336 
PROCEEDINGS Oi' 
1 
[ 1843 . 
Resolved, That the several propositions contained in the informal repoTt present¬ 
ed to the Institute by the committee appointed to devise and execute such measures 
aa may be deemed expedient to obtain contributions and other aid to the Institute, 
be approved and adopted by the Institute. 
Resolved, That the eloquent remarks of the Hon. Mr. Preston, Senator from 
South Carolina, addressed to the Institute on the 13th of June last, be published 
and distributed in the manner and for the purposes proposed by the committee. 
Resolved , That the circulars proposed to be addressed to prominent individuals 
by the committee, in order to obtain their aid in receiving and transmitting contri¬ 
butions, be sanctioned by the official signatures of the Px'esident and Secretary of 
the Institute. 
Resolved, That the committee be empowered to issue invitations in the name of 
the Institute, and to make all necessary arrangements for the meeting of the learn¬ 
ed men of our country, and of all persons who take an interest in the promotion 
of science, at the seat of Government, and at such a period of the session of Con¬ 
gress as the committee may deem expedient for the purposes suggested by them in 
their report. 
Resolved, That, for the purpose of carrying into effect the recommendation of 
the committee on this subject, the system proposed in the provisional report of the 
committee on exchanges be adopted. 
True extracts from the minutes : 
GARRETT R. BARRY, Recording Secretary, 
Circular No. 1, dated October 15, 1842, and signed by J. C. Spencer, Chairman , 
Wm. C. Preston, Lewis F. Linn, Joseph R. Ingersoll, Abbott Lawrence, Com. 
mittee; and circular No. 2, dated February 24, 1843, and signed by J. C. Spencer, 
Chairman, were read. 
The reading of the circulars having been concluded, Mr. Upshur proposed the 
following resolutions: 
Resolved, That the committee of five members, appointed in June, 1842, “to 
devise and execute such measures as may be most effectual to invite the liberality 
and public spirit of our countrymen in aid of the National Institute ; and to obtain 
contributions in money, property, and such articles as are adapted to its purposes,” 
be requested: 
1st. To appoint a member to supply the place of the late Hon. Dr. Linn, Senator 
from Missouri, deceased. 
2d. To add three more members to the committee, 
3d. To prepare a third circular, in which an appeal shall be made to the liberal» 
ity of the public. 
4th. To announce that the Hon. Mr. Adams has consented to deliver, at some 
future time, of which notice will be given, the annual discourse before the Insti¬ 
tute; and that the Hon. Mr. Walker has consented to deliver the address at the 
opening of the meeting called by the circular of the committee on the first Mon¬ 
day of April, 1844. 
5th. To make definitive arrangements for the details of the contemplated meet¬ 
ing of April next, and to see that they be fully carried into effect. 
And they were unanimously agreed to. 
The chairman appointed the following persons a committee to prepare the memo¬ 
rial to Congress: Mr. Richard S. Coxe, Mr. Peter Force, Col. J. J. Abert, Mr. A. 
0. Dayton, Mr. Francis Markoe, Jr. 
The Hon. Mr. Woodbury made the following remarks: 
Mr. Woodbury observed that he should accept the honor conferred on him of 
presenting the memorial to the Senate for relief to the Institute. He should do 
this, and support the measure, if necessary, for one or two reasons, which might 
have an influence with some in its favor, who, like him, would otherwise entertain 
doubts as to its being constitutional. The committee just appointed to draft the 
memorial might also deem it expedient, among other things, to state in it, and thus 
bring early to the attention of Congress, such views as were calculated to obviate 
any constitutional objection to relief; and hence he craved their indulgence, as well 
as that of the other gentlemen present, for detaining them a single moment with 
stating those reasons. The first one which had operated on him was, that the In¬ 
stitute was situated in the District of Columbia, over which Congress possessed 
the power of exclusive legislation ; a power much less limited in character than 
