784 MEMOIRS OF JOUN QUINCY ADAMS. 



March, 1840, since which nothing has been done by Con- 

 gress concerning it. The bill ^o. 1 of the House bills 

 remained on the calendar through the whole remainder of 

 the Twenty-Sixth Congress's first and second sessions, and 

 was never reached in the ordinary business of the House. 

 There was no committee appointed at the second session, 

 none at the late special session, first of the Twentj^-Seventh 

 Congress, and in the mean time the funds invested in bonds 

 of the State of Arkansas have depreciated at least fifty per 

 cent. I now stated to the committee that I had called upon 

 the Secretary of the Treasury for a statement of the present 

 condition of the fund, which he had promised but had not 

 yet furnished me. I recapitulated again the proceedings of 

 the former committees, and gave copies of my last report 

 to those members of the committee who desired them. 



Habersham presented a letter from James F. Espy, pro- 

 posing that a portion of the fund should be appropriated 

 for simultaneous meteorological observations all over the 

 Union, with him for central national meteorologist, stationed 

 at Washington with a comfortable salary. 



January 26, 1842. 



Attended this morning the Committee on the Smithsonian 

 bequest. Present, Adams, Underwood, Houston, Randall, 

 and Truman Smith. The documents requested from the 

 Secretary of the Treasury had not been received. The 

 committee sat about half an hour, and then adjourned; 

 after which Mr. Habersham came in. Absent, Charles J. 

 Ingersoll, Hunter, and Bowne. I am convinced that noth- 

 ing will be done of any use by this committee. 



February 2, 1842. 



Meeting of the Committee on the Smithsonian bequest, 

 Present, Adams, Smith, Habersham, Randall, Underwood; 

 absent, C. J. Ingersoll, Hunter, Houston, and Bowne. A 

 letter from Franklin Knight to R. W. Habersham was read, 

 with a project for applying the Smithsonian fund to the 

 establishment and support of a farm school — D. H. Lewis's 

 plan. 



February 9, 1842. 



I attended the meeting of the Committee on the Smith- 

 sonian bequest. Present, Adams, Underwood, Habersham, 

 Smith; absent, C. J. Ingersoll, Randall, Houston, Bowne, 

 and Hunter. No quorum, and nothing could be done. My 

 time, night and day, has been, and yet is, so absorbed for 



