312 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 189L 



president, wlio seems to Lave at once taken steps to secnre tlie only 

 possible relief from tbe embarrassment that — of special legislation. 



The following bill was accordingly introduced in the Senate by the 

 honorable Robert J, Walker: 



A liILL for the, presprvatioii of the collections of iiatni'al curiosities furnished hy 

 the Exploring Sfjuadron, and from other sources. 



Be if enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 

 States of America in (jongress assemhled, Tliat the board of manage- 

 ment of the National Institute be, and is hereby, invested with the 

 custody of the specimens of natural history, and other curiosities, Avhich 

 have been received, or which may have been received, or which may 

 hereafter be received, from the Exploring Squadron, and from other 

 sources, with authority to make all necessary arrangenients to i)re 

 serve and exhibit the same, to regulate the number and compensation 

 of i^ersons employed on said duty, and to superinteiul the disburse- 

 ments relating' thereto. 



Sec. 2. And he it farther enacted, That the said board is hereby au- 

 thorized to exchange any of the duplicates of said collections, with 

 other institutions, or with State authorties, or with individuals. 



At the request of Senator Walker two of the members of the com- 

 mittee had drawn up a statement of the relations which they deemed 

 it desirable to have established between the Institution and the General 

 Government in respect to the national collections. This statement was 

 submitted by Senator Walker, not as an official document emanating 

 from the Institute, but with the heading '^Remarks submitted by Mr. 

 Markoe and Col. Abert to the Hon. Mr. Walker." This was certainly 

 an unfortunate form of introduction to Congress, and the opponents of 

 the National Institute made the most of it. The bill Avith the accom 

 pauying statement was referred to the Joint Committee on the Library, 

 and on the 28th of February was made the subject of a report presented 

 by Senator Tappan*,in which he ridiculed the idea of jdacing the results 

 of a great Government expedition in the hands of a ''private corpora- 

 tion," and advised members of the Nsitional Institute to disabuse them- 

 selves of the idea that regular appropriations would ever be made for 

 its benefit. " The case presents" he remarked '' two officers of the Gov- 

 ernment, one the head of a bureau, the other a clerk in one of the public 

 offices, w/<o ask as a matter of ri(iht that ^/<e]/ should have the super- 

 vision of a very importaut literary and scientific work, tlie publication 

 of which Congress has thought proper to intrust to one of its regular com- 

 mittees." The recommendation of the committee was that the respon- 

 sibility of this work remain in the hands of the Joint {committee on the 

 Library, where it had originally been placed by law. Senator Tappan's 

 attack was evidently based upon a partial misunderstanding of the views 

 of the members of the National Institute, who simply asked the custody 

 of the collections and the authority to supervise their arrangement. Col. 

 Abert and Mr. Markoe were indignant at the injustice, and addressed 

 to Senator Walker a letter, in further explanation of their views. 



This letter, with the comments upon it by Senator Walker and Sena- 



^ Senate Document, 233, see note to this paper D. 



