22 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Government Exchanges. — The Smithsonian Institution, as is well known, 

 has been made by law the agent of the United States Government for 

 conducting the international exchanges of public official documents be- 

 tween it and foreign Governments. By joint resolution of Congress 

 (approved March 2, 1867), it was ordered that " fifty copies of all docu- 

 ments hereafter j)riQted by order of either house of Congress, and fifty 

 copies additional of all documents printed in excess of the usual num- 

 ber, together with fifty copies of each publication issued by any Depart- 

 ment or Bureau of the Government, be placed at the disposal of the 

 Joint Committee on the Library, who shall exchange the same, through 

 the agency of the Smithsonian Institution, for such v^orks published iu 

 foreign countries, and especiall}^ by foreign Governments, as may be 

 deemed by said committee an equivalent ; said works to be deposited in 

 the Library of Congress." And by supplemental joint resolution to 

 carry the same into better efiect (approved July 25, 1868), the Con- 

 gressional Printer, whenever he shall be so directed by the Joint Com- 

 mittee on the Library, is required to print fifty copies in addition to the 

 regular number of all documents hereafter printed by order of either 

 house of Congress, or by order of any Department or Bureau of the 

 Government, and whenever he shall be so directed by the Joint Com- 

 mittee on the Library, one hundred copies additional of all documents 

 ordered to be printed in excess of the usual number ; said fifty or one 

 hundred copies to be delivered to the Librarian of Congress, to be ex- 

 changed under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, as 

 provided by joint resolution approved March 2, 1867. 



Since the international movement, commencing with the Paris con- 

 vention of 1875, for f>romotiug the free reciprocal exchange of public 

 documents, there has been a growing interest in the subject manifested 

 abroad. International conferences, for agreeing upon details, were held 

 at Brussels, Belgium, iu 1880, in 1883, and finally in 1886— March 15. 

 There are now thirty-seven Governments in exchange with the United 

 States, or, counting the duplicate sets sent to the Dominion of Canada 

 (deposited at Ottawa and Toronto), there may be said to be thirty-eight 

 foreign recipients. These are : The Argentine Confederation, Bavaria, 

 Belgium, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Canada, two sets (one for the parlia- 

 mentary library at Ottawa, the other for the legislative library at 

 Toronto), Chili, Colombia (United States of), Denmark, France, Ger- 

 many, Great Britain, Greece, Hayti, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, 

 Mexico, Netherlands, New South Wales, New Zealand, Norway, Portu- 

 gal, Prussia, Queensland, Eussia, Saxonj-, South Australia, Spain, 

 Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Turkey, Venezuela, Victoria, and Wiir- 

 temberg. 



During the past year boxes 21, 25, and 26 of the series of United 

 States official publications have been sent to each of the above Gov- 

 ernments. 



