TJic Gc lie sis of f/ic United S/a/rs National Hfusciiiii. 1 19 



inanuer as to indicate that they belong to and are claimed by private 

 persons, ' ' these constituting a large part of the whole. 



Here, again, Mr. Poinsett had foreseen and provided against the 

 danger, having instructed the curator, on a previous occasion, to pay no 

 attention to private marks on collections received from a Government 

 expedition. 



The question was submitted to the Secretary of the Navy, who at once 

 replied that, in his opinion, "all specimens collected by officers attached 

 to the expedition belonged solely to the United vStates. " 



In April, 1841, the collections and library of the Institution were 

 installed in the new Patent Office building, where they remained until 

 removed to the Smithsonian, in 1857. 



Extensive plans were made for a system of international exchange, 

 and a committee formulated the policy of the society in an elaborate 

 report. 



Another Government collection soon came in consisting of the min- 

 erals and geological specimens gathered by David Dale Owen, during his 

 survey under the direction of the United States General Land Office, 

 also a collection of "Indian portraits and curiosities," transferred by 

 the Secretary of War, and the Smithson cabinet, books and minerals, 

 deposited by the Secretary of the Treasur}', and a bill was passed by 

 Congress, less important by reason of the appropriation of $500, which 

 it makes, than from the fact that it justifies the Secretaries of War 

 and of the Navy in transferring collections in their possession to the 

 Institution. 



On the ist of January, 1842, a letter was written by a committee of 

 the National Institution to the Secretaries of War and the Navy. 



In February, 1842, another important paper was presented to the 

 Institution b)^ the same committee — important as marking the beginning 

 of the system of exchanges and distribution of duplicates which had for 

 nearly forty years been so important a feature of the work of the 

 National Institution.' 



With the exception of the papers already alluded to, which had refer- 

 ence to the relation of the society to the Government and to the Smith- 

 sonian bequest, the bulletin of proceedings from this time on contained 

 little more than the record of the receipt of donations of specimens and 

 of letters asking information or proffering advice. The society retained 

 the control of the exploring expedition collections, and in June, 1842, 

 Lieutenant Wilkes having returned to Washington, he, at three succes- 

 sive meetings of the Institute, gave a history of his voyage and its 

 results. He was at first subjected to some opposition, and until after a 

 court-martial, held in New York iu August, seems to have been disposed 

 to say very little. He, however, wrote, under date of July 16, 1842, a 



'This is printed in Note A from the manuscript report in the archives of the 

 National Museum. 



