REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.

In compliance with the by-laws of the Society, the Council reports that the affairs of the Society are all in good order under the charge of the officers recently elected and the committee appointed as above reported, who are all engaged upon the work assigned them.

The library and financial conditions of the Society appear to be satisfactory, as will be shown in the annual report of the treasurer herewith submitted.

The death of George Grenville Benedict, Litt. D., of Burlington, Vermont, has been reported, and a brief paper upon his life and work has been prepared by the Society's biographer.

Vice-president Waldo Lincoln, Honorable Edward L. Davis and Judge Samuel Utley were appointed to consider the question of a new building. This committee has carefully gone over the many questions involved, examined sites, consulted an architect concerning the present building occupied by the Society, and has interviewed the County Commissioners in regard to the disposal of the present building and grounds of the Society. They have reported to the Council.

The committee appointed at the annual meeting to consider the publication of the British Royal Proclamations relating to America, report that they have appointed Mr. Clarence Saunders Brigham, librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, as editor.

Vice-president Lincoln was appointed to take suitable action regarding the removal of present limitations on the use of the Lincoln Legacy Fund, also to examine and report upon objections imposed upon expenditures from the Collection and Research and other funds of the Society,

and an action of the Society in this direction will be requested.

Vice-president Lincoln reported to the Council on behalf of the Library Committee that many books upon our shelves are of questionable value, especially in view of the crowded condition of the alcoves, and asked the Council to consider the question of disposing of books least likely to be used and the Council will present a vote to the Society for action. It will be remembered that the Society authorized a committee to have the manuscripts owned by the Society indexed. This plan has been perfected and Mr. Charles H. Lincoln, formerly of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, has been appointed tentatively to begin this work. Mr. Lincoln has already presented a report to the Council and the Library Committee covering his work up to date, from which it appears that there are between 25,000 and 30,000 manuscripts in the collection and that the work of indexing these manuscripts is well under way. The Society has long desired and urgently needed a description of its priceless collection of manuscripts relating to America and particularly to Colonial History and may well congratulate itself on this auspicious beginning of a scientific treatment of this comprehensive material. The work will doubtless be long and difficult but in the opinion of the Council it can be no longer delayed. In going over the miscellaneous papers, many manuscripts which really belong in certain well defined groups can be taken from the miscellaneous collections in which they are found and united with the group to which they belong. When this analytic and descriptive work is complete, each manuscript can be located and classified with those with which it is most closely connected and an abstract of the contents of the more important manuscripts will be at hand.

It was the sense of the Council that the Society should proceed to fill the thirty-five present vacancies in the Society as fast as suitable candidates could be presented, and in view of this the Council presents to-day, through its committee, eight nominations for the action of the Society. The Council has taken great pains to secure a long list of

desirable names vouched for by experts, not only from New England, but from the country at large, from which nominations to-day, and perhaps those to be made in the near future can be selected.

Mr. Nathaniel Paine, after forty-four years of continuous and faithful service as treasurer of the Society, declines reëlection to that important office. It is the desire of the Council that under suspension of the by-laws he be added to their number. Mr. Paine was elected a member of the Society, October 22, 1860, and was elected treasurer, October 21, 1863, and has been a member of the Committee on Publication since 1880. In seniority of membership, Mr. Paine ranks third, Dr. Hale having been elected in October, 1847, and Dr. Davis in April, 1851. Mr. Paine has also made valuable contributions to our Proceedings. The retirement of such an officer after such service is an unusual event and the Council desires to record its profound sense both of regret and of gratitude. If the Society were able to confer some suitable honorary or retiring degree upon those who have been so long and so vitally connected with its work, it could not better be bestowed.

G. STANLEY HALL,

For the Council.

OBITUARIES.

George Grenville Benedict, died April 8th, 1907. He was born in Burlington, Vermont, December 10th, 1826. Graduated from the University of Vermont in 1847, receiving the degree of M. A. in 1850, and was a teacher in Washington Institute in New York City about one year. He was associated in the management of the Burlington Free Press from 1853 during life, being its editor from 1866. He was also connected with the Vermont and Boston Telegraph Co. 1860-65, finally as president.

He served in the Civil war about one year, and received from Congress a medal of honor for distinguished conduct at the battle of Gettysburg. He was Postmaster in Burlington eight years, collector of customs for Vermont four years, trustee of the University of Vermont forty years, and state historian of Vermont; trustee of the New York Historical Association, president of the Vermont Historical Society, and member of the American Antiquarian Society since 1899. He published "Vermont in the Civil War," "Vermont at Gettysburg," "Army Life in Virginia," and "Gilman's Bibliography of Vermont," which he edited and brought down to date.

He married Mary A. Kellogg, who died in 1857, and Katherine A. Pease, who survives him, together with one son. Memorials of him may be found in the Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society 1905-6, P. 161, from which this notice is taken.

Solomon Lincoln, died in Boston, Mass., October 15th, 1907. He was born in Hingham, Mass., August 14th, 1838, the son of Solomon and Mehitable (Lincoln) Lincoln; graduated from Harvard University in 1857, the valedictorian of a class having many distinguished members; was tutor at Harvard 1858-1863. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1863, was admitted to the bar in 1864 and practised the profession of law until his death.

He was president of the board of trustees of the Boston Public Library, an overseer of Harvard University and for several years president of the board; a member of the board

of trustees of the Boston Athenæum, a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a member of this Society since 1882. He was connected with many clubs and business associations; Harvard University conferred on him the degree of A. M.

He married Miss Ellen B. Hayden Feb. 15th, 1865, and had one daughter.

John Thomas Doyle, died at Menlo Park, California,

in December 1906.

He was born in New York City Nov. 26th, 1819; graduated at Georgetown University in 1838, with the degree of A. B.; which was followed in 1840 by that of A. M., and in 1889 by that of LL. D.

In 1842 he was admitted to the bar in New York City and practised the profession of law there till 1851, when he became general agent of a company which aimed to build a ship canal across Nicaragua, but funds not being obtained, he resigned and resumed the practice of law in San Francisco, retiring in 1890.

In 1876 he recovered from Mexico $904,000 interest on the Pious Fund of the Catholic Church, which fund the Mexican government had taken possession of in 1842, and in 1902 he made claim to later interest which was referred to the permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, and was the first case heard by that tribunal causing it to be an historical case, and in 1902 judgment was rendered that Mexico should perpetually pay $43,050 annually, and thirtythree years arrearages at the same rate.

He was a member of the California Historical Society; President for many years of the San Francisco Law Library; State Commissioner of Transportation; and President of the State Viticultural Commission.

He became a member of this society in 1878 and contributed a "Memorandum as to the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco," to be found in our Proceedings, October, 1873, p. 101, and another article on "The Bay of San Francisco," in our Proceedings, N. S. Vol. 6, p. 78. He was an occasional contributor to magazines on legal and local subjects. His library ranked among the large private libraries of California. May 26th, 1863, he married Antonia Pons in New York City.

S. U.