TWENTY-FOUETH CONGRESS, 1835-1837. 133 



possessors by inheritance, let the trust of James Smithson to the 

 United States of America be faithfully executed by their represent- 

 atives in Congress; let the result accomplish his object, "the increase 

 and diffusion of knowledge among men," and a wreath of more unfad- 

 ing verdure shall entwine itself in the lapse of future ages around the 

 name of Smithson than the united hands of tradition, history, and 

 poetry have braided around the name of Percy through the long 

 perspective in ages past of a thousand years. 



It is, then, a high and solemn trust which the testator has committed 

 to the United States of America, and its execution devolves upon their 

 representatives in Congress duties of no ordinary importance. The 

 location of the Institution at Washington, prescribed by the testator, 

 gives to Congress the free exercise of all the powers relating to this 

 subject with which they are by the Constitution invested as the local 

 legislature for the District of Columbia. In adverting to the char- 

 acter of the trustee selected by the testator for the fulfillment of his 

 intentions, your committee deem it no indulgence of unreasonable 

 pride to mark it as a signal manifestation of the moral effect of our 

 political institutions upon the opinions and upon the consequent action 

 of the wise and the good of other regions and of distant climes; even 

 upon that nation from whom we generally boast of our descent, but 

 whom from the period of our Revolution we have had too often reason 

 to consider as a jealous and envious rival. How different are the 

 sensations which should swell in our bosoms with the acceptance of 

 this bequest! James Smithson, an Englishman, in the exercise of his 

 rights as a free born Briton, desirous of dedicating his ample fortune 

 to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, constitutes for 

 his trustees, to accomplish that object, the United States of America, 

 and fixes upon their seat of Government as the spot where the Institu- 

 tion, of which he is the founder, shall be located. 



The Revolution which resulted in the independence of these United 

 States was commenced, conducted, and consummated under a mere 

 union of confederated States. Subsequently to that period a more 

 perfect union was formed, combining in one system the principle of 

 confederate sovereignties with that of a government by popular rep- 

 resentation, with legislative, executive, and judicial powers, all limited, 

 but coextensive with the whole confederation. 



Under this Government, a new experiment in the history of man- 

 kind is now drawing to the close of half a century, during which the 

 territory and number of States in the Union have nearly doubled, 

 while their population, wealth, and power have been multiplied more 

 than fourfold. In the process of this experiment they have gone 

 through the vicissitudes of peace and war, amidst bitter and ardent 

 party collisions, and the unceasing changes of popular elections to the 

 legislative and executive offices, both of the general confederacy and 



