The Board of Regents 67 



England for the recovery of the fund bequeathed by Smith- 

 son, remarked : 



"The act of Congress of 1846 having established the 

 Smithsonian Institution, he was appointed one of its first 

 Regents, and was constantly continued by Congress a mem- 

 ber of their Board. His zeal for the increase and diffusion of 

 knowledge among men, and his sound judgment, contributed 

 to the adoption of the system of operations which, so far, has 

 borne the happiest fruits ; and his interest in and care for its 

 successful management furnished one of the enjoyments of 

 a tranquil old age, ' attended by reverence and troops of 

 friends.' " 



At a meeting held January 31, 1863, Professor Bache, in his 

 eulogy of Senator James Alfred Pearce, of Maryland, said : 



"Again has death invaded our circle, and taken from 

 our councils and our active sympathies one of the most ad- 

 mirably gifted intellects which has at any time been called 

 upon to shape the destiny or direct the labors of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. A member of the Executive Committee 

 from nearly the second year of the organization under the 

 act of Congress of 1846, attentive to every detail, whether 

 scientific, administrative, or financial, Mr. Pearce was always 

 prompt at the call of every duty. His entire and cordial ac- 

 quiescence in the form of organization adopted for the Insti- 

 tution, his liberal and zealous cooperation with the Board of 

 Regents, his earnest support of, and unfaltering confidence in, 

 the discretion and integrity of its Secretary, were as conspicu- 

 ous as they were productive of the most lasting and important 

 benefits. And though it is true that the general form and 

 policy of the Institution were determined under the authority of 

 Congress, by the first Board of Regents, yet it is quite as cer- 

 tain that strenuous action was afterwards needed to maintain 

 it in its adopted course, and secure it from projected innova- 

 tions which, though strenuously advocated at the time, few 

 now regard with aught but disfavor. To this end no one 



