Page images
PDF
EPUB

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

192974

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. 1900.

BULLETIN NO. 1, issued September, 1893, contains (1) a catalogue exhibiting the existing arrangement of the papers of the Continental Congress; (2) a partial miscellaneous index of manuscripts of the Continental Congress examined to the date of going to press; (3) the Documentary History of the Constitution for the period preceding the Federal Convention-being the Annapolis Convention and credentials of delegates to the Federal Convention.

BULLETIN NO. 2, issued November, 1893, is a revised and indexed edition of the Calendar of the Correspondence of James Monroe.

BULLETIN No. 3, issued January, 1894, contains (1) a list indi-
cating the arrangement of the Washington papers; (2) the
continuation of a partial miscellaneous index of the manu-
scripts of the Continental Congress; (3) the Documentary
History of the Constitution-proceedings of the Federal
Convention.

BULLETIN No. 4, issued March, 1894, is a Calendar of the Corre-
spondence of James Madison.
BULLETIN No. 5, issued May, 1894, contains (1) an arrangement
of the papers of Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe, and
Franklin; (2) the continuation of the miscellaneous index;
(3) the Documentary History of the Constitution—the Con-
stitution as signed in Convention; proceedings in Congress;
ratifications by the several States.

BULLETIN No. 6, issued July, 1894, is a Calendar of the Cor-
respondence of Thomas Jefferson-Part I. Letters from
Jefferson.

BULLETIN No. 7, issued September, 1894, contains (1) a list of
the territorial and State records deposited in the Bureau of
Rolls and Library and classified as Chapter I of the manu-
script books and papers; (2) the continuation of a partial
miscellaneous index of the manuscripts of the Continental
Congress; (3) the Documentary History of the Constitu-
tion-Articles in addition to and amendment of the Con-
stitution.

ULLETIN No. 8, issued November, 1894, is a Calendar of the
Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson-Part II. Letters to
Jefferson.

MEA AOBK

[ocr errors]

2

ACCESS TO THE MANUSCRIPTS.

The privilege of access to the manuscript. archives of the Department of State may be secured, so far as the facilities at command and the convenience of the office admit, upon application by letter to the Secretary of State. Applicants should describe as concisely and definitely as may be possible the papers they desire to consult, the scope of the examination contemplated, and the period of time during which they propose to avail themselves of the permission, if accorded. The privilege is to be exercised under the following

SPECIAL RULES AS TO MANUSCRIPTS DEPOSITED IN THE BUREAU OF ROLLS AND LIBRARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

I. Persons to whom the privilege of consulting the manuscript archives of the Department of State is granted can exercise the permission only subject to the convenience of the Department and the uninterrupted transaction of its business.

II. No manuscript shall, at any time, be taken out of the Department except by order in writing of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary.

III. No manuscript shall be taken out of the Bureau of Rolls and Library, into any room of the Department, until a receipt in form and descriptive of the paper or volume be signed by the official taking the same and delivered to the Chief of the Bureau, or, in his absence, to the person in charge.

IV. No manuscript shall be detained from its place on the shelves of the Bureau of Rolls and Library after

4 p. m. of the day it shall have been taken; and no manuscript shall be taken from its place on the shelves by any others than the clerks in charge, except by special arrangement in exceptional circumstances.

V. The use of the indexes in the room in which the old archives are deposited is not permitted except through the clerks in charge.

VI. The privilege of consulting the manuscript archives does not include the use of the Library. The latter privilege must be independently asked of the Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library.

By order of the Secretary of State.

Any violation of the foregoing rules will be regarded as sufficient cause for the immediate withdrawal of the privilege granted.

DESIGNATION OF CHAPTERS.

CHAPTER A. Records of the proceedings of Congress. The domestic and foreign correspondence thereof; military letters, including those addressed or submitted to Congress by General Washington; reports of the Boards of War, Finance, Admiralty, etc., with miscellaneous papers and letters relating to the war of the Revolution and of the Confederacy. This chapter, comprising all books, records, and papers remaining in the office of the "Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled" [Charles Thomson], was deposited in the Department of State under the provisions of the act of Congress approved September 15, 1789, and entitled "An act to provide for the safe-keeping of the acts, records, and seal of the United States, and for other purposes."

CHAPTER B. The Washington papers. (1) Public and private letters and other papers before the Revolution, embracing Washington's official correspondence and other writings during the French and Indian war; (2) his correspondence, official and private, from the beginning to the end of the Revolution, including general orders, army rolls, and other military papers; also the original drafts

MEA AOKK

or first copies of these papers, which were retained and consulted by General Washington in camp (comprising two copies of nearly all his letters. written during the Revolution contained in this chapter, and of his correspondence with Congress [Chapter A], the complete letter as signed and sent, as well as the transcript, entered on the records of Congress-that is to say, in the greater number of cases there are in the national archives, in this Department's custody, the draft, the transcript made under the direction of Richard Varick, "recording secretary to the Commander in Chief," the original autograph or signed letter as sent and received, and the transcript thereof in the volumes of the records of Congress); (3) letters and miscellaneous papers, public and private, after the Revolution and coming down to the end of his life (among which are the records of his intercourse with Congress and with the different Executive Departments while he was President, and many important Cabinet papers); (4) the original letters received by General Washington, and numerous original papers on public affairs, military, civic, and other subjects; (5) agricultural papers, being his correspondence with his superintendent and overseers, giving directions on the preparation and planting of the soil, rotation of crops, and other farming matters. His journals, diaries, and similar papers form an important part of this chapter.

CHAPTER C. The Constitution of the United States. The journal of the convention for framing the Constitution, and all papers appertaining to or forming part of the archives of that convention.

CHAPTER D. The papers and manuscripts of James Madison, purchased by authority of an act of Congress approved May 31, 1848.

CHAPTER E. The papers and manuscripts of Thomas Jefferson, purchased by authority of an act of Congress approved August 12, 1848.

CHAPTER F. The papers and manuscripts of Alexander Hamilton, purchased by authority of an act of Congress approved August 12, 1848.

CHAPTER G. The papers and manuscripts of James Monroe, purchased by authority of an act of Congress approved March 3, 1849.

CHAPTER H. The papers and manuscripts of Benjamin Franklin, purchased by authority of an act of Congress approved August 7, 1882.

CHAPTER I. Records of States and Territories.

Be

ginning with the journals and proceedings of the Northwest Territory.

CHAPTER K. The acts and resolutions of Congress; treaties between the United States and other powers; proclamations by the President, and Executive orders and announcements.

CHAPTER L. Records of the proceedings of commissions established by treaty for the consideration and settlement of questions involving boundaries and international claims.

CHAPTER M. Letters of ceremony addressed to the Government of the United States on extraordinary occasions by the heads and Governments of foreign States.

CHAPTER N. The war of 1812. Records concerning the granting of letters of marque. Privateer bonds and miscellaneous manuscripts in the custody of the Department of State.

[Other chapter designations will follow.]

« PreviousContinue »