APPENDIX TO SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



ArrENDix I. 



PROGRAMME OF ORGANIZATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



[Presented in the First Annual Eeport of the Secretary, and adopted by the Board of Regents, De- 

 cember 13, 1847.] 



Introduction. — Gcueral cousideratious wLicli should serve as a guide in adopting a 

 plau of oigauizatiou. 



1. Will olSmithson. The property is bequeathed to the United States of America 

 " to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an estab- 

 lishment for the increase and diifusiou of knowledge among men." 



2. The bequest is for the benefit of mankind. The Government of the United States 

 is merely a trustee to carry out the design of the testator. 



3. The Institution is not a national establishment, as is frequently supposed, but 

 the establishment of an individual, and is to bear and perpetuate his name. 



4. The objects of the Institution are(l) to increase, and (2) to diffuse kiiowlcdge 

 among men. 



5. These two objects should not be confounded with one another. The first is to 

 enlarge the existing stock of knowledge by the addition of new trnths; and the 

 second, U) disseminate knowledge, thus increased, among men. 



G. The will makes no restriction in favor of anj^ jiarticular kind of knowledge; 

 hence .all branches are entitled to a share of attention. 



7. Knowletlge can be increased by different methods of facilitating and promoting 

 the discovery of new truths ; and can be most extensively difiused among men by 

 means of the press. 



8. To efi'ect the greatest amount of good, the organization should be such as to 

 enable the Institution to produce results, in the way of increasing and diffusing 

 knowledge, which can not bo produced either at all or so clficiently by the existing 

 institutions in our country. 



9. The organization should also be such as can be adopted provisionally, can bo 

 easily reduced to i)ractice, receive n)odifications, or be abandoned, in whole or in part, 

 without a sacrifice of the funds. 



10. In order to compensate, in some measure, for the loss of time occasioned by the 

 delay of eight years iu establishing the Institution, a ccmsiderable portion of the in- 

 terest which has accrued should be added to the principal. 



11. In proportion to the wide field of knowledge to be cultivated, the funds are 

 small. Economy should therefore be consulted in the construction of the. building ; 

 and not only the first cost of the edifice should be considered, but also the continual 

 expense of keeping it in repair, and of the support of the establishment necessarily 

 connected with it. There should also be but few individuals penuanently supported 

 by the Instituti()n. 



12. Tlie i)lan and dimensions of tlie building should be determined by the jdan of 

 the organization, and not tlie converse. 



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