REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 9 



The riiiti'd States of America will inoviile, in Wasluri<,'ton, 1). ("., a suitable and 

 pennaiieiit restinu' place I'm- the ri'inaiiis of Iut <ireat benefactor, James SmitliKon, 

 throu.^h the instrumentality of tiu' Smithsonian Institution, the establishment 

 created by tiie (iovernment to jjerpetuate his name. 



HKMAHKS liY NOKl. I.KKS, HSCJ. 



Dr. (tRah.am Bi:i-l: 1 beg to thank you heartily for the words you have said with 

 regard to the aid you have received from the burial board and myself. Although 

 we regret to lose the remains of James Smithson, we at the same time feel that in the 

 country to wiiich he left his money, with such charitable intent, his remains will 

 receive the honor and glory which have so long been due to them, and we must 

 understand that our loss is America's gain. To us it will always remain a pleasant 

 memory that, from the date of his burial to the present day, we have had in our cus- 

 tody in this i)ictures(|ue little churchyard, the remains of a man whose foresight and 

 kindness have enabled so many in the New World to V)enefit. 



On the conclusion of these renitirks the reiniiins were phiced on 

 board the steamer Prlncim Irene, of the North ( Jerinan Lloyd Com- 

 pany, which brought them to Am(>rica in the personal charge of Dr. 

 Bell, the vessel reachino- New York on the morning of .lanuary 20. 

 By direction of the President of the United States, the V. S. S. De>l- 

 phin met the Princess Irene in the lower bay and escorted her up the 

 harbor. 



In the presence of \}\:. Bell and the Secretary of the InstitiUion, the 

 remains were transferred to a naval tug- and conveyed to the Dolphin., 

 and in the continued charge of Dr. Bell were In-ought to AVashington, 

 arriving at the Navy-Yard on Saturday, January 23. 



On Monday the 25th the remains were transported by the naval 

 authorities, with suitable ceremonies, to the navy -yard gate, where 

 they were taken in charge by a cavalry escort furnished ])y the War 

 Department, and, accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State Loomis, 

 representing the President, ))y the British ambassador, the Regents 

 and the Secretary of the Institution, tuul the president of the Board of 

 Commissioners of the District of Columbia, they were conveyed to 

 the Smithsonian Institution, where the coffin, draped in the American 

 and British tiags, was deposited in the center of the main hall of the 

 building. 



Dr. Bell, addressing Senator Frye in behalf of the Regents, said: 



Mr. Senator: I have the honor to hand over to the Smithsonian Institution the 

 mortal remains of its founder, James Smithson, a Fellow of the Royal Society of 

 London, England, who died in Genoa, Italy, on the 27th of June, 1829. 



For nearly seventy-live years the body of Smithson has reposed in an almost for- 

 gotten grave in the picturesque little British cemetery on the heights of San Beningo, 

 in Genoa. City improvements have led to the expropriation of this cemetery and 

 removal of the remains, and at the last meeting of the board of regents of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution I was appointed a committee to arrange for the transfer of the 

 remains of Smithson to this country. On my arrival in Genoa every facility was 

 afforded me for the accomplishment of my mission by the provincial and municipal 

 authorities, by His British Majesty's consul-general, Mr. Keene; by the committee 

 of the British Burial Fund Association, in which is vested the ownership of the 



