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MaoIjElOlD; i;::uB6^i:s;.,i&a; nV, nn » »-«, > .-» \ ^ i\ ' I. f ! u ■ ^^i v^ -■«:^*■r^t*^*v«i.v.^;|»^i.,J^,.*;ii.gg^rf>.i^:,,..,^;',.„■J_l,■^, *-*«*^ .# ■ \V i i r \ !>«< OIO- THE Literary and Historical Society OF QUEBEC. The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, can claim the honor of being the first institution of the kind founded in the Dominion. ItS founder, the Earl of Dalhou- fiie, the then Governor-General of Canada, during the year 1823 called together at the Castle of St. Louis a niimber of persons favourable to the establishment of such an institu- tion, at which meeting he stated that its advantages were indisputable, that independently of other subjectsof research the early history of Canada and the language and customs of the aboriginees were prominent subjects for enquiry, and concluded by offering for himself an ardent cd and most anxious desire to promote the success of the society by every means in his power. The first meeting of the society was held at the Castle of St. Lewis, on Thursday, the 6th January, 1824, Earl Dalhoiisie in the Chair, and after some discussion, a Com- mittee, with several Officers, were chosen. {Mcrcur}/, \0/h January, 1824). At a meeting held on the 15th March, at the Castle, the laws and by-laws of the society were agreed to, and the address to the Public drawn up. As this address to the Public is virtually the prospectus of the society, and — 4 — does not appear to have been printed in the Transactions or Reports, it would be well to have it done now. It is print- ed at length in the Mercury of the 10th March, 1824, and the following are the concluding paragraphs : " Whether we regard the prosperty of tliis institution in a National or in a Literary point ot view, its advantages are equally apparent and must come home to every bosom. It will raise us in the moral and intellectual scale of Nations. It will cherish our noblest feelings of honor and patriotism, by showing that the more men become acquainted with the History of their Country, the more they prize and respect both their Country and themselves. In a literary point of view it is fair to expect that tlu' formation of the society will introduce a lasting bond of union and corresi^ondence ])etvveen men, eminent for rank, erudition and genius, from one extremity of the British Province to the other ; with these views, then, we invite men of learning and taste to join us, and con- clude by soliciting the assistance and co-operation of a liberal and enlightened public, in the prosecution of a cause which may in so many ways conduce to the advancement of historical knowledge, and consequently to the honor and ornament of this Province." The first officers of tlie societv were : Founder and Patron, — George, Earl of Dalhousie, Gov.- General. President,— Sir Francis N. Barton, Lieutenant-Governor. tr- ^ ti ««-^-.«4. i The Honorable Chief Justice Sewell, and Vice-Presidents, | y^^j.^^.^ ^^ g^. ^^^^^ ^^^^ Recording Secretary, — William Green, Esq. Treasurer and Corresponding Secretary, — John Charlton Fisher, Esq., L. L. D. — 6 iisactioiis t is priiit- 1824, and itution ill [vantages y bosom. scale ol' of honor I become the more Miiselvcs. that the bond ol' iient for :y of the vs, then, and con- tion of a >f a cause iicemont honor This latter gentleman had the previous year received the appointment of King's Printer or publisher of the Official Gazette, an office until then held by Mr. John Nelson, proprietor of the Quebec Gazette, who conceived that he was unconstitutionally deprived of his office by the Gov- ernor-General. At any rate, Mr. Nelson's Gazette, (for their were two Quebec Gazettes printed then,) quite ignores the birth and infancy of the Society, but the Mercury appears irom the very first to have given a cordial support to the young institution. It also received very substantial sup- port from its founder and patron, out of his own resources, in the shape of an annual grant of iJlOO during the period of liis stay in the Country, so that the society was born Avith a silver spoon in its mouth, and which enabled it to enter upon the collection of a museum and apparatus with a rapidity w^hich would have been impossible with its other- wise scanty resources, and the paucity of its members at that period, which i^aucity may partly be accounted for by the high entrance £5, and annual subscription <£3, being together <£8forthe first year; and for life members, <£20 was the price fixed b}'^ the by-law, but the funds of the society were not much increased by the contributors from this class of members, as there appears to have been even fewer life members then than now. , _ , 2, Gov.- ornor. ell, and. Charlton The Hon. W. Shejipard, an original member of the society, in an address before the Natural History Society of Montreal, gives to the Secretary, Dr. Fisher, the credit of originating the idea of such a society here, yet A. Stuart, Esq., the president for 1838, states in his obituary notice of Earl Dalhousie : •!•'< " The establishment of a Literary Society in Lower " Canada appears to have occupied his thoughts from his " first arrival." ,, . ,.. . . , — 6^ Anothef BOci^ty was shortly ai'tcrwunls founded by tho '• Society for encouraging the Arts and Sciences," under the presidency of Col. Joseph Bouchette. The membership of this new society was much more numerous and obtained the support of as many French m English, which tho original society lacked. The two societioH were joined together in the year 1820. His Excellency Sir James Kempt, who at this time became the Patron of both so- cieties, and to whom in their separate and united states they were indebted for liberal support, suggested the advantage that must accrue by bringing together whatever talent and If sources either possessed — and thus the union was etiected — still retaining the name of the Lit. and His. Society. In 1831 the Society received its charter, and it w^ent on prospering until the rebellion, after w^hich there appears to have been a gradual falling off, until in 1849 it was found necessary to have the charter amended reducing the quorum at the monthly general meetings from eighteen to three members exclusive of the President and one of the Vice- Presidents, and in the following year only fourteen mem- bers paid their subscription. The society relied much for support on the presence of the Goverment here, and its fortunes appear to have ebbed or risen accordingly. , The society suffered twice from lire, first, in 1854 in the Parliament House, and again in 1862 in the Savings Bank Buildings, St. John Street, to which- providential calamities Professor Douglas ascribed in no small measure the pros- perity of the society ; indeed the society appears to possess the virtues of Chary bdis and the Pha;nix combined, first having swallowed whole the Society for encouraging the Arts and Sciences, then lunched on all that remained digestible of i-^1 led by the Bs," under ?mber8hip 1 obtained vhich the are joined 5ir James ■ both 80- tates the/ dvantage alent and IS eftected iety. went on appears to '^as found e quorum to three the Vice- 3en mom- ?sence of ve ebbed 54 in the igs Bank alamitie.s the pro.s- ►ssess the t having A-i-ts and stible of — 7 — the Quebec Library, besides having risen twice from its ashes. Professor Douglas evidently draws satisfaction from seeing the remains of the apparatus sold for old brass, as he con- sidered that the money expended on apparatus a misappro- I priation of funds. ^ , . ^,„ The society has since its foundation received grants from Government varying in amount, but some years ago reduced from $1200 to $750. For much of the foregoing information I am indebted to Professor Douglas's address read before the society in 1865, in which he traces the history of the Society from its foun- dation down to that year. Following the fortunes of the society from where Pr». les- sor Douglas left them in 1865, we find that in 1867 an arrangement having been made with Morrin College favor- able to both institutions the society removed to its classical quarters on Jail Hill, (might not the name be changed to College Hill with profit to the proprietors and the Corpora- tion { ) and has completely upset the popular belief in the relative value of fires and flittings, as the number of Associate members has more than doubled since 1867. Some howev- er ascribed this unwonted prosperity to the guiding spirits of the society, whilst others think that it has pros- pered in spite of them. With all due respect to both of these opinions, I incline to the belief that the success of I the society is largely due to the very nice Brussels' carpet I that covers the floor of TKSS llISRARV, -nr;.i,i, = rr ^vhich gives a tone to the apartment, and quite removes from one's mind the former unpleasant associations of the building, and whenever it begins to get shabby the council will bp wanting in the best interests of the society if they do not replace it with a new one ; for, as it is neces- sary to cover the shelves of all modern Libraries with the best literature, so is it judicious to cover their floors with the best tapestry. From the floor let us turn, to the tables, and we find them covered with the leading Literary and Scientific Reviews and Magazhies of the day, besides the Illustrated London News, and other illustrated papers ; from these, if we turn to the shelves, we will find a collec- tion that Quebecers can well be proud of. I cannot do better than give a classified statement of the books. In 1870 the 8974 volumes were classed, as follows : i , . , ..... Vo:,s. Mathematics 314 Natural and Physical Sciences , 328 Natural and Physical History of Animals 215 Natural History of America G4 Natural and Physical History of Man 28 Engineering and the useful Arts 138 Fine Arts 70 Domestic Economy 10 Encyclopoedia 96 Oleography and Travels 819 History 375 ' Modern History 1311 American History and Antiquities 118 Canadian History 602 Biography 657 Political Economy and Social Sciences 371 Languages 176 Greek and Tfoman Literature ^ 115 Modern Literature 1376 Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics 315 , ;.*:.iifljt*>v *.;,., .M-.A.. theology. 340^ '■ Polygraphy 899 ^ Catalogue of books 24 J And from the additions since made by purchase and donation, the library cannot now contain less than 10,000 volumes ; although the coUecticn is not very large, yet the guiding spirits of the society deserve great praise for their Judicious selection. In this connection, John Langton, M.A , a former President, and Professor Douglas, deserve special mention, having visited Washington, New York and Boston in 1863, for the purpose of buying books for the library — indeed any one acquainted with the affairs of the society for the last 15 y j^ars must be aware tnat the time and hibour given by Professor Douglas in the interests of th I society, and more particularly of the library is beyond computation, and that nothing short of devotion to the cause of literature could have induced him to sacrifice so much without the hope of reward. A recommendation Book lies on the table, and any member requiring a book of merit, the society will purchase Tho circulation of the Library in 1866 was 873 vols., and in 1874 2653 vols., of these 2653 vols., more than three-fourths will be found classed as modern Literature ; and though light I roading now and then is relished by the wisest men, yet jit is not desirable to dine altogether on puddings and pastry, to the exclusion of beef and mutton ; and as it is [not hard to acquire a taste for roast beef or boiled mutton, Ineither is it difficult to acquire a taste for scientific study, >r historical research, if only properly served with the lorseradish and the caper sauce. It is a peculiar province >t the council of the Literary and Historical Society to 2 ' furi»i|»h us with such literary leasts, and il' these were given as often as they used to be, the circulation would be more equally distributed amoug-st tlie difterent shelves of the Library. In 1856 stated meetings for literary and scientific purpo- ^ ses were held at 7 JiO P. M. on the iirst and third Wednesday of .ev,ery month in the year, and at one period I believe weekly meetin<>*s where held for the same purpose. Occasion- ally a regular course of ^lectures was given, drawing the members of 'the. societv and their families in large nuiTabers to the roOmfs of the society. The present council would act wisely, bjr adopting the suggestioji of their , predecessors of 18(52, to provide a regular course of lectures on any of the popular sciences, such a Chemistry, G-eology or Botany ; '.indeed i*rrangements might have been made to have secured the advantages of the lectures given on Che- mistry last winter. to the members of the society, ff the society secured the services ol the learned professors, the numerous members and the public would be attracted to the rooms of the society. I believe I am imder the mark when ■ I ^tate that not half of the members of the society entered the rooms last year. The funds of the society are abundant, and if more were wanted for a good cause, the m(>iiey w^ould be forth-coming if Quebecers saw the society make nn eiFort to establish a course of Public scien- tific lectures in the City, and the Grovernment would doubt- less increase its grant to ^1200, were that needed. The council have taken one step in the right direction in. opening the library in the evening ; it now remains to it,-,, to give a large majority of the members an opportunity ofc.^i attending thei monthly general meetings of the society, by .. holding these meetings at least every alternate month, in the ({ evenings. The average attendance of aii ordinary monthly j., -h v^ere given I be more ves of the 5c purpo- eduesday I believe Occasion- dravk'^ing- iii large t council of their f lectures eoiogy or made to oil Che- ;:n the «ors, the I'acted to ;he mark society society d cause, savr the ic scien- ■ i doubt- ' ction in :ns to it luity of ety, by ), in the lonthly j^euoral mtet J, exclusive of the meihber.s'' of the c6niicil, does not exceed two or three, and even these probably are thereby accident. Now, if it is desirable to hold stich meetings, it is desirable to have them well attended. A motion was recently brought before the society to have these meetings held alternately in the eyenings ; this motion was unfortunately allowed to drop; severa,! members of the late council were strongly opposed to such a change, as being unheard of and altogether too inconvenient. Instead however of being* unheard of, these meetings were originally held in the evenings until 1846, when, to suit the conveui' ence of same of the most zealous members residing son^e distano3 from town, the hour of meeting was changed to 3.30 P.M. The only apparent effect of the change is the absence of any of the society's Annual Reports from 1846 till 18') 2, when in the latter year we find the council recommending to the society, a return to the evening meetings, they say : . ... . -^ ' . ' ''In 1816 the hour of meeting Wii^s changed from 7 P.M. " to 3.30 P.M., but this alteration does not appear to haviB " been productive of any good effect, and the council throw " out the suggestion, whether it would not be advisable to " return to the former hour of meeting. A motion to that " effect is now before the society. At the same time it " must be borne in mind that the alteration will entail '• some additional expense in the lighting and warming of "the apartments in which the meetings are held." .j;;h I'l' ' The motion appears to have been carried, for in the next year's report, the^following allusion is made to the subject : |)> (I The evening meetings which the society had resolved " shoitld be resumed, could not conveniently be conlinu'ed i" in consequence of the changes in the parliamentary build- — 12-^ " iiigs ; but stated meetings once every fortnight, were '* lately appointed to take place ; and the use of a room " was procured for this purpose in the Hotel-de-Ville." These stated meetings have ever since been held with more or less frequency, about half-a-dozen of them being held last year, and these are the only meetings the mem- bers attend in any numbers, the attraction being a paper or lecture on a literary or scientific subject. Thus it has happened that members whose time is occupied during the day hear nothing of the government or well-being of the society, and cannot partake in its deliberations, thereby throw- ing the burden of management on a few gentlemen whose time is entirely at their own disi>osal in the afternoon. If the suggestion to have the meetings alternately in the afternoons and evenings was adopted, those attending the the evening meeting would have brought under their notice what transpired at the afternoon meeting, and vice versa. Prizes were at one time offered for the best essays in any branch of science, literature, and the fine arts, but after several years' trial, the practice was abandoned as a failure. THE ]M[XJSaST7M. Next to the library in importance of the society's belong- ings comes the museum, on entering which one is imme- diately struck by the absence of the gigantic moose, the fleet caribou and the affectionate bear. Some veais ajvo an appeal was made by the curator to the sporting members of the society to contribute specimens of these, but withoiit success, and according to the latest reports there is now no room for them in the museum — although by causing the birds to roost more closely together, temporary space could be found without serious inconvenience to any of the specimens ; additional space will doubtless soon be pro- — 13 — r light, were of a room i-Ville." held with them being' i's the mem- ng a paper rhus it has I during the being of the ireby throw- men whose ernoon. If tely in the tending the mder their ff, and vice st essays in 8, but after 88 a failure. tv's belong- e is imme- moose, the iai'S ago an »• members lut without is now no ausing the space colli d my of the on be pro. vided, when it will be better to rely more on the crooked six-pence than on sporting members to supply specimens that this society above any other in the country should possess. These animals, particularly the moose, ' are gett- ing scarcer every year, and in view of a recently established fishery in the Lower St. Lawrence, a white porpoise stuffed with straw (hung from the roof of the museum) would not bo a bad investment, whilst a North Shore salmon, and a few specimens of that comical member of the Genius Gadns, the tommy cod, would doubtless be objects of interest to strangers, and the attention of visitors from the Old Country would ba attracted had w^e a few speci- mens of the aboriginees of the country, squatting on the floor of the library waiting to get into the museum — even in the style of the figure at the door of the snuff shop in Fabrique Street would be better than nothing, but as doubtless something more artistic would be desired, the Madame Taussaud type could be adopted with great advantage, shewing not only the hue of the skin but the garb of the *' period Jacques Cartier," down to the latest Lorette fashions, and the historical document fund could fairly be drawn upon, to pay at least the tailor's bill. ,-. j Future curators will find it difiicult to prevent the crowd- ing of gifts in the museum to the exclusion of specimens of the natural history of this country, the collection of which is one of the primary objects of the society. Orni- thology and Oology appear to have had Mr. Lemoiiie's special attention, and the society is indebted to that gen- tleman for his enthusiastic efforts during the many years he acted as curator, on one occasion resigning the president- ship to take charge of the museum when it was unexpect- edly left without a curator ; the society will be fortunate if it secure the services of curators w^ho in the future will — 14 — take ail cviual interest in the other branches of Zoolo«ifV. and in Geology, Botany, and Mineralog-y. o i(ULsi f> >.i( 2 (( 3 if o (( r; I Var . • ■ , , Hi ir- ii 2 years. t8G6. Oomimuidor Ashe, U, jN".. ' • . 1869. Jas. Douglas, jr., ^t tv-U.r 1870. Dr. Andorson, • ' ' ' ' 1871. J. M. Lemoine, ^ou/'L^^ir'^ ;.■.■.• i.i,;;. ,;,'<...,:. v:..>;i? all of whom have road papers beloro the society, i '.*"*^nni The several volumes oi' the printed transactions of the society contain papers of j^reat merit, showing since its birth, that the society had its original thinkers ; and its members of high classical attainments, its votaries of science and its "litterateurs," its travellers, and its lovers of histo- rical research, its antiquarians, and its lovers of the fine arts, its financiers, and its statisticians, its pioneers and its navi- gators. — The church and the ladies, the army and navy, the bench and the bar, statesmen and scholars, the chemist, the surveyor, bankers and merchants, the civil service and the press, M.D's and L.L.D's, B.A's and M.A's, O.E's and N.P's, English and French, Irish and Scotch, hare all con- tributed to embellish the pages of the Society's transactions And as all religious discussion is excluded, the conserva- tive Catholic, and the liberal Dissenter, the English Episco- palian, and the Scotch Presb^^terian, alike help to swell the Itiipublican role of the Society's associate members " ' '■ ' ,■<* The honour of first addressing the society fell to the lot of tlie late Chief Justice Sawell, who, on the 31st May, 1824, read the inaugural address, choosing as the subject for his Essay, the 3arly juridical History of France, down to 1603, and as the subject was in fact the Common Law of Lower Canada, this Essay must have been of great value to the Profession, and can be read at the present day with advantage by the Student-at-Law, and with inter«^st bj^ the general reader. -; '^H- ■ —17-- I'romiiient amongst the many recent workers for the so- ciety, stand the names of John Langton, Esq., M. A., Pro- fessor Douglas, the late Dr. Anderson, J. M. Lemoine (the Douglas of the Museum), Wm. Hossack as Treasurer, and Commander Ashe, who has read more papers before the society than any other living member Of the early contributors and active members of the so- ciety, many names will be found that occur in the Quebec Di- rectory of to-day, amongst these will be found Sheppard, Wil- kie, Stuart, Bowen, Sewell, Demers, Campbell, Geggie, Mere- dith, Gary, Andrew, Fletcher, Bouchette, Hoy, Douglas, Wurtele, Legare and many others, so that the society should have a peculiar interest for, and receive the support of all Quebecers. Strangers, if they may be so called, also took a large share in building up the society, and such names as Baddeley, Bayfield, Boxer, Cochran, Daintry Fisher, Fairbault, Kelly, McDougall and Skey, must be re- membered by old Quebecers, as enthusiastic workers in behalf of the society, and amongst its most honoured mem- bers. , ,.,,, ^ , .,..,_ , „, ..,_ , ., , ,. ^ To mention as they deserve, in detail, all that the society has given to the world in its transactions, would take me quite beyond my present limits ; they could well bie the subject of a special paper, and I would only say in conclu- sion, that the volumes will be found as entertaining and instructive as many of the books on the shelves of the Li- brary, and express a regret that the council has not been able to give us any very recent additions to this valuable collection. ; :/ v- - > . u. ■J -.■ a