NO. 182 1 RICHARD RUSH — ADLER 243 



On September 4, 1838, he writes from Philadelphia to the Secre- 

 tary of State that, owing to the delay in getting the ship into the 

 dock, he was not able to leave New York until the first of the month : 

 that he was accompanied by two agents of the Bank of America, 

 that institution having afiforded him every facility. He nevertheless 

 did not feel at liberty to withdraw his own personal superintendence 

 from the operation of transferring the gold until he saw it deposited 

 at the mint. He had immediately had it conveyed there on reaching 

 Philadelphia on the ist instant, the director and treasurer of the 

 mint having been in readiness to receive it, and he writes : "I have 

 now the satisfaction of informing you that official receipts of this 

 amount from my hands have been forwarded to the Treasury De- 

 partment." There are other details about the transfer of the money 

 eiven, and at the end of his letter Mr. Rush writes: "Somewhat 

 worn down by fatigue since coming on shore, after an uncomfortable 

 voyage of squalls, gales, and head winds, I venture to ask a little 

 repose at my home, before proceeding to Washington, for the pur- 

 pose of making out and rendering to you an account of all expenses 

 that have attended the final recovery of this fund, of which the 

 United States, by the information I give you in this letter, are now 

 in possession. In the course of the next week I shall hope to pro- 

 ceed to Washington with the view stated." 



On September 11, 1838, he writes to Mr. Forsyth that he has 

 received a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury asking for an 

 early statement of his expenses, but that he cannot then make out 

 a statement, owing to sickness and fatigue. On the 15th of the 

 month, however, in Washington, he writes to Mr. Forsyth, giving 

 him the full statement. 



The next step was that of actually creating the establishment 

 required under Smithson's will, and here, too, Mr. Rush rendered 

 important service. 



On July 19, 1838, John Forsyth, as Secretary of State, -by direction 

 of President Van Buren, invited a number of eminent gentlemen — 

 public men and scholars — to express an opinion as to the best method 

 of applying the proceeds of the bequest in order that the President 

 might have the benefit of their judgment in presenting the matter 

 to Congress. 



The view seemed to be generally accepted at the time that the 

 Institution was either to be a university for instruction or an estab- 

 lishment devoted to some one specific subject, such as an astronomi- 

 cal observatory or a national library. Mr. Rush combated these 

 views. He declared that a university or a college, in the ordinary 



