A BILL to establish a national school of mines.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tax levied and collected upon gold and silver bullion in the States and Territories situated in whole or in part west of the eastern base of the Rocky mountains be set apart, so long as the same shall be collected by the government, as a special fund for the endowment and support of a school of mines, to be located on the line of the Pacific railroad, west of the Rocky mountains, as near as practicable to the centre of the mining States and Territories.

[SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That each State and Territory located in whole or in part west of the eastern base of the Rocky mountains may appoint one member of a board of directors, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum; and in case of failure on the part of any State or Territory so to appoint, the President shall appoint such member by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; but no part of the fund herein provided for shall be expended in salaries, travelling or other personal expenses of the said board of directors.]

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the management of the institution shall be under the control of eight directors, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum. The directors shall be selected from the mining States and Territories, and appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold their office for four years, and until their successors are appointed and qualified: Provided, That the following named persons shall constitute the board of directors from the first day of July, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, until the first of July, eighteen hundred and seventy, namely: Sherman Day and William Ashburner, of California; F. A. Tritle and D. W. Welty, of Nevada; A. C. Gibbs, of Oregon; of Idaho; A. J. Simmons, of Montana; and John Pierce, of Colorado.

In case of failure of any of the above-named persons to serve, or should a vacancy occur from any other cause, the same shall be filled as herein before provided. The directors shall receive no compensation for their services, but their actual travelling and other expenses incurred while attending to the business of the institution shall be paid.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said board of directors shall have power to make rules and regulations for the organization and government of the school; shall appoint its professors, teachers, and officers, and exercise supervision and control over the fund herein appropriated.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no professor or teacher (or other officer] of this institution shall be removed except upon charges and specifications duly investigated by the board of directors, and the decision of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom the facts and the evidence shail be reported, shall be conclusive.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That tuition in this institution shall be free to any citizen of the United States who may present proper evidences of qualification, to be determined by the faculty; and it shall also be free to students from other countries, duly recommended by the authorities of the schools in which they shall have become qualified; but all expenses for books and stationery, and all personal expenses for lodging, subsistence, and travelling, shall be borne by the students themselves.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the primary object of the school being an increase of the bullion product of the country, by the practical application of science to mining, and the diffusion of correct knowledge among miners as to the best methods of treating the ores, no charge shall be made for assays, tests, metallurgical or other experiments, except to cover the actual cost of material used.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury, on and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, shall set apart the fund hereby appropriated for the purpose named in this act; and he shall, after receiving a report from the board of directors, locate the scliool and furnish plans and specifications for all necessary buildings and improvements, which shall be plain and substantial, and upon the most economical plan consistent with the purposes of the institution.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That in order that the board of directors may be placed in possession of the most approved systems of education, the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause an examination to be made of the principal mining schools of Europe, and a report to be prepared upon the same, the expense of such service to be paid out of the unexpended balance of the appropriation heretofore made for the collection of mining statistics] funds of the institution.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the duties now performed by the special commissioner appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury to collect mining statistics in the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains, shall, upon the organization and completion of the school of mines created by this act, be performed under a permanent system by the faculty of said institution, and their report shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, to be by him laid before Congress.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the professors and teachers, under the direction of the president of the institution, shall make [annual] visits to the principal mining districts, accompanied by their respective classes, for the purpose of examining the mines, mills, and modes of working, and instructing the pupils in the practical operations of mining and metallurgy; and the said professors and teachers shall also, as far as their time will permit, give free lectures to the miners on geology, mineralogy, metallurgy, and mining engineering, and kindred subjects. And the faculty may require, as a part of the regular course of instruction, the pupils to engage for a prescribed period in practical mining and milling.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall require from the directors and from the disbursing officer or officers appointed by the board of directors such bonds and vouchers as he may deem necessary for the security and proper disbursement of the fund.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacied, That from and after the expiration of the fiscal year commencing July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, not exceeding one-half of the fund arising from the tax levied upon gold and silver bullion shall be expended by or on behalf of the institution, the [remaining half to] remain. der shall be set apart by the Secretary of the Treasury and invested in government securities, which shall remain, both principal and interest, a permanent fund for the support and maintenance of the institution; and no part of the moneys so reserved, [half] either principal or interest, shall be drawn so long as the gov ernment shall continue to impose a tax upon gold and silver bullion, but after such tax shall have ceased the interest on the reserved fund shall be used for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned.