358 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



sary for the accommodation of the persons employed in said institution, the- 

 said board of managers may cause to be erected on the grounds of the in- 

 stitution such dwelling houses and other buildings, of plain and substantial 

 workmanship and materials, to be without unnecessary ornament, as may 

 be wanted : Provided, however, That the whole expense of the building! and 

 enclosures aforesaid shall not exceed the amount of the interest which will 

 have accrued on the principal sum and fund on the first day of July next. 

 to wit: the sum of two hundred and forty-two thousand one hundred and 

 twenty-nine dollars ; which sum is hereby appropriated, payable out of 

 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated ; together with such 

 sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to the institution, as may, 

 in any year, remain unexpended, after paying the current expenses of the 

 institution : And provided, further, That the expenditure for enclosing and 

 securing grounds, and erecting buildings to prevent plants from exposure, 

 shall not exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars. And all such con- 

 tracts as may be made by said board of managers shall be deposited with the 

 Treasurer of the United States ; and all questions which may arise between 

 the United States and any person claiming under and by virtue of any such 

 contract, shall be heard and determined by said board of manager?, and Mich 

 determination shall be final and conclusive upon all parties ; and all 

 claims on any contract made as aforesaid shall be allowed and certified by 

 the board of managers, or a committee thereof, as the case may be, and, 

 being signed by the president of the board, shall be a sufficient voucher for 

 settlement and payment at the Treasury of the United States. And the 

 board of managers shall be authorized to employ such persons as they deem 

 necessary to superintend the erection of the buildings and fitting up the 

 rooms of the institution. And all laws for the protection of public prop- 

 erty in the city of Washington shall apply to, and be in force for, the pro- 

 tection of the lands, buildings, and other property of said institution ; and 

 all prosecutions for trespasses upon said property, and all civil suits on be- 

 half of said institution, shall be prosecuted in the name of the United 

 States, in any court having competent jurisdiction of the same. 



SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion as suitable arrange- 

 ments can be made for their reception, all objects of foreign and curious 

 research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and min- 

 eralogical 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 persons as may be authorized by the 

 board of managers 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 buildings so as aforesaid to be erected for the institution ; and the man- 

 agers of said institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural his- 

 tory, geology, or mineralogy, may be obtained for the museum of the in- 

 stitution 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 appropri- 

 ately classed and arranged. And the minerals, books, manuscripts, and 

 other property of James Smithson, which have been received by the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States, and are now placed in the Patent Office, 

 shall be removed to said institution and shall be preserved separate and 

 apart from the other property of the institution. 



SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said institution 

 shall appoint a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the 

 ground, buildings, and property, belonging to the institution, and carefully 

 preserve the same from injury; and such superintendent shall be the sec- 

 retary of the board of managers, and shall, under their direction, make a 

 fair and accurate record of all their proceedings, to be preserved in said in- 

 stitution ; and the said superintendent shall afso discharge the duties of li- 

 brarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the consent of the 

 board of managers, employ an assistant ; and the said managers shall ap- 



