XX vi ORIGIN AND OPERATIONS 



Clearly, if the government demanded all, and the instruments named in the proposition sub- 

 mitted to Congress were unsuited, or had heen disposed of on other public service whilst the 

 subject was in abeyance, should the objects of the Expedition be worth striving for, as had 

 already been decided by the national legislature, it was the duty of that honorable body to sup- 

 ply the means by which success could be obtained, and not permit the funds of a private insti- 

 tution to be trespassed on. There are multitudinous interesting subjects pursued by individ- 

 uals which can only be investigated under the patronage of such bodies as the Board of 

 Regents, or learned societies, and twice the funds at the control of the Smithsonian Institution 

 could be thus expended every year. These were legitimate claimants for its fostering help v e 

 were not. On representation of the facts to the Naval Committee at the assembling of Congress, 

 the views of the Hon. F. P. Stanton were sustained, an additional appropriation of $0,400 wrs 

 granted to cover costs of all the instruments ordered, and the Smithsonian Institution was 

 absolved from the responsibility it had so nobly assumed in our behalf. 



Everything was now progressing satisfactorily. Much interest had been manifested for the 

 Expedition in England, as well as on the continent, and most valuable services were rendered 

 by Admiral Beaufort, Col. Sabine, Capt. (now Rear Admiral) W. H. Smyth, and others, by 

 their counsel, by obtaining useful materials for us, and by offers to facilitate our objects at all 

 times wherever we might be. So earnest were the desires to do something, that inquiry was 

 made whether the British admiral, or the consuls on the coast of the Pacific, could aid us at 

 any time? These offers were dictated by a principle of generosity noble in the individual, as it 

 was honorable to the nation whose service they adorned, and I could only regret that the ac- 

 knowledgments of the Navy Department for these tokens of good will could not have been 

 communicated to these gentlemen by one whose pen would better have done justice to the senti- 

 ments inspired. But I was sure all of them would remember, that education on shipboard, unlike 

 that of a court in the inculcation of well-rounded and elegant, yet meaningless diction, insen- 

 sibly promotes frankness and cordiality rarely results in insincerity. Therefore, they would 

 appreciate me in a simple expression of profound gratitude, and believe my assurance, that we 

 should at all times esteem it a privilege to render aid to any of the numerous scientific or other 

 parties England so magnanimously sends abroad for the benefit of mankind. 



Under the direction of Col. Sabine, R. A., the magnetical, and a portion of the meteorologi- 

 cal instruments were rapidly advancing. Prof. Forbes, of Edinburgh, had undertaken to order 

 and supervise the seismometer; Mr. Schumacher and Theodore S. Fay, Esq., wrote encouraging 

 information respecting the meridian circle, and the remaining instruments, to be completed 

 under my own charge, were in such a state of forwardness that our departure need not be de- 

 layed beyond the 1st of June, if a suitable conveyance could be obtained. There remained 

 then only to construct the observatories, select assistants, and prepare a circular stating the 

 plan of operations, and inviting the co-operation of other astronomers. 



The purchase of a larger telescope rendered modification of the building necessary, and the 

 circular observatory subsequently described in this volume was devised for it in addition to the 

 rectangular building previously mentioned. Both were put up in Washington under my own 

 immediate supervision, and when found fully adequate to our wants, each piece was indelibly 

 marked, and the whole taken down and arranged in small packages suitable for transportation. 

 They were constructed with screws instead of nails. 



The department had detailed Passed Midshipman (now Lieutenant) Archibald MacRae and 

 Henry C. Hunter, volunteers for the service, as assistants, authorizing me to appoint as cap- 

 tain's clerk Mr. Edmund R. Smith, a young gentleman who had just graduated at the George- 

 town college. As it was desirable that the first two named should obtain knowledge of instru- 

 ments and observations before leaving the United States, they reported to me at Washington, and 

 Lieutenant Maury, the Superintendent of the Observatory, very kindly permitted them to assist 

 there under instruction -of the officers on duty in that establishment. At the same time, they 

 were employed to make selections of stars from all published catalogues and Bessel's Zones, 



