908 PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OF SMITHSON's BEQUEST 



€stablished at Washington, which seems to be expressly 

 adapted to such a trust. The members and officers are of 

 the most distinguished residents of that city, and, by the 

 •constitution, the Secretaries of the War and Navy Depart- 

 ments are, ex officiis^ directors of the institution. There is, 

 then, an ample provision for keeping the whole concern duly 

 under the inspection and control of the Government; and 

 being in its nature entirely unconnected with mere party con- 

 siderations, it would doubtless become, as it ought, an object 

 of generous rivalry with successive administrations, each 

 striving in turn to excel its predecessors in promoting the 

 prosperity and extending the benefits of the establishment. 



I cannot permit myself to believe there would be any 

 danger of its ever degenerating into an object of mere par- 

 tisan cupidity, or being converted into a political lair by 

 any of that ravenous tribe who instinctively lie in wait for 

 the offal of Government patronage. Such a desecration 

 would shock the national sense of decorum, and would be 

 scarcely less repugnant to the habits of the strange incumbent 

 himself. Who ever heard of a professional office-hunter — 

 a regular mouser for party favors — taking an interest in 

 the beauties of Creation, or co-operating in the promotion 

 of Science? The idea is preposterous. Ilis nature would 

 revolt at such a position. The very atmosphere of the place 

 would be unsuited to his respiration, and every influence 

 within its boundaries would combine to expel him from the 

 ■consecrated ground. Or, if by some miraculous develop- 

 ment, a taste for liberal pursuits should chance to be awak- 

 ened in such an incumbent, we should see a metamorphosis 

 as salutary as it would be rare, and thus the institution 

 would still be safe. 



In every event, I believe it would prove a most valuable 

 auxiliary in diffusing useful knowledge — expanding the 

 minds, humanizing the dispositions, and refining the tastes 

 of our people — and consequently elevating the national 

 ■character to that high standard of civilization which be- 

 comes a great and enlightened Republic. 



I have thus, hastily and briefly, adverted to a few of the 

 <;onsiderations which induce me to believe that a National 

 Museum and Botanic Garden, built up and sustained by 

 the Smithsonian Bequest, and dedicated to the instruction of 

 the American people, would not only be a legitimate object 

 for the appropriation of that fund, but would practically do 

 more towards the " increase and diflTusion of knowledge 

 among men" than any other institution which has yet been 

 suggested. The benefits resulting from it would be more 



I 





