The Board of Regents 69 



dial support. The great work of the extension of the Capitol 

 found in him a wise advocate and judicious friend. Not 

 afraid of what was new, yet he aimed at nothing for the sake 

 of novelty. In connection with the decoration of our public 

 buildings, our sculptors and painters found in him a most en- 

 lightened appreciator of their works, and one always ready to 

 promote the great cause of their art by legitimate means." 



At the meeting of January 28, 1867, a resolution was 

 passed referring to the long and gratuitous services of Wil- 

 liam W. Seaton. In this connection, Professor Henry spoke 

 of his association with the Institution in the following terms : 



"At the first meeting of the Board of Regents he was 

 elected Treasurer, and subsequently one of the Building Com- 

 mittee. The former office he continued to hold until the time 

 of his death, and during the whole of this period, nearly 

 twenty years, discharged its duties without other compensa- 

 tion than the pleasure he derived from an association with 

 the Institution, and the laudable pride he felt in contribut- 

 ing to its prosperity and usefulness. It is well known that 

 at the time of the organization of the Institution a wide 

 diversity of opinion existed as to the practical means which 

 would be most suitable for realizing the objects of the legacy. 

 Mr. Seaton, on mature reflection, finally gave his cordial 

 support to the policy which sought to impress on the Institu- 

 tion a truly cosmopolitan character. He strenuously advo- 

 cated the plan which the Secretary, then recently elected, had 

 been invited to submit to the Board of Regents, and which 

 looked to the advancement of knowledge chiefly through the 

 encouragement and publication of original researches, a sys- 

 tem which, without neglecting other available means for the 

 promotion and diffusion of scientific enlightenment, may be 

 claimed, without undue pretension, to have made the Institu- 

 tion favorably known, and to have exerted a well-recognized 

 influence wherever men occupy themselves with intellectual 

 pursuits. 



