Paper V.~TIIE ARCHIVES OF CANADA. 
 
 Br Dr. W. J. ANDERSON, Presidknt. 
 
 A good deal of inlcresl has been shewn of late on this 
 subject, and some action taken to induce the Government 
 of the Dominion to appoint a Record Commission; but as the 
 part which the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec 
 has always taken in connection with our Archives is not 
 generally known, I have thought well to give a statement, 
 so far as the records of the Society which have escaped the 
 fires will enable me. 
 
 The charter states that one of the chief objects for which 
 the Society was established was the prosecution of researches 
 into the early history of Canada, and the recovering, procuring 
 and publishing of interesting documents and useful 
 information in connection with the natural, civil, and literary 
 history of British North America. That such was the object of 
 the Government is evidenced by the numerous special grants 
 made to the Society, and which originally formed the basis 
 of the " Historical Document Fund." 
 
 The first reference that I can find is in the Report of the 
 Council for 1833, as follows :—" The liberal vote of jesOO, 
 appropriated the year before last by the House of Assembly, 
 for the purpose of aiding the Society in the research after 
 ram and interesting documents connected with the history 
 of the Canadas, slill remains in the bank, at the disposal 
 of the president and committee of Historical Documents, 
 with the exception of about £40, which has been placed 
 in the hands of our zealous and faithful corresponding 
 member, Mr. Gould, of London, to meet any incidental 
 expenses which he may be requested to incur in promoting 
 the objects of the Society." 
 
 The next allusion is in the Report for 1837: "An 
 
 important addition to the deposit formerly entrusted to us by 
 
 P 
 
118 THE ARCHIVES OF CANADA- 
 
 Lord Aylmer^for the beneft of the public, has been contributed 
 by the Record Commission, consisting of thirteen folio 
 volumes and four octavo of that valuable publication." Lord 
 Aylmer succeeded Sir James Kempt, in 1831, as patron of the 
 Society, and perhaps did even more than its first patron, Lord 
 Dalhousie, to advance its interests, by placing in its custody 
 the documents here referred to. The Report for 1837 also 
 says that the efforts of the Historical Document Committee 
 bad only been attended with partial success : — " Unforeseen 
 difficulties have hitherto baffled its eflbrls to obtain 
 information in Elngland, though it has been led to hope that 
 these difficulties may at length be surmounted, its attempts to 
 obtain information Irom the Biircau de la Marine, in France, 
 have been equally unsuccessful ; and the last accounts seem 
 to indicate that the Records from which this information was 
 expected were destroyed in the Revolution of 1789 and '91." 
 The committee, how(!ver, had in the press a document 
 communicated by Colonel Christie, illustrating the history 
 of the Province from 1740 to 1760. And it ought to be 
 specially noted that, in addition to other very liberal offers, 
 " another donation of highly interesting works" was made 
 by the Right Honorable Sir Charles Grey. 
 
 By the Report for 1833, wc learn that the Rev. Mr. Holmes 
 had transmitted from Paris " a large addition of scarce book.?, 
 both printed and in manuscript." Those printed related 
 to the discovery of the continent, the first colonies, and 
 voyages; and also supplied a want by furnishing the history 
 of Canada from 1750 to 1779. The manuscripts related to the 
 same periods. 
 
 In the Report for 1839 the Council congratulates the 
 Society, among other things, on the additions made to the 
 Library "by the splendid donation of the Earl of Durham 
 and the books procured for illustrating the history of the 
 country." The donation was worthy of this munificent 
 patron of the Society, and consisted of ninety-four volumeis 
 
THE ARCmVES OF CANADA. 119 
 
 of the finest and rarest edilions of the Greek and Roman 
 classiics. There were also procured in London, through the 
 agency of the Honorable A. W. Cochrane,^ " rare and unique 
 maps and atlases, books of travels, and voyages to America ; 
 descriptions of the manners of the nations; the proceedings, 
 wars, and sufferings of tlie first colonies ; and histories 
 of various subsequent periods." The Councillor Macedo^ 
 Secretary of the Royal Academy of Lisbon, presented a 
 publication of his own, on the navigation of the Atlantic 
 ocean at remote periods. And again, the Record Commission 
 of Great Britain and Ireland sent a large contribution of their 
 publications. The Report concludes its reference to the 
 Historical Document Committee . as follows : — " The 
 publication of important historical documents has been 
 advantageously continued. By the influence and public 
 spirit of His Excellency ihe Karl of Durham, some valuable 
 manuscripts have been procured for us from Versailles, which 
 the committee on that subject had in vain striven to obtain 
 through any other channel. The greatest part of them have 
 been printed, and are now ready for distribution. They 
 contain important information relating to the statistics and 
 events of the Province in former periods. The others remain 
 in the Society's archives for future disposal." Four hundred 
 copies of some of the valuable manuscripts transmitted from 
 Paris in the previous year were also printed. 
 
 In November, 1839, the Society, by request of the 
 Legislative Assembly, conveyed by its clerk, VV. B. Lindsay, 
 Esq., became custodians of the specimens of Natural History 
 belonging to the Province, and was thus enabled to restore 
 and preserve a very valuable collection from the destruction 
 into which it was rapidly falling. The Report for 1840 
 informs us: — "The Committee on Historical Documents 
 has prepared a second small volume, which is now printed 
 and ready for distribution. It consists of manuscripts 
 presented to the Society by the Earl of Durham and the Rev, 
 Mr. Holmes. They are eight in number, and contain new 
 
UO THE ARCHITE9 OF CAKADA. 
 
 and interesting information on the slate of Canada under the 
 French Government, which will serve to fill some lacuna in 
 the early history of the Western Provinces. 
 
 In 1843 the Council reports, that, as there still remained a 
 balance of the £200 voted by the Legislature in 1832, it had 
 applied a portion of it to reprinting the journals of Jacques 
 Cartier, which had long been out of print, and of which few 
 copies were extant, even in the public libraries of France, 
 The reprint was from a copy obtained by the Society of a 
 manuscript in the Royai Library at Paris, supposed to be a 
 transcript of the original journal of Jacques Cartier himself. 
 It also published a tract relating to the first discoveries on the 
 shores of Canada, from Hakluyi's collection, where alone it 
 was known to be found. The Council also received from a 
 gentleman in Paris a communication, proposing to obtain for 
 the Society copies of documents relating to the early history 
 of Canada, both before and after the period comprised in the 
 works of Charlevoix^ which are to be found in the archives 
 of the Bureau de la Marine and the Ministdre de la Guerre. 
 Former attempts to obtain access to these having failed, the 
 Council was glad to avail itself of this opportunity, and 
 entered into a correspondence to procure an analysis of the 
 manuscripts and the probable cost of transcribing them, in 
 the hope that the Legislature would be again induced to 
 grant its aid. 
 
 The Report of the year 1844 records : — '' The Historical 
 Committee have published a pamphlet, being the third of the 
 kind, bearing on the early history of Canada. It comprises 
 the three voyages of Jacques Cartier^ Le Routier de Jean 
 Alpltonse, Voyage du Sieur Roherval^ and Lettres de Jacques 
 No'el^ with appendices." Copies were sent to the public 
 authorities within the Provinces, and to corresponding 
 literary and scientific associations beyond. The Council also 
 reported that the Historical Docunient Fund being exhausted, 
 it applied to the Legislature for a new grant, but did not 
 
THE ARCHIVKS OF CANADA. Itl 
 
 obtain it, owing to the untimely closing of the session ; 
 consequently, it was unable to make arrangements with M. 
 Margry, the gentleman referred to in a previous report. 
 
 In the Report for 1845 the Council states that it had 
 renewed its application for a grant to the Legislature, and 
 hoped to be successful, and refers encouragingly to what had 
 been done by the " Historical Society of N«w York," which, 
 partly by State aid and partly by their own resources, had 
 been enabled to send an agent to Kurope, who had been 
 allowed to transcribe from the archives in Paris many 
 volumes illustrating the early history of C'anada, From want 
 of funds the Council had not yet been able to employ 
 M. Margry ; but he had transmitted a copy of an ancient 
 and interesting plan of Montreal, made in 1729, by M. 
 Chaiissegro'J de Lery. 
 
 The Report of 184G says that the Council had laid before 
 the Government an estimate for £1,000, which they proposed 
 to expend in connection with the Historical Document 
 Committee ; but the Legislature only granted £200. 
 Finding this sum totally inadequate to carry out its proposed 
 plans, the Council decided to transcribe from the Broadhead 
 collection at Albany ; and having obtained permission from 
 the State authorities, by the kind i.itervention of Mr. 
 Barclay, the British consul, it made a contract with Mr. 
 Felix Glackemeyer to proceed to Albany ; and by the end ^ 
 of November, 1845, that gentleman had forwarded to Quebec 
 complete copies of the correspondence between the sovereign 
 and minister of France and the colonial authorities, and also 
 of other interesting public documents, from 1631 to 1684, 
 Mr. Glackemeyer did not expect to complete his work for six 
 months more. 
 
 In 1847 we have a most satisfactory account. The 
 Executive had, in compliance with an address of the 
 Legislative Assembly, advanced to the Society £300 to aid 
 in the completion of the service it had so well begun ; and 
 
12« THE ARCHIVEI OF CANADA. 
 
 during the ensuing summer Mr. Glackemeyer had furnished 
 seventeen folio volumes in manuscript, being copies and 
 extracts from those of Mr. Broadhead, procured by him in 
 Paris and London. 
 
 The Society found it expedient to send to Albany the Hon. 
 A. W. Cochrane, a member of the Historical Document 
 Committee, who examined thirty-eight volumes, and marked 
 the portions to be copied. Since then it had received 1,220 
 pages of manuscript extracted from twenty-six volumes, 
 bringing down the history to 1636. Mr. Glackemeyer hoped, 
 with the aid of his assistant, to have the work completed in a 
 lew weeks. The Council acknowledges the courtesy and 
 facilities ortered by the State authorities of New York, and 
 its indebtedness to Messrs. Cochrane and Faribault. 
 
 In 1852 the Council availed themselves of M. Faribault's 
 visit to Europe to open communication with several learned 
 societies. The Historical Document Fund was now reduced 
 to £115 4s. Id. 
 
 In 1854 we find :-— " The Council have learnt, with the 
 greatest satisfaction, that no less than 600 pages of manuscript 
 documents have lately been received from Paris, containing 
 the official correspondence which took place between the 
 Colonial Government and the Iniendants of Canada and the 
 Mother-country, during the period when the colony was 
 under the French dominion. These documents were obtained 
 from the different public archives in Paris by M. Faribault^ 
 during his mission to Europe in 1851-2. They are a 
 continuation of another series of documents of the same 
 nature, copies of which were obtained in 1845 from the 
 collections made in Paris by Mr. Broadhead, an American 
 agent, bound up in seventeen volumes, and are now on the 
 shelves of our Library. The newly-acquired documents from 
 Paris, now being bound, will form elevenlnrge folio volumes ; 
 and should the Legislature permit these also to be deposited in 
 
THE ARCHIVES OF CANADA. 18S 
 
 the custody of the Society^ they will present a splendid and 
 unique collection of twenty-eight volumes, replete with the 
 most valuable information on the early colonization of the 
 country, the history of the wars with the aborigines, and 
 numerous thrilling events, aflbrding an inexhaustible source 
 of information to the future historian of Canada." 
 
 The Council recommended that judicious selections should 
 be made, and a volume printed under the direction of the 
 Society. 
 
 Ka'' n the winter of that year, the Society, whose rooms 
 were m the old 'Parliament buildings, sustained an 
 inestimable loss when the building was CDnsuiufd by Jire. 
 The estimated loss in the Museum and Library was iil,400. 
 Many of the articles and books, being unique, could never bo 
 replacMl ; but, through the gkcat exertions of some members 
 of the Society, almost the whole of the manuscripts were 
 saveJ. 
 
 After this period the Legislature made no special grants to 
 the Historical Document Fund, but increased the annual 
 grant from £50 to £250 ; and it would appear that the 
 Historical Document Fund, which had been reduced in 1852 
 to XI 15 4s. Id., now stood at £121 8s. 7d. 
 
 At the close of the year 1862, the Society, whose Library 
 and Museum had been removed to the rooms in John street, 
 sustained another great loss from fire ; but again the 
 manuscripts were preserved, and the Council, in their next 
 year's Report, urged the continued publication, under its 
 control, but on the advice of a sub-committee, who should 
 make the selections. The Historical Document Fund is 
 stated in the general account to be £209 17s. Od. 
 
 I must now turn to Nova Scotia. As early as 1857, the 
 Honorable .Joseph Howe, who was always foremost to 
 advance literary research in his native Province, carried a 
 
124 THE ARCinVE« Of CAHADA. 
 
 rcsohUioa in llic fiCgisIativc Assembly to rtiisO the ancient 
 records and docuinKnty, illuslralivc of tlic history and progress 
 ol society in that F'rovinrc, " to be examined, proaorved, and 
 arranged, cither for reference or publication," as the 
 Legislature might afierwards determine. By another 
 resolution, in 1859, the Lieutcnunl-CJovornor was authorized to 
 procure from the " Slate-paper ollice, in Kngland, copies 
 of documents necessary to complele the fylcs. And in 1859, 
 ho was requested to procure from the (Jovernment of Canaila, 
 from its archives, copies of papers relating to the early 
 history of Canada. 
 
 L'r. Tho.r.as B. Akins was fortunately selected as the paid 
 ' '".'>-nissioJier of Records, and Messrs. S. L. Shannon, J. 
 Bourini '., ar.d A. G. Archibald, a joint committee of the 
 Legiulalive Council and Assembly to advise with him." The 
 proceedings of Dr. Akins were judicious anil successful ; and 
 when I visited Halifax, in 18G1, I had an opportunity of seeing 
 the result of his labors up to that dale, which I found so 
 interesting and important that 1 felt it my duty, on my return 
 to Quebec, to report to the Council what I had seen ; but 
 nothing was done till the lOlh January, 186(), when the 
 Librarian, Mr. LcMoinc, read in his ollicial report, at the 
 annual meeting: — "The undersigned begs to call the 
 attention of the Society lo the fact that several important 
 documents for the history of Canada, according to the 
 statement of Dr. Anderson, exist in the archives at Halifax." 
 At a subsequent meeting of the Council the necessary sum 
 was voted to enable mo to procure copies of the papers I 
 might think most suitable. 1 at once entered into 
 correspondence with the Hon. A. G. Archibald and Chief- 
 Justice Sir Wm. Young, who both shewed readiness to meet 
 my views; and after communication with Dr. Akins, I was 
 informed by Mr. Archibald ihat if the Society could wait till 
 the end of the year it would be unnecessary for it to incur any 
 expense, as Dr. Akins had in the presy, under the authority 
 
THR ARCltlYVfl nr TANADA 135 
 
 of the Nova-Scotia (Jovornmonf, a volmno which would 
 contain all the papers I wished, and that he would racpirst 
 Dr. Ak ins to forward na the work when published. In duo 
 time the promised volume came, and proved to bo a mo8t 
 careful selection from 200 volumes, which Or. Akina had 
 arranged and caused to be bound. Its impor'ance may be 
 ostiuiated from the fact that it contained all the missing 
 documents in connection with the most lamentable epocu 
 in the history of Nova Scotia, the deportation of the 
 Acadians, — documents wluch the Nova-Scolian historian, 
 Halliburton, failing to find among the archives, after a 
 <;areful search, had concluded dcsiroycdy because the 
 (iovernmoMl were (is/iamcd^ as ihcy well might, of the whole 
 frai^saction. Those documents, however, go to shew that, 
 howivermuch humanity may regret so extreme a measure, 
 there really was no alternative left unless Britain decided 
 to abandon the country to the Acadians. 
 
 I must acknowledge that since I have had liie pleasure 
 Ir correspond with Dr. Akins, 1 have received from him very 
 valuable information in connection with my own historical 
 pursuits, and that the Society is indirectly indebted to his 
 suggestion for the interesting ^■^ Journal of the Seegc," by 
 General Murray, which I had the good fortune to procure 
 from the Record-office at London, without any cost to the 
 Society, through the courtesy of Sir Thomas Hardy and Mr. 
 Kingston, and the kind agency of my friend Mr. Ralph Heap. 
 
 I now return to Quebec and our Society. Though no 
 ypccific grant had been made to the " Historical Document 
 Fund" by the Legislature since its vole of JC300 in 1847, still, 
 the Society justly thought that the increase of the annual vote 
 from cC50 to <C250 was intended to subserve the same object ; 
 and, accordingly, it continued the publication of those 
 documents which the Historical Committee thought most 
 desirable, and was thus enabled to place before the public, 
 in 1866, a small volume containing seven original and! 
 
126 TM ARCHIVES OF CANADA. 
 
 independent papers, bearing on Wolfe's expedition in 1769, 
 operations in 1760, and the American invasion of 1775, which 
 have proved of such interest to the antiquarian and historian, 
 that they have, either individually or as a volume, been 
 eagerly sought after by sociefies and writers of note on this 
 continent and in Europe. 
 
 The next circumstance, and one which gave an important 
 impetus to the subject, was the reading of a paper, before the 
 Society, on "Archives," by Dr. Miles, of the Education 
 Department. After the publication of this paper in our 
 "Transactions," I forwarded a copy to my friend the 
 Honble. Joseph Howe, and pressed upon liitn the 
 appointment of a commission for Canada similar to what he 
 had been instrumental in establishing in Nova Scotia. As it 
 is in reference to a public matter, and expresses the views 
 of a statesman very experienced in such matters, I shall take 
 the liberty of giving an extract from his letter : 
 
 " Th« Dominion has lasted but four years. Its records are so few and 
 recent that their preservation would hardly afford work tor a commission. 
 The muniments of the old Provinces of Ontario aril Quebec, I have no 
 doubt, are in a bad state enough. But these are being handed over to each 
 Province, and will be hereafter in the care and disposition of the Local 
 Governments. We sent recently to Quebec ten or a dozen boxes containing 
 Borae tons of old papers. You had better ascertain from Mr. Chauveau if it 
 il intended to do anything with them." 
 
 Though tliis communication was rather discouraging, I 
 certainly should have adopted its suggestion, and sought an 
 interview with Mr. Chauveau ; but, unhappily, at its date, 
 17th Dec, 1870, Mr. Chauveau was in deep family affliction, 
 and I could not justify myself were I lo intrude upon him. 
 Accordingly, I took no further step at that time. Dr. Miles, 
 however, did not rest with the mere reading and printing 
 of hi« paper, but followed it by the drawing-up of a petition 
 
THE ARCHIVES OP CANADA. 127 
 
 / 
 
 to the Legislature, in whicli all the advantages of the 
 appointing a commission were fully disclosed. The Doctor 
 took much trouble in procuring signatures i'. Quebec, 
 Montreal, and elsewhere. He then proceeded to Ottawa, and 
 secured the aid of Sir Alexander T. Gait, who entered, as 
 anybody who knows him would expect, very warmly into the 
 movement, and, himself, submitted it in a very able speech to 
 the House of Commons, by whom it was referred to the 
 Library Committee, who reported it favorably ; but, as it 
 involved a money vote, recommended that the matter should 
 be left in the hands of some member of the Government, and, 
 unfortunately, named Mr. Dunkin, who was peculiarly fitted 
 by his literary tastes and the energy which he always brought 
 to bear on anything he undertook, but who, unfortunately, at 
 that lime, was overwhelmed with the labours of the census, 
 and who shortly afterwards retired from office to the bench. 
 It is not known, but it is very probable that nothing has been 
 done since it was referred lo Mr. Uunkin. 
 
 To shew the importance attached to our archives by foreign 
 historians, I may mention that in January, 1870, I received a 
 letter from Mr. Parkman, who, though a foreigner, is really 
 entitled lo be considered one of the first of Canadian 
 historians. I give an extract from this letter : 
 
 " Now, lliere are among your collections the four remaining volumes of the 
 inanuacripta collected by M. Fapinean. The flrat of tiieae four volumea 
 contains the " Relation de re qui s' est passe en Canada au sujet de la gturrc 
 tant des Anglais que des Iroquois, depuis I'annee IC82." This seems to be 
 au important document. Is there any prospect of its speedy publication? 
 If not, can I be allowed to have it copied ? Tiiese four volumes formed a 
 part of the Popineuit collection, nine or ten volumes in all, of which all the 
 others were burned in the fire of 1849. Does any record remaia of tb« 
 contents of the five or six volumes destroyed ? It so, the lost papers could be 
 recopied in France, if Prussian bombs spare the archivt'B. Will 70U pl«Mt 
 'nform m« if auy such record is known to exiat?" 
 
1^8 THE ARCHIVES OF CANADA. 
 
 Failing to get the desired information in Quebec, at the 
 auggealion of a gentleman here, to whom I had applied, I 
 addressed M. Papineau himself^ and received the following 
 most courteous reply : 
 
 <'MoNTREir,, 21 at Feby, 1871. 
 
 •' W. J. Anderson, Esq. — Deir Sib,— I Lad the pleaaure of rectiving, 
 yesterdajr, your Utter dated I8tli iuat., with your invoice of a copy of the 
 laat year'e Transactions of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 
 for both of wliich I return my most sincere thanics. 
 
 " I regret much that it is not likely that it may be in my power to help 
 you in the recovery of the manuscripts which the Society lost by fire in 
 1849. The original, or rather first copies from Paris, had been received by 
 the Parliamentary Library. Were these deposited in your custody, or only 
 copies ? The learned librarians at Ottawa are the last source of information 
 to obtain the dates and titles of all that had been received. 1 am here 
 during the winter months without my library, which remains in my suinmer 
 residence, MonttlieUo, where I usually return with the opening of the 
 navigation — end of April. Very likely the titles and dates of those several 
 writings are printed in the general catalogue of tiie Parliamentary Library, 
 and the names of the gentlemen by whom I had them copied. These 
 volumes are on the shelves of my library, as they are on yours, but cannot 
 serialimhe absorbed in my poor old memory. If, after 1 shall have reached 
 my home, it were in my power to scrape out of my notes any particulars 
 that could in any way help you as to tlie beet means of reaching the French 
 colonial archives, to have the missing manuscripts copied anew, be assured 
 that I shall not fail to regard it as l)Oth a duty and a pleasure to impart the 
 information to you. I remain very respectfully, "J. Paiunkau." 
 
 Having received no further communication from this great 
 and good man, [ conclude that he had failed to find anything 
 among his notes that would serve us. Death has completely 
 closed this source of information. I may say that the Papineau 
 collection formed part of the " deposit" intrusted to us by 
 Lord Aylmer, and that six out of the ten volumes were 
 consumed by the fire of 1849. I have the pleasure to ,say 
 
THE AKCHIVCS Or CANADA. 119 
 
 lliat within the past few weeiis the Society was able to 
 forward to Mr. Park man a printed copy of the manuscript 
 which he had sought, and trust that during the present year 
 one or more of the remaining volumes will be added to our 
 publications. 
 
 Mr. Parkman having had occasion, during the past 
 summer, to visit Quebec, for the purpose of consulting some 
 documents in possession of the Laval University, Mr. 
 LeMoine (then President of our Society) and myself availed 
 ourselves of the opportunity, and had conversation with him 
 on the subject of our archives. On his way home, he had the 
 kindness to address to Mr. LeMoine, from Portland, a letter 
 which the Society immediately adopted, as shewing a most 
 intimate accjuainlance with the subject in every aspect ; and 
 a numerously-attended meeting, on the 11th of October last, 
 passed unanimously the following resolution : 
 
 '• Tliat the Litemry and Ifintorical Society ol Quebec haa noticed witli 
 much ealisfuction the action taken by tlie Dominion Parliament, at the 
 instance of Sir A. T. Gait, K.C.B., on the petition presented by the Society 
 and others, praying that measures be adopted to preserve the historical and 
 public archives ol the Dominion, l)y the creation of an office of Publio 
 Records; and this Society earnestly hopes that the deep interest recently 
 manifested for the cause of Canadian history by the emitient historian 
 Francis Parkman, as evidenceil in his eloquent letter, addressed to the 
 PresiJent of this institution, will tend to promote such a useful and 
 national project as the one hereit) alluded to. Titat a copy of this resolution 
 be transmitted to the lion. C. Dunkin, to whose department this subject was 
 referred by a Committee of the House of Commons." 
 
 The interest which Mr. Parkman has shewn did not rest 
 here ; for, in reply to a letter lately addressed to him by M. 
 Barthe, of Quebec, he gives such valuable information that 
 1 take the liberty of publishing it : 
 
 "The two volumes of Canadian documents possessed by the Literary 
 mi Hisigrical Swiity of Qn^ec are twg of the ten volumea collected hj 
 
ISO THE ARCHIVEf OF CANADA. 
 
 M. PftpinMU. or these, six were dtstroyed in the burning of the Parliament 
 House. M. Papiaeau retained no list of their contents, which, judging from 
 those remaining, were very valuable. Thejr are not included iu any other 
 collection in tiiis country, unless brought over by individuals for private 
 purposes, which is not probable. 
 
 " M. Margry's list, which I have seen, is an excellent guide, so far a$ 
 it goes, and all the papers named by it ought to be secured without delay ; 
 but it is not complete. M. Margry omitted many important papers, 
 because they related to subjects on which he himself was making collections. 
 I liave seen his documents, which are very voluminous and important' 
 The only way to supply the deficiency is to make a systematic search in the 
 Archives de la Marine, Archives de la Guerre, Ecole de Chartres, Depot 
 des Cartes de la Marine (whose documents are also kept), and other great 
 repositories, beginning with the year 1663 and ending with the cession. 
 
 " The great collection of L'Abbd Faillon, SSminaire de St. Siilpice, Paris, 
 is extremely rich ; and perhaps access might be hsul to it. 
 
 "lam unable to give lists of deficient documents, though it is certain 
 that many such exist. A selection from Faillon's papers would certainly be 
 of the greatest value; and those named by M. Margry (in his list at Ottawa) 
 should be recovered before another revolution at Paris. These, with the Joint 
 lists of the Jocumeuts at Ottawa and Albany as a guide, should be 
 made through the archives to complete the collection and supply its 
 vacancies. 
 
 •'Possibly there may be in tht State House &t Boston a few papers ou 
 Acadia, not to be found at Ottawa. I have, -'-yself, a large collection on 
 Acadia, which I shall be happy to submit to examination." 
 
 I have received from Mr. Thos. H. Wynne, of Richmond, 
 Virginia, a letter under dale of 7th Feby. last, in which he 
 incidentally mentions : — " I enclose a copy of a bill which 
 I introduced in this House (the Senate), and which has 
 passed both Houses without amendment. An index similar 
 to the Calendar of State Pape^^, issued from the Public 
 
m jLseHirzf or oakasa. 191 
 
 Record Office of Great Britain, I shall send your Society 
 a copy of as soon as printed. Up to 1865 Jiese papers were 
 much larger in bulk than they now are, and, of course, more 
 valuable ; but when the Federal soldiers occupied our capital 
 buildings at the capture of Richmond, the autograph and 
 curiosity-hunters revelled in the spoils. We hope, however, 
 to present a goodly treat in what we have left." 
 
 I annex the bill, as its provisions seem quite applicable 
 to the Dominion. I am far from underrating the foreign 
 sources referred to ; but I am stongly under the impression 
 that our first efforts should be directed to making arrangements 
 for collecting together, assorting, and indexing the very 
 valuable documents which we already possess, but which 
 are unavailable, from being scattered from one end of the 
 Dominion to the other. I find, from conversations I have had 
 with several influential French Canadians, that though there 
 is undoubtedly some difference of opinion as to the best mode 
 of procedure, there is perfect unanimity as to the desirability 
 of some stops being taken, if only to preserve from further 
 decay muniments which have been impaired in value and 
 damaged by time and neglect. I trust, then, that a united 
 effort will be made at the next session of the Dominion 
 Legislature. In the meantime, I submit this statement, as few 
 seem to be aware how much has been done in the past in 
 this direction. 
 
 QciBEC, February lith, 1872. 
 
ISt tnt ABCHITES or CANADA 
 
 SENATE BIU> No. 8. ^ 
 
 A Bill to Secure the Pretervation of Histor'u-al Vnpe^'s in (he CctpUol 
 
 Building, 
 
 Whereas Ihtre nrc in the stockrooms and lofts o( tlit Slat# library large 
 numbers of manuscripts and other documents relating (o lli« history 
 of Virginia, which have been already greatly impaired in value and damaged 
 by time, neglect, and spoliation : 
 
 1. Be it suacted by the general assembly, That Dr. William I'. Palmer 
 b« and he is hereby appointed to take charge of the manuscripts in (he 
 Slate library, under the direction of the librarian ; to assort, index, and 
 prepare the same for preservation in such form as to them may seem best, 
 with authority to publish such of the same as the executive committee of the 
 Virginia Historical Society may select, in such lorni as may be suitable, 
 trom copies taken by them, or under their direction, 
 
 2. That, for the purposes of this act, a sum not exceeding one thousand 
 dollars is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury, not 
 otherwise appropriated ; and the auditor of public accounts is hereby 
 authorized to issue hia warrant upon the treasurer for the sum thus 
 appropriated, upon the certificate of the State Librarian, countersigned by 
 the QoTernor. 
 
 3. This act ehall be in force from its passage.