APPHNDIX E CXIII 
XIV.—Report of the New Brunswick Historical Society. 
Presented by VEN. ARCHDEACON Raymonp, LL.D., F.R.S.C., Delegate. 
This Society has now completed the 36th year of its existence, 
having been organized in 1874 and afterwards incorporated by Act of 
the Provincial Legislature in 1882. Its membership has never been 
large, but the enthusiasm of the few has enabled it to accomplish much 
valuable work. It has led the way in arranging for the dignified com- 
memoration of various epochs in our provincial history. As instances 
of this we may point to the very enthusiastic celebration, in 1883, of 
the one hundreth anniversary of the Landing of the Loyalists, the 
equally successful celebration of the centenary of the establishment of 
New Brunswick as an independent province, in the year following, and 
the more recent ter-centenary of the discovery of the River and Harbour 
of Saint John by Champlain which was the oceasion of a memorable 
celebration on the 24th June, 1904. 
By the publication of its “Collections” much useful documentary 
material has been rendered available for future historians. 
At present the efforts of the Society are being especially directed 
to the discovery and preservation of papers and documents bearing upon 
the early history of New Brunswick with the view of making them readily 
accessible to students. The work of indexing and binding the muster 
rolls of the Loyalist Regiments, that served.on the side of the Crown 
during the Revolution in America, has made satisfactory progress during 
the year. One dozen large volumes have been completed, and as many 
more will be required before the task is finished. These muster rolls 
have had a romantic history. They were brought to Halifax by Lieut. 
Col. Edward Winslow, at the peace in 1783 and afterwards transferred 
to the care of his deputy, Ward Chipman, at St. John. Winslow filled 
during the war the position of Muster-Master-General of the British 
American Regiments and both he and his deputy, Chipman, were after- 
wards judges of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick and in turn 
Administrators of the Government. The muster rolls are a very im- 
portant collection of documents, filling three good sized trunks. There 
is no collection that can compare with them in the United States 
Revolutionary Archives. Nevertheless on more than one occasion the 
papers have narrowly escaped destruction. For years they found a 
safe habitation in Chief Justice Chipman’s famous “paper closet.” 
After his decease his relatives, not possessing the historic instinct, 
consigned them to the attic. They subsequently formed a part of Dr. 
Gesner’s museum, in connection with the Mechanic’s Institute. When the 
museum was broken up the papers were placed in barrels and remained 
there until, covered with dust and somewhat injured by the ravages of 
mice, they came to be regarded as rubbish. They were on the point of 
