102 PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS. 



whom I need scarcely detail even its more prominent incidents; but 

 I may remark that it is seldom the good fortune of any man to fill so 

 many important offices, and to execute so many responsible public 

 trusts, not only with credit, honor, and usefulness, but with ever-in- 

 creasing reputation. Mr. Rush's life was along one, and he entered 

 into the service of his country while yet in the spring of manhood. 

 He was Comptroller of Jhe Treasury at a time when the fiscal affairs 

 of the government were in disorder, when the public accounts were 

 numerous and complicated, and often required difficult legal adjust- 

 ment. He was next Attorney General. Soon after the peace of 1815 

 he was minister to England, and occupied that important post during 

 eight years, when various national questions of difficulty and delicacy 

 required for their proper settlement diplomatic skill, firmness, and 

 caution. He was Secretary of the Treasury when measures of rev- 

 enue were violently disputed; minister to France when the mon- 

 archy was a second time overthrown and a republic again proclaimed. 

 To these great and varied employments he brought integrity, 

 ability, intelligence, firmness, courtesy, and a directness of purpose 

 which scorned all finesse, and which served his country to the full 

 extent of all that could have been demanded or hoped. He was a 

 good scholar, having graduated at Princeton College, and cultivated 

 literature, as well as the severer studies of his profession, with great 

 zeal and success. 



Withal he was remarkable for the kindness of his temper, the 

 amenity of his manners, and the charms of his conversation. 



With this establishment he had the earliest connexion, having, 

 under the authority of the government, caused the institution of legal 

 proceedings in England for the recovery of the fund with which it 

 was founded and endowed, and superintended their progress to the close. 



The act of Congress of 1846 having established the Smithsonian 

 Institution, he was appointed one of its first Regents, and was con- 

 stantly continued by Congress a member of their Board. His zeal 

 for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, and his 

 sound judgment, contributed to the adoption of the system of opera- 

 tions which, so far, has borne the happiest fruits; and his interest in 

 and care for its successful management furnished one of the enjoyments 

 of a tranquil old age, " attended by reverence and troops of friends." 



I offer the following resolutions: 



Resolved, That the Board of Regents have learned with deep regret 

 the death of the Hon. Richard Rush, one of their members, whose 

 long and distinguished career of public usefulness commanded their 

 entire respect, and whose moral and social worth won their highest 

 esteem and regard. 



Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the family 

 of the deceased. 



The resolutions were unanimously adopted. 



On motion of Mr. Mason, it was ordered that a copy of the remarks 

 of Mr. Pearce be included in the proceedings, and also transmitted 

 to the family. 



The Treasurer presented the account of receipts and expenditures 



