TWENTY -FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-1839. 173 



the said fund: Pvoridcd, That Congress shall retain the power of investing, at their 

 discretion, the principal of said fund in any other manner so as to secure not less 

 than a yearly interest of six per centum. 



Sec. 6. And he it further enacted, That the sum of $30,000, part of the first year's 

 interest accruing on the said Smithsonian fund, be, and the same is hereby, appro- 

 priated toward the erection and establishment at the city of Washington of an 

 astronomical observatory adapted to the most effective and continual observation of 

 the phenomena of the heavens; to be provided with the necessary, best, and most 

 perfect instruments and hooks for the periodical publication of the said observa- 

 tions, and for the annual composition and publication of a nautical almanac. 



Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said observatory shall be erected under 

 the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, subject to the approbation of 

 the President of the United States; and the site of the same shall be selected ujiou 

 land, in the city of Washington, belonging to the United States; and the land neces- 

 sary for the vsame, and for any other buildings proper to be connected with the said 

 observatory and the appurtenances thereof, is hereby granted, and shall be duly con- 

 veyed, as a deed of gift, to the trustees of the Smithsonian fund, and to their suc- 

 cessors forever, in aid of the purjioses of the said Institution. 



Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That all expenditures made by the said l)oard 

 shall be subject to the approval of the President of the United States, and all the 

 accounts thereof shall be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and audited, 

 under his direction, by the proper <jfficers of the Treasury Department; and the 

 said Ijoard shall report to Congress, at every session thereof, the state of the Smith- 

 sonian fund, and a full statement of their receipts and expenditures during the pre- 

 ceding year. 



Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the first meeting of the trustees of the Smith- 

 sonian fund shall be held at the city of Washington on the third Monday of January 

 next, and that, in the meantime, the custody of the said fund, and the expenditures 

 under the appropriation herein made, shall be held and authorized by the Secretary 

 of the Treasurj', subject to the approbation of the President of the United States. 

 February 25, 1839— Senate. 



The bill (S. 292), was considered in Committee of the Whole. 

 The Senate having taken up this bill introduced b}' Mr. Robbins 

 providing for the appointment of nine commissioners annually — three 

 by the Senate, three by the House, and the other three by the Presi- 

 dent of the United States — to take charge of the Smithsonian fund, to 

 draw up an act of incorporation for the Institution, and to constitute 

 a portion of its board of trustees when incorporated — 



Mr. John C. Calhoun said: This is a bill making provision for the 

 common benefit of all mankind; but we are restricted in our powers. 

 The question whether we have the power to establish a universit}^ or 

 not was a subject of consideration at an early stage of our Govern- 

 ment, and President Washington decided that Congress had the power. 

 But the question was voted down and never revived. And now what 

 would we do? We accept a fund from a foreigner, and would do what 

 we are not authorized to do by the Constitution. We would enlarge 

 our grant of power derived from the States of this Union. Sir, can 

 you show me a word that goes to invest us with such a power 'i I not 

 only regard the meastire proposed as unconstitutioijal, but to me it 

 appears to involve a species of meanness which I can not describe, a 



