THIRTY-THIRD CONGRESS, 1853-55. 



stereotypists, all, all, would be hovering around this fund, 

 to say nothing of factorage, commission, foreign travel to 

 pick up rare works, and the ten thousand jobs that follow 

 in such a train, where money is to be spent by law in large, 

 annual, stated sums to buy books; and at last what would 

 you have done? Why, you would have taken this great, 

 noble beneficent donation to mankind, and converted it into 

 a fruitful job for every race of needy and artful adventurers. 



Sir, if a library is to be established at Washington for 

 public use, vote the money from the Treasury. Smithson 

 did not intrust this fund to you for such a purpose, or he 

 would have said so in his will ; and he has not said it. 



I have said that it is unfortunate that this matter should 

 again be brought before the Senate. The battle was foughf 

 here for years. That parliamentary history to which the 

 writer of the letter has had reference shows it. He claims 

 that, under the true interpretation of the act of Congress, 

 the library scheme prevailed. A majority of those who 

 have been associated with him in the Board of Regents 

 have decided otherwise. They understand the law to mean 

 that discretion is vested in the Board of Regents to build up 

 -a library in this great institution, in such manner, and at 

 such time, as the}^ shall find most conducive to the great 

 objects of the trust. That is all. Sir, this battle should 

 not be fought over again. I trust we shall not present to 

 the European world, whence this fund is derived, the spec- 

 tacle that, at this early day, when the streams of light and 

 knowledge which, I hope, are to flow from this institution, 

 have hardly yet made their appearance, that we are scram- 

 bling indecently over the cradle of the trust. 



I Tiave said, Mr. President, that this is a pure trust. 

 There is, fortunately, no emolument of any kind attendant 

 upon its administration. I have been, for some years, hon- 

 ored by the Senate of the United States as one of the man- 

 agers of that trust. I conceive it to be a very high honor. 

 It is because of the duty which I owe to the trust thus com- 

 mitted to me that I detain the Senate for a few moments. 



I perceive that the subject has been taken up in the other 

 House, at the instance of one of the regents, [Mr. Meacham,] 

 an honorable member there, who, as the journals have been 

 published, it is now fair to say, voted with the writer of 

 this letter. On his motion, a committee has been raised, 

 which is, perhaps, proper enough; but I must say, with 

 very great respect for that body, that the committee has 

 been vested with very extraordinary power for such an 

 Inquiry the power " to send for persons and papers." 



