moneys and other funds the faith of the United States is hereby pledged."

Under this act, Hon. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, was appointed agent for the prosecution of the claim of the United States. He performed the duty with such success, that, notwithstanding the proverbial delays of legal proceedings, especially in the British Court of Chancery, the money was recovered, amounting to the sum of $515,169, which was paid into the Treasury of the United States on the first day of September, 1838.

Nearly eight years passed, during which time Congress neglected to fulfil the pledge it had solemnly given, in the section quoted above, to apply the funds in accordance with the will of the testator. There were numerous difficulties in the

way of its fulfilment. There were legislators who denied the right of the general government to undertake the establishment of such an institution. The strongest answer to these was found in urging the fact, that the institution was required to be established at Washington; and Congress is acknowledged to possess full powers of government and legislation over the District of Columbia, in which that city is located. The case was further embarrassed by an unfortunate investment of the funds in State bonds which had become nearly worthless, which could be made good only by a direct appropriation from the United States Treasury. The eminent statesman, John Quincy Adams, at the very last moment, on the day when the act passed the House of Representatives, of which he was then a member, April 29, 1846, moved to stay all proceedings until the States of Arkansas and Illinois should pay up the arrears of interest due upon their bonds, with the principal as it became due; and he proposed a bill in lieu of that before the House, requesting the President of the United States, "by the use of suitable means of moral suasion, and no others," to obtain the money from those States.

These circumstances tended to prevent the union of members of Congress upon any one of the several bills proposed; but the chief obstacle was the difficulty of deciding upon the plan of the institution, to do which was clearly understood to

be the especial duty of Congress. Members felt that they acted under a heavy responsibility. The faith of the United States was solemnly pledged, and upon them devolved the duty of redeeming the pledge. The act of Congress in which this pledge was given contained in the same section (quoted above) the provision that the funds should be applied in such manner as Congress might afterwards direct. It would have been a very simple thing, had members believed it a proper or satisfactory way of adjusting the matter, for Congress to pass a law appointing a board of gentlemen, a part of whom might have been selected from among the high officers of state, a part from Congress, and a part from citizens at large, and to confer on this board plenary power to arrange the plan of the institution according to their best judgment. In this way, by a law of a single section, Congress might have relieved itself of the weighty responsibility under which it rested to redeem a pledge already made, and of the perplexing task of deciding among conflicting plans.

But nothing so simple as this was proposed. Perhaps nobody was wise enough to think of it; perhaps members were jealous of allowing a board thus constituted to have the control of more than half a million of dollars; or perhaps they did not deem themselves justified in thus summarily confiding to unknown hands a work for the proper execution of which, under the direction of Congress, the faith of the nation had been pledged. Besides, if such a plan had been adopted, there would have been no assurance of permanency in the mode of action. A board with full discretionary powers might fluctuate in its proceedings, as its members changed. A plan laid down by Congress, on the other hand, would be final, until altered by Congress. The institution needed a permanent charter, for reasons similar to those for which the Union and the separate States have written constitutions. It was the universal opinion, that, if the institution were to be established at all, Congress must point out the plan; and the difficulty was to select a suitable plan. The brief words of Smithson allowed a wide field. A number of schemes were brought forward, many of which would have sufficiently well fulfilled the broad requirements of the will. Propositions

were made for blending different plans, or parts of plans, in the hope of satisfying the desires of a greater number than the friends of any one mode of operation. The various bills and amendments which were proposed would fill a large space, if we should attempt to rehearse them all. It is sufficient for our present purpose to say, that, after many plans had failed, a bill was finally passed, by the House of Representatives, April 29, 1846, in which the Senate concurred, and it was approved by the President, and became a law, August 10, 1846.

Con

The institution was thus established, and all controversy with regard to its organization might have been supposed to have come to an end. The friends of various plans had had opportunities to bring them forward, to urge their advantages, and to submit them to the decision of Congress. gress, in distinct understanding of the question, had made its decision, and entered it upon the statute-book. The law has never been altered or repealed. It remains as it was originally passed. To this law we must look to find what ought to be the plan of operation in the Smithsonian Institution, as deliberately adopted by Congress, the power upon which was devolved the responsibility of carrying into effect the will of the testator.

The title of the act is “An Act to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." There is a preamble, which, after stating the language of the will, and the fact that the United States has received the property and accepted the trust, proceeds: "Therefore for the faithful execution of the said trust according to the will of the liberal and enlightened donor, be it enacted," &c.

The act constitutes the President and Vice-President of the United States; the four Secretaries of State, the Treasury, War, and the Navy; the Postmaster-General, AttorneyGeneral, Chief Justice, Commissioner of the Patent-Office, and Mayor of Washington, as the "establishment by the name of the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." The word "establishment" was used in conformity with the language of the will, and to avoid jealousy against anything bearing the name of a "corporation." The eleven gentlemen mentioned have lit

tle to do with the immediate management of the affairs of the institution; their position is chiefly an honorary one. The act provides that the business of the institution shall be con. ducted at Washington by a board of fifteen managers, or Regents, which is composed in a somewhat heterogeneous manner. It consists of the Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice, and the Mayor of Washington, three members of the Senate, three members of the House of Representatives, and six other persons, not members of Congress, two of whom must be members of the National Institute and resident in Washington, and the other four, inhabitants of States, no two of the same State. The terms of office of the Regents expire at different periods, which further complicates the composition of the Board. The Vice-President holds his place for four years, his term expiring on the 3d of March in alternate odd years. The Chief Justice has a life-tenure. The Mayor of Washington is elected for two years, his term expiring on the second Monday of June in even years. The members of the Senate serve as Regents until the expiration of the term for which they hold without re-election their office as Senators; their terms may thus vary from one to six years, but expire on the 3d of March in odd years. Members of the House serve as Regents for terms of two years, expiring on the fourth Wednesday of December in even years. The "six other persons" serve as Regents for terms of six years, classified so that two go out of office on the 10th of August in even years. It will thus be observed, that in some years a few months may witness considerable changes in the Board. Such a board might be trusted to carry out a prescribed plan, but would not be well adapted to contrive and maintain a scheme, the details of which the members could alter from time to time at their own pleasure.

The act provides that the Regents may elect of their own number one member as Chancellor, and three members to constitute an Executive Committee. Five members are a quorum. The Regents are paid their travelling expenses, but no salaries. The only paid officers mentioned in the act are the Secretary, who is elected by the Regents, and the assistants whom he is authorized to employ, with the advice of the

Regents, and who are removable by the Board, whenever in their judgment the interests of the Institution require the offi cers to be changed.

We have already stated, that the amount of the fund paid into the Treasury, September 1, 1838, was $515,169. The act provides that this sum be lent to the United States, from the day it was received, with interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, payable semiannually; and appropriates this interest (amounting to $30,910) for the perpetual maintenance and support of the Institution, directing that all expenditures and appropriations shall be made from this annual income, and not from the principal of the fund. The act, moreover, appropriates the sum of $242,129, being the interest which accrued on the principal in the interval between September 1, 1838, and July 1, 1846, or so much of it as should be deemed necessary, for the erection of suitable buildings and for other current incidental expenses of the Institution. Any stocks or moneys received into the Treasury on account of the Smithson funds were pledged to repay the sums thus appropriated.

The act made it the duty of the Board of Regents to select a suitable site for such building as might be necessary for the Institution; and to 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 geological and mineralogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art, and the necessary lecture-rooms." The Regents were authorized to contract for the completion of this building, described thus in detail; and a sum which was left blank in the act, together with any balance of the annual interest remaining unexpended after paying the current expenses of the Institution, was appropriated for the purpose.

These provisions are contained in the first five sections of the act. We can hardly express the tenor of the next three sections more concisely than by quoting them in full:

"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