124 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION tion and the board. To this body is assigned the duty of a general superintendence, and of making an annual report to congress on the operations, expenditures, and condition of the institution. Sections 4, 5, and 6 assign a lo- cation and give power for " the erection of a suitable building of sufficient size, with apart- ments for the reception and arrangement upon a liberal scale of objects of natural history, including a geological and mineralogical cab- inet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art, and the necessary lecture rooms;" and provision is made that all objects of art, natural history, &c., belonging to the United States, with such as may be collected from whatever source by the institution itself, shall be deposited in the building. Section 7 devolves on the secretary the charge of the building and property, and the duties of li- brarian and keeper of the museum, with the power of employing assistants, subject to the approval and removable at the discretion of Smithsonian Institution. the regents. Section 8 defines the visitorial relations of the members of the establishment toward the board of regents, and also limits the expenditure for the library. Section 9 authorizes the managers to dispose of such portion of the interest of the fund as the act has not otherwise appropriated, in such man- ner as they shall deem best suited for the promotion of the purpose of the testator. On this clause the present organization of the in- stitution principally depends. In accordance with the requirements of this act of congress, a spacious building was erected, making pro-
i-i'-n for a library, museum, gallery of art, and
lectures. The entire cost of the building, im- provement of the grounds, &c., has been up- ward of $500,000. A library was begun, con- sisting chiefly of transactions and proceedings of learn. 1 sn-h-ties obtained by exchange, and of other works by purchase necessary for gen- t-nil m,., liicli has become unequalled in this country as a resource for scientific reference. The museum, enriched by the fruits of govern- mental expeditions and the contributions of individual explorers under the direction of the institution, has attained a magnitude and com- pleteness seldom Surpassed in collections for the illustration of natural science. A gallery of art was commenced, consisting principally of Indian portraits, engravings, and such ar- ticles as were presented to the institution by foreign governments ; and lectures, chiefly on scientific subjects, were delivered up to 1865, when they were abandoned in consequence of a fire which destroyed the lecture room and afforded an opportunity of making important changes in the operations of the institution. The library was incorporated with that of congress, making the latter at once the largest in the United States, to which the institution annually contributes a copy of the transac- tions and proceedings of each of the principal societies of the world, and in return receives the use of all the books in the collection. Mr. W. W. Corcoran of Washington having founded a free public gal- lery of art, the institution has de- posited in it its art collection. This is in accordance with the general plan of cooperating with the different establishments in the city of Washington, the in- stitution having transferred to the department of agriculture its botanical collections, and to the army medical museum all speci- mens relating to medicine and anatomy, while it receives in re- turn from these departments everything which relates to nat- ural history and ethnology. The expense of the care of the grounds around the building, which at first devolved upon the institu- tion, has been subsequently de- frayed by government, and con- gress has been induced to make an annual ap- propriation for the support of the museum of $20,000. By these changes the burdens which congress placed upon the institution have been removed, and an opportunity is afforded for the expenditure of the income of the Smith- son legacy, in strict conformity with the terms of the will, for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." In December, 1840, the board of regents selected Prof. Jo- seph Henry, then of the college of New Jer- sey at Princeton, as their secretary, which office he still holds (1876). His assistants are Prof. Spencer F. Baird, formerly of Dickinson college, Carlisle, Pa., in the natural history de- partment (appointed in 1850), and William J. Rhees as chief clerk (appointed in 1853). The board of regents from its composition has ne- cessarily changed to some extent almost every year, and of its original members none now remain. Soon after his appointment Prof. Henry submitted to the board a "programme
