the erection of the building 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 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 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 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 semi-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 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 H. Doc. 732- -28

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 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 to Congress 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.)

March 4, 1846.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.

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 published; 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 five hundred dollars.

(Stat., IX, 109.)

July 15, 1846.

EXPLORING EXPEDITION.

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 expedition, 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 expedition, 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.)

July 24, 1846-House.

CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY.

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 House "To establish 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 diplomatic 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

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 600 of them would fill the entire gallery intended for fine 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 portrait 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 would not be purchased.

The motion was then decided in the negative.

August 10, 1846-Senate.

APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS.

By Vice-President.

The Vice-President (Mr. GEORGE M. DALLAS) appointed George Evans, Sidney Breese, and Isaac S. Penny backer 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 Penny backer, 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 vacancies 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.

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 participation 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, I 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 insuperable 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 constitutional 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. Penny backer, 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 Smithsonian Institution caused by the resignation of George Evans.

James A. Pearce, of Maryland, was appointed.