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dependant upon the will of the public for renewal. An admission into the Academy upon equal terms, was not, therefore, an object of so great value to the artists; and the willingness which they expressed and felt for the adoption of that plan, was evidence of a disposition on their part, to measures of mutual accommodation. But it was apprehended by some, that the creation of a New Academy would alienate from them the minds of many of the most enlightened and influential of the community, interested as stockholders in the old. This would, indeed, have been a serious evil, had it been likely to befal them ; but would any canid and reasonable man have censured them for asking an equivalent for the services which they alone could render ?  Was it equitable that their productions should be a source of revenue to an institution in which they were allowed no voice, and no interest ?  And would gentlemen of liberality condemn them for demanding such a share in its government as should restore confidence to their body, and enable them to bring their whole energies to the task of building up, and supporting the establishment in which they were all alike interested ?
   In examining the government of the American Academy of Fine Arts, it will be perceived that there are two distinct and palpable interests - that of the Artists on the one hand, and that of the stockholders on the other.  The latter of these is the interest of those who hold the property of the Institution, and who have therefore an obvious right to voice in the management of its fiscal department.  The first is the interest of its contributors, whose works must form the principal attractions to its exhibitions, and consequently prove the permanent source from whence its revenue is derived.  On the excellence and attractive power of these depends the character of the Academy, and on the proper management of the schools, the premiums, the exhibitions, and the lectures, must depend on the improvement and cultivation of taste, both in the artist and the public.  To the direction of these matters, artists alone are competent, as being within the province of their own profession.