MEMOIRS OF JOUN QUINCY ADAM3. 773 



supersedes the authority of the separate committee of the 

 House. 



January 26, 1839. 



Meeting of joint Smithsonian Committee, Present, Sena- 

 tors, Bobbins, Preston, Benton, Southard; of the House, 

 Adams, Garland, Thompson, Hunter of Ohio, Charles Shep- 

 ard. Robbins presents his project. I offer three resolutions. 

 Thompson makes a question upon the acceptance of the 

 money, on the ground of fraud upon the English court of 

 chancery in obtaining the money. Committee agreed to 

 meet on Wednesday»and Saturdays at ten o'clock; to move 

 the house to print Mr. Robbins' papers and my resolutions, 

 and a joint resolution authorizing the committee to employ 

 a clerk to print necessary papers. H. R. U. S. Call for 

 reports from committees. I move the printing of the papers 

 from the joint committee, and also the joint resolution au- 

 thorizing the committee to employ a clerk and to print the 

 necessary papers ; adopted without opposition. 



February 6, 1839. 



Meeting of the joint Smithson Committee. I offered five 

 resolutions against the appropriation of any part of the 

 fund to any institute of education. Very little discussed. 

 Mr. Robbins is to report a bill constituting a board of trus- 

 tees, on commission to report a plan for the application of 

 the fund to the next Congress. 



March 25, 1839. 



Called on the Secretary of the Treasury at his office in 

 the new Treasury building. I spoke to Mr. Woodbury of 

 the Smithsonian fund ; told him what had been done with 

 relation to it in Congress, and what had not been done ; 

 how the two messages of the President on the subject had 

 been referred to a select committee of nine, of which I had 

 heen the chairman ; how Asher Robbins, a Senator from 

 Rhode Island, being laid politically on the shelf by his con- 

 stituents, had taken a fancy to this fund for the comfort and 

 support of his old age, and projected a university, of which 

 he was to be the Rector Magnificus. So he made an elegant 

 literary speech in the Senate, and moved for a joint com^ 

 mittee, seven from the Senate. The House concurred, and 

 the Speaker appointed the same committee of nine that he 

 had appointed before to join the committee of the Senate. 

 There were several meetings of the joint committee ; scarcely 

 €ver a quorum of the Senate's committee, but they gave 

 <;arte blanche to their chairman. He prepared his bill for 



