WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1835_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State,
accompanying copies of certain papers relating to a bequest to the
United States by Mr. James Smithson, of London, for the purpose of
founding "at Washington an establishment under the name of the
Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge
among men." The Executive having no authority to take any steps for
accepting the trust and obtaining the funds, the papers are communicated
with a view to such measures as Congress may deem necessary.