Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 02.djvu/255

 Annual Meeting of the Southern Historical Society.

On Thursday evening, November 2d, the Society assembled in the hall of the House of Delegates, in the State Capitol at Richmond, in its annual meeting. In the absence of the President, General Jubal A. Early (who wrote that only the most imperative business engagements could have detained him from the meeting), the Vice-President, Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, presided.

The meeting was opened with an appropriate and fervent prayer by Rev. J. B. Jeter, D. D., after which the annual report of the Executive Committee was read by the chairman, General Dabney H. Maury, as follows:

Fourth Annual Report of the Executive Committee of the Southern Historical Society, for the year ending October 31st, 1876.

In presenting our fourth annual report, the Committee feel constrained to congratulate the Society on the gratifying progress we have made during the past year, and the bright prospects which open before us in the future.

Our society has steadily grown in public favor, our membership has largely increased, and there have been continuous additions of most valuable material to our collection.

As we have from time to time made acknowledgment through the papers of contributions received, we deem it unnecessary to give here a catalogue of

MATERIAL ON HAND.

But we may say that our collection is now generally recognized as one of very great value. We have received frequent letters from North, South, East and West, and from Europe, asking for information on various points of historical interest, and in nearly every instance our archives afforded the information sought. Several gentlemen engaged in writing important parts of the history of our struggle for constitutional freedom, have acknowledged valuable assistance received from us, and have signified their purpose of consulting our archives more freely in the future.

Indeed we have already on our shelves ample material for a true history of the "war between the States," with the exception of the year 1864, and the early part of 1865. We have invaluable material for this latter period; but our collection is less complete for