S. Mis. 53. 11 



Those are the fruits of what is calletl the S3"stem of active operations 

 of the Institution, and its power to produce otiicr and continuous ivsults 

 is only hmited by the amount of the income which can be appropriated 

 to it, since each succeeding year has presented new and im})ortant 

 fields for its cultivation. All the anticipations indulged with regard to 

 it have been fully realized ; and after an experience of six years, there 

 can now be no doubt of the true policy of the Regents in regard to it. 



I am well aware, however, that the idea is entertained by some that 

 the system of active operations, though at present in a flourishing condi- 

 tion, cannot continue to be the prominent object of attention ; and that 

 under another set of directors, other counsels will prevail and other mea- 

 sures bo adopted, and that what has been done In establishing this sys- 

 tem will ultimatol^r be undone. It is true, there is cause of fear that the 

 policy in this respect may 1)0 changed, for the system we are here con- 

 sidering requires constant exertion, and is little suited to the tastes and 

 habits of those who seek place and position from mere personrd con- 

 siderations. There is cause to fear, also, from the experience of the 

 past, that the general expenses of a large building, the support of the 

 establishment necessarily connected with it, and the cost of collecting, 

 preserving, and exhibiting specimens of nature and art, will so increase 

 as to paralyze the spirit of activity. Furthermore, the proposition is 

 frequently urged upon the Regents, by persons who have not duly con- 

 sidered the will of Sniithson, or who fail to appreciate the importance 

 of the present plan, that a large portion of the income should be de- 

 voted to the diffusion of a knowledge of some popular branch of prac- 

 tical art; and there may be some fear that a timid policy on the part 

 of the friends of the Institution will lead them to favor such a plan. 



To obviate these tendencies, it is the duty of the present Regents, if 

 they are convinced that the polic}'' of active operations is the true one, 

 to endeavor to correct, as far as possible, the errors which may have 

 been connnitted in the beginning, and to give the Institution such an 

 impulse in the proper direction, that it cannot deviate from it without 

 immediately arresting the attention of the enlightened public, both at 

 home and abroad, who will not fail to demand, authoritatively, a 

 sufficient reason for the change. 



A promise has been made to all persons in this country engaged in 

 original researches, and who are capable of furnishing additions to the 

 sum of human knowledge, that the results of their labors shall continue 

 to be presented to the world through tlie Smithsonian publications. 

 The honor of the Institution is alsoplodgod to the scientific and literary 

 societies from which it has received exchanges, in this and other coun- 

 tries, that it will continue to send to them at least an annual volume of 

 contributions, of a character similar to those with which they have al- 

 read}^ been presented. It is on this condition that the library has been 

 so richly favored, not only with the current volumes of transactions, 

 but also, in many cases, from the oldest societies, with full sets of all 

 the previous volumes of their series of publications. Beside this, the 

 libraries of all the colleges and literary and j)hilosophical societies of 

 this country are supplied with full sets of the Smithsonian Transactions; 

 and in this way a foretaste has been given of the fruit of the 

 operations which will tend, in some degree, to insure their continuance. 



