ON THE STATE CABINET. 13 



the museum should be given by the director and his assistants, or by such 

 men as it might be found expedient to invite from without. 



The Question of the expenditure necessary to the carrying out of this 

 scheme, including the cost of buildings, a library for reference, and the 

 salaries of the officers, is not one easy for us to fix. The salary of the di- 

 rector should, however, in our opinion, be not less than S3, 000 in gold, or 

 its equivalent, while for his chief assistants two-thirds that sum might be 

 paid. 



It may be a question whether such a scheme as is here proposed could 

 best be carried out at Albany, or whether the city of New York,* the great 

 metropolis not only of the State but of the Union, would not be the most 

 desirable seat for a great scientific institution. It would there be more 

 accessible, and would at the same time be in a position to take advantage 

 of the s^ervices of scientific men already there established in the other insti- 

 tutions of the city. 



We have the honor to be, sir. 



Your most obedient servants, 



W. E. LOGAN, F. K. S., F. G. S., 

 Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. 

 T. STERRY HUNT, F. R. S., 

 Chemist and Mineralogid to the Geological Survey of Canada. 



S. B. WooLWORTH, LL. D., Secretary of the Board of Regents 



of the University of the State of New Yo7'k : 



Sir — In reply to the circular which I have had the honor to receive from 

 you, dated Albany, June 1, 1865, I would beg leave to offer the following 

 statements and views : 



In considering the nature and organization of an institution to be en- 

 grafted upon Ihe *' State Cabinet of Natural History," which shall be most 

 useful, appropriate and feasible, the following propositions seem to me to 

 approach the nature of axioms. I shall at least assume them as postulates : 



I. The plan must embrace adequate provision for the sacred preserva- 

 tion of the completeness and autheriticity of the " State Cabinet of Natural 

 History." 



II. The plan should embrace the acquisition of the magnificent cabinet 

 of Prof. Hall, which, besides being the grandest paleontological collection 

 in America, has had bestowed "upon it an immense amount of original in- 

 vestigation, and contains more type specimens of American species than 

 can ever again be collected together. Its loss to the State — especially if 

 its public Cabinet is to be maintained and made authentic — could never be 

 repaired. 



III. A mete museum, without memoirs, lectures, or instruction in any 

 form, would be in great daoger of degeneracy and decay. Activity is the 

 universal Uw of life. 



