SUPPLEMENTARY NOTICE OF PROCEEDINGS CONSEQUENT UPON THE 

 PARIS CONVENTION OF 1875. 



The Smithsonian Institution, which has thus for the third of a cen- 

 tury undertaken, as one of its fiekls of activity, a system of free inter- 

 national exchanges of the scientific and literary productions of all coun- 

 tries, has now achieved a magnitude of operations beyond which it finds 

 a further extension impossible with its present limited resources. It 

 has been seen that for the last six years the average cost of its exchange 

 system has slightly exceeded $10,000 per annum, or one-fourth of its 

 entire income. The growing disposition among various governments, 

 within this period, to support a system of mutual exchange, inspired 

 the hope tbat our own government would lend its aid in co-operating 

 with so beneficent an enterprise, and in thus establishing our own ex- 

 changes upon a truly national basis. With this view various eflbrts 

 have been made by this Institution; first, to obtain government aid in 

 defraying the expenses incurred in the distribution of government pub- 

 lications; and secondly, to secure the recognition of the really national 

 service of the Smithsonian exchanges generally, and to induce Conuress 

 to relieve the Institution of its now over-grown burden; so that its funds 

 might be applied to other pressing demands for "the increase and ditfu- 

 sion of knowledge among men." 



An account of the international congress of Paris, and of the concur- 

 rence of various governments in its recommendations, is here subjoined, 

 together with the principal portion of the Smithsonian correspondence 

 with the State Department, in relation to the subject of international 

 exchanges. 



During the months of August and September, 1875, au international 

 congress of geogTaphical sciences was held at Paris, consisting of several 

 hundred delegates from all parts of the globe, and representing the 

 following national governments : Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Chili, 

 Dominican Eepublic, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Portu- 

 gal, Eoumania, Eussia, Spain, Sweden, Swiss Confederation, Turkey, and 

 the United States of America. A prominent result of this conference 

 was a unanimous resolution to enlist the co-operation of the respective 

 governments there represented in securing the free interchange of official 

 and other publications, in accordance with the following : 



PROPOSED PLAN FOR THE INTERNATIOXAL EXCHANGE OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS 

 TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CONTRACTING POWERS. 



The undersigned delegates propose to request their respective govern- 

 ments to organize in each country a central bureau whose duty it shall 

 be to collect such cartographic, geographic, and other publications as 

 may be issued at the expense of the state, and to distribute the same 

 among the various nations which adopt the present programme. 



These bureaus, which shall correspond directly with each other, shall 



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