112 REPORT ON EXCHANGES. 



Ou the part of the British Govern nient the promise of a complete set 

 of English publications for the use of tlie United States Government 

 was made by Lord Granville on the 20th of March, 1883, in a letter to 

 Mr. Lowell, in which he refers to former correspondence on the subject. 

 The publications offered are : 



(1) Papers of all kinds printed for or presented to either house of 

 Parliament. 



(2) Historical, scientific, or antiquarian works published by the Gov- 

 ernment, su(;1j as record publi(^ations. 



(3) Maps or charts published by the Government. 



(4) Departmental publications which are i)laced on sale. 



In 1883 the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on behalf of the 

 Librarian of (Jongress, made application to the British Government 

 through the Department of State for certain works required to till de- 

 ficiencies in the series on file in the Congressional Library. This re- 

 quest was granted by the lords of Her Majesty's treasury, who di- 

 rected the superintendent of Her Majesty's stationery office in London 

 to deliver the same as fiir as possible to the agent of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. These were received by Mr. George H. Boehmer, the gen- 

 tleman in charge of the exchange division of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, in November, 1884, on occasion of a visit to London on exchange 

 business. These, together with a few volumes of the Challenger Ex- 

 pedition reports, form the only publications received from the British 

 Government in exchange for the official documents sent by the United 

 States Government. 



A second set of United States ofiicial publications was ordered by my 

 predecessor, tlie late Prof. Joseph Henry, ou the Oth of December, 1876, 

 to be sent to the Koyal Society of Edinburg, Scotland. These sendings, 

 comprising eleven boxes, were discontinued in 1878. 



If the negotiations now pending should be concluded to the satisfac- 

 tion of the United States Government, the continuation of this set, now 

 representing fifteen boxes, miglit be placed at the disposal of the British 

 Government for use in the library of the House of Lords or that of the 

 House of Commons. 



I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 



S. F. Baird. 



