ANNALS OF AN OLD SOCIETY. 63 



French rule in Canada was concerned. From the minutes of the Council we learn that, in 

 1832, a grant had been sanctioned by the House of Assembly, for the purchase of docu- 

 ments in England and France, or to defray the expenses connected with the transcribing 

 of such, and as the story of such enterprise cannot but be interesting to all who recognise 

 with increasing satisfaction the achievements of the Archives Department as it is at 

 present organized under the excellent system introduced by Mr. Douglas Brymner, it may 

 be worth our while to follow it in its continuity, apart from the various other incidents of 

 the Society's growth. 



At first, a sum of forty pounds, taken from the original vote of two hundred pounds 

 made by the Government, was placed in the hands of a London agent to meet contingen- 

 cies in paA'ing the way for access to the documents in the possession of the authorities of 

 France and England. This was in 18-33 ; but it was not until four years afterwards, that 

 the first collection was made through the kind offices of Lord Aylmer, who, in succeeding 

 Sir James Kempt as Grovernor-General, became the patron of the Society and did everything 

 in his power to advance its interests. A Special Committee on Historical Documents had 

 l>eeu appointed, through which correspondence, with those who were in a position to 

 favour the enquiries of the association, was to be condircted ; but for years the efforts of 

 this committee were attended with anything but success. At length, as an earnest of the 

 committee's determination to succeed, a memoir relating to Canadian affairs from 1149 to 

 ItfiO, was obtained from Colonel Christie, and put in the hands of the printer. Subse- 

 quently a number of rare books and manuscriiDts were forwarded by Abbé Holmes from 

 Paris, which assisted in elucidating the same period, and extended in their scope from 

 1*750 to lYVi). In these events we may find the indirect origin of the magnificent collection 

 which now lies in the vaults of the Parliament Buildings at Ottawa, — the modest begin- 

 ning of an enterprise so important to our country. 



• Encouraged by these successes, the committee, it is needless to say, persevered in their 

 work, and in 1830 were in a position to report that through the agency of the Hon. Mr. 

 Cochrane, once a president of the Society, they had procured additional books of travels and 

 notes on voyages to America, many of them having special reference to the sufierings of 

 the first colonists, and containing memorabilia of subsequent periods. At first, the Society, 

 in its labours in this direction, had to depend, to a large extent, upon the influence which 

 the several Governors-General could bring to bear upon those who had charge of the arch- 

 ives of France and England. Lord Durham was one of those who took an active part in 

 assisting the Society, not only presenting a valuable collection of books illustrating the 

 history of Canada, but, during a short visit to Paris, giving instructions to have several 

 manuscripts copied and sent to Quebec from Versailles. Those members who had oppor- 

 tunities of visiting Europe, at a time when a holiday spent on the continent was an event 

 of rarer occurrence among us than it is now, did not lose sight of the interests of 

 the Society during their travels, — some of them, as in the case of Mr. Cochrane and Abbé 

 Holmes, assisting to establish those friendly relations between Quebec and the literary 

 societies of Europe, which have been maintained to the present day. Mr. Cochrane, a 

 lawyer of distinction, and a member of the Executive Council holding several important 

 positions in the country, was one of those who encouraged the Society to prosecute its 

 labours. He was one of those who took a deep interest in all matters pertaining to the 

 advancement of literature and science in Canada, a man of remarkable memoiy and 



