Our society furnishes the elements of history. In collecting these elements it needs the efforts of all its members. It needs the hearty co-operation of our fellow-citizens, of all who love the good name of théir country. They can furnish material that would otherwise be lost. And how intensely we should be stimulated in our efforts by the recoljection of the many nations that have disappeared from the earth, leaving scarcely a remnant of their history behind them to inform posterity of their existence!

The address, which was extempore, closed with a compliment to the city authorities for the interest they evinced by their presence, to a community evidently so alive to the importance of this society, and an appeal to all that the fond hopes of the society should be realized in the home of Willis, the historian, where his spirit still survives.

At the close of President Bradbury's address Hon. Israel Washburn, chairman of the committee of arrangements, made a brief but able speech, in the course of which he explained how it came about that the Maine Historical Society had returned to the home of its birth.

General J. M. Brown then tendered the thanks of the society to the city for the rooms, a lease of which for ten years free of charge had been signed that afternoon.

Mayor Senter responded in behalf of the city in appropriate and pleasing language.

Hon. William Goold, the well-known historian, then read an interesting history of the lot on which City Hall now stands, and of the buildings which had previously stood thereon.

At the close of Mr. Goold's historical essay, brief addresses were made by Hon. G. F. Talbot, Dr. William Wood, president of the Natural History Society, General S. J. Anderson, president of the Board of Trade, and Hon. Joseph Williamson of Belfast.

MAY MEETING, 1881.

The Society met at their rooms in the City Building, Portland, May 25, 1881, at 2.30 P.M., the president in the chair.

Mr. H. W. Bryant, the assistant librarian, read a report of the accessions to the library and cabinet received since January last.

Mr. Rufus K. Sewall of Wiscasset, as chairman of the field

day committees for the past two years, made a verbal report of sundry investigations at Monhegan, Damariscove and Castine. Photographs of these localities were presented by him to the Society. Mr. Sewall also presented on the part of Joseph Stevens a collection of silver coins in a frame which were found at Castine in 1841 by his father, the late Joseph L. Stevens, M.D. The thanks of the Society were extended to Mr. Stevens for his generous gift.

Messrs. Israel Washburn, jr., Rufus K. Sewall and Hubbard W. Bryant, were appointed a committee on the selection of a design for a seal for the use of the Society.

Mr. George F. Talbot then read a paper on General John Chandler of Monmouth, Maine.

ANNUAL MEETING, 1881.

The annual meeting was held at Adams Hall, Brunswick, July 15, 1881, the president, Ilon. James W. Bradbury, in the chair. The records of the last annual meeting were read and approved. The annual reports of the librarian, cabinet keeper, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer, were read and' accepted.

The standing committee made their annual report, and Hon. Israel Washburn, jr., of Portland, reported a list of amendments to the by-laws. Hon. Marshall Cram of Brunswick, treasurer, and Rev. Alpheus S. Packard, librarian and recording secretary, declined re-election, and each received a special vote of thanks for past services.

On recommendation of the standing committee the following were elected resident members: John F. Anderson of Portland, Francis G. Butler of Farmington, Edward II. Daveis of Portland, Edward W. Hall of Waterville, Jacob B. Ham of Lewiston, Winfield S. Hill of Augusta, Horatio Hight of Scarborough, George T. Little of Auburn, William L. Putnam of Portland, Albion W. Small of Waterville, William Wood of Portland.

The following were elected corresponding members: Charles E. Banks of San Francisco, Augustus W. Corliss of Fort Halleck,

Nevada, Joseph J. Howard of London, Charles Rogers of London, T. J. Nichols of Bristol, England.

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: -
President, James Ware Bradbury of Augusta.

Vice-president, William Griswold Barrows of Brunswick.

Treasurer, Lewis Pierce of Portland.

Corresponding secretary, William Goold of Windham.
Recording secretary, librarian and cabinet keeper,
Hubbard Winslow Bryant of Portland.

Standing committee, Israel Washburn, jr., of Portland.
Rufus King Sewall of Wiscasset.

William Berry Lapham of Augusta.

William Goold of Windham.

Edward Henry Elwell of Deering.

Joseph Williamson of Belfast.

Stephen Jewett Young of Brunswick.

The amendments to the by-laws reported upon by Mr. Washburn were taken up, and by vote were laid over as unfinished business, to be transacted at the next annual meeting.

VOTE AUTHORIZING THIS PUBLICATION.

The reason for this new departure from previous methods of issuing its publications is fully explained by the vote passed at the annual meeting of the Maine Historical Society held at Brunswick, Tuesday, June 25, 1889, 9 A.M., in the Cleaveland Lecture-room, Massachusetts Hall, upon the following report, by a committee appointed at a previous meeting, accepting the report, and approving and adopting the method of publication therein recommended.

The undersigned, a committee of the Maine Historical Society appointed to consider the propriety of making some changes in the method of publishing the proceedings and collections of the Society, ask leave to report the following recommendations:

That hereafter the proceedings and collections of the Society be published together, in quarterly parts, in the months of January, April, July and October.

That each part contain seven sixteen-page forms, or one hundred and twelve pages of reading matter.

That the paper cover of each quarterly part shall bear the title Transactions and Collections of the Maine Historical Society," the month being added, and the words "Quarterly Part."

That the price be fixed for each subscriber, at three dollars per year, in advance.

That each member of the Society be required to become a subscriber. That an editor, and a publishing committee consisting of three members, be annually appointed to serve for one year, without compensation. That the entire proceeds of the publication shall belong to the funds of the Association; shall be collected by the secretary, and be paid by him to the treasurer.

That each quarterly part shall contain an abstract of the proceedings of the preceding meeting, provided one has been held since the publication of the last preceding part, but if not, of some meeting whose proceedings have not already been published.

That each part shall contain such papers as may be selected from the archives of the Society by the editor, assisted by the publishing committee.

That brief book notices, queries and answers, and brief abstracts of the doings of kindred societies, may appear in each part, but no paper which shall occupy more than an octavo page shall be inserted, until the same shall have been read before and accepted by the Society.

That the secretary shall include in his annual report the financial. standing of the periodical herein provided for.

That respectable advertisements may be inserted at reasonable rates, but the space they occupy shall be additional to the one hundred and twelve pages heretofore provided for.

WM. B. LAPHAM,

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, Committee.
HENRY L. CHAPMAN,

To carry out the provisions of the foregoing report, which the Society has sanctioned, George F. Talbot of Portland was appointed, by the executive committee, editor of the quarterly publication, with William M. Sargent of Portland as assistant editor; and Dr. William B. Lapham, Professor Henry L. Chapman and Mr. Sargent were constituted the publishing committee.

We issue on this beginning of the new year the first number of the Historical Quarterly, and expect to follow it by others in regular quarterly succession..

There had accumulated among the archives of the Society quite a number of valuable papers, which its limited means have not allowed to be published. From these we have selected such as will be of most general interest, and afford a pleasing variety of biography and general history, without following the order in which they were read at the meetings of the Society.

It was necessary to assume some date at which to begin the publication of the Society's Proceedings, and we have selected as the initial point the first meeting in the city of Portland, after the removal of the library to that place, with an abstract of the historical address of the late president, Hon. James W. Bradbury, and a report of the proceedings attending its delivery. When the important proceedings of the intervening meetings have been recorded in our volumes, each quarterly number of this publication will contain only minutes of such meetings as may have been held since the preceding quarterly number; and more space will be available for book notices, queries and answers, historical memoranda, and abstracts of the doings of kindred societies.