186 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



minous as the work is, it includes only those parts of letters (or diaries 

 or notes) which give actual information about the doings of Congress 

 additional to that which is contained in the published Journals. 

 The Library of Congress is reprinting those journals, or rather print- 

 ing them completely for the first time; Dr. Burnett's work is in the 

 strictest sense complementary to that of the Library. At the same 

 time, it should also be remarked that he has not omitted letters because 

 they have been printed before, for the value and usefulness of his 

 compilation depend largely upon the cumulative effect obtained by 

 L ' mging together all the material, written by delegates of whatever 

 State or from whatever point of view, that illustrates the transactions 

 of a body having so little homogeneity as the Continental Congress. 

 Indeed, the first volume is mainly made up of letters which have been 

 printed before, but in widely scattered and sometimes uncommon 

 books, and now printed with more exactitude of text and brought 

 together into mutual illustration and support. It is chiefly for this 

 earlier period (from September 1774 to July 4, 1776) that letters of 

 members have been already printed, for the attention of historical 

 inquirers has been much concentrated on those months; later volumes 

 will consist mainly of material hitherto unknown. 



The manuscript of volume II of this work was ready to be presented 

 to the Institution at the date with which this report is concluded. 

 The third and fourth volumes are nearly ready, and the fifth and sixth, 

 completing the series, can be made ready without great delay, for, 

 from the method of procedure necessarily followed in the gathering of 

 the material, the texts for all six were in hand before the process of 

 annotation was begun. As new occasions, such as auction sales or 

 fresh accessions by historical societies, bring to light additional letters 

 whose dates fall within the limits of the earlier volumes, they are 

 copied and the copies preserved against the issue of the sixth volume, 

 in which they will be included in an appendix. 



In the series which is being prepared by Dr. Stock, "Proceedings 

 and Debates of Parliament respecting North America," the work at 

 present going on is that of annotating the texts, gathered together long 

 since. During the year Dr. Stock has carried this work of annotation 

 from 1645 to 1667. The first volume, therefore, which will end either 

 with the year 1689 or with 1700, is nearing completion. Meanwhile, 

 the Director's sojourn in London is giving some opportunities for 

 the obtaining of additional material, in the way of records of debates 

 in the eighteenth century. It should be remarked that the scope 

 of the publication embraces the Scottish and Irish parliaments, as 

 well as those of Great Britain. 



Miss Donnan, returning temporarily to the work of the Department, 

 has devoted the summer to investigations intended to complete the 

 work on which she was engaged when she resigned from the staff, the 

 making of a collection of documents and narratives illustrating the 



