15 
authorized the construction of a railway to unite the Atlantic 
and the Pacific seas. The enactment of this act to incorpo- 
rate the Academy of Sciences, was not the least in the long 
list of acts the Thirty-seventh Congress gave to the country, 
which will leave their impress upon the nation for ages yet to 
come. It was my fortune to take a humble part in these great 
measures of legislation. It is a source of profound gratifica- 
tion to me, that, amid the pressure of public affairs, I have 
been enabled to contribute something to found this Academy 
for the advancement of the physical sciences in America. It 
will ever be among my most cherished recollections, that I 
have been permitted through your courtesy to unite with 
you in organizing this National Academy, which, we fondly 
hope, will gather around it, in the centuries yet to come, the 
illustrious sons of genius and of learning, whose researches 
will enrich the sciences, and reflect unfading lustre upon the 
republic. 
