* Vacancy caused by death of S. Van Rensselaer Cruger, June 23, 1898. FREDERICK STURGES. CHARLES HOWLAND RUSSELL. OFFICERS President, Hon. JOHN BIGELOW. First Vice-President, Rt. Rev. HENRY C. POTTER, D.D. Second Vice-President, JOHN S. KENNEDY, Esq. Secretary, GEORGE L. RIVES, Esq., 32 Nassau Street. Treasurer, EDWARD KING, Esq., Union Trust Company, 80 Broadway. THE REGULATIONS HE Astor Building, 40 Lafayette Place, and the Lenox Building, Fifth Avenue and 70th Street, are open daily, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, from 9 A. M. until 6 P. M. The Reading rooms and the Exhibition rooms are free to all persons; but children under the age of fifteen years must be accompanied by an adult. In the Reading room of each Library Building certain shelves are set apart for books of reference, which readers are allowed to take down and examine at their pleasure. For all other books an application must be made by filling out and signing one of the blanks provided for the purpose. Published monthly by The New York Public Library, No. 40 Lafayette Place, New York City Subscription One Dollar a year, single numbers Ten Cents Entered as second-class matter at the New York, N. Y., Post Office, January 30, 1897 During the month of August there were received at the Library by purchase 681 volumes and 373 pamphlets, and by gift 303 volumes and 736 pamphlets. There were catalogued 2,633 books and 1,730 pamphlets, for which purpose 14,297 cards and 374 slips for the printer were written. The following table shows the number of readers and the number of volumes consulted in both the Astor and Lenox branches of the Library during the month: Among the important gifts received this month were 28 volumes and 49 pamphlets from Mr. S. P. Avery; 32 volumes from the Government of New South Wales; 4 volumes of "Chartularium," from the Ministère de l'Instruction de France; 13 volumes of "Tidsskrift für Kunstindustrie" from the publisher; 4 volumes from the Government of Bengal. There were also received in July, 21 volumes and 55 pamphlets, from Dr. S. A. Green, which were wrongly credited to the Massachusetts Historical Society. THE DISSOLUTION OF THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY IN MAY, 1769. (From the original manuscript in the Emmet Collection in the New York Public Library.) DR. SIR Your favr. by the Lord Camden came safe to hand, and was much pleased to hear of y'. health, I Assure you there must be a Considerable Change in me if you are soon forgott, I wish you on your part may Retain a Mutual Remembrance as long, for I shall ever think of you as of a man whom I have Always Esteem'd You Inform me that the Sentimts. of the people of Britain are much changed in Respect to America. I wish most fervently that every day may produce fresh Instances in support of that Opinion, but if our publick prints are in the least to be Depended on, every Acct. from your side of the water are more Alarming to us, You Judge very properly when you Advise as the best security we have against the measures of a Rapacious Ministry is to Convince them by our frugality and Industry how well we may live Independant of them, as a plan of liveing as much within our selves as Possible, is warmly talked of in this as well as the other Colonies, hope soon to see Associations Enter'd into for that purpose, and when ever this takes place it must produce the Interposition of the trading people of Britain and Consequently work a favourable Change for us Lord Bottetourt mett our Assembly the 8th Inst, he made a most splendid Appearance in his way from the Pallace to the Capital in his State Coach drawn by six fine horses in trapings, wth six Attendance in Genteel Livery walking, three on each side his Coach, he Deliver'd his speech to the Assembly in full Confidence of there Complyance in his Instructions but to his Surprise and Mortification in a few days the Assembly Unanimously (the Attorney Excepted) enter'd into some Necessary Resolves wch, seem'd to provoke his lordship, and as Im inform'd Desolved the Assembly in Passion, he has been seen in his park in all the Appearance of Violent Agitation Runing and Walking Alternately a Sloop of war was Dispatch'd the day after the Desolution to England therefore you will Probably see the Resolves before this Reaches you— as to News of Marriages Deaths &c. I Refer you to Mrs. Washington's Letter By Miss Sally Lee's desire I am to Inform you that she Indeavour'd to be very Angry at your not writing to her, but if you will write a few Lines by next oppy. the storm may blow over-please offer my Compliments to Doct'. Lee and believe me to be wth. Sincerity Dr. Sir Yr. Affectionate Very Hbe. Servt. NB Since writing the Above am Inform'd you are Enter'd into the marriage state wth. Miss Ludwell wch. I Assure you gave me Infinite pleasure, as there cannot Remain the least doubt of happiness wth soe Amiable a young Lady, may Every Felicity Attend you both is the wish of S W. Το MR. WM LEE THOMAS MCKEAN ON AMERICAN AFFAIRS IN 1780. DEAR SIR, (From the original manuscript now in the New York Public Library.) You will herewith receive the Votes & Laws of this State passed during the last Sitting of the General Assembly, which are transmitted thro' me by the President and Supreme Executive Council to you. It is wished that the Votes & Laws of each State could be sent thro' the like Channel to the other States; this would conduce to a uniformity of proceedings and to the ease & improvement of legislation throughout the United States. The public duty I am obliged to perform is too much for me, and as our State affords me no relief in Congress I shall be obliged to decline the Delegation. The truth is, should my health & strength hold out, my finances will not; while I continue in the station I will support the Rank of a Deputy of the State, and this I find so expensive in these times that without some support from the Government I cannot endure it much longer. I have not received a farthing since the first of January 1779, and I am not a single day out of Congress unless when attending some court of Justice, so that I cannot attend in the least to my private affairs, nor to the wants of my family: however I will endeavor to persevere until the General Assembly meet again, especially as the difficulties & dangers we have had to encounter, owing to our change of system for the support of the war by taxes & loans, are not yet over. For God's sake exert yourself in enforcing the collection & payment of the public taxes, or we may yet be ruined; if we had but money we could finish the war in all probability the present campaign, notwithstanding the loss of South Carolina. A fleet of eight sail of the Line, besides several frigates & armed transports, with 5,000 troops on board, are safely arrived at Rhode Island from France, sent for our assistance by our great and good Ally, whom God protect. This fleet is superior to that under Admirals Graves & Arbuthnot, notwithstanding what you may have seen or heard to the [con]trary. Be that as it may, believe me we shall be vastly superior to the Enemy on this Continent very soon. Keep this hint to yourself, as you love your Country; verbum sat sapienti.-The Tories will propogate, and, I will suppose, do believe the contrary; I hope they will gain credit for a time. Notwithstanding the res arduæ domi, and appearances abroad, you see I have some consolation in being a member of Congress; and if I had not now and then these grateful animating cordials, yet I [could] not quit the Helm in the midst of a storm. I cannot conclude without informing you, that Delaware at present stands high in the Opinion of Congress, and that if they had revised and altered the tender law, and adopted the plan of discharging the national debt of the 18th, of March last (for which omissions they are alone censured) they would have stood higher than any State in the Union. |