April, 1892.] Proceedings.

PROCEEDINGS.

SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING, APRIL 27, 1SÖ2, AT THE HALL OF THEAMERICAN ACADEMY OF AltTS AND SCIENCES, BOSTON.

PRESIDENT STEI'IIEN SALISBUKY, A.M., in the chair.The meeting w;is called to order at 10.45 A. M.The following members were present:—George E. Ellis, Edward E. Hale, George F. Hoar,

Natiianiel Paine, Stephen Salisbury, P. Emory Aldrich,Samuel A. Green, Elijah B. Stoddard, James F.Hunneweil,Egbert C. Smyth,. Edward H. Hail, Albert H. Hoyt,Edward G. Porter, Charles C. Smith, Edmund M. Barton,Thomas L. Nelson, Lueius ß . Paige, Charles A. Chase,Samuel S. Green, Justin Winsor, Henry W. Haynes,Solomon Lincoln, Andrew McF. Davis, J. Evarts Greene,Henry S. Nourse, William.W. Eice, Robert N. Toppan^Henry H. Ecles, Grindall Reynolds, Edward Channing,Frank P. Goulding, James P. Baxter, Thomas Chase,A. George Bullock, G. Stanley Hall, John M. Merriam,William E. Foster, Hamilton A. Hill, John F. Jameson,Charles P. Bowditch, Edwin D. Mead, Calvin Stebbius,'Francis H. Dewey, Charles J. Hoadly.

The PRESIDENT.—"I take pleasure in reading a letterwhich 1 have received from the Hon. KOBEKT C. WINTIJKOP,

our senior member. It is a most agreeable evidence of hiscontinued interest in the prosperity of the Society" :

NEW YOKK, 25 April, 1892.STEPHEN SALISBURY, ESQ.,

My dear Mr. President : —Your kind letter of the 19th inst. reached me just as I

was leaving home last week. I am really sorry to beabsent from the Semi-Annual meeting of the American

2 Ainerican Antiquarian Society. [April,

Antiquarian Society, and I thank you sincerely for assuringaie that my attendance would be peculiarly welcome. ButI am proposing to extend my journey as ñir as Washington,and must abandon all idea of being with you. It wouldo-ive me pleasure to he recognized once more by the Societyas its senior member, and to express personally tbe interestand pride which I take in their proceedings.

Fray present my best wishes and kindest regards to themembers, and accept them for yourself.

Yours, very truly,RoBT. C. WINTHROP.

As a part of the Report of the Council, NATHANIEL

PAINE, Esq., read biographical sketches of the following-named deceased members : — D O M PEDRO, former Emperorof Brazil ; JOHN E . MASON, M.D., of Washington, D. C. ;and JOHN GEOUGE METCALF, M.D., of Mendon, Mass. Healso announced the death of Mr. CHARLES B . SALISBURY,

of Little York, N. Y.In continuation of the report. Rev. GEORGE E . ELLIS,

D.D., read an essay upon "The History of the Earth inLibraries and Museums."

The report of the Treasurer, NATHANIEL PAINE, Esq.,was submitted in print.

The report of the Librarian was read by Mr. EDMUND

M. BARTON.

Dr. G. STANLEY HALL said : —" I move that the report of the Council be accepted and

referred to the committee of publication. I think it avery rare opportunity for men somewhat younger than Dr.ELLIS to listen to a report conveying in relatively briefcompass the verdict of a life unusually rich and of a natureunusually gifted, about these fundamental problems of life.It stimulates the ambition of younger men with referenceto the object of all learning and culture. To see how allthese conflicting literary, scientific and religious controver-sies of the present day have affected such a mind, whatdeposit they have left and what aggregate result they have

1892.] Proeeedings. 3

brought in its maturest years and in full possession of itspower, is il very great privilege, and I think the Societyought to be congratulated on a paper which deals with theseprofound questions. But as a very modest worker in thefield of science, I wish to add one single word to the driftof that paper. It seems to lne that those who work iuspecially limited fields, as I do, and as many others do,have a horizon and a perspective for which Dr. ELLIS doesnot give us credit. Most zealous scientific men, mostwho have made an original contribution to the sum of theworld's knowledge, have a conviction that the universe islawful to the core, and that it is animated at the bottom liya principle of love and good will toward man, the highestproduct of nature. It seems to me that clearly and dis-tinctly over and above all those distractions which Dr.ELLIS deals with and with which he has more or less diffi-culty,— over and above all these, this is the thought that isdawning in the very heart of science and which is certainto make it, m a very few decades, the teacher of men withregard to religious truth, just as it is now with regard tonatural truth. The mediating standpoint is at hand. Thebeginnings of this new departure are already visible. Yousee it for instance in the movement in France known as the'New Christianism,' and the 'New Idealism.' We see therein the very heart of that country to-day, the literary andscientific, the roots of a deeper faith than perhaps the worldhas ever known, animating men, not professionally religious,to a zealousness in the belief in the ideal and of the moi'aland ethical good which the human race has cherished at itshighest points, a uniformity of zeal which to my mind is anentirely new note in the modern movement of the scientificand literary world. Not only that, but in the field ofscience, especially in those intimate departments of itwhich treat the border-line between mind and matter, thehigher biology and anthropology, we find a conviction, afaith, which not only finds spirit and life in one great source

4 American Antiqitarian Society. [April,

ut the bottom of the world, but which goes far beyond thatand which sees in immanence on the one hand—that whichDr. ELLIS calls the egg—and transcendence, his dove, onthe other, these two extremes which have been called thepoles of human thought, not diversity but unity only.Thus the best scientific men, those who work in this field,are—I believe I am not misrepresenting them — kindledwith the faith that a new unity is to come out of things andis already apparent, which shall be neither immanence nortranscendence exclusively, but which shall be one in both,as the Old Testament lies hid in the New and the Newreveals the Old. It shall bring men's thoughts together,with a perspective which brings out these local truths andinto a concurrence which the world has not seen, in amonism just as important to faith and as stimulating toscience as it is to literature and religion, and which willmurk as important an epoch in the history of human thoughtas did monotheism in the old sacred days of its firstinception. The old tortured and tortuous and distracteddualism of Huxley, Tyndall and their contemporaries, isnot the standpoint of the newer lines of science. It ispurely because Dr. ELLIS, ignores this that his conclusionsseem to me to lack not only relief and perspective but fun-damental faith in unity, law and love."

Dr. ELLIS : — " I was able to read but a third of my man-uscript. I accept and recognize tho point which Dr. HALL

has stated, and which if he shall ever read the whole of mymanuscript in print he will find I have not passed withoutrecognition."

The report of the Council was then accepted.G. STANLEY HALL, LL.D., read the following sketch of

ti plan for improving the usefulness of the Library :—The writer of the report of the Council for 1883, soon

after the lamented death of Dr. Haven, discusses thequestion —

I, * * « « * jjow far the Society is coming short of thehigh ideal which it ought in some way to attain, and in

1892.] Proceedings. 5

danger of losing its position of leadership among the greatinstitutions of the kind in our country * * * * - * .

" * * • * * * The strict line of duty of the painstakinglibrarian in so large an institution as ours, and the faithfuldischarge of it, may well fill the measure of an honorableambition for a useful life. We want, in addition, notinstead, the devoted service of a man of high education, ofintellectual power and leadership, somewhat known already,and with promise of growth and development. The titleby which his office shall be known is immaterial—Director,Superintendent, Regent, Censor, Rector. By whatevername known, his office must be to maintain, by his scholar-ship, his intellectual presence and dignity, his love of anddevotion to the studies of this Society, his high personalcharacter, and his relations to scholars, the standards ofinfluence and authority which Mr. Haven set up. Compe-tent to represent the Society at the gatherings and conven--tions of scholars abroad, he must have the qualities ofpersonal magnetism which make personal association andco-operation agreeable, and receive scholars at the librarywith a scholar's welcome * * *.

" * * * * * There would seem few fitter objects to-day,within the realm of learning and scholarship, to bring tothe attention of rich and liberal men, than the endowmentof this Society with what might be termed a 'Rector'sFund' of fifty, sixty, or seventy-five thousand dollars, theincome of which, with some small measure of privateresources, would enable a genuine and enthusiastic man ofhigh qualifications, to devote himself to maintaining, evenextending, the reputation of the Society for high attain-ments in broad and liberal studies, as well as for the safekeeping and orderly arrangement of articles deposited in itsvaults and alcoves * * » * »."

Three years later, in 1886, Hon. GEORGE F . HOAR, inaccepting the office of president, said as follows : —

" * * * * * If the Librarian and his assistants areengrossed by the care and increase of such collections * * *we need some person who shall direct and pursue theoriginal investigations for which, in part, the Society wasestablished, — such a person as Mr. Haven was, such aperson as George P. Marsh would have been, if he hadlived to come home and pursue his studies in his old age.

6 American Antiquarian Society. [April,

To a fund for the salary of a Secretary of Publication andKesearch should be added an increase of our present meansfor publication. Without something of this sort, theSociety cannot maintain its old place at the head of Ameri-can institutions devoted to its special objects. It cannoteven long maintain a respectable rank among the numerouslocal societies that are springing up ; and there is dangerthat it may in future times itself become an olyeet of anti-quariau research * * * *.'•

Since these opinions were expressed, the need theyreferred to has steadily grown with the growth of theSociety, and will continue to become more urgent. Aninformal meeting of the Worcester membei's of the Councilwas, therefore, called by President SALISBURY at his houseon November 7, 1891, which was attended by the followingmembers : Stephen Salisbury, George F. Hoar, P. EmoryAldrich, Nathaniel Paine, Samuel S. Green, Charles A.Chase, Edward L. Davis, J. Evarts Greene and G. StanleyHall. After an expression of opinion by all the memberspresent, a committee consisting of'G. Stanley Hall, GeorgeF. Hoar, Samuel S. Green, Nathaniel Paine and StephenSalisbury, was chosen to act as a sub-committee to reportto the Worcester members of the Council. Their report,as revised and approved, is as follows : —

The Amei'ican Antiquarian Society has never been in abetter condition in all its departments than it is at present.The Library and collections in the hall are steadily increas-ing in extent and in value. The Librarian, Mr. Barton, whoseindustry and courtesy are worthy of high praise, makesthe collections of the Society not only accessible to the

. public but useful to the members of the Soeiety, as neverbefore. An excellent card-catalogue, by Miss Eobinson, iswell on the way toward completion. The meetings of theSociety, held twice a year, have never been more largelyattended, or more interesting, protitable and delightful tothe members. The character of the pa|iers issued underthe direction of the Committee of Publication is vei'y high.

1892.] Proceedings. 7

and will hear comparison -with those of any other similarinstitution, or with those which the Society has publishedin former times.

The present condition and outlook make it the duty of theSociety to make some new provisions for the security of itspossessions, for increased facilities in their use, and forsaving the President, Library Committee and Librarianfrom a great and steadily increasing burden of labor andresponsibility far in excess of anything that has beenimposed upon either hitherto, or that was contemplated bythe early plan of the Society.

It is also clearly desirable tbat at the same time theSociety should make its material more useful in the promo-tion of the objects for which it was founded. We havemuch unpublished and unedited matter, a great deal of itknown, and probably a great deal of it unknown to anyone,which, as it now exists, is of no use to any save those whoare able to visit the Library in person. The Committeeare, therefore, unanimous in the conviction that the Societyshould itself cause to be made public some of the richmaterial in its possession, under the direction of a well-trained historical scholar, who should devote his time tothis work and who should be able not only to edit, but todraw from his material such deductions in the way of his-torical truth as it may warrant.

We are convinced that a faithful and industrious scholar,working under the direction of the Society itself, and hav-ing access to the Library under its rules, might make, fromtime to time, very important eontributions to Americanhistory and antiquities which would result in great creditto the Society and tend much to the advancement of tlieends for which it was founded. This would in no wisediminish the value or interest of the work done by membersof the Society, or diminish the interest in its regular meet-ings, or change anything whatever in its present organiza-tion or customs. All these ends we desire in this way to

8 American Antiquarian Society. [April,

confirm, enhance and enlarge. We believe that whileincreasing the value of our published contributions wemight also, in this way, find it desirable to add book noticesand other matter vvhich would make the Proceedino-s, orsome additional publication, more eagerly and extensivelysought, and would bring additions to the funds of theLibrary, enlarge our exchange and subscription list, andbring from publishers additions to the Library without costto the Society, and which would help to fill the many gapsoften mentioned in its collections.

Such an officer should also be at the command of thePresident and Council, or any special committee, for occa-sional and extraordinary services requiring investigation orother services of a like character, to aid and relieve themin the discharge of their important duties. Such an officershould be appointed by the Council, with a suitable andappropriate title, to be by it determined, and removable byit. He should receive such salary and perform such dutiesas the Council, or a committee appointed for that purpose,may from time to time prescribe. His duties, till other-wise determined, should be as follows : —

•1. To investigate such subjects as shall be prescribedfrom time to time by the Council, or a duly authorizedcommittee thereof, and to report his results to the Councilwhich shall be disposed of as directed by the Society andwhich shall be its property.

2. He could with the approbation of the Council, or aspecial committee thereof, have under him assistants whosework he should direct, but who, like him, should be in allrespects subject to the rules and regulations prescribed forthe use of the Library : but he should not be required togive instruction, nor does this Eeport contemplate thedevelopment of any school of history, nor the direction ofthe studies of pupils.

3. He should perform such other duties as may berequired of him by the President, or Ihe Council, or itscommittee, and should devote himself lo advancing in allpracticable w.-iys the interests of the Society and to enlarg-ing its usefulness.

1892.] Proceedings. 9

No action upon this report is requested or expeeted atthis time. It is presented more as a suggestion and toplaee on l'ecord the sentiment of the Committee, as to adesirable direction of enlarging the usefulness of the Societyat some future time, should its means permit.

G. STANLEY HALL.

GEO. F : HOAR.

SAMUEL S. GREEN.

NATHL. PAINE.

STEPHEN SALISBURY.

The RECORDING SECRETARY pro tem., in behalf of theCouncil, presented as candidates for election to membershipthe names of—

BENJAMIN ArTiiORP GOULD, LL.D., of Cambridge.

Mr. REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, of Madison, Wis.

Ballots being taken, these gentlemen were duly elected.

Mr. WILLIAM E . FOSTER, of Providence, R. I., read apaper on "Some Rhode Island Contributions to the Intel-lectual Life of the Last Century."

Mr. HAMILTON A. HILL, of Boston, read a paper upon"The Sojourn of Thomas Coram in Boston and Taunton."He also presented a eopy from the archives of the Society,•of a letter from John Davenport and others to the FirstChurch in Roxbury, with the following comments : —

"At the meeting of our Society in Worcester last autumn,my attention was called by Prof. Dexter to a letter pre-served in our collections (Curwen Papers, vol. v., p. 103),written by John Davenport, James Allen and James Penn,elders of the First Church, Boston, soon after the removalof Mr. Davenport thither from New Haven. It is one ofthe Roxbury Papers, and bears the following endorsement,in the handwriting of our founder, Isaiah Thomas : ' (Origi-nal) Letter from the Rev. John Davenport of New Haven,To the Rev. Pastors [Eliott] and Bretheren of the Chh.in Roxbury. probably about 1664.'

10 American Antiquarian Society. [April,

"The New Haven Church objected most strenuously, toMr. Davenport's withdrawal from its pastorate in order tothe acceptance of a call from Boston ; and after his depart-ure, and when he sent for the customary letter of dismissionand recommendation, the letter which he received was muchmore of a protest than a dismissal, and if its contents hadbeen fairly communicated to the Boston Church, all furtherproceedings under the call would have been stopped fouth-with. An infiuential minority was already opposed to hiscoming, and if the views of the New Haven Church hadbeen made known, this minority would have been changedto a majority. This being the case, Mr. Davenport, andMr. Allen who was to be associated with hini in his minis-try in Boston, resorted to the very extreme measure ofsuppressing the New Haven letter, and substituting for itanother, in which every expression of hostility to the pro-posed change was omitted, and a few sentences which gavea qualified and conditional dismissal, were presented to theChurch as the original document, the name of Mr. Street,who had been Mr. Davenport's colleague at New Haven,havins been subscribed to it. On this fraudulent letter,Mr. Davenport was publicly received into the membershipof the First Church, Sunday afternoon, November 1, 1668,by the ruling elder, Mr. Penn ; and on the 9th of the nextfollowing month, Mr. Davenport and Mr. Allen wereordained and inst,alled, the one as pastor, the other asteacher.

" A few months later, Mr. Street visited Boston, and thetruth about Mr. Davenport's letter of dismission becameknown. ' I t became discourse in the Towne that the letterread in the Church of Boston was not the whole sent fromthe Church of New Haven but part thereof, nor indeed thething itself conteyned in the said letter.' Elder Pennappointed a meeting of the Church immediately after thelecture, Thursday, June 17, ' to remove scandulous reportsraised against the Church.' At this meeting, Mr. Penn

1892.] Proceedings. . 11

aiid Mr. Allen 'cleared all the brethren of the Churchfrom having any hand in it [the letter], and also Mr.Davenport from any guilt therein.' On the next leetureday, there was a conference at the house of Mr. HezekiahUsher, to probe the matter still further, and with the fol-lowing result: 'The elders labouring . to convince Mr.James Allen of his iniquity in dealing deceitfully about theletter from New Haven in saying Mr. Davenport wasinnocent about that matter, he acknowledged that Mr.Davenport knew the matter as much as himself and hisunckle, and that he had sinned in soe saying, this confessionwas made before Mr. John Allen, Mr. Danforth of Eoxbury,Mr. Increase Mather and Mr. Stoughton.' On Sunday',June 29, a statement prepared by Mr. Davenport was readin church ; he disclaimed all personal responsibility for thesubstitute letter, saying that Mr. Penn and Mr. Allen hadplanned it, and his son, John Davenport, Jr., had writtenit, and he closed with these words : ' My hope is that asGod hath made hereby discoverie of the spirits of soe manythat he will issue the whole in giving repentance, unto somefor their harsh and wrong censures and reproaches, and invindication of his own honour, and the name of his ser-vants who did what is done to good ends and in true sim-plicity and fiiithfulness according to their present light inthe sight of God.'

"On the 15th of July, Mr. AUin of Dedham, and sixteenother ministers, united in a very plain-spoken and faithfulletter, a 'testimony' they called it, 'against the scandallgiven by the present elders of the first Church of Christ inBoston, by their fraudulent dealing about the letters sentfrom the Church in New Haven.' A partial copy of thisletter is in the possession of the Massachusetts HistoricalSociety, and it is printed in full in the History of the OldSouth Church, Vol. I. , pp. 84-87. At a church meeting,August 20, the First Church appointed a eommittee to' draw up a letter in answer to the letter sent from Dedham

12 American Antiquarian Society. [April,

Church, enquiring after the proceeding of the Church aboutthe New Haven letter.'

"The pastors of the Roxbury Church, Mr. Eliot and Mr.Danforth, sympathized with the minority in the FirstChurch, and Mr. Davenport and his associate were evidentlyanxious to conciliate them and to retain their Christianconfidence. Hence the letter addressed to them which is in .our collections, and a copy of which, by the courtesy of Mr.Barton, I am able to present herewith. It was written, inall probability, before Mr. Street's arrival in Boston, June,1669, and after the meeting of the second council, April 2,1669, called to consider the question of forming the Thirdor South Church. This body, Mr. Davenport and Mr.Penn refused to recognize, saying in reply to a communi-cation from it : ' I doe not see that you are an orderlycouncill.'

"Reverend and Beloved in the Lord Grace Mercy & Peacebee multiplied from God the Father and our Lord JesusChrist.

"As we desire and earnestly endeavour according to themeasure of Grace wee have received to have Consciencesvoid of Offence to God and all Men soe it is our Solicitouscare that our Practises may be without Just Blame to Jewor Gentill especially that they may be without suspition ofEvill to any of the Churches of Christ Wee are thereforeconstrained thus farr att present to speake for our selves untoyou our Deare Bretheren that you would bee sober & dis-trustfull about any reports that may be bruited concerningour selves to the Prejudice of any concerne of Christ labour-ing with us or of our selves in the heartes & affections ofsuch who are Deare to Christ and Justly Valued by us Weehope it will appeare in due time that it is not for our ownebut a labouring interest of the Kingdome of Jesus Christ weeare striveing & contending, his Authority in a particularChurch, a concerne of as great moment as ever was iu haz-zard in these Churches w°'' other Churches will quickly findthemselves engaged about (if there be any of the first loveremaining to it) & as much afflicted lor as our selves. Ifwe may intreat that there be an open Eare to what we are

1892.] Proeeedings. , 13

ready & willing (upon your desire to know the Reasons ofour proceedings thus far) to communicate we shall acknowl-edge it as your Christian Tendernes to us Nor is it morey" equall, for it is a Ruled Case in Cannon law that y"action of both parties should fully be understood and asthe wise man hath laid it dovvne. Hee that is first in hisowne case is just, then cometh his Neighbour and searchethhim out And againe hee that answereth a Matter before heeheareth it, it shall be folly & shame to him. Wee doubtnot If it shall bee desired & we may be Candidly heard,that we shall Evince ou'' Carriage to the first Counsill & y''advice as alsoe that onto the last Messengers from seaverallChurches To be noe other then what our love & loyalty toChrist as Sole King and Law-giver to his Church did obleigeus to doe That noething might bee admitted by us thathee hath not appoynted or will approve. Wee doe owneCouncills rightly called and regularly proceeding to be anordinance of God And that the Churches may desire tounderstand the reasons of our Publieke actions & wee arebound by virtue of our communion with you to give aBrotherly account which wee for our parts are mostwilling & ready to doe. Nor have the contrary byour wordes or actions been manifest as may more evi-dently by our answer when desired appeare. In themeane time lett not your heartes be alienated from yourBrethren some of which are not among the least whohave jeoparded their lives with you & for you whenthe common interest among us was in hazzard.

enemies hope for & our friends[torn out] forus we may be led into all truth

Brotherly love may continueand be increased among us.

"Wee are your loveing Bretheren inthe Fellowshipp of the Gospell.

"John Davenport senior"James Allen"James Penn"

A letter from Hon. JOHN D . WASHBUKN, accompanyinghis gift of five hundred copies of the Swiss Pact of 1291,was read by Dr. SAMUEL A. GKEEN.

14 American Antiquarian Society. [April,

The SECRETARY pro tem. presented a paper and mapfrom PHILLIPP J. J. VALENTINI, Ph.D., on "Columbus'sLandfall at San Salvador."

On motion of Dr. GREEN, all the papers which had beenpresented were referred to the committee of publication.

On motion of Mr. CHARLES C. SMITH, it was voted "thatVice-President HOAR should be empowered to representthe Society at any meetings of learned bodies which hemay attend during his contemplated visit to Europe."

Dissolved.

CHAELES A. CHASE,

Recording Secretary pro tempore.