
          Washington May 14th 1849

My Dear Dr

I fear there will but
little chance of  the restoration of
Mr Shaw, to the situation you mention
Mr Collman informs me that the only
grounds of removal are as follows 
1 Incompetency - 2 Improper conduct
3 active political partizenship -
No person will be removed on account
of having voted against the administration
nor for having been appointed
on the removal of another person
by the local administration.

Dr Hitchcock of Amherst has just
finished a course of lectures on
geology in the Smithsonian building
to a full house and an attentive
and crowded audience. I am
convinced that much good may
be done in the way of free lectures
in Washington. No city in the
Union in proportion to its inhabitants
contains so many intelligent
        