34:2 REPORT OF NATIONAL Ml^SEUM, 1891. 



objects of natural liistory aud the fine arts belonging to the natioih 

 If this were done a few rooms would be sufficient for traiisactino- the 

 business of the Institution, and a large portion of the iiic:>nie would be 

 fvoe, to be applied to the more immediate objects ol' tlie bequest. In- 

 deed, it would be a gain to science c(tnld the Institution give away the 

 linilding for no other consideration tliau that of being relieved from the 

 costly charge of the collections; and, for the present, it may be well to 

 ado])t the plan suggested in a hite report of the Commissioner of Pat- 

 ents, namely, to remove the museum of the exploring expedition, which 

 now fills a large and valuable room in the Patent Office, wanted for the 

 exhibition of models, to the spacions hall of the Institution, at present 

 unoccuijied, and to continue under the direction of the Regents the ap- 

 j)ropriation now annually made for the preservation and display of the 

 collections. 



Although the Eegents a few years ago declined to accept this mu- 

 seum as a gift, yet, since ex])erience has shown that the building will 

 ultimately be filled with objects of natural history belonging to the Gen- 

 eral Government, which, for the good of science, it will be necessary to 

 preserve, it may be a qnestion whether, in consideration of this fact, it 

 would be well to offer the nse of the large room immediately for a na- 

 tional museum, of which the Smithsonian Institnfion would be the mere 

 curator, and the expense of nuiintnining which sh(»uld be paid by the 

 General Government. The cost of keeping the museum of the explor- 

 ing expedition, now in the Patent Office, including heating, pay of 

 watchmen, etc., is about $5,000, and if the plan i>roiK)sed is adopted 

 the Institution and the Patent Office will both be benetited. The bur- 

 den which is now thrown on tlie Institution, of preserving the specimens 

 which have been collected by the different expeditions instituted by 

 Government dnring the last ten years, will be at least in i)art lemoved, 

 and the Patent Office will acquire the occu])ancy of one of the largest 

 rooms in its building for the legitimate purposes of its establishment. 

 It is believed that the l)enefit from this plan is so obvious that no ob- 

 jection to it W(mld be made in ( 'ongress, and that it wonld meet the 

 approbation of tlie public generally. 



I can .find no record in the minutes of the Regents, but have been in- 

 formed by Mr. W. J. Rhees, of the Smithsonian Institution, that an 

 urgent request for the use of the hall was made by the Commissioner 

 of Patents and the Secretary of the Interior, and that the Board de- 

 cided to grant this request on the condition that Congress should a])pro- 

 l)riate money for the construction of the cases and the transfer of the 

 collections, and that the Secretary of the Interior should provide for 

 the expenses of the care of the collections after their transfer in the 

 same manner as before. 



The question of the legality of the transfer of the collections was 

 submitted by the Secretary of the Interior to the Attorney-General, 

 by whom it was held that the provision in the eighth section of the act 

 of August 4, 1854 (10 Stats., 572), placing the collections under the 

 control of the Commissioner of Patents, and authorizing the employ- 

 ment by him of keepers therefor, was designed to be temporary only, 

 and that the act establishing the Smithsonian Institution, as well as 

 that making the appropriation in 1857, were to be regarded as indicat- 



