BY THE ENGLISH SCIENTIFIC COMMISSION. 785 



sum voted by the English House of Commons, and distrib- 

 uted by the Royal Society ? — None ; there is*no fund of that 

 kind. 



1445. Could you favor the Commission with the whole 

 amount of the sums spent in America, either by the Gene- 

 ral Government or by the State governments, for scientific 

 objects, for comparison with that which we spend in this 

 country ? — I should think, including that for the Coast Sur- 

 vey and other surveys, and also the Observatory, $500,000 a 

 year. A resolution has just passed the one House appro- 

 priating $100,000 to Arctic exploration, but I am not cer- 

 tain that it will pass the other House. Just at present Con- 

 gress is very stringent in its appropriations, on account of 

 the finance of the country ; but there is an increasing ten- 

 den c} 7 to favor scientific investigations. 



1446. Have you no materials with you from which you 

 might give us any account of the sum voted, or the manner 

 in which it is distributed ? — No, but I might obtain it if the 

 Commission wished to have it. 



1447. Are there in America any professorships corre- 

 sponding to the Regius professorships in the universities of 

 this country : professorships which are supported by the 

 General Government, and sums voted by the House of Com- 

 mons ? — In some of the States, the universities — for instance 

 the University of Virginia — are supported by the State, but 

 most of the colleges in the United States are supported by 

 endowments which they have received from individuals of 

 various sects, and they are generally sectarian, and the 

 endowments have been raised by the church. 



1448. Does the United States Government give any assist- 

 ance to scientific societies in America, either by providing 

 them with a house or in any other manner ? — No, it does 

 not. The great demand in the United States is for applied 

 science, not theoretical science. 



1449. {Mr. Samuelsoih) I think you stated that a large 

 grant of land was made by the Congress of the United 

 States for the establishment of agricultural colleges. That 

 grant of land was made, was it not, during the American 

 troubles ? — Yes, it was. 



1450. That was a grant of land which was valued, was it 

 not, at between §30,000,000 and $40,000,000 ?— I do not 

 know the exact value of the land. It was, however, very 

 large. 



1451. You stated that it was applied to the establishment 

 of agricultural colleges, but was it not voted for the estab- 



50 



