"It is worth noting that this irreparable loss overwhelmed State papers in the Albany library by reason of their being improperly housed. But they were in the custody of Mr. Van Laer, a trained official with a permanent tenure of office, so that in this respect a high degree of safety seemed to be assured to them. But when we turn to City documents and manuscripts touching the early life of New York, we find them deposited in City Hall or the Hall of Records, cheek by jowl with data of yesterday and accorded no better provision for preservation. They are, moreover, in the charge of city clerks, who in many cases have short tenures in office and lack that continuity of service which is all but essential in respect to knowledge of the subject matter and greatly to be desired in respect to responsibility.

"It was a mere chance that one of these city clerks, David Valentine, had the instincts of a ferret and a mania for curiously turning over the leaves of the records under his charge. How his yearly publications of the Manual' waxed until the tiny booklet of 1841 could hardly have recognized his fat brother of 1860! Slipped into this Manual' are a wonderful assemblage of unrelated items. Taken without method, their context disregarded and references omitted, they have too often proved snares to successive generations of writers on New York. The scattered fragments of records quoted have been used as a shaky mosaic to support weak structures. Their use has given a trivial character to a large portion of the crop of local Manhattan story.

"The fact remains, however, that Valentine's mere mention of documents has become valuable because some of the originals have disappeared and his mention is the sole record of their existence. A search made last week for a certain petition of 1699, of which the facsimile is given by Valentine in the issue of 1860, revealed the fact that the petition itself has apparently vanished, and, further, that the facsimile has been removed from the copy of the Valentine in the City Hall Library. So maps, illustrations, etc., have been snipped here and there out of all the manuals in public libraries. A perfect copy is a rare find. A further search for the lost petition led to the examination of various bundles stowed away in the basement of the City Hall. These contain petitions, proceedings, etc. some full of interest loosely arranged, with little correspondence to the data on their wrappers. They seem to be miscellaneous matter that escaped record in the Council minutes waifs and strays out of the past cared for by no one. "In the Surrogate's office, the bundle of original documents, filed away with more appearance of solicitude for their well being, does not seem to have been much more cherished. Papers are broken at their folds and tied in with their fellows in equally

sorry case, so that the reconstruction of each document as a whole is like putting together a Chinese puzzle. Originals of copies, made long ago, and of abstracts taken lately, seem to be no longer in their proper place. With every wish to avoid mere sensational statements as to loss of papers, it seems fair to say that original matter, now become historical, has been treated carelessly, because the officials under whose care this matter is deposited are necessarily occupied, under our present system, with the routine of present day needs.

“In the domain of the Register of Deeds, a cursory examination seems to indicate more serious lapses. There are over two thousand Libers' containing copies of conveyances, indentures, and some miscellaneous matter prior to 1891 arranged chronologically and of easy access to the public searching for titles. At the present, the series apparently begins with Liber XXI; XXII is missing; XXIII is there, and from that number the sequence appears to be unbroken. Two books lie on the Registrar's desk Liber XIII and one other. As far as could be learned in the office, there was no knowledge of the whereabouts of Libers I-XX- omitting the above mentioned two- or when the series began at number XXI. "In his report, Professor Osgood says (p. 201): The oldest deeds recorded date from 1654. The series of conveyances begins with Liber 10; the whereabouts of the first nine books have not been determined.' In answer to our inquiry last week, he writes: I repeatedly saw the volumes which you now refer to as missing. In the notes which I have still preserved, I have detailed references to Liber 12 and 13. Those older books, some of which were lettered, contained matter relating to the Dutch period, and the early years of the English period. Liber 21 begins with 1689.'

"Liber XXI was found beginning with 1689. Have nine books then disappeared since 1900? At first sight, it looks so.

"The history of New York City in its character of an incorporated personality, with the continued story of its civic activities, of its prerogatives, responsibilities, successes, and shortcomings, with its record as a municipal individuality apart from the State that history has not yet been written. The whole tale of documentary evidence has not even been counted, and the files of contributory data to this city life-record are scattered, broken, illguarded, and on the point of vanishing as far as practical usefulness for a well-rounded summary is concerned. Has not the day arrived when an archive system should be inaugurated in New York? Should not a suitable fire-proof building be provided in charge of a skilled permanent official archivist? The wounded originals should be mended, smoothed, and arranged chrono

logically and contemporaneously. The records of all departments of administration, police and justice, of commerce, conveyance, and charity, of all that this three-century-old, overgrown civic entity has done or tried to do should be brought together. The task is great, but by no means gigantic; for the documents on file will not yield a mass that is impracticable to handle. The one thing needful is that the task of collecting and safeguarding early documents say all dating before 1725 should be begun and continued. Due provision should be made for the conservation of archives totally apart from city housekeeping. Much excellent work has been done towards bringing the contents of New York City documents before the public. The Records of New Amsterdam 1653-1674' and 'The Minutes of the Common Council 1675-1776,' have been printed at the City's expense, and many other records in various lines have been issued by learned and patriotic societies. Mrs. Van Rensselaer's History of New York' rests on very different bases from any of its predecessors. But it is still true that original documents are in a most unsatisfactory condition. In addition to their ancient foes of dust and neglect. they are now attacked by new dangers from steam heat and the thirst for genealogical items of any and every kind. The natural zeal to run down clues has been a fresh peril to the little, thin, fragile old papers.

"Is there no prospect that the sources of New York history may be properly cared for?"

Office of Supervisor of Public Records Created.

By chapter 380 of the laws of 1911, a new State officer, entitled the Supervisor of Public Records, was created. Section 2 of the act prescribes that

"The Supervisor of Public Records shall examine into the condition of the records, books, pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, archives, maps and papers kept, filed or recorded, or hereafter to be kept, filed or recorded in the several public offices of the counties, cities, towns, villages or other political divisions of the State, and all other public records, books, pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, archives, maps and papers heretofore or hereafter required by law to be kept by any public body, board, institution or society, created under any law of the State in said counties, cities, towns, villages or other political divisions of the State, except where the same conflicts with the present duties and office of the Commissioner of Records in the County of Kings and the Commissioner of Records in the County of New York."

Section 3 of the act requires the Regents of the University of the State of New York to organize in the Education Department a Division of Public Records, and provides that the Supervisor of Public Records shall be chief of the Division.

State Historian Transferred to Education Department. The office of State Historian was created by chapter 393 of the laws of 1895 as an independent office and so continued until 1911, when, by chapter 380 before referred to, it was made an adjunct of the State Education Department under the management of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. The Hon. Hugh Hastings held the office from April 25, 1895, until July 24, 1907, when he was succeeded by Hon. Victor Hugo Paltsits. The latter's term expired April 25, 1911, and he was succeeded by the present incumbent, the Hon. James A. Holden.

Chapter 380 of the laws of 1911 required the Regents to organize in the Department of Education a Division of History, and provided that the State Historian should become chief of that Division. The law provides that

"It shall be the function of the Division of History, subject to the regulations of the Regents, to collect, collate, compile, edit and prepare for publication all official records, memoranda and data relative to the colonial wars, War of the Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War and War of the Rebellion, together with all official records, memoranda and statistics affecting the relations. between this commonwealth and foreign powers, between this State and other states and between this State and the United States."

Preservation of Cemetery Inscriptions.

A salutary bill was introduced in the Senate and Assembly on March 4, 1912, by the Hon. George H. Cobb, of Watertown, and the Hon. John G. Jones, of Carthage, respectively, entitled "An act to amend the memership corporation law in relation to the record of inscriptions on monuments in abandoned cemeteries taken for public use." The bill amends chapter 40 of the laws of 1909 by inserting a new section, to be section 85, reading as follows:

"Whenever, under any general or special law, any cemetery is abandoned or is taken for a public use, the town board of the town in which the cemetery is located shall cause to be made, at the time of the removal of the bodies interred therein, an exact and accurate copy of all inscriptions on each headstone, monument, slab or marker erected on each lot or plot in such cemetery and shall cause the same to be duly certified and shall file one copy thereof in the office of the town or city clerk of the town or city in which such cemetery was located and one copy in the office of the State Historian and Chief of the Division of History in the Department of Education at Albany. In addition to such inscriptions, such certificate shall state the name and location of the cemetery so abandoned or taken for a public use, the cemetery in which each such body was so interred and the disposition of each such headstone, monument, slab or marker."

We trust that this bill will be enacted.* The mortuary records of old cemeteries are of great value, and we have called attention in the past to the apparent indifference of the later generations to the resting places of their ancestors. This is particularly noticeable in New York City, where the march of modern improvements is rapidly sweeping away the ancient burial places.

Imperishable Records of the Ancients.

On the evening of December 9, 1911, the Modern Historic Records Society, organized by Mr. Alexander Konta of New York City, was formally instituted at a meeting held in the galleries of the National Arts Club of New York at No. 15 Gramercy Park. The object of that Society is to promote the preservation of contemporary records in such form that they will be as nearly indestructible as possible. The use of durable paper, indelible ink, the phonograph, photographic processes, and other media is contemplated. The President and several Trustees of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society cooperated in the formation of this new agency for preserving current history. On the occasion of the formal organization of the Society, George Frederick Kunz, Ph. D., Sc. D., President. of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, delivered an address on the imperishable records of the ancients, and exhibited many interesting and valuable specimens of such

The bill failed to pass.