REPORT

OF THE COUNCIL

OF THE

LITERARY

AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OF

QUEBEC,

 

AT THE

GENERAL ANNUAL MEETING

Held on the 8th January, 1847.

 

PRINTED BY J.C. FISHER, NO. 6, MOUNTAIN STREET.

 

REPORT

OF THE COUNCIL

OF THE

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OF

QUEBEC

AT THE

GENERAL ANNUAL MEETING

 

Held on the 8^th January, 1847

 

THIS being the day fixed by the Charter for the election of Officers for the current year, the Council have the honor to submit the Annual Report for 1846, on retiring from their offices respectively.

 

They regret that they have it not in their power to lay, before you a flattering statement of the progress and present condition of the. Society ; although it is not without satisfaction that they assure you, while no actual retrogression is perceptible, that they entertain strong expectations from some measures of which notice has been given on the minutes, to be brought forward at the proper time, that much improvement may be anticipated during the year now commenced. There being sufficient reason to believe that the quorum fixed by the By-laws at the regular meetings of the Society, is too large in proportion to the number of Members, it is recommended to reduce that quorum ; and as some of the most zealous friends of the Society are resident at a distance from the City, and consequently have been subjected to inconvenience in attending the evening meetings, particularly during the winter months, it is proposed that the hour be changed to an earlier one in the afternoon. The Council have reason to believe, from past experience, that these alterations in the By-law will tend materially to the advantage of the Society and the convenience of the members.

 

The regular meeting of the Society having so repeatedly failed through want of a quorum, the papers read have only been two in number—viz—one transmitted by Thomas Stratton M.D, of Penetanguishene, a corresponding member, entitled—“A description of the Ruins of an old Fort on Christian Inland, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron ;" the other read by the Rev. Dr. Wilkie L. L. D., whose exertions are never wanting to uphold the usefulness and assist the progress of the Society, "On the Origin and History of the Names of Persons.”

 

The opinion expressed in the annual Report of 1846, “that several other papers would have been read if a fuller attendance could have been had to form the regular meetings, “applies with equal justice to the proceedings of the year, just closed. The chilling influence of a thin attendance will be will understood by those who have devoted time and labor in elucidating a subject which fails to attract; and although the Poet may be borne out by truth, when he tells us that,—

“The labor we delight physic pain—“

it cannot be denied that the uncertainty of obtaining a literary audience will damp considerably the ardour of even the most zealous.

 

The publication of another part of the transactions of the Society is in progress and papers have been reported by the Classes for publication, nearly sufficient, it is believed, to complete the Fourth version.

 

Those already printed are, “A Tabular view of Minerals which decrepitate with heat, by Captain, now Major Haddeley, R.E.”—“Notes on Ungara Bay and its vicinity, by W. H.A. Davies, Esquire:” –“Notes on the measures adopted by Government, between 1775 and 1786, to check the St. Paul’s Bay desease, by the Hon. A. W. Cochran ;”—and “A Comparative view of the mere striking qualities of the French and English Languages, by the Reverend D. Wilkie L.L.D.”

 

The Council have pleasure in reporting that the customary aid of £50 was received from the liberality of the House of Assembly, in addition to the sum of £300 advanced by the Executive Government, pursuant to an address of the Legislative Assembly, at the close of the last Parliamentary Session, in aid of the exertions of the Society to procure transcripts of interesting public documents, essentially valuable in this Province ; the copying of which was stated in the last Annual Report of the Council to have been satisfactory commenced at Albany, in November, 1845, by Mr. F. Glackemeyer, under the auspices of the Committee of this Society on Historical Documents. The Council have now to report, that during the past summer Mr. Glackemeyer continued his task in the most satisfactory manner ; and the results of his labours are now upon the shelves of the Society, bound in seventeen solid volumes, in manuscript, being copies and extracts from documents procured in Paris and London, by Mr. Brodhead, now Secretary of Legation, in London, for the United States, and by him deposited in the Archives of the State of New York, at Albany. Amongst the documents as copied for this Society from them obtained by Mr. Brodhead, in London will be found many papers both French and English connected with Canadian History, previous to the American Revolution. Mr. Glackemeyer returned from Albany in September last, having appointed a competent person to continue the extracts. In consequence, however, of the difficulty, amounting almost to impossibility, of ascertaining, by the contents of Mr. Brodhead’s printed catalogues, what documents it might be fit to select from that collection of English Archives, most of them being more connected with the History of New York than that of Canada—one of the Committee on Historical Documents, the Hon. A.W. Cochran, proceeded to Albany, and examined 38 volumes of the Transcripts, containing 13,000 pages of MS, and marked the portions to be copied. The Council have since received from Mr. Glackemeyer, and the person employed by him, 1220 pages of MS, extracted from 26 volumes of these documents, down to the year 1736: and the Society will be glad to learn that the work is still proceeding in a very correct and satisfactory manner, and will probably be completed in the course of a few weeks.

 

It would be unjust were not the Council to acknowledge the facilities kindly afforded to Mr. Cochran, by the Secretary of the State of New York and the Department, in the execution of no laborious a mission

 

As there will remain in the hands of the Society, a balance of the great from the Executive Government, it will be for the Society to consider the expediency of applying to the Governor General for a further aid, to be expended together with the balance of the former grant, in printing from these MSS for public use, a collection of historical papers such as has been published both by this Society and by the other Societies from similar sources.

 

In drawing your attention to these proceedings of the Committee on Historical Documents, the Council have necessarily availed themselves of the Reports made to them by that Committee ; and they feel it their duty to advert to eh services rendered by two of the members, Mr. Cochran and Mr. Faribault, under those care and charge the volumes now upon your shelves have been procured, forming a valuable and highly interesting addition to the Library.

 

The Library has received several other additions during the year, partly by purchase and partly by donations from members and other individuals. The titles of these books will be found in the list of donations appended to this Report.

 

The Museum and Apparatus have been carefully attended to, and will be found in good order.

 

From the Treasurer’s Report it will appear that the sum of £2 5s. has been received during 1846, over and above the receipts of the previous year ; and that of the ordinary funds of the Society, there remains a balance of £26 10s. 3d. in his hands.

 

The exertions of that officer continue to be cheerfully, and zealously afforded in by department.

 

The number of subscribing members is thirty four, of whom thirty have paid to 31st December last.

 

In conclusion, while the Council regret that they cannot present a more favourable view of the progress of the Society during the past year, they are from believing that a fresh impulse may not be given to the spirit of its Members ; and that the public mind may set be directed anew, in a cause so becoming and appropriate to the age, as the cultivation of Literary, Historical and Scientific pursuits. There must be a class in the community that will support this Society, if a call be made upon it with earnestness, propriety and judgement, To that claim, to the friends of Literature and Science generally, throughout the Provinces, and to all who wish man to become wiser and better, we are of opinion that be a successful appeal might be made, and then the future progress of this Society would be matter of hope, not of anxiety, to its friends.

 

The Council cannot forego the belief that the ancient Capital of Canada will upon such an appeal, shew itself both as capable and willing as the sister city of Montreal, to maintain at least one Society devoting itself to the higher branches of Literature and Science.

 

That it may gradually ascend to a higher position, is the sincere wish of those who now resign to their successors the station they have filled during year 1846.

 

J. CHARLTON FISHER L.L.D.

President.

 

Literary and Historical Society’s Report

13^th January, 1847.

 

OFFICERS

OF THE

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

FOR THE PAST YEAR

PUBLISHED BY

JOHN CHARLTON FISHER, L.L.D.

 

Vice-Presidents

HON. WM. SHEPPARD.

REVD. D. SCHANN, L.L.D.

HON. A.W. COCHRAN D.C.L.

G.B. FARIBAULT, Esq.

 

Secretaries

Recording

S.WRIGHT, Esq.

Corresponding

W.H.A. DEVINE, Esq.

Council

M. SHEPPARD, Esq.

 

(illegible)

 

J.C. Fisher, L.L.D. – President

W.H.A. Davies, Esq. –Corresponding Secretary

(Ex officio)

Hon. W. Sheppard, R.A., Rev. D. Wilkie L.L.D., Rev. J. Holmes, Hon. A.W. Cochran.

 

Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of Classes

 

Literature:

J.C. Fisher, L.L.D.—Chairman.

Sychrith, D.C.L.

Rev. D. Wilkie, L.L.D.

G.B. Faribault, Esq.

L. Esq.

 

History:

Hon W. Sheppard—Chairman

Esq, M.D.

R.

J. Turnbull, Esq.

 

Science:

Rev. D. Wilkie J.D.—Chairman

D. Wilis, Esq.

C.W. Jones, Esq.

W. Sheppard, Esq.

 

Arts :

S. Wright, Esq.—Chairman

Charles Sheppard, Esq.

John , Esq.

R. Geggie, Esq.

 

 

DONATIONS TO THE MUSEUM OF THE LITERARY AND

HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1846.

 

From Thomas Cary, Esq.

A Groat of James II, of England, 1687.

From John Wm. Woolsey, Esq.

A piece of Marble from the Saguenay.

 

DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY, 1846.

 

From the Author, The Oregon Question, by Thos. Falconer, Esq. Barrister of Lincoln's Inn, member of the Royal Geographical Society, London, 1845; and The Discovery of the Mississippi, London, 1844.

 

From Dr. Stratton, Penetanguishene, the author, The Derivation of many Classical

Proper Names from the Gaelic language, Edinburgh, 1845.

 

From the Society of Arts, Their Transaction, vol. LV.—London, 1846.

 

From Mr. Felix Glackemeyer, An account of a Journey to Niagara, Montreal and Quebec, 1765,--New York, 1845

 

From the Author, The Literature of American Local History, by Herman

E. Ludwig.—New York, 1845.

 

From the Montreal Mercantile Association, Their Annual Report.—Montreal, 1845.

 

From G. B. Faribault, Esq. Geological Survey of Canada—Report of Progress for the year 1844.Geological Survey of Canada

Report of Progress for the year-in French.

The Common School Journal—Boston, 1844.

Annual report of the Secretary of State of New York, transmitting abstracts of the returns of the Superintendants of the Poor, for the year 1845.

Annual Report of the New York Institution of the Deaf and Dumb—Albany, 1846. Report of a Special Committee of the House of Assembly of the State of New York, on the Quarantine Laws,—Albany, 1846.

Report of the Secretary of State of New York, transmitting Railroad Statistics, 1846. Report of Secretary of State of New York, of Abstracts of Convictions for criminal offences—Albany, 1846,

 

From the Regents of the University of the State of New York, Their fifth Annual Report.

 

From W. H. A. Davies, Esq. Paddock's Narrative of the shipwreck of the Oswego,—London, 1818

Janson's Stranger la America,—London, 1807.

Echard's History of England, London, 1820, 3d Edition.

Ogilby's Survey of the Kingdom of England, London, 1698.

Margett’s Longitude and Horary Tables, London, 1790.

Journals of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, 1792, 1795, 1795 to 1813, 1816, 1814, 1815, 1818, 1819, 1819, 1820 1823 to 1824, 1825, 1826.

Journals of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, 1818, 1823, 1823 to 4, 1826, 1827