REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 31 



States army ; Surgeon General Barnes ; Paymaster General Brice : Gen- 

 eral Dyer, ebief of ordnance; Commodore Jenkins, chief of bureau of 

 ordnance and hydrography, Navy Department; General Myer, chief 

 signal officer. 



For official co-operation with the Institution in its various plans for 

 the promotion of knowledge and important assistance rendered, besides 

 the foregoing, we may mention Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of 

 State; Hon. Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury; Hon. Horace 

 Capron, Commissioner of Agriculture ; General Meigs, Quartermaster 

 General; Mr. Spofford, librarian of Congress; Professor J. H. C. Coffin, 

 superintendent Nautical Almanac; and Commodore Sands, of the Na- 

 tional Observatory. 



In 1807 a proposition was made to the Institution by the librarian of 

 Congress relative to establishing and conducting a system of exchange 

 of official documents between the government of the United States and 

 those of other nations. In accordance with this, a circular was addressed 

 to the different governments having relations with the United States for 

 the purpose of ascertaining their views as to such an exchange. In 

 every case the proposition was regarded with favor, and at the ensuing 

 session of Congress an act was passed directing that 50 full sets of all 

 documents published at the Government Printing Office should be set 

 apart for the purpose in question, and appropriating a sufficient sum 

 to defray the necessary expenses. Unfortunately, however, Congress 

 neglected to direct the public printer to strike off the necessary copies 

 for this purpose, in addition to the regular number previously required 

 for the use of the government, and it was not until recently that the 

 necessary legislation was procured to remedy this omission. As soon 

 as the printing of the documents of the present session of Congress is 

 completed, the exchange proposed will be initiated. In anticipation of 

 the receipt of the annual supply of the documents of our government, 

 several large packages containing documents of foreign countries have 

 iDeen already received. 



At the commencement of the system of international exchanges, great 

 delay and considerable expense were incurred in consequence of custom- 

 house requirements and tariff duties, but as the importance of the system 

 became more evident, and the reputation of the Institution better estab- 

 lished, one government after another consented to the entrance of pack- 

 ages without examination and free of all restrictions, until at the present 

 time there is no exception to this practice. 



The first effort towards the establishment of this desirable condition 

 of free intercourse was made in 1852, through Sir Henry Bulwer, then 

 minister from Great Britain to the United States. Through his recom- 

 mendations the British authorities at first permitted the entry of such 

 books from the Institution intended as presents to learned bodies as 

 might be recommended for that privilege by the Royal Society of London. 

 This, though an important concession, was still attended with consider- 



