756 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH 



officer of said Board of Regents, by the name of the Chancel- 

 lor of the " Smithsonian Institution," and a suitable person 

 as Secretary of said Institution, who shall also be the Secre- 

 tary of said Board of Regents ; said Board shall also elect 

 three of their own body as an Executive Committee, and 

 said Regents shall then fix on the time for the regular meet_ 

 ings, of said Board ; and on application of any three of the 

 Regents to the Secretary of the said Institution, it shall be 

 his duty to appoint a special meeting of the Board of Regents, 

 of which he shall give notice by letter to each of the mem- 

 bers ; and at any meeting of said Board, five shall consti- 

 tute a quorum to do business. And each member of said 

 Board shall be paid his necessary travelling and other actual 

 expenses in attending meetings of the Board, which shall 

 be audited by the Executive Committee, and recorded by 

 the Secretary of said Board ; but his services as Regent 

 shall be gratuitous. And whenever money is required for 

 the payment of the debts or performance of the contracts of 

 the Institution, incurred or entered into in conformity with 

 the provisions of this act, or for making the purchases and 

 executing the objects authorized by this act, the Board of 

 Regents, or the Executive Committee thereof, may certify 

 to the Chancellor and Secretary of the Board that such sum 

 of money is required; whereupon, they shall examine the 

 same, and, if they shall approve thereof, shall certify the 

 same to the proper officer of the Treasury for payment. 

 And the said Board shall submit to Congress, at each ses- 

 sion thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and 

 condition of the Institution. 



Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That after the Board of 

 Regents shall have met, and become organized, it shall be 

 their duty forthwith to proceed to select a suitable site for 

 such building as may be necessary for the Institution ; which 

 ground may be taken and appropriated out of that part of 

 the public ground in the city of Washington, lying between 

 the Patent Office and Seventh street : Provided, The Presi- 



