The Colorado statesman., 1910-03-19

printed mdleTldl
was from the Chinese government, a
set of the great Chinese encyclopedia,
comprising over 5000 lin Chinese)
volumes. This was brought to Wash
ington by the special ambassador
charged with the acknowledgements or
China to the United States for the
remission of the boxer indemnity
Herbert Putnam, librarian, says that
the term encyclopedia" expresses
very imperfectly the scope of this
work. He points out that China alone
the government itself of China-has
attempted to embody in this literary
record the entire knowledge of an
epoch.
Among the gifts of individual mate
rial having special interest were more
than a hundred printed volumes from
the library of George Bancroft, pre-
sented by Mrs. ]. C. Bancroft Davis.
These include an extra illustrated
copy of Bancroft's own history and
a unique copy of the plates illustrat-
ing the stained glass in st. Johns
church in Washington. The collection
of manuscripts was enriched during
among which may be mentioned that
of ]. p. MacLean of Franklin, o., of
large number of papers illustrating
the progress of the Shaker movement
in Ohio, comprising letters from and
to the community at Union village.
records of the village, biographical
notebooks, music, prayers and jour
nails. the whole forming a valuable
record of the rise of Shakerism in the
middle west.
The Burton Harrison collection,
which came in during the year. is
also highly priced. 1t consists of let
ters to his father, Burton N. Harrison.
his grandfather, Jesse Burton Harri-
son, and his great-grandfather Sam
uel Jordan Harrison, from Thomas
jefferson, Henry Clay, R. R. Gurley,
N. P. Trist, Jefferson Davis and 9th
ers, all, especially the Jefferson Davis
letters, throwing important light on
historical events. Mrs. William Reed
of Baltimore added to the collection
of the year the private diary kept by
William B. Reed during his mission to
China in 1S57-1S59. DR.. Stuyvesant
Fish Morris placed in the collection
the certificates of election as presi-
dent and vice-president of the United
States of Andrew Jackson and Martin
Van Buren, in 1888, and the certificate
of election as president of Martin Van
Buren, in 1897.
The transfer of manuscripts here
tofore preserved in other government
offices to the division of manuscripts
in the library brought some important
accessions during the year. The state
department transferred all the appli-
cations for office during the admins
tration of George Washington and the
journal and minutes of the electoral
college of 1877; the treasury depart
ment, the original vouchers and ac-
counts of George Washington's eX-
penses during the whole period of his
command of the army during the rev.
olution; the interior department the
rich collection of historical documents
filed in connection with the revolu-
tionary pension claims, and papers
pertaining to the slave trade and ne
gro colonization in 1S62-1S72; the
postoffice department. certain miscel-
laneous papers, being drafts of let
ters, opinions of assistant attorneys
general and applications for office
from 1925 to 1875.
This work of rescuing from the va
rious departments of the government
papers and documents having a his
torical value is to go on.
The more important purchases of
the library during the year include
the letters and log books of Admiral
Sir George Cockburn (1772-1S53), in
81 volumes, embracing narrative of
the proceedings Of Lord Nelson's
squadron in the cruise from Gibraltar
and the battle of the Nile; Cockburn's
mission from Spain to her American
colonies in 1911; the orders and
movements of the British squadron in
American waters in 1914 and the voy-
age to ST. Helena, whittier he carried
Napoleon in 1915. The Bosnian pa
pers were also purchased during the
year. John Leeds Bosnian was a his
torian of Maryland who from 1857 to
1928 lived on the eastern shore of
Chesapeake bay. where he conducted
a large estate and pursued the life of
an antiquarian and historian. He left
his library and papers to his nephew.
John Leeds Kerr, who was represen-
tative in congress from 1926 to 1929
and from 1881 to 1888. This collec-
ton of manuscripts. which is now re-
garded as having great value. was
purchased from the descendants of
John Leeds Kerr.
During the year the Jefferson and
Hamilton collections were added to
by the purchase of additional letters,
and an interesting contribution to the
cya,+b Coro1ipo fadara1icp,