Statement in relation to the expenditures of the Smithsonian Institution during the year 1853. Postage. ...... BUILDING, FURNITURE, FIXTURES, ETC. Pay on contracts.... $25,500 00 ..... Pay of architects, superintendents, &c. .......... Expenses of building committee.. Furniture, &c., for uses in common........................................................ GENERAL EXPENSES. Expenses of Board of Regents... Lighting and heating.. Transportation 1,580 70 ................... 1,578 28 ................ 77 00 ................... 184 84 354 05 117 11 $29,391 98 195 00 646 47 364 28 1,913 19 Stationery ....... General printing ....... Apparatus 6 50 894 19 203 50 Incidentals general *3,352 42 Watchman. 367 00 * Including $948 34, charged for interest on over-drafts during the year. The following is a general view of the receipts and expenditures for the year 1853: An appropriation of $30,000 was made at the last meeting of the Board of Regents, to be expended under the direction of the Executive Committee and the Secretary, for carrying on the operations of the Institution. From the foregoing statement of accounts it will be seen that while the library and museum have had their share of the appropriation, the active operations have exceeded their part by upwards of $4,000. This excess has been caused, principally, by printing and preparing for the press a number of memoirs which are to form the volume of contributions for the year 1854. Whatever may be the future distribution of the income, a greater expenditure than has been made for the library and museum, during the past year, could not, in the opinion of the committee, have been judicious. The additions to the library and museum, the former of which were chiefly in return for the publications of the Institution under the system of exchanges, have been considerable and valuable. A particular estimate of these will be presented to the Board hereafter. The Board are referred to the report of the Secretary, recently submitted, for a detailed account of the operations of the Institution during the past year. The committee think that these operations are in harmony with the law of Congress, with the objects of the founder of the Institution, and successfully carry out his idea of the increase and diffusion of knowledge. After the present year, during which the building will probably be completed, the fund for annual expenditures will be somewhat enlarged, and increased benefits, it is hoped, will be realized. REPORT OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE. The Building Committee of the Smithsonian Institution beg leave to present to the Board of Regents the following report of their operations and expenditures during the year 1853: It will be recollected by the Regents that the first plan of the Smithsonian building contemplated finishing the interior with wood and plaster, and that the Board subsequently adopted a resolution directing the wood-work to be removed and its place to be supplied with fire-proof materials. In accordance with this resolution, the Building Committee directed plans and estimates to be made by Captain B. S. Alexander, of the United States corps of Engineers. These plans were laid before the Board at the last meeting, and approved; reserving, however, to the Building Committee the right to make any changes which they might think desirable during the progress of the work. Mr. Renwick having retired from the office of Architect, Captain Alexander was appointed in his place. It will also be recollected by the Board, that shortly before the close of their last session, Mr. Gilbert Cameron, the former contractor, petitioned the Regents to be allowed to finish the building, alleging that, if he was not granted this privilege, his reputation as a builder would be injured; and also affirming that he was legally entitled to be allowed to complete the work, by the terms of his original contract, which the Board had never declared forfeited. This subject was referred to the Building Committee, and legal advice was asked by them in reference to it, from J. M. Carlisle esq., who has acted for some years as counsel to the Board of Regents. His opinion was in favor of the claims of Mr. Cameron. The question was also submitted to P. R. Fendall, esq., United States district attorney, who coincided in opinion with Mr. Carlisle. In accordance with these opinions, the committee concluded to let Mr. Cameron proceed with the work on the terms which he had previously submitted to them, and which was within the estimate which had been made by the architect. Some delay unavoidably took place in arriving at this decision, and consequently the work was not commenced until June 13, 1853. Since then, however, it has been prosecuted with great vigor, and to the entire satisfaction of the Committee. The roof has been temporarily secured, the entire frame of wood work which occupied the interior removed, and a cellar excavated. A large brick sewer has been constructed through the middle of the building, and carried outward toward the canal, by which the cellar may be thoroughly drained and all waste water discharged. The foundation walls, piers, and arches, of a spacious and commodious basement, have been completed; the piers in the main story have been built, and the beams and arches of the floor for the rooms above finished. The brickwork of the upper story has also been completed; in short, the masonry from the foundation to the roof, and more than nine-tenths of the brickwork, have been finished. The principal part of the work yet remaining to be accomplished, according to the statement of the architect, may be classified as follows: 1. Finishing the necessary stairways for the lecture room and gallery. 2. Supporting the roof, so that the columns in the second story may be dispensed with. 3. Completing the interior finish, such as flooring, plastering, painting, &c. 4. Fitting up the lecture room with seats. The Committee found great difficulty in deciding upon a proper position and plan of a lecture room, and, after much deliberation and frequent consultations, finally concluded to place it in the second story, in the middle of the main building, where the greatest width could be obtained. The original plan contemplated the placing of the large lecture room on the first floor; but in this position it was impossible to procure a sufficient space, uninterrupted by large columns, which would materially interfere with the employment of the room for the purpose intended. In endeavoring to overcome this difficulty, it was at one time proposed to support the floor of the whole space of fifty feet in width, by means of heavy girders; but this being considered unsafe, the idea was abandoned. The only plan, therefore, at the option of the Committee for providing a suitable lecture room, was that which has been adopted. According to the present income and policy of the Institution, this is cheaper than any other plan proposed; and should the building ever be required for other purposes, such as an entire museum or library, the division walls could easily be removed, and the whole space reconverted into one large room. The plan adopted, therefore, makes the best provision for the present wants of the Institution, and can readily be adapted to any proposed change in the future application of the building. The whole of the first story has been thrown into one large room, with arrangements for dividing it, if necessary, by screens, into two apartments, with a central hall or wide passage between. The Committee have kept constantly in view the idea of rendering the main building entirely fire-proof, and of constructing it in the most durable and substantial manner. This they have been enabled to accomplish through the constant supervision of Captain Alexander, who, as it appears to the Committee, has successfully evinced in this work a combination of practical skill and scientific knowledge. From a comparison of the work done with that which remains to be accomplished, the architect is of opinion that, should nothing happen to prevent it, the building will be finished during the present year, and at a cost within the estimate; consequently, the $58,000, recommended to be set aside by the Executive Committee in their last report, together with a portion of the income of the past year, will be sufficient to defray all the expenses, and leave the $150,000 untouched. This refers, however, mainly to the completion of the building, and not to the furniture, which must be purchased by degrees out of the accruing interest on the above mentioned sum. At the last session of the Board of Regents a resolution was adopted authorizing the erection of a small building for a Magnetic Observatory. This structure has been completed, and is now furnished with instruments, and will soon be in successful operation. It consists of a small room twelve feet by sixteen, under ground, enclosed by a nine inch brick wall, within which the instruments are placed. This room is surrounded by a rough stone wall, leaving a space of two feet in width on each side to permit a free circulation of air, for keeping the interior apartment dry. Above ground the structure is of wood, so finished as to correspond to some extent with the architecture of the Smithsonian Building, and consists principally of an entry and one room sixteen feet square, to serve as an office, and computing room for the observer. The whole cost of this building was $1,578 28. The entire expenditure on the building during the past year, exclusive of the magnetic observatory, is as follows: Pay on contracts... Furniture... $25,500 00 1,580 70 261 84 471 16 27,813 70 Respectfully submitted, RICHARD RUSH, JOHN W. MAURY, Executive Committee. JOSEPH HENRY, 'S |