Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-28
HISTORIANS IN COUNCIL.


HISTORIANS IN COUNCIL.
To-day's Session of the American His
tOr1cal Association.
TRADE REGULATIONS OF THE coLoSrrs-RARLY
HISTORY OF THE TARIFF-INTERNAL IMPROVE
MENTs IN oHIo-HIsroRIcAL MUSEUMS, ETC.
The last morning session Of this meeting of
the American Historical association was held
to-day in the lecture room Of the National mu-
scum. The attendance was smaller than that
at the previous sessions, but the amount Of in
terest displayed by those who were present
was apparently undiminished. The first paper
read was on
AMERICAN TRADE REGULATIONS BEFORE 1885,"
by Willard Clark Fisher, fellow of Cornell uni
versity. The many commercial regulations of
the colonial governments, with their various
tendencies to retard or promote expectation or
importation, was referred to. The regulations
were classified into bounties on imports, boun-
ties on exports. and duties on imports, and the
very possibility Of such a classification makes
it to one acquainted only with the present tar
i'll laws, said Mr.. Fisher, one of the most strik-
ing characteristics of the colonial legislation.
Bounties on imports were on some occasions
direct and unconditional, but more often
they took the form of remission Of duties in
favor Of such as would import desirable COM
modities. Stimulants to expectation were usu-
ally bount1es or other rewards and indulgences
for the production of such merchandise as
would naturally be exported The varieties Of
regulations OF this class were numerous, in
Guiding, aside from direct pecuniary bounties,
prizes, remission of taxes, monopolies of the
market, loans, grants of lands, or exemption
frnr mil dutu n,,%i 20
forbidden by the federal constitution, were
very common in nearly all the colonies and in
some were OF greater importance than duties
on imports.
EMBARGoEs UPON ExpoRTArIoN,
and at times upon importation, were very fire.
quently enacted and put in force; perhaps
more frequently than any other kind of trade
regulations in the early colonial days and dur
ing the commencement of the revolution.
Duties on imports were first laid in the form of
tonnage dues, and then, as now, import duties
were the most important source Of revenue.
There was only semblance Of harmony be-
tween the colonies on the rates of duty.
Occasionally there would be temporary
agreements in rates; instances Of privileges
extended by one colony to another, and. neces-
sarily, certain common tendencies toward
higher rates and toward explicitness in details.
The import resolutions of 1881 and 1888,
brought persistently to the attention of the
states, were the foundation on which rested the
constitutional system of duties.
oHIo's CANAL SYSTEM.
Mr.. Charles N. Morris, of Berkeley divinity
school, then read a sketch of 1.-THE History of
Internal Improvements in Ohio" The paper
was most exhaustive one, a large proportion
of it being devoted to the financial aspect of
Ohio's work within her own borders. The i'm
mense amount of labor and ingenuity neces-
in fhn atr ion of he
canal system of the state and the fact that
nearly all the waterways were failures in a
business sense were dealt with at length and
infinitely.
HISTORICAL MUSEUMS.
''The uses and Limitations of Historical
Museums" was the subject of Prof. g. Brown
Goodies paper. The professor argued that
museum was a necessity for students of his
tory, but no attempt had vet been made
TO apply the art of museum administration to
the development of a museum of history. But
1t was hardly practicable to make museums as
useful to history as they are to physical
science, for the historian studies events while
the naturalist studies objects and the forces by
which their existence is determined The value
of the historical museum was less fully recog-
nlzed than it would be were it not that so many
OF Its functions were performed by the library.
THE PROFESSORS IDEAL OF MUSEUM
was the British museum, with its libraries
pictures, archaeological galleries, and anthro-
biological, geological, botanical and geological
collections. In the museum even the casual
observer forms his own impressions, but in the
library one studies the impressions of Others
The influence of the museum is not
SO deep as that of the library, but
it extends to a greater number of people,
The proper arrangement is a combination
of museum and library in one building and
under one management. The museum of to-
day Is no longer a chance assemblage of curiosi-
ties; 1t is rather number of objects selected
with reference to their value to Investigators
or their possibilities of public enlightenment
The museum of the future may be made one of
the chief agencies of the higher civilization.
II hope" continued the professor. .'that the
time will come when every town will have both
public museum and a public library, each
with a staff of competent men, mutually help
full and contributing largely to the intellectual
life of the community" The MANY adyan-
tages which would accrue to historians by the
adoption OF museum methods were clearly
pointed out. The Catlin collection of Indian
pictures Con the walls Of the lecture-room)
were pointed out as an instance where the mu-
scum was an invaluable aid in the preservation
of history.
The fourth paper on the program. on
american Archives" by Frederic A. Bancroft
librarian of the State department, was not
read.
AIter the seSsIOu ndu clOseu meetlng OF the
executive council was held in Prof. G. Brown
Goodies office.
THE EVENING AND CLOSING SESSION
will commence at o'clock and will be held in
the lecture-room of Columbian university.
The following papers will be read: 1.-THE Mar
tyrdom of San Pedro Arbues," by Henry C.
Lea, of Philadelphia; "A Reply to DIR. Stille
upon Religious Liberty in Virginia." by VIM.
Writ Henry, of Richmond; 1.-THE Inauguration
of George Washington as President of the
United States" by Clarence Winthrop Bowen,
Phi. ID.
Reports of committees will then be received
and officers for the ensuing year will be elected
nominated President c. X. Adams. of Cornell
university, as the next president of the asso-
citation.
The committee has also decided to recon-
mend the following: For first vice-president,
Hon. John Jay; for second vice-president, Mr..
William Writ Henry; for secretary, Prof Her.
bert B. Adams (the present incumbent); for
treasurer, Mr.. Clarence Winthrop Bowen (the
present incumbent)
Tomorrow a party will be made up for
pilgrimage to Mount Vernon.
YESTERDAY EVENINGS SESSION
was held in the lecture room of Columbian
university. The first paper was by Professor
Jameson, of Brown university, its subject being
'The Old Federal Courts of Appeal" The in
luences of this court as a popular educator on
the necessity of a Supreme Court Of the United
States were traced logically, and at the conclu-
sion Of the paper the Hon. Bancroft Davis
made few brief but complimentary remarks
upon its historical value
1.-THE Canadian Archives was the title of