
500 to the aggregate.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The resolution, if there be no objec-
tion, will be amended so as to make the aggregate 16,060, the number
having been increased 500. The amendment will be agreed to if there
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 95!)
D ^^ t0 the 1>esolutio *
The resolution as amended agreed to.
June 24, 1884 House.
Mr. ALFRED M. SCALES, from the Committee on Printing, reported
favorably Senate concurrent resolution to print Smithsonian report for
looO.
Mr. SCALES. I desire to say one word. This is the same number
recommended heretofore. The Senate increased what was recom-
mended by the House 500 copies. It was so late in the session we
concluded to allow them to have them, and they have taken everv CODV
themselves.
Adopted.
January 24, 1885 Senate.
Mr. S. B. MAXEY introduced concurrent resolution to print 16,060
copies of the report of the Smithsonian Institution and National
Museum for 1884, 7,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred.
January 26, 1885 Senate.
Passed.
January 28, 1885 House.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 4, 1885 House.
Passed.
January 24, 1885 Senate.
Mr. S. B. MAXEY introduced a resolution (S. 114).
Referred to Committee on Printing.
January 27, 1885 Senate.
Passed.
March 3, 1885 House.
Passed.^
March 3, 1885.
That the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution shall be
hereafter printed at the Government Printing Office, in the -same
manner as the annual reports of the heads of departments are now
printed, for submission in print to the two Houses of Congress.
(Stat. XXIII, 520.)
VENTILATION OF HALL OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
June 24, 1884 House.
Mr. JOHN HARDY, from the Committee on Ventilation and Acous-
tics, submitted a report (H. 1970).
The Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics, charged with the duty
of inquiring into the present method of heating, lighting, and venti-
lating the Hall of the House of Representatives, respectfully report
960 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
that they have given the subject a careful investigation, and have
heard the views and opinions of experienced and competent scientists
in regard thereto, and have caused experiments to be made as to the
character and quality of the air of the House.
The committee herewith submit the arguments and statements made
before the committee and the result of experiments made under their
direction.
MARCH 10, 1884.
The committee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present the Chairman, Messrs. Green, Shelley, Evans, Jeffords, and Brewer.
The CHAIRMAN laid before the committee a report l from Prof. Spencer F. Baird
and others, comprising the advisory board to the Committee on Ventilation and
Acoustics during the Forty-fifth Congress.
Report of the board of United States officers convened by request of the Committee
on Ventilation of the Forty-eighth Congress.
' ' The board has the honor to report that, in accordance with the request of the
Committee on Ventilation, it has examined the plans submitted by Mr. T. C. Perry
for the improvement on the ventilation of the Hall of the House of Representatives.
" It is the opinion of the board that if these plans were carried out the ventilation
of the Hall would not be as good as it is at present. Ventilation by aspiration has
been tried in the Hall before, and with unsatisfactory results. If it be desired to
try it again all the machinery necessary for the purpose is on hand, and the trial
can be made without the necessity of purchasing fans or of expending money for
the purpose.
' ' The board does not think that downward ventilation would give good results in
the Hall.
"All of which is respectfully submitted.
"SPENCER F. BAIRD, Chairman,
' ' Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
"Tnos. LINCOLN CASEY,
" Lieutenant- Colonel Engineers.
"EDWARD CLARK,
"Architect United States Capitol.
"J. S. BILLINGS,
"Surgeon, United States Army."
* * * * * * *
The chairman inquired from Professor Baird whether he had any suggestion to
make as to the improvement of the ventilation in the Hall.
Professor Baird replied that he had come into the board after the work had been
done. He had succeeded Professor Henry simply for the purpose of keeping up the
organization. After Professor Henry's death he had been appointed Secretary, but
at that time all the work had been done by the other gentlemen. His position was,
therefore, rather honorary than active. He only knew the subject from what he
had heard the other gentlemen say.
The chairman remarked that Colonel Casey had been an active member of the
commission.
Professor Baird assented. He (the professor) knew nothing on the subject.
Forty-eighth Congress, first session House. Report H. 2026.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 961
Mr Jeffords asked him whether he was familiar with the apparatus and the
machinery and the design of the work.
Professor Baird could not say that he was.
Recommitted to Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics.
FREE POSTAGE.
July 5, 1884.
Post-Office act for 1885.
SEC. 3. That section 29 of the act of March 3, 1879 (United States
Statutes at Large, page 362), be, and it is hereby, amended so as to
read as follows:
"The provisions of the fifth and sixth section of the act entitled
'An act establishing post routes, and for other purposes ' approved
March 3, 1877, for the transmission of official mail matter, be, and
they are hereby, extended to all officers of the United States Govern-
ment, not including members of Congress, the envelopes of such mat-
ter in all cases to bear appropriate indorsements containing the proper
designation of the office from which or officer from whom the same is
transmitted, with a statement of the penalty for their misuse. And
the provisions of said fifth and sixth sections are hereby likewise ex-
tended and made applicable to all official mail matter of the Smithson-
ian Institution: Provided, That any department or officer authorized
to use the penalty envelopes may inclose them with return address to
any person or persons from or through whom official information is
desired, the same to be used only to cover such official information, and
indorsements relating thereto: Provided further, That any letter or
packet to be registered by either of the Executive Departments, or
bureaus thereof, or by the Agricultural Department, or by the Public
Printer, may be registered without the payment of any registry fee;
and any part-paid letter or packet addressed to either of said depart-
ments or bureaus may be delivered free; but where there is good rea-
son to believe the omission to prepay the full postage thereon was
intentional, such letter or packet shall be returned to the sender: Pro-
vided further, That this act shall not extend or apply to pension agents
or other officers who receive a fixed allowance as compensation for
their services, including expenses of postages. And section 3915 of
the Revised Statutes of the United States, so far as the same relates
to stamps and stamped envelopes for official purposes, is hereby
repealed. "
(Stat. XXIII, 158.)
NOTE. See also Stat. XVII, p. 307, for Act June 8, 1872, allowing to pass free in
the mail "all publications sent or received by the Smithsonian Institution, marked
on each package 'Smithsonian Exchange'." New Postal Code, sixth subdivision,
see. 184.
H. Doc. 732 61
962 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
PUBLIC PRINTING AND BINDING.
July 7, 1884.
Sundry civil act for 1885.
* * * That it shall not be lawful for the head of any Executive
Department or of any bureau, branch, or office of the Government, to
cause to be printed, nor shall the Public Printer print, any docu-
ment or matter of any character whatever except that which is author-
ized by law and necessary to administer the public business, nor shall
any bureau officer embrace in his annual or other report to be printed
any matter not directly pertaining to the duties of his office as pre-
scribed by law.
(Stat., XXIII, 227.)
HENRY STATUE.
July 7, 1884.
Deficiency act for 1884, etc.
For expense of freight on statue of Joseph Henry from Rome to
Washington, and all expenses by the Smithsonian Institution con-
nected with the erection and ceremonies of unveiling said statue, $900.
(Stat., XXIII, 246.)
GRANT RELICS.
February 4, 1885 Senate.
Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the
offer of Mrs. Grant to give to the Government, in perpetual trust,
the military and civil testimonials lately belonging to General Grant.
To the Senate:
I take especial pleasure in laying before Congress the generous
offer made by Mrs. Grant to give to the Government, in perpetual
trust, the swords and military and civil testimonials lately belonging
to General Grant. A copy of the deed of trust, and of a letter
addressed to me by Mr. William H. Vanderbilt, which I transmit
herewith, will explain the nature and motives of this offer.
Appreciation of General Grant's achievements and recognition of
his just fame have in part taken the shape of numerous mementos and
gifts, which, while dear to him, possess for the nation an exceptional
interest. These relics, of great historical value, have passed into the
hands of another whose considerate action has restored the collection
to Mrs. Grant as a life trust, on the condition that at the death of
General Grant, or sooner, at Mrs. Grant's option, it should become the
property of the Government, as set forth in the accompanying papers.
In the exercise of the option thus given her, Mrs. Grant elects that
the trust shall forthwith determine, and asks that the Government
designate a suitable place of deposit and a responsible custodian for
the collection.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 963
The nature of this gift and the value of the relics which the gener-
osity of a private citizen, joined to the high sense of public regard
which animates Mrs. Grant, have thus placed at the disposal of the
Government, demand full and signal recognition, on behalf of the
nation, at the hands of its representatives. I therefore ask Congress
to take suitable action to accept the trust and to provide for its secure
custody, at the same time recording the appreciative gratitude of the
people of the United States to the donors.
In this connection, I may pertinently advert to the pending legisla-
tion of the Senate and House of Representatives, looking to a national
recognition of General Grant's eminent services by providing the means
for his restoration to the Army on the retired list. That Congress, by
taking such action, will give expression to the almost universal desire
of the people of this nation is evident, and I earnestly urge the passage
of an act similar to Senate bill No. 2530, which, while not interfering
with the Constitutional prerogative of appointment, will enable the
President in his discretion to nominate General Grant as General
upon the retired list.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
February 3, 1885.
DEED OP TRUST.
Whereas I, William H. Vanderbilt, of the city of New York, by virtue of a sale
made under a judgment in a suit to foreclose a chattel mortgage in the supreme court
of this State, in which I was plaintiff, and Ulysses S. Grant defendant, which judg-
ment was entered on the 6th day of December, 1884, and under an execution
in another suit in said court between the same parties upon a judgment entered
December 9, 1884, have become the owner of the property and the articles described
in the schedule hereto annexed, formerly the property of Ulysses S. Grant,
Now, therefore, to carry out a purpose formed by me, and in consideration of one
dollar to me paid, I do hereby transfer and convey each and every one of the articles
mentioned and itemized in the said schedule to Julia Dent Grant. To have and hold
the same to her, her executors and administrators, upon the trust and agreement
nevertheless hereby accepted and made by her that on the death of the said Ulysses S.
Grant or previously thereto, at her or their option, the same shall become and be the
property of the nation, and shall be taken to Washington and transferred and con-
veyed by her and them to the United States of America.
In witness whereof the said William H. Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant have
executed these presents this 10th day of January, A. D. 1885.
Sealed and delivered in presence of
W. H. VANDERBILT.
JULIA DENT GRANT.
Schedule of swords and medals, paintings, bronzes, portraits, commissions and addresses,
and objects of value and art presented by various Governments in the world to Gen.
Grant.
Mexican onyx cabinet, presented to General Grant by the people of Pueblo, Mexico.
Aerolite, part of which passed over Mexico in 1871.
964 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Bronze vases, presented to General Grant by the Japanese citizens of Yokohama,
Japan.
Marble bust and pedestal, presented by workingmen of Philadelphia.
General Grant and family, painted by Coggswell.
Large elephant tusks, presented by the King of Siam.
Small elephant tusks, from the Maharajah of Johore.
Picture of General Scott, by Page, presented by gentlemen of New York.
Crackleware bowls (very old) , presented by Prince Koon, of China.
Cloisonne jars (old) , presented by Li Hung Chang.
Chinese porcelain jars (old) , presented by Prince Koon, of China.
Arabian Bible.
Coptic Bible, presented by Lord Napier, who captured it with King Theodore of
Abyssinia.
Sporting rifle.
Sword of Donelson, presented to General Grant after the fall of Fort Donelson,
by officers of the Army, and used by him until the end of the war.
New York sword, voted to General Grant by the citizens of New York, at the
fair held in New York.
Sword of Chattanooga, presented to General Grant by the citizens of Jo Daviess
County, 111. (Galena), after the battle of Chattanooga.
Roman mug and pitcher.
Silver menu and card, farewell dinner of San Francisco, Cal.
Silver menu of Paris dinner.
Horn and silver snuffbox.
Silver match box (used by General Grant).
Gold table, modeled after the table in Mr. McLean's house on which Gen. R. E.
Lee signed the articles of surrender. This was presented to General Grant by
ex-Confederate soldiers.
Gold cigar case (enameled), presented by the Celestial King of Siam.
Gold cigar case (plain), presented by the Second King of Siam.
Gold-handled knife, presented by miners of Idaho Territory.
Nine pieces of jade stone, presented by Prince Koon of China.
Silver trowel, used by General Grant in laying the corner stone of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York.
Knife, made at Sheffield for General Grant.
Gold pen, General Grant's.
Embroidered picture (cock and hen), presented to General Grant by citizens of
Japan.
Field-glasses, used by General Grant during the war.
Iron-headed cane, made from the rebel ram Merrimac.
Silver-headed cane, made from wood used in the defense of Fort Sumter.
Gold-headed cane, made out of wood from old Fort Du Quesne, Pennsylvania.
Gold-headed cane, presented to General Grant as a tribute of regard for his
humane treatment of the soldiers and kind consideration of those who ministered
to the sick and wounded during the war.
Gold-headed cane, used by General La Fayette, and presented to General Grant
by the ladies of Baltimore, Md.
Carved wood cane, from the estate of Sir Walter Scott.
Uniform as General of the United States Army.
Fifteen buttons, cut from the coats during the war by Mrs. Grant after the different
battles.
Hat ornament, used at Belmont.
Hat ornament, used at Fort Donelson.
Shoulder-straps (brigadier-general), worn by General Grant at Belmont, Fort
Donelson, and Shiloh.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 965
Shoulder-straps (lieutenant-general), cut from the coat used by General Gra
the campaigns against Richmond and Petersburg and Lee's army
Shoulder-strap (lieutenant-general), cut from General Grant's coat
of shoulder-straps (general), cut from a coat General Grant used after the
Medal from the American Congress (gold) for opening the Mississippi
Gold medal, from Philadelphia.
Twenty-one medals (gold, silver, and bronze), badges of armies and corps
Ten medals (silver and bronze), sent to General Grant at different times
Fourteen medals (bronze), in memory of events.
Silk paper (Louisville Commercial) , printed for General Grant.
Silk paper (Daily Chronicle), printed for General Grant.
Silk paper (Burlington Hawkeye), printed for General Grant
Collection of coin (Japanese). This is the only complete set, except one which is
in the Japanese treasury. Seven of these pieces cost $5,000. Thifl set was presented
by the Government of Japan.
Warrant as cadet at West Point.
Commission brevet second lieutenant (missing).
Commission second lieutenant (missing).
Commission brevet first lieutenant (missing).
Commission as first lieutenant United States Army.
Commission as brevet captain United States Army.
Commission as captain United States Army.
Commission as colonel of volunteers.
Commission as brigadier-general.
Commission as major-general.
Commission as major-general United States Army.
Commission as lieutenant-general United States Army.
Commission as general United States Army.
Commission as honorary member of M. L. A., San Francisco.
Commission as member of Sacramento Society of Pioneers.
Commission as honorary member Royal Historical Society.
Commission as Military Order of Loyal Legion.
Commission as member of the Aztec Club.
Certificate of election President of the United States.
Certificate of reelection President of the United States.
Certificate of honorary membership Territorial Pioneers of California.
Certificate of honorary membership St. Andrew's Society.
Certificate of election LL. D., Harvard College.
Certificate of election honorary membership of the Sacramento Society.
Certificate of Pioneers of California.
Certificate of election honorary member Mercantile Library, San Francisco.
Freedom of the city of Dublin, Ireland.
Freedom of the city of Stratford-on-Avon.
Freedom of the city of London, England.
Freedom of the city of Glasgow, Scotland.
Freedom of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Freedom of the city of Ayr, Scotland.
Freedom of the burgh of Inverness, Scotland.
Freedom of the city of Oakland, America.
Freedom of the city of San Francisco, America.
Freedom of the city of Londonderry, Ireland.
The freedom of many other cities.
Address to General Grant from the Chamber of Commerce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
1877.
966 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Address to General Grant from the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of the city of
Manchester, England, May 13, 1877.
Address to General Grant by the workingmen of Birmingham, England, October
16, 1877.
Address to General Grant from the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade,
San Francisco, Cal., September, 1879.
Address to General Grant by mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of
Gateshead, England.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, magistrates, aldermen,' and
councilors of the borough of Leicester, England.
Address to General Grant by the Americans of Shanghai, China, May 19, 1879.
Address to General Grant by the Calumet Club of Chicago, 111.
Address to General Grant from the Society of Friends in Great Britain.
Address to General Grant from Chamber of Commerce of Penang.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough
of Southampton, England.
Address to General Grant by the provost, magistrates, and town council of the royal
borough of Stirling.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Tynemouth,
England.
Address to General Grant by the mayor and town council of Sunderland.
Address to General Grant by the trade and friendly societies of Sunderland.
Address to General Grant by the public schools of Louisville, Ky.
Address to General Grant by the colored men of Louisville, Ky.
Address to General Grant by ex-Confederate soldiers.
Address to General Grant by the State of Louisiana.
Address to General Grant by the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of
San Francisco, Cal.
Address to General Grant by the British workmen of London, England.
Address to General Grant by the North Shields Shipowners' Society, England.
Address to General Grant by the Chamber of Commerce, Sheffield, England.
Address to General Grant from mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of borough of Royal
Leamington Spa, England.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Sheffield,
England.
Address to General Grant by wardens, etc. , and commonalty of the town of Shef-
field, England.
Address to General Grant from the provost, magistrates, and town council of the
city and royal burgh of Elgin, Scotland.
Address to General Grant from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough
of Folkestone, England.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough
of Jarrow, England.
Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Gateshead,
England.
Address to General Grant from the Carpenters' Company.
Address to General Grant from the citizens of Cincinnati, congratulating him on
his second election as President of the United States.
Address to General Grant from the citizens of Nagasaki, Japan.
Resolutions of the Territorial Pioneers admitting General Grant to membership.
Resolution of the Caledonian Club of San Francisco, enrolling General Grant as an
honorary member.
Resolutions of the citizens of Jo Daviess County, presenting a sword to General
Grant. (Sword of Chattanooga.)
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1885. 967
Resolutions of the Washington Camp, of Brooklyn, Long Island.
First resolutions of thanks of the Congress of the United States.
First resolutions inviting General Grant to visit the house of representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Second resolutions of thanks from the Congress of the United States.
Letter from citizens of Jersey City thanking General Grant for his Des Moines, Iowa,
speech on the question of public schools.
Presentation of a silver medal by the Union League Club of Philadelphia, for gal-
lantry and distinguished services.
Vote of thanks by Congress to Gen. U. S. Grant, etc.
Other resolutions, addresses, votes of thanks, and freedom of cities.
640 FIFTH AVENUE, January 20, 1885.
DEAR SIR: I purchased the articles of historical interest belonging to General Grant
and gave them to Mrs. Grant, in trust, to hold during the lifetime of the General, and
at his death, or sooner, at her option, they to become the property of the Govern-
ment. They consist of his swords, memorials of his victories from the United States,
States, and cities, and tributes to his fame and achievements from governments all
over the world. In their proper place, at Washington, they will always be secure,
and will afford pleasure and instruction to succeeding generations. This trust has
been accepted by Mrs. Grant, and the disposition of the articles is in conformity to
the wishes of the General. I transmit to you herewith the deed of trust. Mrs. Grant
informs me that she prefers to close the trust at once and send the memorials to
Washington. May I ask, therefore, that you will designate some official, represent-
ing the proper Department, to receive them, and direct him to notify Mrs. Grant of
the arrangements necessary to perfect the transfer, and deposit in such of the Gov-
ernment buildings as may be most suitable?
Yours, respectfully,
W. H. VANDERBILT.
His Excellency CHESTER A. ARTHUR,
President of the United States.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
February 7, 1885 Senate.
Mr. JOHN SHERMAN. The Committee on the Library, to which was
referred the message of the President of the United States transmitting
the offer made by Mrs. Grant to give to the Government in perpetual
trust the swords and military and civil testimonials lately belonging
to General Grant, have had the same under consideration, and direct
me to report a joint resolution accepting the gift. As it is a matter
which I presume will receive the assent of every Senator, and ought
to be acted upon promptly in order to do it graciously, I ask for the
present consideration of the joint resolution.
The joint resolution (S. 119) accepting the gift of William H.
Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant, to the
United States of certain articles, was read twice by its title.
The President pro tempore (Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS). The Senator
from Ohio asks unanimous consent that the joint resolution be now
considered. Is there objection ? The Chair hears none. The joint
968 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
resolution is l>efore the Senate as in Committee of the Whole and
will be read.
Whereas William H. Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant have, by deed of trust
executed on the 10th d<ty of January, 1885, presented to the United States certain
swords, medals, paintings, bronzes, portraits, commissions, and addresses, and objects
of value and art presented by various governments in the world to General Ulysses
S. Grant, as tokens of their high appreciation of his illustrious character as a soldier
and a statesman: Therefore
Be it resolved, etc., That the United States accepts the said property and articles,
more fully described in the schedule attached to said deed of trust, to be held by the
United States and preserved and protected in the city of Washington for the use and
inspection of the people of the United States. And the thanks of Congress are hereby
tendered to the said William H. Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant for their generous
and valuable gift.
Resolved, That the said property and articles are placed under the custody of the
Librarian of Congress; and the Secretary of War is hereby directed to receive the
same for safe-keeping and custody in the Department of War until they can be trans-
ported by the Librarian of Congress to a suitable building to be provided for the use
of the Library of Congress.
Passed.
The preamble was agreed to.
DOCUMENTS.
February 9, 1885.
Joint resolution approved for printing and distributing "Descrip-
tive Catalogue of Government Publications," provided two copies for
the Smithsonian Institution, and fifty for foreign exchanges.
(Stat., XXIII, p. 517.)
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (ENTOMOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY.)
February 20, 1885 Senate.
The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, considered the bill
(H. 8030), making appropriation for the Agricultural Department for
the year 1886.
Mr. W. MILLER, of New York. I am instructed by the Committee
on Agriculture and Forestry to move an amendment, in line 57, to strike
out the word "twenty" and insert "thirty;" and also in the same line
to strike out "twenty" and insert "thirty;" so as to read:
And other expenses on the practical work of entomological division, $30,000; in
all, $37,900.
The occasion for this increase arises in this wise. In line 51 there
has been inserted in this bill a clause including:
And for the promotion of economic ornithology, or the study of the interrelation
of birds and agriculture, an investigation of the food, habits, and migration of birds
in relation to both insects and plants, and publishing report thereon, for drawings,
and for chemicals and traveling and other expenses.
FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, 1883-1*85. 969
Those words have been put into this bill this year, of course result-
ing m an increase of the labor of the entomological division and lamelv
increasing its expenditures if it is to do the work that has been assigned
to it. The reason for this has come about in this wise: There has been
organized in this country an ornithological union, composed of the
leading naturalists of this country, extending over the entire country
and also over Canada. There has also been organized an international
ornithological union, and these unions of the different civilized coun-
tries are acting in connection. Some of them have been at work for
several years. The unions of the various countries have applied to
their respective governments, asking that the governments take up
this work to a certain extent that is, the work of the collation of
facts and the publications of facts.
These ornithological. unions, which are studying the questions des-
ignated in these lines, are doing the work voluntarily for the advance-
ment of science and the good of mankind in general. These asso-
ciations are entirely voluntary, and all their work is done without
compensation for love of the cause. They have collected and are col-
lecting large amounts of information upon this subject, which is very
valuable and is undoubtedly to be of great value to the agriculturists
as a class. They do not feel able to undertake the work of classifying
and collating the information which they have obtained or of publish-
ing it for the benefit of the world, and they have asked for the action
indicated in the lines which I read.
During the past two years there have been scattered all over the
United States more than a thousand gentlemen engaged in making
these observations. Circulars were prepared and sent out to all the
various stations by the Smithsonian Institution at the request of the
Ornithological Union, of course the expense being paid by the Smith-
sonian Institution, as under the law it had a right to do; but it is not
able to go on with the proper publication of these results. A very
large amount of information has been obtained. All the light-house
keepers in the United States and in Canada have been instructed by
the proper department to obtain the information desired; blanks have
been furnished them, and they have made regular reports, and these
reports have come in in very large numbers.
The Ornithological Union presented some weeks ago to Congress a
memorial fully setting forth the work they were doing and what they
desired the Government to do in the premises.
* * * * * * *
This matter was laid before the Department of Agriculture and
brought to the attention of the Smithsonian Institution, and Professor
Baird joined in recommending this action, and of course an appropria-
tion is needed. The result has been that authority to undertake this
investigation and the compilation of the statistics and the data which
970 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
can be furnished and will be furnished by this union has been put
into this bill, but there has been no increase of the appropriation for
the expenditures of the entomological division. Ten thousand dol-
lars was asked for as being the least sum that can properly do this
work. When the bill passed the House and the chief of this divi-
sion, Dr. Riley, discovered it, he came to see me, and not finding me,
wrote to me a letter, portions of which I will read, and from which
the Senate will see that it is necessary to increase this appropriation
somewhat; otherwise the work can not be done at all.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS). The question is on
agreeing to the amendment proposed by the Senator from New York.
The amendment was agreed to v
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Vice- President.
March 24, 1885 Senate.
The Vice-President (Mr. THOMAS A. HENDRICKS) appointed Justin
S. Morrill to fill the vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution occasioned by the expiration of his term of service.
The VICE-PRESIDENT appointed Shelby M. Cullom to fill the vacancy
in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution occasioned by
the expiration of the term of Nathaniel P. Hill.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By the Speaker.
January 12, 1886 House.
The Speaker (Mr. JOHN G. CARLISLE) announced the appointment
of the following Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: Otho R.
Singleton, of Mississippi, William L. Wilson, of West Virginia,
William Walter Phelps, of New Jersey.
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS
By joint resolution.
December 8, 1885 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL introduced joint resolution (S. 1):
That the existing vacancies in the Board of Eegenta of the Smithsonian Institution
of the class "other than members of Congress" shall be filled by the reappointment
of John Maclean, of New Jersey; Asa Gray, of Massachusetts; Henry Coppee, of
Pennsylvania; and the appointment of Montgomery C. Meigs, of the city of Wash-
ington, vice William T. Sherman, whose term has expired, and who is no longer a
citizen of Washington.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 97 1
Ordered to lie on the table.
December 10, 1885 Senate.
Ro Mr ri J i R M ? R 7\ Ca " ed U P the it resolution in relation to the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. MORRILL. I will merely state that this joint resolution is for
the ^appointment of three of the present Regente, and to supply the
vacancy in consequence of the removal of General Sherman from the
city, in whose place the name inserted is that of General Meigs.
The resolution was then read.
Mr. JOHN J. INGALLS. Has the joint resolution been reported bv
any committee ?
The President pro tempore (Mr. G. F. EDMUNDS). It has not been
reported.
Mr. INGALLS. It appears to me that in a matter of this consequence
we ought not to be called upon to act on the joint resolution without
having the opinion of some committee on the subject. I shall hear
with interest what the Senator from Vermont has to say upon the
subject, but I am very clear that we should have the opinion of a
committee.
Mr. MORRILL. In the first place, I will say that I am not aware of
any appropriate committee to which this measure could be referred;
and, in the next place, the joint resolution merely provides for the
reappointment of three distinguished citizens, of different States, who
have already served their term, which has expired, and the other
nomination made is that of General Meigs, to supply the place of
General Sherman, who is no longer eligible in consequence of having
removed from the city of Washington, and the original law requires
two to be residents of the city of Washington.
I may say that I was unfortunate in not conversing with the Sena-
tor from Kansas, but I conversed with quite a number of other
Senators, who agreed that the presentation of the name of General
Meigs was an eminently proper one to be made.
Mr. DANIEL W. VOORHEES. May I inquire whether there is any
new name suggested in that list with the exception of that of General
Meigs ?
Mr. MORRILL. That is the only one.
Mr. VOORHEES. So I understood.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is the Chair to understand the Sena-
tor from Kansas as moving to refer the joint resolution to a commit-
tee ? If not, the joint resolution is before the Senate as in Committee
of the Whole.
Mr. S. B. MAXEY. As a member of the Board of Regents, I wish to
say in reply to the suggestion of the Senator from Kansas that the
character of General Meigs is too well known to require the report of
any committee of this body, and the reason which actuated me in sus-
972 CONGRESSIONAL PKOCEEDINGS.
tain ing the position taken by the Senator from Vermont, who is also
a member of the Board of Regents, was that there is to be some very
valuable improvement soon made in the Smithsonian building, and
General Meigs is an architect of distinguished reputation and his
appointment as a member of the Board of Regents, he living here in
Washington, would be eminently proper. I think he ought to go on
that board. His well-known character we thought was ample to jus-
tify the appointment without a reference to a committee.
The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment.
Mr. J. T. MORGAN. I hope that the resolution will pass, although I
consider that it is a little hasty for us to act, as the Senator from
Kansas has suggested, without the advice of any committee, but I do
not wish it to be understood that I vote for it on the ground stated by
the Senator from Texas, that of General Meigs's architectural capacity
or ability, for if we take the new Pension Office here as a sample of
it, and we undertake in advance to refer that to the judgment and
taste of the people of the United States, we shall make a very wide
mistake. I shall vote for General Meigs because I think he is a scien-
tist, not because I think he is an architect.
Passed.
December 18, 1885 House.
Mr. WILLIAM L. WILSON, of West Virginia, called up joint resolu-
tion (S. 1). Adopted.
December 26, 1885.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancies in the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution of the class "other than members of
Congress" shall be filled by the reappointment of John Maclean, of
New Jersey; Asa Gray, of Massachusetts; Henry Coppee, of Penn-
sylvania; and the appointment of Montgomery C. Meigs, of the city
of Washington, vice William T. Sherman, whose term has expired
and who is no longer a citizen of Washington.
(Stat., XXIV, 339.)
December 21, 1886 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL introduced a joint resolution (S. 90) appoint-
ing James B. Angell a member of the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
December 21, 1886 Senate.
Mr. WILLIAM J. SEWELL, from Committee on the Library, reported
S. 90 favorably.
Resolved, etc., That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution of the class "other than members of Congress" shall be filled by the
appointment of James B. Angell, of the State of Michigan, in place of John Maclean,
deceased.
Adopted.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 973
December 22, 1886 House.
Mr. OTHO R. SINGLETON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to
take up for present consideration the joint resolution (S. 90) appoint-
ing James B. Angell a member of the Board of Regents of the Smith-
sonian Institution, in the place of one of the regents, deceased.
The board meets in a few days, and it is desirable that this appoint-
ment should be made without delay to fill the vacancy.
The joint resolution was read.
Mr. ROGER Q. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, I desire to ask the gentleman
from Mississippi [Mr. Singleton] why it is necessary to name the
appointee in the joint resolution ?
Mr. SINGLETON. The appointment is made by Congress. I will say
to the gentleman, if he wishes the information, that this appointment
is made in place of a Northern gentleman, deceased.
Mr. JAMES H. BLOUNT. Can the gentleman from Mississippi inform
us whether this is the usual way of filling these vacancies ?
Mr. SINGLETON. It is, sir.
Mr. MILLS. We have had considerable discussion here at different
times about this question of appointment, and it has been contended
that Congress has no power to make appointments
Mr. CLIFTON R. BRECKINRIDGE, of Arkansas. The gentleman will
find that this is the usual way of making these appointments.
The Speaker (Mr. JOHN G. CARLISLE). Is there objection to the
present consideration of this joint resolution ?
Mr. MILLS. I object, Mr. Speaker.
January 8, 1887 House.
Mr. O. R. SINGLETON endeavored to call up S. 90 appointing James
James B. Angell a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. HILARY A. HERBERT insisted on the regular order.
January 8, 1887 House.
Mr. O. R. SINGLETON reported S. 90 from the Committee on the
Library.
It has already passed the Senate and meets the indorsement of the Committee on
the Library. I will state that they have a meeting next Wednesday, and it is
important the vacancy on the Board should be filled before that time.
Adopted.
January 19, 1887.
Resolved, etc. , That the existing vacancy in the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution of the class "other than members of Congress,"
shall be filled by the appointment of James B. Angell, of the State of
Michigan, in place of John Maclean, deceased.
(Stat., XXIV, 644.)
974 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
October 7, 1885.
October 7, 1885.
SIR: On the 7th of March, 1884, I had the honor to address you as follows:
After overcoming many obstacles, the Smithsonian system of exchange has now
been placed upon a most satisfactory basis, the only difficulty of any magnitude yet
remaining being inability on the part of the Smithsonian Institution, as the Govern-
ment intermediary, to secure the entire fruits of the wise provision of Congress in the
way of fifty copies of each and every public document for exchange purposes, and to
this extent the system is yet imperfect. In the absence of strict compliance with the
stipulation that all works published by the United States its Congress, Executive
Departments, bureaus, etc. [be furnished to the Smithsonian Institution in 50 copies
each of the three distinct series, as specified in the acts of March 2, 1867. and July
25, 1868] the Institution can hardly exact from foreign Governments that have
entered into an International Exchange Alliance copies of everything they respec-
tively issue.
I would therefore ask you, respectfully, to consider the several enactments upon the
subject of international exchange, and that such supplementary legislation be pro-
vided as will enable us to surmount the difficulty referred to.
In referring to the communication above quoted, I beg respectfully to state that it
again becomes the duty of the Smithsonian Institution, as the agent for Government
exchanges (under appointment of Congressional act of March 2, 1867), to suggest a
review by the Library Committee of the several enactments upon the subject of
international exchange, to the end that such additional legislation may be provided
as will render the Institution able to enforce strict compliance, on the part of the
Public Printer and the various Departments and bureaus of the Government, with
the order of Congress that all works published by the United States of America,
whether by its Congress, its Executive Departments, or its bureaus, and whether
printed at the Public Printing Office or elsewhere, be furnished to the Smithsonian
Institution in 50 copies each of the three distinct series, as specified in the acts of
March 2, 1867, and July 25, 1868, and without which the Government of the United
States, through the Library of Congress, will fail to reap the full benefit of that com-
plete exchange which was intended and desired when the American Congress first
exhibited its enlightened liberality in the wise provision for an exchange of the
United States official publications for those of other nations.
I inclose some memoranda necessary for your information and guidance in con-
nection with any new legislation that your committee, in its wisdom, may deem
proper to suggest for the consideration of Congress.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
lion. JOHN SHERMAN,
Chairman Joint Library Committee of Congress, United States Senate.
MEMORANDA TO ACCOMPANY LETTER FROM SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION OF OCTOBER
7, 1885, TO HON. JOHN SHERMAN, CHAIRMAN JOINT LIBRARY COMMITTEE OF CON-
GRESS.
On the 2d day of March, 1867, Congress passed the following resolution (Stat., vol.
14, p. 573) :
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That 50 copies of all documents hereafter printed by order of
either House of Congress, and 50 copies additional of all documents printed in excess
of the usual number, together with 50 copies of each publication issued by any
Department or bureau of the Government, be placed at the disposal of the Joint
FORTY -NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 975
Committee on the Library, who shall exchange the same, through the agency of the
Smithsonian Institution, for such works published in foreign couLes, aTelc Lu v
by foreign Governments, as may be deemed by said committee an e^uivaS ^ d
works to be deposited in the Library of Congress "
This resolution provides, as plainly and distinctly expressed, for three times 50
copies of certain official publications, or rather for 50 copies each of three different
bedtsed 18SU6S mt WhlCh the Publications of the United Stetes Government may
I. The Congressional issue, consisting of series of journals, reporte of committees
miscellaneous documents, and executive documents.
II. The annual reports of the Executive Departments and bureaus of the Govern-
ment.
III. The memoirs, monographs, and special reports published by the Executive
Departments and bureaus of the Government.
Of the first issue, the Congressional series, the usual number printed is as pre-
scribed in section 3792, Revised Statutes, "Fifteen hundred and fifty copies of any
documents ordered by Congress." * * * (Increased this to 1900, which includes
the instalments for distribution by the Congressional Library and for exchange in
foreign countries.) Section 3799 provides that: "Of the documents printed by
order of either House of Congress there shall be printed and bound 50 additional
copies for the pu/pose of exchange in foreign countries."
The second issue is formed by the ' ' extra copies ' ' ordered to be printed by Congress
in addition to the usual number, and represents the annual reports of the Executive
Departments and bureaus of the Government, reports of foreign affaire, commerce
and navigation, commercial relations, etc., and as such form each an independent
series of Government publications.
Relative to this issue section 3796 Revised Statutes provides, "The Congressional
Printer shall, when so directed by the Joint Committee on the Library, print in addi-
tion to the usual number either 50 or 100 copies, as he may be directed, of all docu-
ments printed by either House of Congress or by any Department or bureau of the
Government. ' '
Resolution No. 72, second session Fortieth Congress (approved July 25, 1868) a
resolution to carry into effect the resolution approved March 2, 1867, providing for
the exchange of certain public documents specifies:
" That the Congressional Printer, whenever he shall be so directed by the Joint
Committee on the Library, be, and he hereby is, directed to print 50 copies, in addi-
tion to the regular number, of all documents hereafter printed by order of either
House of Congress or by order of any Department or bureau of the Government, and
whenever he shall be so directed by the Joint Committee on the Library, 100 copies
additional of all documents ordered to be printed in excess of the usual number;
said 50 or 100 copies to be delivered to the Librarian of Congress, to be exchanged,
under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, as provided by joint
resolution approved March 2, 1867."
The third series (the memoirs, monographs or special reports published by the
Executive Departments and bureaus of the Government) is provided for by section
2 of the (above) joint resolution No. 72 (second session Fortieth Congress, approved
July 25, 1868) a resolution to carry into effect the resolution approved March 2,
1867, providing for the exchange of certain public documents as follows:
"And be it further resolved, That 50 copies of each publication printed under the
direction of any Department or bureau of the Government, whether at the ifougres-
sional Printing Office or elsewhere, shall be placed at the disposal of the Joint Com-
mittee on the Library, to carry out the provision of said resolution."
Subsequent to this resolution becoming a law, the Hon. E. D. Morgan, Chairman
976 CONGEESSIONAL PKOCEEDLNGS.
of the Joint Committee on the Library, addressed the following letter to the Public
Printer, J. D, Defrees, esq. :
"WASHINGTON, D. C., October 24, 1868.
"I have the honor to call your attention to the provisions of the resolution of
Congress inclosed, approved July 25, 1868, and to request that the 50 copies of all
documents now being printed and hereafter to be printed at the Congressional Print-
ing Office, whether by order of either House of Congress or any of the Departments
or bureaus of the Government, be furnished by you, as fast as each edition is printed
and bound, to the Librarian of Congress, for the purpose specified in the resolution.
"I would also request that of the Patent Office report and Agricultural report now
being printed 100 copies additional (or 150 copies in all) be delivered to the Libra-
rian for the purpose indicated.
"L\ BEHALF OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY."
September 22, 1869, the Librarian of Congress addressed the Public Printer on the
subject of books required by law for the international exchange of official docu-
ments, as follows:
' ' WASHINGTON, D. C. , September 22, 1869,
" Your attention is respectfully called to the provisions of the resolution of Con-
gress, approved July 25, 1868, requiring the Congressional Printer to furnish to the
Librarian of Congress 50 copies of all documents, printed under whatever authority,
for the purpose of exchanging the same for the publications of forejgn Governments,
which are to be deposited in this Library.
" The official direction from the chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library
to print and deliver these documents required by the resolution was communicated
to your predecessor, Mr. J. D. Defrees, on the 24th of October, 1868. (See letter of
Hon. E. D. Morgan, chairman, of that date.) The only reply received was a verbal
one from Mr. Defrees to the undersigned th/it the documents should be regularly
forwarded, and that the 150 copies (50 regu'ar and 100 extra) of the Agricultural and
Patent Office reports for 1867, then on the press, would also be supplied. Not having
received any documents whatever under thiil act of Congress, and the purpose of the
same being to enrich the Library with as large a number and variety of the docu-
ments of foreign Governments as can be procured in exchange for our own, you are
requested to have placed at my disposal 50 copies of each book, pamphlet, circular,
army order, or other publication, by whatever authority printed, and 100 copies
additional of all documents printed in excess of the usual number, to enable me to
carry out the resolution of Congress referred to. ' '
And again, in reply to an inquiry on the part of the Public Printer, the following
communication was addressed to that officer September 30, 1869:
"WASHINGTON, D. C., September 30, 1869.
"In reference to the documents, not of Congress, but of the Departments and
bureaus of the Government, of which 50 copies are required by resolution of Con-
gress to be furnished to the Library for international exchange, I have to say that
all such documents as are printed at the public expense ( with the single exception of
printed instructions or confidential official communications) are important and will
properly be furnished. The foreign Governments with which the exchanges are
made furnish us with great fullness the specially printed documents they print in
each department of their public service, and it is desired to make a return in kind."
Owing to the failure of the Public Printer to comply with those portions of the
law relating to the second and third series of the United States official publications
the anViual reports of the Executive Departments and bureaus of the Government
and the memoirs, monographs, and special reports published by the Executive
Departments and bureaus of the Government (although occasionally some few of the
works of these classes have been received) a circular letter was addressed by the
Smithsonian Institution on the 15th of February, 1884, to all the Departments and
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 977
LTto f h^ t^TS"? ******* ^P 61 **' in compliance with the existing
laws, to enable the Institution, as agent of the Government, to r^rrv t
to carry ou the prov
desirabmty of a -^ pro " ion for the
men-
as
Appended to the letter of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution of Febru-
ary, 1884, is a list of the more important documents not furnished to the Smithso-
nian Institution, although they are embraced in the series intended by Congress for
exchange purposes.
Among thedocumente not furnisKed by the Public Printer may again be
tioned the following, assuming series 1 (the Congressional issue) to be complete
delivered although even therein are many deficiencies:
Series II. The annual reports of the Executive Departments and bureaus of the
Government, together with the papers accompanying such reports. (Sec. 3796 Rev
Stat, and resolution No. 72, second session, Fortieth Congress.)
Series III. The memoirs, monographs, or special reports published by the Execu-
tive Departments or bureaus of the Government, whether printed at the Govern-
ment Printing Office or elsewhere. (Sec. 2, resolution No. 72, second session, Fortieth
Congress. )
This last series comprises among many others the following valuable publications:
Patent Office
Official Gazette: Thirty-two volumes published.
Specifications and drawings: Two hundred volumes published since 1872.
Growth of Industrial Art: Two volumes, folio. Of this last named work only
50 copies were printed, although the law (Sec. 2, resolution No. 72, second
session, Fortieth Congress; Stat., vol. 15, p. 261) distinctly provides that
"50 copies of each publication * * * whether at the Congressional Print-
ing Office or elsewhere, shall be placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee."
U. S. Geological Survey
Bulletins: Twenty-four numbers issued.
Monographs: Eight volumes issued; only Volume II and atlas received. A let-
ter was addressed to the Director of the Survey February 15, 1884, claiming 50
copies of all the publications of that office for exchange purposes under the
law. In reply the Director stated, February 26, 1884: "Under the law of
March 2, 1867, 50 copies of everything published by us should be sent to the
Library of Congress and thence to the Smithsonian Institution by the Public
Printer, and such copies are reserved for that purpose and do not come into
our possession. Under the statute relating to the publication of the mono-
graphs of the Geological Survey it would be impossible to spare any copies
from the 3,000 received by this office, from the fact that it is necessary for the
Survey to render an account of its publications, either as sold, exchanged, or
on hand."
The law cited before, setting aside 50 copies for exchange purposes, would fully
justify the Director of the Survey to furnish the 50 copies as required by the
law (sec. 2, resolution No. 72, second session Fortieth Congress) and charge
the same as exchanges, provided for by law.
Powell's Survey
Contributions to North American Ethnology: Only volumes 1, 3, and 4 received.
Pilling 5 s "Proof Sheets" of North American Languages: Of this only 100 copies
were printed, and the designation "proof sheets" is evidently a misnomer.
The work is prefaced by the author as well as by Major Powell, who calls the
work "a volume." Said volume (proof sheets) is printed on both sides of the
H. Doc. 732 - 62
978 CONGBESSIONAL PBOCEEDINGS.
paper, is paged consecutively, is indexed, bound, and provided with an appen-
dix, and from these considerations constitutes a volume, but not " proof sheets. ' '
It was published to form, after being revised and reprinted, the tenth volume
of the Contributions to North American Ethnology at public expense, printed
at the Government Printing Office, hence it should come under the law [sec.
2 (resolutions to carry into effect the resolution approved March 2, 1867, for
the exchange of certain public documents) of resolution No. 72, second session
Fortieth Congress] which directs that 50 copies should be furjiished for inter-
national exchanges.
Tenth Cenms of the United States
Monographs: Not one single volume of these has been received under Section III
of the Government publications, as prescribed by law.
Fish Commission
Bulletins: Volumes 1-4.
State Department
Consular reports: There are now published more than 50 of these reports, but
only the first 22 have been received for international exchanges.
Publications of the Coast and Geodetic Survey
Nothing received.
American and Foreign Claims Commission
French, Haiti, Spain, Alabama, etc., of neither of which one single work has
been received, and in fact all the publications of the Departments and Bureaus
of the Government as independent series, although they may have been fur-
nished as Congressional (miscellaneous) documents, which, however, consti-
tute a distinct series in themselves.
March 15, 1886.
Convention between the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Por-
tugal, Serbia, Spain, aiid Switzerland for the international exchange
of official documents, scientific and literary publications, concluded at
Brussels March 15, 1886.
(See Ratification by the President, July 19, 1888, and Proclamation
of the President, January 15, 1889.)
(Stat. XXV, 1465.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES ESTIMATES.
December 7, 1885 House.
Estimates for 1887.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, under the direction of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $10,000.
For payment to Smithsonian Institution for freight on Observatory
publications sent to foreign countries, $136.
December 9, 1886 House.
Estimates for 1888.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, including salaries or compensa-
tion of all necessary employees, $15,000.
NOTE. The business of exchanges has increased during the last year fully 33 per
cent, and since the appropriation was first established at $10,000, 50 per cent.
FOKTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 979
January 10, 1887.
In letter of S. F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
to Senate Committee on Appropriations:
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the United States
and foreign countries, including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees,
from $10,000 to $12,500; original estimate, $15,000.
Deferring to the judgment of the House Committee on Appropriations, I have not
asked for the full amount of the estimates, but have reduced them to the lowest sum
that I think can be made to do justice to the service in question; nor have I asked
for the renewal of items that have been omitted entirely.
April 22,1886 Senate.
Mr. William J. Sewell, from Committee on the Library, reported an
amendment to the legislative bill for 1887:
For the expenses of exchanging public documents for the publications of foreign
Governments, $2,000.
(No final action was taken.)
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS.
July 31, 1886
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1887.
Library of Congress: For expenses of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign Governments, $1,500.
(Stat. XXIV, 177.)
(This pays one clerk at $900 and one clerk at $600.)
Naval Observatory: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications sent to foreign countries, $136.
(Stat. XXIV, 198.)
Patent Office: For purchase of books for the scientific library and
expenses of transporting publications of patents issued by the Patent
Office, to foreign Governments, $3,000.
(Stat. XXIV, 201.)
August 4, 1886.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, under the direction of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all
employees, $10,000.
(Stat., XXIV, 236.)
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries, through the Smithsonian Institution, $.
(Stat., XXIV, 249.)
March 3, 1887.
For expenses of the system of international exchanges between the
United States and foreign countries, under the direction oi
980 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $12,000.
(Stat, XXIV, 523.)
War Department: For the transportation of reports and maps to
foreign countries, through the Smithsonian Institution, $100.
(Stat., XXIV, 535.)
March 3, 1887.
Legislative, executive, and judicial act for 1888.
Library of Congress: For expenses, of exchanging public documents
for the publications of foreign governments, $1,500.
(Stat., XXIV, 600.)
(This pays one clerk at $900 and one clerk at $600.)
Naval Observatory: For payment to Smithsonian Institution for
freight on Observatory publications sent to foreign countries, $136.
(Stat., XXIV, 621.)
SMITHSONIAN BUILDING ESTIMATES.
December 7, 1885 House.
Estimates for 1887.
For urgent anoi necessary repairs to the central and western portions
of the Smithsonian Institution, $5,000.
December 9, 1886 \fouse.
Estimates for 1888.
For urgent and necessary repairs to the central and western portions
of the Smithsonian Institution building, $15,000.
December 11, 1886.
Hon. S. J. RANDALL,
Chairman House Committee on Appropriations.
SIR: I beg to explain in reference to the estimate for fireproofing a portion of the
Smithsonian building that this is strictly for the purpose of preserving the property
of the United States which is exhibited therein. The alcoholic collection of reptiles,
fishes, marine invertebrates, etc., are all in and adjacent to this range, which is very
combustible, so that should fire break out it would not only burn out the building,
but destroy a very valuable portion of the National Museum.
The Smithsonian building was originally erected at the expense of the Smithsonian
fund and completed about 1856, after which it was occupied almost exclusively by
and for the Museum, only the eastern range and wing being devoted to other pur-
poses. Congress has little by little made the necessary appropriations for fireproof-
ing the defective portions of the building, and the appropriation asked for practically
completes the work.
The Smithsonian Institution unfortunately has no funds for doing such unusual
and special work, its income being all required for the established routine of its active
operations. The balance on hand June, 1885, was simply the amount available for
carrying on the Institution for the following six months.
Respectfully, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 981
SMITHSONIAN BUILDING APPROPRIATIONS.
March 3, 1887.
Sundry civil act for 1888.
For urgent and necessary repairs to central and western portions of
the Smithsonian Institution building, $15,000
(Stat., XXIV, 512.)
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ESTIMATES.
December 7, 1885 House.
Estimates for 1887.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $50,000.
December 9, 1886 House.
Estimates for 1888.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary-
employees, $50,000.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY APPROPRIATIONS.
August 4, 1886.
Sundry civil act for 1887.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $40,000.
(Stat, XXIV, 237.)
March 3, 1887.
Sundry civil act for 1888.
For the purpose of continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $40,000.
(Stat., XXIV, 524.)
BUREAU OF FINE ARTS.
December 10, 1885 Senate.
Mr. WILKINSON CALL introduced a bill (S. 450):
That there be, and is hereby, created in the Smithsonian Institution a bureau
called the Bureau of the Fine Arts, the management of which is intnuted to the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
982 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
SEC. 2. That the purpose and duties of this Bureau shall be to aid in the develop-
ment of the fine arts in the several States and Territories of the United States, by the
reproduction, for the use of art schools and academies, of casts of statuary and other
objects used in giving instruction in art; by preparing and distributing plans for the
construction of buildings and the adaption of rooms suitable for use' as art schools,
with printed plans for the organization of 'various grades of art; academies and
classes; by causing to be held annually in Washington, District of Columbia, a pub-
lic exhibition of works of art, open to all desiring to exhibit, in which the fairest
possible opportunity for exposition shall be afforded all contributors; and by the
publication of an annual register containing an account of new discoveries, inven-
tions, and methods of instruction useful to students of art, together with a report of
the progress of the fine arts in the United States.
SEC. 3. That the reproductions and publications of the Bureau shall be distributed
among institutions of art, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution may establish.
SEC. 4. That the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall provide suitable
quarters for the holding of the annual art exhibition.
SEC. 5. That for the purpose of carrying on the operations of this Bureau there be,
and is hereby, appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1886, the sum of
$ , to be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of any moneys in the Treas-
ury not otherwise appropriated, and expended under the direction of the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
NELSON'S REPORT ON ALASKA..
January 18, 1886 House.
Mr. RICHARD W. TOWNSHEND introduced a concurrent resolution
to print reports of E. W. Nelson and L. W. Turner on Alaska.
Referred.
January 20, 1886 Senate.
Mr. C. F. MANDERSON introduced a concurrent resolution to print
Nelson's report on Alaska.
Referred.
May 25, 1886 Senate.
Mr. J. R. HAWLEY, from the Committee on Printing, reported
favorably a concurrent resolution referred to that committee:
Resolved, etc., That the report on Alaska, by E. W. Nelson, be printed, with the
necessary illustrations, and that 4,000 additional copies be printed, of which 1,000
copies shall be for the use of the Senate, 2;OOO copies for the use of the House of
Representatives, and 1,000 copies for distribution under the direction of the Chief
Signal Officer of the United States Army.
The President pro tempo re (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). The question is
on the adoption of the resolution.
Mr. WILLIAM B. ALLISON. I see that the resolution includes an
appropriation for the necessary illustrations. 1 should be glad to be
informed on that point.
Mr. HAWLEY. I was about to state (the inquiry is perfectly proper)
that this is one of the two reports sanctioned by the Smithsonian
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 983
Institution, reports made by officers of the Signal Service under .sci-
entific instruction from the Smithsonian. Professor Baird places a
very high estimate upon them. One of them has been ordered to be
printed by the Senate. This one costs but $1,500 for the whole
number, the regular number and the additional copies. There are
some illustrations, but not expensive ones.
Mr. P. B. PLUMB. I should like to ask the Senator from Connecti-
cut if anybody in connection with the Smithsonian Institution writes
anything which is not printed at public expense ?
Mr. HAWLEY. That is an indefinite question. I am unable to answer.
I suppose whatever they write that is valuable gets printed either by
their own funds or by the vote of Congress.
Mr. PLUMB. The question as to whether it is valuable, I think, if
submitted to the ordinary test applied to the emanations of other peo-
ple, would probably be decided against the value of the work thai is
published. I do not know myself of any person in Government
employ, except Senators and Members of Congress, who have a right
to write anything they please and have it printed at the Government
Printing Office. I should like to hear of anybody else. If any per-
son knows of anyone who is authorized thus to inflict upon the taxing
power of the people what he has to say, I should like to hear of it.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the
resolution.
The resolution was agreed to.
July 17, 1886 House.
Passed.
TURNER'S REPORT ON ALASKA.
January 20, 1886 Senate.
Mr. C. F. MANDERSON introduced a concurrent resolution to pri
report of L. M. Turner on Alaska.
Referred.
February 10, 1886 Senate.
Mr. JOSEPH R. HAWLEY, from Committee on Printing, reports
concurrent resolution:
Resolved, etc., That the report on Alaska, by L. M. Turner, be printed with the
necessary illustrations, and that 4,000 additional copies be printed, of which 1,OOC
copies shall be for the use of the Senate, 2,000 copies for the use of the House c
Representatives, and 1,000 copies for distribution under the direction of
Signal Officer of the United States Army.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). Is there objec-
tion to the present consideration of the resolution?
Mr. PRESTON B. PLUMB. I object.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kansas objects
the present consideration of the resolution, and it goes over under the
rules.
984 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. HAWLEY. Will the Senator let me state the reasons that led the
committee to make a favorable report and then interpose his objection?
Mr. PLUMB. Certainly.
Mr. HAWLEY. The reports which the committee has recommended
to be printed were made by two officers of the Signal Bureau who
were sent to Alaska upon that service, but for certain scientific pur-
poses were placed under the orders and instructions of Professor Baird.
The first prejudice of the committee was against printing such things,
for it has happened before that when gentlemen, perhaps well qualified,
were stationed in similar places they busied themselves at odd hours
with scientific studies and made reports which they considered very
valuable and interesting, as perhaps they were, and then were very
ambitious to have the Government print them. We were inclined at
first to put these reports into that general class, but I send to the desk
to have read a letter of Professor Baird concerning them.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C. , January 16, 1886.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of January 15, in reference to
the reports upon the natural history and ethnology of northwestern Alaska, made
by Messrs. E. W. Nelson and L. M. Turner, meteorological observers in that country
of the Signal Service. By the courtesy of the Signal Office the natural history labors
of these gentlemen were prosecuted under the direction of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, which furnished instructions and the necessary material for the same, while the
reports of these gentlemen were prepared by the Smithsonian Institution, with the
assistance of the collaborators of the National Museum.
I am, therefore, quite ready to say that the results obtained are of exceptional
interest and value, as furnishing the only accurate and reliable information at our
command upon the vegetable, animal, and mineral resources of the region, the pro-
ductiveness and character of the soil, and other points of great practical interest in
connection with the future of that country. Detailed notes of observations of their
habits and life characteristics were secured by these gentlemen, with collections of
specimens in such great magnitude and variety as to have made the National Museum
preeminent by their possession.
The publication of these reports is therefore extremely desirable, as representing
the only detailed and extended information at our command of a large region belong-
ing to the United States.
Very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD.
Gen. W. B. HAZEN, Chief Signal Officer.
May U, 1886 Senate.
Passed.
May 18, 1886 House.
Received and referred.
June 23, 1886 House.
Mr. JOHN M. FARQUHAR, from the Committee on Printing, submit-
ted a report (H. 3060) to accompany Senate concurrent resolution
of January 20 :
The Committee on Printing, to whom was referred the accompany-
ing Senate concurrent resolution, providing for printing the report on
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 185-1887. 985
Alaska, by L. M. Turner, respectfully report the same hack to the
House, and recommend its passage.
The value of the report recommended to be printed is evidenced by
an official communication from Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smith-
sonian Institution.
[See Senate proceedings, February 10, 1886.]
The estimated cost of printing the 4,000 copies and illustrations is
<{y,556.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
July 17, 1886 House.
Mr. JOHN M. FARQUHAR called up Senate concurrent resolution
(Report H. 3060) providing for the printing of the report on Alaska
by L. M. Turner.
Mr. S. J. RANDALL. I would like to know the cost of printing this
report.
Mr. FARQUHAR. I ask that the report of the committee be read.
The report (by Mr. Farquhar) was read.
(See House proceedings, June 23, 1886.)
Mr. R. W. DUNHAM. I desire to inquire of the gentleman from New
York [Mr. Farquhar] why it is necessary to furnish the Signal Office
with 1,000 copies of this report.
Mr. FARQUHAR. In cases of this kind there is a general distribution,
independently of the copies given to the Senate and House, to all these
scientific departments. Very often Members and Senators, after
exhausting their own reports, can only obtain copies by sending to
one of the Departments (as, for instance, in this case the Signal Office)
for any overplus copies that may be at command. This is the plan, I
understand, now adopted, in lieu of the old system of laying by vol-
umes for sale. The surplus copies are put at the disposal of the
bureau that is concerned in sending the report to Congress. I can not
give any special reason why there should be a greater or less number
given to these bureaus.
Mr. ROGER Q. MILLS. They have to furnish copies of their reports
to a great many correspondents all over the world, from whom they
receive information of the same character. I have talked with some
officers of the Government in reference to this matter, and in many
cases these documents are distributed all over Europe, and documents
of similar character are received in return.
Mr. RANDALL. Has the Signal Office been instrumental in getting
up this report?
Mr. FARQUHAR. As the report of the committee states, it was
through the courtesy of the Signal Office that these two officers, Mr.
Turner and Mr. Nelson, gathered all the matter for these reports. It
is stated at the Signal Office, and also by Professor Baird, that the
reports of these two gentlemen are the most complete ever made on
986 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Alaska; and they are made with the sanction of the Signal Office.
They were made in connection with the Signal Service.
Mr. RANDALL. Within the scope of the Signal Service duty.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER. Mr. Speaker, in ordinary cases I would
object to printing any report of this kind. In the case of Alaska it
seems to me almost any valuable information to be had should be
printed for circulation among the people. It has come to the knowl-
edge of one of the committees of the House that the publications on
this subject heretofore have not been reliable; that there were persons
in Alaska and elsewhere in the United States interested in giving out
incorrect information in regard to that Territory.
I have been informed by reliable authority that Alaska is destined
to be one of the great empire States in the Union in the future, and
when the means of securing accurate information is provided I am in
favor of printing that information. I met a gentleman who spent the
winter there, and he told me he never spent a milder winter in his
life; that the climate was almost tropical in its character; that, while
he said nothing of bananas growing there or big sunflowers blooming,
he did say that the winter in its mildness was extremely enjoyable.
Mr. RANDALL. Does the gentleman from Illinois state that the cli-
mate in Alaska is tropical and that sunflowers and bananas ripen there?
Mr. SPRINGER. I do not know what the report of the committee
states in regard to this production, but I do hope the report contains
reliable information concerning the Territory of Alaska, which has
beeft so much misrepresented.
Mr. RANDALL. Does the gentleman say sunflowers bloom there ?
Mr. SPRINGER. It was merely stated that while sunflowers did not
bloom there and bananas did not ripen there, nevertheless the winter
was a mild one.
Mr. RANDALL. I know that oats do not ripen there at all.
Mr. SPRINGER. I am willing to spend $4,000 for the publication of
this report. The fish industry of Alaska is exceedingly important. It
is said that a gentleman wishing to cross the mouth of a river in Alaska
was unable to do so in his canoe because the salmon were so thick.
Mr. ETHELBERT BARKSDALE. After this most voluminous exposition
of the report, I have no doubt the House is willing to vote. I there-
fore demand the previous question.
The previous question was ordered, and the concurrent resolution
was adopted.
REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
January 21, 1886 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MORRILL introduced a joint resolution (S. 33):
Resolved by the Senate, etc., That hereafter there be printed of the annual reports of
the Smithsonian Institution and of the National Museum, in two octavo volumes,
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 987
annually, 16,000 extra copies, of which 3,000 copies shall be for the use of the Sen-
ate, 6,000 for the use of the House of Representatives, and 7,000 for the use of the
Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 10, 1886 Senate.
Mr. J. R. HAWLEY. From the Committee on Printing I report the
joint resolution (S. 33) to provide for printing the annual reports
of the Smithsonian Institution and of the National Museum, with a
substitute in the form of a concurrent resolution, and upon that being
read I shall move the indefinite postponement of the original joint
resolution.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). The Committee
on Printing reports a concurrent resolution in the nature of a substi-
tute for the joint resolution. The concurrent resolution will be read.
Resolved, etc., That there be printed of the last annual reports of the Smithsonian
Institution and of the National Museum, in two octavo volumes, 16,000 extra copies
of each, of which 3,000 copies shall be for the use of the Senate, 6,000 copies for the
use of the House of Representatives, and 7,000 copies for the use of the Smithsonian
Institution.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the
concurrent resolution.
Mr. HAWLEY. I should like to put on record a very brief state-
ment. We changed the resolution in another respect. It was a joint
resolution and we made it a concurrent resolution, but the original
resolution provided that there shall hereafter be printed these reports
annually. The committee thinks it better to adhere to the old usage
and bring all these matters under an annual revision, and we changed
it so as to provide for printing only the reports now presented.
The resolution was agreed to.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Senate joint resolution No. 33 will be
indefinitely postponed, if there be no objection.
March 8, 1886 House.
Mr. ETHELBERT BARKSDALE, from the Committee on ]
reported favorably the Senate concurrent resolution of February H.
1886.
The estimated cost of printing and binding the above-i
reports was $15,917.28.
July 17, 1886 House.
Passed.
January 10, 1887 Senate.
Mr. J. S. MORRILL submitted a concurrent resolution to print 16,OO
extra copies of the Report of the Smithsonian Institution and of the
National Museum for 1886, in two octavo volumes, 3,000 for the Sen-
ate, 6,000 for the House, and 7,000 for the Smithsonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
988 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 25, 1887 Senate.
Passed.
March 2, 1887 House.
Passed.
CAPRON JAPANESE COLLECTION.
February 8, 1886 Senate.
Mr. DANIEL W. VOORHEES submitted a resolution:
Resolved, That the Committee on the Library be, and is hereby, instructed to
inquire into the propriety and expediency of purchasing for the Government the
collection of Japanese specimens, works, and objects of art made by the late Gen.
Horace Capron during a long actual residence in Japan, and left by him, in his life-
time, on deposit in the Smithsonian Institution; and that said committee shall report
on the subject by bill or otherwise.
Agreed to.
Mr. VOORHEES. I ask that a descriptive catalogue of the collection
may be referred to the Committee on the Library.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). If there be no
objection it will be so referred.
March 4, 1886 Senate.
Mr. DANIEL W. VOORHEES, from the Committee on the Library,
submitted a report (S. 196), accompanied by a bill (S. 1772):
That the sum of $10,000 be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purchase of ' ' the Capron
collection of Japanese works of art," now on temporary deposit in the National
Museum at Washington, District of Columbia.
June 18, 1886 Senate.
The bill (S. 1772) was considered as in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. WILLIAM B. ALLISON. Let the report be read.
In the matter of the purchase of "the Capron collection of Japanese
works of art," now on temporary deposit in the National Museum,
referred by resolution of the Senate to the Committee on the Library,
that committee reports a bill for the purchase of the same.
Your committee also reports the letter of Spencer F. Baird, Secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution and Director of the IT. S. National
Museum, together with the letter of G. Brown Goode, assistant
director, on the subject of said collection.
U. S. National Museum, under direction of the Smithsonian Institution.
WASHINGTON, February 26, 1886.
SIR: I am in receipt of your communication asking my opinion as to the probable
value of the Capron collection of Japanese works of art, and as to the desirability of
their purchase. I have requested one of my assistants to examine the collection,
and inclose herewith his report.
The Capron collection is an interesting one, and is constantly increasing in value.
In fact, several of the articles included could probably not be readily obtained else-
where. In view, therefore, of the fact that Japanese art is undergoing great deteri-
FOETY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 989
I am, sjr, yours, very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution
Hon. W. J. SEWELL, ** ***** U ' & Nati(mal Mugeum '
Chairman Joint Library Committee, United States Senate.
U. S. National Museum, under direction of the Smithsonian Institution.
WASHINGTON, February 2S, 1886
SIR: Pursuant to your instructions, I have carefully examined the collection ' of
Japanese works of art belonging to the estate of the late Gen. Horace Capron with
the view of estimating its desirability for the use of the National Museum, and of
forming an idea of its commercial value, and have the honor to report as follows-
Ihe collection, in connection with similar objects already the property of the Mu
urn, would be extremely serviceable, and I should hope that it may be possible to
The lacquered objects are the most valuable, particularly the four which bear the
crest of one of the families of shoguns the Tokagawa family, if my memory serves
me right. These I estimate at $3,000. There are also about twenty pieces of smaller
size, many of them of great age and fine quality. These are probably worth $1 000
Total for lacquer, $4,000.
The bronzes are 46 in number, 5 being of large size. I place their value at $3,500.
There are also 2 pieces in silver bronze and 1 in gold bronze, representing birds
and flowers, which I place at $1,100.
There are 37 carvings of ivory, estimated worth $700, and 10 carvings in wood, at
qpOUO.
The porcelains and enamels are worth, perhaps, $1,025. The armor, lance, and
sword, $400. The large pictorial screens, albums, and scrolls, $450. Tils makes a
total of $11,675.
There is also the collection of coins, containing 63 pieces; 35 of them are of gold,
and weigh about 600 grams. I am told that an expert from New York appraised
this collection as worth $5,000. I think it may safely be considered worth $3,000,
although I know little or nothing of the value of Japanese coins.
The estimates thus amount to $14,675. I may add that there has been an enor-
mous increase in the value of such objects since the collection was first deposited in
the Museum, and that the figures here presented are nearly double what I should
have thought it proper to submit under similar circumstances five years ago. I have
not, of course, a dealer's familiarity with values, but am tolerably well acquainted
with the subject under consideration, and do not believe that my estimates are too
high. That they are not too low, particularly in the case of the lacquers, I am not
at all positive.
Yours, very respectfully, G. BROWN GOODE,
Assistant Director.
Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Director U. S. National Museum.
990 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
A revised descriptive catalogue of the foregoing collection is also
submitted as a part of this report.
Descriptive catalogue (revised) of Gen. Horace Capron's collection of specimens of antique
Japanese ivorks of art, temporarily deposited in the U. S. National Museum, SmitJisonian
Institution.
INTRODUCTION.
In Japan, the love of art has penetrated even to the lowest classes of the people.
Their fancies, conceits, poetry, puns, legends, and mythology are all "expressed in
characteristic forms of art, such as are enumerated in the collection herein described.
Instead of ink and paper, or paint and canvas, the artists have selected, as their
mediums of expression, porcelain, lacquer work, screens, embroidery, ivory, and
crystal.
This rare and original collection was made by General Capron during a long resi-
dence in Japan, which covered a period of the greatest interest in the history of that
Empire, embracing as it did the closing scenes of a revolution which terminated in
the abolition of the feudal system, thereby forcing the Daimios and princes of the
Empire to offer for sale vast treasures in the way of rare art productions of the days
of Japan's greatest prosperity and unrivaled proficiency, specimens of which had
been sacredly guarded for centuries. It was from such sources that this collection
was taken.
The numerous legends herein recorded were gathered from the people during
actual residence among them, and subsequently corrected and elaborated, reference
for the purpose being had to Prof. W. E. Griffis's works, The Mikado's Empire
(Harpers, JNew York), Corea, the Hermit Nation (Scribners, New York), Japanese
Fairy World (J. H. Barhyte, Schenectady, New York), and to Audesley and Bowe's,
The Keramic Art of Japan.
The greater portion of the lacquered work of the collection was taken from the
private stores of the Tycoons, which were confiscated at the close of their reign by the
Mikado's Government. These pieces bear the armorial insignia of the princely fam-
ilies in which they have been treasured for centuries. Other specimens in this
collection were derived from imperial sources as presents. The peculiar significance
of the combinations of plants and birds in these pieces will be found in the notes
appended to this catalogue.
All the articles embraced in this collection were secured before any attempt had
been made to imitate these rare and unrivaled works of Old Japan, and the substitu-
tion of gamboge, tinfoil, and other combinations for pure gold used in the decorations
of these antiques.
The time required to produce a first-class lacquered specimen was formerly from
four to six years. The longer the time given to each coating the harder and more
durable it becomes. From six to eight and even twenty coats of lacquer are neces-
sary for the best work, applied at intervals of from four to six months; hence the
worthlessness of the lacquer productions of the present period.
In their ceramic products, likewise, especially the Satsuma faience, time or labor
under the old dynasties were not considered, and during the existence of the Satsuma
princes in full power the pure specimens of their potter's work, now so rare, were
made without regard to cost. These were never designed to be sold, but were made
to serve as presents among the princes and rulers of the Empire. No such ware is
made at the present time worthy the attention of foreign purchasers. The Satsuma
faience in this collection was procured when the lords of Satsuma were wealthy and
and in the height of their power.
No. 1. The cock on the drum is often chosen by the artist in cloisonne", lacquer,
porcelain, and bronze. It is a symbol of good government and a peaceful state of
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 9 91
the great drum is the result. By such simple means ar^reat eS remlm^i an
ancient customs transmitted for ages.
KLABORATELY CARVED IVORIES.
No. 2. Medicine chest.
No. 3. An elaborately carved ivory cylinder, exhibiting a religious procession
winding up a hill through bowers of trees and flowers.
No. 4. Cigar case.
No. 5. Fukuroku Jm.-Fukuroku Jin is one of the seven gods of happiness and the
patron of long life and prosperity. He is represented with a cheerful countenance
and long flowing beard, and is usually accompanied by a crane or stork, which is the
symbol of longevity, and said to live ten thousand years. Everyone likes Fukuroku
Jin, and wants to get his favor and live long. Children are amused by him. He is
mostly seen at weddings, with his long white hair and pleasant smile. (Jap Fairy
World, p. 78. )
No. 6. Akechi. This figure, it is believed, is intended to represent Akechi, who
assassinated Nobunaga Kioto in 1558-1560. He was a stern, proud man. Not liking
the familiar manner in which Nobunaga, in a merry mood, at a feast at his own
castle, seized Akechi around the neck and made a drum of his head by drumming
on it with a fan, he determined upon revenge. This he accomplished by surprising
Nobunaga in his palace at Kioto. (The Mikado's Empire, p. 231.)
No. 7. Kiyomori. This tall figure of a warrior in a passion in white ivory ia
Kiyomori, who caused the death by assassination of Yoshitomo. In 1159 he con-
ceived a plan for the complete extermination of the Miame tos, which was centered
in the children of Tokiwa, the concubine of Yoshitomo. (The Mikado's Empire, p.
121. ) Tokiwa is represented in an ivory group of a mother and her three little
chidren, fleeing for safety through the snow. For the interesting history of her
escape from his wrath, and the eventual restoration of her family to power, see
legend attached to that group of ivory, No. 24.
No. 8. The ivory figure with goggle eyes and distorted countenance is one of the
thunder gods. They are seen standing on either side of the main entrance to
Buddhist temples. They are of colossal size, and the more hideous the better.
No. 9. A beautiful carved representation of a brave man who killed a serpent which
for a long time had infested his neighborhood.
No. 11. Represents a citizen of the third class in holiday dress.
No. 12. Represents a lady of the third class in holiday dress.
No. 13. Yoritomo. This elaborate carving hi ivory represents one of Japan's
greatest heroes. He was of the Minamoto family, and lived in the twelfth century.
Japanese history is filled with his heroic exploits. In his younger life he was a
"Prince Hal," and in his after life he became a "Bluff King Harry," barring his
polygamic tendencies. (Chap, xiv, The Mikado's Empire. )
No. 14. Kai Riu 0. (The god with a black ball in one hand, white in the other.)
This figure represents the god of the sea, who is in the act of raising a tempest in the
sea by rolling a black ball, or smoothing it down by rolling the white ball. (Japanese
Fairy World, p. 273: The Jewels of the Ebbing and the Flowing Tide.)
992 CONGKESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS,'
No. 15. Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, born of a peasant family in 1536, was represented
as a cunning, reckless boy, at one time a "betto" (groom). He grew up a man of
war and a successful soldier. He first reduced the daimios to submission, and then
sent his generals Konishi and Kato Kiyomasa, to invade Korea, which he made
tributary to Japan. Hideyoshi was one of Japan's ablest rulers. He died in 1598.
(See Corea, the Hermit Nation. )
No. 17. Kato Kiyomasa. This figure is supposed to represent Kato Kiyomasa, who
commanded one wing of Hideyoshi' s army in the Korean expedition in the six-
teenth century. It was he that instigated the cutting off of the ears of the Koreans
killed in battle. The ears of 10,000 Koreans killed in one battle were cut off and
preserved in salt, or sake, and carried back to Japan. In the city of Kioto stands
to this day a barrow Mimidzuka, or Ear Monument under which are entombed
the ears of the 10,000 Korean warriors. (The Mikado's Empire, p. 245.)
No. 18 represents an ancient warrior in full armor. Japanese armor is made of
steel and lacquered paper, laced with silk cords.
No. 19. Lu Wen, the Japanese Rip Van Winkle. This woodman one day shouldered
his own ax and started for the woods to procure his winter's supply of fuel, but was
beguiled by a large fox a long distance up the mountain, when suddenly he came
upon two beautiful ladies seated upon the ground playing checkers. Lu Wen stopped
and wondered, but the ladies took no notice of him, continuing their game, not even
asking him to play with them. At last Lu Wen bethought himself of his home and
family and the necessity for his preparation of his winter's wood. Turning back he
went off down the mountain, but his cabin was gone. The venerable rocks were
there, but a strange people surrounded them; the children mocked, the dogs barked
at him; no one knew him and he knew no one. His long white beard swept the
ground and his strange appearance excited wonder. At last he was met by a vener-
able lady, who, taking compassion upon him, informed him that away back in the
history of her family there was a man lived in that neighborhood by the name of
Lu Wen, but that was six generations back, and no one ever knew what became of
him; so poor Lu Wen hobbled up the mountain side and was never heard of after.
(The Mikado's Empire, p. 503.)
No. 20. Hotei, the Japanese Santa Claus. Hotei is one of the seven patrons of hap-
piness. He is as round as a pudding and as fat as if rolled out of dough. He is a
jolly vagabond, but a great friend of the children, who romp over him, standing
upon his knees and hanging around his shoulders, pulling his hair and his long ears.
He always has something good for them, which he carries in a sack, which he par-
tially opens that they may see what it contains, but suddenly closes.it before they
have fairly ascertained its contents. By and by, if the children are good, he opens it.
(Japanese Fairy World, p. 83.)
No. 21. Daikoku. Another of the seven patrons is a short, chubby fellow, with
eyes half sunk into his fat face, but winking with fun. He has a cap set on his head,
a long sack over his shoulders, his throne is two straw bags of rice, and his badge a
small hammer or mallet, with which he makes people rich when he shakes it at
them. He has long, lopped ears.
No. 22. Raiko and the dragon. Raiko was famous for his prowess in arms, and
deified because of his having killed the great ghoul with three eyes, and the Doji,
or giant-boy demon, who ate up young girls. (Japanese Fairy World, p. 191.)
No. 23. This exquisitely wrought ivory figure represents a Japanese fisherman,
returning from the scene of his daily labor, bearing his little child upon his shoul-
ders holding a fish. It is a beautiful illustration of a Japanese's love for his chil-
dren. To fully appreciate the delicacy of the carving in this, as in all the other
pieces in this collection, it should be examined under a magnifying glass.
No. 24. This group represents Tokiwa. Tokiwa was a young peasant girl of supe-
rior beauty, whom Yoshitomo made his concubine, and who bore him three chil-
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 993
dren. She fled to escape the minions of Taira, after the death of her lord in 1159
who was assassinated .in a bath by three hired assassins at Utsumi in Owl'
Tokiwa's fhght was m winter, and snow lay upon the ground. She knew nehher
where to go nor how to subsist; but clasping her babe > her bosom! herTwo Utl
sons on her right, one holding his mother's hand, the other carrying his fathers
sword they trudged on, nearly frozen and half starved. She was me? in her fligh
by a Taira soldier, who, paying her and her children, gave her shelter and proS
tion supplying her and her children from his own meager rations. Her hJES
great enemy, Kiyomori, was anxious to overtake her, and, believing that her filial
affection for her mother would cause her to yield herself up, had seized upon her
Tokiwa heard of her mother's durance at Kioto. Then came the struggle teUeln
maternal and filial love. To enter Kioto she feared would be the death of her chil-
dren; but for the salvation of her mother, a sentiment so strong with the Japanese
she was influenced to take her course into the city and to trust to her beauty and
accomplishments to melt the heart of Kiyomori. Thus she saved the lives of her
mother and children. The babe at her breast was the future Yoshitsune, a name
which at this period awakens in the breast of a Japanese youth emotions that kindle
his enthusiasm to emulate a character that was the mirror of chivalry valor and
knightly conduct. He was the Chevalier Bayard of Japan. The oldest son, who is
represented in the group carrying his father's sword, became a noted warrior (The
Mikado's Empire, p. 124.)
No. 25. This figure, a companion to No. 23, is another specimen of skill of the
highest order in this art of carving in ivory, and should be examined under a high
magnifying power.
No. 26. A mail-clad warrior of the sixteenth century.
No. 27. A Japanese water carrier.
No. 28. A street juggler, with his boy acrobat.
No. 29. Peasant girl and child.
No. 30. The children's friend and adviser.
No. 31. An exquisite carving, representing three field mice.
No. 32. One of the gods, possessing power to control wild beaste.
No. 33. Fukuroku Jin, mounted on a horse. (See legend attached to No. 5.)
No. 34. Eenton, Queen of the World under the Sea. (Legend:) In the sixth cen-
tury there lived upon the coast of Tango a poor fisherman and his wife. Their only
means of subsistence was the fish caught from the sea by their only son, Taro by
name. One day in autumn Taro was out as usual in his boat. The sea was rough
and the waves high. He uttered a prayer to the sea god Kai Riu 0. Suddenly there
appeared upon the crest of the waves a divine being, robed in white, riding upon a
large tortoise. Approaching the wearied fisherman, he greeted him kindly, and
invited the poor fisherman to follow him and he would make him a happy man.
Taro, mounting the tortoise, sped away with marvelous celerity. The wonderful
sights he witnessed in the realms below the sea it would take pages to describe
splendid palaces; richly dressed ladies, with retinues of pages, waiting to welcome
him; music, feasts, flowers, songs, and dances; rich jewels and precious gems, daz-
zling to behold. Amidst this splendor he spent most happily (what he supposed to
be) seven days, when he bethought himself of his parents, whom he felt it was
wrong to leave so long without their usual supply, of food. He determined to return
to them. The Queen allowed his request; he was escorted to the white marble gate
of the palace and, mounting the same tortoise, soon reached the spot which he had
left in his boat. The mountains and rocks were familiar to him, but no trace of his
parents' hut was to be seen. All was changed. He made inquiries of an old gray-
headed fisherman, who informed him that centuries before the persons he described
had lived the're, and had been buried long years ago, pointing out the place of their
interment. He thought their names could be read upon some of the very old tomb-
H. Doc. 732 63
.994 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
stones, if the moss and lichens, which completely hid them, could be removed.
.Thither Taro hied, and, after a long search, found the tomb of his parents. A cold
shiver ran through him; his teeth, one by one, dropped from his mouth; his limbs
stiffened, and his face wrinkled. The weight of four centuries was upon him he
died. The fishermen in various parts of Japan worship the memory of this good
boy, Taro, who, even in the palace of the sea gods, forgot not his old parents. (The
Mikado's Empire, p. 498.) In those days the jelly-fish which is now a simple
lump of jelly as white and as helpless as a pudding was a lordly fellow, who waited
upon the Queen of the World under the Sea, and right proud he was of his office.
He would get his back up and keep it up high when he wished. He was on good
terms with the king's dragon, which often allowed him to play with his scaly tail
and never hurt him in the least. But, alas! by betraying the Queen's confidence on
a certain occasion he was condemned to lose his shell and was afterwards to float help-
lessly and ashamed. Their children also were ever to be soft and defenseless. Ban-
ished from the Queen's province, the jelly-fish blushed in confusion, and, squeezing
himself out of his shell,, he swam out of- sight. (Japanese Fairy World, p. 141. )
No. 35. Carpenter with his adze.
No. 36. Old man and boy, sheltered from the storm by a palm.
No. 37. Daikoku. (A small ivory figure with a dragon on its back.) A long while
ago, when the Japanese first became Buddhists, they continued to burn incense to
Daikoku, because he was the patron of wealth. The Buddhist idols took exception
to this, and determined to get rid of him. They sent a dragon to destroy him, but
Daikoku clung fast to his money bags, and only laughed at the dragon and all efforts
to destroy him. At last he shook him off, and sent him away howling.
The dragon. Chief among the ideal creatures of Japan is the dragon. It is seen
carved upon the tombs, on the temples, dwellings, and shops. It appears upon the
government documents, on their paper money, stamped upon their coins, carved in
bronze, in wood, in ivory, and glares upon you from their pictures. There are many
kinds of dragons, such as the violet, the green, the red, the white, the black, and
the flying dragon. Some are scaly, some horned, all hideous the more so the better.
When the white dragon breathes, the breath of his lungs goes into the earth and
turns to gold. When the violet dragon spits, his spittle becomes balls of pure crystal.
One delights to kill human beings. One causes floods and storms. The fire dragon
is only 7 feet long, but its body is all flame. (The Mikado's Empire, p. 478.)
No. 38. Finely wrought group, representing the goat tamer with his little boy.
In case No. 87 will also be found a choice collection of Somali but rare specimens of
carving in bronze. They are all antiques. They are numbered from 39 to 67,
inclusive.
These exquisite specimens of the carver's art are called Netsuke. They are all
drilled with two holes in the back, through which silken cords (holding pipe, tobacco
pouch, and the smoker's outfit) are run; and the ivory button thrust through the
girdle holds the smoker's kit easily. In every sense, these ivory toggles are fine illus-
trations of Japanese decorative art.
No. 68. A case containing a collection of Japanese coins. These were secured only
after several years' persevering labor. No attempts at preserving the corns of the
country had been made, and those were found here and there among the old curio
hunters, assisted by the obliging managers of the Oriental Bank, and Mitsui, the
great Japanese banker. Some date" from the sixteenth century, others from the four-
teenth, and exhibit the early attempts of the Japanese to convert their bullion into
convenient forms for circulation, and show their gradual advancement to the beauti-
ful milled coinage of the present day.
Nos. 72 and 73 are two albums, bearing the Tycoon's crest. They were taken from
his private collection. They were originally intended for the preservation of auto-
graph verses of their most renowned poets, of which some twenty or more specimens
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 995
are inserted in the Japanese Hiragana: The reverse pages have been utilized by the
collector for many excellent photographs made by Japanese during 1874 S photo!
graphic art then having been only a few years known there. They embrTe , ario*
scenes, such as the most famous shrines, temples, and parks
Case 86. In the western division of this case will be found a variety of specimens
of Japanese works m bronze and in lacquer, all of which are the production of the
most renowned artists of Old Japan, such as GOTO Saburo, of Kioto
No. 76 is a delicately executed carving in bronze, representing an eagle upon a rock
surprised by a serpent crawling from under his perch. Nothing can excel this speci-
ien, either m the workmanship or the expression with which the artist has inspired
No. 77. A beautifully enameled holder for a Japanese pencil or brush-pen.
No. 78. An oval vase, carved in a most elaborate manner to represent a religious
procession winding around an eminence. Pilgrimages to famous sacred mountains
are considered very meritorious acts among the Japanese.
No. 79. This piece is wrought out of the root of a shrub, and represents birds treed
by dogs. This is an artistic delineation of a peculiar tendency of the Japanese to
study nature in all its forms, and to work into a significant shape every old stump or
root which, in their imagination, resembles a living form of man or beast.
No. 80. One of the Seven Patrons of Husbandry, mounted upon a mythical animal
resembling a reindeer. It is in gold bronze, and is a most spirited piece. He is sup-
posed to be on an errand of mercy.
No. 81. Bamboo cigar holder.
No. 82. A beautiful chow-chow box. A chow-chow box is a convenient arrange-
ment for serving up for a guest a meal of several courses. It is generally made of
wood or papier-mache, finely laid on lacquer. It is divided into sections (in this
case four), held in place by a conveniently arranged handle. This serves not only to
keep the contents warm, but to keep them from slopping over. One of these is
placed before each guest as they are seated upon the matted floor, and a pretty Japa-
nese maiden is always in attendance kneeling, ready to replenish the food when
required. One of these sections may contain fish, another rice, another soup from
the seaweed, and a fourth the vegetable daikon, or colossal silver radish, which com-
prises the principal menu of the Japanese.
No. 83. A large scarf box, of pure gold lacquer, from the Tycoon's collection.
No. 84. Gold-lacquered tray.
No. 85. A gold-lacquered hibachi (thehibachi, or fire brazier). "The hibachi, or
fire brazier," says Professor Griffis, "is to the Japanese household what the hearth
or fireplace is in an Occidental home. Around it friends meet; the family gathers;
parents consult; children play; the cat purrs, and the little folks listen to fairy
legends of household lore from nurse and grandma." The hibachi is always found
in a Japanese house in some form often in bronze carved into fantastic shapes. It
is an indispensable requisite, and constant one to light the pipe; for the Japanese of
both sexes and of all ages and conditions smoke. Time is allowed for every laborer
in the progress of his daily employment to "take a smoke." The Japanese pipe
which accompanies the hibachi is made with a tiny bowl. After long mechanical
practice the nimble fingers, with automatic precision, roll up the small pellet of the
gossamer-cut tobacco in size just to fit the bowl of hisjsipe. This he touches to the
glowing coal in the ubiquitous hibachi, and after one, or, at most two, very deliber-
ate puffs, the pipe is emptied and a fresh pellet prepared. A native will sit by the
hour mechanically rolling up these- tobacco pills, oblivious, apparently, to all sur-
roundings, and the exactness with which he forms his pellets to fit his pipe is won-
derful. A shrewd judge once discovered the thief who had stolen his gold-mounted
pipe by noticing a suspected person engaged in preparing his pellets to fill his pipe.
He saw him draw from its pouch his golden pipe and commence abstractedly to
996 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
roll up the globules of tobacco, when, on turning to the brazier, the mouth of the
bowl downward, out rolled the pellet. It was made too small for the bowl of the
pipe. Here, then, there was conclusive evidence that the pipe was not his own.
(The Mikado's Empire, p. 501.)
No. 86. Robe chest, formerly belonging to the Tycoon; it bears his crest of the
three mallow leaves within a circle. This is one of the finest representative pieces
of the work of old Japanese artists extant.
No. 87. A cabinet, in old gold lacquer, from the Tycoon's private collection.
Nos. 88 and 89. Two gold-lacquered dispatch boxes, also from the Tycoon's pri-
vate stores.
No. 90. A pearl-inlaid scarf box.
No. 91. The old Tycoon's helmet case, on which is emblazoned his crest.
No. 92. A chow-chow case of less pretensions.
On the eastern section of case No. 86 will be seen the following rare pieces:
Nos. 93 and 94. Two hanging tablets, originally intended for holding slips of
poetry, but now, through the agency of Tiffany & Co., converted into beautiful hold-
ings for a thermometer and a weather glass. They are very old and of pure gold
lacquer.
Nos. 95 and 96 are two specimens of rare carving in wood. They are the produc-
tion of an unknown age, but believed to be of the fifteenth' century. These pieces,
when discovered, were laid away in a family tracing far back its descent. They
were looked upon as ' ' heirlooms, ' ' but want tempted the owners to part with them.
The frames to these pieces were so old as to fall off in the handling, and were newly
framed since they came into the possession of the present owner.
No. 97. Cloisonne" vase. Is a splendid specimen of cloisonne" work. There are few
superiors.
No. 98. Another" cabinet from the Tycoon's private stores. It is one of the finest
specimens of old gold lacquer. It has on it the Tycoon's crest of three leaves within
a circle, said to have been derived from a cake ornamented with three mallow leaves,
offered in hospitality to the founder of the Tokugawa family in the fourteenth
century.
No. 99. One of the imperial presents. It is several feet in height. The base or
pedestal is of pure old gold lacquer; nothing ever made of this character of work sur-
passes it. On the pedestal rests a richly wrought silver vase of basket form, from
which springs two branches of the Japanese plum tree (mume), converging to form
anarch; on these branches are perched two nightingales wrought in silver. This
combination of the nightingale with the plum tree is the poet's combination. It is
symbolical of friendship and esteem.
No. 100. Another imperial present, equally exquisite in design and execution.
The base is of pure gold lacquer. On this pedestal rests a representative of a rock
carved in bronze, around which are twining branches of "Paulownia Imperialis,"
the imperial tree of Japan. Upon the tpp of this rock are perched, in graceful atti-
tude, two of the mythical "Ho-ho," or, according to Griffis, Ho-wo. Both of these
mythical birds are wrought from pure silver, and are of the highest order of Japanese
art. These two pieces Nos. 99 and 100 were selected by members of the royal
household from a collection of rare productions in the possession of the ancient
princes of the Empire, said to be two hundred years old.
The Japanese idea of the mythical Ho-ho. (The Ho-wo, or phoenix, as seen in piece
No. 100; sometimes written by the English Ho-ho. ) The Ho-wo, as seen on the
smaller silver (imperial presents) is a fabulous bird of Chinese mythology, whose
visits upon the earth are as rare as those of the angels. It is seen sculptured upon
the tombs of the Shoguns of Japan, stamped upon their paper currency, and pictured
in every way. It seems to be a combination of the pheasant and peacock. According
to Professor Griffis, it is described by the Chinese as follows: "The phoenix (Ho-wo,
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 997
in Japan) is the essence of water. It was born in the Vermilion cave. It roosts not
bu upon the most beautiful trees; iteatenot but of seeds of the bamboo; itdrinksno
but of the sweetest springs; its body is adorned with the five colors; its song contains
the fi notes^As it walks it looks around; as it flies, the hostsof other birds follow
it Virtue obedience, justice, fidelity, and benevolence are symbolized in the deco-
ration of its head, wings, body, and breast. Its appearance is waited with great
i, as the annunciation of some great event or the appearance of some great
The Ho-wo and the Paulownia Imperialis tree are often blended as imperial
emblems on the Mikado robes, curtains, ete. This tree is an emblem of rectitude.
Its leaves form the imperial crest. (The Mikado's Empire, p. 481.)
No. 101. The Tycoon's sword rack, in gold lacquer.
No. 102. The sword of the Tycoon.
No. 103. A specimen of Japanese carving in wood, representing a fishing junk
with crew, dog, and nets.
In the long case resting against the north wall are the following pieces:
Nos. 104 and 106 are two Japanese screens, decorated with paintings on silk, rep-
resenting street scenes in the city of Tokio in the times of the Shogunate; and also
Japanese annual celebrations as, for instance, the Feast of Flags, the annual display
of the Nobori. This last is explained in the following sketch :
Nobori (the paper fish). The fifth day of the fifth month 5th of May is celebrated
in Japan as the Feast of Flags, and is the day on which is displayed the Nobori, or
paper fish. It is suspended from a tall bamboo pole over every house wherein a
male child has been born during the preceding year. This fish is generally of paper,
but sometimes, among the wealthy, is made of silk, and graduated in size to suit the
purse in some instances 30 to 40 feet in length, generally from 6 to 10. They are
formed and painted to represent the carp, which fish is selected because of its ability
to swim swiftly against a rapid current and leap over waterfalls, thus symbolizing
great energy of character, the ability to surmount great difficulties and eventually to
achieve success. (Japanese Fairy WoAd, p. 227.) This fish being hollow and sus-
pended by the mouth, the wind expands the body and it floats in the air with all
the grace of movement of a fish in his native element
Screens Nos. 106 and 107. On these screens the paintings are on silk. They rep-
resent the three ruling classes in the Japanese Empire, under the dual form of
government. The robes of state and the details of every article of dress in each of
the three ranks, the Mikado, the Tycoon, and the daimios, even to the color and
quality of the material, as well as to form, was regulated by edict; so also was the
style of dressing the hair. All were different down to the common cooly. The
double eyebrow, as seen upon the forehead of the Mikado, his wife, as also that of the
Tycoon's consort, indicate their direct descent from the royal family. The Tycoons
themselves were not of royal descent, but as commanders in chief of the armies had
usurped the whole power of the throne for several centuries.
Of the bronzes in this case-
No. 108 is an incense burner in octagon shape.
No. 108. Another small incense burner.
No. 109. An elaborately carved falcon, perched upon the branch of a tree, which
may be used as a boquet holder, although it was not originally intended for that.
This beautiful specimen of Japanese carving in bronze will bear inspection; but to
appreciate more clearly the wonderful productions during past ages of this isolated
and half-civilized people it should be borne in mind that all this exquisite carving
in bronze and in ivory are the results of patient hand labor, unaided by any mechan-
ical appliances whatever. It is not infrequent that the decoration of one of these
pieces has required the work of a skilled artisan for years.
998 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
No. 110 is a Japanese .god upon a fish, representing the first introduction of letters
to Japan. (Corea, the Hermit Nation, pp. 20,51.)
No. Ill is a Japanese god upon a reindeer, in repose.
Nos. 112 and 113. A pair of richly carved vases, 36 inches in hgight. They are
the work of centuries back. *
Nos. 114 and 115. A pair of bronze vases of the famous Zogan style of workman-
ship; inlaid with gold and silver; 26 inches in height,
No. 116. Jiariya ( Young Thunder). A poor but brave and ambitious boy, expert
swordsman, and ambitious to restore the shattered fortunes of his family, became
chief of a band of robbers, who plundered many wealthy merchants, and in a short
time in this way had accumulated much wealth. Jiariya, hearing of an old man
that lived in a mountainous region, started out to rob him. Overtaken in a heavy
storm, he took refuge in an humble house. Entering he found a very beautiful
woman, who treated him with kindness. At midnight, when all was still, he
unsheathed his sword, and, going noiselessly to her room, was about to strike off her
head, when in a flash her body changed into a very old man, who seized the heavy
steel blade and broke it in pieces as though it was a stick. Jiariya was amazed, but
not frightened. "I am Senso Dojin." exclaimed the old man, "and have lived in
these mountains many hundred years; but my body is a frog. I can easily put you
to death, but I have another purpose." Jiariya was undaunted, and asked to be
received as his pupil. The old man said to him: " Henceforth cease from robbing
the poor. Take from the wicked rich and those who acquire money dishonestly and
help the suffering." Thus speaking, the old man turned into a huge frog and hopped
away. From that time forth the oppressed poor people rejoiced as the avaricious
and extortionate money lenders lost their treasures, while they were protected.
Jiariya married a beautiful woman, and after a very eventful life, and in one of his
greatest battles he was successful in killing the great dragon coil. During the time
he remained with the old man of the mountains he had learned how to govern the
frog, which at his bidding assumed great size, so that on its back he could stand up
and cross rivers. He also learned how to cause storms, control the mountain
spirits, and direct the elements at will, and throughout the country was known as
"Young Thunder." He was made a daimio of Idzu, and lived for many years in
the bosom of his family, engaged in the reading of books, teaching his children,
cultivating flowers, and beautifying his yashiki by the introduction of rare and
beautiful plants. (Japanese Fairy World, p. 126. )
No. 117. Senso Dojin. (Legend:) When Jiariya, or Young Thunder, in his youth
became chief of a band of robbers, he started out on an expedition to rob an old
man. This old man was Senso Dojin, who had lived in the mountains many hun-
dred years. His true body, however, was that of a frog, but retained the form of a
very old man. He determined to instruct Jiariya in the way of the mountain
spirits how to cause a storm of wind or rain, to make a deluge, and control the ele-
ments; also" how to govern frogs, and at his bidding to assume great size. Senso
Dojin then bade Jiariya depart and henceforth cease from robbing the poor, but to
take from the rich, the wicked, and dishonest. Thus speaking, the old man turned
into a frog and hopped away.
No. 118. Lacquered pedestal.
No. 119. Japanese god upon a horse.
No. 120. Same as 119.
No. 121. One of the seven patrons of happiness, Toshitoku, upon a reindeer in
repose.
No. 122. A finely wrought vase, 12 inches in height.
No. 123. Japanese bull, used as a beast of burden.
No. 124. Bronze vase, square form, 12 inches in height.
Nos. 125 and 126. Pair of cloisonne* vases, 25 inches in height.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 999
No. 127. A Satsuma vase, 26 inches in height. One of the finest specimen* of an
Old Satsuma vase, both as to form and decoration, to be found
NOB. 128 ana 129. A pair of Satsuma vases of the sixteenth 'century very unique
in form and finish; 24 inches in height.
NOB 130 and 131. A pair of Satsuma vases, 27 inches in height. The form and
decorate of thus pair of vases are of the highest order. In Audrey and TwL' *
work on Japanese Ceramics, plate 16, part 2, and plate 22, part 6 will be seen
engravings of this character of vase.
NOB. 132 and 133. A pair of Old Sateuma vases, 25 inchea in height, of the ele-
phant-trunk pattern. This particular form of decoration was only in vogue during
the seventeenth century, which indicates strictly the period of their manufacture
*or an illustration of a pair exactly similar to these, see plate 23, part 2, Audesley
and Bowes' s work on Japanese Ceramics.
Nos. 134 and 135. A pair of Hizen vases, 48 inches in height. Decoration blue
and gold under a glaze. These vases are of. a peculiar construction, in two perfect
cylinders, one within the other. The outer cylinder is openwork, a pattern rarely
seen, and greatly admired by connoisseurs in this art.
No. 136. Incense burner, in Satsuma faience. Very old and rare.
No. 137. Japanese coat of mail of the sixteenth century.
Nos. 138 and 139. Lacquered pedestals.
Nos. 140 and 141. Lacquered pedestals.
Nos. 142, 143, and 144. Three extra fine Old Satsuma vases.
PORCELAIN.
SATSUMA KAlENCB.
The manufacture of Satsuma faience was commenced in the sixteenth century.
"The earliest reliable specimens of Satsuma pottery are of very rude manufacture,
being of a dark-colored clay, rudely modeled, and very different from those beau-
tiful works of a soft-tinted faience of a later period, decorated with flowers, birds,
and other objects, a style more delicate and artistic than can be found throughout
the entire range of ceramic art outside the islands of Japan."
About the year 1597, after the Japanese had invaded Korea, Shimadzu Yoehihisa,
Prince of Satsuma, who accompanied that expedition, brought with him on his
return to Japan a number of Korean potters, skilled in the fabrication of porcelain,
and settled them in the neighborhood of Kagoshima, in the" province of Satsuma.
Speedily setting to work, they experimented oh the various materials obtainable in
that neighborhood, and after repeated trials succeeded in producing a hard faience
which is now known by the name of Satsuma ware.
The descendants of these Korean potters have ever since up to the year 1871
been under the authority and patronage of the many generations of the Satsuma
princes, whose immense wealth and influence were directed to t,he perfection of this
work.
Shimadzu Yoshihisa had taken care to secure the best and most experienced work-
men, which policy has been continuously followed by all of his successors up to the
time of the abolishment of the feudal system in 1871.
Since that period, deprived of the protection and support of the reigning princes
of Satsuma, this work has gradually fallen away, until at the present time there is
none manufactured worthy the attention of the foreign collectors. (See report to
the Asiatic Society, after a most careful inspection into the condition of the works
in Japanese ceramics.)
The production of a fine crackle, observable in the pure Satsuma, is due to the
unequal contraction which takes place between the body and the glaze, which n-.-ults
in the minute network of fine cracks. " It can be said that in the entire range of
1000 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
ceramic art there has been no surface produced more refined or more perfectly
adapted to receive the colored decoration so famous in the Satsuma faience."
The specimens of the Satsuma faience which are sometimes met with; heavily deco-
rated with religious or heraldic designs, most probably received their finish in the
Kioto school. The pure Satsuma is, in most cases, finished in floral designs in com-
bination with birds, with occasional medallions in geometrical figures emblematical
of some sentiment.
The imitation Satsuma, manufactured at Aw r ata, in Hizen, and decorated in Tokyo,
is easily detected, the pure Satsuma being somewhat roughly potted, and generally
of a hard and rather grayish-white body; while the faience ^f the Awata ware is
most carefully manipulated, and is of a fine, soft texture, of a warm creamy or pale-
yellow tint, covered with a thinner, or more minute crackle glaze than that applied
to the pure Satsuma. It is also more profusely decorated, and heavily ornamented
with storks, tortoises, dragons, and birds of various kinds in heavy imitation of gold,
and enameled in gaudy tints. Samples of this class of work are illustrated in plates
38, 39, 40, and 42 of Audesley and Bowes's Keramic Art of Japan, and are very fine
specimens, although not Satsuma.
The pure Satsuma is of a very light tint, ranging between grayish-white and vel-
lum or light cream color; the imitations are mostly in a buff color or light yellow.
At a very early period a black ground was resorted to, but not long followed. A
few specimens of this are now in existence.
The ware known as Arita, Imari, Nagasaki, etc., are all manufactured in the
Province of Hizen, and mostly exported from Nagasaki, but little or none is manu-
factured in that town. The great Hizen vases, such as were exhibited at the expo-
sition at Vienna and at Paris (specimens may be seen in the vestibule at the Corcoran
Art Gallery), are made at Arita, in the Province of Hizen, and are known as Hizen
manufacture. Their great fault is too -much crowding in the decoration and great
want of taste. This style still clings to this class of keramic art.
Of the fine specimens of blue under a glaze, so much admired by connoisseurs in
the pure Hizen manufacture, there are two in vases in this collection Nos. 130, 131.
Symbolical combinations.
(See " The Mikado's Empire," p. 581.)
The combination of trees, flowers, and birds on the Japanese porcelains, screens,
etc., are symbolical of some sentiment as, for instance, the pine tree and the stork,
emblems of longevity. They are seen embroidered on silk robes, and presented to
newly born infants.
The willow and the swallow, the bamboo and the sparrow are indications of
gentleness, and are often seen on screens and fans.
The young moon and the cuckoo, the bird as seen flying across the crescent, has a
poetic reference to a renowned archer, who shot a hideous beast having the head of
a monkey and the claws of a tiger.
The Phrenix bird (Ho-wo or Ho-ho), with the Paulownia Imperialis, as seen
embroidered on the Mikado's robes, rags, curtains, gilded screens, etc., is an emblem
of rectitude. The leaves of this tree form the imperial crest.
The red maple leaves and the stag are often painted upon their screens with great
effect. It signifies change as, for instance, in the fall of the year the leaf changes to
a beautiful crimson, sometimes to a brilliant maroon, and when used upon their
screens and presented to another party may indicate a change of feeling or sentiment.
A lover to send his once loved a sprig of this autumn maple is equivalent to giving
her the mitten.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1001
The cherry blossom and pheasant are often combined in poetry and art decora-
tions. The beautiful feathered bird and the bloom of the Sakura tree, which is
cultivated solely for its blossoms, the national flower of that beautiful land. The
flowers are often as large as a rose, and the falling bloom whitens the ground.
FLOWERS, ETC.
The plum (Mume) tree, joined with the nightingale, is the poet's combination.
It is always admired. This beautiful flowering tree is not infrequently seen in full
bloom and not a leaf visible. It bursts into clouds of fragrance and beauty in
February; sometimes it may be seen in full bloom with the ground, in early morning,
covered with snow.
The combination of bamboo and the sparrow or the willow with the sparrow are
emblems of happiness.
The plum tree in Japan blooms in February, the cherry tree in April, the lotus in
July, the chrysanthemums in August and long into winter.
THE JISHIN UWO, OR EARTHQUAKE.
The great fish, upon whose back is supposed to rest the main portion of the
Japanese Empire, is the largest of all their mythical creation. The head of the
fish, it is believed, is under the most northern portion of the main island, and its
tail somewhat near Tokio and Kioto, the two parts where the greatest effects of
the earthquake is felt. A [gentle quaver of the earth is produced when he simply
bristles his spine. A severe shock indicates that the brute is on a rampage, like a
wounded whale. When the great sea dragon thrashes the ocean bottom in his
wrath, the ground trembles and rocks and houses tumble and destruction follows.
When he arches his back in his wrath, the ocean rolls, and the awful tidal wave
engulfs the land and cities and towns are swept away in interminable ruin.
Japan feels the gentle quaver when he breathes; frequently, Mr. Griffis says, about
twice a month on an average. I have felt them twice in a day, and one hundred
have occurred in one moon. The last great upheaval occurred in 1856, when it is
claimed 50,000 people perished in Tokio alone. Serious shocks, however, have
occurred since and are frequent.
The bill (S. 1772) was reported to the Senate without amendment and
June 22, 1886 House.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
February 8, 1887 House.
Mr. O. R. SINGLETON, from the Committee on the Library, sub-
mitted report (H. 4000) on bill (S. 1772), with a recommendation that
it pass.
The committee reported also a letter.from Prof. Spencer F. Baird,
.who then had charge of said collection in the National Museum:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January U, 1887.
DEAR SIR: Mrs. Capron informs me that you wish for some expression of my
opinion respecting the importance and value of the Capron collection of Japanese
articles now on deposit in the Smithsonian Institution.
In response thereto I beg to say that the collection embraces a very valuable series
of objects, illustrating the arts and industries of Japan, and of thte finest quality of
workmanship, many of them such as were held only by the Emperor.
1002 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
We should consider the acquisition of the collection of great importance, and its
removal from our cases would make a noticeable gap in the Japanese series.
The price at which the collection is offered is a reasonable one, as the articles, if
sold separately, would probably bring a considerably larger amount.
Very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD.
Hon. 0. R. SINGLETON,
Chairman of House Committee on the Library, Washington, D. C.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
ETHNOLOGY BULLETINS.
February 15, 1886 Senate.
Mr. H. M. TELLER introduced a joint resolution (S. 41):
That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 10,000 copies of any
matter furnished by the Bureau of Ethnology relating to researches and discoveries
connected with the study of the North American Indians, the same to be issued in
parts and the whole to form an annual volume of bulletins; 4,000 copies of which
shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 1,500 copies for the use of the
Senate, and 4,500 copies for the use of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 15, 1886 House.
Mr. JAMES W. REID introduced a resolution (H. 120):
Resolved, etc., That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 10,000 cop-
ies of any matter furnished by the Bureau of Ethnology relating to researches and
discoveries connected with the study of the North American Indians, the same to be
issued in parts, and the whole to form an annual volume of bulletins; 4,000 copies
of which shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 1,500 copies for the
use of the Senate, and 4,500 copies for the use of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
March 25, 1886 House.
Mr. JAMES W. REID, from the Committee on Printing, submitted
repo'rt (H. 1330) on H. 120, recommending its adoption:
The Committee on Printing, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. 120)
to print the annual bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology, have duly considered the
same, and recommend its adoption.
This printing will be in addition to the 15,000 copies of the annual
report of the Bureau of Ethnology, and will be different in matter.
It will be a report, in detail, of the operations and researches of
the Bureau, to be published in parts as bulletins as the said opera-
tions and researches transpire. There will be from three to. six parts
per annum, costing about $500 for each edition, or from $2,500 to
$3,000 per annum, the whole to form an annual volume of bulletins.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
June 14, 1886 House.
Mr. JAMES W. REID introduced a resolution (H. 184) to print annual
bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1003
July 17, 1886 House.
Mr. JAMES W. REID. I ask now to call up the joint resolution (H.
120) to print the annual bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology.
The joint resolution was read.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. I ask for the reading of the report.
The report (by Mr. Reid, of North Carolina) was then read.
(See House proceedings of March 25, 1886).
Mr. S. J. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire of the
gentleman from North Carolina, who is on the Printing Committee,
what year this report is for, and hqw far the printing already ordered
in connection with ethnology has been advanced? In other words,
whether we now need to authorize this printing in advance of the
year not yet completed.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. In response to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania I will say that as I understand it this is for the current
year. It has been issued in pamphlets, and the cost, as I have esti-
mated it, and as the estimate was furnished by the Chief of the Bureau
of Ethnology, Major Powell, is about $2,500 to $3,000 a year. As he
collects the material he proposes to issue it as a bulletin. We went
to the office and made an estimate. He exhibited to the Committee on
Printing specimens of one of the bulletins and the way he proposes to
issue it from month to month. It will cost from $2,500 to $3,000 per
annum.
Mr. RANDALL. For which year?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. For the present current year.
Mr. RANDALL. How far back has the ethnological report been
printed?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. I do not know.
Mr. RANDALL. If I recollect aright, not later than 1884.
Mr. RANSOM W. DUNHAM. Not later than 1883.
Mr. RANDALL. I do not think we ought to authorize the printing of
reports for 1885 until we know how far advanced and what is the
result of the printing of the report for 1883.
This is one of the abuses, as I think, in connection with the scientific
bureaus of the Government. It will be remembered that in the sun-
dry civil bill we have endeavored to restrict this matter. While we
have given every dollar that is essential to the Bureau, we ought to
restrict the printing, which has come, as the commission showed, to
be an abuse.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. I will withdraw the consideration of
the joint resolution for the present.
Mr. RANDALL. This is for the data not yet collected. We are pro-
viding for the printing of matter that has not yet come from the hands
of those people who are being sent to the field to gather it.
The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. ALEXANDER M. DOCKERY). The
gentleman from North Carolina withdraws the joint resolution.
1004 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. DUNHAM. Can that be done without unanimous consent?
Mr. NELSON DINGLEY, Jr. Let me say that the report of the Bureau
for 1884 is now being printed.
Mr. RANDALL. And this is to authorize the printing for two or
three years in advance.
Mr. DINGLEY. Not the annual report.
Mr. RANDALL. This is for printing bulletins which are the advanced
copies of the matter contained in the reports. I hope the Committee
on Printing will not suppose for a moment that I wish to interfere
with their getting their business through.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair 'understands the gentleman
from North Carolina proposes to withdraw the joint resolution?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Yes, sir.
Mr. DUNHAM. Is it the understanding that every bill objected to
by any one member, although the rest of the House might wish it
passed, is to be withdrawn?
Mr. RANDALL. The gentleman from North Carolina does not lay
this aside on my objection, but on an objection which might attract the
attention of the House and be confirmed by the House. Here is a
proposition to print or authorize the printing of a report away in
advance of the collection of the facts.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. If the gentleman will allow me, I will
say that I propose to withdraw the joint resolution beqause I thought
he would make the point of no quorum on it.
Mr. RANDALL. 1 will not do that.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Then I will not withdraw it. I do
not wish to postpone the consideration of it; but I do not wish, by
pressing it, to defeat the object for which we are assembled this night,
as there are other measures to be considered to which I think there
will be no objection.
I wish to make this statement: There will be from three to six parts
of this bulletin issued each year. It will be in addition to the 15,000
copies of the annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, and will be
entirely different in matter. It is a report of the operations and
researches of the Bureau, and will be more in detail than the annual
report. The bulletin will consist of the reports from the members
connected with this department sent out in different parts of the coun-
try to collect ethnological matter, and will be issued as that is gathered.
Mr. RANDALL. I understand that. The joint commission in connec-
tion with the subject of the scientific bureaus reported a recommenda-
tion that the printing be abridged. I want to show the gentleman
what has been the cost of printing these reports. There is work
charged for 1881 in connection with the Bureau of Ethnology amount-
ing to $9,955.14. For 1882 the work charged amounts to $55,137.12.
For 1883 the work charged amounted to $9,123.27. In 1884 the work
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1005
tol1oT h 2 - 66 ' In 1885 the Work <*"** amounted
to $4,110 44 The whole aggregated $119,478.63 charged, but not
yet completed. And yet we are asked to go on and make further
charges and authorize further printing in this connection, when the
work is not yet completed for 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, and 1885
I do not think these facts could have been in the possession of the
Committee on Printing, or that the recommendation of the commission
appointed to examine into the expenditures of this Department could
have been fully examined. They recommend not to proceed further
with the printing until there is a completion of the prior work.
Now, what are these bulletins? They are scraps that are subse-
quently to make part of the report. Now, it is asked that these scraps
shall be printed as they come in. If they are printed as scraps they
ought not to be reprinted in the regular report, and if they are printed
in the regular report they ought not to be printed as scraps. I think
that they would be of more service to science if they were brought
together, and not printed separately in this disjointed way.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I have just this to say:
This report was made on March 25, 1886, when the joint commission
referred to by the gentleman from Pennsylvania had not yet made
their report, and the Committee on Printing was in possession of none
of the facts reported by that commission as the result of their inqui-
ries concerning the printing done for the Geological and Ethnological
bureaus. I will state, however, that this printing is in addition to
the regular annual bulletin issued by the Bureau. As the persons who
are sent out by the Bureau to make researches make their reports it is
proposed to issue these reports in pamphlet foVm, thus giving the sci-
entific world the benefit of those researches as they are made.
Mr. DUNHAM. Something like the Patent Office Gazette?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Something in that order. These are
not intended to be published in the annual reports at all. We went
over the matter very carefully with the chief of the Bureau, and,
according to the best estimate we could make, they will be printed in
from three to six parts annually, and the cost will be from $2,500 to
$3,000 per annum. That would be in addition to the regular annual
bulletin printed by the Bureau.
Mr. E. BAKKSDALE. Mr. Speaker, I call the previous question on
ordering the joint resolution to be engrossed and read the third time.
Mr. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker
Mr. BAKKSDALE. I withdraw the demand for the previous question.
I did not know that the gentleman from Pennsylvania desired to speak
further on this subject.
Mr. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the gentleman from
North Carolina [Mr. Reid] say that when this report was made the
Committee on Printing were not in possession of the recommendations
1006 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
of the joint commission in relation to the scientific bureaus of the
Government.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. The gentleman from Pennsylvania
[Mr. Randall] will remember that it has been only a few weeks since
that commission reported.
Mr. RANDALL. I know that, and I desire to say now that in any-
thing I have said on this subject it has not been my wish, purpose, or
intention to reflect in even the slightest degree upon the recommenda-
tions of the Committee on Printing. On the contrary, without mak-
ing an invidious distinction, I might say that the present Committee
on Printing of this House has been perhaps more assiduous in its
efforts to save money than any of its predecessors. At the same time,
I think the committee ought to stop right here and not ask us to
appropriate for the printing of these bulletins, in view of the state of
facts I have presented.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. I will add, Mr. Speaker, that if we
send out these employees to make these researches and to report upon
them, I think the scientific world ought to have the benefit of their
reports. As I have already said, these bulletins are not to be pub-
lished in the annual report, and therefore the only way in which the
scientific world can get the benefit of them is by printing them in the
form here proposed.
Mr. RANDALL. If they are printed in this form they ought not to be
subsequently republished at great additional cost in the annual report.
Can the gentleman inform us when these bulletins will reach the public?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Just as soon as the order is made to
print them.
Mr. RANDALL. I think not.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. That is my information from the
Bureau.
Mr. DARWIN W. JAMES. Will the gentleman from North Carolina
please tell us how much money the bill carries for this purpose ?
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. Twenty-five hundred or three thou-
sand dollars; the highest limit will be $3,000 per annum.
Mr. RANDALL. Each of these bulletins cost about $2,500 or $3,000,
but when you aggregate the cost it comes to a great deal more.
Mr. REID, of North Carolina. No; that is the aggregate cost per
annum. Mr. Speaker, I now call the previous question.
Mr. DINGLE Y. Before the gentleman does that, I wish to make an
inquiry with reference to the issuance of the reports of the Bureau of
Ethnology. I think the report that is now being distributed is the
one for 1882-83; that is, three years behind the present date, and the
inquiry I wish to make is (if the Committee on Printing have investi-
gated the matter) why it is that these reports are so much delayed.
Mr. RANDALL. I can answer the question. It is because the men
FOETY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1007
buHedn ' N rth Car0lina ' THe genUeman P"* { * I
The previous question was ordered
ordered to be
r* D0 Ca r a quorum ' M
satisfied with the statements that have been made.
The joint resolution (H. 120) passed ayes 22, noes 14.
July 19, 1886 Senate.
H. 120 referred to Committee on Printing.
July 31, 1886 Senate.
Mr. CHARLES F. MANDERSON. I am instructed by the Committee on
Printing, to whom was referred 'the joint resolution (H. 120) to print
the annual bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology, to report it favor-
ably with amendments. I ask for its present consideration.
By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the joint resolution.
The first amendment of the Committee on Printing was, in line 6,
after the word "Indians," to insert:
Provided, That the authorization shall apply only to matter now on hand or col-
lected during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887.
So as to read:
That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 10,000 copies of any mat-
ter furnished by the Bureau of Ethnology relating to researches and discoveries
connected with the study of the North American Indians: Provided, That the
authorization shall apply only to matter now on hand or collected during the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1887; the same to be issued in parts and the whole to form
an annual volume of bulletins, 4,000 copies of which shall be for the use of the
House of Eepresentatives, 1,500 copies for the use of the Senate, and 4,500 copies for
the use of the Bureau of Ethnology.
The amendment was agreed to.
The next amendment was to add as a new section the following:
SEC. 2. The sum of $3,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the print-
ing and binding of the aforesaid annual bulletins, is hereby appropriated out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
The amendment was agreed to.
The joint resolution was reported to the Senate as amended, and
the amendments were concurred in.
The amendments were ordered to be engrossed and the joint reso-
lution to be read u third time.
1008. CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The joint resolution was read the third time and passed.
Mr. MANDERSON. I move that the Senate insist on its amendments
and ask a conference with the House of Representatives thereon.
The motion was agreed to.
By unanimous consent the President pro tempore was authorized
to appoint the conferees on the part of the Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). The Chair appoints
the members of the Committee on Printing as the conferees on the part
of the Senate on the various House resolutions about printing which
have been passed to-day with amendments.
Augusts, 1886 House.
Passed as amended.
August 5, 1886.
Joint resolution.
Resolved, etc., That there be printed at the Government Printing
Office, 10,000 copies of any matter furnished by the Bureau of Eth-
nology relating to researches and discoveries connected with the study
of the North American Indians: Provided, That the authorization
shall apply only to matter now on hand or collected during the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1887; the same to be issued in parts and the
whole to form an annual volume of bulletins; 4,000 copies of which
shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 1,500 copies for
the use of the Senate, and 4,500 copies for the use of the Bureau of
Ethnology.
SEC. 2. The sum of $3,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary
for the printing and binding of the aforesaid annual bulletins is hereby
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated.
(Stat., XXIV, 349.)
February 17, 1887 Senate.
Mr. T. M. BOWEN submitted a concurrent resolution:
Resolved, etc., That there be printed at the Government Printing Office 6,000
copies of any matter furnished by the Bureau of Ethnology relating to researches
and discoveries connected with the study of the North American Indians: Pro-
vided, That the authorization shall apply only to matter now on hand or collected
during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888; the same to be issued in parts and the
whole to form an annual volume of bulletins, 2,500 copies of which shall be for the
use of the House of Representatives, 1,000 copies for the use of the Senate, and
2,500 copies for the use of the Bureau of Ethnology.
SEC. 2. The sum of $3,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the print-
ing and binding of the aforesaid annual bulletins, is hereby appropriated out of any
money in the Treasury not. otherwise appropriated.
Referred to Committee on Printing.
February 23, 1887 House.
Mr. J. T. WAIT offered a concurrent resolution, the same as sub-
mitted by Mr. T. M. Bowen in Senate, February 17, 1887.
'ORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1009
GRANT RELICS. .
February 18, 1886 Senate.
Mr. JUSTIN S. MOBBILL introduced a joint resolution (S 4)-
S^MSLiailSS
to****,*:., That the United States accept, with grateful acknowledgment* the
said property and article, more fully described in the schedule attached toSdS
of trust, to be held by the United States and preserved and protected in the dtv of
A\ ashmgton lor the use and inspection of the people of the United States
SEC 2. That the said property and articles be placed under the custody of the
Director of the National Museum; and he is hereby directed to receive the ime foj
safe-keeping therein.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
There was also referred to this committee a letter, presented by Mr
J. S. Morrill:
February 10, 1886.
SIR: There is at present in the custody of the Secretary of War a collection of
objects which belonged to General Grant and have become the property of the
United States. I would respectfully suggest the desirability of taking steps to secure
the transfer of these objects to the Smithsonian Institution for exhibition in the
National Museum. It seems hardly necessary for me to call your attention to the
fact that by the act to establish the Smithsonian Institution (Rev. Stat, Title LXXIII,
sections 5579-5594) it is provided "that all objects of art and curious and foreign
research * * belonging or hereafter to belong to the United States which may
be in the city of Washington shall be delivered to the Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution, together with new specimens obtained by exchange, donation, and other-
wise, and * * shall be so arranged and classified as best to facilitate their
examination and study" (Rev. Stat., section 5586), and by subsequent enactment
(Stat,, Forty-fifth Congress, third session, chap. 182, p. 394) the National Museum
was designated the place of deposit.
This act has therefore in the past been always construed to mean that the National
Museum is the proper place for the exhibition of articles given by foreign Govern-
ments to the President or to other officials. In 1883 the Secretary of the Interior
caused the entire collection of Washington relics, which had for many years been dis-
played in the Patent Office, together with the Lewis collection of Washington relics,
which had been bought by Congress, to be transferred to the Museum. President
Hayes and President Cleveland have also sent to the Museum objects presented to
them by foreign Governments, and the Toledo sword, presented by the Republic of
Spain to General Grant, was by him placed with the objects which have since been
transferred from the Patent Office. Among the other Presidential gifts I may men-
tion objects given to Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, and Taylor. I may
also speak of the extensive Japanese collection given by the Government of Japan to
the United States, through its representative, Commodore Perry, and numerous per-
sonal souvenirs of civil, military, and naval officers of the United States.
The north hall of the National Museum has been assigned to the collection of his-
H. Doc. 732 - 64
1010 CONGRESSIONAL PEOCEEDINGS.
torical relics, and it will be possible to install the Grant relics in a very attractive
manner in connection with objects of a similar character.
I am, sir, yours, very respectfully,
G. BROWN GOODE,
Assistant Director.
Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution and Director U. S. National Museum.
March 4, 1886 Senate.
Mr. WILLIAM J. SEWELL. 1 am instructed by the Committee on the
Library, to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. 46), accept-
ing from William H. Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant objects of value
and art presented by various foreign Governments to the late Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant, to report it without amendment. I ask unanimous
consent for its present consideration.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). The joint resolu-
tion will be read for information.
Mr. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS. I do not object at all, but am very confi-
dent (probably it did not pass the House) that at a former session the
Senate passed a similar resolution.
Mr. SEWELL. It was passed by the Senate last year, but did not
pass the House.
Mr. EDMUNDS. The Senate had gladly taken the collection. Is this
the same sort of resolution ?
Mr. SEWELL. It is changed a little so as to place the objects in the
custody of the Director of the National Museum.
Mr. EDMUNDS. I have no objection to it.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The joint resolution will be read,
subject to objection.
The Chief Clerk read the preamble and joint resolution.
By unanimous consent, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole,
proceeded to consider the joint resolution.
The joint resolution was reported to the Senate without amendment,
ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and read the third time.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Shall the joint res-
olution pass?
Mr. EDMUNDS. We ought to take notice of the fact in regard to the
form of the resolution that William H. Vanderbilt since that gift was
made so generously has died. Whether there would be any difficulty
in that form of stating it I do not know.
Mr. SEWELL. I should think not, because the communication was
from William H. Vanderbilt. There will be no difficulty about accept-
ing the articles.
The joint resolution was passed.
The preamble was agreed to.
April 15, 1886 House.
Mr. OTHO R. SINGLETON reported S. 46. Referred to Calendar.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1QH
Augusts, 1886 House.
Passed.
Augusts, 1886.
Joint resolution.
Whereas Julia Dent Grant and William H. Vanderbilt, by deed of
rust executed on the 10th' day of January, 1885, presented to the
United States certain swords, medals, paintings, bronzes, portraits
commissions, and addresses, and objects of value and art printed W
various Governments in the world to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant as tokens
of their high appreciation of his illustrious character as a soldier and
a statesman : Therefore,
Resolved, etc., That the United States accept, with grateful acknowl-
edgments, the said property and articles, more fully described in the
schedule attached to said deed of trust, to be held by the United States
and preserved and protected in the city of Washington for the use and
inspection of the people of the United States.
SEC. 2. That the said property and articles be placed under the cus-
tody of the Director of the National Museum; and he is hereby
directed to receive the same for safe-keeping therein
(Stat. XXIV, 348.)
NATIONAL MUSEUM GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS.
March 2, 1886.
March 2, 1886.
Prof. S. F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
DEAR SIR: I respectfully present the following statements, in reply
to the letter of the chief clerk of the Department of the Interior, of
February 26, in relation to the National Museum and Government
collections, etc. :
Congress by act of May 14, 1836 (Stat. V, 29) appropriated $150,000
for a surveying and exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean and
south seas. This is known as the Wilkes Exploring Expedition.
May 15, 1840, the National Institution was organized with Hon.
J. R. Poinsett, Secretary of War, and Hon. James K. Paulding, Sec-
retary of the Navy, as directors.
By act of March 3, 1844, $5,000 were appropriated to defray tne
expense of transporting to Washington and arranging and preserv-
ing the collections made by the exploring expedition. (Stat. V, 420.)
By direction of the Secretary of the Navy, these collections were
placed in the care of the National Institution, March 15, 1841, and
deposited in the Patent Office, April, 1841.
In June, 1841, the collection of Indian portraits and curiosities of
the War Department was deposited in the cabinet of the National
Institution by the Secretary of War.
1012 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
In July, 1841, the minerals, books, manuscripts, and other articles
forming part of the Smithsonian bequest were deposited by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury.
On the 9th of August, 1841, Hon. Daniel Webster. Secretary of
State, transferred, with the approval of Mr. Ellsworth, the Commis-
sioner of Patents, the exploring expedition collections from basement
rooms in the building to the upper rooms, or ''Splendid Hall," in
the second story of the Patent Office.
On the 27th of July, 1842 (Stat., VI, 845), the National Institute was
incorporated by Congress as the successor of the National Institution.
Its charter expired by limitation in twenty years, with an extension
of three years to wind up its affairs. This act provided that all the
property of said corporation at the time of the expiration or dissolu-
tion of its charter should belong to and devolve upon the United
States.
By act of August 4, 1842 (Stat., V. 501), $20,000 was appropriated
for the transportation, arrangement, and preservation of these col-
lections.
The Government collections of natural history, etc. , were placed in
the upper room of the Patent Office, under the care of such persons
as may be appointed by the Joint Committee on the Library, by act
of August 26. 1842 (Stat., V, 584).
The act of Congress of August 10, 1846 (Stat., IX, 102), organizing
the Smithsonian Institution, provided
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can
bi> made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research,
and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens,
belonging, or hereafter to belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of
Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such
persons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be
arranged in such order, and so classed, as [to] best facilitate the examination and
study of them, in the building so as aforesaid to be erected for the Institution; and
the Regents of said Institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history,
geology,- or mineralogy, may be obtained for the museum of the Institution, by
exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the Institution, (which they are hereby
authorized to make, ) or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, cause
such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the min-
erals, books, manuscripts, and other property, of James Smithson, which have been
received by the Government of the United States, and are now placed in the Depart-
ment of State, shall be removed to said Institution, and shall be preserved separate
and apart from other property of the Institution.
The Regents were authorized to locate the building for the Smith-
sonian Institution so as "to form a wing to the Patent Office building,
and may so connect the same with the present hall of said Patent
Office building containing the national cabinet of curiosities as to
constitute the said hall, in whole or in part, the deposit for the cabinet
of said Institution, if they deem it expedient to do so" (sec. 5).
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1013
It was decided, however, to construct the Smithsonian building on
reservation No. 2, where it is now located.
By act of August 4, 1854 (Stat, X, 552), the preservation of the
collections was placed in the hands of the Commissioner of Patents,
who was authorized to employ keepers, etc., and the appropriation
was made under the Department of the Interior.
On the completion of the Smithsonian building, in 1855, use of its
halls was requested by the Secretary of the Interior and the. Commis-
sioner of Patents, who were exceedingly anxious to remove the col-
lections of the exploring expedition and National Institute from the
Patent Office.
The Regents of the Institution concluded to grant the request on
the condition that the Secretary of the Interior would provide for the
payment of the expenses of the care of the collections. This having
been agreed to, the Patent Office was relieved of the custody of the
specimens, the Smithsonian Institution taking charge of them under
the authority of the law of August 10, 1846.
On the 3d of March, 1857 (Stat., XI, 219), Congress made an appro-
priation for the transfer of the Government collections to the Smith-
sonian Institution and for the construction of cases for the same.
Similar appropriations were made on the 2d of June, 1858 (Stat.,
XI, 301), and have been continued ever since.
In the estimates of appropriations for the Thirty-fifth Congress,
second session (see House Ex. Doc. No. 1, p. 268), the following letter
appears:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, I). C., October 18, 1858.
SIR: I have the honor to request that in your estimates to be submitted to Con-
gress you will include the following item, in accordance with the previous legislation
transferring the collections of the Government to the Smithsonian building. The
amount required is precisely the same as that appropriated for the year 1858-59:
" For the preservation and exhibition of the collections of the exploring and survey-
ing expeditions of the Government, $4,000."
I have the honor to be, etc., JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. JACOB THOMPSON,
Secretary of the Interior.
Since the date of that letter annual estimates have been submitted
to the Secretary of the Interior, at his request, by the Smithsonian
Institution, and transmitted by him to Congress.
In 1872 the geological collections of the Land Office were transferr
by the Secretary of the Interior to the Smithsonian Institution.
Previous to 1873 all the disbursements on account of the appropria-
tions of Congress for the support of the National Musnim were made
directly by the Institution and afterwards refunded by the Departmen
of the Interior. Since that time as strict a division of the accounts as
possible has been made, and those relating to the Museum have been
1014 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
paid directly by the disbursing agent of tho Department of the Interior.
(See Report of Exec. Cora, of Regents, Journal, p. 569.)
The National Museum is mentioned in the acts of Congress of March
3, 1875, July 31, 1876, and subsequently, and a building has been
erected at the expense of the Government expressly for its accommo-
dation.
When the Government collections were transferred from the Patent
Office to. the Smithsonian Institution, the same officials and employees
were retained, the curator, John Varden, continuing on the pay roll
until his death, in 1865, and another a laborer still being in the serv-
ice of the Museum.
Other officers have from time to time been appointed under the
seventh section of the act organizing the Smithsonian Institution, which
directs that the " Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall dis-
charge the duties of keeper of the Museum and may, with the consent
of the Board of Regents, employ assistants."
The vouchers and pay rolls are examined and approved quarterly by
the executive committee of the Board of Regents and are paid by the
disbursing clerk of the Department of the Interior, as sent to him b^y
the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, with his indorsement as
to correctness, etc.
Respectfully submitted.
WM. J. RHEES,
Chief ClerJf, Smithsonian Institution.
Prof. S. F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
NATIONAL MUSEUM SUNDAY OPENING.
April 12, 1886 House.
Mr. ZACHARY TAYLOR (by request) introduced a joint resolution
(H. 158):
That the officers of the United States in charge of the national museums and insti-
tutes of the United States shall be required to keep said public buildings open on
Sundays for as many hours as on week days; and that the heads of the Departments
having control of said buildings may employ additional employees for that purpose.
Referred to Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
NATIONAL MUSEUM SECTION OF TRANSPORTATION.
May 24, 1886 House.
Mr. WILLIAM G. STAHLNECKER presented the petition of Charles
Schiff, vice-president of the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, and
many others, for an appropriation to carry out the plans recently
adopted for the organization of the section of steam transportation in
the United States National Museum.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1015
Petition from railimij president*, vice-presidents, general managers, engineers, superin-
tendents, etc., asking Congress to make an appropriation to perpetuate the history of the
railway and steamboat in the U. S. National Museum.
To the Congress of the United States:
The undersigned, desirous of perpetuating the history of the birth and develop-
ment of steam transportation (by steamboat and railway) in America, respectfully
petition your honorable body to appropriate such a sum of money as may be deemed
necessary to carry out the plans recently adopted for the organization of the section
of steam transportation in the U. S. National Museum, said sum to be expended
under the supervision of Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, and Director of the U. S. National Museum:
Alabama Great Southern Railroad: Charles Schiff, vice-president. Alle-
gheny Valley Railroad: David McCargo, general superintendent.
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad: H. C. Nutt, president. Atlantic and
West Point and Western Alabama Railroad: L. P. Grant, president;
Cecil Gabbett, general manager. Baltimore and Delaware Bay Rail-
road: J. F. Bingham, president; Fred. Gerker, general manager. Bal-
timore and Ohio Railroad : Robert Garrett, president. Bangor and
Portland Railroad: C. Miller, president. Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and
Western Railroad: A. Kountze, president. Boston and Providence
Railroad : Henry A. Whitney, president. Burlington, Cedar Rapids
and Northern Railroad: C. J. Ives, president. Buffalo, New York and
Philadelphia Railroad: G. Clinton Gardiner, president and receiver.
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railroad: Walston H. Brown, presi-
dent. Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad: Julius A. Gray, presi-
dent. Chicago, Burlington and Northern Railroad: George B. Harris,
general manager. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad : Henry
B. Stone, general manager. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Rail-
road: D. J. Whitemore, chief engineer. Cincinnati and Eastern Rail-
road: B. F. Coates, president and receiver. Cincinnati, Indianapolis,
St. Louis and Chicago Railway: M. E. Ingalls, president. Cincinnati,
New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railroad: Frank S. Boud, president.
Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railway: J. Monserrat, president.
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway: N. H.
Devereux, president. Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Rail-
way: M. M. Green, president. Delaware, Lacka wanna and Western
Railroad: Samuel Sloan, president. Detroit, Grand Haven and Mil-
waukee Railway and Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway: W. J.
Spicer, general manager; J. W. Fortune, assistant general manager;
George Masson, chief engineer. Detroit, Lansing and Northern Rail-
road: J. B. Mulliken, general manager; F. M. Fish, general superin-
tendent; J. J. McVean, chief engineer. Duluth and Iron Range
Railroad : C. Tower, president. East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina Railroad: A. Pardee, jr., president. Elmira, Cortland and
Northern Railroad: A. A. McLeod, general manager. Florida South-
ern Railway: James D. Halston, superintendent; Sherman Conent,
general manager. Houston and Texas Central Railroad: A. H. Swan-
son, general manager. Illinois Central Railroad: J. C. Clarke, presi-
dent; R. S. Charles, treasurer; C. M. Sheafe, superintendent. Kansas
City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad: G. H. Nettleton, general manager.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad: Maitland Porter, gen-
eral superintendent; P. P. Wright, general superintendent; G. W.
Stevens, superintendent motive power. Lehigh Valley Railroad : E. P.
1016 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Wilbur, president; Charles Hartshorne, vice-president; .1. R. Fan-
shawe, secretary. Louisville and Nashville Railway: A. M. Quarrier,
second vice-president. Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway:
W. N. Marshall, master of transportation. Maryland Steamboat Com-
pany: II. B. Ensign, president. Mexican National Railway: C. A.
Merriam, general superintendent. Minnesota and Northwestern Rail-
road: J. C. Fernstorm, chief engineer. Missouri Pacific Railway:
H. M. Hoxie, vice-president. New Orleans Pacific Railway: E. B.
Wheelock, president. New York Central and Hudson River Rail-
road: Chauncey M. Depew, president; Horace J. Hayden, vice-
president; J. M. Tancey, general superintendent. New York, Ontario
and ^Western Railway: Thomas P. Fowler, president; J. E. Childs,
general manager. New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad:
William A. Patton, vice-president. Norfolk and AVestern Railroad:
F. J. Kimball, president. Northern Pacific Railway: T. F. Oakes,
vice-president and general manager. North Pennsylvania Railroad:
F. A. Comly, president. Ohio and Mississippi Railroad: W. W. Pea-
body, president. Old Colony Railroad: Charles F. Schoate, president;
C. L. Lovering, R. W. Turner, C. N. Bliss, John J. Russell, G. A. Gardi-
ner, John S. Braghn, Thomas Dunn, Thomas J. Borden, directors.
Oregon and California Railroad: R. Woelden, receiver and general
manager; J. Brandt, general superintendent; C. H. Andrew, second
vice-president. Pacific Coast Railway: J. M. Fillmore, manager.
Pennsylvania Company: T. D. Messier, vice-president and comptroller.
Pennsylvania Railroad: G. B. Roberts, president; Frank Thomson,
second vice-president; J. N. Du Barry, third vice-president; John P.
Green, fourth vice-president; John C. Sims, jr., secretary; John I).
Taylor, treasurer; Charles E. Pugh, general manager; T.N.Ely, gen-
eral superintendent motive power; Alexander M. Fox, Henry I).
Welsh, H. H. Houston, John P. Wetherill, N. Parker Shortridge,
Wistar Morris, directors; J. T. Richards, assistant chief engineer; R. R.
Pettit, general superintendent; F. Wolcott Jackson, general superin-
tendent; S. M. Prevost, general superintendent transportation; J. R.
Wood, general passenger agent; G. W. Boyd, assistant general passen-
ger agent; R. W. Downing, comptroller; M. W. Thomson, engineer,
maintenance of way; E. F. Brooks, engineer, maintenance of way.
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad: H. K. Nichols, chief engineer;
J. Lowrie Bell, general traffic manager. Philadelphia, Wilmington
and Baltimore Railroad: Isaac Hinckley, president. Providence and
Worcester Railroad: James Callery, president. Richmond and Alle-
gheny Railroad: Decatur Axtell, receiver and manager. Richmond
and Danville Railroad: F. W. Huidekoper, vice-president. Rich-
mond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad: Joseph P. Brinton,
president: E. T. D. Myers, general superintendent; J. II. Winston,
treasurer. Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad: H. W. Brit-
ton, general manager. St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad:
W. Bayard Cutting, president; G. W. Parker, vice-president and gen-
eral manager. St. Louis and' San Francisco Railway: D.W.Nichols,
general superintendent; James Dunn, chief engineer. Shenango and
Allegheny Railroad : J. T. Blair, president. Southern Pacific Railroad:
A. C. Hutchinson, general manager; A. N. Towne, general manager.
Southern Florida Railroad: J. E. Ingraham, president. Steam Packet
Company, Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad, Raleigh and Gaston Rail-
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1017
road, Raleigh and Augusta Air Line, Carolina Central Railroad Com-
pany: William M. Robinson, president. Texas and Pacific Railway:
L. A. Shelden, receiver. Texas and St. Louis Railway: S. W. Fordyce,
receiver. Ulster and North Carolina Railroad: A. B. Andrews, presi-
dent. Union Pacific Railway: C.F.Adams, jr., president; J. Blick-
ensderfer, chief engineer. Union Switch and Signal Company: C. H.
Jackson, president. Western Transit Company : S. D. Caldwell, gen-
eral manager. Westinghouse Air Brake Company: George Westing-
house, jr., president, West Shore Railroad: J. D. Laying, general
manager; C. W. Bradley, general superintendent. Wheeling and Lake
Erie Railroad: C. A. Wilson, chief engineer. Woodruff Sleeping Car
Company: John C. Paul, general manager. Zanesville and Ohio Rail-
road : James Buckingham, president.
To whom it may concern:
Mr. J. E. Watkins, of Camden, N. J., has been appointed honorary curator of the
section of steam transportation (railways and steamboats) in the U. S. National
Museum.
Mr. Watkins is authorized to treat in the interest of the National Museum with
any persons who may be willing to aid in the development of this section, and to add
to the collection already in the Museum objects illustrative of the history and growth
of this industry in the United States. Specimens thus acquired will be exhibited in
the Museum in the name of the donor.
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution, and Director U. S. National Museum.
In order that the collection in connection with this section may he made as com-
plete and creditable as possible, financial aid is necessary.
Your attention is called to the inclosed petition to Congress, and your official
sanction is respectfully requested.
A nation which contains within its borders over 120,000 miles of railway, repre-
senting stock and bonded capital of over $7,000,000,000, should be zealous to preserve
the history of the efforts of the pioneers in railway construction and equipment,
which, during the last half century, have had such an immense influence upon our
growth and the development of our civilization.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has already presented to the Museum loco-
motive No. 1 (of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company, imported in 1831 and
in use until 1865), more familiary known as the "John Bull," together with a sec-
tion of the original track, laid with stone blocks, etc., upon w r hich this the oldest
locomotive on their system ran.
Engravings of the first steam locomotive that ever performed actual service on a
railway (in W T ales, 1804), the first steamboat which was commercially successful
(Fulton's Clermont, 1807), the first steamboat to navigate the ocean (John Stevens' s
Phoenix, 1807), the first steam locomotive built for actual service that ever turned a
driving wheel in America (the "Stourbridge Lion"), and engravings of the working
drawings of the first three American-built locomotives are already on exhibition.
Many other relics, models, and drawings have been promised by railroad and
steamboat officials and others.
At the annual convention of the Master Mechanics' Association at Washington, in
July, 1885, resolutions indorsing the action of the U. S. National Museum establish-
ing the section of steam transportation were paased, and when the matter was
brought before the American Society of Civil Engineers, at their Deer Park conven-
tion, in 1885, much individual aid was promised.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
1018 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
May 26, 1886 House.
Mr. H. LIBBKY presented a petition of parties prominent in rail-
road circles, asking an appropriation for the organization of the sec-
tion of steam transportation in the United States National Museum.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
NATIONAL MUSEUM ESTIMATES.
December 7, 1885 House.
Estimates for 1887.
For the erection of a fire-proof building for storing the alcoholic
collections of the National Museum. $15.000.
NOTE. The safety of the interior of the National Museum and the Smithsonian
building is endangered by the large number of alcoholic specimens kept therein, and
it i.s considered by public museums, both at home and abroad, very important to
have a separate building for their reception and preservation. There are at present
no suitable accommodations for these collections.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Gov-
ernment, and from other sources, including salaries or compensation
of all necessary employees, $125,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, electrical and telephonic service
for the National Museum, $15,000.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition and
safe-keeping of the collections of the National Museum, including
salaries or compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
For asphalt pavement on the west side of the National Museum
and between the Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, $2,500.
To refund the duty paid by Semon Bache & Co. , of New York,
upon glass, from imported stock, furnished to the National Museum
and the New Orleans, Louisville, and Cincinnati expositions for exhi-
bition cases, $3,562.56.
February 9, 1886 House.
Deficiency estimates for 1886, etc.
To meet expenses of receiving, packing, transporting to the National
Museum in Washington, and of installing or storing such new speci-
mens and collections as may be presented to the United States at the
North, Central, and South American Exposition held in New Orleans,
La., in 1885-86, to be available for the fiscal year. 1886-87, and to
complete the installation of the collections received in 1885 from the
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, $2,500.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January 16, 1886.
SIR: I respectfully ask that the inclosed estimate for an immediate deficiency
appropriation be presented to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1019
At the last session an appropriation was made by Congress to enable the Smith-
sonian Institution to receive and transmit to Washington for installation in the
National Museum many of the most valuable donations to the United States made
by various parties governments, firms, and individuals that took part in the exhi-
bition at New Orleans. This was expended to very good advantage, with the result
of securing to the United States National Museum many interesting and important
exhibits. The Smithsonian Institution has been notified that a large number of
additional contributions now on exhibition there are at its command, when the
exposition which is still being continued at New Orleans closes. The sum referred
to in the inclosed memorandum will be needed to take advantage of the oppor-
tunity, as there is no appropriation at present available for the purpose.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
April 17, 1886.
SIR: In the report of deficiency estimates before the committee there is (p. 24) an
item of $2,500 for the purpose of meeting expenses of receiving, packing, transporting
to the National Museum in Washington, and of installing or storing sundry con-
tributions presented or to be presented to the United States at the New Orleans
Exposition.
In further explanation of this, I beg to say that the exposition is now closed, and
that immediate steps are desirable for taking possession of the property in question,
a larger number of contributions having been made than w r as originally expected.
Notably among these are the exhibits of Russia and of Samoa.
Respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. JAMES N. BURNES,
Chairman of Subcommittee on Deficiency Appropriation Bill.
June 12, 1886.
Statement by Prof. S. F. Baird.
As regards furniture and fixtures appropriation, it may be stated that the fund has
been devoted to the construction of cases under contract outside the building or to
pay of carpenters and others employed in their building inside the premises for glass
and other necessary materials used in their finish and for the requisite fittings, etc.
The salaries paid out of the appropriation are for assistance in the assignment and
care of the furniture and fixtures and the engrossing of accounts pertaining thereto.
I might have added also that large numbers of bottles, jars, trays, stands, etc.,
have been provided, as well as other appointments for the exhibition room of the
Museum, and all coining legitimately within the scope of the appropriation.
June 19, 1886.
SIR: I beg to inclose an item for the completion of the heating and telephonic
service of the U. S. National Museum for the fiscal year 1886, representing the excess
of liabilities over the appropriation made for this purpose.
Very respectfully,
S. F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution and Director U. S. National Museum.
Hon. JAMES N. BURNES,
Chairman Subcommittee on Appropriations, House of Representatives.
1020 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Preservation of collections, National Museum, 188(5. For heating and lighting the
National Museum. For expense of heating, lighting, and telephone and electrical
service, $500, being a deficiency for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886.
June 22, 1886 House.
Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting an esti-
mate from the Director of the National Museum.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., June 21, 1886.
SIR: I beg to inclose herewith, for transmission to the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives, an item for the completion of the heating and
telephonic service of the U. S. National Museum for the fiscal year 1886, representing
the excess of liabilities over the appropriation made for this purpose.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution and Director U. S. Rational Museum.
Hen. C. S. FAIRCHILD,
Acting Secretary of Treasury.
For expense of heating, lighting, and telephonic and electrical service, $631.67,
being a deficiency for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886.
Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
June 24, 1886.
SIR: In the estimate of deficiencies required for the fiscal year 1886 and preceding
years is an item of $2,500 to meet expenses of receiving, packing, and transporting
to the National Museum certain specimens from New Orleans. As the occasion for
that expenditure has passed, I would respectfully ask the withdrawal from the bill
and cancellation of that item.
Respectfully, SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. JAMES N. BURNES,
Chairman Subcommittee on Appropriations, House of Representatives.
July 2, 1886.
MY DEAR SENATOR: I beg to call your attention to the inclosed item which failed
to receive attention at the hands of the House Committee on Appropriations because
of delay in reaching that body, it being impossible for us to get the necessary infor-
mation until recently.
I would add that the items entering into this deficiency item are :
Rental of telephones $380. 00
Gas, quarter ending June 30, 1886 (estimated) 225. 57
Electric supplies 15. 60
Coal... 10.50
Total
Requesting that you will kindly have the item put upon the deficiency bill now
before your committee,
I have the honor to be, very truly, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. W. B. ALLISON,
Chairman Committee on Appropriations, U. S. Senate.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1021
December 9, 1886 House.
Estimates for 1888.
For commencing the construction, in a fireproof manner, of an addi-
tional museum building to receive the collections and laboratories in
chemistry, geology, mineralogy, metallurgy, taxidernry, etc., and for
offices and laboratories of the United States Geological Survey, to be
erected under the direction and supervision of the Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution on the southwest section of the grounds of
the Smithsonian Institution, $250,000.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections
from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government,
and from other sources, including salaries or compensation of all nec-
essary employees, $125,000.
For expense of heating, lighting, electrical and telephonic service
for the National Museum, $15,000-.
For the preparation and installation of duplicate specimens belong-
ing to the United States for deposit with such State and national
expositions as may be authorized by Congress to receive them, $5,000.
For cases, furniture, fixtures, and appliances required for the exhi-
bition and safe-keeping of the collections of the National Museum,
including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
January 10, 1887 Senate.
Letter of S. F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to
Son. W. JB. Allison, chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations.
SIR: I would respectfully ask attention of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
to the following items as contained in the House bill No. 10072, with a request that
the committee take into consideration the propriety of bringing them up more
nearly to the amounts asked for in the estimates transmitted by the Secretary of the
Treasury : .
"Preservation of collections: Preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collec-
tions received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, and
from other sources, including salaries or compensations of all necessary employees,"
from $106,500 to $116,000; original estimate, $125,000.
"Heating and lighting: Expense of heating, lighting, electrical and telephonic
service for the National Museum," from $11,000 to $13,000; original estimate,
$15,000.
So far as the appropriation for the preservation of collections is concerned, or that
which constitutes the basis of support of the National Museum, I would respectfully
submit that the great increase in the amount and value of the material placed on
exhibition renders larger expenditures necessary; that it is impossible to properly
guard the valuable collections received with the present force of watchmen, espe-
cially since the addition of the Grant relics. There are several important divisions
of the Museum that have not yet been organized, and for which provision is needed.
The amount of $11,000, previously allowed, does not meet the full expense of heat-
ing, lighting, electrical and telephonic service of the building, especially when it is
considered that there are four distinct buildings and a greater part of a fifth to be
covered by this service. The offices of the Smithsonian building are, of course, pro-
vided for out of the Smithsonian fund, but the greater part of the edifice is occupied
for museum purposes, and requires the expenditure of the museum appropriation.
1022 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The increase of the appropriation for international exchanges is asked on the
ground that the actual excess of cost over the $10,000 appropriated for the fiscal year
1886 was $2,000, and the increase is so rapid that without doubt by the beginning of
the fiscal year 1888 there will be an addition of certainly 50 per cent. It should be
borne in mind that this appropriation is made primarily for carrying out the law of
Congress, which directs the exchange of 50 sets of publications of the United States
Government with foreign governments returning an equivalent; and also includes
,cost of the exchange of the publications of all the technical and scientific institutions
of the United States with those of foreign countries. This involves the transmission
and reception of about 1,500 boxes annually, the expense of transportation between
Washington and all parts of the world, the salaries of agents, the expense of boxing,
paper, etc., and the service necessary to carry on the work.
The Smithsonian Institution has for several years made good any deficit in this
appropriation, but it seems hardly right that it should be taxed for this Government
work, especially in view of the fact that it makes from its own fund an annual expendi-
ture of about $10,000 for printing books which are sent abroad in exchange, the
returns for which are deposited in the Library of Congress and constitute a very
important feature of that establishment.
********
NATIONAL MUSEUM APPROPRIATIONS.
June 17, 1886 House.
Report (H. 2898) on the sundry civil bill for 1887, by Mr. S. J.
Randall, of the Committee on Appropriations, included letters from
Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and
Prof. J. W. Powell, Director of the U. S. Geological Survey.
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 2, 1886.
DEAR SIR: I beg to state somewhat more explicitly than I was able to do yester-
day the facts in regard to the printing of the Smithsonian and the Fish Commission
reports, etc. , respecting which you made inquiry of me.
(1) Smithsonian Institution. An annual report on the operations of the Institution
has been addressed to Congress year by year since 1846, and the printing ordered
in the usual course. The annual meeting of the Board of Regents takes place about
the middle of January, but the report, itself has seldom been printed within six
months of that date, sometimes two years elapsing before it is in the hands of the
Board of Regents and of Congress. For the purpose of having it more promptly, so
that the details could be available for consideration at the annual meeting, a law
was passed directing the Public Printer to have the regular edition of the report
printed year by year as soon as received from the Secretary; putting it on the same
basis as the regular reports of the Departments of the Government, The printing of
extra copies, however, is still left to Congress to authorize.
I may remark here that the report for the fiscal year 1885 has not yet been com-
pleted by the printer. In addition to the printing of the annual report, an estimate
has been sent in for a number of years to the Department of the Interior (which
disburses the appropriations for the National Museum) of $10,000, to meet the inci-
dental printing required for the National Museum. This embraces the service
required for printing an immense number of labels for that Department, as also the
so-called Proceedings and the Bulletins of the National Museum, which embrace
data connected with the operations of the Museum, and the specimens contained
therein. The bibliography of Mr. Lea, of which you showed me a copy yesterday,
is an enumeration of the publications of an eminent naturalist in Philadelphia,
nearly 95 years of age, the oldest and one of the most prominent men of science in
America. All his collections have been given by him to the National Museum, and
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887.
1023
have already oeen received in large part; and the bibliography in question has
therefore a distinct and direct relationship to the Museum.
(2) U. S. Fish Commission. Under the law the annual report of the operations of
the Commission is presented; but, unfortunately, there being no general provision
by which the regular edition can be printed without a specific order, the work is
dependent upon Congressional order, action upon which, when obtained, is usually
deferred in the Government Printing Office in favor of more urgent requisitions.
The volumes of this report for 1883, although stereotyped and ready to print in
November last, still remain in the printer's hands. The report for 1884 is also
nearly ready for the press.
For the purpose of bringing promptly before the community interested the work
and discoveries of the U. S. Fish Commission, and valuable information in regard to
fish culture and the fisheries, Congress several years ago authorized the printing of
a work not to exceed 500 pages annually, and including the regular edition plus
5,000 copies to be issued by signatures as ready, so that the editors of agricultural
and statistical journals, as well as of the leading dailies, might have the data fresh
as it occurred, instead of waiting a period of one or two years after the expiration of
the year to which the matter referred. In this way much important information is
disseminated at an early date. Of the extra edition (1,500 copies) ordered for the
Fish Commission, about 250 sets are distributed in this way, the remainder being
held until completed and furnished in cloth. The Congressional edition is only
supplied in cloth in complete volumes.
The editions of the reports of the Smithsonian Institution and the Fish Commission
have all been established by Congressional action without solicitation on the part of
either the Smithsonian Institution or the Fish Commission, and I respectfully call
your attention to the comparatively slight expense that they have been _ to the Gov-
ernment. This is due mainly to the fact that as few illustrations as possible are intro-
duced, and these are almost exclusively woodcuts from relief blocks which are printed
with the text, and, while usually costing not to exceed 18 cents per square inch, are
printed at very little more than the expense of ordinary type.
Very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD.
Hon. THOMAS RYAN,
House of Representatives, City.
Title of document.
Num- Num-
ber of ber of
pages, copies.
Cost of
illustra-
tions.
Total cost.
sr
Report Commissioner of Fisheries, 1880
Report Commissioner of Fisheries, 1881
1,106 ; 11,500
1,218 j 11,900
1 194 ! 11 425
8336.00
150.00
408 50
$10, 696. 39
12,521.20
12 001 74
$0.93
1.04
1 05
Bulletin Fish Commission, 1883
Bulletin Fish Commission 1884
508 | 6,900
500 6 900
3,290.77
3 190 87
.47
.46
Report of Smithsonian Institution for 1882
Report of Smithsonian Institution for 1883
876 | 17,460
998 I 17 960
. 119.00
230 00
10,991.81
12, 120. 52
.62
.68
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,
Washington, D. C., June 2, 1886.
SIR: In compliance with your oral request, I have the honor to inclose the follow-
ing statement of the floor space occupied by the Geological Survey for its offices in
Washington. The space given includes only interior room measurements.
I am, with respect, yours, etc.,
J. W. POWELL, Director.
Mr. EDWARD CLARK,
Architect of the Capitol, Washington, D. C.
1024 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Fluor space occupied by Hie Geological Surrey in, Washington office*.
HOOE BUILDING.
Square feet.
Basement (engine rooms and lithological laboratory) 4, 557
Street floor (document rooms) 1, 580
First floor (rooms) 5, 687
Second floor (rooms) 5, 539
Third floor (rooms) , 5, 787
Fourth floor (rooms) 5, 539
Fifth floor (rooms) 5, 687
Halls (used for map cases, file cases, etc. } 5, 956
Total 40, 332
NATIONAL MUSEUM.
Laboratory rooms of National Museum used by the Geological Survey, but
urgently required for the Museum (about) 1 2, 800
Grand total . . 53, 132
The report (H. 2898) contained the following- items or expenditures:
Statement of expenditure of the appropriation, of $10,000 for International Exchanges for
the fiscal year ending June SO, 1SS6.
1 agent in England $500. 00
1 agent in Germany (for the Continent) 1, 000. 00
1 clerk in Washington 1, 800. 00
Do 1, 200. 00
1 clerk in Washington, 6 months at $75 and 6 months at $100 1, 050. 00
3 clerks in Washington, at $60 per month 2, 160. 00
2 packers in Washington, at $50 per month 1 , 200. 00
1 copyist, at $40 480. 00
1 copyist, at $40, for 3 months 120. 00
1 copyist, at $30, for 1 month 30. 00
1 packer and laborer, 114 days, at $1.50 171. 00
1 copyist, for job 30. 96
Do 51. 06
1 case and cards for records 1 . 36. 98
Postage - 100. 00
1 laborer, 70 days, at $1 70. 00
10,000.00
In addition to this, the Smithsonian Institution expended from its own funds
$6,238.60.
Exchanges.
Receipts.
1884-85. . . .
1885-8G. . . .
Packages.
51,448
84,524
92,748
Weight.
141,465
164,922
201,635
Transmis-
sions.
711
Entries in records in 1885-86, 93,216. Invoices and acknowledgments, 12,686. Cards in use: Foreign,
6,116; domestic, 1,573. Letters written, 1,778.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1025
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., June 14, 1886.
Your request for a statement as to the expenditures on account of furniture and
fixtures, National Museum, for the fiscal year 1885-86 was duly received, but, as
explained in my note of the 12th instant, not until too late for the necessary action
at the time. I now, however, beg to submit the information so far as I understand
your wishes. It will, I hope, be found to fully confirm my general statement of
Saturday, and is as follows:
Amount of appropriation, $40, 000. 00
Expended to June 15 (wages and salaries to June 1 only):
Exhibition cases, unit drawers and trays for same, exhi-
bition screens, pedestals, bases, designs and drawings,
lumber, plate glass, locks, interior fittings and fixtures,
and general hardware $17, 186. 95
Furniture for exhibition halls and offices and repairs to
same 878. 68
Glass jars, bottles, vials, and rubber and cork stoppers. . 3, 613. 45
Labeling cases and specimens, materials for 202. 84
Apparatus and fixtures for laboratories and repairs to
same. 1,145,01
Incidental traveling expenses 12. 91
Salaries property clerk, accountant, and copyist, to
June 1 1, 250. 00
Wages of carpenters, painters, and other mechanics, in-
cluding wages of laborers, to June 1 9, 613. 08
Balance available June 15 for materials, cases, salaries,
and wages, etc. , for month of June 6, 097. 08
40,000.00
I would repeat that the expenditures (excepting as to wages and salaries) cover
everything paid for to June 14 (or say 15, to-morrow), and that the balance available
will meet all liabilities to the close of the fiscal year, including June salaries and
wages.
With regard to your inquiries as to amounts paid for salaries, highest and lowest
salary, etc., I beg to submit the following:
Total amount for salaries July 1, 1885, to June 1, 1886 .' . $1, 250. 00
Highest salary per month (property clerk) $100. 00
Lowest salary per month (copyist) $30. 00
Average salary $62. 50
Total expenditure for wages, 11 months (to June 1, 1886) $9, 613. 08
Highest number of employees any one'month 30
Lowest number of employees any one month 7
Average number of employees 16^ T
Highest wages paid mechanics and laborers per day. . $3. 00
Lowest wages paid mechanics and laborers do $1. 50
Average wages paid mechanics and laborers v do $2. 25
With reference to Report of Progress of the Museum, as called for by Congressional
enactment (sundry civil act, 1885), I would respectfully state that, as you will .see
by accompanying printed title-page and table of contents, the report for 1884 was
duly submitted and is now in process of publication, though the Public Printer has
not yet furnished us with copies. The report for 1885 was also placed before Con-
gress at the proper time, and is now at the Government Printing Office awaiting its
action in the way of publication.
Very truly, yours,
SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secretary.
J. C. COURTS, Esq.,
Clerk Committee on Appropriatione,
H. Doc. 732 65
1026
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Expenditures for preservation of Government collections for year ending June, 30, 1886.
For salaries of 106 employees $82, 317. 60
For specimens 1, 400. 00
For stationery 1, 800. 00
For freight 2, 000. 00
For supplies, ice, alcohol, poison, etc 6, 000. 00
For books and journals 200. 00
For traveling expenses of assistants 300. 00
For apparatus and tools 400. 00
For repairs 400. 00
For miscellaneous 382. 40
Amount of appropriation : 95, 000. 00
Respectfully submitted.
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution and Director National Museum.
Amounts paid for salaries for preservation of collections, National Museum.
Employees.
Per
month.
Total per
month.
Employees.
Per
month.
Total per
month.
8300 00
8300 00
875 00
875 00
166.66
833 30
1 preparator
45.00
45 00
135 00
135 00
40 00
40 00
1 assistant superintendent
75.00
70.00
75.00
70.00
1 machinist
1 machinist
75.00
50.00
75.00
50.00
125 00
125 00
50 00
50 00
125 00
250 00
50 00
500 00
1 assistant
110 00
110 00
65 00
65 00
3 assistants
1 aid
100.00
100 00
300.00
100 00
3 doorkeepers
50.00
40 00
150.00
80 00
laid
laid
CO. 00
45.00
60.00
45.00
1 attendant.
1 attendant
40.00
35.00
40.00
85.00
clerk
clerk
140.00
130.00
140.00
130.00
1 attendant
1 messenger
20.00
45.00
20.00
45.00
clerk
110 00
110 00
40.00
40.00
clerk
85 00
85 00
30 00
30 00
clerk
55 00
55 00
24.00
24.00
2 clerks
50 oo
100 00
20 00
40 00
50 00
150 00
15.00
15.00
45 00
90.00
1 laborer
48.00
48.00
40 00
240 00
46 00
92.00
35 00
35 00
1 laborer
45.00
45.00
30 00
30 00
42.00
84.00
1 artist
110 00
110 00
6 laborers
40.00
240.00
125 00
125 00
37 50
37.50
i 96 00
96 00
4 laborers
36.00
144.00
1 taxidermist
125 00
125 00
35.00
35.00
110 00
33 00
33 00
1 taxidermist
80 00
80 00
30.00
90.00
1 taxidermist
70 00
70.00
2 cleaners
24.00
48.00
50 00
50 00
20.00
20.00
1 preparator
100.00
100.00
106
6,859.80
90.00
90.00
Number of employees, 106.
Aggregate salaries for one month, 86, 859. 80.
Aggregate salaries for one year, 882, 317.60.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1027
. W. Powell reported the cost of publishing the reports of the Bureau of
Ethnology.
Work charged:
1881 $9,555.14
1882 55, 137. 12
1883 9, 123. 27
1884 41, 152. 66
1885... - 4,110.44
Total '. 119, 478. 63
July 17, 1886 House.
Mr. WM. M. SPRINGER, from the Committee on Claims, submitted
a report (H. 3318) to accompany bill (H. 9865):
The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred, from the Com-
mittee on Appropriations, the following resolution
That the Committee on Appropriations be discharged from the consideration of
the item in the Book of Estimates for 1887, page 205, "to refund the duty paid by
Semon Bache & Co., of New York, upon glass from imported stock furnished to the
National Museum, and the New Orleans, Louisville, and Cincinnati Expositions, for
exhibition cases,. $3,562.56," and that the same be referred to the Committee on
Claims
having had the same under consideration, report back the same with
the accompanying bill, and recommend that the bill be passed. The
amount covered by this bill i-* $3,562.56.
The Secretary of the Treasury placed this sum in the Book of Esti-
mates, on page 205, and recommended that the sum be allowed as a
part of the ordinary expenses of the Government; but the Committee
on Appropriations were of the opinion that it was properly a claim to
be presented in the usual way. The reason for the allowance of this
claim is stated in the letter of Prof. Spencer F. Baird, as follows:
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., June 30, 1886.
DEAR SIR: I beg respectfully to invite your attention to an item recently referred
to your committee, by order of the House, discharging the Committee on Appropria-
tions from further consideration of the subject, said item being found in the Book of
Estimates, page 205, a copy of which I inclose, together with my letter at that time in
regard to it.
In this connection I would state that the item in question has twice been estimated
for by the Secretary of the Treasury. In the deficiency estimates for the fiscal year
1885 (p. 9, letter of Secretary of the Treasury of January 22, 1885, House Ex. Doc.
No. 115), it appears for the first time, but through inadvertence my explanatory
letter was not printed with the estimates, and not fully understanding the subject, the
item was left out in making up the deficiency bill.
In view of my printed explanation of this measure, it would seem an unnecessary
trespass upon your time to state anything further with regard to it, unless it be that
it is just and would not have been rendered necessary but for the rule of the Treasury
Department operating retroactively upon Messrs. Bache & Co., thereby depriving
them of permit, to which they were entitled for glass taken from stock up to the date
of the order, said order being the result of unsatisfactory methods of doing business
on the part of another firm in New York, dealing extensively in glass importation.
1028 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Should your committee desire any further information with regard to this measure,
I shall be happy to furnish the same in writing, or orally through an assistant fully
informed upon the subject.
I have the honor to be, very truly, yours,
S. F. BAIRD, Secretary.
Hon. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER,
Chairman Committee on Claims, House of Representatives.
Refund of duty to Semon Bache & Co.
To refund the duty paid by Semon Bache & Co., of New York, upon glass from
imported stock furnished to the National Museum, and the New Orleans, Louisville,
and Cincinnati Expositions, for exhibition cases (submitted), $3,562.56.
NOTE. In explanation I would state that, from time to time, for several years
past, the Treasury Department has, at the request of the Smithsonian Institution,
granted free permits for importations of glass to offset the duty paid on that fur-
nished from stock to the National Museum, and the New Orleans, Cincinnati, and
Louisville Expositions, by the firm in question; but in the summer of 1884 an order
was issued by the Treasury Department declining to grant further permits unless the
glass came directly through the custom-house to this city, this, order proving retro-
active with regard to Messrs. Bache & Co. The amount of duties now asked to be
refunded we have found to be correct, and covers the entire liability of the Govern-
ment on this account to the firm mentioned, to the present date.
For the reasons stated in this letter, and in view of the recommen-
dation of the Secretary of the Treasury for its allowance, your com-
mittee are of the opinion that the accompanying bill should pass.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
July 20, 1886 Senate.
The next amendment to the sundry civil bill for 1887 (H. 9478) was
in line 1672, after the word " Museum," to strike out the word
"building," so as to make the clause read:
Heating and lighting the National Museum: For expense of heating, lighting, and
electrical and telephonic service for the National Museum, $11,000.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. WILLIAM J. SEWELL. Is this the appropriate time to all for an
explanation in relation to the expenditures for the National Museum,
as connected with the Smithsonian Institution ? I have yet to know
under what committee of the Senate these expenditures are arranged.
I ask the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations whether any
committee of the Senate has any jurisdiction over these expenditures?
Here is a large appropriation of $106,500:
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections received from the
surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, and from other sources,
including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees.
Mr. WILLIAM B. ALLISON. I do not know that any special committee
has charge of these expenditures, unless it be the Committee on Appro-
priations. They are very carefully estimated for in the Book of Esti-
mates.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1029
Mr. SEWELL. The National Museum and Smithsonian Institution
seem to report their proceedings directly to the Committee on Appro-
priations, and their appropriations are granted as estimated for in that
way without going through any committee of the Senate, as all other
expenses of the Government do.
Mr. EUGENE HALE. What committees do the salaries of the
employees of the Departments come under in any case except the
Committee on Appropriations?
Mr. SEWELL. They come regularly to the Committee on Appropria-
tions, but the interests of the Treasury Department are in charge of
the Finance Committee.
Mr. HALE. The Finance Committee do not deal with the salaries of
employees.
Mr. SEWELL. But here is a lump sum for the preservation, exhibi-
tion, and increase of collections in the National Museum amounting
to $106,500.
Mr. HALE. It is the same as the Fish Commission.
Mr. SEWELL. I grant the Fish Commission is of the same character.
Mr. HALE. There are thirty other items in the bill of the same
kind.
Mr. SEWELL. There are very few others, if any. There is a Com-
mittee of Fisheries of the Senate to-day that has not a particle of con-
trol over the expenditures of the Fish Commission, as it ought to
have.
Mr. ALLISON. So far as the National Museum is concerned, for the
number of employees and the character of work done, the compensa-
tion of the persons who perform the work is less than in any other
department of this Government. They are employed at very small
compensation and are generally highly intelligent and educated men.
Mr. SEWELL. I do not find any fault with the compensation or
with the intelligence of the gentlemen employed in those bureaus. I
merely criticise the mode of doing business. Take the army matters:
they are referred to the Military Committee, and naval matters to the
Naval Committee, and finance matters to the Committee on Finance.
It seems that the Smithsonian Institution, the Fish Commission, and
the National Museum deal directly with the Committee on Appropria-
tions, without supervision on the part of any other committee.
Mr. ALLISON. The Smithsonian Institution is not a Government
institution. It is controlled by Regents appointed, two [three] by the
President of the Senate and two [three] by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and the others are ex officio members; and the
expenditures of the Smithsonian Institution are not even under the
control of Congress, I think. The Smithsonian fund is perpetually in
the Treasury, drawing a fixed rate of interest, and the income is
under the control of the Regents.
1030 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. SEWELL. Does the chairman of the Appropriations Committee
say that no appropriation is made for the Smithsonian Institution?
Mr. ALLISON. I think not.
Mr. SEWELL. Are none of the officers' salaries paid by Congress?
Mr. ALLISON. Not that I know of.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR. It seems to me that it might be very well at the
beginning of the next session of Congress to have a slight amendment
to the rules, by which all questions relating to the National Museum
and the Smithsonian Institution, and perhaps some kindred matters,
so far as a change in their work is proposed, should be referred to the
Committee on the Library. But I do not say that that would justify
the present criticism, because I suppose that committee would no
more look into the question of the number of clerks to carry out the
ordinary work than the Committee on the Judiciary would look into
the same question in regard to the Department of Justice.
Mr. SEWELL. I will say to the Senator from Massachusetts that I
did not intend to make any criticism at the present time; but at some
future time 1 shall ask that matters in relation to the National Museum
and also the Fish Commission shall be referred to or placed under the
jurisdiction of the appropriate committees of the Senate.
Mr. HOAR. That would require a change of the rules.
Mr. ALLISON. If the Senator from New Jersey desires that some
other committee shall overhaul these bureaus in respect to their
appropriations, of course I have no objection to that. If the Com-
mittee on Appropriations have not carefully scrutinized the amounts
of these appropriations, I trust the Senator will point out where the
committee has been negligent.
Mr. SEWELL. I did not intend to make any reflection of that kind.
In the end we all have confidence in the Committee on Appropriations
for running the Government; but 1 did intend to call the attention of
the Senate to the fact that these bureaus were being run without any
supervision by a committee of Congress. I shall take occasion here-
after to bring the matter before the Senate.
July 22, 1886 Senate.
Mr. WILLIAM M. EVARTS introduced a bill (S. 2871) for the relief
of Semon Bache & Co., of New York, the same as reported by Mr.
William M. Springer in House of Representatives, July 17, 1886.
Referred to Committee on Claims.
July 22, 1886.
Letter from Secretary S. F. Bawd to Hon. W. C. Whitthome, Com-
mittee on Claims* United States Senate.
*******
While the Institution is in no wise liable for the debt to Semon, Bache & Co. on
the part of the Government^ it can not properly throw off the moral responsibility
resting upon the establishment to do everything in its power to secure payment of
the obligation.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1031
As you will see from the printed report, the item has been twice estimated for by
the Treasury Department. On the first occasion it was placed in the deficiency bill,
but was thrown out as not properly belonging there. On the second occasion it was
placed in the sundry civil bill. The chairman, however, instead of striking it out
in committee, brought it to the attention of the House and had it referred to the
Committee on Claims of that body, satisfied it would not be allowed as an item of
the bill because of a certain rule operating against its status therein.
I have reiterated from time to time that the item is just and explained why the
amount was not allowed without resort to Congress; also that the account has been
examined and found correct. The Committee on Claims of the House, as you will
see in their report, recommended its allowance.
The gentlemen for whom this relief is intended know little about methods of
legislation, and rely entirely upon our securing the passage of the measure. The
sum is trifling, but being justly due, and the parties having waited nearly four years
for its payment, they are very desirous of securing favorable action at this session of
Congress, especially as they receive no interest on the amount which has been paid
from their own pockets, and hence becomes, as it were, a loan to the Government.
*******
January 15, 1887 House.
Mr. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER, from the Committee on Claims, sub-
mitted a report (H. 3612) to accompany bill (S. 2871):
The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2871) for
the relief of Semon, Bache &Co., having- had the same under considera-
tion, report it back with the recommendation that it do pass. The
committee reported House bill No. 9865 (Report No. 3318) on the same
subject, in which report the facts in relation to this claim are set forth.
Committed to Committee of Whole.
March 3, 1887.
Sundry civil act for 1888.
For expense of heating, lighting, and electrical and telephonic serv-
ice for the National Museum, $12,000.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections from
the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Government, and from
other sources, including salaries or compensation of all necessary
employees, $116,000.
For cases, furniture, fixtures, and appliances required for the exhibi-
tion and safe-keeping of the collections of the National Museum, includ-
ing salaries or compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
(Stat, XXIV, 529.)
August 4, 1886.
Sundry civil act for 1887.
For expense of heating, lighting, and electrical and telephonic serv-
ice for the National Museum, $11,000.
For the preservation, exhibition, and increase of the collections
received from the surveying and exploring expeditions of the Gov-
ernment, and from other sources, including salaries or compensation
of all necessary employees, $106.500.
1032 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
For cases, furniture, and fixtures required for the exhibition and
safe-keeping of the collections of the National Museum, including sal-
aries or compensation of all necessary employees, $40,000.
(Stat., XXIV, 242.)
August 4, 1886.
Deficiency act for 1886, etc.
For expense of heating, lighting, and electrical and telephonic serv-
ice, $631.67.
Preservation of collections, 1883 and prior years, $149.16.
(Stat., XXIV, 272.)
(To cover claim reported in House Ex. Doc. No. 255, Foity-ninth
Congress, first session.)
MANUSCRIPT COMMISSION.
March 11, 1886 Senate.
Mr. G. F. HOAR introduced S. 1851:
That the Secretary of State, the Librarian of Congress, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, and their supcessors in office, are hereby constituted a com-
mission whose duty it shall be to report to Congress the character and value of the
historical and other manuscripts belonging to the Government of the United States
and what method and policy should be pursued in regard to editing and publishing
the same or any of them.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
March 25, 1886 Senate.
Passed.
April 15, 1886 House.
Mr. O. R. SINGLETON, from the Joint Committee on the Library,
submitted a report (H. 1633) on bill (S. 1851):
The Joint Committee on the Library, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1851) establishing a commission to report to Congress on manu-
scripts belonging to the Government, have had the same under con-
sideration, and report the same back with a recommendation that it
do pass.
The bill does not provide for any expenditure of money, but only
looks to the raising a commission whose duty it shall be to inquire
into the character and value of manuscripts belonging to the Govern-
ment, and propose some plan for editing and publishing the same.
We have many valuable manuscripts, some of which have been
acquired by purchase and others by donation. Among them are the
Franklin, the Rochambeau papers, and a copy of the records of Vir-
ginia made the first year or two after her settlement. The bill pro-
vides that the Secretary of State, the Librarian of Congress, and the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall constitute the commis-
sion and report to Congress their opinion as to the best means of
giving publicity to these historical manuscripts.
Committed to Committee of the Whole.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1033
February 2, 1887 Senate.
Mr. GEORGE F. HOAR moved to insert on page 101, after line 2452,
in the sundry civil bill for 1888 (H. 10072) the following:
That the Secretary of State, the Librarian of Congress, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, and their successors in office, are hereby constituted a com-
mission whose duty it shall be to report to Congress the character and value of the
historical and other manuscripts belonging to the Government of the United States,
and what method and policy should be pursued in regard to editing and publishing
the same, or any of them.
Agreed to.
March 3, 1887.
The sundry civil act constituted a commission consisting of the Sec-
retary of State, the Librarian of Congress, and the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, and their successors in office, "to report to
Congress the character and value of the historical and other manu-
scripts belonging to the Government of the United States, and what
method and policy should be pursued in regard to editing and pub-
lishing the same, or any of them."
(Stat., XXIV, 542.)
EXPOSITIONS.
Centennial CelebTation of the Constitution.
April 21, 1886 Senate.
Mr. ARTHUR P. GORMAN submitted a resolution :
That the Committee on Foreign Relations be instructed to consider the subject of
a celebration in 1889, at Washington, of the centennial anniversary of the formation
of the Government under the Constitution of the United States, and also of theiour
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America in 1892; and to report what, if
any, action by Congress is advisable in relation thereto.
Amended to make the reference to Committee on the Library.
Mr. GORMAN presented a memorial from prominent citizens, which
was ordered to be printed in the Record 1 and referred to Committee
on the Library.
[Permanent Exposition of the Three Americas: To be located at the capital of the United States.
Constitutional Centennial Celebration in 1889: By the sixteen American Republics in honor of the
one hundredth anniversary of the Constitution of the parent Republic, the United States. World's
Exposition in 1892: In honor of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by
Columbus.]
OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF PROMOTION,
Wttard's Hotel, Washington, D. ., April 21, 1886.
To Congress:
In three years from the 4th of last March the Constitution of the United States
will have completed the first century of its existence.
Six years from the 12th of next October will be the four hundredth anniversary of
the discovery of America by Columbus.
'Printed in Congressional Record, April 21, 1886.
1034 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
These are great historical events of national, hemispherical, and world-wide im-
portance, which should be celebrated in a manner becoming the dignity, wealth,
and grandeur of the United States and of the three Americas. Pride, as well as
self-interest, in the success and advancement of republican and American institu-
tions require that all Americans unite in paying tribute to these anniversaries.
Your attention is therefore respectfully invited to some suggestions in regard to
the ceremonies which it seems to us would be appropriate and to a proposed per-
manent exposition which should remain as a lasting monument in honor of these
events. They are simply suggestions thrown out to attract other suggestions and to
stimulate discussion of a subject which is of transcendent political and practical
importance to the whole Western Hemisphere.
To prevent any possible misunderstanding it may be well to state at the outset
that we who are advocating the proposed celebrations and exposition at the national'
capital, desire that they be entirely under the auspices and control of the Gen-
eral Government. Both the magnitude and dignity of the project forbid its man-
agement by a private corporation.
The subject of an exposition in 1892 has already been carefully considered in
several American cities besides Washington.
More than a year ago a committee of representative and progressive citizens was
appointed in St. Louis to take steps toward its acquisition for that metropolis of
the Mississippi Valley. They secured the indorsement of a national convention of
fair and exposition managers, and have since then kept the subject prominently
before the press and public.
During the past four or five months Chicago, with its usual enterprise, has held
several meetings to arrange for an exposition there in 1892, which movement is cor-
dially indorsed by the press and public of that city.
During the past four months a promoting organization has been perfected in the
City of Mexico, composed chiefly of members of the press, to capture the same expo-
sition. They have already appealed to the general government of their Republic,
and an early and favorable response is expected.
A year ago a meeting of some 200 or 300 Spaniards and Spanish- Americans was
held at Tammany Hall, New York City, to take preliminary steps toward a celebra-
tion in 1892 in honor of Columbus.
Recently the subject of a world's fair in New York, in honor of the centennial of
the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, has teen discussed in that
city.
Recently, also, a bill was introduced in the United States Senate providing for a
constitutional centennial celebration at Washington in 1889 by the sixteen American
Republics in honor of the one hundredth anniversary of the Constitution of the
parent Republic the United States.
In brief, two points are already settled by public opinion: First, that these great
historic events must be duly celebrated in some American city; and, second, that
the exposition proposed in their honor should be the greatest the world ever
witnessed.
Now, it is evident that great world's fairs can not be successfully held in four
American cities at the same time. In this connection the mind naturally turns
toward Washington, the capital of the United States the capital of the leading
nation of the three Americas the Paris of America in attractions and beauty, and a
city destined to be the Berlin of America in educational advantages. It is, therefore,
a city upon which all others can unite the truly representative city of the western
hemisphere.
Let us briefly consider a few of its many advantages:
It is near the great centers of population, and easily accessible both by rail and
water, as may be seen by a glance at the accompanying diagram.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1035
Within a radius of 200 miles then- are 10,000,000 people who could, if ample
transportation facilities were provided, reach Washington within one night.
Washington is also a favorite resort for the tourist. It is a halfway house for the
annual exodus of Americans to Europe, and a stopping place on their return.
Its climate is mild in winter, and in summer it is within easy reach of the many
surrounding and attractive summer resorts.
It is the center of scenes of great historic interest, such as Mount Vernon, Arling-
ton Heights, Yorktown, and other places. These attractions and advantages may
also be seen by reference to the diagram.
But more important than all these is its park, or governmental reservation, extend-
ing from the Capitol to the National Observatory, and including the Potomac Flats
soon to be reclaimed and beautified containing in all about 1,000 acres. Situated,
as it is, in the heart of the city, and within a few steps of Pennsylvania avenue and
the principal hotels, it has a great advantage for exposition purposes over the parks
of other cities, as they frequently are 5 or 6 miles out in the suburbs.
This park, its contents and immediate surroundings, such as Washington Monu-
ment, the National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, the Botanic Garden, the Capitol
buildings facing it on the east, the Treasury Department, Executive Mansion, Depart-
ment of Justice, State, War, and Navy Departments, and the Corcoran Art Gallery,
facing it. on the north, are an exposition in themselves a plant which has already
cost $50,000,000 a magnificent nucleus for the still grander exposition of 1889 and
1892.
Upon this park is ample room for a permanent exposition of all the nations of the
three Americas.
In the center of the Smithsonian grounds could be located a grand American
museum, a building which will, in 1889 and 1892, be greatly needed when Mexico,
Chile, Peru, Brazil, and the other States of Central and South America join with the
United States in exhibits of their antiquities, civilization, and progress.
On the White Lot could be located a State and Territorial building, with equal
space for each of the forty-six States and Territories to display their respective
resources. The expense of this building could, if desired, be borne by the several
States and Territories.
On the grounds of the Agricultural Department could be located an American
hall, a building greatly needed for national and scientific conventions, inauguration
balls, international congresses, etc.
Also, on the same grounds an American art gallery, as the nucleus for rare works
of art, the portraits of the Presidents and leading statesmen of the sixteen American
republics, and other paintings of historic value which those governments would
doubtless contribute; also the nucleus for rare collections which wealthy private
citizens may desire to bequeath.
On the Smithsonian grounds could be located a patent building for working
models, something greatly needed for the use of inventors and others.
On the reclaimed flats is ample room for an American zoological garden.
On the reservation surrounding the Washington Monument could be assigned
space for each of the fifteen sister republics of Spanish America and the Empire of
Brazil to erect a permanent building for a display of its resources and attractions.
Each being small and highly artistic, like the beautiful Mexican mineral building of
iron and glass at the World's Exposition at New Orleans, they would together form
an appropriate surrounding for the Monument without obstructing its view from the
Capitol and Executive Mansion.
Or, if preferred, these foreign buildings could be located on the north, east, and
west sides of the Smithsonian grounds, or on the space extending from tin- White
Lot to the National Observatory.
On the reclaimed flats could be located the various temporary buildiiurs which
will be needed for private exhibits at tin- World's Fair in lSVi>.
1036 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
The adaptability and advantages of this national park for the various purposes
mentioned may readily be seen by reference to the diagram prepared to illustrate
the suggested location of the exposition buildings.
But a few of the buildings need be erected by the United States, and the expense
of those few would be a safe investment, for such buildings as an American museum,
American hall, and American art gallery are absolutely needed by the Government
and would remain permanently as its own property.
Looking down from Capitol Hill upon the park thus improved one would witness
a panorama of nations, and, on the other hand, the American sister nations there
encamped could look up to the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the Executive
Mansion, and the various other surrounding edifices of the Federal Government, and
see the capital of the United States in all its grandeur and glory.
It would, in effect, be a permanent congress of the three Americas, something in
harmony with the spirit of the times, as is evidenced by the numerous bills recently
introduced in the Senate and House providing for a temporary convention of Amer-
ican nations.
##**#**
It will require one year for the necessary legislation by Congress, at least another
for legislation by 'the forty-six States and Territories and the various nations of the
other Americas, leaving but one year before the centennial of the Constitution, and
four years before the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America, for
the erection of permanent buildings, the collection of exhibits, and other necessary
work.
It is evident, therefore, we can do but little more than inaugurate the enterprise
in 1889, leaving the grand consummation for 1892.
No occasion could be more appropriate for such an inauguration than the 4th of
March, 1889, the one hundredth birthday of the Constitution, and the date of the
inauguration of the next President of the United States, in which celebration the
presidents of the fifteen American sister republics, whose organic laws are, to a
greater or less extent, copied from our Constitution, should be invited to participate.
' When the exposition is complete, in 1892, the President of the United States, the
presidents of the fifteen American sister republics, the Emperor of Brazil, the
Governor-General of Canada, the King of Italy, where Columbus was born, and the
Queen of Spain, from which country he sailed, should unite in unveiling a colossal
statue of the illustrious discoverer of America, which statue should be located in
the center of the permanent exposition grounds at Washington.
The first century of the Republic has been mainly devoted to home affairs, the
formation and perfection of constitutional government, the material development of
the great interior, the adjustment of sectional disputes, and the construction of
transportation routes to the seaboard.
The time has now arrived when the United States is entering upon what may be
termed the international era of its existence and a broader field of action.
We therefore respectfully submit that the proposed permanent exposition of the
three Americas is in accord with the spirit of the times, and that it will exert an
educational, industrial, commercial, and political influence of great practical impor-
tance and value.
Very respectfully, WM. B. WEBB, Chairman.
ALEX. D. ANDERSON, Secretary.
December 17, 1886 Senate.
Mr. A. P. GORMAN. I present the memorial of a large number of
citizens of the United States in relation to the centennial celebration
of the adoption of the Federal Constitution and the world's exposition
to celebrate the discovery of the continent of America by Columbus.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1037
This memorial is signed by a very large number of citizens of the
United States, and contains also the proceedings of a convention
recently held in the city of Washington on that subject. It is an inter-
esting matter, and I ask unanimous consent that the memorial may be
printed in the Record and referred to the special committee on that
subject.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN). The Senator
from Maiyland asks the unanimous consent of the Senate that the
memorial and proceedings presented by him be printed in the Record.
Is there objection ?
Mr. W. B. ALLISON. What is the nature of the memorial?
Mr. GORMAN. It is a memorial, with the proceedings of a conven-
tion held in this city, in relation to the proposed exposition to com-
memorate the centennial of the adoption of the Federal Constitution
and of the discovery of the American Continent.
The memorial with the accompanying proceedings was referred to
the Select Committee on the Centennial of the Constitution of the
United States and ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
WASHINGTON, D. C., December 13, 1886.
To the Congress of the United States:
The undersigned, a committee appointed by a convention assembled at Washing-
ton on Tuesday, December 7, for the purpose of considering the subject of a centen-
nial celebration of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and of a world's expo-
sition in celebration of the discovery of the continent of America by Columbus,
respectfully submit to the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled
the proceedings of the body they represent and the accompanying memorial.
The convention, which was composed of delegates from twenty-four States and
Territories, was organized by the choice of the Hon. William Claflin, of Massachusetts,
as president; Hon. A. A. Ames, of Minnesota, Hon. E. John Ellis, of Louisiana, Hon.
Amor Smith, jr., of Ohio, Charles D. Fisher, esq., of Maryland, A. K. Little, esq., of
Pennsylvania, and Hon. A.P.Williams, of California, as vice-presidents; and Alex.
D.Anderson, esq., as secretary, and adopted the following resolutions:
"Resolved, That a committee, to consist of fifteen members, five of whom shall be a
quorum, be appointed by the chair, whose duty it shall be to prepare and present to
Congress a memorial of this convention, with the signatures of its members appended,
urging upon that body :
"1. To take action for such a celebration in 1889, at Washington, of the one hun-
dredth anniversary of the establishment of constitutional republican government in
America, as may be deemed appropriate to the grandeur of the occasion and worthy
the dignity of the nation, and that the republics of the world be invited by the
President of the United States to participate therein, and that all other nations be
invited to be present as guests. It is suggested that the celebration should extend over
several days, and include addresses by some of the foremost men of each republic.
"2. Necessary appropriations for the proposed extension of the National Museum
and such other buildings as may be required to enable the officers of that institution
to carry more fully into effect, on a comprehensive scale, all the objects for which it
was founded.
"3. Necessary appropriation for a suitable building or buildings on some public
reservation in Washington, to constitute a part of the Patent Office, in which to
exhibit working models in actual operation of such useful inventions by American
1038 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
inventors in general use, patented by the United States, as may be selected by the
Commissioner of Patents.
"4. To allot the requisite space on some public reservation in Washington for the
erection of, and suitable surroundings for, a building or buildings of sufficient capac-
ity for a national and international exposition of the arts and industries, products
and manufactures, of the several States and Territories of the United States and of
all the nations of the world, to be held in 1892 in commemoration of the four hun-
dredth anniversary of the discovery of the Western Hemisphere by Columbus.
"5. To provide for the appointment of a board of Government directors^ who shall
have authority to cause or permit the erection of such exposition buildings upon
plans to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, whenever sufficient funds
therefor shall be provided for the purposes, and not before.
"6. To provide that the Government directors appoint a secretary and treasurer, the
secretary to give to each subscriber to the exposition fund a receipt for the amount
subscribed and paid by him, which shall entitle the holder to a pro rata amount of
any net proceeds accruing from said exposition, not to exceed the amount contrib-
uted by him. If any surplus remains after the reimbursement of subscribers, the
same to remain subject to disposition by Congress. The treasurer to receive into the
treasury all contributions and all proceeds of the exposition, and to pay out the
same only on drafts authorized by the said Government directors.
"7. To make all neceesary provision for the operations of said exposition.
"8. To cause the erection of a statue to Columbus on the exposition grounds."
The committee appointed to prepare and present' this memorial respectfully ask,
therefore, that, in addition to the things generally set forth in said resolutions, spe-
cific provision be made by Congress for the following:
First. The appointment of a board of location, to consist of five members, who
shall have the authority and whose duty it shall be, subject to the subsequent
approval by Congress within three months from the passage of such act, to select
the requisite space on the public reservations within the city of Washington for the
purpose named in the fourth of said resolutions; and this committee suggests as
proper officers to compose such board : The Secretary of the Interior, the president
of the board of District Commissioners, the engineer in charge of public buildings
and grounds, and one member of each House of Congress, to be named by the pre-
siding officer thereof, respectively.
Second. The appointment of a board of twenty-one Government directors to per-
form the duties named in the fifth and sixth of said resolutions; and this committee
suggests that in the construction of this board seven be appointed by the President of
the United States, seven by the President of the Senate, and seven by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives.
Third. The appointment of an advisory commission of one from each State and
Territory, to be named by the governor thereof.
Your memorialists further say that the object of asking the appointment of direct-
ors by the Government to receive and disburse all moneys in connection with the
proposed exposition is to guarantee to the nations, States, and individuals, whose
liberality is relied on to insure the success of the undertaking, that the financial part
of it will be under the control of the Government of the United States.
Respectfully submitted.
J. W. THOMPSON, N. G. ORDWAY,
W. B. WEBB, JEFF CHANDLER,
GEORGE B. LORINQ, THOMAS J. LUTTRELL,
STILSON HUTCHINS, MYRON M. PARKER,
GEORGE C. GORHAM, THOMAS E. WAGGAMAN,
HALLET KILBOURN, JOHN R. BLAND,
ALEX. D. ANDERSON, OWEN A. GILL,
E. W. Fox, Committee of Memorialists.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1039
The following were members of the convention: Hon. Robert A.Howard, repre-
senting the governor of Arkansas; Hon. A. P. Williams, representing the San Fran-
cisco Chamber of Commerce; M. Hayes, esq., secretary Delaware board of agriculture;
Hon. J. J. Finley, of Florida; Hon. Judson C. Clements, representing the governor
of Georgia; Hon. George Hillyer, mayor of Atlanta, Georgia; Hon. Charles F. Muhler,
mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana ; Silas T. Bowen, esq. , president of Indianapolis Board
of Trade; Hon. E. H. Conger, representing the city of Des Moines, Iowa; Hon. Samuel
J. Crawford, representing the governor of Kansas; Gen. John Marshall Brown,
representing the governor of Maine; Hon. Frank Brown, president of Maryland
Agricultural Association; Charles D. Fisher, esq., president Baltimore Board of Trade;
C. T. Crane, esq., secretary Baltimore Board of Trade; E. M. Shryver, esq., president
Baltimore Corn and Flour Exchange; John R. Bland, esq., secretary Merchants and
Manufacturers' Exchange of Baltimore; J. Frank Supplee, esq., Baltimore, Maryland;
Frank Frick, esq., Baltimore, Maryland; Thomas W. Johnson, esq., Baltimore,
Maryland; William T. Biedler, esq., Baltimore, Maryland; E. Levering, esq., Balti-
more, Maryland; O. A. Gill, esq., Baltimore, Maryland; George R. Skillman, esq.,
Baltimore, Maryland; Hon. J. B. Wakefield, representing the governor of Minnesota;
Hon. A. A. Ames, representing the city of Minneapolis; Hon. Charles W. Johnson,
representing the board of trade of the city of Minneapolis; Hon. Charles H. Dewey,
representing the Omaha Board of Trade; H. M. Baker, esq., representing the
governor of New Hampshire; Hon. Nicholas T. Kane, representing the mayor
of Albany; Henry S. Thayer, esq., representing the mayor of Buffalo, New York;
William Thurstone, esq., representing Merchants' Exchange and Board of Trade,
Buffalo, New York; Hon. W. R. Cox, representing the governor of North
Carolina; Hon. Amor Smith, jr., mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio; Hon. James P.
Goodwin, mayor of Springfield, Ohio; S. J. Ritchie, esq., of Akron, Ohio; C. D. Fire-
stone, esq., president Board of Trade, Columbus, Ohio; Hon. Samuel F. Forbes,
mayor of Toledo, Ohio; X. X. Cram, esq., representing the Cleveland (Ohio) Board
of Trade; Amos R. Little, esq., representing the governor of Pennsylvania; W. R.
Johns, esq., representing Oil City Board of Trade; Hon. A. J. Caldwell, representing
the governor of Tennessee; Hon. Zachary Taylor, representing the Merchants'
Exchange of Memphis, Tennessee; Hon. W. H. Crain, representing the mayor of Gal-
veston, Texas; Hon. John T. Caine, representing the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah;
X. X. Chartters, representing the National Grange and Virginia State Grange; John
Trimble, esq., representing the National Grange; John T. Edwards, esq., president
Tobacco Association of Lynchtmrg, Virginia; Hon. Philip Pendleton, representing the
governor of West Virginia; Noyes S. Burlew, esq., president Board of Trade, Charles-
ton, West Virginia; Joseph Ruffner, esq., secretary Board of Trade, Charleston,
West Virginia.
Minneapolis Exposition.
March 3, 1887.
(An act, etc.)
Whereas ample means have been provided for the holding in the
city of Minneapolis, State of Minnesota, of an exposition of the prod-
ucts of agriculture, manufactures, and the fine arts; and
Whereas the objects of such an exposition should commend them-
selves to Congress, and its success should be promoted by all reasona-
ble encouragement, provided it can be done without expense to the
general public: Therefore,
Be it enacted, etc,, That all articles which shall be imported for the
sole purpose of exhibition at the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition,
1040 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
at Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first exhibition of which is to be held
in the year 1886, shall be admitted without the payment of duty or of
customs fees or charges, under such regulations as the Secretary of the
Treasury shall prescribe: Provided, That all such articles as shall be
sold in the United States, or withdrawn for consumption therein, at
any time after such importation, shall be subject to the duties, if any,
imposed on like articles by the revenue laws in force at the date of
importation: And provided further, That in case any articles imported
under the provisions of this act shall be withdrawn for consumption,
or shall be sold without payment of duty as required by law, all penal-
ties prescribed by the revenue laws shall be applied and enforced
against such articles and against the persons who may be guilty of
such withdrawal or sale.
(Stat. XXIV, 560.)
March 3, 1887.
Joint resolution.
Resolved, etc., That it is desirable, in any way consistent with exist-
ing laws and without risk to Government property or expense to the
National Treasury, to encourage the effort being made for the opening
and holding of a grand industrial and educational exposition of the
Northwest, at the city of Minneapolis, in the State of Minnesota, and
the interests of the whole northwestern section of our country demand
it be made unqualified success; and it be, and is hereb}^, approved that
the heads of the several Executive Departments shall, in whatever
respects they may in their judgment see convenient and proper, loan
any articles or material suitable to such purpose: Provided, That such
loan be made entirely on the responsibility of said Minneapolis Indus-
trial Exposition, and shall not be of material needed for use in either
department, and shall not in any way interrupt the daily routine of
duty or order in any branch of the Government, and shall be returned
to the proper department, in good order, within one month after the
close of the exposition: And provided further, That before any such
loan shall be made the proper head of the Department shall require
and receive a good and sufficient bond, by or in behalf of such expo-
sition, for the safe return thereof as aforesaid, and to indemnify and
save harmless the Government of the United States^ or any Depart-
ment thereof, from any liability or expense on account thereof, or on
account of this resolution.
(Stat. XXIV, 648.)
ROCK CREEK PARK.
June 2, 1886 Senate.
Mr. J. J. INGALLS introduced a bill (S. 2584) to establish Rock
Creek Park.
Referred to Committee on District of Columbia.
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. 1041
June 25, 1886 Senate.
Mr. J. J. INGALLS reported S. 2584 with amendment.
July 22, 1886 Senate.
Passed.
July 23, 1886 House.
Senate bill for establishment of Rock Creek Park referred to Com-
mittee on District of Columbia.
January 31, 1887 House.
Mr. JONATHAN H. ROWELL reported S. 2584 favorably.
Referred to Calendar.
NEUMANN'S SILK FLAG.
June 18, 1886 Senate.
Mr. J. N. DOLPH presented petition of Joseph Neumann, of Califor-
nia, praying that means be provided to enable him to cause to have
made a show case for the preservation of the first flag made of Ameri-
can silk, presented by him to and accepted by Congress, and deposited
in the Smithsonian Institution, together with the full history of its
creation.
Referred to Committee on Contingent Expenses of the Senate.
Mr. DOLPH also submitted resolutions:
That Joseph Neumann be, and he is hereby, allowed the sum of $ to furnish
and cause to be placed in the Smithsonian Institution a suitable glass case for the
exhibition and preservation of the American silk flag heretofore presented by said
Joseph Neumann to the Senate of the United States, and accepted by a resolution of
that body July 12, 1870, together with a complete history pertaining to said flag.
That the officers and superintendent of said Institute are hereby requested to fur-
nish such assistance as may be necessary for the above object. Said above-named
sum of $ to be paid to said Joseph Neumann out of the contingent fund of the
Senate not otherwise appropriated, and the Sergeant-at-Arms is hereby authorized
to draw his warrant on said fund for said sum of money.
Referred to Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent
Expenses of the Senate.
July 6, 1886 Senate.
Mr. JOHN P. JONES, of Nevada, reported back petition of Joseph
Neumann and resolution by Mr. Dolph with the statement that the
committee think that this appropriation can not come out of the con-
tingent fund of the Senate, and they wish that the resolution, with
the accompanying papers, be referred to the Committee on Appropri-
ations. Referred.
February 2, 1887 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN) presented a peti-
tion of Joseph Neumann for an appropriation for a case for the preser-
vation and exhibition of the first American flag made of native silk,
now in the National Museum.
Referred to Committee on the Library.
H. Doc. 732 66
1042 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
February 23, 1887 Senate.
Same petition presented and referred to Committee on Appro-
priations.
SMITHSONIAN FUND.
June 22, 1886 House.
Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. G. S. Fair-
child, in regard to trust funds held by the United States:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
June 19, 1886.
SMITHSONIAN FUND.
Under section 6, act July 7, 1838, the Secretary of the Treasury invested $515,169
belonging to the Smithsonian Institution in Arkansas State bonds, which amount,
with $187,831 covered into the Treasury to the credit of said Institution since then,
constitutes what is called the "Smithsonian fund," held in trust by the Secretary
of the Treasury, and on the total amount of the fund, $703,000, interest is paid semi-
annually to said Institution at the rate of 6 per cent per annum.
PUBLIC PRINTING AND BINDING.
August 4, 1886.
Sundry civil act for 1887.
* * *
And the heads of the Executive Departments, before transmitting
their annual reports to Congress the printing of which is chargeable
to this appropriation, shall cause the same to be carefully examined
and shall exclude therefrom all matter, including engravings, maps,
drawings, and illustrations except such as they shall certify in their
letters transmitting such reports to be necessary and to relate entirely
to the transaction of public business. * * And hereafter the
scientific reports known as the monographs and bulletins of the Geo-
logical Survey shall not be published until specific and detailed esti-
mates are made therefor, and specific appropriations made in pursuance
of such estimates; and no engraving for the annual reports or for such
monographs and bulletins, or of illustrations, sections, and maps, shall
be done until specific estimates are submitted therefor and specific
appropriations made based on such estimates: Provided, That these
limitations shall not apply to the current fiscal year, nor to any of the
reports, mineral resources, monographs, or bulletins that may have
been transmitted for publication -to the Public Printer prior to the
passage of this act: Provided further, That all printing and engraving
for the Geological Survey, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Hydro-
graphic Office of the Navy Department, and the Signal Service shall
hereafter be estimated for separately and in detail, and appropriated
for separately for each of said Bureaus. And no more than an allot-
ment of one-half of the sum hereby appropriated shall be expended in
the two first quarters of the fiscal year, and no more than one-fourth
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1885-1887. . 1043
thereof may be expended in either of the two last quarters of the fiscal
year, except that, in addition thereto, in either of said last quarters,
the unexpended balances of allotments for preceding quarters may be
expended.
(Stat. XXIV, 255.)
SMITHSONIAN GROUNDS.
December 9, 1886 House,
Estimates for 1888.
For the improvement, care, and maintenance of the Smithsonian reservation,
including the construction of 5,000 square yards of asphalt pavement, $15,000. This
reservation, covering an area of over 58 acres, is the largest and one of the handsomest
in the city, and has within its limits the Smithsonian building, the National Museum,
and the new Medical Museum. Without permission of the Chief of Engineers, a
large frame building and several workshops have been constructed upon the grounds
under his charge, just east of the Museum building, which are far from ornamental,
and should be removed at once. The employees of the Museum used the grounds
adjacent for purposes connected with taxidermy, and frequently during the summer
of 1885 the stench from decaying entrails of fish was very great, while several hand-
some trees were entirely destroyed by the fire used in the work of preparing
specimens.
It is proposed to continue the construction of a first-class asphalt road in front of
the Smithsonian building, running from Seventh to Twelfth streets, a distance of
about 1,700 feet, varying in width from 25 to 50 feet, and covering an area of about
7,500 square yards. The cost will be about $2 per yard. It is hoped to lay about
2,000 yards of this pavement during the present fiscal year.
Such portion of the $15,000 requested as will be available after providing for the
asphalt roads, probably $5,000, will be devoted to the improvement of drainage, the
care and maintenance of lawns, roads, paths, trees, shrubs, etc., of this handsome
park.
I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN. M WILSON,
Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers, Colonel, United Stales Army.
The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY.
SCHOOL OF RESEARCH AND MEDICINE.
December 20, 1886 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN) presented resolu-
tions adopted by the American Institute of Homoeopathy, in favor of
the establishment of a school of original research in all that pertains
to materia medica, therapeutics, etc., to be connected with the Smith-
sonian Institution.
Referred to Committee on Education and Labor.
ARMY MEDICAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY.
January 17, 1887 House.
Deficiency estimates for 1887, etc. .
To reimburse the appropriation for the erection of a building for
the Army Medical Museum and Library by the amount expended in
1044 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
moving a large wooden building belonging to the National Museum,
so as to clear the site selected for the building in question, $245.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., January 6 ', 1887.
SIR: I respectfully ask that the following item be inserted in the deficiency bill
which you are about transmitting to Congress:
To reimburse the appropriation for the erection of a building for the Army Med-
ical Museum and Library .by the amount expended in moving a large wooden build-
ing belonging to the National Museum, so as to clear the site selected for the building
in question, $245.
The annexed building in question was erected several years ago, for the purpose
of carrying out a provision of Congress for the participation by the National Museum,
U. S. Fish Commission, and the U. S. Geological Survey in the New Orleans National
Exhibition, and had been placed where it was most convenient at the time. Subse-
quently, when a site was selected for the new building of the Army Medical Museum,
this construction was found to encroach to such an extent as to make it necessary to
move it some 50 or more feet, and as there was no appropriation available for the
purpose, it was done at the expense of the appropriation for the construction of the
Army Medical Museum building, the demands upon which have been very great, so
as to naturally induce the desire for reimbursal. Unfortunately the National
Museum has no funds applicable to this purpose, and the subject is respectfully trans-
mitted to Congress for its action.
Very respectfully,
SPENCER F. BAIRD,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hon. DANIEL MANNING,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D. C.
REID'S SWOKD.
January 21, 1887 Senate.
The President pro tempore (Mr. JOHN SHERMAN) laid before the
Senate the following message from the President of the United States
(Ex. Doc. 45), which was read and, with the accompanying papers,
ordered to lie on the table and be printed:
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I herewith transmit a communication addressed to me by Mr. Samuel C. Reid,
who offers to the United States the battle sword (now in my custody) of his father,
Capt. Samuel Chester Reid, who commanded the United States private-armed brig
General Armstrong at the battle of Fayal, in September, 1814.
I respectfully recommend that appropriate action be taken by Congress for the
acceptance of this gift.
GROVEB CLEVELAND.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
Washington, January 20, 1887.
February 15, 1887 House.
Resolution accepting the sword of Capt. Samuel Chester Reid, ten-
dered as a gift by his son, Samuel C. Reid, referred to Committee
on Naval Affairs.
February 19, 1887 House.
Reported by Mr. JOHN A. THOMAS, from the Committee on Naval
Affairs.
Referred to Committee of Whole.
11S892
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