RESIDUARY BEQUEST OF JAMES SMITHSON.

From Report of the Secretary for the year 1861.

Information has been received from London of the death, at an advanced age, of Madame de la Batut, the mother of the nephew of James Smithson, to whom an annuity was conceded as a compromise by the Hon. Richard Rush, with a view to the more expeditious realization of the Smithsonian legacy. The principal of this annuity, amounting to five thousand and fifteen pounds, (about $25,000,) will now be added to the bequest of Smithson, of which it originally formed a part.

From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, May 1, 1862.

The Secretary gave an account of the circumstances connected with the money left in England by Hon. Richard Rush, as principal of an annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson, and presented the following communications from Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, of London.

40 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,

London, W. C., May 16, 1861. SIR: We had the honor, in the year 1838, of acting professionally for the President of the United States in the suit in the English court of chancery, under which the funds for the foundation of the Institution (of which we address you as manager) were decreed to be paid over to him for the purpose of establishing the Institution. We have now to make to you as the manager thereof the following communication:

On referring to the papers connected with the Institution you will find that a sum of £5,015 three per cent. consols, part of the estate of Smithson, the founder, were retained in the court of chancery to answer a claim of one Madame de la Batut. That person was, in fact, entitled to a life interest in the fund, and at her death it was to revert to the President as an additional fund for the purposes of the Institution.

Madame de la Batut is now dead, so that the fund has become transferable to the President, and it will be requi

site for him, or some person duly authorized by him, to take the necessary steps to obtain a transfer.

We have had some communication with the solicitor of the lady's family, who writes as follows:

"My client Mr. La Batut, upon taking out administration to his late mother, Madame La Batut, to whom Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lewis Dickinson, by his will dated 17th July, 1819, gave half of the income of his property, for her life, will be entitled to an apportioned part of such income from the last payment, on the 22d March, 1858, to 10th September, in the same year, which would amount to about £70.

"The property originally consisted of French 5 per cent. rentes, payable 22d March, and 22d September, but by order of the court a sum of £5,015 three per cent. consols was invested in the name of the accountant general in this suit, to the separate account of Mary Ann de la Batut, the annuitant, to meet the payments of the life income. By the law of France, the life income is apportionable and payable up to the time of death, and Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson having been domiciled in France at the time of his death, that law will apply to this case.

"Will you be good enough, under these circumstances, to obtain the consent of your client in presenting a petition as to the £5,015 and the arrears of dividends due thereon, to ask for the payment to my client of the apportioned sum out of such arrears, without obliging him to go to the expense of proving the law of France upon this subject. I will hand you the necessary proof of death, the expense of which can be included in the necessary costs of the application."

We should recommend that the request contained in this letter be complied with.

We have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servants,

FLADGATE, CLARKE & FINCH.

To the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

Washington, U. S.

40 CRAVEN STREET, STRAND,

London, W. C., October 26, 1861. SIR: Your letter of the 14th August reached us in the long vacation which has just terminated, and we hasten to reply to it.

All that will be requisite to be done in the first instance is, that we should have the authority of the President of

the United States to present a petition for an order to have the fund paid to him. On our obtaining this order, a power of attorney will be sent out to the President authorizing some person here to receive from the court of chancery, and transmit to him, or to the managers of the Smithsonian Institution, the fund in question.

Having in the suit, had the honor of acting for the President, it might be within our functions to present the petition even without an express authority, but we did not deem it right to do so without some communication with the President or with the managers of the Institution.

Of course, although the order might be obtained without, the fund can only be dealt with on the signature of the President.

We have the honor to be, sir, your very obedient servants,

JOSEPH HENRY, Esq.,

FLADGATE, CLARKE & FINCH.

Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

On motion of Mr. Trumbull, it was

Resolved, That the Secretary and Executive Committee consult with the President of the United States and take such action as may be necessary for obtaining the money referred to in the communication from the solicitors in London.

From Report of the Secretary for the year 1862.

A power of attorney has been forwarded from the President of the United States to Messrs. Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, of London, authorizing them to collect the remainder of the Smithsonian fund, which was left, by the Honorable Mr. Rush, as the principal of an annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson. The power of attorney was forwarded to the care of Honorable Charles F. Adams, American minister to England, and the money, when collected, will be deposited with George Peabody & Co., bankers, London, subject to the order of the Institution.

From Report of the Secretary for the year 1863.

A part of the original bequest, amounting to £5,015, was left by Mr. Rush in England, as the principal of an annuity to be paid to the mother of the nephew of Smithson. The

annuitant having died, a power of attorney was sent, in November, 1862, to Messrs. Fladgate, Clarke & Finch to collect the money; but it has not yet been received. Although the whole legacy was awarded to Mr. Rush in behalf of the United States, after an amicable suit in chancery, various objections have been raised to allowing the small remainder to be sent to this country. These objections appear to be principally of a technical character, and are scarcely compatible with an equitable interpretation of the facts of the case. There should be no prejudice in England in regard to the construction placed upon the terms of the bequest and the policy which has been adopted, since one hundred and sixty-nine institutions in Great Britain and Ireland are recipients of the Smithsonian publications and specimens of natural history, and have enjoyed the advantages of its system of international exchange.

From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, January 25, 1864.

The Secretary called attention to the unexpected delays and embarrassments which had occurred in obtaining the remainder of the original bequest of Smithson left in England as the principal of an annuity to the mother of the nephew of Smithson, and read the correspondence on the subject with the attorneys, and also a letter from Hon. C. F. Adams, the American minister to England.

On motion it was

Resolved, That a committee be appointed, consisting of the Secretary, Mr. H. W. Davis, and Professor Bache, to confer with the Secretary of State and the British minister relative to the action of the English authorities in regard to the money due the Smithsonian Institution.

From Report of the Secretary for the year 1864.

It was mentioned in the last report that a part of the original bequest, amounting to £5,015, was left by Mr. Rush in England as the principal to secure an annuity payable to the mother of Smithson's nephew. The annuitant having died, a power of attorney was sent in November, 1863, to Messrs. Fladgate, Clarke & Finch, (the same firm originally employed by Mr. Rush,) to collect the money. After a considerable delay, arising principally from technical diffi

culties, the money was obtained and deposited to the order of the Institution, with George Peabody & Co., bankers, London. It was subsequently drawn through the agency of the Secretary of the Treasury, and in accordance with the law of Congress directing that the money of the Smithsonian bequest should be invested in United States securities, it was expended in the purchase of government bonds, bearing interest at the rate of 7 per cent. The amount realized in bonds of this denomination, at par, was $54,150. It was at first supposed that this money, or at least the interest upon it, could immediately be applied to the uses of the Institution, but from a critical examination of the enactments of Congress in reference to the Smithsonian fund, it was found that the appropriation of the bequest by the act organizing the establishment in 1846, related only to that part of the bequest which had already been received, and made no provision for the disposition of the residuary legacy which has just become available. It can scarcely be doubted, however, but that Congress intended to appropriate the whole of the bequest to the maintenance of the establishment; still, for this purpose, a special act will be required, and it is desirable that the sum recently received be deposited in the treasury on the same condition with the amount originally obtained; that the interest alone shall be subject to expenditure. In this connection it is proper to remark that Mr. Peabody, who received the deposit of the fund, so far from claiming the usual commission, allowed four per cent. on the money while it remained in his hands.

From Proceedings of the Board of Regents, February 2, 1865.

Professor Henry presented the question as to the disposition of the residuary legacy of Smithson which had been received from England, and was now on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States.

On motion of Hon. J. W. Patterson, it was

Resolved, That the Secretary be instructed to invest the money now on deposit with the Treasurer of the United States, derived from the residuary legacy of James Smithson, in United States bonds bearing 7 per cent. interest.

From Report of the Secretary for the year 1865.

It has been mentioned in the two preceding reports, that a part of the original bequest had been left in England as the