ADVERTISEMENT. 



The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in January, 

 1878, requested its Secretary to prepare and publish a history of 

 its origin and progress, such as he was pre-eminently qualified to 

 furnish. The materials necessary for this purpose had in part been 

 brought together, when the death of Professor Henry, on the 13th 

 of May, prevented the carrying out of the original plan. As the 

 documents collected are necessary to any future historian of the 

 Institution, Mr. Wm. J. Rhees, who had been entrusted by Pro- 

 fessor Henry with their selection, was requested by the Chancellor, 

 Chief Justice Waite, to continue the work, and the present volume 

 is the result of his labors. 



In this will be found the Will of Smithson, all the Congressional 

 debates and legislation relative to the beqiiest, and many documents 

 which could probably only have been brought to light by one per- 

 fectly familiar with the operations of the Institution, Mr. Rhees 

 having been associated with Professor Henry, as its Chief Clerk, 

 for more than twenty-five years. 



The amount of labor in the preparation of this volume, was very 

 great, as all the data were procured from original sources. Manu- 

 scripts and documents were consulted in the Department of State, 

 Treasury Department, the Capitol, and elsewhere; and every page 

 of the voluminous records of the proceedings of Congress for more 

 than forty years was carefully examined so that an account of 

 everything relating to the Institution could be presented. 



Spencer F. Baird, 

 Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 



Washington, April, 1879. 



