1877.] 



SENATE — No. 5. 



7 



The Corporation of the College now pays annually, in 

 salaries connected with the Museum, nearly as much as the 

 original income of the Museum itself. This makes a closer 

 official relation between the Museum and the University doubly 

 important, were it only for the fact that the specimens neces- 

 sarily accumulated by the instructors in the several depart- 

 ments of natural history are, under the present conditions, 

 merely deposited in the Museum without becoming an integral 

 part of its collections, thus depriving the institution of a great 

 element of stability. It is probable, indeed, that no change 

 in their disposition will be made, but it needlessly compli- 

 cates the care of the collections. 



The Faculty of the Museum, an independent body, distinct 

 from the Trustees and Corporation, and duly recognized in 

 the original articles of agreement between the two bodies, will 

 still continue to exist, and will retain as hitherto the whole 

 scientific direction of the institution and the care of the col- 

 lections. This Faculty appoints its own members, subject to 

 the approval of the Corporation ; they nominate the Curator 

 of the Museum and his assistants, and determine in a general 

 way the policy of the Museum. The direction of the instruc- 

 tion belongs to the Curator, who determines also the expendi- 

 tures, subject to the control of the Faculty. Thus, while the 

 Trustees have always held the real estate, collections, and 

 buildings, as. well as about $116,000 in trust as a permanent 

 fund, being in fact the guardians of the material interests of 

 the State therein involved, they have never had any voice in 

 the details of the management, the latter being intrusted to 

 the Faculty. It is not proposed, in making this transfer, to 

 alter in any way the status of the Museum Faculty as above 

 defined. With the establishment of the Peabody Museum, a 

 distinct trust was created for the maintenance of one branch 

 of natural history originally included in the plan of the 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the latter was thus 

 relieved from the necessity of providing for that department. 

 It is, however, most important that the scientific aims repre- 

 sented by these two institutions should not be disconnected, 

 and the transfer of the Museum trusts to the Corporation of 

 Harvard College enables the latter, as above stated, to assign 

 to the Peabody trustees a site for their new building on the 



