776 EXAMINATION OF PROFESSOR HENRY 



vancement of knowledge, by the discovery of new truths, 

 and one for the teaching of the knowledge already in exist- 

 ence, was not so generally recognized as it is at present, 

 and Congress, after several years of delay, placed the ex- 

 penditure of the income under the care of a Board of 

 Kegents, and directed that they should make provision, by 

 the erection of a building and otherwise, for the formation 

 of a library, a museum, and a gallery. It also gave fifty 

 acres of unimproved ground, surrounding the site for the 

 building, with indications that it should be planted with 

 trees. Afterwards, however, though not without much 

 opposition, it was concluded by the directors that those 

 objects, although very important in themselves, were too 

 local in their influence to come up to the liberal spirit of 

 the bequest, which was intended not merely to benefit the 

 citizens of Washington, nor even exclusively those of the 

 United States, but mankind in general ; and that the efforts 

 of the directors should be to induce Congress to make a 

 separate appropriation, from the public treasury, for the 

 support of the objects just mentioned, and to devote, as far 

 as possible, the income of the Smithsonian fund to the di- 

 rect increase and diffusion of knowledge, by promoting 

 original researches, and by distributing accounts of the re- 

 sults of these to every part of the civilized world. In this 

 the directors have been in a great measure successful, though 

 time and much persevering labor have been required to pro- 

 duce a change in the policy originally contemplated. A 

 large portion of the income of the funds has been expended 

 on the building. A library, principally consisting of nearly 

 a full series of the proceedings and transactions of the ex- 

 isting learned societies of the world, has been accumulated, 

 the expense of the care of which has absorbed another por- 

 tion of the income ; a museum has been collected, consist- 

 ing principally of specimens to illustrate the natural history 

 and ethnology of America, and also a collection of engrav- 

 ings and plaster casts to meet the original requirements of 

 Congress as to a gallery of art ; but experience has abund- 

 antly proved that any one of the specified objects, if properly 

 sustained, would soon absorb all the income of the bequest, 

 and vindicated the policy of transferring the support of 

 them to other funds. In accordance with this, Congress 

 was first induced to take charge of the grounds and take 

 the steps necessary for their improvement. It next took 

 charge of the books which had been collected, and incor- 

 porated thern with the national library, giving the Institu- 

 tion and its collaborators the free use of the books of both 



