[B.] 

 REPORT 



OF 



THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS 



ON THE 



COMMUNICATION OF PROF. HENRY. 



Professor Henry laid before the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 

 Institution a communication relative to an article in Shaflner's Telegraph 

 Companion, bearing the signature of Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor 

 of the American electro-magnetic telegraph. In this article serious 

 charges are brought against Professor Henry, bearing upon his scientific 

 reputation and his moral character. The whole matter having been referred 

 to a committee of the Board, with instructions to report on the same, the 

 committee have attended to the duty assigned to them, and now submit the 

 following brief report, with resolutions accompanying it. 



The committee have carefully examined the documents relating to the 

 subject, and especially the article to which the communication of Professor 

 Henry refers. This article occupies over ninety pages, filling an entire 

 number of ShaflFner's Journal, and purports to be " a defence against the 

 injurious deductions drawn from the deposition of Professor Joseph Henry, 

 (in the several telegraph suits,) with a critical review of said deposition, 

 and an examination of Professor Henry's alleged discoveries bearing upon 

 the electro-magnetic telegraph." 



The first thing which strikes the reader of this article is, that its title 

 is a misnomer. It is simply an assault upon Professor Henry; an attempt 

 to disparage his character ; to deprive him of his honors as a scientific 

 discoverer ; to impeach his credibility as a witness and his integrity as a 

 man. It is a disingenuous piece of sophistical argument, such as an 

 unscrupulous advocate might employ to pervert the truth, misrepresent 

 the facts, and misinterpret the language in which the facts belonging to 

 the other side of the case are stated. 



Mr. Morse charges that the deposition of Professor Henry " contains 

 imputations against his (Morse's) personal character," which it does not, 



