THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS, 1849-1851. 475 



are altogether mistaken in what I intended by the resolution. I have 

 partly accomplished what I intended. I wished information from the 

 Senator from Mississippi and the Senator from Maryland, whom I 

 well knew were more familiar with the subject than I was, and ought 

 to be so, for they are, 1 believe, both Regents of the Institution. My 

 object was to call out information on the subject. On looking to the 

 sixth section of the act, approved August 10, 1846, which was the act 

 establishing the Smithsonian Institution, I was really at some loss to 

 determine what it meant, and I am anxious to get views of the Board 

 of Regents upon that point. That section is this: 



SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable arrangements can 

 be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and 

 all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens 

 belonging; or hereafter to belong, to the United States, which may be in the city of 

 Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such per- 

 sons as may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be 

 arranged in such order and so classed as best to facilitate the examination and study 

 of them in the building so as aforesaid to be erected for the Institution; and the 

 Eegents of said Institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural history, 

 geology, or mineralogy may be obtained for the museum of the Institution by 

 exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the Institution (which they are 

 hereby authorized to make), or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, 

 cause such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the 

 minerals, books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have 

 been received by the Government of the United States, and are now placed in the 

 Department of State, shall be removed to said Institution and shall be preserved 

 separate and apart from the other property of the Institution. 



I was in doubt as to the meaning of this section, and it seems to me 

 that almost everybody would be in doubt as to the meaning of Con- 

 gress in its passage. A portion of it looks as though this was a gra- 

 tuit}', and another portion looks as though it imposed an obligation 

 on the Institution to provide for and receive those articles which are 

 mentioned. 



Then, looking at the interests of the Patent Office, I come to the 

 conclusion that if it was proper and right that the Smithsonian 

 Institution should take charge of these things and relieve the Patent 

 Office, they should certainly do it. If anyone will go to the Patent 

 Office and observe the manner in which models are kept he will be 

 satisfied that the exhibition room of that office ought to be clear and 

 the models to be exhibited there. At present the exhibition room of 

 the Patent Office is occupied by this cabinet of curiosities. Models 

 are crowded into places never intended for them, and look more like a 

 series of brush heaps than anything else. A person can scarcely get 

 one that is not broken; one can be scarcely got out of the cases where 

 they are deposited. This is an improper mode of keeping the models 

 of the inventors of the country. Something should be done to remedy 

 this evil. I think the patent fund should be appropriated to the use 



