68 CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 



gan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, &c., in addition to thfe collections from 

 Nevada, Utah, and Montana, already mentioned as included in the 

 Government series. It was, however, by foreign nations that the most 

 important donations were made, their commissioners, with few excep- 

 tions, presenting either the whole or a large part of their animal-, vege- 

 table-, and mineral-, and to a considerable extent their industrial ex- 

 hibits. An accompanying list expresses in general terms the character 

 of the objects received from the different parties, but no adequate iden 

 can be formed of the whole until the collection is re-arranged in a suit- 

 able building in Washington. 



The suggestion of the President of the United States that acknowl- 

 edgment be tendered by Congress to the foreign commissions which 

 have made such remarkable donations to the people of this country is 

 one eminently worthy of consideration. 



No provision was made by Congress for the reception of the new 

 material referred to, beyond an appropriation, to the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, for the repair and fitting up of the Armory building to receive 

 them in Washington ; and as the Institution is only required to take 

 charge of " objects of nature and art, of foreign and curious research, 

 of natural history, mineralogy and geology belonging to the United 

 States," when the same shall be '■Hn the city of Washington,''^ it was a mat- 

 ter for consideration to what extent it would be proper to use the funds 

 appropriated by Congress for the Centennial Exhibition in receiving 

 and taking charge of such objects. 



In view of their relation in most cases to subjects covered by the 

 Smithsonian exhibit and of the manifest discourtesy of rejecting and re- 

 fusing to receive such articles, I asked and obtained your permission to 

 take charge of them, and immediately set to work a large force in trans- 

 ferring them from the various buildings to the Government building. 

 This force was engaged in the transfer almost uninterruptedly from the 

 10th of November, the closing day of the exhibition, until the middle of 

 February. The expenses of cartage alone to the Government building 

 exceeded a thousand dollars, some of the specimens being of great mag- 

 nitude and weighing several tons. 



Simultaneously with the employment of the transfer parties, another 

 force was occupied in packing the collections in preparation for ship- 

 ment, the additions thus made being estimated to require from forty 

 to sixty freight-cars for their accommodation. 



Eeference has already been made to the expressions of interest in the 

 Government exhibit and in its transfer in bulk to Washington and 

 reproduction there. This idea was broiiched at an early period and its 

 importance urged by many influential newspapers. 



The National Academy of Sciences at its meeting in October directed 

 its president to memorialize the President of the United States on this 

 subject, and, this having been done, His Excellency directed that all oper- 



