58 BANQUET TO THE 



sented his name as President of our Society, his elec- 

 tion was carried by a unanimous vote ; and now for 

 sixteen years he has been annually re-elected without 

 a dissenting voice ; and for the last few years, as a 

 mark of special respect and reverence, the members 

 have risen in their seats to receive the announcement 

 of his election. 



I have thus touched upon some of the reasons, Mr. 

 President, and Gentlemen, which influenced the ac- 

 tion of the Society which I have here the honor to 

 represent. When Colonel Wilder became President, 

 in 1868, the Society had been established twenty- 

 three years ; it had a large membership, a library of 

 eight thousand volumes, which had floated in from 

 members and others almost entirely as gifts, with 

 some valuable manuscripts, and a thousand dollars in 

 funds. This constituted the whole property of the 

 Society. It was certainly a good beginning for a 

 historical association, starting out on a new line of 

 investigation. But a great Society, having a great 

 purpose, could not bestow its library conveniently for 

 use, or increase it to meet the growing demands, 

 in a rented flat of uncertain tenure in a mercantile 

 building. 



Soon after Colonel Wilder became President of 

 the Society, a building committee was appointed, 

 of which he was chairman, whose business it was to 

 erect or purchase a suitable building, and perform the 



