328 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



JSctietary of War, two leading Senators, Levi Woodbiuy. Peter Force, 

 Col. J. ,J. Abert, Col. J. li. Totten, and Lieut. M. F. Maury, llulus 

 Choate, Abbott Lawrence, and A. D. Baclie. Our (lovernment functions 

 were less (;entialized at that time, and the policy of allowiiii;- more 

 sco]»e to private effort in public unitters was similar in this instance 

 at least to that which prevails in Great Britain at the present time. 

 It was not to have been expected, however, that its authority 

 should have remained long unquestioned, and in the end its lot w as 

 that which very frequently befalls those who out of disinteiestc<l- 

 ucss undertake, unasked, to forward the interest of others. Tlins, 

 as JIush aptly put it, the merit of the Jnstitute was turned to its 

 misfortune, and its "voluntary zeaF' was thought totally unworthy 

 of recognition. 



The various invitations to members of Congress, army and Navy 

 officers, consuls and citizens to collect ami send in materials had, how- 

 e\er, begiin to bring in great quantities of material, and the inability 

 to care for these properly was the cause of the a})])eals for Government 

 -aid which as time went on grew more frequent and urgent till 184G, 

 when discouragement took the place of anticipation, and the society 

 fell into a condition of inactivity and apathy. 



The real cause of the decline of the National Institute Avas simple 

 enough. Failing to secure grants of money from Congress, the society 

 was overwlielmed by the deluge of museum materials, which in resi)onse 

 to its enthusiastic and widely circulated appeals came to it from all 

 quarters of the world. The anniuil receii)ts frcun the assessment of 

 members were insufficient to pay for the care of the collections, and 

 although by virtue of the long teiin of its charter the collections were 

 kept together until LStH, there was little science' and little eneigy 

 manifested in this administration. 



Tn the archives of the National Museum there ar<Mi number of un- 

 published i)apers which are of value as constituting a ])artial history 

 of the collections during this jieriod, and some of which ai)])ear to be 

 worthy of permanent i^esersation are here jaeseiited. 



One of them possesses a melancholy interest of its own. It is a list 

 of the active members of the National Institute in arrears for dues up 

 to December 12, 1843. The delinquents were one hundred and sixty- 

 eight in number, including nearly one half of the names on the mem- 

 bership roll, and the total arrearage amounted to $1,^^00. No wonder 

 that the managers were discouraged, for this sum rei)resented a like 

 deficit in the assets of the society, its oidy income being derived from 

 membershii) fees. 



From this time on, as Ave have already seen, the society languished. 

 In 1848 its cabinet Avas almost the only cAidenee of its existence. At 

 that time, howcA^er, an effort was made to resuscitate it, which seems 

 to have been partially successful. The coming in of a new adminis- 

 tration was in some degree beneficial — the President, Taylor, having 



