No individual or State, west or south of the Alleghanies, has such a collection as this, or one anywhere near approaching it. It is impossible properly to study the history of the West, without free consultation of this Draper collection, for here is the great mass of the original sources. Dr. Draper himself made

no literary use of them, and during his life-time they were, to all intents and purposes, kept under lock and key from the sight of historians: but now that they have come into our possession, they have, with a vast expenditure of labor by our secretary and his assistants, been culled, sorted, and bound, free to the hand of any ripe scholar who can use them properly. Already scholars from as far away as the Atlantic seaboard have sought this Western historical Mecca, and several important volumes which have come from the press in the past two years bear evidence, in their authors' prefaces, to the great importance of these remarkable manuscripts.

"In laying aside this position of honor, to which you first elected me six years ago, I cannot forbear to express the pleasure I have had in being associated with this great institution and its friends. No dividends are disbursed in dollars and cents, but the wealth of head and heart here gained, is such as no vicissitudes of fortune can take away, for it becomes a very part of ourselves, and will exist while we exist, even after time shall be no more.

66 Like the star

That shines afar,

Without haste

And without rest,

Let each man wheel with steady sway
Round the task that rules the day,

And do his best."

LETTERS

were read by Secretary Thwaites, from Vice-Presidents Van Steenwyk and Thomas, expressing their regret at being unable to attend the meeting; from Hon. Samuel D. Hastings, resigning his office as curator, because of permanent removal to Green Bay;

and the following announcing the formation of a local historical society in Milwaukee:

Dear Mr. Thwaites: At the first meeting of the Parkman Club, of Milwaukee, held last evening, I was instructed to send the greetings of the club to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Our club membership is limited to fifteen. Each member is pledged to the preparation of a paper on some topic bearing on the history of the Northwest, whenever the club may call upon him. Our meetings are to be monthly, and will be held in the rooms of the Milwaukee Law Library Association, by courtesy of Mr. W. W. Wight.

It is the intention of the club to print the papers which are submitted, in pamphlet form, paged for an annual volume. Six of our present membership of nine, are also members of the Wisconsin Historical Society: Messrs. Wight, Campbell, Legler, McIntosh, Gregory, and myself; and you will readily see that our work, as planned, will in a measure be supplementary to that of the State Historical Society.

Milwaukee, Dec. 11, 1895.

Very truly yours,

GARDNER P. STICKNEY,
Sec'y Parkman Club..

FINANCIAL REPORTS.

Chairman Van Slyke, of the committee on finance, presented the report of his committee, approving the annual report of Treasurer Proudfit, both of which reports were duly adopted. [See Appendix, B. and C.]

Chairman Morris, of the auditing committee, reported that said committee had examined and approved the report of Corresponding Secretary Thwaites, of expenditures from the general fund for the year ending November 30, 1895, the vouchers therefor having been deposited with the governor according to law. The committee also reported having favorably passed upon that officer's expenditures from the income of the binding fund during 1895. [See Appendix, A.]

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE'S REPORT.

Corresponding Secretary Thwaites, in behalf of the executive committee, presented its annual report, which was adopted. [See Appendix, D.]

NEW MEMBERS.

The chair appointed Messrs. Siebecker, Lewis, Parkinson, Steensland, and Ramsay a committee on the nomination of new members; and on the recommendation of this committee the following were elected:

Life - Gen. Edwin E. Bryant, Hon. Lucien S. Hanks, Oscar D. Brandenburg, Isaac P. Ketchum, Arthur C. Mills, and Isaac S. Bradley, of Madison; Hon. Robert Laird McCormick, of Hayward; Rev. John Nelson Davidson, A. M., of Two Rivers.

Active Hon. Frank E. Clark, of Princeton: Hon. George H. Noyes, Hon. Henry E. Legler, Henry C. Campbell, John G. Gregory, John F. Burke, and Col. William J. Anderson, of Milwaukee; Rev. John M. Naughtin, T. C. Richmond, Charles M. Morris, Hon. Anthony Donovan, Dr. Orin G. Libby, Rev. W. D. Simonds, Paul S. Reinsch, Hon. R. D. Marshall, Prof. John G. Dow, Arthur O. Fox, and Hon. H. E. Briggs, of Madison; Hon. William A. Jones, of Mineral Point; Rev. A. Bredesen, of Stoughton; Mons Anderson, of La Crosse, Capt. O. C. Davidson, Commonwealth.

Corresponding - Mitchell Vincent, of Onawa, Iowa; Hon. William Gray Brooke, M. D., of Boston; Dr. Samuel Swett Green, of Worcester, Mass.; William E. Foster, of Providence, R. I.; Murray E. Poole, of Ithaca, N. Y.; Dr. K. Hoegh, of Minneapolis; Prof. L. Larsen, of Decorah, Ia.; Hon. James H. Stout, of Menomonie; Dr. Edwin Ellis and Rev. Edward P. Wheeler, of Ashland; Hon. James Bardon, and Hon. Thomas B. Mills, of Superior; Thomas C. Lawler, of Prairie du Chien; Hon. John G. Conway, of Watertown; Hon George W. Wolff, of Rhine; Hon. George A. Buckstaff, of Oshkosh; Hon. Frank L. Fraser, of Lake Beulah; Hon. David O. Mahoney, of Viroqua; Hon. William O'Neill, of Washburn; Hon. Ernst G. Timme, Kenosha.

OFFICERS ELECTED.

Messrs. Burrows, Van Slyke, Oakley, Gregory, and Thwaites were appointed a committee on the nomination of officers, and reported in favor of the following, who were duly elected:

President- Hon. John Johnston, of Milwaukee.

Vice-Presidents - Prof. James D. Butler, LL. D., Madison; Hon. John T. Kingston, Necedah; Hon. Daniel Wells, Jr., Milwaukee; Hon. James T. Lewis, LL. D., Columbus; Hon. James Sutherland, Janesville; Hon. Philetus Sawyer, Oshkosh; Hon. Samuel Marshall, Milwaukee; Gen. Lucius Fairchild, Madison; Hon. Gysbert Van Steenwyk, La Crosse; Hon. John E. Thomas, Sheboygan Falls; Hon. Robert L. McCormick, Hayward; Hon. Thomas J. Cunningham, Chippewa Falls; Hon. Samuel D. Hastings, Green Bay; Dr. Edwin Ellis, Ashland; Hon. William A. Jones, Mineral Point; Hon. William W. Wight, Milwaukee.

Honorary Vice-Presidents Frederick L. Billon, Missouri; Robert Clarke, Ohio; William H. Wyman, Nebraska; Charles Fairchild, Massachusetts; Col. Stephen V. Shipman, Illinois; Hon. Amasa Cobb, Nebraska; Col. Reuben T. Durrett, Kentucky; Samuel H. Hunt, New Jersey; Simon Gratz, Pennsylvania; Rt. Rev. William Stevens Perry, D. D., LL. D., Iowa; Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, New York; Justin Winsor, LL. D., Massachusetts.

Corresponding Secretary

Reuben G. Thwaites, Madison.

Recording Secretary - Elisha Burdick, Madison.

Treasurer-- Frank F. Proudfit, Madison.
Librarian-Isaac S. Bradley, Madison.

Curators for term ending at annual meeting in December, 1898 – Jairus H. Carpenter, LL. D.; Hon. Breese J. Stevens; Maj. Frank W. Oakley; William A. P. Morris, A. B.; Hon. Alexander Main; Hon. M. Ransom Doyon; Prof. William H. Rosenstengel; Frederick J. Turner, Ph. D.; Albert O. Wright, A. M.; Hon. Robert G. Siebecker; Hon. Robert M. Bashford.

For term ending at annual meeting in December, 1897 — Hon. William F. Vilas, in place of Gen. George P. Delaplaine, deceased; and Hon. A. W. Newman, in place of Hon. Samuel D. Hastings, resigned.

For term ending at annual meeting in December, 1896 — J. Howard Palmer, in place of Hon. Hiram H. Giles, deceased.

PRESENTATION OF BARBER PORTRAIT.

Curator Burrows, acting in behalf of Hon. Hiram Barber, Jr., of Chicago, presented to the Society, with appropriate remarks, an oil portrait of the late Hon. Hiram Barber, Sr., of Horicon, a prominent Wisconsin pioneer, and member of the first constitutional convention, in 1846.

Vice-President Wight called attention to the fact that the subject of the portrait, in the winter of 1875-76, presented to Milwaukee College "an astronomical telescope of superior excellence, with an objective five inches in diameter, the work of Alvan Clark & Sons," the first telescope the College had owned.

The corresponding secretary was instructed to tender to the donor of the portrait the thanks of the Society.

[See post, report on portrait gallery, for biographical sketch of Mr. Barber.]

ADDRESSES.

Addresses were then presented as follows, for the full text of which see Appendix:

Radisson's Journal: its Value in History, by Henry Colin Campbell.

The Fugitive Slave Law in Wisconsin, with Reference to Nullification Sentiment, by Vroman Mason, B. L.

Early Legislation Concerning Wisconsin Banks, by William Ward Wight.

The several reports and papers were ordered printed with the Proceedings of the Society, whereupon the meeting stood adjourned.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING.

A meeting of the executive committee was held at the close of the Society meeting, President Johnston in the chair.

It was ordered that hereafter the salary of the binding clerk be entirely paid from the binding fund income, this being heretofore a joint charge upon the general fund and the binding fund income.

The meeting thereupon stood adjourned.