618 BULLETIN 109, UNITED STATES NATIONAI^ MUSEUM. 



It is but justice to the majority of the commission to say that they have 

 been ready ever siuce the passage of the act to organize the commission and 

 take contracts in accordance with its plainly expressed provisions, and that they 

 have declined to take the contracts as drawn, becaiise they beliei ed them not in 

 accordance with the provisions of the act, and also for the reason that if Mr. 

 Daniels, or any other member of the commission, was thus allowed an unlim- 

 ited use of the funds, they could not with any security enter upon any plan 

 of operations creditable to themselves or the State. 

 Respectfully, yours, 



E. S. Carb, 



The foregoing statement, signed by Professor Carr, I certify to be correct 

 BO far as my own action and views are concerned and the events of which I 

 have any pex'sonal knowledge. The agreement of a majority of the commis- 

 sion with the governor as to the basis of the contracts to be drawn, as set 

 forth in the preceding statement, has been entirely disregarded, and I have 

 always maintained that the course pursued in the execution of the same is not 

 in accordance with the intent of the law, and is therefore illegal. 

 T am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 



James Hall. 



Madison. February 16, J 858. 



Referred to committee on State affairs. 



In addition to the above, Daniels, it would appear, made an at- 

 tempt, which, however, failed, at getting through the legislature a 

 bill making himself chief geologist. Carr states further, in a letter 

 dated May 19 of this year, that a bill was introduced and passed in 

 the house repealing the law establishing the survey. This was, how- 

 over, killed in the senate, and Avith the understanding that Hall 

 should go on with the work. On Maj- 30 Carr wrote Hall that new 

 contracts had been drawn up, allotting to each of the three commis- 

 sioners the sum of $2,000 a year to be utilized " in accordance with 

 the previous provisions of this act." 



Whittlesey during at least a part of 1859 vras working under a 

 private contract, his expenses ($1,500) being met by moneys ad- 

 vanced by Hall and Carr. Nevertheless, whether from philanthropic 

 or other motives, he wrote to Hall proposing that the latter resign 

 in his (Whittlesey's) favor. Hall naturally declined, stating (under 

 date of March 29, 1859) : 



I should have little objection to resigning, but if I do so It must be entirely 

 and absolutely and without any further connection with the survey whatever. 

 The affair is an awkward one and I regret that I ever became connected with 

 it in any way, but as it is, I shall try a little longer for a better state of things 



And again, under date of April 8 : 



I intend to see something tangible done before I leave the work. 



There was apparently no way out of the disagreeable and wholly 

 unsatisfactory tangle, but by an entirely new deal and by the act 



