510 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



of its donor — a foreigner who gave a fund for a special ob- 

 ject enumerated in his will. 



If it were in the power of this Government to charge the 

 Smithsonian Institution with the keeping of this museum. 

 I should deem it more than improper in the Government 

 to transfer an extensive collection which it holds, and fasten 

 the charge of maintaining it upon the fund given hy a for- 

 eigner for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 

 men, and the establishment of an institution for that pur- 

 pose, to be located at the city of Washington, in the United 

 States. But it is clearly not within the power of Congress 

 to charge that fund with the keeping up of any establish- 

 ment which the Government may choose either to create, 

 or which it may now have in its possession, and v/hich would 

 pervert the trust from its proper use. 



If the Senator had examined the charter he would have 

 found still further that in the kindness which prevailed, and 

 the anticipation of a good understanding between that in- 

 stitution and Congress, terms so general were employed, 

 that a power was given to the institution to strip the ro- 

 tundo of the paintings which now adorn it, to take the 

 models from the Patent Office, not merely the museum 

 which is collected as the result of exploring expeditions, 

 but, everything which that institution, if they claim the 

 strict letter of the law, might choose to abstract from the 

 various departments of the Government. But, without 

 going into this question, I wish to call the attention of the 

 Senate to the fact that here is an institution founded by the 

 bequest of a foreigner, of which bequest the United States, 

 properly or improperly, I will not now stop to consider, 

 have taken charge as trustee, and to administer which fund 

 they have organized a Board of Regents. Its active opera- 

 tions have already been incumbered by the Congress of the 

 United States requiring them to erect an expensive build- 

 ing, with apartments for a museum and galler}^ of art. 

 Now it is proposed to incumber them still further, by charg- 

 ing them with keeping a large museum of the United 

 States, with which that institution has no proper connec- 

 tion. It is no part of the general plan of that institution 

 to collect a large museum. The object is, according to the 

 will of the founder, to increase and diffuse knowledge 

 among men. They, therefore, only wish to collect those 

 things which are not to be found in the other museums of 

 the country. The}' only wish to explore fields wdiich have 

 not been trodden before. 



The object of the Senator from Wisconsin — the effect of 



