his removal from Washington to Saint Louis, Mo., rendering him ineligible for re-election, the law of organization requiring two members of the Board to be citizens of the District of Columbia. Dr. Welling, president of Columbian University, is the only member from this city at present, he having been elected by Congress at its last session a Regent for six years, until May 13, 1890. The term of service of an unusually large number of Regents will expire during the winter of 1885-1886. As "members at large," Rev. Dr. John Maclean, of New Jersey, Prof. Asa Gray, of Massachusetts, and Dr. Henry Coppée, of Pennsylvania, will cease to be members on the 19th of December next; and as the Forty-ninth Congress will commence its session in the same month, it will become the duty of the Speaker to appoint three Regents from the House of Representatives. The term of Hon. N. P. Hill, of Colorado, as Senatorial Regent, expired on the 3d of March, 1885, and on March 25, 1885, the Vice President, Mr. Hendricks, appointed Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois, as Regent during his term of service as United States Senator. The Vice-President on the same date also re-appointed Hon. J. S. Morrill, of Vermont, for a new term of six years. Until the next meeting of the Board of Regents, in January, 1886, the vacancy existing in the Executive Committee by the expiration of the term of General Sherman was filled by the appointment of Dr. Henry Coppée ad interim, by the remaining members of the committee. The Board at its last meeting adopted an important resolution, ordering that the fiscal year of the Institution shall terminate on the 30th of June of each year. This changes the practice of the Institution since its organization, and will occasion some difficulty in arranging tables of comparison of receipts and expenditures for annual periods. The reason for the change is that the fiscal year of the Government terminates in June, and as the appropriations made by Congress for the Museum, the exchange system, ethnological researches, &c., are for this period, it was thought advisable for the accounts of the Institution to conform to those of the General Government. The accounts of the Institution have therefore been given in this report only for the six months terminating on the 30th of June, 1885. Change in the time of printing the Report.-It was also ordered by the Board that "the Secretary shall hereafter prepare and cause to be printed and sent to each member of the Board, on or before the 1st day of December in each year, his annual report." Difficulty has always been experienced in the early printing of the Annual Report of the Institution. The organic act, August 10, 1846, provides that "the Board" of Regents "shall submit to Congress, at each session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution.* In accordance with this law the Board has annually submitted to Congress a report of the operations of the Institution, which has been ordered to be printed and a number of extra # * Revised Statutes, Title LXXIII, Section 5593. copies granted for its use and distribution. The Public Printer however has not felt authorized to put any part of the report in type before the adoption by Congress of a special resolution to print the extra copies referred to, and as there has frequently been great delay in the passage of the concurrent resolution, many months have frequently elapsed between the annual meeting of the Board and the printing of the report. The best illustration of this delay is furnished by reference to the report of the Institution for the year 1883, which, although submitted to Congress on the 21st of January, 1884, was actually not ordered to be printed till July, 1884, and not delivered to the members and to the Institution until August, 1885. To remedy this evil and to secure prompt publication, the Regents adopted the resolution referred to above at its last meeting, and by the efforts of the members of the Board in the Senate and House of Representatives secured the passage of the following joint resolution by Congress, No. 18, approved by the President of the United States March 3, 1885: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution shall be hereafter printed at the Government Printing Office, in the same manner as the annual reports of the heads of Departments are now printed, for submission in print to the two Houses of Congress." The intent of this act is to instruct the Public Printer to print the Annual Report of the Regents whenever copy shall be furnished, so that the whole report may be presented to Congress in printed form at the commencement of each session. The statute under which the reports of Departments are printed is as follows: "The head of each Department, except the Department of Justice, shall furnish to the Congressional Printer copies of the documents usually accompanying his annual report, on or before the first day of November in each year, and a copy of his annual report on or before the third Monday of November in each year.* "It is further provided that of the documents accompanying the annual reports of the Executive Departments one thousand copies shall be printed and bound for the use of the members of the Senate, and two thousand copies for the use of the members of the House of Representatives, in addition to the usual number for Congress, 1,900 copies."t While the printing of the report is now secured without a special order at each session of Congress, it will still be necessary to have a concurrent resolution every year for the printing of extra copies for the use of the Institution. FINANCES. The financial condition of the Institution continues to be satisfactory. The Smithson fund remains the same as at the date of the last report, * Revised Statutes, Title IV, section 196. + Revised Statutes, Title XLV, section 3798. his removal from Washington to Saint Louis, Mo., rendering him ineligible for re-election, the law of organization requiring two members of the Board to be citizens of the District of Columbia. Dr. Welling, president of Columbian University, is the only member from this city at present, he having been elected by Congress at its last session a Regent for six years, until May 13, 1890. The term of service of an unusually large number of Regents will expire during the winter of 1885-1886. As "members at large," Rev. Dr. John Maclean, of New Jersey, Prof. Asa Gray, of Massachusetts, and Dr. Henry Coppée, of Pennsylvania, will cease to be members on the 19th of December next; and as the Forty-ninth Congress will commence its session in the same month, it will become the duty of the Speaker to appoint three Regents from the House of Representatives. The term of Hon. N. P. Hill, of Colorado, as Senatorial Regent, expired on the 3d of March, 1885, and on March 25, 1885, the Vice President, Mr. Hendricks, appointed Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois, as Regent during his term of service as United States Senator. The Vice-President on the same date also re-appointed Hon. J. S. Morrill, of Vermont, for a new term of six years. Until the next meeting of the Board of Regents, in January, 1886, the vacancy existing in the Executive Committee by the expiration of the term of General Sherman was filled by the appointment of Dr. Henry Coppée ad interim, by the remaining members of the committee. The Board at its last meeting adopted an important resolution, ordering that the fiscal year of the Institution shall terminate on the 30th of June of each year. This changes the practice of the Institution since its organization, and will occasion some difficulty in arranging tables of comparison of receipts and expenditures for annual periods. The reason for the change is that the fiscal year of the Government terminates in June, and as the appropriations made by Congress for the Museum, the exchange system, ethnological researches, &c., are for this period, it was thought advisable for the accounts of the Institution to conform to those of the General Government. The accounts of the Institution have therefore been given in this report only for the six months terminating on the 30th of June, 1885. Change in the time of printing the Report.-It was also ordered by the Board that "the Secretary shall hereafter prepare and cause to be printed and sent to each member of the Board, on or before the 1st day of December in each year, his annual report." Difficulty has always been experienced in the early printing of the Annual Report of the Institution. The organic act, August 10, 1846, provides that "the Board" of Regents "shall submit to Congress, at each session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution.* In accordance with this law the Board has annually submitted to Congress a report of the operations of the Institution, which has been ordered to be printed and a number of extra * Revised Statutes, Title LXXIII, Section 5593. copies granted for its use and distribution. The Public Printer however has not felt authorized to put any part of the report in type before the adoption by Congress of a special resolution to print the extra copies referred to, and as there has frequently been great delay in the passage of the concurrent resolution, many months have frequently elapsed between the annual meeting of the Board and the printing of the report. The best illustration of this delay is furnished by reference to the report of the Institution for the year 1883, which, although submitted to Congress on the 21st of January, 1884, was actually not ordered to be printed till July, 1884, and not delivered to the members and to the Institution until August, 1885. To remedy this evil and to secure prompt publication, the Regents adopted the resolution referred to above at its last meeting, and by the efforts of the members of the Board in the Senate and House of Representatives secured the passage of the following joint resolution by Congress, No. 18, approved by the President of the United States March 3, 1885: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution shall be hereafter printed at the Government Printing Office, in the same manner as the annual reports of the heads of Departments are now printed, for submission in print to the two Houses of Congress." The intent of this act is to instruct the Public Printer to print the Annual Report of the Regents whenever copy shall be furnished, so that the whole report may be presented to Congress in printed form at the commencement of each session. The statute under which the reports of Departments are printed is as follows: "The head of each Department, except the Department of Justice, shall furnish to the Congressional Printer copies of the documents usually accompanying his annual report, on or before the first day of November in each year, and a copy of his annual report on or before the third Monday of November in each year. "It is further provided that of the documents accompanying the annual reports of the Executive Departments one thousand copies shall be printed and bound for the use of the members of the Senate, and two thousand copies for the use of the members of the House of Representatives, in addition to the usual number for Congress, 1,900 copies."t While the printing of the report is now secured without a special order at each session of Congress, it will still be necessary to have a concurrent resolution every year for the printing of extra copies for the use of the Institution. FINANCES. The financial condition of the Institution continues to be satisfactory. The Smithson fund remains the same as at the date of the last report, * Revised Statutes, Title IV, section 196. + Revised Statutes, Title XLV, section 3798. $703,000, deposited forever in the United States Treasury, from which is received an annual interest of 6 per cent. This interest is paid on the 1st of January and 1st of July, and the money immediately placed in the hands of the Treasurer of the United States, who keeps a special account of it. All payments are made by checks on this officer, signed by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. A monthly statement is rendered by the Treasurer of all checks paid and of the balances. This is compared with the books kept by the accountant of the Institution. A quarterly examination is made by the Executive Committee of the Regents of all the financial transactions of the Institution. The members of the committee sign a certificate, of which the annexed is a copy: CERTIFICATE. WASHINGTON, D. C., 18-. The undersigned members of the executive committee of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have examined the account for for the— enddollars, and the expenditures to dollars, as entered in the journal, pages 18-, the receipts amounting to dollars, leaving a balance of to —, inclusive; and certify the same to be correct. For each disbursement there is a voucher approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and certified by an agent of the Institution that the articles or services charged therein were required and furnished on account of the objects specified, and that the same were necessary and the charges reasonable. The balance above stated corresponds with the certificate of the 18-. of Department Executive Committee. The change of the fiscal year of the Institution, to terminate on the 30th of June instead of the 31st of December, renders it necessary to state in this report the receipts and expenditures for six months only, viz, from January 1 to July 1, 1885: General expenses, salaries, supplies, books, &c. 11, 417 07 21,090 00 $23, 746 82 Interest on the Smithson fund for the six months ending Total on hand July 1, 1885.... The appropriations made by Congress for the system of Exchanges, ander the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, have been disbursed by Maj. T. J. Hobbs, of the Treasury Department; those for ethnological |