4IO The S^nithsonian Institution 



in Paris, at which was discussed, as a matter closely allied 

 to the main objects of the Congress, a uniform system for 

 exchanging the scientific and literary publications of all coun- 

 tries. The commission, under the presidency of Baron de 

 Vatteville, submitted to the different governments repre- 

 sented, a detailed plan for international exchanges, and in 

 1878, as the result of correspondence between the Smith- 

 sonian Institution and the Department of State, the Institu- 

 tion was recognized by the Secretary of State as the special 

 agent for the United States government to carry out the 

 suggestion of the convention, which involved not only the 

 exchange of official documents, but of the publications of 

 learned societies as well, the exchange of official documents 

 with the governments represented being, in the case of the 

 United States, for the benefit of the Library of Congress. 



Further conferences upon the subject were held in Brus- 

 sels in 1877 and 1880, and again, after six years' experience 

 of the working of the plan proposed in Paris, a general con- 

 ference was called by the Belgian government in 1883. The 

 United States government was represented at this latter 

 conference by its resident minister, Honorable Nicholas Fish, 

 and later by his successor. Honorable Lambert Tree, and the 

 draft of articles of agreement for the international exchange 

 system proposed was in due time communicated by the De- 

 partment of State to the Smithsonian Institution for criti- 

 cism. These articles of agreement having been submitted 

 to the contracting powers, a conference was called in Brus- 

 sels on March 15, 1886, at which they were signed by duly 

 accredited diplomatic representatives, and the convention was 

 laid before Congress and ratified by the President July 19, 

 1888. Ratifications were finally exchanged, and the conven- 

 tion was proclaimed by the President on January 15, 1889. 

 There were, in fact, two conventions adopted, the first for the 



