ON MK. DU PONCEAU'S HISTORY. 75 



sophical Society, put into his hands for the purpose 

 of being digested, and in due time published among 

 the Transactions of that body." Mr. Du Ponceau 

 thinks it probable that this book was the intermediate 

 volume which he infers to have existed, and attempts 

 to fix its date by a question quoted from it by Dr. 

 Smith; namely, "How may the possession of the 

 Lakes be improved to our advantage," which, he 

 says, judging historically, could "only have been 

 asked after the cession of Canada in 1763." But it 

 is not necessary to bring any ingenious reasoning to 

 bear upon this point ; for the Committee find that the 

 identical question, above quoted, was proposed by 

 Isaac Paschall on the 5th of October 1759. See 

 Junto Minute book, under that date, Part 1, p. 39. 

 Thus the attempt to fix the date of an intermediate 

 volume of minutes fails; and the Committee may 

 add their strong conviction, that the book referred 

 to by Dr. Smith, was no other than the first part of 

 the present Junto Minute book, which was originally 

 the first volume of Junto Minutes. This book con- 

 tains "many of the questions discussed by the 

 Junto," and is preceded by a list of some of them. 

 So strongly, however, is Mr. Du Ponceau impressed 

 with the belief in the existence of an intermediate 

 volume, that he reasons upon it as a fact, and says, 

 "The loss of the missing volume is so much the more 

 to be regretted, as it included a period when Frank- 

 lin was in this country, and probably took an active 



