58 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Henry through the Department of State, asking for an expression of opinion as to 

 its feasibility. The plan provided that each Government should designate a repre- 

 sentative bureau for the administration of all the affairs pertaining to exchanges. 



After extensive correspondence between the commission of exchanges at Paris, the 

 Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution with regard to 

 the position this country would take in the organization of a proposed exchange 

 bureau, it was finally made apparent that the Secretary of State was anxious to 

 make the Smithsonian Institution the Government's official representative in the 

 matter, its experience during more than a quarter of a century making it unquali- 

 fiedly the most efficient agency. The great expense, already burdensome to the 

 Institution, and which must necessarily be largely increased by assuming the duties 

 of the official medium of exchange of the Government, caused a renewal of effort in 

 the direction of obtaining financial assistance from Congress, and the Department of 

 State recommended that Congress should make an appropriation of $7,000 in aid 

 of the Institution for the year of 1881. An allowance, however, of $3,000 only was 

 granted. Even that amount was of great assistance, and admitted of the assump- 

 tion that annual appropriations would follow in course. 



The precedent of making Congressional appropriations in support of international 

 exchanges thus being established, appropriations were thereafter made yearly, and 

 in proportion more nearly commensurate with the growing demands of the service. 



Although the act providing for the distribution of fifty copies of all Government 

 publications was approved in 1867, the delay previously noted prevented their ship- 

 ment abroad until 1873, since which time cases have been forwarded at comparatively 

 regular intervals on an average of three cases each year, the parliamentary publica- 

 tions forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution in exchange being invariably for the 

 Library of Congress. 



Subsequent conferences held at Brussels in 1877 and 1880, and again in 1883, tended 

 to more fully perfect the plan inaugurated at the Paris congress. The articles of 

 agreement adopted at the conference in 1883 were referred by the Department of State 

 to the Smithsonian Institution for review, and on March 15, 1886, another conference 

 was called at Brussels, at which the articles were signed by duly appointed diplo- 

 matic delegates and laid before Congress, with the result that the agreement was 

 approved and made the subject of a proclamation by the President January 15, 1889. 

 The countries becoming parties to this agreement were Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Por- 

 tugal, Servia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. 



The second agreement, adopted by the same convention and by the same countries, 

 with the exception of Switzerland, provided for the immediate transmission of par- 

 liamentary journals and documents to the other countries signing the agreement as 

 soon as they were published. Uruguay and Peru subsequently became parties to 

 the agreement, making a total of ten States under treaty obligations to maintain 

 exchange relations. 



The first treaty, so far as this country was concerned, did not change the existing 

 practice of the exchange service as conducted by the Smithsonian Institution. The 

 second treaty, providing for the immediate exchange of parliamentary journals, has 

 not been made effective on the part of this Government through lack of action by 

 Congress, first, by not placing the necessary documents at the disposal of the exchange 

 bureau, and second, by not providing financial aid for carrying on the work; nor, in 

 fact, has this treaty been fully complied with by any of the contracting Governments. 



Although England, France, Germany, and Russia, it will be noticed, did not become 

 parties to the Brussels treaties, special exchange arrangements were made between 

 these countries and the United States under the act of Congress of 1867, and have 

 since been successfully conducted. 



In France and Russia exchange bureaus are supported as a part of the administra- 

 tive functions of their respective Governments, while between England and Germany 

 and the United States special arrangements have been made for the exchange of par- 

 liamentary publications. 



Although exchange relations have been established with nearly all civilized 



