PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OF SMITHSON'S BEQUEST. 921 



tecture, and the fine arts. Thus making it at once an in- 

 valuable compendium of practical science, and a book of 

 beauty ; adapted to the wants of the cottage, and worthy for 

 its elegance of the saloon of the palace. Besides the stand- 

 ard topics mentioned, other matters of science and general 

 interest, improving to the tastes and elevating to the char- 

 acter, might be admitted to enliven its pages. I would 

 wish to have, in process of time, the kingdoms of nature 

 and art explored, to find the forms of truth and beauty to 

 enrich that book. If, by reason of constant discussion, or 

 the want of fresh matter, the standard topics should lose 

 any portion of their interest, new life might be infused into 

 the series by adopting works on collateral subjects. In de- 

 fault of native works adapted to this use, foreign works, 

 like the Bridgewater Treatises, might be admitted. Such 

 an emergency, however, is not to be anticipated. 



Y. Political Collectanea. — Let the second annual volume be 

 compiled and stereotyped, in size and style uniform with 

 the first, and constituting a political collectanea. It should 

 contain a digest of the proceedings of the legislative, execu- 

 tive, and judicial branches of the General Government; im- 

 portant State papers; abstracts of Congressional reports; 

 treaties; diplomatic correspondence; statistics; notices of 

 internal improvements; notices of State legislation, with 

 their most valuable documents; statistics of foreign coun- 

 tries; memoranda of their legislation, and current political 

 history. It should be, in short, a current political history 

 of the world, but especially of our own country — a pano- 

 ramic view of nations as they exist at the passing moment. 

 It should contain the cream of that knowledge which the 

 freeman needs to qualify him to serve his country, whether 

 at the polls or in official station. It should be history taken 

 from life, by a sort of literary daguerreotype — a book of facts, 

 compiled in the spirit of truth and impartiality, untainted 

 by party prejudices, beyond the reach of party influences. 

 I would wish it to become, in the process of years, a more 

 valuable book of reference for the statesman than exists in 

 any country — more full and elaborate than Niles' Register, 

 and expurged from its dross — more general in its scope and 

 less encumbered with useless matter than Hansard's Parlia- 

 mentary Reports — more available for the present and future 

 student of legislative history than Rymer's Fcedera. It 

 should have the good qualities of all these, without their 

 defects, and other good qualities which none of them have. 



VI. Preliminary Series of Volumes. — And here I beg leave 



