The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-11-03
soUTHliERliN q HISTORY. EiIll

i. SOUTHERN HISTORY.
ANNUAL. MEETING OF TIE HISTORICAL
3 souETY-REroRT OF THE EXECUTIVE
GOMM1TTEE-yALUAB WORK ACCosf-
PLIsHED-THEiLEEM MONUMENT.
The annual meeting OF the Southern His.
terical Society was held last night in the hall
of the House OF Delegates. In the unavoidable
absence OF General Jubal a. Early, the pre-
sident, iee-President r. III. T.. Hunter
presided. Rev. DIR. j. William Jones, the
secretary, occupied his official post. Prayer
was offered by Rev. DR.. j, Is. Jeter, who
besought Divine favor for those engaged in
the effort to collect historical material on the.
sad events Of the late war. He. also prayed
for blessings upon the nation, and that God
would guide our choice In the election for
President so as to bind together the people
in the bonds OF peace and patriotism. 81
General Dabney II. Maury, chairman Of
the Executive Committee, presented the re-
port Of the Executive Committee, covering
all the operations of the Society during the
past year. s..s.
s We give the following extracts from the
report Of the committee:
Our Society has steadily grown in pub
lie favor, our membership has largely III
creased, and there has been continuous, ad.
ditions OF most valuable material to our col
lection. .. -
as. we have from time to time made ac-
knowled dgement through the papers Of con-
received we deem it unnecessary
to give here catalogue OF material on hand.
But we may say that our collection is
now generally recognized as one OF very
great value. We have received frequent
letters from North, South, East, and West,
and from Europe, asking for information
on various points Of historical interest, and
in nearly every instance our archives af-
forded the information sought. Several
gentlemen, engaged in writing important
parts OF the history OF our struggle for consti-
tutional freedom, have acknowledged valu-
able assistance received from us, and have
siSnifed their purpose of consulting our
archives more freely in the future.
Indeed, we have already on our shelves
ample material for true history of the
"war between the States" with the excep-
ton Of the year 1864 and the early part Of
1865. We have Invaluable material for this
latter period; but our collection is less COM
plete for these years than any others, and
we beg our friends who may have material
which would throw light upon this part Of
the war to send 1t promptly forward to our
Office. We have not been in condition to
purchase documents or MSS, but we have
been highly gratifed at the cheerful alacrity
with which our patriotic people have given
us material which no money could purchase.
We have the promise Of many MSS, docu-
MOTTO delay sending them forward. lest some
aI,a oil &hap
shelves. We would also gladly receive as
a loan anything which persons may not be
willing to give us, and would hold it strictly
subject to the wishes Of the owner.
PUBLICATIONS.
AS to the interest and value of the South
ern Historical Society Papers we have tes-
timony from every quarter, as well as the
steady increase of our subscription-list,
which has now run up to 1860. We sent
our discussion of the "Treatment OF Pris-
oners :" to large number Of the principal
newspapers and libraries at the North, and
about three hundred copies to different
parts Of Europe. We have reason to be-
lieve that these have already produced yalu-
able fruit. Several English gentlemen have
written their warm appreciation OF the i'm
portance and value of our Papers. A dis
tinguished officer and able military critic Of
the Prussian army has written that they
IS give him great pleasure and create great
interest in the historical world" and . do
tinguished French historian writes that ne
is highly gratifed at receiving them, and
promises to give them, especially the Nos:
on the prison question, ga careful study"
We have had the two Nos. (March and
ApriD which discuss the "Treatment OF
y - 1 s,,ko sfr11 yynt
which our friends should help us to place
in every public library. We have also very
beautifullY-bound copies OF the first volume
OF our Papers.
"In regard to the character OF the pa
pers," " our policy is that while preserving
the strictly historical character OF the masa-
zine, and never sending out No. which IS
not Of real historic value, we shall at the
same time intersperse narratives which tell
of the camp, the march, the bivouac, the
battlefield, the hospital, or the prison, and
give vivid pictures OF the everyday inner
life of the Confederate soldier"
The extent to which the Southern His
torical Society is to be held as endorsing
everything contained in the papers we pub
lish is a question so often raised that we
allude to it here. OF course the Society,
whose members are scattered all through the
country, cannot meet to pass upon each
paper, and cannot endorse what is pub
lished further than it is done by the Execu-
tive Committee. The members OF the COM
mittee are accustomed to give very careful
consideration to the propriety OF each pub
lication, but even they are not to be con-
sidered as endorsing everything they pub
lish.
FINANCES.
From the organization OF the Society 1t
has been crippled by the want OF means to
properly carry on its work. We are glad TO
be able to report decided improvement in
this respect during the past year, for while
we could have used very iudiciously more
money, we have not been SO cramped rs
heretofore, have had much greater facilities
than ever, and feel assured That the Society
is now on sound financial basis, and that
its receipts IN the future will fully meet all
OF it's necessary expenses. At the same
time we will need money to buy books for
our library, to purchase MSS. and docu-
ments which we cannot otherwise procure,
to nut our publications on the shelves OF
public libraries whose managers will not
purchase them, and to do many other de.
sirabie things-so that those OF our friends
who are able to do so would be promoting
q good work by making donations to the
treasury OF the Society. fa
The following summary OF receipts and
disbursements from October %, 1875, to Oc.
fober 81, 1876, will exhibit the financial
workings and present status OF the Society
Cash on hand and receipts Including dona.
| ton of w. w. Corcoran, Esq, 5000
S5.O61 .s8; disbursements, S5,010.02; bal
ance in the treasury, s51. .94; total liabilities
sI.1a2.27. To liquidate this amount We
have assets to the amount OF $1,248.
In conclusion, your COMMITTEES would ex