370 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



the Hou. Mr Woodbury, the Hon. Mr. Preston, Mr. Dayton, Fourth Auditor, Comuio- 

 odre Warrington, Col. Totten, of the Corps of Engineers, and Col. Abert, of the 

 Corps of Topograpliical Engineers." 



"These are the whole of those who are recognized by the charter as 'officers of 

 the Institute/ and constitute by the charter, ' A ]5o:ird of Management of the fiscal 

 concerns of the Institute.'" 



The ijuotations speak for themselves, and we will trouble you with but few more 

 remarks. Mr. Tappan, in the beginning of his report, most truly says that, "The 

 remarks of Messrs. Markoe and Abert are not to be considered as the act of the Na- 

 tional Institute." The "remarks" neither purport nor pretend to be the act of the 

 Institute. And moreover we beg leave furthei' to say that neither are Messrs. Abert 

 and Markoe the "Board of Management for the fiscal concerns of the Institute" 

 under the supervision of which they suggested the expedioicy of placing the appro- 

 priations which (iovernment might make for the arrangement and preservation of its 

 collections. 



It also seems to have given olfense to the honorable gentlemen, that we should 

 have proposed in our remarks "to furnish to the persons who shall be emi»loyed in 

 the writing or publication of the voyage and discoveries of the exploring squadron 

 all desired facilities." We really are at a loss to perceive the offensive matter in 

 this sentence. It has no allusion to the Library Committee, for they were neither to 

 write nor to publish. The law invested them with power to enter into contract for 

 the publication and each member of the scientific corps of the sciuadron would, we 

 presume, be required to furnish the narrative of his observations. The persons 

 therefore employed in the "writhig or publication of the voyage" were these scien- 

 tific men and the contractors. If furnished with all desired facilities it would be 

 all they ought to have, all they could want, and if furnished by the Institute there 

 would be some agent responsible for the specimens and interested in seeing that 

 they were returned after l)eing taken out of the building by either the describer, the 

 en o-raver, or the publisher. The Library Committee expired on the 4th of March, and 

 there will be no committee until after a new election of the next Congress. We be- 

 lieve the committee can not appoint an agent to have a longer existence than itself; 

 hence appeared in our judgment the propriety that the Institute should be invested 

 with the care of the collection. 



Had the honorable Senator published our "remarks" with his "report," as was 

 due in all fairness, this letter would have been unnecessary, for the " remarks" con- 

 tain in our opinion ample refutation of the errors of the "report." We deem it 

 wholly-unnecessary, also, to point out to you other inconsistencies and mistakes into 

 which the honorable Senator has fallen, and which have been, on his motion, pub- 

 lished in his report to the Senate. 



We rather limit ourselves, in conclusion, to soliciting your advice as to the best 

 mode of correcting the erroneous impressions which the language of the Senator is 

 calculated to make upon the public. 



We remain, dear sir, with great esteem and respect, your most obedient servants. 



LETTER 1-ROM THE HON. MR. PRESTON TO COL. .XHERT AND MR. MARKOE. 



CoLt'MBiA, S. C, April, 1843. 

 My Dear Sir: Having had ample occasion to witness the devotion which you and 

 Col, Abert have manifested to the National In titute, you may imagine the surprise 

 and mortification with which I have seen the total misconception of your motives 

 and conduct in regard to it in Mr. Tappan's report to the Senate. To the unwearied 

 and enthusiastic exertions of yourselves and a few other gentlemen, animated, as it 

 seemed to n)e, l)y nothing biit a pure love of science, that institution was mainly 

 indebted for its origin and tlie eminent success which has attended it from the be- 



