TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-47. 381 



acted upon in several of the New England States. In the 

 city of New York, also, a small advance towards it has been 

 already made. Recently the board of trustees of the pub- 

 lic schools in that city, adopted among other resolutions, the 

 following : 



" Resolved, That a portion of time not exceeding one hour a week be ap- 

 priated to employments incident to elementary instruction in subjects of 

 natural science." 



In accordance with these gradually enlarging views, the 

 course of study of the New York State normal schools, as 

 I learn by the printed circular which I hold in my hand, em- 

 braces natural philosophy, chemistry, human physiology, 

 history, the elements of astronomy, &c., in addition to the 

 special lectures on the theory and practice of teaching. 

 These various advances, thus sanctioned by public opinion, 

 indicate that a normal department in the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution, to be worthy of the age, must include scientific 

 courses by some of the ablest men of the day. 



It is also, by the bill, specially made a part of the duty of 

 these men to institute scientific researches. In these, as we 

 have seen, Smithson spent the greater part of his life. And 

 it cannot be doubted that, were he yet alive and here to-day 

 to explain his wishes, original researches in the exact sciences 

 would be declared by him a part of his plan. With the 

 knowledge of his life and favorite pursuits before us, and 

 the words of his will specifying the increase as well as the 

 diffusion of knowledge for our guide, it seems nothing less 

 than an imperative duty to include scientific research among 

 the objects of a Smithsonian Institution. 



I said an imperative duty. Such is the nature of our 

 obligation to fulfil whatever we may fairly infer to have 

 been Smithson's intentions. This money is not ours ; if it 

 were, we might take counsel from our own wishes and fan- 

 cies, in its appropriation. But it is merely intrusted to us, 

 and for a specific purpose. Mr. Adams, in his report made 

 in 1840, well says : 



" In the commission of every trust there is an implied tribute of the soul 

 to the integrity and intelligence of the trustee ; and there is also an implied 

 call for the faithful exercise of these properties to the fulfilment of the pur- 

 pose of the trust. The tribute and the call acquire additional force and 

 energy when the trust is committed for performance after the decease of 

 him by whem it is granted, when he no longer exists to witness or to con- 

 strain the effective fulfilment of his design." 



And these considerations seem to me, also, conclusive 

 against the great library plan. In the first place, Smithson's 

 own pursuits were scientific, not antiquarian. In the sec- 



