proceedings of the board of regents. 95 



secretary's statement. 



Request of the British consul-general at Genoa. — At the meeting of 

 the board held January 27, 1892, Secretary Langley reported that, at 

 the suggestion of the authorities of the English cemetery at Genoa, he 

 had deposited with the bankers, Granet, Brown & Co., the sum of 

 500 Italian lire ($14:7), the interest on which was to be used for the 

 keeping in order of the grave of James Smithson. As was known to 

 the board, the grounds of the cemetery had been expropriated by the 

 Italian Government, and the remains of Smithson brought to this 

 country and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution. 



The British consul-general at Genoa had sent a circular letter to 

 those interested in the British cemetery at Genoa showing that a con- 

 siderable debt had been incurred in the necessary removal of the 

 graves and chapel, and requesting, in view of the fact that the remains 

 of Smithson la}^ so long in the cemetery, that the $147 originally 

 deposited be used in whole or in part in paying off the debt of the 

 cemetery which, though British, was open to all Americans. 



Under date of March 26, the secretary replied that he did not feel 

 authorized to decide upon the final disposition of the sum named, and 

 promised to lay the matter before the board at this meeting. 



Mr. Dalzell then submitted the following resolution, which was 

 adopted: 



Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution authorize 

 that the sum of $147, deposited under the approval of the board with the firm of 

 Granet, Brown & Co., in August, 1891, by Secretary Langley, "for the upkeep of 

 Mr. Smithson's grave," be appUed to the purposes of the British cemetery in accord- 

 ance with the request of the British consul-general at Genoa. 



The Evans collection. — The secretary called the attention of the 

 board to the gift of the William T. Evans collection of paintings, and 

 stated that the advance made by the National Gallery of Art since the 

 last meeting of the board was briefly outlined on pages 31-33 of his 

 report, and that it would be more fully described in the report of the 

 assistant secretary in charge of the National Museum. 



The secretary added that the only conditions or suggestions made 

 by Mr. Evans were that he wished to replace any inferior examples 

 with better ones, and further, that he desired to add to the collection 

 as opportunity offered, as embodied in the following paragraphs of 

 his letter of March 12, 1907, announcing the gift: 



"I have every reason to believe that you will like my selections, 

 but should any of the examples not hold up well, others can be substi- 

 tuted, as it is my desire to have every artist represented at his best. 



"As already intimated, I intend that the present gift may not be 

 considered as final. Additions may be made from time to time as 

 opportunities occur to secure exceptional works." 



