[ 23 ] 18 



tract wliich will last for several years, and thereby forestall the action of 

 their successors, should the legislature think proper to make any changes 

 in the board. 



This question will probably be settled before this day week, when I 

 hope to be prepared to give you tbe decision of the company. 



Hoping that this unavoidable delay may not be productive of any in- 

 convenience to the Regents of the institution, or to the committee of that 

 body with which you are acting, 



I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



CHARLES HOWARD, President. 

 Hon. Robert Dale Owen, 



Chairman of Building Committee. 



The letter was laid on the table. 



On motion of Mr. Seaton, it was 



Resolved, That, as the specifications were not furnished by the printers 

 by the time appointed by public advertisement, for the inspection of bid- 

 ders, the time for receiving bids for the work specified in the advertisement 

 of the building committee be extended from the 10th to the 15th inst. 



On motion, the committee adjourned. 



FOURTH MEETING— March 6, 1S4T. 



Present, Messrs. Seaton, Hough, and Owen. 



Mr. Seaton laid before the committee a letter from Mr. Peter, owner of a 

 quarry on tlie margin of the canal, near the mouth of Seneca creek, as 

 follows : 



MoxTE Video, {near Darnestowyr^Montgomerij Co., 

 Maryland ,) December 9, 1847. 



Dear Sir: Yours of the 5th inst. was received by yesterday's mail, in 

 which you state that the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have in 

 their possession a specimen of red sandstone taken from my quarry, on 

 the margin of the canal. I am unable to determine from whicli particular 

 quarry the specimen they have in their possession was taken, as several 

 have been opened, and there is a continuous line of a mile in length of 

 similar stone, equally convenient to the canal. 



The aqueduct at the mouth of Seneca creek, and many of the locks, 

 both above and below, are constructed of stone derived from my land. 



The jury, in condemning the quarries for the use of the canal company, 

 allowed me twenty-five cents a perch for the backings; that is, all stone 

 intended for cut work, twenty-five cents — all calculated for hammered 

 work, twelve and a half cents a perch; and for these prices would I grant 

 permission to obtain stone for any purpose. 



The excellence of tiie material— for it is capable of withstanding any ex- 

 posure — the facility with which it is obtained, and the ease with which it 

 may be transported by the canal to the spot where required, would, I 

 should suppose, give it a decided preference over any stone which could 

 be brought in competition widi it, lor the purposes of the institution. 



As to quantity, it is unbounded, and in texture and shade a great variety; 

 and in such a building as, I have no doubt, the Smithsonian Institution 

 will be, would present not only an appropriate, but a pleasing contrast 

 with the other public edifices in Waslnnglon. 



