798 HISTORY OF THE SMITHSONIAN EXCHANGES. 



[The Smithsonian Institution to the Belgian Commission.] 



Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington City, March 13, 1879. 

 Monsieur L. Alvin, 



President of Belgian Commission of 



International Exchanges^ Brussels, Belgium: 



Sir : I have to apologize for the temporary cessation of the corre- 

 spondence between yourself and the Smithsonian Institution in reference 

 to the proposed system of international exchange. 



The death, in May last, of my lamented predecessor. Professor Joseph 

 Henry, has caused an interruption in the business of the Institution, from 

 which it has only recently recovered ; but I trust that the matters referred 

 to will hereafter be prosecuted with due dispatch and accuracy. 



The Smithsonian Institution, as already explained to your honorable 

 commission, has now in charge two distinct departments of international 

 exchanges. The first is that carried on in behalf of the Government of 

 the United States for the benefit of the national library at Washington. 

 For this purpose the official i^rinter is instructed to reserve fifty sets of 

 the publications, not only of the Congress of the United States, but also 

 of the several bureaus of the government, and to send forty-eight of 

 these to the Smithsonian Institution, the other two being delivered to 

 the national library. One complete series is sent to each government 

 agreeing to make an equally complete and exhaustive return. Under 

 this arrangement there is absolutely no print issued, however small and 

 insignificant, or however costly to the government, that is not included 

 in the series ; and a like return is expected, even though the aggregate 

 amount be very much less. 



The second division is that prosecuted in behalf of learned societies, 

 the various bureaus of the government, and the scientific and literary 

 men of America. This embraces all publications of learned societies, 

 scientific lieriodicals, monographs, and other works, but does not include 

 specimens of natural history or of the fine arts, unless permission is 

 especially obtained. An accompanying pamphlet will fully explain the 

 conditions under which this second division is prosecuted. 



These two forms of international exchange have hitherto been con- 

 ducted entirely at the expense of the Smithsonian Institution. It has 

 its own agents in Europe, several of whom receive a salary. It has paid 

 the expenses of the delivery, as also that of the return of parcels sent 

 through the same agent to institutions and persons in America, involv- 

 ing of late years a cost of about $10,000 annually to the Smithson fund. 

 This expense has become very onerous, and the proposition to divide it 

 with foreign bureas of exchange has been received with the greatest 

 satisfaction. For many years Mr. Fredrick Miiller, of Amsterdam, has 

 been the Smithsonian agent for Belgium and the Netherlands, but the 

 exchange bureau of Haarlem has now taken the matter out of his charge, 

 so far as Holland is concerned 5 and we hail with great satisfaction tlie 



