REPORT ON THE HENRY STATUE. XXIII 



be followed as his serene fame excites the emulation of multitudes of 

 the interpreters of nature and of the teachers and benefactors of man- 

 kind. 



And now, in anticipation of the general judgment, when in the res- 

 urrection the perfected Church shall enter the new heavens and the new 

 earth of the perfected physical universe, we ascribe unto Thee, at once 

 the Lord of nature and of grace, blessing and glory, and wisdom, and 

 thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, unto our God that sit- 

 teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. 



ADDEESS 



OF 



CHIEF JUSTICE WAITS 



On the 1st of June, 1880, at the instance of Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, in 

 the Senate, and of Mr. Clymer, of Pennsylvania, in the House of Repre- 

 sentatives, Congress authorized the Regents of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion to contract with Mr. W. W. Story ' ; for a statue, in bronze, of Joseph 

 Henry, late Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be erected on 

 the grounds of the Institution"; and the Regents, availing themselves of 

 the presence in Washington of the members of the National Academy 

 of Sciences, with which Professor Henry was so prominently and so hon- 

 orably connected for many years, have asked you here to-day to witness 

 the presentation to the public of the result of what has been done under 

 this authority. 



On the 10th of August, 1846, Congress established the Smithsonian 

 Institution, to take the property which had been given to the United 

 States by the will of James Smithson, of England, to found an estab- 

 lishment of that name "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge 

 among men." 



The business of the Institution was to be managed by a Board of Re- 

 gents, and they were required to elect some suitable person as Secretary 

 of the Institution. On the 3d of December, 1846, the Board met to per- 

 form that duty, and before entering on the election adopted the follow- 

 ing resolution : 



" Resolved, That it is essential for the advancement of the proper in- 

 terests of the trust that the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 

 be a man possessing weight of character and a high grade of talent j 

 and that it is further desirable that he possess eminent scientific and 

 general acquirements ; that he be a man capable of advancing science 

 and promoting letters by original research and effort, well qualified to 



