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A large audience assembled in the hall of the House of Delegates Thursday night, October 30th, 1879, in attendance upon the annual meeting of the Society.

Rev. Dr. H. A. Tupper opened the meeting with a most appropriate prayer.

The annual report of the Executive Committee was then read by Dr. J. William Jones, Secretary.

We cordially greet the members of the Society assembled in annual meeting, and report that we have had during the past year most gratifying evidences of a growing appreciation of the importance and value of our work.

has been steadily coming in from friends all over the country, while the courtesy of the War Department has enabled us to secure invaluable material which had hitherto been inaccessible. The value of our collection is attested by the fact that both Northern and Southern historians have been consulting it; a distinguished European historian has avowed his purpose of coming to Richmond in order to avail himself of our archives; and the "War Records" office at Washington has had copyists at work for months on important reports, headquarter books, and other original material in our possession and not in their collection.

But we still appeal earnestly to friends of the cause of truth everywhere, to send forward at once to our office everything which may throw the slightest light upon any part of the story of our great struggle for constitutional freedom; and where persons have material which they are not willing to part with, we beg that they will let us have it as a loan, so that we may secure copies both for our office and the War Department.

Our monthly (Southern Historical Society Papers) has been regularly issued, and we have assurances from every quarter that there is a growing appreciation of their value among all who take interest in the vindication of the truth of history. A number of the