124 Mcinnrinl of George Broivn Goode. 



priation, but soon found expeditions in progress of which they had 

 no knowledge. The committee filed a protest with Mr. Poinsett, their 

 president, who seems to have at once taken steps to secure the only 

 possible relief from the embarrassment — that of special legislation. 



The following bill was accordingly introduced in the Senate by the 

 Hon. Robert J. Walker : 



A BILI< for the presentation of the collections of natural curiosities furnished by the exploring 

 squadron, and from other sources. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 

 America in Congress assembled. That the board of management of the National 

 Institute be, and is hereby, invested with the custody of the specimens of natural 

 history, and other curiosities, which have been received, or which ma}' have been 

 received, or which may hereafter be received, from the exploring squadron, and 

 from other sources, with authority to make all necessary arrangements to preserve 

 and exhibit the same, to regulate the number and compensation of persons employed 

 on said duty, and to superintend the disbursements relating thereto. 



And be it further enacted. That the said board is hereby authorized to exchange 

 any of the duplicates of said collections with other institutions, or with State authori- 

 ties, or with individuals. 



At the request of Senator Walker two of the members of the commit- 

 tee had drawn up a statement of the relations which they deemed it 

 desirable to have established between the Institution and the General 

 Government in respect to the national collections. This .statement was 

 submitted by Senator Walker, not as an official document emanating 

 from the Institute, but with the heading "Remarks submitted by Mr. 

 Markoe and Colonel Abert to the Hon. Mr. Walker." This was cer- 

 tainly an unfortunate form of introduction to Congress, and the oppo- 

 nents of the National Institute made the most of it. The bill with the 

 accompanying statement was referred to the Joint Committee on the 

 lyibrary, and on the 28th of February was made the .subject of a report 

 presented by Senator Tappan,' in which he ridiculed the idea of placing 

 the results of a great Government expedition in the hands of a " private 

 corporation," and advised members of the National Institute to disabuse 

 themselves of the idea that regular appropriations would ever be made 

 for its benefit. "The case presents," he remarked, " two officers of the 

 Government, one the head of a bureau, the other a clerk in one of the 

 public offices, who ask as a matter of right that they should have the 

 supervision of a very important literary and scientific work, the publica- 

 tion of which Congress has thought proper to intrust to one of its regular 

 committees." The recommendation of the committee was that the 

 responsibility of this work remain in the hands of the Joint Committee 

 on the lyibrary, where it had originally been placed by law. Senator 

 Tappan's attack was evidently based upon a partial misunderstanding of 

 the views of the members of the National Institute, who .simply asked 

 the custody of the collections and the authority to supervise their arrange- 

 ment. Colonel Abert and Mr. Markoe were indignant at the inju.stice, 



' Senate Document 233, see note D to this paper. 



