TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGEESS, 1843-1845. 305 



intent of the donor — the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 

 men; provided, the entire expenditure for lectures shall not exceed 

 $6,000 a year. The managers may at their discretion cause these 

 lectures or such of them as they desire to be printed and sold at the 

 cost of publication. An annual expenditure of not less than 120,000 

 out of the interest of the fund is authorized to be made in the purchase 

 of books and manuscripts for the librarj^ of the institution, which 

 library is to comprehend in due proportion, without preference or 

 exclusion of any branch of knowledge, works pertaining to all the 

 departments of human knowledge, as well as physical science and Ihe 

 application of science to the arts of life, as all other science, philosophy, 

 history, literature, and art; and for its extent, variety, and value said 

 library shall be worthy of the donor of the fund and of this nation 

 and the age. The managers to employ a librarian and assistants and 

 to fix their salaries; also to prescribe the regulations under which the 

 library shall be kept, visited, and used. In conclusion, the bill 

 appoints the seven managers not ex officio members as follows: 



Jared P, Kirtland, of Ohio; Richard Henry Wilde, of Louisiana; 

 George Tucker, of Virginia; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts; 

 Henr}^ King, of Missouri, and Joseph G. Totten and Alexander Dallas 

 Bache, members of the National Institute and resident in Washington, 

 as the seven members who, by the second section, would be appointed 

 by Congress. The right of altering, amending, adding to, or repeal- 

 ing the act is reserved to Congress, provided that no contract or indi- 

 vidual right made or acquired under its provisions be divested or 

 impaired. 



On motions of Mr, Tappan and Mr, Choate, two misprints in the 

 new bill were amended, 



Mr, Levi Woodbury remarked that most of the amendments which 

 he had submitted on a former day to be printed had been rendered 

 unnecessary by the changes since made in the bill b}^ the Library 

 Committee. But there was one defect still left in the board of mana- 

 gers, as he viewed the subject, and which it was desirable to have 

 removed. He was fully sensible that any attempt to alter a bill which 

 has twice received the deliberate consideration of a committee of this 

 body was almost hopeless. But the subject was a novel one to us all. 

 It was, also, not a measure of ordinary legislation, affecting the rights 

 and property of our constituents, but the discharge of an important 

 trust in behalf of a foreign philanthropist, and where we ought to 

 move slowly in our deliberations, and rather confer, converse, and 

 consult, as a real committee of the whole, instead of debate like parti- 

 sans. He would, therefore, take the liberty to suggest that the board 

 of management now proposed was imperfect in two respects — it did 

 not contain persons enough resident at the place where their duties 

 must be performed, and was so constituted as to be likely to render 

 H. Doc. 732 20 



