REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 3 



from his extensive correspondence will be collected, the whole forming 

 one or more volumes of the series of "Miscellaneous Collections." 



The printing- will probably be commenced during- the present year, 

 and it is hoped that the work will be readv for distribution at the next 

 meeting of the Board. 



THE BOARD OF REGENTS. 



The annual meeting of the Board was held on the 17th of January 

 last, and a special meeting on the 19th of April, for the purpose of 

 attending the ceremonies of dedication of the Henry statue. 



The resignation of Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, as a member of 

 the Board of Regents, was followed by the appointment of Senator Ed- 

 munds, of Vermont, in his place. That gentleman, however, declining 

 to serve, Senator Justin S. Morrill was appointed to fill the vacancy. 



The terms of office of the members of the Board from the House of 

 Representatives, Messrs. Peering, Cox, and Taylor, having expired 

 with the termination of the Forty-seventh Congress, new appointments 

 have been made by Hon. J. G. Carlisle, Speaker of the House, for the 

 term of the Forty-eighth Congress, viz : Hon. O. R. Singleton, of Missis- 

 sippi ; Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia; Hon. William Walter 

 Phelps, of New Jersey. 



Provision for Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. — In the 

 original law establishing the Smithsonian Institution the only officer 

 recognized was the Secretary, and no action was valid excepting as per- 

 formed directly by him. In the event, therefore, of his death or disa- 

 bility, the operations of the Institution would be greatly embarrassed, 

 if they did not stop altogether ; and it was for this reasou that, on the 

 death of Professor Henry, in May, 1878, his successor was appointed 

 almost immediately. To provide for this contingency a bill was intro- 

 duced by Senator Hamlin, shortly after Professor Henry's death, and 

 was, on January 24, 1879, enacted into a law, providing that " in the 

 case of the death, resignation, sickness, or absence of the Secretary of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, the Chancellor thereof shall be, and he is 

 hereby, authorized to appoint some person as Acting Secretary, who 

 for the time being shall be clothed with all the powers and duties 

 which by law are devolved upon the Secretary, and he shall hold said 

 position until an election of Secretary shall be duly made, or until the 

 Secretary shall be restored to his health, or, if absent, shall return and 

 enter upon the duties of his office." 



Xo appointment has been made under this provision until the present 

 year. The Chancellor expecting to make a long trip in the West, re- 

 quiring several youths for its completion, and involving an interrup- 

 tion of mail or telegraphic communication of possibly a week or more 

 at a time, it was thought desirable that a provisional appointment of 

 Acting Secretary should be made in readiness for any emergency that 

 might arise. I therefore nominated for the position Mr. William J. 

 Rhees, the chief clerk of the Institution, who, more than any one else, 



