TJie United States National Museum 3 1 1 



cal and mineralogical cabinet; also, a chemical laboratory, a 

 library, a gallery of art, and the necessary lecture rooms." 



It is further provided that the Regents "may so locate 

 said building, if they shall deem it proper, as in appearance to 

 form a wing to the Patent Office building, and may so con- 

 nect the same with the present hall of said Patent Office 

 building, containing the National Cabinet of Curiosities,^ as to 

 constitute the said hall, in whole or in part, the deposit for 



the cabinet of the said Institution, if they deem it expedient 

 to do so." This plan was not adopted. 



Section 6 of the same act provides 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 minera- 

 logical 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 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." 



Considering the section relating to buildings mandatory, 

 and under the belief that the collections beloncrino- to the 

 government must be accepted and housed, the Board of 

 Regents of the newly-established Institution proceeded at 

 once with the erection of a lar^je brown-stone structure. 



For various reasons the building was many years in con- 

 struction, and during this period the first Secretary, Joseph 

 Henry, became more and more pronounced in his opinion 

 that the government collections should not be cared for at the 

 expense of the Smithsonian fund. Indeed, he was in doubt 



1 See Goode, op. cit., page 301, 



