FIRST REPORT.*

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to the Board of Regents, December 8, 1847.

GENTLEMEN: A statement of the financial condition of the Smithsonian Institution, and of the progress made in the erection of the building, having been presented to your Board by the Committees charged with the care of these objects, it becomes my duty, as Secretary of the Institution, to give an account of what has been done relative to the development of the plan of organization, and of the steps which have been taken in the way of carrying it into operation.

In accordance with my instructions, I consulted with men of eminence in the different branches of literature and science, relative to the details of the plan of organization, and arranged the various suggestions offered, in the form of the accompanying programme. This, after having been submitted to a number of persons in whose knowledge and judgment I have confidence, is now presented to the Board, with the concurrence of the Committee on Organization, for consideration and provisional adoption. I regret that my engagements have been such as to render it impossible for me to call upon many persons whose counsel would have been valuable, but I hope hereafter to avail myself of their advice in behalf of the Institution. I also regret that I could not give the names of those whose suggestions have been adopted in the programme; the impossibility of rendering justice to all, has prevented my. attempting this. Many of the suggestions have been offered by different persons, independently of each other; and, indeed, the general plan of the increase and diffusion of knowledge, as adopted by the Board, is such as would naturally arise in the mind of any person conversant with the history of physical science, and with the means usually employed for its extension and diffusion.

The introduction to the programme contains a series of propositions, suggested by a critical examination of the will of Smithson, to serve as a guide in judging of the fitness of any proposed plan for carrying out the design of the testator. The first section of the programme gives the details of the plan proposed for the increase and diffusion of knowledge by means of publication and original rescarches. The second section furnishes the details, so far as they can be made out at the present time, of the formation of a library, and a collection of objects of nature and art. These two plans combined, embrace the general propositions adopted by the Board of Regents at their last meeting, as the basis of future operations. It is intended in the proposed plan to har

*The first report of the Secretary was given in the second report of the Regents to Congress, hence the number of the former is one less than that of the latter.

monize the two modes of increasing and diffusing knowledge, and to give to the Institution the widest influence compatible with its limited income. That all the propositions will meet with general approval cannot be expected; and that this organization is the best that could be devised is neither asserted nor believed. To produce a priori a plan of organization which shall be found to succeed perfectly in practice, and require no amendment, would be difficult under the most favorable circumstances, and becomes almost impossible where conflicting opinions are to be harmonized, and the definite requirements of the act establishing the Institution are to be observed. It is not intended that the details of the organization, as given in the programme, should be permanently adopted without careful trial; they are rather presented as suggestions to be adopted provisionally, and to be carried into operation gradually and cautiously, with such changes, from time to time, as experience may dictate.

PROGRAMME OF ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

[Presented to the Board of Regents, December 8, 1847.]

INTRODUCTION.

General considerations which should serve as a guide in adopting a plan of organization.

1. WILL OF SMITHSON. The property is bequeathed 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."

2. The bequest is for the benefit of mankind. The government of the United States is merely a trustee to carry out the design of the testator. 3. The Institution is not a national establishment, as is frequently supposed, but the establishment of an individual, and is to bear and perpetuate his name.

4. The objects of the Institution are-1st, to increase, and 2d, to diffuse, knowledge among men.

5. These two objects should not be confounded with one another. The first is to increase the existing stock of knowledge by the addition of new truths; and the second to disseminate knowledge, thus increased, among men.

6. The will makes no restriction in favor of any particular kind of knowledge; hence all branches are entitled to a share of attention.

7. Knowledge can be increased by different methods of facilitating and promoting the discovery of new truths, and can be most efficiently diffused among men by means of the press.

8. To effect the greatest amount of good, the organization should be such as to enable the Institution to produce results in the way of increasing and diffusing knowledge, which cannot be produced by the existing institutions in our country.

9. The organization should also be such as can be adopted provisionally, can be easily reduced to practice, receive modifications, or be abandoned, in whole or in part, without a sacrifice of the funds.

10. In order to make up for the loss of time occasioned by the delay of eight years in establishing the Institution, a considerable portion of the interest which has accrued should be added to the principal.

11. In proportion to the wide field of knowledge to be cultivated, the funds are small. Economy should therefore be consulted in the construction of the building; and not only should the first cost of the edifice be considered, but also the continual expense of keeping it in repair, and of the support of the establishment necessarily connected with it. There should also be but few individuals permanently supported by the Institution.

12. The plan and dimensions of the building should be determined by the plan of the organization, and not the converse.

13. It should be recollected that mankind in general are to be benefited by the bequest, and that, therefore, all unnecessary expenditure on local objects would be a perversion of the trust.

14. Besides the foregoing considerations, deduced immediately from the will of Smithson, regard must be had to certain requirements of the act of Congress establishing the Institution. These are a library, a museum, and a gallery of art, with a building on a liberal scale to contain them.

SECTION I.

Plan of organization of the Institution, in accordance with the foregoing deductions from the will of Smithson.

TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE. It is proposed

1. To stimulate men of talent to make original researches, by offering suitable rewards for memoirs containing new truths; and,

2. To appropriate annually a portion of the income for particular researches, under the direction of suitable persons.

TO DIFFUSE KNOWLEDGE. It is proposed

1. To publish a series of periodical reports on the progress of the different branches of knowledge; and,

2. To publish occasionally separate treatises on subjects of general

interest.

DETAILS OF THE PLAN TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE.

I. By stimulating researches.

1. Rewards, consisting of money, medals, &c., offered for original memoirs on all branches of knowledge.

2. The memoirs thus obtained to be published in a series of volumes, in a quarto form, and entitled "Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge."

3. 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 speculations to be rejected.

4. 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.

5. The commission to be chosen by the officers of the Institution, and the name of the author, as far as practicable, concealed, unless a favorable decision be made.

6. The volumes of the memoirs to be exchanged for the transactions of literary and scientific societies, and copies to be given to all the colleges and principal libraries in this country. One part of the remaining copies may be offered for sale; and the other carefully preserved, to form complete sets of the volumes, to supply the demand from new institutions.

7. An abstract, or popular account, of the contents of these memoirs to be given to the public, through the annual report of the Regents to Congress.

II. By appropriating a portion of the income, annually, to special objects of research, under the direction of suitable persons.

1. The objects, and the amount appropriated, to be recommended by counsellors of the Institution.

2. Appropriations in different years to different objects; so that, in course of time, each branch of knowledge may receive a share.

3. The results obtained from these appropriations to be published, with the memoirs before mentioned, in the volumes of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.

4. Examples of objects for which appropriations may be made: (1.) System of extended meteorological observations, for solving the problem of American storms.

(2.) Explorations in descriptive natural history, and geological, magnetical, and topographical surveys, to collect materials for the formation of a Physical Atlas of the United States.

(3.) Solution of experimental problems, such as a new determination of the weight of the earth, of the velocity of electricity and of light; chemical analyses of soils and plants; collection and publication of articles of science, accumulated in the offices of government.

(4.) Institution of statistical inquiries with reference to physical, moral, and political subjects.

(5.) Historical researches, and accurate surveys of places celebrated in American history.

(6.) Ethnological researches, particularly with reference to the different races of men in North America; also, explorations and accurate surveys of the mounds and other remains of the ancient people of our country.

DETAILS OF THE PLAN FOR DIFFUSING KNOWLEDGE.

I. By the publication of a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge not strictly professional.

1. These reports will diffuse a kind of knowledge generally interesting, but which, at present, is inaccessible to the public. Some of the

reports may be published annually, others at longer intervals, as the income of the Institution, or the changes in the branches of knowledge, may indicate.

2. The reports are to be prepared by collaborators eminent in the different branches of knowledge.

3. Each collaborator to be furnished with the journals and publications, domestic and foreign, necessary to the compilation of his report; to be paid a certain sum for his labors, and to be named on the title page of the report.

4. The reports to be published in separate parts, so that persons interested in a particular branch can procure the parts relating to it, without purchasing the whole.

5. These reports may be presented to Congress, for partial distribution; the remaining copies to be given to literary and scientific institutions, and sold to individuals for a moderate price.

The following are some of the subjects which may be embraced in the reports:

I. PHYSICAL CLASS.

1. Physics, including astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, and meteorology.

2. Natural history, including botany, zoology, geology, &c. 3. Agriculture.

4. Application of science to arts.

II. MORAL AND POLITICAL CLASS.

5. Ethnology, including particular history, comparative philology, antiquities, &c.

6. Statistics and political economy.

7. Mental and moral philosophy.

8. A survey of the political events of the world; penal reform, &c.

III. LITERATURE AND THE FINE ARTS.

9. Modern literature.

10. The fine arts, and their application to the useful arts.

11. Bibliography.

12. Obituary notices of distinguished individuals.

II. By the publication of separate treatises on subjects of general interest.

1. These treatises may occasionally consist of valuable memoirs translated from foreign languages, or of articles prepared under the direction of the Institution, or procured by offering premiums for the best exposition of a given subject.

2. The treatises should in all cases be submitted to a commission of competent judges previous to their publication.

3. As examples of these treatises, expositions may be obtained of the present state of the several branches of knowledge mentioned in the table of reports. Also of the following subjects, suggested by the Com