New-York daily tribune., 1858-08-03

Tru,,ees. tie Superintendent Of tie Ccss. Survey
erected o building IN which were placed the Coast
Survey instruments. II wss then tha. Dr. Go7ld BE-
came residen. Director Of the Observatory and took
poefessop with Lie sssstAnts, OF the house assigned
Inn by Ire Trustees, which he furnished himself
Here they expected to remain fcr 81 least *o years IN
the sduous SID grs,uous service Of tbs Observs;ory
for which Or. Gculd bad slready expended some
ttoussrds of donaIs-excep,irg only the si1 hou-s
day which heir seryce 10 the Coss. Survey demanded
Now, upon discussion of tie !>gal power of the
Trustees to tear down this building, erected Oh t1er
grounds by the Superintendent OF tue Coast Sarv-y
sid their legal night to pitch rto the street the decs,e
ard co,y instruments plseed there under the care OF
Dr. Gould, and 20 VAN him and his associates of the
n,emses. We shall not enter. Whether there b. sry
qus -on as to these PORTS the Coas can deere but
where the neral rsh. lies thirk there csn be no
question.
The msicriy of the Trustees, observe tHe C1m-
rnittee manifestly hi. rGerstoOd and mistaken
entirely the .erns which tie Scentfc Couhcl
ard the Director accepted their gres. uus, ana 'ne
-saticp in which they stood - the Trustee and IN
which tie Trustees stood 10 them aud N waich oosn
stood TO the Observatory. They seem 10 have taken
up tie nCiiop end they have &C ed upon II 10 most
dsssrcus cor cusion that ths seienthc Councli ana
the Dir. ctor were in their vice; they have tres9d
tie Scientific Council SID DR.. Gould, precisely as II
tae relson between tie Trustees and tnem wa. ms,
az master ard servants. They were no more IN tie
service of tie Trustees than the Trus.ees were 10
theirs Trey were in tie service OF tie Dud,ey Oo,
ssrystory which put in their sion snd aced
in their aIge and in the service OF science SSnce
was ther mssieI-Lot the Trustees Ihe Iiusees,
too He,e in n service Of the Observatory, but 10
sense bssrr TO comparison dgLity sud importance
10 that in which the ScieLt hc Council were engage
We do rot dispute the legal position OF The Trustees,
or their esal power, under ceartI "hen creates
close corn rsiion II is Only when they employ their
legal .. wer to cover and justify the exercise OF pre-
rogstyt as ell in matters OF servce a. IN autnory,
which, the nature of things DO not ana eanno' De-
long 10 them, that protest against II.
"The Scientific Council was one body, snu IN tne
responsibilities Of the charge they undefto k 10 ds-
tinction wss 70 be msde, or admitted, between the
Council and CT theiE number, who wac to reside
on the premises and act as Director Of the Observa
t,ry. He was here, not as Director only, out as a
member tf the Council; and in his person, as the
trusted ard faithful executive ohcer representative
ard asso ociste Of the Council, the Council was nefe
conducting the scientific aifars OF the Ooservstory
His possession her Possession, his duty was their
duty, bis responsibility was their responnollity.'
TIE Scientific Council then thus in possession of
the Observatory snd ths too, by the act of the rns'
tees Themselves. Whatever may be the powers OF the
Trustees, under the charter, their authority aud its
autboly were used TO place and coniirm the Council
in that possession. 1t was given to them continued
the Committee,
Because without it, they could not conduct i!s
scent &c operations The principal ob.e 'er ana bis
assistants must live on the premises dW ,hug house
was erected for this purpose. The observatory build
Jug was constructed 10 contain tho recess3ry scentnc
library ard to hold snd to work the necessary scientific
apparatus ard instruments. The exclusive commsud
coLirol of this buiclDg and all u CONTAINS must
necessarily be in the resident Director. lie became,
by the act of the Trustees the tenant in possession OF
the building and premises, upon the ground and oo-
gs,ors of AL the terms EXPRESSED, and al the terms
implied in the arrangement. The immediate and di-
rect possession paced out OF heir hands aud INTO
his az they had no legal right, ss Trustees, to n-
tIude al any tine irjuIiousy or ofenslvey upon him
in his proper possesslOr. lie was the tenant 10 pos
sessop and such, be had interests TO protect-not
personal cnly, but publc-and those not their llter
ests but the interests of the Observatory and OF
science No Director Of Obsei ystory, consistently
with his duty, could permit intrusioLs from euyboiy
Trustee not, at hous inconyenent 70 his Systematic
lators nirusi-rs at eny hours IN bis sosetce un
less uLeeT rules ard regulations which should
guard the delicate instruments under hs charge, and
the delicate oifcult, and complicated operations he
might be carrying oD, from dagger oi disturbance or
dersrgemeH.
An tlis seems so clear, so plain 80 ildmputaoe tins
we marvel that any gairsay If, or, if hs ha
snyti ing to say about it, cay anything but that
sards TO reason, ina, it sards to common sense, iha
/. ssrds 10 Justice, that the Council alt gehsr in
the hight. and tLe Trustees altogether and most unhap
ply sr most lucierousy, in the wrong Where then
if we axe Tbs view Of t. shaI fnd The cause OF 80
much bitter feeling 20 much acrimonious controversy,
ard of such outrageous proceedings the psrt OF one
of the parties to the dispute The readers OF IHt
TRrRryy will remember that We said some two or
,h,ee weeks ago that when the original causes o THIS
difficulty should be made public they would be found
psrt,y in the wouudai vanity and partly in the glor
ance Of some members Of the Board OF Trustees. AId
this enclusion, which We drew almost exclu.lvely
from tie speech Of Mr.. Ooot, ia confirmed by the re-
rort of the Committee. True il seems TO have been
known ana il s asserted by this Committee, thatth're
was a sort of Secret Circle"-for "circlss' seem
weakness of the President of the Board OF Trustees
composed of TWO or three persors, who, from the De-
ginning were hostile to Dr. Gould, and determined 10
get rid OF him. What were the of their hoslity
there seems TO be even rational conjecture But II
did Z OF make itself manifet ia any overt oihcial act
till af er the reception of Dr. Goulds letter OF May d.
lp 10 thst time there nothing on which to hang
spy ,ficsl charge Of "corstsny recurring dlfiieul.
| ties OF "want Of harmony and the Necessity o'
"some rew arrangement" but the letter OF Dr. 6oua
in reply 10 the resoluons of the Board calling upon
him in effect 10 become the Superintendent OF al in-
s,runep,al Museum, and public promenste Tor tue
Albany nurses and their interesting charges was 'na'
drop too much in the cup Of bitterness when the
Gent teens 10 think somebody was calling upon niui 70
drain Whether it that gentle nars ia'en'ion !"
create an open quarrel between Or. Gouid anu ."e
Board by bringing the sttsrto ssk somsthns 10 "neu
be knew the former would never scoede or wne'nei NC
honestly thought that the Observatory was pretty
plsy.thirg for the larger Albany children, ahd 'ne
grounds good place for cricket leap-fIog aad ''o'
ball for the smaller oues, perhaps we sDa'' "'''
know But this a, least. s certsin, that no sooner La"
Dr. Gould ieclinedto become party to such cn'Dse
in tie purposes OF the Observatory, than the
WAS issued 70 the Council and al oical relations os