the existing historical collection at Richmond and other places, and gave some account of the leading publications and monographs now in preparation. Mr. Trent urged that Southern history should be more earnestly studied by scholars in all parts of the country, and recommended a report of historical progress from the State societies to the American Historical Association. Dr. Justin Winsor, Librarian of Harvard University, paid a merited tribute to the historical work of Mr. Hannis Taylor, of Mobile, Alabama, who, isolated from libraries and historical associations, had produced a valuable constitutional history of England. Dr. H. B. Adams emphasized Mr. Trent's idea of the importance of an annual report of the work done by State Historical Societies to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution through the medium of the American Historical Association.

The morning session was concluded by a brief and interesting paper on "The Relations of History to Ethnology," by Prof. O. T. Mason, of the National Museum. He showed that the student of human culture is constantly a debtor to the historian. To illustrate this idea he spoke of the myth of the armadillo. The existence of musical instruments bearing the same name among negroes on two continents can be explained historically. The student of ethnology spends quite as much time in libraries as in the field. He urged the Association to use its influence for the increase of the collections in the National Museum. He called attention to the motive which governs the operations of the ethnological department as entirely in harmony with the utterance of President Adams, that all things are now studied by the historic method. Professor Mason then explained the contents of the Museum cases, which had been wheeled into the audience room, to illustrate the nature of studies in the history of culture now in progress in Washington.

During the morning session the venerable historian, George Bancroft, now in his ninetieth year, entered the hall, and amid the applause of members of the Association was escorted to the platform, where for a few moments he occupied the president's chair after he had briefly addressed the Society over which he presided three years ago. The closing session of this, the most successful meeting of the American Historical Society, was devoted to historical science in general. A special report on the bibliography of members was made by

Paul Leicester Ford, the bibliographer of Franklin. A report was read by the secretary on "The Present Condition of Historical Studies in Canada," by George Stewart, jr., D. C. L., LL. D., president of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. Mr. James Schouler, of Boston, the distinguished author of the "History of the United States," read a philosophical paper upon "The Spirit of Research." He said research is a fitting word to apply to historical studies, for it implies that one is not content to skim over the surface of past events, but prefers to turn the soil for himself. (See page 43 of this volume.) Space will not permit even an abstract of Mr. Winsor's very suggestive account of "The Perils of Historical Study." The writer of the great "Narrative and Critical History of America" warned the Association that history must be continually rewritten, either from new developments or from new sources, which keep historical study fresh and perennial. Each generation must renew the discussion of historical events. Opinions change; and the history of opinion about facts is no small part of the history of those facts. Mr. Winsor's paper was discussed at some length by Judge Chamberlain, of Boston. The last paper of the session was by Worthington C. Ford, editor of the new edition of "Washington's Writings." Mr. Ford spoke of "The Government as a Guardian of American History." He condemned the past policy of the nation in allowing valuable historical papers to pass into private keeping rather than into our national archives. He criticised past and present methods of treating our State papers, and made a strong plea for a better system of government control in these matters.

Resolutions of thanks were passed by the Association for courtesies received from the regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the curators of the National Museum, the president of the Columbian University, the governors of the Cosmos Club, the Librarian of the State Department, Mr. and Mrs. Horatio King, and Mrs. Walworth, of Washington. A com. mittee on the time and place of the next meeting reported through Dr. Poole in favor of Washington, and of meeting during the Christmas holidays, from the 28th to the 31st of December, 1890. In behalf of the committee on nominations, Judge Chamberlain recommended the following board of officers, which was unanimously elected: President, Hon. John Jay, New York City; first vice-president, Hon. William Wirt S. Mis. 170--2

Henry, Richmond, Va.; second vice-president, James B. Angell, LL. D., president University of Michigan; treasurer, Dr. Clarence W. Bowen, New York; secretary, Dr. H. B. Adams, Johns Hopkins University; assistant secretary and curator (a newly-created office), A. Howard Clark, curator of the historical collections of the National Museum. Two new members were added to the executive council, namely Dr. G. Brown Goode, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in charge of the National Museum, and John George Bourinot, D. C. L., clerk of the Canadian House of Commons. The Executive Council already embraces the ex-presidents of the Association: Hon. Andrew D. White, LL. D., Hon. George Bancroft, LL. D., Justin Winsor, LL. D., William F. Poole, LL. D., and the following elected members: Prof. John W. Burgess, of Columbia College, and Prof. George P. Fisher, of Yale University. The treasurer's report, which was audited by Mr. John A. King and the Hon. John Jay, shows an increase of $1,116.62 since the last report, and total assets, including cash and investments, to the amount of $4,584.94. The Association has just completed the third volume of its published proceedings, of which there is a stock of handsomely bound volumes and some unbound reports in the hands of Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons, the New York publishers. This property of books and plates is in addition to the above assets of the Association.

The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have passed the following resolution :

Resolved, That the American Historical Association be and hereby is permitted to disposit its collections, manuscripts, books, pamphlets, and other material for history, in the Smithsonian Institution or in the National Museum in accordance with the provisions of the act of incorporation; and that the conditions of said deposit shall be determined by the secretary, with the approval of the executive committee.

RECENT HISTORICAL WORK IN THE COLLEGES AND UNIVER

SITIES OF EUROPE AND AMERICA.

Inaugural address of President CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, LL. D. *

During the last few years we have heard much of the tendency to give to all great and profound studies the historical form. The contributions of Darwin to natural history are, in a certain large sense, the result of a study of the history of nature carried on in a scientific spirit. Studies in machinery, in philosophy, in politics, in electricity even, are every where inclining to take on the same historical methods. In all branches of study it is apparently coming more and more to be seen that one's chances of discovering important new truth are quite exactly in proportion to one's knowledge of the truth that has already been discovered. So far as I remember, it was the French historian Thiers that first pointed out the significance of the historical spirit of the nineteenth century as distinguished from the speculative spirit of the eighteenth. This difference, indicated nearly half a century ago, is now very generally recognized and understood.

There is another fact, however, that is not less worthy of attention. I refer to the extraordinary development of studies in history in the colleges and universities of the world during the last few years. This development has amounted to a veritable revolution. Every American at all familiar with college life in this country knows that great advances have here been made; but a very brief presentation will be enough to show, I think, that even greater progress has been made in many of the countries of the Old World.

*In the preparation of this address I have been placed under obligations by many persons for valuable information. I desire especially to express my thanks to Prof. H. B. Adams, of Johns Hopkins University, Prof. Paul Frédéricq, of the University of Liège, Prof. E. Levasseur, of Paris, Prof. Willard Fiske, and Professor Villari, of Florence.-C. K. A.

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On this subject, as on many others, we are perhaps in some danger of confining our attention too closely to what is immedi ately about us. Our eyes are apt to rest with contentment on our material growth and our general financial prosperity; and while indulging in this contemplative satisfaction, it is quite possible that we shall fail to see the greater advances which, in certain directions, are being made in the Old World. It would probably be easy to show that notwithstanding all that spirit of enterprise of which we are justly proud as a national characteristic, there are many directions in which we have been far outstripped by what we have been accustomed to regard as the more sluggish peoples on the other side of the Atlantic. We are proud of the recent growth of some of our cities, as well as of some of our universities; but who can compare the municipal government of Berlin or Buda-Pest with that of New York or Chicago, or the educational enterprise of Paris or Strasburg or Zurich with that of the most vigorous of our own universities without a modest admission that, after all, we have vastly more to learn from them than they have to learn from us? And so perhaps it will be in regard to that branch of academic discipline which is of special interest to the American Historical Association. Be that as it may, I have thought that on this occasion it would not be inappropriate to call your attention to the great advances that have recently been made in the teaching of history in the colleges and universities of America and Europe.

In this presentation I shall purposely avoid limiting my inquiries to any specific number of years. The scope of the subject and the brevity of the hour compel me to deal sparingly with details and critical observations. My purpose will be satisfied if I succeed in pointing out the most important characteristics of this general advance. It will be convenient to look first at the teaching of history in the United States, and then at the teaching of history in Europe.

It was nearly two centuries after the founding of Harvard College before the study of history in that institution had any standing whatever. So far as we can judge from the meager information afforded, it was customary during the whole of that period to give an hour at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning to the hearing of compositions and declamations and to the reciting of history, ancient and modern. This bare statement is enough to show how impossible it was that the subject